Sudden Response

  the parking lot, watching as the ambulance rolled over several times until if finally landed on its hood only to have the truck slam into it as the sound of screeching breaks broke through the sounds of metal being crushed.

  "Echo seventeen."

  "We are onsite at an MVA involving an ambulance and a tractor trailer at Washington and Paramount. Requesting assistance from fire and ambulance," Eric said, smoothly turning onto Washington.

  "Received Echo seventeen, MVA at Washington and Paramount."

  "That fucking idiot," Eric growled out as he moved through traffic, switching the sirens as he requested the right away.

  Once they reached the scene of the accident he pulled up and blocked the road that the destroyed ambulance occupied. He left the emergency lights on as he jumped out, glad to see the other ambulances that were stationed alongside of them earlier heading towards the accident.

  When he got his hands on the little bastard he was going to kill him, he decided as he and Joe worked quickly to pull their stretcher out, load it with oxygen, a trauma bag and the long board. Just as he was about to push the stretcher towards the overturned ambulance Joe jumped back into the ambulance. Seconds later she was jumping out with a fire blanket in her arms.

  "Glass," was all she said. With a nod of understanding they headed towards the ambulance.

  As soon as the scent of gasoline hit his nose he shot a look towards Joe and mumbled a few curses that she thankfully missed over the sounds of sirens drawing near. He didn't want her anywhere near this accident, but he didn't have much of a choice. They had three patients inside the fucked up ambulance and were going to need as many hands as they could get to get them all out of there before the damn thing caught fire.

  It was probably selfish, but he was glad that Joe was moving on and finding other things that interested her. He wanted her safe and happy. He knew accidents could happen anywhere probably better than most people and that she could just as easily get hit by a bus than get hurt working on an ambulance, but it made him feel a hell of a lot better to know that she wouldn't be in a position to take risks soon.

  Well, she wouldn't be taking risks fulltime anymore and when she did he would be there to keep her safe. He'd still worry, but for her he'd deal with it. As long as she was happy he would deal with anything even if that meant she stayed on the truck fulltime. He wouldn't like it, but he would accept it for her.

  "Eric," Joe said, her voice breaking.

  "What?" he asked, shaking his head clear and forcing himself to focus. It was only then that he realized that they'd stop pushing the stretcher and Joe was kneeling next to the mutilated driver's side door.

  "He's dead," she said hollowly.

  Praying that she was wrong, he moved to kneel next to her and tilted his head to look at the bloody mess. When his eyes landed on Greg's vacant expression and the severe damage to his head and neck he knew the man was gone.

  Legally they weren't allowed to pronounce someone dead and were technically supposed to do whatever they could for Greg but there really was nothing they could for him. They also had multiple patients and as the first EMTs on the scene it was their job to access the damage. Without a word they stood up and hurried over to the passenger side to find Greg's partner in the same condition.

  "The third rider," Joe said flatly as she got to her feet and moved to the side doors of the patient compartment.

  When she couldn't get the doors to budge he helped, but it was more than obvious that the doors weren't going to open without the help of the Jaws of Life. They quickly moved to the back of the ambulance and he let out a sigh of relief when the doors opened and he heard the young woman sobbing.

  "We need a neck collar and the long board," Eric said.

  With a nod, Joe took off to grab the stretcher while he inspected the scene inside the ambulance. The stretcher had come out of its hold and was on the floor, or rather ceiling. He grabbed it and pulled it out, giving it a good shove away from the ambulance so they had room to get the woman and get the hell out.

  He noted the broken glass and medical supplies scattered on the floor before moving his eyes to the woman hanging upside down in the tech seat. Blood dripped off her as she struggled to free herself.

  "Hold still. We're going to get you out," he said, crouching low as he walked towards her.

  "I-I c-can smell gas!" she cried.

  "I know," he said soothingly. "We're going to get you out as fast we can and get the hell out of here, but I need you to do exactly what I tell you to do, okay?"

  "O-okay," she agreed, forcing herself to remain still even as she trembled with fear.

  He heard broken glass being crushed behind him and wasn't surprised when Joe and Justin, an EMT that worked for a large private ambulance company, moved in behind him. He damn near sighed with relief. Justin was a large guy, but most importantly he knew his shit and would help get the woman the hell out of here. More importantly he'd work fast so that he could get Joe the hell out of here.

  "I'll secure her neck if you two gentlemen and I use that term loosely," Joe said, forcing herself to get into the rhythm of things and keep everyone calm as she moved towards the patient, "would be so kind as to get her down and out of here."

  "Sounds good," Justin said, shifting to Eric's left.

  They both donned gloves as Joe carefully worked the collar around the woman's neck. Eric reached over and held the woman's head still as Joe secured the neck collar. When she was done he removed his hands and Joe got into a position where she could hold the woman's head still and stay clear of the area while they worked.

  He knew from experience that job was extremely uncomfortable and sometimes had to be held for a long time while crews worked around the patient, but that wouldn't be the case today. They needed to get the hell out of here. He hoped that Fire was on its way since they'd take care of the gas problem quickly.

  "If I cut her down do you think you could grab her?" Eric asked Justin.

  With a firm nod, the man got his hands into position, ready to hold the woman where she was until Eric could help move her. He'd love a few extra hands, but there wasn't enough room or time for that. Shooting a nervous glance at Joe he grabbed his trauma shears out of pants and cut the lap belt off the woman.

  "I-it was a-a priority three call," the woman said softly as tears rolled down her cheeks, surprising the hell out of them.

  Priority three calls were not allowed to use the emergency lights or sirens. Those were the calls for patients who were in absolutely no danger and therefore the State decided that that the crews operating the ambulances and people on the road would not be put in harm's way as a result. A priority three patient was supposed to get a nice, calm ride to the hospital.

  "Mark told him to shut down the lights, b-but he wouldn't listen," the woman said, sobbing softly.

  "Shhh, it's okay," Joe said, trying to give the woman what little comfort she could.

  "I didn't want to ride with him," the woman admitted softly and Eric didn't blame her one bit. Not that he voiced that opinion, but he shared a look with Joe that communicated exactly how he felt.

  "On my count," he said, drawing back their attention to getting the hell out of there as he prepared to cut her shoulder belt. "One, two......three."

  When the belt gave way he dropped his shears and reached up to grab the woman and gently guided her down. Carefully, but quickly, the three of them managed to keep her neck stabilized and moved her to the long board. Justin moved to the doors and picked up the foot of the backboard while he picked up the head. Joe kept her hold on the woman's head as they moved out.

  They didn't bother with straps at the moment since it was more important to get the hell out of there before it blew up. As Eric reached the backdoors he smelled the unmistakable scent of smoke.

  "Fire," he yelled.

  Thankfully Joe and Justin reacted quickly as did the EMTs waiting outside the ambulance to help. Several men grabbed the side of the backboard and to
gether they hauled ass towards their ambulance and not a moment too soon.

  Immense heat flashed behind him with a loud explosion sent him stumbling, but thankfully they didn't drop the patient. As soon as they were safely behind their ambulance they placed the backboard on the ground and worked together to secure her. Since their stretcher was now consumed in flames one of the other crews took their patient.

  "Let's get the hell out of here," Joe said after she finished giving her statement to the police. Knowing that she needed to get the hell out of there he nodded as he took her hand and gave it a squeeze as they headed for their ambulance.

  Chapter 30

  "Echo twelve is on scene."

  "Echo twelve is on scene at 16:22," Joe said, shooting a glance at her monitor's clock as she put the crew on scene.

  "I'm sorry I'm late," Derek said as he hurried to her side.

  "Don't worry about it," Joe said, waving it off as she got to her feet and stepped away from the call center station so that Derek could sit down and take over.

  "I meant to pick up a coffee for you on the way here to celebrate your first official day, but Lindsey and the baby were sick. I really appreciate you covering for me," Derek said, pulling on the headphones that she'd just pulled off.

  "There's always tomorrow," she said with a wink as she headed for the door of the dark room. They kept the room dark to help block distractions and help the dispatchers focus on the monitors. It took a while for her to get used it. Once she started to work unofficially full time as a dispatcher she'd quickly acclimated to her new surroundings.

  She'd been working as a dispatcher fulltime now for about a month, but today was her first official day as a fulltime dispatcher, something that made her both happy and miserable. She was happy with the job. She loved it in fact and was glad when a fulltime opening unofficially became available after the accident.

  As much as she hated to admit this that accident freaked her out pretty badly and she had desperately needed a break. She was glad when the dispatching position became available, but she felt guilty leaving Eric before he started school. He said he was fine with it even when he got stuck with Teddy for two weeks straight, but that didn't make her feel any better. She felt like she'd abandoned him, but she honestly couldn't have kept working on the truck.

  She'd burned out and she knew it and he probably did as well. It happened and she was just glad that she had her dispatcher training to fall back on. Not that she had to worry about money, for a while at least. She had her paramedic nest egg which she decided to use to splurge on a tropical vacation for her and Eric before he started school, which would happen in three months. Of course it didn't hurt that Eric had moved in pretty much the night of the accident and decided that he would take over the bills, something they constantly argued about.

  It was nice having him around even if it was unofficial. She liked having him there at night and in the morning. Loved having him around to spoil her. She just plain loved the man.

  "Have a good night, Derek," she called out as she opened the door and stepped into the brightly lit hall.

  "You too!" Derek said, sounding amused as she squinted against the sudden brightness. When her vision cleared she felt her brows arch clear to her hairline at the site that greeted her.

  "Hey, Joe," Jeff said with an evil grin that didn't bode well for her as he lazily waved around a folded strap. "We just thought we'd give you an official goodbye from the station," he said, gesturing to the dozen or so firefighters and EMTs that blocked both sides of the hall.

  Oh, damn.......

  Why hadn't she considered this? She really should have considered this happening since she was usually part of the official goodbye party for anyone that left their station. With a forced smile she reached back to open the call room door only to find it locked. She swore she heard Derek laughing his ass off but she wasn't sure.

  "That's, um, real nice of you guys, but I'm kind of running behind as it is. Perhaps another time?" she asked, sounding hopeful as she discretely shifted towards the left, but the men simply closed in on her, grinning.

  "I think now is a great time. What do you think, guys?" Jeff asked.

  "Sounds good to me," Rick, a large firefighter that she may have helped shaved from head to toe when he joined their station five years ago, agreed.

  "I guess that leaves me with no choice but to run," she said solemnly seconds before she tried to make her escape.

  Unfortunately for her she wasn't fast enough and was soon strapped tightly to a backboard and hoisted up in the air. She had to bite her lip to stop herself from begging them not to shave her head, dye her skin or strip her only because she didn't want to give them any ideas.

  Why the hell hadn't she accepted Eric's offer to pick her up after work? Because she was a moron that's why. She wanted to go home, freshen up and look beautiful for him since he was taking her out to celebrate her first official day. Now thanks to her damn vanity she was facing a future without hair or being purple.

  "Maybe we can talk about this? Guys?" she said, hoping they'd let her go, but of course they wouldn't. She decided to ignore their laughs and jokes as she tried to break free from her restraints, but unfortunately for her they knew how to do their damn jobs.

  When they brought her outside she tried not to squirm and draw attention to herself, but of course that was pointless. The building that housed dispatch was right next to city hall and across the street from a strip mall. She prayed that they would keep this little display of insanity private and throw her ass in an ambulance and take her back to the station, but of course they didn't.

  They decided to stand her up and lean her back against the black iron fence that cut across the front of town hall. She couldn't see past the thick wall of men that suddenly surrounded her, but she was pretty damn sure that a crowd was forming and that some of them were taking pictures. She tried to ignore them as she renewed her struggles to break free, but there was no give.

  "Guys, don't do this!"

  Jeff merely shrugged. "Sorry, but it's for your own good, Joe," he said with a wink before they all stepped back as one and Joe felt her heart skip a beat as her eyes landed on Eric.

  She swallowed hard as she looked him over and felt herself melt against her restraints. He looked incredible in his dress uniform as he walked towards her.

  "Joe," he said in way of greeting as he neared her.

  "What's going on, Eric?" she asked, shooting nervous glances towards the men grinning hugely at her side and the large crowd gathering around them.

  "The guys wanted to give you a proper sendoff," he explained.

  "And you?" she asked, hating the way her voice trembled.

  With that bad boy smile that she loved, Eric dropped down to one knee in front of her and pulled out a small velvet box. "Wanted to know if you would marry me?"

  She opened her mouth, but no words came out. She swallowed and tried again, but the only sound that came out was a little sob. Mortified, she tried to hold the next one back, but it broke free the second she realized that hot liquid was running down her cheeks.

  Not hot liquid, she realized with dread, but tears. She was crying, she thought with disgust. She never cried, no matter what. It was a useless waste of energy and something she never allowed, but now in front of all the guys she'd worked with for twelve years and half the town by the looks of it she was crying.

  "Oh shit," one of the men breathed, "he broke Joe."

  Joe ignored him and rest of the comments as she struggled to break free and hide her face as the damn burst. She hadn't cried in years, not since she was a little girl and now it seemed that all those tears she'd saved up wanted out. It was so embarrassing.

  "Shhh, Joe, shhhh. It's okay, baby," Eric said softly as he stood up and cupped her face, gently wiping her tears away with his thumbs, but that only cleared the way for more to come.

  "Don't cry, Joe," he said, sounding like his heart was breaking.

  "I'm not crying!"
she snapped, but she was. Oh god, she was crying and people were taking pictures! She would never live this down.

  "Then what would you call the tears running down your beautiful face?" he asked, cracking a smile as he brushed his lips against hers.

  "Rain?" she suggested.

  That earned a chuckle from him as he kissed her again. "Are you planning on putting me out of my misery anytime soon?"

  "What?" she asked, wishing that she could shut off the damn tears, but there didn't seem to be a shut off valve.

  "I asked you to marry me, Joe," he said, smiling sheepishly. "In front of all these people and you're leaving me hanging here."

  She sniffled, further adding to her humiliation. "Untie me and I'll give you an answer."

  He pursed his lips up in thought and looked like he was thinking it over. "No, I'm sorry. That's just not going to work for me, Joe. I'm afraid I'm going to need an answer."

  "What if I give you the wrong answer?" she asked, feeling her lips twitch.

  "Then I guess I'll just have to keep you strapped to that board until you give me the right one," he said, cupping her face in his hands.