The Boot (Book 1)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Once we've finally settled down after what felt like an eternity-but was in reality a minute or two-of laughter, Nolan's expression returns to the grave one from when he arrived.

"No, she's not dead," he answers my question from earlier. I allow my muscles to relax, releasing a breath that I wasn't even aware I was holding in. But his expression remains grim, which is enough to tell me that we aren't out of the woods, yet.

"Then... what's wrong with her?"

He sighs, pursing his lips in a show of both sadness and anxiety. "She's not who we think she is."

"What, is her name not really Cate?" I joke, but his frown remains.

Nolan shakes his head. "That's not even the half of it. When I say that she isn't who we think she is, I'm meaning on a much grander scale than just her name."

BAILEY

Nausea churns in my stomach, which has become something that I'm feeling pretty much all day long. Whoever decided to name it morning sickness must not have been pregnant, because if they were, they would've known that it can and will strike at literally any time of day.

How am I going to tell John? He's on shift right now, so I have a little time to think about it. I have today off, thankfully, but I haven't been able to really enjoy it. Between the nausea and exhaustion of pregnancy and the constant anxiety of how I was going to tell him... Let's just say that's a deadly combo, and I haven't been able to truly enjoy my day off.

And what are we going to do about Archie? After the whole Alejandro situation, John and I realized that the kid didn't even have a name yet. So we came up with a list of some names and tested each out. He ignored every other name but Archie. Whenever we called him that, he would respond, giggle, smile, something. So it became clear what we should call him.

But life has been so busy lately. John and I never really got the chance to debrief after the fiasco at the hospital. We haven't had the time to sit down together and have a discussion. Which means that we don't have a plan. Not even any sort of semblance of one.

John doesn't even know about our baby yet. This is most certainly going to need to be a factor we consider when we finally have a chance to discuss what we are going to do about Archie. Are we going to keep him? Is Sebastian going to take him in?

That's another thing. Sebastian has been spending every possible waking moment by Lucy's side, both to keep her company but also to make up for all that lost time they had. That means we haven't had much of a chance to talk to Sebastian and see where he stands on the issue.

I'm especially worried because John and I had agreed that we didn't want to have kids. We both felt that way. But now that I know I'm actually pregnant, I'm conflicted. I know I didn't want kids before, but it's different now. Because before, it was just an idea. But now, it could actually be a reality.

But as far as I know, John still doesn't want kids. We both felt pretty strongly about it when we were having that discussion. So how is he going to react to this? Is he going to change his mind? Is he going to be upset? Mad? Happy?

There is a knock at the door. I frown. We weren't expecting anybody. I stand from the couch and head to the front door, opening to reveal John's brother, Pete. I don't even have a chance to register... anything about the situation before Pete stumbles forward. I barely managed to catch him before he fell to the floor. He's now unconscious in my arms.

That's when I finally got the chance to assess the situation. He's incredibly pale, covered in bruises, cuts, and scrapes. Blood is everywhere. He looks horrible. "What the hell happened to you?" I whisper.

I slowly lower to the floor so that I'm better able to help him. Patting my pockets, I'm horrified to find that I left my phone behind on the couch. I have to make the split-second decision to sprint for my phone, already dialing 911 on my way back to Pete. "Just hold on, Pete. I've got you. You're going to be okay."

"911, what is your emergency?"

"This is off-duty firefighter Bailey Nune. I am at my residence [redacted] and I have an unconscious male, Pete Nolan. He's bruised pretty badly, countless cuts and scrapes, actively bleeding."

"I have dispatched units to your location. I need you to stay on the line until help arrives,"

"Will do," I say. Seconds later, Pete stops breathing. I hurriedly check his pulse. "Damnit! His heart stopped!"

"You will need to perform CPR until the paramedics arrive. Keep him alive."

"Got it."

I put the call on speaker and set the phone down on the floor beside me. I deal with this stuff every day, so I know exactly what I need to do. I get into position and start CPR. Compressions and rescue breaths. Over and over and over again.

I don't know how long I've been doing this, but I can't stop. I won't stop. Normally, I'd have my partner sub in by now, because it's never good for any one person to do CPR for too long. It's exhausting. Not to mention my already constantly tired state due to the pregnancy. But I'm alone, there's no one to sub in for me. Yes, I may be exhausted, but I'm the one thing keeping Pete from dying. Or at the very least, giving him a chance to survive this.

A/N: Just a reminder that I'm not a doctor, so I can't guarantee that everything is going to be 100% accurate, but I did my best from what I could find online

I stop CPR briefly to check his pulse. It's back. It's incredibly weak, but it's still there. He isn't breathing, though. This means that although exhaustion is filling my entire body and weighing me down like a bag of bricks, I have to keep going. I can't let John lose his brother.

I need to continue doing CPR to ensure that the oxygenated blood continues to pump throughout his body until either he starts breathing on his own and has a stronger heartbeat or until the paramedics arrive to take over.

"Come on, Pete. Don't die on me," I say, continuing CPR. "I need you to pull through. If you don't do it for me, or for John, do it for your future niece or nephew."

Sirens get louder and louder, bright lights flash as the ambulance pulls up outside. Paramedics hurriedly unloaded from the ambulance, rushing to the house. Pete and I are just inside, right where he had collapsed.

"Ma'am, we're here now," a paramedic says. Another paramedic drops to her knees and starts bagging Pete, whose pulse is slowly becoming stronger. It is at this moment when I have finally escaped my adrenaline high and truly allowed the exhaustion to set in, that I can let go. I don't have to keep going. I can finally rest. I feel myself topple over, the first paramedic rushing to catch me just in time. Right before I black out, I can hear the paramedic request an additional RA unit. Everything goes dark.

QOTC/Authors' Note: Tag a Rookie loving friend! I'd love to get is story out there and share it with this community so that more people can enjoy it :)