Naia's POV

As soon as the dismissal bell went, I packed up my stuff and took off for the firehouse at a sprint.

Gabby and Sylvie, who were outside when I arrived, saw me running towards them.

"Whoa, Naia, sweetie you're supposed to be taking it easy," Gabby said as I slowed down.

"Did you run all the way here?" Brett asked, concerned.

I looked down and nodded. I felt bad because I knew in the back of my mind that I wasn't supposed to but I had done it anyway.

"You have to take it easy, the doctors said that your body is still healing which means no running," Gabby added.

I nodded again and then looked up, unsure of where to go.

"Come here," Gabby said and opened her arms to me.

I went over and she wrapped me in a hug. She then let go, but only of one arm, keeping the other wrapped around my shoulder before leading me into the firehouse. Sylvie followed, right behind us.

"So how was school today?" Gabby asked as she sat me down at the table.

I shrugged. School went okay but I got a ton of homework.

Sylvie looked over at my huge backpack. "Got a lot of homework?"

I nodded and pulled my backpack over. I unzipped the first pocket and a flood of papers and textbooks came pouring out.

"Boy, does that make me glad I'm not in school anymore."

I looked up to see Matt walk in. I smiled at him.

"How was your day, kiddo?" Matt asked as he took a seat at the table across from us.

I nodded just like I had with Gabby and then proceeded to pull out the rest of the homework.

Suddenly, the bells went off, signalling an emergency.

Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambo 61, building fire at 674 Linford Lane

"Duty calls," Matt said as he kissed me on the forehead.

"We'll be back," Sylvie said and Gabby gave me a kiss on the top of my head before they ran off.

There was a lot of commotion going on as everybody got ready. The trucks and the ambulance turned on their sirens and then they were off.

And I was left with nothing but homework.

By the time everybody had gotten back to the firehouse, I made a pretty good dent in my homework.

"Working hard?" Herrmann commented as he plopped down on the couch.

I nodded as Sylvie and Gabby took their previous seats next to me.

"Yeesh, that's a lot of homework," Kelly said as he went to the fridge.

I wanted to say that it wasn't that bad, that this was mostly review, but no words came out of my mouth.

"Are you hungry?" Kelly asked me.

I shook my head but at the same time, my stomach growled.

Everybody laughed at the coincidence.

"I'll take that as a yes. Do you want an apple?" Kelly asked.

I nodded sheepishly and resumed my homework. By the time I finished the math worksheet I was doing, Kelly had a plate of apple slices for me.

I opened my mouth to say thank you and the room went silent. I willed the words to come out but nothing did, creating an awkward silence.

To cover it, I quickly smiled and then looked back down.

Ambo 61, Truck 81, Squad 3, Engine 51, warehouse fire at 332 Hadley Street

A groan went around the room since they had just returned from a call but everyone still got up and hurried back out of the room.

"We'll be back!" Matt called out. He was the last one so once he was gone, I was back to being alone.

I had almost finished the rest of my homework when everybody got back. I looked up to make sure nobody was injured from the fire

"Everybody's okay. The warehouse... not so much." Matt told me as he took the seat next to me. "You should eat those apples, they're turning brown."

I looked over at the plate Kelly had brought me before his left. I took Matt's suggestion and ate an apple before offering the plate to him.

"Naw, I'm okay." He said and then looked over at the math worksheet I was doing.

He smiled. "Looks nightmarish."

I glanced down at the sheet. There were approximately 100 questions but they weren't the long word problems that always ended with the word 'explain'. They were equations. We were currently learning the unit integers.

"Just because you aren't the smartest cookie in the box, doesn't mean we all are!" Herrmann said, overhearing our conversation.

Matt pretended to be offended. "I think I'm quite smart, thank you very much."

Herrmann looked over at me and shook his head, though there was a grin on his face.

"He also thinks he's handsome, so what does he know?" Herrmann whispered to me and I giggled softly.

Matt shot Herrmann a look, "I heard that."

I laughed again, internally shaking my head at the pair.

"Is anybody hungry?" Somebody I didn't know asked as he walked in.

"I am!" Herrmann and Matt said at the same time.

Gabby walked in after the man and came over to me. She gave me a quick kiss on the head and nodded over at the man. "That's Jimmy Borrelli, he's the candidate. Candidates always do all the cooking in a firehouse."

Jimmy looked over at me and smiled. "Whatever Dawson says about me, it's all lies."

Gabby gives Jimmy a playful punch on the shoulder and shakes her head at me.

"Yeah, I'm hungry, I think Naia here is too," Gabby said and I nodded. As if on cue, my stomach lets out a mean growl.

Jimmy laughs, "Dinner, coming right up!"

For dinner, Jimmy made chilli which seemed like a classic thing for firefighters to eat. It was really good, and everybody had at least two bowls of it. Once everybody was done, I helped collect the bowls and set them on the counter.

"I got it from here, thanks for the help Naia," Jimmy said and I gave him a smile. Jimmy seemed like a nice person. I also noticed that his last name ended with Ellie. My heart hurt for Ellie, Shane, and Thomas. As I thought about it, I realized that I never even got to say good-bye. Things just seemed to happen so fast.

I resumed my homework, but I didn't really feel like doing it. However, I knew that it had to be done and pushed myself.

By 7:00, I had everything ready in my bag. I wish our teachers gave us less homework though, but then again, who didn't?

Just as I had set down my backpack, Chief Boden walked in. This was my first time meeting him but this morning, Gabby and Matt had described him to me so I knew automatically who he was.

Plus, the way he presented himself just made him seem chiefly.

"Naia." He nodded at me and I smiled back. "You're still here?"

I wasn't sure how to reply so I just shrugged.

"Where's Gabby?" He asked, looking around the room.

Herrmann spoke up. "She's with Brett at the ambo."

Chief Boden nodded his thanks at Herrmann and walked out to where the ambulance was parked.

I watched as he walked away. I knew he wasn't happy about me being here and I immediately felt guilty.

"Don't worry about it. The Chief loves kids. He's just overworked right now. Has way too much paperwork." Herrmann said, watching my face. "And that makes him a grouch."

I looked up and nodded but then felt extremely tired. Homework was draining.

"You look tired kiddo," Herrmann said, "Why don't you take a nap while we wait for what's happening." Herrmann gets up from his seat across from me and motions to the couch. Too tired to object, I went over to the couch and curled up in a corner. Herrmann draped a blanket on top of me and I fell asleep instantly.

Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambo 61, Car Crash on Vineyard Avenue

I wake up with a start to find everybody hurrying away.

"We'll be back, just keep sleeping," Gabby says as she runs out. I wait until everybody leaves until I lay back down but I can't sleep. I try to just close my eyes but I feel too awake.

The clock says that it is now 8:30. I wasn't sure at all what was happening but I was guessing that I was staying until Matt and Gabby's shift was over.

Since sleeping felt like a hopeless cause, I got up and decided to take a walk around the firehouse. I knew somewhat where I was going since Sylvie and Gabby gave me a tour a while back.

Bored out of my mind, I went back to the couch, pulled out a book and started reading about Independence Day.