Disclaimer: All characters belong to HiT Entertainment.

Chapter 10

It was two a.m. by the time I finally got home. Unfortunately, thanks to social media, the news of Buck Douglas' arrest had already circulated around the country three times by then. Somehow, the media was also crediting me with his arrest, so Station Officer Steele had sent me home to rest. We both knew that I would have a long few days ahead of me. Little did we realise then just how long those few days would be!

Sure enough, when my alarm went off at eight-thirty a.m., I saw a swarm of journalists gathered outside the fire station. I can't deny that a few choice four-letter-words went through my mind, but they were words I'd never say aloud.

While I was eating my breakfast, my mobile phone rang. I answered it as soon as I saw that it was Station Officer Steele phoning.

"Morning, sir."

"Morning, Sam. Have you seen what's on our front doorstep this morning?"

"Yes, sir. I don't suppose we could get them to move along? You know how much I hate the media."

"Much as I'd like to, there's nothing we can do about them. However, Chief Fire Officer Boyce and Inspector Harrison are on their way back here. They can deal with the media, while we carry on with our work."

I breathed a small sigh of relief. "Let's just hope we don't have any emergencies today. I don't think I'll be able to cope having the media following us everywhere."

"This is a major media story, Sam. It's on the morning news."

I turned on my TV so I could see for myself. Sure enough, the news of Buck Douglas' arrest was all over the headlines, along with an earthquake somewhere in south-eastern Europe.

"I had no idea Buck was such a big news story."

"He's a multi-millionaire, Sam, and he made his fortune solely from his TV show. Now, he stands to lose it all. He also had millions of fans. I used the past tense for obvious reasons."

I snorted a laugh. "I'll be at work shortly, sir. We can discuss this more then."

"Of course. Oh, Elvis wants to know if he needs to save you any breakfast?"

"No, I'm eating mine right now. But I wouldn't mind a cup of tea when I arrive."

"I'll tell him. See you shortly, Sam."

Somehow, I managed to sneak into the back of the fire station without being seen. The last thing I wanted the media to know was that I lived right behind the fire station. Thank goodness the garage doors are closed! It'd be terrible if those journalists tried to get in here…

I found everyone upstairs in the TV area, watching the morning news. Elvis promptly handed me a steaming hot cup of tea.

"Here you go, Sam! Did you know that you're all over the news this morning? You're almost as famous as Buck Douglas now!"

At least it's for the right reasons… "Thanks for the tea, Elvis." I took a sip. Seeing that everyone had gone back to watching the TV, I headed downstairs to the Control Room.

Station Officer Steele looked up as I entered. "Ah! There you are, Sam. I have a job for you, and everyone else, to keep you all busy today. Equipment check."

I smiled as I took the clipboard Station Officer Steele held out to me. "At least it's a job we can do away from the media's prying eyes."

"Precisely! That's why I decided it needed to be done today. You'd better get started, since it'll probably take you all day."

"Yes, sir."

I finished my cup of tea before I returned upstairs. After I'd placed the empty cup in the sink, I returned to the TV area. I raised my eyebrows when I saw the others still intently watching the TV. Seeing the remote on the sofa's armrest, I picked it up, and I turned off the TV.

At that precise moment, the alarm went off. Perfect timing, I thought as I bolted over to the nearest fireman's pole.

"There's a boy stuck up a tree in Pontypandy Park!" Station Officer Steele announced over the loudspeakers.

As soon as I'd slid down the pole to the garage floor, I hit the ground running. Penny and Arnold had followed me down the pole, which meant that Ellie and Elvis had decided they wouldn't be needed for this emergency. The three of us quickly put on our firefighting uniforms. As soon as I was ready, I grabbed my helmet, and I ran over to Jupiter.

Once Penny and Arnold were also on board, I activated the automatic roller door from inside Jupiter's cab, and I started her up. However, as soon as I drove Jupiter out of the garage, we were immediately swamped by the journalists. They began filming and taking photos.

Can't they hear the sirens? I thought furiously as I hammered Jupiter's horn repeatedly, in a vain effort to get them to move out of the way.

"Be careful, Sam!" Penny warned.

"I'm doing my best," I muttered through gritted teeth. "Oh, Great Fires of London! Just get out of the way!"

Finally, the crowd of journalists moved back just enough to enable me to get Jupiter through. I breathed a sigh of relief as I accelerated towards the park. Then, I picked up the radio handset. "Sam to Station Officer Steele. When Inspector Harrison arrives, see if he can do something about those journalists. They just blocked us from exiting the fire station."

"I saw that, Sam. Don't worry. They can all expect to receive hefty fines for doing that."

I put the handset back. Moments later, we arrived at the scene in the park. I saw Sarah, James, Mandy and Hannah gathered around the base of a large tree, which told me exactly what I needed to know.

It's Norman… Again! Sighing, I jumped down from the cab, and I jogged over to the tree.

"Heeeelp!" Norman screamed.

"He's a long way up," I mused as I took in the situation. "But at least he's on a stable branch. Penny? Stabilise Jupiter. We'll need to use the ladder."

Before long, I'd successfully rescued Norman, and we were back on solid ground again.

"Thank you, Fireman Sam," Norman said gratefully.

"That's all right, Norman. But, what on earth were you doing up there?"

"He was looking for aliens for his show," Mandy answered crossly.

I rolled my eyes. "Aren't you tired of looking for aliens by now, Norman?"

"Of course not, Fireman Sam! I'm going to find a real alien, and then we'll see who's the best alien spotter in Pontypandy!"

I groaned before returning to Jupiter's cab. "I can't wait for the school holidays to be over," I muttered as I closed the door.

"I'm with you there, Sam!" Penny agreed as she and Arnold also climbed into the cab.

I started up Jupiter, and I turned her around for the short drive back to the fire station. Minutes later, I paused Jupiter at an intersection to check for oncoming traffic.

"Look out!" Arnold suddenly shouted, and he ducked.

CRASH!

I ducked as well, but I was too late. Something solid hit the right-hand side of my helmet, and I promptly blacked out.

Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I've been busy, what with getting back home, unpacking, and sorting out everything that happened while I was away. However, I don't apologise for ending this chapter on a cliff-hanger. I really enjoy doing that! *Insert evil laugh!* I did have a lot of difficulty writing this chapter, and the next, because my initial idea would've meant raising the age rating. However, I'm now happy with what I've came up with as an alternative.

Guest: You need to create an account, so we can pm each other. I'm not sure if you realise that reviews can be read by everyone, and I don't feel comfortable revealing private information here. I would like to be able to respond to what you wrote, but I won't do so here.

Amy S: I have considered doing something like that, but I've had about 5 request stories/ideas already, and I'd like to get them done first (if I can remember them all, lol!).