More than a sprain

Reid loved the man, but...Tommy was an idiot.

He told him not to do it several times, warning him that he was going to hurt himself. So what does his friend do? He does it anyway, and now they were in the ER. He could still recall the scream that echoed when the man collapsed to the ground. The moron denied that he screamed like a girl, but Reid was fairly certain he had.

The entire neighborhood heard it.

Tommy had been whining and complaining the entire way until Dr. Fields stepped up from behind the curtain, and the man had been chatty and flirty ever since, almost as if he hadn't badly sprained his ankle. It was embarrassing, but at this point, Carter was simply used to it. He was just secretly glad that the fool didn't do any more damage, like physically break a bone. The captain wouldn't have liked that, and Tommy would have been bound to his desk at work for weeks.

When the doctor asked how the pain was, Reid was prepared to answer but Tommy was already continuing to do his thing. He had to roll his eyes to refrain from laughing, because if he laughed, it would only make Tommy continue with this tireless charade. At least the doc didn't seem offended by it, thankfully.

'He always like this?'

"Always," he was quick to answer in slight amusement. "It might get worse, so I do apologize in advance." When Dr. Fields began to wrap Tommy's ankle, Reid was smirking more at seeing him wince. Granted, he didn't like seeing him in pain...but maybe he'd learn from this little stunt this time. Maybe being the keyword here, of course. Then, his brow lifted in soft surprise, "Less whiny, huh? Would that be possible?" Tommy was interjecting about Mario Kart and Reid almost rolled his eyes again. He leaned forward, purposely over his bud to block his view of the lovely doctor so that he could whisper (not really, because he wanted Tommy to hear it) to her, "You got somethin' that might...knock him out? I don't mind draggin' him outta here..."

He was only half kidding, too.

"I like how you think, doc," he commented in that same amusement, leaning casually out of the way of Tommy's interjecting foot, as if he did it all the time. Finally, he turned his attention to his buddy, giving him the biggest shit-eating grin that he could muster up. Tom was making a fool of himself, so Carter was just helping him become an even bigger one. That was what friends did, was it not?

Dr. Fields was about to say Tommy could go home, but something stopped her. Eyes flickered over to her and the humor was quickly dissipating from his face as it seemed most of the power went out. Were those emergency lights? She was leaving them, saying something about a transformer, but didn't hospitals have back-up generators? It was a safety hazard. Glancing around, he noticed most of the machines were still working, so that just sent him into immediate "Navy SEAL-mode".

Rounding about the bed, he peered out through the opening in the curtain to see the gathered doctors. He didn't have to hear what they were saying to know something was up. And when Erin returned, Reid had just stepped back a couple steps, so she might notice he wasn't in the same spot as before. That was the least of her concerns, he was sure.

'No one is supposed to come in or out of the hospital at this time.'

Yep, something was definitely going on.

Before he could ask, Tommy went into hyperdrive, refusing to let him or the doctor get a word in edge-wise. Carter swatted his pointing finger aside in mild annoyance. "Tommy, stop," he quietly scolded, his eyes turning back to Dr. Fields. Really, they should just stay back and wait for whatever authorities were on their way to handle it, but...well, he didn't do well just keeping still. And neither did Tom, which became quite evident.

A hand was drawing out those dog tags from inside his shirt (he hadn't quite broken the habit of not having to wear them anymore.) "Former Navy SEAL, ma'am." A pause, he gestured between him and Tommy. "And we're both LAPD. What's goin' on, and how can we help?" As he was saying this, he was forcing his partner to sit back down.

He was giving Erin the choice to bring him to her superior, because he really didn't have to ask her. If she didn't, he was going to do it anyway, but the doc had been really polite and pleasant so far, so Carter wasn't looking to dick her over. Still, something was happening, he could tell. It wasn't just the fact that the power had gone out, kicking on the generators...there was more to the story the hospital workers weren't telling people. And with good reason.

Reid watched her closely as she examined the tags, remaining the very image of patience even if inside he was trying to figure out what was going on. When she finally gave in and asked him to follow her, he also turned to Tommy as the man was complaining. He couldn't really blame him, though. "I'm just going to see what's going on- if there's anything going on, alright? I promise, no heroics without you." He smirked lightly in reassurance. Carter meant it, even if he wasn't going to be quick to allow his partner to jump into the fray of things in his condition. "I'll be right back." He prayed that Tommy obeyed and remained there like he was told.

Moving out into the side hallway, Carter waited again for the doctor to explain what was going on...and when she finally came out with it, he was honestly a little surprised. It was not what he was expecting. If anything, he thought maybe the generators were failing or something, but this? No, this was a bigger, more dangerous deal. He ground his teeth for a moment. So, what was to happen if an emergency case needed surgery and had to get access to another floor?

Maybe that was precisely what the shooter was hoping for.

All he could do was nod. "I'm assuming the authorities have been called? How long do we have until they think they can get here?" It was one thing if it was the police, who were often immediate, but calling in SWAT was a whole other matter. They needed a little extra time to prepare. This, though, would not be a case for cops, so they were most likely waiting, and had to pray the situation doesn't get more dire. "If this escalates, we might have to deal with this on our own. So, if you need to have someone call to confirm who my friend and I are, do it now." He was willing to give the doctor whatever credentials she needed, but he didn't like just standing there currently doing nothing.

Maybe he was rushing, asking too many questions, but if there was a suspected armed shooter somewhere in this hospital...well, that clearly wasn't a good thing. If they were hostile, if they were extra jumpy, people could be in greater danger.

"Okay, well...if you don't mind, I'd-" His words were cut off when she was scolding, none other than, Tommy who was making his way over. Didn't he ever listen when told to stay put? And if he heard about what was happening, he certainly wasn't going to sit still.

"Tommy, you can't be-" But he was interrupted again as his partner wrangled the doctor closer, holding his phone out in front of him. For a second, Carter thought he might actually be trying to take a selfie with her to remember this "awesome time", until he heard him say the captain's name. And then he was pulling him into his shenanigans.

Did he look horrified, because he felt horrified.

'-we're delightful.'

Carter shot him a look, silently telling him to shut up and hoped that this didn't make him look bad even though it had entirely been Tommy's idea. When Erin was angling the phone so that Juarez could acknowledge him, he found himself waving awkwardly.

"Do not initiate, you understand?" the captain said, his eyes drifting to the side of the screen where Tommy was trying to poke his head into view. "Only do so if you absolutely must. We can't take any risks here. We'll be there shortly."
Reid reached around the doctor to somewhat forcefully nudge his friend away. Maybe he'd lose balance being a flamingo right now and all. Still, he was paying close attention to the captain. "Right, yes. Understood, sir."

When the call ended, Carter turned towards Tommy. "You video called the captain?! This is why he doesn't take you seriously. Now get back onto that bed before I drag you there." Maybe he was a little miffed, but Juarez didn't seem to be entirely annoyed by it.

And this was why it was probably a dumb idea to pin two childhood friends together as parnters. It was a wonder they ever got shit done. It was a wonder that it had ever been allowed in the first place. Or, perhaps, no one wanted to be paired with Leibermen and Reid was the only one willing to be...?

Okay, that was a little low, he'd admit.

As the crutch connected with his legs, his knees buckled a little bit but he didn't fall. Instead, he flailed to stay upright and glared daggers at Tommy. That only intensified when his friend began to mock him in a voice that was not correct, mind you. That fuckin' twat. He should hit him upside the head, or punch him hard enough so that he'd sleep through the rest of this visit.

At the doctor's interception, Carter just sighed and followed her as she brought Tommy back to the bed. He wasn't going to stay there, he knew it, and for a second he was prepared to ask if the doc had any handcuffs or zip ties, but thought better of it. Being off duty today, he had nothing with him. Not even a weapon, and he was regretting that deeply.

"It's impossible for him to sit still," Reid chimed in at Erin's question, while still glaring at Tommy. When it seemed like he was going to be wrangled in and his friend had to sit, Carter had the audacity to finally grin at him. But it was snarky, something that was foreign for the ex-SEAL because that type of attitude was often reserved for the gimp.

"Sounds good, doc. Lead the way."

Carter had been friends with Tommy for far too long, so long that he couldn't remember the exact number of years. He loved the guy, of course, and he supported his desire to join the police even if Reid was gonna worry about him every single waking minute. Tommy was smart, when he didn't let his mouth and nerdiness take away from it. He just got hyper focused and excited about things, and Reid always tried to bring him down a couple of notches whenever he could.

Like, right now. Sure, there was possibly an active shooter somewhere in this hospital, but to go looking for them was a foolish idea. No alarms had been triggered just yet, and it wasn't their job (as much as Carter thought about joining the task force). Not to mention, Tommy could only hobble right now.

At the nurses station, he nodded a greeting to Dr. Olsen and offered a hand to shake before his attention drifted towards the nearest monitor. "That's fine, sir. Help is on the way, but it wouldn't hurt to have some extra eyes watching right now," he said, falling into cop mode. And he was completely fine with sitting there, sorting through the security feeds. Tommy was likely to get restless, though, which was honestly what really worried him.

That, and the pretty doctor was lingering a little close. He had been fine when he was teasing his buddy alongside her, but normally Carter Reid tended to stammer over himself. The looming danger of a shooter in the hospital, though, managed to keep him level-headed at least. Mostly.

'If you need anything let me know.'

"Sure. Will do." He glanced back at her with a faint grin and slightly awkward wave before she was off to check on her other patients. Then, his eyes settled back on the feed, noticing security had patched through the rest of the cams throughout the entire hospital.