"I thought you were off today." Bailey said, sliding out of the passenger seat and lifting her backpack over her shoulder cautiously.
"I was but I got called in." TK said.
"And I'm here because…" Bailey tapered off.
TK chuckled.
"Because you told me last week that you had written your English paper," He said, leaning against the hood of the car. "And tell me Bailey, did you do that?"
Bailey froze, looking everywhere but at her father.
"I…started it." She said.
"Bailey." TK deadpanned.
"Okay, I created the document." She said.
"Bailey." TK said, looking at his hands.
"But I haven't finished reading the book yet." Bailey confessed.
"Yeah."
"How did you even find out?" Bailey asked.
"Next time you're trying to sneak something like that by me or your dad, don't leave your planner open on the kitchen table with a sticky note on it with 'FINISH READING BOOK' and 'WRITE ENGLISH PAPER' written in all-caps." TK said slipping the planner out of the side of his duffel and holding it out to her.
Bailey quietly took the planner and shifted from the balls of her feet to her heels and back again.
"I'm sorry for lying to you." She said.
"It's fine Bails," TK said. "But you are going to write it today."
Bailey nodded.
"Hence why I'm here instead of at home." She said.
"Happy Sunday kiddo." TK said.
"This is going to be a long day." She said.
Together they walked into the firehouse where TK immediately pointed Bailey in the direction of the dining room table. Bailey rolled her eyes as she sat down. She understood her father's annoyance, though she was still annoyed that he was making her write it at the firehouse instead of leaving her at home to do it.
"Hey kiddo." Nanci smiled, perching on the table next to where Bailey had set up.
"Hey." Bailey said.
"You look glum," Nanci said. "Why are you glum?"
"I'm on lockdown." Bailey said, glancing over to where TK was pouring himself a cup of coffee.
Nanci's brow furrowed.
"Lockdown?" She asked.
"I lied to dad about my English paper and told him that I'd written it when I hadn't." Bailey explained.
Nanci nodded.
"So now he's having you write it here." She said.
"Yup." Bailey said.
"What's it on?" Nanci asked.
"The Scarlet Letter." Bailey said sliding into her seat and poking at the novel sitting next to her laptop.
"What about The Scarlet Letter?" Nanci asked.
"I'll let you know when I figure it out." Bailey sighed.
"You could discuss the values of the Puritan society in which the main characters live, and how these values conspire against them throughout the novel." Nanci offered.
Bailey blinked slowly looking at her father's partner.
"What?" Nanci asked.
"Nothing," Bailey said. "I guess I just wasn't expecting somebody to give me a topic."
Nanci laughed.
"Well, I wasn't the biggest fan of English in high school so I figure I might as well make other's people's lives a bit easier." Nancy shrugged.
Bailey arched her brow.
"What's the real reason?" She asked.
"TK's going to gripe until you finish this paper and I really don't want to listen to it all shift." Nanci admitted.
Bailey laughed pushing herself up in her chair and picking up her book.
"That sounds about right." She said.
Nancy laughed.
"Guilty," She said. "Well, I better finish doing inventory in the ambo before I get lectured. Good luck Bails."
Bailey laughed and opened her book to where she'd left off.
"This is gonna be a long day." She mumbled.
Bailey finally finished her paper nearly four hours later and she was sitting at the breakfast bar eating her sandwich when everybody got back from a call.
"You finished your paper." TK said.
"I did," Bailey said. "And Nanci, thank you for that topic. Once I knew what I was reading for I was able to pick out what I needed."
Nanci held up her water bottle with a smile.
"My pleasure kiddo." She said.
TK looked from Bailey to Nanci and back again.
"You helped her?" He asked.
"She only gave me a direction. Something to write about." Bailey explained.
TK nodded.
"Well, at least it's done now and you don't have to worry about it," He said. "When do you hand it in?"
"Tuesday, third period." Bailey said, taking a bite of her sandwich.
"Have you heard from Noah since Friday night?" TK asked.
"Yeah, we've texted back and forth." Bailey said.
"I thought you guys were using the three day weekend as a family bonding thing." Paul said.
"We did," TK said. "But then Noah called and asked Bailey out."
Bailey almost choked on her water: she hadn't exactly been expecting for that to be brought up.
"You and Noah went out on a date?" Nanci said, nearly dropping her fork.
Bailey nodded. Marjan's smiled.
"You go girl!" She said.
Bailey laughed. Nanci leaned over the counter.
"So how was it?" She teased.
"Oh shut up," Bailey laughed, her face flushing. "He was a complete gentleman about everything. He even helped me when I dropped in the middle of the date."
"Really?" Tommy asked.
Bailey nodded.
"Yeah, he knew exactly what to do and then we went back to the house and watched movies.
"And." TK prompted from behind everybody.
"And?" Marjan asked. "There's an and?"
"No," Bailey said quickly before pushing herself up so she could see TK over the others. "There is no and."
Owen's brow cocked.
"Oh there is so an and." He laughed.
"Come on kiddo, we aren't gonna let this go." Judd said.
"Okay, so we may have fallen asleep on the couch together," Bailey said. "And I walked him out when we woke up. And…"
"And…" Nanci said.
"We kind of…kissed." Bailey said, her face flushing again.
"He kissed you?" Marjan said, a smile breaking across her face.
"More like I kissed him." Bailey said, smiling shyly.
"Okay, we need to meet this kid." Judd spoke up.
"Definitely," Owen said. "Anybody dating my granddaughter needs to be vetted by the whole family."
Bailey groaned and let her head fall onto her arms, hiding her face.
"Guys," She groaned. "His dad's a cop that works with papá, I think he's been vetted enough."
Owen laughed.
"Come on kiddo, would it really be that bad if we all met him?" He asked.
"Yes," Bailey deadpanned, lifting her head. "We've been together for all of three days. Can't we at least give it a week?"
"Together?" Tommy asked.
Bailey's eyes fell off to the side, realizing what she'd said. She looked to TK for backup but he held up his hands.
"You said it." He chuckled.
Bailey whined quietly, trying to find a way out of the situation.
"What is this? Interrogate Bailey day?" Bailey asked.
"Yes." Everybody said.
"Good to know," Bailey replied. "Should I expect this after every date that I have?"
"Yes." Again rang out through the fire house.
Bailey nodded, falling back into her chair. Before looking back at TK.
"I blame this on you." She said.
TK laughed.
"I am surprisingly okay with that." He said,
A few different ideas came to mind but Bailey eventually failed to come up with something that wasn't completely incriminating.
"Okay yes, I said together." She said.
The 126 erupted in applause.
"Finally!" A new voice called.
Everybody was suddenly shifting to see who their new visitor was. Carlos and another officer were standing in the garage and not even a few feet behind them was Noah, his hands planted in his pockets.
"Noah?" Bailey asked.
Noah laughed. Bailey pushed her way through the crowd of firefighters with a smile.
"What are you doing here?" She asked.
"Well, your dad was coming to visit you guys, my dad needs to pick up some papers and I was with him so I figured, why not." He shrugged.
Noah reached forward and wrapped his arm around Bailey's waist pulling her closer.
"Do you think you're ready to meet the rest of my family?" She asked settling comfortably into his side.
Noah took in a deep breath and glanced over to where the 126 was standing talking to his father and Carlos. He did take notice that a few of them were glancing over every now and again.
"I don't remember them being so…big." Noah said.
Bailey laughed.
"Yeah, Judd's not a small man," She said. "But he's a teddy bear, just be yourself and you'll be fine."
Noah nodded.
"Yeah, that doesn't help." He said.
Noah cleared his throat and took a deep breath before approaching the group. They'd moved back into the kitchen to finish lunch. He didn't know who to approach first, to be frank, they were all mildly terrifying. Thankfully though Owen decided to take the choice out of his hands.
"So, you're dating Bailey." Owen said, sitting across from Noah.
"Yes sir." Noah said.
Owen nodded slowly.
"And what are your intentions with my granddaughter?" He asked.
"Oh dear lord save me," Bailey muttered, sinking down into her seat. "This could not be more cliché."
Noah blinked for a moment. His father was leaning up against the counter watching him intently.
"The only intentions I have sir are to be there for her and to have a fun relationship." He said.
Owen nodded.
"And what would you constitute as fun?" He asked.
Owen knew that he was being nosy but he also knew that TK and Carlos had already asked these questions. He was just having fun now.
"Ice cream trips and going to the movies." Noah answered.
"Good answer." Nanci spoke up.
"I have to agree," Owen said. "But remember we have access to large equipment and the ability to make a fire look like an accident."
Noah gulped and nodded.
"Yes, sir." He said.
"Oh dear god, grandpa please leave him alone." Bailey said.
"Bailey, I am only pointing out that everybody here has no problem fraying a wire in an electrical socket or switching out a surge box for a fake one and nobody would be the wiser." Owen said.
Bailey groaned and covered her face with her hands. Noah sat straight up in his seat. Everybody had gone uncomfortably quiet
"Noah." Owen said.
"Yes sir?" Noah asked.
"I'm kidding." He said.
"Are you thought?" Paul asked.
Owen opened his mouth but the fire/medical bell rang loud through the building cutting off his response and Bailey breathed a sigh of relief.
"Bailey, papá is gonna take you home. I'll see you after shift." TK said kissing Bailey's head before following the rest of the 126 put towards the trucks and ambo.
It took a moment but Bailey straightened up in her seat and leaned her head over on Noah's shoulder.
"Well that was just as awkward was I thought it would be." Bailey said.
Carlos laughed.
"Really? I thought that went well." He said.
Noah took a deep breath.
"Honestly same." He said.