To Serve, And To Protect

Season 2 Finale WARNING: ANIMAL ABUSE, EXPLOSION

Maeve gets hurt A LOT in this book

Maeve went to a school for a call, there was a suspicious pink bag that people thought was a bomb. "Is it from the serial bomber?" Maeve asked Buck.

"Let's hope not, your father will never forgive me if I let something happen to you."

"He won't forgive me too if I get myself hurt."

Maeve watched from the top of the firetruck, as an young eagle. When shape-shifting into animals, her age is more clear. When shape-shifting into humans like Eddie or Athena, she can shape-shift into the adult version of them.

She still hated being a kid though.

The young firefighter heard people shouting for other to cover and shielded herself with her wings. To save you the trouble of suspense, she was a little disappointed that it wasn't a bomb.

Instead, it was a 5 year old's tuna fish lunch which she didn't want. "It's more nerve wracking than the real thing."

"What if it's over?" She asked, and Buck agreed. "Yeah, she's right. What if the whole thing is just done?"

"I hope so." Hen sighed.

The week had been tough. Especially Monday through Wednesday because Captain Chimney was a nightmare, well, a nightmare for Hen, Buck and Eddie.

He did line ups, burned lunch and a whole lot other that made him a nightmare. Until Wednesday when he eased up a bit, which everyone thanked Bobby for.

Hen, Eddie, Buck and Chimney were basically babysitting Maeve for the time that Bobby was suspended, even Hen admitted that shapeshifting children are hard to deal with.

She would constantly shape-shift to scare them, wander around, and didn't respond to their whistling.

Despite the tiring day, Maeve was really excited for when she got home.

Athena and Bobby were letting Harry, May and Maeve test out cake flavours. "You guys are deciding cake flavours before a venue?" May asked. "Doesn't matter, it's cake!" Maeve squealed, taking a bite out of the chocolate one.

"I wanted May and Harry to test it more because I know Maeve has her heart set on chocolate." Bobby chuckled. "And I am tired of looking at yachts and places." Athena added.

"I don't get why you guys are doing this stupid wedding." Harry frowned, it made Athena frown too. "Baby, I thought you were okay with the wedding."

"Because if you need more time.." Bobby added. "No, it's fine. You can get married. I just don't wanna wear a tux or dance with May.. or Maeve."

"No one said you have to wear a tux." Athena smiled. "It's a wedding, mom. He absolutely has to wear a tux." May rolled her eyes. "Plus, I'm way too old to be a ring bearer."

Athena laughed and rubbed his cheek. "But you're the right age to walk me down the aisle."

"Yeah, and I think Maeve would make a good ring bearer." Bobby said. "It's better than 'flower girl'."

"And this wedding is not just about me and Bobby. It's about the three of us, welcoming Bobby and Maeve into the family."

"And it's about cake!" Maeve chimed.

...

The next call, Maeve saw a man stuck to his car. "Woah." Hen said. "Maeve, see if you can get a look underneath." Buck asked. "Oki doki." Maeve shape-shifted into a snake and slithered under the truck.

"Cap, his hair is too tight around a belt."

"He's right, cap." Maeve agreed. "See if you can get it free, girl." Chimney asked, Maeve shape-shifted back and took out a wrench from the toolbox next to the car.

After 10 minutes of the man and his wife screeching at each other, Maeve got him free. "Good girl!" Chimney said, taking out the man from the car.

A downside was that Maeve was covered in blood. "I never thought I would see a little girl covered in blood in my life.. outside of a movie." Buck laughed. "Do look like a vampire?" She giggled.

"A very cute and creepy vampire." Chimney chuckled, rubbing the blood off her face.

The next call was even weirder, Chimney instead asked Maeve to be a cat for 'support' reasons.

"Aww, she's adorable." The influencer lady cooed. "Dispatch said something about an animal?" Hen asked, examining her arm. "Yeah, it was like a little grub."

Maeve got off the lady and walked over to the table, there was something on it. "Mew!"

"Yes, it's a maggot!" The maggot wasn't the thing that made Maeve confused, it was the phone that was live viewing everything.

The comments were blowing up about Eddie and Buck and the cute cat in the firefighter outfit.

The rest of the day went on as usual, Chimney ordered McDonald's on the account he burned water and the rest was spent quietly. Until it reached night, without Bobby around, Maeve stayed up 2 hours past her bedtime.

Which everyone else swore to not tell Bobby.

She sat in the seat next to Buck when they got an alert from dispatch that Bobby Nash was on the line.

"Daddy!" Maeve squealed, earning a smile from Buck. "So, what-"

BOOM.

A large explosion happened.

The firetruck flipped and everyone fell out.

Maeve was thrown from the truck, stumbling a few meters away before her leg was sliced with a piece of glass,  making blood pour out the wound.

She remained unconscious for a long time but her eyes slowly opened.

"...B... Buck..?" She called, everything around her was blurry. She shook her head and looked up, there was a man walking over to her.

Or a teenager.

Hard to tell.

"You're not the Nash I'm looking for.." he hummed. "But you're one I can use." Maeve got a bad feeling about him, so she shape-shifted into a wolf and stood in front of Buck.

She bared her teeth and growled at him, only to whimper and fall back because of her foot.

She morphed back and glared at the boy, who stood stunned.

"Freaky little thing, aren't ya? Of course Nash adopted a monster like you." The boy reached out a hand for Maeve and grabbed her by her jacket.

"Let me go!" Maeve hissed, struggling to break free.

"He ended my family... I will destroy his."

The boy threw Maeve away from the firetruck, and relentlessly kicked her in the stomach. She was going to crawl away but got grabbed and thrown against the firetruck.

The young firefighter could see the other firefighter behind the other truck.

Hen, Eddie and Chimney.

Hen had her hands over her mouth, and Chimney was restraining Eddie from running in.

Maeve could hear the police arrive and she wanted to stand up and fight the boy, but she felt too weak. "Maeve..." Buck whispered, and Maeve fell next to him.

"Stay... d-down, kid..." the firefighter suggested, holding her arm.

Suddenly, the two heard a voice.

"I'm the captain!" Chimney said, putting his hands up as he came out. "No, you're not." The boy growled, confusing him. "I want Captain Nash." He shouted.

Well, that made a little sense.

"What do we do?" Maeve whispered to Buck. "Just sit tight okay? But... try... to stay awake, otherwise your d-dad is killing... both of us." He breathlessly chuckled.

"You're... stuck, I have to-..."

"No, don't. Okay? You're injured too, I'll be fine, kid.."

Maeve was about to get up and try to lift the truck when she heard Bobby's voice. "Freddie." He said, coming out with his hands up. "Thought'd you be on the truck." The boy panted.

"I'm here now."

"Isn't this what you wanted?" Bobby asked. "I wanted you dead."

"I get that. But what about them? What about him? What about her?" He asked. "Those two weren't firefighters when your father burnt down that restaurant..."

"Collateral damage."

"Is that how you see yourself? An intended victim in all this?" The captain said, slowly taking a step but Freddie stopped him.

"No, stay right there, or we all go boom." As Bobby talked to the boy, Maeve shape-shifted into a dragon and blasted a ball of light at the firetruck.

The engine moved up and off Buck's leg, freeing the firefighter.

Maeve watched as her father disarmed the boy, and he immediately ran over to the two of them with a worried expression.

"Are you two okay?" He asked, Maeve shape-shifted back and the glass in her foot was again visible.

"Guys, I am so sorry." Bobby apologised. "It's not your fault..." Buck chuckled but then frowned. "I think... Maeve got it worse... I heard Freddie... kick her."

Maeve looked at him and smiled, but Bobby didn't smile back. He looked teary-eyed, and he was breathing a little too heavy. "Cap, he's got a crush injury, we have to get both of them to the OR."

Maeve felt something leak from her mouth, maybe blood. It tasted like blood.

Yup, blood.

"Bobby, she's bleeding internally. Her leg has a pulse but I don't like how slow her heart is beating." Hen said, Maeve felt herself being lifted and placed on a gurney.

"Maeve." Athena gasped, walking next to the gurney. "Hey Mama..." she smiled weakly, she thought everything will be okay until her eyelids started to close.

"Maeve..!?" Bobby's voice started to sound cracked.

"Maeve, baby, don't fall asleep on me."

"Maeve, sweetie, come on, stay awake for us!" Everyone sounded so worried, but Maeve was just too tired.

She heard some high beeping, most likely... it was the heart monitor. "Starting compressions." That was Hen, and then Maeve felt someone push on her chest.

Didn't feel good.

The fast beeping went on for a minute before it was followed by a very long beep that silenced the ambulance.

Despite probably being dead, Maeve could still hear them.

"No, no, no, no!" That sounded like Bobby, he grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly. The pressure on her chest felt heavier, like Hen was intentionally pushing in it harder.

"Come back, Maeve." Hen whispered, she sounded sad too.

"Come on, kiddo." Even Chimney sounded sad.

The long beep lasted a while, even until they got to the hospital. "How long has her heart stopped?" The doctor asked Eddie. "... 14 minutes." Eddie mumbled, the doctor looked between Maeve and the rest of the crew and sighed.

"Call it."

"Wait. No, no, you can't. Thats my daughter, please, just give her some more time." Bobby asked.

"I'm sorry, Captain Nash. We're going to have to call it."

Maeve heard Bobby's voice completely crack. She never heard him like that, why wasn't she waking up? "No, I'm not losing hope. Just give us some more time, she's strong, I know her." Athena added.

"I'm not going to stop, sweetie. " Hen said, but her voice came out as a whisper. But the doctor was already stepping towards the ambulance, ready to call it. "I'm sorry.."

"No, no, please, just a few more minutes." Chimney asked, the doctor was about to protest when a beep came.

Followed by another and another.

"We got a pulse!" Hen gasped, and Athena gasped, finally breathing. Next to them, Buck came in. He was breathing, and conscious, but his leg was mangled.

"Is... is she..?" Buck asked. "She's alive, buck.." Chimney laughed.

It all went quiet after that, Maeve didn't hear anything.

Until she woke up, she keeps waking up in different places all the time, it's exhausting.

She woke up in the hospital, her stomach and her leg ached. Next to her was Bobby and Athena, they were both asleep.

Still in the same clothes as yesterday.

On the other side was Christopher who was awake. "Hey Chris.." she waved weakly. "Hey Maeve.. you were in surgery for a long time."

"How long was I out for?" She asked, shifting to sit up. "A couple of hours.." he replied.

"Is Buck okay?"

"He's okay."

"That's good.." Maeve smiled. "Wait a minute, where's your dad?" Maeve asked, looking around. "He's with Buck." Christopher replied. "So you sneaked in?" Maeve giggled, fist bumping him. "Yup."

Christopher left after some time, and Bobby and Athena woke up some time later. "You're awake." She squealed, raising her eyebrows when she saw their red eyes.

"I should be the one crying, I didn't get my ice cream.." Maeve smiled. "Baby!" Athena gasped, hugging Maeve.

"I thought I lost you.." Bobby choked, almost squeezing the life out of her. "Hey there Cap... you said it yourself... you're not getting rid of me that easily."

...

A week later, Maeve was back on her feet.

Although, she had to use crutches because her leg was still in bandages to protect the stitches from tearing.

She couldn't go back to work just yet but she did go to the firehouse for an important event.

"Today, we welcome into our ranks a new brother, and the LAFD's first little firefighter. After a year of hard work and dedication, I am proud to declare that your probationary periods are at an end."

"Welcome to the Los Angeles Fire Department Firefighter Diaz and SRA firefighter Nash."

...

A week later, Maeve was sitting with Athena when Nash came. "Hey you two!" He smiled. "Daddy!" Maeve giggled, limping towards him.

He picked her up and Maeve sensed he was about to say something crazy. 2 hours later, she was a cat holding a pillow with two rings on it and walking down the aisle.

Bobby was wearing a tux with a flower in his pocket and Athena was wearing a beautiful white dress.

The priest said some words, and Bobby and Athena kissed, which May covered Maeve's eyes for. "Gross..." Harry whispered. "What's happening? I can't see." Maeve whispered back.

"That's a good thing."

That day, Bobby and Maeve moved in with Athena. It was troubling, but fine in the end. However, it may have put someone back on someone else's radar.

Lore.