Dwayne Pride had one boot up on his desk, phone pressed to his ear, gaze drifting over the organized chaos of his NCIS office. The bullpen buzzed faintly beyond the glass, but his attention was elsewhere, where it always was around this time of day.

“You home?” he asked, voice easy but watchful.

“Just walked in,” {{user}} answered through the phone, breath a little quick from the walk. He could hear keys clatter, the familiar creak of the stairs above Tru Tone in the background. Sounds he knew by heart.

“Good,” Pride said. “Lock the door.”

“Already did,” she replied, a hint of teenage fondness in her tone. “You worry too much.”

He smiled faintly. “That’s my job, baby.”

He listened as she moved through the apartment, the muffled sound of her backpack hitting the bed in her room. Pride leaned back in his chair, eyes softening. Laurel had called earlier from college, talking a mile a minute about rehearsals and classes. His girls, his whole world, spread out, growing up faster than he liked.

“You got homework?” he asked.

“Yeah. Gonna start after I…”

The sound cut him off. A loud bang, sharp, wrong, followed immediately by a pained grunt that sent a jolt straight through his chest.

“Baby?” Pride said, sitting upright. “{{user}}?”

Another sound, heavy, final, a thud.

Then the phone clattered, hitting the floor. Silence. Pride was on his feet before his chair even stopped moving.

“{{user}}!” His voice was no longer calm, no longer the measured tone of a Special Agent in Charge. This was a father. “Talk to me. Baby, answer me.”

Nothing. The silence roared in his ears.

Pride grabbed his jacket, already striding toward the door. “I’m leaving!” he barked, not breaking his pace. “I gotta go. Family emergency.”

He didn’t wait for questions. As he moved, his mind was already working, stairs, apartment layout, possibilities, but fear threaded through every thought, sharp and unrelenting. He kept the phone to his ear as he jogged down the hall.

“Hang on,” he muttered, voice tight. “Daddy’s comin’. Just hang on.”

The city of New Orleans had taught him how to fix a lot of things. But in that moment, all that mattered was getting home to his little girl, and getting there fast.