"How could you do this to me, Hank?" Hank shook his head and sighed. He hated to see his wife upset.
"Honey, I'm sorry, okay? How many times do I have to apologise? I just can't get out of the conference and that's that," he said with finality. Emily gave her husband a fierce look.
"This is the third time you have promised to go with me and the kids to my mother's for the weekend and every time you couldn't go you promised to go the next time!" Emily was losing her temper.
Hank turned away from his wife for a moment. He didn't want to get into a shouting match with the kids watching t.v. in the livingroom. He felt a little guilty for having to postpone going to his mother-in-law's for the third time. He had even taken a few days off this time that were owed to him. But then the Chief had called and asked him to sub for Captain Brennan who was down with the flu. He was Joel's stand-in should he not be able to make it.
"Hank Stanley, you look at me when I'm speaking to you!" Emily shouted, losing her battle with her temper.
"Look! With Joel out I have to go. That's my final word! I am not going to argue any more with you, Em," he shouted back. He glanced at the dining room doorway to see his two girls standing there.
"Daddy, is everything okay?" his 12 year old daughter Laura asked worriedly. Terri, his 8 year old was standing beside her big sister almost in tears.
"Everything's fine, sweetheart. Mommy and I are just working out a few problems with going to Grandma's tomorrow."
"You aren't coming with us, Daddy?" Terri asked in a small voice. Before he could reply, Emily spoke.
"No, honey, Daddy isn't going with us. He has to work." She shot her husband a dark look and stormed off into the kitchen. Hank walked over to his two girls and grabbed them in each arm. He hugged them to him tightly and dropped a kiss on each small head.
"Don't mind, Mommy. She is being a bear, Daddy," Terri said snuggling into her father. Hank surpressed a smile. Terri was always the perceptive one. Laura tended to ignore her parent's rare shouting matches.
"Well Mommy has a good reason for being upset. But I can't go with you guys again. I hope you both understand," he said looking at each child in turn. They both nodded and gave their father a kiss on the cheek before wriggling from his arms and going back to watch their cartoons.
He decided to go out and finish attaching the beams to the garage roof. He was making a false ceiling to give them some extra room for all the small bits and pieces that were laying around the garage floor and driving Emily crazy. She was a real neat freak and had been at him to do something for over a month now.
He stopped in the kitchen doorway and watched his wife as she went about preparing dinner. She was attacking a potato with a small knife. Hank had the feeling that the potato was him and she was doing a real good number on him. She glanced up at him then went back to what she was doing.
"Emily, I'm sorry for yelling at you like that. I understand, honey. I just wish you could see my side too." Without waiting for a reply, Hank walked through the kitchen and out to the garage.
******
Hank stood back to inspect his work. It had taken him the better part of an hour to fasten the support beams running across the width of the garage. He wasn't entirely happy with the end beam which seemed to be sagging in the middle. He and Greg, his next door neighbour, had raised them and fitted them into their joists. They were far too heavy for one person to do it on their own.
"Hank, I'm going down to the store for some milk. I'll take Laura and Terri with me."
"Sure, whatever," was his distracted reply. He turned around to see his wife standing there. She looked at him stonily and turned to get in the car. He watched his family drive off then turned his attention back to the job at hand.
Dragging the ladder under the beam, Hank climbed up and put his two hands under the beam and gave it a few pushes. It moved slightly, groaning with each push. The end began to slide from its join.
"Damn!" he cursed under his breath. Hank grabbed the beam and pushed forward to put it back in its place when the ladder tipped to the right. He hung onto the beam as the ladder fell and clattered on the floor loudly, leaving him hanging. The drop was about 15 feet and as he went to let go, the beam's end popped out of its join. Hank slipped and fell to the garage floor, flat on his back, narrowly missing the ladder. He only had time to look up as the beam crashed down on him.
******
Hank groaned as he came to. He was finding it awfully hard to take in a deep breath. He opened his eyes and stared at the beam that was laying across his chest. He coughed then yelled with pain. Oh hell, he thought to himself, I'm in trouble now. He slowed his breathing down a little, wincing at the pain in his left shoulder. He wanted to throw up all of a sudden. Carefully, he moved his arms out from under the beam edges. It made him almost shout with pain again. His chest felt like it was on fire. He placed his hands on the beam and tried to slide it from his body.
"Oww! Jesus! God!" he cursed out loud, as the pain lanced through his shoulder and chest. He was not going to get it off himself. He needed help. He looked at his watch. It had been nearly 15 minutes since Emily left. How long had he been out for? He started as he heard the car turn into the driveway and almost wept with relief.
"HANK!" Emily shouted as she saw her husband lying motionless on the garage floor. She slammed on the brakes and raced from the car. Kneeling beside her husband, she could see that he was in a great deal of pain. He gasped and coughed as he was about to speak.
"Don't talk!" she ordered him. She turned to see Laura and Terri running into the garage. The little girls skidded to a stop beside their parents, their faces white with shock.
"Daddy! Daddy what happened?" Laura stammered. Emily turned to her daughter.
"Laura! Listen to me honey. You have to go inside and call 911. Ask the operator for the Fire Department and an ambulance. And don't forget to give them our address correctly okay?" She glanced at Terri who was crying silently. "Go inside with Laura and make sure she does what I asked, Terri. Then I want you both to wait out the front for them to arrive."
Emily looked back down at her husband again. She gave him a reassuring smile and he grabbed her hand, grimacing with pain. She squeezed his hand and stood up, surveying the beam across her husband.
"Hank, I'm going to try and shift this off you okay? Just be still."
Hank shook his head. "No, Em don't," he gasped. "Too heavy for you."
"I can't just sit here with you like this! Let me try at least!" she replied firmly. Bending her knees, she grabbed the end of the beam and pulled with all her strength. It didn't even budge an inch. She felt like screaming with frustration.
"Em?" Hank whispered. His pallor was grey and his breathing was short and raspy. She went to her knees and leaned forward to kiss Hank on the forehead.
"Hang in there, Hank. Help is on its way."
******
Hank drifted in and out of consciousness. The pain ebbed and flowed through his body with each strangled breath. I'm dying, he thought, I'm gonna die in front of my girls. He closed his eyes and fought back the tears. He could feel Emily beside him, holding his hand tightly. He gave her hand a squeeze. Emily looked up as she heard the sirens approach the house. She looked down at her husband. Leaning forward, she placed her mouth close to his ear.
"Help's here! Stay with me, Hank," she whispered. She looked up again as the girls ran down the driveway with Captain Hookrader and two firemen carrying various equipment, not too far behind them. The three men stood there speechless for a split second. This was the last thing they had expected when they got the call to Captain Stanley's house.
"Cap?" Roy exclaimed as he went to his knees. "What happened here?" he said looking up at Emily.
"The beam fell on him. I found him like this about five minutes ago. Roy, you gotta get it off him. He can't breathe."
Johnny took Emily by the shoulders and pulled her to her feet. He guided her to the door of the garage and went back to Roy.
"We need some more manpower here, Cap" Johnny said to Hookrader. Hookrader got his handy talkie out and radioed the engine for the other three firemen to get in there on the double. Mike, Marco and Chet had been waiting by the engine impatiently. But they were not going to countermand and order from Captain Hook. He had already ridden them enough as it was today. As soon as they heard Hookrader's voice they took off down the driveway.
Johnny knelt on the left side of Hank. He touched Hank's shoulder gently.
"We'll have you outta here in no time, Cap. Where does it hurt?"
"God, everywhere..." Hank wheezed. Johnny got to his feet as the three firemen came through the doorway. Hookrader got Marco and Chet on one end and he and Mike on the other. Grasping the ends, the firemen lifted the beam in one go. Roy and Johnny grabbed Hank by his shirt and pulled him out. Hank yelled again with pain and passed out.
They laid him out again and Roy grabbed the bp cuff and stethoscope. Johnny recorded his respiration's and pulse. He gently palpated Hank's chest and abdomen. Johnny could feel the swelling in the upper left quadrant of his ribcage. He raised the Cap's shirt to inspect it closely. Definite swelling and bruising. He indicated it to Roy who had opened the radio to the hospital.
"Rampart, squad 51, how do you read?"
"Go ahead, squad 51," Dixie responded briskly.
"Rampart, we have a male, 36 years of age, crushed by a fallen beam. His respiration's are 30 and shallow, pulse 105, bp 80 over 60. He has a large contusion on the upper left quadrant of his ribcage with possible fractured 8th, 9th, and 10 ribs. He is unconscious at this time."
Dixie caught Joe Early's eye and gestured for him to join her. She handed him the information and he read it quickly.
"Squad 51, your patient might have a ruptured spleen. Start an IV Ringers wide open. Monitor vitals closely and give me updates. Transport as soon as possible."
"10-4, Rampart," Roy acknowledged as Johnny began to administer the IV. He looked up at the assembled firemen and at Emily. She was on the verge of tears and hadn't taken her eyes off her husband. All she could think of was the argument they had earlier. What if Hank died before she could tell him how sorry she was for being a hardass? Before she could tell him how much she truly loved him?
"He's going to be okay, Emily," Roy said quietly. He got to his feet and went over to her. They watched as the attendants placed Hank on the stretcher and wheeled him out to the ambulance.
"I'll ride in with him, Roy," Johnny said as he slid the radio and the trauma box into the ambulance. "Emily? Why don't you jump in the front?"
"The girls! I don't have anyone...."
Captain Hookrader cut her off. "Don't worry about the girls, Emily. We can keep an eye on them for you. Go ahead."
"I can call Beth and get her over to get Laura and Terri. They can stay with us until you are ready," Mike said, giving her a small smile. Emily nodded at them and called the girls over.
"Laura? Terri? You are going with Uncle Mike to his place for a little while. I'll call you when I know how daddy is doing."
"Is daddy going to die?" Terri asked, her lower lip quivering. Emily hugged her daughter to her.
"No, honey, daddy is real sick but he's going to be fine." Emily wasn't convinced with her own words. She gave her girls a quick peck on the cheek and got into the ambulance.
******
Roy caught up with Johnny and Emily in the hallway at Rampart. They had been kicked out of the treatment room by Dixie. Of course, she hadn't done it in a nasty way. But she could tell that it was very distressing for both of them to be there. She told him to go have a cup of coffee with Emily. Emily protested but gave in and left the room reluctantly.
"What's going on?" Roy asked, giving Emily a smile of encouragement.
"Early's ordered a CBC, a CT scan of his abdomen and a peritoneal lavage. He's got a ruptured spleen just as Early said. They are gonna have to take it out." Emily moaned and sagged against Johnny who had his arm around her. She was at the end of her rope emotionally.
"Oh God, what am I going to do if he doesn't pull through? He's my whole life," she sobbed. Johnny wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. Roy touched her arm and they escorted her to the coffee room. She refused a cup and sat there crying quietly.
******
Roy and Johnny were surprised to see the crew walk in ten minutes later. They filled the guys in on the Cap's condition.
"It's all my fault," Emily whispered. The guys shifted in their seats uncomfortably. They all considered themselves a part of one big family, but they couldn't find the words to say to her.
"Don't blame yourself, Emily," Hookrader said to her. "Hank should have been more careful working on his own like that."
Roy shot Johnny a look. Even when Hookrader tried to be kind with his words, he still came across too gruff.
"You don't understand. He wasn't concentrating because we had a huge fight. Maybe if I hadn't gone to the store....." she didn't finish her sentence, bursting into tears again. They all looked up when the door opened. Early was standing there with a smile on his face.
"He's going to be fine, Emily, guys. Sore but he'll pull through nicely."
Chet let out a whoop of joy and grinned. He had no doubt that the Cap would pull through. He was too tough a guy to let something like this do him in. Everyone broke into huge smiles. Emily hugged each fireman and then reserved her biggest hug for Joe Early.
******
The first person Hank saw when he came to was his wife. She smiled at him and squeezed his hand. He smiled back at her weakly and took a breath. It still hurt like blazes but not as bad as before.
"Welcome back, Hank," Emily said as she leaned forward to give her husband a gentle kiss on the lips.
"Emily, you are a sight for sore eyes. I thought I wasn't going to see you or the girls again," he said with emotion.
"Well you are stuck with us. Through good and bad honey."
"Speaking of bad, will you forgive me for being such a pain in the ass yesterday?" Hank said.
"I would rather have you being a pain every day for the rest of our lives than...." Emily let the sentence trail off into silence. They both were thinking of how close it had come.
"Be right back," she whispered. "There are two young fans of yours waiting to see you outside."
Emily went over to the door and ushered their two daughters in. Terri was holding a small posy of flowers for her father and a shy look on her face. Laura hurried over to the bed and gave her father a cautious hug.
"Daddy! We missed you so much! Uncle Mike and Auntie Beth were real nice but we wanted to be with you and Mom," she said in a rush. Hank chuckled and gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek.
"You two were good for Uncle Mike and Auntie Beth right?" he said mock-seriously. Terri nodded and took her father's hand.
"Room for more visitors in here?" Dixie said as she poked her head in the door, smiling.
"Sure is," Hank replied. He gave his wife a wink. Dixie stood back as Roy, Johnny, Marco, Chet and Mike trooped in. They greeted their Captain warmly. Chet grabbed him by the foot and shook it.
"Knock it off, Kelly," Hank said, grinning at him.
"But, Cap, I could get away with murder right now and you wouldn't be able to bite back," Chet said giving Hank a leer.
"They took my spleen out, Kelly, not my brain."
"You should be outta here in another week, Cap," Johnny said. "Back at work in another two weeks maybe. You have to get well real quick. I don't know how much longer we can put up with Captain Hook."
"Oh here he goes again," Roy said, rolling his eyes. "I told ya not to get in here and whine about Hook."
"Cap, if I were you, I would take a long holiday after you get out," Marco said sagely. Mike nodded in agreement.
"The first thing I'm gonna do when I get outta here is take my lovely wife and my two beautiful girls to...." Hank paused for a moment, looking up at Emily. She raised an eyebrow and gave her husband an enquiring look. "...to her mother's house for a couple of days."
"You sure you didn't knock your head, Cap?" Chet blurted out. He gave Emily a weak smile when he realised his faux pas. He chuckled nervously.
Roy saved the moment. "Well it's great to see you doing so good, Cap," he said quickly, indicating to the others that it was time to leave. "Lots of rest and we'll stop by soon. Good to see you again, Emily, girls, see you all later." He propelled Chet out the door, following the others as they waved good bye.
Emily waved to the guys as the door shut behind them. She turned to Hank and gave him a sharp look. He shrugged his shoulders, wincing. Her eyes softened and she gave him another kiss. She pulled away and and said indignantly, "What have you been telling those guys about my mother?"