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Micah steadied himself with each step as he ascended the shaky ladder. He had been through the training exercises many times, but now he needed to act quickly and precisely. The ladder had been hoisted up to the third floor of the burning apartment building. A middle-aged woman was out on the deck of the third-floor apartment, yelling for help. Smoke bellowed from the sliding glass doors behind her.
Upon arriving on the third level, Micah jumped onto the deck. He closed the sliding glass doors and looked at the woman. “Wrap your arms around my neck, and I’m going to carry you down the ladder!” He yelled. The window near the deck suddenly burst, and black smoke roared out toward them.
Micah grabbed the woman and threw his body over her to protect her. “We have to move now!” He yelled.
He stepped onto the ladder, and the woman wrapped her arms around his neck. He helped her over the deck railing and then slowly descended the ladder. When they reached the ground, paramedics were on standby and took the woman to an ambulance.
“You okay?” Lewis asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Was that the last person?” He asked.
“Yeah, we got everyone,” said Lewis.
“Okay, let’s put this fire out,” said Micah.
The two men joined the other firefighters who were spraying water on the fire from hoses. The men worked all afternoon and then several hours into the night to put it out. When the fire was mostly out, Lewis called out to Micah, “We’ve got this. Why don’t you head back to the firehouse in case we get another call?”
“Are you sure?” Micah asked.
“Yeah, I’ll be close behind you,” Lewis answered.
Micah climbed into his truck. He had been at home when Lewis called him to come help. When he got to the fire station, he peeled off his turn out gear. He showered at the firehouse and put on fresh clothes that he kept in his locker. In the kitchen, he brewed a pot of coffee and sat down to rest. He felt tired. His thoughts drifted to Marla. No matter how hard he tried, he could not get her to leave his thoughts. His heart ached, and he felt that familiar knot that had taken up residence in his stomach since he had broken up with her.
Micah stood and opened the refrigerator. He took out ham, cheese, lettuce, and tomato and made himself a sandwich. After taking a few bites, he checked the time on his cell phone. It was nine o’clock. He noticed the text message from Ben and opened it up.
Micah stared down at the text from Ben. I need to talk to you now. Marla is very sick in the hospital. Micah felt a nauseating sense of déjà vu. He had felt the same way when Allie was taken to the ER. His heart began to beat fast.
Micah dialed Ben’s number.
“Hello?” Said Ben. Ben didn’t give him a chance to respond. He said, “I’m glad you called me back. What took you so long? I called you hours ago.”
“What’s wrong with Marla? Tell me she’s okay,” demanded Micah, fear in his voice.
“She has appendicitis. She waited too long to let anyone know, and she passed out at home,” Ben said.
Micah stood and yelled, “Tell me she’s okay, please!”
“Calm down. She’s stable right now. She had surgery, but her appendix ruptured. So, she’s septic and in the ICU on presser support and antibiotics.”
“Presser support? Oh my gosh,” Micah said as tears filled his eyes. He knew that presser support meant she was on medications to keep her blood pressure up so she wouldn’t code. Starting to panic, he grabbed his keys and headed to his truck. “What room is she in? Where is she?”
“Calm down. Hurrying here is only going to get you hurt. She is stable on her current medications. They’re not having to increase the dopamine. This means she’s not getting worse. You know that. You may not want to see her right now. She’s unconscious, intubated, and on a ventilator.”
“I want to know where she is right now! I have to see her. Please, Ben!” He yelled again.
“Okay, Okay. Please calm down, man. You’re not doing her any good by getting excited. Delaney and I are here with her, so she’s not alone. She’s in room 2205. Drive safely to get here.”
Micah ended the call and squealed his tires as he left the fire station. Despite Ben’s plea for him to drive safely, Micah couldn’t help but speed. He felt a sense of urgency to be at Marla’s bedside. He couldn’t handle something happening to her. He couldn’t lose her, too. “Dear God,” he prayed, “please take care of her and let her be okay. I should have been there for her. Please forgive me for being so stupid.”
Micah arrived at St. Joe’s and raced to the second floor. He checked in at the nurse’s station and bolted into the room. Ben and Delaney were on the far side of the room, next to the window sitting in chairs. They stood when Micah entered the room.
Micah looked at Marla. Just as Ben had said, she was asleep, intubated, and the ventilator was breathing for her. Although Ben had warned him about what to expect when he saw her, he still wasn’t prepared. Micah couldn’t believe how fragile and thin she looked. It had only been about a month since he had broken things off, but he almost didn’t recognize her. He started to cry.
Ben walked over and put his hand on Micah’s shoulder. “She’s stable. She just has to get through the night. She’s on the big gun antibiotics, and she’s in good hands.”
Micah leaned into Ben and hugged him. He began to sob. Delaney felt tears form in her eyes, and she slowly stepped out of the room to give Micah some privacy.
“I’m such an idiot,” Micah cried. He sniffled a few times. “What have I done? Ben, what if I lose her, too? What if I don’t get the chance to tell her I’m sorry?”
Ben released Micah from the hug and looked at him. “Micah, you can’t beat yourself up over something you have no control of. She had appendicitis. No one caused that. You’re not going to lose her. She’s going to be okay.”
“Can you promise me that?” Micah asked.
Ben shook his head. “I can’t promise anything, but Delaney and I have been praying. She’s in God’s hands.”
They were both quiet as they watched Marla breathe with the assistance of the ventilator. Ben said, “Why don’t you sit with her for a while. Delaney and I will go get you a cup of coffee.”
Micah nodded and sat down in the chair at Marla’s bedside. Ben and Delaney disappeared into the hall and headed toward the hospital cafeteria.
Micah took Marla’s small hand in his. He leaned his head onto her arm and wept. For a long time, he sat quietly listening to the sound of her assisted breaths and the musical EKG of her heartbeat. He tapped his foot to the sound of her heart, hoping somehow it would give her strength. Sadness and hopelessness flooded his heart.
About twenty minutes later, Ben tapped Micah on the shoulder, and Micah raised his head up to look at who was touching him. “Oh, hey,” he said.
Ben said in a quiet voice, “Here’s your coffee. I’ll be out in the waiting room. Come get me if you need anything.”
Micah nodded. “Thanks.”
Ben turned to walk out of the room and then turned back toward Micah. “Talk to her. Let her know you’re here. She needs to know that you care.”
“Thanks, man.”
Ben walked out of the room and disappeared into the hallway. The nurse walked in after Ben left and assessed Marla.
“My name is Karen. Can I get you anything?” She asked.
Micah half-smiled and answered, “No, thank you. Can I just stay with her, please?”
“Of course,” she said, and then she walked out of the room.