Tempered By Fire
By nancestef
Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Emergency! its characters, or its settings. This is purely a work of fiction. No monetary gain has been (or will be) made from this work. It is for the enjoyment of Emergency! Fans. It is not my intention to infringe upon any copyrights or trademarks, so please don't sue me.
Thanks to everyone involved with the program Emergency – from the stars all the way down to the janitor. You've given us countless hours of entertainment.
Author's notes:
Please note that I am not a physician, nor do I play one on TV. All medical information was gathered from internet sources (and some from episodes of our favorite television show!). If there are any mistakes, they are mine alone, and for those, I apologize.
This is my first ever Emergency! Fan Fiction. It was started in March 2009. It's taken me until now, over six years to finish. I don't know how fan fiction writers can write so many stories. They have talent, and I am jealous!
In order to make my storyline work, I had to take a few "liberties":
I don't know if the Fire Department has an Appeals Process for those who do not pass their field training. But, in order to write the story, I invented one.
If you remember the episode "Snakebite", when Roy is explaining how the paramedic program works to the nurse in the clinic, he states that they were only certified in LA County. I made a change to make my story work.
I don't know how far the fire department would have gone to notify next of kin. Again, I had to build my story, so I improvised in this situation.
This is a "G – rated" work of fiction. (Mainly because I wouldn't know how to write any other type!)
This story contains some owies, angst, humor, soul-searching, and some firefighting.
I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 1
Morning's serenity was interrupted by the harsh ringing of the bedside alarm clock. Slowly, a large hand crept out from under the blanket and tried to silence the racket but only succeeded in knocking the offending invention to the floor. The clock bounced off the nightstand and came to rest under the bed, continuing its noisy assault on the sleeping couple.
A soft voice moaned quietly. "Hank…Hank…it's time to get up."
Pulling the blankets over his head, he grumbled, "Let them run the place without me."
The female form rolled over and wrapped her arms around the sleeping captain. "That's not possible…that place would fall apart if you weren't there." She snuggled closer to his ear. "C'mon…vacation's over," she whispered.
He rolled over to face her, wrapping her in his arms. "I guess you're right. There's nothing I'd rather do than spend the day here with you, but I don't get paid to do that."
"Why don't you take your shower, while I make us some breakfast?" she suggested.
"Yeah…yeah. That sounds good," he mumbled sleepily.
Millie Stanley reached over to the chair next to the night table and slipped into her pink bathrobe. She turned to face the still sleeping captain. "C'mon sleepyhead…get a move on."
Hank muttered something about another minute when Millie decided to take the matter into her own hands. She quietly picked up her pillow and aimed for his head. The pillow made a "whoomp" sound as she hit her target. Hank awoke suddenly and put his arms up in defense. "Oh, no you don't!" He grabbed his pillow, and the two began to beat each other until they were breathless. They laughed and fell back onto the bed.
"Let's go…I'll make breakfast."
They kissed as Hank made his way into the bathroom and closed the door.
While she was in the kitchen, Millie could hear the shower running. Humming to herself, she opened the refrigerator and took out the carton of eggs, along with some bacon. After measuring the coffee carefully, she put the pot on the stove. As she began to prepare the eggs, she put bread into the toaster.
The bathroom door opened, and Hank could smell the aroma of frying bacon as it wafted throughout the house. As he ambled into the kitchen, he saw that Millie had just finished setting their places at the table. Hank snuck up behind her and surprised her with a big hug.
"Don't scare me like that."
"You were expecting someone else?"
She turned to face him. "Only my husband," she said with a sly grin. They kissed again.
"You certainly look handsome this morning, Captain Stanley," she grinned. "I just adore a man in uniform."
"And you look ravishing, Mrs. Stanley."
"You're going to be late for work if you don't eat."
"I know. But I have a good reason," he said. As he pulled the chair away from the table and sat down, Millie poured steaming hot coffee into his cup.
"You wouldn't want to be late on your first day back, would you?" She turned and put the coffee pot back on the stove. Gathering the eggs, bacon, and toast, she put them on a platter and set the dish on the table.
"Nah, I guess you're right. Shouldn't the girls be getting ready for school?"
"No, honey, they have today off, remember?"
Hank took a sip from his coffee cup. "Oh, yeah…lucky them."
Morning sunlight streamed through the blinds into the bedroom. The lone figure in bed was awakened by heavy pressure in her chest. She was having difficulty drawing a breath. Upon opening her eyes, she was greeted by the face of her cat, Roscoe.
"Roscoe – what are you do— oh my God! What time is it?" She frantically rolled out of bed searching for the alarm clock. One of the cats had knocked it off the table sometime overnight, and it landed across the room.
I can't be late today, she thought. That's not the way I want to make a first impression. She knelt down on her hands and knees, digging the clock from under the dresser. "Stupid cats," she muttered to herself.
As she was on all fours retrieving the clock, Roscoe and Smokey jumped down from the bed and began to weave themselves between her arms and legs, meowing insistently.
"C'mon, guys! Cut it out! I'm gonna be late!"
She put the clock back on the dresser and hurried into the bathroom. She started the shower and tore through the hallway closet for her clothes. After pulling out the necessary garments, she headed back into the bathroom and jumped into the shower.
The stream of water stung her skin like icicles in mid-December. "DAMMIT! Of all days, why did it have to be today? Ah-Ah-YEOWWWW!"
She fiddled with the knobs until the water became warmer. She allowed herself to relax for only a minute. If this is any indication of how today is going to be, maybe I should just stay in bed she thought.
After she soaped, shampooed, and rinsed in record time, the young woman toweled herself off, brushed her teeth, then got dressed. She checked her appearance in the mirror. Her short auburn hair fell across her forehead. A smattering of freckles dotted her nose and cheeks, a testament to her Irish heritage.
She could hear meowing and scratching at the bathroom door. "All right! I'll be out in a minute!"
Turning on the blow dryer, she quickly dried her hair. After a quick check in the mirror, she hurried to the door and found her two roommates waiting with eager anticipation.
"OK, guys, let's go."
She walked into the kitchen, while the two cats began to weave their way between her legs. Taking a box of cat food from the cabinet, she poured the hard bits of kibble noisily into the bowl. Then, she selected another bowl, filled it with water and set it down next to the food. Taking a glance at the clock, she felt a slight sense of panic. She opened another cupboard and chose a box of cereal. After selecting a bowl from the dish drainer, and a spoon from the drawer, she began to make her own breakfast. Opening the refrigerator door, she pulled out the container of milk, poured it over her cereal, and threw the empty carton away.
Eating her breakfast in record time, and not spilling a drop in the process, she placed her dish and spoon in the sink. She didn't have time to wash it now; it'd have to wait. Fastening a watch to her left wrist, she grabbed her car keys and left the apartment in a hurry.
She jogged out to her car and flopped into the driver's seat. Closing the door, she said a silent prayer. "Start for me baby. Please start for me today," she begged.
Putting the key into the ignition, she turned it. As the engine came to life, she rejoiced. "Oh, it's gonna be a great day, I can feel it!" She exclaimed, as she shifted into reverse and backed out into the street. Putting the car into drive, she headed on her way to the first day at her new job.
She drove for a few blocks, noticing what a lovely day it was. The sun was shining, and the temperature was quite comfortable for this time of year. Heavy thunderstorms came through the area the night before, dumping torrential rains on parts of Southern California and bringing in a cool front. The heat of the last few days had been oppressive, and she was glad to hear that the weatherman had forecasted lower temperatures for the next few days.
Approaching an intersection, she stopped for the red light. As the light was about to turn green, she got ready to take her foot off the brake. The car behind her failed to stop in time and struck her back bumper. Great, she thought. This is the last thing I needed today.
A little silver-haired lady got out of the car as the young woman assessed the damage to her pea green Ford Falcon. "Oh, dear, I am so sorry. I – I – I don't know what happened. Are you OK?"
"Yes, ma'am, I'm fine. There seems to be no damage to either of our vehicles, so let's just be on our way, shall we?" the young woman asked.
"Don't you want my name or anything?" the little old lady inquired.
"No, ma'am, I'm not hurt, my car is fine. If I spend any more time here, I'm going to be late for my first day at work," the younger woman explained.
"Oh, I see," the older lady replied. "Well, at least let me give you my phone number….as soon as I can find my pen… oh, drat! I knew I had one in here somewhere." The old lady took her purse and dumped the contents on the hood of her car.
The younger woman, growing more anxious by the moment, said. "Look, Ma'am, everything is fine. Please. I've got to go."
"You're not going to have me arrested, are you?"
"No, Ma'am." She walked to her car and got in, heading on her way to work, leaving the old lady standing there.
"Poor dear," the elderly woman said shaking her head, "I hope everything is all right."