Meet me in the Middle

Chapter 49

"Bishop, Beckett. I need an ETA on the dismantling of that board. We need to get the patient into the aid car ASAP. His BP is dropping." I slap Beckett on the thigh so I can get to the bolt near his feet. I put the drill to the bolt and screw it out, giving Jack and Beckett a thumbs up to get the crowbars in there and pull it away from the wall. "We're ready to go, Captain." Vic is holding the axe steady in the patient's head and Sullivan is holding the backboard with his side, to help the patient to the ground as soon as we set him free. We wait for both their go-aheads before we rip the board from the wall.

"Okay. On my count, make sure to put him down on his side." I get a crowbar into the bottom of the board and wait to hear the number three to push it down. I can hear the creak of the wood glue pulling away from the plaster on the wall and ignore the screams from the patient. "He's free! Bishop, watch your head." I crouch down further and feel the patient's feet hitting my back as they lower him to the ground. "Clear." I spin around when I feel Beckett lifting his own leg over my back to help assess the patient. The axe luckily didn't move and was still lodged in his head. Andy waits for my approval and as soon as I have a bandage wrapped around it and secured to the backboard, I give her a nod.

Warren and Sullivan put the patient on the gurney and run outside to the aid car with him. "Man! That was wild." Vic kicks the other half of the board to the side and start cleaning the scene up. The rest of the team agrees with her and start laughing at the absurd call. "Dude, yo, right. Like, I have some good friends but will not allow a single one of them to throw an axe at my head for a gender reveal." Jack pointedly looks between me and Beckett and lifts his eyebrow in amusement. Beckett nods his head at me and winks. "I love you, Becks, but I'm too scared of your wife. Nope, nah." They both wait for my eyes to bug out before they burst out laughing. "Come on, Bish. We jumped out of a plane for you."

I glare at them and point my finger between them. "This little bromance needs a break." I slap Jack in his stomach, putting myself between them. "Gibson, paws off my bestie, okay? Get your own." I glare at Beckett over my shoulder and tempt him to defend himself. He lifts his hands up in surrender and bumps me with his shoulder. "What can I say, Bish. You've been so absent lately and spending time with other lieutenants. I let the jealousy get the best of me. I have needs and Jack knows how to take care of them. It's not me, it's you." I try to fight back the laugh from his ridiculous defense and shake my head at the two of them. "Does Molly know she has some competition in her department too? I don't want her to get blindsided by this betrayal like I did."

Jack grabs me around my middle and lifts me up while Beckett goes in for a noogie. "Mercy! You can have him...!" They let me go and Jack puts my feet to the ground. I look around to make sure no one is close enough to hear my threatening whisper. "...when I'm gone." He gulps away the sadness that overtakes him when he sees I'm no longer teasing him. I need someone to have Beckett's back when I finally get transferred. I loved knowing they had each other when they run into dangerous situations together. I needed the assurance that they'd both have someone to pull them to safety if needed. I made a promise to bring Beckett home safely to Molly and Antonio, and I need to put the trust in someone else to carry the torch forward.

I knot the last of the trash bags and follow the blur of black and yellow out the building. Ruiz comes jogging out, throwing something up and down in his hand. "Vic! Head's up!" She has just enough time to react and slap it away to the nearest flowerpot. The ball shaped thing breaks into a cloud of pink smoke and the crowd cheers loudly. "It's a girl!" I hook my arm with Beckett's and drag him to the rig. "That could be you one of these days." He throws his arm over my shoulder and open the door for us. "A girl? I don't know. I'm more of a sports and fire truck kind of dad." I roll my eyes at his nerves and pinch his side. "I was that type of girl growing up and would've loved you as my dad."