"Everything I have done was to make you proud papa but no matter what I do I am a failure," I scream at the top of my lungs to the man who supposedly loved me.

"It's not about that. I was supposed to protect you," My dad yells back. Well, his idea of protection was to lock me up. Deep down I know I should not have gone to that party but I had questions that needed answering.

"What if I don't need your protection?" I snap back as I head to my room. Something tells me that I am going to regret my actions later. The thing is my brother gets to live his life so why can't I? With the force of a hurricane, I slam and lock the door before collapsing into my bed. I bury my head into my pillow. My sobs are only interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Papa, if it's you go away," I called out.

"Hermanita it's me Carlos," Of course it has to be the last person that I want to see. Before I can respond I hear the sound of the door knob rattling. The next thing I know Carlos manages to break down the door. Instead of saying anything he sits on the end of my bed.

Pain. It comes in two forms. Physical and emotional. Right now I am suffering from wounds that were inflicted by a serial arsonist. He also dealt a lot of emotional pain but the good thing that came from it is the fact that it forced me to reflect on the past nine years. I am ready to try and heal my relationship with my dad.

"Hermano?" I whisper. Unfortunately, the physical injuries have taken their toll.

"Yes, Tristain?" Carlos responds as he springs to action.

"Can you get Papa? I think I am ready to forgive him," I announce. The look on Carlos' face softens. I can tell that he is relieved. Nine years is too long and if I wait any longer I am only going to make things worse. With that, Carlos ducks out of the room. After a few minutes of waiting he comes back with dad who looks like he is embarrassed. He goes for the invisible itch on his neck.

"Papa, I'm sorry. I didn't realise that you still loved me," I out right apologise.

"Look Hija I know I haven't been there to support you but when I saw your name in the list of people at that party I freaked out. Not because of the fact you are bi but because I found out something about that party that scared me. It reminded me of the fact that it is my job to protect you even when you hated me," My dad explains. The look on his face says everything

"I never stopped loving you because you were different," Dad adds for good measure.

"That's why I'm sorry dad. It just took me nine years to see it," I counter. What dad does next catches me by surprise. He tries his best to give me a hug. Despite the awkwardness of the hug I am happy to receive it. It was at that moment that I felt a sharp pain through my \back. I try my best to grit my teeth but my best is not enough.

"Oww. Careful Papa," I snap as a sharp pain shoots through my back.

"Sorry. Umm... I guess we'll continue this once you've been discharged," my dad remarks. He is a little flustered. I can't blame him as he wants to catch up with me. What can I say that hasn't already been said? Let's just say there are a few things that I want to say but they can wait.

It has been a week since then and I have been given the go-ahead to start work. Of course, Owen and Tommy have me doing light duties. I am not complaining as the wound on my back is still giving me issues. The good thing about being a paramedic in Austin is the fact paramedics only run into the fire if there is no other way to rescue people and that happens rarely. Right now I am making sure the inventory is done for Tommy. I decided to get it out of the way early since I arrived early.

"Hey, Tristain. It's good to see you back," A familiar voice remarks.

"It's good to be back, TK. Anyway, it would be nice if I could have some help," I say as I push the clipboard in his direction. With that, we get to work on completing the inventory. With that out of the way, I head to the kitchen. Now for the pity party.

"Welcome back. It must feel good to be back," Marjan is the first of the firefighters to welcome me back.

"It is but I get the feeling that there will be a pity party for me as I am on light duties," I responded. At least I have Carlos to thank for rescuing me.

"Who said we are throwing you a pity party?" Judd asks as he joins us.

"I said you guys were as I am stuck on light duties," I counter.

"At least you are a part of the paramedic crew. It makes light duties easier," Judd counters my counter. He is not wrong. After a minute of chatting, I turned my attention to helping TK with the inventory. Thankfully it is quick. After a few hours of peace, I am cleaning the ambulance while TK restocks it. My attention is soon grabbed by an awkward-looking boy. He is fidgeting with his fingers which suggests that he is nervous.

"Is there something that I can help you with?" I ask as I approach the boy.

"I'm looking for Mr Judson Ryder," The boy responds. The fidgeting only gets worse.

"He should be somewhere," I responded. The truth is I don't know where he went after our little chat.

"Yeah, he's the big guy at the back reading the newspaper," TK adds. After thanking TK the boy heads to the back. Something feels off about him. I shrug the thought off as there is not much that I can do. After six hours of nothing our peace comes to a shuddering halt. The signal bell goes. After what feels like an eternity we made it to the scene. It is a two-story house that is well alight. With a few swift movements, I pull the ambulance alongside the scene. After a few tense minutes, Marjan, Judd and a couple of the other firefighters join us. They are carrying two victims.

"They are unresponsive but breathing," Marjan gives us a small report.

"Thank you. We'll take over from here," Tommy confirms as the others place the victims on the gurneys. With that, I get to work on assessing the man while TK turns his attention to a woman who I assume to be the man's wife.

"Blood pressure is low but his heart rate is holding. She's steady for now," TK announces as I apply a little bit of pressure to the man's sternum.

"Sir, can you feel that?" I ask. After a second the man shoots up as if he has suddenly remembered something. He flies into a blind panic.

"Morphine would be good about now," Tommy orders. With a few swift movements, I have the appropriate dose injected into his arm.

"You have been in a fire. You are going to be ok," Tommy treasures the man.

"Where is she? Where is Katie?" The man is still panicking despite Tommy's best efforts to reassure him. Something is not right. I just can't explain it.

"Your wife. She's right there," Tommy fills in the man as to what is going on.

"No. No. No. Where is my daughter? Katie. Where is my daughter?" The man is trying his best to escape. I catch myself shooting Owen a glance after all it is his call to make. Without thinking Owen gives his orders. After what feels like an eternity Owen asks for an update.

"We are in her room but we don't see her," Judd replies. He is clearly not happy.

"Make sure you check under the bed and in the closet," Owen reminds them. All we can do is watch on.

"Hey Cap, the structure isn't going to last much longer," One of the other firefighters remarks. I can feel my heart drop. The last time someone said that it did not end well. I can tell that Owen is having similar thoughts.

"Abandon your equipment and evacuate now. The structure is unsound," Owen gives the order. It's not what he wants but a part of him knows that it is the right thing to do. To be honest I think we would have found her if she was in the house.

"We are not leaving the little girl behind," Judd responds. Of course. Being a father changes people.

"Strickland, do you copy?" Owen turns his attention to one of the only people that can help.

"Yeah cap," Paul acknowledges.

"I want you and Ward to remove Judd from the scene. I don't care if it means you drag him out but Charlie is not losing her father tonight," Owen responds. It is the day after and I am getting ready to leave. There is just one thing that is bugging me about last night's call. Owne told us that the girl wasn't in the house when it went up in flames. Of course that led to the question of where she is but I reassured them that I would get updates from Carlos whenever possible.

"Hey, Tristain you look like it's the end of the world," TK remarks as he joins me. Since we both live at the same house for now we decided it would be easier to carpool.

"I just don't get it. A little girl goes missing during a fire. My gut is telling me it is arson but I don't want to believe it. Not till I hear from Carlos," I explain. The thing is I hate it when my gut's right and the thing is it is normally right ninety-nine per cent of the time. It has been a few hours since I got home and I am just lazily watching TV when I am disturbed by the sound of footsteps. For some reason, I jump to my feet to find out that it is only Carlos returning home from his shift.

"What's wrong Hermanita?" Carlos asks as I sit down again.

"Sorry. I'm a little jumpy. That fire rattled me a little as there are a few things that I am trying to wrap my head around. For example, my gut tells me it's arson," I explain it to Carlos.

"Well...your gut is correct. I believe that someone coerced Katie into setting the fires. Anyway, how did you come to the conclusion of arson?" Carlos asks.

"You learn a lot in nine years," I reply. I am of course referring to my time in the Toronto Paramedic Services. After a few more hours I am trying to get to sleep but I just can't. Two arsons within a week of each other is enough to unsettle anyone. After what feels like an eternity I give up. I head to the living room to find Carlos on the couch. It looks like he is debating on whether or not he should watch the footage that he snatched from the detective.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Carlos remarks as I take the free spot next to him.

"Yeah. Two arsons within a week. It does that to you. Let's watch the footage together since neither of us can sleep," I reply as I take one of his AirPods from him. I can tell that he is unhappy about the situation. The thing is I am already involved. At least this time I am not the victim. With a reluctant sigh, Carlos gives in. The first thing that I notice about the person talking to Katie is the fact that their voice sounds Strangely mechanical. It is as if the person is trying to hide who they are. After a few minutes of watching various clips, I noticed TK. He has a look that I have seen before. He gently nudges Carlos to get his attention. Unfortunately, it causes him to flinch.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," TK apologises.

"You're not the scary one," Carlos measures TK. They are adorable together.

"It's three in the morning. Both of you need sleep. Why don't you come to bed," TK addresses both Carlos and I.

"I've been trying to get to sleep," I counter.

"The thing is I couldn't get to sleep even if I did. This...this is kind of terrifying. The thing is when James took Tristain I could do something about it but in this case, I feel almost hopeless.," Carlos adds. He is not happy. The thing is I know

"Honestly Hermano there is nothing we can do. Not until the APD works out who the voice belongs to," I respond as TK and I trade places. I think it would be a better idea if TK helped him instead of me. After three hours of tiptoeing around sleep, I head out to the living room to find TK curled up on Carlos' shoulder. He is fast asleep whereas Carlos is wide awake. The only sound coming from the pair is the sound of Carlos clicking to rewind the footage. As I make myself something to eat, Carlos sits to attention.

"Oh, god," Carlos' excitement all but wakes TK.

"What?" TK and I ask as he springs to action.

"I think I know who did this," Carlos remarks. He quickly explains what he thinks happened. It turns out that the babysitter that they hired was a nutcase. It is the day after and I am getting some things ready for lunch.

"So you were the lucky duck that caught the rogue babysitter?" I ask just to make sure I have the right details.

"I just so happened to be at the right place at the right time I guess," Owen is being unusually modest. I put it down to the fact that he knows Carlos and the missing persons detective did most of the hard work. I shrug the thought off as at least this one had a happy ending. 

A/N I am sorry for neglecting this fic. I have been distracted by working on a useless prequel to this story. The prequel is available to read on AO3. It is called While I Was Gone. Please go and give it some love if you are interested. Also, the episode tie-ins have begun which is going to make this fic interesting. Since this is an Author's note I am going to remind you to vote and/or comment if you are enjoying this story.