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Marjan had heard gunshots before. The original bang, the chaos that followed. That was it. It never happened like the movies. Slow motion, heads whipping, distorted screams. Heightened heartbeats, short breaths.
Today she learned that was because no one she loved was on the receiving end. Yes, TK had been shot in 2020 but that was before they were as close as a brother and sister. Now, two years later, her favorite person in the whole world was sitting in the back of an ambulance, being driven away with a hole in her shoulder.
It started as an abnormal call. A drunk driver had flipped his car, causing a massive pileup on the freeway. She was told to start a half line with Judd, which she did. Nothing had gone wrong yet.
Then she saw the guy.
Al.
Of fucking course.
The past week, Al had been the leading cause on multiple of their calls. Anger issues were the base to all of them. He told Owen he was going to go to therapy, so (hopefully) they were never going to see them again.
Some people just have really bad luck.
Marjan and her fellow firefighters put the truck out, leaving Mateo and Paul to bust open the bent door. Now, it was up to the paramedics. She watched as they did their thing, TK hooking him up to the heart monitor and Nancy starting compressions.
Somehow, even after being stuck in a burning car, the man came back to life. “Sir, you were in an accident.” Nancy said. “But you're lucky today, cause you're going to be okay.” The woman smiled slightly, pride filling her heart every time she watched her girlfriend save a life.
She helped load him onto the backboard, lifting him up onto the gurney. The paramedics wheeled him towards their ambulance, Marjan and the rest of their team following, their job practically over. After the victim was safely in the back of the rig, she moved over to the side to let them do their thing. She, Paul, and Judd got into a conversation, possibly something about food, she couldn’t quite remember. Maybe it was about the damage to the car?
That’s when the shots started. “Get down!” Judd shouted at the both of them. She felt his arm push down on top of her, her knees giving away as she fell to the floor. 4 shots ran out above them, screams from scared families following as they did their best to hide behind their wrecked cars. She couldn’t see anything, her ears were ringing, the only thing she could feel was the weight of Judd’s arm and the rough tiny peoples of gravel from the street.
“Nancy!” Tommy was screaming. Why was Tommy screaming? Most importantly, why was she screaming the name of the person Marjan cared most about?
She lifted her head from her arms, her elbows still digging into the ground as she gathered her surroundings. Paul was still next to her, so was Judd. A gun was skidding across the pavement, TK running to go pick it up. Why was TK picking it up? Owen was tackling a man to the ground, Al. When did Al get a gun? The drunk driver was rumored to have a gun. Was that ever confirmed? The drunk driver had nearly killed Al’s family. Where was he now? Nancy was treating the drunk driver. Where was Nancy?
Nancy.
Marjan’s thoughts started slowing down, one thing clear. Nancy was in line of the shots. Tommy was screaming Nancy’s name.
TK had handed the gun off to a nearby cop, running towards the ambulance alongside Tommy. A sustained beep was coming from the truck, either from the wires disconnecting or the patient was dead. She stood up in horror as she watched them carry Nancy out of the ambulance, another paramedic team rushing to their side.
“What- What’s happening? Paul?” For some reason, Marjan still wasn’t processing the facts in front of her. She looked up at her best friend, who was staring at the scene with a sad look on his face. When he didn’t answer right away, she turned towards Judd, both of them helpless to do anything.
They watched as the new team took over, hooking her up to the heart monitor, covering the wound. TK and Tommy looked on with terrified faces, the older one placing a comforting hand on the younger one’s shoulder.
Finally, it was like her legs gained feeling in them again. “Nancy!” She yelled, starting to run towards her girlfriend when she felt arms wrap around her.
“Marj, you got to let them do their job,” It was Judd. He was holding her back from helping. He was much bigger than she was, but she was feister. She fought and kicked, so much so Paul had to help. “Marjan, please!” The woman was helpless against the two.
She didn’t even know she was crying until Nancy was loaded in a new ambulance, being driven away in flashes of red and blue.
There was silence that followed. Al was already in the back of the cop car, Carlos and his partner hesitant to drive away from the scene. Families involved in the car crash were slowly realizing no one was in the headspace to help them anymore, but they had nowhere to go.
Marjan was leaning heavily into Judd and Paul, her legs like jello. Her ragged breathing matched the sirens as they faded in the distance.
The first person to speak from 126 was Owen. “Dispatch, this is Captain Strand. One of our own has been injured, we need a replacement team, we’re end of shift.”
“Copy that Captain.” He waved his arms, signaling everyone to gather around.
“They’re taking Nancy to the nearest hospital.” He mainly addressed Marjan, who was still using Paul to balance herself, afraid she would collapse at any moment. “We’re gonna go to the firehouse, change out of our turnouts, then head there.”
She nodded, covering her mouth with her shaking hand. Tommy and TK went into the ambulance, the others climbing into the firetruck.
The next hour was hazy. She remembered climbing out of the firetruck, and arriving at the hospital, sitting and waiting. Some of the most stressful moments of her life were in this exact room.
Grace had come at the end of her shift, hearing someone was hurt from her husband’s team. She brought coffee for everyone, but Marjan barely touched hers.
Finally, the surgeon came out. The woman bounced to her feet, followed by everyone else. TK and her locked hands, the closest to Nancy out of everyone. “It was a bumpy road, but she made it out of surgery.”
A collective sigh of relief came from the majority of the group, minus Marjan. “What happens now?”
“We wait.” She was calm in her voice, doing her best to address the whole group. “Hopefully, you can see her in a few hours.”
Someone muttered a thank you as the surgeon left them alone. Marjan didn’t know what to do with herself. Her hands fell to her chest as she walked away, wanting to be alone. The team watched her leave, all looking at TK or Paul to follow. Eventually, TK took off after the woman. He found her, leaning against the wall with her face in her hands.
“Marj-“
“I can’t lose her T.” She looked up at him, TK immediately noticing her messy mascara and tear stained cheeks. “I-I can’t-”
“I know.” He reached his arms out, Marjan immediately falling into his embrace. The two friends hugged as she cried into his shoulder, letting all her emotions pour out. She was terrified.