Seventeen years on the job, I still remember my first day like it was yesterday. I fixed my probie patch to my uniform, strapped on my gear and ran to catch the Staten Island Ferry, making my way to the burning towers. My boots pounded the pavement of lower Manhattan as the dire need to save lives pulsated through my veins. It was the day I became a hero. Throughout my career, I often thought about the man I saved that day. I wondered about his life. If he had eventually married and had a family of his own. I never expected to find the answers. Meeting her was a twist of fate. Lying to her was my choice. But falling in love with her was beyond my control. * Previously published as a novella in the Burn Me Anthology, Jimmy and Melissa