Light And Sirens Part 11

I watched as he walked over to the BLS rig as they pulled in, bringing them up to speed and showing them where we were. They checked in with me via radio and then I watched as they set up just in time for the first wave of firefighters. Most of the crews were fine, but it was warm out so I was pleased to see Tony taking the time to talk to everyone and verify their mental status and hydration.

The fire was really burning now and it had spread to the roof before we even arrived. Now, it was licking around the whole building. I listened to the radio to figure out what plans of attack the firefighters were going to use.

"Fire command to all, just put water on it guys, no interior attacks. The roof is unstable."

"Command, engine two two, copy, just water."

"Medical command, fire command."

"Go ahead, fire."

"Confirmed, no one interior, all residents are accounted for at this time."

"Copy, fire command."

Well, that was good news! Now, all we had to do was treat the firefighters and hang back until the scene was under control. I walked back over to the rehab station to check in with Tony.

"Tony, you heard? Just the crews to treat."

"Yeah, got it. We're doing fine here."

With nothing much to do, I decided to help out by taking vital signs and pa.s.sing around sports drinks. We finally cleared the scene about four hours after we arrived. No injuries, no one transported, but the house was a total loss. Still, better that than losing even one person.

As we headed back to the station, I let Tony drive so I could finish my notes on the call.

"Donny?"

"Yeah, Tony? What's up?"

"Thanks for letting me run the rehab today. I know the last time we were on a fire scene I kind of lost it..."

"Tony, don't even think about it. We all have stuff that gets to us sometimes. It wasn't the fire scene that got to you last time, it was that someone you consider family was trapped inside. I'm not going to judge you on one incident."

"Thanks, Donny. I just get worried that some of the guys are gonna watch me for another slip up, you know? I really love this job and I don't want to mess up."

"We all mess up, man. It's just a matter of learning from the mistakes we make. We pray that we don't make any mistakes that cause harm, and we keep training to avoid future mistakes. They will happen though, and how we react to them, that is what defines us as good medics."

He nodded and we rode back in silence. I thought about what it must be like to return to work after a suspension like his. Then I thought about Spike and her leave of absence. I wondered what it would be like for her to return to work, even though the reason she was out wasn't known. I sighed, grateful that I had Caity to go home to, to talk to, and to comfort me.

"Medic two two three, from county."

"County, medic two two three, go ahead."

"Medic two two three, respond to Forty-six Christopher Street for a domestic dispute. PD on scene says one injured female."

"Copy, county, medic two two three responding Forty-six Christopher Street. Copy PD on scene."

Tony flipped on the lights and sirens while I was still talking to dispatch. Since a domestic dispute could mean almost any kind of injury, I was going over basics in my head.

"Tony, it's a female patient, so I'll take crew chief duties. For now let's just bring the basic bag, monitor, and oxygen until we see what we have."

"Copy that, Donny, you grab the bag, I'll get the rest."

"County, medic two two three, on location."

I took a deep breath, grabbed the gear, and headed inside. I despise domestic calls, but I had a job to do. As always, I approached the door with caution, from the hinge side to allow a little more coverage if someone came out swinging or worse. The only thing that greeted me were soft whimpers and a police officer waving us inside.

"Glad to see you guys! We have a female caucasian, mid-thirties, with wounds to her arms, wrists, and hands. From what we know, she broke in here screaming about this being her house. There was only one-person home at the time, the residence's owner. He's the one that called it in. She was trying to look through the house more than attack him, so he grabbed a phone and left the house while she was upstairs. He said she came in through the window in the back, and he isn't sure how she got all cut up, unless it was from the window."

"Wonderful!" I did not love this call already. The last thing I needed was a psych patient on my rig. "Does our patient have a name?"

"The best I got out of her was "Chrissy," but she looks familiar to me. I can't place her but she's all banged up and covered in mud. We have her in the back."

We followed him through the house to a back room that could have been a family room or den. I looked for the patient and almost cried out when I saw her. Blood running down both arms, despite the clumsy bandages done by the police, her s.h.a.ggy brown hair was in total disarray, and if I hadn't known her for years, I might not have recognized her.

"s.h.i.t, Donny! It's Spike! What the f.u.c.k happened?" Tony spoke before I could but we were asking the same questions.

I moved closer to her, slowly so I wouldn't startle her. "Hey, Kristy, it's me, Chloe. What happened?" I set my bag down and started to open up one of the pockets to get some bandaging material out without looking away from her. "Can you tell me what's going on?"

She looked up at me, with fear in her eyes. I heard whimpers from her, the same ones I had heard from the front door. "I don't know what happened. Where am I? What's going on Chloe?"

At least she knew me and I took it as a positive sign. "What can you tell me Kristy? When I left the house, you were eating breakfast with Caity. What do you remember after that?" I re-bandaged her cuts as I talked to her. Tony stayed back, getting information from the cops and making sure the homeowner was fine physically.

She shook her head, "I don't know. I remember you leaving, then Caity left, and I did the dishes. I know I had an appointment with Doctor Cooper this afternoon. I think I went but I don't know what else happened." She stopped and seemed to try to gather herself. She leaned closer and whispered to me, "I don't know what's going on, Chloe. I'm scared! What's wrong with me?"

"I don't know, buddy, but we're gonna find out, okay? Let me talk to Tony and the cops, then we'll get you out of here." She nodded and sat quietly while she waited for us.

I walked over to the cop and the homeowner and asked for a minute of their time.

"Tony, can you go hang with her for a minute? I don't want to leave her on her own just yet." He nodded and sat near Spike, but not too close.

"Guys, here's the thing. This is actually one of my co-workers. She's been going through a tough time and doesn't really know what she was doing here. She is under a doctor's care and this could be a reaction to medication she just started. Was there any damage here other than the scare and the window?"

The homeowner shook his head. "Actually, she didn't even break the window. It was already broken. I was just coming home with the supplies to replace it. She gave me a good scare, but that's all really." He turned to the cop, "I don't want to press charges. Just make sure she gets the help she needs, okay? I hate to see veterans of any service go through tough times."

I thanked him and the officer, then went to Spike and Tony. "Hey, Kristy, do you think you can walk out to the rig? I think we should get you in to have the doc check you out. This could be a med reaction."

Kristy nodded up at me and stood on shaky legs. I grabbed her around the waist and gave her some support as we walked her out to the rig. Tony grabbed the gear, slinging the bag over his shoulder, the oxygen cylinder in one hand, and monitor in the other. Kristy stopped as we got to the rig.

"I don't know if I can get in there. Do I have to?"

She looked at me with a plea in her blue eyes, but I had no choice. "Kristy, I won't strap you down, just sit on the bench seat with me and we'll talk after I call the doc. I promise, I won't make you ride on the litter."

She nodded and stepped up and inside the rig, sitting on the bench where she usually sat when she was working. Tony looked at me as he handed me the gear with a question in his eyes, but he refrained from comments and questions for the time being. I wondered what the h.e.l.l to do as I loaded the gear and got settled in my seat. I called in to the ER to let them know we were coming before I called Doctor Cooper. I let Kristy talk to her and let her know when we got close to the ER.

After hanging up the phone, Kristy looked at me with fear in her eyes. "She said she wants me to stay here until she can get here to talk to me. I don't want everyone knowing I freaked out, Chloe! You gotta help me out."

I didn't know how, but I knew I would try. When Tony came around the back of the rig, after parking, he opened the doors and I motioned him inside. "Tony, here's the deal on this call. No one needs to know about it. Spike started taking a new medication recently and it looks like she had a severe reaction to it. I don't want to see it affect her job since she's on leave anyway. We clear?"

"Yeah, Donny, no problem. You can bet I'm not planning on saying anything. Talk about a breach of patient confidentiality!"

He went to Spike and in a move that surprised me, he knelt before her. "It's gonna be fine, Spike. As soon as that med clears your system, everything will be fine. Whatever is going on, the docs will get you fixed up and you'll be back to normal."

She nodded, thanked him, and we all got out of the rig. We walked in to the ER, stopping at the nurses' station to find out what room they wanted us to put Kristy in. After getting a room a.s.signment, I sent Tony out to look for extra gear and keep an ear on the radio while I waited to give report. Kristy sat on the examination bed, waiting. I didn't know what to say so I worked on my report and figured out what to say to the nurse.

After a couple of minutes, one of the nurses I knew came in to take my report. She raised an eyebrow at me when she saw Kristy sitting there, but kept quiet. "Robin, I have a thirty-seven year old caucasian female with an altered mental status at the scene. Currently she is conscious, alert, and oriented to person, place, and time. She was unaware of traveling to and arriving at the scene but was able to recognize me when I spoke to her. There is no evidence of any serious injuries, no known allergies, and one new medication, Zoloft fifty milligrams, once a day. Her doctor is on her way in to see her, ETA of fifteen minutes."

Robin nodded as she took notes and then she signed my chart to acknowledge the transfer of medical care to the ER. I stood there, not wanting to leave, but not really wanting to stay either. Robin started taking Kristy's vitals and talking softly to her.

"So, you missed me so much while you've been out from work that you contrived a way to visit me, Spike? You could have just called or stopped in you know."

Spike actually chuckled at Robin and I felt some hope. "Well, I was hoping you'd baked some of your cookies, got any back in the break room?"

I stood a minute more as they bantered then slipped out from the curtained room to find Tony. He was out by the rig, waiting for me to appear. He shifted from foot to foot as I approached, waiting until I reached him to ask questions.

"So, how is she? What was going on back there, Donny?"

"I don't know for sure, Tony, but it looks like a med reaction. Must be a bad allergy or something."

"I've never seen anything like that from a med reaction before. Are you sure?"

"Well, I don't know what else it could be, and I'm not going to speculate. She's on leave anyway and it isn't our business." I tried to look stern instead of worried as I spoke, hoping to convey the message that he should keep quiet about this call.

"I hear ya, Donny, this is just between us. I'm just thinking that you and I should do something to help her if something is really wrong. No one else needs to know anything."

I sighed. It wasn't that I wasn't glad of the offer of support for our friend, but it was another person and it wasn't my call to let him in or not.

"Look, unless she comes back to work acting funny, or asks for our help, we have to a.s.sume that she's fine. I'm not going to get worked up and I suggest we drop it. Let's get going and get back to the station."

He shrugged and took the keys from his pocket. As we settled into the front seats of the cab, he looked over at me one more time. "If you're sure, then I'm with you, Donny. If anything does come up that I can help with, please let me know. I can keep my mouth shut. Spike is the reason I was able to remain in our station house after I lost it at that fire. She stuck up for me and argued that the suspension was enough to get my attention. It was and I'm grateful for the help she's given me. So, if anything is needed, I'm here. That's all I needed to say... so, what's for lunch?"

I grinned at his way of changing topics. Food is always a good way to distract me. "Lead on driver, whatever your pleasure today, but food sounds good." I groaned, "and then I have the medic students coming in to base."

Tony grinned but wisely kept silent.

"Thanks, baby, I'll see you at home later."

I hung up the phone in my office and sat back in the desk chair to think. Caity had gone to the hospital to pick up Spike. Instead, she was told that the doctor was going to keep her overnight. She called me to fill me in and ask what I thought about it. The honest truth was that I had no idea what had happened earlier in the day and that worried me. The idea of my mentor running around without knowing where she was or how she got there was scary. All sorts of things could have happened and I was grateful the outcome had been as positive as it was.

A knock on the door startled me from my thoughts. "Come in," I called.

A head of spiky blond hair poked through the partially open doorway as Pauli looked inside. "You busy?"

"Not really. I'm not feeling too productive right now. What's up?" I motioned her inside and nodded at one of the chairs in front of the desk.

"I was wondering how things are going with Spike. I haven't heard anything in a week or so and Caity hasn't mentioned anything. Any idea when she's coming back to work?"

"Umm, I guess she's fine. I don't know for sure. I'm spending an awful lot of time right here these days. Why?"

"Just worried, I guess. I feel sort of responsible for her being gone."

I nodded in understanding. I, too, felt responsible, but I felt worse since I saw her on that call this morning. "You know, neither of us is actually the reason she's not working here right now. It is a culmination of years of not taking care of herself properly. She sublimated her own needs to bury herself in the job. I don't know why she did it, but the result wasn't healthy. She made the choices that led her here, and she made the choices that are leading her to help now."

"Yeah, I know, but it is still hard to walk around and pretend that I don't know why she isn't here. Do you think I could stop by and see her sometime?" Pauli looked at me, waiting for an answer as I thought it over.

"Why don't you let me talk to her about it and I'll let you know when a good time to visit would be. I don't want her to feel like we're deciding things for her. Okay?"

"Yeah, thanks, Donny! By the way, since Caity has been much happier these days, I asked her about it. I hope you don't mind, but she told me about you two moving in together. I think it's great! If you need any help, let me know."

"Thanks, Pauli, now get outta here so I can pretend to do some work." I grinned at her. I was bashful about the personal turn the talk had taken, but glad that she approved.

CHAPTER 11.

TEN HOURS LATER I finally walked out of the station and headed for home. All I could think about was getting there and seeing Caity. I needed some time with her, and she was off shift for the next couple of days. I called to let her know I was on my way but got her voicemail, so I left a message and hoped to see her at home.

While driving home, I thought about the weird events of the day and decided that I would wait until I could talk to Spike and her doctor to decide if staying with me was best for her. I worried that I couldn't provide the time and care she needed. At least, not while I was also covering her shifts at work.

I had just gotten out of my car when Caity came out of the house to meet me in the driveway. It felt so d.a.m.n good to hold her that I just wanted to stop time and enjoy this forever.

"Mmm, hi, baby, what time did you get home?"

"A few hours ago. I went to my house to grab more stuff before I came back here. I stopped and picked up something to make dinner too. Sorry I missed your call, I was unloading groceries."

"I knew I loved you! You are the best, thank you. I'm too tired to think about cooking right now. I just want to get my boots off, grab a shower, and hold you."

She snuggled into me a bit tighter and kissed my neck. "Sounds like a plan. You go get showered and I'll get started on dinner. Just come down in time to eat and then I'm yours to hold all night."

I gave her another squeeze before letting her go so I could grab my gear bag. I held her hand as we headed into the house, then pulled her back to me to kiss her lightly. Her lips felt so soft and warm beneath mine, I couldn't help but kiss her a little longer. I teased her lips open with my tongue and slipped inside her mouth. Her tongue slid against mine as we pressed closer together. When we finally broke apart, I was gasping for breath, my heart racing.

"Want to join me in the shower?" I asked Caity. "Plenty of room you know, and we could conserve water."

She laughed, shaking her head. "As tempting as that is, I think you should shower, I'll cook, and we can pick this up again after I get you fed. I know you didn't eat most of today since I was the one sending you on too many calls during the majority of your shift. Now go get cleaned up and I'll have food ready when you get back down."

I grabbed at her but she evaded my searching arms and laughed as I gave her a disappointed pout. I sighed heavily, as if to show her how tortured I was, but when I saw she wasn't buying it, I grinned and headed upstairs. It was strange, but it felt really great that she wanted to take such good care of me.

Walking into the bedroom, I saw some extra stuff spread around that I knew were from Caity's old bedroom and I liked the feeling it gave me to see her things here among mine. I felt grounded, loved, and safe. Things I hadn't thought to seek from outside of myself in a long time.