The fire that truck 55 was approaching could be smelled from miles away.
Marni couldn't take the much needed deep breath without inhaling some kind of smoke.
The truck came to an abrupt stop a few feet from a burning three story house.
Police roped off the area where concerned neighbors stared at the blaze with tears in their eyes.
As Simon handed Marni her crowbar, a woman who managed to sneak by the police grabbed Marni tightly on the shoulder of her fireman jacket.
"Please, please, you have to save my daughter and her babies," the old woman pleaded, her voice strained from repeating herself over and over again.
"Don't worry, mam. We will."
The shaken old woman was pulled away by two policeman only to be brought behind the yellow tape where everyone else stood.
Marni and Simon made their way over to Tommy, their chief.
"Marn, Simon, you both are up on the ladder. The god damn stairs are collapsed. Whatever you do, do not stray Marni. Stay close to Simon."
"Yes sir."
Jesse operated the ladder,causing it to stretch to one of the second story windows.
Marni went first, and began to climb the ladder as fast as she can with Simon close behind her.
"Marn, your mask. Put on your mask," Simon commanded as he slid his over his head.
Marni nodded, removing her mask from under her arm, following Simon's orders.
Once she was at the window, she used her crowbar, and smashed the window, dragging the crowbar around the edges of the window to get rid of the excess glass.
Marni stretched out her leg, climbing into the window, doing her best to see through the thick grey smoke.
Simon stayed close behind her as they began searching the second floor for the missing family.
"Fire department, call out!"
Simon and Marni took turns yelling, each yell louder than the next.
The two checked under anything and everything on the second floor.
Nothing.
"Fire department, call out!"
"Marni, there's no one on this floor. Let's move up to the next one."
She nodded, following Simon to the attic where the fire was at its worst.
The thick grey smoke somehow slithered its way into Marni's mask, burning her eyes.
Ignore it, Marn. Just ignore it. Find that family, she repeated to herself.
"Fire department, call out!", Marni yelled, her voice getting hoarse.
She did her best to hide it, but hope was wavering inside of Marni.
What if this family is already dead?
Was Marni ready to come across that kind of scene?
How would she prepare herself? How does anyone?
Simon and Marni felt the wooden floor shift underneath their feet as they tried making their way around the fire.
There was a faint banging coming from inside a closet in the corner of the attic.
"Simon, you hear that?"
They both ran over to the locked door, finding a river of blood spilling out from underneath the door.
Marni used her crowbar to pry open the expertly locked door, her eyes widening at the current sight in front of her.
An unconcious woman was bleeding heavily from a bullet wound in her neck. Next to her was a crying four year old girl holding her newborn baby brother who was hysterical also.
"Jesus christ," Simon exclaimed.
"Marn, you grab the kids. I got their mom."
"Is my mommy going to be okay?," the young girl asked, handing her little brother over to Marni.
She held the newborn close to her chest, feeling him squirm against her.
"I'm sure she will, sweetheart. Come on, we have to get you and your family someplace safe."
The little girl walked into Marni's free arm, her short arms doing their best to wrap around her neck.
Simon picked up the lifeless woman, letting Marni take the lead down the small spiraled steps to the attic.
Gemma pulled out a cigarette out of the new pack Chucky brought her this morning when he arrived at TM.
She lit the end of her cigarette with her tarnished silver lighter , tossing it on the growing pile of paperwork sitting in front of her.
"Gem, you wanted to see me?"
Gemma smiled as she saw Chibs stand in the office doorway.
"Yeah, come in."
Chibs shook his head, making his way closer to the matriarch.
"Want a smoke?", she held up her pack.
"Sure."
She handed him one, picking up her lighter from the pile, lighting the cigarette for him.
"Thanks. Everythin' okay?"
"It's about Jax. Has he mentioned a woman named Marni to you?"
"No, not at all. Why?"
" Huh. Unser was watching Abel today while I went to visit Nero in Stockton. When I got back, he told me that Abel wouldn't stop talking about daddy's new girlfriend. I was just wondering if he has said anything to you or any of the guys about this mystery woman."
"Like I said, he hasn't, Gem. It could be nothing. She could just be pussy."
"No. Jax wouldn't bring her around Abel if he just saw her as pussy."
"You wanna get to the bottom of it? Ask your boy, Gem."
Marni sat in one of the pews in the empty candle lit church a block away from the firehouse when she finally got off work.
She didn't really know what convinced her to come to a church.
She wasn't a church going type. Not even as a child.
The only time she was in a church was when she had to attend a friend or family member's wedding.
Maybe she thought it would be a good place to clear her head.
Try not to think about the first call she went to when she arrived at the firehouse today.
Who was she kidding? The memory of that fire was seered into her brain.
"Hey."
Marni turned her head, and saw Jax standing in the aisle.
She couldn't even explain how happy she was when she saw him standing there.
His presence almost made her forget about what happened today.
" Hey. I'm so sorry I forgot to call you."
"It's alright, darlin.' I heard you had one hell of a day from a guy named Ronnie who was smoking outside the firehouse. He told me you were here. Can I join you?"
Marni's hand tapped the space next to her.
Jax smiled, taking a seat next to her. Marni coiled her arm around his own, their hands coming together, forming a tight grip.
The tips of her fingers traced the SO of his sons ring.
"I'm surprised he told you where I was. He's almost as protective as my father is."
"It might have something to do with what he said. He said he ships us together. I don't even know what the hell that means."
Marni laughed for the first time today.
"I don't know what that means either. He probably got the term from his twelve year old daughter. I hope it's a good thing," she forced a smile on her face.
Jax planted a kiss on her forehead.
"You wanna talk about it?"
"You don't mind?," she looked up at him, her head now resting on his shoulder.
"Not at all."
"Our first call today was a hard one. A three story house was on fire. A woman and her two children were trapped inside. Simon and me checked the two top floors, finding the family in the attic. The mother was shot in the neck. Her four year old daughter is holding her newborn brother in her arms, both of them were hysterical. The mother died in the ambulance on their way to the hospital."
"Marn..."
"Turns out her ex husband shot her. Locked her and those babies up in that attic, drenching the house in gasoline, setting the house on fire. How could someone do something like that? Something so evil.."
Jax reluctantly let go of her hand, bringing a now crying Marni into a hug.
He really didn't know what to say. How do you respond to something like that? How can you make someone feel better after witnessing that kind of shit?
He pulled away from her, wiping her fallen tears with his slightly calloused thumbs.
"You wanna come over my house? You can stay the night. I'll be on my best behavior. I'll even sleep on the couch if you want. You shouldn't be alone after what happened today."
