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Three weeks after the accident, Karen was still in a coma. The shunt in her head was removed three days after the accident, after the pressure in her head went down. The doctors were still unsure whether she had sustained any brain damage. They wouldn't know that until she came out of her coma.
Her infection cleared up a week after the shunt was removed. Everyone was glad the infection hadn't taken her life. She was still on a respirator and a heart monitor. Her doctors wanted to keep an eye on her and her lungs weren't completely healed.
During the whole time, there was always someone at her bedside. A week after the accident, the A-shift crew went back on duty. While they were on duty, they had Roy and Johnny check on her regularly.
When they weren't by her bedside, their wives, girlfriends, mothers, other firefighters, even the batallion chief himself were there with her. The A-shift's hope began to falter by the third week. They were not sure whether the young firefighter/paramedic was ever going to wake up.
The three weeks had begun to take their toll on all of the A-shift crew. The stress was beginning to show. They would do their job to the best of their ability. But after they would get back to the station, they rarely spoke.
Cap would stay in his office, only coming out for meals and runs. He was still blaming himself for the accident. Nothing any of the crew said made a difference. In his own heart and mind he blamed himself.
It was after a run on a quiet Saturday afternoon the phone rang loudly throughout the quiet station. Cap aswered the phone.
"Los Angeles County Fire Department, Station 51, Captain Stanley speaking. Oh, hi Dr. Brackett. Is everything okay? Doc, what's wrong? We can be there in a few minutes. Okay. Bye."
Cap hung up the phone. Dr. Brackett was being very evasive. Oh no. That could mean only one thing. Karen's gone.
A single tear fell as Cap was thinking of a way to tell his crew. He took a deep breath and wiped the tear away.
His mind wandered back to the day Karen joined them as a trainee.
Cap knew they guys were going to have a heart attack when they realized the new trainee was a woman. He decied to break the news to them before she showed up.
"Guys, I want to tell you something before the new trainee shows up," Cap began.
"Oh, that he's a bad cook?" Chet said a huge grin appeared across his face.
"No Kelly and wipe that grin off your face. The new trainee is a woman."
None of the firefighters said a word. The room was silent. Then all began to ask questions at once.
"Are you serious Cap?"
"What about night time?"
"What about the shower?"
"Who is she?"
"Is she a firefighter too?"
Cap held his hands up to silence his crew.
"Yes, I'm serious. She's a firefighter, I'm not sure what company she was with, but she passed her paramedic certification and was assigned to be trained here. She will be put in a bunk away from us, we're going to have to re-arrange the bunk room a little bit. Not to mention, when she is in the shower, no one is allowed in the locker room. Got it? And I want to say, I want you to make her feel as comfortable as possible," Cap replied.
A chorus of "Yes, sir's" followed.
"And I want to say that I do not want to be babied. I am capable of getting my own coffee and dragging a victim out of a burning building," a voice said from the doorway.
All the men turned to see a young brunett standing at the door.
"And with that, my name is Karen Summers."
Cap remembered that the guys didn't baby her, but treated her as one of the team. He was so proud of his team. Other crews made sure to get rid of any females that they were assigned to train. Not his team.
The tears began to flow again as he thought of the young paramedic dying after couragously fighting for her life for three weeks.
He stood, wiped the tears away again, left his office and entered the day room.
"Cap, what is it?" Roy asked.
"Dr. Brackett called. We need to head over to the hospital right away."
"Why Cap?" Chet asked as he was drying a glass.
"He wouldn't tell me. Just told me that we needed to come right away."
The glass that Chet had been drying shattered as it fell to the floor. All were silent for a few moments, too numb to speak.
It couldn't be true. Their youngest crew member, dead. As Chet cleaned up the glass, his heart jumped into his throat. As much as he tourmented her, Chet was fond of the young girl who had come in and stolen their hearts.
"We'd better head over there. I'd better call it in," Cap said as he walked out of the day room to the base station.
"LA Station 51 10-8 to Rampart General Hospital for a follow up."
"10-4 51," came the reply.
As Cap walked in front of the squad he could hear Johnny saying to Roy, "She can't be gone. She just can't."
He climbed into his side of the engine as the squad pulled out. As soon as he closed his door, Mike had the engine moving.
In both vehicles, all rode in silence for what felt like an eternity.