I know I have so many hiatus' lately, I'll soon be explaining all that on a DeviantArt post soon enough.

Earlier This Month

"But Cap! The roof isn't stable! We can't get anyone up there to ventilate it!"

"Well, I'm going to die anyhow, and I'm not letting some stupid cancer take me from this life!" Captain McShay replied as he started gearing up. "And you tell my daughter that everything I did… was to protect her…"

"But, sir!"

"Get me up there… Now!"

Donovan could only nod as he went to the ladder control panel.

"Goodbye, Rook. You'll always be that clumsy and favorite Probie of mine…" McShay patted Donovan's shoulder.

Soon, the Ladder was now reaching the unstable roof, giving McShay the chance to have his team see another day.

CRASH

Inside the burning storage unit, smoke was getting thicker and thicker, visibility was almost zero, and almost all of Fifty-Five was trapped inside along with the Battalion Chief.

Travis was with Warren, Vic and the Captain's daughter, Arnold with Spinelli, the Chief with the rookie Pat Dixon, and Scott Gibson with Russell McCaffery.

With almost all their air tanks running out, they were running out of hope.

Donovan only shook his head as he watched McShay climb the ladder to the unstable roof. Cap only took deep breaths as they would be his final breaths.

"Stay with me, Warren…!" Ben was now sitting down as his air tank had run out, his face dripping with sweat.

Gibson's air tank was running out as he couldn't resist anymore and started crawling on his hands and knees. McCaffery was with him, but his air tank was also running out.

"It's getting too hot in here…!" Michelle McShay exclaimed as Vic collapsed to her knees. "Michelle, I'm… I'm running out of air…!" Michelle gave a worried look.

"Arnold…?" Arnold then had his hands on Spinelli's shoulders. "I'm here…. Just stay with me…" The two then pressed their breathing apparatus masks against each others' foreheads.

"Woah!" McShay reached the roof but didn't care whether it was stable or not. He slowly climbed onto the roof, step by step.

Captain McShay started to break down the roof with his axe, swing by swing, hit by hit.

"I'm not one to get emotional but…. I can't help it anymore…" Tears started building up in Spinelli's eyes as Arnold looked at her in the eyes. "Just try and preserve your oxygen, we don't if we'll even…. make it out…" Her oxygen meter then rang. Spinelli started to struggle to breathe as she soon collapsed into Arnold's arms. "It's alright…! I got you…!"

Travis started coughing as his air tank was now out. Ben was fading in and out of consciousness.

Captain McShay kept swinging at the roof as he kept trying to break through. He took a slow and deep breath as he kept swinging.

Creak

His right foot partially fell through the roof, but he kept going and resisting and kept breaking through.

The smoke was starting to get ventilated little by little. McShay kept swinging with all his remaining strength and gave it his all.

The hole was starting to get big enough until the roof would give way… Captain Malcolm McShay soon fell through the roof and into a raging fire pit. The smoke would soon ventilate through the hole.

"Captain? Cap! Captain, do you copy?!" Donovan desperately asked, but Malcolm was gone. "I need a rapid intervention team to recover a firefighter!"

Inside, the smoke was clearing fast, the few conscious firefighters left soon noticed and immediately took off their breathing apparatus'.

Travis took Warren's mask off as he would soon feel the fresh air once more.

Vic was barely conscious enough to take her mask off and breathe the fresh air along with Michelle.

The Chief and Dixon had their arms over each others' shoulders as they both had their masks off.

Arnold had his mask off and took off Spinelli's mask, she had fallen unconscious as her air tank had run out minutes before the smoke cleared.

"C'mon, Lieutenant…! Wake up…!" Arnold held her by her waist as he kept looking to see whether she'd wake up. Arnold waited for about a whole minute until Spinelli finally opened her eyes to the storage unit finally cleared of smoke.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Arnold couldn't contain his tears of joy. Spinelli caressed his cheek. "We made it…" She gave a weakened smile. Arnold then put her arm over his shoulder. "Come on… Let's get out of here…"

Outside, it was almost pure silence apart from radio chatter as everyone witnessed the Captain's demise.

The team all got out and gasped for air as they soon noticed everyone was almost silent. Michelle soon noticed that Donovan was extremely upset and sad, and saw her Dad's hat on the front bumper of the Truck. She realized who was the person who saved them all…

Everyone soon looked over and realized the same thing… Captain Malcolm McShay was the hero that rescued them, and he would pay the ultimate price to save them.

Present Day

It was around morning, it was cloudy and it was time to walk with the trucks to honor one of their own.

All of Fifty-Five walked alongside Engine Fifty-Five, even the Battalion Chief as he was close friends with Malcolm.

Every firefighter from every Fire Department in the city walked behind the trucks as the bagpipes played. Flags of the city, the American flags, and the city's Fire Department flags were all displayed.

Civilians from sidewalks and everywhere, all clapped as the trucks would pass by and to the cemetery.

At the Cemetery

"In the Hillwood Fire Department, there is an alarm code that signifies that a firefighter has worked his last call. We will now be ringing out that code to welcome home a beloved and respected member, Fire Captain Malcolm McShay." The Chief ended his speech and soon started ringing the bell.

A burnt and smoldered firefighting helmet was also displayed.

Donovan and Travis soon took the cover off the Captain's casket and folded it. Donovan would be the one who would hand over the cover to Michelle, the Captain's daughter.

Michelle had tears running down her face, but kept her composure.

"Honor guard, hand salute!"

Every firefighter then saluted, even Michelle as much as it hurt her to say goodbye.

After Thirty Seconds

"Honor guard, dismissed!"

It would be until five minutes when a majority of people would soon leave. Station Fifty-Five members would stay for a while longer to remember their captain.

An Hour And A Half Later

Arnold and Spinelli's shift was over and the two were back home, mainly lost for words and upset.

The two walked in the front door and saw Phoebe, who was awaiting them.

"Hey, you two. You guys need some time alone?"

"Honestly… Yeah. I really can't explain what's going through my mind…" Spinelli replied. "Alright, I'll let you guys be. I'll be out in the backyard if you need anything."

The two only nodded as Phoebe soon walked away.

"Ugh… Just straight up exhausted here…" Spinelli groaned as she slumped over on the couch. Arnold sat beside her. "Just never gets easy. Plain and simple…"

Arnold then looked at his phone. "Huh… That's odd…"

"What now?"

"I got a phone call from a familiar number, but I don't know who it could be." Arnold kept looking at the number. "Why do I have a bad feeling about it? Or am I just that tired?" Spinelli looked over.

"Let's see… You're probably dehydrated, probably haven't eaten anything since yesterday, probably deprived of sleep lately, or you're just mentally insane." Arnold listed out sarcastically.

"You jackass!" Spinelli laughed.

"Well, enough about that stupid number. At least we get to enjoy these next couple days off, no?" Arnold soon said. "Man, you got that right." Spinelli soon laid back and kicked her feet up on the table.

A knock on the door was soon heard.

"You'd order Chinese takeout or what?" Spinelli looked at Arnold. "No. What the hell could it be now?" Arnold got up rather annoyed and walked over to the door.

Arnold opened the door. "Yeah, what can I-" Arnold then choked on his words as he saw two familiar faces.