My Way

Ch. 5

After hesitating for a moment, as if wondering, if there was anything else he had wanted to say, Nick carefully turned to step down and gave a tight hug to Cassidy, as he walked down. He held her hand as she walked up and then, slowly he took his seat next to the other officers and friends, in the first row of seats in the church.

With a heavy heart Cassidy began to speak. "Hi every one."

She stopped when she looked out into the far crowd and saw a group of children in the corner. She started to cry and Joe and Lisa quickly made their way up to the podium to comfort her. She slightly pushed away as if to say 'I can do this' and she walked up to the podium once again.

"I'm sorry; I know this is hard for all of us. There's not too much to say about my dad, that hasn't been said already. It was always a cool thing as a little girl telling your friends that your dad was a cop. But as I grew it all became too real. It was cool and all having a cop as a dad, but having every police officer in San Francisco watching over you because they knew your dad wasn't so cool.

"I guess what I realized more and more was how dangerous this job really is. I never had that scary feeling every time he left in the morning that that could be the last time I saw him. But it is an honor to be known as Nash Bridge's daughter. One of the most respected men in San Francisco. He just loved me and my mom so much. He would literally do anything he had to, to keep us safe. He may have thought he wasn't such a great dad, because he didn't come to school plays or talk to me about my report card, but like at his job, there is nobody better and there never will be. I love you daddy, say Hi to Evan for me."

The explosion was loud enough to swallow the frightened, even panicked yells that were shouted everywhere by officers to get the hell down, and for several moments all that could be heard was the deafening sound of shattering glass, walls and everything around them that was caught in the wave of destruction.

All around Joe, the walls were shaking, and glass was flying, hitting his arms as he crouched behind the bar table, where he and several others had sought shelter from the blast. At first Joe didn't even know how he'd gotten behind the table that fast, but figured that he'd been half dragged, and half stumbled by himself. But being stuck behind it, surrounded by three of four other cops who were telling him to stay small and take cover, he couldn't keep himself from looking around the corner of the table, not willing to hide, when he knew that Nash was right out there, maybe still inside the bar, maybe even outside already.

Geez, he didn't even wanna think about the possibility that Nash could have already made it outside, before the blast went off... Looking through the wall of smoke and debris that came in trough the door, he didn't see any further than his hand could reach, so he shook off the hand that was holding him behind the table and got up, stumbling and hurrying through the bar, heading into the direction that he remembered Nash had taken only second earlier.

Still not seeing too much of anything as he reached the door, that was now merely a left over off some broken glass and pieces, he stepped outside, where the smoke was clearing partly, letting him see shreds of an unobstructed view of what lay in front of him. And what he saw didn't let him breathe any easier. The house that had just stood there minutes ago was now completely on fire, though still standing, the three floor building looked like it was only a matter of time before it would come down eventually.

Apparently, the structure had survived the blast, but the fire now raging inside would not allow anybody who might be still alive and trapped in there, to get out easily. But where the hell was Nash?! Joe didn't see him, let alone anybody, out here, which would suggest that Nash hadn't made it out of the door after all, that his partner was still inside the bar and in safety. He had probably just missed him in all the smoke inside. But just as he was about to turn around and run back inside, something made him hesitate, and look back at the burning building once more.

There, are the bottom of it, where once used to have been a revolving door, he could see the outline of somebody ripping off the side of the broken door frame, as if trying to get himself a way inside. And from the angry movements, as well as the silhouette that he could see through to the flames coming from the debris on the street, he no longer doubted that this was Nash, who was standing there, working with all his might on pulling off the door frame, so that he could get inside.

"Nash!" he yelled, hoping that his partner would hear him, and sending a silent "thank God" prayer to heaven, when he saw Nash laying off for a second, and looking back at him through the smoke. Seeing Nash look over to him, he couldn't make out his partners whole form, since most of his vision was blurred once again by the smoke, but what he saw almost frighteningly clear was the determination and despair in Nash's face as he set on working on the door again, just as Joe ran towards him.

Running over to his partner, Joe had trouble breathing since the smoke seemed to be thicker where he was standing now, but without thinking twice about it, he immediately pulled along with Nash, and together they succeeded in breaking the remains of the door out of its already melting frame. Only when

Nash was setting foot onto the wrecked door that was now lying at their feet, where it had opened an entrance to the building, Joe reached out and grabbed a hold of Nash's arm.

"Hey, wait a minute, you can't go in there, Nash.", Joe called out, letting out all the despair that he felt building up in his throat, and putting it into his voice.

"Joe, we need to get those kids out. We HAVE to..." , Nash replied with one short but intensive stare, quickly glancing back into the red hot blackness of the building, before looking back at Joe with a face that left no doubt he would go in there.

But yet he didn't shrug off Joe's hand on his arm, as he would have done with anybody else at that point. No. He waited. Precious seconds, looking at Joe. Then, after what seemed like a millennium of heartfelt emotions, which were passed within only the span of a breath, Joe's eyes narrowed, realizing that there was only one way.

And when he let go off Nash's arm, though only after squeezing it slightly for the fracture of a heartbeat, he nodded slowly. "Alright."

It was a word that neither of them would have needed to hear, but the look that was exchanged between them in that second, told both of them, that this was more than a promise. It was an oath. One that included no second guesses. It told both of them that Joe would be right beside his partner, and when they went in there, they'd go together. No ifs. No buts. No holding back.

"Let's go", Nash finally called out after the almost eerie silence of the moment, now overpowering the sudden noise coming from inside where more and more ways were covered with flames, blocking passages right and left.

The same second Nash walked in there, Joe, who was right behind him, already having trouble keeping his partner in sight, there were flames everywhere messing up the view of his surroundings. But following Nash on his heels, and stopping every now and then when they had to walk around a crumbled corridor, they made it up to the second floor, where they could hear the faint cries coming from the right side of the hall. And some from the very end of the corridor. Gesturing, Nash told Joe to come to him, and then he pointed his arm down the hall. And over the fire he yelled:

"Take those over here, I'll go to the back", he called, nodding once, and as soon as he was sure that Joe had heard him, he was already on his way over to where the faint cries where coming from, leaving it to Joe to get those kids that were obviously in the room to their right, closer to the stairs that they had just come up.

Joe could see some movement to his right, in the room Nash had pointed at, and immediately he crouched down again, keeping an eye on the flames and staying low on the floor as he hurried over to the room. Once at the room, he was confronted with nine small children, most of them girls as it seemed, and all of them were crying.

So putting on his calmest face, he tried to get a handle on the situation, getting them to listen to him. And since talking had always been the best way to accomplish that, he kept on talking, praying that it was enough to keep the children's minds off the burning building long enough to make them forget their fear and come with him.

"Hey, are you alright? Is anybody hurt?" he hesitated, not sure if he'd get an answer. Then, at the slight head-shake of one of the kids, and the stuttering 'no' from another boy, he felt a burden falling off his chest. At least nobody was hurt.

"Okay, now I want you to listen to me, alright? I'm a cop and we're here to get you out, okay? You hear me? We'll get you out of here in no time. Just stay low and don't try to breathe too deep in all this smoke. I want you all to take your friends by the hand. Yeah, that's it, great. You're doing fine. Now don't let go of anybody and we'll get down the stairs and we'll get you out, alright?",

Joe smiled at them, looking more convinced that he actually felt about it. But putting on a brave face, he made sure that the kids were holding hands, and not leaving anybody behind, as they were all crawling out the room together, with Joe right beside them, not wanting to risk loosing anybody on their way down.

He just hoped that Nash was making equally fast progress with the remaining children, because when Joe reached the stairs and looked back at where Nash had gone, he noticed with a frown that it had definitely gotten hotter and brighter back there, like the fire was getting too damn close. But with the kid's right in front of him, looking at him frightened and scared, he couldn't go back there right now. He had to keep going... praying that Nash was alright.

"Nash Bridges." He said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Best cop I've ever had on the force, there was one other cop that was a lot like him, my father. I always wished that I had the poise and strength that my father had. Everyone will tell me that I had a great career when I retire and I'll enjoy the party and the gifts etc. But I had hoped that when I did in fact retire, that Nash would take my place.

"But I know his job is in the office with you guys, not at some desk. But I came to a time where I needed to step up and leave it for some one else, and I knew Nash would have made that decision some day. But alas, he's in a better place than all of us now. So to all of you, who have worked with him in any aspect, consider yourself fortunate. He was honest, even when he knew he was bending the rules, although he never really did come out and admit it."

"One cop that had the privilege of working with Nash for twenty odd years, is sitting up here today, Joe Dominguez is another honest veteran you kids should learn from. Heck they are practically the same person. They always wanted the same thing. Justice. Now we know the every day dangers that come with being a cop, and Nash went out the way any officer would want to, in the line of duty. Valiantly. So buddy enjoy your retirement, even though it came a lifetime before any of us wanted. You'll be missed more than you know."

He stepped back from the podium and saluted Nash's casket. He looked straight ahead to see his whole force of men and women standing and doing the same. A tear rolled down his cheek as he fought to hold himself together.