Chapter 4
He knew she was thinking about it. She exhaled as she looked down at him.
"My… my father used–" she began but ended up yelping as the bathtub shifted on her arm. She gritted her teeth and put her forehead to Horatio's, clenching her eyes shut as she whimpered. Horatio had heard the bathtub shift and knew it was causing her more pain.
"Okay sweetheart, it's okay." Horatio calmly said, seeing the pain on her face.
"No it's not, my wrist. Ahh, it's broken, I know it is." She said gritting her teeth.
"I know sweetheart, take a deep breath for me." Horatio said, knowing she was in excruciating pain for her to admit something like that. She nodded and took a broken deep breath.
'Suck it up, come on.' She told herself as she took another deep breath.
"My father used to say that my asthma made me weak, I believed him, and I guess I still do." She said softly, looking down at him.
"That's not true sweetheart, it doesn't make you weak at all." Horatio said, horrified that someone would say such a thing to a child, but he knew just how she felt.
"How long have we been here for?" She asked trying to change the subject as Horatio placed both of his hands on her waist.
"Roughly 25 minutes" he said looking at the time on his watch. "Sweetheart, I need you to listen to me, your asthma doesn't make you weak. Okay? It's nothing to be ashamed of." Horatio said in an effort to get her to believe him. She swallowed.
"Do you think they've found us?" Zoë asked, changing the subject again.
"I don't know sweetheart." He said honestly, hoping that they had found them.
Zoë nodded and took another deep breath, she gritted her teeth
'She's in pain because of me; I didn't get her out of here quick enough! It's my fault. We'd be dead if it wasn't for her quick thinking! She'd be dead because of me. I should have checked the house out myself before letting her in. I can't deal with this anymore, she can't be put in this much danger every day of her life! I can't take it, she's hurt, I can't stand back and do nothing. She needs to be out of field work.' Horatio thought to himself.
"Sweetheart…" Horatio said, about to bring it up with her. 'She won't agree to it you idiot! What's the point in bringing it up? I'll only stress her out even more!' Horatio began to think to himself.
"Yes handsome?" She replied, knowing a question was going to follow. 'I can't dictate her life; she'll hate me for trying to control what she does and doesn't do, it'll almost certainly push her away. I'd be no better than the criminals we deal with.' He thought to himself, she saw him thinking and let him get on with it. 'Before long, we're not going to be so lucky, I cannot watch that happen. Then again, she's in just as much danger staying at home. If she stayed at home, she'd be away from me and anything could happen and I wouldn't know about it. I can't dictate her life and that is the end of it.' He snapped out of his daze and looked up at her.
"Finished?" She asked softly, seeing him alert and no longer thinking.
"Quite." Horatio replied with a small reassuring smile.
"What were you going to say then?" She questioned.
"Nothing sweetheart" Horatio said softly.
"It is obviously something handsome, you thought about it for some time." She said softly, trying to keep her mind off the pain.
"It's really nothing, sweetheart." He said softly as he delicately rubbed both of her sides. She nodded slightly as she took a deep breath.
The dust, darkness, pain and entrapment were starting to take their toll on her and he knew it, he could see it happening right in front of him.
"Sweetheart, I need you to listen to me. We're going to be okay, we're going to get out of here and everything will work out." Horatio said softly, hoping to comfort her. He felt her body tense a little.
"Horatio, the size of this area with half of the air filled with dust and the two of us breathing at this rate… we're not going to last much longer. Before they get to us we'll probably be gone." She said bluntly.
"Sweetheart, I do not want to hear you talking like that. Please." Horatio said, slightly sternly, slightly hurt, the last thing he wanted to hear was her give up. She noticed that he was quite hurt by her comment.
"I'm really sorry; I didn't mean to say that. I just… I just… I'm stressed Horatio, I'm in pain, I'm crushing you, you're hurting. I can't deal with this." She said honestly, feeling herself on the verge of breaking down.
"I know sweetheart, I know it's difficult. But Ryan and Eric have probably come back already as we've not returned, okay? They're probably out there now. I love you Zoë, and I promise you that we're going to get through this." Horatio said calmly, knowing she needed him.
"Zoë, I promise you that we'll get out of here." He said sincerely. She took a deep breath, beginning to believe him. She nodded her head a little, looking into his eyes, still needing a little bit of support.
"I need you to trust me. We'll get out of here." He said certain of himself.
"Thank you Horatio, I couldn't do this without you." Zoë said softly and then she swallowed, feeling on the brink of tears still, mainly from the stress of pain and not being able to move.
"Just take a deep breath for me beautiful, I'm here for you and always will be." Horatio said softly, looking up into her eyes. She nodded and took a deep breath, feeling a lot better after she exhaled.
Eric and Ryan had tried calling the both of them but couldn't get through, so they went back to the scene to see what was up as they hadn't returned to the lab. They found the house collapsed and instantly radioed for back up and fire & rescue.
They both started to shout for Horatio and Zoë, as well as the two police officers which were on guard, outside the house.
The air was getting a little thinner around the area where Horatio and Zoë were trapped, neither of them had noticed though.
Fire & Rescue turned up and began to clear the rubble, shouting out the names of all 4 persons trapped. Often stopping to have discussions about how it was best to combat certain tricky parts.
Zoë tried to lift herself up again as she felt like she was crushing Horatio.
"Zoë, you need to stay still." Horatio said pulling her back down to him.
"Horatio, I'm crushing you!" She said worrying about him.
"You're not, now please just relax." He said reassuring her.
"I'm sorry honey; I just don't want to hurt you." She said against his lips.
"You're not hurting me sweetheart." He assured her.
The table shifted and applied more pressure onto the both of them, pushing Zoë onto Horatio more.
"I'm sorry." She hissed in pain apologising for hurting Horatio.
"It's not your fault sweetheart." He hissed back, feeling the table crush his legs more so. Zoë's forehead was against Horatio's as she began to laugh a little.
"Sweetheart?" He asked confused.
"I'm sorry handsome, I'm just thinking." She said as she tried to stop the small laughter, she couldn't help it, her mind had begun to wander as a mechanism to distract herself from the stress of the situation.
"Thinking about what?" He asked curious and completely confused as to why she'd be laughing in a situation like this.
"About the situation, if it had been Ryan or Eric here instead of you, I think it could have been quite awkward…" She said with a small smile at him. "And if it was either of them here instead of me." She said with a small chuckle again, imagining either of them lay on Horatio.
"I don't think either of them would have thrown themselves on me…" He said with a small smile.
She laughed again against his lips; her laughter was soon reduced to pain as the pain shot through her body again. The table shifted a little more pushing Zoë onto Horatio a little more. She gritted her teeth and inhaled, scrunching her eyes closed. Horatio also gritted his teeth in pain, but he was more concerned about her.
"Sweetheart, are you okay?" He asked placing his hands on her waist. She took a breath and opened her eyes.
"I'm okay." She said obviously in pain.
"Is it the table? What is it? Your arm? Legs?" He questioned.
"No… I'm good." She said unclenching her teeth and relaxing a little more.
Back outside, they had found the two officers, deceased. They carried on searching through the rubble, routinely calling out their names.
Zoë tried to move but was again struck with pain.
"Sweetheart, tell me what the problem is." Horatio asked seeing her discomfort.
"It's nothing." She said exhaling.
"Sweetheart, I need you to tell me, even if it's nothing." He said softly. She exhaled against his lips.
"I think… I think your badge is cutting me. That's all, it's not exactly the worst of our problems right now…" She said with a small smile trying to reassure him that everything was okay.
"Okay sweetheart, I'm going to try and move it." Horatio said softly as he slid his left, damaged hand between them and over their hips, he pulled his badge off. Horatio turned his head to cough a little and then looked back up at her.
"Thank you." She said as he pulled it out. He placed it on the side and felt some blood on his hand, she was obviously bleeding a little.
"Thank you for telling me." Horatio said softly. They moved a little more to try and get a little more comfortable without moving the table. A large smile then appeared across Zoë's face as she chuckled a little. "You've got to be kidding me." She muttered under her breath with a smile.
"What are you thinking about now?" Horatio questioned curious again.
"No no, it's okay honey. It's nothing." She said with a small smile.
"Zoë…" He said with a small smile.
"No it's okay." She said with a smile. She got herself under control.
"So you're not going to share with me?" Horatio asked huskily, seeing that mischievous look in her eyes, he'd try anything to distract her from the stress of the situation.
"Believe me honey, we're already sharing it." She said with a smile and then turned her head to cough again. 'What?' He thought to himself confused. She continued to cough which stopped Horatio from thinking.
"Sweetheart, are you okay? Do you need your inhaler again?" He questioned.
"Erm… that may be best." She said as she stopped coughing and looked at him.
"The last dose should still be keeping my airways clear; I don't understand why I need it again." She said confused and then turned to cough again.
"I don't really know much about asthma, but perhaps it's just the sheer amount of dust that's flying around? It's enough to choke me and I don't have asthma."
"You're probably right." She said as she turned to face him once she'd stopped coughing again.
"Okay sweetheart, here we go." He said softly, getting the inhaler out of his pocket. They did it twice and waited for her to recover before putting it away again.
"Thank you handsome, that's much better." She said and he put the inhaler back in his pocket.
"No problem sweetheart." He said softly. A few minutes passed.
"I think… I think I can feel my thumb." She said softly looking over at her limp hand.
"That's good news." Horatio said as he placed his hand over hers.
"Can you feel me touching you?" Horatio asked as he touched her fingers.
"Just the thumb" she said in discomfort.
"Okay, well it's a start." He said softly.
Back outside, they were still looking, going through the rubble and shouting out for Horatio and Zoë.
Horatio felt Zoë's breathing ease and slow down calmly. She turned her head and looked at the light coming from the phone in a daze. Horatio just looked straight up and felt her breathing calm as it also calmed him down. She then took a sharp breath as she closed her eyes tightly.
She was beginning to have flashbacks brought on by the stress caused by the situation. She saw Horatio lying on his office floor barely conscious, she then saw him in the hospital bed resting then suddenly he began to seize. Horatio felt her heart beat against her chest, feeling it pound against his chest as her breathing accelerated. Her eyes opened as they glazed over, pulling her further into the daze.
"Horatio!" She almost shouted out as a tear fell from her eye.
"Sweetheart, what's wrong." He asked.
She didn't break from the daze and she was ripped from that flashback into another where she had just woken up in the hummer after the crash and she peered over at Ryan, unconscious. Her breathing remained erratic which began to worry Horatio. 'She's going to send herself into another attack' he thought to himself.
"Zoë" he called out seeing her in distress. She began to see images of Ryan bloody and hurt and then the rescue team took him from her, causing more distress.
"Ryan." She whispered as she was trapped in the daze. Horatio could see the side of her face and the pain on it.
Zoë was assaulted with yet again more flashbacks. She saw Ryan fall off the decking and knock himself out on the boat as his limp body fell into the water. She saw herself dive in after him and pull him out. She saw his unconscious body lying on the decking.
She took another deep breath with a lump in her throat.
She then saw Ryan collapse in the lab and his lifeless body as she ran over to him. She then felt him deliriously run his hand up her inner thigh and her muscles tightened as she took a sharp deep breath.
"No, RYAN!" She almost screamed as another tear fell from her eye.
"Sweetheart, it's okay. Listen to my voice." Horatio heard her scream Ryan's name and his mind was set back to the crash, it had the same tone of alarm. He knew she was thinking about that, he could see that she was having flashbacks and there was nothing he could do.
He felt her whole body tense as she tried to push herself up, off Horatio.
"Zoë, don't move. Sweetheart, listen to me, take a deep breath and calm down. I've got you." Horatio said loudly, hoping it would pull her from the daze.
"Get off me! Jack, get off me!" She raised her voice, trying to push away from Horatio. Horatio's heart was pounding, he hated to see her in such mental pain.
"Get off me!" She yelled again as she forcefully knocked the table, causing it to shift on their legs, she didn't even seem to feel the pain, she was too deep in the flashbacks. Horatio yelped in pain as he pulled her down onto him forcefully, putting his arm around her back, holding her down on him. He hated to restrain her, but he had to for her own good, for both of their sakes.
"Sweetheart, I need you to listen to me. You're okay." Horatio softly said as he gently cupped her face with one hand.
She still remained dazed but hearing his voice seemed to calm her down, he felt her breathing calm and no longer felt her heart thump against his chest. She no longer struggled to get away from him so Horatio loosened his grip around her back.
"Sweetheart, you're okay. I've got you. I've got you beautiful." Horatio whispered warmly, gently caressing her face with his thumb. He felt her muscles relax as she was brought into another flashback; she remembered the first time Horatio called her beautiful, she then saw Eric, Ryan and herself in the lab having a laugh which made her smile, she then saw her first kiss with Horatio at her place and the previous night where they had both told each other they loved each other for the first time.
"Sweetheart?" Horatio questioned and she then broke from the daze and looked at him with a small smile.
"I love you." She said before delicately kissing him, he kissed her back softly, with his hand still on her face. She gently parted her lips and bit his lip and it instantly turned them both on. Horatio parted his lips as he gave her an affectionate kiss. Their breathing accelerated along with their heart rates. Horatio could feel himself energise down in his trousers, as did Zoë.
"I think we should stop there handsome…" She said with a cheeky grin breaking from the kiss.
"I think… you're right." Horatio said with a small smile looking up into her dark brown eyes as she raised an eyebrow. They gave each other one last tender kiss and smiled at each other.
"What… what were you thinking about just then?" Horatio asked softly.
"Things I'd rather forget and then things I never want to forget." She said with a small half smile.
"Ah, I see." Horatio said understanding her.
"What do you never want to forget?" Horatio questioned with a small smile, curious.
"I don't think you even need to ask that question." She said with a cheeky smile, as her head then began to feel a little light. Horatio smiled at her realising what she meant.
"Are you feeling okay?" She questioned, wondering if it was just her that was beginning to get a little lightheaded.
"Yeah, are you?" He replied a little confused.
"Yeah" she said softly. The air was getting thinner and she knew it, she just hoped that someone would find them before it was too late. 'We're either going to run out of air or get crushed, I know it. I'd just rather that we run out of air.' She thought to herself.
"Are you sure sweetheart?" He asked as he ran his hand from her face down to her neck and gently stroked the back of her neck. She closed her eyes and took a small breath, almost hypnotised by his hand.
"Yeah" she said with a smile. She rested her head against his, forehead to forehead as she closed her eyes. He felt her completely relax and ran his hand through her hair, relaxing her further. Horatio was now beginning to feel a little lightheaded himself. He blinked a few times, she felt the flutter of his eyes and she picked her head up.
"Honey, are you sure you're okay?" She asked softly.
"Yeah" he said trying to brush it off.
"No you're not… you're feeling a little lightheaded aren't you?" She said softly.
"How… how do you know that?" He said a little confused.
"Because I am too, I think the air is getting thinner." Zoë admitted as she put her head back against his.
"Just take slow deep breaths." She whispered against his lips and then she felt him exhale. She lifted herself up slightly so he could use the full capacity of his lungs, leaning on her right elbow. He turned his head to cough and then looked back up at her.
"Stay still" Horatio said.
"Trust me Horatio." She said softly with her head against his still. She wanted him to get as much oxygen as he could, she didn't care if it hurt her more. She began to feel some feeling in her index finger as she moved her arm.
"Slow, deep breaths" she said softly brushing her lips against his. They closed their eyes.
"I love you." Horatio said softly against her lips.
"I love you too." She said and then she heard some movement and she lifted her head to listen intently. She heard Eric shout their names.
"Honey, I need you to just concentrate on your breathing, don't shout okay?" She said to him, not wanting him to waste the oxygen he was getting.
"Eric!" She yelled. "Ryan!" She yelled, over and over again.
The both of them were getting tired and Zoë stopped yelling and then turned back to Horatio who was falling asleep.
"Horatio, handsome, I need you to stay with me. Hold on for me, I can hear them out there." She said softly placing her head against his. She could feel his breath becoming shallower.
"Horatio, I need you to stay with me!" She said louder and he opened his eyes.
"Stay with me, you're okay." She said against his lips looking into his eyes.
"Deep breaths, okay?" She said getting really tired herself.
"Yeah" Horatio said softly and sleepily. He focused on her and it seemed to bring him around a little more.
"We're going to be okay." He said softly.
"I know handsome, I know." She said softly against his lips.
"Just keep breathing for me." She said softly still keeping herself off Horatio's chest.
"I've got Zoë's kit! They must be around here somewhere!" Ryan shouted.
"Ryan!" Zoë yelled 3 times, but he couldn't hear her. She turned back to Horatio who was still holding on.
"Just concentrate… on your breathing" she said softly as she stroked the top of his head with her finger and thumb. She was beginning to get very dizzy and lightheaded, as was Horatio. They were finding it hard to get the air they needed.
"You stay with me." She said to him almost forcefully. She felt him lightly grip her waist with his right hand.
"That's it, you… you stay with me." She said resting her head on his again, knowing that they weren't going to last much longer.
"Stay with me." She said as Horatio closed his eyes.
"Stay with… me… Horatio" She said a little louder gasping for air. She gently stroked his forehead with her thumb.
"Horatio! Stay with… me handsome!" She said loudly.
"Horatio! Don't do this to me! Horatio!?" She said loudly as she moved her arm and took his pulse with her index finger. She could feel his weak pulse.
"Horatio" she whispered, feeling like she was going to pass out. She turned her head and used her cheek to feel his breath. He wasn't breathing. She used her thumb to open his mouth and pulled his chin up. She shuffled up as much as she could, bearing the pain, not caring if it caused more pain, she needed to help him.
She pinched his nose shut and sealed her mouth over his and gave him a shallow rescue breath, it was the best she could do. She let his chest fall and then repeated it with another shallow breath. She was beginning to lose consciousness herself. She took one long deep breath and sealed her mouth over his and exhaled into his mouth, once she finished exhaling her body fell against his and she lost consciousness and stopped breathing as well. Her head was beside his as they both lay there limp and not breathing. Her hand had fallen down and was laying at the top of Horatio's head.
"I've found them!" Eric yelled and Fire & Rescue came running over along with Ryan. They could see their feet.
"H! Zoë!" Eric and Ryan both yelled repeatedly. The fire officers made sure it was safe to move the table and that no rubble would fall and injure them once the table was lifted. They lifted the table as 2 paramedics ran over in the clear path. Air rushed in and surrounded the both of them. Ryan and Eric got under the table as the fire officers lifted it off them and placed it down away from them. Ryan and Eric placed their hands on both of their necks.
"I've got a pulse." Eric said feeling for Horatio's pulse.
"Same here!" Ryan said loudly with his hand on Zoë's neck. They very gently lifted Zoë off Horatio and laid her flat after they got the bath off Zoë's arm. The both of them checked for their breathing.
"I've got nothing." Eric said, placing his cheek near Horatio's mouth and nose.
"Neither." Ryan said looking up at him.
The paramedics reached them and moved Ryan and Eric out of the way. The paramedics bagged the both of them, forcing air into their lungs. Horatio was first to come around, the paramedic took the bag off and began to check him over. But Horatio had rolled over to Zoë who was still unconscious.
"Zoë!" He said panicking about her, still feeling dizzy himself.
"H, she's okay." Eric said softly as he crouched down beside Horatio and pulled him back down onto his back. Zoë began to cough as she woke up and the paramedic pulled the bag away. She looked over at Horatio, lifting her head and let out a long breath in relief. Horatio looked over at her as Eric held him down.
A small smile appeared across her face as she looked over at Horatio and then dropped her head back to the floor as he took her hand in his. Her fingers interlocked with his as they both relaxed back and took long deep breaths. They looked up at the blue sky, happy to see it once again.
The paramedics then began to check them both over thoroughly, they bandaged their legs and both of Zoë's hands and Horatio's damaged hand.
Neither of them spoke, partially in shock and partially overpowered by the feeling of relief. The paramedics then explained that they needed to go to hospital and described how they were going to get them out of the rubble.
"I can walk; I don't need to be carried." Zoë said forcefully, as she coughed. She didn't want to be restrained in anyway.
"We don't know the full extent of your injuries; you could well have fractures in both of your legs. We can't chance you exacerbating your injuries by walking. You need to trust us." One of the paramedics explained calmly.
"I'm telling you that I don't have fractures, they are just bruised." Zoë said as she sat up sharply, still coughing slightly.
"Miss Chambers, I don't suggest that you move." The paramedic said calmly, knowing that she's feeling vulnerable as she's just been trapped, she didn't want to stress her out anymore.
"Sweetheart, listen to her." Horatio said as the paramedic continued to check him out.
The inhaler slid out of his pocket as the paramedic moved his jacket around.
"Sir, do you have asthma?" The paramedic asked as both Ryan and Eric stared at it confused.
"No." He said looking at the paramedic then looked over at Zoë, who turned and looked at him.
"Then why do you have this?" The paramedic questioned.
"Because it's mine - I couldn't take it myself, my hands…" She said as she glared at the paramedic, pissed off that he had ratted her out.
She then looked up at Ryan and Eric who laid soft eyes on her, confused why they hadn't known. She sighed blinking slowly, she took a breath and then turned back to look at the underneath of her legs. Zoë began to get up when Horatio shot up sharply and placed his hand on her shoulder preventing her from getting up.
"Horatio" she said as she turned to him.
"Sweetheart, listen to me. You need to listen to them." Horatio said softly looking into her light panicked brown eyes. She turned her head and coughed again. Ryan walked around and crouched down beside her on the other side and placed his hand on her back.
"Zoë, listen to them please." Ryan pleaded. She looked up at him and then looked around. She looked back at him then back over at Horatio.
"Sir, will you please lay down?" The paramedic asked.
"No, I'm fine." Horatio said softly looking around to the paramedic, silently telling him to give him a minute. The paramedic gave him a nod.
"Sweetheart, look at me." Horatio said softly and she looked around at him. Still coughing slightly, he did too.
"First off, I think you need your inhaler, secondly, we're not going to leave you. Please just listen to them." Horatio said softly, trying to get through to her.
"I don't need to be carried." She insisted looking at him.
"They're trying to help you." Horatio said gently, not wanting to stress her out anymore. She just glared at him.
"What if you walk, but we help you?" The paramedic said softly leaning over behind her, holding her hand out to the other paramedic with her inhaler. Zoë looked down thinking and then nodded. The male paramedic handed the female paramedic the inhaler, seeing Zoe struggle to breathe.
"Okay honey, first I need you to take this, I'm going to help you, okay?" The paramedic said as she held out the inhaler in front of her and kneeled beside Ryan. Zoë looked at Ryan and Eric and sighed looking down, she began to have flashbacks again.
"I'm not weak." She said quietly shaking her head. She looked up at Horatio and he saw the discomfort in her eyes.
"Sweetheart, just take it. You're not weak." He assured her, as he gently rubbed her back. She closed her eyes and found herself in her past, the flashbacks were becoming more detailed.
"I'm not weak!" She said louder and stood up quickly on her feet as she opened her eyes. Ryan rose just as quickly as she did placing his hand on her shoulder. She began to walk away.
"Wait here." Ryan mouthed to the paramedics as he quickly walked after her. Eric did the same and stood the other side. Horatio rose to his feet against the advice of the paramedics.
"Hold on please, it's complicated." Horatio said as he struggled over to Zoë.
Eric and Ryan had stopped Zoë from walking and both had their hands placed gently on her shoulders.
"I'm not weak." She said looking up at them with tears almost forming in her eyes. Her wheezing was loud enough for them to hear from a meter or so away now.
"We know that and because you have asthma, doesn't mean you're weak." Ryan said softly.
"Yes it does, I don't need it." Zoë argued with him, replaying her father's words in her head. Horatio reached them and Eric stepped away knowing that if anyone was going to get through to her, it would be Horatio, or possibly Ryan. Horatio took a strong stance in front of her and she looked up at him, struggling to breathe still.
"I'm not… weak, I don't need it." She said quietly. Horatio placed his hand on the back of her neck.
"Sweetheart, no-one thinks you're weak, you're the strongest woman we know. Just because your asthma is flaring up, doesn't make you weak." Horatio said softly looking into her watery brown eyes. Her wheezing was rather loud now. The feeling in her right hand began to come back, but she quickly decided that it was better off being numb as more pain was added.
"H is right; none of us think you're weak. You're twice as strong as me, and I'm willing to admit that." Ryan said softly gently rubbing her back. She took a staggered breath and looked up at the both of them; they could see the oxygen deprivation on her lips which had a tinge of blue to them.
She began to sway slightly from the dizziness. Both Horatio and Ryan instantly grabbed her and stabilised her between their bodies. Horatio looked back and gave the paramedics a nod; they could hear her wheezing from where they were stood.
They rushed over. "Miss Chambers, we need to get you in the ambulance now." One of the paramedics said as she stood in front of Zoë and placed a hand on Zoë's face to lift it to see the full extent. She could see the cyanosis which was setting in. Zoë was beginning to grow extremely weak and if they weren't holding her, she'd have fallen to the floor.
"We need to get there now, her inhaler isn't going to help, she's too far gone." The paramedic shouted as Ryan literally swung her around and up in his arms as he rushed over to the ambulance with the paramedic in front. The other paramedic helped Horatio along who was also trying to rush. Ryan gently laid Zoë down onto the bed as the paramedic got into to the ambulance. Horatio and the other paramedic got to the ambulance with Eric in tow. Eric had Zoë's kit in his hand.
"Eric, there's evidence in her kit, get it to the lab please." Horatio said softly looking back at Eric.
"Sure thing H" Eric said as he walked over to his hummer.
"H, I'm going to follow in my hummer." Ryan said as he turned to Horatio when the paramedic unbuttoned Zoë's shirt and placed the ECG monitor on her after she placed a nebulizer over Zoë's mouth and nose. The paramedic helped Horatio in and he sat beside Zoë. The paramedic placed a pulse oximeter on Horatio's finger and then on Zoë's.
"Lieutenant Caine, I need to put you on oxygen." The paramedic said as the other one shut the doors and walked around to the drivers seat.
"I'm fine, just look after Zoe." Horatio insisted.
"Sir, you need to be on oxygen." The paramedic insisted, she then placed the oxygen mask over Horatio's mouth and nose once he gave her a nod. Horatio reached out for Zoë's hand, he held it tightly and Zoë squeezed his hand back. They began to move off and Ryan followed in the hummer.
"She's going to be okay, isn't she?" Horatio asked the paramedic.
"She's going to be fine, her oxygen sats are coming up nicely." The paramedic smiled at him.
"Zoë, can you hear me?" The paramedic said as she leaned over and shone the light in her eyes.
"Yes." Zoë said quietly.
"Can you explain to me what happened?" The paramedic asked as she listened to Zoë's chest with her stethoscope.
"We were caught in the house and it began to come down, we were trapped under the table, it was crushing our legs and arms. The air got thinner, Horatio… Horatio lost consciousness and stopped breathing." She said as she looked over at him. "I… I gave him a few rescue breaths before I lost consciousness, and then you guys got here." She said looking over at Horatio.
"Okay, did you lose consciousness any time before that? You've had a bump to the head." The paramedic said leaning over her putting the stethoscope down around her neck. Zoë looked back up to the paramedic.
"No." She said softly.
"Zoë… she didn't respond after the building came down, she was out for a minute or two, I think the table clipped her head as it came down." Horatio said looking up at the paramedic.
"Thank you Lieutenant" she said. Zoë looked over at Horatio, he saw the fear in her eyes.
"Okay, just try and relax Zoë, we're on our way to the hospital, just to get you both checked out." The paramedic said sitting back writing a few things down. Zoë gripped Horatio's hand harder as her heart rate increased.
"Zoë, try and relax sweetheart, you're going to be okay. Mr Wolfe's going to meet us at the hospital and I'm here with you." Horatio said assuring her. She looked over at him and took the mask off.
"Zoë, you need to keep that on." The paramedic said putting it back on observing her vitals.
"Zoë, I need you to calm down for me honey." The paramedic said. Zoë tried calming herself down, she repeatedly squeezed Horatio's hand, he could see her distress and she was trying to hold it back.
"Don't worry beautiful, we're here for you." Horatio said softly. She closed her eyes and tried to fight her panicked response.
Ryan had phoned the hospital and warned Nathan that Zoë was coming in so he could be ready for her.
The ambulance was on the way there. Horatio kept Zoë calm. They arrived at the hospital where they were separated. The paramedics unloaded both Horatio and Zoë. They took Horatio in on a wheelchair. Nathan took over Zoë's care while another doctor took over Horatio's care.
"Mr Wolfe, stay with Zoë." Horatio said to Ryan who gave him a nod and rushed over to Zoë.
"Acute asthma attack following entrapment in a collapsed building, patient has crush wounds to legs and both arms. Patient was able to walk at the scene." The paramedic informed Nathan.
"GCS is 15 from 3 at initial arrival at the scene, oxygen deprivation at scene until they were freed." The paramedic said to Nathan.
"Patient has crush wounds to both legs and one arm, GCS is 15 from 3 at the scene, was oxygen deprived, received oxygen via mask. Patient walked at the scene." The other paramedic said to the other doctor.
Nathan took Zoë off the nebulizer now that she had recovered and put her on oxygen. Ryan went through to the major unit with Zoë; Horatio was in a few cubicles down. Ryan looked anywhere but Zoë as her shirt was still open, Zoë was trying her best to remain calm, she took a few deep breaths when she felt herself beginning to lose it. A nurse came in and shut the curtain.
Thank you all for reading, I plan on getting the last chapter up by this evening (English time).