We Can't Live Without You

Don't know if this is going to be a happily-ever-after story! Sorry in advance. I know I have a bunch of sad stories going on right now, but I do have plans for lighter, fluffy ones too. I just guess I'm just better at writing angst. And again, I promise I will start to update my other stories. A couple in the next few hours HOPEFULLY.

Chapter One

Everyone had deployed their fire shelters and were lying down on the ground. After 20 minutes Vic was starting to get restless.

"I feel like a baked potato," Vic said, trying to lighten the mood.

"A baked potato on a freight train. I had no idea it would be this loud." Travis said.

"It's literally hailing fire," Dom added.

"It feels like the wind's trying to pick me up," Vic said.

"Hold on tight, everybody," Robert told them.

"Hey, uh. Wait. Has anyone heard anything about Theo?" Vic asked, concern clear in her voice.

"I... Radio... Heard." Everyone heard Andy's radio crackle and break up.

"Wait, wait. Captain, your radio is breaking up. What was that?" Vic asked and just heard static. "Herrera?" Vic questioned. "Herrera, can you hear me?" Vic asked and heard nothing but static.

Maya began to get worried. "Andy? Andy, talk to us." Maya waited, hoping she would get a reply but when she didn't she began to panic. "Andy, please answer." There was no answer again.

Chief Ross didn't know what to do. She was stuck under her shelter. "Everyone call out."

"Beckett."

"Sullivan. I've got the victim."

"Amaya."

"Montgomery."

"Bishop."

"Hughes."

"Why isn't Andy answering?" Travis asked, worried for their captain.

"I don't know Montgomery. We need to wait for the fire to calm down before I can even attempt to look." Natasha told them.

"She needs to be okay," Vic said. "I told her a couple of hours before we left the station that I was going to be going to DC for the Crisis One partnership to run it, but Diane's going to run it instead. I need to tell her that." Vic said, trying to stay calm. "She has to know that I'm not leaving," Vic said. Trying not to let any tears fall. She knew that if Andy wasn't responding it wasn't good.

"She's going to be okay, Vic. Just have some faith." Travis tried to reassure her, but he felt the same way that she did. He knew this wasn't good.

Everyone was silent, they knew they couldn't go and look yet since fire was still surrounding them. Maya was lost in her thoughts, thinking about how good Andy was with the new probies and that this couldn't be how Andy's story ended. Robert was trying to keep calm, but he had been working this job long enough to know that there was no good reason for Andy not answering unless something was seriously wrong. Vic and Travis were already concerned but both of them, sharing the same brain most of the time, knew that this wasn't good. All types of scenarios were running through their heads, none good. Dom and Sean weren't close to Andy, but they knew that this wasn't good as well. Natasha was counting down the seconds until she could get up. She needed to see the situation outside to try to figure out what happened to Andy.

It was silent between the firefighters for what felt like forever when Natasha heard the flames dying down. She gave the fire a couple more minutes to die down before getting up.

"Okay, It's all clear. You can get up." Natasha said and watched as everyone began coming up from under their shelters. "Anyone see Herrera?"

Everyone looked around but Maya was the first to see a burnt backpack.

"Oh, god." Maya ran to the bag and knew that it was Herrera's. A fire shelter was nearby, and she figured it was Andy's. "Where the fuck is she?" Maya asked and when no one answered she felt herself getting more and more concerned.

Vic saw where the bag was and walked closer. She walked toward Maya and rested a hand on her back. She knew exactly how Maya was feeling right now. They were all sisters. They couldn't lose Andy. Vic continued to look around when she saw a body about 20 feet away.

"Oh, no." Vic let out. "Maya." Vic heard Maya ask what was wrong but all she could do was point.

"Oh, my god," Maya breathed out and the pair ran towards the body.

When they got closer they felt their hearts begin to beat faster and heard everyone else running behind them too. They got to the body and their hearts dropped when they saw it was Andy. Andy's brush gear had burn marks all over. There were some on her back, her arms and one of her pant legs were badly burned. Maya brought a hand to her face. Covering her mouth, she tried not to let any sobs come out and helped Vic to turn Andy over slowly. When they saw the burns on her forehead, chin and throat they gasped and looked at each other. They both knew this wasn't good. Maya brought a shaky hand to Andy's neck and breathed a sigh of relief when she felt a faint pulse.

"We need to get her to the hospital right now!" Maya cried out, stating the obvious. Everyone knew they did. Everyone knew Herrera probably had smoke inhalation right now along with the burns and she needed oxygen.

"Alright, until we can find some help we need to get somewhere safe," Natasha said, and everyone nodded. Maya, Vic and Travis all worked to lift Andy and follow the rest of the team to a creek bed where they would be safe for now.

Maya, Vic and Travis set her down gently.

"Andy. Andy, please wake up." Maya pleaded but Andy didn't move. "Damnit," Maya said, and she held onto Andy's hand. "Please hold on, Captain. Please hold on."

Maya looked from Andy to Vic and saw that she had tears running down her cheeks. Vic met Maya's gaze. "She has to be okay, Maya. I can't lose anyone else." Maya nodded.

"I know. I can't either." Maya said and reached over with her free hand to hold onto one of Vic's hands.

They were lying in the creek bed for what seemed like forever when they heard sirens. Vic let go of Maya's hand and nodded to Beckett and the two of them got up and went to get the Tulalip fire's attention.

"Elliot!" Vic called out, getting the captain's attention. "We need help. Captain Herrera got hurt." Elliot nodded, grabbed a backboard from the engine and handed it to Vic. "We have an aid car five minutes away," Elliot told her, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She knew that in five minutes a lot could happen though. She took the med bag Elliot was holding and ran back to the creek bed with Beckett holding the backboard.

"An aid car is a few minutes away," Vic told them, and she watched them breathe a sigh of relief. "Let's get her onto the backboard and on some oxygen."

The team worked to move Andy onto the backboard. They secured her onto the board, put her on some oxygen, lifted her and rushed her out of the creek bed and up to where Elliot was.

"Oh, god." Was all Elliot was able to get out when he saw her. "Come on, let's get her over to where the aid car will have access. We need to get her to the hospital as soon as possible."

"We know that." Maya snapped. "We know we do." Maya took a deep breath. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I know you're helping and I'm grateful for that. We just can't lose anyone else. We've lost too many people for our liking over the past several years." Maya explained and Elliot just nodded.

"I get it," Elliot told her and helped to carry Andy past their engine truck and to an open spot where they would be able to load her onto the aid car fast.

They set her down on the ground and waited. It was an agonizing two minutes until they began to hear sirens. They looked up and picked Andy up, ready to load her in and drive to the hospital. They loaded her up when the back doors swung open.

"I'm going with her," Maya told the group, not waiting for a response. She closed the doors and reached for Andy's hand. "Hang on, Herrera. Please hang on."