I tentatively smiled back at Virgil, and he turned back to his brother. My smile faded however as I saw the shake to his hand, and noticed the first time how pale his face was under the sweat and grime. Reaching out, I caught him by surprise as I grabbed his wrist and took his pulse. It was high, not dangerously so, but enough.

"Virgil? You all right son?"

He nodded, then closed his eyes tight. "A little dizzy. It's been a hell of a day." He said quietly.

I reached into the cabinet above me and pulled out a small bottle. "Here, drink this. It will help get your electrolytes back up."

He nodded his thanks, and opening the bottle, took a tentative sip. "Ugh." He said making a wry face at the sickly salty taste.

"Drink it." I ordered.

Taking a deep breath, Virgil swallowed the rest of the drink and shuddering, handed me the empty bottle. "Thanks." He turned back to his brother. "How's he doing?"

I moved closer to the casualty and took his hand, lifting his arm up and gently squeezing a dirty finger to try and check his capillary re-fill. It was slow but not worryingly so. And then I took a closer look at his hand and saw again the soot and small cuts in his skin. Turning back to Virgil, I gave him a small smile of reassurance and then noted as I had before that he was just as dirty but not as cut up as his brother. And what had he said about 'getting to' John? God. Where the hell had John been?

The fluid bag I was squeezing was now empty and I nodded towards the supply. Virgil understood and grabbed a fresh bag for me.

"Can you take his blood pressure?" I asked distractedly, attaching the fluids.

"Sure." Virgil grabbed the cuff, frowning slightly as he studied the equipment and quickly established how to activate it.

I handed Virgil my scissors and watched him expertly slice up through the arm of John's uniform and then wrap the BP cuff around his arm.

"Virg …?"

John was back with us. I leaned closer to him and saw him looking around in confusion. "It's alright, mate. You're in an ambulance."

John frowned slightly and lifted his head towards me. "Bob?"

"Yup."

John smiled and sighed a cloud across the oxygen mask. "Thanks, Bob."

"You're welcome, mate." I replied merrily, feeling my own heart rate settling as I saw in his improved mental state that the fluids and oxygen were doing their job.

"85 over 42." Virgil offered, reading the monitor. "Pulse 118." He reached down to place his fingers on John's wrist and checked the rate for himself. "Stronger now."

I smiled and nodded in understanding. "Good."

"Feel like shit." John offered quietly.

"I'm not surprised, mate." I chuckled suddenly, "Look at the state of you!" I watched him smile in agreement and then I turned to Virgil. "So … where'd you train?"

Virgil still looked tired but some colour had found his cheeks and he shrugged a reply. "We've all had EMT training. I guess I just took to it more."

"I'll say." I smiled merrily, "If you ever get tired of zooming about the world on dramatic rescues, we could use a few blokes like you."

Virgil gave a short laugh and it morphed into a weary sigh. Something told me that these guys had been through more than enough to make them think twice about what they did.

Virgil then turned to peer outside and frowned in concern. "We there, yet?"

I looked out through the window and established our surroundings. We had not moved that far from Jubilee Gardens. "Anna?"

"I know, I know!" She groaned back, peering through the small hatch in the back of the cab. "We're blocked in."

"What?" Leaning down to look past her and beyond the windscreen, I could see the abandoned cars that we had negotiated before.

"Everyone's trying to leave and it's totally bottle-necked." Anna continued, chancing a brief blast of the loud sirens and then sighing in frustration. "It's no good. We're stuck."

"Stuck!" Virgil demanded in sudden panic.

I stepped closer to him and placed my hand on his arm. "It's okay." I gave him the bag of fluids to hold and moved through to the hatch. "Anna?" Crouching down, I looked out through the front and frowned in thought. "Just go."

Anna spun to me.

"It's okay, we'll sort out the mess later. We have priority. Just go."

Anna stared at me in disbelief and watched me nodding in reassurance. With a sigh she then turned back round to face the traffic and flicked on the warning sirens.

None of the cars moved. They couldn't. Considering my options, I wondered if perhaps I should jump out and try and tell people to get out of the way, or find some police and get them to help us, or perhaps just swap with Anna and get us out of the trap myself.

"Shit!" Anna husked and gripped the steering wheel. "Sorry, chaps." Moving the ambulance forward, she nudged the car in front and then backed up to push against the car behind. With a shake of her head, she turned in the slightly larger gap she had created and managed to squeeze through somehow.

I reached through and patted her shoulder. "Nice one." With a smile, I stood and left her to it. Moving back beside John and giving Virgil a nod of reassurance, I then winced as I heard the grinding squeak of car bodywork along the side of the ambulance and there was then a small thud.

Virgil's concerned frown deepened.

"Wing mirror." I shrugged.

And then there was a new noise, a different siren to the one that peeled above us. I stood and peered out through the back window to see the police had arrived to help clear things. I smiled and reached for the back door handle.

"Wait!" Virgil pulled me back.

I turned to him and saw the fear in his face as he shook his head urgently. My eyes moving to John, I couldn't help but wonder what was more important here, anonymity or his brother's life.

"Please." Virgil urged quietly, "Stay inside."

"Virg?" John queried quietly, lifting his head towards us. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Virgil replied firmly, his grip still strong on my uniform as he glanced at my hand on the door handle. "Bob, please."

I nodded and stepped back from the door. Confused and more than a little nervous.

"I'm sorry." Virgil took his hands off me and held them up in reassurance. "I just … we don't know who's out there and - "

"Is it him?!" John demanded suddenly, pulling himself upright and instantly reeling from the wave of dizziness. He slumped back with a groan and shook his head, pulling the mask from his face. "Oh God – oh God – no!"

Virgil and I both hurried nearer to him, Virgil replacing the mask and I watching in uncertainty as John started to panic.

And, with sudden dread building, I added up the injuries, the police presence and the total weirdness of the whole situation. And I had to ask. "What are you so afraid of?"

Virgil shook his head. "Nothing…it's nothing." He turned back to his brother "John relax, it's OK." He said soothingly.

John pushed the mask away and struggled to a sitting position. "No he's here…he'll find us again!" His breath started coming in ragged gasps, what colour he had gained, fading rapidly.

"John! You need to calm down!" I rested one hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. "Nothing can hurt you here. You're safe, understand?" He?

John shook my hand off. "No! Please God no!" Suddenly he clenched his eyes shut and moaned, slumping forward.

"John!" Virgil clasped his brother about the shoulders and eased him back down on the stretcher. "Relax…" He pulled his arm out from under his brother. It was stained bright with blood and Virgil looked up at me with haunted eyes.

I nodded. "Anna! We're running out of time!" I hollered as I placed the mask back over John's face.

"I can't move!" She cursed back at me, once again trying to manoeuvre the ambulance through the streets.

And suddenly John stopped fighting. I looked down and saw his eyes close. My heart thudding in my ears, I pulled the mask aside and leaned my cheek down beside his face. "Shit!"

"What?" Virgil urged worriedly.

Slipping into autopilot and moving Virgil aside with a shove that was harder than I had intended, I lowered the head of the stretcher and crouched down at the top end. Tilting John's head back, I confirmed again the lack of exhaled air from his grey lips and pressed my fingers into his neck.

"Oh god, no …" Virgil slumped into one of the adjacent seats and looked on in horror.

I could have used his help but could quickly gauge that he was too stunned. "Anna!"

The ambulance rocked to a stop and I heard her call back a reply. Slicing my scissors through the sling and moving his strapped arm clear, I then cut through the jumpsuit and sweat-soaked shirt beneath. I slapped the defib pads on John's bare chest and switched on the monitor.

"Crap!" Anna hissed, apparently looking back at us through the hatch.

I heard the cab door open and slam shut and watched the green pattern on the monitor dancing out a diagnosis. The back door of the ambulance was wrenched open and I held up my hand quickly. "Stay back!" I cautioned quickly, glancing at Virgil to make sure he was clear. "Charging …"

John's body arched with the force of the pulse and Anna then hurried forward. Squeezing past Virgil, she placed her clasped hands on his sternum and started compressions, concentration etched on her face.

I grabbed the ambu-bag from the cabinet and placed it over John's nose and mouth, squeezing air into him during Anna's brief pause. My mind set on nothing but what needed to be done and when, I forgot Virgil was there. His gentle sobbing then filtered past my focus and I glanced up at him.

Virgil had his head in his hands and his body was trembling with the effort of keeping at bay so much more than the few tears that had escaped. My heart sank. But there was no more that I could do than I already was doing. Twenty years at this job had taught me that over and over.

I looked back down at John, calculating the number of cycles we had done. And then his eyes blinked open. I gasped and reached over him to place my hand on Anna's arm. She stopped compressions and I checked the monitor. A healthier, if fast, pattern scrolled across the screen and I placed my fingers on his neck to feel the weak pulse that had returned.

"Okay, mate." I smiled in reassurance and held John's frightened gaze as I lifted the mask away from his face. "You're okay … just breathe …"

John groaned out a long sigh and closed his eyes.

"John?" I nudged his shoulder and watched him look back up at me. "Come on, mate … stay with us."

John frowned and tried to lift his head to look down at his chest.

"It's alright, mate. You're alright." I squeezed his shoulder gently and eased him back against the bed. "Lie still."

I placed the oxygen mask back over his face and looked up at Anna. "I don't care how you do it, just get us the fuck to Tommy's."

Anna nodded eagerly, understanding that my curt tone was not a rebuke at her. She scrambled back out of the ambulance and I heard her shouting towards the approaching police vehicles, asking them to help us get clear.

"He's okay, Virgil."

Virgil looked up warily, his hands falling slowly from his face.

"He's back with us." I continued softly.

Virgil leaned forward and took John's hand in his own, sniffing back further tears.

John moaned weakly and his frown grew. "Pain."

"I know." I patted his shoulder gently. There was no way I was chancing giving him anything that might suppress his breathing and I sighed an apology. "We'll be at the hospital soon. Hang on in there."

"Pain." John insisted a little louder.

"Okay, John." Virgil husked, sliding down from the chair and kneeling beside him. He reached up and placed his hand on John's forehead. "You'll be okay."

Systematically checking John's condition and happy that he was at least a little more stable than a few seconds ago, I then turned to Virgil. "That bleeder doesn't fully explain his condition."

Virgil looked up at me and held my gaze in uncertainty.

"Virgil? What happened to your brother?"

Virgil recoiled in fright, his eyes wide.

I reached out and placed my hand on his arm. "I'm just trying to help him."

Virgil seemed lost.

"Ex … exploded." John mumbled.

"What?" I looked back at John and watched his pale face crumple in pain and fear.

"Someone shot at us." Virgil offered carefully.

I lifted my head and looked into his tear-filled eyes. "No bloody way …" I breathed in horror.

Virgil nodded slowly. "Please, Bob." He sighed and shook his head. "That's all you need to know."

I held his gaze and nodded a definite affirmative, concerned as much now as helping the young man in my ambulance as I was to get him the hell out of it.

"Bob?"

I looked back down at John and saw the concern in his face.

"I tried … tried to warn you." He whispered, reaching his good arm up towards me.

"I know." I took his hand and squeezed his fingers gently. "It's alright, mate. It's not your fault. You just lie still, okay?"

John nodded and closed his eyes. I glanced up at the monitor and was relieved to see the rapid, even pattern dancing across the screen. And then Anna suddenly whooped in delight. Aware that the ambulance was moving swiftly now, I turned and saw the hospital A&E department looming into view.

"There." I turned back to smile at Virgil and gave John's hand another brief squeeze. "We're here."

The ambulance came to a stop and I was aware of Anna clambering from the cab. I unhooked all the lines and disconnected the monitor, watching John warily. The back door opened and Anna activated the ramp.

I unlocked the stretcher wheels and stood, ready to move John towards the ramp. Virgil scrambled clear and looked around the empty ambulance bay in interest, apparently relieved at the lack of attention we had drawn.

Inside the department, the staff were ready. They waited eagerly in the assessment bay, gowned and poised for action. I smiled in greeting towards the familiar faces and then glanced at the closely pursuing Virgil.

"Bob?"

I looked back at the staff and smiled at the Registrar that had stepped forward, seeing the uncertainty in his eyes and his cautious glance towards Virgil. "This is John." I began quickly, "He was caught in an explosion." I could sense Virgil tensing as he stepped closer and I shot him a quick smile. "Deep laceration and blunt trauma to the occiput. LOC unknown, GCS 14 on scene. Third degree laceration to right upper arm. Full thickness burn and deep wound over T4 and 5. 2 litres colloid given en route but condition deteriorated and VF corrected with one shock at 150."

The Registrar nodded, taking it all in and already making a plan of action as John was carefully transferred from the stretcher and onto a bed. He cried out in protest as he was shifted and Virgil pushed through to his side.

"You'll need to give us room." One of the nurses was gently pushing Virgil back from the bed.

Virgil shook his head and pressed closer.

"Okay." I retrieved our stretcher and nodded to Anna. "Come on, Virg. Let them work on him. He's in good hands."

Virgil spun at me with a glare that made my heart sink. I raised my hands in apology and wandered from the room.

"Weird." Anna observed as we retreated back to the ambulance.

"Mmm." I mumbled distractedly.

Anna paused at the rear of the ambulance. "What do you think happened to them?"

"No idea." I sighed and then saw the two police cars that had joined us and the officers hurried inside the A&E department. I watched them disappear from view and my mind was racing, part of me wondering what would become of them, the other part hoping I never knew.

"Groovy."

I turned back and saw Anna surveying the mess inside the ambulance. I sighed wearily and climbed up inside to help her start the clean up. It didn't take us long to tidy and then wash down the equipment and ambulance interior. I then jumped down and headed into the department to grab some fresh linen and a few supplies.

As made my way back out, I heard someone shout my name.

"Bob! Bob wait!"

I turned to see Virgil hurrying towards me and I smiled. "Hey. How is he?"

"In surgery. There was a piece of metal in that wound."

"Oh." I grimaced slightly, "But he'll be okay. They're good people."

Virgil shrugged, glancing behind him. "I know. Look Bob, I can't let you leave."

My heart thudded in my chest and I clutched my armful of blankets tightly. "What did you say?"

Virgil sighed and ran a hand over his head. "Bob, you can't go." He placed his hand lightly on my arm.

I pulled myself free. "You can't keep me here."

"Yes, I can."

I turned to see the main doors closing and a security guard positioning himself in front of them. "I'm your prisoner?" I wasn't sure if I was more angry or scared.

"No…Please Bob. Trust me."

It was the sincerity in his eyes that finally won me over. "Fine, I'll stay." I conceded and dumped my supplies.

Virgil sighed in relief. "They've given us a room over this way." We started off down the hallway, stopping to let Virgil open what looked like an office door. Instead it was a plush waiting room, complete with deep cushioned couches and a television. I sat down on one of the couches and sighed. "So, how long do I have to stay here?"

Virgil sat down on the opposite side of the room. "Hopefully not long. Just until my fa-my commander gets here." I watched as he leaned back, rubbing one hand on the bridge of his nose.

"You OK mate?"

"I…I don't really know the answer to that question." He took a shuddering breath. "My God, he could have killed John…he could have killed all of us." He leaned forward, putting his face in his hands.

He again…I got up and knelt down in front of the young International Rescue man. "Easy Virgil."

The door opened just then, and I looked up to see another member of IR march into the room. Scott, I remembered. He took one look at us and glared, his grey eyes stormy.

"What's going on? Virg, you OK?" He walked over, nudging me out of the way.

Virgil looked up at him, his face streaked with tears. "Scott…"

Scott paled. "What happened?" His voice sounded hoarse and I noticed that he too was covered in grime, and there was a thin cut across his forehead. Just where had they been?

"He…John…" Virgil's voice cracked.

Faster than I believed possible, Scott yanked me to my feet and had me up against the wall. "I told you to take care of him." He growled, his angry face inches from mine.

"Scott don't!" Virgil elbowed his way between us. "He saved John's life Scott. John was…dead."

Scott dropped me like a stone.

I took a deep breath. "He wasn't exactly dead."

"He went into cardiac arrest. Bob had to de-fib him." Virgil said softly.

Scott looked from me to Virgil. "So why's he still here then?" He asked, sending another angry glare in my direction.

"He knows Scott." Virgil took a step closer to me. "He knows."

Scott backed away from me, anger quickly pushed aside by open fear. And I was lost for words.

"I …" Virgil sighed heavily, "It kind of slipped out while …" He closed his eyes and shook his head, his face tightening as he fought back sudden tears. "Or maybe John said something I … I don't remember."

I watched Scott turn to Virgil and saw the disappointment and returning anger. And I stepped away from the wall. "It was obvious." I offered carefully. "The way you blokes were with each other." I met Scott's uncertain expression as he looked back at me and offered him a small shrug of perhaps an apology, perhaps regret. "I guessed."

Scott held my gaze and nodded silently, seeming to recall our brief meeting in the gardens and how they had gathered defensively around their fallen brother. And then he seemed suddenly sad, something about the look in his eyes sending a shiver up my spine. And I found myself wishing that some other crew had been called to the Eye.

"Bob …" Scott began.

Oh god.

"Thank you."

I stared at him in uncertainty.

"Thank you for saving him." Scott smiled thinly, the gesture fading as quickly as it had appeared. "But getting yourself caught up with us was a big mistake."

Tbc …