Anything but routine.

//I've decided to write a few blog posts here and there to sort of flesh out the kinds of things Asuka might experience when she responds to calls. Doing them in blog form because they'd be too long for wall posts. It had only been an hour since their shift began. Asuka and Frank had already responded to a handful of calls, and it didn't seem like they were going to slow down anytime soon. After having just dropped off a stallion at Grace East Hospital the two are greeted by a voice from their radios. "Attention Responder 143 (still trying to figure out a good callsign) officers report an injured mare on Baxter street, Apt 12. They're requesting immediate medical assistance." Frank picks up his radio and responds. "Copy that dispatch. We'll be right there." The two hop back into their ambulance and begin to head towards the specified address when the voice speaks again. "Be advised 143. Officers report that there was gunfire heard in the area about... 10 minutes ago." Again Frank responds. "Copy that dispatch. We'll be on our toes." "You ready for this Asuka?" Asks Frank. His eyes fixated on the road. "Ready as I'll ever be. I haven't responded to any calls with reports of gunfire yet. I just hope there isn't any while we're there." She huffs in response, and her partner gives her a smile. "I'm sure we'll be fine. There's officers there. They've probably got the situation under control. Besides, they wouldn't send us in if there was still gunfire going on." That made Asuka feel a little better. She trusted the Vanhoover police department, but she trusted Frank even more. As they pulled up to the scene the two park the ambulance with the back facing the scene. The two hop out to assess the situation. A police cruiser sits on the side of the road with two officers standing next to a wounded mare. The mare's been shot in the chest. Asuka opens the back of the ambulance and waits for Frank to grab the stretcher and some extra equipment before they go to check out the mare. https://youtu.be/IKwLZEAAEvg?t=1408 One of the officers sees the two approaching and begins to speak. His words are drowned out by shouting coming from the roof of the apartment building. "YOU CAN'T HAVE HER! SHE'S MINE YOU HEAR ME!? MINE!" Asuka's eyes widen as she looks up to the source to find a rifle pointed down at her. She and Frank ditch their stretcher and turn to run for cover behind a nearby building. Shots ring out, and one of the officers begins to shout. Asuka isn't sure what the officer is saying, but he seems frantic. She dives behind the cover of the building, and hears a cry. Asuka turns back to find her partner lying on the ground 5 feet from the building. He's been shot. The officer's word are clear now. "Dispatch! We need backup! Bucker just shot one of the EMTs!" The other officer is also shouting. "Where the hell did he come from?! We swept this place thoroughly!" More shots ring out, and Asuka instinctively flinches. 'Calm down Asuka. Now's not the time to be panicking. You've got to get Frank out of there.' Asuka closes her eyes, and attempts to drown out the gunfire, and shouting. She collects herself as best she can, and slowly inches towards the edge of the building. 'C'mon Asuka! It's 5 feet! You can grab him!' After mustering all of her courage Asuka breaks from her cover, and dashes to Frank. The two officers are momentarily stunned. They quickly stand and return fire to attract attention, crouching back behind their cruiser when shots are returned. Asuka grabs Frank under his forelegs, and uses all of her strength to drag him behind cover. There are more shots, this time aimed at her. She stifles a scream as a bullet whizzes past her mane, and slams into the asphalt. Once she's dragged Frank fully behind the building she gently lets him down, and begins to treat his wound. Frank groans as every movement he makes causes excruciating pain. The gunshots and shouting are drowned out as Asuka gets to work patching up her partner. She can't save him, but she can buy time to get him to the hospital. Asuka is entirely focused on patching up Frank. So much so that she doesn't notice two more police cars arrive on the scene. She doesn't notice one of the officers making his way to her until the officer has set the injured mare next to her. She now has two patients to treat. She can hear one of the newly arrived officers shouting. "VCPD! HOOFS UP ASSHOLE!" The whole situation is quickly turning into a mess. Asuka is trying to treat two critically wounded patients at once, and there's no sign of any assistance coming. She works silentely, and quickly, but deep down she's terrified. What if they can't get them to the hospital in time? What's going to happen if Frank isn't able to return to duty? What is she going to tell her supervising physician? She forces herself to focus on the task at hand. To forget about all her doubts and worries for the time being. She can't afford to mess up now. What was only a a few minutes seemed like hours for Asuka. More police cars had arrived on scene, and a few officers formed a makeshift team to storm the apartment. After a brief altercation they had eliminated the threat, and the gunfire stopped. She's not sure how long she had been working on the two when two teams of EMT's/Paramedics arrive, and load the two onto stretchers. They're taken back to two newly arrived ambulances which take them to Grace East Hospital. Not knowing what to do now Asuka takes her stretcher back to her ambulance, and loads it up. She shuts the doors, and sits on the curb next to her ambulance lost in thought. Her train of thought is quickly broken as she's approached by a police officer. "Hey. You alright?" Asuka looks up at the officer, and gives a solemn nod. The officer sits next to her as his partner watches from their cruiser. "Do you need an escort somewhere? Maybe back to the hospital?" Asuka puts her hoof up for a moment, and grabs her radio. She switches frequencies before speaking. "Dr. Livenan? It's Asuka. Frank's critically injured, and he's being taken to Grace East by another ambulance. I'm here with a police officer who's offering a police escort. What should I do?" There's a moment of silence on the other end before a voice speaks. "Take your ambulance to the hospital. They may need you to provide details as to what happened. Once the doctors and nurses have what they need you're..." There's a pause. "Take a break Asuka. If you feel like returning to duty at some point later in the day go back the the hospital, and find a temporary partner. Please keep me updated on Frank. I hope everything goes well." Asuka hops into the driversseat of the ambulance. She has to adjust the seat because it was adujsted for Frank's long legs. With the escort of two police cars Asuka drives to Grace East hospital. She parks the ambulance outside in the ambulance parking lot, and goes inside to provide any information the doctors and nurses need. After that she leaves the hospital to decompress for a little while. She's got a lot on her mind, and she needs to clear it before she can resume her duties.