Hey Guys! Thanks so much for reading my story! I really appreciate you taking time to read my story and reviewing!
Please continue to review and enjoy my story!
So I know the story has been really sappy and slushy, but I promise the drama is coming. Bear with me!
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Previously…
The adults looked at each other with smirks, "Don't worry Tommy, we won't be long. I just want to make sure my baby sister was okay and make sure you treat her right or I am personally going to kick your ass" Andy threatened.
Maggie hit her brother against the stomach. "Thank you Andy, that's a great way to get our families together…" she teased.
Andy wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed her temple, "you are my little sister, there is no way I am not going to be overprotective over you" he replied.
"Hey, it's not like I am out to hurt her or something. Besides, she's my wife now" Tommy wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him.
Leah, Nina and Sofia laughed and waved them off changing the subject. "So, how was the bed and breakfast?" Nina asked.
"The pictures were beautiful" Leah added.
"The people were so nice on the phone" Sofia contributed.
Maggie smiled and sat on the couch with them pulling out her phone. "They were great. The place was gorgeous. It was so peaceful and quiet. I loved it. Thank you for helping Tommy find it. It was just what we needed. The perfect honeymoon…" she said showing them the pictures.
After staying for a few hours, the family left and let Maggie and Tommy get settled on their own. They had planned on looking for a house, but they didn't have the money right now. Tommy wanted to get the house they deserved and they couldn't exactly afford it right now.
They didn't even bother unpacking, they just went right to bed, straight to sleep. They were exhausted.
Chapter 3 – The Fire Academy
The next morning when they woke up, Maggie woke up first. She had left Tommy in bed and jumped in the shower. She had a shift at the hospital in a couple hours. She changed into a pair of scrubs and got her bag ready to go.
She made some breakfast and got the coffee ready. Tommy was teaching at the fire academy today so Maggie wanted him to be ready. He would be training the next recruits and possible candidates for Firehouse 51.
At 7, Maggie made her way back upstairs to wake Tommy up. He was sprawled over the bed, all tangled in the sheets. She shook her head and put the coffee on the night stand before sitting next to him and leaning over to kiss him.
Tommy groaned and wrapped his arms around her neck to hold her close. "Good Morning Lt" she greeted when she felt him start to respond.
He smiled, "Morning wife, why are you dressed already? I was hoping I was dreaming our arrival back to reality" he joked.
She smiled and laughed, "No Lt. Casey it's time to get back to work. You have young minds to teach and asses to kick. Besides, I have patients to save, so move your ass" she teased.
Tommy fell back in bed and saluted, "yes mam" he hauled ass and got into the shower. He changed into a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt.
He grabbed his Squad 3 jacket and made his way downstairs. He walked right over to Maggie and wrapped his arms across her waist. "Morning princess" he greeted now that he was more awake.
Maggie smiled, "I see someone is more alive now" she teased. Tommy bit at her neck, "hey, that's no fair. You're the morning person in this relationship" he reached behind her and grabbed the coffee.
Maggie packed up some breakfast for Tommy and got herself ready to go. Tommy reached into the cabinet and pulled out a box. He smiled when he saw Maggie packing her white coat and stethoscope.
"Hey princess, I have a gift for you" he said.
Maggie turned around surprised, "what's all this?" she asked crossing her arms across her chest.
"I realized that this was something you would need now that we are married so you have no choice but to accept this okay?" he handed her the box.
Maggie sat on the edge of the couch and unwrapped the neatly wrapped box. She was really excited. She loved this honeymoon feeling. She undid the tape off the edge of the box and opened the lid. She moved the tissue paper and gasped.
Sitting there in the box was a neatly folded lab coat. Stitched above the right breast pocket in purple thread, in calligraphy, was Dr. Margret Casey M.D. She looked at him in shock. Tears were streaming down her face as she traced her name over the coat and looked up at Tommy. "Tommy" she gasped.
Tommy sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her. "You are my wife. You're old one said Severide and I understand if you still want to use it and keep your name at work but this makes it official for all to see. You are mine and there is nothing those snot nose interns can do about it" he kissed the side of her head.
In the car, Maggie took off her rings and put them around her necklace. Tommy parked in front of the fire academy and got out of the car. Maggie got out and grabbed his bag and coffee for him. He walked over and smiled when he took them from her. "Thanks princess" he leaned forward and kissed her.
She smiled and cupped his face giving him one more quick kiss as she looked over his shoulder and saw a young woman looking at them.
"We have company…" she said watching as he turned and huffed when he saw the candidate staring at them, "old girlfriend of yours?" she teased.
Tommy readjusted his bag and shook his head, "I've already warned her once. I tried to get her kicked out, but her dad's a chief or something so she stays" he informed.
She nodded, "well she's coming over so she obviously still has you on her good graces" she replied as the candidate walked over.
"What do you want Fairchild?" Tommy asked.
"I just wanted to say good morning sir and introduce myself" she said to Maggie.
"Hello, I'm Maggie Casey, Tommy's wife." She greeted.
The young candidate looked at her curiously. "You are Captain Severide's daughter right? Captain Kelly Severide?" she asked.
Maggie crossed her arms across her chest and nodded, "Yeah, Captain Severide is my dad. My brother is Lt. Andy Severide, but I suppose you already knew that" she answered.
"Yeah, your family is like royalty at the academy. I mean first your grandfather, then your dad being the youngest person to ever make it on Squad 3…it's amazing. I hope to follow in your families footsteps. My dad is a chief in the district" she informed Maggie.
Maggie looked at Tommy amused, "well, I hope you achieve that but a bit of advice" she stepped toward the young woman.
"Being a tattle tale is not likely to achieve success in here. Sleeping with people you work with and making inappropriate comments about people you work with is not the way to work your way to the top in here. Talking inappropriately about my husband is not exactly a good idea. Also, it wasn't smart to make an enemy of me because I understand the obstacles you have to go through to make it here on your own and change your families' reputation. You want a voice of your own and you want to get out from your dad's reputation. Using that reputation to work your way to the top is not the way to go. You want to know the difference between you and me. I didn't use my family name to get anywhere in my life. I worked my ass off to prove myself as Kelly Severide's Daughter and Captain Benny Severide's Granddaughter. You need to knock that chip off your shoulder before you get your fellow candidates or someone I love killed" she advised.
Fairchild walked off with her head down, the rest of the fire academy candidates clapping and internally jumping for joy. They needed someone to knock the chip of her shoulder.
Maggie turned around to see Tommy staring at her with a smirk. "What?" she asked.
"That was beyond the sexiest thing I have ever seen" he leaned down and kissed her some more before walking off into the fire academy.
"Be careful Lieutenant" she called before getting back into the car and driving off.
Maggie's first day back at work was beyond chaos. She walked into the ER to see her sister waiting for her at the desk with charts. "Welcome back Dr. Casey, hope your honeymoon was relaxing because we are a zoo over here" she said handing her sisters the charts.
Maggie dropped her stuff off in the office and got to work. The ER was packed. "Okay, what do we got?" she asked.
"A GSW to the upper chest and lower extremities. CPD has already been notified. Sofia and Nick are here with Intelligence. Voight is pissed and Antonio looks ready to kill someone" Leah informed her sister.
Nina was already in the room with the gunshot wound. "You single or somethin' cause you fiiinnnneee" he dragged out the fine.
Nina just shook her head at him as she fixed his IV as Voight and Antonio gave his bed a shove. "Shut up!" Voight said.
"When's the doctor gonna get here?" he complained again.
"She's going to get here when she does. Now do what the sergeant said and shut up" Antonio replied.
The tension was so thick, you could feel the tension when you walked into the room. Maggie walked in with Leah on her tails. Once Nina saw her in the room, she started rattling off his vitals.
"24 year old male, GSW to the upper chest and lower extremities. Patient is coherent and vitals are stable. MRI and CT results are on the board and labs are all negative. We have an OR standing by awaiting your orders" she informed Maggie.
Maggie handed her the chart and grabbed a pair of gloves. "Thanks Nina" she replied in gratitude.
The nurse nodded and grabbed the chart as Maggie went to work. "Hello, I'm Dr. Casey and I'm going to give you your physical exam before we figure out what to do and send you off with these lovely gentlemen" she said pointing to Voight and Antonio over her shoulder.
She put on her gloves and tied her hair up. "Okay, I am going to press around your abdomen and check the wounds. If anything hurts or if it hurts when I press somewhere, let me know" she said as she started pressing around his thighs and examined the wound thoroughly. Then she moved up to the stomach and abdomen.
The bullet wound was right around the areas of his lungs or his heart. Those were the areas of concern. "Nina can you get me a portable ultrasound? We need to check the location of the bullet" she said.
"Why? What are you thinking Maggie?" Antonio asked.
"Look Maggie, we need to get him down to the station" Voight informed.
Maggie set up the ultrasound and started with the bullet on this thigh. "Not if these bullets are in deep. If this one in thigh shattered the bone, or if the bullet in his abdomen hit the heart or lungs, the only place he's going is to the OR" she replied.
Then, after a few minutes on the ultrasound, Maggie found what she was looking for. She handed Nina the paddle and pulled up the bed sheet and bed rails on each side of the bed. "Sorry boys, we have to get him to the OR. Those bullets have to get out" she informed the CPD.
"He needs to live Maggie" Antonio said.
"Whatever you got to do" Voight stressed.
She nodded, "don't worry, he'll live" she said before running off to the OR to get scrubbed up.
Voight and Antonio joined everyone else in the waiting room while Leah and Maggie went to scrub up. "Hey Sarge, any news?" Halstead asked Voight.
"Maggie and Leah are with him. He needs surgery to get the bullet out. Leah said it shouldn't take very long, roughly 45 minutes. They just have to get the bullet out" he replied.
"Well he'll be okay if Maggie and Leah are taking care of him" Sofia added.
"Hey Soph, maybe we should just get back to the station and get started on the paperwork" Nick recommended.
"No way, that son of a bitch shot at me and almost killed me. I want him" she replied shaking him off.
"Okay, then maybe someone should check you out first" he said waving Nina over.
"What's up Nick?" she asked.
"I need you to check Sofia out. That guy nearly shot her back there. When he finally got him, he ran into her pretty hard. She needs to be checked out" he instructed.
Nina wrapped her arm around Sofia's shoulders and led them into the exam room. She sat Sofia on the bed and started a full exam on her. She checked her over by hand and ordered some scans. She wanted to be completely sure that Sofia was okay.
By the time they were done, Maggie had extracted the bullet and bagged it for CPD to take as evidence. They closed up the patient and sent him up to recovery. Maggie and Leah scrubbed out and made their way into the lobby.
Voight and the entire intelligence team stood up when they saw the doctors. "Leah, Maggie, what's up? How'd the surgery go?" Sofia asked.
"The surgery went fine. We got the bullet out" Maggie indicated for Leah, who handed them the bullets bags. "He needs to stay here for a few hours to check his vitals and make sure he doesn't have any infection but after that, he's good to go. It depends on his vitals but I am 99.9% sure he should be fine" she informed them.
"Thanks Maggie, Leah" Antonio gave them a hug.
"Maggie, Leah, thank you girls. If we need anything else about the medical information…" Voight started.
"You can give either one of us a call and we'll be more than happy to answer any medical questions" Leah stated. They had learned to tolerate Voight. They knew they saved Matt when he was in trouble when Gabby was pregnant, but they still didn't completely trust him.
"Thank you" he said before walking out with his team.
"Thanks guys, I'll see you later at the firehouse" Sofia said.
"Be careful Sofie" Maggie said.
At the firehouse, the guys were ragging on Tommy for being relaxed and cool refreshed when he walked in after his honeymoon. He had a grin on his face that went on for miles. There was nothing that could break that smile off that face.
"What's gotten into you Casey?" Adams jibed when Tommy walked in.
"I believe that would be Dr. Hotness Severide" Corona replied.
"Excuse me, I don't believe I heard you talking about my wife Corona" Tommy was serious. He was defending his girls honor.
"Sorry man, I can't help it. You had to have married the hottest doctor in the hospital, besides Leah of course" he defended himself.
"Don't talk about my sister-in-law like that stupid ass" Tommy hit him over the head.
Chief Clarke walked into the common room and shook his head at Tommy and his team. He knew they were ragging on him for marrying Maggie. Clarke couldn't believe Kelly Severide let Maggie marry Tommy in the first place.
He walked over and stood by the Squad table with his arms crossed against his chest. "Welcome back Lt. Casey, I trust your day was relaxing?" Clarke said.
"Yes sir it was great" he replied.
"Good, now get your ass in gear and get to work" he said pointing to the locker room.
Tommy held his grin as he fake saluted and made his way to change into his uniform. Just as he was fixing his suspenders of his uniform, the bell rang signaling a call.
He walked into the common room and stood next to his men listening to the specifics of the call.
Truck 81, Ambulance 61, Squad 3, Battalion 25…Building Fire…34th and Harbor View…possible abandonment and possible vagrants. Trauma is on standby.
"Alright let's go" Tommy called his Squad guys into action.
"Load up" Joann rounded up her guys. She was the lieutenant on Truck 81.
The building looked really abandoned. The fire had risen up and it was starting to turn black. No one knew what the building was used for. The call didn't really say. The building was in bad shape. The fire made it even worse.
"Chief it looks bad and dangerous" Joann said as she walked over and stood next to Tommy and Chief Clarke.
"Tell me about it. What do you think Jo?" Tommy asked his fellow lieutenant.
"I think we should get two on the roof to vent. Green, Baker; get the areal and haul ass. We need a vent" she said to her guys before turning to Tommy and Chief Clarke.
"Truck will work our way up" she said.
Tommy nodded, "Squad will start up-top and work our way down. We meet in the middle" Tommy added.
"Well, if you two have it under control then why am I here?" Clarke asked amused. He trusted his lieutenants. He knew they trusted with each other and knew what they were doing. He couldn't have asked for better people to work with.
"Sorry Chief" Joann backed off.
"You two got it under control, so go. Put your plan to action and be careful. I will be on radio contact" he said as he watched his lieutenants rush into the building.
Inside, Joann grabbed Tommy's arm. He turned to stop and look at her, "what's up Jo?" he asked.
"You just got married. Don't do anything stupid. I am not about to tell Maggie you got hurt because you wanted to play hero" she said over the radio.
Tommy laughed, "Don't worry Jo, I'll be fine. I have a gorgeous wife to come home too. Let's do this" he said as he made his way to the top floor.
"Alright, careful guys. Watch your step. Let's get the place cleared as quickly as we can" Tommy said.
Tommy trailed behind his men as they started clearing the rooms. Tommy walked in front of Walker and Davis. At the second to last floor, they broke off into different directions to clear the building more efficiently, their voices urgent and quick over their radios. Adrenaline propelled Tommy forward through the smoke. He had a feeling someone was here and someone needed his help.
He had a job to do. They always felt a sense of power and adrenaline when going into a burning building. Walker and Davis passed him with their arms around a victim with possible smoke inhalation. They stopped at their lieutenant to see if he needed any help.
"How bad is it?" he asked.
"Smoke inhalation" Davis replied through his radio.
"Okay, keep going. Get her to Evans and Corona. I'll keep going on a primary search" he called.
"Be careful Tommy, I'm serious" he heard Joann over the radio.
He smiled and let out a little laugh, "always work-wife" he teased.
He wasn't surprised to find a flock of squatters. They liked to stay in these vacant buildings when the weather started to change. He needed to know that the building was empty.
Tommy looked up, worrying about the roof caving in when he saw another door. Consciously, he couldn't leave without knowing for sure that the building was completely vacant. He pushed open the door and got low.
"FIRE DEPARTMENT…CALL OUT" he yelled to anyone left in the building.
He didn't hear anything. He got as low as possible to scan the room. He stayed as low as possible as he walked down the rest of the hallway. He made double time to recheck the building. Tommy got no response at all. As he looked through the rear of the building, he felt the building begin to shake.
"Casey get out of there" he heard the chief.
Tommy grabbed his radio, "I'm at the rear of the building chief. I need to make sure no one is in there" he said over the radio.
Outside, Joann was looking at Chief Clarke and shook her head. She grabbed her radio before the chief could reply, "Tommy, get your ass in gear and get the hell out of that building right now" she said.
"Sorry Jojo, I can't leave until I know the building is clear," he replied before taking a pause. "Tommy" JoAnn started, "Jo, if I don't make it out of here, tell Maggie I love her" he said.
Joann looked up to hide her tears, "don't talk like that okay. Just do what you need to and get out of there ASAP!" she ordered.
The building shook a little more before he could answer. Tommy crouched down and grabbed onto the wall. Tommy could feel the heat crawling up the wall. There was debris falling all over him.
"Everyone alright?" Tommy asked over the headsets.
"Yeah Lt, we're all good. You okay?" Walker asked.
"Yeah, I'm good" Tommy replied.
"Get out as fast as you've got to understand. I don't want to have to explain to your father what happened to you" he said.
"Got it Chief" Tommy replied.
Tommy went down a hallway, stepping over a tipped over chair toward the door that led to the back stairwell. He shouted for anyone in earshot. Tommy backing into the door and walked down the landing to a staircase that reached the upper levels of the building.
Tommy reached the bottom landing and stared up in the hollow darkness. His flashlight illuminated the stairs, bouncing off the walls.
"FIRE DEPARTMENT! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, CALL OUT!" he yelled again. He just had a feeling there was someone in the building.
He was about to walk out when he heard it. It was really faint, but it was there. "Up here" he heard. Tommy turned and followed the noise up the stairs. "Hello? Call out!" he repeated.
"I'm up here" the person called again.
The building was trembling around him but he couldn't leave. He had to be there and get the person out. As the building was coming around him, Tommy supported himself on the wall beside him. He waited for the shaking to stop before scanning his horizons. "Hold on okay! Don't move" he called out.
Tommy quickly sunk onto his knees and crawled his way towards the voice. A few feet ahead of him, he found a sweet little girl with her head tilted back against the wall behind her. The poor girl was covered in soot and dust.
"Alright, I'm gonna get you out of here, okay? You're gonna be just fine. What's your name?" he asked.
"Jessica" she whispered, her voice sounded full of smoke.
"Jessica, my name is Tommy Casey. I'm gonna get you out but I need you to stay awake okay. Can you do that for me?" he instructed.
She nodded and looked up at him. He was a firefighter. She had a sliver of hope to get out of there with him at her side.
"Good" he gave her a reassuring smile before sitting down next to her. "I need to look you over okay and check out the damage. Now I'm no doctor or anything but I have a pretty good idea" he said.
The look on her face wasn't very reassuring. Her forehead glistened with sweat and her skin held a sickly pale complexion. Tommy knew her head wounds bled more than anything, and looked worse than they really were. He wasn't sure how much blood she'd lost before he had arrived. He hoped it wasn't a lot.
Tommy grabbed his radio, "Chief I'm in the back stairwell and I've got a girl up here and she's hurt pretty bad. I'm coming out now" he said.
"Okay, we'll be ready for you out here. Get out as soon as you can. It's getting smokey in there" Clarke replied.
Joann shook her head and grabbed her radio, "Tommy you better haul ass before I kick your ass" she said.
Tommy laughed as the little girl next to him croaked, "sounds sweet" she mumbled. Tommy gave her a smile before grabbing his radio, "right away Jo" he replied.
"You've got two minutes Tommy" Clarke said.
Tommy turned his attention right back to the little girl next to him. "Jessica, you still with me here?" he asked her.
"I'm here" she replied.
Tommy nodded and got into gear. He focused his attention on the little girl. He needed to get her out. Tommy leaned over her and picked her up in a bridal hold. "There are just a few flights of stairs and I am going to carry you down. Just hang on and stay with me okay" she said.
"I can't okay. Please I can't do this" she croaked.
Tommy looked her over and gave her a reassuring smile, "listen Jessica, there is nothing to be afraid of, I promise. I won't let anything happen to you, but we have to move right now" he said.
"I can't" she told him, "I'm sorry" she said.
Tommy searched her face and knew she couldn't do it anymore. She couldn't handle this. She was beyond exhausted. Tommy let out an exasperated sound. He couldn't do this to her. He couldn't let her do this.
She looked up at Tommy with tears in her eyes. She closed them and a droplet slid down her cheek, making a track in the soot covering her face. She had the face of someone who was trying really hard to keep it together. Tommy figured she wasn't used to relying on others.
"No, don't worry okay. You have nothing to be sorry for. Don't worry, I'll figure something else out" he put her back down and sat next to her. "I am going to get you out of here okay. You just have to promise to hang in there for me" he said.
Tommy sat next to her on his knees and grabbed his radio. He was having a serious problem. "Chief we have a problem" he said.
Outside Joann put her hands on her face and shook her head. She knew this was going to happen. "This always happens when Tommy is involved" she said.
"Tommy this building's coming down all around you," Chief Clarke said. "Talk fast and be specific" Chief Clarke said.
"We're three flights up on the landing. The little girl, Jessica, she's caught on a piece of rebar. I can't move her. We have to send up Squad up here" he informed.
"Copy that" Clarke said.
"I'm on my way up there, just stay where you are" Joann said.
The guys heard their lieutenant's worried voice and knew that he was in trouble. They grabbed their gear and hauled ass. They needed to stay focused and get to him as quick as possible.
Tommy knew that his guys and Jo were on their way up to help him out. He trusted them and he knew they would be able to get him out. He trusted Joann to get him out. He knew that she had his back.
Tommy turned his attention to Jessica. He let out a worried breath and moved in front of her. She had her hands pressed against her bleeding wound. "Hey, Jessica you still with me?" he asked. He knew they would be okay as long as she stayed awake.
Her lips were really pale but they would be okay. They would get out. Tommy made sure to get her out okay. She was breathing but Tommy could see that it was a struggle.
Jessica opened her eyes and looked up at Tommy. "There you are" he took her hand and rubbed his thumbs across her knuckles. "Just stay with me okay. Everything will be okay. My friends are going to get us out" he said.
Jessica smiled slightly and dipped her head in a slight nod. She coughed and winced as blood came pouring out of her mouth. Tommy reached into his pocket and pulled out a napkin. He cupped her face and wiped some of the soot off her face and the blood out of her mouth.
"It really hurts" she tried to keep the tears a bay.
"Caught yourself good" he told her. "You're tough, though right? Got yourself this far. Just stay with me a little while longer. Think you can do that?" he asked.
"Yeah" she replied.
"That's what I like to hear" Tommy answered. He took in the scene of the situation and knew what he needed to do. He knew this was going to hurt her, but he had to do it.
"Listen Jessica, I need to get your coat off and cover your wound. It might help keep the debris and everything from getting into it okay" he suggested.
She couldn't help but smirk at him, "it's going to hurt, really. Huh, I know. Just do it" she replied.
The foundation was really coming down around them. The smoke was getting really thick and it was getting really hard to get to her. He hoped the team would get to them as quickly as possible.
A tremor was coming through the walls and was making the building shake. The filth and debris was coming down all around them. Tommy could feel the tremor and leaned forward to brace himself against the wall over Jessica to shield her from the debris falling all around them.
Once the tremor was over, Tommy could feel that the crash was coming from somewhere down below. He was surveying the situation, trying to get out of it when he heard Jessica gasp under him. She grabbed onto his jacket.
"It is okay" he assured her, "it is okay. You're fine. I've got you" he repeated her. She had a tight grip on his jacket. Tommy knew she was probably really scared.
"Jo, what's your ETA? It's getting pretty messed up in here and we need out now" he said over the radio.
"We're on our way up. There's a partial collapse on the stairs. The ceiling caved in. Hang tight…we are on our way" she replied over the radio.
The guys were digging and working their way through the collapse the best they could. They knew they needed to get to the lieutenant as fast as possible. "Hurry up Jo, we're dying up here and be careful. We don't need you getting stuck too" Tommy replied.
Jo smiled, "you're one to talk" she retorted.
Tommy laughed a little. "You okay Jessica? We're almost out" he said before sitting down and getting settled next to her. Jessica let loose on his jacket but kept him in her embrace. It was like she was relying on him to keep it all together.
"Okay Jessica, I am going to take your jacket off now. Just hang in there and hold onto me if you need any support okay" he said.
She smiled a little and nodded. "Okay" she croaked.
He maneuvered the coat around her back and gingerly helped her other arm from the sleeve. Jessica cried out, her hands clutching into the front of his jacket to help her work through the pain. He knew she was hurting and he was glad she could rely on him.
"You did great. It'll be over before you know it. You all right?" he asked.
Jessica released her hold on his jacket a little but she was still shaking. Her eyes were glassed over with tears as she held her tears in.
"I am if you are" she replied.
Tommy laughed a little, "you did great kiddo" he said.
Jessica let go of his jacket and just kept her focus on Tommy. Jessica leaned her head back against the wall while Tommy draped her coat around her front to cover her wound. The jacket would keep her warm and try to hold back the shock.
"How old are you Jessica?" Tommy asked.
"Fifteen" she replied.
"Don't worry okay, we'll get out of here and we'll be fine. As soon as we get out of here and you are doing well, I am going to buy you the biggest ice cream sundae you could ever have" he promised.
She curled into him a little and smiled, "pinky promise?" she said. Tommy laughed and crossed his pinky with hers and squeezed her hand tight, "I promise kiddo" he kissed the top of her head.
"How bad is it really? Please don't lie to me" she said.
"I don't like lying and I'm not exactly a doctor, but I married one so I know what to do a little. You don't worry how bad it is and just stay awake for me. Just keep talking to me" he informed.
"You married a doctor?" she asked.
He laughed, "Yeah I did. Don't sound so surprised kiddo" he replied. This was good. She was still awake and talking and he could hear Jo making progress in his radio. He knew they were close. They were close to getting out of there.
"How did you meet her?" she asked breathing heavily.
Tommy wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kept her tucked into his body. "We actually grew up together. You see, her dad and my dad worked together at Firehouse 51. They were both lieutenants. They are best friends, so when they got married and had us, we all grew up together. You know what's funny?" he asked hoping she would reply.
"What?" she replied.
"I didn't like her like that at first. We just started out as friends. Just two people who knew each other since we were kids" he started.
"That's how the fairytales start" she quipped.
Tommy laughed, "You're right. I didn't really get that until she started dating in high school. I didn't really get why I was feeling so jealous. We've been together ever since" he said.
Jessica smiled, "that's a really nice story" she replied.
Tommy could tell she was falling asleep and starting to get tired. He needed to keep her talking and conscious until he got her out and to Maggie at the hospital.
"So Jessica, how did you end up here?" Tommy asked.
"Long story" she replied.
Tommy nodded, "fair enough. It's your business" he stated.
"I don't have anyone out there waiting for me" she said.
Tommy heard the defeat in her voice. He couldn't help but feel like a knife stabbed him in the chest when he heard her words. Everyone had someone.
"Well you have me okay and my entire squad behind you. Now don't give up on me okay. I am right here with you" he said.
As he felt more of the foundation shake and tremor, he knew more of the foundation was going to collapse. He threw his weight forward and leant over to cover Jessica. He pushed her into his side and used his back as a barrier against the chunks of debris that were falling all over them.
Tommy groaned as the solid rubble hit his back and bounced off his shoulders. He could feel Jessica grab onto his torso and let out a strangled sob. She was scared to death.
"It is okay, it is okay" he yelled over the sound of the ceiling crashing down on them. "You're all right. You're safe, I've got you. It is okay" he reassured.
He hated to think of how much the movement and force of the debris jostled her wounds. Tommy waited for it to stop, hoping and praying it would, when his helmet skidded across the stairwell landing. He grunted when he felt something nik the back of his neck. His chin brushed against Jessica's head; her fingers, having fallen out of their hold laced with his, burrowed into his jacket.
Tommy found himself partially buried when the tremor was over. "Damn it" Tommy muttered to himself.
"Tommy! Tommy, are you okay?" Jo was yelling over the headset.
"Yeah I took most of the hit" he replied over the radio.
"Are you hurt?" she asked.
Tommy looked up and saw the flashlight shining through the wall. "Not bad" he replied with a smile.
"We're right there" Jo replied.
Tommy uncurled from around Jessica and bent down to tell her about the rescue when he noticed her eyes closed and the hand holding his jacket had suddenly gone limp.
"Oh no" he said, barely a whisper. "No, no…Jessica, come on. Open your eyes. JESSICA! Open your eyes for me sweetheart, come on. Don't give up on me. We're almost out. Stay with me. JESSICA!"
Tommy tugged off his gloves and pushed two fingers into her neck. There was a pulse, but it was weak. He felt a fire burning in the back of his throat and behind his eyes.
"We need EMT's up here right now" Tommy shouted into the radio.
He cradled Jessica's head into his chest and pressed his shoulder against the wall. He looked around the corner and saw that Joann and Freddy Evans were on their way over. Evans came around the corner with the backboard.
As soon as he saw Jessica and this lieutenant, he quickly made his way over. "She's unconscious" Tommy told Evans. "I tried to keep her awake as long as I could but…" he wasn't able to get it out.
"You did okay buddy" Jo tried to keep him calm.
As soon as they were able to get out of the building, Tommy went with Jessica in the ambulance to the hospital. He had to be there for her. He needed to make sure she was okay.
At the hospital, Maggie, Leah and Nina were sitting at the nurse's station going over charts and gossiping about her honeymoon. "So, how was it?" Leah asked.
"I am not giving you details Leah, that's gross" Maggie hit her sister across the shoulder. Leah put her hands up in surrender with laughter in their eyes. "All we want is a little detail into the luxurious love life of Lt. Gorgeous and Dr. Hottie" the nurses teased.
Maggie laughed and gave them all glares, "you all are horrible" she joked. Maggie was not the outgoing type when it came to anything sexual. She was more the shy, geeky type when she was in school. Her sister was the more boy friendly type.
BEEP BEEP! AMBULANCE 61 IS COMING IN WITH TRAUMA 3. TRAUMA CODE 3!
They all heard the trauma code and jumped to action. The girls jumped up and got ready to go. Being the trauma surgeon on call, it was Maggie's scene to direct. She was the one in charge. The one everyone would be looking to for information.
"Okay guys, we have a trauma 3 coming in. Let's get trauma room 1 open and set up for anything possible. Mark you call the OR's and have an OR on standby. Rose you call radiology and tell them to haul ass" she instructed. The interns scrambled to fulfill her orders.
"Nina, call in our on-call doctors and get them in here. We don't really know what we are in for and I want to be prepared. If ambo 61 is coming in then we don't know if any firefighters are injured" she said. Nina nodded and squeezed her friends shoulder in comfort.
"Leah, let's get gowned up and ready to go. We don't know what we are in for" she said to her sister.
Both Leah and Maggie were praying it wasn't their family members. They couldn't really think about it. They needed to focus on being doctors and staying professional.
In the ambulance, Evans was trying his hardest to keep the little girl alive. "I'm doing everything I can lieutenant. Keep the pressure on the wound until we get there, but we've given her all the meds we can and done all we can in the back of the ambo" he said.
"Thanks Freddy, just keep trying please. She needs to live" he said.
"Lieutenant, we need to get her to the hospital ASAP. There is nothing else we can do for her" he informed his lieutenant. It wasn't easy. He knew how hard his lieutenant worked to keep the girl alive.
"We're here Evans" Corona said as he pulled up to the hospital.
Freddy got the doors open as soon as he could and pulled the gurney out with Steve. They rolled her into the ER doors to find Maggie and Leah waiting. The entire fire team was coming in behind them. They had followed the ambulance.
When Maggie saw that Tommy was walking with the gurney into the ER, she let out a breath of relief. She couldn't help but be a little relieved that he was okay. Now that she knew that her husband was okay, she could focus on being a doctor.
"What do we got?" Maggie asked the EMT's as she put her hair up out of her face.
"15 year old female, unconscious for a full 10 minutes. Rebar to the abdomen, BP and heart rate is dropping. We think she has possible internal bleeding. She was trapped in an abandon building. Smoke inhalation, cracked ribs…she's a mess" Evans said.
Maggie and Leah took charge. "Let's get her transferred on my count" Maggie said as they wheeled the gurney into the trauma room. The interns, doctors and nurses got into the room and on either side of the gurney. "On my count…1…2…and….go" she called out.
Once they got Jessica onto the trauma bed, Maggie got to work. "Let's get her intubated NOW" she ordered. Leah jumped into action. Once they got her intubated, they got her set up on the machines and checked her wounds over in the trauma bay.
"OKAY, LET'S GET HER TO THE CT NOW" Leah called out.
As the team wheeled her off, Maggie turned her attention to the fire team that was waiting for any news on the little girl. When Tommy saw her coming out of the trauma room, he got up and walked over to his wife.
"Maggie, how is she?" he asked.
Maggie let out a big breath and put her hands on her hips. She knew this was going to be hard for them all to hear.
"She's really bad off, we got her intubated and on the monitors but she's really unstable. I'm worried about all the blood she's lost and her vitals. We need to get her stable. We have her in the CT to check for internal bleeding then she's off to the OR. We need to get that rebar out of her and patch her back up" she informed them.
Tommy bent at the knees and rubbed his hands over his face. Maggie rubbed his back and wrapped her arms around her husband. "Tommy, tell me what happened" she said. She needed all the details.
"We were searching the building and I heard her in the back stairwell. She was stuck on the rebar and she was breathing really deep. She sounded like she had something in her lungs. I tried to keep her awake the longest I could but she fell asleep on me. Please, you have to save her Mags" he said.
Maggie took in the information and nodded. She wrapped her arms around her husband in a hug and kissed his cheek. She cupped his face and made sure he could see her eyes. "I am going to do my best okay. I promise" she gave him another kiss before turning back to the desk.
She was looking for someone to check Tommy out. She knew he was in the building and she knew that he would do whatever he could to keep the girl protected. She looked to the desk and saw her friend Aaron going over charts. "Hey Aaron, do me a favor" she called out.
Aaron looked over and smiled his charming smile, "what's up gorgeous?" he teased. "I have a trauma code, can you check Tommy over for me? He was in a burning building with debris and God knows what so he needs to be checked out, no matter how hard he tries to fight you off" she said glaring at her husband to comply and don't give Aaron any trouble.
Maggie ran down the hall to the radiology department. She walked in the observation room and looked over the scans. "What's going on? Are the scans up yet?" she asked.
"Dammit! She has internal bleeding and her spleen in bleeding out. She's probably a surgical mess right now. Let's get her to the OR STAT!" Leah said.
The interns ran into the scanner and pulled her out. They rushed her to the OR. They needed to get her into recovery surgery ASAP.
While Maggie and Leah were in the operating room, the rest of the firehouses started to show up. Everyone in CPD and CFD heard the call on the radio and they knew that Tommy was trapped, so they all hauled ass.
"Tommy!" Sofia called her brother when she saw him in the lobby. She came running in with Nick on her heels.
Gabby was sitting with her husband and her son. "I'm okay Sofie" Tommy said to his sister as he squeezed her in a hug. She pulled away and checked him over, "are you sure you're okay? You're aren't lying right? You actually got checked out?" she asked.
Johnny laughed at his sister's inquisition. "He's fine Sofie. Did you really think that Maggie, Jo, or mom would let Tommy go with no exam?" he teased his sister.
Andy and Joey were sitting next to their dad waiting for their sisters to come out of the OR and telling them all that the girl was okay. They knew that it would be devastating to Tommy if something went wrong and this little girl died on the table. But, they also had confidence in their sisters to know that they would do everything they could to save this little girl. Especially Maggie because her husband was involved.
After about 6 hours in the operating room, Maggie and Leah were exhausted. That was a very tiring surgery. That poor girl was in for a fight. The doctors did everything they could so now it was her turn to fight.
The entire fire teams were fast asleep in the waiting room. They were sprawled out everywhere. None of the hospital staff was going to say anything because they knew all about Maggie and Leah's firehouse families.
When Tommy saw Maggie and Leah coming down the hallway in their scrubs looking exhausted, he woke everyone up and stood up to greet his wife and his sister-in-law.
Maggie wiped a hand over her face and looked at her husband's worried face. She knew this was hard for him.
"So, what's the verdict Mags?" he asked.
"There were some complications during surgery. She coded a couple of times but we were able to get her back. There was a lot of abdominal damage babe. She had a lot of internal bleeding and her insides were a mess, but we were able to get things under control. She's been admitted to intensive care. She's not out of the woods yet, but we're hopeful that she'll pull through and make a full recovery" she informed them.
Tommy couldn't help but bend at the knees and hold his face in his hands. It was like the reality of the situation was hitting him all at once. He just collapsed into the chair next to Gabby and sobbed into his hands.
Maggie walked over and pulled his hands away from his face so she could sit on his lap and he could bury his head in the crook of her neck. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and rested her head on top of his.
"Shshsh, honey, she'll be okay. She seems like a fighter" she tried to reassure him that everything was going to be alright.
"She's all alone Mags. She's fifteen years old and she was living in an abandon building. The way she was holding onto me, it was like she needed me. I can't lose this one" he replied.
Maggie pulled away and cupped his face to wipe his tears. She leaned forward and leant her forehead against his. "She needs you to be strong for her. You are the only person who really got to know her and she trusts you. She needs you to be there for her" she gave him a smile and wiped his tears.
"Can I see her?" he asked. He needed to know she was really okay. That she was really still with them. He really didn't know what it was about this girl but she got to him.
"I'll take you up. She needs her rest, so you can only stay a few minutes" she said. She grabbed his hand and led him to the intensive care unit. She swiped him in and led him to Jessica's room. She stood in the door way and waited for him to get his closure.
He couldn't help but stare at her lying in the bed lifeless. She looked so fragile, so unlike when he was with her in the building. She had a breathing tube in her throat, about three IV's, wires on her chest to monitor her heart rate and her pulse. The only sound in the room was the machines monitoring her heart rate and pulse.
He walked over and sat next to her on the little plastic chair. He grabbed her hand and ran his fingers over her knuckles, cautious of her IV's. He squeezed her hand, hoping it would wake her up like it did in the building.
"Look kiddo, I know you can hear me because your doctor, my wife remember, she told me you could hear me and that I should talk to you" he said, hoping she would wake up and argue with him. Tommy wiped a hand over his face and let out a breath.
"Okay look, I'm not really good at this but I made you a promise that I wasn't going to leave you and I plan to keep my promise. You told me in the building that you didn't have anyone waiting for you out here in the real world, but I am here to tell you that you are wrong okay. You have me, my wife Maggie, her team at the hospital and my entire firehouse behind you. Now look, my girl did everything she could for you medically so it's all up to you now. Just wake up and be the fighter I know you can be. Just wake up and I'll tell you another story. This time, I'll tell you about the most annoying candidate at the fire academy and how she's trying to get into my pants…you just can't tell Maggie okay" he said.
When she didn't reply, he just let out a breath and got up to kiss her forehead. "I'll be back tomorrow after shift okay" he stated before walking out of the room. He stood outside the room and leant against the wall with his head in his hands.
Maggie stood in front of him and cupped his face. "You okay? I know you aren't used to seeing people like that" she said. She was the medical one in the family, not him.
"Can I come back tomorrow and sit with her? She told me she has no one else. I don't know for sure, so I am going to have Sofia do some digging for me but I need to be here for her" he said.
Maggie smiled and raked her fingers through his hair and smiled at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck, "I love you so much babe. You are the most loving, caring person I know" she stated.
He smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist, "I couldn't be without you princess. I can't wait for you to meet Jessica. She's a really cool girl" he said.
The next couple of days were really rough on Tommy. He was dealing with being married, adjusting to a new life style and trying to deal with Jessica in the hospital. He felt a real connection to the girl. It was like he couldn't leave her alone until he knew she was okay.
He's been spending a lot of time into the hospital. Now, he was sitting with Jessica in her room, holding her hand and telling her about the fire academy.
"So I'm back like I promised. Now, let me tell you about the fire academy" he said getting as comfortable as possible in the little plastic chair.
"So, I am an instructor at the fire academy and basically I have to train the new cadets so they can be new candidates at the firehouses. Well, there's this one girl there who really thinks that she's all that. Her dad is a chief at the district and she thinks that she's untouchable. It's actually pretty annoying. You know she even has a girl crush on Maggie. You remember when I told you that Maggie's dad is a firefighter, well her grandpa is a captain in the district so basically, and this cadet compared herself to my wife" he laughed.
"She thinks that my trying to get on Maggie's good side, she'll get on mine and I'll automatically get her into a firehouse. She's just really annoying. I mean she's trying to get into my pants. Can you believe that?" he quipped not really expecting a reply.
He looked over to see Jessica looking back at him with her eyes open. "Hey" he greeted, reaching up to caress her cheek, "you're awake" he smiled at her. He squeezed her hand and smiled even bigger when her fingers wrapped around his.
She kind of looked at him confused for a second. She looked around the room confused. She really didn't know what's going on. "Tommy" she greeted.
He smiled and looked up at Maggie who was doing her rounds and checking Jessica's vitals. She couldn't help but just smile when Jessica woke up and grinned wider at the happy look on Tommy's face.
"You're in the hospital, in the ICU. It's been a week since the fire, but don't worry. Maggie made sure you were going to be okay" he said looking over at his wife.
Jessica followed his gaze and smiled as much as she could under the oxygen mask. "Wife" she said.
Maggie smiled and nodded, "Yeah, I'm Tommy's wife Maggie. I am also your doctor and I want to make sure you know that you are okay. You are going to be just fine, I promise. The hard part is done now" she said.
"You've been here the whole time?" Jessica croaked at Tommy.
He bent his head and smiled, "Yeah I couldn't really help it kiddo. You kind of struck a chord with me. Besides, I promised you to be there remember" he reminded her.
Jessica smiled and felt tears flowing down her cheeks, "thank you…both of you" she said.
Maggie smiled at the girl, she leant down and squeezed Jessica's hand. "Honey, don't worry okay. I am going to promise you something right now. You are going to be just fine. And don't worry about not having somewhere to go after this, you are always going to be welcome in our home okay" she said.
Jessica smiled and turned to Tommy, "listen to your wife and just ignore the chick from the fire academy" she teased.
Maggie smiled and let out a little laugh, "yeah, listen to your wife Tommy" she teased.
Thanks for reading everyone! Please review and let me know what you think. Keep with me, I promise it keeps getting better!