TWO MONTHS LATER

Gabby had always loved the water. When she was diving competitively, the pool had started to feel like a workplace instead of an escape. But, it was starting to feel like a retreat again.

It was quiet under the water. Her dad was right. Water was life.

Plunge after plunge. Lap after lap. She tried to get Bode out of her head. And… the fire.

They had slowly built a friendship over the last few weeks. Bonding over their impossible-to-please fathers. But Bode's pull was magnetic. He was soft and strong at the same time. Deep hurt hidden just below the surface. Kind, but lost.

She loved Jake, but she knew that how she felt about Bode was deeper than friendship.

She grabbed on to the rough tiled ledge of the pool and took a drink from the water bottle that she'd left sitting on the pool deck.

The fire.

It was two weeks ago…

Her first big wildfire as part of Cal Fire. She tried to keep the Chief's mantra in her head "work, don't worry," but it felt like it was closing in on all sides.

She looked up from the line she was cutting and didn't see a soul around her. She froze and started to panic.

Then seemingly out of nowhere, Bode was beside her. "We need to get into a fire shelter," he yelled. "Now!"

"I don't have one," she yelled back at him in panic. She couldn't believe how loud the fire around them had become.

"I have one. Hurry, get down on the ground," he yelled trying to sound reassuring.

"I thought they could only fit one person?" she asked as she quickly lowered herself on to the ground.

He tucked in beside her and pulled the shelter over them. It was tight with both of them in all their gear, but she was glad that she wasn't alone.

It was hot. So hot. And deafening. The roar of the fire was unbelievable. She clung to Bode.

"It's going to be okay. I've got you. I'm not going to let it hurt you," he said through his mask, squeezing her shoulders.

Suddenly, there was a loud crack and a thud. Branches from the large trees that surrounded them were starting to come down. Gabriella screamed.

Bode rolled so that he was on top of her, propping himself up on his arms, so that he wasn't putting his weight on her.

Several things hit them. Gabrielle didn't know if they were branches. Or parts of trees. Or even whole trees. She felt them as they thudded on the ground… but Bode took the brunt of each hit, making sure that she was safely underneath him.

He kept his eyes locked on hers, letting her know that it was going to be okay.

45 minutes later they were rescued by Eve and Vince.

She was sitting on the back of an ambulance getting oxygen when she saw them take Bode away on a stretcher.

Gabriella didn't even have the chance to say thank you for keeping her safe.

It was two days later when she learned that Bode had suffered several broken ribs, a lacerated kidney and internal bleeding from the falling debris that he had protected her from. Because he was a prisoner, they wouldn't let her see him in the hospital.

She'd overheard a call between her dad and the Division Chief this morning and had learned that Bode was back at the Con Camp. He wasn't ready to go back in the field, but had been released from the hospital.

Gabriella took another swig from her water bottle, let go of the ledge and resumed her workout. 20 more laps, she decided… hoping that would give her enough time to figure out what to do.