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It happens so fast.
One minute TK is standing beside Marjan as they calmly exit the engulfed structure. The next there is an almighty crash, the feeling of hands shoving her, and the next thing she knows she is on the ground, and TK is nowhere to be seen.
Panic is the first instinct. Fear is at the foreground - she is in a fire and she is separated from her teammate and where is TK?
But Marjan Marwani is a seasoned firefighter. She has been in worse scrapes than this. So she tells herself to take a deep breath. She assesses the situation, and she pulls herself off of the floor.
The flames still rage around her, hungrily engulfing everything in sight but she breathes, steadies herself. She scans the room, looking for a sign; any indication of where TK might be, any hint that he is okay. She finds none at first and she resists the urge to let her heart sink. Her radio chips at her left shoulder and she grasps it. It’s the Captain’s voice. Status update? He asks.
She swallows thickly as the others run off their locations and other notable information. Then soon - far too soon - it is her turn.
Strand? Marwani? What’s your status?
“I’m good Cap, but I can’t find TK.”
She knows she doesn’t imagine the heavy pause; the panic so strong she can feel it even across their radios. “There was a partial collapse and we got separated. I’m looking but so far I haven’t been able to find any sign of him.”
The pause was shorter this time before the captain’s voice - clipped, professional - came across the radio again.
Keep looking Marwani, but watch yourself. I’m not liking the look of the flames in your quadrant right now. Ryder, Strickland, Chavez? Anyone free to go help her?
I’m on my way, Cap.
Judd, that was Judd. Judd was coming, he was going to help her find TK. Between the two of them, they would find him and rescue him - it would be okay.
It turned out that she didn’t need Judd’s help to find him. Her next step almost toppled her over and as she caught herself she glanced down to see what had upset her equilibrium only to find a boot sticking out from the rubble.
Her breath caught in her throat and she dropped to her knees, desperately examining the pile, looking for any sign that TK was okay, any sign that he was still alive.
Please let him be alive, she pleaded as she gently shifted the debris, not willing to risk any further collapse. She found his head, miraculously uncovered or harmed, and reached out to tap his cheek, softly saying his name. After a bit of prodding his green eyes blinked open and she could breathe again. He was okay, it would be fine.
“Marjan?” he asked, voice strained, “what happened?”
She willed her voice to be steady, but there was still a waver in it as she spoke, “some of the ceiling collapsed and you got stuck under it. I’m pretty sure you pushed me out of the way first, though.”
TK said nothing, just closed his eyes as he tried to take a deep breath, his face contorting into a grimace of pain. “What hurts?” she asked anxiously, reaching out her hands but pausing, hovering in midair because she did not know where to put them that would not do more harm than good.
“Everything,” TK replied honestly, voice tight with pain, “but I’ll be fine. We’ve just got to find a way to get this stuff off of me.”
“Judd’s on his way, we’ll figure it out. Don’t worry TK, we’ve got you.”
“I’m not worried, I know you two have my back.”
The faith he put in them simultaneously made her heart swell and a feeling of dread overtake her. She loved that about him, but what if they couldn’t save him?
The arrival of Judd forced her to move on, saved her from dwelling. He careened into the room, frantic eyes searching for her and TK. She waved him over as he spotted her, motioning towards the pile of rubble beside her. He cursed and rushed over, falling to his knees on the other side. He surveyed the situation, practiced eyes taking in the situation. His eyes eventually landed on TK, looking back at him from his position under the rubble and his gaze softened.
“How ya doing kid?”
TK coughed, “Well, I’ve been better Judd.”
“No need to be dramatic brother, we’re gonna get you out of there.”
“I know you will, but I’d appreciate it if you could hurry up. It’s getting hard to breathe.”
The last part was said like a confession, something he had not been willing to share but had been compelled to anyways. Marjan and Judd locked eyes over TK and his cage, their gazes speaking the words neither of them wanted to say. They needed to get him out of there now ; before this got a whole lot worse.
The flames were a concern, but they were far enough away that they were not an immediate threat. Both Marjan and Judd turned their attention to the more immediate problem: the pile of rubble intent on crushing TK. Marjan had already given it a thorough examination, but she allowed Judd the chance to do the same. When he looked back up at her, his expression was grim. She understood his hesitation without words: one wrong move and the whole pile could collapse even further.
She took a deep breath and nodded. Judd closed his eyes briefly (in prayer or preparation, she knew not which) before opening them and returning her nod. Then as one they moved began to shift the fallen debris; gently, deliberately picking up each piece and moving it to the side.
The heat was growing ever closer - Marjan could feel sweat beginning to run down her neck. Every nerve in her body, every instinct forged from years of firefighting screamed at her to move faster, to hurry up, to leave this place; but she ignored them all. This was TK’s life; she wouldn’t risk it for anything. She could stand a little heat.
The flames wouldn’t be ignored for much longer though. They were getting impatient, encroaching ever so slightly on their space and their work. It was TK, keeping a watchful eye on the flames as his friends worked to free him, that alerted them - and not a moment too soon.
Marjan had just enough time to throw her arms protectively over her head as an ambitious flame jumped ahead of the pack and onto the remanets of the ceiling above their heads. Within a moment it was out, but it took more of the ceiling with it. Marjan watched with helpless horror as an even larger chunk of the smoking ceiling fell, landing squarely on TK with a sickening thud.
She scrambled forward on her knees, meeting Judd’s eyes through the smoke and dust and seeing her own fear reflected in them. They reached TK at the same time, both frantically reaching for him, calling his name; desperate for reassurance. She felt a rush of relief when he gasped in response; eyes flying open.
Her optimism was quickly extinguished when she heard the words he was gasping out, struggling to make his dilemma known: “I can’t breathe.”
Her eyes flew to meet Judd’s again and after a moment of silent discussion they seemed to reach an agreement, and they began to rip the remaining debris off of TK with urgency.
The sounds of his labored and fading gasps spurred them forwards; the sudden absence of them sent them into a fever pitch.
There was no time to spare a glance, to see if Judd’s expression reflected the panic she was feeling. She had little doubt that it did though, and she pushed herself to work faster.
Her thoughts were here in this room, consumed by the need to hurry to help TK . But there is still a part of her mind that wanders, that flashes back to another time, in another building where a gunshot rang out and TK collapsed to the floor. To a time when a tense hallway went silent when his breaths stopped then, just as they had now. To days of uncertainty and fear, as TK slipped into a coma as his body fought to recover.
She couldn’t do that again - they couldn’t do that again. TK needed to be okay. They needed to save him.
With a final tug, Judd pulled off the last of the piece pinning TK down and Marjan rushed forward to pull him out. Judd joined her and the moment he was free Judd hoisted him up onto his shoulder and together they rushed out of the structure.
Even as they hurried; nearly running through the hallways towards the exit, Marjan kept glancing over. Judd, for all his desperation and speed, was being as careful as possible; taking care not to jostle TK, protecting his limp form from all harm as they ran.
Soon they were out and though the cool night air felt like heaven on her face Marjan could not take the time to enjoy it. She called for Michelle, or Nancy or Tim glancing over at TK. Judd had set him on the ground and was ripping off his helmet, preparing to start CPR. Michelle appeared out of nowhere, took in the situation in a glance and took over; her calm professionalism a soothing balm to the panic Marjan had felt from the moment she had first lost sight of TK.
She sank to the ground; the adrenaline fleeing her body and leaving her feeling too drained to even stand. She could feel the others gathering around; could feel their unasked questions hovering in the air. But none of them mattered right now. The only question that mattered was one that only Michelle could answer, and so Marjan waited.
An unnatural quiet blanketed the scene. No call was ever this quiet, but it seemed that everything and everyone was silently waiting for the same answer as Marjan. She felt a hand on her shoulder and didn’t need to look up to know that it was Judd; offering her his strength, his silent support.
They couldn’t lose TK, not again. She would not lose her friend, the 126 would not lose a member of their family.
The waiting seemed to stretch for an eternity until finally, Michelle looked up. She glanced over the gathered crowd to Nancy, giving her a nod that she seemed to understand, as she moved towards the equipment. Finally, Michelle turned her attention to the rest of the 126, hovering anxiously at the edge. She gave them a soft smile and Marjan could feel the tension leave her body in waves.
“He’s going to be fine,” she assured them softly. There was noise in the wake of the announcement. Sounds of relief; declarations of thankfulness. Marjan took it all in as she closed her eyes in a prayer of thanks, not bothered by the tears that slipped down her face.
TK was fine, she hadn’t lost her friend. She could handle anything else after that.