The Truth Behind the Badges

Tragedy

Anthony's POV (Dad)

I had just received a weird call from Kira, but when she said Valerie was hurt, I jumped up quickly and had Truck 62 taken out of commission and my crew gathered in seconds.

With lights flashing and sirens screaming, we made it to the house in time to see someone in a black car throw a bottle out of the car and into my front yard before taking off. The yard was now on fire but while my crew managed that I quickly ran into the house. I saw the broken window and the top Dylan's head above the kitchen table.

I ran straight towards the kitchen and behind the table to see Dylan trying to keep Valerie from bleeding out. Kira was next to him sitting with her back against the wall holding a towel to her arm, but blood was already seeping through the towel. Dylan looked up at me and I moved to take over for him. I watched as Dylan let out a shaky breath then scooted over to Kira and held pressure on her arm. Dylan spoke up as he was helping Kira, "Anna is upstairs. I put music on for her and told her not to take her headphones off until one of us came up." I nodded to show I heard him but stayed focused on Valerie, there were bloody towels everywhere and the ones in my hand were already drowning in blood.

We had called for an ambo before we ever got to the house, and it had just pulled in the driveway behind our truck. I stepped back and let them do their work. Dylan was still holding the, nearly soaked, towels when the paramedics handed him gauze so he could wrap Kira's wound. "Dylan, Kira, try to wash off as much blood as you can and go be with your sister." I spoke softly to them knowing they were both in shock. Kira's hands had been shaking for quite some time now, she wasn't used to these situations even with all her interests in our jobs and while Dylan had been a Fire Fighter for almost two years, he was visibly shaken as well.

Anna's POV

I was working on my homework when I heard glass breaking. I really didn't think much of it since I figured someone had dropped something. It wasn't until I heard gunshots that I got worried. I jumped out of my chair and hid in my closet until they stopped. I waited for a little bit then crawled out and slowly went down the stairs.

When I got to the bottom, I saw glass shattered all over the place. Then my eyes fell to Dylan and Kira kneeling on the floor. I saw blood, then Kira turned her head to look up at me. Dylan stood up quickly and took me back upstairs. His hands were covered in blood, but he quickly guided me back to my room. Collecting my headphones and plugging them into my phone, he held my shoulders tight as I turned to look out the door, "Hey, look at me, ok? Turn your music on and lock your door behind me."

"What's going on? Why do you have blood on your hands?!" I questioned him. He just held me then pulled me into a hug. "It's ok. Everything is ok." He tried to reassure me, but I think he was also trying to reassure himself. He placed the headphones on my head. Reluctantly, I turned my music on and turned back around to my desk. He stood behind me for a minute before he left, I watched as he closed the door behind him and I took my headphones off, locked the door, then sat back down staring at my papers.

*a while later*

I don't know how long I sat there unable to do anything. My headphones were still on, but the volume was low. I heard sirens and yelling, then a knock at my door. "Anna it's us open the door!" I quickly took the headphones off, unlocked and opened the door. I watched as Dylan guided Kira into my room and then sat on the edge of my bed. I watched Kira's hands shake slightly till Dylan placed his hand on them. "Dylan what is going on? Why did you have me lock myself up here? Why are you covered in blood?"

Dylan pulled me over and I sat beside him on my bed. "There was an incident that may have caused mom to get hurt." he said slowly now holding my hands in his free one. "Dad's downstairs with mom and the Paramedics. Everything will be ok." He said with a shaky breath.

*At the Hospital*

Anthony's POV

I rode in the back of the ambo while my kids rode in the Truck. When we got to the hospital, I was told to stay back as the Paramedics read off her stats and injuries. I was quickly escorted to the waiting room where my whole Fire House and four of my five kids were waiting. Kira was in a patents room to get stitches.

Kira soon came back with her arm bandaged. She sat beside Dylan, leaning into his side with her legs curled up to her chest as he wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back. We had been so blessed with these kids, they never truly fought or argued, sure they had their moments but it never truly lasted. They genuinely cared for each other. We had filled in Liam and Carter on what happened once they arrived at the hospital, and they both sat on either of Kira and Dylan while Anna sat beside me while we waited.

The room was quiet for about half an hour except for the occasional chatter amongst other people. Doctors had come and go during that time and after what felt like forever, we saw the doors open once more and Val's doctor came out. He looked at me then at my kids. I locked eyes with him as he stood there in silence. I stood, frozen until he spoke. "Your wife lost a lot of blood." He stopped, swallowed, and looked at us all again, "We did everything we could but...I'm sorry...she didn't make." The doctor tried his best to console me as I sat back down in a daze.

I wished that I had been dreaming but I knew that wasn't the case as I looked to watch my daughters slowly drop to the floor crying with Dylan trying to hold them up as much as possible. Liam and Carter stood there frozen, looking at me, the doctor, and their siblings. They both pulled me into a hug and cried.