Grabbing a few hours of sleep, Taylor slipped on her boots and headed to the roof. Pulling her jacket closer around her, she sat in one of the chairs and watched as night gave way to a brand-new day. Hearing the door behind her open, she looked around and smiled as Severide joined her.
"Hey," he said, handing her a steaming cup of coffee and taking a seat next to her, "Word around the firehouse is that we're going to be roommates."
"My living situation is really the hot gossip for this shift, huh?" Taylor replied, earning a nod and taking a sip of her drink, "At least it's true this time."
"I thought you had a place with that guy you were seeing."
"It's not working out," Taylor told him with a shrug, not wanting to discuss Greg or their relationship.
"You want to talk about it?" Severide asked.
"Not really," Taylor mumbled, "The last thing I need is my failing relationship being the next hot topic around here..."
"I wouldn't do that."
"There's really nothing to talk about."
"Well, you know where I am..."
'A million miles from where I want you to be' Taylor thought as the alarm sounded and they both jumped up, rushing downstairs. Getting ready in record time, she jumped in the truck and sat in silence as they made their way to the scene.
Jumping from the truck, Taylor took in the carnage that surrounded her and got straight to work. Scrabbling up the side of an overturned lorry, she looked in through the window and immediately yanked open the door.
"Taylor," Casey shouted, "What you got?"
"One unconscious male with visible head injury," Taylor replied, mapping out her way down inside the cab of the truck and waiting for Casey to join her before carefully lowering herself inside.
Positioning herself, so that she didn't injure the driver further, she placed her fingers on the side of his windpipe just below his jawbone and felt a pulse under her touch.
"Taylor?"
"I've got a pulse," Taylor called, reaching up to retrieve the med pack that Casey was lowering down and immediately placing the oxygen mask on the man's face accompanied by a c-collar.
"Severide, we need squad over here," Casey yelled.
Listening to the shouts coming from the others outside the truck, Taylor knew that something was wrong and tried to push back the slight panic she felt. Returning her attention to the driver as he started to come around, she held the oxygen mask in place and tried her best to keep him calm.
"Hey, hey, it's okay," Taylor told him, keeping her voice calm and soft, "I'm Taylor, what's your name?"
"Kurt."
"Okay Kurt," Taylor added as she shifted a little to look at him, "I know that every instinct in your body is going to be telling you to just get out of here... away from the danger, but I need you to fight it and keep really still for me."
"Just get me out of here."
"We're working on it," Taylor promised, "How long have you been driving trucks for?"
"Coming up to fifteen years," Kurt answered quietly, grimacing slightly and closing his eyes.
"Kurt," Taylor called, "Kurt, I need you to stay with me... do you have a family?"
"An ex-wife and two boys," Kurt informed her as Squad appeared at the windshield.
"How old are your boys?" Taylor inquired, sending Severide a look that told him to hurry up and looking back to Kurt as he spoke.
"Tommy will be eleven next week and Corey is five."
"Taylor, cover your face," Severide ordered, causing Taylor to use her jacket to create a barrier and flinching slightly as the glass behind her was removed, "Okay Taylor, I need you to swap places with Capp..."
"You're in good hands, Kurt," Taylor reassured the man, climbing out the front window and watching as Squad got to work.
Pulled away to help truck pack away their equipment, Taylor looked around just in time to see Kurt being loaded into the back of the ambulance and hoped that he would be okay.
