Spoilers: Major spoilers for the episode "Promotion."

Disclaimer: I don't own Emergency, and I'm only borrowing Chet and Mike.

A/N: I was watching "Promotion," the other day, and while I love the way Roy struggles to accept the test results (and the great conversations he has with Johnny), I was also struck by Chet's morose reaction to his own placement on the list, and I couldn't resist exploring that.

As always, I thank my Lord Jesus Christ for his incredible mercy and grace and his many blessings. I would be utterly lost without him.

A Little Consolation

If there was one thing Chet Kelly could say about his job, it was that it sure had a way of putting things in perspective. Lousy test results verses a freeway pile-up? No contest - the pile-up was a whole lot worse. And the things that were really important? Well, saving that little girl was one of them, and seeing her breathing on her own again, that was just about the best feeling in the whole world.

Compared to all that, the engineer's test really shouldn't have mattered.

But hours later, standing in the bay with a mop in his hands, Chet couldn't help thinking about it anyway.

Seventy-Fourth. He still couldn't believe it. He'd come in seventy-fourth.

Sure, it wasn't quite the bottom of the list, but he felt like he'd run a race and wound up being one of the very last to stagger across the finish line.

And that stung.

It wasn't like he'd expected to make the top ten or anything. When he was kid, there'd always been a lot of Bs and Cs on his report card - usually more Cs than Bs, if he was being honest. But he'd figured that if there was any test he could do pretty well on, it was something like the engineer's exam. He'd been a fireman for a long time now, and all that practical experience had to count for something, right?

Apparently not.

Chet scowled and his hands curled tighter around the mop. He dunked it back into the bucket, flinging small drops of water through the air, then he wrung the mop out and quickly dragged it back and forth across the concrete, the mop head swinging. He worked his way past the kitchen and through the empty space where the squad would have been parked if Johnny and Roy hadn't been on a run. The mop was getting a little dry, so he dunked it again, not really bothering to wring it out as much this time.

The mop hit the cement with a wet slap.

"I think I hear the floor begging for mercy."

Chet blinked and looked up to find Mike leaning against the engine's cab, watching him, his arms folded across his chest. He wondered how long the guy had actually been standing there, but then again, the engineer was so quiet, who knew?

Chet shrugged uncomfortably and went back to mopping, slower this time. "Just trying to get this done before we get called out again."

Mike cocked his head thoughtfully. "You still bent out of shape about the exam?"

"Me?" Chet scoffed. "Nah, of course not. It's just a stupid test. Doesn't mean anything."

"Seems like it means something to you."

Chet sighed. Mike sure didn't talk much, but when he did, he never minced words.

Straightening up, Chet stopped mopping and gripped the handle up high, leaning against it. "I just don't know if you'd get it, man. When you took the exam, where did you place?"

Mike gave him a sidelong glance, a little color rising in his cheeks.

Chet scoffed softly. "Let me guess: first?"

Mike gave a hesitant nod.

"Doesn't surprise me."

And it didn't. Mike was good at his job, real good. He knew the engine inside and out, and there wasn't a single piece of equipment on the rig that he couldn't use and use well. He'd probably had stations fighting over who got to have him as their engineer. But him? Nobody was gonna want a guy who'd come in so low on the list.

Chet sighed again and shook his head. "I just figured that I'd do better than seventy-fourth, you know? With that kind of score, I'll probably be a lineman until I retire. I can hear them now: 'There goes ol' Kelly. Just never could move up the ladder.'"

"You don't know that. Like I said before, the list is good for a year. You still have a shot."

"Sure, if every station in L.A. County winds up needing a new engineer, then I'm a shoe-in."

"So, take it again next year."

"Yeah. Right."

He wasn't sure that he wanted to, though, not now. What if he wound up placing even lower? Maybe it was better to quit while he was ahead. His thoughts must have shown on his face because he felt Mike studying him, frowning faintly.

"Think of it this way, Chet," the engineer offered. "Do you like being a lineman?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Do you want to leave 51?"

Chet was tempted to answer with a jibe about how he couldn't wait to go someplace where his talents were really appreciated, but the truth was, when he'd first thought about taking the test, that was the only thing that made him hesitate. If he got the promotion, then he'd get assigned to a different station…and well, he'd miss the guys. Plus, he'd have to find a new pigeon, and nobody was gonna be quite as much fun as Johnny was.

"No," he admitted, "not really."

"Then, is it really so bad that you didn't do as well as you hoped?"

Chet thought about that for a long moment, then snorted softly, his lips quirking. When you put it like that…

"I guess not."

Still…seventy-fourth? Chet scuffed a toe against the concrete, his smile fading. It made him wonder if he actually knew as much about firefighting as he thought he did.

Maybe it was all the people-watching that Mike tended to do, but once again, the engineer seemed to know what he was thinking.

"Look, Chet," he insisted. "You're a good lineman. And good linemen make good engineers because they know what the linemen need. You'll get your chance eventually."

Chet didn't answer for a minute. It was just lucky that he wasn't the sentimental type, because that really did mean a lot, especially considering the source.

"Thanks, Mike," he said at last.

"You're welcome."

Mike smiled and pushed himself away from the cab. He moved farther down the engine, reaching for something that was sitting up top, on the hose bed, but it was too high for Chet to see what it was.

When Mike pulled it down, Chet blinked. It was a rag.

"I'm pretty sure the floor's had it with you," Mike said, motioning to the mop. "I'll give it a reprieve. Here."

Mike tossed the rag at him and Chet caught it automatically, frowning. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Practice."

Chet's brow furrowed a little deeper as Mike took the mop from him and started sweeping it over the concrete. Then, slowly, realization sunk in, and Chet smiled.

By the time he was through, that engine was gonna shine.

Fin

A/N: Thank you for reading, and please let me know what you think!

Take care and God bless!

Ani-maniac494 :)