1. Emergency... by LenniluvsBrian
Five-year-old Ashlynn Jade McLean was sitting on the living room floor playing with her dolls, when she suddenly heard a loud shrill noise coming from the hallway. Not knowing what it was, she went over and banged on the bathroom door, knowing that her father was in there having a shower.
“Daddy!” She called. “Daddy!”
A.J. McLean, Ashlynn’s father, didn’t hear her, as the water was running over his head at the moment.
“DADDY!” Ashlynn shrieked finally.
“What Baby?” A.J. called back.
“There noise in hallway!” She told him. “I don’ts likes it!”
“Let Daddy get some pants on,” A.J. answered. He came out of the bathroom moments later and crouched down before her. “Now, what’s wrong, Baby?”
“Noise!” Ashlynn stated. “Listen!”
It was at that very moment that he did listen. His eyes went a little big, once he realized what the noise was.
“Ashlynn, don’t move,” he ordered, then got up and checked the door. Seeing that it wasn’t hot, he opened the door and peeked his head out. Suddenly, he could hear people screaming, and saw smoke coming down the stairwell at the end of the hall.
“Daddy?”
A.J. turned around and grabbed hold of her, scooping her up into his arms. “We have to go, Baby,” he said calmly. “Hold tight to Daddy, okay?”
‘Kay…” Ashlynn replied, not understanding what was going on.
A.J. stepped outside of his apartment, and closed the door, not having time to lock it. He then headed for where he knew the other stairwell was, and was relieved to not see any smoke coming down it. He headed down the stairs, carrying Ashlynn, and whispering re-assuring words to her, as people ran by them screaming and frantic.
Once outside, all they saw was complete and utter chaos, as people ran everywhere screaming and crying. Some people were concerned about their pets, while others were worried about material things they could easily replace – though they couldn’t replace the sentimental stuff.
Ashlynn stared up at the burning building, still not quite understanding what was happening. She looked down then, and realized she didn’t have her favourite toy with her.
“Daddy! Daddy! I left Simon!” She cried. “Want Simon!”
“Baby, Daddy can’t get him right now,” A.J. answered, not having the heart to tell her she may lose her best friend for good.
“Want Simon, Daddy,” Ashlynn stated firmly. “Now.”
“Ashlynn, Daddy said no. You’ll just have to wait,” A.J. rejoined. “Now, hush.”
Ashlynn scowled and looked down, surprised to see their puppies running towards them.
“Daddy! Look!” She shouted, then pointed to the two shitzus running full speed for them.
A.J. looked and smiled. He crouched down, letting go of Ashlynn so that they could both pet the dogs. It was while he was scratching Panda behind the ears, that Ashlynn disappeared. He happened to look up, when Bear began to bark frantically.
“Ashlynn?” He said as he looked around. “Ashlynn?” He felt panic go through him, and began to search the crowd, the two dogs trailing close behind him. “Ashlynn!” He called loudly. “Where are you?!?!?”
Ashlynn never answered him though, as what he, and everyone else, didn’t know, was that she’d run back into the building unnoticed.
Suddenly, everyone froze as they heard a small cry coming from one of the upstairs windows. “DADDY!”
A.J. froze, praying to God it wasn’t his baby he’d just heard. He slowly turned and looked up, and felt sick to his stomach when he saw her in the window.
“DADDY!” Ashlynn screamed, tears streaming down her small scared face. “HELP! DADDY!”
A.J. automatically ran for the building, only to be stopped by firefighters.
“Sir, we can’t let you go in there,” the firefighter informed him. “It’s about to collapse.”
“MY BABY’S UP THERE!” A.J. hollered at them. “LOOK!” He pointed up to the window of his apartment. “GET HER OUT OF THERE!”
Ashlynn was terrified. She wished she had’ve listened to her Daddy and not gone back inside. She’d only wanted to get Simon. She heard people say they were going to lose everything, and she did not want to lose Simon. Ever.
“She’s going to have to jump,” one firefighter stated. “It’s too hot for us to go back in there. We’ll be risking our men if we do.”
“GET MY BABY THE HELL OUT OF THERE! NOW!” A.J. bellowed. “OR YOU’LL HAVE TO GO AFTER ME TOO!”
The firemen quickly grabbed a fire net, and hurried over to stand under the window. “YOU HAVE TO JUMP!” One yelled up to the small girl.
Ashlynn shook her head and cried even harder. “NO!” She shrieked. “DADDY! DADDY! COMES GETS ME! DADDY!”
A.J. could feel his heart breaking even more, with every word she screamed. He ran over to where the firemen stood with the fire net. “She won’t jump!” He told them. “It’s too damn high! She’s terrified and will not jump without me up there to jump with her!”
The firemen all look at one another, knowing there was no other way to get her down.
“I’ll go up,” one firefighter spoke up suddenly. “Get me the ladder, and I’ll go up and get her.”
“Brian, it’s too dangerous!” One of his co-workers shouted. “Are you nuts? You’ll get yourself killed!”
“Better I die trying to save a little girl, rather than stand around down here and watch her die in fear!” Brian snapped. “Now get me the damn ladder! I’m going up, whether you guys help me or not!”
The other firemen quickly moved the fire net out of the way, and got a ladder over to where they all stood. They all knew they’d have to hurry, if there was any chance of getting the girl out of there alive.
“You’ll have to be fast,” one fireman whispered to Brian. “It’s about to collapse…”
“I’ll be superman fast,” Brian said with a slight smile, trying to keep his sense of humour in tact.
A.J. watched wordlessly as the firemen set up the ladder, and one brave man started to climb up.
“THEY’RE COMING BABY! HELP’S COMING!” A.J. yelled up to his terrified daughter. “HOLD ON BABY! JUST HOLD ON!”
“DADDY!” Ashlynn wailed. “WANT DOWN! DADDY!” She screamed, as flames engulfed the door to their apartment. “DADDY!”
Brian, the fireman, climbed up as quickly and carefully as he could, and reached the window shortly. He was amazed the small girl hadn’t been engulfed in flames, from having the window open with the fire right behind her.
“Hi there,” Brian smiled softly. “I’m Brian Littrell. What’s your name?”
“Ashlynn Jade McLean,” she whispered.
“Well, Ashlynn, I’m going to get you out of here and back to your Daddy, okay?”
“Kay…” Ashlynn answered quietly.
“Now, I need you to wrap your arms around my neck and hold on tight, alright?”
Ashlynn nodded, to show she understood, and quickly wrapped her arms around his neck as tight as she could.
Brian held her with one arm, and the ladder with the other. He looked back into the apartment quickly, and saw that it was about to explode. He scrambled down the ladder some, then pressed his back up against the wall below the window. He did not want for the little girl to get hurt – he’d rather he got himself hurt, than her.
Ashlynn let out a terrified scream as their apartment exploded, and flames came flying out the window. She buried her face into Brian, and hugged him and Simon both, tightly.
Brian let out a relieved sigh, when the fire didn’t send them flying. He then scrambled down the rest of the ladder as fast as he could. Once he finally reached bottom, he took the girl over to the paramedics, who checked her out, and let her go moments later.
Ashlynn kept crying for her Daddy, and would’ve struggled with the men in white coats, if Brian hadn’t still been there with her. She was still scared. Finally though, she spotted her Daddy, and jumped down off the back of the truck and went running for him with Simon tucked under her arm.
“DADDY!”
A.J. turned around, and felt relief wash over him when he saw his baby girl running for him, arms outstretched. He crouched down and opened his arms for her to fly into. Once she’d flown into his arms he hugged her with all his might, and kissed her soot-covered face all over. He’d been so afraid that he was going to lose her. After making sure that she was all right, he pulled back slightly, and smacked her bottom good.
“Don’t you ever do that again, Ashlynn Jade McLean!” He yelled somewhat. “You do not run back into a burning building just for some stupid stuffed animal!”
Ashlynn began to sob, and clutched Simon to her chest.
“And you do not ever scare Daddy like that again! You should not ever scare Daddy like that! You hear me? You ever do that again, and I’ll spank your bottom even harder!” A.J. scolded. “And you do not make people risk their lives to save you, all because you want your damn toy! You can always get another toy! I can replace that!But I can’t replace you!”
Ashlynn stared at him through her tears. She didn’t want another Simon. She wanted her Simon, the one she had now.
A.J. sighed heavily and pulled her back into his arms and kissed her head. “Baby, please, don’t scare Daddy like that again. Daddy thought he was going to lose you, and he don’t want that...Okay?”
“Kay…” Ashlynn whispered, her head buried in his chest.
A.J. carried her over to where Brian was getting cleaned up some. “I believe you have something to say to him,” he whispered to Ashlynn, then set her down.
Ashlynn ran over and tugged on Brian’s pants. “Brian!” She called softly. “Brian!”
Brian looked down at the little girl and smiled warmly. “Hey,” he said. “You find your Daddy?”
Ashlynn nodded. “Yes….Thank-you….”
Brian crouched down and hugged her. “You’re welcome Ashlynn,” he told her. “But, I want you to promise me something, okay?”
Ashlynn nodded again. “Kay….”
“Promise me, you will never run back into a burning building again. Ever. That you will not run back in for anything.”
“Promise Brian,” Ashlynn replied softly. “I won’ts….”
“Good,” Brian said. “Now, whose your friend here, that I believe you ran back in to get.”
“Simon,” Ashlynn told him proudly. “He’s my bests friend.”
“Ah, best friend. I see,” Brian nodded. “It’s nice to have a best friend Ashlynn.”
Ashlynn cocked her head, and looked at him. “Can you be bests friend too, Brian?”
Brian smiled warmly at her. “Sure Ashlynn. I can be your best friend too, if you’d like.”
Ashlynn grinned and threw her arms about him, and grinned even bigger when he hugged her back.
Later that night, at an expensive hotel nearby, A.J. was giving Ashlynn a bath to get all the soot off her.
“Daddy? I bad girl?” She asked softly.
A.J. sighed. “Yes, Baby. You were a bad girl, by not listening to Daddy.”
“Sorry….”
“Baby, when Daddy tells you to do something, or not to do something, you have to listen okay? Daddy’s just trying to keep you safe, not be mean.”
“Kay,” Ashlynn said softly, as she played with her rubber duckie she’d gotten before they went to the hotel.
A.J. finished cleaning her up, then took her out of the tub and put her in brand new bunny rabbit pajamas that she’d wanted forever. He zipped the zipper up the front and kissed her forehead.
“Okay lil’ bunny,” he smiled. “It’s time to hop into bed.”
“Don’ts wanna go sleep!” Ashlynn whined. “Wanna play, Daddy…”
“Baby, Daddy said it’s time for bed.”
Ashlynn pouted, hoping that it’d work on him.
“Nope. Not going to work this time, Baby. It’s bed or no McDonalds for breakfast.”
Ashlynn pouted even more, and rubbed her eyes sleepily. “Meanie….”
“Ashlynn,” A.J. said, giving her a small Look.
Ashlynn’s eyes teared up some, and she buried her face into her Daddy’s shoulder. She didn’t want to get another spanking before bed. Actually, she didn’t want to get another spanking ever again. She did not like them one bit. She vowed to herself to never make her Daddy mad enough to spank her ever again.
A.J. picked her up and carried her out to the double bed, and turned the covers down. He then set her down in the bed, handed her Simon, and tucked them both in. He sat on the edge, kissed her head, and smiled at her.
“Love you Baby….”
“Love Daddy….” Ashlynn murmured, closing her eyes to go to sleep. She was exhausted from the day’s events.
A.J. sang to her softly until she fell asleep, then sat on the foot of the bed to watch T.V. He’d put the T.V. on low, as not to wake her.
During the night, Ashlynn woke up screaming, tears streaming down her small face.
A.J. awoke with a start when he heard his baby scream, and sat up quickly. “What? What’s wrong Baby?”
Ashlynn crawled into his lap and sobbed. “Brian didn’ts save me!” She wailed. “I gots blown up like toys did….”
A.J. sighed heavily, realizing she’d a nightmare about being trapped inside of their burning apartment. He hugged her tight and kissed her head. “It’s okay Baby….Daddy’s got you now, okay? And he’s never going to let you go again. Promise.”
Ashlynn snuggled into him, hiding her face in his bare chest, fingers wrapping around the hair she found there.
“Shh….” A.J. whispered, while rubbing her back. “Daddy’s got you, Baby….Daddy’s here….”
Ashlynn soon fell asleep in her Daddy’s arms, listening to his heartbeat.
A.J. sat there holding her for an hour or so after she’d fallen asleep. He was so relieved to be able to hold her still, after all that had happened that day. He swore to God, he’d never let her out of his sight again for as long as he lived. He did not want to come that close to losing his precious little angel ever again. Not ever!