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Twenty bells tolled as Sullivan and Herrera staggered out of the storage facility together, the pair was greeted by the somber news of Captain Herrera’s valiant death in a last-ditch effort to help save the trapped members of Station 19 from the inferno.
“Who?” demanded Sullivan as he glanced around at the gathered firefighters to see who was still unaccounted for.
“Captain Herrera,” Warren reported with tears threatening to spill from his eyes as Vic came up to stand next him in silent support.
“Dad,” Andy cried out as soon as she spotted her father’s Seattle Fire Department ballcap sitting nearby and a stone-cold Maya standing on top of the ladder truck staring at the black smoke that was billowing from the vent on top of the storage unit.
Sullivan did a quick double take when he realized that the remaining members of 19, who had been inside the storage facility still hadn’t emerged from the maze-like facility, “Where are the others?” he questioned Vic.
“They haven’t come out yet,” she stated as she glanced over at Bishop who was climbing down from the ladder truck.
“Who?” he demanded.
“Montgomery, Dixon, Gibson, Miller and Olson haven’t emerged from the storage facility,” she reported.
“Their oxygen levels?” Sullivan asked quietly in order to avoid the gathered firefighters from accidently overhearing.
“Out,” Maya reported as she came up from behind him, “they have been without oxygen for over ten minutes.”
“Damn it,” Sullivan spun around and watched as the smoke bellowed out of the vent that Captain Herrera had given his life to make in order to give his people the time to get out alive, “we need to send in crews in order to retrieve our people,” he ordered as he and Maya exchanged glances with conveyed what neither of them were saying out loud, that if their people had been without oxygen this long then the possibility of permanent deficits was highly likely.
“Copy that Chief,” Bishop replied as she got on the radio and started ordering search teams to head inside in order to look for the missing firefighters.
Vic made her way into the storage facility as she helped in the search for the missing firefighters, far they hadn’t found anyone yet.
“Over here!” shouted Ben, “Jack!” he identified the unconscious firefighter as he quickly administered oxygen and requested a backboard to his location.
Vic quickly glanced checked the nearby area and quickly spotted two more personnel laying in the hallway, “I got Miller and Olson!” she shouted as a team of medics from the 132nd pushed back her in order to start treating them, “damn it, where the hell is Travis?” she questioned Andy who was standing next to Maya.
“He’s in here somewhere,” Andy promised as the three members of Station 19 continued the search for the last two remaining members of their station.
“I got them,” Sullivan called out over the radio.
“Where?” Vic demanded.
“Left side,” Andy gestured in the direction that Sullivan had gone, falling into a jog as she led them toward where the Chief had gone in order to search for the missing firefighters.
“Travis!” Vic shouted as soon as she spotted the spotted the gathered firefighters around the two men, “Travis!” she attempted to push past Chief Sullivan but he held her back and ordered Maya to remove her from the scene.
“Captain Bishop, remove Hughes,” he ordered as he returned his attention to his two down personnel, “are they…”
“Alive,” the EMT resounded as they provided the pair with supplemental oxygen and checked the monitors in order to ensure the pair had a pulse, “strong pulses on both of them,” he reported as he and his partner worked together with the other firefighters to load the pair onto the arriving gurneys.
“Thank god,” Sullivan lowered his head in thanks when his attention was drawn toward the shared oxygen line between the two tanks, “damn it,” he muttered realizing that there was more going on between the pair then he had previously realized before.
“Problem, Chief?” questioned Andy from her position behind him.
“Not at the moment,” he responded, whatever was going on between the pair was between them, and he would have to wait until both men were back to 100% before questioning either of them on the status of their relationship but he prayed for Travis’ sake that the Probie survived, since he wasn’t certain that the veteran firefighter would be able to survive the loss of another partner.
“What the hell just happened?” Vic demanded as she stormed up to him as he emerged from the storage facility, “what the hell happened to the ventilation team?” as her attention was drawn toward the departing Aid Cars that contained their down teammates.
“The roof was unstable for vertical ventilation it was decided so we attempted horizontal ventilation,” Maya answered as pain became evident in her eyes, “but we were unable to break through the sides of the building.”
Andy groaned as she now realizes why her father had gone up onto the unstable roof, “that’s why dad…”
“Yes,” Maya nodded her acknowledging the fallen captain’s sacrifice in a last-ditch attempt to save his trapped crew members.
“Yes, but unfortunately it was too late,” Maya swallowed as she continued with the explanation, “the trapped personnel were without oxygen for approximately ten minutes.”
“Damn it,” Vic closed her eyes as she followed the others toward the ladder and engine trucks of that they could head to the hospital in order to check on the status of their fallen personnel, “please be ok,” she prayed as the sirens wailed as they pulled away from the storage facility and the silently watching firefighters.
***
(Flash Forward)
“We are gathered here today in order to say our goodbyes to our fallen brothers,” Sullivan paused as the emotions threaten to boil over and erupt from within him, he forced himself to take a breath before pushing forward with his speech to the gathered firefighters who were gathered at the Fallon Seattle Firefighter Memorial, were they were adding to the engraved list, “we say farewell to the fallen, Captain Herrera, Lieutenant Gibson, Firefighter...”
Maya stepped forward and placed her hand on his shoulder as she took over as they had agreed too if he had been unable to complete the names, “Firefighter Olson, and Firefighter Miller,” she paused as her attention was drawn to the only two members of the team who had managed to survive that inferno, but neither would ever be an active firefighter again, “and we celebrate those who survived thanks to Captain Herrera’s noble sacrifice, Firefighter Montgomery and Firefighter Dixon,” the pair was silent at the acknowledgement they received from their fellow firefighters as they were forced to remain in their seats since they were both still wheelchair bound due to the injuries that they had received from being oxygen deprived from their last callout. Neither man remembered much from that day and no one had the strength to push either of them for answers, somehow the pair made it out of there alive but neither man was no longer whole.
Emmett’s fiancé broke up with him while he had been in the hospital recovering form his injuries, she had claimed that she hadn’t signed up to be a nursemaid and that she was way too young and had her entire life ahead of her to enjoy. While, Travis closed himself off from the other members of Station 19 and had refused to see or speak to any of them after he had received the doctors diagnose that he would never be a firefighter again.
Maya glanced over at the silently watching Vic, Andy and Ben whose complete attention was on the two former firefighters, they were hoping for a chance to speak with them and to possibly reconnect with them. Not just for answers but in order to rebuild their friendships they all had had before that fateful callout.
As the remembrance ceremony ended, the remaining members of Station 19 descended on their two trapped members, Travis and Emmett looked as though neither of them wanted to be there at all but they were forced to remain in their seats as they waited for their designated helper to make their way over too them on the stage so that they could leave and not have to deal with the numerous questions from their fellow firefighters.
“Travis,” Vic muttered as she shyly waved her hand as she came to a stop in front of her best friend who she hadn’t seen since that fateful day in his hospital room when he had screamed at her to get the hell out and to leave him alone. When she had returned to see him the following day, Travis had already checked out and no one knew where he had gone too.
“Vic,” Travis said with an ease he finally felt when in the presence of his former teammates, “it’s been awhile.”
“Yeah,” she nodded her head in agreement as she exchanged uncertain looks with Andy and Ben, “how are you doing?” she questioned as Maya and Sullivan came over in order to join the group of current and former members of Station 19.
“Better,” he replied as he glanced over at a silent Emmett who was providing silent support to the older man.
“Good,” she nodded as she glanced over at Emmett, “how about you Probie?”
“Not a Probie anymore,” Emmett shook his head gently as their aide finally made their way over to them, “and I’m doing good, the doctors at Grey-Slone report that I should be out of the wheelchair completely within the next couple of weeks.”
“Just as long as you stay on track with your physical therapy,” their aide countered with ease as she and her assistant came to stand next to them, “are you ready to get out of here?” she questioned as she glanced between the couple, the pair was pretty easy to work with since neither usually argued with the doctor’s medical recommendation. Both would ready to be back on their feet and to no longer require the daily assistance of medical aides in order to complete simple tasks.
“And you Travis?” Ben asked.
“Next week,” he revealed with a slight smile forming on his face, “I’ll be 100% free.”
“That’s great!” Vic and Andy exclaimed as they bounced on the heels of their feet lightly that their friend would soon be more mobile.
***
(Flashforward)
Travis stood silently in the rain as he watched as the Station 19 crew help the car crash victims nearby, after that fateful reunion at the ceremony, he had opted to cut all of his remaining ties with them and to move forward in his life. His therapist said that his actions had been way too extreme, but if he wanted to make a break with his fire family for the time being, then he could and that they would revisit reuniting with them at a later date. At a time when Travis was more mentally able to deal with both the positive and negative emotions, he felt about the Seattle Fire Department.
“Trav?”
“Coming,” he replied as he tugged on their linked hands and pulled Emmett close so that he could press a kiss on the corner of his mouth, “let’s go home.”
***