Chapter 3

Gen stood stock still and stared at Chief Houts, her brain unable to accept what she'd heard. "T-that can't be," she argued even as a lump began to form in her throat. "He's a battalion chief. He doesn't run into burning building anymore."

Johnny pushed away from the table and walked toward her. "Gen." He reached for her.

"No!" She stepped out of his reach and bumped into Captain Stanley. Wild eyed she looked up at him. "There must be some mistake. He doesn't do that dangerous stuff anymore."

Cap's gaze held sympathy as he placed his hands on her shoulders, holding her in place.

Her attention cut from Cap to Johnny and then to the men at the table. "But he wasn't even on duty yesterday. He was home in bed asleep this morning." With every word her breathing grew more labored as the lump in her throat grew.

Johnny advanced again and took her by the hands. "Honey, you're right, he was home. From what we understand the house across the street from your father's was firebombed. He called in the alarm, then rescued a mother and her two children from the structure before collapsing."

"I-is h-he." She couldn't seem to get enough air and she would have sworn that someone had just punched her in the chest.

"No, but the doctors are saying his condition is grave and you need to get down there right away," Chief Houts replied.

Tears welled as she stared blankly at Johnny. No way could her father be dying. They all had to be wrong. He was her hero and heroes didn't die. She glanced over her shoulder at Cap. "Can I go now?"

Cap nodded. "B shift is already here, so leaving isn't a problem, but I don't think you're in any condition to drive."

"If you're okay with it, I'll take her, Cap."

Captain Stanley nodded. "Go ahead John and keep us informed, okay?"

"Come on, honey." Johnny slowly guided her from the room. "Let's get changed and I'll get you there as soon as possible."

The drive to San Diego was the longest two and a half hours of Gen's life. Poor Johnny pushed the speed limit whenever possible and struggled to keep conversation up as he drove. Unfortunately, she wasn't in the mood for talking. Why had he gone into that house alone? He wouldn't have had any gear, air tank or any backup.

Johnny pulled into the parking lot at UC San Diego Medical Center and barely managed to get the car in park before Gen had the door open and was racing for the entrance. "Gen." Johnny ran to catch up, then pulled her to a stop. "Genevieve you have to relax. It won't do your father any good to see you so upset."

"Relax!" Gen looked up at him. "How can I relax when I'm terrified that he's going to die?"

"You don't know that," Johnny corrected.

"You heard Chief Houts, John. The doctors said his condition is grave. You know as well as I that Grave means they don't think he's going to survive. He's all I have left, so don't tell me to relax, okay?"

After checking in at the front desk she took the elevator to ICU and spotted Assistant Chief Miller in the waiting room. The Chief had been her father's best friend for as long as Gen could remember. From the time she was little she'd referred to him as Uncle Andy.

"Genevieve." He reached out and pulled her into a hug. "I'm so sorry, sugar."

Feeling as if he were her only lifeline, Gen clung to him. "Tell me what happened?"

He pushed her to arm's length and looked down at her. "You know the Diaz family that lives diagonally from your dad?"

Gen nodded. "They moved in about three years ago. The husband travels a lot and they have a daughter who is a paraplegic."

He nodded. "Okay, then you also know how some people in the neighborhood were never very happy about having a Hispanic family move in, right?"

"Right."

"Well, somebody firebombed the front of the house early this morning. Your dad heard the commotion and called in the alarm then went to see if he could help." His look turned somber as he stared down at Gen. "The mother had a newborn plus the older daughter and couldn't carry both. She refused to leave either of her children. Your father managed to talk the woman into taking the newborn and escaping while he carried the daughter to safety. He saved their lives, Genevieve."

Before she could find the words to speak a man dressed in a white coat approached. "Chief Miller has' Mr. Conti's daughter arrived yet?"

"I'm Genevieve Conti." Gen turned to the man.

"Ms. Conti, I'm Dr. Wolfram. I treated your father when he came in."

"How is he?" Gen asked.

"Not good I'm afraid."

"Um, Dr. Wolfram," Gen replied. "I'm a paramedic with the LA County Fire department." She motioned to Johnny. "This is my partner. So please just give it to us straight."

The doctor looked from Gen to Johnny and back. "Very well then. For starters, your father suffered severe smoke inhalation. We've observed black mucus in his upper airway and treated him for pulmonary edema. In addition he's suffered extensive burns on both his legs."

Instinct had Gen reaching for the bandage covering her burn. Her burn was tiny and hurt like hell, she couldn't imagine the pain he must have suffered.

"Most of the burns are second degree with varying grades between mild to severe. The worst is a deep partial thickness burn on his right thigh. In addition, I understand he never had the valve replacement surgery on his heart."

She shook her head. "He insisted that he wait until after his fifty-fifth birthday to have the surgery. Then he was going to take an early retirement. He only has two months to go."

"Well, combine a bad valve with the other injuries and he's got a lot going against him. The stress his other injuries has put on his body has already caused two bouts of ventricular tachycardia, one at the scene and another one after he arrived."

He paused and looked from Gen to Johnny and back. "Like I told Chief Miller, we believe between the already bad valve and the lack of oxygen has caused severe damage to his heart. Miss Conti, I'm very sorry, but with this many injuries, I really don't expect him to make it through the day."

Leaning on Chief Miller Gen made her way to her father's room. She thought she'd prepared herself for what she was about to see, but she'd been wrong. "Oh Dad," she sobbed as she sank into the chair next to his bed. He was ashen in color and his lips showed a hint of blue. Dual IV's dripped into each arm as the heart monitor softly beeped in the background.

She slid her fingers beneath his and was rewarded with a squeeze of his hand. His head lulled to the side and his eyes slowly fluttered open. "B-baby girl," he wheezed.

"I'm here, Dad." Gen patted his hand.

"I-I'm sorry, princess. I-," he coughed and then moaned.

"Shh…dad. Don't okay. Save your strength for getting better." She blinked back tears. "It's okay. Uncle Andy explained everything. I understand why you did what you did. I would have done the same thing."

Footsteps grew louder and she turned to see Johnny slip into the room. The moment he'd spotted Antonio look on his face when from hope to one of resolve. She knew his trained eye saw the same thing she did, and it wasn't good.

"W-who's here?" Antonio asked.

"It's Johnny, Dad. You remember Johnny, right?"

A small smile crossed Antonio's lips. "I remember. He's a good man to bring you." He sucked in a couple of quick breaths and Gen jumped to her feet.

"Are you in pain? I'll get the doctor."

Antonio squeezed her hand. "No, baby girl. Just sit, okay?"

Sniffling back the need to cry, she sank back into the chair. "Okay. You just rest now, dad. I'm not going anywhere okay?"

He nodded and closed his eyes. "You've always been such a good girl," he whispered. "I'm so proud of you."

"I know, dad." Tears trickled down her cheeks. "Please, just rest."

For the next three hours Johnny watched helplessly as Antonio's condition slowly worsened. The rattle in his lungs grew louder as did the strain in Gen's face. It couldn't be easy for her to watch her father die. Johnny bowed his head and scuffed his foot along the tile floor. In a way he'd been lucky when his family had been killed in that accident. The police report said they'd died on impact and he'd been too young to really remember much anyway.

He glanced at the clock. When he'd called Cap after they first arrived, he'd promised to call the others and then he'd be on his way down. Hopefully some of the guys would be arriving soon. While John wasn't opposed to be here alone with Gen during such a trying time in her life, having the others to help support her would make everything just a tad easier. The resolution to this situation wasn't going to be pretty and she was going to need all the support they could give her.

"Baby girl." Johnny could barely hear Antonio's scratchy voice over the beeping of the monitor.

"Yes, dad."

"A-Andy has my will. He'll take care of everything."

"Don't, Dad." She pushed to the edge of her chair. "Please don't talk like that."

As if he didn't hear her protest he continued on. "Is John still here?"

She glanced from her father to Johnny, her eyes pleading for help. Johnny stepped near the bed. "I'm here, Mr. Conti."

Antonio nodded. "I need you to make me a promise."

Johnny glanced at Gen, then back to Tony. "Anything, Sir."

"Good. Promise me that you'll take good care of my baby girl." He wheezed and coughed. "Can you do that for me?"

"Absolutely," Johnny affirmed. "I promise I'll take good care of her."

Tony gave a slight nod again. "Good." He turned his head toward Gen. "I know the fire department is important to you, princess, but promise me you won't let it consume you."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You're young and beautiful," he gasped. "You deserve to find love, Genevieve. Get married, have a family and live a happy life. Promise me you'll do these things."

Eyes wild and glistening with tears she glanced at Johnny then back. "Dad?"

"Promise me," he nearly growled, then coughed hard, sending Gen scrambling to her feet. "I promise. I promise. Now please just relax."

His hand grabbed her by the wrist. "I love you, baby girl."

"I love you too, Dad."

"Y-you're the best thing that ever happened to me." He no sooner finished his sentence when the heart monitor began beeping loudly.

"Dad!" Gen screamed and shook him. "Dad!"

V Tach! Johnny immediately shifted into paramedic mode. "Check for a pulse," he ordered and watched as Gen automatically reached for her father's neck.

"No pulse and he stopped breathing. Oh God." She dropped the bedrail and positioned her feet on the base as she began chest compressions.

Johnny reached for the call button. "Yes, a nurse's voice inquired."

"We have a code blue," Johnny yelled.

"We're aware, sir. Help is on the way."

Johnny pulled the pillow from under Antonio's head and began rescue breathing. Between breaths he glanced over at Gen. Tears streamed down her face, even as a look of determination dominated her features.

Within seconds the door burst open, giving access to several doctors and nurses. "We'll take over," Doctor Wolfram said. He nodded to Johnny. "Wait in the hall please."

Johnny moved in behind Gen. "Gen, honey. Come on."

She shook her head and kept pumping.

"Genevieve," Johnny reached for her. He snagged her bicep and pulled her backward.

"No! Let go." She tried to yank her arm free.

He tightened his grip and began inching toward the door. "Gen we have to let them work."

She continued to fight him even as they reached the hall. He turned and pushed her against the wall. "Genevieve, Stop!" He growled, then immediately felt bad for raising his voice.

Like a deer in headlights she froze. "I-I'm sorry, Johnny. It's just-"

"I know, honey. Believe me, I understand, but we needed to get out of their way so they could work on him."

Gen swallowed hard and looked over at the closed door. "It's just…"

Johnny pulled her against him, held her tight. "I know, honey. I know."

Fifteen minutes passed before the door finally opened. The look the doctor's face told Johnny everything he needed to know.

The doctor wrapped his stethoscope and tucked it into his pocket. "I'm really sorry, Ms. Conti. We did everything we could for him, but there was just too much damage."

Gen stood stock still for a moment before she turned her gaze toward the closed door. "No," she whispered and took a step toward the door. Johnny reached for her, catching her in his arms just as she crumpled to the floor. "God No!" she sobbed and turned her face into his chest as Johnny cradled her in his arms.

He held her as she cried, her body wracking with huge sobs that sent echo's reverberating through him. With is free hand he brushed his fingers through her hair and rested his chin on her head. Nothing he could say would make the situation better. The only thing he could do was hold her. He turned his head and spotted Captain Stanley and Roy at the end of the hallway, each of them holding their wives as they watched.