Friendly Fire
The team rushed to place Sophie on a stretcher, her body battered and bruised from the explosion. Blood seeped through her torn uniform, and her face was smeared with soot and sweat. But despite her pain, all she could think about was Ryan, who was still trapped beneath the rubble.
"Ryan!" Sophie cried out, her voice hoarse and full of desperation and fear. She coughed as her lungs struggled to draw breath, her chest heaving with the effort. "Please, find her! Get her out of there!" she pleaded with Mary and Jordan, who were attending to her injuries, working quickly to assess the damage and stabilize her condition.
"Take it easy, Sophie," Mary urged, her hands steady as she applied bandages to Sophie's wounds. "We're doing everything we can. The team is searching for her, and they won't stop until they find her."
“Sophie, the team is doing everything they can. They're going to get her out of there. You need to let us take care of you!” Jordan pleaded with her sister, who kept trying to use what little strength she had to push up off the stretcher.
Sophie's eyes filled with tears as she grabbed a hold of her sister's hand. “I can’t lose her, Jordan. I can’t…” Her voice cracked, and her body trembled with a mix of pain and overwhelming emotion.
Exhaustion finally overtook her, forcing her body back onto the stretcher as tears streamed from the corners of her eyes. Mary and Jordan exchanged worried glances, their hearts aching for both Sophie and Ryan, praying that they would both make it through this ordeal.
In the distance, Station 17 and another fire station that had arrived could be heard, as firefighters desperately dug through the rubble to rescue Ryan. The sound of shovels scraping against concrete and debris filled the air..
“I see her!” Luke’s voice carried back to the ambulance, a mixture of relief and urgency.
“Go, make sure she’s okay!” Sophie tried to push Jordan and Mary off of her, her fight fueled by love and fear.
“Sophie, stop. They’re taking care of her. Iris is with her,” Jordan reassured her sister, trying to keep her calm.
“Jordan, go! I need to know she’s okay! You need to tell her to fight, please,” Sophie pleaded, her eyes filled with tears.
“Jordan, we have to get her out of here, and to the hospital. We can’t wait…” Mary warned, concern filled her face.
“I’m not going anywhere! I’m not going anywhere until I know she’s okay…” Sophie insisted.
“Sophie…”
“No!” she protested, her voice cracking.
Jordan knew her sister's stubbornness had a tendency to override common sense sometimes. With a deep sigh, she relented. “Fine!” She jumped up and slid out of the ambulance to get a status on Ryan. As she approached the scene, she watched the firefighters carefully lift Ryan's limp body from the rubble.
“Is she okay?” Jordan rushed over, her heart pounding in her chest.
A stretcher was waiting nearby, and they gently laid Ryan on it. Jordan watched as they checked her pulse, her breath holding as they ripped her shirt open. Iris sprinted to grab the defibrillator and urgency field her speed.
“She doesn’t have a pulse,” one of the firefighters reported, his voice tense with worry.
“Come on, Ryan…” Jordan silently urged, her hands clenched into fists as she prayed for a miracle.
“HURRY UP!” Luke yelled, frantically, panic and fear painfully visible in his voice, echoing the thoughts of everyone present.
They were all terrified, their hope hanging by a thread, as they desperately fought to save their friend.
Sophie could feel herself growing lightheaded, her vision blurring at the edges as her vitals began to drop. Mary, noticing the change, screamed for Jordan.
“Jordan, we have to go, NOW!” she urged, her voice full of panic.
Jordan raced back to the ambulance, her face streaked with tears as she climbed inside. She exchanged a heartbreaking glance with her sister.
“Is she okay? Please tell me she’s okay…” Sophie implored, her voice barely a whisper, her eyes searching Jordan's for any shred of hope.
The look in Jordan’s eyes broke Sophie’s heart as she struggled to find the words. She couldn't bring herself to say it out loud.
“Oh god…” Mary choked out, her own eyes filling with tears as she saw the disbelief and anguish in Jordan's eyes. The truth was painfully clear, Ryan was gone.
“Nooo!” Sophie wailed, her entire body wracked with pain as the devastating revelation hit her. Her heart felt as if it was being ripped from her chest, and her sobs echoed through the ambulance, mirroring the grief that had debilitated Ryan just 5 months ago.
Sophie's face was drenched with sweat as she frantically moved in her sleep, caught in the hold of a horrifying nightmare. Her voice trembled, Ryan's name repeatedly spilling from her lips in a desperate anguished cry.
"Sophie, wake up. Sophie...wake up…!" Jordan gently shook her, trying to rescue sister from the tormenting dream.
Sophie's eyes snapped open, her chest heaving as she struggled to catch her breath. She looked around, her surroundings slowly coming into focus, and realized she had been trapped in a terrible nightmare. Relief washed over her as she saw Ryan lying in the hospital bed next to her, in a coma but very much alive.
Sophie clutched the box of letters that Ryan had written her, the crinkled pages a testament to the countless times she had read them over the past week. As Ryan lay in a coma and Sophie herself recovered, the heartfelt words offered a glimpse into Ryan's mind, providing a small measure of comfort amidst the uncertainty. Initially, Sophie couldn't comprehend why Ryan had left so abruptly, but reading those letters gave her the understanding she needed.
Ryan wasn't just running away from her own grief, but also from the guilt that Sophie hadn't even realized she felt. In the turmoil of her thoughts, Ryan had believed that distancing herself was the best way to protect Sophie from the emotional mess she had become.
In the letters, Ryan had written that "friendly fire" was how she would describe their situation. They both wanted Ryan to heal and feel better, but in the process, she had unintentionally caused harm to her partner, the only person that she felt she had left, the woman that she loved. Ryan confessed that she didn't know how to forgive herself for the pain she had been causing Sophie, as well. Somehow, she had found a way to blame herself for everything.
Sophie leaned up, placing the box to the side and taking Ryan’s hand. Tears collected as she looked at her. "I need her to wake up so I can tell her that I forgive her, and that I love her," she told Jordan.
Jordan’s hand rested on her sister’s shoulder, giving her a gentle and comforting squeeze. "I know she can hear you, Soph. She knows, and that's why she's fighting so hard. Stubbornness is clearly something you two have in common." She tried to lighten the mood, but her own voice was heavy with emotion. "The team is going to come by and see her later," Jordan told her. “I thought I would stay up here with you for a while?” she offered, since Sophie hadn’t left this room unless a doctor made her, for her own testing.
Sophie nodded, appreciating her sister’s company. She didn’t want to be left alone, but she refused to risk Ryan waking up without her by her side. She wanted her face to be the first face Ryan saw, and for her presence to be a reminder of the reason why she needed to keep fighting.
“Tell me about y’all’s first date,” Jordan asked. She wanted to give Sophie a good memory to talk about, and knowing that if Ryan could hear them, it might help.
Even with sad eyes, she held a faint smile at the memory. “We went to the arcade, actually. You know how competitive I am, and she’s the same way.”
Sophie and Ryan entered the arcade, the sound of laughter and animated video filling the air. It was an energetic atmosphere, but exactly what they needed after the morning shift that they'd had. They both were excited to see what the night held for them.
They made their way to this vintage retro air hockey table that Ryan always headed straight for when she came. The cool, shiny surface of the table reflected the neon lights of the arcade. Ryan ran her hand along the table while holding a playful grin. “You ready to lose?” she challenged her date.
Sophie raised an eyebrow, smirking back. "Oh, you already know that word and my name never go in the same sentence. You're going down, Wilder."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. It's only our first date," Ryan teased with a wink, which caught Sophie off guard, but drew the most alluring grin from her.
As they started the game, they found themselves immersed in yet another competition, which seemed to be a kind of foreplay for them. They exchanged flirtatious banter as they passed the puck back and forth, competing to get the best of each other.
"I hope you’re ready to test that stamina, Moore. I can do this all night," Ryan said, with a playful grin.
Sophie laughed, her eyes filled with amusement. "I hope that's not supposed to scare me, Wilder. I'm always up for a challenge," she responded with a teasing smile, her gaze never leaving Ryan's.
"Oh, is that so? We'll see," Ryan replied, her voice filled with anticipation.
The seductive look that Sophie gave her momentarily distracted Ryan, allowing Sophie to finally score. "HA!" Sophie's eyes beamed with victory. "You'd better hope you can keep up." She gave Ryan a playful wink before they prepared for the next round.
After the game, which Ryan ultimately won, they wandered around the arcade, trying out different games ranging from Dance Dance Revolution to a racing game. Eventually, they decided to take a break from their fierce competition and stopped to get some food. Sophie wasn't very hungry, so they agreed on a large cotton candy to share.
As they sat side by side, they found themselves talking and laughing about everything under the sun, from their childhood memories to their dreams for the future, and how they both became inspired to become firefighters.
"Here, you take the last of it," Sophie said, holding the remaining bit of cotton candy up to Ryan's mouth.
Without hesitation, Ryan opened her mouth to accept the sweet treat, allowing Sophie to place it against her lips. As her fingers brushed her mouth, a sultry grin curled on both of their lips.
"Definitely going to have to keep my eye on you," Ryan said, with a flirtatious smile, recognizing that Sophie was initiating a new kind of game, one Ryan was more than happy to play along with.
"That's the plan," Sophie responded, softly, biting her lip gently as she locked eyes with Ryan, the intensity of their connection only growing stronger.
As Sophie recounted the memory, her love for Ryan overwhelmed her. She held Ryan's hand gently, her voice carrying hope, but also a hint of fear. "Ryan, you have to wake up. I can't lose you like this." Sophie felt as if she was holding her breath as she held her hand. Suddenly, she felt Ryan’s hand twitch within her grasp.
Before she could react, her eyes fluttered open, looking up toward the ceiling. Weakly, she tried to speak. "You thought I was going to die before I got to take you to dinner, and win you back?" Ryan's dark humor brought a relieved sigh from Sophie, who was overwhelmed with so much emotion.
They quickly called for the doctor, their voices a mix of excitement and relief. As the medical team rushed in to check on Ryan, she and Sophie locked eyes. The intensity of their connection was undeniable, and amidst the flurry of activity, Sophie mouthed the words, "I love you," to Ryan because she didn’t want another moment to pass without her knowing that.