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| PAGE FORTY TWO |
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"Ben, you don't know the half of it. I heard Dr. Taylor mention some lean odds about getting enough serum to turn Lopez around and they weren't in the double digits. Two of the three bats we managed to salvage from Manney's vehicle are dead or nearly so. " Cap caught himself when he caught Ben's calming supportive nod and gaze. "Wait a minute. We should be talking about our jobs here Ben. Not conmiserating in things that we can't change ourselves." Stone smiled. "Exactly right. So why worry?" and his teeth glowed under his dark skin. "Here, put this back on.." and Stone gave Hank's captaining helmet back from where he had recovered it from the driveway. "You left it behind going into that tower collapse, while running to save one of MY men. What were you trying to do? Break our tie of equal numbers of commendation medals? " and he chuckled. "No really, McConike asked me to reinstate you to active duty. Said something along the lines of it being good medicine for the ranks. All of them." There was a weighed silence as both captains realized just how much the quake had claimed of their energy. And both, just shrugged it off by saying the first thing to come to mind. "I'd better be getting ..." Cap began. "...back to work.." Stone completed. They both laughed, a little more easily after that. Cap raised his HT in salute as Stone made his way across the boulevard back to the triage station and got a returning, "All's clear." gesture back. |
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Stanley took a deep breath and then went back into the station. --------------------------------------- It was quiet in the bunk room for the second night. ::Deja Vu all over again..:: Johnny thought. ::Only this time, Marco's on borrowed time.:: His good hand ached from squeezing Marco's bag valved O2. Everyone's did. But no one complained. Gage looked up at Dr. Brackett only briefly from watching Gil's ventilations on Marco. Johnny was in his usual place of the last few hours, acting as sentry vigilant for signs of gastric distension. "Doc, any word yet on the chopper with that respirator yet?" Kel shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Johnny. They.....got sidetracked moving out critical patients." he said reluctantly, knowing that his senior medic would react. "Yeah?!" Johnny complained bitterly. "Oh, really? Since when does saving lives come down to a decision based on numbers??" He immediately apologized. "Sorry, Dr. Brackett. I'm always edgy when things get outta hand. Especially when one of those hands, is mine.." "I'm no stranger to red tape either, Johnny. But with that modified airway I've got in place, the problems we've been having with keeping his trachea patent will be much less. If his varices hemorrhaging gets worse, I can always do a tracheotomy around any necrotic swelling." "And what good will that do?" Johnny spat. "Marco's got no way of clotting a surgical incision. He'll just bleed to death afterwards at an even faster rate!!" "Johnny....." Gil admonished. "He can hear you.." he said through clenched lips angrily, casting pointing eyes down on Lopez from where he sat, while still keeping the ambu's rhythm of breaths regular. "I know.." he said shortly. "Sorry." Gage left their sides and headed quickly into the kitchen improvised lab and there he sat into one of the chairs, seething with helplessness. |
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