Disclaimer - I don't own the Thunderbirds.

It was a strange dream, visions of blues and reds swam around me in a haze of mixed clarity. Sometimes the images were clear, striking moments of panic tainted with colors I couldn't shake from my mind, then the images became blurred and seemed to mix together in a kaleidoscope of confusion. The dream was tiring and felt far too long, I wanted so desperately to wake up and grasp life and everything that was real but the images repeated themselves again and again and I found myself unable look away.

The sounds weren't as bad but the sounds and the visions together unsettled me, again someone called my name, someone close. I knew the fear in their voice, and the voice was one I knew well. The sound etched with sirens which swam in and out of awareness for what seemed an eternity, a looped feedback of something I couldn't quite remember. There were running footsteps, cries of alarm and fear.

The colors and sounds slowly faded and for a time I was left in silence, my mind glad of the refuge. Once they began I prayed for an end, begged for it. I didn't want to die but I didn't want to be useless in whatever was happening around my body, I wanted to get up and rush to their aid, reassure that voice that I was there and able to stop whatever the sirens raced towards.

Sometimes I felt someone touch my skin, a hand on the cheek as the rushed footsteps ended. Tap. Tap. Tap. I felt someone shake me gently, a gentle nudge into the living world which I wondered whether would be the end of the dream. I knew I had to wake up but I couldn't remember why it felt such an urgent need, I could see people around me in a mist yet their faces were no more than smudged skin tones that flitted past.

One feeling that felt more real than any other was the pressing on my chest, heavy and restricting to each and every breath I forced in and out of my lungs. I was aware that my heart still beat yet feared what each renewed breath would bring, it seemed to threaten my very existence.

Justice Collins was a man built for the job, he'd served in the fire service for years but had made chief in less than five. It wasn't a job for the faint of heart or for those easily angered or effected by emotion, you had to be built of strong stuff to have served for as long as he had and you had to know when to walk away from situations you couldn't help with and that were too dangerous to even make an attempt at.

As he watched the smoke rising from the underground parking in the burning office building in West Park he knew that it wouldn't take long for the building to be engulfed, by the way things were going there wouldn't be a building to save at all, it's proximity to the adjacent properties was his number one concern now. So what if the old building burnt to the ground, lives were more important that bricks and foundations. Anyway, if the proprietor had any sense it would be insured. The costs that mattered to Justice were lives and given the high percentage of homeless in the area he had to think carefully before deciding the fire crews' next course of action, carefully and quick.

It was as yet unclear as to how the blaze had begun, in the centre of the flames the shell of a now unidentifiable car smoldering in the heat. From where he and his crew stood he felt confident in saying that there had been no poor soul driving the thing, the cops were already on the case trying to find the owner just to clarify the matter. What really made Justice uneasy were the pipes the flames were edging towards situated at the bottom of the stair well, an earlier blast from several suspiciously ill placed gas canisters had already dislodged them from the wall and they now stood jutted out at odd unnatural angles. Again the cops were checking the building ground works yet he would bet his badge that they were gas pipes, he'd seen his fair share of buildings in his twenty year career to know that you didn't need to be a plumber or gasman to see the obvious. It was a disaster waiting to happen. Because of the risk of explosion he'd ordered a wide perimeter of the building to be set and hadn't allow his crew or the cops anywhere near. Heat radiated from the scene and the weather's downpour did nothing to dampen that, flames blazed upwards as though mocking the rumbling sky.

He'd already put a call in for my police on scene, the blaze was drawing in spectators and the general nuts who seemed to show up whenever their sirens blazed, something he didn't want to nor felt he should have to deal with. Safety was of course the first port of call yet if those idiots didn't show up in the first place his resources could go a lot further.

Sighing he turned to Austin Brookes, a young fireman who'd been on the team a couple of years now, he seemed to be the blue print of what a fire fighter should be and Justice didn't know whether to be worried or proud that the young man before him would probably be stood in his shoes as fire chief one day.

"Think we're going to need to call in some help on this one." Looking around he saw a mixture of worried expressions mixed with excitement and adrenaline, the rest of the guys were securing the perimeter and prepping the trucks to the water mains, the hoses were laid ready for his order, a couple were already dowsing the flames to no effect yet they needed to at least look like they were trying, despite the obvious uselessness at the situation. They needed to insure the fire didn't spread. "With the risk of explosion and gas leakage three trucks just won't cut it."

Austin gave a small sympathetic smile beneath the visor of his helmet, nodding as he followed his eye line at what had already been put into place. "As soon as we find out where the gas goes we'll get it cut off, nothing we can do about the gas canisters."

It was stating the obvious yet it needed to be voiced so he knew everyone was on the same page. "It sure is a tricky one, if we can reach the blaze with the hoses I'd get a full shower going, we won't be able to stop the blaze completely yet but we can at least try and dampen the surrounding area enough to slow it down." He rubbed his chin, clicking his tongue as he thought the idea though. Really it was the only option open to them yet feeling so useless never sat well. "No one goes any closer than the cordoned area for the emergency crews, got it?"

"Sure thing boss." He gave a lazy salute and turned and strode away, already speaking into his radio relaying the order and plan of action. Justice had to admit that he was a good catch for the station, he'd be reluctant to ever say that to his face yet he was probably the best he had, though the feeling that he was always going to be gunning for his job never sat too easy. Especially now he was getting on in years. In such situations you needed men you could trust, over his long career he'd learnt too well that in this game trust came before anything else.

The smoky air scratched at his lungs, painful and sharp with each and every breath. He couldn't see the fire yet he knew enough to know that in a fire it wasn't the flames that usually killed you, you'd be gone long before they reached you.

Alan had long since stopped his desperate shouting after Taio, begging the man to come back and let him go, he had clung on to the hope of it being a sick joke but hope dissipated as quickly as the clean air. Now he used what little breath he could muster to scream for the help of anyone in the hope that he'd be heard. Maybe he'd imagined it but he was certain there'd been sirens below, even though the lightning through the window at the end of the corridor sent flashes of color illuminating the darkness, he desperately wanted to believe that the blue flashes were something more. They were constant, almost rhythmic.

Part of Alan just wanted to give in and succumb to the darkness that slowly crept into his vision, he kept blinking it back yet he knew it would be so easy to just close his eyes and stop having to worry about drawing in his next breath. If there were fire crews down on the ground then would they even know he was here? He doubted they could hear him above the noise, everything around seemed to roar in his ears making his shouts seem mere whispers.

Scott would be looking for him, he knew that more than anything. Scott wouldn't never willingly let anything happen to Alan, he'd practically raised him when their mother had died and had always made certain he was always safe. The thought did little to comfort Alan now though, Scott didn't know where he was and even if he did know, what could he do? They were on the mainland, the Thunderbirds were miles away across land and sea. Scott was Alan's rock in the world yet even though his eldest brother always seemed so strong and able, he could do little against a raging fire.

Words his dad had once said to him came to mind, they'd scared him when they'd first been spoken yet now they sent shivers up his spine. Were they the words his father had said to his sons when their mom had died?

"You can't save everyone... It doesn't matter how hard you try or how brave you are. It doesn't even matter if it's someone you love, someone you'd give your life in a second to save. You just can't save everyone."

"Thunderbird F… F… Five receiving. Your location has been logged. Please st… state the emergency."

Brains had been listening into various radio frequencies on the mainland, hoping to find any news at all on Jeff's missing son, he could hack into practically any wavelength from up in the space station yet it seemed to be doing little good and police drawl soon became dull. He'd been on a caffeine high for the past few hours trying to keep his senses alert and on the job, the incoming call had been unexpected yet he found the distraction almost a relief. That was until he reminded himself of the number of operatives currently available, maybe they weren't ready to deal with calls at all.

"Thunderbird Five, we are requesting assistance in tackling a fire, we need specialist help down here, there's not a lot we can do." The man sounded strained, he was almost shouting above the noise around him which was an obviously busy scene. "Sooner the better." He added quietly.

"Who am… am I… sp… sp… talking to?" Brains relayed, the satellite software pinpointed the position of the caller on the screen in front of him, zooming in on the location Brain's was surprised to see the proximity of the call to where Jeff was. Of all the calls to come through…

"Justice Collins, fire chief. I tried to get through about ten minutes ago but was put through to the military, they won't get here in time though, we need immediate assistance as in half hour ago." The man sighed down the phone, there was a plea in his voice that Brains couldn't ignore. Leaning across the controls in front of him he pressed the call button down to Tracy Island to alert Gordon and John to the rescue. He wasn't sure what their response would be to it but Jeff had specifically told him to keep monitoring the calls and had insisted that John and Gordon stay on the island if needed.

"I have men on the way." Thinking back on the radio calls he'd been listening into, Brains had avoided the fire department radio frequencies as he didn't think they'd be of much use, but a number of the police force had been sent to deal with securing an area, maybe it was one of the same. He knew the answer before he'd voiced the question but it was protocol, the man wouldn't have been so desperate if lives weren't at risk. "Are there people inside of the b.. buil… structure?"

There was a long pause, the line went quiet and for a few drawn out seconds Brains thought it had been disconnected, just as he went to toggle the call button the man came back to him. "Well, we thought it was empty…" The pause shone through with uncertainty yet the doubt was more discomforting than a straight answer. "A few of the guys on the ground have been saying they've heard someone shouting, said it sounded like it may be on one of the higher floors the fire hasn't yet reached. Thing is we've got gas canisters and a gas intersection near the epicenter of the blaze so I can't risk having any of my crew go in, it could blow any second. They'd need full breathing apparatus to even enter by one of the clearer routes, if there is someone inside their main worry right now is going to be breathing, not the fire." He paused again, uncertainty weighing. "One of my best men said he heard it to and I wouldn't doubt the guy, I might not have heard it myself but if he's heard it then it's worth confirming."

The Thunderbirds had dealt with many a call out to fire rescues where lack of oxygen and breathing difficulties had been major difficulties, they'd lost more people to smoke inhalation than to burns. He was distracted by his momentary reverie by one of the lights on the console before him, it told Brains the boys were on their way to Thunderbird Two and that there was a call coming through from the island, for now he had to ignore it. He was about to ask the man what help would be required but the question was answered for him as Justice continued voicing through his thoughts.

"If you could get one of your team into the building at a higher level, I don't know, maybe you could find if there's anyone in there? I've heard you have heat seekers, if that's true you might be able to find the poor soul and get to them before it's too late, also without putting your own lives at risk. I'm putting a large percentage of the resources I have available into getting the gas mains shut off but even when that's done there's still the canisters, if you could get above the blaze then we can tackle the fire, I've got pretty much all the resources and man power I could get on scene to help out but we're still going to need you." The pleading tone was back, doubt edged the mans words as he'd obviously not dealt with the Thunderbirds before, he sounded like he was asking one hell of a favor, Brains never saw rescue missions as favors though, if you had the ability then saving lives seemed second nature.

"Thunderbird Two has been dis… dispatched." Brains took a deep breath, multitasking the console with the coordinates for the boys whilst gathering information on the task at hand. "Arrival time…" He quickly brought up the connection to Thunderbird Two's navigation, plotting the route from Tracy Island to the burning building and setting the trajectory, he then quickly ran a simulation of the journey taking into account the weather across the ocean and over the land the 'bird would have to go over, a newer invention he was still in the midst of developing to assess the accuracy. "Fifteen minutes, may be soo… soo… quicker depending on air control and trafficking. The weather over you is…is quite bad, might de.. Delay them slightly." The weather was one worry but so was air traffic, unfortunately being International Rescue did not yet you freedom of the skies, long haul flights with set fuel allowances always got priority, rescue or not.

Justice breathed a sigh of relief down the line, Brains could almost hear his smile. "Thanks. If there is anyone inside you're going to be their only hope right now, at least this way I'll know we've tried everything."

Ignoring the doubt Brains began asking the relevant questions for who the boys should be dealing with on arrival and the details of the lay of the land, luckily the city council had building plans for the burning office block which could be relayed to Thunderbird Two, he was able to mark out the current route of the fire and the dangers posed. Pulling up onto the screen in front of him another of his inventions Brains ran a simulation of how the fire could have spread if it had begun like the fire chief presumed it had, that way he was able to second guess the route the fire would take and where the smoke would go with the layout of the building and it's rooms and windows. It was all subjective yet if it helped then it had to be worth a shot.

"I know I said I wanted to be closer to Dad and help find Allie but this is ridiculous."

Gordon sat co-piloting Thunderbird Two as John flew her as fast as the engines would allow towards the mainland, on hearing the klaxon on Tracy Island his first thought had been how long he could ignore it before it had to be answered. He knew it was a stupid and irresponsible thing to even think, let alone do, but he felt that only one thing in the world mattered, one life needed saving more than any other and if they were called out to a rescue, they might miss their chance.

John was somewhat glad of the distraction of the rescue mission, he needed the control it gave him and his mind desperately needed some kind of task to keep it ticking over without turning to thoughts that would only fill him with dread. He'd begun worrying fairly early on as to how the two of them would be able to help with a fire, but once Brains had begun relaying the details and he ascertained that they were there to search and retrieve anyone trapped inside the building he felt happier with the situation. The two of them could handle that… He hoped so anyway.

He turned to Gordon, catching his gaze and holding it for a moment. "I know you want to be ready to help Alan but there's a large number of cops on the group securing the perimeter of the building we're heading, the faster we get this done the sooner they can get back to doing their job and finding him. It might not seem like it but right now we're doing the best we can." Forcing a smile he let it drop to a frown as he turned back to the console, his own words reassured himself somewhat but his stomach kept twisting nervously, something didn't feel right.

The journey took a little over ten minutes, the approach slowed them down as dark clouds filled the skies around the city and rumbled unpleasantly, rain lashed down below battling against the burning building that could easily be seen in the distance. John eased Thunderbird Two in slowly, she was large and built to withstand hurricanes yet it required a delicate touch, the downpour played havoc with the landing gear and the visuals around the craft were dismal. Luckily the police had cordoned off a deserted section of road a few hundred feet away from the building, once down John went to relay the task with the crews on the ground, he had much of the information from Brains already but the smallest of details may have helped and he knew that during a rescue ten minutes could change a situation drastically.

As he left the warm confinement of Thunderbird Two he was met with the heavy rain, he wore a helmet with a visor to hide his face yet the water made it's way through and in a moment he felt completely drenched, it was too bad the rain didn't seem to be making any impression on the inferno in front of him.

Inside Thunderbird Two, still dry, Gordon had quickly set to work on setting the proximities to one of the heat seeking programs they used for finding people in such situations, it was unusual to be called to a scene with so many emergency crews already there so it was difficult to get the program to pick out the building from the masses of heat signatures around the area. It took a few minutes to outline the building and with the help of the ground works Brains had sent over he had a basic outline in front of him of the heat signatures inside the structure.

Running a hand through his hair he stared at the screen for a few seconds, if they were going to get inside then things would be difficult, the routes from the ground upwards were blocked and the first couple of floors from the right of the building were ablaze. If they were going to enter then it would have to be at a higher level. Shaking his head he blew the screen in front of him up so he could see closer, starting at the ground floor where the blaze seemed to have originated from and slowly working upwards. The ground floor was a glare of white which indicated its intense heat, it radiated outwards to red, then yellow and finally to green where the fire hadn't hit. Colder areas like the ground around the building were blue.

Ignoring the heat signatures of the first couple of floors where Gordon felt certain no one would have survived, he panned slowly upwards, one floor at a time. Bizarrely the heating in the building still seemed to be working giving the rooms a green tinge and the radiators red glows, he couldn't tell where the smoke was through the program but he knew that it wasn't just the heating warming up the upper floors. The ceilings were showing signs of heat exposure, the ones a few floors above the fire glowing reds and the ones above in hues of yellow that weren't far behind. If the floors below went then the ones above would quickly follow.

When his eyes fell on the clear form of a person along one of the hallways Gordon was surprised he hadn't seen them before, once he spotted them they seemed so blatantly apparent against the rest of the building. For one they were moving, be it slowly and from a position which seemed like they were laying close to the ground and for some bizarre reason, right by one of the radiators. Taking a deep breath he exhaled and quickly searched the rest of the building, taking note of the floor the person was on and quickly working through a route. If the fire crews could get their ladders high enough then they could enter a couple of floors below and make their way up the stairway, they had breathing apparatus that should cope with the smoke for a short time, hopefully long enough to get the person out of there.

"John?"

John answered his com link in his ear, nodding to the fire chief he'd been speaking to as he turned away to speak to Gordon. "Go ahead Op Five."

Quickly relaying his plan to his older brother Gordon explained what he wanted to do, the gas mains still hadn't been shut off but there were hopes that it would be done so shortly.

"We can't wait for that though." Gordon sighed again, he seemed to be doing that a lot recently. "The casualty is still moving, with the smoke in the building they might only have minutes left. We can't take the chance to wait."

"It's a risk going in though," Counteracted John, he was watching the flames licking up at the old brickwork and wondered how long such an old building would last in those conditions. "Is the casualty accessible?"

"If we can enter a couple of floors below we can go up the stairwell, the casualty is in one of the corridors, there's a window along from there but the ladders won't reach and I wouldn't want to risk a drop line from TB2." He to was watching the building now, half the screen heat sensors and the other the view from the windscreen mostly blurred by the rain. "If we can get up there then we could leave by the window on the corridor, I can't tell if the casualty has any other injuries than smoke inhalation but we'd have to take a stab in the dark with it and pray that he's otherwise alright."

"Might be some homeless guy out of luck." John mused, he began making his way through the rain back towards the fire chief to run their plan of action past him. "I'd be willing to bet it's just the smoke inhalation, if he'd got caught in the explosion that caused the blaze then he wouldn't be moving."

"Alright then, let's get them rescued. Sooner we do the sooner we can get back to finding Alan."

"Too right." John took a deep breath, tackling a fire often seemed like diving beneath the ocean, you suddenly appreciated air a hell of a lot more than you ever realized.

It didn't take long to suit up and run the plan of action past the fire chief, Justice seemed relieved to be having help with the situation even if it were only minor. He'd requested that after the rescue the boys stay to help tackle the blaze but John had tread carefully around his refusal, part of him wanted to be involved just to get his mind off the other rescue needed in their lives, but another part of him was with Gordon and desperately wanted to get away. Also, if they pulled whoever was in the building out alive, they'd need immediate medical attention and getting to the nearest hospital by Thunderbird was pretty damn quick. Lives came before saving a building.

Gordon was going to enter first, thankfully command and control could be run by Brains even though he was thousands of miles away in space, the information relayed in real time meaning his voice through their ear pieces sounded as though he was right there with them, as their father usually was, relaying details and whatever information or problems came their way.

It hadn't taken long to discuss their requirements with the fire crews who had used one of the hydraulic platforms for entry to the burning building, the city had only recently required one of the larger trucks which supported the one hundred and fifty foot extended height of platform, before they'd had a regular one hundred footer, the extra height would take Gordon a couple of floors above his initial proposal but the higher they got the better.

The platform had been adapted to carry a stretcher down so with the folded apparatus strapped to his back along with his oxygen tank he began to climb the ladder, mindful of each foot falling against each rig and which way the smoke pooled from the building below. A few of the lower windows had cracked or broken so smoke billowed up towards him, already he could feel the heat and as he drew closer his vision quickly limited itself. In such situations he was always thankful of the thermal imaging camera on his belt.

Ignoring the camera for the moment he instead withdrew a flat-headed axe which he used to break the window before him, the flat-head and the motion he used - corners one at a time - insured the glass didn't break too unevenly. He was quickly able to remove the majority of the pane allowing himself entry. The rain didn't help, it was just as heavy as ever and made vision difficult, the light in his helmet only went so far, in a strange way he found himself looking forward to getting into the building and out of it.

"I have access."

John was below him, suited up to follow in his stead with an extra oxygen canister for the casualty, he was also equipped with a fire blanket, a small fan in his belt, and a small pick ax which was standard equipment on most missions.

"Following behind." John breathed, his breathing amplified through the close feed as the oxygen clicked in and out with each breath. Gordon knew he'd sound the same yet it still amused him slightly, having Darth Vadar on your team kept up moral.

"You getting this Brains?" He had a video link on the top of his helmet relaying what he saw up to Brains on Thunderbird Five, they'd been using the technology for a while now, it was reassuring to have an extra pair of eyes spotting what you may otherwise have missed.

"Loud and cl..cl… FAB." Brains' voice was sharp and sounded as though he was right besides him, he didn't have the interference of the oxygen though the gentle beeps of the main computer he sat before could be heard over the line. "You're a floor b…below the victim."

Gordon had climbed through the window, he'd put the flat-headed ax back into it's slot on his belt and taken out the thermal imaging camera, a relatively small device with a screen only a few inches wide showing the hallway before him. Turning it on the room turned grey, heat signatures picked out in lighter shades, thankfully nothing white hot as yet but the ceiling was getting there. The casualty should have been along and directly above on the next floor, the radiator he was besides was mirrored by the one on the level Gordon stood, black painted iron, the old type which reminded him of boarding school and museums.

Turning back to the window he nodded to John as he came through besides him, together they slowly edged their way through the corridor, Brains in their ears directing them.

"Right hal…ha… midway down."

The corridor was laid out in a T shape, they'd entered on one of the top points of the letter and now made their way into the centre of the building, passing the elevator. Smoke masked much of their vision, a thick fog moving ghostly through and suffocating the remaining air.

"On your left. Plain do…door."

John came forward with a heat sensor in his hands, a small metal rod attached to a reader which he pressed against the wood. It gave a shrill beep as it read the temperature, opening the door without knowing if there were a blaze on the other side could prove catastrophic - the change in air pressure and temperature could result in a ball of fire bursting at them. He checked the handle, centre of the door and the frame, it only took a few seconds but with each second the fire below spread and the risk of explosion increased.

"We're good to go." He stood back again and let Gordon take the lead, walking slowly and mindfully out into the corridor and turning up the stairs. If the gas did ignite then the blast of fire would immediately head up its clearest route which in this case would be straight up the stairwell. "What's the news on the gas mains, Brains?"

For a moment there was no reply, he must have been checking it himself. "N..no word." He muttered, the annoyance was shared. "Old pipes haven't be… been serviced in a whi… long time. No one knows where t… the main inter… intersection is."

"Ridiculous." Gordon snapped, he stopped as they neared the top of the short flight of stairs to the next level, allowing John ahead again to check the door before him. He knew the fire was below but it was better safe than sorry and fires always seemed to go the way you least wanted them to. "If they don't do something soon they're going to lose half a block of buildings."

"And us." John added solemnly, nodding again for them to continue as he stepped back. "The fire chief said he'd been put through to the military right?"

"Ye… Yes?"

John slowly followed Gordon through, the screen on the thermal imaging device illuminating the concentration on his face. "Can you get some of them down here to deal with it? Surely they've got some kind of leeway?"

"It's not the fact that they won't do it though," Gordon breathed, "It's that they can't find where the damn off button is."

Beeping could be heard from the console up on Five again. "The blueprints for the buil…building are accessible, but all the files are mi…mix… jumbled." They could hear the stress in his voice, he wasn't the only one dealing with the problem but the access being in International Rescue gave you should have made the process quicker, yet right now nothing was going anywhere. "You concentrate on getting out of there a.. ali… in one piece, and I'll try to sor…sort through these. Mind on the job boys."

John and Gordon shared a smirk at the phrase, their father often said it to them and for a second it felt like he were right besides Brains setting the guiding lantern to light their path through the mission and home.

"FAB Brains."

Once they reached the end of the corridor Gordon scanned the thermal imaging device through the smoke before him, it was lighter up here than below but he could still only see a few feet before him, the smoke turning everything into hues of grey. The oxygen in his and John's masked clicked intermittently for a moment as they themselves fell quiet, scouting the area before proceeding and pinpointing the casualty.

Sure enough the thermal imaging picked up the radiator along the corridor and before it slumped a body which shone white and light grey through the small screen. Gordon had thought it strange before but now being there it seemed even more so, the person lay against the radiator which continued to pump heat through the building, their back to it as though cold or not realizing the heat radiating from it. It was a major worry.

John was pulling out the fire blanket before they even reach the person, Gordon too had his mind in autopilot as he prepared the stretcher, snapping it out of it's folded shape.

"Hey buddy. Let's get you out of here." He spoke calmly as he approached.

As they came forward it became apparent that it was a young man, his trainers ash grey from the smoke and his skin equally so, his head hanging unresponsively to one side. John kneeled down, mindful of where the young man's arm rested sprawled out besides him, he removed one of his gloves and gently checked for a pulse, holding his breath as though it would make the feeling more noticeable. He dug his fingers in slightly, moving them further down as he strained for a response, thankful when he struck the blood flow and felt a slow rhythm. He smiled and put the glove back on, always relieved not to have to haul a dead body from a scene, he nodded to Gordon in confirmation.

"Hey pal, can you open your eyes for us?" Gordon reached over, his own gloved hand tilting the young man's head so he could see him properly, Brain's intake of breath was followed by Gordon's more vocal response. "Shit!"

He lurched backwards, the stretcher banging down to the ground loudly. He scrambled for a second before standing, white faced as his heart struggled to give him the increased oxygen he suddenly required. He fell to his knees again and reached forward with his hands, looking at the casualty fully with wide eyes, wondering why he hadn't seen it straight away.

"What is it?" John frowned, edging away himself as his first thoughts turned to there being a needle on scene or something they'd need to be mindful of, perhaps a nastier injury than expected. His heart felt as though it stopped as Gordon finally found the breath to reply.

"It's Alan."

BAZINGA!