Page 55 of Phoenix Rising

She wished she couldn’t.

Lucinda walked up to Becky, already piecing together a plan in her head. Becky gave her a rough assessment.

“I’ll start triage over there,” Lucinda said, pointing toward the semi-truck. “Get me a team of EMTs.”

Becky nodded, unsure of how many peoplewould be available to help. “I’ll get you what I can. We’re stretched thin, but I’ll make it work.”

Lucinda’s team quickly set up a triage station, and she moved with purpose, directing her staff, assessing patients, and calling for the supplies she needed. It was like watching a conductor lead an orchestra—everything perfectly in sync, every decision made with the kind of confidence Becky had always admired.

And now, here they were, thrown back together in the middle of chaos, forced to work side by side again, even though the wound between them had never fully healed.

"Chief, we’ve got another critical case!" one of the paramedics called, pulling Becky out of her thoughts.

Becky ran toward the paramedics, forcing herself to focus. As she approached the crumpled vehicle they were working on, Lucinda was already there, leaning into the shattered window to check the pulse of the driver. Her voice was calm, but there was urgency in her movements.

"He’s unconscious, likely internal bleeding. We need to get him out now," Lucinda said, not looking up from her patient. "Can you get the door open?"

Becky nodded, motioning to one of the firefighters with the extraction tools. They moved quickly, prying the door off with a screech of twisted metal. As soon as it was clear, Lucinda reached in, stabilizing the man’s neck as she checked his vitals again.

Becky moved to help, her hands brushing against Lucinda’s for just a second. The contact was brief, but it was enough to send a shock through Becky’s system, a reminder of everything they had been and everything they had lost.

"Careful," Lucinda murmured, her voice low but firm. "He’s got a broken clavicle. We can’t risk moving him too fast."

Becky nodded, falling into step beside her. They worked perfectly, each movement deliberate, and each instruction followed without hesitation. It was like muscle memory; the way they fit together, professionally at least, was still seamless.

They pulled the man from the wreckage, carefully lowering him onto the stretcher. Lucinda immediately began stabilizing him, her hands steady as she assessed the severity of his injuries. Becky hovered nearby, ready to assist, but also watching Lucinda, unable to stop herself fromnoticing how in control she was, how calm she remained even in the face of catastrophe.

For a moment, Becky allowed herself to remember what it had been like to stand beside Lucinda, both in and out of the chaos. She remembered the nights they’d spent together, wrapped in each other’s arms, Lucinda’s walls finally crumbling down just enough for Becky to see the woman behind the armor.

But those memories were fleeting, like ghosts that haunted her, never staying long enough to hold on to.

Once the patient was loaded into the ambulance, Lucinda turned to Becky, wiping a smudge of dirt from her forehead. There was a moment of silence between them—too much time had passed, too many words left unsaid. The tension simmered just beneath the surface, but neither of them dared acknowledge it. Not yet.

"You’ve still got it," Becky said, her voice gruff but soft.

Lucinda’s lips twitched, a brief flicker of a smile. "So do you."

Before either of them could say more, the sound of metal groaning against asphalt shatteredthe moment. Becky saw it tumbling down towards Lucinda. Her heart stopped. her body moved.

“Get back!” Becky shouted, grabbing Lucinda’s arm and pulling her away from the danger.

Lucinda stumbled into her body as Becky's hands kept her steady.

Her hands skimmed over Lucinda's arms before snatching them away or before Lucinda could shrug out of her grasp.

“Are you okay?” Becky's heart pounded in her ears. That was too fucking close. She needed to send Lucinda back to the hospital. She shouldn't be out here.

“Yeah. I’m fine.” Her voice was steady as she glanced down at the hand Becky didn't notice had reached back out for Lucinda.

Becky pulled away once again. "We’ve got to move. More vehicles are at risk of collapsing.”

Hours later, when the last of the victims had been transported and the wreckage was finally being cleared, Becky found herself standing by the side of the road. The adrenaline had worn off, leaving her exhausted, physically and emotionally.

She leaned against the hood of a discarded car, rubbing a hand over her face. It had been a long day, one of the worst she’d seen in a while, but it wasn’t just the crash that weighed on her. It was Lucinda.

Becky heard footsteps approaching, and when she looked up, Lucinda was standing there, her arms crossed over her chest. She looked just as tired as Becky felt.

"Hi," Lucinda said, her voice softer now, the edge from earlier gone.

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