Chapter 16

As the ambulance eased over the curb and onto the road, Jenny started whimpering. Worse than that, her blood pressure started dropping.

"It hurts daddy, help it." Jenny pleaded through her tears and all Roy could think of was that he couldn't give her any thing for the pain because of the lump on the back of her head.

"Shouldn't you raise her legs?" Jason questioned. He had been in one of the classes Roy had taught Chris's scout troop. "She's starting to look kind a pale don't you think?"

Realizing the young girl's cry to her father wasn't a hallucination and that the medic on board was truly her father, the ambulance attendant moved to pull some pillows out of a shelf and Roy snapped around enough to help lift his daughter's legs for them to be placed under. Once that was done the attendant offered respectfully to help gather fresh vitals to be called in and Roy was able to become a paramedic once again.

Because both arms were splinted and moving them was painful, Roy cut his daughter's pants and placed an adult sized blood pressure cuff on her thigh to get a reading while the ambulance attendant counted a pulse and respirations. Jenny was going into shock; there was no question of that.

Dr. Brackett confirmed that diagnosis once he received the readings and asked if there was a parent on hand to give permission to start an IV.

"Doc, it's my daughter," Roy informed a stunned doctor. "Yes I give permission now just tell me what to start."

Roy was as careful as possible about rolling the triangular bandage away from his daughter's forearm to look for a vein, but he still caused her more pain. The veins were fading so he put the tourniquet on and let it sit for a minute as he stroked her arm toward it. The first stick missed its mark and a bruise started forming.

As Roy held pressure while trying to gain the courage to try again he wished he had insisted that another paramedic ride in with his daughter. But at the time she was loaded he knew a herd of fire captains couldn't have kept him from climbing in with her. Asking the ambulance driver to stop for just a moment, Roy managed to get the IV established the second time. And with the application of a piece of tape they were on their way again while Roy finished taping the IV down and double checking the drip.

Again Jenny started whimpering and complaining of pain and Roy's insides were tying in knots. He couldn't even hold her hand, either one, without causing her pain. He tried to place his hand on her head to offer comfort but that hurt her too. "Hang in there honey we're getting you to the hospital as quick as we can and they're ready for you. We'll get you all fixed up as soon as we can." Roy spoke, fighting with all he had to hold back his tears.

"When I first hurt my arm," Allen spoke up holding his broken and bloodied cast. "Jenny told me to put ice on it to keep it from swelling. I did when I got home and it didn't hurt nearly as much. Would Ice help Jenny?"

Roy was feeling more like a first aid student than a seasoned paramedic at the moment but if it would help his daughter he could swallow is pride. Roy gave an agreeing nod to the ambulance assistant and he reached into one of the ambulance cupboards and started pulling out the instant Ice packs. He handed two to Roy to open and squeeze to get the chemicals within to turn cold. Roy carefully packed a couple around his daughter's injured shoulder while the ambulance attendant opened the other two and squeezed them in preparation to be applied to Jenny's other arm. Roy then grabbed two extra blankets and tucked them around his daughter to keep the rest of her from getting too cold while the ambulance attendant activated one more ice pack to place against the lump on the back of Jenny's head.

As the ice grew colder Jenny's whimpering lessened, and with a sigh Roy turned to his other patients… er… teachers. "Thanks boy's."

Roy was just checking another set of vitals as the ambulance pulled into the drive to Rampart and was pleased to find her blood pressure up and her pulse slowing down. She was stabilizing. She even had a calming smile for her daddy as the ambulance backed up to the door.

A cry of pain escaped from Jenny as the gurney jerked when it was pulled from the ambulance, and again when the wheels were dropped to the ground making it the same level as the treatment table she would be moved to. With his heart in his throat Roy moved toward his daughter, only to feel a grip on his arm holding him back.

Roy turned to face the only person who could keep him from his daughter's side and let the first tears fall for Dixie to see.

"We've got it from here Roy. You know as well as I do she's in good hands and Dr. Brackett and Dr. Early will do everything they can for her."

Giving a shuttering sigh Roy could only nod his head as he pulled himself together once again.

"Chris… where… how is he?" Roy stammered.

"He's in radiology right now they're doing a CT scan with contrast to make sure he hasn't reinjured the tears that were bleeding from his last beating. His vitals were stable so at this point it's just a precaution. We called JoAnne; she's on her way and should be here any minute."

Roy bit his lip and nodded his head, again unable to speak for a moment for fear of loosing to his emotions once again. "I'll be okay, please go to Jenny. She needs you more than I do. I… I'll wait. I'll stay… stay here and wait for JoAnne."

Dixie paused only for a moment to make sure Roy was as okay as any father could possibly be under the current circumstances before she did as he had asked of her and went to the side of the young mini medic, now a patient.

Roy remained rooted to the spot in the waiting room where Dixie had left him; his eyes glued to the door Dixie had entered. He was watching the portable x-ray machine maneuver through the doorway when he was startled by the call of his name and turned to see his wife coming through the door near admitting.

Roy turned his full attention to his wife and took her into his arms as she hurried toward him. He needed her arms around him every bit as much as she needed his arms around her as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"We should have kept them home; we shouldn't have sent them back to that place." She cried and repeated. She was still repeating it when Johnny came to their side. John didn't have to ask, he could tell by what he was seeing that neither parent knew much about their children, but he asked anyway.

"Any word?"

"Chris is in Radiology getting a CT," Roy repeated with little if any emotion, "I just saw the portable x-ray go into Jenny's room."

Both paramedics' attention was drawn to the gurney being moved toward the elevator on the way to ICU. The only adult injured in the fracas was being moved while on a respirator because his windpipe had been collapsed. Fully conscious, the man turned his head to give Roy a glare that clearly showed his distaste for him but Roy didn't much care at the moment. A raised lump in the groin area, wet from melted ice brought a scoff from Roy's throat.

As the elevator door closed behind him, Roy started rubbing his wife's back and issuing calming and soothing sounds to her. His children were hurt but they would survive. He was sure.

"They gave worse than they got," Roy spoke softly to his wife and she stopped her crying to look up at him.

"You can say that again," Johnny agreed.

"What are you saying?" JoAnne nearly demanded to know, "They didn't start this…"

"No," Roy stopped her quickly. "They didn't start anything. They were corralled by a group of the Boy's Mr. Bunker works, or rather, worked with. When they realized they couldn't get away they stood their ground in a way those boys were not prepared for."

Roy watched the X-Ray tech hurry from Jenny's room with the x-ray films under his arm and watched as Dixie and Dr. Early re-entered the room. Still he kept his wife in his arms, holding her tight, because his children could not be held at the moment.

He had just noticed Miss Marlow come through the door when a nurse approached him with news on Chris.

"The scan looked pretty good," she reported. "I can take you to see him now and the Dr. will talk with you when he get's the rest of the lab results."

Roy paused only long enough to step up to the nurse's desk and let them know where he would be when they had word on Jenny before following the nurse to his son with Uncle Johnny on their heels.

Chris was found resting comfortably and on oxygen through a nasal cannula. It was clear to everyone that he was relieved to see his parents, but his first words were, "Where's Jenny, did she get hurt?"

"She got banged up a little," Roy made a clear understatement so as not to upset his son. "She's in the Emergency room now. They just finished taking her x-rays and are waiting for them to be developed. They'll come get us here when they know anything."

A police officer came in to get a statement from Chris and, as painful as it was for him to move, he still climbed into his mother's arms before he told his side of what had happened. He had just finished when Dr. Brackett came to the door and, with a silent shift of his head, beckoned two parents out into the hallway.

"I'll stay with Chris," Johnny responded to the look and helped lift the bruised small body out of his mother's arms and back into bed.

"What's wrong?" Chris asked.

"The Doctor just wants to talk with your parents for a moment then I'm sure they'll come tell you what he told them," Johnny told the frightened boy.

"Yeah but only the not so bad stuff. They won't really tell me anything." Chris challenged his statement.

In the hallway Dr. Brackett motioned the worried parents to a seat and then took one himself. "As I'm sure you've already guessed Roy, your daughter has a broken collarbone and a dislocated shoulder as well as minor fractures in the radius and ulna in her other arm. The problem at hand is the muscle spasms in her shoulder area. I need your permission to use a short term general anesthetic to put her out while we put the shoulder back in place and set the collarbone."

"Of course," Roy quickly agreed, knowing that would be the best way to fix his daughter up.

"Can we see her first?" JoAnne requested.

"I would really like to get her out as fast as we can," Dr. Brackett responded. "She's in a lot of pain and with her head injury I would rather not give her anything that might mask symptoms of further problems there. Hopefully once we get her bones set we'll be able to minimize the pain and treat it with milder drugs that won't be as much of a problem."

"We understand," Roy spoke for the both of them. "Are the fractures bad?"

"Not necessarily, but the combination of the injuries and the spasms have us wanting to be cautious. I was also hoping Roy would be willing to be with her when she wakes up, Just to keep her calm." Kell Brackett then turned to JoAnne. "Nothing personal, but Roy is familiar with the hospital procedures. I'm sure you'll be able to see her just a few minutes after Roy does."

"Just do what is best for my daughter please, Doctor." JoAnne made a teary request before bringing a tissue to her face and hiding her eyes in her husband's shoulder.

"I'll go with your verbal permission for now, but a nurse will be by soon with papers to sign." Dr Brackett stood to leave. "Someone will come and get you when we're ready for you." He spoke to Roy and then hurried off to help his patient.