Division of Labor
Title: Division of Labor
Author: melissima
Pairing/Characters: David/Claudia
Rating: PG
Summary: 36 hours, 1 coroner, 1 hero.
Spoilers:36 Hours, Undercurrents.
Prompt/Challenge: Written for ZeldaOphelia's fandom-stocking
Notes/Warnings: Canon violence
Disclaimer: Numb3rs belongs to Scottfree, CBS, and Heauton/Falacci. Just a fan havin' fun, here.
Claudia climbed out of the coroner's van. The place looked more like a war movie than an accident site.The smell of charred flesh and diesel smoke nearly choked her with every gust of wind. Firemen sprayed foam over creaking piles of demolished metal while police and EMTs ran past shouting into radios, driven by some purpose she couldn't see. She held up her credentials for the fire chief. "Ma'am. We've got a field station set up for you, this way." She let him brief her, deliberately putting aside the horror of it all with the snap of her gloves.
*
Five or six cups of coffee later, the work slowed to a lull. They'd tagged remains as they'd been recovered from the train cars, medical records had been sent for and she had started sending someone to the fire chief every hour or so for updates. Until he could get access to more remains there was little to do but wait. She sent her assistants out to get some fresh air and when they returned, they pushed her out into the night for her turn.
The fires appeared to be under control, metal ticking as it cooled in the freshening breeze. The people she passed moved with grim determination, exhaustion plain on their faces. She felt for them and yet she felt set apart even more than usual; she was proud of her work, proud to stand for the dead and the families they left behind. But in a situation like this? Everyone seemed to be looking for miracles and her mere presence signified every miracle that didn't come.
"Medic! I need a medic over here!"
Her stomach flipped at the sound of a familiar voice and she turned to find David dragging an unconscious woman from the wreckage. Colby dashed over, followed by a medical team. Within seconds, the woman came to, pushing off the oxygen mask.
David's words of comfort didn't reach her across the intervening space, but Claudia saw his face. She knew the gentleness of those strong hands, the warmth in those eyes. Tears sprang up in sympathy for the woman clinging to him, dirty, bruised and desperate.
Claudia shook her head sharply, pushing the emotion down. These big cases hit in strange ways, but they hit everyone. This was no time to let it take her down. She breathed deeply of the cool night air, the stench edited out by long exposure as she headed back to the makeshift morgue.
*
Hours later a clamour of loud voices reached her and she stepped out to see what was happening. Knots of workers were gathering in front of the passenger train where a taut cable disappeared into a shattered window. The voices swelled as the cable was reeled in and people could be seen hanging from the end of it. Firemen maneuvered them up away from the train and down again into the care of waiting EMTs. The rescuer's mask came off, revealing Colby's sandy hair.
She made her way closer, standing on tiptoe to look for David but not seeing him. The cable was lifted again and dropped back into the smoking hole in the train. Tears stung her eyes as she realized David must be in there - the danger, the gas...The cable went taut again and she remembered to breathe. The seconds stretched painfully as the firemen slowly retrieved the cable, but soon she could see a man hanging from it, cradled against another man: David. They were lowered next to a gurney and the EMTs rushed in to take their patient. David's smile was clear even from a distance. An assistant tugged at her sleeve and she turned away, palming tears from her face before she jogged to meet the pair of firemen bringing remains into the morgue.
*
Thirty-six hours in, her gritty eyes rebelled at the lack of sleep and air still laced with soot. Her watch beeped to tell her another hour had passed; it was time to check with the fire chief again about recovering more remains. One of the assistants looked up, but she waved at him to keep his seat. Caffeine alone wasn't cutting it anymore - she needed to move.
Between her makeshift workspace and the chief's, she saw David and his team packing up their gear. As she approached she noticed he moved slower than usual - they were all slower by now, she guessed - and grime clung to his skin and clothes in streaks. She pulled him into a hug, tucking her head against his chest as his strong arms closed around her, leaning in to draw comfort from the low, steady beat of his heart.
Author: melissima
Pairing/Characters: David/Claudia
Rating: PG
Summary: 36 hours, 1 coroner, 1 hero.
Spoilers:36 Hours, Undercurrents.
Prompt/Challenge: Written for ZeldaOphelia's fandom-stocking
Notes/Warnings: Canon violence
Disclaimer: Numb3rs belongs to Scottfree, CBS, and Heauton/Falacci. Just a fan havin' fun, here.
Claudia climbed out of the coroner's van. The place looked more like a war movie than an accident site.The smell of charred flesh and diesel smoke nearly choked her with every gust of wind. Firemen sprayed foam over creaking piles of demolished metal while police and EMTs ran past shouting into radios, driven by some purpose she couldn't see. She held up her credentials for the fire chief. "Ma'am. We've got a field station set up for you, this way." She let him brief her, deliberately putting aside the horror of it all with the snap of her gloves.
*
Five or six cups of coffee later, the work slowed to a lull. They'd tagged remains as they'd been recovered from the train cars, medical records had been sent for and she had started sending someone to the fire chief every hour or so for updates. Until he could get access to more remains there was little to do but wait. She sent her assistants out to get some fresh air and when they returned, they pushed her out into the night for her turn.
The fires appeared to be under control, metal ticking as it cooled in the freshening breeze. The people she passed moved with grim determination, exhaustion plain on their faces. She felt for them and yet she felt set apart even more than usual; she was proud of her work, proud to stand for the dead and the families they left behind. But in a situation like this? Everyone seemed to be looking for miracles and her mere presence signified every miracle that didn't come.
"Medic! I need a medic over here!"
Her stomach flipped at the sound of a familiar voice and she turned to find David dragging an unconscious woman from the wreckage. Colby dashed over, followed by a medical team. Within seconds, the woman came to, pushing off the oxygen mask.
David's words of comfort didn't reach her across the intervening space, but Claudia saw his face. She knew the gentleness of those strong hands, the warmth in those eyes. Tears sprang up in sympathy for the woman clinging to him, dirty, bruised and desperate.
Claudia shook her head sharply, pushing the emotion down. These big cases hit in strange ways, but they hit everyone. This was no time to let it take her down. She breathed deeply of the cool night air, the stench edited out by long exposure as she headed back to the makeshift morgue.
*
Hours later a clamour of loud voices reached her and she stepped out to see what was happening. Knots of workers were gathering in front of the passenger train where a taut cable disappeared into a shattered window. The voices swelled as the cable was reeled in and people could be seen hanging from the end of it. Firemen maneuvered them up away from the train and down again into the care of waiting EMTs. The rescuer's mask came off, revealing Colby's sandy hair.
She made her way closer, standing on tiptoe to look for David but not seeing him. The cable was lifted again and dropped back into the smoking hole in the train. Tears stung her eyes as she realized David must be in there - the danger, the gas...The cable went taut again and she remembered to breathe. The seconds stretched painfully as the firemen slowly retrieved the cable, but soon she could see a man hanging from it, cradled against another man: David. They were lowered next to a gurney and the EMTs rushed in to take their patient. David's smile was clear even from a distance. An assistant tugged at her sleeve and she turned away, palming tears from her face before she jogged to meet the pair of firemen bringing remains into the morgue.
*
Thirty-six hours in, her gritty eyes rebelled at the lack of sleep and air still laced with soot. Her watch beeped to tell her another hour had passed; it was time to check with the fire chief again about recovering more remains. One of the assistants looked up, but she waved at him to keep his seat. Caffeine alone wasn't cutting it anymore - she needed to move.
Between her makeshift workspace and the chief's, she saw David and his team packing up their gear. As she approached she noticed he moved slower than usual - they were all slower by now, she guessed - and grime clung to his skin and clothes in streaks. She pulled him into a hug, tucking her head against his chest as his strong arms closed around her, leaning in to draw comfort from the low, steady beat of his heart.