Spitting Bullets

Chapter 30

Engine 51, Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61, car accident North Shore Street.

"Alright, lets go!"

When they pulled up to the scene, Matt instantly recognized the car. Once they hopped out of the trucks, Kelly and Matt's hearts plummeted. The others looked confused, not fully understanding.

"That's Nicole's car," Matt stated before printing towards the wrecked car.

The sound of Bella screaming filled the air. Hermann headed straight to the non-impact side of the car to check on the little girl. Meanwhile Kelly and Matt checked the impact side of the car where Nicole and Noah were hit.

"This is ambulance 61. I'm going to need to more ambulances to the scene," Brett radioed, before her and foster ran a gurney over to Hermann. He had scooped Bella him in his arms after he stopped her from thrashing in her car seat. It looked like all she had sustained was few cuts and scrapes. When the next ambulance arrived, she was passed onto that gurney.

"Cruz! Get the jaws!" ordered Kelly, attempting to pry open the doors.

Nicole's face was laying on the steering wheel and a slice on the side of her head was bleeding. She was completely unconscious while Noah was slipping in and out. Every time he was awake, he'd be crying in pain which broke Kelly's heart.

"You're going to be okay Noah. We're going to get you out. Daddy promises," Kelly spoke before placing the c-collar on him.

Using the jaws he pried Noah's door away from the vehicle. It was then revealed that the little boy's leg had been tightly pinned between the seat and the caved in door. It was bent back and immediately they knew it was broken. Kelly carefully scooped up his son and placed him on the awaiting gurney. The paramedics wrapped his arm which had a deep laceration while Kelly moved to pry off Nicole's door. That's when Matt saw it...A piece of metal from the car was stabbing her in the chest. Sylvie slipped in and placed the c-collar on Nicole before checking her pulse and breathing.

"Guys, she's barely got a pulse and her breath sounds are really muffled. We need to get her to Med now."

Careful not to move the metal, they pulled her out of the car and set her on the gurney. Matt held back tears as he looked at his wife's lifeless looking body. Kelly headed to Noah's ambulance while they loaded Nicole in. She was too critical for Matt to ride with, so with permission from Boden, he rode with Bella. The little girl climbed off the gurney and buried herself in his chest. She fit snugly in his fire jacket as she cried and cried. Matt knew he had to keep it together for her.

When they arrived at the hospital, Matt came running in with Bella still in his arms. The paramedics were more or less just their ride. He caught Choi and Natalie wheeling Nicole towards an elevator.

"Natalie!" he called, hurrying towards her and she stopped while Choi continued into the elevator.

"Matt?"

"She's pregnant," he informed her, "Nat, do everything to save our baby. But if it comes down to her or the baby. You save my girl."

"I'm going to be real with you Matt, she's always my main priority."

Matt headed back to waiting room where Kelly was. Dr. Halstead had taken Noah into a room for an evaluation before taking him to get an x-ray. April was able to check out Bella on the side and determined she just had some cuts and a little whiplash. Otherwise she was fine. Matt just had to make sure she didn't sleep for a little while in case she had a minor concussion. Once the scene was taken care of, everyone from 51 arrived along with a few of their friends the the 21st district. Jay wrapped Matt in a hug, checking in to see if there was any news.

"We've already started an investigation. After talking to a few bystanders, it sounds like the guy was drunk. They said he was swerving and driving around all crazy before he even blew the light," Jay informed Matt and Kelly, who were both angry.

"What piece of shit hits a woman and her two kids and then takes off!" Kelly stated with a growl.

"Well we're going to find this piece of crap and he'll have to answer to Hank Voight. It's family up there, and family protects family."

"Thanks Jay."

"Of course. If there's anything I can do for you guys. Just call."

"Just take the son of a bitch down."

"You have my word."

Kelly sat back down and Hermann sat next to him. The older firefighter patted his back, trying to comfort him in some form. Tears brimmed Kelly's eyes at the thought of Noah not being okay. He knew it was likely it was just a broken leg, but then again the boy was unconscious. 

"I don't know if I'm strong enough to deal with this. If something happens to him, I don't know if I can make it through that," Kelly admitted, head in his hands.

"Your boy's gonna pull through and when he does, he needs his dad," Hermann advised, placing his hand on Kelly's shoulder to draw his head up, "Noah's got your genes and Nicole's genes. That kid has gone through a lot in his little life, he's going to make it through this."

"God I hope so. I never realized a heart could hurt this much until I became a parent. When I got to that call and saw his face through that broken window...my heart just plummeted out of my chest. It was like the wind was knocked out of me, but there was no time to breathe because I had to spring into action. We've had some tough calls, but there's nothing like getting there and seeing your son."

"I couldn't imagine that pain. The only other person that really can is Matt." 

A few seats away Matt was sitting there with a finally calmed down Bella still curled into his chest. She luckily had passed the time limit on the concussion watch, so she was free to fall asleep. Kidd had bought her some fruit snacks, a juice box, and a bag of gold fish. The little girl had gobbled it all up with Matt was speaking with Jay, Ruzek, and Hailey before she fell fast asleep. Her soft snores against his chest managed to calm Matt down a bit.

"I respond to calls nearly every day and I've seen some horrific things over the years. Stuff that stays with you. But there is nothing, NOTHING worse then pulling onto a scene and seeing someone you love on the other side. My heart sank. My wife, my kids, and my unborn child were all at risk in the blink of an eye," Matt confessed, finally letting a few tears fall, "This morning we were celebrating a pregnancy and now...now we may lose the baby...or both."

"Hey, Nicole is extremely strong. That at everything she's been through. She's gone to hell in back about a thousand times. She's gonna get through this and you two are going to have a beautiful child together," Stella spoke as she rubbed his arms.

"I need them to pull through Kidd. I really do. But even more than that...I knew this isn't going to be something we just recover from. Both kids are going to be traumatized by this, at least for a while. I mean when I heard Bella's screams I was terrified she was badly hurt and when she wasn't...I knew that meant she herself was terrified and as an 21 month old, you can't vocalize that in any other way than to cry," he sighed, "The only thing keeping me from shattering into a million pieces is her. I have to stay strong for my little girl. Because she needs me...almost as much as I need her."

"She's lucky to have such an amazing dad."

"No, I'm the lucky one. I just hope that luck comes in to play here. God knows we need it."