Disclaimer: THEY ARENT MINE! Ok? =D

A/N: this is in response to a challenge at www.thirdwatch.net called "A Day In the Life Of.."

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~Saturday ~

"Why did the chicken cross the road, daddy?" my son hates thunderstorms, so he was snuggled next to me watching Scooby Doo.

"I don't know Joey, why DID the chicken cross the road?" I loved playing into his little jokes; they say it's these years you should savor. Before he turns into a full-blown teenager with piercings and girlfriends, when you go into his room do get his dirty clothes and you find a package of condoms in his drawer. Yeah I'm sure Kim is looking forward to that.

"To catch up to the turkey!" he said in his nine-year-old-matter-of-fact- tone.

"Ooooh, why didn't I think of that?" I asked him, giving his hair a little ruffle.

The Saturday morning cartoons dragged on until it was nearly noon, Joey was fast asleep when the phone rang. I undid myself from the couch, careful not to disturb him and made my way over to the phone.

"Hello, Doherty residence," I whispered into the receiver.

" Hey, Jimmy." Kim spoke in a raspy voice.

"Hey, you sound like crap, what's wrong?" I asked with concern, turning around and getting a little tangled in the phone line.

"Nothing, it's just the Flu, but I'm leaving work.. Lieu said you need to come in, sorry," she ended with a cough.

"That's ok but ahh who's gunna look after Joey?" I said looking over at his sleeping form, all wrapped up in his blanky.

"Call my Mom, look Jimmy I really feel like crap, I'm going to bed." And with that she hung up.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"C'mon guys, it's only till my shifts over, Kim's mom couldn't watch him!" I said to a bunch of moaning firemen. They loved having Joey around, but today they had plans. It was the one day a year that we tried to beat all other engines and precincts to the scene. The squad always picks ONE day a year to beat all possible calls and take the other squads out of the log for that day, there wouldn't really be anyone to watch Joey.

"Joey, why don't you go do you Home work," I said turning to my son.

"But Dad, do I HAAAVE to?" he asked with pleading eyes. I just gave him a stern look and he brought his backpack into the kitchen.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

~Later that day~

"How you feeling?" I asked Kim as she walked into the kitchen in the station, steaming cup of coffee in her hand.

"Much better, thanks." she said curtly.

"So, you'll pick Joey up from school on Monday?" I asked, kinda telling her.

"Yeah, sure," she blew past me and walked up stairs. I of course had to follow, I'm always catching her bait, and she always spits me out. It's our cycle.

"Kim, wait up!" I said finally reaching the end of the stairs and walking through the kitchen.

"What Jimmy?" she said turning to face me, taking another sip of her coffee. I could tell she wasn't in the mood to talk, or fight, or even be around me.

"Nothing, never mind," I hated when she got like this. It was like our history was thrown in the garbage along with what was left of our relationship. She left again and went upstairs to unpack her bag. All I could do was roll my eyes.

I joined my boys down stairs, played some cards, made lunch, ya know, the usual. Today was starting off really boring, and by one o'clock I found myself falling asleep on the couch. Apparently Alex didn't like the fact that I was taking up the whole sofa and decide to scare the living shit outta me.

She came up behind me, pots ready in hand, and slammed them together.. as close to my ear as possible.

"God'amnit Taylor, what the hell!?" I said, trying to get the ringing in my ears to go away. The vibrating sensation in my brain, UGH she's gunna pay for that one.

"Your asleep on my couch!" she whispered in my ear.

"Oh this is your couch now?" I said with a yawn, trying to be sarcastic. I curled my legs up and closed my eyes again. Then. BANG!

"Damnit Alex, stop with the freaking pots!" I said not opening my eyes.

"That, uhh, that wasn't me," she said looking around, then suddenly darting off the couch and running up the stairs toward the kitchen.

"Did you guys hear that?" I spoke, scratching my head. When I reached the top of the stairs it was quiet obvious that they HAD heard something. Alex, DK, and I were all on our feet. Alex was first to reach the window but all she saw was the dreary weather and the lightning illuminating the sky, just then we got a call.

"Station 55, reports of smoke at 14th and Morningside, all units responding." The speaker above us spewed out. I made my way down stairs with the rest of the squad, gearing up and jumped into the passenger side of the truck. This was probably just thunder, I thought to myself.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I uhhh don't see any smoke guys." I found myself saying out loud. The apartment building was solid; no smoke billowed from the windows. It was as sound as the firehouse itself.

"Well, somebody must'a called it in, Bosco and I'll check it out." Faith said coming up behind me. We don't mind working with a cops.. as long as we end up first respondent on the log.

It was procedure to check out any reports though, so we made our way up the three floors, to the reported site of "smoke". The long trek was a welcome reprieve from the downpour outside.

"5-5 David reports of robbery in progress on 105th and Main." I hear come over the radio waves; great now we lose our police back up. The rattle of thunder seemed to cause the building to shake and I looked behind me, too see if Alex felt it too. She did.

But it wasn't the rumble of thunder, rather it was a pole. The stokes of the phone pole came through the roof first. Slowly penetrating as if it were being slowly let loose of all suspension. Turns out the 'suspension' was the phone wires slowly snapping under the heat of the lightning.

Everything seemed to pass by in slow motion, the pole began to dissect the floors above us, then coming down to our level and splitting us. Alex on one side, me on the other. The last wire snapped sending the pole plummeting down the floors and seemingly slicing the building in half.

Not even conscious of the movement, the floor beneath me began to sag. I attempted a jump across the slowly gapping hole, to push Alex out of the way. I made it to the other side, but the force sent us both tumbling down to the next floor. Where we lie still for a little, she's alive.. I hear her breathing heavily in my ear, and forcing herself onto all fours.

My radio goes off near my ear, Lieu's callin' men out NOW!? It's a little late don't ya think? I roll over in attempts to stop the ringing noises in my ear, and to take the pressure off my painful shoulder. The last thing I 'member, is Alex cursing her ass off at me, nice way to lose consciousness huh?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

They couldn't keep my in the hospital long. They said I passed out from smoke inhalation, and that my shoulder was just bruised, so I left A.M.A. I met back up with Alex back at the station, we both escaped relatively unscathed. The guys said we could lie low for the rest of the shift, so we did, with much argument from Taylor.

But the last call of the night, we had to take. Some asshole robber torched his victim's building; members of the 5-5 were trapped. This day keeps getting better and better, I thought and rolled my eyes.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I sat stiffly in the back of the truck, as we sped away from Camelot. We hated those calls, when he had no clue about the situation..but if you think about that, every call is like that.

We get a call, we go there, we put out the fire. Doesn't seem like a big deal when you think about it. But it seems different when you know the guys. This time we got there, and it was silent, save the roar of flames and breaking glass from the building. Something was up.

For one, it was very close to the precinct. That must have been the second "bang" we heard. It's all fitting together now..

The caller must have known..he had to have known that we would jump our asses to the call just to get on the log, we wouldn't pay attention to gunfire; they could get away with robbery. By the time the police responded, they woulda had plenty of time to set the explosives in motion.

The smoke is thick and black; it had to be explosives..gun powder, oil, and a match..send this whole place to the moon and back. This can't be good.

We went inside, told to get 'them' out. 5-5 David that is; Faith and Bosco. Alex and I were forced back, and we didn't like it. We saved each other's asses back there and now they wont give us a chance to help the others, and that's bullshit!

So we stood there, in the rain, and the lightning, and the eyes on us, wondering who we could and would pull out of there alive.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

~Early Sunday morning~

And some how a shift always seems to end here; the hospital. This cold white box that's responsible for housing the life-saving doctors who blah blah and blah, yada yada yada. I'm sick of it.

We sit here for hours on end, in god'amn silence and wait. I hate the waiting. Kim's sitting over in the corner, Doc's sitting near Nieto, fiddling with some magazines. My eyes eventually settled on Fred. His eyes long since dry of any tears, now locked on mine.

We only pulled one of cop out of the robbery today, some sick childish joke, for what? A few bucks! Yeah. Ridiculous. Faith Yokas died in there. None of us saw it coming, not that anyone ever could.

Damnit the silence is driving me crazy. It's probably been hours since anyone opened their mouths and since then Fred and his kids were ushered off into a 'private' room. This was a really crappy day. I do a subconscious inventory of the shit that happened today..

I came to work on my day off. I get trapped in a building that's basically being cut in half, with Taylor no less. Some Jag-off kids blow up a place they just robbed. We actually had to SAVE Boscorelli's sorry ass.
5) And last but damnit not least, Faith died.

I'm just waiting for this day to be over, tomorrow has to be better right? Wait, it IS tomorrow..the sun's coming out...damn, a little too late.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

~Monday Night Shift~

"So, did Joey fill you in on why HE thinks the chicken crossed the road?" I asked Kim as we walked into the kitchen at the firehouse.

"Yeah, to meet the turkey, but see there's one think wrong with his logic!" she said, as a smile grew on her face, "what the HELL is a turkey doing crossing the road!?"

We both laughed as I poured her a cup of coffee. Maybe things were looking up. Alex and I were back on the log, and Kim and I were getting along better then ever. But, lets just say, we wont be wishing for a weekend like that anytime soon. Nor will there be another 'beat the log' day.

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FINISHED!

Here's the challenge.review and tell me if I met it.

If you got to be anyone on Third Watch who would you want to be? What would you do? How would you handle situations? Well now you can...

Rules for Story

Pick from: Faith, Bosco, Jimmy, Gusler, Charlie, Fred, Emily, Cruz, Sasha, Doc, Carlos, Sully, Kim, Ty and even Alex!.

MUST take place in NYC a Robbery MUST take place on a Saturday in a Thunder and Lightning storm. One of the charactors MUST get an injury(doesnt have to be severe) a Bomb goes off at a school or building.

MUST have a charactor say "What the hell is a Turkey doing crossing the road!?" Faith is STIll with Fred (Fred drinks)

Everything else is up to you