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The minute the rigs rolled up to the Pickwick Theatre, everyone had a shared gut feeling that it was going to be a tough call to stomach. Fires this big happened on a rare occasion, but when they did, it was going to be one that will be remembered forever.
As all of the firefighters hurried inside to start the evacuation process, there was a tiny little scare with Gallo where they thought he was down and would have to make the mayday call that nobody ever wants to hear, but luckily, he ended up okay.
When the victims were out and every person at 51 was accounted for, they thought that things went smoothly and for a second, they did. Until they didn’t. You know this is a serious fire when Hawkins gets involved.
Evan saw a victim barely making his way outside on his own two feet coughing and ran over to try to help the man as he should. He’s a highly skilled paramedic. It’s what he was trained to do. He successfully helped him to the ground, but before he could do anything else, a large pile of concrete and rubble fell on both men. Boden was the first to notice and charged towards the scene, everyone else following suit shortly after. Chunks of the rubble got thrown astray and once the victim was found, he was placed onto a gurney in another ambulance, because as horrible as it sounded, there was no way in hell Ambulance 61 was taking him right now, and wheeled off to Med.
But with Evan, Violet was there no more than she witnessed the accident. She was watching closely as more rubble was being tossed aside left and right. When Evan was found, his face looked pale, almost ghostly. Blood coursed his left temple, gushing down the side of his face. He seemed unrecognizable and for a moment, Violet couldn’t even look at her boyfriend because of it.
She ripped his shirt open and instantly started chest compressions, hoping and praying that he could be saved. He still had a pulse, albeit faint, so there was definitely a chance to revive him, and she was not going to lose the man she loves because of one terrible fire. She won’t allow it to happen.
“Violet,” Gallo called. “Violet,” he continued. He tried her name for the third time but added a message to it this time. “Maybe you should just-“
“GALLO!” Violet screamed into the firefighter’s face. “If you don’t let me save him, I swear to God I’m gonna-“ She was not in the mood for any of this whatsoever. Thankfully, Ritter intervened and whisked away his best friend for a break to regroup because he didn’t want the argument to escalate any further than it already did. Boden decided to take control and try his hand at calming Violet down, but to no avail.
“Chief, it’s worth a shot,” Sylvie stated. She empathized with her partner and she knew that if it was Matt in this situation, she’d be doing everything in her power to try and bring him back to life too.
Boden contemplated the PIC’s words carefully. He agrees, but sometimes, even the most seasoned firefighters and paramedics can’t be saved no matter how much effort is put forth to do it. Take Shay and Otis, for example. He glanced towards his people, who each sported solemn expressions on their faces. But, it was the next person who spoke that really caught him by surprise.
“You gotta let them try, Chief,” Kelly calmly expressed. If anyone knew what it was like to lose someone closest to them in the line of duty, it was Kelly Severide. All it took was a nod of confirmation from Cruz, who has also painfully experienced this, before the chief relented.
He sighed and closed his eyes in slight exasperation. “Alright.” The paramedics immediately went to work as soon as the go-ahead was given. Violet resumed her CPR and compressions from earlier, while Sylvie placed the shocking pads on his chest and rubbed the paddles together before gently commanding her partner to move.
“Shocking!” Sylvie yelled. The first attempt wasn’t a success, which was sad but okay. They have two more tries before they need to call it. Once more, they resumed the tasks they were doing before and attempted it a second time. Nothing. When it was the third and final time, Violet burst into tears and laid her head down on top of his hand. They couldn’t save him.
Just as Sylvie and Violet were about to call it and make it official, Evan’s arm twitched all of a sudden. Violet’s head shot up in disbelief, but in a good way. There was still a chance? Then, by God, she was going to take it! Everyone’s facial expressions turned hopeful and Violet resumed chest compressions again. After a couple of minutes, Evan’s eyes opened and he started coughing like his lungs were about to fall out. Collective sighs of relief were heard in the vicinity.
Once the gurney was wheeled over to the commotion, the firefighters placed Hawkins on it. Violet helped her boyfriend up to a sitting position, cupped his cheeks and kissed him with everything she had in her before he was wheeled into the ambo and off to Med. That was received with smiles all around. 51, in the meantime, hugged each other because it was a grueling call and each and every one of them got through it together, some more so than others.
Boden took the house out of service because after tonight, there was no way that anyone was able to focus on anything else including calls. Some people were scattered around the waiting room while others went home to either change clothes and get some sleep or check in on family members before returning to the hospital to support Violet. After a while, Will Halstead approached 51, who stood up in unison. Violet was the first one to do so. They wanted to hear an update on the paramedic chief.
“Chief Hawkins is doing well,” Will began. “We gave him some fluids to clear up his lungs and get him breathing normally again.” Violet nodded. “We also administered some nasal spray as well because he inhaled a ton of smoke and it’s not healthy for it to be left in there. It’ll take time for his lungs to heal, so that means no recreational hockey for the time being.”
Evan was rambling on about his passion for the game when Will was treating him. Violet clapped her hands on her knees, bending down to sigh in relief for a moment. She can’t believe this is happening. He’s alive. By some miracle, he survived and found his way back to her. Violet will be forever grateful for that.
“Oh, and Violet?” The paramedic stared at Will in anticipation, who had a smug smirk plastered on his face. “He’s been asking for you.” That was the other thing Hawkins constantly prattled on about, maybe even more than his love for hockey.
Violet rushed out of the waiting room and stormed towards the trauma bay where Evan was situated. When she made eye contact with her boyfriend, they shared a loving gaze of adoration with one another, but a part of Violet felt broken because there could’ve been an alternative to this scenario and she didn’t even want to think about that.
“Hey,” Evan announced. It was then that Violet beamed because the sound of his voice was exactly what she needed to hear, both during the fire and right now. She bolted towards her boyfriend and pulled him into a long and warm embrace.
“I was so scared I lost you,” Violet admitted as they pulled away. Evan took her hand and caressed his thumb across, which always soothed her when she was feeling sad or angry. He hated to see his girlfriend cry and she had every right to feel this way, but he would do anything to take the pain away from her.
“I know. I know,” Evan reassured her. Violet was misty-eyed. “But, you didn’t. You saved my life and I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.” He sure as hell meant it too.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I’m gonna start my new job and keep playing hockey-”
“Let me stop you right there,” Violet interrupted. “Halstead said no hockey for a couple of months at least.” Evan pouted for a minute, which was met with a chuckle from Violet.
“But,” Evan continued, “point being, I’m alive and in it for the long haul with you, Violet Mikami. That’s all that matters.” Violet smiled and the couple touched foreheads, their love for each other shining through in one simple exchange of affection.
“I don’t know if I can go home right now,” Violet uttered. She was feeling all the emotions. Everything from the happiness of her boyfriend being alive to sadness that he ended up in the hospital to worried that it could’ve gone another way.
“Then don’t,” Evan proclaimed. “Stay with me.” The second grin of the night showed up on Violet’s face.
“Gladly,” she replied. Evan repositioned himself on the hospital bed and moved over to make room for Violet, who laid down next to him and placed her hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple. The couple stayed like that for what felt like an eternity and to them, there was no place they’d rather be.
*2 months later*
True to his word, Halstead gave the all-clear for Evan to resume playing hockey as soon as he recovered. But, he also strongly suggested easing into it as well, which the chief has been doing thanks to Violet’s motivation tactics.
It was his first game back and he wasn’t really expecting a whole lot. Even though he was injured, he still sat on the bleachers and watched practices because despite the fact that it killed him that he couldn’t be out there playing, he loved seeing it as a fan just as much. When the coach received the doctor’s note clearing Evan, he was thrilled but he was still careful.
However, much to his complete and utter shock, Evan was allowed to play and he skated his way across the rec center ice to a raucous round of applause. He was puzzled because he’s never gotten this much love and appreciation from fans before, but he appreciated it nonetheless.
Evan turned around to see who was cheering for him and the audience he had caught him totally off guard. Well, Violet wasn’t much of a surprise, but the rest of 51 sure was! He made his way over to the firehouse crew.
“What are you guys doing here?” Evan asked in wonderment. Not that he was complaining, but he was still baffled by it.
“Hey, I came on my own accord!” Violet answered, raising her hands up in surrender. “But, Gallo was the one to organize this whole thing.” She waved her pointer finger around the section to signal whose doing this really was. Blake overheard Violet discussing Evan’s progress on his hockey with Brett one day and he decided to take matters into his own hands.
“Hawkins, even though you don’t directly work at 51, you’re still one of us. You’re family and family shows up for each other,” Gallo declared. Everyone else nodded in concordance with the young firefighter and Evan marveled at the lengths they went to make him feel like one of them. He was in awe at their camaraderie and how close they all were to one another. They didn’t have to do this by any means, but that’s just the kind of firehouse 51 was and the city of Chicago is lucky to have these firefighters and paramedics around.