Title: Seeing Me Through-chapter 3
Disclaimer: If you think I own Third Watch, you're delusional.
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Kim had been in charge of the medics at the 55 for 3 weeks now. It was a whole lot more work, but it was a way to not think about anything else that was going on. She missed Alex more than she knew what do with, but she had to get over that. She wasn't gonna let what happened last time happen again. Doc's concern was a big tip off. She knew that everyone was watching her now and had to be careful of what she said and the moods she was in.
Kim was sitting at the table and doing some paperwork when Jimmy came and sat down at the table. "Busy day?" he asked casually.
"Yeah. That's the only problem about going on so many runs; all the paperwork," she smiled wryly.
"How's the new medic working out," he asked.
Kim's form stiffened a little. It was because of the new medic that Alex had been riding the bus that day. She was having a hard time being professional when her friend had died because of this guy. "He's alright. Haven't heard any complaints," she stated coolly.
Jimmy had noticed the shift in her demeanor, " And Carlos doesn't mind riding with him?"
"I haven't asked," Kim said, busying herself with paperwork.
"So I was thinking maybe I could take Joey this weekend and give you some time off. I know you've been under a lot of pressure lately and was thinking you might enjoy some time off," he offered.
And there it was. Kim had wondered how long it was gonna take for Jimmy to come and give her a hard time. Ever since Doc had expressed some concern, she was sure Jimmy wouldn't be far behind. Kim looked up and stared at him, "I don't need time off."
"You should go and do something fun this weekend. Do something to relax," he tried again.
Kim was forcing herself not to explode yet. "Jimmy, why don't you just say whatever it is that you want to say," she said coldly.
Jimmy frowned in confusion, "What I want to say? I'm not saying anything. I just thought you might need the weekend to yourself."
"Did you say something to Doc before he left," she asked, crossing her arms in a defensive manner.
"About what?" he asked, still lost.
"Did you say that you didn't think I could handle this job?" Kim asked, quickly losing her patience for this game.
Jimmy noticed she was getting more agitated, "No. Why would I ever say that?"
"Because it's what you think," Kim stated matter-of-factly.
Jimmy was completely lost in the conversation. He briefly wondered if that's what Doc made what he said sound like. It was true, he was getting increasingly worried about her, but he hadn't planned on saying anything. "Kim, I never said anything like that to Doc. I don't think you can't do this job," he tried to defend himself.
"Did you tell him that you were worried about me?" she asked, her arms tightening around herself.
Jimmy contemplated lying to her, but went with the truth, "I asked him if he thought you were alright."
Kim scooted to the edge of her chair and gripped the table, "How could you do that to me?" she whispered violently, not wanting to draw attention to their argument.
"Kim, I only asked because I was worried about you. It didn't seem like you were ok, and I wanted to make sure," he whispered back calmly.
"Then you should have come to me! I would have told you I'm fine and we could have dropped the subject. You went to Doc and made him second guess his decision about my promotion because he was worried I couldn't handle it. How could you do that? Don't you ever think?" she spat out.
Jimmy flinched in shock, "Kim, I never meant for him to second guess-"
"Well he did!" she cut him off, "You never think of anybody but yourself. And now you wanna take Joey for the weekend because you don't think I can handle what happened. We have an agreement Jimmy. This weekend was my turn. You are not gonna do this to me again," she said standing, her voice raising in anger.
Jimmy's mouth opened in shock and his eyes wide, "Kim, I'm not doing anything! The only reason I said anything was because I was worried about you. And as for this weekend, I was just trying to help."
"I don't need your help!" she yelled. Some of the guys turned to see what the commotion was.
Jimmy stood and held up his hands in submission, "Kim, calm down. I never meant anything by it. I just don't want what happened last time to happen again.
Kim just stared at him, her eyes filling with angry tears. She knew that the other guys were listening. What had happened last time was something no one ever brought up. She was furious that he just had, "Are you gonna hold that against me forever?" her voice shook. "I'm not going to do that again. It was a mistake and I'm sorry it happened, but it's not gonna happen again. You have no right to hold that over my head. It's not like you've never done anything to hurt Joey," she accused.
Jimmy reeled from the low blow, "I'm not holding anything against you, Kim. I'm just worried about you and I thought you could use some time to work through what happened."
"How I work through my problems is my business and not yours. Just because you don't think I'm ok doesn't mean I'm not," she shook with fear and anger. "If you're planning on using that against me so I can't see Joey, you better prepare yourself for some serious fighting! You cannot keep me from my son!" she knocked over the chair in her wake, leaving Jimmy to stare after her.
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"Excuse me. Do you know where I can find Kim Zambrano?" Mrs. Taylor asked.
Jimmy turned around, about to answer, but stopped short, "Mrs. Taylor? Hi, I'm Jimmy Doherty."
"Oh yes. Alex has told me about you. You rode together, right?" she asked.
Jimmy smiled sadly, "Yeah. She was a great firefighter."
Mrs. Taylor smiled, "Yes she was. Just like her father."
"Kim is upstairs cleaning up. I can walk you up there if you'd like," he offered.
"I think I can find it," she smiled. "Thank you, Jimmy. It was nice to meet you."
Jimmy smiled and Mrs. Taylor made her way up to where Kim was. She was sitting on the bed, staring off into space. "I hope I'm not intruding."
Kim jumped when she heard the voice, but smiled when she saw who it was, "No. Of course not. I was just washing the day off me, getting ready to go home. What brings you by here?"
"The lieutenant called me and asked me if I wanted to come by and pick up Alex's things," she smiled sadly.
"They could have sent them to you. You shouldn't have had to come all the way down here," Kim stated.
Mrs. Taylor sat on the bed across from Kim's, "They offered, but I wanted to come down and see you," she smiled at the look of confusion on Kim's face. "I never got to thank you for being so wonderful to me and my family that night."
Kim smiled and chuckled nervously, "It was no problem."
"Alex talked about you quite a bit. You two must have been close," she smiled.
Kim chuckled and looked down, "I don't know when it happened. We never really talked in the beginning, and then we started to ride together. Before I knew what was happening, she was my best friend." She looked up and laughed, "It was nice to have another woman here to balance out those crazy guys we worked with."
Alex's mom laughed, "The two of you were very brave."
The smile faded from Kim's face, "How are you and Jamie doing?"
She sighed, "It's hard. I miss her so much. Sometimes I half expect her to call or walk through the door. It takes a while for the reality to set in," she spoke from experience.
"If there's anything I can do, just ask," Kim smiled sadly.
"Well, actually there is. I wanted to come here and give you this," she handed Kim a small velvet box.
Kim took it and opened it. It was the diamond necklace that she wore everyday. "Oh... I can't take this," Kim shut the box and tried to hand it back to Mrs. Taylor.
"You asked me if there was anything you could do. It was supposed to be a gift from her father on her wedding day. It was very important to her. If you wear it, she and her father can be remembered. I know you all will have a special place for her, but the memories fade and you start to forget. I want you to remember. She would have wanted you to have it. You were so important to her," Mrs. Taylor smiled through her tears.
The tears fell from Kim's eyes, "I'll never forget her. I promise you that. Never.
Disclaimer: If you think I own Third Watch, you're delusional.
@@@@@@@
Kim had been in charge of the medics at the 55 for 3 weeks now. It was a whole lot more work, but it was a way to not think about anything else that was going on. She missed Alex more than she knew what do with, but she had to get over that. She wasn't gonna let what happened last time happen again. Doc's concern was a big tip off. She knew that everyone was watching her now and had to be careful of what she said and the moods she was in.
Kim was sitting at the table and doing some paperwork when Jimmy came and sat down at the table. "Busy day?" he asked casually.
"Yeah. That's the only problem about going on so many runs; all the paperwork," she smiled wryly.
"How's the new medic working out," he asked.
Kim's form stiffened a little. It was because of the new medic that Alex had been riding the bus that day. She was having a hard time being professional when her friend had died because of this guy. "He's alright. Haven't heard any complaints," she stated coolly.
Jimmy had noticed the shift in her demeanor, " And Carlos doesn't mind riding with him?"
"I haven't asked," Kim said, busying herself with paperwork.
"So I was thinking maybe I could take Joey this weekend and give you some time off. I know you've been under a lot of pressure lately and was thinking you might enjoy some time off," he offered.
And there it was. Kim had wondered how long it was gonna take for Jimmy to come and give her a hard time. Ever since Doc had expressed some concern, she was sure Jimmy wouldn't be far behind. Kim looked up and stared at him, "I don't need time off."
"You should go and do something fun this weekend. Do something to relax," he tried again.
Kim was forcing herself not to explode yet. "Jimmy, why don't you just say whatever it is that you want to say," she said coldly.
Jimmy frowned in confusion, "What I want to say? I'm not saying anything. I just thought you might need the weekend to yourself."
"Did you say something to Doc before he left," she asked, crossing her arms in a defensive manner.
"About what?" he asked, still lost.
"Did you say that you didn't think I could handle this job?" Kim asked, quickly losing her patience for this game.
Jimmy noticed she was getting more agitated, "No. Why would I ever say that?"
"Because it's what you think," Kim stated matter-of-factly.
Jimmy was completely lost in the conversation. He briefly wondered if that's what Doc made what he said sound like. It was true, he was getting increasingly worried about her, but he hadn't planned on saying anything. "Kim, I never said anything like that to Doc. I don't think you can't do this job," he tried to defend himself.
"Did you tell him that you were worried about me?" she asked, her arms tightening around herself.
Jimmy contemplated lying to her, but went with the truth, "I asked him if he thought you were alright."
Kim scooted to the edge of her chair and gripped the table, "How could you do that to me?" she whispered violently, not wanting to draw attention to their argument.
"Kim, I only asked because I was worried about you. It didn't seem like you were ok, and I wanted to make sure," he whispered back calmly.
"Then you should have come to me! I would have told you I'm fine and we could have dropped the subject. You went to Doc and made him second guess his decision about my promotion because he was worried I couldn't handle it. How could you do that? Don't you ever think?" she spat out.
Jimmy flinched in shock, "Kim, I never meant for him to second guess-"
"Well he did!" she cut him off, "You never think of anybody but yourself. And now you wanna take Joey for the weekend because you don't think I can handle what happened. We have an agreement Jimmy. This weekend was my turn. You are not gonna do this to me again," she said standing, her voice raising in anger.
Jimmy's mouth opened in shock and his eyes wide, "Kim, I'm not doing anything! The only reason I said anything was because I was worried about you. And as for this weekend, I was just trying to help."
"I don't need your help!" she yelled. Some of the guys turned to see what the commotion was.
Jimmy stood and held up his hands in submission, "Kim, calm down. I never meant anything by it. I just don't want what happened last time to happen again.
Kim just stared at him, her eyes filling with angry tears. She knew that the other guys were listening. What had happened last time was something no one ever brought up. She was furious that he just had, "Are you gonna hold that against me forever?" her voice shook. "I'm not going to do that again. It was a mistake and I'm sorry it happened, but it's not gonna happen again. You have no right to hold that over my head. It's not like you've never done anything to hurt Joey," she accused.
Jimmy reeled from the low blow, "I'm not holding anything against you, Kim. I'm just worried about you and I thought you could use some time to work through what happened."
"How I work through my problems is my business and not yours. Just because you don't think I'm ok doesn't mean I'm not," she shook with fear and anger. "If you're planning on using that against me so I can't see Joey, you better prepare yourself for some serious fighting! You cannot keep me from my son!" she knocked over the chair in her wake, leaving Jimmy to stare after her.
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"Excuse me. Do you know where I can find Kim Zambrano?" Mrs. Taylor asked.
Jimmy turned around, about to answer, but stopped short, "Mrs. Taylor? Hi, I'm Jimmy Doherty."
"Oh yes. Alex has told me about you. You rode together, right?" she asked.
Jimmy smiled sadly, "Yeah. She was a great firefighter."
Mrs. Taylor smiled, "Yes she was. Just like her father."
"Kim is upstairs cleaning up. I can walk you up there if you'd like," he offered.
"I think I can find it," she smiled. "Thank you, Jimmy. It was nice to meet you."
Jimmy smiled and Mrs. Taylor made her way up to where Kim was. She was sitting on the bed, staring off into space. "I hope I'm not intruding."
Kim jumped when she heard the voice, but smiled when she saw who it was, "No. Of course not. I was just washing the day off me, getting ready to go home. What brings you by here?"
"The lieutenant called me and asked me if I wanted to come by and pick up Alex's things," she smiled sadly.
"They could have sent them to you. You shouldn't have had to come all the way down here," Kim stated.
Mrs. Taylor sat on the bed across from Kim's, "They offered, but I wanted to come down and see you," she smiled at the look of confusion on Kim's face. "I never got to thank you for being so wonderful to me and my family that night."
Kim smiled and chuckled nervously, "It was no problem."
"Alex talked about you quite a bit. You two must have been close," she smiled.
Kim chuckled and looked down, "I don't know when it happened. We never really talked in the beginning, and then we started to ride together. Before I knew what was happening, she was my best friend." She looked up and laughed, "It was nice to have another woman here to balance out those crazy guys we worked with."
Alex's mom laughed, "The two of you were very brave."
The smile faded from Kim's face, "How are you and Jamie doing?"
She sighed, "It's hard. I miss her so much. Sometimes I half expect her to call or walk through the door. It takes a while for the reality to set in," she spoke from experience.
"If there's anything I can do, just ask," Kim smiled sadly.
"Well, actually there is. I wanted to come here and give you this," she handed Kim a small velvet box.
Kim took it and opened it. It was the diamond necklace that she wore everyday. "Oh... I can't take this," Kim shut the box and tried to hand it back to Mrs. Taylor.
"You asked me if there was anything you could do. It was supposed to be a gift from her father on her wedding day. It was very important to her. If you wear it, she and her father can be remembered. I know you all will have a special place for her, but the memories fade and you start to forget. I want you to remember. She would have wanted you to have it. You were so important to her," Mrs. Taylor smiled through her tears.
The tears fell from Kim's eyes, "I'll never forget her. I promise you that. Never.