Thanks guys so much for reading! Here's chapter 2!
In the back of the ambulance, the team of 3 medics worked on their Captain. All of their ideas bouncing back and forth in between them, checking off the mental checklist of what they needed to check.
"I'm going to do a quick EKG. Make all of us feel better after your heart stopped, Cap." he explained to them as he turned on the smaller monitor, leaning back. "Hands off" he called out to his coworkers and found family, double checking and making sure that he was getting an accurate reading on the EKG.
Hen took the paper that printed out and she scanned over it as Chim and Eddie continued to work on their Captain. "Looks good, Cap. Heartbeat is in a normal sinus rhythm."
The Cap in question was still unconscious, but they still talked to him as if he was awake. It was comforting to those who worked on him and kept him stabilized as much as it was a comfort to the others in the ambulance as well.
When they got to the ER, Buck pulled to a stop in front of the bay doors, hopping out and opening the ambulance from the back, reciting everything that he knew for sure of Bobby's medical history to the medical team that met them at the doors and informing them about his aversion to narcotics. He watched as Eddie was the first to jump out of the back of the ambulance.
Eddie began to pull the gurney out of the back of the ambulance, helping them keep it steady as Chim and Hen got down from the back of the rig. Eddie started rattling off the vital signs and test readings that they had got enroute to the ER. He handed one of the nurses that was standing by the EKG paper. "Everything is showing slightly elevated but within safe ranges. We had to perform CPR and shock him twice before we got here." he told her with a frown, looking over to the doctor who started listening to Bobby's heart and commanding orders to her team, demanding a CT scan to check for crush injury.
As they wheeled Bobby back, the team stayed back, watching their Captain be rolled away and taken care of by the doctors and staff at Cedars. They made their way to the ER waiting area, keeping their eyes locked to the doors.
Buck looked at May and raised an eyebrow. "Alright, kiddo. You need to go get checked out as well." he told his surrogate sister, ignoring her noise of protest, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her to the front desk. "It'll be something to do while we're waiting on an update about Bobby." he comforted her as they began to speak to the nurse at the desk.
'I have two father's.. And you're one of them…' was the phrase playing in May's head.
Buck, in mid conversation with the nurse, dead stopped when he saw Athena rush in, grabbing at him and May, pulling May into a hug before pushing her back and looking her over.
"Are you okay?" Athena asked her softly, she looked at Buck. "Are both of you okay?" She looked worried for both of them, pulling Buck into a brief hug as well.
"We're okay." May and Buck both answered her, glancing at each other before Buck looked at Athena again, tears already welled up in his eyes.
"Bobby got hurt. May was in dispatch when it went up in flames, he went inside.. He went into the building to get her. There was a flashover and the roof collapsed on top of them. He covered May with his body." Buck retold the story of what had happened in the building, his hand rubbing circles on May's back as the young woman hugged her mother, crying.
"He saved me." she told her mother, her breath catching. "He saved me," she repeated.
Athena kissed May's head, holding her close. "He was being your father. Of course he saved you," she explained to her gently. "Have we heard any updates?" she asked them.
Buck shook his head. "We're waiting. Going to let a doctor check May out," he told Athena, effectively throwing May under the bus to her mother. "She was fine on scene but we're unclear on smoke inhalation and anything else" he explained.
Athena shot a look to the nurse who was getting a chart ready for May. "May Elaine Grant," she told the nurse her daughter's name and birthday as they got her to a triage room. Athena helped her daughter into a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants that Hen had somehow managed to get from Karen through all of the traffic and chaos going on outside of the hospital. Athena was even further convinced that Karen had some kind of magic to her.
"Thanks, Aunt Hen, and tell Aunt Karen I said thank you as well," The younger woman told the paramedic when she came by the curtain and gave her the change of clothes.
Not too long after May had gotten seen by a doctor and was told to take it easy, she was out with the rest of her found family waiting on news of her step-father. She sat in between her mother and her father, Michael and Harry had arrived at the hospital sometime while she was in triage. She held her parents' hands as they sat in wait.
Buck had basically been threatened within an inch of his life if he got up and started pacing again. He leaned back in his chair with his head back and eyes closed, holding Eddie's hand as they sat there, waiting for an update on his father figure.
The next update that they got was that Bobby had coded on the operating table. Twice. Buck had his arm wrapped around Athena and his hand tightly holding Eddie's as they stood there, listening to the doctors speak on Bobby's condition. David, thank God. Had been the main surgeon and doctor on Bobby's case. Everyone had some kind of fear or anger on their face. The whole situation could have been avoided had the dispatch center been updated well before now.
Athena took a deep breath and she locked eyes with David. "And what do you think of his prognosis? Don't sugar coat anything please." She was holding May's hand and she leaned against Buck for support, knowing the taller man would be giving the support as well as taking it from her as well.
David sighed and motioned for everyone to sit before he took a seat in front of Athena. "'Thena.. It's not good. He has a spinal injury, the C5 and C6 are damaged from the force of the cave in, none of his organs were damaged, he only coded due to the stress the body had been through" he told her bluntly "He's currently in a comatose state. Right now, we're waiting for him to wake up to see if there is any other damage. It's completely up to him at this point. If he wakes up, we won't know if he'll walk again for quite a while. We're also doing everything we can to minimize the pain meds we're giving him," he comforted her gently. "We're going to do everything we can to keep the good captain with us and alive." Reaching out, he took her free hand and squeezed it. "Bobby's a fighter, we all know this. We'll pray and we'll be by his side until he wakes up."
Buck took a deep breath and felt himself relax against the back of the chair and leaned his head against Eddie's shoulder.
"You keep going back and forth with the "ifs'' and the "whens" doc. Which is it?" Eddie, ever the stoic, asked him. His arm had curled around Buck, holding the taller man close, giving as well as receiving comfort. Bobby was someone he thought of as a father figure as well, he wanted to make sure the man would be alright.
David settled his gaze on Eddie in the only thing that could be described as a heated glare. "When." He emphasized. "We're not giving up on him, none of us."
Eddie nodded solemnly, "I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page," he rubbed his hand up and down Buck's back in comfort. "When can we see him?"
David settled again, knowing that Eddie hadn't meant anything by the question but also knew that emotions were high at a time like this. "He's in recovery. As soon as they get him into a room in the critical care unit, we'll allow a few of you to go back at a time." he stood before addressing Athena again, "We'll have a cot for you in his room. It's going to be one of the bigger private rooms. I pulled a few strings."
Athena stood up, untangling herself from both Buck and May, and in a completely unlike herself gesture, she hugged David tightly. "Thank you, David. I'm glad you're the one taking care of our Bobby"
David hugged her back after the initial shock of the hug disappeared. "We've got him. You all should go clean up, I'll be here and I'll call if anything changes." he told them all, looking around at everyone in the room, his gaze settling on the dirty firefighters who refused to leave until they had heard news of their captain.
Michael looked at Athena and he nodded. "Harry and I will stay here, hold down the fort until everyone can get showers and be cleaned up."
Athena relented, knowing it wasn't the time to argue, and honestly not knowing if she had the argument in her. "Call if anything happens. And call when he gets moved to a room if we aren't back yet," she looked to Michael and then to David, stepping away from the surgeon.
David nodded. "He'll be in the recovery room for at least 2 hours. You all have time." he soothed her worries, knowing she didn't want to leave but also knowing that she had some blood and soot on her from hugging both of her older children.
Buck was already arguing with Eddie who had stood up and tugged on his arm to get him to stand as well. "We're gross. We'll be back in a couple of hours." Eddie bargained with his best friend and significant other. "We'll see Chris, let him know what's going on, and then we'll be back after we shower."
Buck sighed in defeat. "Fine. But I want to be called if anything changes" he shot a look at David, who was standing to the side, looking amused at the interaction.
"I will call everyone I can and who I can't, Michael will" he promised, going to his fiance and squeezing his shoulder. "Go home" he told the 118 crew, the 118 family.