The room was dark, the hum from the heater soothing, until the three words in her father's solemn voice sank into her sleep-numbed mind. "Fire ... Seth ... hospital." She never remembered how she got to the hospital, never remembered putting on shoes, finding her car keys. Panic swelled as she swung her car crookedly into a spot beside the fire department's Explorer. She ran in the ER entrance, everything a blur until she focused on Oscar's face, drawn tight, smudged with soot. "Where?” was all she got out, breathless with fear. When he pointed silently to the hallway behind him, she glimpsed the rest of the family, but she didn't wait to acknowledge them. She ran down the hall. Seth stepped out of one of the rooms in his department t-shirt and pants, his expression almost identical to his dad's. But he was hale and hearty and she couldn't stop the tears as she flung herself into his arms, against his solid chest.
