By the time the men got back to the station; B shift was arriving. There had been two fatalities in the accident and everyone was feeling the weight of the call. Ashley slipped into the day room to make a phone call; while the men filed into the locker room to change into street clothes.
Mike was the first one out and he joined Ashley. "I called The Breakfast Club, Artemis will hold the back room for us. We can't let Marco just leave and not open up to us."
Mike nodded. "I'll gather all the guys and make sure Marco agrees to join us."
Johnny and Roy entered the day room. "Marco and Chet are almost done," Roy told her. Ashley moved into the bay, so she could quickly change when it was her turn.
"Ashley called Artemis. She's holding the back room for us," Mike told them.
Roy nodded. "I'm gonna go call Joanne; let her know I'm gonna be late." Roy moved over to the phone at the end of the room, fishing change out of his pocket.
Johnny looked at Mike. Now probably wasn't the time to talk to him about Ashley, but Johnny really wanted to address it. It was after shifts like this, when the fragileness of life was so evident, he most wished he and Ashley could cross the line between friends and lovers.
"Mike."
"Here comes Chet and Marco," Mike said, standing up straighter.
"Marco, Ashley's arranged for us to have the back room at The Breakfast Club. Let's go over there and you can tell us what's goin' on," Mike said.
Marco leaned against the wall. "It's been a long night, let's just forget it."
"No, Marco. This is too important," Captain Stanley said, walking up behind him.
"I'm ready," Ashley popped her head in behind Captain Stanley.
The men started to move toward the parking lot exit. Ashley touched Johnny's arm. "Since we're supposed to go hiking this afternoon, do you mind if I just ride with you? I can get my car when we come back."
Mike turned and looked at Johnny, a frown on his face. Johnny looked over Ashley's shoulder at Mike and then down at Ashley. "Actually, I'm pretty beat and I have a feeling this conversation's gonna be tough. Why don't we postpone hiking for another time?"
"Oh, okay," Ashley said, a little disappointed. It had been a tough shift and she'd been looking forward to some time away with Johnny. She knew Captain Stanley said they couldn't date while she was at the Station, but that hadn't stopped them from spending time together as friends.
Mike nodded his approval to Johnny and got into his truck. Chet pulled out first and the rest of the 51 family followed him to their favorite breakfast spot.
E
"Hi, Artemis," Johnny hugged the stout, older woman as he walked into the restaurant.
"Oh, Johnny, you are so thin! You need to come by more often, so I can feed you," She placed both hands over his cheeks, squeezing his face. She smiled at Ashley, who walked in directly behind Johnny. "Or better yet, marry this pretty young thing and let her take care of you." Artemis reached out for Ashley, pulling her into a hug.
"The last thing Ashley needs to worry about is getting married," Mike said, coming in behind her. "She needs to focus on doing well at the academy."
Ashley looked at him, surprised by how stern his tone was.
"Ahh, my Mikey," Artemis said. "Always so serious. I thought that lovely lady of yours would've helped loosen you up a bit by now," Artemis pulled him close, kissing him on the cheek. "Where is Tina this morning?"
"Working," Mike smiled.
"Marco, so handsome, but, oh, what is this, so solemn today. Where is my smile?" Artemis took hold of Marco's arms and searched his face.
"Morning," Marco said quietly, but he moved to kiss Artemis on the cheek.
"Chester, where is my hug!" Artemis held her arms out. Chet gave her a big hug and moved his face to tickle her cheek with his mustache. "Oh, you are such a flirty boy," Artemis laughed, swatting at his arm.
"My favorite leader," Artemis smiled, when she saw Captain Stanley enter through the door.
He moved over, giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "How's my favorite Greek goddess?" Captain Stanley asked.
"Now that my favorite fire team is here, so very happy. Come, let's get you eating! Forget the menus, I will bring you the feast you deserve," Artemis led the way to the back room, motioning for two of her waitresses to follow. Coffee cups were filled and several bowls of breads with jam were placed on the table. The men started grabbing up the food.
The guys kept the conversation light and casual until the breakfast food had been served and everyone had dished up plates. Then there were several minutes of silence as everyone devoured the amazing food selections.
As their hunger was satisfied, they started to lean back and look at Marco. He kept his head down and his focus on his plate for as long as he could, but finally he gave in and looked up at his friends.
"I'm not even sure where to start," Marco said, taking a sip of his coffee.
"Just start at the beginning, Marco," Captain Stanley said.
"I'm not even sure where the beginning is," Marco said.
"Were you a member of the Clanton 14 gang?" Ashley asked.
Marco took a deep breath. "You've got to understand the neighborhood is probably nothing like any of you ever lived in. We had the Clanton 14 gang, and the 18th Street gang, which started from a sect of the Clanton 14 gang, so there was a huge rivalry. The Mexican Mafia had just formed a few years before and gangs were either pledging their allegiance to the Mexican Mafia or looking to overthrow them. You were either in a gang, or you were a target, without any protection. At least as a gang member, some people were trying to protect you. Without that gang protection, you couldn't leave your house to walk to school. Every kid on my block was a gang member; I pledged my loyalty to C14."
Marco shook his head and leaned back in his chair. "Had it stopped there, I probably wouldn't be in this mess. You could be in a gang, and not really do much gang activity. You might have to pull some stuff, get in some fights, but you could keep a low profile. But, my best friend Rico, he wasn't happy just being a scrap."
"What's a scrap?" Captain Stanley asked.
"It's a derogatory term used by the gang for other members," Marco explained. "Rico saw how much money the elders in the group were making, and what he viewed as respect when they walked down the street. His familia was poorer than mine, I mean we didn't have much, but they had nothin'. Rico started trying to work his way up in the gang, trying to get noticed. He wanted me to work up with him."
Marco pushed away from the table, and started to pace around the small room. "I knew better! I knew that was not the direction I wanted to take. But, I followed along. Pretty soon, we were being given assignments. Not much a first, some petty larceny, beating up members of rival gangs who'd targeted some of our members. But, stuff I knew I shouldn't be doing. Stuff, deep down, I didn't want to do," Marco ran a hand through his hair.
"I don't understand, why'd ya do it then?" Johnny asked.
Marco looked at him, looked at the group sitting at the table. How could these men possibly understand? "Respect, power, prestige, money, girls," Marco listed off the things that came with seniority in the gang.
Marco shook his head, "No. I was just stupid. I was 14 when I got started with the gang and just barely 16 when I left. We were nobodies. You'd walk down the street and people would push ya around, treat you like you didn't belong, talk down to you. We were the trash that crossed over the border, even though I was born here, people would call me a Taco-Jockey or a Grasshopper," Marco felt the bile in his throat, as he remembered some of the ways he'd been treated as a child.
"A grasshopper?" Ashley asked, her eyes narrowing.
"Because we jump over fences."
"I don't get it," Ashley said, shaking her head, confused on how that was relevant. "Didn't all kids jump fences when they're little?"
"Cross the border illegally," Marco explained with a smile. He loved that she would never think of someone like that.
"Oh." Ashley felt tears sting her eyes, as she envisioned the way Marco was treated as a child. Johnny just nodded his head. He'd heard his share of derogatory terms, growing up on an Indian reservation as a half-breed, he'd been anything, but popular.
"As we moved up in the ranks, we became Cholo's, a Mexican gangster. People started to respect us. Actually, people started to fear us, but we viewed that as respect. We started getting money, with money comes girls. A lot of girls. The girls in the neighborhood needed the protection of the gangs, in some cases, even more than the boys. Being the girl of a Cholo, brought you protection, but the cost was your freedom. Your "man" owned you, and some of those guys, a lot of those guys, were brutal to their girlfriends," Marco sat back down.
"Eventually, the price for our position got higher. First, you start getting newbies trying to test your rank, so we had to fight a lot more, and be even more brutal. It wasn't enough anymore to just hit them more than they hit you. You had to break bones, knock them unconscious. If an ambulance wasn't called, the fight wasn't over. But, the senior members wanted you to prove your worth, prove your loyalty," Marco looked down at his hands, remembering the violence they had once carried out.
When Marco had been silent for a few minutes, Captain Stanley cleared his throat. "Ahem, what happened Marco. How'd you get out?"
"I didn't, but to understand that, you need to know about my last night with C-14."
"What happened that night?" Mike asked, when Marco remained silent.
"The 18th street gang, hit our neighborhood, bad. Back then, drive by shootings, just didn't happen. But, Jorge was an 18th street big shot, that thought he was gonna take down C-14. He got some Cholos to drive by the hang-out and shoot the place up. A lot of people were seriously injured, some died. Rico and I were given the order to kill Jorge. That was our assignment to stay in the gang. Don't do it, and we'd be killed for disobeying. Do it, and we'd ascend to a higher rank," Marco swallowed hard, images from that night flashing through his brain. He could see Marisol crying, cowering in the shadows. The anger in Rico's eyes as friends were loaded on stretchers, or covered in sheets. He could smell the gun powder and blood. His hand shook, as he reached for his coffee cup.
He held the warm cup for several minutes, slowly drinking in the hot liquid and letting it warm him from the inside. He felt chilled to the bone. "When Rico and I got away from the group, I told him I wasn't gonna kill anyone. Rico tried to tell me that we had to, that it was self-defense. When he realized I wasn't buying that argument, he started to curse at me. He called me every name he could think of. Finally, he told me I was a traitor and that I'd better hide, because when Clanton 14 was done with Jorge, they'd be comin' after me."
"At first I left. But, I knew I couldn't let Rico kill someone. He was so wrapped up in it, he was losing himself, but he wasn't a murderer. And I knew he wasn't. I heard through the grapevine he and Jose had grabbed Jorge and taken him to an abandoned hotel. At the time, Jose was just comin' up in the ranks too. He was actually a little under Rico and I. I went to the hotel and was tryin' to find 'em. It was dark and there were a lot of rooms. I didn't even know what I was gonna do when I found 'em. I knew they'd be armed and I wasn't carrying," Marco's voice had grown tight, his words clipped and fast.
"I finally heard voices on the third floor. Rico and Jose were arguing. Rico had obviously come to his senses and was saying he couldn't kill Jorge. Jose was screaming at him, that he had to, or he'd be killed too. I burst into the room and a fight broke out. Rico was holding the gun, and Jose tried to take it from him. I jumped Jose, but he was bigger than me, he had me pinned pretty quick. Rico put down the gun, to help me. We knocked over the oil lamp they'd been using for light, it caught the papers on the floor on fire. In the chaos of the fire, Jose got the gun. He shot Rico in the leg. Jose and I began to struggle for the gun. Rico took off, trying to get away. I managed to get the gun away from Jose and threw it out the window. But then Jose hit me good and I lost consciousness for several seconds. When I came too, I couldn't find Rico or Jose. The fire was spreading fast, but I tried to look for Rico. I kept calling his name, but the fire was so loud," Marco closed his eyes, no matter how many fires he'd been in since, he could still feel the way his eyes and throat burned from that fire.
"I'm not even sure how I got out. I remember stumbling into the parking lot and Marisol was there. She was Rico's kid sister and hung with us constantly. We were her protection. She was asking me over and over again where he was. The fire trucks and police were on scene, the lights reflecting in the puddles on the concrete. She started screaming his name. I had to hold her back to keep her from running into the building. Then she started screaming my name. When I looked at her, she was covered in blood. I couldn't figure it out, until I hit the concrete and realized she was screaming that I'd been shot," Marco ran a hand over his left shoulder, where he still carried the scar from the bullet. "The gun must've gone off when Jose and I were fighting over it. I never even knew."
"The next thing I remember, is when I woke up in the hospital, a couple of days later. After conversations with the police, my parents decided the best course of action was to let everyone believe I died as a result of my injuries. I was sent to live with my Grandmother in Fresno. I finished high school, got accepted into the Fire Academy and joined the fire department. I've avoided working in any of the areas where C-14 runs, to avoid the possibility that anyone would recognize me."
"What happened to Rico?" Chet asked.
"The police found him in the apartment building. Jose must've found him. He'd slit his throat," Marco said quietly, looking down at the coffee cup.
"Then why isn't he in jail?" Ashley asked.
"Because no one can prove it," Roy answered for Marco.
"Exactamente," Marco said.
"What about Jorge?" Ashley asked.
"He died in the fire. They'd left him tied up in another room from where I found Jose and Rico arguing. I never even saw him. That's another death I carry on my conscience."
"Marco, you were just a kid," Mike said. "You weren't any older than I was when everything happened with Maddie."
"But, I made these choices, Mike. I willingly joined the gang, stayed in it 2 years. I willingly committed illegal and violent acts to move up. I willingly ran away to my grandmothers, without facing the gang, to avoid the consequences of my actions. I knowingly went back into that area."
"I don't think you joined the gang willingly, Marco. Sounds to me like there weren't a lot of other options. I didn't really have gangs where I grew up, but I served with some guys in Vietnam who had gang connections. I've heard some stories of the ones who resisted joining," Roy reasoned.
Ashley was looking down at her plate. Her mind reeling from everything Marco had told them. She would have never guessed that would be his past.
"You were just sticking with your buddy. We've all made bad choices because of influences from the wrong people," Chet said, thinking about stupid stuff he'd done in the past.
"You made the only choice you could. Sometimes leaving is the best answer, if not the only answer," Johnny said, understanding the position Marco had been in, only too well.
"You've more than proven yourself, Marco. Your service with the fire department has been exemplary," Captain Stanley pointed out.
Marco looked over at Ashley. She was still looking down at her plate. "Ash, are you disappointed in me?"
Ashley looked up with tears in her eyes. She got up from her seat and moved over to Marco. He stood and she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a hug. When she pulled back, she looked into his eyes. "I'm hardly one to judge anyone for the choices they make, Marco. I nearly cost Johnny his life, almost took my own. I understand more than most about just trying to survive circumstances you have no control over. Some of the stuff I did to survive the foster homes I was in," Ashley paused. "Let's just say I wouldn't want to talk about them. I admire your strength in telling us your past. You know we will all stand behind you. The only question now is; how do we fix it?"
The men looked at each other. Each one trying to think of something helpful.
"This is not a situation that is easily solved. I think we should think on it and we can discuss it at our next shift. In the meantime, Marco, you make sure you're aware of your surroundings. I'm gonna call Lieutenant Crockett as soon as I get home and update him on the information we have. They can increase patrols near your home until this is resolved," Captain Stanley said, standing up.
The men followed suit, each dropping money on the table. Artemis often told them their meal was "on her". The guys had stopped asking for a check and now just dropped enough money to cover the meal and provide the waitresses a generous tip. If Artemis wanted to let her waitresses have all the money, that was between her and her staff. The guys gave Artemis a wave as they made their way out of the restaurant and too the parking lot.
Ashley gave Johnny one last look and got in her car to go home.
Johnny watched her drive away and turned to talk to Mike, but he was already getting in his truck. Feeling heavy-hearted, Johnny climbed in his Rover and headed home.
E
Marco pulled into his driveway and sat for a few minutes. He felt like he'd just played back to back to back soccer games and lost all of them. He slowly got out of his car and moved toward his porch. He stopped when he saw a figure on his porch, rise and stand.
"Hola, Marco," she said softly.
Marco looked around nervously.
"Don't worry, I'm alone," Marisol said.
Marco continued to look around. "Are you sure Jose didn't follow you?"
Marisol gave a small smile. "I've proven my loyalty to C-14, I'm not followed."
Marco moved to unlock his door. Marisol followed him into his home.
"Can I get you something to drink?" Marco asked, turning to face her.
"No, thank you. I can't stay long."
Marco motioned for her to have a seat on the couch. He sat in a recliner chair across from her.
She looked around his living room. Pictures of his family and the semi-pro soccer team he belonged to were displayed on the bookcase. There were also pictures of Marco scoring a goal and on the slopes in Lake Tahoe. She clasped her hands nervously in her lap; the pictures reminding her that she no longer knew the man in front of her.
"I came to apologize. I didn't mean to draw Jose's attention to you. I was just so surprised when I saw you. I thought you died," Marisol paused briefly, "like Rico," she said softly.
"Marisol, I'm so sorry about your brother. But, why are you back with C-14? I'd been told your family moved and got you away from all of this," Marco leaned forward.
"To another gang infested area. This is what I know, Marco. I'm safe here. Jose protects me," Marisol said.
"Jose killed Rico, how can you stand to be near him?" Marco asked, stunned by her statement.
"Jose says you killed Rico," Marisol said quietly, looking at the man across from her, who had escaped a life that seemed unescapable.
"Marisol, you know me. You know Rico was my best friend. I could've never killed him."
"I didn't come here to talk about Rico, Marco," Marisol said, her voice agitated. "I came here to tell you that you're in danger. Jose is determined to kill you. You need to get out of the area, Marco. He knows where you work, it will only be a matter of time before he finds out where you live."
"I'm not running, Marisol. That's what I did last time and look where it got me," Marco said, standing up and pacing in his living room. "I have a good life. I'm not going to give it up."
"Then you may lose it," Marisol said, she stood and moved across the room. She stopped to look at a picture of Marco with all the men of Station 51 standing in front of the Engine at what appeared to be a parade. All the men were smiling and looked very relaxed.
Marco ran his hand along the back of his neck. "I have too much here to lose. I'll think of something."
"You may have a bit of time. Word on the street says C-14 has a snitch in its ranks. Jose will have to deal with that, before he can risk having anyone deal with you. He won't want to kill you himself, too much risk," Marisol spoke as she still looked at his many pictures. She could see what he was talking about, he had a good life, good friends.
"Why did you come here?" Marco asked her, moving closer to her.
"I told you, to apologize. I feel bad Jose noticed you because I called out to you." Marisol turned to face him and clasped her hands in front of her.
"You've grown into a beautiful woman," Marco said, looking her over. "You should be married, living in a nice house with a white picket fence somewhere, raising ninos of your own."
"Some things are not meant to be," Marisol said quietly.
"You don't have to be where you are," Marco said. "You have nothing keeping you here."
"Marco, you don't know me. You knew the girl that tagged along after you and Rico; I am not that girl anymore."
"You're not a Cholo's girl, Marisol. I know that, I can see that. I can hear it; in the way you talk."
"I belong to Jose," Marisol said quietly.
'What? Why him, Marisol? I know what kind of a man he is, he isn't a man, he's a thug," Marco said, his voice rising.
"I'm here out of respect for the relationship you had with my brother, Marco. If you saw me on the street, this would not be so civilized. Leave while you can, Marco. This is the only warning you'll get," Marisol moved past him, toward the door.
"There's something you're not telling me," Marco said, grabbing her arm to stop her.
Marisol turned and looked into his deep brown eyes. She had such a crush on him when she was a young girl; she'd been devastated when her parents had told her Marco had died. She'd lost so much that night.
Marisol raised her hand and gently stroked Marco's cheek. "Muchas cosas, Marco, so many things."
E
Tina used her foot to knock on the door, her hands loaded down with bags of take-out.
Mike opened the door and quickly began to grab bags out of her hands. "Why didn't you just come up? I'd have gone down and got the food to carry in," Mike asked.
"I could handle it, I just couldn't figure out how to knock on the door politely," Tina smiled, as she leaned over to give Mike a quick kiss on the lips. She tilted her head as she looked into his eyes, she instantly knew he had a rough shift.
She followed him through the apartment toward the dining room table. As he dropped the bags of food on the table, she moved into the kitchen to grab plates and silverware.
"What would you like to drink?" Mike asked, moving to get glasses.
"I'll just take water for now," Tina said. She began to dish the plates with food she knew Mike liked to eat.
He carried over the glasses, but she stopped him before he sat down. She wrapped her arms around his waist and just held him in a tight embrace. It took several seconds, but he felt himself start to relax and he dropped his head to rest on the top of her head, closing his eyes. She pulled back, her dark eyes searching his blue ones. She raised her hand to touch his cheek, "Rough shift?"
"In so many ways," Mike said, with a sigh. He sat down at the table. "Can we talk about it after we eat?"
"Of course," Tina smiled at him and sat down in her chair.
"How was your day?" Mike asked. Tina worked as a psychiatric nurse at Rampart Hospital and her days could sometimes be as difficult as his.
Tina smiled, there were some days when the bad just needed to stay at work; today was one of them. Mike didn't need to be burdened with the new patient that had been physically aggressive with her, not today anyway. Security had intervened and she would fill him in later, when the tightness around his eyes wasn't so evident. "It was fine. We have a couple of patients that will most likely be discharged over the next week. We have one young girl, who finally, spoke to me today; it's a huge step. She witnessed a terrible event and hasn't spoken to anyone in a month. Today, she told me she liked my earrings. I wore them just for her," Tina pulled her hair back so Mike could see the dangling fish earrings.
"You'll do anything to try to reach your patients, won't you?" Mike teased her.
"Well, almost anything," Tina smiled.
Mike reached over and put his hand on top of Tina's. He knew there was more she wasn't sharing, but he didn't push her. It usually meant he would be upset by it and she didn't feel he needed to worry about it right then. He had learned he could trust her judgement. She watched out for him to make sure he wasn't distracted worrying about her on the job; but she didn't hide things from him either. She just chose when to share some information. He was incredibly grateful for that today. He honestly didn't think he could handle one more thing today.
When they'd finished eating, Tina talked Mike into going to sit on the couch. She cleaned up the dishes and put the remaining food in the fridge. Mike was laying down on the couch, when she walked back over. He opened his arms and she climbed into his arms, resting her head on his chest. She let her eyes close as she listened to the reassuring beat of his heart and felt his strong arms wrap around her. She snuggled in a little closer, maybe the patient encounter today had bothered her even more than she had wanted to admit to herself. She could feel herself relax as her body accepted she was safe in Mike's arms.
"You sure you don't want to talk about it," Mike whispered, hearing her soft sigh as she snuggled up against him.
Tina smiled. Of course, Mike knew there was more. He was very observant and he could read her well.
"Why don't you tell me about your day," Tina said, letting her fingers undo the buttons on his shirt, so she could stroke his chest and abdomen.
Mike sighed with pleasure as he closed his eyes, enjoying her touch. "We got called out around 3:00 AM for a multi-vehicle accident. Two people died at the scene. I know Johnny and Roy tried so hard to keep them alive, but their injuries were just too bad."
"I'm sorry," Tina whispered, lifting her head to place a kiss on Mike's neck.
"I wish that was the worst of it," Mike said, tightening his hold on Tina.
"Marco covered for a guy over at 116 recently. While there, he had a run in with members of the Clanton 14 gang. Turns out, Marco used to be a member. A couple of guys came by the station and tried to cause some trouble. I'm not sure what Marco's gonna do, the leader wants to see him. I can't see this ending good and I'm not sure how to fix it."
"Marco used to be a gang member?" Tina propped herself up, so she could look at Mike.
"Yeah, apparently he'd moved up pretty far in the gang; but when they wanted him to kill someone he bailed."
Tina shook her head. She'd had a few gang members on the psychiatric unit. They were usually violent, mean and downright vulgar. She had trouble picturing Marco associated with those men. "It must've been a very long time ago."
"Fifteen years," Mike answered.
Tina laid her head back on Mike's chest, but said nothing. She was worried for Marco. She'd heard enough from the few patients she'd met to know things could go very badly.
"Then, I had to talk to Johnny about not asking Ashley out. He honestly tried to tell me that Ashley was different. As if I haven't heard that a 100 times before from him."
"You what?" Tina pulled herself up, and moved away from Mike to sit on the end of the couch.
"What?"
"You told Johnny not to ask Ashley out? Why would you do that? They're crazy about each other," Tina looked dumbfounded.
"Tina, she got into the fire academy. She needs to focus on her training," Mike said, sitting up.
"What, she can't handle training and a relationship? None of the guys have relationships when they go through the academy, or only a woman can't handle it?" Tina crossed her arms over her chest.
"She's the first woman to go to the academy," Mike said, defensively. "This isn't a game. The guys here aren't going to be any happier about a female firefighter, than the ones in North Carolina were."
"All the more reason she needs someone she can lean on," Tina said.
"That isn't Gage! He is notorious for flitting from one woman to another. Ashley's just the current flavor of the week."
"You're wrong, Mike. All the nurses at Rampart are talking about it. Johnny hasn't asked anyone out in over 2 months. He spends all his time with Ashley. When she was on the psychiatric unit and she had me trick you both into going skydiving so you would talk; she told me to just ask him out and he'd go with me. I tried asking him out, he turned me down. I had to tell him her plan. Ashley thought it was because he was upset over you, but it was because he was already starting to fall for her. For Johnny, Ashley is different," Tina looked over at Mike.
"She needs to be focused on her training," Mike insisted.
"I think you're wrong on this one, Mike. I know Ashley really cares for Johnny too. How do you think she's gonna feel when she finds out you interfered?"
"Johnny won't tell her."
"So she's just going to think he stopped caring for her? You can't let that happen, Mike. You need to tell her what you did," Tina looked shocked at his comment.
"I'm doing what's best for her," Mike said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"You're trying to protect her again," Tina said, forcing herself to uncross her arms. "You've talked about this with Dr. Baker. You are not responsible for Ashley."
"I know what she's gonna face," Mike argued.
"Mike," Tina eased over close to him again. "When you've had a rough day, don't you like it when we can get together and be physically close." Tina caressed his cheek.
"You know I do," Mike said, keeping his arms crossed.
"If things are going to be as tough for Ashley as you think they are; don't you think she'd like being able to experience that closeness with Johnny?"
"Until Johnny moved on to the next pretty face," Mike said, standing up and moving across the room. "I know him better than you do."
"I know you do. I also know you don't believe for one second that Johnny would use Ashley."
"Of course not," Mike said. "He'd never deliberately try to hurt her. But, Johnny isn't exactly known for being good at relationships."
"You don't think he's a good friend?" Tina said, cocking her head.
"He's a great friend," Mike said, suddenly feeling the need to defend Johnny to her. "He's loyal and always there when you need him. When I called him to go get Ashley the night she'd been drinking at Flames, he agreed in a second. He stayed with us all night, and never once complained, or made me feel like I owed him."
"Ashley isn't just some pretty girl he's chasing. She's his friend first; but they want to take that friendship to another level. I think you know that for Johnny, Ashley is different; the question is, why does that bother you so much?" Tina asked, meeting his blue eyes.
"I don't have feelings for Ashley, if that's what you're trying to get at," Mike said, moving across the room to sit back down next to Tina. "She's like my kid sister."
"But, she's not a kid anymore," Tina said.
"Do you know if she's ever, I mean, Johnny's experienced, has Ashley ever," Mike shook his head. "Forget it. She just needs to concentrate on her training. When that's done…"
"She'll have to adjust to a station, and the issues she faces as the first woman fire fighter. How long do you expect her to wait to get into a relationship Mike?" Tina asked.
"Maybe when she's emotionally a little stronger," Mike said, getting up again and moving to lean against the wall and looking over at Tina. She was sitting on the couch, facing him. Her face calm; which made him feel even worse. He was rarely irrational, rarely ever out-of-control. But, he knew when it came to Ashley, his emotions frequently got the better of him. He still felt a strong need to protect her; even though deep down, he knew he didn't need to protect her from Johnny.
"I'll think about it," Mike said.
"It really isn't up to you Mike; and if Ashley finds out you interfered, it could damage your relationship. I strongly suggest you tell Johnny you made a mistake.
"I said, I'll think about it." Mike crossed his arms again.
Tina moved off the couch and crossed the room. She ran her fingers through his soft brown hair and took one finger and traced the outline of his left ear. She slowly leaned forward, over his crossed arms and kissed his neck, standing on her tiptoes to nibble his ear lobe.
Mike slid his arms around her waist and pulled her against his body. "I don't want to fight with you, Tina," he whispered, feeling the tension start to drain as Tina began to kiss his neck.
"I don't want to fight either; but I like Ashley. I consider her a friend. I don't want her to get hurt."
Mike put his finger under Tina's chin and tilted it up so he could lightly brush her lips with his. "I'll talk to Johnny," Mike said, kissing her a bit harder. "Tomorrow," he said, just before their lips locked in a passionate kiss. He took her hand and led her back toward the bedroom, needing to put this day behind him.