"We have a problem here!" Elena called from where she stood with a man on the ground. "He lost his shoes in the accident, now he has frostbite. He can't walk."
"OK," Owen looked around, then pointed at a board against the wall. "Have some of the men come help me with this."
Elena barked orders in Spanish, and a few of the men ran to help Owen. "What are you gonna do with that?" another man frowned.
"Gonna use it as a sled for anybody who can't walk," Owen answered as they hauled the board to the ground.
"You know, this guy's cartel friends are on their way here as we speak," the man glowered. "They catch us, they kill us, or worse."
"All the reason we can't stand around and argue about it," Owen pointed out.
The man scowled. "I hate to say this, but he's gonna slow us down. We can't save everybody."
"Yeah," Owen sighed. "It's a lesson I never seem to learn. We're not leaving anybody behind."
The man pointed at a tight-lipped Manuel. "Even him, huh?"
"I'm not leaving him here to die," Owen shook his head. "Also, he knows where the cabin is. Another reason to keep him with us." The man scowled, then spoke in rapid Spanish to Elena before walking towards the doors. Owen didn't need to know Spanish to know what the man was planning. "Hey, do you even know where you're going?" he asked. "I got food, heat, water, less than two miles to my cabin."
"Francisco, considera!" Elena protested.
"It won't matter," Francisco told her. "Not if the cartel hunts you down before you get there." Owen sighed and watched as Francisco waved to the others. "Buena suerte, amigos. Dios te bendiga."
Elena watched sadly as Francisco pulled on his hood and left the barn, disappearing into the snow.
***
The curtain was rapidly pulled away from the door, and Paul brightened when he saw the three firefighters that barreled inside. "Strickland, is that you under there under all them blankets?" Judd joked. "I can't tell."
"Hey, seriously, did you save any for the maternity ward?" Mateo smirked.
"Man, shut up," Paul rolled his eyes as Judd hugged him. "And get in here."
Mateo bounded over to hug him next, careful not to dislodge the clamp on Paul's finger or the IV on the back of his hand. "How are you feeling?" Marjan asked, pulling a chair over.
"Well, my core temp's still a balmy 90 degrees, but the doc says I'm not gonna lose any fingers or toes, so I got that going for me," Paul shrugged.
"Good," Marjan sighed in relief as she hugged him.
"Hey," Paul pointed, "your turnout's in the cabinet over there."
"I'll get that later," Marjan shrugged and dropped into the chair. "Your life is more important than that thing."
"I appreciate the loaner, anyway," Paul smiled. "Seriously, guys . . . thank you for saving me out there, for digging me out of all that concrete and steel and ice."
"And rebar," Mateo added. "Turns out gyms have a lot of rebar."
"OK, then that, too," Paul chuckled. "No, but I knew if anybody was gonna come through that wall, it was gonna be my fam from the 126."
"It's because you know how we do," Judd grinned.
"I do," Paul nodded in agreement. "I love you guys. I mean that."
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Trouble Don't (File Two of The First Responders Files)
Fanfiction"Trouble, don't you come my way. Oh, no, not today. Trouble, don't you come my way." ~ "Trouble Don't," AG In which everyone is exactly where they're meant to be, but the calm is often before the worst of the storm. Follows Season 3 of 9-1-1: Lone...
Chapter Three
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