F is For Falling (and other complications)

Ch. 7

Cap sat in his office in the dark for a few moments, his head in his hands. He, Mike, Roy and Johnny had been back to the station for about ten minutes, Dwyer and Sanders waiting for them when they had arrived. After filling the two men in, Cap sent all the guys to bed since they were exhausted.

After trying unsuccessfully to rub away the headache that was starting behind his eyes, Cap snapped the lamp on that was sitting at the corner of his desk. He knew he wouldn't get any rest if he didn't call and check on his men. So, he dialed a very familiar number.

"Rampart General Hospital, Dixie McCall speaking."

"Hi Dixie, its Hank Stanley. I was checking on the boys before turning in."

"They're doing ok Hank. I just checked on them a few minutes ago. They're resting comfortably." She paused before adding, "We'll take care of them, don't worry Hank."

Cap let out the breath he had been holding. "Thanks Dixie. I'm sure we'll all be over as soon as we get off shift in the morning to check on them. Now I have one more call to make. Thanks for the update."

He was about to hang up when Dixie asked, "Karen?"

"Yeah, Karen. I haven't been able to reach her since Dr. Brackett called me this morning. I'm going to try again to let her know about the guys. I suspect she took her phone off the hook and fell asleep."

"Let me know will you, in the morning? I have a sneaking suspicion that when she finds out about Marco and Chet she will try to make her way here to see them."

Hank smiled momentarily; Dixie knew his crew so well. "I'll do that Dixie, and thank you again for everything." He hung the phone up, scrubbing the palms of his hands over his face. He yawned before picking the phone up and dialing his youngest paramedics number. He wasn't surprised to hear the busy signal. He hung the phone up again, glancing down to his desk. Oh Karen, we are going to have a talk about not putting your phone back on the hook.

Cap stood up, turned the light off on his desk lamp and headed out of the office. He walked in front of the squad and engine, heading straight for the locker room. Apparently the others had decided to go to bed right away because no one was in the room. He grabbed some clean clothes and stripped off his smoke laden uniform.

He entered the shower, turning the water up to as hot as he could stand. His thoughts kept racing through his brain as he let the water pour over him. All he could think about was his two injured linemen in the hospital and his sick paramedic at her home. He scrubbed his hair and body, rinsing some of the acrid smoke smell off.

Once he was done, he got out of the shower, a towel tied around his waist as he walked over to his clothes, drying himself off. He put on his clean tee shirt and boxers, putting his dirty clothes in a bag then putting them into his locker.

He quietly walked into the dorm, hearing the steady rhythm of breathing from his men. He smiled, hearing some of them snoring softly. He arranged his bunker gear before pulling his sheets down, sliding between them. He sighed, the comfort of the bed allowing his body to relax as he covered up and turned to his side.

His last thoughts before he fell asleep was a prayer for his men in the hospital and for his youngest crew member.

E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E! E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!E!

Karen woke up with a start, seeing that it was no longer dark outside, but the sun was streaming into her room. She stretched, looking at her alarm clock. Eleven-thirty! Wow I must have been really tired.
She swung her legs over the side of the bed, gingerly stood up, and promptly stumbled forward, almost falling in the process. Man, I went too long without my pain pills.