Chapter 2
MIKE
Acall comes into dispatch for medical up at the school. It’s never the kind of call you want to get, but at least it’s not life-threatening, so there’s comfort in that.
When we pull up on the scene, Principal Adams directs us to the playground. It’s one of those rare fifty-degree days in Chestnut Mountain where you forget you’re in the middle of February. Much different from the mild temperatures of Ireland.
I spot Bella, and she waves me over. She’s sitting on the ground in the empty playground next to a little boy clutching his arm against his chest. “Hey, Mike.”
“Who’s your friend?” I ask as I squat beside them.
“This is Micah.”
“Hey, Micah, I’m Mike. It’s nice to meet you.”
Micah doesn’t move, just pulls his arm tighter against his body.
I look at Bella. “Is he shy?”
Bella leans closer to me, lowering her voice. “He’s not a big fan of men.”
I nod at her, letting her know I’ve got this. “Do you want to check out my ambulance over there?”
Micah’s eyes flick over to the rig briefly before settling on the ground in front of him again, a small sniffle causing a tremor in his body.
“Hey, Bella, do you know someone who’d like to push the buttons? Maybe turn on the lights and the siren?”
Micah straightens and raises his good arm like he’s in class waiting to be called on.
“No fair. Hardy said I’m not allowed to touch any of the buttons.”
“Hardy’s back at the station. I won’t tell him if you won’t.”
Bella laughs and looks over at Micah. “First one there gets to toot the horn.”
“Actually, let’s walk over there. Don’t need anyone else getting hurt now,” I say, looking between them.
Bella winks as she pretends to be at the starting line of a race. “Ready, set, go!”
Micah walks over to the rig, right as Bella pretends to trip and then dramatically falls to the ground. “Save yourselves! Go without me!”
I open the door to the cab, and my partner Rudy shows Micah all the buttons, pointing out what each one does. After several minutes of pressing every button he can, he reluctantly lets me look at his arm.
Bella brushes herself off and joins us.
“Have his parents been contacted?”
“His mom teaches with me, but she’s off today. I’ll let her know. How bad is it? She’s kind of preoccupied right now, and I don’t want to freak her out if it isn’t a big deal.”
“It’s well and truly banjaxed.”
“What?”
“Broken. I’d like to take him to the hospital to get it checked out. It’s probably a minor fracture, but they’ll be more equipped to handle it just in case it’s not.”
“Shoot. Okay, I’ll call her.” She pulls out her phone and dials. And waits. And dials again. “Crap. She’s not answering.”
The principal walks up and pats Bella on the back.
She’s an older woman with grey hair and a smile that could light up a room.
She looks like trouble. My kind of people.
“Bella, I can watch your class the rest of the day and take your kids home. Why don’t you go with Micah until Lucy can get there? ”
“Can Miss Carlisle sit with me?” Micah asks hesitantly as I help him into the back of the ambulance.
I shrug and look at her. “It’s grand by me, but if you come with us, I can’t promise ya a lift back now.”
She waves me off. “It’s okay. We’ll figure something out. Oddly enough, Micah’s mom is usually the one giving me rides. Let’s get this kid to the hospital.”
We load up the rig and head toward Denver. Micah is very quiet during the ride, but he takes everything in, looking at all the equipment as I pull out a SAM splint and start forming it to stabilize his arm.
The vehicle jolts, bumping us around a wee bit, and Micah lets out a yowl when his arm knocks against the side of the stretcher. Big tears spill down his face as he starts hiccupping in breaths.
Bella squeezes his good hand and wipes his face with her sleeve. “It’s okay, buddy. I know it hurts, but you’re being so brave. We’re almost there.” She looks at me on the last part, and I nod.
I hold out a stethoscope, gesturing for Micah to take it while I reach behind me for a sterile glove. Once she distracts him, letting him listen to her heartbeat, I blow up two gloves and tie them off, drawing a silly face on one of them with a marker.
“Here you go.” I hold out the blank glove, and he takes it, then I show off the one I made with the face.
His responding giggle comforts me more than it should. There’s something about this kid that draws me in. I like to help people, and I’ve got a knack for especially difficult cases.
“That looks like Squirtle!” he squeals, looking at my glove balloon.
I twist it back toward me, and feckin’ hell, the kid’s right. “Don’t tell me you’re a Pokémon fan?”
Micah nods.
“Should I draw his signature shades?”
Micah shakes his head, and I hand him the marker as Bella holds the balloon in place for him to draw on one-handed. He draws a decent-looking Pokémon himself.
“Is that Binacle?”
“It’s hard because he’s ’posed to have two heads, but I can’t draw both or the rock.”
“True. But you could flip it over and pretend that’s the other head.”
His eyes get big, and I watch as Bella flips over the glove for him to continue while I slip his arm into a sling.
“How do you know so much about a kid’s show?” Bella asks.
“My Da needed to get in shape, but he’s proper stubborn, that one. Had to trick him with Pokémon Go to get him out of the house and walking ’round town.”
“Who’s your favorite Pokémon?” Micah asks.
“I like Charizard because he breathes fire and I’m also a firefighter.”
“That’s my mom’s favorite!” Micah squeals like the news is surprising.
Bella nods. “It is. I’ve gotten into many heated discussions with her about Pokémon characters. My favorite is Jigglypuff.”
I laugh. “That tracks for you.”
“Right? Who doesn’t love a little jiggly ball of fun, and just when you think he’s all sweet and innocent, he unleashes the ultimate power!” She lets out an overly dramatic evil laugh, and Micah giggles at her antics.
“Isn’t Jigglypuff’s power that he puts people to sleep with his singing?” Micah asks.
“Well, I never said I was a good singer.” She winks at Micah right as we pull up to the hospital.
As the ambulance slows, I hop out of my seat, ready to transport him inside. Rudy opens the door for us, and we wheel the stretcher into the ER.
Once we get them checked in and transferred to a triage room, I’m about to hand off the paperwork to a nurse when a small voice stops me.
“Can you stay with us?” Micah asks.
Bella looks at me, shocked. I’m at a loss for words. Rudy just shrugs.
“I’d love to, buddy. Lemme check in with dispatch. If they say it’s fine, we’ll stay. But if another call comes in, we’ll have to head out.”
“Okay.” He looks defeated, and it breaks me a little.
I gesture for Rudy to join me in the hall. “You okay hanging out here for a bit if they give us the go-ahead?”
“That’s cool. There’s a nurse who works here that I talk to sometimes,” Rudy says.
“Thanks, man.”
I radio dispatch and get the green light to stay, so I walk over to the nurse’s station.
“I’m gonna hang around with the patient in room twelve.
He’s not a big fan of fellas and we kinda bonded, so I’d like to stay until his mom gets here.
There’s someone that can stay with him if we get called out. ”
“Sounds good, sugar,” she says, barely looking up at me.
“Say, you have anything to occupy kids? Some coloring books? LEGO?” I lean over the counter, trying to get her attention.
She looks up from her charting. “Sure do. I’m kinda busy here, though. It’s over at the charge nurses’ station. Just tell ’em Doris sent you.”
“Thanks, doll.” I wink and flash her my biggest smile.
She playfully rolls her eyes. “Oh, you’re a heartbreaker, I can tell. Just don’t get tangled up with any of my nurses like your partner there.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
As luck would have it, I find a Pokémon coloring book and a pack of mostly unbroken crayons and return to Micah’s room. “Look what I found!” I pull back the curtain and notice Micah curled up on his side, quietly crying as Bella soothes him.
They startle at the sound of me, and then Micah perks up. “I thought you left.”
Were those tears for me? Why does that make my heart ache?
“Aye, no, lad. Just went to grab you something,” I say, holding up the coloring book.
“Does it have Binacle?”
Together we search for his favorite Pokémon, and I hold the book in place so he can color one-handed.
Micah continues wincing as we work, the occasional tear splashing onto the page. I can tell the lad’s in pain and I know he needs some relief, but there’s not much they can do for him until his mom gets here.
A nurse walks in, pulling out the rolling stool as she wheels over to the side of the bed. “Hey, Micah, how’s your arm feeling?” she asks.
He lets out a stuttered breath. “It hurts.”
The nurse nods in understanding, turning to Bella. “Are you the parent?”
Bella stands from her chair. “I’m his teacher. His mom is on her way.”
The nurse slides over to the computer and taps on the keyboard, most likely confirming the information. “Micah, can you tell me what happened?”
“I jumped off the big slide on the playground and landed on my arm.”
“Oof, that’ll do it. The doctor will be in shortly. He’ll probably order some X-rays.” She turns to Bella. “Let us know when mom gets here.”
Bella nods and the nurse leaves the room.
Micah lies back on the bed, silent tears streaming down his face. I’ve only just met him, but it breaks my heart to see him in so much pain. I lean over, getting closer to the bed.
“I think you’re really brave, Micah. I know it hurts, but they’re going to fix you up good as new.”
He sniffles as his eyes connect with mine. They’re a deep shade of green, but the redness makes the color in them even more striking.
When he doesn’t say anything, I continue. “You know who else is a little guy but is really brave?”
He shakes his head.
“Pikachu.”
A tiny smile lights up one side of his face. “He is brave.”
“And so are you. Maybe I should call you Mikachu, since you’re so brave.”
He nods as he wipes a tear from his cheek, pinching his eyes shut as he lies still on the bed.
“And you talk like the guy on my favorite cereal. The one with the marshmallows.” His words are choppy like it hurts to get them out.
The adrenaline has probably worn off; the pain in his arm must be hitting him hard.
“I’m happy to be your lucky charm.”
He smiles weakly as he wipes a tear from his cheek and pinches his eyes shut.
If there was something I could do to help him, I’d be moving mountains. I hate seeing kids in pain. I just pray his mother can get here soon.