Rekindle The Flames (The Men of CLE-FD Book 4) (13 page)

The crews jumped up and were on their way within seconds
of the alarm sounding.  Ryan buttoned his turnout and put on his helmet.  “I
knew this weather would bring a busy night,” he said to Otto.

Otto replied, “I hope you’re ready to be hands on tonight,
Ryan.  With the rivers swelling and spilling over, I’m sure this is just the
beginning of a very long night.”

They pulled up to a small black car—with custom rims
dangling dangerously over a riverbank with smoke pouring from the under the
hood.  From the position of the car, it appeared it had broken through the
barrier and had driven at least fifty feet down the path before hitting a rail,
smashing partially through it. The car was mangled and teetering by a thread.
The high winds from the storm could possibly knock it over and into the water below
if firefighters didn’t work quickly.

“Let’s get a preliminary check before we touch it, “the
chief ordered.  “If no one is inside the vehicle, we’re knocking it over.”

Checking the driver’s side, the glass was broken and
inside, Ryan could see that the airbags had deployed and a woman’s head was
leaning against it. The smell of rubber burning and smoke filled the car.  He
makes a quick first assessment and reports to the B-Chief. “The driver is a
female victim.” He took off his glove to check for a pulse.  She was alive and
released a sharp scream. He tilted back the head of the woman in the front
seat. The driver was—Iona.  She was turning her head.  Her eyes were wide with
confusion.

Ryan swallowed. “Iona?”

She coughed and blood ran from her mouth. “Megan, you have
to help Megan.”

Shocked, Ryan looked first at the passenger’s seat, it was
empty.  He leaned over and looked in the back seat and yelled. “Megan! Megan!”
She was lying on the floor on her back.  Her body covered by the broken seat of
the car and other debris.

“Help her!” barked Iona. “Help her please.”

A piece of the railing broke off and sailed downward,
toward the rushing waters of the swelled river.  Ryan planted his foot in the
dirt and rested his hand on the glass of the driver’s window to steady the
rocking car.  “Look at me, Iona you have to be still. If you keep jerking
around, we’ll all go down the river. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, yes. Anything. Just get me out of this car,” she
cried. “I don’t want to die in this car.”

He reached for the door handle to steady his balance.  It
was damaged; the handle partially sheared off.  Ryan reached over Iona and
touched Megan’s arm that way lying across the armrest. She was warm but
unconscious and bleeding from the nose and mouth.  He proceeded to cut the
seatbelt holding Iona trapped. Reassuring himself that everything was okay,
which it obviously wasn’t. He had to keep his mind on freeing Iona and then get
to Megan before their weight toppled the car, taking them all down the Cuyahoga
River.

He spoke into the radio. “Chief, we need to secure the car
better. I don’t trust the weight and the wind is rocking it too hard.” As if
listening to him, the soggy soil gave an ominous creak below his feet.  The car
sank and tilted forward. Ryan braced his hand on the dash as if that would keep
the car from falling. “Can we get some rope through the door frames and secure
it to the trees?”

“We’re working on it although the car is severely
damaged.  Get the first victim out and evacuate the vehicle, Tisdale.  A fire
has erupted under the hood it won’t take long before it spreads,” Chief Murad
ordered.

He pushed his helmet back on his head. “Negative, Sir. I’m
not leaving until I get my wife out of this car.  My wife is pinned in the back
seat.  She’s badly hurt.”

Jon turned to Nick. “Did you hear what he said? Did he say
Megan is in the car?”

Nick wiped the rain from his face nervously. “Yeah, he
did! Fuck, we gotta do something now!”

Jon turned to Murad. “Chief…”

“I know, Lieutenant.  Get the car secured at the rear
axles so we can get all of them out alive.”

Jon broke the glass and looked through the passenger side
door and said, “Ryan, don’t move for a few minutes.” He pointed at the front,
where the bumper was hanging treacherously over the water. “If we put any more
weight on the car, we could send it right into the water. We’re going to see if
there is a way to secure it from the back once we get the fire out.”

Ryan nodded pulling on the bent steering wheel.  “I can
get the first victim free, but she is pinned against the steering wheel. Have
someone come around to my side so I can pass her off to them.  Once we get her
out, it should ease the weight on the car.  Then I can get Megan out safely.”

“I’m on it!” Jon shouted back. 

Firefighters secured the rear of the car to the Engine 30
hoping that would keep it from sinking further into the muddy sandbank.  As
Steve backed the truck up, the bumper broke off and the rear axle bent.

Nick shook his head looked at Jon. “It’s not going to
hold, Jon.  The car is too damaged to put any stress on it. The only thing we
can do is manually pull the car to dry ground. Then he can extricate Megan’s
mom.  He’ll have to get out so we can do it.”

“Damn.  He’s under pressure in there to save two people.
Get the guys on it.  Otto has two men down below just in case the car falls.”

“You know he is not going to leave, Jon.  He will give his
life to save Megan,” Nick said.  He knew how firefighters were and would not
leave a victim behind, especially a family member.

“I have to try.”  He walked over to the car and bent down.
“Ryan, you’re going to have to get out until we can stabilize the car and bring
it on flat land.  It’s the safest way to get Megan out.”

Ryan shook his head. “I’m not leaving Megan behind, Jon. 
If this car goes, I’m going with her.”

Iona’s eyes widened. “Please.  Don’t let Megan die, Ryan. 
If you have to leave me, do it.  Get my daughter out first, please.”

In a calming voice he replied. “I’m going to get everyone
out.  Can you move your legs?”

“Yes, but the steering wheel is digging into my stomach. 
I can barely breathe.”

Ryan tried to keep from looking at Megan.  He looked up at
Jon. “I need a saw.  I can’t get the wheel to budge using my hands and bring a
couple of blankets.”

They heard Nick yell. “He’s good to go for now.  The fire
is out, but he has to work fast.”

Jon gave Nick the thumbs up. “Okay, you heard what he
said. Work fast. We don’t know how long the car will hold together,” Jon
repeated to Ryan.

Thunder rumbled and penetrated the cacophony of the noise
as Ryan cut through the steering wheel.  He pulled it apart releasing Iona. 
She cried out in pain. “My stomach—it’s on fire.”

He yelled. “I need a backboard! The victim has possible
internal injuries. Iona, breathe through your mouth to ease the pain, okay? 
These two firefighters behind me are going to take care of you while I work to
free Megan.”

As Iona was pulled from the car, she stopped to say to
Ryan. “I will stop meddling; I’ll no longer be a know-it-all if you save my
baby.  I swear.  Ryan, please save her.”

“Don’t make any promises you can’t keep, Iona,” he said
easing his weight over the front seat and to the back of the car.

The front of the car had stopped teetering, and even
though he heard the groan of the car straining to stay upright, he concentrated
on getting Megan free.  The blood running from her nose was not a good sign. 
She could have a head injury.  He looked around.  From what he could tell, she
had been sitting in the front seat but the force of the accident broke the seat
and threw her to the back.  The mechanism holding the seatbelt was torn
completely apart from the side panel of the car and wrapped around her neck.

Megan moaned but did not open her eyes. The smoke was
heavy in the car as he moved pieces of glass and metal to get in a better
position to help her. “Megan can you hear me? I’m here, baby.  I’m gonna get
you out of here and to the hospital. I just need you to hold on.”

He looked for a starting place.  Her body was broken in
several places from what he could visually see.  Her arm was twisted in a
position it shouldn’t be and she had blood everywhere. Moving her wrong could
cause further injury and even paralysis since he didn’t know the extent of her
injuries.  “Crap!” He cursed as a sharp pain hit him in the side.  Sliding his
hand inside his turnout, blood covered his fingers.  He’d impaled himself on a
sharp piece of metal protruding from the torn front seat. He dropped his head
and took a deep breath to fight through the pain.

He heard the B-Chief yelling. “Ryan, what’s happening? 
What do you need?”

“Chief, victim number two is unresponsive to my commands
but breathing. I’m going to need another collar to secure her neck and some
oxygen.  She’s inhaled a lot of smoke and has a possible head injury, maybe even
spinal.  Chief, have paramedics ready once I get her free.”

“We’re working on cutting through the car.  We should have
access in less than five minutes.  Cover her face with your turnout.”

The rain pouring in from the damaged sunroof of the car
drenched them both as firefighters cut through the wreckage of the car removing
it piece by piece.  Ryan continued to work on freeing Megan even as the
stabbing pain chewed at his side.  He looked down.  The blood was seeping
through his turnout gear.  He took it off and covered Megan’s face to protect
her from the rain and the sparks flying off the torches.

He looked down at her bruised face.  Her long dark lashes
were coated with dust. Scratches covered her face.  Her scrubs were ripped and
hanging off her shoulder. He could only imagine the fear she felt as Iona
jumped the curb and barreled down the inclined heading for the water.

He moved her hair from her face. “Hang on, Megan.  Baby,
if you can, please open your eyes.  Let me know you hear me talking to you.” 
He got no response again.  “Nothing is going to stop us from having that second
honeymoon, you hear me—nothing.” He felt talking would keep his mind off his
own pain.  However, that pain was insignificant to him, what mattered was
getting his wife out alive.

As Nick used the massive jaws to tear through the twisted
metal bringing in more heavy rain, Ryan had managed to clear away the debris
holding Megan trapped.  Dissecting the wrecked car, firefighters were finally
able to pull her out.

“Be careful, with her,” Ryan pleaded as she was strapped
to a backboard and loaded onto a gurney.

Jon smiled. “We got this.  Now get out before what’s left
of the car goes over the edge.”

Ryan winced as he pressed on his side to stop the
bleeding. Just as his foot hit the wet dirt, the axle snapped sending the car
over the edge. Nick and Jon quickly grabbed hold of his arms, dragging him to
safety before the car plummeted into the rushing water of the river.

Jon looked at his hands and asked? “Where is this blood
coming from? Ryan, are you hurt?”

“I’m okay,” he answered struggling to stand. “I gotta see
about Megan.”

Nick motion to Jon. “Jon, look at his shirt. He has blood
all over him and I don’t think it’s blood from Megan.  She wasn’t bleeding that
heavily.”

“Ryan, you’re bleeding. Where are you hurt?” Jon asked
again.

He lifted his t-shirt and blood covered the front his
stomach and top of his pants. “Oh, yeah, I did hurt myself.”  He looked at Jon
and passed out.

Chapter Fifteen

Ryan sat on the side of the examining table rubbing his
side through the thick gauze.  No word on Megan had come from anyone and he was
stuck in an exam room waiting to be discharged himself.  The gash he’d
sustained required 12 stitches to close.  He was lucky no major arteries or organs
were damaged.

Jon entered the room. “Hey, how’re you doing?”

He shook his head. “Frustrated as hell. Why aren’t they
telling me anything about Megan?”

“Take it as good news, Ryan.  Megan will pull through and
recover.  She’s healthy and has youth on her side.”

“That may be true, Jon, but it doesn’t make me feel any
better.  I want to see her for myself.  I want to talk to Iona too.  What the
hell was she doing tonight?  Was she trying to kill herself and take Megan with
her?”

“The police were questioning her earlier.  Mr. Jones just
arrived so I’m sure you’ll know what is going on soon.  Oh, I got you another
t-shirt.  The paramedics had to cut yours off when you passed out.  Man, you
were working on pure adrenaline.”

Ryan eased off the table and pulled the shirt over his
head. “All I saw was my wife unconscious and bleeding.  I had to help her. 
This is why we do this right?”  His eyes glassed over. “Jon, if I lose her
what’s the purpose of doing what I do anymore? What’s the purpose of me even
living?”

“Don’t talk that way, Ryan.  Megan will recover.  She will
fight to come back to you.”

He took a deep breath and winced from the pain. “I know. I
have to get over the shock. I didn’t think I would ever respond to a call
involving people I know.  That shit hits home, Jon.”

Jon nodded. “It does, but you kicked ass and did your
job.  You are a real firefighter when you can cut off the emotions and get the
job done.”

Gabrielle entered the room and hugged Ryan. “I’m sorry,
Ryan.”

Fear shot through him as he froze. “What?”

“No, no, nothing like that,” Gabrielle clarified. “I meant
I’m sorry this happened.  I’m so worried about Megan that I can’t think
straight.”

Jon held his wife close to him. “Baby, it’s okay.  Do you
have any information about her surgery?”

Ryan saw Gabrielle hesitate. “Just say it, Gabby.  I’d
rather be prepared than not know what’s going on at all.”

“Okay, this is what I know so far.  Megan is in critical
condition, Ryan.  She has a punctured lung, two broken ribs, her right arm is
broken.  Surgeons may have to remove her spleen and part of her liver.  Doctors
aren’t sure how severe her head injury is because she had not regained
consciousness once she arrived at the hospital.  Their first priority was
stopping the internal bleeding first.”

Ryan turned his back to his friends to look out the
window.  The rain pounded against the window as lightening skipped across the
sky in waves of different patterns.  The rain refused to let up.  His jaw was
shut so tight it caused his teeth to hurt.

The kiss they shared hours ago could not be their last
kiss.  Their last words they said to each other could not be their last words. 
He refused to believe he would never see Megan’s smile or hear her voice. 
Hell, he’d give anything to hear her whine.  When she whined, her voice had a
tendency to hit a higher octave that banged in his ears.  Nope, this was not
the end.

The reflection in the window showed Jon about to touch
him.  He rolled his shoulder forward and said, “Don’t.  Just don’t.”

Jon withdrew his hand. “Ryan, whatever you need, we’re
here for you.”

“I know,” he said tucking his trembling lip between his
teeth.  He would not cry unless his prayers went unanswered.

Jon’s radio went off.  Another vehicle accident required
Station 30’s assistance.  He turned down the radio.  “Ryan, the unit has to go
on this call but, I’ll be back as soon as I can.”  He kissed Gabrielle and
whispered in her ear. “Please keep me posted.  I want to know either way.”

“I will. Jon…” Her eyes said it all.

He nodded and pointed at Ryan.  “Stay with him for as long
as you can.”

“I won’t leave his side,” she said kissing her husband
goodbye.

Three hours passed and still no word on Megan’s
condition.  Iona’s surgery had been completed and she was in recovery waiting
for a room.  Her spleen had ruptured and doctors removed it.  Other than that,
the person that caused the accident was expected to make a full recovery while
Megan’s life hung in the balance.

Ryan sat in the chapel with his forearms resting on his
thighs and his head lowered.  He had prayed over and over until he felt God
would tire of him asking to spare Megan’s life.

He felt the pew give under the weight of the person
sitting next to him.  He raised his head to see Mr. Jones.  His face was gaunt
and his eyes were red.  Had he been crying?  Was he there to give him the bad
news?  Ryan felt moisture fill his nose and sniffed.  The tears were forming
despite his fight to stop them. One teardrop fell on his hands, followed by
more until his body was shaking. Mr. Jones put an arm around his shoulder and
pulled him close. “Let it out, son. No matter how strong we claim we are, we
all have to cry at some point in our lives.”

Gabrielle entered the chapel and knelt beside him.  “Ryan,
Megan is out of surgery.  The doctor wants to talk to you.”

Unable to put a sentence together, all he could do was
lean his back and say, “Thank you, God!”

*****

Ryan twisted in the chair.  His eyes popped open when he
turned the wrong way, aggravating the wound and sending a sharp pain up his
spine.  He tried to stand up to walk it off, but sleeping in the chair had made
it worse. He was stiff all over.

He was finally on his feet when an alarm went off, and a
nurse entered the room.  “What’s wrong?  What’s happening?”

“Calm down, Mr. Tisdale.  Megan’s IV needs to be changed.
She’s doing well; stop worrying,” the nurse assured him.

“How is she doing good?  Look at her.  Tubes and monitors
are everywhere on her body.”

“Everything on her is helping her, Mr. Tisdale.”  She
finished changing the IV bag and said, “The doctor will be in shortly.  He’s
going over her test results.  Why don’t you get a cup of coffee and stretch
your legs.”

“I’m not leaving her.”  Ryan touched her finger where her
wedding ring used to be.  The nurses had removed it before her surgery.  He
took the ring out of his pocket and held it up.  The diamond in the engagement
ring caught the sunlight filtering into the room.  He wanted to get her a
bigger ring but couldn’t afford one on his teaching salary.  Megan never
complained and showed the ring off like it had a 3-carat stone instead of a
half carat.

The door opened, and two doctors walked in.  “Mr.
Tisdale?”

“Yes, I’m Megan’s husband.”

Dr. Arnett shook Ryan’s hand. “Yes, I remember now.  Last
night was rather hectic.”

“Yeah, so how is she doing?  Any change in her condition?”

“She is a very lucky young woman.  She will recover, but
the road will be long and sometimes difficult.  She’ll need extensive therapy
for her arm.  And we still aren’t sure what she’ll remember.  The contusion of
her brain did not cause any significant cerebral damage but may have affected
her long or short-term memory.  We won’t be sure until she wakes up.”

Ryan blinked.  “Wait, you mean she might not even remember
who I am when she wakes up?”

 “That’s what I’m saying.  Post-traumatic amnesia is not
uncommon in cases like this, which is why I asked Dr. Michaels to join me this
morning.  He’s a neurologist and will monitor Megan once she wakes up, and if
she doesn’t remember you or any other family members.  If she doesn’t remember
the accident but can recall everything else, then we’re not too concerned about
that.”

Ryan was at a loss for words.  If Megan didn’t remember
him, it could change the dynamics of everything.  He scrubbed his hand down his
face.  “Dr. Michaels, what will I have to do if she doesn’t remember me?  I’m
her husband, and I won’t abandon her.  But, what if she is afraid of me or
doesn’t want my help?”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Tisdale.  I really believe if she is
suffering any memory loss, it’s only temporary.  Her brain activity is normal
and with therapy, she’ll start to remember events as days go by.  The key is to
be patient and not force her to remember; let things come back to her
naturally.”

Both doctors seemed confident that Megan would regain her
memory quickly; only they weren’t aware of the drama surrounding Megan’s life. 
She might not want to remember and block that portion of her life out for good,
which would include him. 

“Dr. Michaels, I have another question and hope you’ll be
able to tell me it will have no bearing on Megan’s memory returning.”

 The older man folded his arms across his chest.  “I’ll
have to hear the question to determine that.”

“Okay.  Megan has been under a lot of stress lately.  A
few years ago, she had a miscarriage that she hasn’t really let go of, and then
there is other drama going on.  I guess what I’m asking is if she doesn’t want
to remember any of that stuff…”

Dr. Michaels shook his head.  “Let me try to explain
post-traumatic memory loss to you.  Your wife may be disoriented and unable to
remember events that occur after the injury, and she may be unable to state her
name, or know where she is, or what time it is, etc.  It may be either short
term or longer lasting, often lasting over a month, but is hardly ever
permanent.  When continuous memory returns, Mrs. Tisdale should be able to
function normally, unlike retrograde amnesia sufferers, who may partially
regain memory later, but memories are never regained with anterograde amnesia,
because they were not encoded properly.  Please consider this is based on an
‘if’.  Your wife may wake up and not have any memory loss at all.  Why don’t
you concentrate on that being the case instead of the latter?”

Ryan nodded. “Yeah, that is good advice.”  He shoved his
hands in the pocket of his uniform pants. They were filthy with dried mud and
blood.

“Mr. Tisdale, go home and get some rest.  We’ll take good
care of your wife until you return.  Besides, she’ll probably be asleep another
few hours before the anesthesia wears off,” Dr. Arnett suggested.

“I will do that,” he replied.  He walked over to the bed
and gently kissed Megan’s forehead.  He could see her eyes moving rapidly under
her closed lids.  He wondered what she was dreaming about.  He touched her warm
hand and prayed she was having a pleasant dream about them and not the accident
that put her in this position. “I’ll be back soon, baby.  I love you.”

He walked down the hallway of the surgical ICU.  Anger suddenly
flared through him.  He stopped at the nurses’ station and asked the nurse
behind the desk for information about Iona.  Getting what he needed, he left
the ICU.

Ryan didn’t bother to knock as he opened the door to
Iona’s room.  She was propped up in bed eating breakfast, and appeared startled
to see him.  “Ryan.”

“I guess I’m the last person you expected to visit,” he
said meanly.

“You’re the only person that has visited me.  Not that I
am expecting any visitors from anyone in my family.”

“I won’t ruin that for you.  I just want to know why,
Iona?  Why did you try to kill her?  Do you hate me that much that you’d rather
see her dead than with me?”

Tears ran from Iona’s eyes.  “I did not try to kill either
of us, Ryan.  I lost control of the car because we were arguing.”

“Arguing over shit you want to control!  Why can’t you get
it through your thick skull that she doesn’t want Emin?  She wants to be with
me.”

“I know!  Dammit, I have to live with the guilt if my
daughter is a vegetable for the rest of her life.  I did not mean for this to
happen.  I had to try, Ryan.  I wouldn’t be a good mother if I didn’t try to
get the best for my kids.  Megan is stubborn and lives life looking through
rose-colored glasses.  She is so easy to settle.”

He raised his brows. “Settle? So she settled for me?”  He
narrowed his eyes. “Listen to me, you old bat! I risked my life to save yours. 
I could’ve simply left you pinned behind the wheel and let you go over the edge
with that car, but I didn’t.  I have a moral obligation to the citizens of this
city and to Megan since you’re her mother, so I had to save your worthless
life.  The least you can do is say thank you. But instead, you’re lying there
telling me to my face how your daughter settled for me.  You’re fucking
priceless, Iona, and I hope you’ll never, ever, need my help again.”

“You have every right to say that.  I am a horrible
person, and the results of my actions are coming back to haunt me.  Ryan, look
around. Do you see any get-well cards, flowers or anything that would show
someone cares about me? My own husband hasn’t stepped foot in this hospital
room to see how I am doing.”

“That’s your fault, Iona.  If you weren’t such a bitch,
you would have people here to care for you.  Megan would be here if she weren't
in ICU fighting to save her own life. The very life you attempted to take in
order to keep her from me.”  He was seeing red, and had to suppress his anger. 
“No matter what you’ve done to her, she’ll end up feeling guilty about losing
the closeness she once had with you.  She believed you two had the perfect
mother-daughter bond.  You’re right; she does see things through rose-colored
glasses.  It’s her way of dealing with you and the hell you put her through.”

Iona’s face showed no remorse as she narrowed her arched
brows. “You take no responsibility in hurting her, Ryan?”

“Hell yeah, I do.  I wasn’t there for Megan when she
miscarried, and that hurts like hell.  You took away my right to grieve with
her.  You had her lie to me about my unborn baby. Thanks to your quick
thinking, I’ll never know if there was something I could have done to prevent
Megan from having that miscarriage. And now that she is going through this, who
knows what will happen.  She may never have a chance to get pregnant again.”