Bobby, Hen, Chimney, and Buck sit around the waiting room quietly. There's nothing to say. No words can comfort them in this moment. The elevator door dings and Jo gets off. She sees Bobby first.
"Bobby!"
Before she can go to him, Buck sees her.
"Jo?"
She looks over and sees him, immediately breaking down. He pulls her close and holds on tight.
"I thought you were-"
Buck stops her. "I'm alright."
They hold each other for a little while longer. They part and she looks around, noticing two people are missing.
"Where's Eddie and Dan?"
"Eddie's got a broken rib and maybe a broken clavicle."
"And Dan?"
Tears fill Buck's eyes. He can't speak, so he shakes his head.
Jo's heart and shoulders drop. "What?" She's as speechless as everyone else. "Kate?"
"She's on her way to the firehouse."
"Why not here?"
"Because he's not here. He didn't come out."
"At all?"
Buck doesn't reply.
Bobby speaks up. "If we had tried to grab him before it collapsed, we'd all be dead right now. We had to leave him."
"I could have gotten him," Buck sneers.
"No, Buck, you couldn't have."
Buck shakes his head and looks away.
"Is there anything I can do?" Jo asks, looking between everyone.
"Not right now," Bobby replies.
Jo nods. She looks back at Buck. "Are you ready to go home?"
Buck nods, grabs his jacket and heads toward the elevator. Jo says goodbye and follows her husband.
… ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
The next day, a crowd of first responders and their families gather at the funeral home as Dan's body is being unloaded from the hearse to be brought inside. Kate and the kids watch and cry as his flag draped coffin is carried in by the 118. Light sobs are the only sound that can be heard as he's carried inside.
… ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Bobby and Athena walk through the door quietly. Bobby throws the keys down on the side table and puts his cap down. Athena quietly moves to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.
"Cream and sugar?"
"Mhm." Bobby sits down at the bar with a sigh. "That was one of the hardest days I've ever had."
"No one would have guessed. You were so strong."
"On the inside I was dying." Bobby wrings his hands. "I could barely look Kate in the eyes knowing that I'm the reason her husband is dead."
"No you are not." Athena puts the empty mugs in her hands down and goes to her husband's side. "There was nothing you could have done. You said it yourself, if you had stayed and tried to get him out, you all would have died. You did what you had to do to save the rest of your crew."
Bobby shakes his head. "I was his captain. He relied on me to keep him safe. I should have at least stayed with him so he wasn't alone."
"Call me selfish, but I'm glad you didn't." Athena rubs his back. "Baby, please don't beat yourself up. You made the right decision. It may not feel like it right now, and it may not ever feel like it."
Bobby shakes his head.
"If you had stayed, I would be a widow and the kids would have lost a second father. Maddie would be alone and Wes and Theo wouldn't have a dad. Jolene would be giving birth and raising a baby on her own. Audrey would be a widow and single mother to Christopher. All those kids would have lost their fathers."
'Well now Kate is a widow, and Briar and Hattie and Leila don't have a dad. How is that a fair trade?"
"It isn't, and my heart breaks for them. But accidents happen and sometimes you can't fix them. There wasn't a solution that would have ended with everyone making it out. It happened, and there's no use in thinking about the what if's."
"I let him down."
Bobby starts crying. Athena quickly wraps him in a hug and lets him cry.
… ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Kate is laying on the couch, wrapped in Dan's shirt, crying. The doorbell rings. She lays there for a moment, contemplating getting up and answering it or ignoring whoever is on the other side. The doorbell rings again. She gets up, not bothering to wipe her tears. On the other side stands Athena, Karen, Maddie, Audrey, and Jo holding containers of food and bags of other groceries. As soon as she sees them, she breaks down again. They all gather to wrap their arms around her.
… ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
The firehouse is quiet as the crew comes in for their first shift after the fire. The guys go into the locker room to get ready. The first thing they see is a black line running across Dan's name badge on his locker. As they pass it, they nod and take a moment to remember and respect him.
… ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Bobby is in the kitchen alone making breakfast when the crew comes up the stair.
"Good morning."
A few quiet "good mornings" ring through the room, but they mostly stay quiet.
"I know we're all hurting, but we have to get back to business as usual. We're also down two men, so we'll all have to pick up the slack a bit until Eddie recovers enough to get back out there with us."
"And until we replace Dan," Buck sneers
"Right." Bobby nods. "The Chief says he is going to take it easy on us for the next few days and that the 123 will help by taking a lot of our calls."
They all stay quiet.
"Grab a plate before it gets cold."
No one moves, so Bobby grabs a stack of plates and hands one to Chimney, then Hen, then Eddie, then finally Buck. They reluctantly take the plates and fill them with food.
… ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Audrey is sitting on the couch grading the last papers of the school year. She finishes the last one and puts it down on the coffee table. She stands up and is immediately hit with a pain. She doubles over and sits back down, holding her stomach. She looks down and sees blood spreading on her pants. Her heart drops. She pulls out her phone and dials a number.
… ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Jo opens the door to a quiet house.
"Audrey?"
There is no answer. She puts down her purse and takes off her shoes and heads inside.
"Audrey? It's Jo."
She's not in the living room. She heads down the hall towards the bedrooms.
"Audrey?"
She hears a faint sob coming from the bathroom.
"Audrey?"
She lightly knocks on the door.
"It's me. Can I come in?"
The door unlocks from the inside and Jo opens up. There is blood all over the floor and Audrey is curled up inside the bathtub. Jo's shoulders fall and she kneels down next to her, taking her hand.
"What happened?"
"I lost the baby."
Jo's shoulders fall. "Oh honey. I'm so sorry."
Audrey cries as Jo gently rubs her arm.
"Let's get you cleaned up and I'll make you some tea."
Jo grabs a washcloth and starts cleaning Audrey up.
… ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...