Fire

Chapter 28

Distance relationships are often short-lived, no matter how strong and intense your love for the other person is, distance will always be a very big obstacle.  Victoria Hughes knew the moment she decided to secretly marry Ripley that their relationship would be put to the test.

At the small ceremony held in Ripley and Sullivan's hometown, only the couple Andy and Robert, and Ripley's sister, Jhenifer, were gathered.  Lucas would not give up the presence of his friend and his wife.  Victoria looked amazing in a white lace dress that made a stunning contrast to her skin and smile.  Lucas knew in that moment, more than ever, that she was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

Andy and Robert traveled with the pretext of their wife visiting her husband's hometown and so the group stayed together for a whole week.

When it came time to say goodbye, Vic promised to call Lucas every morning and before bed.  He promised exactly the same thing, because the rush of work for the two would be very difficult, but they were able to keep their promise.  The personal visit of the two happened every 2 months and unfortunately, Vic didn't use the ring in the conventional way so as not to raise doubts.  The ring was attached to a necklace she always wore under her uniform.  Ripley, on the other hand, could enjoy showing the thick ring around.

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Vic was living alone to have a little more privacy with her husband when he was in town.  This never stopped the constant visits to Pru.  She got ready to work while waiting for the morning call she always made with Lucas.

Vic was sitting with all of his teammates around the table having breakfast together but before they could finish, they were interrupted by the shrill noise of alarms ringing, calling them to work.  As fast as they could, they each ran to their post when Vic received a call from an unknown number, but from Montana.  She was confused as to why Lucas had changed his contact number for him-"Lucas, where's that number from?"  she asked in a hurry, dismissing any cordiality.

The voice on the other end of the line wasn't what she expected - "Hello, Ms. Hughes. This is the hospital in... Montana. I'm calling because you're Mr. Lucas Ripley's emergency number."

"What happened to him?"

"“Unfortunately, we can't talk much on the phone, but I can tell you that he had an accident at work and will undergo urgent surgery.  It would take a long time for you to get here to give authorization for the procedure, so I need a verbal confirmation.  "

"Yes…sure."  -Soon, the call ended.

At that moment it was as if Vic's world stopped spinning.  Her chest filled with anguish and being so far away from him, she couldn't do anything at that moment.  Andy had noticed Vic's sudden change- "Hey, Vic. What happened?"

"Lucas..." -was all she managed to answer.

"What happened to him?"  -Andy asked confused noticing Vic's concern, but before she could hear the answer, she heard Bishop calling- "Captain, we need to go."

Andy couldn't let Vic take the call with his mind scattered the way it was- "We will. You stay. Don't leave here alone and when we get back, we'll settle... It'll be fine, ok?" -Andy wishes I could. help somehow, but it wasn't possible so maybe if Vic heard from someone else that everything would be fine, it would help

The battalion had been called for the fire.  Robert was present.  At the team Andy mentioned or hinted at what was going on with Lucas.  Robert considered him his brother, and if he received such news, all his decision making ability would be undermined.  Lives were at stake and every possible attention was needed