"Well," he said, his mouth quirking up in that smile that still made my knees weak, "it seems we have a dog now." He gestured to the puppy, who had apparently decided that my turnout coat was the most fascinating thing in the world and was trying to chew on one of the reflective stripes. "His name is Sunny."
I lookeddown at the tag attached to his collar. In neat script, it read:
Sunny Delgado-Dalton
"Jimmy," I said again, my heart hammering against my ribs.
"And I figure," he continued, his voice steady despite the fact that his hands were trembling slightly, "if we have a dog together, we should probably make it official."
That's when he dropped to one knee.
The apparatus bay went completely silent except for the sound of Sunny's tiny paws scrambling for purchase on my turnout coat and my own ragged breathing. In my peripheral vision, I could see our entire combined family — firefighters and paramedics and nurses, the people who understood the weight of what we did every day — watching with barely contained excitement.
"Isabela Delgado," Jimmy said, opening the velvet box to reveal a ring that caught the light streaming through the bay doors. It was perfect — simple, elegant, exactly what I would have chosen if I'd been brave enough to dream this big. "You are the strongest, bravest, most incredible woman I've ever known. You run into burning buildings to save people you've never met. You lead with your heart and your head in equal measure. You make me want to be better than I am, and somehow you love me even when I fall short."
Tears were streaming down my face now, and I couldn't have spoken if my life depended on it.
"I want to spend the rest of my life supporting your dreams, celebrating your victories, and holding you through the hard calls."
I let out a shaky breath, tears streaming down my face now.
"I want to pack our kids' lunches and embarrass them at school events by bragging about their mom, the fire chief. I want to grow old with you and argue about proper hose loads and whose turn it is to walk Sunny."
A laugh escaped me through the tears — only Jimmy would include hose load arguments in a proposal.
He paused, taking a shaky breath, and I saw his eyes flick briefly to the crowd of people watching us. Thompson was grinning like an idiot, Martinez looked like he might cry, and Sophia had her hands pressed to her mouth like she was trying to contain her excitement.
"Will you marry me?" Jimmy asked, his voice soft but carrying clearly through the apparatus bay.
I looked down at Sunny, who had apparently decided that this was the perfect moment for a nap and had curled up in my lap like he'd always belonged there. I looked at Jimmy, kneeling on the concrete floor of Station 2 in his good clothes, holding a ring that represented everything I'd been afraid to want. I looked at our combined families — blood and chosen, fire and medical, all the people who had supported us through the worst of times and were here to celebrate the best.
"Yes," I whispered, and then louder, "Yes, you ridiculous man. Yes."
The apparatus bay erupted. Thompson let out a whoop that probably violated several noise ordinances. Martinez started clapping so enthusiastically that he nearly fell over. Jack was grinning and taking pictures, and Sophia was definitely crying now.
Jimmy slipped the ring onto my finger with hands that were steady despite the chaos around us, and then he was kissing me while I held a sleeping puppy and our entire found family cheered in the background.
"I love you," he said against my lips.
"I love you, too," I replied. "But we're going to have to have a serious conversation about your planning skills. A puppyand a proposal on the same day? That's a lot of life changes at once."
"Says the woman who wants five kids," he pointed out, standing up and pulling me with him, careful not to disturb Sunny.
"Fair point." I looked down at our dog —our dog, I was still getting used to that — and felt something settle into place in my chest. "Sunny Delgado-Dalton?"
"I figured we should practice hyphenating," he said with a grin. "For when you're Fire Chief Delgado-Dalton."
"And you'll be Mr. Delgado-Dalton?"
"I'll be whatever you want me to be, as long as I get to be yours."
Thompson appeared at my elbow, his eyes suspiciously bright. "So, L.T.," he said in his usual gravelly voice, "I guess this means we're getting a new station cook?"
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Thompson," I said, but I was smiling. "He hasn't passed the firehouse pancake test yet."
"Challenge accepted," Jimmy said immediately. "But first, I think Sunny needs to be introduced to his new family properly."
As if he'd been waiting for her cue, Sunny opened his eyes and looked around at the crowd of firefighters and medical professionals surrounding us. His tail started wagging, and he let out a tiny bark that somehow conveyed pure joy.
