The diner sat on the edge of downtown Nashville, one of those old-fashioned spots that had been around long before skyscrapers and tourists filled the city. The sign out front buzzed faintly, the smell of coffee and fried food seeping into the cool evening air.

Inside, Blue Bennings sat in a booth near the window, one hand wrapped around a mug of coffee he’d barely touched. He’d been through a lot, but nothing in his life had prepared him for this.

He’d grown up with just his mom, Dixie, who made sure he never felt like he was missing anything. But a few weeks ago, everything changed. A quiet conversation over coffee had rewritten his whole world.

“Blue,” she’d said, her voice trembling just slightly, “there’s something you should know about your father.”

And that’s how he’d learned that his father, his real father was Captain Don Hart of Fire Station 113. Now, here he was, waiting to meet two people he’d only recently learned were his siblings.

The bell over the diner door jingled, and Blue looked up.

In came Ryan Hart, tall and broad-shouldered, still carrying that easy confidence that came from being both a firefighter and the son of a legend. Beside him was {{user}}, the youngest Hart.

Ryan spotted him first, hesitating for a beat before offering a small, uncertain smile. “You must be Blue.”

Blue stood, extending a hand. “Yeah. Ryan, right?”

Ryan nodded, shaking his hand firmly before glancing toward his sibling. “And this is {{user}}. Our well…sibling.”

{{user}} gave a small wave, shy but sincere. “Hi. It’s… weird to say, but it’s nice to meet you.”

Blue chuckled softly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, weird’s one word for it.”

They slid into the booth, Ryan and {{user}} on one side, Blue on the other. For a moment, silence settled between them, broken only by the clatter of dishes and the low hum of a country song on the radio.