Perfectionism. It is something that we all strive for in one way or another. Yet no one seems to realise that perfectionism is impossible. That is unless you accept the fact that there will be things that are out of your control. My name is Piper Strand and my life hasn't been perfect. In fact, it was only recently that I realised my life was perfect. After all, my family was broken. My mum and dad divorced when my brother and I were seven and it broke our family. The thing is wounds heal. Right now my leg is twitching. Why? Well, I feel like something has happened to my twin brother Tyler. Call me stupid but I just feel like something is wrong.

"Hey, Seven you look like you are running a mile," My captain remarks.

"I'm worried about TK. I can't shake the feeling that something happened to him," I responded. Before I go any further I should explain myself. Yes, I am a part of the New York Fire Department but, unlike my dad and my brother, I am part of the NYFD's EMS program.

"Sorry Cap," I apologise for good measure.

"Don't be. I am willing to send you home early. You only have fifteen minutes left of your shift and Darnel is already here anyway," My captain dismisses me. I thank him as I leave. After thirty minutes of sitting in traffic, I made it to the apartment that Tyler I shared. I bang on the door. To no one's surprise Tyler doesn't answer. I spring into action as I hear a thud. The first thing that I do is check if the door is open. It's not. I take a deep breath as I muster enough strength to kick down the door. With a loud crack, the door flies open.

"TK? Tyler? I yell as I get to work. The first thing I do is check his pulse. It is weak but it is there. The next thing I do is call 9-1-1. Luckily for me, the closest EMS crew is two minutes out. I quickly hung up. After checking his pulse again commence CPR.

"TK?" A familiar voice asks.

"Dad, TK overdosed. I called dispatch and an EMS crew will be here in two minutes. I have started CPR," I give my report. He is not happy. Neither am I but I can't let my emotions get the better of me. Not yet anyway.

"Let me take over," Dad orders.

"No Dad. I've got this. You make sure the paramedics know which apartment we're in," I counter. I am not going to let my brother go that easily. Come on Tyler. You've come this far. You are not giving up now. As soon as I give my orders the paramedics show up.

"I need Narcan now," My Dad orders before being told to step away. Unfortunately one of the paramedics decided to rip me away from Tyler's body. I fight back as I take the Narcan injector from the other. With a few swift movements, I jab the needle end in Tyler's leg. Only then do I give up. After an eternity later Tyler comes around as his stomach lets loose. He then proceeds to break down. Clutching at Dad's uniform he apologises.

It has been a couple of days since then and Dad has taken us to one of our favourite spots. I am watching the boats drift by as Dad gives TK a talking-to about what he did. After a few minutes of making sure Tyler knows the rules moving forward, he turns his attention to me.

"The station that TK and I will be moving to has an EMS vacancy. I was thinking maybe...," Dad remarks.

"I will take it. Someone else has to protect TK," I half joke. The thing is I know I can't let Tyler go again. Hearing the thud of Tyler's body hitting the ground has reminded me of the fact that I have a lot to lose. Call me strange but Tyler and my Dad are the only blood family that supported me through my training to become a paramedic. My dad looks surprised.

"I'll tell Captain Ruiz that I am transferring tomorrow," I add. Right now I need to gather my thoughts so I can survive what is going to be my last shift as an NYFD paramedic. It is the afternoon after and I am collecting all of my stuff from the locker room. This is it.

"Hopefully you'll visit us soon," My partner remarks as he helps me. It turns out that as a paramedic you collect a lot of stuff. Most of it is sentimental.

"That is the plan, Mason. If not I will send you a postcard," I counter.

It has been a couple of days since we arrived in Austin and I am nervous. Why? Well, I am starting my first shift. I take a deep breath as I enter the station. Dad has done a good job at rebuilding the physical structure. As soon as we arrived in Austin my dad got to work on recruiting as many firefighters as he was allowed.

"Excuse me, are you Piper Strand?" A female voice speaks up.

"Yes. You must be Captain Blake," I awkwardly responded. Honestly, I feel like an outsider.

"Please call me Michelle," The woman responds. After showing me to the locker room I quickly exchanged my civilian clothes for my uniform. With that out of the way, I rejoin Michelle and my new partner at the back of the ambulance.

"So what do they call you?" My new partner asks.

"Piper Strand but if you want to call me a nickname you can call me Seven. What's your name?" I introduce myself. This time it is less awkward as he gives me old man vibes.

"Tim Rosewater. Why the number seven?" The man replies with the obvious question.

"In my first shift as an NYFD paramedic, I had seven calls so my crew nicknamed me seven and the name stuck," I explain. I don't know why it stuck but it did. Apparently, you need a nickname if something weird happens on your first shift. Tim nods along. After a few minutes of waiting, we got our first call. After a few minutes, we made it to the scene. Unfortunately, the firefighting crew beat us there. Dad has already given out orders. Before anyone can follow said orders we join them.

"You mean give us some room to work. This scene belongs to us," Michelle puts my dad in his place as we barge past.

"You must have missed the part where they made me Captain of the 126," Dad remarks as a look of confusion crosses his face. I return the look of confusion as Michelle introduces herself to my dad.

"And this scene is medical, so I run the call," Mchielle adds for good measure.

"Since when does EMS tell fire what time it is?" My dad's confusion only grows.

"You didn't read the Travis County manual Dad," I counter as I get the lifepack ready. I can feel the offended look that my dad is giving right now.

"Uh, I'm more of a visual learner," Dad tries to defend himself to no avail.

"In Texas, EMS calls the shots involving medical emergencies. So you do as I say, Captain," Michelle explains while putting Dad in his place. I find myself giggling as Tim and I begin to assess the patient.

"Airway sounds blocked," Tim gets to work on delivering his report. After listing a couple of symptoms both Michelle and I reach an interesting conclusion.

"You see his little pepper garden?" Michelle points us in the right direction in terms of what is causing the issue.

"This is Boerhaave syndrome," Michelle confirms what I already know. It means his body is freaking out due to the capsaicin in his system. Michelle delivers her orders. To our shock, they are not what we would normally do.

"Here Cap?" I protest even though I know it is the only course of action that we can take if our patient is to make it.

"He is not going to make it to the hospital. I need your men to move him onto the picnic table now," Michelle turns her attention to the fire crew.

"Well, you heard the Captain," Dad fumbles through his response. He is clearly not used to being ordered around. If it weren't for the seriousness of the situation I'd be laughing. With a few swift movements, the firefighters have our patient on the table. With that, Michelle gets to work. It is tense but we manage to pull it off. With that, I got the stretcher from the ambulance. After a few minutes of driving, we made it to the nearest hospital.

"I bet you don't see that in New York," Tim teases as I fill in the handover paperwork.

"No, but you don't have to rescue someone from a seven-hundred-foot building," I counter. Tim's eyes widened in shock. Admittedly Dad and Tyler did the rescuing and I did the medical checks but my point still stands. I was with Dad and Tyler at the top of the building.

It has been seven hours since then and I am winding down for the night. For some reason, I am struggling. There is something that is bothering me but I can't pinpoint it. Still, I am going to try my best. Right now I am reading but even that is proving to be a little difficult.

"Is everything alright?" Michelle decides to check on me. A sigh falls from my mouth.

"I've just had a long week. A lot has happened," I responded. The thing is I don't want to go into too much detail as most of it has to do with Tyler's overdose and that is his story to tell.

"Well let me know when you want to talk about it," Michelle responds. Before I have a chance to thank her the signal bell goes. After what feels like an eternity we made it to the scene. Of course, the firefighters have already begun getting the driver out of the car. Thankfully they are quick at their job. Once they get the woman out of the car it's our turn.

"Scene's all yours, Captain," My dad acknowledges the change of command.

"She has a strong radial pulse," Michelle remarks as I grab an ammonia snap. After a second of holding under her nose, the woman sits to attention.

"My baby?! My baby!? Is my baby ok?" the woman shrieks as she fights our attempts to keep her still.

"We are going to get you to the hospital so they can check on you and your baby ok?" Michelle informs the woman but it does nothing to quell the woman's panic.

"This baby and my other baby, Henry. My ten-month-old. He's in his car seat in the back," The woman counters. With that, we glance at Dad. With a few swift movements, Dad checks the back of the car. Unfortunately, Dad confirms that there is no baby in the back seat. Dad quickly gives his men his orders. I watch on as one of the firefighters, Paul, does his thing. With his help, it doesn't take long for the sound of screaming to be heard. It is the baby. After a tense minute, the ladder is in place. To no one's surprise, my Dad is the one who has gone up to rescue the baby. Luckily for the kid, Dad is quick. After a few seconds disaster strikes. We all gasp as the baby seat comes crashing down. A cheer ripples through the crowd as we realise that my dad has the baby in his arms. After a minute the patient is reunited with her baby.

It is the day after and we are at one of the local pubs. We are having a beer to celebrate a job well done. I am glad that we were able to get through the rest of the shift without any more drama. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that firefighters are superstitious I would have said it was quiet. Right now Mateo is showing us the video.

"It's already got two million views. Check this out. We're trending as hashtag the dream team," Mateo remarks before sitting down. The thing is I never understand what makes things popular on social media. Still, it was a good save no matter what the news reporters and viewers had to say about it.

"Ok, look, I've gone viral twice this month. At some point I'm going to need an agent," Marjan jokes as my Dad joins us.

"No phones at the table," Dad tells Mateo off as he places the beer on the table.

"Here's to the future of the 126 and the memory of the old," Dad toasts us as he distributes the beer. I decline as I already have my drink of choice. For my first full shift as a member of the Austin Emergency Medical Services, it was fun. I guess ditching my life in New York for Austin was a good choice. I glance at my dad who is checking on Tyler. I catch myself eavesdropping on the rest of the conversation.

"Thanks for bringing us down here. I really like the crew and I like that I get to start something new with you and Piper. I think we're gonna be just ok," Tyler confirms. He is right. Unless a disaster happens at work we are going to make it. After all, our family has been through a lot worse together. The thought makes me smile before my attention is grabbed by Tim.