Author's Note: Marbo, I really appreciate you always reviewing my story! I really appreciate when someone is willing to take the time to let me know how they like it, what needs to be improved, or any ideas.
The last few shifts weren't out of the ordinary for Jennifer. It included some stares as she walked in, plenty of mumbling and grumbling from the men, and more photos and playboys in her locker. It was starting to become her new normal. She continued to hold on to a little hope of being placed at a decent station in about three weeks. That was what kept her going while dealing with the harassment.
When she walked into 18s A shift, she expected the same—mumbling, grumbling, notes, maybe a few playboys in her locker. Every Wednesday and Friday, she would start her day thinking about what the ways the crew could harass her that day. It was her morning ritual when she was shadowing a squad and a way to mentally prepare her for the day to come.
This day started unlike all of her previous shifts. She got the stares, like normal. A few stutters from the guys, trying to figure out how to best greet the outsider. However, she didn't have much time to deal with more than that before the Klaxons went off announcing a run for the squad for a woman in labor. She had barely enough time to change into her uniform.
In the squad, she sat between the two senior paramedics, who weren't much senior. Bill had three years on the squad and Jeff had started last year. The other more senior members called them the baby boys because the guys on the truck each had been there for at least five years, most in double digits. During the drive, Bill asked if she had done the OB/GYN rotation yet. She explained that she was lucky as she had spent the past two weeks in that department during her hospital rotations. The two quizzed her on route about the procedure of delivery and what to look out for. She had passed his test with flying colors. It was Jeff who warned that they would probably just provide transport. he had yet to bring a baby into the world.
The drive took about 10 minutes with the lights and sirens. It would've easily been five minutes but traffic was heavy and people still struggled with moving out of the way, even with the sirens blaring. Jenn was handed the OB/GYN kit while the men carried the rest of the equipment.
The three jogged to the door. Bill knocked on the door and was greeted with a scream. He tried to door, relieved to see that it was unlocked. Laying on the ground in the living room was a thirty year old woman. The phone receiver laid next to her. She panted for a minute while Jeff introduced the crew to her. The woman was about to introduce herself, but was interrupted by a contraction. Jeff looked at Bill and mouthed "less than two minutes." When the contraction went, Janet was able to introduce herself.
Bill explained what the crew was going to do while Jeff set everything up. Bill broke the news that Janet would not be delivering in the hospital. Bill went to position himself at her feet, when she snapped her legs shut. "Please, only my husband has seen me. My OB/GYN is a woman." She let out another shriek as her body tensed with the contraction.
Bill looked at Jennifer. He wasn't about to argue with a woman getting ready to push a watermelon through a straw. At least not if he could help it. He made eye contact with Jennifer with was getting the biophone together. He did a quick head nod to indicate that she should change positions with him. She reached in the OB/GYN box and got her goggles, gloves, and masks. He tossed her a blanket and started to tell both Jennifer and Janet, what was going to happen.
He instructed that for Jennifer to put the blanket on the ground. Her water had already soaked into the floor, but there would be more fluids leaving her body during the delivery. She followed up with removing Janet's underwear. Jeff took down Janet's medical history, little by little. Bill continued to say each step as a way to calm Janet and to reassure Jenny that what she was doing is correct. After 30 minutes, they had the baby and placenta out. Both mother and child was healthy.
When the crew returned to headquarters, they had little time to celebrate between the calls. They were run ragged until about 4:00 PM between a heart attack, a broken ankle, a motor vehicle accident, and an asthma attack. When they finally pulled in, they were eager to tell the truck crew how their day had gone.
The paramedics found the crew playing two on two basketball in the parking lot. As the paramedics walked in, it was Bill who announced that Jennifer delivered a baby.
"Damn, you look pretty good for having just delivered a baby," Dennis said. He was the smart ass of the crew but trusted with maintaining the fire truck as the Engineer.
"She didn't deliver it herself. She helped a woman deliver a baby," explained Jeff in all seriousness.
No one called out Jeff for believing Dennis had thought that Jennifer had just given birth. It seemed as this was pretty typical for the guys to do.
"Congrats!" Firefighter Travis said.
"Thanks," she blushed.
The Captain ended the game early and went to his office. Bill followed behind his to the Captain's office..
"You got any pins?" Bill asked after closing the door behind him.
"You still got the cigars?" Captain asked. Bill had been keeping cigars for the very moment he was going to deliver a baby. Being a paramedic, one is usually called for one of the worst days in a person's life. Delivering a baby in the field is an exciting and joyous moment. One that most paramedics don't get to do, because they usually transport to the hospital.
"Yeah. Listen when you call her in, let us fuck with her just a little bit," Bill mentioned.
Captain threw up his hands and then started pulling out the drawer, searching for the stork pin. "I don't want to hear about whatever evil plan you have."
"Just give us five minutes, Cap," Bill pleaded.
Bill left the office and shut the door behind him. He made his way to his locker to pull out the cigars, lighter, and cigar cutter. Carrying the items, he returned to the rest of the crew who were now mingling in the parking lot.
Bobby noticed the items in Bill's hands. "I see we are celebrating huh, poppa?"
"We are, right momma?" He handed out the cigars, with Jennifer's being the first. Dennis quickly bit off the top of his cigar while several other wait to cut the ends. Jennifer waited her turn for the cutter.
"Aww shit, just bite it. Be more of a man than these pansies," Dennis egged her on and slapped her back. She pulled the cigar away and looked at it for a brief moment. She then bit the end and spit it out, mimicking Dennis. The guys laughed as Bill lit her cigar. She took a long inhale and began to cough. It was obvious that she was new to cigars as was Jeff, as they were both coughing. The rest of the crew picked on the two.
As the crew was standing around, smoking. The Captain came out. Dennis tossed a cigar the Captain's way. Cap caught the cigar in mid air and brought it down to his side. "I'm afraid I'll have to wait on this. DeSoto, I need to see you in my office. There's something we need to discuss about the call," he said sternly. Jennifer tried running through her mind about what had gone wrong on the calls, but nothing came to mind.
She trailed the Captain, but not before Bobby grabbed her cigar out of her mouth. "Damn, only a few hours on our shift and already in trouble. Cap don't like cigars in the station." She gave him a thankful nod.
Captain sat at his desk and pulled out the drawer to retrieve the pin. He sat for the extra minutes she needed before she entered the office. Her body stood at attention. "Bobby told me about the baby's delivery." He stood up from his desk and made his way in front of her. Her heart began to race as she forced her arms at her sides. Her instinct was to start to pick at her cuticles but that would not be a sign of attention.
"I heard that you did good work. Any paramedic that delivers a baby in the field gets one of these." He held out the pin for her. "May I?" He asked for permission to pin it on her. All she could do was give a slight nod. He pinned it to her pocket flap. She was so focused on the moment that she did not hear the men sneaking up behind her and given her hand claps and whistles.
All she could do was turn back to them and give a sheepish smile. The celebration quickly ended after the sound of the klaxon going off for the squad to go out for a bad back. The rest of the crew stated that they would hold dinner for them. It was a usual pain medication drive in which the person could have taken a taxi to the hospital.
When the crew arrived back, it was time for Jennifer to change out of the uniform. It was 5:00 PM and her perfect day was over. She went into the locker room and sat in front of her locker. She didn't want to leave. She didn't want to go to another firehouse. This was what she imagined it would be like as a paramedic. She changed out of her uniform, but took one last glance at the pin before placing the shirt in her duffle bag. Today, she felt like she belonged and could do the job.
She stood up and heaved her duffle bag over her shoulder. She retrieved her turn out gear from the closet and entered the kitchen area to bid farewell to the crew.
"Where the hell you going?" Dennis asked.
"It's 5. My shift is over," she whispered "unfortunately."
"You're shift is over, but you can still sit down and eat with us," Jeff piped up.
She set her gear off to the side and worked on making a plate so that she could join at the table. The crew discussed some of their best rescue, family stories, and why they got into the fire service. When people started to move to clean up, she was surprised to see that it was going on 7:00 PM. The talk about families made her realize, that she probably had someone at home feeling anxious about her not being home yet.
She dug around in her duffle bag for some change to use with the payphone hanging in the kitchen. She quickly punched in her number.
It only took two rings before David picked up. "Hey," she said with guilt.
"Hey. Is everything okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, everything is fine. I'm sorry I didn't call earlier. I'm running late. I'm going to be leaving the station soon. I'm really sorry if I worried you."
"Tell him you love him," Dennis called out from across the room. She turned bright red.
David chuckled. He could sense her blushing. "Well are you?"
"Am I what?" She questioned.
"Going to tell me you love me." Yes, he had been worried but now that he was relieved since hearing his voice. He had to have a little fun.
She used the same technique that she used on her brother, just ignore the question. "I might stay her a few more minutes. I'll see you later."
The guys couldn't keep quiet and decided to play twenty questions about the mystery man on the phone. When they were talking about family, she spoke about her mother, father and brother, but not a love interest. She continued to stay quiet on the topic and insisted that she had to go. When she had left, it was Jeff who announced that "all the good ones are taken." Bill reminded him that he didn't have a snowball's chance in hell to be with a beautiful, smart, and caring woman.
Jennifer was eager to get home and tell David all about her day. When she got in, she threw the door open and dropped her gear in the entrance way. She started digging through her bag for her uniform shirt.
"Not more lingerie?" David asked. He couldn't read whether this was a good rush or an angry rush through the gear. When she turned to face him, he instantly saw her beaming smile. It was a good rush. She held up the shirt to her chest.
"I got a pin. It's a stork. I delivered a baby today!" She plopped down on the couch next to him. Her shift laid across her chest with the pin facing up. "Today was fantastic. I felt like I belonged. Like I was a real paramedic."
"And a firefighter too from the smells of it," he joked.
"Oh yeah, I had my first cigar. I think I could live without another cigar," she admitted.
"You choke on it?"
"I had a coughing fit. And did you know, you have to cut or bite off the bottom of it. I swear I still got some tobacco in my teeth." He could only shake his head and smile. "I'm so tired, we had so many calls today. I'm gonna shower and brush this funkiness out of my mouth. Night."
He watched her as she practically skipped to the bathroom. "It's about time they see what I see," he whispered. He got up from his seat and turned off the television. He had to be up early for shift the next morning.