I Am Morgan

Chapter 34: Shoved In My Face

Today's the day.

Kelly is starting a teaching class at the academy and Dawson is beginning her training to become a firefighter.

He got offered it seven weeks ago just before Casey was injured and he took it. It's only one class so it won't take up too much of his time and he'll still be able to work shifts but it's still a big deal. I'm proud of him.

We're all in the briefing room - minus Dawson - and watching Shay and Tony play fight with each other while we all cheer them on.

"Okay!" Chief quietens us all down. "I have just heard from C.P.D. Clarke is out on bond. He'll remain on suspension until further notice."

"That's crazy if he did it." Herrmann says as we all take a seat.

"If?" I ask, because he didn't.

"The round came from his gun," Otis retorts to me.

"The bullets came from a type of gun that Clarke owns. Get your facts straight." says Kelly.

"Oh, I stand corrected." Otis puts his hand to his head, unconvinced.

"Enough," says Chief. "Clarke comes in this house for any reason, he is innocent until proven guilty. We treat him like a brother."

"He's not gonna come by. I already talked to him." Mills replies. "He doesn't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable."

"Then moving on; a round of applause for our very own Jessica Morgan who has now been promoted to paramedic-in-charge." He says and the room whoops for me. Kelly picks up my hand supportively and I smile like a Cheshire cat. All of this is really helping me move in the right direction - and even though Boden would never admit it, I think he made me the P.I.C. on purpose to make me feel better.

"I'd also like you all to give a nice warm welcome to our new paramedic, Ms. Allison Rafferty." He says.

A pretty brunette steps forward at the back, "Hey, guys. I look forward to working with you all." she says.

"Hey, welcome aboard, kid." Herrmann greets her. "Where you from? Tell us about yourself."

"Well, I was over at 24 before I came here, but I've been in Chicag—"

"Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61, Battalion 25, single-car accident." The alarm sounds, cutting her off and everyone gets up to go.

We go over to the ambulance and instead of taking the drivers seat like I usually do I sit in the passenger side while the newbie gets in and drives us off.

"I'm Morgan, it's great to meet you." I say with a smile.

"Yeah, I've heard a lot about you." she replies smartly and I frown. She didn't say that like it's a good thing.

We arrive at the scene and find that a man has driven into a roadworks site. At closer inspection we see that a fairly thin, green, metal pole has impaled itself into the left side of his neck. He's still conscious.

"Got a blown-out tire on the front passenger side.
Let's get some cribbing in here and stabilize this car." says Chief as Rafferty and I take a look at him.

"Pressure's 80 palp. Heart rate 120." she announces having taken his vitals quickly.

"All right, airway's clear. No sign of a bleed." I add and then turn to Casey and Severide. "Okay, listen. He got real lucky. The rebar's probably sitting right on his carotid. You have to be super careful when you move him. I mean, a millimeter in the wrong direction, okay?"