Caitlin's head throbbed and ached. She could hear people screaming, yelling and crying. She opened up her eyes and took in the disastrous scene that unfolded in her sights. Furniture was knocked over, glass shards and wooden pieces of the bar covered the floor. The smell of alcohol, blood and ammo.
Some people slowly stood as others remained on the ground, either injured or non-responding. She put her hand on her belly and gave a sigh of relief when she felt the babies move inside her. She put her hand down and slowly eased herself up to a sitting position.
Hank opened his eyes and saw her. His shoulder was bleeding through his shirt. She removed her hand from the floor and looked at it. It was smeared with blood. Hank crawled over to her.
"Cat, are you OK? Are you bleeding"?
She looked at the blood on her hands again. She then remembered how Al had protected her. She turned her head around and saw him lying on the side, behind her. She turned and knelt in his direction.
She shook him gently. "Al"?
Then she saw it, the puddle of blood coming from underneath him.
"Al!? Oh my god! Al"!
She took his face in her hands.
"Come on baby, wake up. Talk to me"!
Hank arrived behind her. "Cat are you hurt"?
She looked at Hank with panic and tear-filled eyes. "It's Al. I think he got shot"!
Connor stood from the corner of the room where he had taken refuge. He called 911 and then quickly triaged those that were around him. Will was doing the same at the other end of the room. As he got towards the middle of the bar, he saw Caitlin, a laceration on her forehead, hovering over Alvin. He walked over.
"Caitlin are you alright"?
"Al's been shot, he's losing a lot of blood"!
He quickly checked Al for a pulse and made sure he was breathing. He then stood and grabbed a napkin from the bar. He handed it to her.
"Your head is bleeding", he said.
"I'm fine. Please take care of him".
Connor handed Hank the napkin. "Press down on the laceration".
Hank nodded.
Connor checked Alvin out to see where the blood was coming from. "Are the babies moving"? he asked Caitlin.
"Yes".
He continued his search and finally found the entry wound. It was at the bottom of his back.
She looked at Al again. He was pale.
"Al, please stay with me"! She started to cry. Hank took her into his arms from behind and cradled her against him. He turned around and saw Kim taking care of Adam with Will. "How is he"?
"Not good, he's losing a lot of blood. Cat"?
"She's OK".
"What about Al"?
He shook his head. It didn't look good. He looked around. Kevin, Jay and Hailey seemed to be OK and were helping out some of the others.
"Let's not move him", said Connor as he took another napkin for Al's wound.
"Why"? said Caitlin worried.
"Caitlin, I need you to listen to me very carefully. I can't see very well, but if the bullet is lodged in his spine, I can't move him without a neck brace and a board".
The first to arrive on scene were the Chief along with patrol cops and gang. He walked in, his eyes growing bigger as he took in the atrocity of what had happened. Doctors, nurses, cops, firefighters and regular patrons were injured or worse.
Halfway across the room he saw Hank.
"Voight"!
Hank raised his head and acknowledge the Chief's presence. He nodded at him. Hank then turned towards Jay. "Jay! Can you come and take over for me"?
"Yeah", said Jay from a bit further out. He stood and walked over.
"Cat, I'll be back. Jay's got you". He looked at Jay. "Here, keep applying pressure".
Jay nodded as he took the place of Hank's hand, then his place on the floor behind Caitlin as Hank stood. Caitlin fell back against his chest. She was worn out. Worn out physically and emotionally. All she could do was hold Al's hand and look at him through blurry eyes.
"How are you holding up"? asked the Chief.
Hank looked at his shoulder. "I think it's superficial".
"How about the rest of the team"?
"Ruzek and Olinsky are in critical condition. The rest seem to be stable".
The Chief looked at him. "And Caitlin"? The Chief had gotten to know very well Caitlin through the Academy and she was someone he appreciated in every aspect of the term.
"Head laceration, she thinks the babies are OK. She's more worried about Alvin right now than herself".
"Any idea who did this"? asked the Chief.
"Not the slightest idea", said Hank.
"Did you see anything"?
"No".
"Maybe someone saw something through the window".
"It's always a possibility, but getting everyone's feedback might be difficult and take some time".
Stiles looked at Hank. "We'll see if we have any witnesses outside, gather pod feeds and I'll also have some of the guys reach out to their CIs to see if they've heard anything".
"Ok", said Hank.
10 ambulances came speeding into the street. The Chief, Stiles and Hank stepped outside.
Gabby who had been on duty that night came up to Hank.
"We're going to need more ambos", said Hank.
She nodded. "More are on the way, should be here in a few minutes. Tell me what I can expect, I want to be able to coordinate this efficiently".
"From what I've seen, everything from twisted or broken limbs, to lacerations and gunshot wounds".
"How many people are we talking about"?
"About 40 in total".
"How many critical"?
"I'm not a doctor, Will and Connor have been assessing them, I would say about 15, including Adam and Al".
"OK". She turned to the rest of the EMTs and quickly discussed how they were going to organize themselves.
They entered the bar and Gabby swallowed as she hardly recognized the place. Will met her.
"Talk to me", she said.
"We've got 10 critical that need evac. Hailey's put red lipstick on their foreheads and then there's Adam whom I've been taking care of and Connor is with Alvin. Out of the critical, they are the ones that need immediate evac, both GSW".
She nodded.
"Oh and you're going to need a neck brace and a backboard for Al".
Gabby looked past him at where Connor was. He was changing from a blood filled napkin to a clean one. Caitlin was sitting against Jay conscious but somehow lifeless.
They took Alvin outside and placed him on the gurney as Jay helped Caitlin walk behind them. They put him in the ambo and she followed Connor towards the back ambo doors. Connor turned around.
"Caitlin, you're going to have to meet us at Med".
"What"?
"Cat, both of us can't go with him".
She shook her head, abruptly removed Jay's arm from her waist and pounded on Connor's chest. "No Connor, I'm not leaving him"!
Still pounding against his chest, she started to sob. "I can't lose him".
He put his arms around her. "I promise you, I'll take good care of him, until we get to Med".
"Don't make promises you can't keep", she said still crying.
Connor nodded in Jay's direction. Jay nodded and gently removed Cat from Connor. Connor jumped into the ambulance and they headed off. Within seconds, the second ambo with Adam and Will left. Kim and Caitlin hugged and cried together both feeling helpless as the men they loved fought for their lives.