Disclaimer : I do not own any of the characters, or the show actually…^^

The cap…It was his cap…Andy would not believe it, she just couldn't. Her dad was not supposed to be on scene, he was supposed to be at the station, not saving their lives… That's why she simply looked up at Maya with sad eyes, full of unshed tears and, without saying anything, she turned around and walked straight to the chief's car. She walked with her brave face on, making sure not to make eye contact with Robert because she knew that if she did that, she would immediately break down.

Tears in their eyes or streaming down their faces, everyone watched her walk bravely…until she just collapsed. It seemed to switch something inside them and while all the firefighters who had been inside got checked out by the medics on scene, Captain Sullivan just ran to Andy, hoisting her up in his arms and onto the nearest gurney.

"Sir? Sir? Sir, you need to get checked too…" Robert did not know who said that but one thing he knew for sure is that he was not leaving Andy's side anytime soon. Someone pulled at his arm, but he didn't move. "Sir?" the person tried again.

"I'm not moving" he said. Consequently, someone checked him quickly and a few seconds later, Andy came to. She dared looking at Sullivan and, when she saw the tears in his eyes, all the sorrow and love pouring out of them, she almost broke down. Almost…She only let a few tears roll silently down her face, her eyes locked on her husband's.

"Andy, are you…?" Vic started, but she couldn't really finish her question, could she. What was she supposed to say? Ok? Of course, Andy was not ok, she just lost her dad, after almost dying in a burning building. So instead, Hughes turned to Sullivan. "What do we do now, chief?"

Robert snapped to and broke eye contact with Andy. "I…I'm not sure Hughes. Has someone else arrived to take over for us?"

"Not yet sir, I think Dixon is coming…Or so I heard…" answered Maya who had just arrived after talking to someone over the radio.

"Ok then, we'll let the other stations work on the fire, you guys go back to the station I'll wait here for Dixon to…" just as he was finishing his sentence, he saw Dixon talking quickly to his son, before making his way towards them. Though he knew they had to talk privately, Robert was not ready to leave Andy's side just yet, so he waited for Dixon.

"What the…What happened Sullivan?" asked Dixon when he was close enough to be heard.

"I'm not really sure, sir. I was inside the building, we were trapped, couldn't find the exit, lacking oxygen and then it just…stopped…I can't tell you more than that sir, but I'm sending 19 back to the station." answered Sullivan.

"We'll debrief later" then looking at Andy "I'm sorry for your loss Herrera." And with that he was gone.

"So…We're leaving sir?" Maya asked, not sure of what they were supposed to do now. She was still in shock after what she had just witnessed.

"Yes, I'll drive the car back, everyone in the truck…" the chief started.

"May I…I'm just…" Andy couldn't say more, so she just got up from the gurney and walked to the chief's car, after all that was her original plan.

After giving a few other orders to his team, Sullivan finally made his way to the car where Andy was silently waiting. He got in and drove off. After a minute or two, he grabbed her hand, not planning to let it go.

"He's dead" Andy said quietly. They had been sitting quietly for what seemed like hours, Sullivan knowing that it was up to her to break the silence.

"I know" he answered. "You don't have to act so brave, it's only you and me in here. No one can hear or see you."

"I have to show the rest of the team that we are a family, that we are strong together." She said "Thank you for being…" she continued, not sure what she really wanted to say.

"I love you, we'll get through this together" he answered, hoping his tone was conveying all his love, as well as a confidence he knew he did not really have at that moment. She didn't answer, but she turned to look at him with eyes full of sadness and love. She felt lost but deep down, she knew he was there for her, so she squeezed his hand and hoped he understood her. And he did, he made sure she got that by squeezing her hand back while kissing it gently.

They stayed hand in hand, until they finally arrived at the station a few minutes later. He parked the car and started to get out, but Andy was not moving so he turned to face her.

"Do you want to wait here? I'll grab a few things and…" he didn't get to finish because she interrupted. "No, I'm good. I…They…We all need to stay together…I think and…"

With that, she got out of the vehicle, and he followed knowing that he would have to be Chief instead of Robert for just a few more minutes.

When she arrived in the beanery, Andy thought that she would be able to face everyone, but when her eyes fell on her uncles, her friends, and she saw the sad looks they were giving her, it was almost too much. She tried to look away, but instead her eyes found the coffee cup his dad must have been using just before he left for the fire. It was way too much for her, so she bent her head and turned away, almost running to the bunks. She opened the door and slammed it before letting herself fall on the bed, letting out some of the grief that had been slowly consuming her since she saw that cap, his cap, on the truck.

Back in the beanery, no one dared talking. Well, that was until Vic broke the silence, "So he really did it…He saved all of us…He…" she started crying then, really crying. Travis guided her to the nearest chair, grabbing one for him as well, so that he could comfort her…or maybe himself, he didn't really know.

"Maybe I should…" started Maya, walking slowly in the same direction that Andy had been just a few minutes before. "No! You're not going to talk to her" Gibson said, grabbing her wrist. Maya looked at his hand, the one that was gently gripping her wrist, then back at his face, silently begging Jack to let her go. "No" he said, "She will blame you, she just needs to be alone, for now, and you and I both know it." Maya knew he was right, so she walked back to the table, Jack following right behind her.

The whole team was lost in thought when Captain Sullivan joined them.

"Is it time for debrief chief ?" asked Maya.

"No…I debriefed with the higher ups, we decided to leave you to it for tonight. We will be debriefing tomorrow morning though. Today, it's all about grief and family." As he was talking, Robert looked around at all the members of his team, and of course Herrera's friends who were still here to support them. He made eye contact with everyone, to show them that he was part of this family, to show silent support to each and every one of them, to show that they were all in this together. He rapidly saw that one person was missing, to him, it was the most important one. "Where's Andy?"

"She left sir" Vic answered. "Where? Where did she go?"

"I suppose bunks…Well, she went that way…"

He acknowledged her answer with a single nod and went in the direction Vic gave him. No one dared stopping him. They did not what was exactly going on between Andy and Sullivan, but right now, they knew it was pointless to speculate, so they just let them be.

Guided by the sound of sobs, Sullivan opened the door to the room where Andy was and his heart broke even more when he saw his wife curled up on the bed, sobbing as quietly as she could. He sat next to her and rubbed her back, letting her decide what kind of comfort she needed.

They stayed like that a few minutes, until Andy finally sat up next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. That movement allowed him to put his arm fully around her, pulling her closer to his side. He rested his head on top of her, softly kissing the top her head.

"I…I think I want to go home. I love them…The team, I love them, but I just…I…" she was getting overwhelmed again, tears threatened to come back and her chest tightened and she was beginning to find it hard to breathe, "I…can't….I…"

"Shh, it's ok. You don't have to face them just yet" Sullivan gently whispered in her ear. At that, Andy looked up at him, with a slight sad smile. That's why she loved him so much. He got her. It seemed like he (almost) always knew what she needed, especially when she was so lost and unsure of herself and didn't know what she was supposed to do.

She got up and outstretched her hand so that he could grab it. He did of course, and he held her hand the whole way to the beanery. Just before entering he stopped, which made her look questioningly at him. He motioned their locked hands, and she just shrugged. He understood it was her way of saying "Whatever I don't care, they can think whatever they want, I just need you.", so he kept holding her hand.

When they entered the beanery, he felt her hesitate, he knew she didn't want to let go of all her grief and sadness in front of everyone. Feeling a bit lost, Andy looked at Robert for advice. With his head, he pointed in direction of the exit, silently telling her to go wait in the car. She nodded, turned around to address a small smile to the team, and without a word, went down the stairs.

"I'm driving her home we will all meet here tomorrow. You can stay here…or go home, whatever works for you."

"Where?" asked Gibson. "What do you mean where?" Sullivan was not sure what he was supposed to answer. "Where are you driving her?". Looking Jack in the eyes, he simply said, "Home". He turned around and followed Andy's path to the car.

She was waiting for him in the car, eyes shut, head resting against the headrest. She looked so broken so sad and tired…He climbed in the driver's seat and drove off, holding her hand the whole drive back to his…no, their house.

They were silent the whole ride home, and they were still silent when they got into the house. Andy was lost in her own thoughts, but soon understood that she just felt numb. She was not sure she wanted to let go of the hold she was trying to keep on her emotions, but smelling the familiar scent of the house, feeling Sullivan guiding her every move…It just calmed her, and told her that it was ok to let go.

Robert guided her to the bathroom so that she could shower, and he was about to leave when he heard her small, scared voice, "Don't go". He looked into her pleading eyes and just like that, he helped her undress, took off his clothes and followed her in the shower. He wrapped his arms around her, and she let go. With the water running on her skin and the warm embrace of her husband, Andy finally cried. No, she sobbed in Robert's arms while he whispered sweet nothings to reassure her. When the water ran almost cold, he turned off the shower and wrapped them in a towel. Andy was leaning so heavily on him that he decided to carry her to their bed. His leg was not really ok with the action, but he didn't care. She was what mattered right now. He sat her on the bed, grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of boxers and handed them to her. They both got dressed silently, both lost in their own heads. Then, Andy sat back down on the edge of the bed while Robert picked up the discarded towels to hang them in the bathroom. He did say he was a neat freak… And it was his way of coping.

When he returned to the bedroom, Andy hadn't moved. Just when he thought it was not possible, his heart broke even more, so he pushed back the comforter and said "Andy, come to bed." She looked at him and nodded. She crawled up to the head of the bed, and he helped her settle. He then slipped under the covers and waited for her. She did not hesitate. She curled up around him, as close as humanly possible, head on his chest, a leg around his hips. Robert thought she looked like a koala, as sad as the situation was, it was cute. Leaning his head against the headboard, he closed his eyes, reliving today's events. He just wanted to cry and let his own grief out, but he knew he had to be strong for her.

"Let it all out Andy."

"I can't…I feel empty…Those tears are falling but I just feel numb." She said in an unusually small voice.

"It's ok though. You don't have to hide from me."

"I know" she could hear the pain in his voice, so she added, "You do know it's ok for you to cry too, right?"

"I do, but it's all about you tonight."

"And I love you, I want to be here for you too."

"You are, we're here, together…" As he said that, he let a few tears fall, and Andy could hear it. She looked up at him, put a hand on the side of his face and swiped a tear with her thumb. She then leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his lips. He responded gently to her kiss. It was short and sweet and exactly what they needed in that moment. A simple reassurance that they did not lose everything, in all this sad mess, they still had each other. After a few small kisses, Andy could feel her chest tightened again, and just when she thought that she had no more tears to cry, she let out a sob. Robert made her resume her previous position and he cuddled her, holding her tight in his arms.

"You're ok, we're ok. You're not alone, we'll get through this together. I'm not leaving you, ever. We're married and that's forever, and we'll always have each other, and he was ok with it. It's all going to work out because we're in this together. I love you so very much." He kept repeating those words softly, just loud enough for her to hear.

And she heard it all, she could also hear the tears in his voice and knew he was trying very hard to control his own sadness. She hugged him tighter to her, her hand having a tight grip on his shirt. She held onto him and onto his words as hard as she could because it seemed like they were the only things she had left. She was so tired, so sad… She listened to his words and to his heartbeat, and the combination of the two somehow helped her calm down, and as she was succumbing to sleep, she knew that at some point, she would be fine, because she was with the only person grounding her to the real world while she just felt lost. She once told him that he was her safe place…And he was proving her right. Robert Sullivan was the safest place Andy Herrera had, and it was the only place where she would ever want to be.