Lt. Johnson was waiting in the waiting room when the Squad walked in.

"How is she Lieu?" Walsh asked

"She's awake." He replied

"Great!" Kim replied

"You don't look too great Lieu." DK noted

"Taylor doesn't want any visitors right now." Lt. Johnson replied

They all looked at each other.

"What?" Jimmy asked

"She's having a tough time dealing with the situation. Please respect that." Lt. Johnson said, "Don't be upset with her though. She just needs a little space to figure it all out."

"This does seem like it'd be really rough for anyone to go through." Walsh noted

Lt. Johnson nodded and it looked like everyone understood and respected Taylor's wishes- even if it hurt them to not be able to visit with her.

"Can you give her a message though?" Jimmy asked

"Sure, if she'll listen." Lt. Johnson said

"Tell her that we are all here, and we'll wait however long it takes for her." Jimmy paused, "We're not leaving her alone in this. She will ALWAYS be one of us."

"She helps to make this squad whole." Lombardo added

"And if she ever needs us, we'll be there anytime day or night." DK added to it as everyone else nodded in agreement.

Lt. Johnson smiled proudly. His Squad had just given him the best feeling in the world. They were true to their word, he knew that. They wouldn't let Taylor down. Nothing in the world could stop them from being there for her when she needed them. They'd been through a lot together and this was just one more bump in the road to them.

A month later:

The days were excruciatingly long to Taylor. She could see them pass through the window, but couldn't get up and see out into them. A thunderstorm came through one evening and she was surprisingly struck by the power and magnitude of it. It was something that she now had a lot of time to think about- whether she wanted to or not.

The flowers and the cards kept coming to her. She went to therapy every day- each day hoping that maybe she would be able to move on her own again. Being trapped in a bed, fed and bathed by someone else, was frustrating. There she was in the prime of her life one day and then the next a painful reality that she was an invalid unable to care for herself. That's what happened to old people, not a 30 year old.

She thought for a moment about the squad.

"I wonder how they are doing." She said, for the first time she realized that this was affecting them as much as it was affecting her.

"I wonder who they got to replace me." She thought.

The guys were all sitting around in the lounge of the fire house. They were joking and carrying on like always when Lt. Johnson entered the room followed by a man that they had never seen before.

"Jimmy, Lombardo, DK, and Walsh." Lt. Johnson pointed to each of the firefighters as he called out their names.

The man behind him nodded as he scanned the room.

"Who's that Lieu?" Jimmy looked up and asked

"He's our new firefighter." Lt. Johnson said

"Whoa! Taylor's gettin' replaced?" Lombardo protested

"He don't look like no probie to me." DK added

"Settle down." Lt. Johnson demanded. "As much as I want Taylor to get back here, we all know that realistically it's not gonna happen. So this is who we got to fill the hole."

The firefighter stood, somewhat in shock that the reception wasn't friendlier.

"You got a name?" Walsh asked

"Davidson." The man said

"This is Shane Davidson." Lt. Johnson said, "Coming to use from Engine Co. 199."

"Engine company boys don't always make good Squad company men." Jimmy cracked

"That's ENOUGH!" Lt. Johnson slammed his hand down on the table. "I'm not going to have him ridiculed because he's sitting in the seat that used to be occupied by Taylor. It's been over a month since the accident and we can't keep going out light. So if you have a problem with the fact that there's a new person in this firehouse, then I invited you to come into my office and fill out your transfer papers because I'm not going to have this bullshit bickering in MY house!"

Each member of the squad sat in shock. No one dared to say a word; rather they just looked at each other.

"Jimmy, since you've decided to be so friendly, why don't you show Shane upstairs and get him situated with a bunk and a locker- and that's not a suggestion." Lt. Johnson said as he walked out of the room.

Jimmy and everyone else got up out of their chairs.

"This way." Jimmy said

He led Shane up the stairs and everyone else followed.

Jimmy pointed at the bunks.

"These 4 are taken; you can have any other bunk in here." Jimmy said

"EXCEPT the one by the window." Walsh said. "That's Taylor's."

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

Shane looked around the room and then found a bunk over in another corner.

"That one taken?" He asked

"No." Lombardo said

Shane walked over and put his stuff down on the bunk.

"I'm not trying to take her place." He said

The only response he got was a cold stare.

"Not like you could ever do it anyway." Lombardo cracked

"I'm not going to force you guys to like me, but it sure as hell would make our jobs a whole lot easier if you would quit the stare of death and try to be a little more hospitable." Shane replied as he unpacked his bags

Taylor watched the storm rage on outside. It was nights like this that made the old firehouse seem kind of creepy. But she didn't miss the soaking wet turnout gear or the idiots that couldn't drive there cars in the rain.

She saw the flash of red and white lights and realized that it was an ambulance bringing someone else into the hospital.

"God I need to get out of here." She told herself. "I can't take this the rest of my life."

She looked at the table beside her bed and wanted a drink but there wasn't anyone around her. She tried to press the call button, but the remote was out of reach for her fingers. Then without even realizing it, she moved her hand and grasped the remote.

She blinked in amazement.

"I just moved my arm!" She said to herself. "I moved my arm!"