15. Becky

15

BECKY

T he high-pitched wail of sirens pierced the humid night air as Becky gripped the steering wheel, her knuckles white. The fire engine rumbled beneath her, its tires slapping against the wet pavement as they sped toward the scene. Her radio crackled with updates, but all Becky could hear was the steady thrum of her own heartbeat in her ears. The details had been sparse—multiple vehicle pile-ups on the interstate, semi-trucks involved, numerous casualties—but it was enough to send a shiver down her spine.

“ETA, two minutes!” shouted Carter from the passenger seat, her eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of the wreckage.

Becky grunted in response, her mind already racing with the checklist of tasks that would need to be handled the moment they arrived. She was Chief Thompson right now, and she needed to stay sharp, focused. No room for error. Not after what happened last time. She couldn’t afford another mistake.

But deep down, Becky couldn’t shake the gnawing feeling in her gut. Lucinda’s hospital was the closest facility to the crash site, and that meant she’d likely be there. Becky wasn’t ready to see her—not like this, not in the middle of a disaster.

The radio crackled again. "We’ve got confirmed fatalities," a voice reported from one of the first responders on the scene. "And multiple critical injuries."

“Damn it,” Becky muttered under her breath. She knew it was bad, but hearing it confirmed always hit harder. She slammed her foot on the gas, urging the engine faster.

Moments later, the wreckage appeared on the horizon like a scene from a nightmare. Flames licked the sky from several vehicles, casting an eerie glow on the twisted metal scattered across the highway. A semi-truck lay on its side, its cargo—a pile of lumber—spilled across the road, pinning several smaller vehicles beneath it. EMTs and police officers were already on site, trying to make sense of the chaos, but it was clear they were overwhelmed.

Becky’s engine screeched to a halt, and she jumped out before the truck had fully stopped. Her crew followed, leaping into action as she barked orders.

“Carter, get the foam on those fires! We need containment now!” Becky shouted, her voice cutting through the noise. “Knight, help the EMTs with triage! We need a headcount of the survivors!”

The rain had started to fall, a slow drizzle that only added to the tension. Becky yanked on her helmet, her heart pounding. She could feel the adrenaline surging through her veins as she jogged toward the nearest vehicle, a mangled sedan that had been crushed beneath the semi. A young woman sat inside, barely conscious, her face streaked with blood.

“We need the Jaws over here!” Becky yelled to the team, kneeling beside the car. “Hold on, ma’am. We’re gonna get you out.”

The woman’s eyes fluttered open for a moment, fear and confusion etched on her face. Becky reached through the shattered window, gently gripping her hand. “You’re gonna be okay. We’re here now.”

But as Becky surveyed the wreckage, she realized how bad it truly was. Dozens of cars were scattered across the highway, many of them piled on top of one another like discarded toys. Some were burning, others overturned, and people were trapped in almost every vehicle. It was the kind of scene she’d seen only a handful of times in her career, and it never got easier.

"Chief!" Carter's voice rang out from behind her. "We've got someone pinned under the truck. We need help over here!"

Becky turned, her stomach dropping as she followed Carter to the semi-truck. The lumber had shifted, crushing two smaller cars beneath its weight. From where she stood, she could see the pale face of a man trapped beneath the wreckage, his leg pinned under a log that had fallen from the trailer.

Becky gritted her teeth. "We need a crane or something to lift this load. We can’t pull him out without risking further injury."

Carter nodded, already calling it in, but Becky knew it would take time—time the man didn’t have .

As she walked away scanning the scene, Becky’s eyes landed on a figure moving swiftly through the wreckage. Even with the rain falling steadily and the smoke billowing from the wreckage, she recognized her immediately—Lucinda.

Her breath caught in her throat.

Her name rang in Becky’s head, a familiar and painful echo. She hadn’t seen Lucinda since they’d parted ways months ago—, since Lucinda and Becky had talked outside of the hospital. Becky had certainly been avoiding any contact with her.

But now, Lucinda would be here, in the middle of all this wreckage and heartbreak. Of course, the hospital would send her. Lucinda Everett was the best, and when it came to trauma, she never faltered.

Becky swallowed hard, forcing the emotions down like she always did. There wasn’t time for this. There wasn’t time to think about the hurt, the unanswered questions, or the way her heart still stuttered at the thought of Lucinda.

She had a job to do.

Becky moved toward the fire crew at the semi, barking orders to the officers standing around, trying to focus on the task at hand. She directed traffic, coordinated extraction efforts, and helped paramedics where she could. But as each minute passed, she felt Lucinda’s presence getting closer, a magnetic pull that she couldn’t shake.

Lucinda emerged from the back of an ambulance, her expression calm but intense. She was wearing her scrubs under a thick jacket, a stethoscope hanging around her neck as she took in the scene with those sharp, assessing eyes Becky knew so well. They caught on hers, and they seemed to look right through her.

Lucinda always looked composed in these moments, but Becky could tell there was more going on beneath the surface. She recognized the tightness around her jaw, the way her eyes flicked back and forth as she took in the scope of the disaster. Even now, months after everything had ended, Becky could read her like a book.

She wished she couldn’t.

Lucinda walked up to Becky, already piecing together a plan in her head. Becky gave her a rough assessment.

“I’ll start triage over there,” Lucinda said, pointing toward the semi-truck. “Get me a team of EMTs.”

Becky nodded, unsure of how many people would be available to help. “I’ll get you what I can. We’re stretched thin, but I’ll make it work.”

Lucinda’s team quickly set up a triage station, and she moved with purpose, directing her staff, assessing patients, and calling for the supplies she needed. It was like watching a conductor lead an orchestra—everything perfectly in sync, every decision made with the kind of confidence Becky had always admired.

And now, here they were, thrown back together in the middle of chaos, forced to work side by side again, even though the wound between them had never fully healed.

"Chief, we’ve got another critical case!" one of the paramedics called, pulling Becky out of her thoughts.

Becky ran toward the paramedics, forcing herself to focus. As she approached the crumpled vehicle they were working on, Lucinda was already there, leaning into the shattered window to check the pulse of the driver. Her voice was calm, but there was urgency in her movements.

"He’s unconscious, likely internal bleeding. We need to get him out now," Lucinda said, not looking up from her patient. "Can you get the door open? "

Becky nodded, motioning to one of the firefighters with the extraction tools. They moved quickly, prying the door off with a screech of twisted metal. As soon as it was clear, Lucinda reached in, stabilizing the man’s neck as she checked his vitals again.

Becky moved to help, her hands brushing against Lucinda’s for just a second. The contact was brief, but it was enough to send a shock through Becky’s system, a reminder of everything they had been and everything they had lost.

"Careful," Lucinda murmured, her voice low but firm. "He’s got a broken clavicle. We can’t risk moving him too fast."

Becky nodded, falling into step beside her. They worked perfectly, each movement deliberate, and each instruction followed without hesitation. It was like muscle memory; the way they fit together, professionally at least, was still seamless.

They pulled the man from the wreckage, carefully lowering him onto the stretcher. Lucinda immediately began stabilizing him, her hands steady as she assessed the severity of his injuries. Becky hovered nearby, ready to assist, but also watching Lucinda, unable to stop herself from noticing how in control she was, how calm she remained even in the face of catastrophe.

For a moment, Becky allowed herself to remember what it had been like to stand beside Lucinda, both in and out of the chaos. She remembered the nights they’d spent together, wrapped in each other’s arms, Lucinda’s walls finally crumbling down just enough for Becky to see the woman behind the armor.

But those memories were fleeting, like ghosts that haunted her, never staying long enough to hold on to.

Once the patient was loaded into the ambulance, Lucinda turned to Becky, wiping a smudge of dirt from her forehead. There was a moment of silence between them—too much time had passed, too many words left unsaid. The tension simmered just beneath the surface, but neither of them dared acknowledge it. Not yet.

"You’ve still got it," Becky said, her voice gruff but soft.

Lucinda’s lips twitched, a brief flicker of a smile. "So do you."

Before either of them could say more, the sound of metal groaning against asphalt shattered the moment. Becky saw it tumbling down towards Lucinda. Her heart stopped. her body moved.

“Get back!” Becky shouted, grabbing Lucinda’s arm and pulling her away from the danger.

Lucinda stumbled into her body as Becky's hands kept her steady.

Her hands skimmed over Lucinda's arms before snatching them away or before Lucinda could shrug out of her grasp.

“Are you okay?” Becky's heart pounded in her ears. That was too fucking close. She needed to send Lucinda back to the hospital. She shouldn't be out here.

“Yeah. I’m fine.” Her voice was steady as she glanced down at the hand Becky didn't notice had reached back out for Lucinda.

Becky pulled away once again. "We’ve got to move. More vehicles are at risk of collapsing.”

Hours later, when the last of the victims had been transported and the wreckage was finally being cleared, Becky found herself standing by the side of the road. The adrenaline had worn off, leaving her exhausted, physically and emotionally .

She leaned against the hood of a discarded car, rubbing a hand over her face. It had been a long day, one of the worst she’d seen in a while, but it wasn’t just the crash that weighed on her. It was Lucinda.

Becky heard footsteps approaching, and when she looked up, Lucinda was standing there, her arms crossed over her chest. She looked just as tired as Becky felt.

"Hi," Lucinda said, her voice softer now, the edge from earlier gone.

"Hey," Becky replied, unsure of what to say.

They stood in silence for a moment, the day's chaos finally fading into the background. Becky could feel the tension between them, the unspoken words that lingered, waiting to be said.

"I…," Lucinda started, then paused, biting her lip. She looked away, her usual confidence faltering. "I’ve been thinking a lot."

Becky’s heart clenched. She had been waiting for this conversation for weeks, but now that it was here, she wasn’t sure she was ready. "About what?"

"About us." "Yeah?" Becky said, keeping her voice steady.

Lucinda took a deep breath, her gaze finally meeting Becky’s. "I messed up. I thought I could keep everything in control, but I couldn’t. I thought pushing you away was the right thing to do because I didn’t know how to…I don't know! How to let go? How to let you in? How to let you help me? But…"

Becky flexed her fingers, the vulnerability in Lucinda’s voice cutting through her like a knife.

She continued, "I miss you so fucking much. I've never missed anyone like this before. I haven't given anyone a second thought, but you have consumed me. I'm sorry for shutting you out. I...Jesus." Lucinda rubbed her face, smearing dirt on her cheeks. "I got scared that I wouldn't be able to control every little thing that happened between us. I didn't want you to eventually find out I'm some cold-hearted bitch, even though I know you never thought that in the first place." She sighed. "I want...I need you, Becky. I'm sorry."

Becky couldn't quite believe what her ears were hearing. This was everything she had wanted Lucinda to say. All Becky had wanted was for Lucinda to talk to her. To rely on her.

"You don’t have to do everything alone, Lucinda," Becky said softly, taking a step closer. "You never had to. "

Lucinda’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears, and for the first time, she didn’t try to hide them.

"I don’t know if I’m ready," Lucinda whispered, her voice shaking slightly. "But I know I don’t want to keep running."

Becky reached out, gently taking Lucinda’s hand. It was a small gesture, but it felt like a step toward something bigger.

"You don’t have to," Becky said quietly, her thumb brushing against Lucinda’s knuckles. "We’ll take our time. I'll actually take you out on a date instead of kissing you in my office. We'll do things however you need to as long as you keep me in the loop."

Lucinda’s fingers tightened around Becky’s, and for the first time in months, Becky felt a flicker of hope.

"Okay," Lucinda said into Becky's coat. Her voice was fragile.

Lucinda pressed her face into Becky's shoulder. Becky's arms wrapped around her, her heart no longer empty from Lucinda's absence.

Maybe they could find their way back to each other. Maybe, just maybe, they could start again.