A/N – Thanks for the comments! Glad you are enjoying this one.
Chapter 9
Jason took some garlic bread out of the oven and then sliced it and placed it into a basket. Once that was done, he put the pasta in a strainer and then plated everything.
Liz's eyes grew big. "Wow, that looks so good."
"I hope it tastes as good as it looks. I didn't have time to do the sauce the way I'd normally do." He takes pride in everything he does and would have liked to impressed her fully.
"I'm sure it's fine. Thank you for doing all of this."
"I don't mind."
For a few minutes, they ate in mostly silence except for an occasional moan from Elizabeth.
"Okay, you are definitely a keeper."
"I'm glad you think so."
"Epiphany is going to be so jealous."
He laughed.
"Do I need to worry about that?"
"While I think she is awesome, albeit scary at times, no you don't. I only have eyes for you."
"Alright, but just don't eat anything she cooks because not only is it addictive, she might put something in there to lure you away from me."
He grinned as he removed their plates. "Not a chance, Webber, you are stuck with me."
She grabbed the Tupperware and opened it.
"Are those what I think they are?" he said before moving closer.
"Yup."
"These things are like my kryptonite," he said before grabbing two.
"I'm glad that you like them." She bit into a brownie and groaned. "That hit the spot."
When they finished, Elizabeth helped him clean up and then they went to the living room.
"I really love this place."
"It's kind of small."
"It's perfect."
He brushed some hair off her face. "I missed your mouth."
Before she could respond, he kissed her torridly, making sure she understands just how much he loves making out with her. Once he was satisfied that he had completely dazed her, he pulled back and gazed into her eyes.
"You're a hard woman to resist."
She pulled his head closer, wanting to feel taste him again, licking and then sucking on his bottom lip causing him to groan and then she found herself on her back as he passionately kissed her. When she felt his weight against her body, she moaned and slightly lifted her hips making him growl.
It quickly started getting out of control and then Jason suddenly stopped and slid his mouth against her neck as he struggled to calm his body.
"Jason?"
"I'm sorry that I lost control. I don't want to rush anything."
Loving how good he felt pressed against her, she rubbed his back with one hand and held him against her with her other.
"I'm fine." His intensity is a little overwhelming, but in a good way.
"Am I crushing you?"
"No."
They laid that way for a few minutes and then he moved to his side and spooned her.
"So, you have a twenty-four-hour shift tomorrow?" Liz asked.
"Yeah and then I have two days off."
"Do you work on the side?"
"Sometimes, I bartend at Jake's or do some personal training. I tend to get bored easily."
She smiled. "I understand. I paint during my down time. It relaxes me."
"What kind of painting?"
"I use various mediums, but I like oils and acrylics the best."
"You'll have to show me your work sometimes.
"I will." She turned so she is facing him. "What time does your shift start?"
"7:00 a.m."
"Does it get really busy?"
"Yeah. There are usually a lot of accident responses. We're on the go a lot."
She stroked his hair. "Have you ever thought you wouldn't make it?"
"Yes. It was a roof collapse and we had to follow the hose line out."
She gently kissed him. "I know that running into burning buildings is what you do, but promise me you'll be extra careful."
"Okay." It isn't easy being involved with a firefighter. Not only is the schedule a bear, but the sleep disruption can cause health problems. Luckily, he doesn't need a lot of sleep to function, but trying to balance a personal life with all the other chaos can be challenging.
"Thank you. Now that I'm used to having you around, I have to make sure you're safe."
"Is that how it works?"
"Uh-huh. I'll protect you."
His eyes slightly darken. "Who is going to protect you from me?"
"I surrender."
He kisses her languidly, never wanting it to end. "What time do you have to get up?"
"5:00."
"Stay…" When she doesn't answer right away, he adds, "Please… I just want to hold you all night."
"Okay."
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Jason smiled as he drove to the station. It was nice having company in the morning. Holding Elizabeth all night was something he hopes he'll be doing a lot. After parking, he grabbed his small bag and went inside. Damian and Ronnie had just arrived.
"Hey Spinelli!" Francis yelled.
"Yeah?"
"Come help me for a minute."
Ronnie noticed Jason and said hello.
"Hey."
Rick approached him. "Sonny wanted you to know that he'll be here later. He has a meeting." He had promised his brother that he'd try to get along with Jason, but the truth is he can't stand him, so he mostly avoided him.
"Thanks for letting me know."
"Later."
"Bye."
Tones went off to signal a call and the dispatcher rattled off the coordinates. He ran to pull on his gear and then rushed to the fire engine and got inside as his heart raced.
"Multi-car accident," Spinelli said.
They drove for five minutes, speeding through the town until they finally saw smoke. Several drivers had pulled over and were trying to help, but the flames shooting up were too hot.
"We got the kid out," a police officer stated as ambulances pulled up.
"I cut the seat belt, but they are wedged in there," another officer stated.
Jason put on his SCVA mask and grabbed a hoseline and dragged it towards the car and lined it up. Ronnie turned on the water as Max helped with the hose and Jason knocked it down, making sure to spray under the car as well. Quickly, responders converged on the vehicle as they decided they'd have to cut him out. Another unit handled that task and soon, they got the driver out and onto a gurney.
The little three-year old boy who had been pulled out was inconsolable, so Jason made his way over to him.
"Hey, buddy."
The little boy eyed him curiously.
"Want to come see the truck?"
He sniffled as he nodded.
Jason held out his hands and the little boy reached for him and was quickly carried to the truck where he is shown a few gadgets.
"We're going to take him to the hospital to get checked out," a paramedic said as he approached them.
When Jason tried to hand him back over, the little boy clutched at his jacket and started to cry.
"It's okay."
"Jason, why don't you go with him," Mac instructed.
Jason sighed. "Okay." They had a lot of work to do to clean up the mess and he felt bad for leaving.
"Lucky…" Ronnie said.
Francis took the little boy for a few seconds and Jason took off his jacket and helmet and put them in the truck. The upset boy lunged for him as he cried and Jason soothed him the best he could.
When they finally made it into the truck, he was mesmerized by everything he saw. Jason calmly pointed some things out as the paramedic tried to examine the terrified boy.
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When Elizabeth caught sight of them, she waved them over. "Come this way."
"His dad was brought in a few minutes ago—vehicle fire."
"They are working on him." They moved into an open bay. "Can you sit him down?"
The boy screamed when Jason tried, so he sat on the gurney and left him in his lap.
Elizabeth softly smiled. "Hello, sweetie." She grabbed an LED necklace out of the drawer and put it around her neck before continuing and the little boy was fascinated when it flashed.
Leo entered the room and examined him further as the boy played with the flashing lights. "He's fine. His name is Josh, by the way."
"How is his father?"
"He is stable, but will definitely be here a few days."
"And his mom?"
"She's on her way."
Leo left and Elizabeth focused her attention on Jason.
"You're good with him."
He shrugged. "I'm glad I could help."
"I missed you."
He smiled. "Me too."
Josh fixed his gaze on Liz. "Mommy…"
"She's coming, Josh." Liz pulled a stethoscope from a drawer and let him listen to her heart.
A woman rushed into the room in tears. "Josh!" She gathered up her son in her arms. "Thank you so much for watching over him. They told me what you did."
"It was no problem. He's a good boy," Jason said.
"They said he's okay?" she said as she checked her son out.
"Yes. The car seat did its job. Would you like me to see if your husband is in a room so you can visit him?" Liz asked.
"I would love that."
Liz smiled at Jason. "See you tomorrow."
"Okay."
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The rest of Jason's shift was mostly false alarm and chores. He was happy to go home and get some rest. It took a while to calm his adrenaline down so he could sleep and about six hours later, he got up and got something to eat and then his phone rang.
"Hello?"
"It's Claudia Zacchara. Julian and I would like to meet with you around 5:00. Is that okay?"
"Yeah. Where?"
"I'll text you the office address."
"Okay, see you then."
He ended the call and then dialed Johnny.
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Noah shook Johnny's hand. "I'm glad you're going to be okay. I'd still like you to take it easy for another day."
"I will." Sonny won't let him come back tomorrow anyway, so he had already accepted the fact that it isn't going to happen.
"Let me know if you have any pain or headaches."
"Okay. Thanks for all your help."
Noah nodded and left.
Audrey grinned. "You're back."
"It feels good to be able to see again."
"Come on. I'll feed you some lunch and then you get your things together and I can take you home."
"Thank you for taking good care of me. I'd stay longer, but I have some laundry to catch up on."
She laughed thinking he probably had nothing left to wear.
Sarah rushed into the room and smiled. "Everything okay?"
"It's perfect. I go back to work the day after tomorrow."
She gave him a hug. "I'm happy for you, but I will miss you."
"I don't mind visits."
"I'll keep that in mind."
On the way out, he answered his phone. "Jason?"
"Hey. Claudia and Julian want to meet with me this afternoon. You want to come?"
"Can you come get me at my place?"
"Yup. I'll swing by around 4:30."
"I'm looking at your girl."
Elizabeth waved and he smiled.
"She look happy?"
"Yes. I'll see you."
"Later."
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Claudia can't help but drool over Johnny when he walks in. "Hey. You feeling better?"
"I'm good."
"Well, I'm glad to hear that. Hello, Jason."
"Hi."
Julian shook hands with the guys and they sat at a conference room table.
Claudia got the lights and Julian brought an image of the last fire up.
"I've been pouring over videos and reports, trying to find a commonality between several instances."
"Did you find anything?" Jason asked.
"Yes and no. Your station was involved with most of the fires that were suspect, but there is one additional call where you weren't there."
"When was that?"
"It was the Heritage fire about two weeks ago."
Johnny and Jason glanced at each other.
"We were supposed to be there, but there was an accident that prevented us from getting to the scene," Johnny said.
"It could just be a coincidence," Jason said. It's not like they had a lot of fire stations in the area. Between them and the next town over there are six stations and two of them are volunteer.
"True, but it's still something to go on. Do either one of you have any enemies?"
"No, at least none we're aware of."
Johnny shrugged.
"We haven't been able to identify the accelerate they used because the intense heat is burning it off."
"So, they really know what they are doing," Johnny said.
"That makes me believe that someone may have hired a guy to do this that specializes in this area or it's another fireman."
Jason's head tilted. "I don't have a beef with anyone. We tend to work well together."
"I just want you to keep an eye out on things and report anything suspicious to me. This is getting really dangerous fast, so we need to figure this out fast."
"I agree and will let you know if I hear anything."
"Make sure you watch each other's backs."
"We will," Johnny said.
Claudia walked them out. "Think you can have lunch tomorrow?"
Johnny glanced at Jason. "I'll catch up with you in a second."
"Okay."
"I don't know if that's a good idea. I'm dating someone."
"I get it. I just miss you."
"Claudia."
She touched his arm. "It was good between us."
"It's in the past now. I'm sorry, but for now I think it's best if we stay apart."
"Are you scared that your feelings will come back?"
"No. I just don't want to hurt Sarah or you. Take care of yourself."
Her eyes tracked him until he got to the car and then she went back inside knowing that she had lost him for good.
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Three Days Later:
Jason walked into the station and then watched Johnny unpack a few things. "You ready, slacker?"
Johnny grinned. "I was born ready."
The building jolted slightly and they looked around.
"That was stronger than the last one."
"It's almost like it's building up to something."
"I hope not. Let's help Francis clean the rig."
Johnny groaned. "Fine…"
They had just finishing washing the engine when the alarm sounded and they ran inside and changed. Everyone got in the truck and they were off like a shot.
Francis eased into a turn and they went two blocks before pulling into a warehouse parking lot. He parked and Jason, Spinelli, and Johnny rushed inside while Ronnie retrieved a backboard.
The men plus Sonny, who had joined them, got on the elevator and are led by security through a maze of cubicles.
A man is laying on the floor and someone is giving him CPR.
"Stand back," Jason said.
"You did a good job," Sonny said helping the man up.
"He just dropped, clutching his chest and it didn't seem like he could breathe."
Sonny directed him to a chair. "We'll do everything we can for him."
Jason retrieved an AED and prepared the paddles. The current zapped the man's body and then they checked his pulse.
"It's weak, but it's there."
"Let's load him up."
Once he was secure and oxygen was administrated, they transported him to Mercy because it was closer and then parked in a strip mall lot for a while.
"What was it like not being able see?" Spinelli asked.
"It sucked. It throws you off when you do anything physical aside from kissing. That, I usually do with my eyes closed anyway," Johnny said.
Spinelli chuckled.
"Spin, do you have a girlfriend?"
"I have two."
Everyone turned to look at him with their mouths agape.
