Saved By The Firefighter
Chapter 39

Davey's Point of View.

I winced slightly as the last of my six stitches were tied off, the clattering of the forceps into the metal bowl indicating I was all done.

"Okay, you are good, take this prescription to the pharmacy. By this time, ours will be closed, so I suggest Millets on Hylton Road. Finish the course, and if it gets hot and inflamed come back." The doctor smiled at me.

I nodded, pulling down my polo shirt. Hell I stunk as badly as Twinkles cooking, from the smoke of the fire and I was in desperate need of a shower.

The doctor passed me a bag full of dressings to keep the wound covered and sent me on my way. I walked out into the hospital reception where Josie waited for me with Ben, both of them cleared by the doctors almost immediately. They were only brought here to do the bog-standard concussion checks. When the roof went down, a piece of the ceiling had fallen, narrowly missing my head, but the jiggered corner had pierced my side before falling to the floor. God knows how, but neither Ben nor Josie got hit by anything. We were f*****g lucky, it could have been so much worse than it was.

"Hey, the police have just arrived looking for Kathline, apparently he has her car keys," Ben said, nodding over to the reception desk.

I looked over at the officer, seeing it was Jason, one of the guys who I had met after being roped in to do a career talk with the local Air Cadet Squadron on Tay Road. I walk over to him, giving him the customary nod of greeting.

"Hi Jason, are those keys Kathline's?" I ask.

"Red-headed mother, who parked her car in the middle of the road and hightailed it to the school?" Jason asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sounds like her, listen. She is a friend, I am going to head up to see her now. I can pass them to her," I suggest.

The truth was it was an excuse to check on both her and Andy, hell, I am not sure if I needed an excuse, but it was good to have one just in case she didn't want to see me just yet.

A gnawing feeling ate away in the pit of my stomach. Anxiety is rising to the max. Had I totally f****d this up, just with one look? The truth was, as soon as I found out Andy was in that burning school, I had panicked, and not just because I felt for Kathline, I panicked because I felt for that little boy. The question was, would Kathline give me a chance to explain that to her.

"The initial report on the fire is in," Jason's voice snapped me back to the present.

It had been hours since he left the scene of the blazing school, the guys obviously got it under control and put the fucker out.

"Fire investigation will not be for a few days," I stated, looking at him with a furrowed brow.

There was one reason and one reason only the police would get an instant report on initial findings, and that did not bare thinking about.

"Yeah, but your Station Officer had a word with my inspector, it looks like arson."

I sucked in a breath, who the f**k in their right minds would torch a primary school full of little kids between the ages of 4 and 11.

"Kids?" I asked, wondering and hoping to hell, Andy had not turned Naughty Norman on me and set light to something when he was supposed to be washing his hands.

"Not little ones, they don't have the capacity to place accelerant into the kitchen area, trailing it to the back doors, then strike a match." Jason looked at me, his eyes wide.

"What the f**k?" I exclaimed, no, primary school kids did not have the knowledge or expertise to do that. This is f*****g bad.

"Boss said we will know more in a few days when you guys get back to us, but as of now we are conducting a full arson investigation." Jason shrugged.

"What was that?" Ben growled out behind us.

"Arson," I said the one word we all hated, because that meant deliberate, and could also be an indicator that more fires were to come if the police didn't find the culprit and quickly.

A chill ran over my body, as Ben shook his head in disbelief, then turned and gave the news to Josie, who sat wide eyed. We all knew the consequences of an arsonist, along with their pattern of setting bigger and better fires. This was a nightmare, the only hope in this situation was someone had a grudge against the school or a family, or person who were part of it. The other scenario would mean we were going to be busy, and things would go DEFCON 1 in the danger department.

"Look I got to get off, I am doing a double shift. Obviously keep that info under your helmets." Jason nodded at us.

"Goes without saying Jason," Josie sighed out, still shaking her head, in silent disbelief.

"s**t, this is not good guys," Ben sighed.

"No, but there is nothing we can do about it, Ben, just hope the boys in blue catch the fucker, and quick," Josie stated, crossing her arms across her chest defensively.

"Hopefully the fucker has left some blindingly obvious clues around the school, so they get caught before they go on a fire-starting rampage," Ben growled out, his face awash with emotion that was normally alien to him.

More than anything, I need to go see Andy and Kathline. The knowledge that someone had done this to the little man deliberately causing bile to form in my stomach.

"I am going to give Kathline her keys and see Andy. I will grab a taxi back to the station to pick up my car. See you both tomorrow," I say and begin to walk off towards the Children's Accident and Emergency department.

"Boss said to tell you take tomorrow's shift off, then come back Friday - full pay," Josie shouted to me, and I give a nod of my head and a wave with the back of my hand, in response, needing to get to Kathline.

I stand looking through the glass square of the door of Andy's side room, apparently, I am just in time as they have a bed on the children's ward, and he will be taken up there in the next half-an-hour or so. He is sleeping, and Kathline has her head on the bed beside him, her eyes never leaving his face, as tears seem to run down her cheeks unchecked, like someone had forgot to turn off the tap. My gut clenches, as I stare at her harrowed face, dark circles under her eyes, her pale complexion almost translucent with shock. Yet still she was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Hesitantly I knock on the door and walk in.

Kathline lifted her head off the bed, and wiped away her waterfall of tears, with the palms of her hand then wiping them dry on her skirt.

"Hey, I got your car keys off Jason, the copper who moved your car for you," I ramble a bit, to explain why I was here, hoping she doesn't take the keys and shove me out the door. Blinking she stared at me.

"You saved him," her voice barely audible.

I didn't know how to respond to that, so just gave a simple nod in reply.

"You saved my boy," she whispered again.

"I can never repay that debt," she sighed out, looking towards Andy again.

"You don't have to. How is he?" I ask looking at the little lad, itching to go sit at the other side of him and take his small hand in mine, just so he knows we are both here for him.

"High on pain killers. His ankle is broken in three places, they told me the bones, like I can ever remember them. He needs an op, to pin them, but until his lungs are clear, they cannot do it, so he is in pain and will be until the effects of the smoke inhalation wear off," Kathline said on a sigh.

"But he is here, alive, because of you. How can I ever thank you? Words will never be enough. You gave me back my boy. My beautiful little boy," She said with a sob.

Turning back towards me, her eyes wide, like she was begging me to answer. The fact was, she never had to thank me, not her, him being here, alive and with a chance of a full recovery was all the thanks I would ever need.

"You don't, just seeing him alive is more than I could ever wish for. s**t Kathline, I have never been so scared in my life knowing it was Andy in that school. I was almost stopped from going inside, but hell itself, which that fire was, could not stop me from finding your little boy." I pointed at the little man who had captured a piece of my heart, equal to the piece his mother held in her hands.

Taking a breath, I know now is probably not the time, but still, I have to try, today I almost lost one of them, and the pain I felt was more intense than anything I have ever felt in my life.

"I know I f****d up, letting frustration get the better of me, but I learnt my lesson last night. But today just hammered it home. I think the world of Andy, and I want you both. I don't care how many times he interrupts us. If you want to thank me, then all I can ask is that you give me another chance, to prove it to you," I say, desperation in my voice, taking away any man-points I had remaining, but I don't care. This woman, and this boy, have stolen a piece of me, and without both of them in my life, I now know that I will not be complete.

Kathline looked up at me, a fresh waterfall of tears streamed down her face, as she looked between me and Andy.

"Davey, I...I have to put him first, especially now," she whispered.

"I know, and I am fully on board with that, trust me Kathline, I may have internally freaked out, a little last night. But knowing he was in that school, it almost killed me," I pleaded with her. "Look, let's not decide anything today, it is not the right time, but at least let me have the chance to prove this to you, that no matter what, I want you both in my life," I negotiated hoping beyond hope that she would agree, to just let me prove myself.

She looked up at me, her green eyes wide, and simply nodded, then passed me her car keys.

"My bag is in the car, could you get it and put it on my drive, and pop into the house and grab Andy and I some clothes please?" she simply asked.

A small smile teetered on my lips.

"Yes, I will go sort that now, I need to head home for a shower, and pick my car up from the station, then I will be back, give me a couple of hours." I grin, letting out a sigh of relief. "Okay, I am not sure which ward we will be on."

"F36, the children's ward, you will need to buzz in though," a porter stated, as he walked into the room, with a jovial smile on his face.

"Right young man, let me get you to the ward and settled," he said to the sleeping Andy, then flicked off the brakes on the bed, and begun to wheel him out of the emergency room. Kathline followed, and I quickly grabbed her by the waist, placing a soft kiss on her lips.

"See you soon, I will bring food, because I know for a fact the food in here is shite." I grin at her.

I walk out the hospital, and look to the heavens above, waiting for my taxi to arrive, and repeat "Thank you," over-and-over again.