I had finally achieved my dream of becoming a fire fighter. I have to move and leave everything else behind, but this is what I have wanted ever since I was a little kid. I was a volunteer in my home town, but now I will be payed to do what I love. I am now officially the newest member of Charming Fire Department.

I managed to find a small apartment to rent on the outskirts of the town. I would prefer something with a nice back yard, because my dog is going to go crazy stuck in a tiny apartment all the time, and being a 65kg bull arab, he doesn't really fit in an apartment.

I was nervous for my first day, but I knew I would be fine, I had hung out with the fire fighter guy types since I was 17 and joined the volunteer brigade in my home town. I was used to the rude talking, pranks and sense of humour of a fire fighter. I walked to the station, as my car was currently broken. I arrived and was greeted by the captain, Michael, a middle aged greying man who seemed very laid back.

"You must be Ellie. Nice to meet you, I'm Michael, your captain." He said as he extended out his hand.

I shook his hand. "Nice to meet you too."

He smiled, "excited?" he asked.

"Yes."

"I'll introduce you to the other guys, but I must warn you, we haven't ever had a girl work with us before and the guys can be quite offensive with their jokes some times. You will just have to ignore them, or say something back."

I let out a small laugh. "Yeah, I know what that is like. I was a volunteer for three years before this, so I'm used to it."

Michael smiled. "That's good. You should be able to hold your own then."

Michael walked me through to the kitchen, where five other guys were chatting and laughing. "Oi, dickheads! This is our new member, Ellie. Make her feel welcome, and don't be fuckers." Michael pats my shoulder and walks out of the room. Each of the men introduced themselves to me.

"I'm Craig" said a tall bulky man with a gruff voice.

"Darren" said a shorter man with a yellow beared and bald head.

"Yaz" said a dark skinned man with bright green eyes.

"Brad" said a man, whose shirt looked too tight as his arms were bulging out and his abs were clearly visible through the tight shirt.

"And James" said the last man, who looked to be the youngest of the men, with short cut brown hair and light blue eyes.

I smiled at them all and shook everyone's hand. "nice to meet you all"

Before I could talk to them any further the alarm went off. They all ran for the garage, where the trucks were parked and I followed. I was riding in the back of the truck. There is a warehouse fire just outside of town. By the time we got there the building was fully ablaze. If anyone was in there they would be dead by now. I start pulling the hose out and get to work.

3 hours later the building is a blackened crumbled mess on the ground. The captain show up to assess the scene, but gets held up by a group of men, who I assume own the building. It looks like they are in a heated argument, but none of the others go to intervene. I turn to Craig. "Is he alright?" I ask.

He focuses on the hose he is rolling up. "He's fine. He'll sort it out. "

"Sort what out?" I ask

Craig glares at me. "Just leave it. Don't worry. Don't ask questions."

I am confused and have no idea what he is talking about. "What?'

"Just shut the fuck up Ellie, Jesus Christ." He storms off to the other side of the truck.

I decide to ignore his outburst. He must just be exhausted.

After I have finished packing up the truck I sit by the truck, with my back resting against the wheel and have a drink of water. I didn't expect to get a fire call so soon; I thought I would have at least got shown around the station first. It was a strange morning, but hopefully I got the rest of the day to get shown around and learn the ropes of the new station.

Somebody walks up beside me. I see their white sneakers and realise it isn't one of the firemen; I look up to see a man, about in his mid-twenties. He is wearing white sneakers, jeans and a white t-shirt that looks too big for him. He has longish blond hair and a small beard. He smiles at me and hands me a bottle of powerade. I take the bottle and smile at him. "Thanks."

He smiles back. "So, you're the new kid in town then?" he asks.

"Yeah, I guess." I say. I don't like to be called a kid, especially by someone who isn't much older than me.

He smiles again. He has a kind smile. "I'm Jackson, or just Jax, if you prefer."

I stand up and shake his hand. "Ellie" I say.

He leans against the truck and smiles again. "So, wha-"

Craig comes over to us and cuts off Jax with a hard stare. He does not break his stare until Jax becomes uncomfortable. "I better go then, see ya around Ellie." He says and quickly walks off.

Craig turns his attention to me. "Don't."

I don't understand what has made him act like this. "Don't what?"

He looks back at Jax and the group of men who are still talking to the captain. "Don't get involved with him, Ellie. He's just bad news."

I sigh. "I wasn't getting involved with anyone. He just introduced himself."

"Well leave it at that. Nothing else, do you understand me?" he gives me a stern look.

"Yeah, alright then." I say and turn around to get back in the truck to head back to station.