Dinner time soon came around and Taylor happily threw herself into preparing the food, leaving the others to deal with the candidates. Ferguson soon gravitated over to her and leaned against the counter, opposite where Severide was sitting.
"So, how long have you been a firefighter?" Ferguson asked Severide as Taylor finished seasoning the chicken breasts.
"Since the day I was born," Severide replied, snatching a piece of cheese and grinning as Taylor slapped his arm, "Never wanted to be anything else."
Spotting ambulance 61 pull onto the apparatus floor, Taylor watched as Shay walked in with Gabby and raised her eyebrows at the look of annoyance on their faces.
"What happened to you two?" Otis inquired.
"Our frequent flyer Kevin decided that today would be his day to get the girl," Gabby explained, "After failing to kiss me, he settled for grabbing Shay's ass and then threw up on the poor nurse that we handed him over to at the hospital."
"The wonderful life of a paramedic, ladies, and gentlemen," Shay stated.
"Shay, Gabby, meet our new candidates Ferguson and Porter," Casey introduced, causing both women to wave and smile at the newcomers.
"Hey, so I was thinking," Severide said to Taylor as Shay and Gabby started questioning the candidates, "I'm heading to the docks tomorrow to work on a customer's boat, maybe you could come with me and hang out for a bit?"
"Sure," Taylor agreed with a smile.
Adjusting the temperature on the oven as the alarm sounded, Taylor got changed and joined the crew on the truck. The scene that they were met with was chaotic and she got straight to work, rushing over to an SUV that seemed to have taken the worst of the collision.
Hearing the sound of a baby crying, she looked through the shattered back window and immediately spotted the young boy in his car seat.
"My son..." the driver mumbled as Taylor carefully removed him.
"He's okay," Taylor reassured her, looking around for someone to take the baby from her and finding Ferguson standing around, watching squad cut a passenger out of another car nearby, "Ferguson."
Motioning for the other girl to join her, she handed the baby over and instructed her to take him over to the paramedics. Catching the strong smell of gasoline, Taylor dropped to the ground and used her flashlight to check underneath the SUV. Locating the leak, she stood up and kept calm as she returned her attention to getting the mother free.
"What do you need me to do?" Ferguson asked as she came back to where Taylor was now attempting to open the door.
"I need you to go get severide for me," Taylor told her quietly, "Tell him that the driver is trapped and that the vehicle is leaking gasoline, the severity of the lady's injuries is unknown."
In order to keep the woman calm, Taylor started up a conversation to distract her and saw as the panic slowly dimmed in the woman, Cheryl's eyes. Once squad joined her, she got into the passenger seat and placed a c-collar on the driver's neck as a precaution.
Giving Cheryl a quick check over, Taylor noticed that there was a significant amount of trauma to her legs and motioned for Severide to take a look.
"Okay, let's get this door open," Severide said, "Cheryl, I need you to stay still for me..."
Continuing the conversation, Taylor saw the flash of fear as Severide got the jaws ready and took Cheryl's hand in her own. Getting Cheryl out of the car wasn't an easy task, but finally, she was free and on her way to the hospital.
Overhaul took longer than usual, but they were soon pulling into the firehouse and Taylor sorted out dinner. Taking her own plate to the table, she took a seat and ate in silence.
"Looks like Ferguson has taken a liking to Severide," Shay commented as she sat down opposite Taylor.
"Well, I don't own him..."
"You're dating though?"
"We've been on one date and he's invited me down to the docks tomorrow, but we haven't made anything official," Taylor replied quietly, "I don't want to make this something that it isn't."
Finishing her food, Taylor dropped her plate in the sink and went to finish her duties.