Peaceful. That is the only way that I can describe the sleep that I am having. It is a miracle that I even fell asleep at all. It is due to the fact that Ella, Eddie, Hen and I are on our way to a special assignment. The next thing I know is the feeling of something making contact with my ribs. With that, I come around to the situation. We have arrived at the area that is acting as the base of operations. As soon as my boots hit the ground I am met by what can only be described as wet and warm air. My face scrunches in disgust.

"Something's wrong with the air," I complain. Of course, the heat is from the wildfire but it feels like the air is wet. I feel like I am the only one who is bothered.

"There is a wildfire going on, remember," Hen reminds me as she and Ella join us.

"It's not that. It feels like I'm being slapped by a wet towel," I say. I have encountered the feeling before but not to this degree. Texas is weird.

"It's called humidity. Welcome to Texas, Buck," Eddie says as he casually strolls past us. He must feel like he is home. It doesn't take long for us to be herded into the spot for the briefing. It doesn't take long for the briefing to start.

"Ok everyone I am Deputy Chief De Leon of the San Angelo fire department. I am the acting incident commander," The man introduces himself. It is at that moment I notice a vaguely familiar Islamic woman. The more I look at her the more convinced I am of the fact that I know her from somewhere.

"Buck stops staring," Hen tells me off. It is at that moment my cheeks go a whole shade redder. Hopefully, Ella hasn't noticed.

"I'm not staring," I whisper in my defence. I just can't place it. I've seen her somewhere before.

"Your staring," Eddie joins in. One of the Texas firefighters whispers something to her. I can feel the daggers coming my way. With that, I turn my attention back to Chief De Leon.

"I want to introduce you all to my operations section chief. Captain Owen Strand out of Austin," Chief De Leon wraps up his briefing as another man joins him. The man looks like he has been dragged through the mud quite a few times. Like so many of the Texas firefighters he looks tired. I guess that is what you get for trying to contain a wildfire. Before he says anything Owen takes a deep breath.

"The thing we were praying wouldn't happen has happened. The wind has shifted. The fire is now on a collision course with San Angelo. There is a possibility of weather coming in but we can't rely on it and we won't. We have one last shot at turning the tide. Here. On copper ridge," Owen points at the map to emphasise his point. His authority over the situation reminds me of the way Bobby commands the 118. I just hope that his plan works.

"We cut a containment line here and we can stop this beast in its tracks," Owen traces the line with his finger. It is lucky that he has backup. It is going to be a long day.

"I know you're exhausted. A lot of you haven't had more than a couple of hours asleep in days but on behalf of the city of San Angelo and its twelve hundred and twenty souls we are going to get you up on that fire line and you are going to cut like hell. Good luck. Stay safe," Owen concludes his speech.

"Buck seriously? Please don't make me report you to HR," Hen tells me off one last time. It is at that moment I realise that Ella had been watching this whole time. I will have to apologise when we get our equipment from the truck. Before we can do anything a man sprints to the command table.

"We have a situation," he announces. One of the Texas firefighters and I shot a worried look in Captain Strand's direction.

"I thought all of the evacuations were complete," Chief De Leon remarks as he joins the pair.

"That was before the winds shifted," Owen counters. He is right. Owen quickly gets to work on getting a handle on the situation. Ella leaves. I soon joined her and she informed me of the fact that She and Hen are working in the medical tent. Despite their good intentions, it is a little annoying that I have to leave the love of my life. With a fit of annoyance, I head to the other side of the truck to grab some things. That task doesn't take long. As I head back to where Ella is I am joined by Eddie. He seems a little preoccupied

"Eddie, can you believe this?" I get to work on complaining. Don't get me wrong it is a relief that Ella is largely out of danger but still. If Ella is roped into whatever is going on I am going to have a strong word with Chief De Leon. I am met with a look of confusion from Eddie

"Hen and Ella aren't going to the fire line with us. It will be just the two of us," I explain. Before any of us can say anything an ATV pulls alongside the truck. Of course, he isn't coming with me to dig. A flash of annoyance crosses my face.

"You ready soldier?" The Islamic woman asks. It is at that moment I realise who she is. Her name is Marjan Marwani. She is also known as Firefox. She is an Instagram star.

"I'll be right there," Eddie confirms.

"Well, hop to it. These at-risk kids aren't getting any less at risk," Marjan retorts as she pulls away. With that, Eddie grabs the last of his supplies and leaves. After a small rant the rest of us that are here part ways. After what feels like the longest hike the backup has made it to the fire line. As soon as our boots hit the ground we are assigned to various positions along the line. I am between two of the Texas firefighters. After ten minutes of digging one of the Texas firefighters turns his attention to me.

"So LA huh?" He begins the awkward process of getting small talk started.

"Yeah," I responded halfheartedly. Honestly, I just want to get the digging done so I can get back to the base camp so I can make sure Ella is not going to do anything crazy.

"Cool. I've got a cousin in LA. You might have met him. His name is Marvin. Unfortunately, he's in jail. His last name is Chavez. Anyway, I bet you get some pretty crazy calls," He says as he drives the shovel into the ground.

"Honestly you have no idea," I retorted. It is amazing how bad our luck actually is.

"We get our fair share in Texas as well," A New Yorker chimes in before releasing a grunt as he swings his axe. I believe his name is TK. He did introduce himself as we were walking up here.

"Do you ever get called to Disneyland?" The same firefighter as before asks.

"Nope, that's Orange County. My firehouse serves downtown LA," I say.

"Still LA right?" He responds. I find it a little amusing that he asked about Disneyland. To be fair if I was in his position I would be asking too. Oh well, there are only two things that LA is known for.

"Well, we did get a call to an amusement park once. I had to scale the loop of a rollercoaster. The victim was hanging by his bare hands," I find myself recalling the call that gave me the biggest learning curve of my career. It was not the easiest day to get through but I think I learned my lesson.

"So you rescued a guy from a rollercoaster?" The Texas firefighter asked.

"Unfortunately he let go before I could get to him," It really wasn't my best day now that I say it out loud. The others wince.

"Man, that's rough. I had a woman almost drown on me last year in less than a foot of water. She was trapped upside down in a bus that hit a fire hydrant," TK chimes in. Let the brag fest begin. The thing is I know I will win as LA is one of the craziest cities that I have ever been in. I'm sure the others will have some crazy stories as well. I will have to wait and see who wins.

"We had our own bus rescue. It wasn't upside down though. It was sticking through the fifth floor of an office building," I counter. It was one of Ella's finest moments. The way she took charge gave me butterflies. It is at that moment that it dawns on me. I am truly worried about her. Not because of the fact that she is in danger if she comes out to the dig site. The worry is due to the fact that she could lose me.

"No way. That's insane. Well, we just had an active volcano last week," The New Yorker retorts.

"I think I saw something about that on my Twitter feed," I say. The damage that the volcano did was impressive. Scary but impressive. Before we can do anything our attention is caught by the sound of metal hitting the ground. The next thing I know I am being knocked to the ground by TK as a flaming car comes to a stop in the position where I was just standing. It takes me a moment to realise what is happening. As soon as we realise what is going on TK and I make a beeline for the car but we are stopped by the blazing heat.

"It looks like there is only one person in there," I say as I look through the window. It is hard to distinguish what the driver looks like.

"Hey, we're gonna get you out of there," TK remarks as he pushes through the heat. Before we do anything else one of the other firefighters jumps in with a fire extinguisher. As soon as the flames are out I try to get the door open.

"It's locked," I say as I try my best to get the door open.

"Buck. Heads up," TK remarks as he throws me a shovel. As soon as I snatch it out of the air I use the handle to break through the glass. With that, I smash the door and get it open. We are flooded with relief when a perfectly healthy dog leaves the car. After a few seconds of waiting the owner of the dog joins us.

"I'm so sorry. I left him alone for five seconds and this happened. He must have unlocked the breaks," The owner is grateful that his dog is alive and unharmed.

"Your dog has a lead foot," The Texan remarks as he gives the dog more vigorous pats.

"That was weird," I remarked as I tried to wrap my head around what just happened.

"Right?" TK can't believe it either.

"Oh, nice moves by the way. Good reflexes too," I add for good measure.

"Yeah you too," He responds as I leave. To be honest I am done with digging this section. After what feels like an eternity we are finally back at the base camp. Right now I am trying to find Ella but so far she is nowhere to be found. It is not looking good. Hen told me that she went with Captain Strand but they haven't come back yet. It doesn't take long for us to reach the strike team. Everyone on the team is relaxing. Well, I say relaxing but they look like they have seen a ghost.

"You guys must be exhausted with all of that go-karting down the hill," TK remarks. He is trying to lighten the mood however it doesn't work. That can only mean one thing. Ella was in the helicopter with Captain Strand.

"You didn't hear, did you?" Marjan remarks.

"Hear what?" TK answers for us. I cannot believe it. Ella wasn't supposed to go with Captain Strand.

"I'm sorry TK but the rescue helicopter crashed Owen was up there. One of your medics was on board too," Marjan confirms. Crap. With that TK makes a beeline to the command tent. I try to follow him but he is quick. Even then I am able to keep up. It doesn't take long for us to reach the command tent. The atmosphere is tense. We all watch on as TK and the rest of the 126 plead their case. Since the answer is no, TK storms out. I know exactly how he feels. With that, an idea comes to mind but no one is going to like it. Especially Ella if she finds out. There is a chance I might not even have a job if I follow through with my plan.

Since we can't get anything from Chief De Leon I head to the medical tent. I am going to find out more from Hen. To be honest I know that Ella is in good hands but still. In my limited experiences with helicopters, I know that a majority of crashes end in fatality. Since I am worried I made it to the medical tent in record time. As soon as I make eye contact with Hen an overwhelming sense of dread overcomes me.

"I'm sorry Buck. Ella wouldn't take no for an answer," Hen apologises before I can say anything.

"There is no need for you to apologise. I just feel helpless. I know I can help Ella and Captain Strand but there is a chance that I could lose my job and without Bobby here to bail me out I don't know what to do," I find myself ranting to Hen.

"Look Buck, Ella will know what she is doing. She has been through a lot worse and she pulled through it. Look on the bright side the only body that was found was the pilot's, which means that Ella is still alive," Hen tries her best to reassure me. Unfortunately, there is nothing that she can do to reassure me.

Before I do anything I've decided to enact my plan. I sneak off to the motor pool. To my surprise the area where the keys are stored is unoccupied. After glancing over my shoulder to make sure I wasn't followed I got to work on finding the keys to the engine that belongs to the 126. I am not going to risk using the 118's engine as Bobby will kill me a million times over if he found out. Thankfully it doesn't take long for me to find the set of keys that I am looking for. I quickly shove them into the pocket of my turnout trousers. To avoid suspicion I grab a box of pizza for TK and I. I need him to be on board with my plan as I am going to need an extra set of hands to help me. It doesn't take long for me to find him.

He is hunched over. His face is buried in his free hand. The other is holding a phone to his ear. He has guilt plastered all over his face.

"I've got to go mum. I love you," He says before hanging up.

"What's up?" He asks as he looks up.

"Well, they just delivered twenty kinds of pizza if you're hungry," As soon as I say that TK gets up.

"I'm good thanks," He declined my offer.

"They survived the crash," I caught his attention. With that tidbit of information, he sits down again.

"How would you know?" TK snaps. Like me, he feels helpless. Seeing the way that he pleaded with Chief De Leon would break the toughest of hearts.

"Well, the only body that was found belonged to the pilot. Your Dad is in good hands. Ella is the best paramedic I know. I can't count the number of times that she has rescued me," I get to work on reassuring him as I think of the way she helped me after I was pinned under the truck.

"It sounds like you love her," TK remarks.

"Yeah. She was... is the best thing that has ever happened to me. We were supposed to get married but the pandemic hit," I correct my use of the past tense as there is still hope. In fact, hope is the only thing that is keeping me from having a full-blown panic attack.

"Look Buck I don't mean to be all doom and gloom but unless we find them there is not much that we can do," TK sounds like he is giving up. Well, I'm not giving up. Seeing TK in the state that he is is the catalyst that I need to put my plan in motion.

"Hey don't give up. I'm sure your Dad never gave up on you when you were at your worst so why should you give up on him?" My question seems to hit home. TK perks up a little.

"But we don't have a plan though," TK counters. Clearly, he hasn't met someone like me.

"Well this is embarrassing to admit but I used to steal the engine every now and then and I was thinking I could use my skills tonight to rescue Ella and Owen," I say. It may get me reprimanded and/or fired but if it gives me the chance to save Ella it is a risk I'm willing to take.

"Your right Buck. My Dad has never given up on me and I have done much worse than stealing a fire truck. So it is only fair that I return the favour," TK confirms.

"It sucks, you know. Just sitting here and doing nothing," TK adds. A smirk comes across my face as I lean over to grab the keys from my pocket.

"Well, what if we didn't have to? I ask as I reveal the keys. TK's eyes widened in astonishment.

"Is that-,"

"A key to a fire truck? Yes, it is. Like I said I am not giving up on Ella even if it means getting reprimanded," I say as I get up. Now that I have sealed the deal with TK we both sneak to the edge of the motor pool.

"Are you sure it's still here? Maybe they deployed it," TK is having second doubts. I can't blame him.

"Nope, according to the board the engine we are looking for is still here," I retorted. I made sure to check before I left after stealing the keys. It is tense.

"Look Buck, you don't have to do this as well," TK is trying his best to talk me out of it. The thing is I've already committed to my plan.

"My fiance was on that helicopter and I know for a fact that she would do the same for me," I counter. I can't leave Ella behind regardless of the consequences.

"True. Look here it is," TK points out the engine that belongs to the 118.

"Um... that's not it," I say.

"What do you mean? It says 118. Los Angeles. Let's go," TK is confused.

"yeah no we are not taking that one. Bobby will kill me. This is the key to your truck," I counter as I sneak around to the truck that we want.

"Hey, dumb-ass and dumb-asser. Did you two stop and consider the consequences of what y'all are about to do?" A thick Texas accent calls out catching us out.

"You obviously don't know Buck," Eddie comes to my defence which I find a little interesting.

"You two seriously didn't think that you could drive off into wildfires did you?" Marjan adds she and the other Texan join us. Now rescuing Ella has become near impossible. My heart sinks. The more time we spend arguing the less time we are going to have to find Ella and Owen.

"Yes?" TK tentatively answers.

"Well, that ain't happening," Another one of the members of the 126 announces.

"You can't stop us," I definitely announce. As much as they want to I am not going to stop until I've found Ella.

"Stop you? Nah man we are coming with you," The other Texan counters. I look at TK with a confused look. His crew must feel the same about Captain Strand if they want to rescue him this badly.

"Come on let's go," Eddie snaps us out of our confusion. With that we all head to the right truck. It doesn't take long for us to get going. The firefighters that were supposed to be watching the motor pool finally realise what is going on. They try to flag us down however we are on our way. After what feels like an eternity we have made it to the crash site or what is left of it. As the sun rises we look for Ella and Owen. It doesn't take long for us to start calling out. As you would expect it is frantic. As soon as we realise that they went to find shelter the bigger of the Texans takes charge.

"Ok everyone let's fan out and search the area," With that we split up. After another eternity and a half Marjan calls out. She has found a turnout jacket stuck to a stick outside of a collapsed mineshaft. With that, we all join her and start digging. After a couple of minutes, we have a hole deep enough to get in. TK is quick to check his Dad's pulse and Eddie checks Ella's. I find myself holding my breath.

"I've got a pulse," Both Eddie and TK announce. With that, a sigh falls from my mouth. We made it in time. Eddie and I lift Ella up. It doesn't take us long to get back to the fire truck. After the longest two hours of my life, Hen gives me the go-ahead to see Ella. She is still sleeping. I am not surprised. She has been through a lot. A part of me wonders what happened during her time in the cave but something tells me that she wants to keep it a secret. She soon begins to stir.

"We've been dismissed. The weather did the hard work for us," I announce as I help her to sit up. I am flooded with relief. The thing is I could've lost her today if it weren't for the 126. I owe them a lot, especially TK. I will have to thank him before we go.

"Thank you for letting me know. Before I go there is someone I need to talk to," Ella remarks as Captain Strand joins us. With that, I leave. I joined the others by the fire truck. Amongst the group is TK. He seems happy to see me.

"Hey, Buck I want to thank you," TK remarks as he turns his attention to me.

"No TK. I should be thanking you. After all, seeing you down in the dumps gave me the motivation I needed to follow through with my plan," I counter.

"Well without you I wouldn't have my Dad so I should be the one to thank you," TK retorts.

"I can't take all of the credit," A wave of embarrassment flushes through me.

"Well you've found yourself an amazing woman," TK says as he leaves. He is right. The night showed me that I will do anything to keep Ella safe. At least this story had the ending that I wanted. I have decided that I am going to pester Ella for details when she recovers. She deserves the rest that she is going to get on the journey home. Honestly, I'm glad that we found them in time.