ME AND EMILY

DISCLAIMER

Takes place after Time's Up. Inspired by the Rachel Proctor song. In A Heartbeat belongs to Disney. I only own characters you don't recognize. I'm not sure of Alex's last name, so I made something up.

BRRRRRIIIIIING! As soon as the last bell started, Jamie Waite jumped out of his seat and dashed out the door.

"Whoa. What's up with him?" Hank Beecham wondered.

"Beats me. We didn't get paged," Tyler Connell commented. The two walked out. along the way, they met up with their friends Val Lanier and Catie Roth.

"Hey, guys," Val greeted.

"Hey," Tyler and Hank chorused.

"Where's Jamie?" Catie wondered.

"Don't know. He just bolted as soon as the bell rang," Tyler answered.

"That's weird," Val mused. Meanwhile, Jamie was making his way over to Kingsport Elementary School. When he arrived, he parked his motorcycle into the first available space he saw and headed for the school. When he reached the classroom, he knocked on the door, which was opened shortly.

"Am I late, early--?" he began to ask.

"You're right on time, Jamie," the woman assured.

"Emily! Let's go, kiddo!" Jamie called.

"Jamie!" a voice shouted. An eight-year old with dark hair and hazel eyes like Jamie's jumped up and ran to him. They hugged briefly.

"You wanna get your stuff?" Jamie questioned.

"Okay," Emily agreed, and then went to do so. He helped her pack her things away and then pulled out a pint-sized helmet and strapped it onto the girl and helped her up. Then, they headed out. A few minutes later, they reached their destination: a small, modest white house with blue trim. Jamie slowly pulled into the driveway and cut the engine.

"Is Cal coming over?" Emily questioned as her older brother unlocked the door.

"I don't know, Em," Jamie answered with a soft smile. Officer Calvin Richardson, or Cal as he preferred to be called, often looked in on them. The two walked into the house, and put their backpacks on their respective chairs. Just then, Jamie felt an insistent buzzing from inside his pocket. Aw, man! Not now! he thought. He couldn't leave Emily! The buzzing came again. With a groan, Jamie went to the phone and dialed a number as Emily got some papers and crayons out of a drawer, put them on the table, sat down, and began coloring. He was connected almost immediately.

"Jamie, why haven't you answered your page?" Alex Freeman demanded.

"I'm sorry, Alex. I can't make it," Jamie apologized.

"Jamie, you know the responsibility of being an EMT--" Alex began to reproach.

"Yeah, I know. But, Alex, I can't!" Jamie interrupted. Emily looked up at the sharp tone. "Because I can't! No, I'm not gonna tell you why!" he continued. The boy blew out a breath. "Look, Alex, I'm sorry, I really am, but I have responsibilities at home, and I can't get away," he stated. Then, he hung up.

"Jamie, did I get you in trouble?" Emily questioned.

"No. Everything's fine, kiddo," Jamie assured, sitting in the chair in front of her.

"But you were yelling at your boss," Emily said.

"It's not your fault. The squad just got a call, but I couldn't go because I couldn't go because I can't leave you alone," Jamie answered.

"You wouldn't have this problem if we were a normal family," Emily commented. Jamie sighed and knelt on the floor so that he was eye-level with his sister.

"Listen to me, kiddo. We are a normal family. Just because we don't have a mom and dad, it doesn't mean we're not like everybody else," he said.

"Where is our Mommy and Daddy? Don't we have one?" Emily wondered.

"Em, you know Mommy died when you were very young. I've told you that," Jamie answered.

"What about our Daddy? We have one, don't we?" Emily prodded. Jamie's throat muscles constricted.

"Yeah, Em. We got a dad," he answered.

"Why isn't he here? Doesn't he love us?" Emily asked. The lump in his throat got tighter and he had to duck his head before she could see his tears. He blinked them back and then looked up.

"I love you. That's all you gotta know, kiddo. I love you," he assured her. Then, he drew into a hug. He stared into space, his eyes holding untold pain.