Chapter 11: Broken
While Chimney was still recovering from his stab wounds for the next 3 months, Alisa was given special permission by Chief Alonzo to be his floater on top of her work at the hospital while her art business was still going to be her main job but Carla would help ship out things that were for urgent orders when she watched Christopher. Chief Alonzo signed off on her recertifications and was very impressed as she broke records despite being away from the service for 3 years.
The Diazes, the Buckleys, and Chimney were going to regular therapy to process and heal from the incident and after 6 heavy sessions, they were cleared psychologically fine and were alright to come back should they need more. Alisa and Eddie were alright with the suggestion as the incident brought back memories from Eddie's deployment and his PTSD resurfaced. Christopher also talked to his parents because he was scared he was going to lose them and they reassured him that it was going to take more than that to take them away from him.
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Station 118
The 118 was currently giving a tour to Harry's class with Bobby taking the lead. Buck and Eddie served as his assistants the whole time while Hen served as the pretend 911 dispatcher and Alisa was stocking and organizing the ambulance. She also managed to barter for teddy bears to be given to children who would be on the calls they would be dispatched to, something she did in both El Paso and New York, she snuck one to Christopher to complete his set of bears from her time in New York and El Paso. "Now, what if I told you that a big computer brain helps you when you dial 911." Bobby explained, "It is called CAD or Computer Aided Dispatch." he pointed at Harry, "Why don't you call an emergency, Harry."
"The library's on fire and all our homeworks burned up." Harry gleefully replied, causing everyone to chuckle.
"Okay, that's a good one." Bobby held in his chuckle, "So, when you dial 911, the dispatcher types in your address into the computer then CAD automatically finds your school and finds the nearest station and…"
RIIIIING!
"Station 118! Station 118!" Hen called from the loft with a megaphone as an alarm rang, "Please dispatch Engine 118 and EMS 118 to Meadow's Library immediately. Harry Grant forgot to do his homework!" that got everyone laughing hard and Harry even harder.
"Alright, who wants to check on the trucks?" Bobby asked.
"Meeee!" the children raised their hands.
"Alright, then please follow Firefighters Eddie Diaz and Evan Buckley." Bobby instructed.
"Let's go! Let's go!" Buck ushered half of the group to the Engine.
"Alright, let's go check out the Ambulance." Eddie brought them to EMS 118, "One of the busiest rigs in the firestation is the ambulance as they also do their own medical runs if they're not on call with either Truck or Engine."
"Ooooh!" the kids looked in awe as Alisa exited the back of the ambulance with a box of pins for them.
"It's a princess! It's a princess!" one of the girls said.
"Oh, thank you, dear but I'm not a princess." Alisa giggled.
"This is Alisa Diaz, like me, she is a firefighter and paramedic in the 118." Eddie introduced her, "Right now, she is acting as the Paramedic-in-Charge."
"What's that?" another one of the girls asked.
"Well, that means she gets to take the lead on calls that require medical attention with her team. She decides what actions to take." Eddie explained.
"Is it hard becoming a firefighter or paramedic?" another girl asked.
"Well, it was but with hard work, I did it. If you're determined to be one, you'll make it." Alisa winked, "If you decide to become either one of those, have courage." she placed the box in front of them, "Now, I can't bring you in the ambulance BUT I can give these pins to you as a souvenir."
The kids cheered as they grabbed a pin each that had said 'LAFD 118 Junior Firefighter-Paramedic' with a drawing of a corgi with a firefighter helmet on in the middle. After they clamored around Alisa, Eddie guided them to Ladder 118.
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One of the worst days arrived in LA, the CAD was down and the dispatch center was forced to use the analog lines and were going old school along with using maps. This made details more important so they could dispatch resources properly. All stations were on tactical emergency mode and were driving all around their district so they were prepared for any calls. "Hey, Cap, have you ever experienced anything like this?" Buck asked.
"Once. A lizard took out the power in the dispatch center." Bobby replied.
"I've been to 3 of these. Surprised they don't happen more often the way the city funds them." Hen added.
"Hey, come on. I like these old trucks." Buck pouted.
"I like them when they run." Eddie sassed.
"I've been in a backup truck and it was not a joy to ride in during the summer in El Paso." Alisa commented from the Ambulance when she heard their discussion, "The AC was broken!"
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It was safe to say it was pure chaos as the dispatch center worked around the clock dispatching the LAFD and LAPD. Some, who were unfamiliar with the system, ended up sending stations to either the wrong destination or doubled the resources in one call. Everyone in the dispatch center was keeping calm as they made sure to flag duplicate calls and tied not to commit murder when 3 pretentious FBI analysts arrived.
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911, what's your emergency?
Yeah, my wife's having a baby!
550 San Vicente, East of Miracle Mile District
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Alisa jumped out of the ambulance and rushed into the building with the rest following her and dropped down to the pregnant woman and her distressed husband. "Where the hell have you guys been?" He demanded.
"We apologize for the delay, sir. There's been a system outage." Alisa said as she started working on the woman, "Hen, come here and start her on fluids."
"Got it." Hen took out a bag of saline.
"Wait, she can't have the baby here!" the male exclaimed, "This was not how it's supposed to happen."
"Roger, this is pretty much the way it's happened throughout human history." she groaned.
"Ma'am, my name is Alisa Diaz and my partner, Hen Wilson. What's your name?" Alisa asked.
"Sonia." she gasped for air, "39 weeks pregnant, 38 years old, which makes me a geriatric pregnancy. God, I hate that word"
"I think you look lovely and geriatric is such a demeaning term for a woman your age." Alisa tried to lighten the mood causing Sonia to smile through the pain.
"I can't believe we're finally gonna meet her!" Sonia said, "Here… in the lobby!" she laughed a bit.
Alisa placed a blanket on her legs and prepped her, "That's okay. You're completely dilated, Sonia. I'm going to need you to push on the next contraction."
"Okay, okay." Sonia nodded and squeezed Roger's hand while she squeezed Hen's on the other, "Oh…" she began to pale.
"Sonia, are you alright?" Alisa and Hen asked at the same time.
"There's… there's something wrong with the baby." she groaned.
"No, no, no." Alisa reassured her, "Your baby is fine. You'll be able to meet them in a minute."
"No!" Sonia groaned again, "This was a mistake! Roger was right to panic. Look, we can't do this! We're not ready!" she began to panic.
Alisa's heart went out to the frightened woman and Eddie was worried she was going to have a flashback, "Sonia, look at me. Look at me." she calmly instructed and Sonia looked at her, "You just need to push. You've come this far already, you just need to push. Your baby wants to meet you." Sonia calmed down, "Now, push!"
The 118 watched as Hen encouraged Sonia as Alisa delivered the baby. Sonia screamed in pain as she pushed her baby out of her. They all smiled when they heard his cries echoing in the lobby. "He's here! He's here!" Alisa wrapped him in another blanket from her jump bag.
"Baby's got a set of pipes!" Hen transferred to Roger's side with a pair of scissors, "Would you like to do the honors?"
"Oh… my hands are shaking right now. I might hurt our baby…" Roger said and Hen nodded in understanding.
When the umbilical cord was cut, Alisa noticed something was wrong and handed the baby to Hen. She transferred to Sonia's side and saw that the woman had begun to lose consciousness. Roger began to panic and Buck pulled him to the side with Hen and Bobby flanking them and Eddie went to assist Alisa. "Roger, your baby needs you right now." Bobby told the frantic man kindly as Hen handed him to Roger, "Sonia's in good hands. We will do everything we can."
"Hen, Buck, go get the gurney. Cap, make sure you and Roger are in the warmest place in the lobby. Baby might get too cold." Alisa began instructing them unconsciously and everyone followed, "Eddie, what's her blood pressure?"
"Blood pressure is off the cliff." he replied, taking off his stethoscope.
"Sonia, can you hear me?" Alisa called, "Her skin's turning blue, she's not receiving enough oxygen in her blood. Cyanosis."
"What's happening here?" Roger asked.
"Your wife's gone into shock." Eddie explained and checked her pulse, "Lost her pulse."
"She's in cardiac arrest!" Alisa said, "Where's the gurney!?"
"Here! Here!" Buck and Hen appeared and Eddie and Alisa immediately placed Sonia there as Alisa sat astride on the gurney to start on her chest compressions.
"Roger, you can ride with us. I'll check on the baby." Eddie escorted them to Ladder 118.
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"Alisa, let me take over." Bobby said.
"I'm fine, Cap." Alisa continued on doing compressions, "I can't stop, she might die if I do. She's come so far. She's a fighter!"
"She is… She was. She was fine." he replied, pumping the bag valve mask (BVM), and they were talking about what happened.
"She's hemorrhaging. You need to let LA General know to prep for this." she started to tear up, "It's a mass transfusion protocol."
Bobby called the hospital as they still tried to get Sonia's pulse back.
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LA General - Emergency
When the medical team opened the doors of their hospital and Hen and Bobby opened the back of the ambulance, Alisa was still doing chest compressions on Sonia, not giving up hope that she would wake up. "How long has she been down?" the doctor asked.
"... 15 minutes." Bobby replied sadly.
"Okay. Call it." she said just as sad.
"Come on, Sonia. Please, please." Alisa still continued to do compressions as Bobby called for her to stop.
"Alisa." Bobby said and Alisa held her tears in as she got off Sonia and Hen and Bobby pulled out the gurney.
"What's wrong?" Roger's voice was heard at the door, arriving with the rest of the 118, and Alisa got off the ambulance.
"Roger, I'm so sorry." Alisa gestured to Sonia and stood beside Eddie, grabbing his hand and they all looked at him in sympathy.
Roger began to cry as he grabbed Sonia's cold hand and talked to her, "You were right. He's perfect. I wish you could see him." their baby was gorgeous, "I know I was scared and worried we weren't ready for this and I am damn sure I am not ready to do this without you, but I will." he placed their baby on her chest, "I'm going to figure it out."
The man kissed her forehead and and rested his head on her hand while their baby's cooing was heard around them while the 118 and hospital staff watched him grieve over the loss of his wife A steady heartbeat suddenly began to display on the lines of a ECG and Alisa immediately went to check on Sonia, "She… she's got a pulse." she announced.
"Go, go! Get her inside!" the doctor immediately instructed and the hospital staff began to bring Sonia in with an assist from Hen and Bobby.
Roger began to follow and turned back to look at the 118, "Thank you."
"Oh my god…" Alisa collapsed but Eddie caught her before he hit the pavement and started to sob in relief.
"That was amazing." Buck said, his eyes were glassy.
"That was a miracle." Eddie softly said and kissed Alisa's forehead while Buck hugged her side.
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911, what's your emergency?
Doheny Park's on fire! There's no one there yet! It's all over the news!
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The 118 was the first to reach Doheny Park where there were several structure fires and Bobby called for back-up. Dispatch cautioned them that they would be on their own for the next half hour as they were still trying to find resources they could send out to assist. A man ran up to them as Engine 118 stopped at the end, "Please, you gotta help! My son is stuck in there!" he shouted and pointed at his house that was on fire.
"Do you know which room?" Bobby asked.
"No, no! I haven't seen him!" he replied, panicking.
"Cap, I see him! Upstairs window!" Eddie called out when he walked ahead to survey and flinched when the house burst into more flames.
"Ladder 118, prep the ladder. Buck and Eddie will go up and prep for rescue." Bobby announced, "Alisa, Hen, triage. Jameson, Louis, Jones, go door to door and prep for evac. Assist medical after."
"Roger that!"
The 118 scrambled to carry out Bobby's orders. Eddie looked for a hydrant but it was fried, the only water they had was in the truck. "Who the hell would build homes here with only one hydrant!?" Alisa yelled out as she patched up an injured female and putting a green tag on her while Hen assisted the driver, "Someone's getting fired!"
"Yeah! He definitely is!" Buck agreed as he passed her while he hung on Ladder 118.
"Keep calling dispatch and have them shut down the gas lines in Doheny Park. I want a two-mile radius around Lambourne Place." Bobby ordered.
"Roger that, Cap!" Eddie nodded and went on his radio.
EMS 118 efficiently did triage and was thankful that it was mostly green tags and some yellow tags. Jameson, Louis, and Jones managed to have the uninjured residents evacuate the area before helping out triage. Alisa had left Hen with strict instructions before heading over to Bobby, "Cap, where do you need me?" Alisa asked.
"When Buck retrieves the boy, make sure you're ready." he said as they watched the ladder being set up by Aaron Taylor and Buck on his way up while the others were trying to use the water from Engine 118 to douse the flames a little.
"Help! Help!" the son started to scream from the window.
"I'm coming, kid! I'm almost there, just hold on!" Buck yelled, "Almost th– woah!"
"BUCK!" Eddie and Bobby exclaimed.
The ladder suddenly broke as Buck was about to reach the window. Alisa swiftly ran as Buck let go to check on him. "Are you alright?" she asked, "Whoever is maintaining that ladder is getting so fired!"
"Yeah, I'm okay, I'm okay." he replied and nodded to Bobby and raised an eyebrow when he saw Eddie climbing up the pipe, "Hey, Eddie, what are you doing!?"
"Huh?" Alisa looked up, "Really? Smoke-eating Spiderman, really?" her sass was covering up her anxiousness.
"Hey, Cap, if I did that, you'd yell at me." Buck pointed out and Bobby looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
Eddie was able to break in through the window, thankful that there was a semblance of a vent so he wasn't fried when he got in.
"..." Alisa was on her radio as she watched her husband, "Cap, gas lines have been shut and all neighbors are accounted for, the others were able to evacuate."
"Two more engines are rolling in but it makes no sense if there's no water pressure!" Hen called, running towards them.
KABOOM!
Another explosive eruption happened and Alisa could only hope that Eddie and the child he was rescuing was alright.
Eddie: Cap, negative on evac. We're pinned down on the south side of the house!
"I'm going to take an extinguisher!" Buck made his way up the truck, "I can make the jump and help him out!"
"No, wait!" Bobby called when he heard the roaring of a plane engine.
"Is that…" Alisa looked up at the sky behind them along with the others.
"It's the 217! Everyone take cover!" Bobby ordered.
"Eddie," Alisa called on her radio, "Hunker down! The 217 is inbound!"
Eddie: Seriously?
"You got this, Eddie. I'll see you when the fire's out so you better come out of that house." she ordered.
Eddie: Roger that.
Alisa rolled under Ladder 118 and almost hit Buck since he was already underneath and the blonde firefighter covered her with his body just in case she got hurt, or Eddie would skin him alive. The rest of the 118 went under the other trucks with the residents and some ran for cover in nearby homes. The sound of water raining down on them hard was heard and like a torrential rainfall, the street was flooded and put out the flames in the neighborhood. Buck helped Alisa out of the truck while Hen and Bobby helped the boy's father out. "Eddie, do you copy?" Bobby called on the radio.
"Come on, Eddie…" Alisa bit her lip as they waited for him to get out.
A few moments later, the front door was kicked open and there was Eddie, his gear covered in ashes and still looking very handsome despite the soot covering his face. He was carrying the boy in his arms and the paramedics immediately met him as he placed the boy down on the backboard. Hen massaged the boy's chest and he started to cough up and smiled. "Oh, buddy!" his dad started crying along with his sister.
"So, what's up with that smoke-eating Spiderman routine?" Buck asked beside Eddie, patting his back.
"I don't know, I just did it." Eddie gulped for air, "and prayed a lot."
"Eddie, let me check you out." Alisa said quietly.
"I'm fine." He reassured her.
"As the PIC, I'll be the judge of that." Her tone left no room for argument as she pulled him towards the ambulance.
Bobby and Eddie watched the couple walk towards EMS 118 before assisting the others.
"Sitt." she said in Swedish and he listened.
Alisa began checking his vitals and patching him up. Eddie cooperated with her and let her do it because she needed to reassure herself, and him, that he was going to be alright. "Alisa," Eddie cupped her face after she finished, "kolla på mig."
"..." she looked back at him and couldn't help but scold him, "You stupid, reckless, brave, and selfless soul! If you didn't come back to me, I would have brought you back to life and murdered you myself!" she cupped his cheeks, "You… you wonderful idiot!"
"I promised I would always try my hardest to come back to you, Alisa." he smiled at her, "We will always find our way back home."
She smiled at him and kissed him gently while the other firefighters watched and some took photos of the moment.
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Diaz Residence
The couple arrived home later in the evening and thanked Carla for watching Christopher on overtime. She waved them off saying that she was there for them and was glad they were safe, especially after seeing what happened at Doheny Park. They headed for Christopher's room where they found him reading his new obsession, Harry Potter. "Mommy, daddy, you're home!" he placed his book down when he saw his parents.
"Hello, mijo." they went and lied down beside him.
"Are you guys, okay?" he asked.
"We're okay now that we're home." Eddie replied.
"And cuddling with you makes everything better." Alisa added, pulling Christopher closer to her.
"Should we have a sleepover in your room?" Christopher asked.
"I think that's a wonderful idea." Eddie got up and carried both of them in his arms.
"Woah! How on Earth!?" Alisa started giggling with Christopher.
"I'm a firefighter, I've carried heavier stuff." Eddie winked as he walked towards their bedroom.
"Weeeeee!" Christopher cheered when Eddie gently threw them on the bed before jumping on them to give them a bear hug.
Translations:
kolla på mig - look at me
sitt - sit
A/N: Hey ya'll! I'd like to thank Fire Department Chronicles for the "Smoke Eating Spiderman" and broken AC idea X3 He puts out so much of his videos that I can't just can't get enough of them! Check him out on youtube! Hahaha his green screening is hilarious :))
PS: Slowly updating for all of you ^^v