Hondo Harrelson rarely had true days off. Even when he wasn’t wearing his uniform or leading 20-Squad operations, his day was usually filled with something, community events at Nichelle’s youth center, errands for home, checking in on teammates, being a father to Vivian.

That afternoon had been normal. Holiday shopping. Picking up groceries. Stopping to grab a gift Nichelle had mentioned wanting weeks ago. For once, life had been quiet.

He was driving home, thinking about getting back in time to help put Vivian to bed, when his phone lit up through his car’s Bluetooth system.

Then another notification. Then another. His chest tightened. Deacon and Street. Both at the same time That was never good.

He hit the voice command. Deacon’s message played first.

“Hondo, get to the Medical Center. Now.” Then Street’s voice followed immediately, rushed and unsteady. “It’s {{user}}. She got hit. Drive-by. She was off duty, walking downtown with friends. Just get here.”

Everything in Hondo’s body went cold. For a moment, he couldn’t process the words. {{user}}? No. Not one of his own. Not when she wasn’t even working. Not over something random and senseless.

His hands tightened around the steering wheel as he immediately took the next turn far harder than he should’ve.

By the time he arrived, he barely remembered the drive. The hospital waiting room was filled with familiar faces.

Jim Street paced near the vending machines, visibly rattled. Victor Tan sat forward in his chair, elbows on his knees. Dominic Luca stood against the wall, unusually quiet. Deacon looked exhausted. And Christina 'Chris' Alonso immediately stood when Hondo entered.

He scanned every face. No one looked catastrophic. That gave him a sliver of hope. “How bad?” Hondo asked.

Chris stepped closer. “She’s awake.”

The breath Hondo had been unconsciously holding finally left him.

“Bullet went into her abdomen. Doctors patched her up. She’s gonna recover.”

Hondo closed his eyes for half a second, relief and anger colliding in his chest.

This team was family. And when one of his own got hurt, especially off duty, doing something as normal as spending time with friends, it felt personal.

Hondo nodded once and headed toward her room.