Burning Red

I Think I've Seen This Film Before (part two)

Settling in, drinks at a bar, one look dark room meant just for you, hellos and goodbyes, let's do this on purpose sometime, making up the lost time, butterflies with patched up wings

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ─

When she and others from Grey Sloan arrived, the triage tent was already bustling with action: firefighters bringing victims in or stopping to rehydrate, police chiefs directing groups of people, and National Guard personnel handing out and restocking supplies. Nurses and doctors were hard at work administering meds, intubating patients, and applying wraps and dressings.

"This is intense," one of the nurses with her commented, scanning the room.

"Oh this is nothing. I've worked about half a dozen of these, each one worse than the last," an older nurse said gruffly.

The smoke was already irritating her eyes and nose. Gracie looped her blue surgical mask around her ears twice, tightening it. It was warm inside the tent, and everyone was covered in protective gear, making it difficult to clearly see faces. Her crew started to scatter around the tent, leaving her in the thick of things. She went over to a sink and washed her hands then pulled on a pair of gloves.

Make yourself useful, Gracie.

She was almost in awe of what was going on around her. People's lives hung in the balance as medical staff and first responders worked tirelessly. As she finished putting her gloves on, chaos erupted from the front of the tent.

Several firefighters rushed in, carrying people on stretchers. The nurse in charge directed them to empty beds, and Gracie quickly made her way to the first bed missing a nurse.

"What've we got?" she asked, taking her stethoscope from around her neck and putting it on properly so she could listen to the patient's breath sounds.

"Female, mid-thirties, sustained injuries to the left leg and chest after being ejected from a vehicle in a crash during the evacuation," the firefighter said, his voice coming out thickly through the mask.

Gracie jumped into action, taking vitals, checking responsiveness, and checking for bleeding.

"She needs to get to a hospital, she's showing signs of internal bleeding and a possible brain injury."

"We can't risk getting caught in the fire, we have to wait for medevac."

"Sir, this woman is going to die if she doesn't get to a hospital as soon as possible."

"She'll die quicker if we try to get her there now. And more lives will be put at risk!" he argued back. Gracie wished she could see his face through the masks and eye protection so she knew just who she was dealing with. Before she could argue back, the patient's portable monitors went haywire, alarms blaring.

"She's coding, I'm starting compressions!" he yelled.

"Wait! It could be smoke inhalation. We need to intubate."

"Are you trained to do that?"

"I got my EMT certification in college," she replied breathlessly, tearing open the intubation kit.

"We need to get her heart pumping again."

"No, we need to rule out smoke inhalation! Now if you're not going to check, hold this flashlight or get me someone who will," she demanded. The firefighter took the flashlight from her begrudgingly, and sure enough, the textbook signs of smoke inhalation were present. Gracie quickly intubated the patient and began ventilation. After a tense, agonizing moment, the patient began to stabilize.