It has been ten minutes since then and for obvious reasons we are still on the road. Dispatch has ordered us to patrol our service area. They are saying there is a risk of a landslide. Here was me thinking it couldn't get worse. Because of that the air in the ambulance is a bit stiff. I guess we are just waiting for the landslide.

"Hey Cap, have we got any news on the impending landslide?" I radio in.

"Not yet. How are you two holding?" Bobby turns the tables on us.

"No offence Cap but if I look at the backside of the truck for any longer I am going to go crazy," Howie replies.

"I think it's too late for that," I chime in. It gets me a death glare from Howie. I can only imagine the other's reactions. To be honest, Howie is not the only one going crazy. In my case, it is because I'm missing the closeness that Buck and I have if we are back at the firehouse. I would go as far as saying I miss Buck. Don't worry I don't. Before the others respond we are called to the epicentre of the landslide. After ten minutes of fighting against the traffic, we made it to the safe zone. The command tent is in utter chaos. Our crew is the second on-ground crew to arrive. The incident commander pulls Bobby and I aside. She is not happy. There is a part of me that is glad that a battalion chief is the incident commander. That means we can't do anything stupid.

"The water from the dam caused more damage on top of the flooding and mudslides. It quickly eroded the bottom of the hill-,"

"Which brought the whole hill down," Bobby completes her sentence. He doesn't seem surprised.

"Yes. Most of the damage is concentrated east of the dam. I'm sure I don't need to remind you of what we are dealing with," The incident commander finished her briefing.

"How many casualties have we got?" I ask the obvious question. I want to know in advance if we are going to be swamped.

"Two tagged so far however we are expecting more. Luckily for us, the LAPD were evacuating the area. Unfortunately, they were still evacuating when the hill came down," She confirms. I glance at Bobby. It means there is a small chance that Athena could be on the field.

"Have any of the officers checked in," I can tell that Bobby is trying to hide the panic in his voice.

"Not yet but we are still within the golden hour. After that it will turn into a recovery mission," She replies. At least we have hope. Before we can say anything else Eddie joins us. He must have been eavesdropping.

"Well, do we have to worry about any more of the hill coming down?" Eddie asks.

"Yeah. We work fast, we work safe and we hope for the best," Bobby confirms.

"Anyway where do you want us," Bobby turns his attention to the incident commander.

"The Hollywood sign or what's left of it," The incident commander remarks as she draws our attention to the remaining letters.

"I'm guessing the letters were forced downhill when the landslide happened," I remark.

"Yes. They fell just west of here," The incident commander responds as she points to the area on the map. We are just lucky that none of the letters that fell hit any buildings.

"Before you go you should know that the helicopter spotted a group of hikers," The incident commander adds for good measure. Of course, there had to be some idiots who had to go hiking up a hill when the big one struck. To be fair they didn't know it was going to happen.

"I guess they should have brought a vowel then," Howie attempts a joke. All I can say is that he has mastered the dad jokes.

"Ok. Ella, Eddie you're with me at the sign, Howie Buck you are staying here to look for survivors," Bobby gives us his orders. I notice Howie giving Bobby the stink eye.

"It's punishment for your dad jokes," I say before leaving. After a long and tedious thirty-minute hike we made it to the H. The mood is tense as we lay wooden boards. We are doing so because we need some kind of stable ground. Once we get around the H I notice two people clinging to what's left of the support structure and one who is stuck in the mud. Before I can say anything Bobby gets to work on reassuring the victims.

"Don't move. You'll be stuck in the mud. We will get to you as soon as possible," Bobby remarks.

"Yeah. Tell me about it," The man who is stuck in the mud begins to panic. I am starting to think that we might be cursed. This day keeps getting worse. Luckily for the pair clinging to the support structure, Eddie and I are quick to place a couple of wooden boards underneath them. As soon as their feet touch the ground we get to work on getting the area around the man who is trapped secure enough for us to do our job. Unfortunately, our victim is sinking fast.

"Sir please try your best to relax. What's your name?" I get to work on assessing his injuries. There is not much that I can actually see but the fact that he is talking is good.

"Dylan," He responds.

"Ok Dylan we are going to get you out of here but you are going to have to relax," I say as I take his vitals.

"Hey Cap, Dylan's BP is slightly elevated and his breathing is shallow. If we don't act now we will be recovering a casualty," I announce. I realise that my report is not helping but I know the dangers of being crushed by mud.

"Is that normal? What does it mean?" The woman says as she joins us.

"Yes it is, given the situation but it is not ideal. As for the meaning, the mud is starting to constrict his lungs," I confirm. The look of concern on her face grows into a look of terror. As soon as those words fall from my mouth Dylan flies into a blind panic.

"I'm going to die," He shrieks.

"You're not going to die," Eddie counters. A look of regret flashes over Dylan's face.

"I should have known. I should never have gone on this trip. 2020 was a dumpster fire. Why should this be any different?" He complains. He is starting to sink into the danger zone.

"You're acting like I forced you to come. I was just trying to be nice by inviting you," The second man calls out. He is annoyed that this had to happen.

"We're roommates," The woman confirms. Of course, they are. That explains the bulk of the tension.

"No. Caleb and I are roommates. You just came for dinner and never left," Dylan retorts. He is trying his best to thrash around. It is not working for obvious reasons.

"Seriously Dylan if you want to get out of this alive you need to stay still. Every time you thrash around the mud is going to pull you in deeper," Bobby remarks. After some back and forth we finally got to work on getting him out. Unfortunately, we've had to improvise. Normally we'd use a backboard for this kind of rescue but it is the one thing that we don't have. Instead, we are using a panel from the H. I am watching over Dylan while the others are working on getting a panel free.

"I need to say something. Just in case I don't make it," Dylan looks like he is about to give up.

"I'm sorry. I know I've been an ass but-,"

"Dylan, it's fine. We've all been under a lot of stress but please listen to what they have to say so they can get you out of here," The woman remarks.

"I love you," Dylan confesses. He then goes on a rant about how unfair it has been for him. I get where he is coming from but it is not helping the situation.

"Cap, can you hurry up please?" I ask. Luckily for me, my request is granted. It doesn't take long for Eddie and Bobby to get what they need. The thing is it may already be too late. The mud has reached his neck.

"The pressure from the mud is crushing his lungs. Cap you and Eddie need to make it quick," I add for good measure. After a tense back and forth we finally get Dylan out.

"I'm gonna live," He screams out in celebration.

"Well that's if I don't kill you first," Caleb retorts. Well, love can make you do weird things. After some backtracking the rescue helicopter made it.

"Well, it looks like your ride's here," Bobby remarks as the helicopter makes one last manoeuvre. After convincing the woman that it is a bad idea to join us on the hike we leave. Well, that really puts things into perspective. At least I know for a fact that I am with the man I love. It has been a couple of hours since then and the sun has set and we have been sent to assist Buck and Howie. They found a group of women trapped in a house. I am on triage and treat duty. Not that I mind as I need a chance to somewhat relax after the previous rescue. I watch on as Buck gets to work on making an escape route.

"All right, clear back," Buck says. I just hope they move back. After a second Buck breaks the skylight. It is at that moment I notice that Buck doesn't have a medical bag for Howie.

"Hey Buck give this to Chim," I grab his attention before he goes down.

"I will," Buck says as he takes the bag. As time goes by Buck pulls out more and more survivors. All of them are at various stages of pregnancy. Luckily for me, they all seem to have minor cuts and bruises. After what feels like an eternity the final woman has been rescued. With the woman is the most adorable baby. Thankfully it only takes Eddie and I a few seconds to get her comfortable on the gurney. With that done we turn our attention back to the hole. The last to leave is, of course, Howie. He seems relieved.

"You must feel good after that," I remark kickstarting the traditional 118 banter.

"Yeah. How was the practice run?" Eddie asks.

"It went great. In all fairness, I didn't have to do much. I just had to catch," Howie responds. I can tell that he is proud of himself.

"Yeah. He doesn't need a practice run. He is going to be a great dad to baby Buckley," Buck remarks. He is excited at the prospect of having a niece or a nephew. To be honest we both are. It soon dawns on us that someone is missing.

"Where did Bobby go? Did he kick off early?" Howie asks.

"Nope. He's still working. He'll be looking for Athena," I responded. I just hope that he is able to find her in one piece. After fifteen minutes we get the radio call that we need. Bobby has found Athena. It has been an hour since we wrapped up the search and rescue and Bobby has given us the rest of the night off. Right now Buck and I are relaxing. We are cuddled up together on the couch with a cheesy rom-com on. To be honest it is just background noise.

"Why don't we go to bed? You look like you are going to fall asleep," Buck remarks.

"I could fall asleep," I retorted. Today has been a long day. With that Buck frees himself from my grip. He turns the TV off and what he does next catches me off guard. He lifts me up into a piggyback then he carries me up the stairs.

"Thank you," I mumble as he lets me down gently.

"Anything for you," Buck smirks as we both get comfortable. Thank goodness the day ended on a high note. There was a lot that could've gone wrong but we had luck on our side today. My worries seem to melt away as sleep finally takes hold. Let's hope that tomorrow can bring us some more relaxation. I am going to need it.