AU - Backdraft

Dita took his left hand in hers, bringing it up to her lips, kissing it gently. "I love you. Go on, I got this."

He made his way to the rubble, finding their Captain and getting orders. He had to argue to get to help, but they did eventually let him. He was with Ope digging through the rubble of Tower two, the hole staring him down. He started to sweat and his hands shook. He was not going to let that damn hole get the better of him with Morrow out here.

Dita got the refreshment table in order and gave solace to the wives and teenage children around the sight waiting for word on their missing loved ones. She kept a close eye on her husband.

He found Opie and they split off to the last section Morrow was known to be in and started digging. Juice wasn't hopeful they would find him alive, but he felt like he owed the man returning him to his family. As they were digging he could swear he hear a persistent knocking.

"Hey, man, do you hear that?"

Opie nodded, "Call for more help." He continued to dig.

Corrie heard Juice yelling, she'd been avoiding them because of Opie, but it sounded like they'd found someone. She rushed over, covered in dirt, pieces of rock jammed in her cast.

"Where," she asked Juice.

"Over there, we think it's Morrow, use your radio to get some EMTs," he looked over his shoulder and made eye contact with Dee, hope blaring from his eyes.

Corrie called the emts then rushed to opie's side and started digging.


"Come on, guys, I know it's him," Juice spoke, WILLING it to be Morrow.

Dita saw the look in his eyes and went running toward him. She was so desperate to help him. Dropping down to her knees; she began to help.

Juice moved debris until they had a tunnel that made it clear where the noice was coming from. Neither he nor Opie could fit in the damn thing and it was too unstable to try and make it wider. He didn't want to ask her and especially not in front of Dee, but he had no choice.

"Cor, do you think you can fit down there?" he looked at his shocked sister in law.


Corrie looked at the tunnel, swallowed hard, pulled out a small flashlight and dove in without replying. It was slow going, but she followed the sound. Morrow was down here.

Dita started sobbing as she tried stopping her sister. "No!" When her sister went for the task, Dita looked at Juice in shock, "How? How could you ask her that?!"

"It's what she's trained to do, Dee! Morrow is down there. She is here because she wants to help, let her help!"

He watched as Corrie's feet disappeared and looked over at Ope, he was still and looked pale. He put a hand on his arm, "Come on, man we've got to get the tunnel wide enough for her to pull him out.


Corrie could here the fighting going on at the mouth of the tunnel, "Dee, I'm fine. I'll be fine!"

Dust trickled down in moats, making her cough, as the building shifted. She could see the hand using a dead flashlight to tap and she scrambled towrds it.

"I found him!! I'm going to try to dig him out!" she yelled back up the hole.

she set her flashlight up on a piece of wall and began removing debris, disregarding her broken hand. Piece by piece she uncovered the older man. He coughed and sputtered and weakly pulled himself out off his prison. It was as far as he could move, though.

Corrie grunted as she pulled the man onto her back and crawled back towards the mouth of the hole.

To prove she had Morrow, she thrust one hand up out of the hole, his badge in her fist.

Juice grabbed the badge, "Jesus, she got him, she really got him."

Dita looked at him, hurt clearly written on her face. He never really got cross with her and she tried to write it off as stress, but her emotions were shot. She decided to just focus on getting Clay out and continued to dig along with Opie.

Juice felt bad for yelling at Dita, it was the job. You had to do it without thinking of yourself.

He looked at her, "I'm sorry Dee, I am."

He hurriedly made the hole wider.

Morrow was in trouble, he had stopped breathing, but corrie's cast wasn't going to allow for CPR. Immediately, she yanked out her utility knife and ripped it through the plaster of her cast letting it fall to the ground. She began compression and breathing. Her wrist screamed at her, but she brought him back

"Guys, she yelled, I'm going to hand him up, you won't be able to pull us both out atthe same time and he can't wait. Get him out, get him help, come back for me. I'll be ok."

She handed the old man up to Juice and tears silently slid down her face at the thought of being stuck down here for even five minutes.

Juice grabbed Clay by the shoulders and pulled him out enough to check his pulse and get some guys with a back board. He turned hi back on the hole and focused on Clay.

Dita ignored his apology; too upset to even focus on anything else right now. Once Clay was out, Dita ran for water and a first aid kit and began assisting him. Once Juice began helping him, Dita went over to Opie grabbing the harness nearby and strapping it on. "Ope, you recall me saying something about taking a crowbar to your head?"

Ope looked at her, "...Yes...."

Dita tightened the teethers and handed him the end rope, "Unless you lower me down in that fucking hole to get my sister, I swear to you I will knock your damn block off."

Juice saw his wife out of the corner of his eye and marched over.

"Opie, if you lower her down I will officially reprimand your ass. do you understand me? She has no idea what it's like down there," he balled up his fists.



Corrie started to shiver uncontrollably, her hand was swollen again where she'd put so much force on it and her memories from the last time she was in this building were assaulting her. In the dark she felt like she'd never left because she had nothing else to focus on down here. She began to sob and couldn't take being down there anymore though only ten minutes had passed.

She started to scream between sobs, "Get me out, get me out!! Please!!!!"

Dita heard her sister's cries and pushed Juice out of the way, glaring at Opie, "Harry, I mean it. Lower me or I will just free fall down there. THAT IS MY SISTER. She is scared and will not sit back and watch this any longer." She slowly climbed into the opening, "Corrie, I'm coming."

Corrie was leaning against a wall, holding her head in her hands sobbing, "Not again, not again."

When she felt hands groping for her in the dark she wept like a child.

Dita grabbed on to her sister and wrapped her arms around her. "Cor. Hold on to me, okay? We're getting out of here." Dita looked up at bleak light above them, "Opie! Pull us up!"

Opie nodded doing what he was ordered to do.

It didn't take long for Opie to pull both the girls out one at a time. He checked Corrie for injuries, "Are you hurt?"

She nodded, still sobbing, "My hand, I had to take the cast off to give clay CPR."

She ignored everyone else and leaned against Opie needing the comfort of his arms. She shivered so hard her teeth chattered.



Juice was pissed, "Why in god's name would you do that, Dee?"

He could feel the reddness on his face.

Dita looked at Opie, "Please...get her to the hospital...Corrie, do exactly as Ope says...please."

Dita looked back at Juice, a look of defiance on her face, "She needed help. She was in no condition to be going down there in the first place, Ortiz."

"She did her job. She SAVED his life. If she hadn't gone down there he would be dead. I'm sorry she freaked, but I am NOT sorry I asked. Lets go, I'm obviously not going to be of help anymore tonight," he started marching towards the car.

Dita, equally stubbern, went the opposite direction of the car and went to hail a taxi instead.

Juice sat in their dark kitchen drinking his third Carona and waiting for Dee. He was on the edge and he knew it.

Dita arrived home four hours later. She had stayed with her sister until she was released from the hospital and then went to check on Trinity. She hated leaving Trinity again, but knew it was better for her to stay with her brother until the dust settled at home.

She came in quietly, dropping her keys into the bowl in the foyer. She had planned on sleeping on the sofa tonight in avoidance of Juice. She figured he'd be pretty pissed with her.

He heard her keys fall into the bowl and he stood, walking to the fridge and grabbing another beer. He knew her angry nighttime routine. Eventually she would come into the kitchen for a tea. He sat back down in his chair and started the fourth beer.

Dita heard him and decided to delay her tongue lashing by taking a shower. Once she was done, she silently went into the kitchen and silently began making her tea.

ooc: http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=63258515