Page 85 of Sparking Sara

The woman looks horrified as she screams, “My kids!”

“They’re okay. We got them out already. What’s your name?”

“Connie.”

“Connie, I’m Denver. And I’m staying right here with you. We’re going to get you out of here.”

“Andrews, report,” J.D. yells from outside the car.

“Captain, she’s not coming out this way. Compound fracture of the right leg. Possible head injury.”

“Can you stabilize if we winch the car back?”

“Get me a splint and a collar.”

“You got it.”

A minute later, he hands me both and I secure her neck in the collar before I squeeze myself between the seats and put the splint on her leg. “The car is going to move,” I tell her. “But I promise you, they have chains attached to it. We’re not going anywhere but back.”

The car shifts back, but then gets stuck. I can hear Squad outside the car talking about how to get the front tires back on the dock. A minute later, we hear a noise that scares Connie.

I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, Connie. They are inflating some air bags under your car to raise it up so they can pull us back.”

She reaches up and grabs my hand.

“That’s it. Squeeze my hand as hard as you want to. I’m tough. I can take it. This will all be over in a few minutes and then you’ll see your kids.”

I feel the van rise underneath us, then we feel a jerk as the tires come back onto the dock.

Debbe and Ryan come through the driver’s door and get Connie onto a backboard. They put her on a gurney and take her over to another ambulance where her kids are being assessed.

When we finish unhooking the van and get our gear put away, I go check on Connie and her kids before the ambulance leaves.

Connie is sitting up on the gurney, her leg still in the splint, and she’s holding her daughter. “Thank you,” she says to me through her tears. “I thought for sure we were going to fall in. But you … you were so sure we wouldn’t. You were so calm. Uh, what was your name again?”

“Denver,” I say, offering her my hand. “Denver Andrews.”

She doesn’t shake my hand. She pulls me towards her and kisses my cheek. “Thank you, Denver Andrews. I will never forget what you did for us.”

“It was my pleasure, Connie.”

The ambulance pulls away and I turn around to see the rest of the guys staring at me. Then Steve looks around the dock as if he’s looking for something.

“You lose something?” I ask.

“I was just looking for the puddle of vomit,” he says.

I shake my head at him. “Asshole,” I say, walking back to the truck.

They all laugh. All but J.D. He pats me on the back. “You did good today,” he says.

“Thanks, Captain.”

~ ~ ~

When I wake up, the first thing I think about is that Sara is going home today. Five short weeks ago, the doctors weren’t even sure she was going to live, let alone walk and talk again. She proved them all wrong. She’s alive. That’s all that matters. Not that she’s going home with Oliver. Not that she kissed me but is going to be sleeping in his bed. She’s alive.

“Andrews, get down here!” someone yells.

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