Collateral Damage Ch 3
Neal would never be able to recall what happened once the EMT’s loaded him onto the ambulance. It was all flashing lights mixed with moments of darkness; pained screams and frantic shouts. The only constant through it all was Peter Burke.
Peter, on the other hand, would never forget. The world was condensed to that tiny space in the back of the ambulance. Each worried glance from the EMT’s, the brilliant blue of Neal’s eyes when he came to, the sound of machines screeching shortly after as Neal crashed; each burned into his memory.
The paramedics shoved him roughly out of the way. Peter couldn’t hold it against them, though- they were fighting to save Neal’s life. He took that moment to pull out his phone and send El a quick text, letting her know what had happened and asking her to get the word out and meet him at the hospital.
He tucked the phone back into his pocket as the ambulance came to a sudden halt. When the doors opened, he jumped out and got out of the way. The EMT’s were still working to stabilize Neal, and he heard them shouting to the waiting crew. “Stab wound to the right abdomen. Massive blood loss. Patient will need immediate transfusion. We lost him on the ride- 10 seconds until successful resuscitation…”
“We lost him…” Peter’s heart sunk at the words. He ran a shaking hand through his hair before jogging after the gurney.
Once he was inside, chaos seemed to erupt. There were orderlies everywhere. So many, in fact, that he lost sight of Neal entirely. Panic gripped his heart as he search frantically for any sign of his friend.
“Sir? Sir?!”
He turned to see a short woman dressed in pink scrubs approach. “Sir? Are you with the young man who just came in?”
Peter nodded dumbly. He didn’t resist as she gently grabbed his arm and steered him toward the reception desk.
“Sir, your friend is being taken back to surgery now. I assure you; the doctors here are very skilled and will do everything they can. Is there someone you would like us to call?”
“No… Neal- he’s my CI. He- he has a- a tracking anklet. You’ll need the key…”
The nurse nodded, sliding her hand up to give his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Of course, sir. If you have it with you, I will make sure they get it in surgery. Are you able to make medical decisions for your friend?”
Peter handed her the anklet key and tried to fill out the medical papers. His hands were shaking badly and as he wrote, he noticed that they were still covered in Neal’s blood. The nurse caught him staring at his hands and guided him over to the restroom. He tried to thank her, but she just smiled and handed him a pair of blue scrubs.
Once Peter had cleaned himself up and thrown away his ruined suit (it wasn’t like he would ever want to wear it again anyway), he made his way back out to the lobby of the ER. The nurse had an orderly waiting to take him back to the waiting room, and informed him that he would not be the only one there.
When Peter arrived at the non-descript waiting room, he found that El, Jones and even Mozzie were already there. Jones had already filled them in on what had happened, and together the small group sat down to wait.
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Author's Note: Ok, so it looks as though this will be a four-parter after all!
Peter, on the other hand, would never forget. The world was condensed to that tiny space in the back of the ambulance. Each worried glance from the EMT’s, the brilliant blue of Neal’s eyes when he came to, the sound of machines screeching shortly after as Neal crashed; each burned into his memory.
The paramedics shoved him roughly out of the way. Peter couldn’t hold it against them, though- they were fighting to save Neal’s life. He took that moment to pull out his phone and send El a quick text, letting her know what had happened and asking her to get the word out and meet him at the hospital.
He tucked the phone back into his pocket as the ambulance came to a sudden halt. When the doors opened, he jumped out and got out of the way. The EMT’s were still working to stabilize Neal, and he heard them shouting to the waiting crew. “Stab wound to the right abdomen. Massive blood loss. Patient will need immediate transfusion. We lost him on the ride- 10 seconds until successful resuscitation…”
“We lost him…” Peter’s heart sunk at the words. He ran a shaking hand through his hair before jogging after the gurney.
Once he was inside, chaos seemed to erupt. There were orderlies everywhere. So many, in fact, that he lost sight of Neal entirely. Panic gripped his heart as he search frantically for any sign of his friend.
“Sir? Sir?!”
He turned to see a short woman dressed in pink scrubs approach. “Sir? Are you with the young man who just came in?”
Peter nodded dumbly. He didn’t resist as she gently grabbed his arm and steered him toward the reception desk.
“Sir, your friend is being taken back to surgery now. I assure you; the doctors here are very skilled and will do everything they can. Is there someone you would like us to call?”
“No… Neal- he’s my CI. He- he has a- a tracking anklet. You’ll need the key…”
The nurse nodded, sliding her hand up to give his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Of course, sir. If you have it with you, I will make sure they get it in surgery. Are you able to make medical decisions for your friend?”
Peter handed her the anklet key and tried to fill out the medical papers. His hands were shaking badly and as he wrote, he noticed that they were still covered in Neal’s blood. The nurse caught him staring at his hands and guided him over to the restroom. He tried to thank her, but she just smiled and handed him a pair of blue scrubs.
Once Peter had cleaned himself up and thrown away his ruined suit (it wasn’t like he would ever want to wear it again anyway), he made his way back out to the lobby of the ER. The nurse had an orderly waiting to take him back to the waiting room, and informed him that he would not be the only one there.
When Peter arrived at the non-descript waiting room, he found that El, Jones and even Mozzie were already there. Jones had already filled them in on what had happened, and together the small group sat down to wait.
WCWCWCWCWCWCWCWCWCWCWCWC
Author's Note: Ok, so it looks as though this will be a four-parter after all!