AnnaBeth was shivering as she walked into work. She thought she had survived the cold of the winter she hadn't been aware that it had just been a teaser for how cold it could get. It was so cold the ambulance had broken down. Chief told them in the morning meeting it was -15 and -40 with windchill. She had barely broken out her coat the year before. As tough as she was finding it Cruz looked like he might have a mental breakdown.
She poured herself a coffee to warm herself up. She had already been through so much she wasn't going to let artic temperatures defeat her.
"AB get Mills" Gabby said walking through with a box "We need to check her for hyperthermia"
"Check who?" She asked setting her mug down.
"The baby I found outside" Gabby told her.
"I'll get him" Kelly said putting down his paper.
AnnaBeth followed Gabby through to the bunk room. She placed her hand on her heart and picked up the tiny baby girl dressed all in pink out of the box still wrapped in her blanket. She was awake and alert. She laid her down gently as Peter came through with a stethoscope to and a thermometer to check her vitals.
"Everything looks good" Peter said when he was done, turning to Gabby "She was lucky you found her so quickly"
"She is so beautiful" AnnaBeth said as the little girl clasped her hand around her little finger.
"Who would leave her out there in the cold like that?" Cruz asked shaking his head as AnnaBeth picked her up and cuddled her.
"Safe Haven means no questions asked" Herrmann told him.
"We need to get her to the hospital" Chief said.
"That might take a while" She said rocking the baby gently.
"Capp is supposed to be fixing the engine on the ambo" Peter added.
"Get it done" Chief told him firmly "In the meantime there are diapers, clothes and formula in my car"
"This little one certainly smells like she needs her diaper changed" She said.
AnnaBeth couldn't help but laugh at how quickly Otis and Cruz disappeared.
"Honestly" She said shaking her head "They run into burning buildings for a living but one stinky diaper and they're out"
"I'll do it" Gabby offered.
"Well as cute as you are" She said to the baby girl "I am not going to pass up that offer"
AnnaBeth handed the baby over to Gabby and went to get another cup of coffee seeing as she didn't finish the last one. She took pity on Cruz and handed him a cup as well.
She decided to check on Capp and see how he was getting on with the ambulance. The hood was still up.
"You know he'll be there all day" Kelly told her.
"You know" She said cocking her head to the side "I know when I had trouble with my old car Wade always said to try turning the key real slow before taking it in"
"AnnaBeth" Capp sighed "I'd take your advice on baking, but I've taken this whole engine apart it's not going to be…"
He was cut off by the sound of the engine as Peter tried slowly turning the key. AnnaBeth bit her lip to keep herself from laughing at the look on Capp's face.
"She fixes cars too" Kelly said with a grin "Capp you should be embarrassed"
"Fu…"Capp started.
"I won't have any cussing in this firehouse while we have a child here" She warned him.
"Come on" Peter laughed "Let's get her to med"
Peter paused as parts of a message crackled through the radio. It was a call about chest pains not too far away, so they took it. They said they would take the baby right after. AnnaBeth pushed the button to open the doors and ran round to the other side of the ambulance. She pulled on her hat and gloves.
A man led them to a teenage boy who was shivering and scratching as his skin. Peter got him to sit down and she handed him a blanket.
"Ok" She said "We're going to help you, but we need to know what you took"
"We just smoked some weed" The boy said as Peter wrapped the blanket around him.
"We?" She asked furrowing her brow.
"Over there" Peter said pointing to a jacket.
"My girlfriend Celia" The boy said "She freaked and ran, and I can't get rid of these bugs"
AnnaBeth ran over to the door as Peter called for a second ambulance.
"AB where are you going?" Peter called after her.
"She'll freeze to death in there" She said "It's just one girl. Stay with him I'll be right back"
AnnaBeth went into the warehouse. She walked around looking for the girl. She tried radioing out to Peter but there was no signal. She came across a homeless man who looked freezing with scratches on his arm.
"Sir" She asked, "Did you see a girl run through here?"
"She attacked me and ran off" He told her pointing behind him "That way"
"Here" She said handing him some handwarmers "Go out to my partner in the ambulance, he'll take care of you"
AnnaBeth found the girl holding onto a railing where the floor under her looked like it could give away at any moment. She was panicking moving back and forth unsure of what to do.
"Celia honey I'm here to help" She said approaching slowly "I'm a paramedic, I need you to stay every still"
She walked carefully and slowly towards her on the broken bridge.
"Just walk to me very slowly and carefully" She said holding out her hands.
The girl fell as a beam beneath her snapped. AnnaBeth dropped to the ground and grabbed her arms to keep her from falling but she had no way of getting help other than shouting out.
"AnnaBeth" Peter called out.
"I'm over here" She should back "I can't hold her much longer"
Peter ran over to her and took over holding onto Celia. He told her to look for anything in the jump bag that could be used as a rope. They managed to rig up some bandages to keep her from falling any further.
"Mills" They heard someone call out "AnnaBeth"
"Over here" Mills called out.
Squad and half of truck came through. When they had taken over AnnaBeth stepped back to let them work. That poor girl was so scared and confused she hoped she would be free soon. She was losing blood caught on a pipe.
"I need her to calm down" Kelly said as he stopped sawing at the bar. Celia was screaming that it wasn't real.
AnnaBeth went back to the ledge and lay down flat. She took her hands.
"Celia sweetie I need you to look at me, you feel my hands, that's real right" She nodded.
Celia nodded slightly.
"We are here to help you, you can trust me" She told her "Right now they need to saw that pipe so we can help you and I need you to stay really still, can you do that for me?"
She held her hand and shielded her eyes while Kelly cut through the rest of the pipe.
AnnaBeth waited at the hospital to make sure the girl was ok. Gabby had been there with the baby, so she checked in on them as well. Apparently, the baby had been kidnapped but they found the real parents who were driving to come and pick up their baby. She offered to stay with Gabby, but Gabby insisted she went to Chief Boden's lūʻau for his father.
The whole place was decked out in a Hawaiian theme. The shirts some people were wearing were a little questionable but she apricated the atmosphere all the same. It felt instantly warmer in there.
She had gone for her Pineapple dress to match the tropical theme.
"There she is" Kelly said pulling up a seat "Nice dress"
"Well I wish I could say the same about your shirt" She teased sitting down "Thank you"
"Is it white or red?" He asked as Herrmann walked over.
"We're pretending it's summer that means a beer" She replied.
"Two beers it is" He nodded "Thanks Herrmann"
"Well it is just like a piece of paradise in here" She said looking around.
"Shay would have loved this" He said looking around.
"I never got to tell you how sorry I am" She said putting a hand on his arm "I'm really glad they got the guy"
"Me too" He nodded "What about you today, that was some save"
"Just another one to add to my list of talents" She shrugged with a grin.
"No Jay tonight?" He asked handing her a bottle as Herrmann set them down.
She shook her head taking a sip of her beer.
"Not tonight" She replied "I don't see that working out"
"Oh really" He said looking at her out of the corner of his eyes "Sorry to hear that"
"Don't be" She said shaking her head "I think he has feelings for someone else"
"Well then he's an idiot" He told her.
"He's not" She said taking another sip of her drink "I think I do too, life happens that's all, he's still a good guy"
"You do?" He asked raising an eyebrow "Do I know them?"
AnnaBeth wasn't sure what to say. She had liked Kelly for a while, seeing him come back from Vegas with a wife had kind of confirmed that. But he had been married and not all that long ago. He was impulsive and she didn't know how smart it was to be honest with him, or if he even felt the same way.
"Yes, you do" She replied.
"That's all I get?" He laughed.
"That's all you get" She nodded.