Things were getting back to normal at Station 77 if you didn't count
Ryan's tears, Wick's anger and Bell's silence. The atmosphere inside the
tiny bedroom they all shared was icy cold despite the 97°temperature
outside. The chemical explosion had changed everything between them and
none of them knew how to change it back.
"Will someone please talk?" Ryan begged, sitting slowly down on her
small bed. She wiped a stray tear from her cheek and gazed at the men
that she had come to love with all her heart.
"What's to say?" Wick scoffed. "He shut the door," he growled, glaring
over at Bell. Bell shook his head and bit his bottom lip. "I went in
there to get the job done, you followed me....." he trailed off with a
bitter smile. "And he closed us in there," he looked over at Bell and
then at Ryan. "What else do you want me to say?"
"I want you to stop putting all of this on Bell! He did what he had
to," she glared at Wick. "But you had to go in there and show off your
bad ass attitude and he had no choice but to close the door. Every one
else would have been contaminated," she stated. Wick had a look on his
face that would have scared Satan.
"No one made you follow me in there, Ryan!" he shouted. "You take the
blame off Bell and put it all on me! You don't even stop to think that
maybe if you hadn't followed me in there you'd still be able to have
children!" he knew that last remark was way below the belt and he wished
he could take it back the minute he said it.
He watched her beautiful face crumple and she hurried out of the room,
slamming the door. Bell stood up and shot Wick a withering look and
followed her out of the room. Wick slumped back on the bed and covered
his face with his hands. He got up and paced the floor and when the
anger was too much to bear, he punched the wall as hard as he possibly
could.
Outside, Bell followed the sounds of Ryan's sobs, and the bewildered
looks of the firefighters until he found her hunched over the kitchen
sink.
"Ryan?" he asked gently, tapping her on the shoulder. She jumped and
spun around. She began wiping tears from her face. Bell reached out his
hand and brushed the hair from her mouth. She smiled and averted her
eyes.
Bell felt a surprising wave of desire rush over him. Where did that
come from? He asked himself as he shook it away.
"You didn't have to follow me. I'll–I'll be okay," she said, her voice
still shaking. Bell shook his head and Ryan understood. "Well, okay.
What Wick said really hurt. I.....wasn't expecting it. I didn't think he
was capable of hurting me like that......" her eyes welled up and she
willed herself not to cry. Bell grabbed her in a hug.
"It'll be okay, Kathleen. I promise. You don't know for sure that you
can't have children. Wick didn't mean it. He's just.......he's just
angry," he released her and looked into her eyes. He leaned in slowly
and just as their lips were about to meet, the alarm went off.
"Station 77 person down. 116 Cross Ventura and Maple. Time out: 14:32"
Ryan groaned and smiled at Bell. "We'll finish this later," wiping the
last tear from her face, she pulled her hair back and ran alongside Bell
to the rig.
****
Bell hopped into the driver's side and Ryan got in the front. A second
later Wick hopped into the back. "Let's rodeo," he called. Bell started
the ambulance and began driving. They pulled up in the driveway of a
large Victorian style house. They hopped out of the rig and made their
way to the front door.
A frantic woman greeted them there. "Mike! Its Mike! He's not
breathing!" the woman screamed. Ryan pulled out a stethoscope. "Ma'am,
where is he?" she asked. The woman grabbed her arm and pulled her around
to the back of the house.
"There!" she pointed to a little child laying on a picnic table. Bell
and Wick started checking the vitals while Ryan hooked up the oxygen and
IV.
"City base, Rescue 77," she said into the microphone. "We have a child,
male, approximately five years old, unconscious, pulse is thready and
respirations shallow. Blood pressure is normal and steady, um....there's
a small laceration to the forehead, and his left forearm appears broken.
IV and oxygen have been established," she said.
"Rescue 77, city base. Copy that. Splint arm, put on a neckbrace, get
him on a backboard, and transport."
"77" Ryan said. She removed the microphone and headed to the R.A. She
grabbed a backboard, brace and splint and headed back to the scene.
"1, 2, 3," Bell counted as they lifted him. Wick and Ryan loaded him
into the R.A. leaving Bell to deal with the mother. "Would you like to
ride along to the hospital?" he asked. She nodded and sniffled. The
woman climbed into the back with Ryan and the boy. Ryan got the
background info and the ride to the hospital was silent.
They pulled up at the hospital and rushed Mike through the double doors
at the Emergency Room. A team or doctors met them, including Griffith.
"Okay, we have dilated pupils, they're responsive to light, however. He
is still unconscious, but responsive to pain. Vitals have remained
consistent, with a BP of 90 over 60. Heart rate is thready and
respirations are shallow. Contusion on forehead has widened, but we
managed to control the bleeding," Ryan informed them. They thanked her
and rushed him into a waiting room.
Wick collapsed in a lone chair by the far wall. Bell and Ryan sat in
the side-by-side chairs on the opposite walls. "One of us has to finish
the paperwork," Wick said, staring directly at Ryan.
She stood shaking her head. "Subtle, Wick. Real subtle," she grumbled
heading over to the counter. There stood Megan. Ryan felt a wave of
guilt wash over her as she looked at Megan's innocent face. No, she
thought. No. I'm not going to feel guilty. Michael and I haven't done
anything . . . yet . . .
"Ryan?" Megan asked. Ryan snapped her head up and raised her eyebrows
at the nurse. "You have one more paper to fill out," she said, handing
the paper to Ryan,"
"Thanks," Ryan said, looking the paper over. She filled it out, her
mind going back to the kitchen . . . and Michael . . .
Wick tapped her on the shoulder and she jumped slightly. "Wick....you
scared me," she said. He grinned lopsidedly and shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, is it my fault you have a guilty conscience?" he asked, smiling.
He realized that for the first time in weeks he had smiled. Immediately
the grin dropped from his face and the seriousness returned. "Well,
anyway, I just thought you should know, that Josh kid, you know the one
who fell down the shaft, he's back in here,"
Ryan dropped the clipboard and stared at Wick. "What?" she asked in
bewilderment. That little boy had been on her mind constantly. "Where is
he? Why is he here?" she knew she was rambling, but concern was ripping
through her like a razor blade.
"Room 49 in the pediatrics ward. He . . . he–uh . . ." Wick was trying
to find a way to tell her. To tell her without seeing her cry. He hated
it when she cried. Her beautiful face became red and swollen and it hurt
him worse than a thousand knives cutting him through the heart. Whenever
she was in pain, he wished for it to be him. When she was sad he wanted
to wrap his arms around her and make her forget everything. There was a
time when they did just that. Before her ‘burnout'. They would lay for
hours in each other arms, just talking. That's all they needed. To talk,
and feel each other's presence. He didn't know if he loved her, but he
knew that he absolutely needed her.
"He . . . has . . . leukemia," Wick said softly, putting a hand gently
on her shoulder. He could see her eyes well up, but he could also see
that she was fighting the tears back. The docs think its in the early
stages, and they say he's fightin' it," he drawled softly. "He's been
askin' to see you," he told her.
She thanked him and ran to the elevator, her mind a million miles away
from everything. Well . . . everything but Josh. The little boy she had
almost died for was now alone and dying . . .
//The water in the shaft was up to their mouths as Ryan lifted his head
slightly. "I want you to take a deep breath. Close your eyes. Take the
deepest breath you can and hold it. When you open your eyes, we'll be in
a better place, okay?" Ryan watched as Josh took a deep breath. Then she
took one of her own just as the water passed over their heads. Keeping
her eyes open, Ryan watched the little boy with a head full of fear, and
a heart full of love.\\
Ryan let out a breath she didn't even know she had been holding as she
reached the pediatrics wing. Looking at the numbers on the side of the
doors, she finally located Josh's room. She knocked on the door, and
when there was no answer, she let herself in.
Josh lay in a little bed and as Ryan approached, she wasn't prepared
for the sight that met her eyes.
