Work Text:
TK doesn’t mind the cold. Being a native New Yorker, the snow always felt comforting to him. It reminded him of when he was little and his parents would take him ice skating at the Rockefeller Center or when he was older and snuck out to watch the ball drop in Times Square. Even as he got older, working as a firefighter in the cold wasn’t that bad either. Sure there were more car accidents caused by black ice and more fires caused by malfunctioning space heaters, but for the most part, it was relatively calm.
That is not the case when the ice storm hits Texas. Most people here aren’t prepared for this kind of situation, leading to many, many car accidents, frostbite cases from people who aren’t dressed warm enough to be outside like this, and idiots who think ice fishing on two inches of ice is a good idea.
Needless to say, they’ve been busy.
The idiot in question is a man who’s stranded in the middle of a lake, having called 911 when the ice started to crack around him, forming a small hole right in front of where he stands. Being the only member of the paramedic team that has any experience with situations like this, TK volunteered to be the one to rescue him. The clock’s ticking and the ice isn’t going to hold forever, meaning they don’t have the luxury to wait until an available rescue unit can reach them. They’ve been stretched just as thin today.
He begins his crawl across the frigid ice, knowing it’s the best way to spread out his weight preventing them both from going under. The distance he has to cover isn’t that far, the size of the lake more like a large pond, and soon enough he’s within distance for the man to hear him.
“What’s your name?” TK calls out.
“Travis,” he responds, teeth chattering from the cold.
“Travis, I’m TK. I’m going to need you to lower yourself to the ground like I am, as slowly as possible, okay?” He instructs, watching as Travis follows his orders. He squats down, pressing both palms into the ice as he shifts off his left foot to get his knee on the ground. When Travis redistributes all his weight to the left so he can pick up the right foot, TK hears a low crack and groan as the ice shifts. Before he’s able to yell out a warning, a hole opens up beneath Travis, plunging him into the frigid waters.
He hears the cries of Tommy and Nancy back on shore and for a moment is paralzyed as he tries to think of what to do. He’s done ice rescues before, but they’ve all gone by without incident. He’s never had someone go under before. He’s completely out of his element.
He takes a deep breath, trying to think rationally before he begins moving again, taking calculated but rapid movements to reach the edge of the hole, hoping he’s able to reach Travis before he goes too far under.
Tommy and Nancy must be making their way to him on the ice, as their voices are getting closer, but TK is too focused on reaching Travis before it’s too late to make out what they are saying. He finally reaches the edge and he thinks he catches a glimpse of the man’s sleeve beneath the murky waters but just as he’s about to reach for it, the ice shifts again.
“TK!” Nancy cries out just as he goes under, submerging his body in the freezing water.
It shocks him to the core, his muscles tensing up from the onset of the cold as he tumbles underwater, trying to get his body into an upright position again. He allows himself one moment of utter panic as he gets his bearings before kicking into action, lungs already screaming from the lack of oxygen.
Peeling his eyes open is torture, but crucial if he wants to find the way out. Once the initial shock of the water on his eyes wears off, he's still met with darkness. The fact that a majority of the lake is covered in ice combined with the lack of sun on this dreary day means that TK needs to rely on his other senses to get him out of this. He swims, putting all his energy into propelling back towards the surface as his limbs become heavier from the frigid temperature. TK knows his body cannot withstand these conditions for long.
As he reaches his hands above his head, they come into contact with a hard surface. It hits him with a devastating realization that when he went under, he didn’t go straight down. His body has drifted and the opening is no longer directly above him, but off in some unknown direction.
TK wants to scream, he wants to cry, he wants to curse the world for always dealing him a shitty hand. Every fiber in his body is screaming at him for oxygen, urging him to take a breath. He ignores it, forcing himself to keep moving to find his way back to dry land.
He feels like he’s been underwater forever but in reality can be no more than a minute. He feels himself getting more lost as he swims, unable to tell up from down, left from right. When his vision starts getting spotty from the lack of oxygen, he’s hit with the thought that unless a miracle happens, he’s not getting out of this alive.
When he woke up this morning to the snow falling softly outside his bedroom with Carlos’ soft snores behind him, he didn’t think this would be the day. A random Monday in January where he was supposed to have a short, eight hour shift and then he could happily go back home and bundle away from the cold with his love. Instead, he very well might die here.
With the last of his energy, TK makes one last ditch effort to find the surface, praying to whoever’s listening to let him see another day. Turns out, someone was listening. He feels fingers wrap around his wrist before he succumbs to unconsciousness.
***
Carlos rubs his hands together, trying to generate some kind of warmth as he’s met with the chilling wind after opening the car door. Mitchell and he were dispatched to a small lake on the outskirts of Austin to follow up on an accidental drowning. They don’t know many details, only that the incident involved a civilian and a paramedic that went under and one didn’t make it out. His thoughts go to TK, like they always do, but he shakes himself out of it and rationalizes with himself that TK isn’t the only paramedic in Austin.
Except his self-reassurance stops when he walks closer to the two ambulances on scene and spots the number on the side of one of them. 126.
His eyes dart around the rest of the area, looking for any sign that his boyfriend wasn’t the one in the lake and his panic builds when he can’t locate him. There’s a body bag in front of the 122 ambulance, the whole reason they’re here, and Carlos doesn’t allow himself to consider who might be in it. His eyes land on the 126 ambulance and he breathes a little easier when he spots Nancy whose eyes widen when she recognizes him then quickly waves him over. Definitely not the reaction she’d be giving him if TK was dead.
Mitchell sees the interaction as she walks with him and tells him to go check on his boy while he begins to get things sorted out with the other victim. Carlos gives her a grateful smile as he does just that.
“Your boyfriend’s going to put me in an early grave I swear,” she comments when he gets closer.
Carlos frowns, eyes shifting to the ambulance where he assumes said boyfriend is. “Is he okay?”
Nancy looks solemn but overall relieved so he hopes whatever it is isn’t too serious. “He’s got moderate hypothermia. Nothing that can’t be fixed but it does mean another trip to the hospital for him unfortunately.”
Carlos nods, focusing on the ‘nothing that can’t be fixed part’ instead of the ‘hospital part’. “He volunteered, didn’t he?”
Nancy gives him a small smile. “He all but bragged about being the only one built for this weather and familiar with these types of calls.”
Carlos isn’t surprised, he already endured his own teasing this morning when he complained about the cold while TK excitedly watched the snow fall. While he’s proud of his boyfriend for always being there for someone who needs help, he selfishly wishes TK never has to be put into situations where he’s given the choice to put himself into danger too. “That sounds like him.”
Nancy nods then jerks her head to the ambulance. “Get in there.”
The doors to the back of the ambulance are shut and when he pulls them open, he’s met with the site of a very pale and shivering TK wrapped in a shock blanket. He quickly shuts the door behind him, trying to preserve as much heat as possible.
“Carlos? What are you doing here?” TK asks, teeth chattering as he utters the words in disbelief.
Carlos moves closer to the gurney, mindfully stepping around the pile of TK’s soggy uniform on the ground. He’s careful to stay out of Tommy’s way, who gives him a welcoming smile as she quickly patches up a cut on TK’s arm. He sits down next to his boyfriend who immediately burrows into his side as best he can. When he brings his hand up to card through his damp hair, he tries not to focus on how cold his skin is. Nancy said he would be okay.
“We got dispatched here because of the other victim. I didn’t know you were the paramedic.” Carlos responds and TK just hums, deciding that talking requires too much energy. Carlos’ brow furrows at the lack of animation from TK. “Is he okay?” Carlos asks Tommy.
“Hypothermia can cause confusion. His temperature was 88 when we pulled him out, and it’s risen slightly since then but we’re taking him to the hospital as soon as I’m done here.” She says as she finishes up the bandage. “Are you riding with him?”
Carlos nods without a second thought. “Just give me one second,” he replies, needing to check with Mitchell that she’s got the scene covered. He presses a quick kiss to TK’s temple before rushing off to find her. She’s more than understanding and Carlos thanks her relentlessly, telling her he owns her one.
He gets back into the ambulance just as Nancy is getting into the driver’s seat. TK’s in the same spot he left him and it looks like his shivering has increased if that’s possible. Carlos takes his jacket off, laying it over his shoulders as he retakes his seat. TK peeks a fumbling hand out from under his many layers to reach for Carlos’ hands. He grabs it with both hands, bringing it up to press his lips against his cool skin.
“I’m glad you’re here,” TK whispers.
Carlos squeezes his hand. “Nowhere else I’d rather be.”
***
Carlos sits in the uncomfortable waiting room chair as he waits to be called back. The doctors took TK back as soon as they got here and not long after that Tommy and Nancy regretfully had to leave, needing to take the ambulance back to the firehouse before they could finish their shift. Carlos promised to give them updates before they went.
He already called Owen, not wanting the man to hear from someone else about what happened. He thanked Carlos for letting him know, promising to be there soon.
“Family of TK Strand?” A nurse questions as she looks around the waiting room.
Carlos stands. “Is he okay?” Carlos asks for what feels like the millionth time today.
She smiles politely. “We got Mr. Strand settled in a room. I can take you back to see him where the doctor will explain everything.”
Carlos bites back his frustration. He knows it’s not the nurse’s job to tell him anything, he’s been through this process enough times, but it still never gets easier to have to wait. After they walk through a labyrinth of hallways, the nurse finally points Carlos to a room before she heads out.
He knocks before turning the knob and is met with two heads turning towards him. He automatically focuses on TK who gives him a smile. “Hi,” he says, seeming much more alert than before.
Carlos lets out a breath that he didn’t know he’d been holding as he makes his way to his bedside, tangling their fingers together. “Hey.”
“I was just informing TK of his situation, is it alright if I continue?” The doctor asks TK, looking for permission to share TK’s medical information with Carlos. Carlos is a little embarrassed that he barely noticed her presence, TK has that effect on him.
TK nods. “He’s my boyfriend.”
“Great,” she continues. “I was just telling TK that his temperature is stable, but still lower than we’d like it. The warm IV and the heated blankets should fix that up in no time. I’m more worried about his lungs. The paramedics informed me that he coughed a bit of water up and while his scans came back clear, we’d like to keep him overnight just to be safe.”
They both nod, though TK looks less than thrilled at the idea, and thank her before she heads out, informing them that a nurse will be back later.
“How are you feeling?” Carlos asks once they’re alone.
TK shrugs. “Still cold. I think most of it is psychological now.”
Carlos frowns, looking to the door. “Do you need me to get the nurse? Or I can grab an extra blanket-”
TK cuts him off by pulling on his hand, forcing his attention back to him. “Can you just lay down with me?” He asks quietly.
Carlos looks down at his clunky uniform, not the most comfortable but he didn’t want to take the time to go home and change. Unable to deny his man anything, he toes off his boots and starts taking off the utility belt, the badge, anything strapped to the clothing that would make it impossible to lay down in. He knows sooner rather than later he’s going to have to leave to put that stuff away for real, but for now he’s more than happy to stay right here. “Scoot over,” he says as he pulls the blanket back.
TK shifts onto his side, knowing trying to fit two grown men into a hospital bed isn’t the easiest but not caring. Carlos lays down on his back, wrapping his arm around TK’s shoulders as the man puts his own arm around Carlos’ waist, laying his head on his shoulder.
Neither of them say anything for a few moments, letting the physical contact reassure them. It’s TK who breaks the silence.
“The whole thing is a little fuzzy, but I know there was a moment there where I thought that was going to be it,” He confesses quietly, holding tighter to Carlos’ waist.
Carlos closes his eyes at the onset of emotion he feels. He knew the situation was bad, but he didn’t know how close he came to losing TK today until just now. He cranes his neck to press a kiss to the top of TK’s head, letting his lips linger as he breathes him in. “Thank you for fighting to come back.”
TK presses his own kiss to Carlos’ chest. “Always.”