Head Held High, Nose at a Friendly Level

Sure enough, Dr. Early prescribed a breathing treatment for Marco and when it was done he was feeling much better.

"Now all you guys need to do is come up with some way to communicate with your victims through your masks so that this doesn't happen again," Dr. Early joked as he gave Marco a slap on his back to go with the clean bill of health and an okay to return to work.

"I'm sure glad you were there today Marco. It's never easy working on a patient when I can't understand them and they can't understand me," Roy commented as they drove back to the station once Marco had been released.

Marco stayed quiet for a while then started to speak. "You know even when people like me make the effort to learn another language, when you get panicked you automatically start thinking and speaking in your first language. I'm glad that I can be there at times like those to help them calm down by speaking to them in the language they are most comfortable with, but when they won't even try, when they use it as an excuse to keep from getting an honest job. I don't know." Marco shook his head and everyone in the cab understood his disappointment with some of the people of the human race.

When the squad arrived back at the station Marco was quick to roll out after Johnny moved to make way for him. He quickly found the captain and reported in then, without saying a word, went to help Chet and Mike finish getting the engine ready.

When the work was done Marco made a dinner fit for kings and placed it before the rest of his crew before sitting down and enjoying the way they inhaled his offering. While Johnny and Mike worked together to wash up the dishes Marco started looking over the newspaper. Everyone noticed when he got up and took the section of the paper he was reading with him out to the map in the bay. Cap carefully stuck his head out to see Marco consulting the paper in his hand then locating the address on the map. He was also rather impressed with the areas he seemed to be looking. When he sat back down again Johnny managed to look over his shoulder and was pleases to find he was looking at the house for sale section.

As the shift was drawing to a close the next morning Marco was spending a little extra time in the locker room getting spiffed up.

"Uh, Marco, do you have a date I don't know about." Chet watched his friend questioningly.

"Not a date, well at least not a date with a girl,"

"What other kind of date is there?" Johnny stepped into the conversation with a real questioning look on his face.

Marco responded to the razing he was getting. "Before I can buy a house I better find out how much of a housing loan I can qualify for. I've heard the best way to get a loan is to look like you don't need one."

"I think that's the best way to get a job is to look like you don't need one. But I'm sure it would be in your favor if you didn't look like a total bum when you walk in asking for a loan. Where are you planning to apply for this mortgage?"

"I thought I'd start with the Firefighter's Credit Union, being as I'm a firefighter. I'm told they farm mortgages out but they give some really favorable rates."

"Sounds like as good of a place to start as any." Johnny was actually excited for his coworker and his attitude, it looked to him that his moral boosting efforts were having a positive effect, but Johnny remembered something he wasn't sure Marco had remembered. "You do remember, don't you, that you rode in with me at the beginning of the shift?"

"Oh man," Marco slapped his forehead, "I forgot about that. I just made an appointment to meet with a loan officer." Marco pulled his watch into view and thought hard. "There's no way I can get to Chet's and back to the credit union before my appointment. I better go call a cab." Marco started moving fast for the closest phone.

Johnny reached out and stopped him. "I'll drive you; I'm the one who insisted you ride in with me. Besides, while you're finding out about a home loan, maybe I can do the same. I'm not sure if I want to support an apartment building that's as discriminatory as mine sure seems to be right now. It just might be good to find out what my options are."

"I'd go with you," Chet spoke up, "but I'm not so sure I want to buy a house at this point in my life. I mean who'll watch out for it while I'm on shift?"

The look on Johnny's face made it clear that he hadn't thought about that aspect of home ownership, but Marco was only slightly fazed. "That's something to think about but I still have to find a place to live. If I stay at your place any longer I'm going to have to start paying rent and a long term roommate situation with you is not something I think will work out."

Johnny took a quick notice of how he was dressed and dug out a comb to give his hair a slightly more appropriate appearance before he grabbed his sweater and keys and motioned to Marco that they should go.

As they pulled into the parking lot of the credit union Johnny took one more good look at his hair in the rearview mirror before letting out a dissatisfied sigh. "You go ahead, Marco, I'm going to slip over to that barber shop over there first. When I came in here to take out a loan when I bought my Rover they commented that my hair wasn't regulation. I think it's maybe a little over due for a trim."

Johnny then pulled into the next parking stall and got out putting his keys in his pocket as he ran to the crosswalk. Marco finally got out of the truck making sure Johnny had his keys before locking up and walking into the credit union.

Marco sat, waiting for the loan officer to look over his records. He had saved a good portion of his check since he started working, although he had paid rent to his parents and helped with the food budget the rent had been low compared to what it was when he moved out. Coming up with first and last month's rent twice in such a short period of time had eaten up some of his savings as did buying his last truck, but he did buy a good used truck at a price that was much less than he had saved for it and the checks from the insurance and refund on his cleaning deposit and rent he got after the accident that totaled his last apartment he did have a decent amount for a down payment.

Marco had been surprised in his education of closing costs and property insurance but he was most surprised that the house he could qualify for would give him a lower monthly payment than he had last paid in rent.

Marco left his loan officer's office with his eyes glued to a stack of papers and when he looked around to find his ride he noticed that Johnny's hair was within regulations, but just barely. He didn't have to wait long before Johnny joined him in the lobby with his own set of papers.

When Johnny drove into Chet's apartment building both he and Marco were a little overwhelmed.

"Now I just have to decide if I want to be tied down for thirty years," Johnny commented before looking at Marco. "I think I'm going to go back to my place and sleep on things at least until tomorrow."

"Yeah, me too," Marco sighed. "I had all the energy in the world this morning but now, that warehouse fire last night is really dragging me down. That was sure a good idea you had about signing up for disability insurance, in our line of work you never know when you could get injured and on workman's comp payments it could be kind of tight to come up with a mortgage payment.

Marco let himself in with the key he had been given and found that his host had collapsed on his bed as soon as he got home. He then went to the room he was being allowed to use and offered up a prayer of thanks and asked for guidance before he too climbed into the bed and was soon fast asleep.

-0-

Marco was awakened several hours later by knocking on the guest room door. The first few knocks brought his eyes open, a few seconds later another set of knocks were followed by Chet calling his name.

Marco pried himself out of bed to go to the phone that Chet said was for him and learned that Captain Tollins was down a man after one of his linemen received some electrical burns on his leg when a power line came down into a puddle he was standing in. "I figured since you were trying to come up with moving in expenses you might be interested in some overtime." Marco quickly agreed to come in.

Their first fire call came in while Marco was still getting dressed. He ended up buttoning and tucking in his shirt while the engine rolled out of the bay. Captain Tollins would point out to him later that his buttons weren't strait but he wasn't reprimanding him when he pointed it out, he was instead, understanding.

The second run of his shift was an auto accident; it has been a particularly bad one, leaving two fatalities. As the paramedics took care of the three survivors Captain Tollins asked for a volunteer to take care of the fatalities. Marco quietly stepped forward with the needed blankets and as he went about the work at hand Marco thought about what Johnny had said.

Asking for volunteers was the way Captain Stanley started out when he first came to be in charge at the station. After a while he just asked Marco to take care of it. Marco had never felt as if Captain Stanley was giving him the toughest job because of any displeasure in him. Marco had long let him know that he could handle this aspect of his job. He knew that he and Captain Stanley shared a basic religion and though nothing was said between them on that ground there was comfort in knowing it.

Once the bodies were out of the way giving the paramedics easier access to their patients Marco positioned them respectfully and covered their bodies. Then giving a quick glance around to make sure he wasn't making a spectacle of himself he bowed his head and addressed the great maker of all, asking him to keep these souls in his loving care and to help the families they left behind.

Until Johnny had said something to him about his practices, Marco had no idea that anyone ever noticed. But at that moment of loss he felt comforted that his acts had been noticed and that those acts were welcomed and helpful to others. As he genuflected before pushing back to his feet Marco made an internal vow to continue with his practices.

Five trash fires within a block of each other kept the men busy the rest of the night, one of the garbage bins requiring them to make a second visit. It was certain that someone was lighting them off, probably as some sort of a prank but they weren't sure if the fire they were called out on a second time was restarted or if smoldering debris had caught a gust of wind and kicked up again. They were extra careful the second time to make sure they had the fire completely out.

Dinner was late in coming that night and was little more than sandwiches and warmed cans of soup. As the men made their way to bed Marco wandered into the kitchen for one last glass of milk and found himself sitting at the table searching for the energy to get up and head to bed.

His thoughts were full as he sat there contemplating his current homeless status. He was quick to remind himself that he wasn't living on the streets and vowed to show some sort of gratitude to Chet for taking him in. Just how to do it would have to be thought through carefully; he didn't want to do anything to make either himself or Chet embarrassed. His thoughts turned to the fears and sense of freedom that came with the plans to buy his first home. And he realized for the first time that he had felt trapped for some time. Trapped by his race to live in substandard housing in blighted areas, he had felt just as trapped as he had been when the car was parked on his chest. He knew it was that same despair that had his brother and his new wife living with his parents, and wondered where it was that he had learned to fight back. He knew it came with is choice to become a firefighter and as he allowed his mind to wander he found many benefits he had gained from his job that were far beyond the pay he received for the work that he did. His friends and fellow firefighters, and the influence they had in his life, were high on that list.

He sat at the table in deep thought for over an hour before Captain Tollins came in search of his lost sheep. He found Marco sitting at the table toying with a long empty glass, his gaze a million miles away. He chose to carefully place a hand on Marco's shoulder before he spoke making sure his last footsteps were heard before he did so.

"It's best you sleep while you can in this profession," the wise captain advised.

"Yes sir," Marco responded with little energy, "I just started thinking and I guess my thoughts were starting to run away with me."

Marco finally found the energy to get up from the table in the form of a helping hand from his current captain and after washing out his glass he went to bed but he didn't stop thinking.

The next morning the rest of his regular crew joined him at the station. After Captain Stanley had received his report on the previous shift Captain Tollins asked Marco to join him in the office while Captain Stanley grabbed a cup of coffee.

"Hank tells me you're thinking about buying a house."

"Yes sir."

"Well, it just so happens that I dealt with a guy years ago that was in the practice of buying up a lot of rental properties and well he died kind of suddenly a year or so ago and now that his estate is finally worked out his children are selling off his properties. My wife and I talked about going back into the rental business for some extra income but I also know that there are a lot of single family residents on his list. The ones we've looked at are a bit neglected but are structurally sound and they're going cheep for the current market."

Marco was interested in the information given to him and readily accepted the name and phone number of the agent dealing with the properties. Before his shift was called in for roll call he made a phone call to talk to the agent.