Coming Home (Station 19/Grey's Anatomy fanfic)

Trapped

Trapped. It is one thing that you don't want to be as a firefighter or paramedic. I can feel the heat lapping at my body. I need to free myself from my restraints. I guess I should tell you how it all started then it would make more sense. The day began as normal. Well as normal as one would expect for a group of people that run into danger for a living. Then a couple of shifts later it all went wrong.

I am currently double-checking the inventory as the ambulance is a mess. The ambulance crew left it a mess. Not that it matters as I don't mind doing the inventory. It helps me brace for the shift. A sigh falls from my mouth. It's worse than usual. Oh well, there is nothing that I can do about it. It didn't take long for me to be joined by my partner for the day, Andy Herrera.

"Sorry, I wanted to get a head start. The B shift crew left it a mess," I apologise for some reason.

"Don't worry about it. It means there is less to do later," Andy confirms as I pass her the clipboard. After a couple of minutes, we are finished and just in time. The signal bell goes. With that, I turn my attention to getting ready. After what feels like an eternity we made it to the scene. As soon as I leave the ambulance I am hit by the feeling that something isn't right.

"Herrera, O'Malley, Warren, you three are in charge of triage. Gibson, Bishop man the hose. Millier, Montgomery, Hughes make sure there is no one in the building," Sullivan orders. After giving us our orders Sullivan radios for backup. With our orders, we get to work. After a couple of minutes of waiting the first wave of victims came out. My nose is hit by a strange smell. It smells like burnt paint.

"Hey Andy do you smell that?" I ask as I check over one of the victims.

"Yeah it smells like someone sprayed the victims with paint," Andy confirms. I am about to voice my concerns when a loud bang rips through the air. I block my face from the intense heat. After the longest second of my life, I am on the radio to Victoria, Travis and Dean.

"Huges, Montgomery, Miller do you copy?" I ask via the radio. No answer. Captain Sulivan tries. Still nothing. Come on. After thirty seconds of waiting Victory comes out. She is panicking.

"Huges what happened?" Captain Sullivan asks.

"The explosion took out a support beam. Travis and Dean are fine but we have a patient with a crush injury," Victoria gives us her report as backup arrives.

"Warren, O'Malley I want you two to relieve Miller and Montgomery," Sullivan gives us new orders. With that, he turns his attention to making sure the new arrivals know what to do. With a few swift movements, I have my breathing apparatus on. Victoria is quick to get us to the location. The first thing that I notice is the fact that there is no way that this structure has anything to do with paint. The next thing I notice is the fact that our victim is pinned rather than crushed.

"We're subbing in," I announce as I kneel down next to the victim. He looks official. Oh well, I have to treat the victim before I can do anything.

"Sir I'm going to ask that you try to wriggle your toes," I get to work on assessing the victim. He does as I ask but barely. After a few minutes of work, I noticed the paint smell again. Before I can do anything I cover the patient, just in time. Another explosion rips through the building. It is close but the part of the building that collapsed because of the explosion misses us.

"Ben, we need to get him out now. Regardless of the damage. I think we are dealing with an arson case," I say as I get to work on shifting the debris. Luckily for me help soon arrives. With a few swift movements, Ben and I are ready to get the patient out.

"We are going to have to make an improvised backboard. There is no time to bring one," Travis announces. After what feels like an eternity we are finally out of the building. As soon as I have my breathing apparatus off I approach Captain Sullivan.

"Captain, we are dealing with arson," I proclaim. Captain Sullivan gives me a look of disbelief. He quickly dismisses my proclamation As there is work to do. Well, I guess I should do the same. A sigh falls from my mouth. There is nothing that I can do. After an hour and a half working on the scene, we are finally back at the fire station. There is something bothering me. Because of that, I am pacing. I am hung up on the fact that there is a whole host of evidence that it was an arson attack. At least Captain Sullivan believes me. We just need the arson investigator to finish up.

"You seem worried," Andy remarks as she joins me.

"I'm not worried, I'm impatient. The arson investigator is taking forever," I correct her. I just want answers so we can catch whoever did it. After two long hours of waiting the arson investigator arrived. Right now he is locked in an intense discussion with Captain Sullivan. Before I can do anything the signal bell rings again. This time it's a medical call. At least it will provide a much-needed distraction. After eleven minutes of driving, we made it to the scene. We are greeted by a thirty-year-old man arguing with someone who looks like his mum. There is something vaguely familiar about the man.

"Mum, I'm telling you. I am fine. I just need to keep the wound clean," The man remarks. He seems too agitated for the situation.

"Just let the paramedics check you out. Then I will leave you alone, Jay," The woman counters.

"Jay, your mum's right. Let us take a look," I announce. As soon as he gets a good look at my face I notice his agitation getting worse. Despite that, he holds his arm out to me. It doesn't take long for me to recognise my handy work. Only it has been tampered with. With a few swift movements, I undo the bandage. Both Andy and I took a look. I glance at Andy. It turns out we are both surprised at the level of care. The thing is it looks like a chemical burn.

"Everything seems alright. I want to take you to Grey Sloan just to be on the safe side," Andy remarks.

"I'll meet you there then," The man's mum remarks.

"Ok mum but I am telling you that I am fine," The man remarks as he joins me in the back of the ambulance. After a minute of silence, I decided to ask the question that had been bugging me but before he could do anything Jay looked like he recognised me.

"I'm sorry for ruining your work. It was the best that I'd seen for a while. The burn became itchy. It was like I was having an allergic reaction," Jay apologises. He is lying but I chose to ignore it. The thing is I can't go around accusing anyone without proof.

"Are you a paramedic by any chance?" I ask.

"I was. Unfortunately, I was injured then I was forced out of the Seattle Fire Department because of it," Jay responds piquing my interest. In my experience with arson, the person is always disgruntled. Anyway, I am going to keep this information to myself. I need confirmation before I do anything irrational. After a few minutes, we made it to Grey Sloan. Andy is quick to get the handover done. With that, I joined her in the passenger seat. As we head back to the fire station I find myself staring out of the window. There is a lot on my mind.

"Are you ok? You seem a little spaced out" Andy asks.

"Honestly, no. The man that we just dropped off lied to me about the itching on his arm. As you saw it was a chemical burn. Jay just gives me a bad vibe. He was also at the scene as well. I recognised the pattern that I use to apply the bandages for burn victims," I explain. I hope I am wrong but I won't know until the investigation ends.

"Honestly I think you're being paranoid. Even if you are right we need evidence. I know someone who can help," Andy tries to reassure me in her own way. She is right, we need to let this play out. A sigh falls from my mouth.

"Thank you, Andy," I responded. After a few minutes in the ambulance, we returned to the fire station. After a few minutes of waiting Andy and I are joined by a uniformed police officer.

"Erin, this is Ryan. He was the one that I told you about," Andy makes the required introductions.

"Thank you for coming to help," I respond. After a long thirty minutes of questioning, Ryan is finished. He doesn't look happy.

"Look I will let you know when I know more but I think you should be careful," Ryan announces. That is the plan. I don't want to put myself in unnecessary danger. I just have to let it go and do my job. A sigh falls from my mouth. I guess I have to watch out as well.