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Cold rain slides down the back of Reggie’s neck and his fingers are going numb. The accident they’re dealing with is in a precarious position, with a minivan perched over the mangled guardrail of one of the bridges leading out of Salmon Bay. There's a truck wedged into the van’s side, making it difficult for them to attach secure lines, but they're trying.
They manage to get the woman in the driver's seat out at the same moment they get the first line attached, but that's when things go sideways. Literally. The entire van tips over the crumbling rail, the line snapping and sending everyone scrambling. The woman on the stretcher is panicking, struggling against the EMTs in an attempt to get back to her vehicle.
“Noah!!”
“Ma’am, you need to lay back! Fire Rescue will get your son-”
There's still a kid in the car. The minivan is upside down and a few yards past the bridge, stuck on some rocks. The river, normally calm and meandering, has swelled from the recent rain to raging whitewater. Reggie has always prided himself on being able to stop and think in a crisis, to weigh out the best decisions and act accordingly. He's not impulsive, always keeping a level head during emergencies. It's part of why he's a good Sheriff.
Which is why it makes absolutely no sense that the first thing he does is grab what's left of the railing and leap over, diving feet first into the river.
“Sheriff!”
Billy’s terrified shout is cut short by freezing water closing over his head.
Sinking into the depths of the Sound, water pressing in close-
The current is strong, immediately yanking him downstream. His aim was true though, and he smacks right into the side of the van. The hit knocks the breath out of his lungs and is definitely going to leave bruises.
Darkness and concrete shards pressing in around his lungs-
Surfacing long enough to take a breath, he dives back under. The current tears at him, trying to pry his fingers from the vehicle’s surface. Somehow, he manages to hold on. Kicking out the already shattered front windshield, he swims inside. The boy looks to be no more than twelve, still strapped into his seat with his eyes closed. Reggie’s fingers are too numb to look for a pulse, so he can only pray the kid survives long enough for them to get out of here.
Tugging a knife off his belt, he slices through the seatbelt and snags the boy around the waist. He manages to get back to the surface, though his bad shoulder is absolutely screaming at him.
“Reggie!”
Delsin is standing on the shore with Billy, Fire Rescue making their way down the embankment some yards back. Wait, when did Delsin even get here? Deciding the question isn’t important, Reggie yells back “Can you grab the kid?” He has no idea which power Delsin has right now, but he’s certain any of them could be of use right now, except maybe smoke.
Taking several steps back, Delsin’s expression turns focused, and he zips forward in a blur of color. Water running is a fairly recent ability for him and Fetch, and usually on flat, open water, not a wild river. Luckily, it works, and Delsin stops on top of the overturned car. It bobs under him, and he wobbles a little before dropping to his knees and reaching into the water to pull the kid out.
“Hang on, Reg! I’ll get you out!”
Reggie shakes his head. “Get him back to shore first!”
He can see the conflict and hesitation pass over Delsin’s face, but by some small miracle, he just nods. “I’ll be right back for you!”
Reggie watches him flit back to shore, hurriedly handing the boy over to Billy. Seconds tick by like minutes, and his grip is starting to slip.
His hold loosening, Delsin’s fingers desperately reaching for his-
A hand clamps around his wrist like a vice. “Gotcha! Come on, big brother, I think that's enough time playing mermaids.”
Reggie has enough energy left to glare at his brother while Delsin starts to help him out of the water. He is so ready to get out of these wet clothes.
“Look out!”
The shout comes from the shore, and Delsin's gaze snaps to a point over Reggie’s shoulder, eyes widening in alarm. Reggie follows his gaze to see the terrifying surge of water rushing straight for them. He's not certain Delsin will be fast enough with him to beat the flood.
Alone though…
“Delsin, move!”
But his brother's eyebrows knit together in determination and he yanks Reggie to him with surprising strength. “Not a chance!”
The surge crashes into them and it's like being hit by a brick wall, knocking the van loose and sending the brothers tumbling. Some people have equated being caught in a flood to being stuck in the washing machine, but Reggie’s fairly certain there aren't rocks in the washing machine. They smack into quite a few on the way, Delsin taking the brunt of the damage due to how he's wrapped himself around his brother.
It's cold, and everything fucking hurts, his lungs starting to burn. The times they surface are barely enough to snag a breath, panic starting to sink its claws into grey matter.
Fading light, his brother getting smaller as the end closes in-
They hit another rock, and his skull cracks against the side. Everything goes dark.
000000
“-mmit Reg, don't you dare do this to me!”
Water rushes up his throat and Reggie rolls onto his side, vomiting up the river in his lungs and whatever else his body was holding onto. He blinks spots from his swimming vision and winces at the dull light. What-?
Billy and Delsin’s terrified faces hovers into view. His brother is sporting a large cut along one side of his face, blood caking his soaked hair. Huh, he must’ve lost his beanie.
“Sheriff? Can you hear me okay?” The relief on Billy’s face at Reggie’s nod is short-lived, rapidly replaced by anger. “Good, now you want to tell me what in the actual fuck were you thinking?!”
“Is the kid okay?” Geez, does his voice really sound like that right now? His stomach feels like it’s still back in the river and his vision isn’t helping. Laying his head back in the mud, he closes his eyes, wincing a little. What parts of his body he can feel past the cold numbness are sore as hell.
“...Yea, they managed to resuscitate him in time, he’s on his way to the hospital. Which is also where you’re going, dumbass.”
The whole time, Delsin hasn’t said a word. Reggie cracks an eye open and finds his brother, lips pressed into a thin line and blood trickling down his neck to soak into the hem of his shirt. Other cuts and bruises visible through the rips in his clothes.
“Are you okay, Del?” Reggie asks with concern. He can go to the hospital after he checks on his baby brother.
“Conduit, remember? As soon as I juice up these’ll heal within a couple days. I’m more worried about you.”
“‘m okay, just cold,” he mumbles, struggling to get up.
Pain in his ribs makes him gasp and Delsin grabs his shoulders in a panic. “Whoa there, Reg, don’t get up.”
“How’d we get back?”
“Back?” Billy echoes, confused.
“Out of the water.”
Eugene peeks over Delsin’s shoulder and gives a tiny wave. “Hi Reggie. Sorry it took me so long to get here.”
It hurts to smile but he does so anyway. “Hi Gene, come to join the party?”
A commotion behind them draws Eugene’s gaze away for a moment. “Yea, something like that.”
The commotion turns out to be the paramedics. The next few hours are a blur, snapshots of the back of an ambulance, masked faces in the ER, and finally a room in the hospital.
“We’ll keep you overnight for observation, and so long as nothing crazy happens, you can go home tomorrow. No strenuous activity, including work, for two weeks. We’ll see how you feel at your follow-up and go from there.”
The doctor walks out to go check on other patients, leaving the brothers alone. Delsin had tried to ride in the ambulance with him, but Billy had convinced the younger Rowe to ride back in the truck with him instead. Billy had waited until Reggie was settled in his room to go home, promising a proper dressing down when the Sheriff was feeling better.
Delsin, of course, has no such compunctions. “Reg, what the hell were you thinking? I mean jumping over the railing like that? No offense, but that kind of crazy heroics is something I’d expect from myself or James. You’re supposed to be smarter than that.”
Reggie snorts, wincing as his smile tugs at the stitches on his cheek. “Need I remind you who shot a rocket launcher at Augustine? Or punched out a DUP officer?”
Delsin pauses. “...Okay, fair, but still. Why?”
“Why didn’t you go back to shore when I told you to?” Reggie counters.
Some unreadable emotion plays across Delsin’s face. “I-” his gaze drops to his hands “It was like Seattle all over again. You and your stupid sacrifice plays. Well this time around, I had the chance to change things, so I did. I knew I could tolerate a hell of a beating in those rapids, you couldn’t.” He picks his head up. “Your turn.”
Reggie sighs softly, letting his head fall back to stare at the ceiling, tracing a crack in the plaster. “...It was Seattle for me too. All I could picture was someone else drowning in the dark, and I didn’t even think, I just reacted. The moment I hit that water though, I was back in that place. Scared the everloving shit out of me.”
“Scared me too.” Delsin's hand finds his and squeezes. “By the way, if you ever do something like that to me and Billy again, we’re putting you under house arrest.”
“Heh, I’ll keep that in mind.”