Here we go! Sorry for taking so long. This chapter was half-written when the monster called real life attacked and nearly devoured me in its evil clutches. Anyway, hopefully the next one won't take so long, it's worked out already, just needs to be typed. There is also an original story on the way, so watch this space…enjoy
"Maybe that makes me half a father. It's still half more than you!"
And with that, Michael turned and walked away, leaving Bobby staring after him, shocked.
Bobby felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on his head. He was speechless, was that really what Michael thought? He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear Hen call him.
"Cap?" Hen asked coming around the engine. "Cap?" she asked again when she didn't get a response. "Bobby?" The third call did the trick and Bobby turned to look at her.
"Yeah?" He answered, shakily. He cleared his throat and looked at the paramedic.
"We are done with the refills," Hen said and looked towards the door. "What was Michael doing here?" she asked, sure that the visit wasn't a friendly one. Judging by the Captain's face.
"He came to fetch Harry," Bobby replied. He was quiet for a while and Hen thought he was done talking, but he went on, "and to remind me that I am not Harry's father."
Hen was shocked, why would Michael do that? Athena was trying to get Bobby more involved as a Stepparent because he was so careful to overstep and after Beatrice's harsh words, it was even more of a struggle. Before she could say anything else though, Bobby turned and walked to the engine, calling the team so they could get going again.
Hen thought that she would have to talk to Bobby later, because she was in the ambulance and there was no way she was going to talk to Bobby over the radio about this.
When Chimney called about the fires in Doheny Park, the 118 headed in that direction.
By the time they got there, it was absolute chaos. Bobby directed the team with the usual effectiveness and the team jumped into action and followed orders. His own personal hell and painful thoughts pushed to the background as he heard the desperate cry of the father looking for his son.
The scene was chaotic, and it seemed like they were fighting a losing battle right from the start.
Bobby called Dispatch to get more units but was told help was still far out. The water shortage was just another issue, then the ladder broke, and Buck fell. Bobby's shout of "Buck!" was gut-wrenching, and it sent chills down Hen's back. When Eddie played Spiderman to get into the house to save Alex, Hen decided to come closer to her team. There was no need for paramedics at the time and knowing Buck and Eddie's magnetism towards trouble and injuries, she wanted to be close in case the boys needed her.
Buck got one of his hairbrained ideas to jump into the house with a fire extinguisher, when Bobby heard the noise.
"Wait, is that…" Hen didn't finish the sentence as realization struck.
"Incoming! Everybody take cover!" Bobby shouted.
The airplane was fast approaching, the 118 scrambled to get everyone under the trucks. Bobby's heart was beating a mile a minute, the closer the aircraft got, the more panic set in. The water would be a welcome relief, but the force it hit the ground with was immense. It was a danger to any living thing. More than a few firefighters had been injured or even killed while fighting wildfires if they got caught in the downpour.
The plane was almost on top of them, and the last people dropped to the ground trying to get to cover under the trucks. Bobby pushed Hen ahead of him to get under the ladder truck and that is when he made a huge mistake.
Bobby stopped to look at how close the plane was.
As he looked up, he could see the numbers printed on the underbelly of the plane. He quickly dropped to the ground and tried to crawl under the truck.
Hen was already under the truck when she saw Bobby's desperate attempt to get under it as well. She reached out to grab him and barely reached his turnout jacket when the water came down. She pulled with all her might and while it made a difference, she did not manage to get him to safety completely.
Bobby's torso and head were under the truck, but not his legs.
The scream of pain that came from her Captain, would haunt Hen's dreams for weeks. The rushing sound of the water didn't drown out the harsh scream, nor did it wash away the look of pain on his face or the silence that followed.
911
The aftermath of the water drop was silent. Almost too silent. Buck crawled out and looked around. All the fires were out, and it looked like the damage was minimal. He glanced around to see the rest of his team helping people to their feet and did the same. He couldn't see Bobby or Hen and assumed that they were on the other side of the truck. After he helped the last lady out from under the truck, he turned to the house, intending to go in and find Eddie. However, before he had even taken one step, Eddie came out of the house with little Alex in his arms. Clarence, the other paramedic came running over with a bag to help and assess the boy. He wasn't breathing, but with some oxygen, they got him breathing again quickly.
"Where's Cap?" Eddie asked hoarsely as Clarence was getting ready to load little Alex onto the gurney. Buck quickly stepped up to help Clarence and together they moved to the ambulance with the father and his sister and Eddie trailing behind. Hen and Bobby still had not made an appearance and Buck was starting to get worried.
"Don't know. Haven't seen him or Hen yet," Buck said, looking around again as they made their way over the wet ground to the ambulance.
Clarence pointed to one of the trucks and said, "wonder what's going on over there?"
Buck and Eddie looked to where he pointed and noticed a group of people standing on the other side of the truck, looking at something on the ground.
"Buck! Eddie!" came the frantic call that made both men rush over to Hen. The sight before them was enough to fuel a therapy bill for a good long time.
Hen was frantically taking Bobby's vitals and trying to revive him. Bobby was pale and lying unnaturally still. His helmet was lying next to him, and Hen was calling his name and lightly slapping his face.
"Hen, what happened?" Eddie asked as his medical training kicked in and he got down on his knees on the other side of Bobby. He quickly opened his turnout coat and gave the Captain a sternum rub.
"He didn't get under the truck quick enough, I tried to pull him in, but he was half out when the water came down. Buck, check his legs," Hen said. She called Clarence over her radio and told him to bring the other gurney.
"Oh shit," Buck couldn't think of anything else to say.
"What?" Hen asked and turned to Buck. She gasped and for a few moments her mind was blank. Buck just stared at his Captain's legs.
Bobby's legs were both lying in unnatural positions, but the white bones sticking out was in stark contrast to the black turnout pants he wore.
"Fuck," Hen swore, just as Clarence appeared with the gurney. Buck stared at Hen, she rarely swore, but when she did, you knew it was serious. Buck automatically started helping to get their Captain ready for transport.
Somewhere in the background, another unit rolled up and the captain made his way over, looking for the captain of 118. Hen quickly explained what happened and Buck hardly listened. His attention was on Eddie as he finally got Bobby to come around.
"Bobby?" Buck asked his Captain.
"Buck, what…?" Bobby sounded weak; Buck gently placed a hand on his chest when Bobby tried to move. Buck winced as the older man groaned and slammed his eyes shut.
"I wouldn't move, your legs are pretty bad," Buck said, he knew it was harsh, but he also knew Bobby would want the truth.
"It feels bad," Bobby croaked out. "What happened?"
"What was the last thing you remember?" Eddie asked, his voice still hoarse from the smoke of the fire.
"The plane from the 217, it was getting closer. Did anyone get hurt?" Bobby asked, again trying to get up.
"Stay still, Cap," Hen suddenly appeared behind Buck. "No one got hurt, but you. Captain Matthews is going to take over. Eddie you will have to come with us. You inhaled a fair bit of smoke. Don't think I don't hear your hoarse voice. Clarence, I need you in the back with me. Cap, you, and Alex will get a lift together. There isn't any other RA unit available right now. Buck, you need to drive the ambulance."
The group nodded and Eddie and Buck lifted Bobby onto the gurney and moved to the ambulance. Hen spoke to the father, and he agreed to follow behind in his car. The space in the back was going to be very tight, but Hen was not prepared to leave either of the two injured people behind.
Buck helped the two settle in the back and grabbed a portable Oxygen tank and gave it to Eddie, who just gave it a look. However, Hen gave one of her "do it or you will pay" looks and Eddie quickly moved to the front and put the mask on his face.
911
Athena was just closing out her shift when she got a call out to a domestic disturbance. Knowing that it would more than likely take her into overtime, she put in a call to Michael. He sounded a little off to her, but agreed to stay with the kids for a while until she could get home.
"Hey, before you go. What time does Bobby get off?" Michael asked.
"He is working a 24hr shift, so tomorrow morning at 6. Why?" Athena asked curiously.
"No reason, just something I need to talk to him about," Michael answered. "I need to go, see you later."
With that the phone went dead and Athena noticed she had a call from Buck and Hen, but she had to respond to the call and decided she would call them back later. During the call she felt her phone vibrate again, but she ignored it while she sorted out the call.
Athena only remembered to check her cellphone after her shift, and she had gotten home. She saw Hen and Buck's numbers with another number she didn't recognize. She hit redial and her heart almost stopped when a woman answered the phone,
"Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, Monique speaking, how may I help you?"
911
Hen was very close to tearing her hair out, one by one. Over the last few hours, Dispatch came back online and with that came the order that 118 is offline until a Captain can be assigned. Hen and Buck took turns pacing up and down until Eddie threatened to strangle both of them. Athena didn't answer her phone and she had medical proxy for Bobby, so the doctors refused to tell them anything. To top everything off, Chimney was blaming himself and he was moping in the corner not saying anything to anyone. Hen phoned Karen, to tell her she would be late getting home. Maddie had arrived in the meantime, and she was holding onto Buck's hand.
Things could not get worse…. or so she thought.
"Crap," came Eddie's hoarse voice. Hen looked up and in any other situation, she would have laughed. Things could get worse apparently, Athena stood in the doorway flanked by her two kids…and she did not look happy.
911
Athena was very worried. She missed the calls that would have gotten her to Bobby sooner. She was also beyond angry. At Harry, at Michael, at herself, the stupid plane, just about everything. She didn't know if she was pissed off because she felt guilty, but damn if she didn't want to strangle someone.
When she got home and Harry told her what happened, with a plate of waffles in his hands no less, she was very upset. The boy was clever, but he could do such stupid things. Still, no one got hurt and the two boys got caught up in the excitement of the lesson from Bobby earlier.
After she made the call that stopped her heart momentarily, she had called Michael to tell him that she was taking the kids with her to the hospital and ask if he could take them home later. He said he would, but he was still looking for Bobby. He apparently went to the firehouse to talk to him, but he was told that Captain Nash had been injured and was not available.
Athena was well known for getting the truth out of people with just a look, apparently if she uses your full name in a "take no nonsense" tone of voice, the truth also comes spilling out. She got the full story including the argument between Bobby and Michael - word for word and didn't that make her blood boil. She advised Micheal to stay away from her for the night, that she would deal with him tomorrow. She would ask if the kids could go to Hen and Karen's for the night. Then she bundled her kids in the car and drove reasonably responsibly to Mount Sinai.
911
When the 118 saw Athena in the doorway, the whole crew took a step back, leaving Hen to go speak to her friend. Hen looked behind her to see all the men cowering (not that they would admit it) behind her, she shook her head and moved to go speak with Athena.
"Athena, how many traffic rules did you break to get here?" Hen tried to break the ice, but it backfired when she got a look from Athena,
"Not any, Henrietta. Seeing as the cowards behind you don't want to talk, what happened with Bobby?" Athena's comment brought a few shouts of "Hey!" from the firefighters, but no one had the guts to take her on or to prove her wrong by coming closer.
"Kids, why don't you go see if Eddie is doing what I told him? He was stuck in a burning building and is supposed to be resting." Hen waited for the kids to go over to Buck and Eddie before explaining to Athena what happened. Her voice cracked when she explained the damage she saw and knew Athena would appreciate the truth. The sergeant had tears in her eyes as she heard about her fiancé's ordeal and to know what happened at the station before that, Athena knew she had her work cut out with her stubborn Captain.
Before she could reply, a nurse came out and called out,
"Family of Robert Nash?"
"I'm his fiancé and his medical proxy, Athena Grant."
"Oh, yes, I have your name down. Would you like to come on back and I can take you to his room? The doctor is waiting there for you," the nurse said in a friendly tone.
"Sure, thank you," Athena said then turned to the 118 and her kids, "Wait here, I will go and find out what's going on and then let you know. Hen, can you ask Karen if the kids can stay over at yours tonight?"
"You know they can, Thena. The A-shift was taken offline, another house is covering for us, they can go home with me," Hen said, knowing her wife wouldn't mind.
"Thanks, Hen," Athena gave her friend a hug and felt Buck joining in from behind, Eddie's arms also snaked around them, quickly followed by Chimney, the kids, and the rest of the 118. Their captain's fiancé was family and they supported family.
"Now go find out when we can get our Cap back so we can go home," Hen said with a forced smile, giving Athena a little push forward. Hen wasn't a doctor, but she did have enough experience to know that there was a long road ahead for the Captain.
911
Athena walked into the darkened room. Her heart aching as she heard the jagged breathing of the man on the bed. The doctor was very optimistic about a full recovery, apparently as these kinds of accidents go, Bobby was lucky.
He had a compound fracture on both lower legs, but it was a clean break. His left thigh had a bad bone bruise, and his knee was cracked, his right thigh was also fractured, but luckily I was a closed fracture. Bobby would need a lot of rest and eventually rehab, but he would be able to go back to work. The only issue now is the pain and fear of infection.
"Bobby?" Athena asked quietly as she sat down next to the bed.
"Thena?" Bobby opened his eyes and looked towards her, "you're here."
"Where else would I be?" Athena asked, taking his hand in hers, "How are you feeling?"
"It hurts," Bobby said, his voice cracking, "but I can handle it, as long as I don't move too much."
"The doctor told me that you don't want any medication," Athena asked.
"No meds, don't want a relapse," Bobby said, closing his eyes, not wanting to see the disappointment in Athena's eyes.
"Babe, there are alternatives. The doctor is willing to help you, he said they have pain management strategies that will help. They just need your consent," Athena told Bobby, hoping that he would listen to her.
"I will think about it," Bobby said, still unsure. He had a good thing going now, his life was back on track, he didn't want to ruin it by getting addicted again.
"Ok," Athena said, smiling at her stubborn fiancé. She kissed his hand and said, "sleep, Captain, I am going to update the team and the kids, then I will be back." Getting only a soft "okay" in reply, she quietly left the room and spoke to the doctor. Both agreed to have everything ready, in case Bobby changed his mind.
She made a quick turn in the waiting room and said good night to the kids. She would sort Michael out tomorrow, her and Harry also needed to have a serious conversation, but for now Bobby needed her and that is where she will be. By his side. Always.
I am not 100% happy with this chappy, I think it sounded better in my head. I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.
Next up,
Season 4, episode 6 – Jinx,
What if, Bobby stood a little closer to the owner of the burning garage?
Till next time,
MSG