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Jack took a deep breath, ignoring the screams coming from the incoming patient as he moved toward the paramedics. “What do we got?”
“Honestly, not sure. Thought it was drug induced psychosis but nothing has calmed him down. Can't get any vitals and you need to sedate him before removing the restraints.” The paramedic shrugged, moving to help with transfer. They couldn't even tell if the blood belonged to the man or if it was someone else's.
“Let’s get ketamine on board.” Jack ordered, moving to help secure the patient so Parker could inject him. The medication would kick in faster than their other options, meaning they could work safer and quicker. It took four minutes for the man to be sedated. “ABCs people.”
“The airway is clear.” Parker stated, moving around Trinity to grab the efast.
“Respiration is good, heart rate and BP are high.” Trinity added, glancing at the efast screen. Lung sliding was good, she heard equal breath sounds. And there wasn't any free fluid on the efast in the lungs.
Jack hummed softly, pinpointing the area the bleeding was coming from but he'd give the kids a minute to catch up. “What’s next?”
“Trauma sheers.” Trinity answered, helping Mateo cut off the man's shirt and pants. “Lower abdomen laceration. It's not deep.” She pointed out, examining the wound before accepting the efast from Parker and scanning that area. “Efast is still negative.” So he wasn't bleeding internally.
“Let's get that bleeding stopped. Ellis, labs?”
“Cbc, metabolic, toxic screen.” She answered, putting the orders in. Parker was pretty sure this was going to be a psych patient, not a trauma.
“Good. Soft restraints, IV fluids and let's move to bh1.” Jack ordered, tossing his gloves and stepping out of the room. Hopefully their patient would wake up calmer or they would have a better picture of what was going on from their bloodwork.
-c-
The fact that all of the bloodwork was normal surprised her. Parker had thought at least the tox screen would show something. So if this was psychosis, it wasn't drug induced. She had noticed he was awake and silent so she had gone in to see if he knew where he was. “I'm dr. Ellis, can you tell me your name?” she would later regret making the mistake of stepping closer.
“Sgt. Mark Dover, 1478920031.” He had been silently working to undo his restraints, knowing exactly what happened in labs like this. When she took a step closer, he lunged up, grabbing hold of the woman.
Parker would deny that she screamed. The medical assistant standing outside the door had turned a round and she didn't hear him shouting, but she assumed he was when the room was swarming a minute later. The arm pressed over her throat made her vision darken. She could fight to get away but they would both get injured if she did that. Instead she gave him all of her weight. When his hold loosened from surprise, she perked, ducking away and behind Bert. The security guard nudged her behind him and toward the door. She could see Lena on the other side, she knew the older woman would make sure she was okay.
It took several minutes to get the man down and sedated again. This time Jack had made sure stronger restraints were used. Once that situation was under control, he stepped out of the room, finding Lena at central with Parker. He bent down so he was eye level with her, assessing her for visible injuries. “Let me see.” Jack demanded quietly, tilting her chin up to see her neck.
“I’m fine. I didn't think.” Parker grimaced, avoiding his eyes. Lena had already checked her over and she knew the older woman would be keeping a closer than normal eye on her.
“You didn't know he had gotten out of the restraints. Did he say something before he grabbed you?” Jack questioned quietly, trying to keep his anger contained. One of his kids had been attacked on his watch
“He said his name is Sgt Mark Dover and then he started listing numbers.” Parker went to get up, groaning when lena nudged her back into the chair. She was fine.
Jack took a deep breath, closing his eyes. “He thinks he's a POW. Lena call the VA, see if they have records for him if he isn't in our system.”
“PTSD? There are ways we can help ground him.” Parker glanced back toward BH1 before sighing. Jack wasn't going to let her go back in there anytime soon.
“No one goes in there alone and no one goes in there until Peter has a chance to evaluate him. Find me those records. I'll be in the bay.” Jack ordered firmly, moving toward the ambulance bay. He needed a smoke but that would have to wait. Right now he needed to call around and see if anyone knew who this vet was and where he had served. He hadn't seen a dog tag when they assessed him but that didn't mean anything. It was probably in his shoe, they didn't check his shoes.
-c-
Jack had to take several deep breaths to keep from cussing someone out. This young man had sought help at the VA several times. He had sought help at Westbridge two days prior. Westbridge had sent him home because he wasn't “actively having an episode of psychosis or a danger to himself or others.” Now he had a young vet who the system had failed. Peter was working on moving him up to psych once it was safe to move him. They had to wait for the sedation to wear off and see if he was more present. Sedation should probably wear off in an hour.
Which is why he wasn't surprised to see Peter coming toward him at 2 am. Jack didn't want the conversation that he knew was going to happen, he hated it with a passion. “Don't.”
“Two minutes of your time is all I need, Jack. Your way or my way.” Peter answered easily, glancing at him before turning his eyes to study to board. There was nothing up there right now that couldn't wait a few minutes.
Jack huffed, glancing around until he found Lena. “If I'm not back in ten minutes, send help.” He ignored her laugh, gesturing at the psychiatrist to follow him. The staff room would be good enough for this conversation, he would just lock the door behind them.
Peter waited until they were in the break room and Jack had shut the door before sighing softly. “I can help, Jack.” He knew what these cases brought up for Jack.
He sat down at the table, rubbing his forehead. He didn't want to talk about it. Not here, not right now. “I'll call you before I jump. Now, can we focus on the patient in BH1 and your plans to de-escalate.” Jack raised an eyebrow at the other man, shaking his head at the look. He knew Peter didn't find him funny but he personally thought he was hilarious.
“If we can break through the psychosis, it will just be talking to him for an initial eval and getting him admitted on a psych hold. If we incan't break the psychosis, we need a better plan on orienting him to time and place. Preferably without a resident getting choked.” Peter had known it would be a fight to get Jack to talk about himself but he had to try. He would try again at the end of the shift.
“Believe me, none of my residents will be stepping into the room. I can help with orientation. He needs to know the date and time immediately. If he knows what year it is, that will help.” Jack answered firmly. He had already banned everyone but his most senior staff from BH1. He didn't play about his people's safety. Jack groaned, pushing to his feet at the incoming trauma alert. “We will call you when he is awake.”
-c-
Jack took a deep, not looking to see who had just come on to the roof. He was pretty sure it was his husband. He leaned on the rail, watching the sun rise. He hadn't been up there long. He had waited until they had gotten his soldier transferred up to psych. He just needed some air.
Robby came to stand beside his partner, keeping his hands where Jack could see them. “I heard you had a night.”
Jack grunted, glancing over at him before turning his eyes back to the sunrise. He didn't think that really deserved an answer.
Robby hesitated, studying him for a long moment. “You with me, Jack?” He wasn't so sure Jack needed to be alone. Both him and Jesse were working, so that left his night shift kids and he hated putting this on them. “Jack.”
“I hear you.” Jack answered after a minute of silence. “I don't want to talk about it. Not right now.”
“Okay.” Robby would give him that. He knew there were cases that he couldn't talk about right away, if at all. He still didn't like the idea of Jack being alone today. He would just talk to Trinity before the young woman left.
-c-
Trinity didn't bother knocking, checking to see if the door was unlocked and opening it. She knew Dennis would follow her, even if he had protested that Jack probably wanted to sleep. She knew better. “Jack?” She didn't see him immediately.
“Trin, wait.” Dennis held up a hand, listening again. It sounded like a wounded animal in the kitchen. “Stay here.” He didn't want her in danger if Jack thought they were a threat.
“Absolutely not.” She hissed, following him into the kitchen. She almost ran into him when he stopped suddenly. Trinity looked around Dennis, immediately knowing why he had froze. Jack was on the floor, legless and sobbing. She took a deep breath, moving slowly around Dennis and going to sit on the floor near Jack. “We're here dad. You are in your kitchen, in the apartment. Dennis and I came to check on you. It's 9 am, today is Wednesday.” She grounded quietly, glancing at Dennis when he moved back out of the kitchen. She had a feeling he was going to find Jack's crutches.
Jack tried to take a deep breath, tried to fight through the sobs. He didn't like his kids seeing him like this. He was supposed to be strong for them. “I can't.” He sobbed, taking the hand that reached for his.
“Breath with me, dad.” Trinity took an exaggerated breath in, squeezing his hand when he copied her. She had been on the opposite side of this many times. He had always helped her. She was going to help him.
Jack swiped a hand across his face once his tears had calmed down. “I’m okay, kiddo.”
“We value honesty in this family.” Dennis said quietly, coming back into the kitchen with Jack's crutches. He figured Jack would be more comfortable on the couch. “Can I help you up?”
Jack took the hand offered to him, letting the younger man help him to his foot before accepting his crutches from him. He knew neither kid was going to leave him alone now. He moved slowly to the couch, sinking down onto it and letting Dennis take his crutches. It only took a minute for Trinity to drop down beside him with a weighted blanket.
She pulled the blanket over both of them, moving it so Dennis could slide under it on Jack's other side. Trinity grabbed the remote, flipping to the streaming services. “Children's show, house hunters, or iron chef?”
“House hunters.” Jack wasn't sure any of them would fall asleep but that was alright. He had Dennis curled up on one side of him and Trinity on the other. His kids would help him stay grounded, keep him safe. Jack knew this didn't solve anything, it didn't make it go away. But he could cuddle with the two young adults until he was in a better headspace. He would be okay. He would call his therapist this afternoon and talk to his partners. Right now he was going to let his kids hold him for once. Let them in.