Thought I'd Check Up on You
By Labor Day, Kelly was cleared to return to light duty, though he still was not cleared for calls. Labor Day was a shift day for second shift, so Jack accompanied his parents to 51. He was looking forward to hanging out with his dad all day. Kelly loved his son and his son's company, but he was itching to get back out there, and so was not looking forward to the day as much as Jack was. Stella was glad that she would know where both of her boys were, and not have to worry about them when she was out on calls. Or at least she hoped not.
The bells went off right after breakfast for engine and ambo. Kelly decided to use the time to drill the squad. When Jack realized they were going to do a rappelling drill, he begged to participate. "Please, Dad? Please, please, please, please, please?" He pulled his best puppy face.
"Wow," commented Capp. "Six pleases and puppy dog eyes. Kid wants it bad."
"Yep," Cruz agreed. "All that's left is a quivering lip and a single, sad little tear."
"C'mon, Lieutenant," offered Tony in his quiet way. He was standing behind Jack, hands on the boy's shoulders. "You know he's a good kid. He'll do what you say. And we'll watch out for him."
It was Tony's quiet plea on Jack's behalf that tipped the scales for Kelly. He raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, I'll let him try it once."
"YES!" Jack shouted, jumping up and down.
"Once," his father repeated. "And if you don't do exactly as you're told, it will be a very long time before you're allowed again. Got it?"
"Yes, sir. I'll do just what you say, I promise."
"Alright, let's get to it."
Jack climbed to the roof, while the squad checked and double-checked the equipment. Once Kelly was satisfied, Jack was harnessed up and given instructions. "On rappel!" he called down.
"On belay!" Kelly answered. And Jack jumped backwards, out from the side of the building, and proceeded to execute a very respectable rappel. This was not one of the things he had done with his Uncle Matt, so it was exhilarating for him. As for Kelly, his heart was in his mouth on that first leap out from the side of the building, but he was excited for Jack, and proud of him, too.
Jack desperately wanted to do it again, but was wise enough not to ask. After thanking everybody for letting him have a chance, he hugged his dad and said, "I can't wait to tell Mom!"
Kelly wasn't so sure that Stella's reaction would be as positive as Jack assumed, but he would never, ever ask Jack to keep something from his mom. Keeping secrets from people he loved had never turned out all that well for Kelly. It was a habit he was trying to break, and he had no desire to encourage it in his son.
As Jack was celebrating, the bells went off again, summoning Squad 3 and Truck 81 to the same structure fire that their compatriots had headed to a couple of hours ago. This was not good, because it meant that things were getting worse, not better. Jack and Kelly both knew this, but they knew the rest of Squad 3 had to go, as did 81. They scrambled out of the way as the others all moved out, Jack calling out, "Keep your badges off the wall, everybody! 'Specially you, Mom." And then they were gone, sirens wailing, and the firehouse was very, very quiet.
Kelly, Jack, and the usual support staff were all that was left in the quiet house. Kelly turned on the TV in the common room and found the local news on WGN. The fire was a big warehouse blaze, and several houses were now out in force to fight it. Kelly paced like a caged animal, wanting desperately to be there, knowing that the squad was a man down, concerned for the safety of his wife and his coworkers. Jack sat mesmerized, looking for his mom or any of his friends. Kelly wasn't sure the kid should be watching, but he knew it wouldn't be worth the battle to try to prevent it, so he allowed it.
They caught glimpses here and there of familiar faces. Jack saw Hermmann, Mouch, and Gallo carrying out a fellow firefighter, but it wasn't anyone he recognized. He saw Sylvie and Violet loading the ambulance with a victim and wailing away down the street. Finally, he saw his mother. "Mom," he breathed, and Kelly instantly turned to face the TV. There she was, looking exhausted, covered in soot, but otherwise fine, it seemed. Both husband and son breathed a sigh of relief. "She's okay," said Jack. "She's okay."
Kelly finally sat down on the sofa next to him and pulled him close. "Of course she is," he said. "Don't you know your mom's a badass?"
"You both are," said Jack.
"Okay," Kelly responded with a chuckle. "Who am I to argue with that?"
The members of 51 began returning a little after nine that night, with engine and the paramedics the first in. The squad and truck 81 were still helping with overhaul, although they would be along shortly, letting other houses that had come on board later in the evening do the lion's share of the mop up. Soon enough, 81 came rolling in, its exhausted firefighters dropping out and onto the app floor like walking wounded. They were closely followed by Squad 3, in much the same condition.
People showered in their turns, ate some chow which Kelly had made sure was ready for them when they got there, and fell into bunks. Firehouse 51 was taken out of service for six hours to give the firefighters a much-needed rest. Kelly took his customary position in the chair in his quarters, Stella in his lap. Jack slept soundly in Kelly's bunk, now that he knew everyone was safe. When Stella drifted off in her husband's arms, he moved her gently to the bed, shoving Jack over to make room. Jack woke enough to press himself back against the wall and drape an arm around his mother, then he was gone again. Kelly headed out to the bunk room to crash in Stella's bed. The firehouse was quiet once again.
The rest of the shift was uneventful, and 7:30 the next morning found Jack standing on the corner near the firehouse waiting for the Dunbar Academy van to pick him up. His parents stood well back on the apron. When the van arrived, Jack turned and waved before boarding, and then was gone.
"Well," said Stella, "let's hope that today is less eventful than the first time."
"Yeah," answered her husband. "Let's."
Jack sat down next to Martha on the van. "Welcome back," she said.
"Thanks," said Jack. "It's good to be back. At least right now. It might be different once we actually get there. I mean, Bradley."
"Oh, you don't know," Martha answered. "Bradley got expelled. It was the one horrible thing we were all hoping for."
Jack wasn't quite sure how he felt about that. He was glad he didn't have to deal with Bradley any more, but he also wondered what had made Bradley act like he did in the first place. Usually when people were that mean, it was because someone had been mean to them. He had actually hoped to try to mend things with Bradley and try to be a friend to him. Now he wouldn't have the chance. "Wonder where he went," said Jack.
Martha shrugged. "Who knows? Public school, probably. I doubt anybody else would take him. It's kind of a shame, I guess. I kind of felt sorry for him sometimes. He seemed really unhappy. Now we might never know what became of him."
"Yeah, exactly. Well, nothing we can do about it, I guess." And with that, Jack set his sights on making a new beginning at Dunbar Academy.
Stella and Kelly had eaten breakfast at the firehouse with Jack, so they headed home. Stella was still exhausted from the day before, but Kelly was restless and bursting with energy from his confinement. Once Stella was settled on the sofa and covered with a blanket, halfway asleep in front of the TV, Kelly kissed her and set out for a nice long run. It felt good to get the kinks out, and before he knew it, he had run a little over two miles. He was in front of Dunbar Academy. He would have liked to tell himself it was an accident, but it wasn't. He stopped and stretched, then looked at his watch. He knew recess was around 10:00, so he wandered around the block to the playground area, where he spied his one and only son standing by the fence with several other kids. Jack looked up and saw him. "Hey, Dad!" he called, jogging over. He was trailed by a small, blond girl who obviously had Down Syndrome.
"Hey, Bud. Who's this?"
"Oh, this is Amber. She's the girl...you know."
Kelly nodded. "She seems fond of you."
Jack smiled down at the little girl and shrugged. "I think she's just grateful." He reached out and affectionately stroked her hair. She grinned up at him, grabbed his hand, and put it to her cheek. She said nothing, but her eyes fairly glowed with adoration. Jack rubbed her cheek gently with the back of his hand. Kelly melted a little. He loved his kid's heart.
"What brings you here, Dad?"
"Out for a run. Thought I'd check up on you."
Jack rolled his eyes. "I can't imagine why," he grinned. "But no worries. Bad Brad got expelled. So far I haven't met anybody else that makes me want to kick them in the face."
Kelly grinned back. "I'm gonna head home," he said. "Mom or I—or both of us—will pick you up this afternoon. Keep it between the ditches, kid."
"You, too."
Kelly set off toward home at a slow jog, reassured that his kiddo was going to be just fine.
Stella went to get her hair trimmed that afternoon, so it was Kelly who picked up Jack from school. As soon as he got into the car, Jack asked, "Dad, do you think I could get a skateboard?"
Kelly was caught a little off guard. He was pretty sure this was the first time Jack had actually asked for anything material, so he was reluctant to say no out of hand. On the other hand… "I dunno, bud. Skateboards are kind of dangerous. Why do you want one?"
"Well, a couple of the guys in my class say they ride, and I thought that might be something I could do with them. But if you think I shouldn't, that's okay. There are plenty of other ways to make friends."
Kelly glanced in the rear view mirror to see his son smiling at him. He wasn't being disingenuous. At least Kelly didn't think so. "Let me talk to Mom about it, okay, Jack? We'll discuss it and let you know in a day or two. Sound fair?"
Jack shrugged. "Sure. Like I said, it's not a big deal. It was just one idea."
Kelly shook his head at his son's maturity, all the while hoping it was maturity, and not manipulation.