A/N This story kind of ran away from me, so it's a lot longer than I anticipated! Again, I'm not a firefighter, so any technical mistakes are mine. Happy reading.
Chapter One
Early Thursday Morning - 0155 B Shift
Chet groaned and sat up in bed. He was woken up by his ringing telephone. He squinted in thought, "I'm not on the overtime list, am I?" Only one person could be calling this late. He rubbed his eyes, then realized the phone was still ringing. Picking it up, "'Lo." he said gruffly.
"Sorry to call you so late, or early." said a voice Chet didn't immediately recognize in his tiredness. He swung his legs over the bed, trying to wake up and pay attention. "You there?"
Chet nodded mutely, vaguely aware the man on the phone couldn't hear. He grunted.
"Sorry it's early man." the nameless person responded again, assuming Chet would recognize him. "There's a bad fire out in Klondike Canyon."
"What?" Chet asked. His mind was slowly waking up, taking a glance at his clock, it read 0157.
"Chet, wake up man, it's Jeff."
Jeff was a good friend of Chet's, they had gone through academy together and were assigned to the same station after their boot assignment. "They calling the cavalry at Klondike?" Chet asked, finally understanding the situation and recognizing the voice.
"Yeah, almost every lineman on A shift." Jeff answered, explaining the higher-ups orders.
"Makes sense." Chet replied, he had gotten off yesterday and was still off for another two days. As Chet talked, he opened a dresser drawer, tucking the phone under his shoulder. "Where am I reporting?" he asked, pulling on a pair of socks.
"The academy, there's a bus."
"You going too?" Chet asked his friend.
"Nah man, I'm still on light duty, the Doc at Harbour General won't clear me yet."
"Man, that was ages ago, even Brackett isn't that tough." Chet commiserated.
"I'm taking it as a blessing in disguise, I don't have to shovel trenches in the pitch black." Jeff said. Someone cleared their throat from Jeff's side and he became professional again. "Bus leaves at 0300, so you'll have time to get your gear." Jeff instructed. "Don't forget your light if you have one."
Chet smirked, he could picture someone standing over Jeff's shoulder, arms crossed. "Got it, I'll be there."
"Chet," Jeff said, trying to get a last word in before Chet hung up. "Be smart, it's dark and hot."
"You bet, see ya babes." Chet replied. He didn't want the reputation of being soft leaking out.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Marco sat up straight in bed. "Qué?" he asked, not knowing what woke him. 'Ring, Ring.' the telephone sang. "Ahhh." he said, swinging his legs over and grabbing the phone. "Hola." he answered sleepily.
"Is this Marco Lopez?" a voice questioned.
"Si, quien es este?" he asked, not realizing with his sleep muddled brain, the man on the phone was speaking in English.
"Umm." the voice said confused, not understanding.
"Sorry," Marco said, hitting himself in the forehead with his palm. "Who is this?" he translated himself.
The man continued confidently now. "This is Jeff Brang with LA County. There's a fire up in Klondike Canyon and they're calling people in."
"Where and when." Marco simply said, fully alert. Jeff replied, surprised at how quickly this Lopez seemed to wake up, despite the slip in language. When Jeff finished explaining where to report, "I'll be at the training academy at 0300." Marco echoed, taking a page out of Gage's and DeSoto's repeated orders book.
Thursday Morning - 0530 B Shift
Several hours later, Chet was in the bottom of a canyon, paired with two linemen he didn't know. They were both fresh out of the academy, not yet assigned to a station. Chet found himself the commander of the group. He was a little surprised when he received his orders. In the past, usually the brass only let Senior Rescue Men or Captains command groups. He supposed things were going to be handled differently under the new Brush Fire Chief LA hired. Chet guessed Chief Rable, the new Chief, was waiting till the last minute to call Captains. In Chet's opinion, it was the last minute, they should've been there. His trio didn't have an engine either, which was good, as none of them were engineers. Chet assumed Rable was waiting to call engineers too.
The 'Kelly Crew', as they were temporarily dubbed, were charged with making a fire break on the east side of the canyon. Chet stopped digging and glanced at his watch, his helmet light illuminating the face, 0530. They had been out there digging for almost two hours. "Guys, let's stop a moment and drink!" he hollered. In his mind, he heard Stanley's voice ordering the same thing. He allowed himself a moment to wonder if the rest of his shift had been called in. At Brush Fire Command, he and Marco were separated, much to their despair. Footsteps pulled Chet out of his thoughts, his duo made it back to the truck, their helmet lights blinding him. "Angle your lights down." Chet said, rubbing his eyes, only managing to cake more dirt on his face.
"Sorry." Tony, one of the rookies said, yawning.
"How many more feet do we have with this section?" Joe, the other boot, asked. Chet looked at his map, blinking the spots in his eyes away.
"Fifty." Chet withheld his sigh, he felt they weren't getting anywhere. Joe and Tony deflated. The romantic images of firefighting they pictured in academy didn't exist in the dusty dark canyon. "Let's take a five minute break and get back to it." Chet said. He knew the fire was relatively far away. He hoped there was no way Chief Rable would send a crew close to a fire line without water. Nevertheless, Chet felt naked without a line or water.
Thursday Morning - 0630 B Shift
"Huh?" Emily Stanley said, waking up and rolling over in bed, she thought it was too early for her seven am alarm clock. She pushed the blanket covering her face down, trying to decide what woke her. She figured it out quickly as the telephone screeched again. She picked it up, ending the loud and intrusive noise. "Hello?" She said, not sitting up and hoping it was a wrong number.
"Morning, this is Firefighter Brang with LA County, is Captain Stanley available?" the wide awake and chipper voice asked.
"Just a moment," she covered the phone with her hand. "Hank." he groaned and rolled over. "Hank!" she said a little more forcefully, adding a poke with her elbow. He folded down the covers with a huff. "LA's on the phone." Hank sat up and huffed again, holding his hand out.
"This is Captain Stanley." he said, stifling a yawn. "It's my day off damn it." he thought.
"I'm sorry to wake you Captain, but you know the Klondike Canyon fire that started yesterday? It's gotten worse." Hank massaged his forehead.
"Alright," he said, "I'll call my crew together." hoping against all odds they could report together. Emily raised her eyebrows.
"Don't, some of them are already there. I need you to report to the academy at 0800, there's a bus."
Hank blinked, "Who's already there?" he asked. He knew it was almost impossible to keep shifts together when they were called in like this, but he always tried.
Hank heard papers shuffling on the other end, "Hold on, I've got like, a million papers here." the man muttered. Hank smirked despite the circumstances, understanding that feeling all too well. "You're Chet's Captain, right." Hank nodded, not seeing a reason for a verbal response. "Just him and Lopez so far, but DeSoto and Stoker are in this report list too."
"Thanks, I'll be at the academy in about," Hank paused, looking around at his clock on the bedside table, "An hour." Hank handed the phone back to Emily and flung the covers off. "You know the brush fire we were listening to on the radio yesterday?" Hank asked his wife. She nodded, sat up and leaned against the headboard. "Well apparently it got worse, they're calling me in."
"Okay." Emily said, getting up.
"Don't get up, it's fine." He said, making his side of the bed.
"Oh I'm getting up, you need coffee." Emily said, sliding into her slippers and pulling on a robe.
"I can make coffee, you sleep, you still have half an hour." Hank argued, knowing her alarm was set for seven.
"You need good coffee, so does everyone else. Plus, you know Johnny won't wake up early enough to make any." She said, knowing Johnny's reputation of arriving exactly on time.
Hank frowned, "Johnny hasn't been called in." Emily tilted her head, "It's just me, Stokes, and Roy." Hank explained, pulling on a white t-shirt.
"Well, I'll make three then." Emily countered, closing the bedroom door behind her.
Thursday Morning - 0650 B Shift
Marco was proud of his three-person crew. Together, they dug a hundred- and twenty-foot section of the fire break. Three shovels and six hands made a two foot deep and three foot wide trench. The blisters forming on their fingers and palms were proof of their work. Their new orders were to go to the east side and repeat the process. Marco dutifully copied and climbed into the driver's seat of the small utility truck they were assigned. He passed the map to one of the rookies assigned under him and asked for directions, even though he knew the destination This was a great training opportunity.
"You said what intersection?" Clay, the young firefighter, asked. Marco put his foot on the brake and leaned over, pointing out the small dirt roads on the map. "Got it." he said, confident this time. Marco had at least a twenty-minute drive to let his mind wander. He knew Chet had been sent to the east side to work on a fire break and wondered if he was still there. "Take a left up here." Clay said from the passenger seat. Marco nodded, turning where the inexperienced firefighter was pointing. He glanced at his watch, then frowned. There was a film of dust and dirt covering the face of the watch. He rubbed it on his once blue pants, then looked again. Just shy of 0700.
"How long have you guys been here?" Marco asked, filling the semi awkward silence.
"Midnight?" David, the backseat lineman, answered as a question. He looked at Clay to confirm.
"Sounds about right." Clay said, daring a glance away from the map.
Marco frowned, "Clay, I know where I'm going, you and David take a nap, you'll need it." Marco said, knowing they were only just starting their day out.
"You sure Marco?" Clay asked, holding the map in his hand.
"Sleep, we'll be at this all day." They listened to their seasoned commander that time, leaning their heads against their doors and closing their eyes.
Thursday Morning - 0758 C Shift
Roy parked in the academy parking lot. He got out and pulled his duffel bag out of his trunk. He hadn't met any of his crewmates at the station while he was getting his gear, so assumed they hadn't been called in. "Karma." he said, wondering what he did to deserve this. The early morning light was basking everything orange. Roy took a deep breath, guessing this was probably the last time for a while the air wouldn't be tainted with smoke. With a sigh, he started making his way toward the bus. A sea of blue button ups were standing around the sidewalk, waiting. Roy suddenly grinned, he spotted two familiar faces. "Hey guys." Roy said, maneuvering his way over to them. Mike Stoker and Hank Stanley looked up from their cups.
"Hey Roy." Hank said, passing Roy the second cup in his hand. "Emily says good morning." Hank explained. Roy dropped his bag and gratefully took the warm coffee.
"Thanks." Roy said, gently placing his helmet, which didn't fit inside, down. He wrapped his hands around the cup, "I didn't have time to drink any, the kids were already up and at it."
Hank winced, "I don't miss those days." he said, thinking of his older kids.
"Hank!" someone called, waving his hand.
"Deke, they pull you too?" Hank asked, recognizing 36's A shift Captain. Deke nodded, looking wistfully at their cups.
"Yeah, my engineer's around here somewhere." Deke replied, looking around and putting his hands in his pockets.
"Sounds like they're pulling engineers and Captains." Mike observed, looking sad as he held his cup upside down, checking for last drops.
"I'd bet money they drove reserve engines up and need drivers." Hank said, trying not to smirk at Mike.
It suddenly occurred to Roy that LA might use him as an engineer. Before he could ask Hank's opinion, a voice got their attention, directing them to the bus. "I guess it's in my file, I passed the exam." Roy thought, making sure to pick a seat next to Mike, hoping he could ask some questions. It'd been a while since he handled a pump panel solo.
Thursday Afternoon - 1215 C Shift
"Finally!" Johnny thought as his phone rang. He had been following the news of the fire yesterday, and had woken up early. He was expecting a call from LA any second. He even had his duffel bag, save his turnout gear, ready to go and was wearing half his uniform. "Gage." he said, answering the phone. He was standing in his living room, hand on his hip. "I'll be there." he simply said, putting the phone back in it's cradle. He slid on his blue shirt and buttoned it up. He was headed for the academy, the transport to Brush Fire Command left at 1300.