Little Girl Lost

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it's not mine. This story is on an AU track.

Chapter 12: Coming Under Fire

"They can't stay in the house," Olivia whispered. It was her first coherent thought.

"Say again, Sergeant?"

She hadn't even realized she'd spoken out loud until she heard the voice through her headset. "I said the suspects can't stay in the house, not while it's on fire. At some point they'll have to exit. We need to be ready to nab them when they do. Get the perimeter as close as you safely can. Did anyone call the Fire Department?"

"We did," someone replied. "They're en route. ETA in five."

"Serena!" Captain Hannah's voice rang out over the chaos, and Olivia turned just in time to see the tall detective running towards the burning house. "Detective! Stop!"

"The girls!" Stevens shouted back, not breaking stride. "They'll die in there!"

Olivia felt something brush past her and then realized it was Nick, sprinting after his temporary partner. She'd known him far too long to believe, even for a second, that he intended to stop the senior detective. Her own shouts were nearly drowned out by the general chaos.

"Sergeant!" That was Rollins, who was running towards her, closely followed by Fin. "We have to do something! Fire won't get here in time!"

Well, at least somebody consults with me first. But she knew that the young detective was right, that Nick and Serena, while reckless, had had a reason not to wait. A large amount of the smoke was coming from the bottom of the structure, indicating that the basement, where the girls were held, was on fire.

"Okay," she said finally. "But let's be careful. Take all precautions, and no unnecessary risks. We get the girls if we can, and we get out. And keep your eyes open in case some of the suspects are still in the house."

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The concrete walls of the basement glowed orange, reflecting the flames, and both Nick and Serena coughed on the thick smoke. But neither one of them thought, even for a moment, of turning back.

"There's a padlock on this door here!" she yelled. "I think this is it!"

She drew her weapon, swinging the butt of it at the lock. A few good strikes and the metal pulled away from the wooden door. Heedless of the heat radiating from it, she grabbed hold of the lock and yanked it loose, letting it fall to the floor just as Nick ran up beside her.

The room itself was awash with flame. A group of girls was huddled in the one small area that had so far been spared, but it was clear that it was only a matter of time before that too was ablaze. Already, they could see that one girl's hair was on fire and several more appeared to be at immediate risk.

"I'm going in!" Serena shouted over the roar of the flames. "Nick, stay on this side! I'll hand them over the flames to you!"

"Got it!" he called back. "I'll be right here!"

Serena's legs were just long enough to clear the wall of fire, though one of the cuffs on her pants caught a spark which she had to slap out before it could spread. She immediately ran towards the girl whose hair was burning, already ripping her jacket off and using it to smother the flames. "Okay, honey, you first." She scooped the girl up in her arms, handing her over the wall of flame to Amaro.

"Go that way!" she heard him yell. "Run that way! Up the stairs and out the door!"

"Nick, got another one!" she called out, picking up the nearest girl and handing her off to safety. Just in the time it had taken to rescue the first two, the fire had already consumed even more ground.

"We're not going to have time!" he yelled, panicked, even as he took a third girl from Serena and sent her up to safety.

"We have to!" she yelled back as she tossed another girl into Nick's arms. "I'm not leaving them behind!"

All of a sudden, Serena was hit by a force so powerful it almost knocked her down. She heard Nick yell out in surprise as well. My God, what now?

Then she heard Nick shout again, this time with something that almost sounded like a laugh. In the next moment, she realized what was going on. Painful though the initial contact was, it wasn't another obstacle, it was salvation. There's water coming from the ceiling.

The water wasn't enough to extinguish the raging fire, but it hampered the spread, and Serena knew the drenching would provide herself, Nick, and the girls some level of protection from the flames. She reached down, handing off another girl, and another, until only three remained on her side. But they lay motionless, visibly injured and Serena knew they wouldn't be able to run as the others had.

"Nick, we've got three here who are hurt!" she yelled. "How do you want to do this?"

"Hand two to me!" he shouted back after a moment. "I'll carry them out, and you take the last one. You have to get back over this wall of fire," he reminded her when it seemed like she might argue. "You'll need more mobility."

"Right." She couldn't help a flash of embarrassment at thinking that Nick had been coddling her, but she pushed it aside, there was no time for that. "Okay, here we go."

Nick carefully laid the two girls over his shoulders, wrapping one arm around each as he ran for the stairs. Serena picked up the final girl and stepped over the flames, sighing a breath of relief that turned into a cough when she was finally in a place where the fire wasn't between her and safety.

The sight of turnout gear was the first thing that met Serena at the front door. Her mind hazy from the heat and lack of oxygen, it took her a moment to realize that the two suits actually had people inside. One took the girl from her arms while the other immediately pushed her to the ground and threw something over her legs. Serena just stared for a moment, uncomprehendingly, before realizing that there was smoke rising from them. She hadn't even realized there was anything wrong.

Hands lifted her up and placed her on a stretcher. She was coughing in earnest now, gasping to get fresh air into her lungs between spasms, and a paramedic pressed a mask over her face. It was an odd sensation, but the extra oxygen felt good and was helping her mind to clear.

Turning her head to her side, she could see Nick sitting on the tailgate of an ambulance, also making use of an oxygen mask while Detective Rollins stood close by. As they approached, she could hear the blonde detective's voice, clear even over all the chaos, "...could have gotten yourself killed, do you realize that?"

"I had no choice. The girls -" he began coughing again.

"Don't talk." Rollins pushed the mask back onto his face. "Don't talk, just breathe."

"She's right, though." That was Benson, stepping up from behind one of the ambulances. "That goes for both of you," she added, looking from Nick to Serena. "Emergency situation or no, that was incredibly reckless."

The two detectives exchanged a glance. "We know," Nick said finally, his voice muffled by the mask.

"You both owe Rollins big-time," she added, giving the blonde detective a smile. "I think I'm going to use her as an example of why actually reading paperwork can save lives."

"What?" Serena asked, sitting up slowly on the stretcher. "What happened?"

"It was really Andrea who saved you," Rollins objected, blushing a bit. "She mentioned in her interview that the girls were periodically sprayed with 'water from the ceiling'."

"You turned on the water," Serena realized.

The blonde nodded. "If you two were going to insist on doing something reckless, the least I could do was keep you from getting killed in the process."

"All right." One of the EMTs interrupted before the conversation could proceed. "We need to get these two to a hospital."

"I'll ride along," Rollins volunteered quickly, her hand still on Nick's back.

"All right, just stay out of the way. Let's go! Load up!"

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"Serena did what?" Zach asked incredulously, almost unable to believe what he was hearing over the phone.

"That was my reaction too," Captain Hannah admitted. "I tried to stop her but she was halfway to the house before I even realized what was happening."

He shook his head, even though he knew the other man couldn't see it. "I doubt you would have been able to stop her. She's stubborn when she wants to be."

"As opposed to you?" The Captain barked out a laugh.

"Fair enough," Zach said evenly. "How's she doing?"

"Second-degree burns on both legs and some smoke inhalation. She'll probably have to spend a night or two in the hospital, but there's no serious damage. She's fully conscious and already giving me a hard time about when she'll be able to come back to work."

He laughed. "Tell her...tell her I'm thinking about her, okay? I can't leave here right now, but I'm thinking about her. And I can't believe she'd pull a stunt like that."

"Will do."

"Zach?" Andrea asked from his lap as he hung up the phone. "Is Serena okay?"

"Yes, she's okay," he replied immediately. "She got hurt a little bit at work, but she's going to be just fine."

She regarded him, a curious expression crossing her features. "Why don't you go to work anymore?"

"What do you mean?"

"I thought that if Serena goes to work you go to work too. You said that's how partners are. But she went to work today and you didn't."

He smiled down at her. "You are one smart little girl, you know that?" He was gratified to see a small answering smile from her. "Yes, you're right, Serena and I usually go to work at the same time. But sometimes one of us has to stay home - like kids staying home from school on days where everyone else is going because they're sick."

"But...you're not sick, are you?" Concern filled her voice.

"No, baby," he reassured her. "I'm not sick. Sometimes, grown-ups stay home from work to take care of their kids." He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to his chest. "And there is nowhere in the world I'd rather be than right here."

"Zach?" she asked after a minute. "Can I...can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can, baby. Anything."

"It's just...you always treat me like your real kid. So, um...would it be okay if...canIcallyouDad?"

Despite the speed with which the words tumbled out, Zach understood them perfectly. He could feel tears springing to his eyes, and he had to swallow several times before he could speak. "You are my real child," he said after a moment, his voice thick and choked. "It doesn't matter who gave birth to you, you've been mine since the day I found out you'd be moving in with me. And I can't think of anything I would like better than if you started calling me Dad."

"I love you...Dad," she whispered, trying the word out for the first time.

And Zach had never heard anything that sounded more right. His cheeks were wet with tears as he replied, "I love you too, my Andrea."

Yeah, I know that Serena and Nick were super reckless in this chapter, but I can see it for Amaro, and Stevens is kind of a blank slate so I can kind of mold her character into what I want/need her to be...that's probably part of why I like working with the character. I'm sure those two will hear no end of it from their respective partners.

The little scene between Zach and Andrea is something I've had in mind for awhile, but couldn't figure out exactly where in the narrative to put it. When I started writing out the bit with Zach talking about parents staying home for their kids, it just seemed to fit.

Yes, the chapter title is a bit of a pun...intended for one reviewer in particular! You know who you are, especially considering you use the word "Punster" as part of your pen-name.

Please review.