Close Call
"April, I need you to breathe for me. Come on, don't do this." Punk shook his head, continuing compressions, never thinking he would ever have to do this to her. He knew the longer she stayed not breathing, the longer the baby would be in harm, and it was hard to think straight.
"Hey! I need out of here!" Punk yelled loudly, hoping someone would hear him.
He got a fright as AJ suddenly gasped, choking a little as she opened her eyes. He'd never been so relieved in his life, taking his hands from her chest.
"Phil?" AJ questioned with confusion.
"It's ok, baby. You're ok." Punk nodded, still worried, leaning down and caressing her cheek as she took a hold of his arm, "I'm gonna get you out of here." He promised.
He got to his feet, his legs feeling like jelly as he tried busting the door open, banging on it loudly to try and get someone's attention.
"Why is it locked?" AJ questioned, sitting up slowly, placing her hand on her bump worriedly as she tried to regain her senses.
"They must have locked the place down." Punk said, "I told them it was a bad idea!" He yelled angrily.
"I think I have a concussion." AJ nodded. Of course she knew the symptoms better than anyone. She felt woozy and off focus. Not to mention her chest felt heavy for some reason, "Why does my chest hurt?"
"It'll be the smoke." Punk turned to her worriedly, crouching back down and taking his jacket, putting it around her shoulders, "How did you end up in here?" He shook his head, "How did you end up knocked out?"
"I was…" AJ tried to remember, feeling dizzy, "I was on my way to get something." She nodded, "Everyone was running around panicking and I… I must have fell." She thought to herself.
"Have you got a pass key or something that I could try the door with?" Punk asked her.
"Yeah." AJ nodded, taking the key from her pants and handing it over to him.
He put the key against the sensor, hoping it would allow them to open the door, but it didn't, "Come on!" Punk yelled.
Meanwhile the rest of the guys were working on putting the large fire out, making good progress. Dean began to notice he hadn't seen Punk in a while, not since they called for the lock down of the ICU wing.
"I'll be back in a minute!" Dean yelled to Frank who nodded. The place was covered in smoke and soot, flames still getting high as they worked their way through it. He knew it wasn't like his brother to disappear from a hands on job willingly. He was always front and centre.
He ran down the ICU wing, looking in all the rooms, beginning to hear his brother's yelling the closer he moved further down.
"Phil!" Dean yelled worriedly, running to his voice, finally reaching the linen cupboard, "Are you in there?!" Dean yelled.
"I'm in here with AJ! She needs out of here… I think she's hurt!" Punk yelled, looking back to AJ who was worryingly in and out of consciousness since she'd woke.
"AJ is there?!" Dean yelled.
"Dean, I need this place taken out of lock down. I need to get out of here with her. She… She needs help!" Punk said desperately.
"Ok. Hang on!" Dean yelled back to him, running back down the corridor, immediately calling for the wing to be brought out of the lock down so the doors could open, explaining that Punk and AJ were in danger.
Punk lifted AJ up from the floor, picking his jacket up and putting it over her face as he imagined the smoke would be pretty bad outside, "April." He looked down at her as she opened her eyes.
"What's going on?" AJ asked drowsily.
"It's ok. I'm gonna get you out of here." He nodded, kissing her head, standing by the door as he suddenly heard an unlocking noise.
He reached for the handle, pushing it down and kicking the door open as he was immediately met by the smoke. He took off down the corridor, running as fast as he could with her in his arms, leaving the ICU wing and heading downstairs to find a doctor. The other half of the hospital was still functioning, so he hoped and prayed someone would take AJ and help her.
"Hey, can I get some help here!" Punk yelled, making his way across the hospital to the other side where most of the doctors had gone.
"Oh my God." Shauna noticed, "Uh… in this room here." She said frantically, pointing over to the room as Punk took AJ into the room, laying her down on the bed, taking his jacket from her.
"She was knocked out in a… linen cupboard. They locked it down and I couldn't get out." Punk panicked as Shauna immediately paged neuro and OBGYN, "She woke up but… she's in and out of consciousness."
"Ok, her blood pressure is fine. Heart rate is good." Shauna nodded as she immediately got AJ hooked up as quickly as she could.
"She said she thought it was a concussion. But there was a lot of smoke and…"
"You paged me?" Doctor Wilson came into the room along with a OBGYN doctor, "What happened?" He asked immediately, worried for one of his staff members who he worked very closely with.
"She needs a CT scan and the baby needs to be monitored." Shauna nodded, "She's in and out of consciousness. Probably inhaled a lot of smoke too." Shauna said worriedly as Punk stood back as he watched the doctors work incredibly fast to resolve what was wrong with AJ.
Punk really didn't know what to do as he watched them work with AJ. He felt numb. So terrified that his wife and his baby's life were in danger.
"Mister Brooks, I can take you outside." Shauna suggested.
"No, I'll stay." Punk insisted, watching as the OBGYN scanned AJ's stomach to take a look at the baby, "Is the baby ok?" Punk asked, inching closer.
"Yes it is." Doctor Jones nodded with relief as she turned the monitor to let Punk see, "Strong heartbeat." She nodded positively as Shauna sighed with relief, "We have to get mom for a CT scan, though." She made clear as Doctor Wilson agreed, wheeling AJ out of the room with some nurses help.
Punk began to follow right after as Shauna took a hold of his arm.
"You stay here and wait for her to come back. They'll take care of her." Shauna assured him.
"I-I gotta go help my guys." Punk shook his head.
"No, you don't need to help anyone. Not in this state." Shauna assured him, "She's probably just got a nasty concussion. And she's gonna want to see you when she comes back so just… take a seat." She said as he nodded.
"Hey." AJ said sleepily, waking up in the hospital room later on as she looked over at Punk sitting by her bed.
"Hey." Punk said in a high pitched voice, so glad to hear her voice and see her awake, "Hey." He sighed with relief, leaning over and kissing her as she cupped his cheek.
"The baby's ok." AJ nodded. She just had to say it out loud, placing her hand on his shoulder.
"The baby's fine." He nodded, "And you were taken for a scan, it all came back clear. They suspect it was a nasty concussion. The doctor who was here said your head was a little swollen but it was nothing to worry about." He said as AJ nodded.
"What's going on out there?" She asked. She felt tired and a little dizzy, but the fact she knew her baby was ok was keeping her calm and relaxed after what was a very stressful day.
"Chaos." Punk nodded, sitting back down by her bed, keeping hold of her hand as she refused to let go. She was so glad he was here with her.
"Is the fire out?" She asked him.
"Yeah, it's out. They're still working over at the ICU wing but it's been put out and no one has gotten hurt." He nodded, "Besides from you bumping your head."
"Of course it's me." AJ rolled her eyes as he smiled a little, "It was so difficult getting everyone out of there."
"The hospital did a good job." Punk nodded, "To have a big fire like that an having zero casualties. It's a good thing." He assured her as she nodded.
"Is it still crazy out there?" She asked him. It had been an unbelievable day like no other. It wasn't just about their patients and helping them. It was about literally saving lives and making sure no one was in danger. It was scary.
"It's a little better now." Punk assured her, "Shauna's been in a few times to check on you. So has Renee." He nodded, "I think they've found places for the ICU patients to go." He said as she nodded.
"I'm so glad the baby is ok." AJ sighed, laying her head back on the pillow, resting her hands on her bump to comfort herself. Being in hospital, in and out of consciousness due to her concussion, it was hard to figure out what was going on. She was just so glad to hear their baby was ok.
"Me too." Punk nodded with relief, "I heard the heartbeat. It's all good." He nodded positively as she smiled, "I've never been so scared in my entire life. When I saw you." He said. He couldn't quite shake the feeling yet. Even though he knew both his wife and baby were doing fine, he still had this horrible feeling of dread. He knew it would pass eventually.
"I know I should have just got myself to safety but… I needed to help." She shook her head. The developing mom in her was telling herself it was irresponsible to not have gotten herself out of the hospital as quickly as she could. But the doctor in her just couldn't do that.
"You're a doctor, and these are your patients." Punk nodded, "You can't give yourself a hard time for wanting to help." He said as she nodded.
"But for the baby…" She whispered.
"The baby is fine." He nodded. He wouldn't let herself feel guilty about wanting to help, "The baby is fine and so are you. I'm gonna get you home tonight and you need to just rest." He said as she smiled a little.
"Are you the doctor now?" She smiled.
"Yes, for now." He nodded to her as she smiled, "I'm so glad you're ok." He sighed, shaking his head as he lifted her hand and kissed it. It was a time like this where he realised just how much she meant to him. It was indescribable. She was his whole world.
"Oh, look. You're awake." Shauna walked into the room as AJ looked over tiredly.
"I'm awake." AJ nodded.
"How you feeling?" Shauna asked her.
"Tired. Little dizzy." She nodded.
"Well you need to take it easy." Shauna said, "Take a couple days off. I don't want you back here for at least five days. Ok?"
"Five?" AJ raised her eyebrows, "Shauna, I'll be fine. I just need a day."
"Well I'm saying five." Shauna folded her arms as Punk smiled a little, "And who am I?" She raised a brow.
"My attending." AJ mumbled.
"Ok, good. So you know what I says goes." Shauna nodded, "Rest yourself. Rest that baby." She made clear as AJ just nodded, "You did good today, getting all those people out of there quickly. I know you're still learning but… that was a whole new experience for all of us. Even us old timers." Shauna said, "And you did good."
"Is everything ok now?" AJ nodded.
"We've got things under control." Shauna nodded, "Five days. I'm warning you." She told AJ before leaving the room as AJ sighed.
"Maybe she's nice after all." Punk nodded to AJ.
"Or maybe she doesn't want a clumsy liability on her team." AJ rolled her eyes.
"April." He shook his head, "It was an accident. You were in there saving lives. Getting people out of there." He reminded her, "But she's right, you need to go home and take it easy for a little bit."
"Yeah I just wanna go home." AJ nodded. It had been a long day and she just wanted to be with her home comforts right now.
"Ok. I'll get you some discharge forms." He told her, leaning over and kissing her head as she smiled. She was grateful for his protection today.
