Bell’s mother was quite simply the most beautiful woman Durfee had ever seen.
Guess that’s where Bell got his looks, Durfee thought. He sighed as she
walked through the doors of the ER, wishing that he could wake up from this
nightmare…that he didn’t have to tell this woman, this woman whose husband
was already dying, that her son wasn’t expected to make it through surgery.
"Mrs. Bell?" He slowly approached.
She looked up, her blue eyes stained red from crying. "Are you-"
"I’m Captain Durfee." He nodded, taking the hand she held out and gently
shaking it. "I’m so sorry that we have to meet under these circumstances."
She nodded in response, then surprised him with a soft chuckle. "I’m
sorry…it’s just Michael’s talked about you so much at home…I feel like I
already know you." Like her son, her voice was quiet but managed to carry
through the din of the ER with a heated intensity.
Behind her, a younger man cleared his throat. Durfee looked at him, seeing
the strong family resemblance. Mrs. Bell put her hand on his shoulder,
pulling him forward a little. "This is my son, Will."
Durfee smiled and shook hands. He took a breath. "How about we get out of
here…it’s a little noisy." He led them down the hall to the elevators. "He’s
in surgery right now, I’m gonna just take you up there, and then we can all
talk with the doctors, okay?" he asked softly.
Bell’s mother nodded, moving past Durfee into the elevator. Her feet barely
made a sound on the tiled floor. Durfee followed Will inside, then pushed the
button to take them to the surgical floor. They stood in silence, Durfee
watching Bell’s mother hold her arms around her waist as if she was afraid
she would fall apart.
Reaching the fourth floor, they stepped out, and Durfee led them down the
halls towards the waiting room. Opening the door, he heard Mrs. Bell gasp as
she stepped inside. He quickly walked in, his eyes taking in the sight of at
least a dozen firefighters standing up in deference to Bell’s mother.
He hadn’t expected them all to have come up from the ER so quickly. Turning
to Mrs. Bell, Durfee apologized. "I’m so sorry," He turned to face his crew.
"Guys, why don’t you give us a little space-"
"No," Mrs. Bell interrupted, holding her hand up to block the men and women
from leaving the room. "No, it’s okay…" She smiled. "I know…you’re all part
of Michael’s family too."
Durfee looked at her, stunned. The kind of control it had to take for her to
come here, to face this kind of pressure…he didn’t think he’d ever seen
anything like it before. Blinking hard, Durfee realized that he had…in her
son. He bit back a sharp sigh of remorse and gestured to a group of chairs in
the corner. "Why don’t we sit over there…we can talk."
He stood as Mrs. Bell and her son sat down, glancing at the still-standing
men and women of the ’77, gesturing for them to sit down as well. Durfee
pulled a chair to sit across from the Bells, taking a deep breath before he
began. "Mrs. Bell-"
"Maureen." She interrupted.
"What?" Durfee asked, startled.
She looked him in the eye. "My name is Maureen…" she said, her voice firm as
she took one of Will’s hands in her own.
Durfee nodded. Why did this have to be so hard? Moments like this made him
sorry that he ever became a firefighter…or a captain. "Maureen…Michael is…"
He swallowed, wanting a drink badly. "Michael is in bad shape…he was hurt
very badly." He watched her as she squeezed Will’s hand.
"How badly? I mean, what happened?" she asked, her voice just above a whisper.
Durfee took another breath. "There was an accident…with the rig, the rescue
ambulance. Michael’s unit was called to respond to a victim, and, uh," he
floundered for a moment, thinking of how to abbreviate the story, "while he
was driving the rig, a semi-trailer collided with it, and…and Michael was
trapped inside."
Maureen squeezed her younger son’s hand harder, and Will reached to put his
arm around her shoulder. "Were the others hurt? They weren’t, were they? Wick
and Ryan?"
Durfee shook his head, fighting back the memory of hearing Michael ask the
same question. He was surprised she knew their names. "No…they weren’t in the
rig when it happened."
"Good…good…I’m glad they’re okay," she murmured staring at her lap. She
lifted her face, her eyes not quite meeting his, "Michael cares for them very
much…I think he’d be devastated if anything ever happened to them."
Durfee nodded, rocking back a little in his seat, remembering Michael’s
desperate cries for help over the radio from the chemical plant. "Yes…he
would be."
****
Wick moved over to make room for Durfee on the couch. One of the doctors from
the trauma team had come in to explain Bell’s condition to his mother and
brother, and they were in the far corner of the room, talking softly. Durfee
sat down heavily and rested his head in his hands.
Turning to look at Wick, Durfee sighed. "I’ll introduce you to them after the
doctor leaves…I know they’ll want to meet you." Durfee gestured towards the
Bells.
Wick shook his head. "No, that’s okay, Cap."
"Excuse me?"
"It’s okay…I don’t want to disturb them."
Durfee rubbed his head. He and his rapidly growing headache did not have the
patience for this. "Your partner is in surgery, might not make it out, and
you can’t get yourself together enough to meet his family and give them a
little support?" he asked, quiet but angry. "What the hell is wrong with you,
Lobo?"
Wick looked at him, surprised. "I-"
"No." Durfee interrupted and held up his hand. "I don’t want to hear it,
Wick. I know things have been…strained…for all of you since whatever happened
at the chemical plant…since whatever happened happened. I don’t understand
why exactly…I had hoped you all could work it out like the mature adults I
thought you were. Apparently, I was mistaken in that assumption." He leaned
back and let out a slow breath, trying to calm down.
Wick’s eyes were wide as he stood up and walked out of the room. He shut the
door behind him softly and looked down the hall, trying to decide which way
to go.
"Hey."
Wick turned around, startled. Will Bell stood in front of him, his hands
resting easily on his hips. Wick nodded. "Hey, man."
Will walked past him, loosening his tie. "So…you’re Wick, right?"
"Yeah…" Wick answered, surprised.
Will chuckled. "Don’t worry, man, I’m not psychic or anything…it’s on the
back of your jacket."
Wick let out a breath and smiled back. "Right…I forget sometimes."
"That’s what Mike says."
Surprised again, Wick looked away. "Yeah, of course…what else does he say?"
Will shrugged. "I don’t know…he and I don’t talk that much anymore." He
looked at Wick with a rueful smile. "We’ve got our differences," he
explained, "and one of them is work. He doesn’t ask about mine, I don’t ask
about his…although, sometimes, stuff slips out…"
"Right, so that’s why he’s playing secret accountant for y’all?"
Will turned his head, his expression sharp and surprised. "What the hell are
you talking about?"
Wick shrugged. Good, Wick, now you’ve pissed off Bell’s brother…that’ll make
Durfee real happy, he thought. "Nothin’ man, forget I said anythin’."
Will shifted on his feet and moved to lean on a nearby counter. "So…you and
Mike been working together how long? About a year?"
Wick could feel his temper rising. For someone who didn’t talk about work
with his brother, Will sure did seem to know a lot. "Yeah," he answered
shortly.
"He’s good on the job, right?"
Wick looked at him, confused. "Yeah…"
Will nodded, not looking in Wick’s direction. "Yeah…Mike’s always good at
everything he does," he took breath and shrugged, "he’s a good guy…everybody
always likes him." He rubbed his head wearily. "God, I want a cigarette."
Wick stared at him, unsure of what to say.
Will looked at him and shrugged. "Yeah, I know, no smoking in the hospital."
He loosened his tie some more. "I hate hospitals, but lately…"
Wick nodded, half-listening as Will spoke.
"I can never figure Mike out, you know?" Will continued. "I don’t get
it…my…our…father wanted him to take over the business, trained him to,
M.B.A., the whole deal, and what’s Mike do? Chucks it away for some crummy
job fighting fires and helping people who have fallen and can’t get up…"
Wick clenched his jaw.
"I told him…don’t be stupid, Mike, I said…take the business." Will shook his
head. "I’m the one who wanted it, but I told him, take it, man, go ahead. I
don’t why he didn’t…but then, that’s Mike…he always does things his way."
Wick stared at the floor, chewing on his lip as Will talked on. "I thought it
was stupid when he told Dad that he didn’t want the business…I guess I was
right."
Wick couldn’t help it. His finger was in Will’s face before he knew what was
happening. "You shut your mouth, man," he growled, "You shut your mouth or
I’ll shut it for you."
Wick stepped closer. "Your brother is one of the bravest people I know, and
if you don’t see that by now, then you…" He paused, his voice dropping in
volume but not intensity. "I would be proud to call Michael Bell my brother."
Wick took a breath and backed off, surprised. He hadn’t meant to get in
Will’s face like that. Looking up, he opened his mouth to apologize, but
closed his mouth shut quickly as he saw Will watching him.
"I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said-" Will apologized. "I’m sorry."
Wick nodded, then turned on his heel and walked back into the waiting room.
He maneuvered through the chairs and couches to the corner where Durfee was
again sitting with Maureen Bell. "Mrs. Bell?" he said softly.
She looked at him, her eyes tired but hopeful. Wick swallowed as Durfee
looked on, his face somber but approving. "Mrs. Bell, I’m Wick Lobo…I’m one
of your son’s partners."
