Line of Duty Love

A Funeral and a Surprise

No lights flashing, and no sirens, the truck that would carry Eli's body slowly made it's way to the church where the services were for his funeral. It had a black wreath and black ribbons on the front and down the side. All the hose was taken off the truck bed, and in its place they placed carpet where casket was going to go. The men on board were all dressed in their Class A's, a firefighter's top dress wear, and weren't looking out the window like they would for a parade. They were looking down at their gloved hands, the hands that would be carrying the casket that held their best fire chief.

Bianca sat in the front row, dressed in black, with her grandmother on one side and Bailey on the other. Her Grandfather was in the engine as well but he would not be carrying the casket. Ever since Eli died Bailey hasn't talked to anyone. It's too much for a little 6 year-old to manage. Losing her mother then the guy that she thought her Aunt would be with for a long time not too long after that. It was her being her, dealing with the pain, and everyone understood.

Bianca though, was different, she put her pain into her work. She did articles about the fire service now, how they need funding and all sorts of other things. She was dedicated, so much she's starting to take classes to become an interior firefighter like Eli was.

The preacher started but anyone that was really close to Eli didn't pay attention, they were looking at his casket. His helmet was on top of it, with Bianca's favorite flowers all around it. The preacher then said that someone close to Eli's heart wanted to say something. Bianca went to stand but Bailey beat her to it. The preacher smiled, he had meant her. Bianca watched her little girl get up there and the preacher helped her onto a stool behind the podium.

"Eli saved my life a few months before he died. He couldn't save my doggie's life but that's okay. He made up for it. He stayed with my Aunt when I was sick and in the hospital. They were together and it made me happy. They were happy. When I saw him that night my aunt and him went to the reunion I didn't think that would be the last time I saw him." Bailey started to cry but she kept talking, "He was like the father I never had, even if it was for a short time." She looked at the casket then at her hands. She was holding the card she made him when he saved her life, "He deserves more than one of my drawings but it's all I've got." She hopped down and walked over to his casket after her adult sounding speech. She put the card on top of it then she ran back to Bianca and hugged her.

Bianca didn't know what to do so she held her till her Grandmother peeled her off of her. Jace was going up this time, he had a paper with him, and he looked nervous.

He cleared his throat and looked at the crowd, "I can say a lot about Eli. He was my friend from high school, my partner on the line and in the house. We've gotten drinks and girls together. We've seen our friends die in crashes and our families hurt by fire, but every time we were there and doing our best. This time I wasn't. I was too drunk, already, at our reunion and he wouldn't let me go. It was good that he didn't, but now I'm mad at myself for getting that way. What if he wasn't there? I would have gone in and killed more than just myself."

Jace shook his head, trying to collect his thoughts then looked at the paper he held, "I'm not up here to tell you my guilty conscious and all my faults from that night. I'm actually here to tell you what he told me and gave me the night before." He looked right at Bianca, "He loved you, a lot. He got you this ring that I have. He was going to give it to you at the reunion." He started to sniffle. "You want to come up here?"

Bianca stood up and slowly made her way up to him. When she got up there she looked up and located Kendra and Sandy who smiled at her slight. They've been her support through all of this. She looked back at Jace as he sighed, "I'm not going to get down on one knee like he would have but I'll read what he wrote. 'Bianca, high school you were a freckle face blonde girl who I didn't really have any feelings towards. Now you're still that freckle face blonde girl but you've changed. You're mine and I wouldn't change that at all. I want to make that last longer than most of my relationships have. I love you, I love Bailey. I wasn't to be Bailey's Uncle/Father think that you are to her but you know, the male version." some people in the audience laughed a little at this, "Marry me, please. If something happens that you don't like, I'll change it. If you're scared, I'll protect you. If you want something I'll go to the ends of the earth to get it for you. I love you Bianca."

Jace took a break to wipe his eyes then he continued, "He also gave me a letter to read to you if something like this happened. He gave this to me a week before his death. Here goes, "Dearest Bianca, if Jace is slowly reading this to you in front of all our friends and family that means I'm gone. I hope that by then we're married and possibly a kid of our own. Though the way fires have been going for me as of late I don't think we'll get that far. Keep my truck, use it yourself or keep it to give to Bailey when she gets older," there was a tiny 'yes' our in the audience from Bailey at the moment, it made everyone laugh again. Jace shook his head and continued, "Do whatever you can to keep my memory too. Do your best to get over me. I don't want to drag you down and make you against ment." The cause another laugh through the audience, "I love you Bianca, Eli."

Jace stopped and handed her the ring Eli was going to give her. She looked at it then looked at the group of people that gathered there before that day, she smiled sadly with tears in her eyes. She put the ring on then started talking, "Thank-you all for coming today. I loved him too. So much that I let him go on that fire against my better judgment. I didn't want to be the girlfriend that controlled him." She chuckled and looked at her hand, "his memory is defiantly going to live on, and Bailey, Jace, and I are not his only family. Not anymore that is." She looked at Bailey then the crowd. "We had a lot of nights together while Bailey was in the hospital. Some were sleepless and some weren't. I'm pregnant, with his baby."