"EDDIE!" he screamed out viscerally, transfixed by the fireball explosion that surely must have just extinguished her life right in front of him. The anguish that gripped his heart like a vice was too much. He crumbled to the ground with tears in his eyes, tormented by the thought of finally having her as his own for just two short days- the love of his life, his future, his everything- only to lose her like this. He couldn't even keep his vow to her after two days of making it. If you fall behind, I'll wait up…

But she was right behind him, wasn't she? She said she was! She must just be trapped, right by the doorway! He had to get to her! Maybe he already broke one vow, but he was not about to break another…I'll be your cavalry.

With renewed strength, he rose from the ground, shouting her name over and over as he ran toward the burning doorway.

"Hey! You can't go in there!" Strong arms held him back.

"The HELL I can! My fiancé's in there!" he pushed the firefighter off him with a sudden brute force that came from the adrenaline rush.

"HEY! Knock it off! I said you can't go in there! It's not safe! It's too late!" the firefighter caught him again and held him back. "IT'S TOO LATE!"

Jamie was not ready to hear that. No one was going to tell him it was too late to save Eddie. He was not going to let anything stand in his way. Without hesitation, Jamie freed his arm and swung it around hard to firmly smack his fist into the firefighter's face.

Within seconds, five more firefighters swooped in and grabbed Jamie to try to hold him down, but he just kept swinging. It quickly escalated into an all-out brawl, and several men got punched in the stomach by Jamie while Jamie took a few solid hits as well.

"STOP! STOP IT! JAMIE STOP IT! I'M RIGHT HERE! I'M OKAY!"

Were his ears playing tricks on him? That sounded like Eddie's voice. He lifted his head to look up and saw her stumbling towards him, out of breath and covered in ash and bloody cuts and burns. She put herself in the middle of the fighting men, trying to get them all to let up. "STOP…" she wheezed and coughed, and finally collapsed to the ground as everyone stopped their fighting to focus on her.

"EDDIE?" Jamie shrieked. He dropped to the ground next to her just as her eyes drooped closed. He frantically found her pulse, but when he put his ear up to her mouth and nose, he panicked. "She's not breathing!" He immediately started chest compressions.

The firefighters just stood there watching. "Damn it, I said she's not breathing! HELP HER!" he barked at them with wild eyes as he continued with CPR. The men finally broke out into action and gathered a gurney and an oxygen mask, shoving Jamie out of the way as they went to work on her and then loaded her onto a nearby bus that had pulled up.

Jamie jumped in the back and grabbed Eddie's hand and held on for dear life.

Staring at her in the hospital bed as she rested, he hated seeing the gash in her head and all of the gauze bandages that carefully covered her first and second-degree burns on her arms and face. The doctor assured him she was going to be just fine, now that they had her breathing under control from the smoke inhalation. The burns and cuts would heal in time, but Jamie's heart was forever wounded. His inability to keep her safe would eat at him forever.

Eddie breathed out a sigh and rolled her head to the side. She opened her eyes, surprised to see Jamie staring back at her.

"Hi," she gasped before clearing her throat.

He reached up a hand to caress her face and gave her a slight smile. "Hi," he answered back. He moved to kiss her forehead. "I'm so sorry I left you behind."

"You didn't," she shook her head. "I'm just glad you got out okay."

Jamie took in a deep breath. "I'm not okay, Eddie. Not when you get hurt. I can't-"

"Hey, I'm fine. We're fine," she interrupted, taking his hand in hers and squeezing.

"I'm afraid I screwed it up for us. They're forcing us to work different precincts."

"I'm not surprised. When are you going to learn you can't punch everyone out when it comes to protecting me, Jamie?" she actually giggled.

"You're laughing about this?" he admonished her a bit harshly.

"Jamie, come on," she reasoned. "That strong desire for both of us to stay together as partners is real, I mean look at how long we've held onto that, to the point of brushing off a personal relationship for years. Believe me, I wanted it to work out. I want to be your partner. But I can't come between you and your father. I don't like that you two aren't talking right now, especially when I'm trying to make a good impression on your family. And after today…I'm afraid I have to side with him. He's right. It's just too hard to separate our feelings for each other from the job. It's not safe or healthy for either of us."

"Eddie…"

"It had to happen at some point anyway. We can't ride together for the rest of our lives. I mean, what happens when we have kids? If something bad happened to both of us on the job, they could be orphaned."

"Geez, Eddie," Jamie shuddered, not being able to stand the thought.

She kissed his hand. "It's going to be fine - being separated on the job. Trust me. I'm really okay with it. I think it will be healthy for our relationship. It will just make our time together at home even more special."

Home. How he just wanted to take her home. To lay with her in bed and hold her. For the rest of his life. "I love you," Jamie fiercely whispered.

"And I love you."