Fire and Desire

Over the next few days at the fire station, Ryan kept her distance from Sophie, avoiding any unnecessary interaction. Their squad sensed the tension between them, casting worried glances and exchanging concerned whispers. Ryan and Sophie were both struggling with their unresolved feelings, each longing for the other, but unable to bridge the gap that had formed between them.

Sophie was sitting behind her desk, doing some paperwork when there was a knock on her office door. When she looked up, Jordan was in the doorway. 

“What do you need, J? I need to get these reports done.” She turned her attention back to the paperwork in front of her. Hearing the click of the lock as Jordan shut the door, Sophie sighed heavily, and returned her attention back to her sister. “What is it?”

“You know whatever this tension is between you and Ryan, doesn’t just affect you right? Everybody is walking on eggshells around here.”

“Wilder and I are fine. We just needed to get a few things straightened out about her role.” 

“Come on ,Sophie. I know you’re not a good liar, but you’re definitely better than this. “ Jordan sat down and pulled her chair closer to her sister's desk. “You two had a thing, didn’t you?” She confronted her sister, waiting for her to continue this charade and deny the assumption, but she almost looked relieved that she didn’t have to any longer. “That’s why you’ve been so all over the place these past few months isn't it? What happened?”

Sophie leaned back in her chair, and just stared at her sister for a few moments.”We dated for 6 months. When her mom died, she shut me out and then left. She didn’t say anything, she was just gone. When she showed up, that was the first time I’d seen her since she disappeared.” Although she tried to make it sound as simple as she could, Jordan knew better than that. “I’m over it, but we just have to get through this weird phase of working together.” 

“Well, she mentioned transferring...” That wasn’t the truth, but Jordan wanted to see her sister’s reaction. She watched the tension mount in her face, clearly becoming immediately aggravated. 

“Of course she did.” She shook her head in frustration. 

“Actually, she didn’t. I just wanted to see your reaction.” Jordan folded her arms. “Despite what you just said, you and her are far from over. It’s clear that you want her close, and you still have feelings for her. For the sake of this squad, sis, you either need to figure out those feelings and deal with them, or maybe you should transfer her. You can’t afford to be distracted. Neither of you can, not in this job.”

Sophie remained silent, so Jordan continued.

“You know I love to give unsolicited advice so I won’t bother trying to break the tradition. I’m just going to say this: if Ryan had anything to do with how happy you were at the beginning of the year, and you still want to be with her, find a way to work it out and be together. We get way too many reminders everyday about how short and unpredictable life is. If you can’t do that, then you really need to let her go, and maybe consider that her being in this house might not be the best or safe. We can’t operate on emotions when we’re out there, because that’s the moment we start making mistakes and not only putting our lives at risk,but the crew's lives.” Jordan stood up. 

Sophie acknowledged her sister's advice with a slight head nod, but that’s all she could give. She knew she was right. 

“Thanks, J.”

Jordan offered a comforting smile and wink to her sister before she exited her office leaving her with her thoughts. The moment was short lived, because suddenly, the alarm sounded, and the squad was called to an emergency. A fire had broken out in a nearby abandoned building, and it was on the verge of collapse. Station 17 sprang into action, quickly slipping into their gear and rushing to the scene.

When they arrived at the scene, Luke immediately called for a few members of the squad to move the crowd that had gathered back, so that they were a safe distance from the building. Untamed flames shot out of the upper level windows of the 5-story building, pushing thick black smoke into the air. Sophie usually took her command post outside of the building, while giving direction out to her team, but the fire was so intense that having all hands on deck was a must. So she jumped into action with her crew.

“Fox, your squad clears out the ground level. Do a quick check of the perimeter to make sure there aren’t any civilian squatters in the building. Hernandez, your team covers the outside. Let’s try and keep this thing from spreading to any nearby buildings,” she called out. “We don’t have long before this building starts to come down, so our goal is to just keep it from spreading, and clear out civilians. Create a safe perimeter around the building, clear out nearby businesses, and then contain as much as we can!”

The squad nodded to their orders before breaking away. Ryan was with Hernandez's team, working to best contain the fire from the outside. The heat was suffocating, and the smoke was so dense it was difficult to see more than a few feet ahead as Sophie and the team handling the fire from the inside entered the building. Inside the building, Sophie and her team cleared the perimeter, ensuring that there weren't any homeless squatters that had taken shelter inside. Abandoned buildings in the area were popular for being inhabited by the homeless.

“We’re clear! Let’s move out!” Sophie dispatched her team over the radio.

“Mommy!”

Just as they were about to leave, Sophie heard a faint cry adjacent to the room she had just cleared. She knew that she’d looked everywhere, and called out to make sure no one was inside, but she couldn’t in good conscience leave that building without being sure. From the cracking and creaking of the building, she knew there wasn’t much time before the structure started to give way, so she sent her team outside.

“I’m doing one last check!” she dispatched as her team had already made it outside.

“What is she doing?” Jordan asked, as she stood and watched Luke’s team exit, but heard her sister say she was going to do one last check.

“Captain, you need to get out of there! This building has seconds, NOT MINUTES before it starts coming down,” Luke warned her, standing ready to run back in if he needed to.

“I heard something. It will be quick, 30 seconds! Make sure everyone else is out!”

The black smoke was making it extremely difficult for Sophie to see even her hands in front of her, let alone inches or feet in front of her.

“Is anyone here?! Call out! Where are you?”

“Mommy…”

Sophie heard the voice again, and maneuvered her way toward it. She pulled back a piece of ceiling that had fallen and revealed a talking doll that had been activated by the falling debris. It had been left behind by a homeless family just before the fire broke out.

“On my way out!” she dispatched, and turned to exit the building. “It was just a…” Before she could finish her sentence, there was a sudden explosion that rocked the entire structure.

Ryan's heart clenched in terror as memories of losing her mother flooded back. Her breath caught in her throat, and her vision blurred momentarily as she fought back tears. She couldn't let history repeat itself. Not again. Not with Sophie.

“SOPHIE!!!” Ryan screamed Sophie's name in panic as everyone outside stood horrified.

“Captain, Captain! Can you hear me? Are you okay?” Luke called out desperately. 

Ryan's heart raced, the silence from the other end of the radio only intensifying her fear. The weight of her past loss, mixed with the terror of potentially losing Sophie, overwhelmed her. She couldn't stand by, once again, and watch someone she loved slip away from her. The thought was unbearable, and her body reacted instinctively.

Without a second thought, Ryan sprinted towards the burning building. Her teammates, realizing what was happening, called out to her.

"Ryan, don't!" Luke yelled, desperation in her voice. "It's too dangerous!" Luke shouted, his voice strained with concern. 

Ryan was already gone, swallowed by the smoke and flames as she disappeared inside the building. Ryan's heart pounded in her chest and she moved blindly through the smoke. The heat was unbearable, and the sound of the building's groaning structure sent shivers down her spine. She was terrified, but she refused to give up. She had to find Sophie. Ryan discovered a narrow path through the wreckage, but it was clear that if she entered, there would be no way out for her. “Sophie, I’m here, what’s your location?” 

“Ryan.” Finally, faintly Sophie could be heard through the radio. Her will to speak was pushed by the realization of the danger Ryan was putting herself in. "Ryan, don't come in here! There’s no way out.”

“I’m not leaving you!” Ryan argued through the radio. At this point, she no longer cared about keeping their past a secret. Ryan's voice was unwavering as she responded further. "I left you once, Sophie, and I'm not going to make that mistake again. I'm going to get you out of here. That's the only way I can make this right, and get you back," she declared. 

“WILDER, THE BUILDING IS ABOUT TO COLLAPSE! Where are you?! I have the building floor plan. I’m going to try and help guide you and Sophie out!” Luke knew there was no way of changing her mind, so he had to do the best he could to help her navigate, so that she and Sophie made it out. 

With Luke’s help, he guided Ryan through the building's layout to navigate the wreckage and finally managed to somehow find her way to the room where the explosion had occurred. Amongst the debris and flames, she spotted Sophie, lying on the ground, partially buried under a fallen beam. As Ryan reached her, she could see that Sophie was alive, but barely conscious. Adrenaline filled her strength as Ryan managed to lift the beam off Sophie and carefully looped her arms under Sophie’s to drag her towards the exit. The building groaned around them, the sound of collapsing walls and shattering glass echoing in their ears. The team outside anxiously listened to the situation unfolding over their radios, praying that they made it out alive. 

“We’re almost out! Jordan and Mary, be ready to take Sophie,” Ryan ordered. “You’re going to be okay Soph. You’re going to be fine, baby,” Ryan had to stop and switch positions, using all her strength to lift Sophie over her shoulder to hand her over the beam that was blocking the entrance. Just as they were close enough to hand her off, Ryan heard a loud crack above them, immediately knowing what was about to happen, she used her last ounce of strength to push Sophie through the opening so that the team could grab her and get her out of the way as the entrance came crashing down.