Thankfully the daylight hours passed fairly uneventfully, a few calls but nothing major, the mood amongst the crew was sombre and it was eerily quiet for a firehouse. Andy had taken herself to her bunk and spent the time between calls lying down staring in to space. Multiple attempts by her crew to get her to join them for food or coffee had failed and eventually they had given up and decided she would join them when she was ready. If Andy was anything she was stubborn and she didn't give in so they knew they had to let her do things her own way.

Robert had tried unsuccessfully to coax her in to the beanery too, but he had at least managed a quiet half an hour with her after sneaking in to her bunk and being her pillow for a while. He had sat against the headboard and she allowed herself to relax in to his arms. He had gently stroked the side of her head with one arm and rubbed up and down her arm with his other.

"I miss this."

"We're doing it now, how can you miss it?" Andy whispered back.

"I miss doing this when you aren't hurting like you are now." He kisses her head gently. "I want to take your pain away. I hate seeing you like this and I just want to hold you here and never let anyone hurt you ever again."

Andy turned her head and gave Robert a slow kiss on the lips.

"You know I love you don't you? More than anything. And I'm sorry I'm being so difficult, it's just so hard and it just feels like I've had the wind knocked out of my sails. I'm trying to be okay, I really am and I do see you and what you do for me and I do appreciate it."

"Andy, you don't have to put on an act for me or for anyone for that matter. It's okay not to be okay. You take as long as you need, there's no time limit and I'm not going anywhere, I'll be right here every minute of every day to take care of you. Te amo Andrea."

Andy wrapped her arms tighter around Robert as he kissed the top of her head. The love she felt for this man surprised her. One minute she had hated him, the next she found herself looking forward to work so she could see him, the gym sessions, the taking him food to eat together in his office, the little chats about all manner of things and then suddenly boom, it hit her, she was in love with him. It had crept up on her but she liked it, she liked the way it made her feel, the way he made her feel. It was new, something she had never experienced before and that's why when it had all gone wrong it had hurt her so much. She never would have imagined they would get to this stage now. And she was trying so hard to be okay for him, she didn't want him to keep seeing her like this, grief was so draining and she didn't want to drag him down with her. Thats why she needed to keep him at arms length, protect him from her sadness. Thats why it was best she was back at work, she could have some distance from him. She could grieve quietly on her own without him worrying for her. There was that nagging feeling In the back of her mind telling her that Robert deserved better than this, that everyone who cared for her ended up dying and leaving her and as much as she loved him, she knew she needed to save Robert from herself. She needed to set him free.

It was 2am when the bells sounded around the station waking everyone but Andy who was already awake, from their slumber. The call was a complex one, a residential apartment with many residents inside still asleep unaware of the drama that was taking place around them. The firefighters worked quickly and efficiently, evacuating people from their apartments and guiding them to safety. This was the only time at the moment that Andy felt alive, felt normal. Doing her job, helping people, there was no time to dwell on her own life. She banged heavily on another door,

"Hello, fire department, is anyone inside, make your way out the building, this is an emergency."

She had to shout louder than normal to make herself heard through the confines of her mask and the noise of the commotion around her as the growing fire got ever closer. She watched the people stumble bleary eyed from the property, fear written across their faces as she saw them go before moving on to the next apartment. Thats when she heard her husband in her ear piece;

"Listen up, all units inside are to withdraw from the property now, this is your Chief speaking, we are moving to defensive mode, all personnel to leave the building now and report to outside."

Andy sighed, she knew the floor was empty, she had done her job, but she still wanted to check further, she didn't want to go outside and face reality. The fire was unpredictable but at least it was constant, she knew how to handle it. Not like her own life when things kept getting thrown at her and she was unsure of what to do and how to face them. She felt a tear slide down her cheek inside her mask and she allowed herself to wander nearer to the flames that were burning steadily across one side of the corridor. Slowly she sat down against the wall and found herself entranced by the dancing, rhythmic motion of the orange glow. She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. She wasn't sure why but she felt free all of a sudden. There was only her and the fire and suddenly she didn't want anything else, this was so peaceful and felt so right. Her pass alarm started beeping at the lack of movement but she didn't register it, nor did she pay attention to the alarm warning her of low air in her tank. She could see her dad and she could see Ryan, and was that her mom, just out of reach, it was, she was sure of it.

"Mami?" She mumbled, "Wait for me, I'm coming with you guys."

Outside Robert was getting nervous, nearly everyone was out the building now but he still hadn't seen Andy exit. He was hoping he'd missed her and she'd slipped passed unnoticed but he knew he was kidding himself with that thought.

"Captain Bishop. Do we have a head count yet for station 19?"

"Yes Chief." Maya answered immediately, pointing at a piece of paper in front of her, "We are missing 2, everyone else has reported in. Montgomery and Herrera have not come out yet."

She looked at Robert and she could see the fear written all over him.

"Sir, I'm sure it's okay, it's a big building, Andy and Travis were on the top floors." As she spoke she saw movement at the building entrance out the corner of her eye.

"Ah look, here's Montgomery now, Andy will be behind him."

She made her way towards him with Chief Sullivan behind her. They waited whilst Travis pulled the mask from his face.

"Andy, where's Andy? Is she with you?" Sullivan asked.

Travis shook his head looking confused.

"No sir, I haven't seen her. She took the floor above me, I haven't seen her since we separated on the way in."

Maya and Robert shared a look and instantly Maya jumped into action. She grabbed her radio,

"Herrera… HERRERA. Do you copy?"

Silence

"Andy. Andy can you hear me, its Maya."

The rest of station 19 heard the calls on their radios and heard the silence. Gibson and Miller were at the entrance immediately with fresh tanks on their back ready to go.

"Permission to go look for Herrera." Jack asked looking between Maya and Robert.

"Permission granted," Robert said, "She was last seen on the top floor."

Without another word Gibson and Miller were gone. Time seemed to slow down for Robert outside, he wanted nothing more than to go in himself to rescue his wife but he knew he couldn't keep doing that. He had to follow protocol. He knew Gibson and Miller were more than capable of getting Andy out safely, he just had to have patience. Maya placed her hand on Roberts forearm and gave it a squeeze, she didn't know he and her best friend were married but she knew they were together. She knew Andy had just spent the last 5 days at Roberts and that they cared an awful lot about each other. He gave her a small smile back in return.

"Station 19 aid car can we have you standing by near the entrance please."

Robert heard Mayas words over the radio and prayed to God that Andy would not be taking a ride in the aid car.