A/N: thank you so much for the lovely reviews and I'm so glad lots of people followed this story. Over 50 in 24 hours! It gives me the motivation to write more. So here goes …
Emma stomped into the break room and headed for the coffee maker. But then she remembered why she was in a bad mood in the first place. Cursing under her breath, she turned away from the machine and dropped herself heavily in a chair beside Graham Humbert, another firefighter on Ladder 7.
"Who's pissed you off?" the man asked, folding the newspaper he had been reading and regarding his colleague.
"No one," Emma replied. She hated in-house gossip so there was no way she was going to start something about her and the new paramedic.
"If you say so," Graham shrugged, turning back to his paper. He always liked to keep up to date on what was happening in the city.
"God this shift is dragging," Emma sighed, glancing at the clock and noticing it was barely 11am.
"Don't curse us," Graham said from behind his paper. "You know as soon as someone says that we're so busy we don't have time to take a piss until the end of shift."
"Sorry," Emma said, knowing full well the man was right. Firehouses were notoriously superstitious. "Who's on cooking duty this week?" she asked.
"What, you thinking of lending them a hand?" Graham asked with a wry chuckle.
"I'm not that bad," Emma protested.
"We had to use fire extinguishers three times in the fortnight you were on kitchen duty," Graham reminded her. "There's a reason you're now exempt from that job."
"Maybe that was just a clever tactic to get out of cooking for you fussy lot," Emma shot back.
"Was it?"
"No," Emma laughed. "But perhaps it's time I learned. You can't exactly live on pasta and toast can you?"
"Not without developing scurvy you can't," he called after his friend's retreating back.
Emma scanned the various notices pinned to the board in the kitchen until her eyes settled on the monthly rota. Ambulance 67. Great, she thought, the new paramedic would be in charge of their meals since Whale was even worse at cooking than she was. None of them would forget that time he served raw lasagne. Glancing back at Graham, Emma decided to head to the gym to kill some time and work on her arms rather than face more questioning about her dour mood.
Regina dabbed the slightly puckered skin with a hand towel and held it under the light. She couldn't see any burns, just a slight redness now the cold water had done its job. She picked up the dregs of her coffee and headed out of the bathroom. She supposed she owed the blonde an apology. It wasn't really her fault she had spilt her coffee. Regina had just been in pain and annoyed at herself for being so jumpy. She was a city girl now, she had to start acting like one.
Deciding she needed some more caffeine before she apologised, Regina headed back to the break room to replenish her cup. As she waited for the machine to work its magic, Whale approached her.
"We're on kitchen duty for the next two weeks by the way, Mills," he said, reaching for his own mug and placing it beside Regina's.
"Ok," Regina said, glancing around the surprisingly well equipped kitchen.
"Except I don't cook," Whale said, grinning smugly.
"What do you mean?" Regina said, frowning. Kitchen duties were always shared between at least two people in every firehouse Regina had ever visited or worked.
"The guys here learned very quickly it was best for everyone if I stayed as far away from the food preparation as possible. So I'm afraid you're on your own."
"So I have," she glanced at the clock, "one hour to cook food for thirteen people?" Regina asked.
"Fourteen," Whale corrected. "Belle, Gold's receptionist, eats with us too."
Regina sighed. "Ok then," she said, picking up her coffee cup and moving into the kitchen. Opening the first cupboard she came to, Regina found stacks of plates and bowls. Moving further around the large, open plan kitchen she found the utensils, glassware and mugs, a myriad of pots and pans, and several recipe books. Behind one door had been half a bag of pasta, some salt and pepper, and two tins of beans. The fridge held a bottle of milk, some butter, and a few wilting spinach leaves.
"Erm, where's the food?" Regina asked, standing up from the fridge and turning to look at Whale who was watching her with a small smile on his lips.
"It's your job to buy the food too," he sneered. "The money is in that pot behind the sink. The budget is about $15 per meal."
With that, he smiled widely and walked away, leaving Regina to wonder how she was going to pull off the impossible. There was no way she had time to go to the shop and cook, not least because she would have to get Whale to come with her in the ambulance and she got the feeling he wasn't going to be helpful in any way. There was nothing for it. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and googled the nearest pizza joint. She supposed the first meal would be paid for out of her own pocket.
"Where's lunch?" Sidney Glass said as he strolled into the break room at midday. The man's life revolved around his stomach.
"No idea," Whale replied, a smug look still on his face as he watched television on the couch.
"Who's on cooking duty?" Glass asked, crossing to the rota.
"The new girl, Mills," Emma said from behind her book. She had finished her work out twenty minutes before and after a quick shower, had headed to the break room to replenish her energy. Reading always distracted her when she was hungry.
"Great first impression," Glass said, sitting down at the empty table and folding his arms. "Does she even know?"
"I told her," Whale piped up.
"And I assumed you didn't offer to help," Robin butted in, already protective of the new woman. He knew what it was like to try and fit in to a new workplace, especially one as tight knit as Firehouse 7.
"Well I seem to remember someone saying that they wouldn't eat food prepared by me again until hell froze over," Whale said, looking pointedly at Ruby.
"Hey, I only said what we were all thinking Whale. I was sick for days after eating that lasagne," Ruby argued. "I think it's best for all of us that you don't cook. But that doesn't mean you leave your new partner alone on her first day."
"Oh but I managed just fine without him," came a voice from the doorway.
Everyone in the room turned to look towards the new paramedic, the top of her head just visible over the pile of teetering pizza boxes she was carrying. Nolan and Locksley rushed forwards to help her and soon a dozen pizza boxes were spread open on the table.
"I didn't know what everyone liked so I got a selection," Regina explained, waving her hand towards the pepperoni, margarita, vegetable, and Hawaiian topped cheesy delights.
"Awesome," said Ruby, grabbing the first slice.
"Thanks Mills," Booth smiled at her, taking a piece for himself.
The rest of the firefighters followed suit, thanking Regina and starting to eat. Gold and Belle arrived shortly afterwards and tucked in too. Whale was looking sour faced in the corner but after a few minutes, he sidled up to the table and took a pepperoni slice.
"Good save, Mills," he said as he turned away.
Regina smiled. It was going to take more than an unhelpful colleague to ruin her first day. She only hoped Whale was more of a team player when they were on call.
"Impressive," Emma said, as she sat down beside Regina, a greasy piece of Hawaiian pizza on the plate in front of her.
"Thank you," Regina said, picking at her own vegetable slice. "And sorry, for earlier. I overreacted."
"S'okay," Emma shrugged. "How's your hand?"
"It's fine, just a little red," Regina said, showing the blonde.
"Glad to hear I haven't scarred you for life," Emma said with a grin.
"Why were you sneaking up behind me anyway?" Regina asked with a small smile.
"I was going to introduce myself," Emma admitted. Wiping her hand on her trousers (Regina grimaced), the woman held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Emma Swan. I work on Ladder 7."
"Regina Mills," the brunette said, shaking the proffered hand. "Paramedic."
"So how are you liking Boston?" Emma said, returning to her pizza.
"It's … different," Regina admitted. "I'm not used to the city."
"Where were you from in Maine?" Emma asked.
"A small town, nowhere special," Regina replied.
Emma frowned at the vague answer but continued. "And how long have you been a paramedic?"
"Six months," Regina said. "But I was an ER doctor before that."
"You were a doctor?" Emma said, impressed. "Why the sudden change? I'm sure Boston hospitals are in need of good ER doctors. Those places are always short staffed."
"I have my reasons," Regina said, turning away from the blonde and beginning to pack away some of the empty boxes.
"I'm sorry," Emma said quickly. "I didn't mean to pry."
"Think nothing of it, Swan," Regina said, gathering the boxes in her arms. "It was nice to meet you properly."
"You too," Emma said as she watched the woman walk away from her.
"Don't."
"Don't what?" Emma asked, turning to face Ruby who had just flopped into the seat beside her and reached for another piece of pizza.
"Don't go there," Ruby said, nodding after Regina's retreating back.
"Oh come on," Emma scoffed. "I was just saying hi."
"Uh-huh," Ruby said, smiling knowingly.
"What, so a lesbian can't be friendly with another woman without wanting to get into her pants? I'm friends with you aren't I?" Emma pointed out.
"Yes and look what happened when we had too much tequila that one time," Ruby reminded her best friend.
"That was a one off, drunken night. I thought we agreed to put it behind us and move on. And never drink tequila again," she added.
"It was, and we did. All I'm saying is that I've seen that look in your eyes before Swanny. It was the same look you were giving that gorgeous brunette on Saturday night."
"She's a colleague," Emma insisted. "Trust me, I know not to get involved with anyone at work again. I'm still in Gold's bad books for the whole mess with Cassidy and work was hell for months after we broke up."
"Well it can't be easy for a guy when his girlfriend leaves him because she realises she doesn't like cock," Ruby interjected.
"True but you have to admit he was a right shit about it. How was I supposed to know I like girls? I was only 22."
"And now you know you do like girls and you're heading down the exact same path. Please, Emma. You know relationships in-house are forbidden, and for good reason."
"I was just being friendly and thanking her for lunch. Honestly, I have no intention of pursuing anything with Mills."
"Whatever you say," Ruby said, licking some tomato sauce off her finger and winking.
Emma opened her mouth to argue but just as she did so, the familiar, piercing alarm sounded. Everyone stopped what they were doing to listen to the emergency announcement.
"Ambulance 67, Engine 17, Ladder 7. House fire. Corner of Hancock and Dewolf."
Emma and Ruby stood immediately and headed out towards the fire engines. Everyone else in the break room did the same, leaving behind half eaten pizza slices all over the room. Everything was dropped as soon as a call came through, it was the nature of the job. As they stepped onto the forecourt, Chief Gold was getting into his Battalion car, the siren already whirring. Even though his injury prevented him from taking direct action, he liked to attend as many scenes as possible to guide and watch his firefighters.
"I guess I'll be driving," came a voice from behind Regina as she walked quickly towards the ambulance. "Since you don't know your way around Boston at all."
"That would be best," Regina said, putting on a fake smile for Whale as she rounded the back of the rig and climbed into the passenger seat. The rush of a call, especially the first one in a new district, always exhilarated Regina and she was not about to let her partner pull her focus from the job.
Emma and the rest of Ladder 7 discarded their shoes and slipped on their boots as they climbed up into the big, red vehicle just as Engine 17's crew did the same. Jones turned from the driver's seat to check Swan, Hatter and Humbert were safely sat in the back and with a quick nod to his lieutenant, started the engine and followed the speeding ambulance out of the lot.
Their first call will be in the next chapter. I don't want to make this fic much about the work these guys do but I wanted to give you readers an idea of their jobs early on and then we can focus more on what happens at the firehouse and between shifts! I'll keep gruesome descriptions to a minimum … for now.
Side note: several of the reviews mentioned a fic called 2500 degrees. I've never read this fic and I don't plan to do so now I know of it. This story comes from my imagination and incessant television watching and nothing else.
