A/N: Thanks to Piscean6724 for proofing. Any remaining errors are mine.
The next morning, Chet was sulking in the locker room. Not only had the guys teased him about his love letter, they had teased him about his secret admirer short sheeting his bed. How could one woman write him such a wonderful letter then prank him? He just couldn't make sense of it.
"You okay there, Chet?" Roy questioned as he walked into the locker room to change to go home.
Chet just mumbled something incoherent and continued changing into his street clothes. The sooner he left the station the sooner he could work on who B.R. might be.
Roy looked over at his co-worker again. He was not his usual, cheerful self. "It's not like you to get so upset over a well executed prank. What's wrong?"
Chet sighed loudly. "It's not the prank. It's that I can't figure out who she is." He waved around the note he found under his pillow the previous night. The one that said, "Gotcha! Love, B.R."
"She does seem to know you really well." Roy somehow managed to maintain a serious look on his face. He had to give Callie credit, she really had Chet pegged. Enough that Chet was racking his brain trying to figure out who the woman was that could get under his skin so easily.
"It's going to drive me crazy until I figure out who she is!" Chet's frustration was evident. "She's wonderful and annoying at the same time! It's enough to make a man insane!"
Roy could only nod his agreement. He felt that speaking at that moment would only give Callie away. Some deep down part of him was enjoying watching Chet get his comeuppance for all the pranks he had pulled over the last several years. He carefully made his mental notes to share with Callie later in the day. Neither he nor Mike had the opportunity to call her the previous evening. If he knew his cousin, she was probably dying to hear about Chet's reaction to everything.
-E!-
Later that afternoon at Roy's, Roy and Mike were filling Joanne and Callie in on what happened the previous day.
"The best part was last night when he realized his bed had been 'fixed' and found B R's note." Mike put his arms around Callie and pulled her close. "I think I might have to start calling you trouble instead of angel."
"I really think you got him good and worked up." Roy explained how frustrated Chet had been that morning. "How much longer are you going to let this go on?"
Callie was happy to hear her plan was working so well. "I don't know. I think I may write him a couple more notes then let him off the hook."
"Did Chet try to blame Johnny for his bed before he found the note?" Joanne was curious.
"No. I think he realizes it isn't any of us." Roy stated matter of factly. "He really does want to know who the mystery woman is."
"I'm curious about something. Why isn't Johnny here?" Callie was expecting a report from him as well.
"You get three guesses and the first two don't count." Roy was trying really hard not to smile. Mike just shook his head.
"Hot date?" Was Callie's only guess. Based on the looks from the two men in the room she had guessed correctly. "I guess he'll call me later, when he can't get past first base."
Joanne took the opportunity to change the subject. "Do you have the next note ready?"
Callie's smiled turned evil. "Of course, I do. I have it sealed and ready to go."
"Can you at least tell us what it says?" Joanne knew she'd never find out otherwise.
Callie pulled a draft copy of the new letter out of her purse and handed it to Joanne to read aloud.
"My Handsome Lineman, It was wonderful to see you in action today. You never fail to impress me with your fire fighting prowess. It makes me miss our intimate contact while cleaning up after one of our many adventures. You always leave me drained in all the best possible ways. Sweet Dreams Til I See You Again. B.R."
Once everyone was done giggling and laughing Mike spoke up. "You need to write him one for the morning."
"I do?" Callie playfully shoved her shoulder against his arm.
"Yes." He playfully shoved her shoulder back. "Something to the effect of 'I missed your sweet booty last night.' I'll leave it on his seat in the engine."
Roy and Joanne were busy laughing while Callie rolled the idea around in her mind.
"Will one of you be able to place this letter in his locker tomorrow night?" Callie was buying more time while she considered Mike's idea.
Both Roy and Mike volunteered to leave any additional notes for Chet. Callie pulled a notebook out of her bag and started moving toward the dining room table to write. Mike pulled her back into his arms and nuzzled her neck.
"I can't write with you distracting me." Callie kissed him on the cheek and smiled. "Much as I love your distractions."
Roy cleared his throat. He was torn between being protective and being happy. He knew he shouldn't stop Callie and Mike from seeing each other. He just wasn't used to thinking of his cousin seriously dating anyone. Joanne sensed it was time for them to leave the living room for a few minutes.
"Honey, will you come help me with something in the kitchen?" She gave Callie a quick wink to let her know it would be all right.
Roy couldn't think of a reason not follow his wife, so, gave in. He stared at his wife, a grumpy expression on his face.
"You know, there was time when you wanted to distract me from the rest of the world." Joanne took Roy's hand and twined their fingers together.
Roy smiled at the memories. "I still do." He stepped closer to her and took her other hand. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. "It's just that…"
"You still see her as that awkward teenager who needs your protection." Joanne understood. "Roy, she hasn't been that awkward teenager for some time now. She's a strong willed woman."
"I know." Roy was still torn. "They're happy."
Joanne looked at her husband. "They're a good match. I bet they end up getting mar…"
Roy put a hand up to stop his wife. "Don't say it. Don't even think it. I'm not ready for that."
"I think you have some time." Joanne wrapped her arms around Roy. "They still don't want the rest of the shift to know they're together yet."
"Yeah, yeah." Roy pulled his wife closer. "It's weird seeing the way they look at each other and knowing where it's headed."
"You say that like it's a bad thing." Joanne leaned into her husband's chest and he held her tighter.
"I guess this is practice for when Jenny gets older. She better not grow up too fast." Roy shuddered as he thought about it. He didn't want to think about Jenny dating anymore than he wanted to acknowledge his kid cousin was an attractive woman now.
The sudden sound of laughter then scolding from the living room brought their attention back to the real world. They returned to the living room just in time to see Callie wad up a piece of paper and throw it at Mike from across the room.
"I will not write something like that! Not even to you!" She tore another page from the notebook and was getting ready to throw it, too. "Men! Sex on the brain twenty-four, seven!"
Mike got up from the couch and moved quickly toward Callie. He wasn't fast enough. She moved quickly and ducked behind Roy and Joanne. She made a face and stuck her tongue out at him.
Mike held his hands up in surrender. "I'll get you back later."
"You and what army?" Callie teased.
"I won't need an army." Mike gave her an evil grin and returned to the couch.
~~E~~
Mike arrived a few minutes earlier than usual for shift the next morning. He had finally managed to convince Callie Chet needed to find a note in the morning. He was prepared to leave it on Chet's seat in the engine as soon as was feasible. It needed to be found as Chet put his helmet and turnout coat in the engine. Finding it as they were responding to a run could prove too distracting. He put the other letter in his locker for delivery just before Chet got ready for bed.
He was finishing tying his shoes as Roy and Johnny walked into the locker room to change into their uniforms. Roy was apparently catching Johnny up to speed.
"Morning, Mike." Johnny spoke as he pulled his locker open.
"Good morning!" Mike couldn't help himself and was smiling. "I think you're both behind."
Roy looked over at Mike, "Did you finally convince her?"
"Yeah. It took a while and I had to bribe her with my fried chicken." Mike left out the part about having to promise to let Callie pick the movie and restaurant on their date the next evening as well.
"Convince of her what?" Johnny didn't like being out of the loop.
"Just to have a letter ready for him this morning, too." Roy turned to his locker to pull out his uniform shirt. "If you would have showed up yesterday afternoon you would know these things."
"I told you, I had a date with that new nurse in Pediatrics. She's something else. We're going out again tomorrow." Johnny had the usual stars in his eyes as he talked about his flame of week.
Roy and Mike both muttered as Johnny continued to go on about his date the previous evening. Mike finally excused himself to put the note on Chet's seat. With the note located where Chet would see, Mike headed to the kitchen. They were all going to need coffee if Johnny was going to go on about that new nurse all morning.
~~E~~
Chet and Marco entered the locker room just as Roy and Johnny were leaving to start the daily inventory and equipment check for the Squad. They overheard Chet telling Marco he still hadn't figured out who his secret admirer was before the locker room door closed. Johnny barely suppressed his giggles.
"This is better than anything I could've dreamed up." Johnny was not about to hide his happiness at the situation.
Roy just smiled at his partner. "Want some coffee before we start counting things?"
"Yeah." Johnny followed Roy into the kitchen where Mike was just pouring his first cup. They both accepted proffered mugs from Mike and returned to the bay.
Mike joined his colleagues in the bay looking over all the dials and gauges on Big Red. It wouldn't do to be called out to a fire without having checked the gauges first. That and no one wanted to miss Chet's reaction to the new note.
Hank popped his head into the bay when he heard Johnny and Roy checking over the squad without having been told. He noticed Mike with his usual morning coffee checking over Big Red and decided it was time to find out what was going on at his station so early in the day.
"Fellas?" Hank looked at all three men.
Just as Hank said that, Marco and Chet emerged from the locker room with their coats and helmets. Each man made his way to his seat on the engine. Hank didn't miss the look Roy, John and Mike gave each other. He knew then that Callie had another note for Chet. He was careful to keep his smile to himself as he too waited.
Chet made to put his helmet on his seat when he noticed the purple envelope with his name on it. The writing was the same as the last two notes. Another note from her. He tried to casually place his helmet on the seat and take the letter without the others noticing. No such luck.
"What you got there, Chet?" Hank asked.
"Um...nothing, Cap." Chet started turning red. He tried to walk away when Marco and Mike got in the way. He couldn't go backwards because Captain Stanley was there.
Marco gave his friend a sly grin. "Looks like another note from B R. She sure does have pretty handwriting." Marco winked at Roy, who was now standing behind Chet.
Chet was trying to slip the note in his shirt pocket to read later, alone. He could tell he was going to have no such luck. Everyone was looking at him, waiting for him to open the letter. With a little encouragement from Marco, he gave in.
Chet stood there for a moment reading. He started blushing and quickly tried to fold the letter back up. Marco grabbed it from him and read it out loud.
"Good Morning Handsome, I missed your wonderful booty yesterday. I can't wait to see what adventures today brings. Hopefully, lots of wonderful views of your awesome backside. Shake it a few times for me. X O X O, B R." Marco was trying hard not to laugh but failed miserably when everyone else joined in.
There were the expected cat calls and teasing for a few minutes until Hank reminded them it was time for roll call. Chet was unusually quiet as they all quickly lined up for the day's list of duties and announcements.
TBC...