Chapter Eight

"Andy?" Maya asked her voice almost in a whisper.

"Hmm?" Andy asked.

"Do you know who did this?" Maya felt Andy nod and her heart dropped. "Who was it, Andy?"

"I can't tell you," Andy whispered before falling asleep.

It was a week later and Andy returned to work. Maya had ordered Andy to take the rest of the week off to try to recuperate. Maya was worried as hell but every time she tried to get Andy to tell her who hurt her and asked where it happened, Andy would brush her off, change the subject or walk away.

Sullivan was still pissed at Maya for leaving halfway through the shift and wanted to know where she went but she didn't tell Sullivan anything.

Andy was walking to the locker room when she ran into Vic.

"Whoa, Andy. Are you okay?" Vic asked and held onto Andy so she wouldn't fall over.

Andy chuckled, surprising Vic. "Yeah. I'm okay. Thanks for the catch."

Vic gave Andy a small smile. "Anytime, Herrera. Seriously though, are you sure you're alright? You were gone five days."

Andy nodded. "Yeah, I'm good. Just needed some time off because of that last call." Vic looked worried. "Vic, I promise, I'm okay."

"Why don't I believe you?"

"Maybe because the last time I saw you, you burst into tears. Letting out sobs that broke my heart and then you fell out of the aid car before going into Sullivan's office." Vic recalled.

Andy chuckled, once again surprising Vic. "I know last time we saw each other I was a mess, but I promise I'm doing better," Andy told her, lying through her teeth with a straight face.

Vic nodded. "Alright. Listen, Sullivan…" Vic was about to continue when Andy flinched.

"What did he want?" Andy asked her, rushed and with panic clear in her voice.

Vic, ignoring how Andy looked for a moment, told her what Sullivan talked to her about.

"He wants you and me on aid car again." Andy sighed.

"Anything else?" Andy asked, ready to get to work.

"No, it was just that. He wants us to stock up and clean the rig."

"Aren't those chores just a given at this point?" Andy asked playfully.

Vic looked at Andy for a moment, not saying anything, trying to gauge her emotions but Andy was putting up a wall. "Andy, are you sure you're okay?"

Vic watched Andy turn to look at her once they reached the bottom of the stairs. "I am. I, uh. It's been hard since my dad and Ryan passed, as you know. And then the demotion got in my head and then at that Highrise fire, I just..." Andy was about to continue when Bishop came out of the office.

"Lineup in five Hughes, Herrera," Maya told them, walking past them and into the barn.

Andy and Vic began to walk into the barn when a thought crossed Andy's mind and she stopped just before they reached the aid car. "Did the new lieutenant start yet?"

Vic looked at Andy and nodded. "His name is Theo Ruiz." Vic watched Andy sigh. "I know. It sucks that you're not a lieutenant anymore. I get it. I know it'll be an adjustment for you, not bossing anyone around." Vic tried to joke but Andy didn't even show emotion. "Andy, what's going on?"

"At the Highrise fire, when I was on the roof…"

"Lineup 19!" Maya interrupted again and Andy sighed.

When Andy and Vic went to line up Andy saw a man she didn't recognize. So that's Theo Ruiz. Andy thought to herself looking at the Latino man.

"Everyone knows their assignments, so I don't think I need to go over that." Maya looked up and looked at Andy, who was looking down. Maya furrowed her eyebrows. Andy never looked down in the lineup, she was one of the only ones who had perfect posture. She shook her head knowing she needed to focus on the whole team right now. "Now, today is a clinic day so let's get the rigs out of the way and start to set up, okay?" Maya watched everyone nod but when she looked towards Andy, she saw that she was still looking down and that now Vic looked worried too. "Dismissed." Everyone started to walk away. "Hughes, Herrera. My office."

Andy and Vic looked at each other, confused but followed Maya into her office.

"Close the door."

"What's going on, cap?" Vic asked while Andy was still looking down.

"Andy." Andy snapped her head up, shocked that Maya used her first name. "What's going on?" Silence. "Andy, you need to talk to me. I can tell that something is wrong."

"Nothing is wrong. I'm just tired."

"You had a week off, Andy. There's no way you're tired. What the hell happened at your last shift?"

"Nothing."

"You're lying," Maya responded and looked at Vic, raising an eyebrow. "What happened last shift?"

Andy sighed and walked over to a chair that was across from Maya's desk. "Look, the Highrise fire was just a lot and when I was on that roof…" Andy was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Maya called as Vic went to sit down on the other chair by the desk and Maya stayed where she was. The door opened and Sullivan walked in. "Chief Sullivan" Maya said and Andy jumped up and went to the other side of Maya's desk, needing something to have in front of her. She tried to keep her breathing down but she was finding it hard to do.

"I need to borrow Herrera," Robert told Maya.

"NO!" Andy shouted, not wanting to be alone in a room with Robert ever again.

"Are you disobeying a direct order from a superior officer right now, Herrera?" Sullivan asked, voice a growl, continuing to scare Andy.

Maya and Vic watched on, wondering what was going on when Andy shocked them.

"No. I'm disobeying an order from the man who raped me."