A/N: Hey everyone... This is just a quick little Author's Note I had to write. This is actually based upon a true story. Everything here is 100% true. I am writing this because I feel, as the title suggests, that I owe it to this man to write this. He just died this afternoon and I already miss him so much. Anyway, here's the story.

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June 2008

Ever since she was little, Linjei always dreamt of being a firefighter. When she was 11, she found out about a local program where she could be trained for a career in firefighting; unfortunately, you had to be 14 to join. She was so excited and couldn't wait until her 14th birthday...

fast forward 3 years

August 30,2011

It is now Linjei's 14th birthday and she can hardly wait to turn in her application for the Fire Department Explorer Program. The next day, she hands it in at her local fire station complete and neatly filled out. She's informed a few months later that there will be a physical agility test and an interview that all aspiring Explorers have to go through. In November, she tries her hardest for the agility test and she handles the interview well. In January of 2012, she is informed that she's been accepted into the program.

Linjei attends her first Explorer meeting and meets everyone on duty that night. 2 firefighters, an Engineer and Firefighter/Paramedic Christopher Douglas. Linjei soon finds that she gets along better with Firefighter Douglas the best and tries to be around him as much as possible because she feels most comfortable with him. He helps her learn how to do the things she struggles with and always kept a watchful eye on all the Explorers. Chris loves working with the Explorers and has fun joking around and laughing with them, he enjoys teaching them new things as well as watching them learn and progress.

In April of 2012, Firefighter Douglas took a test and was promoted to being an Engineer. He was also tranfered from the fire station near Linjei's house to one farther away. After that, Linjei only saw him occasionally and when she did see him she felt complete again. She only saw him about 6 times after he transferred to the other station and she missed him very much.

July 5, 2013

"Linjei! Listen to this! 'A firefighter was hit by a white Ford F-150 on Interstate 10 at around 9:40 this morning. Sources say that the fire truck stopped on the shoulder of the road and the firefighter jumped out, only to be hit by the oncoming truck and pinned against the side of the truck. The firefighter's colleagues immediately began rescue procedures and the firefighter was taken to _____ Medical Center in critical condition. No word yet on how bad the injuries are, the name of the firefighter hasn't been released." Her mother read the news article to her while looking saddened, it was always sad when something bad happened to a firefighter.
"That's too bad. I hope it wasn't anyone we know!" Linjei said with a worried tone.
At 3 PM there were still no updates on the news article.

4:30 PM

Linjei decided to see if there was any further news on the firefighter who was hit earlier that morning, hoping it wasn't anyone she knew. She saw the story had been updated and that it was an Engineer who had been hit, not a firefighter... Her worry grew quicker as she clicked on the news link.

"Christopher Douglas, 41, who had been with the fire department for eight years, suffered major injuries shortly before 9:40 a.m. Friday when he was struck by a white Ford F-150 pickup on the shoulder of the Monterey Avenue on-ramp to eastbound I-10. Douglas and his fellow firefighters were responding to a rollover collision reported about 9:30 a.m. at Washington Street and I-10, according to the California Highway Patrol. But for some unknown reason, the CHP added, Douglas, who drove the engine, pulled it over onto the shoulder of the on-ramp and got out. That was when he was struck by the F-150. After Douglas was struck, his fellow firefighters provided medical aid and then rushed him to _______ Medical Center, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Douglas, however, was pronounced dead at 12:28 p.m., according to the Riverside County coroner’s office".

Linjei felt sick to her stomach as she slammed her laptop shut.

"No... He can't be dead... God please let it be a mistake" Linjei thought desperately as she pulled her knees to her body and began to cry... Linjei never makes a sound when she cries because she doesn't want anyone to hear her, this had been her mentality ever since she was a toddler. This time, though, she didn't care as her tears streamed down her face. She wailed and didn't care how loud she was. She knew the name in the news story was no mistake. Engineer Douglas, the one she'd looked up to and learned so many things from, was dead. The thought made her cry even harder as she slowly got off her couch and stood on shaky legs. She slowly walked to her back yard to tell her parents, who were also close to Douglas, that he was the one who had been hit. 

With her head hung low and her tears falling against the hot concrete, she told her parents the news...

"It was Douglas" was all she said and she burst into loud, heartbroken sobs once again. Her mother came and hugged her and they cried together while her father looked on with a sad expression. They stayed in that position for around 3 minutes before Linjei pulled away from her mother and slowly made her way to her room. She threw herself on the bed and cried her eyes out. Loud, ugly sobs ripped through her lungs as tears stung her eyes and began to hurt from all the crying. She cried that way for a good 10 minutes before her parents came in and sat on her bed. They listened to her cry and her mom cried with her as they said nothing. The silence screamed around them once Linjei's tears finally came to a halt.

"He was a great guy" her mother commented somberly.

"I'll never forget him" Linjei nodded. "I remember one of the first things I noticed about him was his eyes... They were blue instead of the brown eyes everyone else had. I told him 'You're one of the first firefighters I've seen working at this station who has blue eyes.' he looked at me with a smirk and said 'that's because unlike everyone else, I'm not full of ' and we both laughed... That was when I first got to know him and automatically, he was my favorite because of his sense of humor."

Her parents nodded and they shared many moments of silence, just remembering the man who had changed all of their lives for the better. Linjei had always read that when you lose someone important to you, that you feel an emptiness inside you, a sort of hole in your chest that makes it hard to breathe. She never realized how true that was until she lost Douglas. He was like her second dad when she was at the station and he was also one of the best friends she'd ever had. He taught her so many things and had shared so many memories with her that she had no way at all to repay him for everything he'd done for her.

Later that night, Linjei went into her back yard and sat alone, still reeling from the shock. She looked up into the sky, wondering just where her favorite Engineer was, when she saw a single star shining brighter than the others. That was when she knew that he'd always be there for her, even if she couldn't see him.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A/N: to those of you who read the story, thank you. It means a lot to me.  I miss Engineer Douglas a lot and I wish he were still around. It's still hard to believe he's gone and I still feel that hole in my chest, it really is hard to breathe... I don't even know what to say at this point... I hope he spent the 4th of july with his family.