Alex Taylor jogged along the edge of the building, dodging people on the
hustling bustling street. She quickly adjusted the cumbersome burden on her
shoulder and came upon the entrance to the unknown. Taking a deep breath, Alex
calmed her nerves, pushed open the door and quickly climbed the stairs.
"Come on, Taylor, you can do this!" she thought to herself as
she reached the top of the stairs. She looked around the hallway, searching for
the door that she desperately needed to find. Her pulse was quick and her palms
sweaty in her gloves. She was alone and frightened, adrenaline rushing through
her entire body. Slowly, she came upon the door and, summoning her last bit of
courage, knocked.
After a few seconds the door opened and Alex was met face to face with her
new commanding officer. He looked her up and down a few times, as if to see if
this was the great firefighter he was told about, or a woman who'd just
decided now was the time to live up to the expectations of her dreams.
"I assume you're Taylor, huh?"
"Yes, sir."
"Come on in. We'll go over a few things before I give you a
tour of the facilities"
Alex smiled a bit and nodded, entering the small office and sitting down,
wondering why she even bothered transferring to the 55.
* * *
"What? No way, Nieto," scoffed Bobby Caffey, shaking his head
and shoveling a spoon full of cereal in his mouth.
"I'm telling you, if Ruth and McGuire played in the same year at
their peaks, Ruth would give McGuire a run for his money."
"What would you know about baseball, Carlos? You think a force out is
when a girl kicks your lazy butt out of bed at 9AM," Monte
"Doc" Parker smirked, rolling up the sports page and pointing it at
him.
"I know enough about baseball to know that the Yankees will win again
this year and send Boston packing," he shot back.
"Can we find something else to talk about?" Kim Zombrano asked.
"I know I'm the only female, but one can only get bored talking
about sports all the time."
"Kim, you know, we'd love to talk about hair and make-up, but
the only make-up I wear is soot," grinned Joe Lombardo.
"Hey, guys. Captain's heading up the steps," said Bobby,
dropping his cereal bowl in the sink.
* * *
Everyone in the room turned to watch as Captain entered the room. No one really
noticed the small, blonde woman standing behind him as he began speaking.
"Listen up, we've got a new firefighter to replace Monroe in the
squad. This is Alex Taylor," the Captain said, stepping aside.
Alex sighed inwardly as the men in the room looked in awe at her. She knew what
was going through their heads and she didn't like it. No one had ever had
a look of camaraderie when she entered the room. Just shear awe and wonder at
the thought of how a tiny little thing like her could be a firefighter. It was
the same everywhere she went.
Slowly, the people in the room gave little nods in acknowledgment and turned
back to the Captain. Alex glanced about and locked eyes with the only woman in
the room. Kim nodded and gave a slight smile, but Alex could tell she was
thinking the same thing all the guys were thinking, "Oh great, a female
firefighter."
The Captain smiled and looked about the room. "I thought I'd
introduce Alex before I gave her the tour of the station. Any volunteers to
help me give her a tour?" he asked, daring anyone to not step forward.
Alex watched as the men in the room turned away and went about what they were
doing. Only Kim spoke up. "Sure, I'll show her around, but I think
one of the guys should show her the trucks and equipment."
"Alright. You show her around now, I'll have Doherty show her the
ropes later," he said, turning around and walking back down the stairs.
Kim and Alex watched him go and turned back to each other. "I'm
Kim. Don't mind these guys, I'm sure they're just pissed that
Captain actually bothered to talk to you and not them."
"Yeah, right. Can we just get on with this, please?" Alex snapped,
her nervousness turning to anger when she realized her fellow firefighters
weren't going to give her much of a chance.
"Um, sure," replied Kim, glancing back at her partner, Bobby, as she
led Alex to the bunkroom. Bobby just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.
* * *
"Is that the Alex Taylor?" asked Carlos, glancing around the room.
"What do you mean by that?" Doc asked, looking around the room.
"Is there something wrong with Alex that you guys mind telling me
about?"
"Yeah, she has a habit of taking jokes a little too seriously,"
piped in Lombardo.
"What?"
"She's bad news, Doc. Just stay away from her and you'll be
fine"
Doc shook his head and decided to go find out what everyone was talking about
from Alex herself.
* * *
Alex sighed and looked around the bunkroom. Every bed was taken except the one
on the end so she headed over to it and set her duffle bag on the bed. She
looked around for her closet, realizing the one next to her bed seemed to be
occupied, she walked around till she found one slightly opened.
"Looking for something?" a voice called behind her.
"Yeah, a free closet," she replied, turning around and looking at
the man who said it.
"Well, that ones not free. As a matter of fact, it's mine. Could
you toss me my shirt out of it while you're right there?" he said,
walking over.
"I'm Alex Taylor," she said, tossing him his shirt.
"you are?"
"Jimmy. Jimmy Doherty. Are you a new paramedic?" he asked,
shrugging the shirt on over his undershirt.
"No, I was transferred from the 23. I'm a firefighter," she
replied, looking for the reaction she was so used to from other firefighters.
He smiled, "Well then, Taylor, welcome to the squad." He said and
turned and walked out the door.
Alex watched him go, wondering why he was so different from the rest.
* * *
"What in the hell…?" said Alex, as the truck pulled up on
scene.
"How do you get a car stuck in a fruit stand?" asked Lombardo,
chuckling.
"Apparently, it's not that hard," Jimmy said, jumping out of
the truck as it stopped.
Alex watched as Doc and Carlos pulled up in the bus and hopped out. She shook
her head as Carlos dropped the medic bag and swore as its contents spilled out.
She headed over and helped him pick them up.
"Go grab the extra bag, I'll clean this up," she said.
"What? You have no clue how to clean this up, you get the extra
bag," he said, grabbing a fist full of gauze pads away from her.
"Carlos! She's a paramedic, just go get the other bag!" Doc
exclaimed, nodding to Alex.
"Taylor! We need some help with the jaws!" Lombardo yelled, coming
up behind her. "Let's go!"
Alex grabbed the medic bag and threw it in the front seat of the bus. Heading
over to the car, she assessed the scene, checking the number of patients and
what else they'd need. She reached in and felt for the driver's
pulse.
"Doc! This guy's got a weak pulse! Plus two other patients!
You'd better radio for another bus!"
"Got it! Carlos!"
"On it, Doc" he replied, radioing in for more help.
"Taylor, grab that saw!" Jimmy yelled, helping Lombardo with the
jaws.
Alex hefted the saw and came around to the other side. She watched as the two
men tried to get a bite onto the door but it wouldn't budge.
"I'll get a prybar." She ran to the truck and grabbed a
halogen tool. Coming back around, Lombardo tried to take it from her.
"C'mon Taylor!"
"I got it!" she yelled, jamming the bar into the crevice between the
doors and pulling. Doherty and Lombardo watched as she made a big enough hole
to get the jaws into. They tried again with the jaws, this time getting a bite.
"Come on! This guy's bleeding out!" Carlos exclaimed.
"Just a second more…little more," Jimmy grunted, trying to
hold up the door. Alex grabbed the door as the nader pin gave way with a pop
and the door popped free. She bent the door towards the front of the vehicle
and crawled in, dropping the halogen on the ground beside the tire.
Moments later, Kim and Bobby arrived in another bus, taking over and loading the
patients with Carlos and Doc. Doc smiled at her as he jumped in, "Nice to
have you back around, Taylor."
Alex smiled as she picked up the halogen tool, and helped to replace the tools
on the truck. So far, so good. No real complaints and a good way to start her
time at the 55. She just hoped nothing would happen to darken her time here.
* * *
Alex slowly made her way up the stairs, hearing the guys hooting and
hollering after a nice little kitchen fire. The sound of running water and
steam were the first things she noticed as she started towards the bunkroom.
Suddenly, Smithe popped his head out of the shower room. "Need help
finding your bunk? Actually, I don't think you'll need the help, you
can't miss it," he grinned, going back into the shower room.
Alex sighed and walked towards the bunkroom. As soon as she walked in, she
knew what he'd meant. Her bunk had been made into a make-shift canopy
bed, complete with fluffy, frilly curtains. Attached to the curtains was a sign
that read: 'Stay Back 500ft'. She walked over and ripped down the
curtains and sat on the bed with her chin on her knees, wondering why she even
bothered trying anymore.
Lombardo walked in, shower fresh and in clean uniform. "Hey, Taylor!
You want to use the shower? We even got a little sign that we can flip over that
says 'Females'." He said.
"No. Thank you," she snapped.
"Suit yourself."
* * *
Doc sat in a recliner, reading a book, when Alex came wandering down the
steps. He watched as she fished around in the refridgerator. "Alex?
Need some help?"
She glanced behind her at Doc and muttered, "No thanks…I can
handle it."
"You know, if you weren't so cold to the people around here,
you'd fit in a little sooner," he sighed, putting down his book.
"Yeah, right. And I'm sure they'd just love to accept me.
Is that what you're trying to say, Doc?" she growled, slamming a
carton of milk on the table.
"Alex, you're not yourself. Don't forget who you're
talking to. I was there the day you joined the 23. We rode together off and on
for two years. Talk to me. Why is it you're so sure they won't
accept you?" he asked, getting out of the chair and sitting at the table
with her.
Alex sighed and rested her chin on her hands. She couldn't believe
her day so far. She was slowly being accepted as a firefighter, but not as a
person. She figured she'd had nothing to lose by telling Doc her past.
"Do you remember Danny ___?" she asked.
"Yeah, him and Jimmy used to be good friends, why?" Doc replied,
not knowing where this was going, but not liking it already.
"The guy doesn't know what the word 'no'
means," she replied, sighing softly.
"He didn't…" he said, his eyes getting wide.
"No, no. But not that he didn't try something along those
lines. I came home after working a day shift, to find him naked from the waist
down, in my apartment. I had to threaten to call the cops to get him out. This
didn't happen once, but twice. I had had enough of it. I filed a
harassment suit, and won. They agreed to transfer me to another squad if I
didn't press charges. He was put on leave and given sensitivity training.
I at least got a court order out of it. He can't come near me," she
explained, shaking her head. "I never did find out how he got into my
apartment. I check my place every time I go home. From top to bottom with a
baseball bat. I had to move to a new place, the old place creeped me out so
badly."
"Alex, I had no idea. But that still doesn't explain your
attitude."
She snorted, "Do you really think these guys heard the full story?
They think Danny was playing a joke or something on me. Or flirting.
I've heard one story about how he patted my ass and I turned him in. If
someone pats me on the ass, they're going to get knocked on theirs, not
turned in for sexual harassment."
"Why don't you tell them that then?"
"And let them win? I'll take my chances with them not
knowing," she replied, getting up and cleaning her glass out.
"Suit yourself, kid. I'll stay out of it. But I expect the
real Alex Taylor when you take some medic shifts with me, got it?" Doc
grinned.
"No problem, Doc."
* * *
Jimmy swore softly to himself, trying to figure a way to fix his helmet. He
sighed as he realized there was no hope he could see. He hated to ask Captain
for another one. He'd gone through two already this year.
"Hey, Slugger. Whatcha up to?" Alex asked, walking into the bay
and leaning on the truck.
"Hey, Alex. Trying to fix this strap. Came loose again. I
don't think its salvageable though," he shrugged.
"I hate that. Let me see for a second," she said, holding out
her hand. He gave up the helmet and sat on the step to the pump panel of the
truck. She fumbled with it for a minute and then grinned.
"Got it. Just needed to be put on the right side of the inside
band," she handed it back to him.
"Hey, thanks. Guess it just took a woman's touch, huh?"
he smiled, setting his helmet with his gear after inspecting it.
"I guess so," she paused. "Look, Jimmy. You're the
only person here who's had no problems with me. I'm thankful for
that. So I think you should know the truth."
Jimmy looked sideways at her, "About what?"
"The reason all the guys here are hesitant to talk to me. It has to
do with Danny," she stated, pacing slightly near the truck.
"Danny _____?" asked Jimmy, caught a little off-guard.
"Yeah. You see…" she told Jimmy the whole story, leaving
nothing out. She watched as Jimmy's look of curiosity turned to anger.
"He's dead. I'll kill him," he growled. If he
comes near this place, I'll kill him."
"He won't come near here, Jimmy. I have a restraining order
against him, if he does, all I have to do is call across the street," she
replied.
"I'll get the word out Alex. Most guys thought that he was
joking around with you. They have no clue what he really did."
"Thanks, Jimmy. I appreciate what you've done for me since I
got here. You haven't done much, but you haven't held me
back," she smiled.
"Hey! You can smile, who would have thought," he smirked. He
jumped slightly as his pager went off. "Aw, crap. Its Joey's
school. He's sick. I told the school they could page me or Kim if he got
any worse. Sorry, I have to call."
"No problem. Good luck!" she said, nodding. She'd
finally made a friend and the truth was told. Now she just had to wait for the
truth to unfold to everyone in the squad.