Danger Zone (File One of The First Responders Files)

Chapter Forty-Six

Boy, it's amazing how quickly you can whip up a chapter when it's practically all just following a canon episode XD Owen finds out good news and bad news regarding his surgery, Kelly takes the reins for a tense call, Owen gets bored out of his mind, Marjan faces some Instagram trouble, and the three arsonist chasers are back at it.

Trigger warning: this chapter, like in the episode, contains the attempted suicide of a character. If you wish to avoid this part of the chapter, I advise you to stop reading when Marjan breaks into the house and continue after the scene break.

With that said, enjoy "Slow Burn!"

***

If there was one thing Owen hated more than hospitals in general, it was waking up in a hospital and getting light shone in his eyes the moment he first woke.

"Dad?" TK was instantly by his side as Owen winced, trying to shield his eyes from the light. "Oh, good. You're awake."

"Hey, son," Owen gave a weak smile. "Good to see you."

"Good to see you, too," TK smiled, helping Owen adjust the bed. "Dr. Jacobs is going to be back soon. She'll be happy to see you."

"I'll be glad to see her, too," Owen agreed, wincing as he shifted in his bed.

As if on cue, Jacobs stepped into the room, knocking lightly on the door. "Captain Strand," she greeted. "Good to see you're up."

"It's good to see you, Dr. Jacobs," he smiled.

"How you feeling?"

Owen experimentally shifted again. "If I were in the game of Operation, I wouldn't have buzzed once," he decided.

Jacobs chuckled. "Well, I am afraid to say you would have one time, unfortunately."

TK gulped. "Is there a complication?"

"No, not a complication, exactly," Jacobs shook her head. "Just, during surgery, we discovered your tumor was larger than we anticipated."

"What does that mean?" Owen asked worriedly. "Did you get everything?"

"Absolutely," Jacobs hurried to assure him. "It just means that your recovery will take longer than we expected."

"So . . . " Owen trailed off. "How long are we talking here?"

"Three to four weeks," Jacobs answered.

"Three to four weeks?!" Owen balked. "I can't be away from work that long! The taxpayers need me!"

"Dad, I'm sure the taxpayers will understand," TK snickered.

"Well, until your O-levels return to normal, you will experience shortness of breath, fatigue, coughing," Jacobs listed. "But the good news is all you need to do to feel better is to kick your legs up and relax."

Owen grimaced, and TK laughed. "That's not good news for my dad!"

Jacobs shrugged. "Well, either way, the takeaway here is it was a success." Owen nodded in agreement. "Now, I will want to keep you overnight, but you should be good to go tomorrow."

"Alright," Owen nodded. "Well thank you, Doctor."

"You're so welcome," Jacobs smiled, waving to TK as she headed out the door.

As soon as it clicked shut, Owen looked at TK in disbelief. "Four weeks?" he repeated. "That's like, two fortnights!"

"Eh, don't worry," TK chuckled, patting his arm. "We'll find a way to pass the time." He perked up, reaching next to his chair. "Oh! That reminds me." He popped back up with a box in his hands, the lid wrapped in a bow. "Carlos and I brought you something."