[ - ]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story Microsoft Word Chapter or Story
- Text Size +
Episode 13:

Hurricane – Part 2


Hospital staff members bustled down the hall in an effort to prepare the hospital for the incoming hurricane. As all this commotion was going on around him, Jim Bass sat in a stiff backed chair again at his son’s bedside, oblivious to all the chaos.

Breaking his gaze on his son only to take a sip of lukewarm coffee, he again fell into the usual routine he had established of speaking to Lance and holding his hand reassuringly; even though he figured Lance didn’t know what was going on, it gave Jim a small sense of closure.

Anger mixed in with guilt, confusion, and sadness brewed within Jim.

Anger at his wife for not being with her son when he needed her, thanks to her stupid foolish pride.

Guilt because he wasn’t there for Lance when he needed someone to talk to; maybe, just maybe, Jim could have been that link that broke Lance’s determination to hurt himself.

Confusion because after Lance saw what happened to his own sister Stacey, how could he turn around a few years later and do it to himself?

And last, sadness because the brilliant, caring young man would be a totally different person; the young man that had such a bright future ahead of him was now reduce to an immobile figure lying in an intensive care unit with a bullet wound through his head.

“Mr. Bass? Your wife is in the waiting room,” neurology nurse Katie McGraw announced as she rushed by the room on her way to check on other patients.

“I’m going to go talk some sense into your mother, son. Wish me luck.” And then Jim exited the room, confident that when he returned, he would have the one person that Lance needed the most - his mother.

+++

The reception desk was a very boring place that afternoon, as it usually was. There were no phone calls coming in and no visitors coming and going because it was just too bad outside. Staff-members from other areas of the hospital had gone down to the ER to see how they could help; others stayed behind to take care of the patients they did have.

Receptionist Mariah Johnson swaggered down the hallways looking for something to do.

“Well, hello, Joey,” she said, greeting fellow receptionist Joey Fatone as she sauntered up to the reception desk.

“Hey, Mariah,” he greeted dutifully.

Mariah glanced at her watch. “Time for a break. Wanna go get a soda with me?”

“I’ve got some stuff I really need to be doing,” replied Joey.

“Oh, it can wait. Come on, let’s go to the lounge. You look like you need a break,” Mariah insisted.

“You go ahead. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Joey said.

“Okay. Don’t be too long,” Mariah said, giving him a flirty smile and walked off toward the lounge, wagging her hips back and forth.

Joey couldn’t help but stare after her as she went down the hall. Finally, when she turned the corner, he shook his head, blinking, and went back to his task at hand.

+++

Chris Kirkpatrick stared out the sliding doors of the ER entrance, which were currently being boarded up by several maintenance men. The actual hurricane had not yet hit, but from the looks of it, it was getting close. The wind whipped the branches of the trees outside with violent force, and the heavy rain blew sideways. Thunder sounded, and lightning illuminated the sky, which was nearly pitch black, even though it was only afternoon.

The lights flickered, and he shuddered. “You think the power’s going to go out?” he asked nurse Addie Burke.

“I’m sure it will. But the hospital has back-up generators, so it’s not a big deal,” she replied.

“What if the generators break down?” asked Chris. He was thinking of Lance Bass, upstairs in the NeuroICU on life support. Without electricity, Lance would surely die.

Addie bit her lip. “Then I guess we’re screwed.” Seeing Chris’s eyes widen, she laughed and added, “But I’m sure that won’t happen. The maintenance people check all that stuff. It’ll be okay.”

Chris nodded. “Well, I’m taking my break now. I’ll be up in the NeuroICU, if anyone needs me.”

“Alright. Don’t bother trying to take the elevators though. They’ve been blocked off. The elevators shut down when the power goes out, and the generators don’t power them. You wouldn’t want to get caught in one during a power outage,” Addie advised.

“Oh. Thanks for telling me,” said Chris and went to the stairwell instead.

+++

“What the hell is going on out there?” AJ complained. “Why hasn’t anyone come looking for us yet? Is it that hard to figure out that one of the elevators isn’t working and that seven staff members and a patient are missing?”

Brian shrugged. “With everything else going on, maybe not. Perfect time for the elevator to break down, huh?”

“Well, look on the bright side. At least we’ve still got power. How would you like to be stuck in here in the dark?” Ivory said.

Just seconds later, the lights flickered, then went out.

Isabel screamed.

“Good going, Ivory. You jinxed us,” Brian said with a nervous chuckle.

Ivory just groaned. “Well who couldn’t see that coming?”

+++

“Oh, there you are, Joey,” Mariah said from the couch, as Joey entered the lounge. “I was about ready to go looking for you.”

Joey gave her a weak smile and headed to the soda machine, opening his wallet. He removed a dollar bill and tried to shove it into the slot on the machine. It was expelled right back at though. Rolling his eyes, Joey tried to flatten it against the machine and push it in again, but the machine refused to take it. He opened his wallet again and flipped through the bills, looking for a crisper dollar. All he found was twenties and tens though. He tried the change section, but there were only a few dimes and nickels, not enough to make a dollar.

“Mariah?” he asked, turning to her. “You got a dollar I could borrow? A flat one?” He held up his crinkled bill sheepishly.

Mariah pursed her red lips. “Hm… let me see,” she said. She made a huge show of bending over to reach her purse, which was sitting on the floor in front of her. Joey tried not to stare at her cleavage as she took her time fishing out her billfold from the purse.

“Here you go,” Mariah said, smiling as she handed him a crisp dollar bill.

“Thanks,” Joey replied, smiling back as he took the bill and put it into the vending machine. He bought a bottle of Coke and removed it from the bottom. As he twisted the cap to open it, Mariah took a sip of her bottle of Cherry Coke, licking her lips slowly when she finished, her eyes fixed on him.

Joey couldn’t help but stare back. He knew Mariah was just a flirt, and he knew he had a girlfriend, but Mariah was beautiful. Any man would have a hard time not staring at her. She made any other woman, even his Melissa, look physically inferior standing next to her.

“Come sit over here,” Mariah said, gently patting a spot next to her on the couch. Wordlessly, Joey started to walk over to her. And that’s when the lights went out.

Mariah jumped and let out a little scream of surprise. Joey, startled by both her scream and the sudden darkness, stumbled over something (probably Mariah’s purse, but he was not sure) and fell forward. He outstretched his hands to break his fall, and rather than coming in contact with the hard floor or soft couch, he found himself touching something firm and round and covered with scrub material. Mariah let out a gasp of surprise, and before Joey could regain his balance, the lights came back on, as the generators kicked in, and Joey found himself leaning over Mariah, his hands on her chest.

“Oh my God!” he gasped, quickly pulling his hands back. “I’m so sorry! That wasn’t on purpose, I swear!” Thoughts of sexual harassment suits were running threateningly through his mind.

To his surprise, Mariah just laughed. Before he knew what was happening, she reached out and grabbed his hands and placed them back on her breasts. Then she wrapped her arms around him, pulled him down close to her, and kissed him fervently on the lips.

Stunned, shocked, not really comprehending what was happening, Joey kissed back.

+++

Chris was in the stairwell when the lights went out. Enveloped in sudden darkness, he tripped and fell hard on his knees.

“Aw, crap,” he muttered, rubbing his knees. Slowly, the emergency lights in the stairwell came on, growing brighter and brighter until the stairwell was lit enough to see. Climbing painfully to his feet, Chris continued up the stairs to the third floor. As he opened the door to leave the stairwell, he found himself face to face with Jack Palmer.

“Oh, hi, Chris,” said Jack. “Have you seen my med student, Isabel Rivera? You know what she looks like, right?”

“Yeah.” Who in the ER didn’t know what Isabel looked like? The girl was fine. “I haven’t seen her though,” said Chris.

“Oh.” Jack frowned. “She supposedly went upstairs to cardiology to transport a patient, but that was hours ago. I just went up there to look for her, just in case, but she wasn’t there. No one’s seen her.”

“Maybe she left,” said Chris. “I mean, Brunson said we could evacuate if we wanted to.” He shrugged.

“Maybe,” Jack said, but he was shaking his head in doubt. “I don’t think she did though. Isabel’s not like that. She’s one of the most hard-working and dedicated students I’ve met. She wouldn’t bail like that. So you haven’t seen her helping in the ER?”

“No,” said Chris, “but it’s a madhouse down there, so maybe she is helping down there, and I just didn’t notice her. Have you tried paging her?”

“Yes, but she hasn’t answered. So either she’s not wearing her pager, or… well, I don’t know what.”

“Oh. Well, I’ll let you know if I see her,” Chris said with a shrug.

“Thanks,” replied Jack, and the two went in their separate ways. Chris took the now familiar route to the NeuroICU. He was relieved to see that while the lights were dimmer than usual, everything seemed to be running perfectly, despite the power outage.

When he reached Lance’s bed, he found one of the neurology nurses, Katie McGraw, checking the equipment Lance was hooked up to.

“Hey, Chris,” she said, looking up and giving him a small smile.

“How’s he doing?” Chris asked.

Katie shrugged. “No change.”

Chris nodded solemnly. “Are Jim and Diane here?” he asked, referring to Lance’s parents.

“Yeah, Jim’s been here all day, and his wife just got here a little while ago. He went to go see her; you just missed him. I think they’re both in the waiting room,” she replied.

“Diane’s here?” That was a new one. Lance’s mother had been downright horrible, not coming to visit her son. Maybe she had finally had a change of heart.

Pulling up a chair beside Lance’s bed, Chris said loudly, “Hey, Lance. It’s me, Chris. Wish you would wake up and look outside. It’s pretty freaky-looking out there. We haven’t had a storm like this in years.” Having grown accustomed to not receiving replies, Chris chattered on, trying to sound as normal as possible. He knew that even thought Lance was in a coma, he might still be able to hear Chris’s voice. Hearing was the last sense to go when a person died.

Lance isn’t going to die, Chris told himself fiercely. He glared at Lance’s still form, trying to assure himself that his friend would be okay. The sight wasn’t very reassuring though. Lance looked just like everyone else in the NeuroICU – a vegetable. He couldn’t talk, he couldn’t move, he couldn’t even breathe on his own. Even though he had survived the surgery a week earlier, his chances of recovering were very slim. That is, unless the doctors could bring him out of his coma, which was their plan. Chris prayed it would work. If they couldn’t bring Lance out of the coma, it was unlikely anything would.

+++

The small, cramped, and now pitch-black elevator was brightened slightly when Brian whipped out his penlight and flicked it on. The light it gave off was very little, but it was enough to at least be able to see through the darkness.

“Good thinking, Bri,” said Kevin, flipping on his penlight as well. The others followed. The elevator was brightened slightly by the glow of the seven tiny lights.

“I don’t like this,” Isabel said with a shudder, looking around the small, shadowy enclosure. “God, get me out of here! I can’t stand being in here for much longer.”

“You think any of us can?” Ivory snapped.

“Hey, don’t talk to her like that,” Nick spoke up angrily.

“Well, tell her to grow up and quit whining then. None of us want to be here, alright?” Ivory replied irritably.

“I’m not whining,” Isabel protested. “Jeez, all I said was that I didn’t like this. Chill out!”

“You chill out!” Ivory fired back.

“Would you two both chill out?” AJ erupted. “Jesus Christ, the last thing we need is a catfight in here!”

“Oh, shut up, AJ, nobody asked you,” Ivory replied.

“Dude, take a fucking Midol, why don’t you?” AJ retorted, glaring at Ivory.

Brian chuckled slightly. Ivory was one of the sweetest people he knew, but she did have a horrible temper, and when something pissed her off, she didn’t let go of it easily. It was somewhat funny to see her provoked like that.

“What are you laughing at?” Ivory cried, turning on her boyfriend. “You’re supposed to be sticking up for me, you know!” Brian continued to laugh. “Argh!” Ivory growled in frustration. “God, get me out of here!”

“That’s what I said!” Isabel said, a hint of laughter in her voice.

“There, you agree. Now will you stop fighting?” Howie asked pleadingly.

Ivory and Isabel squinted through the darkness at each other, and Isabel burst out laughing. After a moment, Ivory joined in.

A small, groggy, frightened-sounding voice stopped them. “What’s going on?”

It was Hannah. She had awoken.

The laughter ceased, and Howie said, “Hannah? You doing okay?”

“Yeah,” came her tiny reply. “What’s happening?”

“We’re still in the elevator, sweetie,” said Howie. “The power went out, so it’s kinda dark.”

“I hate the dark,” Hannah whispered. In the dim light created by the tiny penlights, they could see her looking around in apprehension.

“Here,” Howie said. “You take my little flashlight here. Will that help?” He offered her his penlight.

“Yeah,” Hannah said, taking the light. She played with it for awhile, clicking it on and off and flashing it around the room, and soon forgot about being afraid of the dark.

+++

Jim entered the scarcely populated waiting room; his wife very easy to spot, for, in truth, she was the only occupant of the room.

“Jim!” Diane exclaimed as her husband entered the room. She felt sympathy for her husband surge through her; he looked like the walking dead. Skin pale, eyes pale, and revealing emotions Diane herself couldn’t decipher. She knew what Lance had done affected Jim deeply, but this was ridiculous!

“I’m glad you are here to see Lance,” Jim said. Diane raised a perfectly sculptured eyebrow and glared at her husband.

“Actually, Jim, I’m not here to see Lance. I’m here to pick you up so we can head on home or inland at least before this dreadful storm hits.”

Shocked turned to rage within a fraction of a second. “How could you, Diane? That is our son in there, Diane! The whole time we have been here, you have visited him once! Once! Count it, Diane. He needs you, and you are too stubborn to act upon it.”

“As if he knows I am there anyways, Jim. Face it, Jim, Lance is dead. He is only being kept alive by machines, and you people’s refusal to let him go. Let him die in peace, Jim! Don’t make him suffer anymore,” Diane shot back, tears stinging her eyes momentarily before she blinked them away.

“At least we believe in him, Diane, which is more than I can say for yourself.”

Diane looked on in shock as her husband turned his back on her and walked out of the room heading back towards the room that was now in a sense Lance’s prison cell. Pushing back her stubborn pride, Diane took the first step in her own healing process; she followed Jim to Lance’s room.

+++

By the light of a battery-powered lantern, five paramedics sat huddled together. A map sat in the center of the circle as the leader of the group talked in hushed tones to his partners.

“You guys have any questions?” Harry Littrell asked Josh McCartney, Amelia Caston, Kylie McCartney, Kym Jennings, and Allison Brooks, the two teams of paramedics that were on duty that day. Receiving no response, Harry stood up and stretched. “Also, you guys, if you happen to see AJ or Howie, brief them on what we discussed, okay?”

“Where could they be?” Allison asked as she popped the gum she was chewing.

“I have no clue, Allison,” Harry answered patiently. “If I did know, I would have gotten them both down here for our little meeting. They’re probably on another floor helping with patients or something. I’m sure they’re fine. If there is nothing else we need to discuss, you guys are dismissed. Just make sure you stay close by.”

Allison, Josh, and Amelia immediately set off for the packed waiting room, hoping to be of some assistance, for the storm was quickly approaching, and patients needed to be treated as quickly as possible.

Harry, Kym, and Kylie set off on a different route towards the already occupied rooms where patients were being held. Even though the generators had been supplying minimal electrical services to the hospital, patients on ventilators and other various machines still needed to be checked periodically.

Entering the NeuroICU, both paramedics were greeted by a frenzy of various staff members rushing from Point A to Point B and on to Point C of their destination. Amongst all the chaos, it wasn’t too hard to find someone to help, the thunder and rain from the storm their background music.

+++

The low existence of lights in Lance’s ICU room made the area look eerie, in Diane’s opinion. This had been the first time she has visited her son since she first arrived, and a feeling of guilt set heavily on her chest.

“Hey, Lance, look who is here,” Jim said, as if Lance was actually awake and well. “It’s Mom.”

Diane stayed as far away from the single bed as she could, fearing that if she saw what the bed held, all her defenses would come crumbling down.

“Um, how is he doing? Any better since last time?”

“No, not too much improvement, but he is alive; that is all that matters.”

Diane nodded in agreement, wishing she could say the same for her daughter that died all those years ago. Stacey was everything Diane wanted in a daughter; smart, beautiful, wonderful personality and in one night it had all changed when Stacey had made the decision she no longer wanted to live and took her own life.

At first, Diane blamed Lance. If he would have checked on his sister when she didn’t come back this would have never happened right? Then after awhile the guilt shifted to her and Jim where she assumed it properly belonged.

Now those feelings of guilt and rage she had felt years ago towards Lance hit Diane with a crushing force when she receive the phone call from Chris about what had happened to Lance. Lance had known what grief Stacey’s suicide had caused the family, how dare he make them relive that part of their lives Diane wished she could put behind her.

A pair of arms engulfed Diane in a hug and Diane was brought out of her deep thoughts.

“It will be ok, I promise Diane,” she heard her husband say. It was then she realized tears were streaming down her cheeks. She had now reached the second step of the healing process and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

+++

The minutes slowly ticked by, and still, no help came. The elevator was getting hot and stuffy with the body heat of eight people, so it was a great surprise when Hannah whined, “I’m cold.”

The seven adults exchanged glances. Nick rose to his feet and pressed his palm gently to Hannah’s forehead. “She’s burning up,” he whispered down to Brian. “She feels hotter than before. Do any of you have a thermometer?”

The other three doctors, two med students, and one EMT shook their heads. Nick grabbed his lab coat off the floor and removed his stethoscope from its pocket. He put it in his ears and slid the round end of it under Hannah’s gown.

“Her heart’s racing. We really need to cool her body down,” he said worriedly, looking around the elevator, as if he was going to find something there to help him.

“Here,” AJ said, handing Howie his jacket, which was still damp from being outside. “It’s not very cold anymore, but maybe it will help,” he added, shrugging.

“Thanks, Aje,” replied Howie. He took the jacket, folded one of the long sleeves over, and awkwardly pressed it against Hannah’s hot, clammy forehead.

The jacket did little good. Hannah slowly grew delirious with fever and kept drifting off to a restless sleep and then waking up again. Nick could feel the heat rising from her body, and her face was flushed, but her teeth chattered, and her body shook with chills.

“I want my mommy,” she murmured dazedly, her eyes open, but unfocused.

“I know, sweetheart,” Nick said, squeezing her hot little hand. “You can see your mommy very soon, as soon as we get out of here.”

Hannah continued to mumble inexplicably for awhile, until her eyes suddenly rolled back in her head, and her body went limp.

“Hannah?” Nick asked sharply, leaning over her. “Hannah?” The little girl did not respond. Nick again pressed the end of his stethoscope to her chest and listened.

“No breath or heart sounds. I’m gonna start CPR,” he announced grimly, cupping his hands over Hannah’s chest.

“Alright, Nick, you give her chest compressions. Isabel, you start artificial respiration. Ivory, take a couple pen lights and hold them up so they can see,” Kevin directed, jumping into command. “The rest of you – we need to find a way out of here. Maybe we could pry these doors open…”

“With what?” AJ asked doubtfully, looking around.

Kevin sighed. “I don’t know. If only we had a crowbar or something.”

“Should we try yelling again?” Brian suggested. “If someone knew we were in here, they could pry the doors open from the outside and at least get some supplies down here.”

Kevin shrugged. “I guess it’s all we can do now.” So they went back to banging on the doors and yelling at the top of their lungs, praying someone would hear them in time.

+++

“Dear God, I can’t believe you guys are actually going to do this!” Siara Reily yelled from the abandoned hallway of the emergency room. Her voice echoed off the thick walls and the sound bounced down the hallway. “Can’t you wait until the storm is completely over? Going out in the eye of the storm is crazy!”

“Siara, we know what we are doing. At the rate that the storm is moving now, we would have about forty minutes to go a short distance and help the most critically injured and get some people to safety before phase two of the storm hits. Quit treating us like we are stupid,” Harry reprimanded his girlfriend.

“Just trust us. We wouldn’t go out there if it was dangerous. We have a plan set up to where we only go within a few mile radius of the hospital so we can get back quickly, and a thirty minute time limit is set up so we will meet back here in plenty of time before the storm hits,” Kylie explained, placing her hand on Siara’s tense shoulder.

“I don’t like this at all,” she said. “Just wait until the whole storm has passed, then you all will have more than thirty minutes to help somebody - you would have hours.”

“No.”

“You aren’t going, and that is final, Harry! This idea is completely suicidal.”

Siara and Harry stayed stared silently at one another for a moment before he finally spoke up. He knew that Siara was only looking out for him and she didn’t want anything to happen, but this was all apart of his job. “I’m going, Siara, and that is final. You have no right to tell me how to do my job.”

“Fine,” Siara said with a sigh of defeat. “You do have a point there. I just don’t want any of you guys to get hurt.”

“I know, baby. We will be careful. Right, Kylie?”

“Of course,” she said with a chuckle.

“Well, I better get back to where everybody else is,” Siara said as a loud rumble of thunder caused the boarded up windows to rattle. “Looks like we are going to meet this storm pretty soon.”

+++

“Dr. Sterling?”

Alexandra Sterling, head of the Oncology department, smiled as she saw Addie Burke coming down the hall towards her. “Hi, Addie,” she said. “How is everything going?”

“Alright, I guess, under the circumstances. The patients are all pretty scared, but the windows and everything have been boarded up, and things are under control. But I was wondering – have you seen Brian Littrell or Ivory Harnett? They’re both ER doctors… Ivory said they were going to come up here to look out at th storm, I thought, but that was hours ago, and neither of them are anywhere to be found in the ER. Have you seen them up here? They’re not answering their pages.”

Alexandra pursed her lips. “No, I don’t think so,” she replied slowly.

Addie nodded. “Well, thanks anyway,” she said. “If you do happen to run into either of them, tell him we need them back down in ER.”

“Sure, I will,” replied Alexandra.

“Well, I guess I’m headed back down to the ER then,” Addie said.

“Oh okay. You’ll have to take the stairs though. They’ve shut down the elevators to conserve energy now that we’re running on generators.”

“Oh great,” Addie groaned. Oncology was on the eighth floor, ER the first. “Oh well, I need to burn some calories anyway. Gotta lose some weight if I want to look good on my wedding day.”

Alexandra gasped, and her eyes immediately went to the glittering diamond on Addie’s left hand. “Oh, Addie, congratulations, dear!” she cried, hugging the younger woman.

Addie grinned, her eyes sparkling. “Thanks, Dr. Sterling,” she said. She had looked up to Alexandra ever since she had worked in oncology with her.

“It’s that Palmer from the ER, right? The one who always used to find excuses to come see you when you worked up here?”

“That’s right,” Addie said with a laugh.

“Aww. Well, congratulations to the both of you,” Alexandra said again. “I’ll let you get back to work now.”

“Thank you, Dr. Sterling,” said Addie. “I’ll see you later.”

She headed for the staircase, and Alexandra continued making her rounds.

+++

There were only a few people left on the surgical floor, for most of the surgeons, including Kevin and Holli Brunson, had gone down to the ER to help out. Doctors Risha Veers and Amory Cannon were the only surgeons left on the floor, and they were making rounds, helping the nurses check on the patients they had on the floor.

Nurse Hayley Aldworth was just coming out of one of the rooms when the door to the stairwell down the hall burst open and a breathless Addie Burke appeared in the hallway.

“Hi, Addie,” Hayley said, coming over to here. “Jeez, did you take the stairs all the way down here from Oncology?”

“Yeah,” Addie panted. “The elevator’s aren’t working.”

“Oh yeah. So, what brings you down here?”

“I just came to see if you’d seen Brian or Ivory around. Did they maybe bring up a patient or something? We can’t find either of them in the ER.”

“Oh, no, haven’t seen either of them,” Hayley replied, frowning.

Addie sighed. “Okay. Just thought I’d check.”

She noticed a drinking fountain down the hall and headed for it, parched from her wild goose chase around the hospital. As she passed the elevators, she suddenly came to a stop. Frowning, she cocked her head to the side and listened. She could hear noises, muffled banging and shouting. It seemed to be coming from the ceiling. What are they doing up in Neurology? she wondered, her eyes drifting upwards, towards the third floor. She listened further and realized that the sound seemed to be coming not from the ceiling, but from inside the wall that the elevators were on.

That’s when it hit her.

There’s people in the elevators, she realized, her eyes widening. She immediately began to bang on the doors of the elevator closest to where the sound was coming from. She banged three times, then stopped to listen. The banging behind the doors had stopped too. Then it came again, three distinct bangs, echoing hers.

“Hello?” she shouted. “Can you hear me?”

“Help!” came a chorus of voices.

“There’s a little girl in cardiac arrest in here!” rang out a man’s deep, raspy voice. “We need help!”

Addie’s heart was racing. “Let me go find some help!” she called. “I’ll be right back!” Before they could answer, she took off down the hall. She stopped at the nurses station and called the number for maintenance.

“ ‘Ello,” came a man’s voice.

“Hi, this is Addie Burke, calling from surgery. There are people trapped in an elevator down here. Someone needs to come down here ASAP and get them out,” Addie said very quickly.

“The elevators are shut down, Miss,” the man on the phone replied in a slow drawl. “Ain’t nobody s’posed to be in ‘em.”

“I know that, but there are, and one of them is in trouble. Please, you have to get somebody down here right now to help them!” Addie insisted.

“Most of our workers are boardin’ up windows and all that. Ain’t nobody around right now.”

“No, there’s got to be! Please, this is an emergency!” Addie cried.

“Alright, Miss, I’ll get somebody down there to help ya as soon as I can,” the man said and hung up the phone before Addie could beg him to hurry. Infuriated, she slammed down the phone.

“What’s wrong?” a voice behind her asked. She turned around to find Hayley looking at her in astonishment.

“Hayley,” Addie gasped. “You’ve got to help me! There’s people stuck in the elevator over there, and they said there’s a little girl in cardiac arrest in there!”

Hayley’s eyes widened. “We need to call maintenance right away!”

“That’s who I just got off the phone with. Doesn’t sound like they’re going to get down here anytime soon. We’re going to have to try to get them out ourselves,” said Addie. “Can you go find some other people to help us?”

Hayley ran off, and Addie went back to the elevators. “We’re going to try to get you out of there!” she shouted towards the doors. “Just hang on!”

Hayley returned a few minutes later with Amory Cannon and Risha Veers in tow. The four women gathered around the elevator, looking at it uncertainly, not sure what to do.

“We need to pry these doors open,” said Addie. “Anyone know where there would be crowbars?”

“Let’s try one of the janitor’s closets,” suggested Hayley.

“Okay. You go check and try to find some,” said Addie, sending Hayley running off toward the nearest janitor’s closet.

“Any chance the sternal saw would work to saw through the doors?” Amory asked doubtfully.

“I don’t think so,” said Risha. “That’s for cutting through bone, not through metal.”

“Just an idea,” Amory replied with a shrug.

Hayley returned a few minutes later, carrying a large, rusty crowbar. “I found one!” she announced breathlessly. “Someone go to a different floor and try another janitor’s closet. If there’s one in this one, there’s probably another one in a different closet.”

“I’ll go,” Risha offered. “You three start prying with that one.” She disappeared into the stairwell, leaving the three women and one crowbar behind.

“Okay. Who wants to start with the crowbar?” Addie asked.

“I will,” said Hayley, who was holding it. “Alright, here goes.” She jammed the end of it into the crack between the double doors and began to pry.

“We’re trying to pry the doors open!” Amory called towards the elevator.

“Thank God!” came the raspy male voice that Hayley had heard earlier. “We’ve been in here for hours!”

“What happened?” Amory asked.

“We don’t know. The elevator just came to a stop between the second and third floor. Nothing would work, and then the lights went out,” came a different voice, another deep male voice. It sounded awfully familiar to Hayley and Amory.

“Kevin?” Hayley cried, her voice strained with exertion. “Is that you?”

“Hayley!” came Kevin’s reply. “Yeah, it’s me. Me, Brian, Ivory, AJ, Howie, Nick, Isabel, and Howie’s patient, Hannah.”

“Brian and Ivory are in there?” Addie asked in surprise. “Well, no wonder.”

“Oh, guys, I think I’m getting it!” Hayley cried. Amory and Addie looked over to see that she had gotten the doors open a crack. “Oh God, help me!”

“We need something to stick in there to prop them open,” Addie said, looking wildly around. “I know!” She took off down the hall, ducking into the nearest waiting room, and returning with a stack of magazines. While Hayley struggled to hold the doors open, she shoved a magazine into the tiny opening between the two doors.

Hayley let out a breath and loosened her grip on the crowbar. “Here, one of you try,” she said, handing Amory the crowbar. Amory stuck it into the crack – it went in very easily now that the doors were partway open – and began to pry. She managed to open the doors a few inches wider, and Addie stuffed more magazines in to hold them in place.

“Do you think you can get a flashlight up here?” they heard a woman call from the elevator above. “It’s really dark, and all we have is our penlights.”

“I’ll go find one,” Hayley said. “You guys try to get the doors open wide enough to fit a flashlight through.”

Amory and Addie worked on prying the doors open further and managed to push them far enough apart to get a flashlight through the crack. A tattooed arm reached down from the elevator above to grab the light.

“Thanks,” came his raspy voice, now recognizable as AJ McLean’s.

“I found one!” a woman’s voice shouted from behind the three women. They turned around to see Risha running up the hall with another crowbar.

“Alright! Now we’ll be able to get them all the way open,” Hayley said.

Amory and Risha got on either side of the elevator and stuck their crowbars into the space between the doors. They both began to tug at the same time, and the doors slowly slid open.

“I think I can reach in between them and push them open now,” said Addie. She stuck both of her hands in between the doors and began to push on one of them. It slid slowly open. Hayley pushed back the other door, and finally they were open.

The women looked up into the elevator shaft. They could see the bottom of the elevator car above their heads, nearly at the top of the doorway. There was a small space in the front where they could see into the car. AJ McLean was lying on his stomach, looking down at them.

“Good going, girls,” he said, both surprised and relieved. “Thank you so much!”

“I don’t know how we’re going to get you out of there,” Addie said, knowing that it was not over yet. “Do you need any supplies.”

“Yeah. Get us a portable defibrillator, an intubation kit, a thermometer, and a bunch of ice packs,” AJ fired off.

“Alright. Addie, run down to the ER and find a portable defibrillator – we don’t have portables up here. Risha, get an intubation kit. Amory, grab a thermometer. I’ll go find the ice packs,” Hayley directed, and the four women ran off in different directions.

+++

“How you doing, Nick?” Brian asked Nick, who was still giving Hannah chest compressions. “Are you getting tired? Want me to take over?”

“No,” Nick puffed. “I’m good.”

“Here’s a thermometer,” came Amory’s voice from the floor below. AJ reached down to take it from her hand.

“Here, Bri, take her temperature,” he said, handing Brian the thermometer. He stuck it in her ear, waited a moment, and took it out when it beeped.

“106,” he gasped, his eyes widening.

“Damn! Do we have the ice packs yet?” AJ called down.

“Here,” Hayley said, handing them up. Brian packed them around Hannah’s body as best he could with Nick and Isabel hovering over her.

“I’ve got the intubation kit,” shouted Risha. It was passed up to AJ a moment later.

“Here, Kev,” he said, giving it to Kevin. “You can intubate.”

“You can step back now, Isabel,” Kevin said to the med student, who had been breathing into Hannah’s mouth and nose for over half an hour. “I’d let you try to intubate her, but time’s running out.”

“That’s okay,” Isabel said, backing away and letting Kevin take over to insert the breathing tube down Hannah’s throat.

“Here,” they heard Addie pant a few minutes later. “I’ve got the defibrillator.” With some difficulty, she managed to lift the machine up to AJ, who took it and immediately charged up the paddles to shock Hannah’s heart.

“Back off, Nick,” he said, as Ivory pulled back Hannah’s hospital gown and placed pads on her chest. Nick backed away, and AJ rubbed the paddles together. “Clear!” Everyone stepped back, and AJ pressed the paddles to the pads on Hannah’s chest. Her small body jolted with electricity.

Ivory pressed her stethoscope to Hannah’s chest. “No rhythm,” she said grimly. “Shock her again.”

“Clear!”

Ivory checked again. “Still nothing.”

“She’s been down for so long,” Howie said, chewing on his bottom lip. “It’s going to be hard to get her back now.”

“There’s a chance,” Brian said stubbornly. “We’ve been doing CPR, keeping her blood flowing. There’s a chance. Defibrillate again, AJ.”

“Clear!”

Ivory sighed. “Nothing.”

“Should we call it?” Nick asked, looking from Ivory to Brian.

Ivory sighed again and listened again to Hannah’s chest. “She’s been without cardiac activity for probably an hour now. I guess this is it. Nick, ask the women down there for the time.”

“No, wait!” Brian cried suddenly. “One more time. Just shock her one more time.”

“Brian,” Kevin started gently, but Brian interrupted him.

“Please,” he went on stubbornly. “I know it doesn’t look good right now, but we could still get her back. I’ve seen it happen before. It happened to me.”

“You were down for like thirty seconds, Brian, not a whole hour,” Kevin said quietly.

Brian glared at him. “I don’t care,” he snapped. “Just shock her once more.” He wasn’t sure what it was, but he was determined not to let Hannah die. Maybe it was because he had lived through the same kind of illness she had when he was little, or maybe it was because he had been stuck in the elevator with her for so long, but felt like they had to get her back. “Just once more,” he repeated softly.

Ivory and Kevin exchanged doubtful glances, and Isabel looked near tears, but AJ nodded and said vigorously, “Charging paddles.”

The elevator waited in suspense as the paddles charged.

“Clear!”

Ivory dutifully placed the stethoscope to Hannah’s chest, her expression grave. She shook his head slowly in defeat, and Isabel let out a little whimper. Ivory pressed her lips together and moved the stethoscope across Hannah’s chest, checking one last time. And then, suddenly, her face changed. Her hazel eyes grew wide, and her mouth dropped open in surprise.

“What is it?” Kevin asked, staring at her. “Don’t even tell me she-“

“She’s got a rhythm,” Ivory interrupted him. “I don’t believe it. She’s got a rhythm. You got her back, Aje.”

“We got her back,” AJ corrected, looking from Ivory to Kevin to Brian to Nick to Howie, and finally, to Isabel. “Good save, guys.”

+++

Allison Brooks drove the designated route at a low rate of speed, expertly dodging tree limbs, trashcans, and other debris. Luckily I haven’t had to dodge any bodies in the road, Allison thought with a shudder. Suddenly, the crew approached a small trailer park that was sickeningly destroyed like a giant had stepped on it and squashed the area like a bug.

“Let’s check for survivors here,” the youngest member of the squad, Amelia Caston, suggested. The two older members agreed, and Allison pulled over in a small area where much debris was not present.

“Let’s split up, and if we find anybody, we yell because communications are still down. Hopefully, most of these people evacuated when they had the chance. We don’t have much time,” Kym Jennings ordered as she looked nervously up at the sky, which was now a scary shade of blue. “Let’s go.”

+++

Amelia Caston was slowly starting to reach the conclusion that all of the residents of the trailer park had already evacuated. Amelia had come up with nothing except for many damaged possessions and trailers, which were about to cave in if they hadn’t already.

As she was getting ready to head back towards the emergency vehicle, a strange sound reached her ears and she listened closely.

“Allison, Kym! Over here!” Amelia yelled. A child was trapped under the rubble.

+++

Kylie and Harry were both relieved that their route was not heavily damaged by the hurricane, for most of the damage was caused by the high winds, hail, and driving rains, but they both had a bad feeling the hurricane would be coming this way for round two, even though this area wasn’t too far from the coastal area.

“What’s that up there, Har?” Kylie asked as she squinted her eyes to try and get a better look at the white object on the side of the road in front of them.

Harry was silent for a few seconds as he also tried to get a better look. “I think it is a car, Ky. Let’s check and see if it is abandoned.”

Harry quickly approached the vehicle and put the ambulance in park, he and Kylie rushing over to the vehicle. They immediately noticed a hunched over figure in the driver’s seat, and luckily, the passenger’s side door was unlocked. Harry climbed inside as Kylie ran back to the ambulance to get a neck collar and backboard, just in case the victim was alive.

Without hesitation, Harry reached out and touched the person’s shoulder, jumping back as she sat up. A pretty young woman with curly light brown hair and light eyes stared up at Harry. Harry took a visual examination of the woman’s body to check for injuries. The only thing he found was minor scratches and bruises on the woman’s face and arms.

“My name is Harry Littrell, and I’m with the Atlantic City Rescue Squad. Are you injured anywhere else?”

The young woman gave a small laugh and then winced. “I would be in tip top shape if my leg wasn’t broken. I knew I couldn’t go anywhere so I, uh, decided to take a nap until somebody saw my car here. I am exhausted,” she said sheepishly.

Harry offered the young woman a small smile and yelled out the open door for Kylie to go ahead and put the backboard away and to find a brace and bandages to stabilize the leg until they could reach the hospital.

“What is your name, by the way?” Harry asked the young woman as he reached around her to try to lodge the door open.

“Natalie Brenner, but you can call me Nattie if you want to.”

“Ahh, here we go,” Harry announced with a grunt as the
door gave way to the weight and popped open. “I’m going to go around to your side and help you out, and then we will get in the ambulance and go en route to the hospital,” Harry explained.

Nattie nodded and subconsciously braced herself for the pain she knew would come once her leg was moved. Harry quickly ran to the other side as Kylie came running out from the ambulance and over to the car.

“Thanks, Ky. Nattie, meet my partner Kylie McCartney; Kylie, meet Natalie Brenner,” Harry introduced the two young women as he grasped Nattie under her arms and carefully lifted her up as Kylie gently supported her legs.

The two paramedics quickly transported Nattie over to the open backdoor of the ambulance and sat her down. Harry and Kylie worked quickly together to wrap the knee and place the brace on it.

“All done,” Harry announced with a smile. “We need to get going; it is almost time to be back at Memorial, Ky.”

Kylie nodded and looked up at the sky, her green eyes growing wide with fright. “Uh, Harry, we need to get going now! I think the eye of the storm is passing a lot quicker than we thought.” Climbing into the back of the ambulance with Nattie, Kylie quickly slammed the doors shut and took a seat beside of Nattie on one of the benches.

In just seconds, the winds had picked up, and the sky was starting to turn dark much quicker than any of the paramedics had suspected. Harry drove as quickly as he safely could during the weather conditions.

“Guys, we need to evacuate!”

+++

Kym and Allison approached Amelia, their breathing rate slightly increased.

“What’s up, Amelia?” Kym questioned.

“Shh, listen.”

Kym opened her mouth to report that she heard nothing until a soft crying was heard.

“Oh my gosh,” Allison whispered. “It sounds like it is coming from over there,” she said pointing towards a pile of rubble that once was a trailer.

The three young paramedics raised towards the location, knowing that time was precious and nearly non existent. With their bare hands, they began to tear at the rubble, the crying getting even louder as each section was tossed away. Suddenly, the crying stopped, and the three women exchanged glances; they weren’t going to give up on this child.

“I’m there!” the voice of Amelia announced and Allison and Josh rushed over. “Help me move this piece, and I think we can get them out.”

The three EMTs grasped a hold of the large piece that was formerly a thin wall and pulled with all their might, finally moving it up enough to scoot it out of the way.

“Two victims - one appears to be a Caucasian female in her early twenties, no heart rhythm or breath sounds. Second appears to be a Caucasian female age approximately six months of age. Breath sounds and heart rhythm present. Appears to be unconscious,” Amelia spouted off as she checked both victims. She carefully picked up the baby and supported her neck and back as she and her colleagues raced towards the ambulance.

Amelia and Allison hopped into the back after gently placing the baby on a portable stretcher, as Kym hopped into the drover’s seat and sped off towards the hospital.

Minutes later, they reached the hospital, just as the thirty minute time limit was about to end. The baby was quickly placed in the care of Siara Reily and her team. Looking through a crack in one of the boarded up windows, the three paramedics realized they had arrived just in time for the second part of the storm had arrived a lot sooner than expected.

The only question was, where were Kylie and Harry?

+++

“Oh gosh, I can’t believe we made it!” Nattie exclaimed as Kylie and Harry placed her down on the floor of an old abandoned building they were currently seeking shelter in.

The storm had approached quickly, and the trio had evacuated their emergency vehicle. Kylie and Harry had run towards the building as they carried Nattie because she herself couldn’t run or walk, for that matter. The building had turned out to be the old abandoned city recreation center, which had been shut down years earlier when a new and improved center was constructed on the opposite side of town. Harry had recognized the building because he and his younger brother, Brian, would always come to the recreation center to play basketball during the summer, a fond memory for Harry.

Outside, the roaring of the wind, hail, and rain that was heard just under an hour ago raged, and the occupants of the building could tell within seconds they would be hit by the storm. Lying flat on the floor close to each other with their arms protecting their heads, they began to pray as the debris fell around them.

+++

Jack Palmer walked down the hallway leading to the ER, looking over the list complied by ER nurse Chris Kirkpatrick about the patients in the waiting rooms and their conditions.

Nearing the ER, a familiar voice reached Jack’s ears, and he broke into a jog, the panic and anger in the voice sparking Jack’s curiosity. As Jack ran through the open double doors, he saw pediatrician Brian Littrell in the middle of a poorly constructed circle consisting of Siara Reilly, Holli Brunson, and paramedics Josh McCartney, Amelia Caston, Allison Brooks, and Kym Jennings.

“You had better hope he is okay! Whose crazy idea was it for them to go out in this weather, a hurricane of all things!?” Brian yelled, his blue eyes blazing in anger.

“It was, for the most part, his idea,” Allison spoke calmly, hoping to calm Brian down, for many occupants of the waiting room were turning their attention to the small group. “I’m sure he is all right, Brian. He and Kylie have good heads on their shoulders; they wouldn’t do anything that would put them or anyone else in danger.”

Except go out in the middle of a hurricane, Jack thought, but despite his sarcasm, his heart had begun to beat a little faster with anxiety. He knew exactly who they were talking about – Brian’s brother, Harry… and his own best friend’s wife. He glanced over at Josh, who looked rather pale.

Brian snorted in disbelief. “Then why haven’t they contacted us? For all we know, they could be on the roadside dead or something.” A distressed gasp from Siara was heard, bringing more realization to the situation.

“The communications are still down, Brian. Even if they wanted to contact us, they wouldn’t be able to.”

“Alright, alright. Enough!” Holli Brunson interrupted. “Let’s discuss this in an orderly manner.”

“I’m going out to look for them.”

“You are not going alone, Dr. Littrell. Along with Harry and Kylie, they might have also been transporting patients, and you cannot and will not handle this alone. Dr. Reily, you may accompany Dr. Littrell because Harry is your boyfriend and I’m sure you will want to be there,” Holli said with a distasteful sneer.

“I’m going too,” Josh announced.

“Fine. So you three are heading out to fetch our irresponsible paramedics. That settles that. Good luck,” Holli said flatly, and without allowing anyone else to speak, turned and exited the room.

“Well, let’s get going,” Brian said.

The small group that had accumulated in the room watched silently as the three young doctors exited the room. They weren’t out to save a random person; they were out to save two of their own.

+++

Siara stared pensively out the window as Brian drove slowly down the ravaged streets of Atlantic City. All around them, there was destruction. There were trees and electrical lines down everywhere. Windows were shattered, road signs flattened, debris littering the flooded ground. But that didn’t faze her; that didn’t matter. Only one thing did, and that was finding Harry and the others.

She glanced up at Brian and Josh from the backseat. Brian was gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were white, and Josh’s hands were trembling. She could not forget that she was not the only one in that car with a loved one missing. Josh’s wife Kylie was out there, and Brian was Harry’s brother. Both of them were experiencing the same thing she was – the fear that something terrible had happened to the paramedics. Just the thought of it made an icy block form in Siara’s stomach, so she tried not to think it. But that was near impossible.

“Look!” Josh gasped suddenly, making Siara jump. “Up ahead, on the side of the road! Oh God…”

Siara felt sick to her stomach as she saw what Josh did. Lying on its side, a telephone poll on top of it, was a familiar-looking ambulance.

+++

When the raging winds had stopped blowing, and the rain had stopped pelting fiercely on the roof of the old building, Harry stood up.

“I’m gonna head back to the rig, see how much damage there is,” he said. “You stay here with Nattie. If the ambulance is drivable, I’ll be back to pick you two up. If not, I’m going to stay there. Someone’s gotta come looking for us sooner or later, and there’s no way they’re going to find us in here.”

Kylie nodded. “Alright. Be careful,” she said. “If it gets bad again, come right back in here.”

“Yes, Mother,” Harry said with a grin and left the two women, as he made his way outside. His mouth opened slightly as he surveyed the scene around him. Shaking his head in disbelief, he walked slowly to the place where they had left the ambulance, on the side of the road near the former recreation center.

At first, he did not see it. On second glance, he realized why. The once-white ambulance was no longer parked upright in the spot where they had left it. It was turned on its side, spattered with mud, and smashed in, a telephone pole leaning on top of it. Loose wires snaked from the poll, shooting sparks out.

Warily, Harry headed towards the road, keeping a safe distance away from the ambulance. That’s when he noticed a blue Honda parked a ways back, behind the ambulance. He squinted at it. It looked awfully familiar…

“Harry?”

“Harry!”

Suddenly, three people were running toward him from the opposite direction. He barely had time to recognize them before a pretty blonde hurtled herself into his arms. “Siara!” he gasped, hugging her tightly. “What are you doing out here?”

“We came to look for you,” answered a male voice, and Harry looked up to see his younger brother Brian, the owner of the blue Honda, standing there as well.

“Thank God you’re okay!” Siara cried. “The ambulance…”

“Where’s Kylie?” interrupted the third person, Kylie’s husband Josh. “Is she okay?”

“She’s fine,” Harry assured him quickly. “She’s over there, in that building.” He pointed to the recreation center. “There’s a girl in there with a broken leg.”

“Well, let’s go then,” Josh said, anxious to see Kylie for himself, to assure himself she was okay. He was very worried, not just about her, but about their unborn baby. Surely all this stress and panic couldn’t be good on either of them.

Harry nodded, and the four of them walked swiftly towards the abandoned building.

+++

“Wow… look at all that,” Nick murmured. Hours later, when the storm was finally over, he and Isabel had ventured out of the hospital and were now slowly walking down the sidewalk, observing all the damage done. The front window of Sully’s was shattered, the wooden sign that usually hung overhead gone. Trees and power lines were down everywhere, and there was standing water in the street.

“Had you ever been in a hurricane before this?” Isabel asked Nick.

“Oh sure, several of them. I grew up in Florida,” he replied. “How about you? Was this your first?”

“Yeah,” she said. “I’m from Michigan. We don’t get hurricanes up there. Tornadoes, yeah, but not hurricanes.”

“Welcome to the coast,” he said with a laugh. “So… that was pretty tense in that elevator today, huh?”

Isabel shivered. “Yeah. Sorry for freaking out like that, when we first got stuck. I get claustrophobic.”

“I know,” Nick replied. “It’s okay. I understand. And you stayed calm after that, even with Hannah and everything. I know a lot of people who would have been freaking out then.”

“I was freaking out inside,” she admitted. “I’m so glad we got her back. She was so sweet. It would have been horrible to see her die.”

“I know.”

They walked on in silence for a few minutes. The streets were unusually empty, except for the rescue workers, electrical crews, and construction workers out helping to clean up the damage. It was very eerie outside, with the dark, cloud-laden twilight sky looming down on them and the evacuated, damaged houses and buildings surrounding them.

“I wonder what my apartment looks like,” Isabel said suddenly.

“Where is your apartment? It’s not on the other side of town, is it? By the coast?”

“No,” she said. “It’s on this side of town, luckily.”

“It will probably be okay then. You might have some broken windows or something, but there shouldn’t be too much damage.”

“Okay. What about you? Where do you live?”

“I’ve got a place on this side of town too. It should be okay,” Nick replied.

“That’s good. So… what time are you off?”

“Me? Seven. How about you?”

“Seven too. You want to come over to my apartment when we get off and check out the damage? I can make us dinner if the place isn’t too messed up.”

“Sure,” Nick said, smiling. “I’d love to.” He gently reached out and took her hand, and they continued down the street.

+++

Addie was very nervous driving home that night. Her beautiful little apartment, right next to the ocean… what would it look like? She had seen the damage to the buildings near the hospital, which was on the side of Atlantic City farthest from the coast. Her apartment complex was on the other side of town. As she drove in that direction, she could tell that the damage got worse and worse the closer she got to the coast.

When she reached the street her apartment was located on, she found that it was blocked off. Fire trucks and electrical and construction crews were all over the street. Addie rolled down her window and slowly pulled up to a parked fire truck, where several fire fighters stood.

“Excuse me,” she said politely, “but I live on this street. Are you not letting people past?”

“No, ma’am, I’m sorry, but there’s a lot of damage. Nobody on this street will be able to go back to their homes tonight.”

“H-how bad is the damage?” Addie asked.

“It’s bad, ma’am,” one of the firefighters told her. “Some of the buildings will be able to be restored, but others will probably have to be torn down and rebuilt. Lots of damage done. Worst hurricane I’ve seen in a long time.”

Addie craned her neck, looking for apartment building down the street. She could just see the top of it, but it was impossible to tell how much damage had been done to it. At least it’s still standing, she told herself. She and Jack’s apartment was on the second floor, so maybe there wouldn’t be too much damage done.

“Do you have anywhere to stay, ma’am?” the firefighter asked. “They have shelters set up in local schools, and they’re letting people stay the night there. Or you could check into a hotel.”

“No, that’s okay. I can stay with one of my friends,” Addie replied. “Thanks for your help.”

Slowly, she backed out of the street and went back in the direction she had come. Many of the streets near her own were barricaded off, the houses damaged too much to be used. As she observed the destruction, her eyes filled with tears. Her vision growing blurry, she pulled to the side of the road and got out her cell phone. She punched in a number, hung up, and waited. A few minutes later, the phone in her hand rang.

“Addie?”

“Jack!” Addie cried. “Jack, the apartment – I-I can’t even get to it; there’s too much damage. Almost all the streets in our neighborhood are blocked off.” She wasn’t sure why she was crying; the apartment was still standing at least, and she and Jack were both safe. That was the important thing. But all the pent-up emotions she had tried to block all day were finally coming out, and she sobbed over the phone.

“Shh… it’s okay, honey,” Jack soothed. “It’s okay. You go to Kylie and Josh’s place, okay? I’m sure they’ll let us stay the night at least, and we’ll figure out something in the morning.”

“Okay,” Addie said, her voice thick with tears. “When are you getting off?”

“I don’t know, baby. Probably not till late. We have a lot of patients coming in with injuries from the storm. But I’ll get off as soon as I can.”

“Okay,” Addie said again. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Jack replied. He blew her a kiss over the phone, and they hung up. Sniffling and wiping her eyes, Addie put her phone away and slowly pulled back onto the road, heading straight for Kylie and Josh’s apartment.

+++

“Mmm, that smells good,” Nick said, inhaling deeply as Isabel stirred the contents of the pot on the stove. The two had gotten back to Isabel’s apartment over an hour earlier. There was not much damage, just a broken window and a tree down in the front yard.

“Thanks,” Isabel replied, beaming. “It’s my grandmother’s recipe. Homemade spaghetti and meatballs. I haven’t made it in a long time. I hope you like it.”

“If it tastes as good as it smells, I know I’ll love it,” said Nick. “Where did you learn to cook?”

Isabel shrugged. “From my mom and grandma, I guess. They were both the kind of women that made their families nice dinners every night and all that. I want to be like that someday.”

“Well, I love a girl who can cook,” said Nick, then hastily added, “Not that I would expect a woman to do all the cooking and cleaning and everything. I’m not, like, sexist or anything. I think that, uh, the man and woman should both share the household responsibilities.”

Isabel laughed as Nick blushed. “Good save, Carter,” she said teasingly. She set down her wooden spoon and came to sit down with him at her old, wooden kitchen table, which had been her mother’s. It was a square table with two benches on opposite sides of it, rather than chairs. She sat down on the bench beside Nick, rather than across from him, and slid close to him. He gazed at her for a moment, then lightly put his arm around her. She relaxed against him, and he held her closer. Sitting so close to him, her head against his shoulder, a pot of spaghetti boiling on the stove, Isabel felt very content. She tipped her head up to look at Nick. He looked very sexy in the golden light of the kitchen, and his pouty lips were nearly irresistible. She wanted to kiss him. Looking down at her, at her beautiful chocolate eyes and red lips, he wanted the same. Slowly, he bent his head down, and she raised her chin, and their lips touched. The kiss was very soft and gentle, not passionate, but tender and romantic. Nick put his other arm around Isabel and felt her arms come up around his neck. They broke the kiss softly and slowly pulled back. Isabel rubbed her lips together and smiled coyly up at Nick. He smiled back, color again creeping up his cheeks.

“I better stir the sauce,” Isabel said softly, reluctantly rising from the bench.

“Yeah,” Nick said dazedly, a dreamy _expression on his face as he watched her walk to the stove. “You stir that sauce.”

Isabel glanced over her shoulder at him and smiled, feeling even more content. The storm was over, and for her, it seemed a new relationship had just begun.

+++