Evening! I honestly didn't think I'd get this finished tonight - I'm notoriously terrible at regular updates but I am determined to update every other day so I managed to get it done. I hope it's okay - I'm aware that it seems terribly slow moving at the moment and it's pretty prose-y but I'm conscious not to rush the whole explosion part so that the distant aftermath flows a little better. A huge thanks to everybody who has reviewed and left messages and favourited this (as well as the wonderful Tumblr folk who've reblogged my links to it!) - it was a little unexpected but I'm absolutely over the moon with the reception this is getting. If you left a review I'll get round to thanking you personally by PM eventually. Anyway, enough rambling!

Much like stepping out of an aeroplane in a foreign country, Ethan regained consciousness to find the hall was basking in unbearable heat. Blinking drowsily, he coughed as the black smoke continued to circulate through the room, wincing as the effort caused sharp pains to radiate through his head. Muffled screams pierced the air, people crying for help with no idea if it was coming. Ethan felt numb, his mind foggy and with no recollection of where he was. Blinking through the dark smoke, he turned his head slowly and could just about make out a hand lying beside him, clutching a bridesmaid's bouquet; the meticulously chosen flowers wilting in the heat. He reached out, ignoring his own pain as he placed two fingers against the wrist. It was all he had in this moment, the only scrap of medical knowledge he could extract from his throbbing head, to simply check that the person's heart was beating. But there was nothing. The hand didn't move at his touch. Ethan knew what this meant.

Feeling sick, he felt an overwhelming urge to move away from the body beside him. Lifting his head up, he could see flames licking furiously at the other side of the hall but quickly threatening to engulf the entire venue. As a rush of adrenaline hit him he ignored his own groans of pain and pushed himself into sitting position, taking in the scene of destruction – through the thick black smoke all he could see was bodies, some of them screaming and straining at the rubble trapping them to the floor, just pinning them down to be burnt alive. Others were silent, fates accepted in miserable defeat or people already gone. Then he remembered – this was Zoe and Max's wedding. Amongst him lay the bride and groom, their families, their dear friends and faithful colleagues – all of their lives torn apart in an instant. The realisation that his brother and girlfriend lay in this room hit him like a ton of bricks and he almost leapt to his feet, ignoring the searing pain washing over his body. Wobbly on his feet at first, he didn't even know where to start with searching for the people he loved. The wails of pain all merged into one, beyond the point of recognition - Ethan suspected his eardrums had probably burst by the force of the explosion, the continuous ringing in his ears become a source of distraction alongside the fog of his brain.

Stepping through the piles of rubble, Ethan was cautious people lay underneath the debris. He needed to find a way out so he could call for help but, perhaps irrationally, he was reluctant to leave the building and as a result leave his loved ones behind.

"Ethan?" he jumped as he heard his named being called weakly, at first believing his was imagining it but turned in the direction of the noise as the voice repeated itself more insistently. Squinting into the distance as he remembered he no longer had his glasses with him, his body flooded with relief as he recognised the girl lay before him.

"Lily," he managed to cough out, his tone a mixture of anxiety and relief. Lily was sprawled out on the ground, a wound from her head bleeding profusely but thankfully not appearing to be trapped. He made his way over to the junior doctor, wincing as he kneeled by her side.

"Are you alright?" she asked at once, trying to stem the tears that Ethan could see brimming in her eyes. "What happened?"

"I'm okay, just try and keep still for now," he said placing his hands gently on her shoulders to steady her as he noticed her beginning to panic. "I think there must have been some kind of explosion." his breath caught as he remembered the moments before the explosion. "We smelt gas…" he tailed off as the panic began to rise again - "I can't find Honey or Cal."

"Okay," Lily took a deep breath, before coughing as she noticed the thick smoke in the air. She wiggled her fingers and toes experimentally before managing to push herself into sitting position, ignoring the concern written on Ethan's face.

"We need to see if help is coming Ethan," she exclaimed, almost tempted to snap her fingers in his face to bring him out of the daze he was stuck in.

"Ethan! Get yourself together," she said as he turned from observing the hall again to look straight at her.

"I'm going to see if I can get out and see what's going on and then I'll come straight back…look for Cal and Honey?" she said, more of a plead than a suggestion. She was terrified and her head hurt but she knew there was no good in both the doctors sitting as they were.

Ethan nodded in response, instantly looking better by having a focus. Reaching out to take his friends hand quickly, he looked her straight in the eye. "Please be careful."

Lily simply nodded, squeezing Ethan's hand before dropping it and getting to her feet. Ethan watched her, anxiety building in his stomach as he observed her battle through the rubble before losing sight of her amongst the thick smoke and flames. His attention was drawn almost immediately back to the debris strewn amongst him as he heard an almost inaudible groan underneath a pile of debris. Unsure if he was imagining the hint of recognition he had from hearing this particular noise, what he did know was that if Lily was found here than Cal had to be close by. The groans became louder and more insistent, and it was the obvious gasp for air from whoever was underneath that spurred Ethan into action. Feeling even dizzier than before, he worked tirelessly to pull the bits of ceiling from on top of the body. He was lying prone and was caked in dust but Ethan recognised the build of the man immediately. He could have collapsed with relief as his older brother coughed as he was freed and tried to move.

"Caleb, it's Ethan," he said calmly, trying to avoid sounding too happy to find his brother in such a state. He moved closer to the man, kneeling down so he could see Ethan's face. Ethan didn't miss the way that Cal instantly seemed to relax as he opened his eyes and recognised who had rescued him.

"Nibbles?" Cal murmured, "Legs hurt."

"Okay," Ethan muttered in response as his eyes moved towards his brothers legs. He suppressed a shocked gasp as he inspected the damage – any hope of Cal walking out of the hall himself was quickly gone. He was a mess, and Ethan had to close his eyes to stop the emotion of the situation overwhelming him. He was logical, that was what everybody always told him, so there had to be a way around this. He immediately considered carrying his brother out of the building but knew how very difficult that would be – Cal was a lot bigger than he was, not to mention moving him in such a way would be setting him up for spinal injury (and he wouldn't put it past his brother to sue him for any damage).

"Ethan, why has nobody come to help yet?" Cal managed, bringing Ethan out of his thoughts. Cal was forever the impatient one and Ethan almost laughed at the question.

"I don't know Cal," Ethan responded, "Lily went to see what was going on, hopefully help should be on the way. Just-" he stuttered, suddenly unsure of himself. "Just stay as still as you can."

"Are you alright?" Cal wheezed suddenly, and Ethan met his gaze in surprise. "Not…" he forced out breathlessly, the medical side of Ethan aware that Cal must have had some nasty chest injury as well as all of the damage to his legs, "Not injured?" Ethan reached out to shake the shoulder of the older man as he noticed his eyes fluttering closed.

"Stay awake Cal," he said urgently, giving his brother a tight smile as he tutted in irritation as his little brothers pestering. "But no, I'm fine."

"Is Honey alright?" Cal suddenly remembered the young barista, realising Ethan hadn't mentioned her.

"I can't find her-" Ethan started, his voice wobbling slightly. "There's just so much rubble and bodies everywhere and the smoke and it's so hot-"

"Ethan," Cal coughed as the smoke irritated his lungs, crying out as the effort jarred his ribs, but continued regardless. He thought he could hear sirens in the distance as he spoke but his sibling did not seem to register them and the noise was drowned out by the roar of the fire inching ever closer to the pair. "You need to look for her!" Feeling a wave of responsibility for his younger brother overtake him, he ignored the excruciating pain he was feeling and tried to think logically. "I know you're scared but this is important. Wherever you were before the explosion, start there."

Ethan nodded, though didn't seem to move. "Go! I'll be fine and I won't move my neck or whatever." At this his brother clambered to his feet and began to walk away. Cal listened to the crunches of his feet against the debris becoming ever more distant. Fatigue overtaking him as the searing heat of the fire crept closer to his helpless form, he closed his eyes and gave into unconsciousness. A gas explosion at the wedding in which you were best man – an interesting way to die, he supposed.

Another cliffhanger, I'm sorry! Will Ethan find Honey, and more importantly will she be found alive? Will Cal survive? Who knows? (Actually I do, but you'll have to wait for that!) See you all very soon :)