Sometimes We Break So Beautiful [Larry Stylinson]

Chapter 2

[Notes- More trigger warnings for blood, etc. please beware.]

"Harry?" The male medic started cleaning the part of his leg visibly closest to the beam. "Is that your name?"

Harry nodded impatiently.

"My name is Liam and I will be performing the amputation, okay?"

"Nooooooo!" Harry wailed, saliva pouring out the sides of his rigidly opened mouth.

"Don't worry, Harry, I'm a grade-A EMT. I'm perfectly qualified to do this. Now, here's what I want you to do; I want you to take a deep breath for me. Can you do that?"

"We can lift it off him!" Louis screamed at the EMT. "Just move aside and give us time!"

Liam disagreed. "He's losing pressure in his leg fast. If we don't move now it's going to affect his heart and he'll die here."

"How long do we have!?" Zayn cut in, tossing his fire safety gloves and slapping on a pair of surgical ones.

Louis didn't wait for the reply to that. He swallowed up the air-time and continued to bark at Jade and Miller to try harder in hefting off the beam.

"Listen to me!" Liam shouted, still focused on Louis. "We have exactly six minutes before he has to lose his entire leg. If we move now we can perform a transtibial."

Harry winced. "What is a transfibial!?"

Liam was on the dot. "A transtibial. It means we can cut below the knee and save most of your leg."

On hearing that, Harry started wailing louder to which Liam replied, "Trust me, that's a good thing!" He said it to Harry but looked at Louis the whole time, like he was trying to convince him to give the consent.

"Are you sure there's no other way to get him out!?" Louis said above Harry's cries.

"He's the best at what he does!" Liam's partner, Cassie countered in the process of testing out the anesthetic needle for the operation. "You should thank your lucky stars we got here when we did."

Liam added, "The building could come down any second. Would you rather wait for that!?"

Louis shuffled and shifted agitatedly. Jade and Miller backed away from the beam, eyes anxiously planted on their Lieutenant.

Liam sighed sympathetically, eyes pleading and urgent. "Let us do our job."

"Louis," Jade spoke up. "We have to do this or none of us are going to make it out before this building comes down on us." She said it in an urgently soft tone but her eyes were saying that if Louis didn't give the command in the next five seconds, she would.

Louis grabbed his head, shutting his eyes. In his line of work field limb amputations were done as a last resort to free a patient only after all other options have been exhausted, or if the patient's condition requires immediate removal, or in cases where hazards create too much risk for lengthy operations. The man is a hiker for God's sake, Louis didn't want him to have to give that up. But here in the dark unsteady building with open electrical wires, dust everywhere blocking sight, and potential for more aftershocks that can do even more damage to Harry and everyone else inside, Louis knew he had to let it happen.

Helpless to come up with another solution in six minutes, he nodded for Liam and his partner to start the operation with the help of Zayn who was a specially trained firefighter EMT. Louis' own training required that he know how to perform basic medical emergency procedures, and he did complete a course in field amputation during his extensive training to become a firefighter but this was the first time experiencing and being part of one and he didn't know if he could handle it. Especially if it was being performed on the man who kept him sane during this whole ordeal.