Small English Town – Crash Site, Dusk

The smoke was thick, rolling over the crumpled remains of the helicopter like a blanket. Sirens wailed in every direction. Emergency vehicles lined the street, and the chaos was deafening — radios crackling, people shouting, boots pounding against pavement.

She pulled up in her ambulance, heart already racing. Her partner jumped out first, but she hesitated. Something felt off.

Then she heard it over the dispatch radio.

“—military bird down. VIP on board. Captain John Price, Task Force 141.”

Her heart stopped.

No.

She shoved the door open and ran toward the wreckage, ignoring shouted warnings.

“EMT unit 47 reporting in!” she yelled. “Where’s the primary?! Where’s the—”

She saw him.

On the stretcher.

Unconscious.

Bloodied.

Broken.

Her father.

“Dad!” she gasped, lunging forward.

A medic instantly blocked her path.

“Back up, ma’am.”

“I’m not just— I’m trained! Let me through!”

“You’re compromised,” the trauma lead said, stepping between her and the gurney. “You’re not cleared. Protocol.”

She shook her head furiously, eyes wide, breath ragged. “That’s my dad! I can help—I have to—”

“You step in now, and you risk him. You know that.”

Her hands dropped to her sides. She stood frozen, helpless, trembling. She could only watch as they lifted him into the evac truck, her father barely hanging on.

Just before the doors shut, he stirred, eyes fluttering open for a heartbeat.

“…Love?” he rasped. “You here?”

Tears filled her eyes. “Yeah, Dad. I’m here.”

But the doors slammed shut, and the sirens carried him away.

⸻

Military Hospital – Emergency Entrance, Hours Later

She sat in the hallway, still in her EMT gear, hands stained and shaking. Her eyes locked on the swinging double doors, waiting. Praying.

A nurse walked past and paused.

“You’re his daughter, right?”

She nodded silently.

“He’s in surgery. They’re doing everything they can.”

Her voice cracked. “He asked for me.”

The nurse offered a kind smile. “Then you’d better be here when he wakes up.”

She nodded, fighting back the sob in her throat.

She wasn’t just an EMT anymore.

She was his daughter.

And he needed her now more than ever.