Disclaimer: I do not own The Night Shift.

Note: Does not take place at a specific point in the series, so for the sake of simplicity let's just it's occurs any time before season 4. This will basically be a 2 part story - first part of the incident... second part of what occurs after. While this story is based on Drew and TC they are just friends in this story.

Part 1

"Do you think we should pull over?" Drew asked from the passenger seat, looking worriedly out the windows. TC was inclined to agree. Night had fallen and brought with it enough fog that he could barely see the road in front of him. If it wasn't for the headlights of other vehicles, he likely wouldn't be able to see any of them through the fog. The lack of visibility made for dangerous driving conditions, not only because he could barely see the road, but because other cars may have trouble seeing them.

"I would, but there's a barrier. We'd just be sitting ducks for any idiot going too fast," he responded. The barrier wouldn't leave enough room to pull off completely, and even if they could it would still not be an ideal situation.

He drove forward as fast as he dared, watching for headlights in his mirror.

They were supposed to be heading back o the ER after checking on an injured patient who had refused transport. His wife had called for help but the husband refused anything more than on scene help, saying he couldn't afford a visit to the hospital - an all too common complaint. People who refused treatment because they couldn't afford it. People who, with or without insurance, would not be able to pay the bill for an ambulance ride to the ER. Life saving scans and treatments that people didn't have money to pay for. It was appalling to TC that so many people, even those who had insurance, could be faced with death simply because of affordability. They tried to help when they could, getting pro bono cases, approving free scans, paying for things themselves. But there was only so much a hospital could do, and at the end of the day when the patient very firmly says no, they have to listen.

"How far out are we?" Drew asked, interrupting TC's musings. He glanced at the clock on the car, manually counting the time down. He knew where they were but not far down the road they had gone.

"Probably 20 minutes, at this speed," he said. They were already 30 minutes later than they should be, and he had gotten several calls from Topher and Jordan wondering where they were. The ER was booked due to many car accidents, and he had made the remark that he didn't want to go too fast and end up as another one of those accidents.

Up ahead he could see traffic lights, blinking orange. For some reason the lights were down, and he cautiously slowed to a halt before crossing. The intersection was empty, and he didn't see any headlights battling through the fog in any of the lanes. He could hear nothing other than the rumbling of the engine, and with one last check to make sure no one was coming, he began to go straight through. Beside him Drew was tabbing on his smart phone, texting someone.

TC glanced sideways casually, aware a moment too late that a car was coming. He could see the reflection of the lights dancing off a glossy windshield. The lights on the car were off. Of course they were. Who would turn their lights on when there is zero visibility without them? That was the only thought that crossed his mind, because the car was speeding, not stopping, blaring on its horn. And he had pulled out in front of it, and now there was nowhere to go. "Watch out," he managed to shout, throwing up one arm to protect his head, perhaps too late to even give Drew enough time to brace himself.

Then the car barreled into them, and his window explored inward. The next moments were nothing but a whirlwind of things. Glass sprayed him, metal crunched inwards. The wheel was ripped from his hands as the car spun out of control. His head whipped to one side, tires screeched, a side airbag stuttered into life moments too late.

Nauseating pain, confusion, and then silence.

Drew POV

He had a bad feeling. It was dangerous to be out on the road like this, and while TC was driving more carefully than usual it was still worrying. He had stopped to text Jordan that they were almost there when he heard TC's startled shout.

His head whipped around to see a car with its lights off slam into the driver's side of the car, and then they were spinning. Glass peppered him even on the other side of the car, cutting skin. His head bounced off the window before the side airbag kicked in, delayed by age, stopping him from bonking his head a second time on hard glass. Even so he found himself momentarily unable to focus, unable to see as their car spun well off the road, cracking hard off something solid - a barrier? For a moment he was too stun to respond, until he managed to lift his head off the dash in time to see the car that had struck them racing off into the foggy night.

His head pounded, and the wrist he had braced himself on the door felt broken. They had, fortunately, not rolled, but there was smoke - or was it just more fog? - rising from the front of the car. He groaned slightly as he turned his head.

"Tee?" He rasped. His phone was gone, probably having broken in the accident. His friend was motionless in the driver's seat, head resting sideways against the deflated airbag. He could see blood dripping from his hair. "Shit," he said, managing to pull his own seat belt off. Shattered glass was everywhere over the seats, and he grimaced as he cut his hand. He managed to push his door open, before leaning across the midway to reach TC. His pulse was strong, but his hand came back smeared with blood. He had taken the brunt of the shattered glass, after all. He tried to shove open the driver side door but it was crushed inwards, unyielding. Normally he wouldn't want to move anyone after an accident but there was blood, there was smoke, and he couldn't check the injuries while wedged against the steering wheel.

He managed to find TC's phone. The screen was cracked, but it still worked. He found himself calling the hospital instead of 911, wincing slightly when it was Jordan who answered and he had to come up with a really good explanation without making her panic.

"Hey Jordan. We need a rescue to..." Unlike TC he hadn't had any idea where they were... "Uh. We're at an intersection, twenty minutes out..." He trailed off.

"What? What happened?" She asked, instantly alarmed. And probably alerting every single person in the ER to what was happening.

"We are going across the intersection. Some car hit us, no lights on, didn't see it." He didn't know why he was trying to make excuses for the crash since that wasn't what was important right now. "Need an ambulance." He didn't know the extent of TC's injuries, or even fully his own. His body was aching.

"Okay," she sounded as if she was deliberately trying to keep herself calm. "You don't know which road you were on?"

"No. Couldn't see the signs. We were heading straight back from the patient's home. On that road for awhile..." He trailed off, trying to think of where they would be. Unfortunately he didn't frequently travel in this particular area.

"I have an idea where you are then. I don't know how quickly rescue can get to you. Are you... stable?"

Drew glanced at TC's motionless form for a moment and decided not to mention his unconsciousness. "Yes." He checked around for signs of headlights of potential traffic but everything was dark. Even their own car was dark, damaged enough that the lights weren't able to stay on. If they were still in the road it was too risky to remain in the vehicle in case another car came and didn't see them and hit them again. "We need to get away from the car, we're stuck in the road and it's dead," he said. In any other situation it was safer to remain in the vehicle. But not like this.

"Okay," she said, nervously. "Call me if anything changes," she said. Drew nodded and quickly pocketed the phone. TC still hadn't woken, his hair still red with his own blood.

He unfastened the seatbelt first before carefully grabbing his shoulders, turning him so that his head rested against Drew's chest to support his neck. His broken wrist prevented him from getting a grip so he wrapped his arm around Tee's chest, the other getting a hold of his shirt, although his cut hand was now slick with blood. He worked to carefully manhandle his friend from the car with as little injury as possible, his hand slipping when TC shifted against him. "Hang on, we're almost there," he said, hearing a groan of pain. He kept backing until he stepped on grass instead of tar, and then a few feet beyond that he stopped. The car would be a between them and the road.

He lowered TC onto the grass and then promptly dropped down beside him, suddenly exhausted. The cool night air was soothing, but the fog clung to his skin like a cold mist. He forced himself up and opened the trunk, pulling out the emergency flashlight so he could at least see somewhat in the darkness. Turning the light on he saw that TC's eyes were opened, although they squinted when the light shone near. One side of his face was covered in cuts made by glass. But the worst he could see was the arm. He had probably tried to protect his head, causing it to take the brunt of the impact. Blood streamed down his arm from his elbow, which was lacerated with sharp shards of glass still embedded. And it was broken, clear as anything. The most he could do was try and slow the bleeding, but even that would be hindered by the fact there was still glass in the wounds.

"Tee, you with me?"

"Yeah," TC's voice was quiet, hoarse, and his eyes wouldn't focus. "Sorry," he added.

Drew frowned as he pulled a spare shirt from the trunk, and folded it to use it to stop the bleeding. "For what? No one would have seen that jackass with his lights off," he said. Additionally a jackass for taking off and leaving them. As he began to draw the shirt wound the wound he tried to block out the cry of pain. It was hard to wrap something lightly enough that it wouldn't press in the glass more or aggravate the broken joint, and also stop the bleeding at the same time.

In fact, it was downright impossible. Not like this, in the dark, with nothing to use.

To his surprise TC had struggled to a sitting position, propping himself up against the barrier that, a little further down, their car had bounced off of. "You shouldn't do that," Drew warned, aware of potential spinal damage or broken bones, but his friend paid little mind to that.

"I'm fine," TC replied, voice still weak. Pale, shaking, he wasn't quite able to pull off the lie.

Drew sighed. TC was always the worst patient. But there was nothing to do except wait, and hope there wasn't any major injuring that his friend was hiding, and that another cat didn't smack into them on its way. His broken wrist throbbed painfully and he couldn't even move the fingers on that hand. Somewhere in the far distance, he could hear sirens.

And then it began to rain.

End chapter note: I always picture Drew as a big brother kind of guy, trying to keep his friends safe and getting all protective (maybe it's just me?). Anyway, part 2 will involve cold rain, an ambulance ride, and a hospital! It will be up sometime during the week. This story came to mind when I was driving last week, and it was nighttime, and super foggy and I just could not see anything. I hope to write and read enough fanfictions that it will bring me through the cancellation.