Later

"I'll be home before you know it." Arnold smiled. "See you tonight, sweetheart." Spinelli kissed both Arnold's cheeks. Arnold kissed both her cheeks as well.

Diesel and Bandit ran over as they barked.

"Oh, don't think I forgot about you two furballs." Arnold briefly toyed with them. "I'll be back before you know it." Diesel then sniffed something from his pocket and then barked.

Arnold pulled out a torn bit of sock. "So that's where it ended up? Huh." Arnold then saw Diesel sniffing around. He then ran over to the driveway.

He sniffed around and found a purple sponge with a wristwatch on it. Diesel started barking to catch their attention. Arnold and Spinelli ran over.

"Why's this here? And somehow I'm not liking this. Spinelli, carefully put this in a Ziploc. I have a feeling this may come into use later." Arnold had a suspicious feeling about it.

"How did Diesel even smell it if Bandit didn't?" Spinelli asked. "I think I should ask Mrs. Lloyd." Arnold replied as he looked at Diesel, who was sitting and wagging his tail with a happy expression on his face.

Soon, the black Ford F-150 drove off from the driveway and toward Station 55.

"You are one strange dog." Spinelli looked at Diesel. She only chuckled as they headed inside.

"Wonder what I'll be doing for the time being." Spinelli wondered. "I guess I can go get some sleep." She shrugged.

At Station 55

"Hey, Mom." Arnold soon found his mother out back of the station. "Hey Arnold. Listen, about the arson fires, we know what's been causing them, we just don't know who."

"Ok, let me hear it."

"Here's a photo reference of what caused the fires." She handed over a picture of the same thing Arnold saw this morning. "Mom, I saw this in my driveway! I had Spinelli put it somewhere safe to see whether that meant anything."

"Really?! And did you look at the brand of the watch? That's what connects all the evidence."

"We didn't see the brand, but I'm sure this is part of this."

"Well, maybe Olga can shed some light on this case… She told me Helga's back in town, unfortunately."

"Ugh…" Arnold rolled his eyes. "But anyhow, with what she told me about Helga's recent attitude, I even had a lengthy phone conversation with her. She explained her attitude, more aggressive than usual, she constantly sneaks off, she won't even want to speak with her anymore."

"Normal Helga activities if you ask me. That bitch has always been trouble! Mom, do you have any idea what she made me go through as a kid?! Fucking hell! I literally explained to you why she was that rotten, and even with that, that piece of scum was still a damn demon anyhow!"

"Arnold, sweetie, I can't stress how bad I feel for not being there… You sincerely needed us, but we failed to be there…" Stella sounded remorseful. "Mom, it was never your fault. But the point is, Helga will never change her ways, and that's the end of it. I hope I don't run into that pig. No offense to Abner though."

"He was a sweet pig… Anyhow, we'll soon see what happens."

The Station alarm was triggered, and the outside siren lights were flashing.

"Aid Car 55 respond to a teenager in distress." The dispatcher started.

"Vic and Donovan are on Aid Car today, don't worry about it." Stella told Arnold. He sighed. "I can only hope I don't run into that son of a bitch Helga… Rotten inside and out."

"You sound like her to be honest. Hatred with a passion." Stella gave a concerned look. "I'm sorry, it's just- ugh, never mind… Are you gonna stay or what?" Arnold then asked. "Yeah, I'll be monitoring things around for a majority of the day. Love you, hun." Stella kissed Arnold's cheek. "Love you too, Mom." Arnold soon headed inside. Stella only sighed as she was concerned about Arnold.

Meanwhile

"The hell's going on here?" Donovan stepped out of the ambulance with Vic. Several police officers had a black teenager pinned down with zip ties.

"Good God…" Donovan thought. "Wh- What seems to be the problem?…" Vic asked, rather nervously.

"The kid was freakin' out on us! Constantly squirming around, running from us, and covering his face with his jacket like a criminal!" One white police officer said while pointing a taser.

"Si- Sir, just let us check him out. W- We'll handle it from here." Donovan said to the officer who had the boy pinned down. His knee was on his back.

"Don, that boy is scared, it must be from these guys!" Vic whispered. "Let's check him out and go from there."

"Just get off of him, and we'll check him out." The officer hesitated. "Get off him!" The officer then got off him and took several steps back, but immediately had his hand on his taser.

"Alright…"

"Pep?! Wh- What are you doing here?" Arnold saw Pep in the equipment room. Her shirt was on tight. "Welp, believe it or not, I was reassigned here with Sixteen being shut down."

"Oh… Well, I see that you're busy so I won't take any more of your time." Arnold tried to walk away, but Pep stopped him.

"Arnold, wait!" He looked back. "I want to apologize for what happened all those years ago… I didn't mean to nearly ruin your relationship with that other woman… What was her name again?"

"Rhonda. But eh, don't worry. To be honest, she's dead." Arnold replied. Pep gave a blank stare. "Soooo…."

"I'm already dating someone else, FYI. And I'll tell you, I love her very much."

"A- Anyhow, Arnold… I regret that night we spent together. I'm not gonna stand here and lie that I didn't enjoy the sex. I did, but that doesn't change my regret knowing you were in a relationship…" Pep hung her head. "Arnold, I can't even express the regret… And I'm sorry."

"Pep, you don't have anything to worry about. I forgive you. In truth, I take responsibility when I need to, so I also want to apologize for making you feel like you had a burden on your shoulders." She then gave a small smile. "Thanks, Arnold. It really means a lot." Arnold also smiled.

"Engine 55, Ladder 55, Aid Car 23, respond to house fire in 3857 East Ave."

"Come on!"

Stella heard what the dispatcher said in the station, but she was already assigned to another priority.

Later

"Alright people, you all know how this works!" Arnold started as he got out of the Truck. "Get a ventilation team up on the roof, Clemente, Dixon, Gibson, you're all on search and rescue. Smith, Warren, Kyle, you guys are on fire attack."

"Yet another house fire. How coincidental, huh.?" Scott said. "No idea what's up with that but our job isn't to ask questions. Now get going." Arnold replied as he looked around the house.

The assigned search and rescue units ran inside.

Meanwhile

"Police Chief's here. Crap!" Donovan whispered.

"The hell's going on here?" Stella had arrived. Donovan had requested the Fire Chief to the scene as the police were stubborn.

A black police sedan soon arrived. It was police Chief…

"Chief Dixon." Stella lowered her eyelids.

Pat Dixon's father of Station 55.

"What seems to be the problem, gentlemen?" Jalen crossed his arms. "What do you think is the problem? You have a quarter of the police force for one teenager!" Stella replied.

"Oh, Chief Shortman. You should really keep that mouth of yours shut, it'll only lead to more trouble." Jalen rolled his eyes. "Take a hike already, this is the police's scene, not the fire department."

"As long as my people are here, it's the fire department's scene."

Jalen snickered. "Oh, please. Just take a hike already, you old hag. You're more readable than a book!" Stella only rolled her eyes.

"You want to talk about being 'readable', Chief? I may not have been in something in the military or those sorts, but I used to study animals and safari explorer, and I picked up a lot of experience through that. That guy over there?" Stella pointed. "He hasn't taken his hand off his taser since the minute I got here, hell, before I even got here! And that guy? I already know he's a rookie. He has his hands on his belt to reassert his confidence when he clearly has no idea what to do next. That's why he keeps looking over at his colleagues, trying to figure out what the next move will be!" The rookie she pointed at gulped.

"And this guy over here? I can tell he's your right-hand man! And the officer over here? He's had his hand on his gun for the last minute or two! So don't test me on 'reading' someone." Stella sternly said.

Jalen looked at her sternly and didn't reply.

"Oh, and one more thing. That woman over there? She's been recording us since the minute I got here. Probably live streaming over social media as well! So I suggest having your men stand down. This is a terrible look for the entire police department, so many officers against a sixteen-year-old." Stella sternly said once more.

He then sighed.

"Everyone, stand down and lower your weapons." Jalen calmly said. Most of the officers didn't obey.

"Stand down!" He repeated himself. Some officers hesitated. "I SAID STAND DOWN!" Chief Dixon yelled. They all put away their tasers.

"This isn't over." Chief Dixon told Chief Shortman before walking to his sedan.

Stella only breathed a sigh of relief.

"Walls all clear!" Pep shouted as they were searching for trapped victims.

"So far so good. Nothing here." Scott said.

"Guys! I have someone upstairs!" Dixon shouted through his radio.

"C'mon!" Pep told Gibson as they headed for the stairs.

"Ventilation, how's it going?" Arnold asked through the radio. "Roof is stable, Lieutenant! Bunch of smoke on the North side of the house!" Wiggins replied.

"Copy that, Wiggs. Dean, you guys watch yourselves on the North side of this structure. That's probably where most of the fire is." Arnold told the fire attack unit.

"Yup, we found it, Lieutenant!" Smith replied as he turned on the hose. It was the kitchen of the house.

"You go high, I got down low!" Dean told Kyle. "Got it!"

WHOOSH

Fire flashed over briefly as they sprayed it. The fire was crackling loudly as it reached the top of the roof.

"We ain't takin' its shit! Let's hit it!"

Arnold ran over as Pep and Dixon got the homeowner out of the house.

"Ma'am, can you hear us? Are you alright?" Lieutenant Shortman asked as a stretcher was being brought over. The woman was coughing chronically as she inhaled a bunch of smoke.

"Get her oxygen, quick! Get fluids in her, and start an IV! Checking pulse…" Arnold checked how her pulse was doing around her wrist. Despite her coughing, the woman tried to speak.

"Ma'am, can you hear us?" Arnold asked again as they placed her on the stretcher. She nodded and kept coughing. "Can you tell us your name?" Pep asked.

"Ti- Tiff- Tiffany!…" She kept coughing. "Quick! Get her to the Aid Car!"

"W- Wait! Charli- Charlie is sti- still in there!" Arnold and Pep looked over at the house.

"Fires nearly out."

"Guys! We still have one person unaccounted for! His name is Charlie!" Arnold told them through the radio.

"Well, Charlie is probably black dust by now."

"The fuck's wrong with you, Kyle?" Dean and Ben looked over. "Ok, ok, sorry guys."

The fire was soon extinguished in the kitchen as they started to look for Charlie.

"Charlie! Can you hear us?" Dean called out.

They used their helmet and chest flashlights to look around as everything around them was burned and black.

"Charlie!"

Soon, a cry was heard.

"Good God, that's a baby crying… CHARLIE!" Kyle shouted.

Gibson soon walked in. "Charlie! Where are you?!" Gibson saw a whole pot on the ground… Moving?

"What the?" He picked up the pot to reveal a tiny puppy with a collar and a tag saying…

"So this is Charlie?" He asked himself. Dean and the others came over. "How ironic…" Kyle said.

"Dibs on the dog." Dean said.

"What?" Gibson looked at Smith. "Come one. Dibs on the dog. I'll carry him out."

"Bro, how can you call dibs on a dog?"

They all briefly argued before they soon went outside with the tiny dog.

Gibson and Warren were the first two to step outside with the hoses, Kyle followed behind, and Dean came out with the puppy.

Dean went over to the Aid Car where Tiffany was.

"Here's Charlie, ma'am. Safe and sound." He smiled.

"You alright, Chief?" Victoria asked. "No, how do you think I feel?" Stella started. "With Dixon having the whole Police force behind him in his run as mayor, who knows what disaster it'll spell for Hillwood."

"Listen um… What you did back there was honestly impressive. I wouldn't have had the guts to do what you did." She complimented her. "Hey. It was for the kid's safety. I'm not letting him get arrested while he's innocent. Not on my watch. Unfortunately, it happens everywhere but what can we do but stand up for them."

"You're right, Chief. Thanks for helping us out." Vic replied. "Get him home. And then head back to the station." Victoria only nodded.

"Awesome work back there, man!" Arnold fist bumped with Gibson as he had his helmet off. "That's how we do it!" He chuckled as he walked to the Engine.

Aid Car 23 soon drove off to the hospital as both trucks of Fifty-Five were left at the house.

"This is how we do it 'round here, Clemente. The toughest station in all of the city. Fifty-Five." Arnold smirked at Pep. "Mmm." She smirked back as she put away equipment in the supplies area of the Engine.

"You think he spends his spare time at a dog park and interacts with them?" Scott asked Dixon. "Hey who knows? Maybe." He shrugged.

"You know, it feels great we set aside our past and became good friends." Arnold told Clemente. "I'm more relieved than you. I honestly didn't know whether we'd see each other again." She replied and then smiled at him. "What's on your mind?"

"I'm honestly thinking about Spinelli right now. We work almost every shift together, and not having her here feels a little odd for me." Pep lightly rubbed his hand. "Don't worry, Arnold, before you know it, you'll be back in her arms."

Arnold chuckled. "I certainly see myself doing that now. Uh anyhow, for once it feels great not having to respond to one of those arson fires." Arnold started walking to the front of the Engine. "Ugh, tell me about it."

Soon enough, the trucks left the house and were on their way back to the station. The siren lights were still on as they made their way back. Cars moved out of the way as they still had to weave through traffic.