Listener
missing scenes and episode tags
S01E02 - "Emotional
Rescue"
Disclaimer: I do not own or have any rights to The
Listener.
A/N: I realized that I forgot to mention in the first chapter that I'm a fan of hurt/comfort sort of fics, so several of these may include that type of thing. We'll see. I'm just trying to get my feet wet with writing, again.
Spoilers: 1x01, 1x02
After the final fire...
Sitting on the gurney, Toby watched as firefighers finished clearing the building and taming the flames. His lungs burned as he sucked in oxygen through the mask. Oz helped check on other people as they came out. He'd essentially ordered Toby to stay put and do nothing but breathe for the time being.
Toby's eyes were still stinging from the smoke and a few tears fell down his cheeks. He lowered himself to the ground and leaned against the wheel, still breathing through the mask. It felt like he couldn't get deep enough breaths.
Memories of another fire flashed though Toby's head, but he didn't have trouble with smoke in the memory. He and his mother were far enough from the trailer. After that he remembered only a jumble of images - running through woods, a river, his mother's fear. Caught up in his past, he didn't notice Oz return.
"Hey, man, let's get going."
"Huh? Sorry, spaced out for a minute, there."
Oz laughed. "Yeah, 'cause that's different than usual. Let's get you loaded up."
"Yeah, let's go." He was woozy when he stood up, but Oz was there to make sure he didn't face plant on the concrete.
"Olivia is gonna kick your ass, man," Oz commented. "Think you broke some of her fine stitching."
Toby reached up and felt the fresh blood coming through his shirt. "Damn. I need to get some more uniforms."
"You need to stop running into fires."
"Absolutely agree with you, man." Toby coughed, but still packed away the oxygen tank in its proper place.
"I don't think you're done with that."
"I'm ok, Oz. And I'm sure Liv will force some oxygen into me if she thinks I need it."
Later, Toby was glad to be freed from Olivia's and Oz's clutches soon enough to see Vince before he was discharged. He didn't keep in touch with anyone from the old days, but he remembered getting along with Vince pretty well in the short time they'd known each other. As long as he stayed clean, Toby would be happy to reconnect.
Exhausted from sleepless nights, running around, and tackling the last fire, Toby found Oz and Olivia once Vince left.
Oz immediately asked, "You want a ride home?"
"Sure. Thanks, man."
Toby noticed a look pass between the two of them and shook his head, accepting that they would continue to worry about him and his odd behavior as long as he kept the truth from them. It was tough having to lie to them so often lately, but Toby could imagine what would happen if either of them couldn't accept who he was. He had been alone for a long time and wasn't ready to chance it happening again. For the moment at least, his mind reading would have to remain a secret.
