It has been a couple of days since then and I am getting the ambulance ready for another shift. I have a nasty feeling that something is going to go wrong. At least this time it is more like I'm anticipating something big rather than something going wrong in the field. I shrug the thought off as Tim tosses me some gauze. What doesn't help is the fact that Michelle is late which is unusual for her.

"Tim, did Michelle say anything about being late to you?" I ask as I place the gauze in its spot.

"No...," Tim trails off. He is just as stumped as I am.

"I'll be back. I'm going to ask Dad if he knows anything," I say as I leave the ambulance. It doesn't take long for me to reach Dad's office. To my surprise, the others are there.

"Sorry to interrupt Dad but is there any chance you've seen Michelle this morning?" I ask.

"No why?" He asks in confusion.

"She's an hour late," I reply. Before my dad has a chance to react the siren goes off and the lights start to flicker. Well, here it goes. We all head down to the garage to find utter chaos. Everything that is electrically controlled is going crazy. I join Tim in the scrabble to get the ambulance under control. After what feels like an eternity we finally have everything under enough control not to worry.

"Tim, how many years of experience do you have as a paramedic?" I ask.

"Five why?" Tim is clearly confused about the situation.

"Six. We need someone with enough experience to fill in for Michelle," I respond as I turn my attention to making sure no one else needs help. I hope I know enough for us to get through the day without any issues. After a few minutes of double-checking everything I turn my attention to my Dad who is trying to contact the dispatch centre. All he is getting is static. Which he is not happy about.

"The ambulance is ready to go," I announce my presence as we are joined by Paul. He seems a little annoyed.

"Hey Cap, none of the rigs were on. As far as I can tell they turned themselves on," Paul announces which only deepens the mystery. After some comments from both Paul and Marjan, we are summoned by Mateo. It seems like we may get our answers after all. We all gather around the TV like flies. A part of me is impressed that we can get any kind of useful signal.

"Waves of solar energy began hitting Texas and much on the central time zone an hour ago. We're told it is the largest solar storm to hit the earth since an event in Quebec in 1989 which reached havoc on the power grid for more than twelve hours," the news anchor then diverts her attention to the scientist however her explanation is cut off by the latest wave of chaos. The good thing to come out of it is the fact that the TV channel has switched to a mildly entertaining Japanese game show. It doesn't take long for us to be summoned to our first emergency.After one of the second most tense rides of my life, we made it to the scene.

"What are we expecting Piper?" Tim asks as we carefully approach the area underneath the plane.

"I'd say crush injuries and lacerations," I respond. I find myself listening to the radio as Tim and I prepare the required equipment.

"Captain. This is an AirMed flight. One of my patients is seriously ill," The pilot counters Dad's plan. Dang it. Why can't emergencies ever be simple during natural disasters?

"I understand. It's just we don't have many options and we are running out of time," My Dad counters. I watch as the pilot forces the door open. After checking on the passengers he jumps out. After some gentle coaxing, the sick person's wife jumps out. As soon as we get her off the rescue mat Dad gets to work on going up.

"Dad I know you gave her your word but going up there is stupid," I voice my concerns. The sparks are getting closer and closer.

"Piper you should know better than anyone, when I give someone my word I follow through," Dad retorts. Before I have a chance to reply he heads over to the power pole. After a tense couple of minutes, Dad has reached the top of the pole. I find myself checking on the other victims while I wait. Luckily for them, they escaped with minor injuries. After what feels like an eternity my Dad makes it to the plane. The radio message that we had been waiting for soon arrived.

"He's coming down," My Dad announces. Just in time. As soon as the man hits the rescue mat the others get to work on getting him over to the ambulance. After some coaxing from the others, my dad takes a leap of faith. A sigh falls from my mouth.

It has been ten minutes since then and we are onto our next call. We are tending to a rolled-over bus. Apparently, someone is still on the bus. They are trying to get the bus driver out. Once we have a plan of action my Dad gets to work. To my surprise, the man that Dad pulls out is none other than Tyler. After checking on the bus driver my attention is drawn to the wound on Tyler's shoulder.

"Is she going to be alright?" Tyler asks.

"Thanks to you she will live. Anyway let me check your stitches," I say as I get to work. To my annoyance, he has pulled a few stitches but it is nothing too dramatic. After doing what I can I join Tim in the back of the ambulance as I am sure Carlos will get Tyler to the hospital. It has been a couple of hours since then and I am currently comforting Tyler. He decided that he was going to come clean about being an addict. There is something else that he wants to share but I am not going to force him. Thankfully it doesn't take long for the ladder truck and the engine to pull into the station. After a few comments from the others, my Dad turns his attention to us.

"What are you doing here? How did it go at the hospital?" My Dad questions as he approaches us.

"Nothing crazy. They just added a couple of stitches. I'm good," If it wasn't supposed to a serious moment I would giggle as Tyler looked like he was about to run away.

"Why do you look like you are going to jump off a cliff?" My dad asks as he flashes Tyler a worried look. Tyler takes a deep breath as he gets up.

"Hey guys I wanted to talk to you about something," He announces as he approaches the other firefighters.

"Please bear with me as it is kind of a lot...I'm an addict-,"

"TK-,"

"No Dad. I need to do this. Please," The look of pain on Tyler's face says it all. He needs the others to know how he is feeling. I find myself flooded with relief As Tyler tries to explain the reason why we ended up in Texas. Unfortunately, he is choking up.

"Whatever you gotta say say it," Judd responds.

"Yeah, he's right. We've got you," Paul backs up Judd which in turn makes Tyler a little more nervous.

"Well, that is the point. 'Cause today at that intersection when that woman was dying I would have given everything to save her. I did give her everything but it wasn't enough to save her...," Tyler trails off before glancing at Dad.

"Until you showed up. Until all of you guys showed up. In that instant, I knew she was going to be ok. I knew I was going to be ok too because this is what I want to do for the rest of my life and at least for now this is where I want to do it. I chose this family is where I belong," Tyler's voice is filled with pride. Once he is done speaking we all pile on for a hug.

It has been a few hours since then and I am laying in Tim's backyard. We are watching the aurora. Well, I am watching it alone for now as Tim told me he had something for me. After a couple of seconds of waiting he rejoins me. In his hand is a small box. As he lays down next to me I take the box. I open it to find a small diamond pendant.

"Thank you, Tim," I respond as I pull myself closer to Tim. It's people like him that have made the trip to Austin easier. Sure I left a career at the FDNY behind but being in Austin has reminded me that there is more to life than being a paramedic. Looking back on the past few months I realise that I have been worried about Tyler and Dad to the point of almost neglecting myself. Well, there is nothing that I can do about it right now as I want to relax with Tim.