The Long Road

Maddie Down

Steve reached Maddie a split second after she hit the floor, and only shortly before the rest of them got to her. "Maddie!" he called her name. Crouching down next to her on her right, not even caring that shards of glass were digging into his knees, he took in every inch of her. She lay barefoot, crumpled on a million pieces of sharp glass. The hand she'd been holding the water glass in, her left, was covered in blood and resting on her once pristine white shorts. As his eyes moved down her body he noticed her bare legs had some superficial cuts that were bleeding. Maddie's bare feet were another story. In addition to the already bloody gashes, he could see some shards actually sticking out of her feet. "Oh Maddie," Steve mumbled to himself feeling guilty for her current state. He should have given Lori a heads up about everything. As his eyes wandered up her body he wished she'd had a jacket on so her arms and back would have been protected. Because she'd landed on her back and slightly on her right side, her right arm was worse than her left. He bit his lip, his blue eyes scanning for any sign she was awake. "Maddie," he repeated his eyes glued to hers hoping they'd open. Nothing. "Maddie, wake up!"

"Was that thump her head hitting the floor?" Danny asked squatting next to Steve. Chin was on Maddie's left side while Pete was near her head. Kono and Lori stood back not wanting to get in the way.

Steve closed his eyes remembering the sound her head had made as it collided with the dark marble floor. "Yeah... dammit! I should've been quicker!" he exclaimed.

"Hey! McG... this is not your fault. She hasn't slept in two days. She was really wobbly on her feet today. I've been watching her, praying she wouldn't faint. I'd hoped I'd get her to you before it happened and that you'd coax her into getting some sleep. It was inevitable with the way she's been going lately," Pete tried to reassure him.

"Maddie, wake up!" Steve said to her, a bit louder this time. Looking up he asked, "Where's Malia? Does she think we need to call 911?" He knew why Maddie wouldn't want them to. The press would have a field day.

"She went to get some supplies. She said to not call until she gets back," Chin disclosed right before Malia appeared with a bag in hand.

Everyone except Steve backed away from Maddie to give her room.

Squatting next to her friend she began to carefully look at her head and neck. "Has she moved at all? Any sign of waking up?"

Noticing that Steve was frozen, his eyes glued to Maddie's face, Danny answered, "No." He'd never seen him like this.

"Chin, can you look in my bag and hand me the smelling salts. Hopefully that wakes her up," Malia said.

Chin rifled through the bag finally finding the salts. He handed the package to her.

Please work. Please, please wake up, Mads, Steve thought to himself. He reached for her "good" hand (her right) although it had a few small scratches. Not wanting to hurt her he carefully held onto it. Malia ripped open the smelling salts packaging releasing an incredibly strong odor. She held it under Maddie's nose.

"Wow, that stinks! That's definitely gonna do the trick, Steve," Danny said to his partner, trying to give him some support.

Everyone stilled, praying it would work. "Come on Maddie... wake up," Steve whispered.

After holding them under Maddie's nose for fifteen seconds, Malia pulled them away. "She needs to go to the hospital and get an MRI. We need to make sure there's no bleeding or swelling. Call 911 and have them come get her."

Just as Chin pulled out his phone to dial Steve said, "Just try it one more time..." Knowing how upset he was she did as he asked. "Come on, baby... open your eyes," he said, not realizing what he'd just called her.