Fire in the Firehouse 15

They stood closer together. Each one of them feeling trapped and desperate. The moments seemed like an eternity. Colby's mind raced. He needed to live. He fell into his thoughts. Why God? Why me? Is this punishment for being gay? Did I chose wrong? Did I miss some sign? Ever since I was a boy, as far back as I can recall I've gone through stuff like this. Why? Was I bad in a past life? I mean first you take my Mom away from me and I get the worst replacement-ever. No siblings. No one to open up to. I didn't even tell Drake half the crap I'd go through daily. No one but you and I know God. I tried to be the best son, the best student the best everything. And yet, it never seemed to be enough. I always felt like I got up ten minutes late. Or that I got wherever ten minutes late. I'd try and try and try and yet I still got the shaft. Now here I sit, living through another personal hell. Hell on Earth this time and yet I stand here before you asking for another chance. All I was doing is my job. I've never asked for much. I've only asked to find love. That seems to be ALL I found. I feel worthless. I feel like a failure. Maybe I should just end the pain now. Run into the flames and just die. I can't take this anymore. Why? Why, damn it? Tears were pouring out his eyes. No one made mention. They all pretty much were silently wondering. But it seemed Colby was that much more upset. 

Colby walked off, he stood before the flames. His mind spiraled out of control. He felt dizzy as he stared right into the flames. He felt their immense heat on his tender flesh. He could almost feel the heat begging to eat away at his body. He toyed with the idea of walking into the flames. His mind said yes, his heart said no. He was at a crossroad in his life. Years of hurt, anger and frustration surfaced. He had a golden opportunity to end his pain. He stepped closer. The flames with in mere feet. They sang to him, seemingly calling his name. "Come forward Colby. End the pain. End the hurt. Why go on? There's nothing else to live for. Mitch doesn't deserve you. He deserves better. End it. He can find a new lover in time. Come on Colby. Come on." 

Colby stood back, shook his head. He quietly spoke out. "What the fuck is that all about? Is it Satan? Am I going fucking nuts?" He stood there wondering what was happening. He stepped back closer to the flames. The closest he'd been yet. He started to take another step forward. He was going to do it. Kris yelled at the top of his lungs. Colby heard nothing. All he heard was the call of the fire, begging him to end it all. Capt. Joe told Kris to wait. He had faith in the young man he thought of like a son. He knew Colby needed to see his way through this on his own. He needed to jump this barrel on his own. 

They all stood watching Colby, forgetting about their own plight. It was a site to see. A man choosing life or death. He stepped within mere inches of the flames. He was so close now. He could almost feel the fire on his soft skin. 

Suddenly there was the sound of a helicopter overhead. A man in the passenger's area grabbed a rope ladder and threw it down to those in the fire. The man saw something that hit him so hard it knocked the wind out of him. Mitch saw Colby battling his demons. "Oh, no you don't," he cried. Mitch grabbed another rope, grabbed some gloves and slid down as fast as he could muster. He reached the comfort of Mother Earth with ease. He stood there staring at what he saw. "Colby! Stop!" Silence. The man facing the flames could swear he hear a familiar voice. But the voices he kept hearing in his mind were telling him otherwise. 

"Don't listen. Its not who you think it is." Colby stopped. Shook his head. He was gathering his thoughts. He knew inside he was not going crazy. He had no clue what he was hearing, but right then and there he put his foot down He wasn't about to give in to whatever he was hearing.

"Fuck this shit! I've been through worse shit than this. I'm not giving up today. Or ever for that matter." He stood away from the flames. He kept stepping back more and more. He slowly backed away and realized that this wasn't going to be his end. As he regained his thoughts and control of his convictions he heard a familiar voice. "Oh my God. What did I almost do? He stood back a safer distance and fell to his knees. "I almost ended it all." The tears were flowing hard again. 

Mitch walked up, he used his Empathy. He decided to add a little humor. "I hate to break up this happy reunion between you and Mother Earth, but if you don't mind, I think we'd be better off in the air and not on the ground seeing as how you could cook an entire Thanksgiving meal in 5 minutes in here." Colby stood as quick as he could and threw his arms around his lover's neck. Mitch was in a smart ass mood. "Yeah, see...love you, too. But human bbq isn't how I wanna spend my life. Safety now, hugs later." With that he grabbed his lover's arm and egged him on. They ran as fast as they could to the rope ladder. When they reached it, they saw a stray ember hit it and cause it to go up in smoke and flames. 

Kris was watching and waiting for the two men. He saw the rope catch fire. Mitch and Colby stood there wondering what was next. Kris threw down the second ladder, he yelled out. "Try climbing it and play kiss and make up after." He shot them both a full, snotty smile. They flipped him the bird simultaneously. All three men laughed.

Back at the apartment, Drake and Cole were watching TV and saw the rescue taking place. A newsman had captured it via helicopter. It had stayed off in the distance capturing the entire ordeal. Drake and Cole were relieved to see their friends seemed closer to safety. They held hands-sweaty hands, afraid what might happen if the second rope caught fire. They watched the scenario unfold before them. They sat nervously. Their minds flooded with thoughts of what might happen next. 

People all across the country watched with bated breath. The feed had gone national again. All over people were already tuned into coverage of this great firestorm and seeing this rescue was making for great drama. 

Cory had gotten to the airport by now and was watching the entire thing unfold. He whispered, "Hang on bro. I'm coming." He looked up briefly, " Please God. Help him through this. I need to meet my brother. My twin brother." He headed to the line to board the plane, glancing one more time over his shoulder at the TV, smiled and knew things would work out, at least he hoped.

For once Mitch and Colby had managed to get out of a situation almost unscathed and with little incident. Colby and all the others in the ring of fire were taken to the hospital for evaluation-just to make sure. 

Mitch was along for the ride. He'd been praised as a hero. But wanted no recognition of that at all. He was a man of little emotions and liked little attention, only by his lover. 

When they arrived and Colby was given a room, Mitch burst in. "Well, I think we're even, right? Oh, yeah, the incident back in winter. Ah, fuck it. Close enough." Colby pursed his lips, he knew Mitch had earned the right to boast and he smiled through his pursed lips.

After having heard enough of the bragging he spoke. "Well, this is true, but you had to come save me. You'd miss my asshole too much." Mitch playfully slugged his lover in the arm. They would wait until later and in privacy to display their feelings for one another.

Nick had seen the entire rescue transpire. He raced to the local hospital. He'd been stopped by some cops here and there but was quick to explain it was his son that had just been rescued. A few cops didn't believe him, but Nick just hit the gas not caring. He knew they were far too busy to pursue him over something so minute. The cops figured if he died, they'd done their best to warn him.

Marie, too, had seen the rescue. Naturally this did nothing to calm her already frayed nerves. She began throwing family pictures, glassware, anything she could. She felt comfort hearing things destroyed. With the added distraction the hired hands all raced out the door. Marie was alone and really had no clue, though it was doubtful she cared in her current state of mind. She grabbed her bottle of wine and headed out on the deck to watch the fire. The flames were zeroing in. Marie knew she should flee, but in her drunken state she wouldn't get very far. She stumbled back inside and got more wine. Several bottles. She began throwing them over the deck. Most of the bottles just rolled away while some busted open on some jagged rocks. But one bottle that wasn't very full flew right into the flames. The flames got away and found the wine which allowed it to follow up the hill towards the house. 

Years ago Nick had put most of the important papers in fire proof safes. Marie had done the same with her own things and had locked them into wall safes as well. These were hidden safes that Nick had no clue of. 

Marie sat and watched the flames race towards her. Seeing the fire close in, Marie was being forced to sober up some. She found her keys and headed to her car. She wanted to grab the documents, but she valued her life more. She staggered and stumbled out the door. She made it into her car. She fidgeted with the key getting it into the ignition. Finally she made it. Still mostly out of her senses, she put the car in reverse, failing to realize the garage door was still down and proceeded to back right through it. Had Nick have seen this he'd have cussed her out and it would've led to another fight. She laughed at her stupidity and continued backing out. 

At one point the car almost got away from her and down an embankment. Fire and smoke beckoned her in. She laughed at the fire and spoke to it like it could actually hear her. "Fuck you fire. I've got reasons to live. I've worked too damn long and hard not to live through this." The fire continued racing towards the house. In mere moments Nick's dream home would be no more. Lucky for insurance.

Nick made it to the hospital and flew threw the doors to the room that held his son. He stopped only for a moment to allow it to sink in he was in the right room. Having taken it in, he practically flew over and embraced his son.

A few moments later he motioned for Mitch to join them. With tears streaming down his face and his voice almost unable to form words he spoke. "My son and my future son-in-law. I'm so sorry for doing to you both what I did. I was so wrong. My beautiful baby boy. I love you so much. And you Mitch, you'll be a welcome addition to this family. Hell, you've already survived the wrath of Marie and lived to tell about it. That's half the battle in this family." They all burst out laughing through falling tears.

After a while the three men more or less collapsed in a mound on the bed. Nick had the two men as close to him as he could. It felt right. He loved his son and could feel love and respect for Mitch forming inside. He wanted this moment to never end.

Drake and Cole were back in the apartment watching TV when they saw a car that seemed like it might belong to Marie. They stared hard. The helicopter flying overhead got a view of the driver. Sure enough, Drake realized who was driving. The man narrating the footage was trying to maintain professionalism, but in light of what he was seeing he couldn't. "Folks, this is incredible. This woman seems to be drunk and driving and trying to stay alive. Proof why one should never drink and drive." The helicopter followed for as long as it could. The reporter even tried using the outside microphone on the helicopter to tell Marie they'd try to save her. Marie being Marie wanted no part of it. She was drunk and that made her more stubborn than before. She was determined to do this on her own.

Soon the helicopter could follow no more. Flames and smoke were choking out the engine and making it impossible to see. The reporter felt bad, but there was nothing they could do. Marie refused their help. She was on her own now. Drake and Cole watched it unfold. Drake couldn't believe it, but having known the vindictive woman as long as he had, it did little to surprise him. He hoped her demise would come soon. She deserved this fate.

Meanwhile a young man was on a mission to meet the man he believed was his brother. Time stood still for those effected by the fire. But for Cory, he seemed like someone had used the power of temporal stasis-bascially meaning like someone had manipulated time and froze it. He felt like he'd been flying forever. He was lucky to get on his flight. It was close to leaving when he arrived. He had no time to spare. 

Now here was Cory, flying as fast as the plane could and having no way to get updates of the fire. Luckily Reno's airport wasn't effected by the fire-being so far away. He'd land there, rent a car and head over to the Tahoe area and meet his brother. He prayed this would be the case.

Marie had gotten herself lost in the heavy smoke. She was bumping into things here and there. She tried to focus on the yellow and white lines of the road, but there was such poor visibility she was lost in a maze of haze. She was in her car for quite a while. Many times the flames came very close to her car. She was out of her mind being in it. Slowly she began sobering up. That only added to her confusion. Her mind was clearing up and it made little sense how and why she allowed herself to get in this bind.

Time passed and soon Cory's plane touched down. He was quick to get a rental car. He was warned many times that he should not venture over to Tahoe but he ignored this advice. He, too, like the Dad he'd never known, was barreling through the warnings from the cops. He figured, Fuck 'em. I've got a brother to meet. Trouble was, where was he?

Cory found one cop and got him to talk. "Officer, the man that was rescued in the fire, the one that looked like me, any idea what happened? It was all over the news." The officer smiled. He stared hard at Cory, wondering what he was seeing.

The officer heard Cory's story. he told the officer he'd been out of town and needed to find his brother as he was very worried. The cop quickly made some calls and got Cory's much needed info. Cory zoomed off to the hospital.

Moments later he found the hospital. He found out Colby's room number and made his way there. He stood outside the big doors, he hesitated, drew a deep breath and flung the doors open. Colby, Mitch and Nick all sprung up, startled. All three men stared at what they saw. 

Nick realized right away what he was seeing. "As I live and breathe. My other son. You ARE alive after all." Tears came exploding out his eyes. He shook and trembled non stop. Colby stared long and deep at his brother. He knew right away what he was seeing. And hearing his Dad only confirmed it.

Cory ran to hug his Dad, tears pouring from his eyes no less equally. "Dad. We finally meet. I heard you had died. The lies. I knew all this time you didn't die." They held each other so tight. Nick was floored. The second son he longed for was there. It hit Nick. He knew deep down Marie had something to do with this.

Colby spoke up, "Dad? My twin?" Nick could hardly speak. He finally found his voice after a little bit and told the story. He'd found out long ago Tori had learned she was having twins. And he even speculated to the boys about Marie's involvement. It all made sense now. Marie wanted Tori dead and the boys out of the way so she could get her hands on Nick's money. 

Nick recalled he'd spoken to Marie once or twice while visiting Tori. His wife had been in labor 43 hours. There were complications and the labor went on far longer than need be, but it was also a choice made in hopes of bringing both boys into the world alive. Nick was so delirious from sleep deprivation, he may've told Marie more than he should. Now, in the present it made sense. Knowing Marie like he did, he knew she conspired to get her claws into him. He even deduced that more than likely she'd had something to do with Tori's death.

Back in the safe in the house that was now engulfed in flames, the truth was dying with the house. Marie had failed to secure her journal she kept hidden. In it the truth was told. Dear journal. Well, I did it. I managed to sneak into Tori's room. And I replaced her meds with ones that looked similar and seeing her allergies on her chart, it made it that much easier. She died pretty fast. The hospital later learned of it and blamed themselves but they covered it up well saying she'd developed an infection. It was made to seem the one baby died and the other lived. Its been well covered up. I sold the one baby thought to be dead to a couple that lives back east. They never questioned where I got him and they paid me dearly for him. They bought my story-what little I told. All I need to do now is destroy the other child and take down his Father. In his weakened mental state of losing his wife and other baby, I'll be able to take full advantage. I need to play it well. Soon his wealth can and will be mine.

The truth burned into the mock-night. The smoke was so black it seemed like nightfall. The actual and real truth was gone forever. No one now would know the truth, only Marie. And her fate seemed to be sealed as well. The truth was, even though Marie had cost Colby and Nick time with Cory, he plan was falling apart at the seams. The truth always comes out.

Mitch got up, walked to the window, stared hard into the sky. It was all coming to him via the biggest and most powerful premonition he'd ever had. He saw it all. His spell caused Cory to be found. He saw Marie and what she had done. He also saw the near-future and knew Marie's time was limited. 

Colby and Nick called to Mitch. They wanted him close by. They wanted him part of the celebration of meeting Cory. He smiled out the window. Ironic though. Countless creatures were meeting their doom, and some people, too. But here in this very room was happiness. There'd been a price paid years ago by no fault of anyone there, but finally it seemed there was some happiness coming to Colby and Nick and Cory, too.

***To be continued.*** Hey readers. Sorry it took so long for part 15. I got your emails asking for it. I've been busy. But I had to tell you guys I've just gotten back from the area the story's set in. I was there for 4 days. I got to think clearly and get back in touch with what made the story work. I hope you all enjoy part 15 and yes, there will be a part 16. Its not over yet! I also made sure there was enough story this time to reward you all for your prolonged wait. Hope you enjoy!