STAND ALONE
AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER
In "Your Day Is Coming", when the woman from Portland stated that she cared about the neighborhood, it got me to wondering what the rest of Molly's neighbors thought about the situation and this was born. Chicago Fire belongs to Dick Wolf and NBC. I made up the name of the Portland couple.
Athena Johnson smiled in satisfaction when she saw the closed down bar. Ah, good. We have a nice neighborhood now, she thought to herself. She had never liked that they had had to buy a place that was located right next to a bar, but it was all that they could afford on their budget. But at least now they would have some peace and quiet. Ian Johnson followed her gaze and nodded in pleasure. Peace and quiet was theirs. No more noisy bar chatter to disturb little Joshua when he was trying to sleep. Things would be good. He hadn't been happy that the only apartment that he could afford was a crappy one that was right next to a bar, but he had tried to make do. Obviously, it hadn't worked until now. As they walked down the street, they noticed various people giving them dirty looks. Okay, so they're not too happy about losing their watering hole, Ian thought to himself. Yes, he felt bad about that, but the owners weren't really good neighbors. They had been condescending and rude when they had asked them to keep things down and then one of the owners had tried to attack Athena. Giving himself a silent shake, Ian led Athena into the grocery store and began to browse around, grabbing the things that they would need for the week, such as formula. As they gathered up the things they needed, he couldn't help but notice the glares that got sent their way. Looking at Athena, he saw that she had noticed the same thing. With a sigh, the woman walked up to another person in the store.
"Will you please why tell me why everyone is in such a snit over a lousy bar?" she demanded of the man.
"Because that "lousy bar" as you call it, is like a second home to a lot of people, most of whom are firefighters and cops," he replied.
"Yeah, and you two have been really rude to them," a woman chimed in, betraying the fact that she had been eavesdropping.
"We were rude?" Ian repeated. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Neighbors were supposed to come together in times of crisis and yet everyone was acting like they had done something wrong. "They were completely unreasonable when we asked them to hold things down and then one nearly attacked Athena," he told them.
"No, you provoked Christopher," the woman corrected. "None of us have had any problems with Molly's. We know that sometimes they can be loud, but it's just part of the ambiance," she continued as a small group of people came up to listen and watch.
"And why would you buy an apartment next to a bar when you have a newborn anyways?" the man wondered.
"It was all we could afford," Ian replied.
"Just give the quiet a chance. You'll like it," Athena encouraged. She knew she did.
"We like Molly's," the woman stated and everyone murmured in agreement, causing the couple to stare in surprise. They had been so sure that everyone else felt the same. But then again, this was a big city and not Portland where everyone understood the importance of having a nice, quiet neighborhood. Uncomfortably, Ian and Athena finished their shopping and then went back home. They couldn't believe that they were standing alone on this…