The Sergeant's Daughter

Chatper 2: Madeline

"Hey, Maggie, what do we have?" Maggie was immediately on her feet as the EMTs rushed through the ER doors, pushing a stretcher with a patient.

"45-year-old male, left leg amputation," the female EMT said, her voice clipped as she kept up with the rapid pace.

"Trauma two!" Maggie called, pointing to the open room, her focus sharp. "Get him in there now!"

"Train motorman. GCS 3. BP 90 by palp," the EMT continued, before stepping aside to let Maggie and Will take charge.

Will looked down at the patient, visibly concerned, but Maggie was already ahead of him. "Go do Trauma Four!" she barked, not missing a beat. He nodded, hurrying off to the next crisis.

"Where's the x-ray?" Ethan called, exiting the room quickly.

"I got it," Maggie replied, already heading in the direction of the radiology department.

The ER was a battlefield, patients pouring in from the train wreck, the casualties stacking up fast. In the chaos, Dr. Rhodes was at the chest of another patient, doing compressions as he worked tirelessly.

"28-year-old male. Crushed injuries, severed artery, massive blood loss," Rhodes said, his voice grim. He continued his chest compressions, his hands firm and unyielding.

"Trauma two just opened," Sharon called out, walking briskly past, phone in hand, coordinating the chaos outside.

Rhodes glanced at Madeline, who had just stepped into the room. "Put him on our monitor. Transfuser paged. Get four units of O-neg, and start with a round of epi," she ordered, her calm voice cutting through the tension.

"Already hit him with the epi, times two," Rhodes replied, still not breaking the rhythm of his compressions. "Still no pulse. He's in fibrillation."

Madeline didn't flinch. "Get him to the bay. I've got it from here, sir."

"Not so fast," Rhodes said firmly. "He's mine."

Will walked into the room just in time, shaking his head as he looked at Rhodes. "Get off the gurney, doctor. I'm the senior resident here."

"Yeah? Well, I'm your new granuja fellow." Rhodes said, getting off the patient and stepping aside with a smug grin.

"Since you got it from here, Doctor, I will go help other patients," Madeline said, smiling at him before exiting the room, not waiting for his response.

Meanwhile, in Trauma One, April and Natalie were dealing with a young girl, the reality of the injuries setting in as the EMTs rushed in.

"Left ac, obvious femur fracture, good distal pulse," the EMT said, rolling in the young girl, her face pale from shock and fear.

"It's blown," April muttered, quickly taking charge and looking to Madeline and Natalie.

Madeline, her voice soothing, bent down to the girl's level. "Sweetheart, we're going to take really good care of you, okay?"

But the girl's panic was immediate. "You have to find my daddy!" she cried, reaching out.

April exchanged a look with the EMT. "We'll find him, I promise. Right, Maggie?"

Maggie, ever the calming presence, waved a hand at the girl. "You're gonna be okay, hon. I'm gonna find your daddy for you."

The girl seemed to settle, but only just. "You'll really find him?" she whispered.

"I will," Maggie said firmly, closing the curtains around them.

Hours later, the ER continued to pulse with activity, each moment more critical than the last. Madeline was at the bedside of another patient when the young girl's voice echoed through the curtain.