"Are you coping there, Elvis?" Sam chuckles, as he watches his best friend, Elvis Cridlington washing the dishes in the sink.
"Yes, I'm fine, Sam. The turkey should be ready any moment now." Elvis replies, turning round to face his mentor. "So, have you got any plans for Christmas?" He asks casually.
"Well, I might be seeing Sarah and James, if I can manage." Sam says thoughtfully. "But not too much otherwise. What about you, Elvis?"
"Oh, I don't know Sam. I did try to see if my mother could come here for Christmas. She's a bit busy though..." Elvis feels his face fall a little, but he manages a smile for his friend's sake.
"Don't worry, Elvis, I'm sure"-
The red head's words are drowned out by the incessant wailing and screaming of the smoke alarm. Sam, of course, automatically runs through safety procedures.
"Power off, Elvis!" He calls, running for the fire extinguisher next to the door. Elvis dashes for the mains and switches off the power at the wall.
"The power's off, Sam!" He shouts.
This is all that the famed firefighter needs to hear, before he presses the nozzle of the fire extinguisher and aims it at the oven. Within minutes, there is a crackle and a hiss of protest before there is silence.
"Three," Elvis mouths. Sam nods, and replies two, quietly. Then, they both, with a note of resignation, say 'one."
"CRIDLINGTON!"
Station Officer Steele, followed by Penny Morris, the first female firefighter in the team and in Pontypandy, both dash in the room, looking outraged and concerned, respectively.
"What happened in here, Fireman Cridlington?"
"Oh sorry Station Officer Steele, sir- I...um..." Elvis trailed off. How could the young fireman explain his newest disaster? He decides to just get it over with, however, as his boss is starting to look more and more steely by the minute.
"I burned the turkey, sir. I didn't mean"-
"Actually, sir, I'm to blame." Sam speaks up suddenly. "I was talking to Elvis whilst he was doing the dishes, and I guess we both got distracted to notice."
Elvis's jaw drops at this- gosh, he knew Sam was his best friend and all, but did he really just accept the blame for the turkey burning?
"Ah. Well don't let it happen again, Fireman Sam, Fireman Cridlington- this place is starting to fall to bits as it is. And we'll never be able to enjoy a good old fashioned Christmas dinner, either. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some paperwork to see to."
As Station Officer Steele leaves the kitchen, Sam helps Elvis carefully remove the turkey from the oven.
"Oh..." Elvis says quietly. "Well, that's certainly not gone to plan...I'm sorry about that, Sam."
"Don't apologise old boy!" Sam chuckles, putting an arm round his friend's shoulders. "It was an accident, Elvis- it could have happened to anybody."
"Sam's right, Elvis." Penny puts in. "Even I sometimes make mistakes with my cooking. But don't worry- we'll sort this whole mess out."
"Thank you..." Elvis says shyly, forcing on a smile.
"Now, then how about we"-
But Sam is interrupted once again by a loud noise of distress.
"Oh dear, whatever it is, it'd better wait, Sam!" Penny exclaims. It was the fire alarm blaring, and they had to move fast. And they do- towards the firefighter's pole.
"Now who needs the fire service?" Station Officer Steele mutters in his office. He rips off a piece of paper, and scans it with sharp, well trained eyes, before heading to the intercom.
"Dilys Price is trapped in Price's General store by Trevor Evan's bus!" He announces.
"Oh dear, sounds serious." Elvis breathes. "I hope Trevor's okay."
"I'm sure he'll be fine!" Sam says, but he is also concerned.
"All present and correct, Sam," Penny announces.
"Right- let's go." Sam answers grimly, and the three leave the fire station, with Jupiter's sirens blaring and lights flashing.
...
Sometime later, they spy Trevor's bus- it had rammed into Dily's shop front, damaging the front of the property and the bus itself- severely.
"Right, we need to be careful- it looks like Trevor has fallen victim to black ice." Sam warns, and the other two nod affirmatively.
Throwing the doors open, they scramble out and with a rushed efficiency; they start to get towrope, ready to tow the bus away.
"Is the structure table?" Sam calls from beside Jupiter, over sudden screams of 'Help me!' Penny looks at the door frame. It looked as though it would collapse if they weren't careful.
"I don't trust it, Sam!" She shouts back. "It looks dangerously unstable!"
"Okay! Well, I need one of you to get in and rescue Dilys from upstairs!" The red headed fireman decides. "I don't want any of you getting crushed at the door!"
"I'll go, Sam!" Penny declares bravely.
"Elvis, tie the rope round the bumper of Trevor's bus!" Sam shouts.
"Wait, where's Trevor?" Elvis asks.
"I'm here, boys!" Trevor comes out of Bella Lasagne's café, wrapped in blankets. "Is Dilys going to be alright?" He asks in concern, looking at the shop and his bus.
"She will be- Penny's going through the upper storey window to rescue her, as the door's too unstable!" Sam answers.
Soon, Sam carefully raises Jupiter's extending ladder so that Penny can climb in and rescue Dilys. Once she retrieves the redheaded shopkeeper, she makes it back to the window she entered and carefully helps Dilys out before climbing out herself.
"You'll be alright, Dilys." She tells her.
"Oh thank goodness! Thank you, Penny." Dilys marvels. "My poor shop! It's ruined!"
...
Once Sam tows the bus away, carefully, they retreat from the ruined store. Thankfully, they had no need to worry about Norman, as 'Mummy's Little Darling,' was building snowmen with Sarah and James at the park.
"What am I going to do?" Sobs Dilys. "I'll need to get that shop mended, and I wouldn't be able to get in or out or anything! Oh, what will become of me and my Norman?!" She wails.
"I'm sorry, Dilys." Elvis tells her kindly, patting her shoulder as a gesture of comfort. "I'm sure you and Norman can stay with someone until your shop's been repaired."
"They can stay with me." Penny offers suddenly.
"Are you sure, Penny? Your house is...um..." Sam hesitates.
"I'm sure. We'll manage, somehow." Penny smiles broadly. "How about it Dilys?"
"Oh thank you, Penny! I'm not one for saying this, but this town has angels in disguise. My mother always used to say to me, 'Dilys, you must never forget that angels can come from even the smallest and most unexpected corners." Dilys says.
Little did anyone know, that Dilys' words were about to ring true in just a matter of days...