Travis Marks (travis_marks) wrote in omega_reality, @ 2013-04-12 14:36:00 |
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RP: The Rescue
Who: Travis, Marty, TJ, Savannah, Sheldon, Matt, Maura, John
Where: Off of the I 5
When: Thursday/Friday, April 11/12, 2013
Summary: Travis and Marty go find their SO
They were in LA, almost done with their mission when the quake hit. It was a good thing, too, because he didn't know which one of them was more eager to get home. He and Deeks knew that phones wouldn't work, but they tried anyway, all the way home. It was a slow process, stopping for the aftershocks. When he finally thought that things would be fine, they found out that both Savannah and TJ were missing, together with Sheldon and Nick.
They had to wait for Brian to come back. Vance had sent him out to fly over the area until he found them. If it weren't for a burning car, it might have taken longer, but it still felt like it went on forever, before the man returned with news.
The news was bittersweet. Travis might not have had much of a chance to talk to Nick, but no one that young should die. Still, TJ and Savannah were alive and well. Now, they had to go and get them.
They grabbed one of the military trucks. It wasn't as comfortable, but they could bring tools with them as well as bringing Maura, John and Matt. Travis drove as fast as he'd dared under the circumstances, but he smiled as they almost reached their destination.
"They delivered the baby together. I'm not sure how they survived that," he said, chuckling as he stopped the truck and looked at Deeks. "Congratulation, man. Now, let's get them out, before they kill each other.
"Thanks." Marty smiled where he might have grinned normally. Having his wife give birth to their son halfway down a mountain that could still give way at any point with the next big aftershock wasn't the most comforting thought in the world. All the way back to the trailer park he'd fiddled with the radio until he could get a clear signal for any news broadcast that would give them information. When he finally heard Lucy Jones make a statement with an epicenter just south of Bakersfield, not far from the safe house, his first thought had been to thank God training was over. That relief lasted only until they got there and he learned Savannah and the others had stayed behind.
For the first time in history Vance was probably glad it was Marty and not G, who would have been halfway back to the safe house on his own before Brian ever got back with their location.
Getting out of the car, he almost wished he'd taken G's way. Just ahead of them was a deep cavern where the interstate had been, boulders littering the area all around. "We're going to have to pick our way through to the edge. Everyone be careful and don't rush." It was advice to the rest of the people with him, but also to himself. Marty wanted to get to Savannah now. "John, it's going to take us a little while to get over to where we can see anything. See if you can get down to them. Let them know we're coming and get a status report?"
"On my way."
The thing that people didn't tell you about a newborn was that he spent the first twenty-four hours sleeping. The first time she'd been surprised, but this time she was prepared and after making sure that the baby was all right, she covered him as best as she could and then she started getting cleaned up. Baby wipes took care of the blood, while changing a few times almost stopped the bleeding completely.
Then she started getting dress. One thing she knew that any pregnant woman should have was a corset which she carried in her backpack. Closing up those abs was paramount. Looking good didn't hurt either. She also moisturized, because sitting half naked in the cold was not fun. Then she was back into her pre-pregnancy black fatigues and her own shirt as opposed to Marty's. She put her hair up in a simple high ponytail, even if she was truly tempted to go half up, half down and see if she could hit up her fingers enough to do curls. It was something to do while waiting for people to show up.
When John arrived, she was all done, with simple make-up to go with the simple ponytail. "Hey, sweetie. How are you?" she said, hugging him. "Is everyone all right? Brian said they were, but are they? Who came? Can you bring the baby up? If they throw down ropes, we can take care of the backpacks, but we're going to need help with Sheldon. He's still unconscious. Thomas has a bad right shoulder... at least. I can go up if i have a rope, or we can always try the way we did it on the island. After we take care of everyone else." She took a deep breath. "Did I tell you how good it was to see you?"
John laughed as he hugged her back, glad she'd at least waited until he landed before hugging him. "It's good to see you, too. You sure don't look like a stranded woman," he teased, tugging her ponytail. "Everyone's fine. Sean said to tell you the twins are fine. They keep turning to water with every tremor, so not a scratch on them. You've got a lot of worried people at home. Both of you.
"We've got rope and I've got my rig from Parker. We'll get everyone up as soon as the others get here. The road's pretty much gone up there. Nothing but a crater surrounded by boulders. CalTech's called the quake at a 7.2 and the epicenter's not far from here. We're lucky you guys made it out as well as you did. Marty and Travis are both here. Their unit got back a little while before Brian did. Matt and Maura are here, too. It'll take them a few minutes to get close enough to the edge above you. Had to park the truck quite a way back."
While he filled them in, John went over to Sheldon, checking his vitals and trying to see if there were any neck or spinal injuries they'd need to worry about while moving him. "I need to get back and let Marty know the status on things here. I may need to fly Maura down here to make sure, but I think it's okay to move him without putting together a makeshift backboard." Standing, he looked at Thomas. "How bad is that shoulder?"
"I can make it up a rope," TJ said with a half shrug. While Savannah had primped, he'd smoked another cigarette...or three. The cold had helped keep the pain at bay, but he'd had to put a new shirt on once all the bloody bits were over. "Nothing's broken. Just bruised and swollen, I think. I'll have Maura look at it later, after she's seen to Cooper and Savannah and the baby."
And he would do anything he needed to in order to get up off this ledge and see for himself that everything was indeed fine with Travis and his family. There was a palpable relief in hearing that Travis was alright and not far away. TJ wanted to be able to know the same for Doug and their parents and Nana. Tommy, too. He might not have many friends, as Savannah had pointed out earlier. But, that was still a lot of people for him to be caring about and this feeling of worry was a new one he didn't like.
"Right then. Anything else Marty needs to know?"
Savannah picked up the baby and handed it to John. "Tell him no name yet, and I'll explain later. Tell Maura that the Apgar score was a nine, because of transient cyanosis. Nothing to worry about, it was gone at the five minute mark. One more thing, tell Marty that Sam was right. New York is totally better," Savannah said with a smile. "Now, go get that rig. We get to rappel," she added, clapping.
Savannah watched John go up with the baby, before turning to Thomas when the flying duo got out of sight. "You're not going up unless she says you can go up on your own and trust me, I will have back up on this. No one gets hurts more than we already are."
TJ watched as John flew off and then stared at Savannah for the five millionth time that night. "'We get to rappel' and you clap? You truly are certifiable, aren't you?"
But there wasn't any heat in his words the way there had been a few hours ago. TJ was cold, tired, and hurt. He just wanted to curl up in bed with Travis. "I'm not one of the insane lunatics around here that wants to push until they drop. You won't get a fight from me about seeing a doctor. But, I'm also not unconscious and haven't just given birth. She can check me out after she checks you two out."
John made his way back up to where the others were picking their way over the boulders and hovered so he wouldn't upset anything.
"When you guys get over this last pile, there's a space of about twelve or fifteen feet and then the edge where the road used to be. They're straight down from there," he told the rest of the rescue team. "And, this little guy would like to make his dad's acquaintance." Floating closer to Marty, John held the baby out to Marty with a grin.
A grin which Marty could not help but echo as he took his son from the younger man. As he had with the twins, he reached out mentally as well, checking that things were okay, 'making acquaintances' as it were. If there was any part of his power Marty actually liked, it was that it let him do this, let him greet his children in ways they would understand without needing words they wouldn't learn for some time. "So, is it your mother's impatience or your your dad's need to help that had you coming out so early, hm?"
"Savannah says no name, yet. But, she'll explain later."
John's voice filtered through to Marty, but it was vague. He was too focused on the tiny little boy he really hoped signaled a break in the cycle Marty's father had started. Even more than the girls, Marty was afraid of not being the father and role model this little one needed. "Wait. What?"
"No name yet. She'll explain later." John smiled, trying not to wonder if Kyle Reese would have looked like that had he the chance to meet his son, and turned to speak to Dr. Isles. "She also said to tell you the Apgar score was a nine, transient cyanosis, gone at the five minute mark and nothing to worry about. I'll assume you know what she means by that?"
"I do, yes. What about their own conditions?"
"They've each decided on their own triage order. So, good luck with that one, Doc."
"What's your assessment?" Marty asked, coming back into the conversation. He trusted his wife, but she did have a tendency to push and of all of them he thought John and possibly Casey were their most experienced climbers. And he was only really counting Casey because he knew the sort of rescue training firefighters in L.A. received. He hoped it was similar in Chicago.
"Savannah and Thomas both seem mobile. Despite the delivery, she's bouncy and perky and eager to go rock climbing. Thomas' shoulder is injured. He says bruised and swollen. She says he 'has a bad right shoulder...at least'. From the way he's standing, I'd guess his knee or hip is banged up, too. Still, Sheldon's the deeper worry. No broken neck or back injury that I could tell from a quick examination. But, he's unconscious and Savannah used the word 'still', so I'm guessing he hasn't woken up since the crash. I'll leave the diagnosis to the doctor, but any way you look at it, several hours without consciousness isn't good.
"It's your call, but I'd say we need to get them up here as soon as possible. Get them the medical attention they need once we've got them back in the truck. They're safe and the depression ledge they're in seems solid, but there's boulders down there that could shift and there's no telling how much more of all this," John waved at the mess of road around them, "could go down on top of them in future aftershocks."
Marty nodded at the assessment. "Alright, then we can't waste time. Maura, take the baby and go back to the truck. John, can you fly Sheldon up on your own?"
"If we tie him into his sleeping bag to stabilize him, yeah, I can manage."
"Good. Then get back down there and get him. Take him straight to the truck so Maura can check him out. Then come back. By that time we should be in position to start pulling the others up. I want you and Matt going down. We'll use your rig for Savannah."
"Thomas," John interrupted. "I know the worry with Savannah having just given birth. But, she knows what she's doing and there's less stress on the abs than there is on the shoulder when you're going up. Thomas has almost no experience climbing and if he's got a bad shoulder and leg, he's already weaker and more likely to slip. And they've got all the gear, too. Four backpacks, even if they each take their own backpack and Matt and I bring the rest, that's a lot of stress on an inexperienced joint."
Marty didn't like it. But, he could see John's point and Savannah would throttle him if he coddled her and Thomas was injured further as a result. "Okay, Thomas in the rig. Savannah on the ropes. We'll lower you two down. You get them on the way up. Then we'll bring you up with the rest of the gear. Everyone clear?"
While they were talking Casey had been examining the ground, trying to determine the stability. He was used to unstable structures from back home, though he had to say he preferred it when they weren’t caused by the ground shaking. That had been an entirely unpleasant feeling. Hearing Deeks' last comment though he spoke up.
“Why would you want to lower the both of us down when he can just fly down?” he asked. “The ground is still unstable, the less we disturb it the better. We wouldn’t want to cause another slide.”
Travis looked at Deeks, trying not to laugh. "Because Mr. Dad here is thinking about his baby while giving orders, making them as clear as... mud." He looked at John. "Deal with Sheldon, we'll have things ready for when you're back."
They were lucky to have someone who could fly, because as Matt had pointed out, they didn't need to disturb the ground more than necessary and with no backboard or any collar for Sheldon, flying would be the safest option all around.
They moved slow, getting to the edge, securing the ropes and rig. By the time they were done, John had already brought Sheldon to the Doctor.
Savannah was making sure the backpacks were tightly closed. "Are you sure you can deal with one of the backpacks?" she asked Thomas. "We can always tie it to a rope and have them pull up. It'd put less stress on you."
"Have I struck you as sure about anything since this blasted mountain turned us into it's personal chew toys?" TJ snorted. He wasn't a fixer. He didn't figure out solutions. That was his twin. TJ just did whatever and paid the consequences later...if he couldn't get around them. And he'd about exhausted his small reserves of team spirit and selflessness over the last few hours.
"Look, it'll be fine. It can't be any worse than pushing the car over the edge and the faster we get this done, the faster I can get into a nice, warm bed and shoot the first person to suggest I get up for a run or a swim at the crack of dawn."
Savannah didn't get upset this time. She did get people even if she failed miserably with Thomas until now, but this little discussion had given her plenty of insight. Sarcasm, self-deprecation, they were all tools to hide weaknesses and not really a need to hurt. She could work with that.
She didn't say anything, but instead grabbed two backpacks and tied them up to one of the ropes. She pulled on the rope once and turned into fire to give them a better idea of what was happening. "Y'all, pull these up and throw it back down." She didn't bother changing. "We'll go faster if we don't have to worry about them." John could get one, she could get the other and Matt could help Thomas up. "And by the way, you seemed pretty sure about plenty of things this evening."
"Appearances can be deceiving," TJ replied, shaking his head as she took charge of the backpacks despite what he'd said. "In fact, they usually are."
But, he also wasn't going to complain about doing this way, either. While he might have resolved, the day he decided to leave the group and strike out on his own, not to make people have to always be taking care of him, TJ wasn't going to argue if they insisted. He preferred to keep his masochistic tendencies restricted to the bedroom.
Even if they were forced upon him with a little late night -- early morning? -- rock climbing. "Tell me again why this gets clapping?" he asked, watching the backpacks get pulled up the side of the mountain. Going up it himself was not a pleasant thought, no matter how necessary to get him off this ledge. "Don't you like anything normal, like sex or sunbathing?"
"Sometimes we underestimate what we can do. It's much easier to see other people's strengths and weaknesses clearly, but not our own," Savannah answered. "I don't know much about your life, I didn't even get to read all of those article written about you, but I do know that you do just fine in an emergency. I know I can trust my husband with you. So yes, I think you're a lot better at this than you think."
She looked up and saw Matt making his way down. She had a smile on her face as she thought about the question. "I like sex and sunbathing, but this is fun. Sam taught us with none of the equipment. A rope, a hook and a wall. I know most people find the training tiring, irritating, or whatever, but I enjoy it. I know I'm good at it, and there's no interpretation, no confusion, no questions about it. You either can do it or can't. It's ... calming. This, going up, this is just fun. Maybe not when you're in pain, but otherwise, it's a lot of fun, and I might be sleepy, and likely to sleep the day away tomorrow, but I'm not in pain. Also, I have my waist back," she added with a pirouette.
"Going down is a lot more fun," John called down from where he was hovering and shadowing Casey on the way down.
"Or you're just as insane as she is," TJ retorted, rolling his eyes as the young man just grinned. They were all insane. This was not fun. Even if his whole body didn't hurt, this would not be fun. He couldn't even tell if the ground was shaking anymore or if it was all in his head there'd been so many tiny tremors.
"And the problem with your can do it or can't do it, the reason why people dislike it, is because here there's no can't. The ones who can't are just in the way." Like his family. All the pep talks in the world weren't going to convince him the majority of people didn't look upon his family as an inconvenience they'd rather not deal with. These people were all about survival and his family was more of a burden than a help in that regard.
"It's totes more fun going down," she said, winking at John, "but alas, we're stuck going up and you have a backpack to take with you. I'll take the other. Matt can help Thomas with his arm."
She stopped in front of Thomas, before going for the backpack. "We take care of our own," she said, calmly. "Sheldon? He hasn't been able to run, shoot, jump, climb, or do pretty much anything, but he's never been in the way, and not because of what he can do for us, but because he's one of us." She sighed as she put a hand on his chest. "It's what I've been trying to say, even if badly. You're never in the way if you're one of us and you are. We're going to help you up there, not because I don't think you can do it, but because you're hurt and if things were reversed, you'd do the same for us, and before you say something hurtful, dismissive or disparaging proving that you'd never, you already have, not just by helping me with the delivery, but with the many times you've tried to protect me tonight, even from my stubbornness, with your insistence that I don't exert myself, that I see the doctor first. I'm really sorry to disappoint you there's very little you can say that would convince me that it's all to impress my husband. So I can't speak for everyone, although you know I totally do, but you're already part of the group. Also, you can do a lot more than you think. You can even resist being adopted into the family. John totally failed at that," she added with a grin. "I told him he was going to be my younger brother during our first conversation."
TJ stared at her for a long moment. It was tempting to push her away, say something cutting, and end this madness. He didn't want to start caring about these people. He could barely deal with caring about Travis and his family and Tommy. It wasn't like he had all that much practice at caring about anyone but himself. Not really. Doug was entirely justified in every selfish thing he'd ever accused TJ of being. TJ wasn't even sure why he'd done all the things she pointed out except it had seemed like the right thing to do at the time.
"I'll just blame Travis' too wholesome influence and you can benefit from it, I guess," he said finally, shrugging away uncomfortably. "I can deal with being the aloof, private part of the group."
It was probably a strange way of establishing a truce. But, it seemed like that's what they were doing. And he had promised Travis to try. This was trying...in a fucked up, TJ way of doing things.
Savannah nodded, because she knew when to push, but on occasion, she knew when to step back, too. Not often, but on occasion, and besides, she intended to push in other ways, like the fact that instead of flying up with John, she'd make her way up side by side with Thomas and Matt.
"We can blame me as soon as we get up there," she said instead. "Let's get you hooked up and we can get this party going."