It has always been her firm belief that everything happens for a reason. This belief is only further reinforced when she visits Station 51 a week following her release from Rampart.
Knocking at the door to alert anyone inside as to her presence, she opens the door and walks inside even as a rather tall and slim man emerges from a room off to the side.
"Hello, ma'am. May I help you?" the man questions, thick eyebrows raising.
"Well, I hope so," she laughs, trying to put the man at ease. She then holds her hand out to him. "I'm Officer Alessandra Bolotin out of LA."
The man grasps her hand and shakes, smiling as he introduces himself. "Captain Hank Stanley. Pleased to meet you. May I inquire as to the purpose of this visit, Officer?"
"Well, I happen to be looking for your two paramedics," she says, glancing around the station to see the Squad noticeably absent. "But I see they're not here at the moment so I can come back some other time."
"You can wait for them in the rec room if you'd like," he helpfully suggests, curious as to why she would be looking for John and Roy.
"Well, I'd hate to be in the way…"
Grinning, Captain Stanley shakes his head. "I can assure you, ma'am, that you will not be even the slightest in the way."
She considers a moment before smiling, "If you're sure… I guess I can wait."
"Then if you would follow me."
She nods and does just that as he leads her into the room from which she had seen him emerge when he came to greet her.
As they enter the room, three pairs of eyes focus on them.
"Uh, hey, Cap. Who's the dame?"
She bristles slightly at the words, narrowing her eyes at the curly-haired man with the moustache. Before she can light into him over his choice of words, however, the captain answers with a disapproving frown.
"The lady's name is Alessandra Bolotin. She's a police officer, Chet."
"Oh boy!" he exclaims, throwing his hand in the air. "What'd Gage do this time?"
'This time?' the woman wonders, frowning. The man had said 'Gage,' which she assumes is a reference to John Gage, the one Dixie McCall—head nurse at Rampart—had said carried her from the burning inferno of a building and treated her. Was he often in trouble with the police?
"He didn't do anything," she answers a little sharply in defense of her rescuer. "Unless, of course, you count saving my life. He and his partner both."
A thought suddenly dawns on the captain and he turns to her.
"You were the officer John took out of that burning office building! The one we found up on the second floor who evacuated a couple of people from the third floor. That is you, isn't it?" the captain beams and without waiting for reply—he knows the answer—he continues. "That was a very brave thing you did. We were all impressed. You saved several people."
Unable to do otherwise, she returns the smile, though feeling rather bashful about it.
She had caught some heat with her superiors over what she had done and they had told her not to do it again. Of course, she had no intention of doing that ever again... if she could avoid it.
"Ahh, I was just tryn'a help. That's all."
"Awwh. Now, Cap. That's not fair! How come Gage always lucks out helping the cute chicks?"
She rolls her eyes at the man's comment, but not before seeing the captain give him a withering stare.
"So, are you doing okay then? Johnny told us you had some broken ribs…" remarks a man with a faint accent.
Turning to the table to face him, she nods.
"I'm still sore, but it's manageable. I've dealt with worse."
The captain's eyebrows raise in disbelief. "Worse?"
"How?" questions a man sitting near the Hispanic man.
At this, she wavers, thinking back to when she had been hurt the worst in her life… She knows now that it hadn't been even slightly her fault, but… Even now, those experiences occasionally haunt her waking and sleeping moments.
If help hadn't arrived when it did, she would have likely died then, too…
Noting her distant and almost pained expression, Hank frowns.
"Ma'am, are you okay?"
She suddenly looks to him, as if pulled from other place, and then forces a smile.
"I'm aight. Just thinkin', that's all."
"Well, alright…" he replies, not buying it for a minute. Something more had been going on in the young woman's mind… Something that clearly distressed her and certainly more than 'just thinking', but he won't push the matter….
Chet, on the other hand…
"Well? You gonna share?"
Fortunately for Chet and for Alessandra, it is in that moment when the sound of the Squad pulling in is heard.
"If you'll excuse me," Captain Stanley says, exiting the room to inform his paramedics of their visitor.
Approaching his two paramedics—the best in LA County, if not the whole state—the captain gets their attention.
"John. Roy."
"Yes, Cap?" Roy responds as he walks around the Squad and joins Johnny to stand in front of their captain.
"The two of you have a visitor," Hank continues, smiling as he crosses his arms.
"A visitor?" questions the youngest of the crew. "Who?"
"Is it Joanne?" Roy asks curiously, wracking his brain for who would visit he and Johnny at the station.
"Nope," the Captain says, a smug grin on his face. They would never guess.
"Well, you gonna tell us, Cap?"
Chuckling, he simply turns and gestures for them to follow.
Though Roy and Johnny exchange puzzled glances, they shrug and walk into the rec room after him.
The sight they are greeted by is the crew as normal, but also a tall woman with dark brown hair. She's clad in a jacket, a loose fit t-shirt, and worn blue jeans.
Taking note of the woman, Roy looks to his younger partner whom he can already see gearing up, that goofy grin spreading across his face. Sure she isn't his usual—a little too tomboyish for Johnny's liking—still, she's not a bad-looking woman and John Gage just can't help himself.
"We-ell~ Hello there. Cap told us we had a visitor. He didn't tell us she's a pretty lady like you."
A dark eyebrow raises at the comment but the woman otherwise remains silent, crossing her arms. This hot stuff routine wouldn't work on her. She'd seen it too many times and with too many guys. This 'Gage' obviously thinks that he is something real special and figures that all the girls think that he is too.
"Don't try it, Gage," scowls Chet. "The lady ain't interested."
Stifling a laugh, Captain Stanley quickly intervenes.
"John. Roy. This is Officer Alessandra Bolotin."
"Ah, feel free to call me Aly," she begins, trying once again to smile and be sociable. "Alessandra's so formal."
"Bolotin…" repeats Johnny, thinking he knows the name from somewhere… "Bolotin. Now, why do I know that name?"
"Hey!" exclaims, Roy, suddenly piecing it together with a snap of his fingers. "The woman from that office building! The one you treated for the broken ribs and the concussion. You remember, Johnny?"
Eyes widening in recognition, the young man smiles before his face takes on a look of concern.
"So how're you doin' then? Those ribs treatin' you alright?"
The sudden change in attitude intrigues her, but she politely answers, "They're well enough. I was telling your crew and your captain here that it hurts occasionally, but it's nothin' beyond what I can deal with. In fact, I'll be back on duty fairly soon."
"Well, that's great," grins the dark-haired paramedic, obviously pleased.
"Good to hear," his partner agrees with a smile.
"It's also exactly why I wanted to come by here. If it hadn't been for you two, your crew in general, I wouldn't still be here."
She watches as both of them suddenly seem embarrassed to be called out on a job well done, but she doesn't really care. They deserve a thank you and she's fairly certain they aren't thanked nearly enough for the dangerous jobs they do.
"We were just, ah, doin' our jobs," says the younger, suddenly becoming interested in pattern on the wall and the condition of his shoes.
"Really, ma'am. We're just glad you're alright."
"All the same. I just wanted to stop by on my way from a checkup to personally say thank you."
Roy once again notices Johnny's grin spreading across his face as he looks to her again and opens his mouth to speak, "Well, y'know… we could—"
"It was very nice of you to come by," Roy interrupts his partner, seeing the woman's eyebrow raising in a look that he could only guess would not bode well for his partner. He holds his hand out to the officer, who takes it with a smile and shakes. "I'm glad to hear that you're doing well."
"Well I am too, but—"
"It was nice to meet both of you for real this time," Aly smiles, trying her best to ignore the tenacious paramedic's attempt to hit on her.
'I will be nice. I will be nice. I will be nice. I will not lose it on this guy who saved my life. I will be nice,' she internally chants until she is certain he is not in any danger.
"It was nice to meet all of you," she continues, looking around at the A-shift of Station 51 before holding her hand out to the captain who takes it with a smile.
"Thank you for allowing me to stay until they came back."
"You're very welcome, ma'am," he replies, already taking a liking to the young woman who would go out of her way to come here and thank them. "Feel free to come by anytime."
"Hopefully I won't have to get trapped in anymore buildings to find a reason to come by, but we'll see," she chuckles. "Well, I'll get outta you guys' way. Have a good day."
It is in better spirits than she had been since she moved to LA County that she leaves the station, step light despite the dull ache from her ribcage.
Yes, everything happens for a reason. Something she has always believed.
Fin.