BANG.
Iain froze, rooted to the ground in shock, his mouth hanging open.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion.
He watched in silent horror as Ethan was blasted through the side window of the bus by the immense force of the explosion; a limp, bloodied body.
He could do nothing but stare as Ethan was flung through the air. A jagged piece of metal that had been ripped from the side of the bus by the explosion hurtled towards Ethan at an alarming speed. Iain sucked in a breath of horror and alarm as it lodged itself deep into Ethan's lower chest.
Finally Ethan slammed into the ground, his shoulder and the side of his head taking the brunt of the impact.
Iain still stood frozen, his mouth dry and his heart pounding in his chest.
"Iain- Iain! Snap out of it, come on!" Jez brought him back to reality, elbowing him and beginning to run towards Ethan's motionless figure.
Almost mechanically, Iain grabbed his medical bag and followed Jez.
By the time Iain got there, Jez was already kneeling by the unconscious Ethan, checking his vitals.
He shook his head grimly, "It's not looking great."
It didn't take a genius to tell that Jez was most certainly correct.
Ethan's arms and legs were severely burned, his skin bloodied and charred. Shards of glass were embedded in his chest and face, and the side of his face was covered in bright red blood from where his head had hit the ground. The piece of metal was lodged deep into his chest, dark blood staining his uniform around it.
"I told him to get back..." Iain whispered, staring at the young doctor lying motionless before him.
Jez, having noticed Iain's trance-like state of shock, took matters into his own hands. He ran over to a nearby ambulance and grabbed a stretcher and neck brace, also taking the opportunity to alert a few other paramedics.
With the help of the other paramedics, Ethan was transferred to the back of the ambulance within a few minutes.
"You alright mate?" Jez asked solemnly, glancing over at Iain whilst attempting to stem the heavy bleeding from Ethan's chest.
The ambulance jolted into life and began speeding towards Holby.
Iain gave a small nod, letting out a shaky breath. Everything had happened so quickly; one minute Ethan was running towards the burning bus, the next he was on the ground, having been blasted out of the bus by the sheer force of the explosion.
The ambulance soon skidded to a stop outside the ED. Jez and Iain wasted no time in shoving the doors open and hastily wheeling Ethan out of the ambulance.
Connie came out of the ED as the ambulance pulled up, ready to treat the next casualty from the crash. She tried and failed to conceal her shock when she realised that it was one of her own doctors lying on the trolley.
"What on earth happened?" She asked, hurrying to Ethan's side.
"The bus' fuel tank was leaking," Iain grimaced, "We were told that nobody was allowed to go near it until they knew it was stable, but Ethan ignored them. He got most of the kids out, but the bus caught on fire and he ran straight back into it, just in time for it to explode."
"Alright... Quick as we can please!" Connie ordered as Ethan was hastily wheeled towards RESUS, composing herself and snapping back into doctor mode.
Ethan was quickly transferred into RESUS, and Connie immediately set to work hooking him up to machines and inserting IVs.
Charlie soon entered RESUS, evidently having been alerted to the fact that one of their own doctors had been brought in as a patient.
"Connie- what happened?"
"Ethan decided to play hero- he ran into a burning bus to try to get a child out; the bus exploded with him in it." Connie said.
"He was in the bus when it exploded?"
"Yeah. He got lucky- well, as lucky as you can get in that situation- and he got thrown through a window away from the explosion." Iain explained.
Charlie nodded, deep in thought, "What about the kids?"
"He got most of them out, but there was one boy left in the bus when it caught on fire."
"I assume he... Didn't make it?" Charlie asked delicately.
Iain shook his head grimly.
"Alright, Charlie, can you alert the burns unit and tell them to prepare for a patient," Connie announced, "He's lost a lot of blood from the shrapnel in his chest, we might need to have a transfusion on standby. Suspected collapsed lung from the force of the shrapnel, as well as broken ribs. It looks like his shoulder took the brunt of the fall, suspected dislocation and multiple fractures. Let's get him to surgery as soon as possible, and I'll arrange an urgent MRI scan for the head trauma."
The doctors and nurses all scurried away immediately, following Connie's orders without hesitation.
"Um, Connie... I'm assuming that no-one has told Cal about this yet?" Charlie asked.
Connie shook her head with a sigh, "He has no idea. He probably thinks that Ethan is still out with the paramedics."
"Alright... Well, someone should go and tell him as soon as possible," Charlie said.
Connie gave him a half hopeful half expectant look, clearly not wanting to be the one to have to deliver the news to Cal.
"Fine," Charlie sighed, "I'll go and tell him then."
"Thanks, Charlie." Connie said with a trace of a smile.
Charlie hurried off to reception, where Noel and Max were standing and chatting.
"You don't happen to know where Cal is, do you?" Charlie asked as he approached reception.
"Cal..." Noel pondered out loud, "He should be in cubicles, I think. Why?"
"There's been a bit of an incident at the RTC." Charlie grimaced.
"The RTC involving the school bus? The one that Ethan was sent to?" Max asked, frowning worriedly.
Charlie nodded and hurried off towards cubicles before any more questions could be asked.
He pulled back a cubicle curtain and peeked around it; sure enough Cal was standing there with Lily assessing a patient with a minor injury.
"Um, Cal, can I have a word with you?" Charlie said.
Cal glanced over at Lily and said, "Sure, I think Doctor Chao has everything under control here."
He peeled off his latex gloves and stepped out of the cubicle with Charlie.
"What's up?" Cal asked.
"I have some news, but... Shall we go somewhere a bit more private first?" Charlie said, sidestepping the question.
He steered the very confused Cal to the staff room, shutting the door behind them.
"There's... There's no easy way to put this, Cal," Charlie began, avoiding eye contact.
"What's going on?" Cal frowned, realising that it must be something serious.
"The RTC that your brother went to earlier today-"
"Charlie, just tell me what happened." Cal interrupted anxiously.
"The petrol tank of the school bus was leaking, and eventually it... Well, exploded." Charlie said, grimacing.
"...Exploded? But... I mean, nobody was injured, right?" Cal asked shakily. Charlie could tell that he already knew what the answer would be.
"Look, Cal... Ethan was in the bus when it exploded. He sustained some very serious injuries, but he's in RESUS now. Connie's treating him- you know that he's in the very best hands." Charlie explained.
Cal stood frozen, staring wide-eyed at Charlie.
"Why... Why was he in the bus? He shouldn't have been in there if it wasn't stable!"
"He was the only one in the bus- he ignored protocol and went in before the risk was eliminated. Iain tried to stop him, but he wasn't having any of it."
"Why did he go in?"
"The children were trapped in there. He got most of them out before the bus exploded." Charlie explained.
Charlie gave Cal a second to let it sink in, watching as panic, worry and fear mingled on his face.
"Where is he? I need to see him- I need to be there." Cal said decisively.
"He's going up to surgery at the moment. It might be a while until you can see him," Charlie said with a sympathetic look.
"Where's Connie? I need to know what's going on," Cal demanded.
"She's probably still in RESUS, but it might not be the best idea-"
Charlie was cut off by Cal rushing out of the room and heading towards RESUS. Charlie sighed and went to follow him.
Cal burst through the doors of RESUS, causing Connie to look up from across the room where she was cleaning up.
"How bad is it, Connie? Just tell me straight." Cal said, his voice shaking slightly.
Connie sighed, "You already know the answer, Cal. He was right in the centre of the explosion, of course his injuries are very severe. But you know that he's in the best possible hands; I can assure you that I will be closely overseeing all of his treatment."
Cal gave a small nod, running a hand through his hair, his face creased in worry.
"Until Ethan gets out of surgery I want you to wait in the staff room, okay? You're not in any state to be working right now." Connie said gently.
Cal allowed Charlie to steer him into the staff room and sit him down on the couch. A silence hung over them as Charlie quietly made a cup of tea for Cal and placed it on the table in front of him.
"Are you okay to wait here on your own?" Charlie asked.
"...Yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks, Charlie." Cal said, forcing a small smile.
Charlie nodded and gave a sympathetic smile before leaving Cal alone in the staff room.
Cal leant back on the couch, letting out a shaky breath and covering his face with his hands. The reality of the situation was beginning to sink in.
He was roused from his thoughts by the sound of the staff room door opening and two female voices entering.
"Hey Cal." Alicia said with a smile.
Cal tried to reply, but found himself unable to speak.
"Is everything okay?" Lily asked perceptively.
Cal shook his head slightly, his eyes fixed on the floor.
Alicia and Lily exchanged a worried look and each took a seat on either side of Cal.
"What's up, Cal?" Alicia asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"The... The bus exploded..." Cal murmured, speaking more to himself than to Lily and Alicia.
"...What?" Lily frowned, confused.
"He shouldn't have been in there, why didn't someone stop him? So stupid..."
"Cal, you're, um, not making any sense," Alicia informed him awkwardly.
Cal lifted his head and his eyes met Alicia's.
"The RTC that Ethan was sent to earlier..."
It suddenly clicked for the girls. Alicia's eyes widened, and Lily gave an audible gasp.
After a pause of disbelief, Cal spoke again, "He's in surgery right now."
"How bad are his injuries?" Lily asked, her face creased with worry.
"He... He was right in the middle of the explosion; he broke safety protocol to get the kids out. Connie said that his injuries are... Well, bad. Very bad." Cal said shakily, barely managing to hold back tears.
"'Get the kids out'?" Alicia inquired.
"It was a school bus. The fuel tank was leaking so nobody was allowed to go in, but apparently Ethan ignored protocol and got most of the kids out before it exploded."
For some unknown reason, Alicia's face suddenly grew pale.
"The school bus... Was it on the motorway heading out of Holby?" Alicia asked, standing up hastily.
"I think so... Why?" Cal said.
Without another word, Alicia turned and ran out of the staff room, the door slamming shut behind her.
This left Cal and Lily alone in the staff room, confused about Alicia and worried about Ethan.