So I've been debating posting this for a while now, considering I got the idea from my EMT textbooks and that's never a good idea…

So I figured if people don't like it, I just won't continue it. So if you like it, please review and let me know what you think?

Just as an authors note, this takes place before volume 10. Simply because…Mal is kidnapped and I don't really know how to respond to that…

I lean back against the wall of the break room as I wait for Mal, exhausted from the long day. The TV blares some kind of news broadcast, which I dully listen to through semi-closed eyes.

"Be on the look out for Felix Verstehen, age 15. He suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, and his family suspects he has run away from home. If you see him, approach with care. His family—".

No one else is in the break-room, so I switch the TV on mute. The boy's face is still on the screen. He's average looking, with light brown hair and eyes. I turn the TV off completely. News like that is the last thing I want right now, and all I can think of is that the boy on the screen is never going home. Kids like that…it just doesn't happen.

A minute later Mal comes back, and the two of us head out the front door of the precinct doors without speaking. Both of us had the night shift, and it's honestly too early for me to even form a coherent thought.

There's a light rain cutting through the morning mist, and the streets are filled with morning traffic. Most of those people are going to work, while Mal and I are going home.

The ride to my apartment building is silent, and I rest my head on the window and try to stay awake. But then, about half-way there, something catches my eye. There's a boy on the side of the road, his bike nearly bent in half, and he clutches his lower arm as if in pain. He appears to be sitting on the edge of the sidewalk, but no one is stopping. He looks familiar…

Then it hits me. He's the boy from the news this morning.

"Mal. Stop" I say, trying to get a better look at the kid. From look of his crumpled bike it seems he had a run-in with a car, but other than the fact that he's clutching his forearm he looks unharmed. After a moments pause Mal slows down, clearly seeing the kid too. "He was on the news earlier" I say quietly, not getting of the car. "Be careful, he might think we're trying to hurt him".

Mal starts to say something, probably asking what's going on, but before he starts I slowly get out and start to walk towards the boy. He watches me as I approach, immediacy tensing and starting to inch away. He pulls his backpack, which was lying out of sight next to him, onto his shoulder.

I open my mouth to say his name, but before I can even get the first letter put he get up and sprints down the sidewalk like a frightened and wounded animal. Despite his injuries he's fast, and I sprint after him without even looking to see if Mal's behind me.

"Wait!" I yell at him, dodging past the few people who are on the streets this early. Almost everyone stares, but not a single one stops. The boy reaches a subway entrance and sprints down the stairs, still holding his arm. I follow after him, battling against the people heading out of the subway. As I reach the bottom of the stairs I lose him, and take a minute to search the flock of people milling around. My heart drops to my stomach as I see where he's gone.

He's on the tracks, looking around as if confused. When he sees me he starts to get farther away, heading directly towards a piece of track that buzzes with electricity. If he so much as touches it, he'll be dead before he hits the ground.

I rush over to him, my hand reaching out to grab the back of his jacket. I can hear the sound of one of the cars coming, but surely it can't be that close. I don't look, but I must have time.

He's only a foot away from the buzzing track now, but before he can take another step I'm there; my hand gripping his hood. I start to pull him back, pulling him out of harms way. I can hear the train getting closer, but I don't dare look.

That's when I blink, and my vision is filled with nothing but glimpses of passing glass windows.

A sharp pain pierces my skin a little above my left elbow, and I know right away something isn't right. The pain from my arm is fading away, like I had only hit it against the car. But this can't be the case. I was holding a boy. One who's probably dead by now. One who I can't even remember letting go of.

The world seems to fade away. I can hear someone screaming, the sound of people talking and clanking metal. But it's all so far away, like I'm underwater. I simply stand there in shock, waiting for someone to return sound to the world.

Then something, or someone, yanks me backwards. I'm barely aware of being placed on the ground, of hands grabbing me as someone's face hovers only a foot above mine. There's only one thing I can register; the floor is wet. I don't know with what, but it quickly soaks my jacket as I lie flat on my back.

The world seems to freeze for a few precious moments. My body seems to suddenly realize that it's been horribly damaged, maybe even beyond repair, and a sharp pain shoots up my left arm like an electric current, burning well past my shoulder. I try to move my left hand, my fingers, but my arm won't respond. Like it's been frozen in time. My eyes try to focus on the figure who's hovering over me, trying to figure out what he's yelling about. His lips are moving, his eyes looking at something to his left, but no sound escapes his lips.

Then, suddenly, he looks at me; and the world rushes back to me. This man is Mal Fallon. He is my partner. And as long as he's here, no matter what happens, I'm safe. Because that's what partners do. They watch each others back, make sure the other one gets home safe and sound.

His lips move again, his eyes locked on mine. But he's slowly fading away, his face growing blurry like an aging photograph. While I can't seem to move my left arm, my right seems perfectly fine, and I reach up and take his arm to make sure he hears me.

"Did I save him?" I manage to desperately choke out. Mal doesn't have time to answer before everything fades to black.