Hello everyone and have a great WE end! I know I haven't published a chapter for this story for nearly a month, but I had no more chapters in my pockets nor the inspiration to write a proper chapter. Therefore, this chapter has dragged a bit but it's there! FINALLY !
I had the idea to focus on Jimmy Borelli's feeling and spirit (on the first part). It's the request of a fan (she/he will recognize himself/herself) who wanted 'more Jimmy'. So it's good, I had this idea before haha
Enjoy this chapter for the end of the day ;)
Coughing. Coughing was all that could do Borelli. The dust had completely invaded the space and prevented him from breathing properly. His lungs burned like hell because of this hot air. All parts of his body ached so badly that he didn't dare to move the time to regain his senses and to be able to breathe properly again. If he could breathe better one minute. He had to open his eyes. This was necessary because he wasn't alone. He thought back to what had happened. He had felt the concrete slab that served as a roof move, one of the structures that he set up with Tony break, and Dawson pushed him in the stabilized structure before losing consciousness briefly and waking up in this awkward position. He concentrated on the sounds that reached his ears, those who mingled harmoniously with the shrill sound that gave him a headache. His heart was beating a mile a minute, his breathing became again almost normal despite the coughing. Slowly, trying to avoid this headache, he opened his eyes. Everything was a blur around him. Blur, gray, orange, black and dusty. After a few endless seconds, he began to get used to this hostile environment and tried to turn his head to see what was around him. His neck sent him intense pain signals along his spine, but slowly, he looked left and then right. On the left there were only concrete and dust. On his right, there was a kind of a big hole near him where the ceiling was continuing to collapse.
"Somebody?", he tried, but a coughing fit came again.
He closed his eyes, too tired and exhausted. So that's the job of firefighter he thought. Nobody would have imagined this could happen one day, to himself or someone else. He came under the rubble because he was sure to help people he regarded as models, but instead of this, he found himself stuck under the rubble too, waiting for help from the outside. Without being able to actually help them as he would have liked. What a moron I am... In a final effort, he took a deep breath through the pain and cried with all his strength.
"Somebody?!"
And then he coughed his lungs. The inside of his chest was burning, a strong pressure exerting on it. He opened his eyes slowly, looking his chest that was hurting him so badly. Then he saw a concrete block placed on it, gently as a feather. He pulled it away as he could and rolled on his side, approaching dangerously the hole. He placed himself so that his head can pass the hole while the rest of his body was under the stable structures. Below, he saw lights. Probably those of their gears. He had to think, and quickly. He thought of all the material and Dawson were able to get down. They had taken spares for K12, oxygen tanks and full of material which they didn't think they need. Among them, there were ropes. He straightened up and sat on the unstable concrete block and looked around, careful with his neck. He saw a piece of rope that should have been used to take the bark with Kelly inside. He threw himself on it, determining the height that separated him from the torches which called him and the length of the rope. This can work. He tried to find an anchor point, a place where the jam the rope to go down in that hole. He found one as he could: a concrete block placed upright, strong and big enough to pinch the cord in between the other concrete slab and support hiss weight during the process. He threw the rope in the hole. Lacking his return device with him, he had to come down with just his strength, as he had learned from his older brother Danny when they were younger. He toppled into the void after exhaled deeply to remove any stress, then slowly went down because of the pain that was lacerating his neck and back. What was reassuring was that he didn't hear any pass devices. He knew by the firefighter Academy that they are on after about ten seconds without movement on the part of the one who 'wear' this pass device. At the bottom, the dust had invaded more space. And it was logical: concrete blocks were still falling. He crouched down, feeling the area where there was the light from the torches and soon he realized that it was only the lights, and there was nobody where he was. I hope that Dawson's radio still works... He grabbed his radio and turned it on.
"Dawson, you copy?"
But he had no answer, just the sizzle. He coughed again, drawing himself up to avoid the dust in the atmosphere. Damn, I forgot. Her radio is in the tunnel to relay the signal... No one was down, then where could they be? He sat a moment, his back against one of the concrete blocks, laying his head on painfully, and sighed while closing his eyes. He was just a candidate, who started on the job, and he had to take care of a situation that was overwhelming him. How could he handle the situation when even the most experienced firefighters couldn't? He was totally lost. A few seconds passed, and Jimmy heard a noise above him. He jumped, startled, as if he was a little sleepy. He sat up, got up with difficulty and walked to the rope he used to go down.
"Borelli? Borelli, is that you?"
He sighed of relief, closing his eyes again. It was Gabby.
"Yeah, that's me! I didn't find you down here!"
"I'm sorry, I had to put Hermann and Severide in a safe place! You were unconscious when I checked you. You were the less injured so…"
"It's nothing Dawson! You did good! I'm coming up!"
He grabbed the rope and began to rise slowly. His back ached as ever, but he had to stay strong. For the group. After a few minutes he came up, helped by Gabby. He sat back, closed his eyes and sighed, wincing.
"You hurt?" Gabby asked.
He slightly opened his eyes, focusing on Gabby's face and her concerned expression he could read on her face and nodded with difficulty. Gabby came closer, also wincing and placed her hands on his neck. He looked down at the floor.
"You hurt too", he remarked when he saw the blood running down her legs.
"It's nothing. I saw far worse, trust me".
Jimmy knew what it meant, and he saw that Gabby knew too. It was obvious.
"You're in shock Dawson".
"You're right. But this shock is helping me to stay conscious and alert".
"Then… You don't feel… Really feel anything? No pain?"
She shook her head while palpating Borelli's neck. Soon after, he winced and let out a little cry of pain. Gabby took off immediately her hands and faced Jimmy.
"You have a concussion and I think this area will be a little sore for the coming days. Come on, we must join the others", she said, not facing Jimmy.
"Wait Dawson! Gabby!"
She turned around, surprised that her collegue called her by her first name.
"Sorry. I just wanted... You to listen to me".
She stood up and sat down in front of him, ready to listen despite the anger that was growing inside of her.
"We still have beacons?"
"What?" she asked, surprised.
"Distress beacons, you know? Those we took in a bag and placed in the galleries. We still have some?"
"Uh... Yes I think? Why, I don't understand".
"If we activate the emergency signal, they can still find us, isn't it?"
"Yes, yes, they have a very large extent even under the rubble".
"If there are four of them, placed in the same location, they will probably know we're alive and they'll come for us".
"One is not enough?"
"Yes, but four beacons to four firefighters. They will know we are alive".
Gabby bit her lip and put her hand on her belly. She had to get out of here, quickly. She was terribly worried for Matt. And for her baby.
"This could work. But first, we must join the others. They are stable but unconscious. I dragged them into the galleries as I could but now..."
"Beacons are with them?"
She nodded.
"Then let's go".
They started on their legs and arms, and crawled into the tunnels to arrive near Kelly and Hermann.
Outside, it was still boiling of testosterone. After Riddle and Vermulen were fired by the mayor of Chicago, the tension was still palpable. Boden, Patterson, Cruz, Vlad and the two deminers were ready to resume their work in the galleries and to come down again.
"Kenny? You take the lead here?"
"No worries. Go save your men Wallace".
The latter made a nod to his colleague like to thank him for taking the lead here as he'll go down to rescue his four firefighters. He turned to Capp.
"Capp, can you call the next of kin and tell them to go to Chicago Med? Explain to them what is really happening and asks Cindy to take news of Casey and keep us informed".
He nodded, grabbing his phone. Will and the mayor were close to Kenny.
"Vlad? It's Vlad right?"
Vlad turned and shook his head up and down.
"Unfortunately, you can't go back down. I need someone here from the bomb squad or an expert in demining that can be as good as Vermulen. To guide us".
He pointed his chest, very surprised at the consideration he received. Consideration he had for the first time since his early career. He swallowed and approached the group.
"You are ... Sure I'll be up to it?"
"Not you?"
Eyes wide open for several seconds, he looked serious and nodded.
"Yes sir. I'll be up".
He still approached them and took the tablet that was used to indicate the beacons that were still operating.
"This is weird".
"What?" Kenny asked.
"These four beacons here, you see?" Vladsaid pointing the screen. "I am almost certain that we never get here. So why four beacons are working, all in one place?"
Noticing that it was an emergency signal, he immediately grabbed his radio and turned it on again.
"Chief Boden? Chief ! I have a signal, I know where your men are!"
"What?!"
"I know where your men are! I have four emergency signals that are displayed on my screen, and we have not explored there with our group".
"Four signals? Why four?"
"Four men, four signals! They are alive chief! And I have their position!"
Vlad left the tent, and came as close to the signal as possible, turned around a moment and stopped.
"They are below me".
He bent down and went on his knees to see if the concrete slab on which he was, was stable and had little breaking points. He grabbed his radio again.
"I need a radio transmitter and a camera! ASAP!"
The mayor stepped back, leaving firefighters work together as never before, hand in hand, just like Will. They returned to the tent with the battalion chief to direct the whole operation.
Like on scene, the Chicago Med hospital was very busy and hot. Capp had called Cindy, Jenny, Christie, Benny and Danny and explained that what they were seeing on television right now was their call and their relatives were under the rubble and wounded, or in hospital in the case of Matt. They were also asked to join the hospital waiting room and Capp asked Cindy to keep them informed of Casey. Fifteen minutes already passed. The relatives knew each other more or less, having met in the firehouse or in many outside opportunities. Cindy were already there, asking about Matt, in vain. Nobody wanted to give him news. The emergency door opened and mechanically, Hermann's wife looked toward the entrance and saw a blonde woman. She didn't know her, but her face was the same as someone she knew well. She approached her, seeing that she was lost.
"Hello, excuse me…"
The young lady was ready to burst into tears, and Cindy invited her to sit down a minute.
"You're here for Casey? Matt Casey?"
The young woman blocked her eyes on the other blonde, a little older than her. Then she nodded.
"I'm Cindy Hermann, Christopher Hermann's wife. Your brother and my husband work together".
"Your husband also was delivered? Why is there no firefighter here?"
"There is nobody here because they are still on site. There was a second collapse and they just could take Casey out. I try to have news but... As I'm not really a proxy..."
"I... I-I can try? I'm really lost..."
"Hey..."
Cindy approached and hugged Christie.
"Everything will be okay right? Our relatives are fighters, good firefighters. Everything will be back to normal".
Christie returned the embrace and pressed Cindy against her.
"Thank you", she whispered.
She wiped the tears that started to flow down her face, got up and went to the office while clearing her voice.
"Hello, um... Can I have news from Matt Casey?"
"We already said no!"
The nurse looked up, eyes almost full of anger. They were really busy the last few hours.
"Oh sorry. Excuse me. I thought it was again... Whatever. We are very busy, so unless you are a close relative, I can do nothing for you".
"I'm Christie, Matt's sister".
"I see".
She turned her head towards one of the examination rooms.
"CONOR!" she screamed.
Soon after, he left the room and walked to the office.
"There was a need to scream like that?"
She placed a hand on the back of Conor toget him close to the office and meet Christie.
"Dr. Rhodes, meet christie, Matt's sister. Christie, meet the doctor who currently treats your brother".
She then left the couple and returned to her office where all the paperwork was waiting.
"May you sit down for a moment?" he asked, signing her to follow him to a quieter place.
"Uh... This woman is with me. She also needs news I think. Her husband works with my brother".
"Ah. Yes, I had forgotten how firefighters can be a great and huge family. She can come too".
"Thank you. Wait for me just a few seconds".
She turned to Cindy and motioned her to come. She got up and joined the couple.
"Dr. Rhodes has news about Matt".
"You follow me?"
"Christie, It's kind, but... The rest of the group will arrive, and they need someone to welcome them".
"In that case... Let's talk here and now".
Christie crossed her arms, determined.
"Then, sit down here".
They sat on chairs, the doctor faced the two women.
"First, I want you to know what happened. So that you understand everything".
The two women nodded and left Dr. Rhodes explain, both worried.
"I have these informations from the two paramedics from ambo 61 and who took Matt. Around two hours ago the complete firehouse 51 was called to a structure fire on Humboldt Park. They separated to find the cause of the fire and potential victims, but there was no fire. Matt has quickly realized the problem and found the source of the smoke. It was a bomb".
The two women let out a cry of horror, holding hands and their free hand reaching their mouth.
"Matt has had time to warn the others, but the bomb exploded while he, Hemrann, Severide and Ferraris were still inside the building. Dawson and Borelli decided to go down into the rubble to rescue them".
"Gabby?!" Christie interrupted dryly. "But she's pregnant! Of my brother!"
"Apparently, she had insisted to go down, explaining that as a fully fledge firefighter and a former PIC, she had the experience to save them."
Cindy and Christie were very worried.
"Arrived near the group, they stabilized the structure where the group was located and started to treat the firefighters. At this point, I think if I understood well, Matt... Matt was in cardiac arrest".
"Wh-what?"
Christie opened her mouth, letting out again tears from her eyes. She couldn't believe it.
"M-my brother is dead?"
"No, no, he's not dead. Dawson revived him. From what I know, the cardiac arrest lasted seven minutes. Over than an hour ago. He was brought here about fifteen minutes ago".
"How is he then? How's my little brother?"
"He is stable for now. We ran some tests to determine the extent of his internal damage, but we can't operate him. We have no free OR at the moment".
"My brother needs surgery, but he can't have one?"
"For now yes. As I said he is stable. Many people are in a more critical condition than your brother and must come before him. If his condition deteriorates, then he will switch to priority, which is not the case at the moment".
"And… Uh… T-the tests?"
"His pelvis and femur are fractured into rather delicate places. But there is no massive hemorrhage. However, we put an abdominal drain to be sure everything goes well. We sedated him to avoid problems, both with his wounds and with him. From what I understood, he inhaled a lot of smoke, which makes his trachea a little swollen and his lungs are struggling to work properly. We treat his lungs, so the dust still inside them can be removed without damage".
"A-and... And his head? He has nothing to his head?"
"A moderate concussion, but nothing more. There was blood in his ears but all examinations show no signs of more serious trauma. But we will clean his ears as they have many undesirable micro-objects. This is what probably caused the bleeding. As I said, your brother is stable for now".
"I can see him? I-I can see my brother?"
Dr. Rhodes looked the two women, one very concerned, and the other weeping bitterly.
"Of course I will take you there. But I must warn you: he has a tube in his throat to help his breathing, and an abdominal drain. Don't care about them, or the rest of the wires and tubes. It allows us to know how is your brother".
Christie nodded and turned her head to Cindy who smiled back.
"I stay here to wait the proxies. And give the news to the others".
"Okay. Please, don't hesitate to come inside".
Christie followed Dr. Rhodes in exam room 1 while Cindy grabbed her phone and called Capp.