A/N There will be fewer time skips in this chapter. There will also be a trigger warning due to major character death and intense emotions. Feel free to skip this chapter if you are sensitive to those things.

It has been a year since I joined the LAFD and right now I am hoping that I can get lunch sorted before another call. The good thing is I managed to get the bulk of it done before the previous call. I just need to add the finishing touches. It is at that moment that I am joined by Daniel.

"Hey Ella do you know where the captain is? I've been looking for him everywhere," He asks.

" You won't find him today. He's taken this shift off. Gavin needed some extra help," I explain.

"Do you when whatever your cooking will be done?" Daniel asks as he nicks a strand of paster.

"It's not going to be done anytime soon if you are pinching it," I tease which manages to make me giggle. After a couple of minutes, I finished what I was doing. We are joined by Sean and some of the other firefighters.

"Lunch smells good and by the way Ella you have a cute giggle," Sean remarks. The thing is he has a crush on me. Everyone in the firehouse can see it. Even my dad. He has strongly warned against us dating. Luckily for him, I am not interested in dating someone like Sean. He is an idiot who always gets himself in trouble.

"If you are trying to flirt with me I'm not interested," I say for what feels like the billionth time.

"Me flirting? I would never try anything like that with the captain's daughter," Sean retorts. He is just digging his grave. After a few glances, I speak up.

"My dad is not here so you don't have to worry about ladies first and stuff like that," I announce as we all begin the process of dishing up. As soon as we take our seats the signal bell rings. It doesn't take long for us to get to our respective vehicles.

"110 this is dispatch we have a five-alarm fire at 16 Monroe Drive," The dispatcher's voice sounds over the radio. My heart sinks. The address is where I live. Daniel can see the worry on my face.

"Ella, are you alright?" Daniel turns his attention to me.

"I'll be fine. It's just 16 Monroe Drive is the address of the apartment block that I live in," I explain. So long as Gavin and Dad made it out. Knowing Dad he would want to rescue as many people as he can. After the slowest five minutes of my life we have made it to the scene and the building is well ablaze. We hit the ground running.

"Ella, Daniel I want you to help triage the casualties," Our second in command gets to work on distributing orders.

"Who is the incident commander?" I ask as we are joined by a firefighter from station 118.

"That would be me. Captain Bobby Nash of the 118," the new commer introduces himself.

"I want everyone to work in teams of two. Make sure you don't miss anyone," Bobby orders. The others get to work on their respective tasks. After five agonising minutes, I notice Gavin who is stumbling from the building. He is overcome by the smoke. I sprint up to him with my supplies.

"Gavin, where is Dad?" I ask as I get to work on treating him.

"He went back to get Cindy. She was trapped," Gavin is barely able to get his response out without sputtering. I knew this was going to happen. I basically drag Gavin to the triage area where Bobby is.

"Hey, Captain Nash my dad Captain Calder is still up there. He was helping our paraplegic neighbour Cindy. They'll be on the fifth floor," I say as I grab Bobby's attention.

"Buck you're with me," Bobby commands.

"Look we'll make sure your dad and Cindy will be alright ok," Bobby's rescue partner quickly reassures me before going in. I hope he is right. I turn my attention back to treating Gavin. Luckily for me, the only major injury that Gavin has is smoke inhalation. The burns are only first-degree. I gently apply burn cream. It feels just like old times.

"Dad will be fine," I remark as I notice that Gavin is going to go into a meltdown if I don't say anything.

"It sounds like you are telling yourself more than me," Gavin remarks.

"That's fair," I reply. Honestly, I'm scared. I don't know what will happen if my dad doesn't make it. Since the burns are only superficial I dismiss Gavin. I'll have to check up on him later but now I have to deal with a bigger problem. Buck leaves the building. He has Cindy draped over his shoulder. He is followed closely by Bobby and my dad. I notice that Bobby is only giving my dad support rather than carrying him.

"Ella. I'm sorry," His voice is weak. Before I can do anything Daniel gets to work on treating him. I am about to take the driver's seat however I am stopped.

"I'll drive. Daniel's going to need all of the help he can get," Sean remarks as he pulls me out of the way. With that, I joined Daniel and my dad in the back of the ambulance. I am struck by how horrific the burns are. Most of his body is covered in red charred spots. It's as if he has been cooked alive. After three minutes we are halfway to the hospital and both Daniel and I are watching the heart rate monitor. I am pulled back to reality by wheezing. I use my stethoscope to check my Dad's breathing. I double check the heart rate monitor. Everything is stable with the exception of his breathing.

"I need to intubate," I announce as I start reaching for the much-needed supplies.

"Here," Daniel responds. I get to work however I am struggling. Daniel can see that.

"Let me take over," He is gentle about the order.

"Ok," I say giving him control. It is tense but he gets the tube down his throat. It has been two days since the call and I am currently visiting my dad. Seeing him hooked up to the life support machine isn't easy. In fact, I've already cried enough. It's gotten to the point where my eyes are bone dry.

"At least he rescued Cindy," Gavin announces his presence.

"Yes but at what cost," I counter releasing the pent-up anger. I'll have to apologise later but right now I need to let the emotions flow. Before we can go any further there is a knock on the door. It's Daniel and Cindy. They are quick to let themselves in.

"What are you doing here Daniel?" I ask in surprise.

"Well, my sister wouldn't stop nagging until she visited the person who saved her life. Look Ella I know it must be difficult but-," His sentence is cut off by an alarm. It is the code blue alarm. I jump into action. I start chest compressions however I can feel the force of someone pulling me away. It's Gavin. I try my best to wriggle free even though Gavin's grip is vice-like.

"Please let me save him," I cry out. I have to. I owe everything to him.

"Ella stop. He has a DNR," Gavin retorts. With those words, I go limp. He's gone. Really gone. Gavin lets me go. I collapse on my Dad's body. My tears are saturating his bed sheets.

"Ma'am I'm going call it," The doctor remarks as she gently pulls me away. Daniel immediately pulls me into a hug. I wish today played out differently. It has been three days since then and I am getting ready for the funeral. Since it is a LAFD send off I have to wear my dress uniform. To be honest it is a miracle that I managed to get it on. The thing is I have to do this. For my Dad.

"Are you ready?" Gavin checks on me by yelling from the other side of the

"No, but I have to do this," I say before putting the finishing touches on my makeup. I don't know why I bothered. There is a chance that it will get ruined by the impending crying. Thirty seconds later I made it to the kitchen where Gavin is.

"Are you ready Gavin?" I turn my attention to him. It's just me and him now. He just nods. After the most painful ten-minute drive we made it to the venue. Thankfully I timed it so that there is only two minutes before the procession starts. I do not have the strength to talk. After what feels like an eternity it is my turn to give a eulogy. It is the part of the day that I have been dreading but I need to say something. I take a deep breath as I take my place at the podium.

"My Dad was someone who always inspired me to do what I felt was right. Even though he struggled as a single father he was always there. For me and my brother Gavin. So when I joined him at the 110 as a paramedic he was the proudest father. It is that pride that I will cherish forever-," I want to go on but the words get caught in my throat. I use that as my cue to leave. It has been a week since then and I am back at work. It doesn't feel the same yet it is the same. Sure we have a new captain but it's still the same job. The thing is I am still struggling. Right now we are tending to a car crash.

"Ella I need a twelve gauge needle," Daniel orders.

"Y...Yes," I stutter my way through the confirmation. I quickly find what I am looking for. After passing the needle Daniel counts two ribs and inserts the needle. As soon as he does the patient's breathing gets better.

"I'll get the gurney," I remark since I don't want to be here. I am about to go when Daniel grabs my wrist.

"No. You need to make sure she's stable," Daniel counters.

"I...I...can't ok. I shouldn't have come back," My body freezes. My mind is racing with various thoughts

"Ella trust me. I would have stopped you from coming back if you weren't ready. You just need to remember why you are here. Besides, without your Dad, I would be in the position that you are in," Daniel gets to work on reassuring me. He is right. My grief is something that I have to work on as I have a job to do. Ten minutes later we are back at the firehouse. I make a beeline for the toilets. I can't let anyone see me crying. I lock the door behind me. After a few minutes of crying, there is a knock at the door.

"Ella please let me in," It's Daniel.

"No," I say. He is not the one that I want to talk to. Not now anyway.

"Don't make me knock down the door," Daniel counters.

"Ok fine," I give in. I tentatively unlock the door. Instead of saying anything he pulls me into a much-needed hug. After two minutes like this, I decided that I am going to leave the 110. It is the best option given the current circumstances. I make my way to my dad's old office. I knock on the door. The new captain gestures for me to come in.

"What can I do for you Ella?" he asks.

"I wish to be transferred," I announce.

"Ok well I heard the 118 has an opening, I will see what I can do," He responds. Thankfully his tone is understanding. The thing is I don't want to leave but I have to if I want to move on.

"Thank you, captain," I reply as I leave the office. There are just too many memories in the office. It has been a couple of days since then and I arrived at station 118. Well here is to my fresh start.

"My name is Buck. Can I help you?" A man pulls me out of my thoughts.

"My name is Ella and you can help me. Can you tell me where Captain Nash's office is?" I take him up on my offer as I have no idea where anything is.

"Follow me," Buck remarks as he walks off. I follow him to the rec area where the rest of the crew are.

"You must be Ella. My name is Bobby. Feel free to sit down. I'm just finishing cooking breakfast," Bobby remarks as he looks up from his cooking. My mind flashes back to when Bobby brought my dad out. I take a deep breath as I sit in the free seat.

"So Ella my name is Howie but I have the nickname Chimney. Don't ask. You will be partnered with me or hen who has the day off today," My new partner introduces himself. Ten minutes later I find myself thinking about how I ended up at the 118. It is going to be fun. Sure there are going to be a lot of ups and downs I am going to make it work.

"So that's how I ended up at the 118," I wrap up the story. It seems to snap the others out of a trance. I guess I must be a good storyteller.

"Ella?" A familiar voice calls out.

"Daniel, what are you doing here?" I ask as he joins us.

"Relaxing after a hard day. Do you mind if I join you?" He asks. He probably wants to catch up. I can't blame him after all it has been a couple of years since we last spoke to each other.

"Sure," Eddie beats me to the response. With that, Daniel takes a seat.

"Anyway everyone this is Daniel. Yes, he was the one that helped me the most after my dad died. Daniel these are some of my friends from the 118," I introduce him to everyone. It is at that moment that I notice that he has had a uniform change.

"I see you're a 911 dispatcher now,"

"Yes I retired soon after you left but I still wanted to help people. So I chose the next best thing," He responds. That sounds like the Daniel I knew.

"That's smart. Now let's hear your story, Eddie," Howie turns his attention to Eddie.

"oh no one story is enough," Eddie deflects with a smile. Well, that makes sense. After an hour of socialising, I decided that I am going to head home. Even though I have the day off tomorrow it is going to be a long day.