AUTHOR: trista groulx (the dustytiger)
DISCLAIMER: kim, jimmy, bobby, carlos, lieu et al don't belong to me, they belong to NBC, their creator and the actors and actresses who portray them
RATING: R for sexual situations (not really anything really "r" about this one)
SUMMARY: Will she tell them all the truth? Are Kim and Bobby in a fight?
AUTHORS NOTES: needed some conflict usually i just put a character in the hospital but i'm trying not to do that with this series wish me luck, aka no hospital scences... you'll see reveiw to get more
It had been about a week since Bobby had promised Kim a ring when she was ready to tell everyone about them. They were still working together, acting as they always did in the field. Kim didn't know it but Bobby had the ring with him all the time, and was ready to give it to her as soon as she was ready.
They were on the scene of a rather large fire that day. There were two fire trucks at the scene, four other buses but theirs had already left, and a number of police cars. There had been a few people pulled out at the beginning, but as the fire spread the people being pulled out alive were decreasing.
Kim had noticed that Jimmy still had not come out yet, and she was starting to worry. Even tough she was no longer with him, she always worried that he wouldn't come out, and her son would not have his father.
The fire had been pretty much put out. The other team informed them that they would stay when their missing guy got out so they could all head to the hospital. Doc, Carlos, Kim and Bobby were the only medics still on the scene all waiting for Jimmy to come out.
Kim was up closer with the rest of the fire crew, Billy, Walsh, and DK, Alex was off. She looked helplessly at the now smoldering building, wondering how Jimmy could possibly alive in there, and if he was how he'd get out safely.
"Kim," said Billy. "He always gets out."
"I know," she replied simply.
"Don't worry, you're the reason he always gets out."
"Oh."
Her gaze fell, upon hearing that. What if he didn't care anymore because she was no longer with him? Was Joey enough of a reason to make it out of the building? A million other questions raced through her mind. She knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Bobby, but a part of her still cared and worried about Jimmy.
Doc, Carlos, and Bobby were standing by Doc's bus, also watching the fire. They glanced over at Kim every few minutes, wondering why she was looking for Jimmy to come out. They all knew she cared because he was her son's father, but could it still be more?
Bobby didn't want to think like that, she had agreed to marry him, that had to count for something. She had told Joey they were going to get married one day. He knew that she was worried about him because he was Joey's father, and he wanted to believe that that was the only reason she looked so scared.
They all watched as a door to the building burst open, a firefighter came out, took a few steps, and promptly collapsed. Kim and a couple of the firefighters ran right over to him, and pulled him further away from the building. They all knew it was Jimmy he was the only person still inside.
Kim glanced over at Bobby, the expression was painful to see. He knew that it was good sign that she had looked at him, but still she had run to him pretty quickly. She then began CPR on him, as the other looked on.
"She looks a little too comfortable doing that," Carlos mumbled.
"Shut up, will 'ya?" Doc snapped.
"I know Kim, it's just cause of her kid," Bobby replied.
"I don't know. She looked pretty worried about him," Carlos reasoned.
"Wouldn't you be worried if your kid was gonna lose a parent?"
Carlos shrugged. "I guess so. I don't know man."
They started toward where Kim was working on Jimmy, hoping they could help somehow. Everyone just looked over her as she worked on him. Finally he coughed a little, and opened his eyes.
"Kimmy," he said, smiling at her.
She smiled back. "You really should be more careful."
Billy patted Kim on the back. "It must feel nice to save the man you love."
"I wouldn't know," she stated.
"What?" asked the group of firefighters.
Carlos and Doc had swooped in with a board, and put Jimmy on it, then onto a stretcher, just after he started to talk. They were already half way to the bus.
"What do you mean you wouldn't know, you just saved Jimmy's life," DK reasoned.
"Jimmy's my son's father, and it felt great to save him. But he's not the man I love."
"Then who is?" asked Billy.
She glanced over at Bobby, his eyes were telling her to just get it over with. She wasn't sure if she wanted to tell them all. But what else could she do? She had already admitted that wasn't in love with Jimmy.
She took a deep breath. "Bobby is," she whispered.
For a long moment none of them did anything. Then they all started high-fiveing Bobby who took it in stride, but didn't really care for what they were doing. Kim smiled at him, a little nervous. She was glad to get the monkey off her back, and have everyone know the truth. She just wasn't sure she was ready for the taunts they'd start hearing around the firehouse. Bobby was in shock, he could hardly believe that Kim had actually just told everyone the truth.
"We should probably get over to the hospital to check on Jimmy," Billy reasoned.
"Yeah," everyone else agreed.
The firefighters piled into their truck, while Kim and Bobby got into the bus. Kim looked over at Bobby as he drove. He didn't seem to want to talk to her.
"What? I told them!" she reasoned.
"I know," he replied.
"Then why are you mad at me?"
"I'm not mad."
"Don't lie to me, you're mad at me."
"I'm not!"
She stared out the window. "I'll always care about him because he's Joey's father."
"Whatever, just drop it Kim!"
A tear rolled down her cheek. "Bobby, I want to marry you! Isn't that enough for you?"
"You looked like you always do when he's stuck somewhere."
"He's my son's father!"
"I've accepted that, but there's something more!"
"There's not! How dare you even accuse me of that!"
He slammed on the brakes. "Look me in the eyes and tell me the truth."
"I love you, Bobby, only you."
"Then why are we racing off to see him in the hospital."
"Cause he's our co-worker?"
He shrugged. "I don't really like him much, and he's got lots of support."
"Then we'll stay out."
"Good."
"Good."
They had never really gotten into an argument like that before, and it worried her a lot. He had to know that she had moved passed Jimmy the day she had told him she loved him. She understood where he would get annoyed when she was worried about him coming out of a place alive. It was not because she loved him that she wanted to see him live, it was all for her son's sake.
The day went by more uneventfully after that. They cleared for lunch, and went into a deli. There were a few places to sit down, so they decided to sit, relax and enjoy their meal.
"Bobby we need to talk about earlier," she said.
"I over reacted," he stated.
She shrugged. "I don't want you to doubt for a minute that you're the one I want to be with."
"It's always going to be there Kim. I'm always going to fear deep down inside that you're going to go running back to him because he gave you Joey."
"I will always have Joey weather or not I'm with him. I'm with you now, and I'm committed to you, and only you, Bobby." He nodded. "I believe that with all my heart Kim, but my brain is telling me to be careful. I know all your past with Jimmy, and I know you have promised yourself so many times that you would never be with him again, and then you are."
"This is different, Bobby. Not only did I promise myself, I promised you, that I'd never be with him again. I want to be with you, Bobby."
"What if?"
"No what ifs, none. I love you, and I want to be with you the rest of my life."
"You thought that about Jimmy and look where you ended up."
"I never felt this way with Jimmy. I was pregnant and scared, and seemed like the right thing to do at the time."
He was staring at his hand. "But it should have been forever."
"That was not what either of us really wanted. We were scared because we found out that I was pregnant. We decided the right thing was to up and get married. It wasn't, we should have just stayed far apart, and not confuse our son."
He shrugged. "I believe you, Kim, but there's still a part of me."
"I've told everyone now, Bobby, I'm not going to go anywhere. I don't want to lose the man I love, my best friend, and my partner in one fell swoop, I don't. So trust that that fear will keep anything else in check."
He took her hand and smiled at her. She smiled back at him. Without any words being said they both knew that they had reached an agreement.
"I love you, Kim," Bobby whispered.
"I love you, Bobby," she whispered back.
"How about you ask your mother if she can keep Joey tonight so we can go on a date?"
"I'd like that."
She had to call her mother anyway to tell her that Jimmy had been hurt, and would not be able to pick him up that day. Catherine was more then willing to babysit so that her daughter could go on a date with Bobby. She had not seen as much of Joey since they had worked out their new custody agreement, and she had missed it.
tbc
end notes: trouble in paradise? oh no! what next... when will kim get the ring? review to get the next part out quicker! fyi i have up to part 24 written, and i'm beyond stuck after that, so i think it'll be time say goodmorrow to this fic and just end it before it gets too stale and forced... i wanna write at part 25 to make it a nice whole looking number, but there's just nowhere else to go