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Looking back, neither Indie or Iain had meant for it to get so out of hand… it was also worth noting that neither of them had meant for Indie to get trapped in a semi-collapsed building.
It was just like any other day to begin with, despite it being New Year’s Eve. Indie and Iain had spent their morning scooping people up and delivering them to the ED… the brief excitement Indie had felt at working New Year’s Eve (naive in hindsight) had faded quickly. She wrinkled her nose as they received the call to go out to an abandoned warehouse in an old industrial estate.
“Why’re people so weird?” she mused out loud to no one in particular. “Can’t think of anything worse than lurking in a creepy warehouse.” Iain glanced over at Indie and chuckled lightly.
“Beats sitting and doing paperwork though… right?” he asked. When Indie shrugged, his grin widened.
“You’re not… scared, are you Indie?” That earned a light shove, making him laugh. “Oi! Driving!”
“Deserved though.”
By the time they’d gotten out of the truck and were walking towards the warehouse, Iain had to admit that perhaps Indie had a point. This place was creepy, with lots of places for people hide in corners and jump out at you. That and the place was ancient, with the supports old and rusted. after being exposed to the elements.
“Did control say which floor the patient was on?” Indie asked, her torchlight flashing around the ground floor of the warehouse. Iain shook his head in response as the pair walked further into the warehouse, ignoring the dangerous creaking sounds of the walls. Around ten minutes into their search, they decided that their time had been wasted - there was no sign of people anywhere.
“Stupid time wasters,” Iain grumbled as the pair began to head back towards the exit. As they headed down the stairs, the creaking from before got louder, making both of them exchange a glance. What was going on?
It wasn’t until they were nearer the entrance to the warehouse that a large piece of rubble dropped down in front of them, hitting the floor with a thud. A sickening groan carried through the building as metal protested. Iain barely had time to think before he was being shoved squarely between the shoulders out of the door… just as the entrance to the warehouse buckled and collapsed.
The sound was deafening, and he covered his ears instinctively. The dust cloud that came next was just as impressive, leaving him coughing up dust for a few minutes… it was at that moment he realised that Indie wasn’t actually with him.
She was still inside the building.
“INDIE!” Iain shouted for the younger paramedic, though he knew realistically there was no way of getting to her. Instead he took a moment and tried to think of the best way to do this.
“This is 3006 to control,” he called into his radio after a moment. “No patient on site, however we need fire to come and extract my colleague from the building.” There was a slight crackle over the radio before the response came through.
“Just to confirm 3006, you just need fire evacuation?” the annoyingly calm voice replied. Iain thought for a moment - he couldn’t see Indie and she hadn’t replied when he called her name… she could be unconscious or bleeding or both or… he tried not to think about a scenario where the young paramedic had been completely buried in the collapse.
“Best have HEMS on standby, and another ambulance sent to the scene,” he answered. “No visual on the paramedic inside but she’s not responding.”
Iain was reassured that an ambulance crew was five minutes out, while the fire services would be another five. He decided to try and spend that time searching for Indie. He called her name as he started reading gingerly through the rubble; hopefully she’d managed dodge the worst of it… he couldn’t imagine having to tell Cam that his girlfriend had been flattened by an old warehouse. The sirens outside filled him with a sense of relief and before long, Jan and Teddy were also on site, searching through the rubble and calling Indie’s name.
It was as the fire crew turned up that Iain suddenly spotted a flash of bottle green in amongst the dusty brickwork. He jogged over and let out a breath when he saw Indie; she was in a sorry state. She was covered in dust from head to toe and had an oozing gash on her forehead. She was also trapped under a heft piece of the building, which was no doubt doing damage. She’d also had a few bricks land on her mid section. Iain wasted no time calling out to Teddy, Jan and the fire crew, who came racing over with their tools.
For Iain, the wait for the fire crew to extract Indie went on for hours when it couldn’t have been longer that half an hour. Finding her had been the easy part - she’d been in the doorway when it collapsed - but negotiating moving her when she couldn’t communicate her pain levels or injuries was difficult. Teddy and Jan hadn’t hesitated to head in and support, their helmets on. Jan had occasionally barked at the fire fighter in charge, clearly worried for the young paramedic. Indie still hadn’t woken up, and by the time she’d been safely extracted and immobilised, her silence had become unsettling. Iain couldn’t help but feel a little helpless - he’d been told strictly not to get involved, and the adrenaline was wearing off fast.
“You look like you could do with a stiff drink,” one of the fire crew commented.
“She couldn’t be older than my daughter,” another one stated as they glanced over at where Indie was on the stretcher. “Hopefully she’ll wake up soon… having a hero complex doesn’t make you invincible.”
It was then that it hit Iain - this must be how Faith felt every time he did something stupid and wound up in hospital. The sense of helplessness as the injuries were treated, the disdain that something like this had happened once again, the protectiveness…
“You’ll let me know any updates?” he asked Jan shakily. He was planning on going to the hospital to make sure Indie was okay anyway, but would have to swing by the depot first. Jan nodded and smiled knowingly.
“Making you think twice about diving into danger, I hope?” she asked him, and he shrugged, masking his concern with a cheeky grin.
“Who’d keep you on your toes if not me, Jan?” he asked as he turned and climbed into the front of the ambulance he’d occupied with Indie less than two hours ago. Iain watched as Jan and Teddy loaded Indie into the back of their ambulance and sped off. Indie would be okay… she had to be.
It was in the back of the ambulance, midway to Holby ED that Indie regained consciousness. Jan had been checking her IV access when her face crumpled suddenly, a wave of pain and nausea hitting her as she woke up.
“Ah, you’re awake,” the senior paramedic started in the way that Indie knew meant she was in for a telling off. “Are you quite done giving me a heart attack by playing the hero?”
Indie blinked blearily, trying to shift on the bed, only to realise she’d been immobilised, her head between two blocks to keep it in place. A wave of panic washed over her. What had happened to her? Jan noticed and softened slightly. She could berate Indie later - now the younger woman clearly needed some sort of support.
“You’ve knocked your head, love,” she supplied in a gentler tone. “Lost consciousness on the scene, and you had a fair bit of debris on top of you so we decided to immobilise you just in case.”
Almost unbidden, tears filled Indie’s eyes and she tried desperately to fight them back.
“Iain?” she croaked out eventually. Jan smiled at that and rolled her eyes - of course the first question Indie thought to ask was whether or not her friend was safe.
“Not a single scratch on him thanks to you,” she answered. “Normally it’s him throwing himself in the deep end so I’ll admit it was a shock to see you buried under that building.”
Something in Jan’s voice broke Indie; the tears leaked down her temples and into her hair.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, her bottom lip trembling. Jan reached over and gripped Indie’s hand gently.
“Don’t be sorry,” Jan replied. “Just learn from this, please.” For a moment it looked as though she had a few unshed tears in her eyes but she blinked them back with a smile.
“It’s bad enough having one paramedic with a dangerous hero complex, I think I’d end up in an early grave if I had two.” Indie let out a watery snort of laughter at that, the tension from wen she first woke up completely forgotten. Besides, Jan thought to herself, she imagined Cam would have plenty to say about Indie’s little stunt once they arrived at the ED.
As predicted, Cam was panicking when they pulled up; he had been on shift when the call came through stating that Indie had been buried under part of a collapsed building and since then… he’d been insufferable. Jodie had tried, she really had, but there was nothing stopping him from spiralling and pacing a hole in the floor of the staff room as they waited for the ambulance to arrive.
“What if she’s damaged her spine?” he asked to no one in particular. “She could have permanent damage… or what if she’s inhaled too much dust? That could damage her lungs!”
Jodie sat on the sofa in the staff room, watching as Cam spiralled further and further into his own panic. It wasn’t that she wasn’t worried for the paramedic, but she knew one of them had to keep a level head… and it definitely wasn’t going to be Cam in this situation.
“She’s coming to the right place,” she reassured her friend softly, standing up and gently holding Cam by the shoulders to stop him from pacing.
“I know…” Cam trailed off, glancing towards the staff room door for what felt like the fiftieth time. Almost as though he’d willed it to happen, Faith walked into the room with a grim expression on her face.
“They’re here,” she started, but before she could continue, Cam was racing out of the door. Jodie blinked, surprised at his speed, before standing and jogging after him calling his name. The last thing the resus team needed was Cam panicking himself into a frenzy while they were trying to assess Indie’s injuries. By the time she made it there, Faith was hot on her heels; it hadn’t taken long for the tension to ramp up apparently, as Indie was crying quietly while Stevie sent Cam a sympathetic yet annoyed look.
“Jodie, some help over here?” Stevie asked, nodding towards the head injury she was currently assessing. Jodie stepped in straight away, smiling at Indie and gently squeezing her arm before getting to work.
Cam was still in the depths of his panicked frenzy, however his worry seemed to have turned into… frustration.
“What you did was stupid, you- you could’ve been killed!” he declared. The silence hung heavy in the air as Indie’s tears were falling fast and thick now, but she made no attempt to defend herself. Stevie, who’d been checking Indie’s cap refill had had enough.
“No more spectators,” she snapped, making pointed eye contact with Faith. “She’s distressed enough without the added guilt trip from Romeo.” There was an almost impermissible nod from Faith as she stepped into mess.
“Let’s go, Cam,” her voice left no room for negotiation as she placed a hand on his shoulder and started to guide him out of the room. The nurse tried to turn around and protest, but Jan caught his other elbow and helped Faith manoeuvre Cam towards the door. Once outside the glass doors, Jan smiled knowingly at Faith.
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” she reassured Cam, who was clearly not happy with being removed from the room. Not giving him time to reply, she let the door swing shut again and headed back towards the bed. Indie was crying more now, guilt etched across her face.
“I didn’t mean to scare him,” she sniffled. “I’m sorry.”
Jan and Stevie locked eyes for a moment. Stevie continued checking Indie over, listening to her chest before deciding to respond.
“You saved someone’s life, Indie,” she said. “Not to mention you saved Faith from her thirtieth heart attack of the year.” Indie let out a small laugh through her tears at that. Jan and Jodie smiled reassuringly.
“Hopefully Faith will calm him down a bit,” Jodie commented, at which Jan snorted with laughter.
“If anyone’s qualified to talk down the partner of an adrenaline junkie paramedic, it’s Faith,” she retorted and the group laughed at that despite the situation.
Outside of resus, Faith was trying to do just that. She reckoned Cam was one minor inconvenience away from either bursting into tears or pulling his hair out… possibly literally.
“Cam,” Faith tried snapping the nurse out of his panic by calling his name but when that didn’t work, she sighed and waved her hand in front of his face. Cam glanced over at her, his focus drawn away from the bed inside of resus.
“Let’s go and get you a cup of tea, sweetheart,” the ACP started, putting on her best motherly tone. She wrapped an arm around Cam once more, and this time he was a bit easier to manoeuvre. That didn’t stop him from glancing over his shoulder as they headed into the staff room. Inside, Faith sat him down on a sofa and flicked the kettle on before sitting across from the young nurse.
“I should be with her,” Cam started stubbornly, almost as though he hadn’t been in resus and witnessed his own actions minutes earlier. Faith blinked a few times in surprise. Cam had always been incredibly reasonable, at least in her books… she didn’t take him as someone to panic and make rash decisions.
“I think you lost that right when you shouted at Indie,” she replied eventually, not meaning to sound quite as harsh as she did. “You how much concentration is needed in resus, Cam, and Indie was already in distress. She didn’t need you to rip into her as well.” She let the words sink in for a moment while she made a cup two cups of tea. She didn’t know if Cam took sugar in his at all but judging from the slight tremble of his hands, it wouldn’t hurt him. She handed him the sweet tea, which he stared at for a moment, looking truly miserable. Faith sighed, deciding to change tact slightly.
“I know you’re scared,” she stated softly. “I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve sat in that waiting room with Iain being treated for one thing or another.”
Cam glanced up at her then, realising that she was right. He hadn’t been at Holby as long as Faith and didn’t know how long Iain and his wife had been together but… in the three years he’d known the paramedic, he’d known him to get into a fair few scrapes.
“How do you not get scared?” he asked eventually. Faith let out a small huff of laughter at his question.
“I’m terrified every time,” she stated bluntly. “I know Iain would do anything to save anyone if he could… which is usually why he ends up in these scrapes in the first place.” Cam stared at her, clearly not reassured by what she was saying.
“I’m not sure if I can cope if Indie decides to start barrelling head first into every dangerous situation she comes across,” he said, but then he paused. Faith smiled. The penny seemed to have dropped.
“Her need to help others is one of the reasons you fell for her in the first place though?” she suggested. Cam nodded, flustered and looking guilty. He’d been an idiot.
“You can’t protect her from every danger in the world, and she’s too stubborn to try and stop,” Faith continued. “But don’t blow up in her face… you’ll only push her away. Talk to her, tell her you were terrified, but getting angry will probably only drive her next dangerous situation faster.” A brief silence settled over the pair, and Faith sipped her tea.
“I think I need to talk to Indie,” Cam stated quietly. Faith nodded, glad that this was the conclusion he’d come to.
“She’ll be heading up for a CT scan soon,” she said, her mothering tone returning. “Why don’t you finish your tea and get changed. You’re not going to be back on the shop floor before tomorrow.”
————
When Cam eventually found Indie, she was out of CT and in a cubicle; the gash on her forehead had been sealed using butterfly strips and she had an impressive bruise forming there. Jodie had also told him that Indie had a couple of cracked ribs and would likely have some pretty impressive bruising across her abdomen from the rubble. Overall, she had been incredibly lucky, to the point where Cam felt a little silly for talking to her in the way he had.
Jan was sat by Indie’s bedside, talking softly to the young paramedic so as not to aggravate the likely headache she was nursing. The older woman glanced up at him and raised an eyebrow before glancing across at Indie. Indie gave her a small nod, picking at the skin around one of her nails nervously. Jan smiled at her and stood to leave.
“Make her cry again and I’ll be having words with you,” she commented casually as she left, as though she had said something as simple as good evening. She then turned to Indie.
“Text me when they release you and I’ll come and pick you up,” she offered with a small smile. Indie nodded again, croaking out her thanks; she’d clearly inhaled quite a lot of dust.
Once Jan had left, Indie eyed Cam suspiciously.
“I’m not in the mood for another lecture,” she stated bluntly, her defensive walls clearly up. Cam cringed slightly at the damage he’d done.
“I promise I’m not here to lecture,” he replied, smiling nervously. “I just wanted to see how you were… and maybe sit with you?” He left the end open, not wanting to overstep. Cam knew when he’d pissed Indie off, and the last thing he wanted to do right now was push her if she still needed time. His girlfriend eyed him up briefly before nodding towards the chair Jan had not long vacated. Cam’s face lit up and he sat down. A slightly uncomfortable, weighted silence settled over the couple, their thoughts feeling louder than any drama happening outside of the cubicle.
“I’m sorry for doing the stupid thing,” she whispered eventually, not quite making eye contact. Cam shifted uncomfortably in the plastic chair.
“You don’t need to be sorry,” he replied softly. “My incredibly brave girlfriend did something amazing today… I just got scared when I thought about you being hurt.” He shakily placed his hand on the bed next to her’s and smiled slightly when she reached out and grasped it.
“I shouldn’t have said what I said,” Cam continued, running his thumb over Indie’s knuckles. “You’re very important to me, and I get it if you’re cross but I really don’t want to lose you over what I said,” he added. He could feel tears springing into his own eyes now.
“I’m sorry,” he finished, giving her hand a small squeeze. There was a brief silence as Indie mulled over what Cam had said before she squeezed his hand in return.
“I’d be ten times worse if I were in your shoes,” she commented with a sheepish grimace. “You’re not going to lose me… but I will be demanding chips from the canteen soon.” Cam let out a laugh as well, relief washing over him in waves.
“Noted,” he replied. “Chips from the canteen.” Indie nodded seriously, though the smile on her face gave her away. A comfortable quiet settled over them as they listened to the bustle of the hospital outside of the small cubicle.
An hour or so later, was a quiet chorus of ‘Happy New Year’ from the staff and a few patients as the clock struck midnight. Neither Indie or Cam had spoken for a while, just content in the company of one another. Indie blinked as though suddenly waking up from a dream.
“Happy New Year,” she croaked out with a small smile. Cam took in the sight of his girlfriend - her hair still full of brick dust, butterfly stitches holding together the gash on her forehead. He let out a small huff of laughter and leaned in, kissing her softly on the lips. She responded eagerly but the withdrew with a hiss of pain. A sheepish look passed over her face.
“Cracked rib,” she chuckled awkwardly. Cam rolled his eyes fondly and settled back in his seat.
“Happy New Year,” he replied. Indie smiled tiredly, settling back on the bed; it was as though the adrenaline had finally left her. Her eyes began to flutter shut in a way Cam had seen many times before… albeit not when she was in a hospital bed.
“I’ll try not to do this again…” Indie trailed off. “Hurts too much.”
Cam took hold of the hand that didn’t have the cannula sticking out of it and kissed her palm.
“Thanks,” he replied, making Indie huff a laugh quietly before she fell into a light doze. In the distance, Cam could hear ‘Auld Lang Syne’ drifting from a speaker somewhere and he smiled. This year would be a good one, he was sure, as long as he had Indie by his side.