Lessons in Humility

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: Here we are. Enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 28 (Go In Peace)

"So the newest member of the station gets first bite of Jack's famous chili," said the Captain as he placed a bowl of chili before her. Tori eyed the chili hungrily, but with caution. She'd heard the others talk about how hot the chili was, and she wasn't a big fan of spicy foods like her sister was.

"I could go all day without eating something too spicy," she said with a laugh while lifting up her spoon. Her crew gathered around the table, each grinning wide while Jack stood with his hands closed at his waist. She brought a spoonful of chili towards her lips and blew on it carefully. "But I've never been one to turn down food."

She leaned back, smirking while looking at her fellow firefighters. Her eyes travelled towards the Captain. "So Mark, how are your kids?" The Captain smirked back, recognizing her game.

"They're doing well, thank you. Don't let your chili go cold."

"I wouldn't dare." She laughed. "You know, I'm still not the best cook. If you ever want me to cook for the station, you might have to help."

"We'll keep that in mind; but in the meantime, eat your chili." She nodded, her eyes drifting down to the spoon. The spoonful was probably cooled down enough to where it wouldn't be as spicy as it could be. She was aware of the many hot peppers and juices put into it. With careful precision, she raised the spoon and smelt of the food.

"Smells wonderful." She pushed the spoon through her lips and licked the food off it. She chewed the meat for a few seconds and her eyes watered a tad before she swallowed the hot bite. It tasted like fire travelling across her tongue and down her throat, leaving a trail of burnt taste buds in its wake.

It was something her sister wouldn't be able to get enough of. Still, Tori enjoyed it more than she suspected. "There's a sweetness to it too," she remarked astonishingly. "What is it?" She looked to Jack in askance and he smiled back at her.

"I added a little chocolate to give it a little bit of balance. Not much, but just enough."

"It's really good." She took another spoonful and raised it to her lips as the rest of the crew started to take their seats at the table with their own chili bowls. "Thank you for making it."

"You're welcome." Jack took a seat. "How is your sister, by the way? You said she's been pretty busy with her kid."

"She's trying. Rachel is still pretty quiet, but she seems to enjoy being around her mother."

"Sounds like she's just shy. Or nervous, perhaps." Tori responded with a nod and took another bite of chili. It would be a process, of course. Rachel loved her new home, but was understandably nervous about the new situation. After all, knowing that Trina was her actual mother was something she was still wrapping her mind around. The child had questions, but she didn't appear to resent Trina in any way.

"I think our spending time with her at the orphanage for a while really helped, actually. She'd probably be more anxious and withdrawn otherwise. The girl's doing well, she has a really good support group-my sister too." All of their friends were trying to take an active role in their lives, even bringing their children around.

Then Andre provided something else that Tori hoped would grow, a male role model who came around often enough. She didn't know the full extent of the relationship, but was grateful for how close he and Trina appeared to be.

"How about you? You ever call that guy yet?"

She perked up, her eyebrows rising. "Ian?" The others nodded and she let out a whimsical sigh. "Well yeah. Phone usually rings about three times, then goes over to the answering machine. So, I just haven't gotten ahold of him yet, been too nervous to leave a message. Don't know what I'd even say to him."

"Try 'hi'." She heard the man chuckle, but there was a wisdom to what he was saying. She smiled gently and closed her eyes.

"I think I can manage that." It didn't have to be a big deal, all she needed was to say hello and go from there. "Maybe I'll do that later."

The captain shrugged. "Why not do it right now? Might as well." She arched her eyebrow and he cleared his throat away. "How's he going to know who's calling if you don't leave a message, huh?"

"I just-"

"He's a man, he's not going to make a big deal out of an old friend calling after him, especially if he's been told by one of your friends to expect it." This was true, he probably wasn't sitting by the phone waiting for her to call. He had a life, so it wasn't something he would be worrying about of fretting over like she might do.

Those days were over, though. She was pledging herself to live life in each moment and no more worrying about every little thing or looking back over her shoulder constantly. "Okay." She set down her spoon and picked up a napkin nearby. "Okay sure." She wiped her mouth and got up to walk to the lockers. "I'll call him right now. No fear."

"You're a firefighter, you can have fears, but you can't let them get in the way."

She laughed and nodded. "So true." She pulled the phone from her locker and gripped it firmly in her hand. Biting down on her lip, she studied the screen. Her heart was pounding, and part of her prayed they would have a call before she could dial his number.

"Come on," the crew urged, "Make the call, Vega." She lifted her head and sighed as they began a chant. "Call him, call him, call him!"

"Jesus," she whispered. Hastily she dialed Ian's number, seemingly from memory, and put the phone on speaker just to prove she was actually making the call. She walked carefully over to the table. The phone grew heavier in her hand as each of her team studied her with deafening silence.

The phone rang once and she looked to the alarm bell, holding back a groan. A second ring rang out and she turned her head as the Captain filled his bowl with more chili. A third ring came and Tori sucked in a deep breath. There was a click and the voicemail picked up, she held her breath and resisted the urge to hang up.

"Hello," Ian's voicemail answered, "You've reached Ian Dennison. Unfortunately, I can't come to the phone right now, I am most likely working on papers or driving. If you're a telemarketer, I'm not interested. Please leave your name and number so I can call you back." There was a brief pause, then Tori heard her name, which caused her heart to skip. "If this is Tori, I haven't forgotten about you. I look forward to hearing from you…"

She could see the grins flashing on the faces of those around her, they wanted to hoot and holler, but they were clearly holding back.

There was a beep and her hand began to tremble. The Captain nudged her ribs and she let out a heavy grunt. "H-Hi, Ian. This is Tori," she answered almost breathlessly. "Call me when you have a chance…" After leaving her phone number, she hung up without a further word. Her voice had been quivering enough, and she felt like it would break apart if she continued talking-or if she continued to talk, she feared not being able to stop.

"There!" The captain proclaimed. "That wasn't so hard, now was it?" She shot him a glare, then a smile spread across her face. Just as she returned her phone to the locker, the alarm bells went off. With a heavy sigh, she dropped her forehead to the locker. "Well, better late than never. Let's get going."

The call wasn't for a house fire, thankfully. Tori didn't care much for those, though preferred them to whole office or business fires. She hadn't lost anyone yet, but knew to expect that there would be times where she wouldn't be able to save somebody. She was terrified of that day coming, but knew she had a good support group of seasoned firefighters there to help her through.

She loved her station crew, they treated her like family and didn't hold her back just because she was new.

Already she was able to put her personal life on hold during moments like these. When going into a burning building, or a scene where they were needed, someone had to put aside whatever was going on in their life and focus on the task at hand.

They approached the scene of a car crash on the freeway. Sirens flashed all around her, the police were forming roadblocks and the paramedics were on route to the scene. "What's the situation?" She asked while hopping out of the car and joining Captain Mark Leland.

"Multiple car pileup, about five, eleven total occupants."

Tori took in the situation, studying those nearby. There were six people sitting in the shoulder, blankets wrapped around them. This left five within the vehicles. One car, a convertible, had been totaled and was on its side. Tori's heart sank when she saw a female driver with long blonde hair, soaked in blood. The woman's pale skin was almost unrecognizable. She had a seatbelt on, but it was hard to tell if she survived the crash.

Another car nearby had damage on the back end, but a broken windshield. Its driver lay motionless about five feet in front. "No seatbelt," she whispered sadly. The Captain nodded slowly and Tori shook her head. She could smell burning gas in the air and looked around for a source while the crew went to work.

A truck had been involved in the collision and had two occupants still inside. They were unconscious. As her crew got to work pulling them out, they noted signs of life. She clicked her tongue and put her hands on her hips.

She'd always thought chances of survival in a car were greater in a truck or van as opposed to a car. As evidenced by both the driver who'd been thrown out and the woman in her convertible.

Nearby, she heard one of the occupants crying about her child. She turned her head and furrowed her brow. "My baby's still in the van," the woman wailed, "My baby!" Her eyes snapped over to the van, which had been in the middle of the entire wreckage. Her heart stopped when she saw the gas leaking and pooling around it.

Inside, a child of about six years thrashed about. "Captain!" She ran for the van and the captain turned to look. "There's a kid in the van, still." She got a better look once she was able to get closer, and noted the child was pinned between the seats. Her eyes grew wide and she looked over her shoulder, shouting at the top of her lungs. "Jaws of life! We need the jaws! He's between the seats."

"Shit." The Captain rushed to the truck and came back with the tools. Several of the crew came to aid them as they set it up. A fire was beginning to start, so Tori pushed harder and reached her arms around the young child.

"They said one day I would lose someone," Tori thought to herself. She grit her teeth and the child draped his arms around her neck. "Today will not be that day." As they continued to push the seats apart and cut away at the surrounding area, Tori pulled the child away from the wreckage.

Turning around, clutching the child close, she saw the mother standing with her hand to her chest. Her husband had a hand over his mouth, and their teenage daughter hurried forward, her arms outstretched and reaching for her little brother. Smiling from ear to ear, Tori let the girl hold her sibling before the paramedics took him.

Feeling a heavy sense of pride, Tori returned to work, helping to secure any other passengers and try to keep a control on any fires that were starting. At the end of the day, she stood by the Captain, listening to the loss of life.

It wasn't as bad as she feared. The woman in the convertible and the man who'd been thrown from his vehicle didn't survive, unfortunately. The occupants of all other vehicles did survive. The young child she pulled from the wreckage had a crushed leg, but he would survive.

"Great work out there today." The Captain pat her on the shoulder and smiled as she made eye contact with him.

"Thank you, Captain."

"Go home, get some rest, and we'll see you back tomorrow."

"Same great time, same great place." She chuckled for a moment and gave a quick nod.

Before heading home, she joined her friends at the cemetery nearby. They wanted to wait for all the drama to die down before coming out. They moved in silence through the rows of headstones until stopping before a polished white gravestone with fresh words written on it.

Erwin Sikowitz

Beside his grave was another, slightly older and worn, but the lettering still strong and vibrant as ever.

Jason Tyler

Jade wrapped her arm around Beck's waist and set her head on his shoulder. Robbie and Cat stood, their hands clasped together in front of their waist. They all stood to Tori's left. Andre stood to her right, studying the graves with sobriety.

Trina was there, her eyes misty as she cupped a hand over her mouth and closed her gaze. She stood on the other side of Andre and he reached up to rub her back. Rachel knelt before the graves, placing a rose on each.

The child studied the grave of her father, her fingers caressing the words slowly.

For a moment, Tori thought she saw them. Mr. Sikowitz and Jason, standing with their arms around the other's shoulders, gazing down with pride at all of them. Tears fell from her eyes as she looked to them, believing she was seeing a pair of angels ready to ascend to the heavens together.

Not so far away, Tori spotted another person standing before a grave. He was a familiar face, an old friend. Sinjin. He was balding, he had a handlebar moustache and goatee. He wore a biker jacket and long black jeans. Near him was a Harley motorcycle. He looked as though he'd aged a considerable amount, his face weary from exhaustion. As far as she knew, he lived many states away.

It was the end of an era for him as well. Like so many, alive and deceased. She gently nudged Cat and whispered while motioning towards him. "He's visiting Courtney…" Cat nodded silently.

"I kept his facebook. He's travelled through all the states, but never came back to California or LA since the fire…" She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, remembering what Courtney's greatest wish had been.

Courtney was, like Ian, one of her friends from Sherwood. She practically grew up with the girl. She was always talking about how before she died, she wanted to travel through all fifty states, to see every landmark and historic site that there was to see.

"He was fulfilling her last dream…Came back for the trial, laid her to rest." She glanced back to the graves near them. "Like we're doing." She knelt down beside Rachel, who looked up at her for a few seconds before leaning against her.

Gazing at Jason's grave, she whispered softly. "They'll be okay. I'll look after them now, you can rest." Trina could rest as well. Tori knew how much that girl sacrificed for her, trying to be her own guardian angel from childhood and onward; now she had someone else to look after. "Goodbye Jason." She placed a flower beside Rachel's and gingerly caressed the side of Jason's grave. "Go in peace with your uncle, he's been holding on long enough. We'll all be okay…"

They stayed for another hour almost before driving off their separate ways. Tori didn't know what lay ahead for her, but she was glad to feel for the first time that good things were on the horizon for her.

Once she made it home, she changed into her evening wear and removed a TV dinner from the freezer. She put it in the microwave, then turned towards her sink to wash her hands. After a minute, she placed her hands down on the countertop on each side of the sink and gazed out at the rest of her apartment.

Taking a deep breath, she looked at a mirror she hung on the wall in the living area. This time, she saw her own reflection looking back, not appearing any different than she did in that moment. With a confident smile she drew out an exhale. She knew exactly who she was, and who she wanted to be.

She was Victoria Vega: Firefighter, Aunt, and friend. Maybe one day she would be a wife and a mother, then a grandmother; but until then, she was right where she wanted to be.

The microwave beeped, so she removed the dinner, flipped the meat and put it back in for a bit longer.

While it cooked, she walked around towards her television and turned it on. The news was playing. She cocked her head to the right, studying the headline. It was about Barbara, it didn't take long for her to get beaten in the recess yard. The guards intervened while one inmate was choking the life out of her. She was alive, but barely. In critical condition.

She shrugged and changed the channel in the middle of the news story, not at all interested in it. She continued flipping through the channels, stopping only when her food was done. As she took it from the microwave, her phone began to ring. Her eyebrows rose and she looked at the phone on the countertop.

As on habit, she grabbed her phone without checking the caller ID. When she heard Ian's voice, her heart stopped. "Hey there," he said, "Been a while." She cupped her hand over her mouth, unsure of what to say. "Hey, you there?" The Captain's wise words flashed in her head and she cleared her throat.

"Hi."

Ian chuckled. Tori's cheeks flared up and she moved her hand to her forehead, embarrassed that she couldn't think of anything else.

"Hi…"

There it is, 'the final chapter. Tell me your thoughts on it all, I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for sticking along for the tale, I appreciate it. I'm considering a sister story to this, one that focuses on what had been going on with Trina before this tale, during this tale, and afterwards. Haven't decided yet, but anyway thanks again.