Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first four chapters of
the fic- I really, really appreciate it. This chapter (about Dave) is a bit
more angsty than some of the others. I love Dave dearly, but I guess since
we never saw any true Dave angst on the show, I felt the need to write
some. Hopefully it's not too depressing. It's also a bit longer than the
other chapters, but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway! Again, it is completely
unrelated to the first few chapters of the fic :) Please read and review!
Also, any knowledge I have about paramedics and emergency medicine comes from "Third Watch" and "ER". I try, but please forgive me if some of it's inaccurate :)
Special note: This chapter is dedicated to the girls from the AOL ER boards who have taught me to love Dave. Hope you guys like it!
***
"Dave? Dave? Wake up!"
Dave Malucci's eyes groggily opened. It was still dark outside. "What time is it?"
"5:10."
Dave sat up in bed and turned to face the voice. "5:10? Why are you getting me up at 5:10?"
"Because we just got a call. Home fire, victims possibly trapped inside. Dispatch sent one rig out a few minutes ago, but the firefighters on scene say that they'll need another."
Dave's eyes suddenly opened. "OK, give me two minutes, Mel," he said, slipping his feet into his shoes and pulling his paramedic uniform over the T-shirt he was wearing. He walked off towards the bathroom.
"I'll get you a cup of coffee, Dave," Melanie said. Dave turned and gave her a goofy thumbs-up. Melanie smiled, and walked down the firehouse stairs.
Dave walked into the bathroom and grabbed his toothbrush off a shelf. Squeezing some toothpaste onto it, he began to vigorously brush his teeth.
Five minutes later, Dave was sitting in the front seat of the ambulance, which was barreling down the streets of Chicago, sirens blaring and all. Melanie Daniels, his partner and best friend, was driving the ambulance. Dave took a sip of his coffee, then turned to talk to Melanie.
"So, a home fire, huh?"
As a car sped across the road, cutting Melanie off, she gripped the steering wheel tighter and executed a perfect turn. Exhaling heavily, she took her eyes off the road for a second to look at Dave. "Yeah, that's what they said over the radio."
Dave nodded, and looked ahead at the nearly-deserted road. They were approaching the scene of the fire. Dave could see the clouds of smoke billowing up into the sky.
Melanie turned one last corner and pulled up behind another ambulance. She pulled the key out of the ignition and opened the door. Dave unbuckled his seatbelt and hopped out of the rig. He met Melanie at the back, and they pulled several bags of supplies out of the ambulance. Slamming the doors shut, Melanie followed Dave around the side of the ambulance to where another paramedic was standing, along with a police officer. Dave and Melanie put down their bags and stood with them, watching the firefighters battle the blaze that was consuming the house.
After several minutes, Dave broke the silence. "Have they brought any victims out yet?"
Randy, the other paramedic, shook his head. "Three firefighters and three medics are up there trying to get them out. A neighbor told us that four kids and their two parents live here, and that they were here last night."
Dave nodded slowly, and glanced over at Melanie. She was staring at the fire, mesmerized by the orange flames that licked the sides of the house. Dave slid his arm around her shoulder and they watched the flames consume the house.
***
After what seemed like an eternity, a voice came over the radio at Dave's waist. "We have located three of the victims, I repeat, we have located three of the victims. Two girls, ages 6 and 4, and their mother, age 36, found in a bedroom upstairs. We're bringing them out now."
Dave grabbed the radio. "We copy that. We will be ready for the victims." With that, the paramedics went into action. Dave, Melanie, and Randy grabbed their bags and moved closer to the house. Within minutes, another paramedic and a firefighter emerged from the burning building, carrying a young girl on a backboard. Melanie walked over to them and took one end of the backboard, enabling the firefighter to run back into the house.
"Heather Lombardo, age six, suffering from third-degree burns on her arms and face and smoke inhalation. Blood pressure is." Dave's attention was suddenly diverted when Randy called his name.
"Hey, Dave! Over here! We've got a four-year-old girl right here, name's Kyla. She doesn't seem to be hurt as badly as the other one, but you might want to get an oxygen mask on her." Dave nodded, and they placed the backboard on a gurney outside the ambulance. Melanie was loading Heather into the other rig.
"You got this?" Randy asked. Dave nodded, and Randy ran back towards the house as two firefighters brought the mother out of the front door. Dave pulled an oxygen mask out of a bag and hooked it up.
Placing the mask gingerly over the young girl's face, he bent down to talk to her. "Hi, Kyla, I'm Dave. I'm a paramedic. We're going to bring you to a hospital now, okay?" The girl nodded. She looked terrified. Dave smiled at her and rubbed her hand gently. "Don't worry, Kyla, I'll take good care of you."
Dave looked up and surveyed the scene. It looked like all the other paramedics were busy, and would be for a while. Melanie and Brian, a paramedic who had been inside the house, had just left with Heather. Randy was occupied with the mother, who looked to be in pretty bad condition. Dave weighed his options quickly.
"Lisa! Can you come here?"
Lisa, a police officer, turned and jogged over to him. "What's up, Dave?"
"I need you to drive the ambulance. Melanie just left, and we need to get Kyla to a hospital fast." Lisa nodded. She helped Dave lift the gurney into the back of the ambulance, and then took the keys from him and got into the driver's seat. Dave shut the doors of the ambulance and Lisa turned the sirens on, pulling out into the street.
"What hospital are we going to, Dave?" Lisa shouted from the front seat.
"Uhh, Mercy's closest," he said, dressing some of the burns on Kyla's arms. Her pajamas were burnt, and she winced every time Dave touched her. "Kyla, I'm going to start an IV in your arm. It's going to give you medicine to make you feel better, okay?" he said quietly to the young girl. Kyla nodded weakly.
"Mercy can't take any more pediatric traumas."
Dave looked up. "Where can we go then?"
Lisa looked at him in the rear view mirror. "County can take us, and it's only fifteen minutes away."
Dave sighed heavily. He had spent the last year avoiding County General Hospital at all costs. In fact, when he first became a paramedic, he asked specifically to be assigned to an area where he would not have to go to County at all. But just two weeks earlier, he and Melanie had been transferred to a new precinct. Dave was tempted to tell Lisa not to go to County, but as he looked down at Kyla, visibly in pain, he knew what he had to do.
"Okay, let's go there. I'll call it in."
***
Fifteen minutes later, the rig pulled up to the ambulance bay at County General. Dave took the IV bag off of the hook it was hanging on and placed it on the gurney. "We're at the hospital now, Kyla," he said to the little girl, who was beginning to drowse off. "The doctors are going to help you now." As Lisa opened the doors of the ambulance, Dave took a deep breath.
Outside, Jing-Mei Chen and Abby Lockhart were waiting for the patient to be unloaded. As the police officer opened the back doors, Jing-Mei gasped. Dave Malucci was standing over the gurney, dressed in a paramedic uniform.
Dave looked up to see Chen and Abby staring at him in amazement. "They're probably thinking about how hot I look in my uniform," he chuckled to himself. With Abby's help, he rolled the gurney out of the back of the ambulance and into the emergency room.
"Kyla Lombardo, age four, victim of a home fire. Second- and third-degree burns on her arms, legs, chest and face. Suffering from smoke inhalation. Resps are good on 50% oxygen by mask. Pressure's 120 over 90, pulse 100." By this point, they were in trauma one, a room Dave knew well. Memories flooded his mind, but he was brought back to reality by Chen's voice.
"On my count, 1, 2, 3." Kyla was lifted off of the gurney, and Chen began to assess her.
Dave stepped back from the bed, almost tripping over the gurney. He cleared his throat. "You got this, Jing-Mei?"
Jing-Mei looked up and nodded. "Sure, Dave."
Dave waved good-bye to Kyla. "I'll come back to check on you later, okay?" he said. Kyla was almost asleep, but she managed to nod in reply. Dave smiled, and wheeled the gurney out of the trauma room.
As Dave walked quickly down the hall, Lisa, who was pushing the other end of the gurney, began to question him. "How did everyone know your name?"
Dave was silent until they reached the ambulance again. "We should go back to the scene, see if they need any more help." Lisa nodded as she got into the passenger seat, but she was persistent.
"How do you know them, Dave?"
Dave sighed, pulling out of the ambulance bay. "I used to work in that ER, okay?"
"I didn't know that, Dave. What were you? A nurse?"
Dave shook his head. "No, I was a doctor. I got fired about a year and a half ago."
Lisa was shocked. "Oh."
Dave shrugged. "Oh well. I hated my boss, and she hated me. In a way, I was glad to get out of there. Besides, I like being a paramedic better anyway. I always loved the traumas."
Lisa turned away, not quite sure what to say. The two sat in silence for a few minutes.
"You should radio Melanie, see what she's up to," Lisa finally said. Dave nodded and reached for the radio at his waist.
***
It was 7:00, and Dave's double-shift was finally over. He and Melanie had just finished cleaning the ambulance, and they walked back into the firehouse to get changed to go home.
As they climbed the stairs, Melanie couldn't help but notice that Dave seemed a little out of it. In fact, he had seemed out of it all day. "What's wrong, Dave? Rough day?"
Dave laughed weakly. "You could say that." He walked over to his locker and pulled out some clothes. Melanie stood in the middle of the room and looked at him, expecting more. When Dave didn't offer it, she shrugged and walked towards her locker.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Dave slammed his locker door shut and unbuttoned his uniform shirt. Pulling another shirt over his head, he exhaled heavily. He was never one to talk about his problems. Usually he kept his feelings to himself. But somehow, he felt that he could open up to Melanie. That she wouldn't judge him, or pity him, or laugh in his face. Melanie was the best friend he had ever had.
"No, Melanie. Not right now. Thanks, though." Dave sighed. Habit always seemed to win out.
Melanie unclipped her hair and took a brush off of the shelf in her locker. "You sure?" Dave nodded. Melanie sighed. "Okay. Call me if you need to talk." She put the brush away, took her coat out of her locker, and shut it, walking out of the firehouse.
***
Forty minutes later, Dave unlocked the door to his apartment. It was silent, as it typically was. He never spent much time at home. He turned on the lights and sunk down on the couch. Reaching for the remote, his hand suddenly traveled to the letter that had lain, unopened, on the coffee table for several days. Dave picked up the letter and opened it. Several pictures fell out when he removed the note from the envelope. Dave unfolded the note and read it.
Dave-
I thought you should have these pictures. My mom took them of Kathleen at her birthday party a few weeks ago. She's getting big, isn't she? They grow up so fast.
I'll see you next month. Kath can't wait to see you!
Elizabeth
Dave picked up the pictures that had landed in his lap. There were four or five, all of them featuring the same bright-eyed little girl. Kathleen. His daughter. He smiled as he looked at each of them. Kathleen was four now, and she looked more and more like her mother every day. Except for her eyes. She had always had her father's eyes.
Dave paused when he came to the last picture. It was a picture of Kathleen blowing out the candles on her birthday cake. She was wearing an adorable purple dress, and her hair was tied back in a matching ribbon. Standing behind Kathleen, smiling, was Elizabeth.
Elizabeth Harvey was someone that Dave never thought he would end up with. An old friend from college, Dave had had a huge crush on her for most of his freshman year. However, Elizabeth always seemed to have a boyfriend, and when she didn't, Dave could never work up the courage to ask her out.
After they graduated, Elizabeth and Dave lost touch for a while. Then one night, almost five years ago, Dave had come home from work to find Elizabeth sitting outside his apartment door. One thing led to another, and six weeks later, Elizabeth told him that she was pregnant.
Dave had been sure that he would finally be happy. Elizabeth was the girl of his dreams, and now they were going to have a baby together. But as the days wore on, their happiness dwindled and died. Just two months before Kathleen was born, Dave and Elizabeth split.
Elizabeth had called Dave the day after Kathleen was born. Dave went to visit them in the hospital. Elizabeth then dropped a bombshell on him- she was going to live with her parents in Virginia, and she was bringing Kathleen with her. Dave tried to stop her, but there was no changing Elizabeth's mind. Three weeks later, they left.
Since then, Dave had seen Kathleen every few months or so. He and Elizabeth had become friends again, but neither of them had ever been willing to move to give their family another chance.
Dave looked back at the picture. He missed Kathleen, and Elizabeth, more than words could express. Placing the pictures on the table, he leaned back against the couch. He couldn't stop the tears that were forming in his eyes from trickling down his cheeks.
That was why the day had been so difficult for him. Kyla, the little girl from the fire, was the same age as his own daughter. Kyla came out of the fire okay, but her twin brother, as well as her father, mother, and older brother, hadn't been so lucky. Dave spent every day saving people's lives, but it had never hit him like this before. Everything could be snatched away in an instant. It could be his own daughter, his Kathleen, who needed saving next.
Dave took a deep breath and wiped the tears from his eyes. He reached for the phone and dialed a number he had memorized long ago. The phone rang once. twice. three times before a voice picked up on the other end.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Melanie. I'm ready to talk."
On the other end, Melanie exhaled happily. "I'm glad you called, Dave. I was worried about you."
Dave smiled slightly. Melanie was the only girl who ever seemed genuinely worried about him- except Elizabeth, of course. Maybe Melanie could make him happy. Elizabeth tried, but she couldn't. Melanie knew him better.
Melanie was the only one Dave had ever reached out to for help and comfort.
"Dave? You there?"
"Yeah, I'm here."
"Go ahead. I'm listening."
Dave smiled. Melanie really would listen. He took a deep breath and began to tell her everything.
Also, any knowledge I have about paramedics and emergency medicine comes from "Third Watch" and "ER". I try, but please forgive me if some of it's inaccurate :)
Special note: This chapter is dedicated to the girls from the AOL ER boards who have taught me to love Dave. Hope you guys like it!
***
"Dave? Dave? Wake up!"
Dave Malucci's eyes groggily opened. It was still dark outside. "What time is it?"
"5:10."
Dave sat up in bed and turned to face the voice. "5:10? Why are you getting me up at 5:10?"
"Because we just got a call. Home fire, victims possibly trapped inside. Dispatch sent one rig out a few minutes ago, but the firefighters on scene say that they'll need another."
Dave's eyes suddenly opened. "OK, give me two minutes, Mel," he said, slipping his feet into his shoes and pulling his paramedic uniform over the T-shirt he was wearing. He walked off towards the bathroom.
"I'll get you a cup of coffee, Dave," Melanie said. Dave turned and gave her a goofy thumbs-up. Melanie smiled, and walked down the firehouse stairs.
Dave walked into the bathroom and grabbed his toothbrush off a shelf. Squeezing some toothpaste onto it, he began to vigorously brush his teeth.
Five minutes later, Dave was sitting in the front seat of the ambulance, which was barreling down the streets of Chicago, sirens blaring and all. Melanie Daniels, his partner and best friend, was driving the ambulance. Dave took a sip of his coffee, then turned to talk to Melanie.
"So, a home fire, huh?"
As a car sped across the road, cutting Melanie off, she gripped the steering wheel tighter and executed a perfect turn. Exhaling heavily, she took her eyes off the road for a second to look at Dave. "Yeah, that's what they said over the radio."
Dave nodded, and looked ahead at the nearly-deserted road. They were approaching the scene of the fire. Dave could see the clouds of smoke billowing up into the sky.
Melanie turned one last corner and pulled up behind another ambulance. She pulled the key out of the ignition and opened the door. Dave unbuckled his seatbelt and hopped out of the rig. He met Melanie at the back, and they pulled several bags of supplies out of the ambulance. Slamming the doors shut, Melanie followed Dave around the side of the ambulance to where another paramedic was standing, along with a police officer. Dave and Melanie put down their bags and stood with them, watching the firefighters battle the blaze that was consuming the house.
After several minutes, Dave broke the silence. "Have they brought any victims out yet?"
Randy, the other paramedic, shook his head. "Three firefighters and three medics are up there trying to get them out. A neighbor told us that four kids and their two parents live here, and that they were here last night."
Dave nodded slowly, and glanced over at Melanie. She was staring at the fire, mesmerized by the orange flames that licked the sides of the house. Dave slid his arm around her shoulder and they watched the flames consume the house.
***
After what seemed like an eternity, a voice came over the radio at Dave's waist. "We have located three of the victims, I repeat, we have located three of the victims. Two girls, ages 6 and 4, and their mother, age 36, found in a bedroom upstairs. We're bringing them out now."
Dave grabbed the radio. "We copy that. We will be ready for the victims." With that, the paramedics went into action. Dave, Melanie, and Randy grabbed their bags and moved closer to the house. Within minutes, another paramedic and a firefighter emerged from the burning building, carrying a young girl on a backboard. Melanie walked over to them and took one end of the backboard, enabling the firefighter to run back into the house.
"Heather Lombardo, age six, suffering from third-degree burns on her arms and face and smoke inhalation. Blood pressure is." Dave's attention was suddenly diverted when Randy called his name.
"Hey, Dave! Over here! We've got a four-year-old girl right here, name's Kyla. She doesn't seem to be hurt as badly as the other one, but you might want to get an oxygen mask on her." Dave nodded, and they placed the backboard on a gurney outside the ambulance. Melanie was loading Heather into the other rig.
"You got this?" Randy asked. Dave nodded, and Randy ran back towards the house as two firefighters brought the mother out of the front door. Dave pulled an oxygen mask out of a bag and hooked it up.
Placing the mask gingerly over the young girl's face, he bent down to talk to her. "Hi, Kyla, I'm Dave. I'm a paramedic. We're going to bring you to a hospital now, okay?" The girl nodded. She looked terrified. Dave smiled at her and rubbed her hand gently. "Don't worry, Kyla, I'll take good care of you."
Dave looked up and surveyed the scene. It looked like all the other paramedics were busy, and would be for a while. Melanie and Brian, a paramedic who had been inside the house, had just left with Heather. Randy was occupied with the mother, who looked to be in pretty bad condition. Dave weighed his options quickly.
"Lisa! Can you come here?"
Lisa, a police officer, turned and jogged over to him. "What's up, Dave?"
"I need you to drive the ambulance. Melanie just left, and we need to get Kyla to a hospital fast." Lisa nodded. She helped Dave lift the gurney into the back of the ambulance, and then took the keys from him and got into the driver's seat. Dave shut the doors of the ambulance and Lisa turned the sirens on, pulling out into the street.
"What hospital are we going to, Dave?" Lisa shouted from the front seat.
"Uhh, Mercy's closest," he said, dressing some of the burns on Kyla's arms. Her pajamas were burnt, and she winced every time Dave touched her. "Kyla, I'm going to start an IV in your arm. It's going to give you medicine to make you feel better, okay?" he said quietly to the young girl. Kyla nodded weakly.
"Mercy can't take any more pediatric traumas."
Dave looked up. "Where can we go then?"
Lisa looked at him in the rear view mirror. "County can take us, and it's only fifteen minutes away."
Dave sighed heavily. He had spent the last year avoiding County General Hospital at all costs. In fact, when he first became a paramedic, he asked specifically to be assigned to an area where he would not have to go to County at all. But just two weeks earlier, he and Melanie had been transferred to a new precinct. Dave was tempted to tell Lisa not to go to County, but as he looked down at Kyla, visibly in pain, he knew what he had to do.
"Okay, let's go there. I'll call it in."
***
Fifteen minutes later, the rig pulled up to the ambulance bay at County General. Dave took the IV bag off of the hook it was hanging on and placed it on the gurney. "We're at the hospital now, Kyla," he said to the little girl, who was beginning to drowse off. "The doctors are going to help you now." As Lisa opened the doors of the ambulance, Dave took a deep breath.
Outside, Jing-Mei Chen and Abby Lockhart were waiting for the patient to be unloaded. As the police officer opened the back doors, Jing-Mei gasped. Dave Malucci was standing over the gurney, dressed in a paramedic uniform.
Dave looked up to see Chen and Abby staring at him in amazement. "They're probably thinking about how hot I look in my uniform," he chuckled to himself. With Abby's help, he rolled the gurney out of the back of the ambulance and into the emergency room.
"Kyla Lombardo, age four, victim of a home fire. Second- and third-degree burns on her arms, legs, chest and face. Suffering from smoke inhalation. Resps are good on 50% oxygen by mask. Pressure's 120 over 90, pulse 100." By this point, they were in trauma one, a room Dave knew well. Memories flooded his mind, but he was brought back to reality by Chen's voice.
"On my count, 1, 2, 3." Kyla was lifted off of the gurney, and Chen began to assess her.
Dave stepped back from the bed, almost tripping over the gurney. He cleared his throat. "You got this, Jing-Mei?"
Jing-Mei looked up and nodded. "Sure, Dave."
Dave waved good-bye to Kyla. "I'll come back to check on you later, okay?" he said. Kyla was almost asleep, but she managed to nod in reply. Dave smiled, and wheeled the gurney out of the trauma room.
As Dave walked quickly down the hall, Lisa, who was pushing the other end of the gurney, began to question him. "How did everyone know your name?"
Dave was silent until they reached the ambulance again. "We should go back to the scene, see if they need any more help." Lisa nodded as she got into the passenger seat, but she was persistent.
"How do you know them, Dave?"
Dave sighed, pulling out of the ambulance bay. "I used to work in that ER, okay?"
"I didn't know that, Dave. What were you? A nurse?"
Dave shook his head. "No, I was a doctor. I got fired about a year and a half ago."
Lisa was shocked. "Oh."
Dave shrugged. "Oh well. I hated my boss, and she hated me. In a way, I was glad to get out of there. Besides, I like being a paramedic better anyway. I always loved the traumas."
Lisa turned away, not quite sure what to say. The two sat in silence for a few minutes.
"You should radio Melanie, see what she's up to," Lisa finally said. Dave nodded and reached for the radio at his waist.
***
It was 7:00, and Dave's double-shift was finally over. He and Melanie had just finished cleaning the ambulance, and they walked back into the firehouse to get changed to go home.
As they climbed the stairs, Melanie couldn't help but notice that Dave seemed a little out of it. In fact, he had seemed out of it all day. "What's wrong, Dave? Rough day?"
Dave laughed weakly. "You could say that." He walked over to his locker and pulled out some clothes. Melanie stood in the middle of the room and looked at him, expecting more. When Dave didn't offer it, she shrugged and walked towards her locker.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Dave slammed his locker door shut and unbuttoned his uniform shirt. Pulling another shirt over his head, he exhaled heavily. He was never one to talk about his problems. Usually he kept his feelings to himself. But somehow, he felt that he could open up to Melanie. That she wouldn't judge him, or pity him, or laugh in his face. Melanie was the best friend he had ever had.
"No, Melanie. Not right now. Thanks, though." Dave sighed. Habit always seemed to win out.
Melanie unclipped her hair and took a brush off of the shelf in her locker. "You sure?" Dave nodded. Melanie sighed. "Okay. Call me if you need to talk." She put the brush away, took her coat out of her locker, and shut it, walking out of the firehouse.
***
Forty minutes later, Dave unlocked the door to his apartment. It was silent, as it typically was. He never spent much time at home. He turned on the lights and sunk down on the couch. Reaching for the remote, his hand suddenly traveled to the letter that had lain, unopened, on the coffee table for several days. Dave picked up the letter and opened it. Several pictures fell out when he removed the note from the envelope. Dave unfolded the note and read it.
Dave-
I thought you should have these pictures. My mom took them of Kathleen at her birthday party a few weeks ago. She's getting big, isn't she? They grow up so fast.
I'll see you next month. Kath can't wait to see you!
Elizabeth
Dave picked up the pictures that had landed in his lap. There were four or five, all of them featuring the same bright-eyed little girl. Kathleen. His daughter. He smiled as he looked at each of them. Kathleen was four now, and she looked more and more like her mother every day. Except for her eyes. She had always had her father's eyes.
Dave paused when he came to the last picture. It was a picture of Kathleen blowing out the candles on her birthday cake. She was wearing an adorable purple dress, and her hair was tied back in a matching ribbon. Standing behind Kathleen, smiling, was Elizabeth.
Elizabeth Harvey was someone that Dave never thought he would end up with. An old friend from college, Dave had had a huge crush on her for most of his freshman year. However, Elizabeth always seemed to have a boyfriend, and when she didn't, Dave could never work up the courage to ask her out.
After they graduated, Elizabeth and Dave lost touch for a while. Then one night, almost five years ago, Dave had come home from work to find Elizabeth sitting outside his apartment door. One thing led to another, and six weeks later, Elizabeth told him that she was pregnant.
Dave had been sure that he would finally be happy. Elizabeth was the girl of his dreams, and now they were going to have a baby together. But as the days wore on, their happiness dwindled and died. Just two months before Kathleen was born, Dave and Elizabeth split.
Elizabeth had called Dave the day after Kathleen was born. Dave went to visit them in the hospital. Elizabeth then dropped a bombshell on him- she was going to live with her parents in Virginia, and she was bringing Kathleen with her. Dave tried to stop her, but there was no changing Elizabeth's mind. Three weeks later, they left.
Since then, Dave had seen Kathleen every few months or so. He and Elizabeth had become friends again, but neither of them had ever been willing to move to give their family another chance.
Dave looked back at the picture. He missed Kathleen, and Elizabeth, more than words could express. Placing the pictures on the table, he leaned back against the couch. He couldn't stop the tears that were forming in his eyes from trickling down his cheeks.
That was why the day had been so difficult for him. Kyla, the little girl from the fire, was the same age as his own daughter. Kyla came out of the fire okay, but her twin brother, as well as her father, mother, and older brother, hadn't been so lucky. Dave spent every day saving people's lives, but it had never hit him like this before. Everything could be snatched away in an instant. It could be his own daughter, his Kathleen, who needed saving next.
Dave took a deep breath and wiped the tears from his eyes. He reached for the phone and dialed a number he had memorized long ago. The phone rang once. twice. three times before a voice picked up on the other end.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Melanie. I'm ready to talk."
On the other end, Melanie exhaled happily. "I'm glad you called, Dave. I was worried about you."
Dave smiled slightly. Melanie was the only girl who ever seemed genuinely worried about him- except Elizabeth, of course. Maybe Melanie could make him happy. Elizabeth tried, but she couldn't. Melanie knew him better.
Melanie was the only one Dave had ever reached out to for help and comfort.
"Dave? You there?"
"Yeah, I'm here."
"Go ahead. I'm listening."
Dave smiled. Melanie really would listen. He took a deep breath and began to tell her everything.