“I need to get closer.”

“You’re not a firefighter. And we’re hospital-bound, Brooke. Two vics, remember? It’s our job.”

Damn it, he was right. The job. The job always came first. It was what she’d signed on for, and she’d never before minded it taking over her life. Not once.

Unfortunately, she’d given herself a taste of real life here in Santa Rey, and she liked it. Hell, loved it.

But now the person who’d given her that taste of life was in danger of losing his.

BROOKE AND DUSTIN were still unloading their patients at the E.R. when word came from the fire scene that they had the flames eighty percent contained, and the injured firefighters had been evacuated safely.

Alive.

And on the way to the hospital.

Brooke took her first deep breath since she’d heard the words firefighters and down in the same sentence. She and Dustin tried to wait but an emergency call came in for them—a woman with chest pains needed assistance.

While Dustin drove, Brooke called Aidan.

“Blake’s in surgery,” Aidan said, sounding tense and stressed. “Badly broken leg.”

Ohmigod. “Zach?”

“A concussion, broken wrist and a few second-degree burns. I know that sounds bad, but he’s going to be okay, Brooke.”

Relief hit her like a tidal wave, but she couldn’t lose it because they’d arrived at their call, where she and Dustin found a three-hundred-and-fifty-pound woman stuck in her bed, needing assistance to the bathroom.

“You said you had chest pains,” Dustin said.

“Right. I do. But I think it’s heartburn.”

“Are the pains gone now?” Brooke asked.

“Yes. Completely.”

“Ma’am, we still need to bring you in to be checked—”

“Okay, so I never had chest pains. I called because you people won’t come out unless it’s serious.”

They were speechless.

“Would you hand me my TV remote?” she asked them. “Oh, and that box of doughnuts?”

Brooke stared at her. She’d missed being at Zach’s side for this, for a woman who couldn’t reach her damn remote so she’d called 911? She handed over the remote but not the doughnuts. “Ma’am, the 911 system is for real emergencies—”

“It was a real emergency.”

Dustin still couldn’t speak.

“Hey, I’m sorry, but Grey’s Anatomy is repeating and I missed it the first time around.”

“Medical emergencies,” Brooke said tightly.

The woman finally had the grace to look a little abashed. “I know, but who else am I going to call?”

“You could do it yourself.” No longer speechless, Dustin was clearly furious. “Consider it your daily exercise.”

They left there in silence, and it was several long moments before either could speak.

“That didn’t just happen,” Dustin finally said.