Improvement, Perseverance, and Growth!(A Chicago Fire fanfic)

Dinner with the Hermanns!

"Alright, everybody! Suit up!" I heard Boden yell, "We're doing drills today....ladder, hose, you name it!" ....as I was drifting off to sleep. I jerked myself awake and suited up. Casey, Hermann, Severide, and I started with the hose. Severide and I held the hose while Hermann and Casey cranked up the water. Severide and I held tight to the hose and aimed at the target in front of the garage door. "How much longer we got?!" I asked Severide, yelling over the water. "About thirty minutes!" He yelled back. We held our weight and kept spraying targets. On the last minute, the hose twisted out of control! "Oh my god!" Severide yelled. We tried holding on, I yelled to Hermann and Casey, "Cut the water! Cut the water!" As the hose kept twisting, I felt a pull then a tear in my back. I yelled in pain and Severide and I held on until the water stopped. I dropped to my knees, trying to ignore the pain. "You alright?!" Casey yelled as he and Hermann ran to me. "I think so. I think I tore a muscle in my back. I need to keep going though. I don't want to stop just because of a torn muscle." I said, determined. Hermann sighed and said, "Alright. Just be careful on the ladder, okay? That's what we're doing next." I nodded. Hermann and Severide helped me to my feet and we moved onto the ladder. We each took turns controlling the ladder and basket, climbing the ladder, getting into the basket, and so on. We continued drills until I finally had to stop. I motioned to Gabby and mouthed, "Get the kit!" then we went to the locker room. When we got there, she told me to lay on my stomach while she examined and treated my back. I did so. I winced every time she pushed on the spot where the tear was. She grabbed an ice pack from the kit, prepared it, and put it on my back. After that, she injected morphine in my back around the tear, and helped me up. "Thank you!" I told her. "You're welcome. Take the ice pack, go in the break room, and rest." She told me. I did so. I ended up falling asleep on the sofa I was lying on. Taking care of three children is tough, but worth it.

That same night, at home, I was feeling well enough to cook red beans and rice and set the table. Hours of preparation later, it was dinner time! The Hermann's arrived just in time. Sylvia and the younger Hermann kids sat and ate at a separate table while the Hermann's, older Hermann children, Jimmy, Jimmy's father, I, and the twins sat at the big table. Baby Chris sat in his high chair between Jimmy and Big Chris and Hope sat in hers between me and Mrs. Hermann. Jimmy blessed the food, then we ate, talked, and had a good time. "Guess what I made for dessert?" I announced, because there was already questions about dessert. "What did you make, Mom?" Sylvia asked. I then said, "A Louisiana favorite breakfast and dessert....beignets with café au lait!" I explained while I served. Needless to say, everyone enjoyed the beignets and café au lait! Another hour of talking and cleaning up later, the Hermann's thanked us and Hermann said, "Thanks for sharing Louisiana with us, Caroline." I hugged him and Mrs. Hermann and said, "Y'all sure are welcome!" We laughed and said goodbye to each other. Then, Jimmy and I got the kids and ourselves ready for bed.

The next morning, my back was in so much pain that I had to call Boden and call in sick. Jimmy took the twins to the Hermann's while Sylvia rode the bus to school like always. Before they left, Jimmy left two pain pills, some yogurt, and a glass of water on my nightstand. He helped me take them, laid me carefully back down and kissed me goodbye. As the day progressed, the pain got worse. I decided to drive to Med to get it checked out. When I arrived at the emergency room, parked, and locked my car, I gingerly walked into the hospital and signed in. An hour later, a nurse for Dr. Rhodes walked into the waiting room and called my name. I carefully got up and followed her to a room. She helped me onto the bed, closed the curtain, and asked questions. An hour after she left, Dr. Rhodes walked in. He smiled and greeted me, "Hey Caroline! What happened?" "Hey Dr. Rhodes. I tore something in my back yesterday while doing drills." I explained more while he nodded and took notes. Then, he asked me to lay on my stomach so that he can examine my back. I did. I lifted my shirt to expose the spot on my back that was swollen and bruised. With every press and poke, I winced. He told me that they had to do an MRI on my back right away. I put my shirt down and carefully rolled over. While the nurse came back with a wheelchair, I texted Jimmy to tell him what was going on. As soon as I blinked, I was being helped into the wheelchair and pushed to the MRI room. As soon as that was over, I was wheeled back to the room and helped back onto the bed. I saw that Jimmy texted back, "I'll be there as soon as I can. Keep me updated, sweetheart. Love you!" I texted back, "I will, baby. Love you too!" Rhodes came back a minute later with the results. He closed the curtain, sat down, and told me, "You're going to need emergency surgery. Not only does the tear need repairing, but blood is pooling fast and spreading." "Oh my god..." I said, shocked. I excused myself and called Jimmy to tell him then we hung up.