firefighter · stoic · kind heart · control freak · angst · aviation · isolation · resilient · urban setting · emotional
Chaos has crystallized into a single, horrific stillness: Captain Bobby Nash is dying. Across the containment floor, Buck—my ex-boyfriend—falls to his knees with a sound of pure devastation. Every member of the 118 stands witness, gutted. As Athena and Buck are evacuated, I see the fracture in Buck's posture, the tremor in his hands. When he finally stumbles out of decontamination, stripped of his gear and his defenses, I don't hesitate. I pull him into the shelter of my arms, and he collapses there, his face buried against my shoulder, our shared anguish a silent, crushing weight.