Thanks so much to everyone who's been hanging in there. I just needed to get back on track with this little one, and I think I'm ready to keep going now that Star Wars is more out of my system.
Warnings: mild language, injury. Based off episode 5x20, 'The Great Crash Diet'.
Marco leaned back and heaved a sigh. I love Chet. I really do… but I might kill him for this. His stomach rumbled loudly, protesting the lack of food in the last few shifts thanks to Chet's sudden obsession with eating healthy. If he were any good at cooking, it might not be a problem. Chet, however, was a threat to everyone's well being when allowed into the kitchen. Everyone's patience was wearing thin, even Marco's and Mike's. Marco's stomach rumbled again.
Dr. Morton had unknowingly ruined their meals for a period of time, until they could find a way to convince Chet he wasn't doing any good or convince Morton to do so for them. Johnny and Roy could at least get out of the station and sneak some real food once in a while. The rest of them weren't able to escape Chet's health craze. Mike slumped over and dropped onto the couch beside him.
"I think my stomach is tryin' to eat itself," Mike grumbled, "I've never been this hungry ever in my life."
"I have been this hungry, but it somehow feels worse because there is food to eat but it's been rendered inedible. I wish he would just ask for help cooking. I don't have any problem eating healthy, but what he's doing is criminal."
"Agreed. I mean, the recipes are fine, just-"
The tones dropped. Marco and Mike shot to their feet and jogged to the engine.
"Station 51, vehicle accident with injuries. 1300 block of Canyon Road. Cross street, Mulholland. Ambulance responding. Time out, 1415."
"Engine 51, KMG 365."
Marco settled in as Mike pulled the engine out onto the street, speeding toward Canyon and Mulholland. Chet fidgeted beside him, likely wondering the same as Marco, wondering what they would find when they arrived on scene. 'Injuries' was not the most descriptive of terms. Johnny and Roy would likely arrive first since they were coming from Rampart, so at least they would have the scene assessed. Marco took a few deep breaths, trying to control the rush of adrenaline coursing through him.
The first thing Marco noticed on scene was a blaring car horn, unceasing, most likely caused by the front-end damage to the involved car. Roy was with a man in a white suit and a black cowboy hat, probably the caller since he looked unhurt.
"Got a wire loose up there," Roy called to them, gesturing to the wire.
Cap and Chet hustled over to where the involved car was situated, both eyeing up the power line. Marco ran over after them, following Johnny to the victim. The horn was still blaring. Johnny began trying to pry the doors open with the crowbar, the doors crushed by the impact, the victim thankfully awake and coherent inside. The man in the suit was still talking aimlessly. This could have been worse. Marco hung back with Chet, not wanting to be in the way. Johnny and Roy tended to the patient. Cap pulled the wire to stop the car horn, and it became blessedly quiet when it did. Marco waited until he was needed.
"…Okay, does this hurt?" Johnny asked, feeling along the patient's spine.
"Uh-uh. No."
"Didn't hurt your back, huh?"
"Uh-uh, no."
"Okay… Alright now, let's see if, uh, can you sit back up just a 'lil bit?"
The man gave an affirmative. Johnny said, "You think so? If you're hurt, just tell me, alright?" and helped ease him into an upright position. Roy stepped away from the car to get the biophone, so Marco went around to take his place assisting Johnny as the paramedic took the patient's vitals, taking Johnny's helmet when it was passed to him. Marco set it down before hurrying back, stuffing himself in the open door.
"Now, if you can raise up just a hair…" Johnny said calmly, "There we go… there we go. Don't move too fast in any one direction, okay? Alright…"
Johnny turned to say something to Marco. There was an explosive sizzling as that loose power line came down, sparking against a chain fence and the car. Someone yelled. Roy went sprinting. Marco made to go with him, but Johnny grabbed him, shouted, "Marco, stay in here!"
He looked out the window. Cap had apparently been resting his hands on the car and was now lying on the ground, twitching, Roy protectively over him. The line sparked back to the transformer, and there was a loud bang as it blew.
"We got a fire!"
Roy's voice drew Marco's attention the opposite direction. Three small fires had started by the fence, surrounded by plenty of very flammable dry brush. Perfect… That's all we need…
xXxXx
Mike watched in horror as the power line came down, unable to call a warning as it touched off against the fence and car. Cap jumped back and crumpled to the ground. Mike's heart shot up into his throat. Marco's in that car… So's Johnny and Roy. He started forward, flinched at a loud bang, turned to see the transformer had blown.
"We got a fire!"
He turned back to the action, drawn by Roy's shout. Sure enough, three small fires had ignited not far from the car, but just far enough away to not be a major concern. Still concerning though… Mike took a deep breath and made his brain switch into command mode. Cap was down, so he was in charge of the scene. His friends were his crew, and he needed to keep them safe.
Mike ran down to Cap and dragged him up the hill by his turnout, shouting, "Chet! Come on in here with a line!" before darting back to the engine.
"LA, Engine 51. We have a brush start with two separate ignition points. 1300 Canyon Road. Respond a brush assignment. Notify the power company the lines are down. We also have a Code I at this location."
"Engne 51."
From the engine, Mike took a moment to assess the scene. Roy was working on Cap. Johnny had recruited the caller to help him extricate the patient. Chet was working to knock down the fires. Marco came running up the hill and retrieved the datascope for Roy.
xXxXx
"We got some fire right there!" Cap shouted.
Roy worked on getting Cap's turnout open, and he might have laughed at Cap's words were the situation not so serious. Of course we know there's a fire. What kind of firemen does he think we are? Roy simply calmed him, "Alright, alright, just relax…"
He heard the dispatcher call the other companies to their location to assist with the potentially explosive brush fire not far behind him. Roy just hoped Chet and Marco would knock down the flames quickly. Cap was having intermittent spasms from the electricity still in his body, his muscles contracting violently and relaxing suddenly. Beside them, Johnny and the caller were tending to the patient with the broken femur. Marco brought the datascope as Roy finished undoing the buttons on Cap's uniform shirt and pulled up his t-shirt to access his chest.
"Somebody gettin' this fire? Roy?"
Roy didn't answer, focusing on what the scope was telling him. Looking up briefly, he saw Mike sprinting from their position back to the engine to check the pumps. Marco had followed him, grabbing another line and going to help Chet knock the fires down.
"How's the fire?"
"We're takin' care of it."
Cap nearly smiled, but another set of muscle contractions hit, making him curl in on himself, obviously in pain. Roy soothed him, "Alright, alright… it's okay," while carefully taking the older man's blood pressure. Around them was organized chaos, with Johnny and the caller splinting the patient's leg and Marco and Chet working to knock down the flames and Mike running to and fro, trying to keep an eye on the scene and the pumps. Cap was breathing heavily, his belly rising and falling quickly with each breath, and Roy reached out to monitor his respirations, telling him, "Try not to move around."
Of course, it was then that Cap was wracked with another convulsion. Roy's stomach flopped uncomfortably. He'd heard horror stories of people being more injured during the convulsions than due to the shock itself, their muscles being torn or joints getting dislocated. Some victims would have seizures due to the interrupted electrical activity in the brain. Thankfully, Cap was not yet exhibiting any of those symptoms.
"Rampart, this is Squad 51."
"Go ahead, 51," Early said.
"Rampart, we have another victim here, electrocution victim, male, about thirty-seven years of age," Roy reported as Cap convulsed once more, "BP is 100/80, pulse is 150, respirations are 40. Stand by for EKG."
"Administer D5W TKO."
"D5W TKO."
Somewhere behind him, Marco and Chet had gotten the fire knocked down, and Roy breathed a sigh of relief. One less thing to worry about, at least…
xXxXx
Mike watched as Marco and Chet knocked down the last of the flames, now only had to worry about smoking brush, sighed softly.
"LA, Engine 51," he reported, "Brush fire is under control. Cancel all units. Send in one camp crew for cold trailing."
"10-4, 51," Sam responded.
The ambulance finally arrived, and Mike waited for it to pass before climbing down from the engine and heading for his captain. The man looked miserable, hand on his face, his chest almost heaving. He came over and knelt beside him, asking quietly, "You okay?"
"How you doin', babe?" Cap responded, "You get the fire knocked out?"
"Yeah, Cap…"
Unable to stop himself, Mike reached out and adjusted the collar of Cap's turnout. It was small, as far as gestures of comfort went, but he didn't want to interfere with Roy's treatment. He'll know. He'll understand. He helped Roy and Johnny load Cap into the ambulance.
"I'm gonna ride in," Johnny said, "I wanna keep an eye on the broken femur."
Roy nodded, headed for the squad. Mike, Marco, and Chet watched them go, the wreckage behind them, smoke and ozone still hanging in the air. Mike could feel a slight tightness in his chest, the nervousness that always accompanied such an event. Instinctively, he knew Roy and Johnny and everyone at Rampart would take the best care of Cap, but sometimes that wasn't enough. Stop that. You're gonna get yourself all worked up. Cap was going to be fine. Electrical incidents were generally like that. If the victim survived without cardiac arrest, they were going to be fine.
"Mike, you okay, man?"
Chet was looking up at him, concern and worry apparent in his face. Mike blinked, came to his senses, looked around the scene. Marco was up past the engine, likely waiting to flag down Crew 31 when they arrived. The question was repeated, "You okay, Mike?"
"Umm… yeah. Yeah. I'm fine, just-… A lot happened."
"That it did," Chet agreed, paused, continued, "Hey, y'know, you did a great job, Mike."
"What?"
"Takin' over the scene. You didn't even waste a second. You were right in there, pullin' Cap out and then you got that fire taken care of-"
"Chet, that was you and Marco-"
"You coordinated the effort, so it's like you did it. Just accept the praise, okay? Really, man, it was kinda like a glimpse into the future… Captain Mike Stoker," he gestured dramatically to make his point, "That's got a nice ring to it."
"Oh, shut up, Chet…"
The lineman fell quiet but continued to smirk. Mike watched Marco, lost in thought. Captain… Even a couple years ago, Cap had asked him about becoming a captain. He'd thought about it, certainly. He'd been in the department too long not to have thought about taking the exam, but for now, Mike was perfectly happy where he was. He liked being an engineer, liked Station 51, liked the men he worked with. The exam wasn't necessarily easy, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. I've been an engineer for over ten years now… got promoted in '63. After a man spent that amount of time as an engineer, the brass began wondering why he didn't want to be a captain. The tight feeling in his chest did not go away.
Crew 31 arrived and ushered them away, clearly knowing how bad they wanted to check on their captain. The cab felt very big without its usual passenger. Out of respect, neither Marco nor Chet took up the passenger seat, climbed up to sit in their usual seats behind the cab. Roy and Johnny were waiting for them when they arrived at Rampart.
"He's gonna be fine," Roy said without preamble, "Doc wants to keep him for twenty-four hours just to keep an eye on him, then he should be back in a couple days. There's little intermittent issues that usually crop up within twenty-four hours, but they're not permanent. We already called Ginny. Said she'd be here soon as she could get the girls. Guess they're all at sports or band or whatever."
Mike hummed in agreement, looking at the treatment room door, and said, "Oh, I gotta call the chief and let him know what happened. We're gonna be stood down 'til we get another captain in."
"Y'all will," Johnny told him, "Me an' Roy sure won't."
"Ain't that the truth," Roy muttered.
xXxXx
"Hey, Mike, could I speak with you for a moment?" Hank called.
He was finally back to work after being nearly electrocuted almost a week ago. He'd been very lucky with his recuperation coincided with the shift's four days off and he'd only missed a shift and a half. Hank hated being kept away, hated not being allowed to work. Everyone had come by to check on him and see how he was doing and make sure Ginny and the girls didn't need anything. I really hafta have the best crew in the department.
Mike stepped into the office, looking confused and maybe a little afraid.
"Close the door, pal?"
The fear seemed to ratchet up as Mike obliged, sitting only once he was asked.
"Jesus, Mike, calm down. You look like I'm about to send you to hang or somethin'."
"Sorry, Cap. I just-… I guess I'm still a 'lil shook up from last week."
"That's understandable, I suppose. I think we're all a bit wary," Hank agreed.
Being electrocuted was certainly a new experience. The aftereffects lasted a few days, and included minor chest pain, confusion, insomnia, irritability, and fatigue. He wasn't able to work with all that going on, but he felt much better now. In terms of electrical incidents, he really hadn't gotten a terribly bad shock. It had caused the convulsions and myoclonic jerk, but he'd at least remained conscious and didn't go into cardiac arrest.
"Anyway," Hank said after a moment, "It's last week I wanted to talk to you about."
Mike straightened in the chair, asking, "Was there a problem? I thought I did everythi-"
"You did just fine, Mike," Hank interrupted, "You did excellent, as a matter of fact. Everyone said so. Didn't wanna talk about anything else when they'd visit."
"What do you mean?"
"Marco and Chet told me how quick you took command of the scene. Said you helped Roy pull me clear and then called for backup, got them coordinated to knock down that fire."
"You were very concerned about that fire," Mike noted.
"That's what I've heard. I've also heard the fellas think very highly of you, think you did a good job in command of a scene. They all wanna give you a commendation."
Mike's face immediately turned bright red, his eyes firmly set on his lap. So humble… and when he has no reason to be. Mike Stoker was arguably one of the best firemen Hank had ever worked with, if not the best. He was intelligent, calm under fire, had common sense, a logical mind, a kind heart. He was one of the best men Hank had ever worked with in terms of personality alone. Giving him the praise he deserved felt good.
"I'm inclined to agree with them. Any engineer who takes over a scene when his captain goes down deserves commendation."
"No, Cap. I don't. I mean- Tha-That's part of my job. It's what I'm supposed to do."
"That doesn't make it easy," Hank continued, "When a captain goes down, there's a lot going on, a lot of adrenaline, a lot of anxiety and nervousness and fear. It's not easy to keep going, let alone take command in a situation where you're afraid and worried. Believe me, I know. You kept a potentially extremely volatile situation from getting worse. We coulda ended up with a major brush fire on our hands, but you took over and go it knocked down-"
"No, that was all Marco and Chet-"
"Mike, stop. Take the credit. You deserve it. At the very least, I'm gonna put a great note in your file. I'm absolutely gonna look into getting you a commendation."
Mike refused to look up, mumbled something that may have been 'Thank you,' fidgeted with his hands in his lap. Hank took a moment to look at the man in front of him, to appreciate him. This man was one of the finest engineers in the department, one of the best in terms of knowledge and temperament and skill, and Hank honestly felt blessed to work with him every shift. This was a man who passed his engineer's exam with flying colors on his first try with the highest score of anyone. Hank thought he remembered hearing about it when it happened, was a new engineer himself, and some of the guys were mad some hotshot kid only three years in the department, only twenty-three years old, scored higher than everyone. He only remembered being impressed. He might tell Mike that one day.
"You've been an engineer for over… ten years now, isn't that right?"
"Yup. I was promoted in '63. Been livin' the dream ever since."
"I know the feeling," Hank agreed, "Hey, we spoke a few years ago about you movin' up to captain. You weren't ready then, liked where you were at, and that's fine. I understand that. Now, though… after this… I think you oughta reconsider."
"I dunno, Cap, I mean-… I always wanted to be an engineer. I like this job, this position, this station. I'm not sure I'm ready to give all this up."
"Is it that you think you can't do it? That you're not ready?"
"No, it's not that. I know I can do the job. I can handle the responsibility. It's just-… I just like it here. I like working with you and the guys. I like working with Marco."
Hank hummed quietly in agreement. I hadn't thought of that. He couldn't imagine working with someone he loved that much, couldn't imagine if his wife worked on the shift with him. He supposed he wouldn't want to be separated from her, either. The time would come, though. One or the other would get promoted or transferred. It happened all the time in the department. He didn't say any of that, however, only looked at his engineer, decided now was not the time.
"Just think about it, pal," Hank told him, "I think a station would be very lucky to have you as their captain… and it's only a matter of time before the brass starts askin' around for you take the promotion."
"Thanks, Cap. I'll think about it."
He watched Mike go, wondering how he got lucky enough to be captain to this group of guys. They were irritating sometimes, occasionally a group of twits, but overall he couldn't ask for a better shift of firemen. I got so lucky. Hank chuckled quietly to himself. Who would've thought he'd consider a gay man one of the best firemen he'd ever known? Life is funny sometimes.
Hank shook his head and left his office to join his men in the day room.