A/N: I just want to say a quick thanks to everyone who is reading, reviewing and adding this to their favorites. I am so glad you are enjoying it so far. So, THANK YOU!

Thanks to my wonderful beta LittleLea05

Disclaimer: Not mine; it belongs to the talented Ms. Meyer.

Untitled

Flame fighter, flame fighter you'll never be infernos' friend.

In bright red you race, to the flames that you chase.

Through smoke and heat, soot on your arms and feet.

In the darkness with no sight, you search for the light.

With water you defeat smoke, flames and the heat.

Fellow brothers and sisters unite, for not alone are you in this fight.

Into the fire with might, ready for the fight.

Then with the settling of flames, all that remains is life.

See it is for the lives that you save, that we call you the Brave.

Author: Lauren J. Wynn

Chapter 3 – First Fight

Edward POV

I could feel the tingling in my fingers as the adrenaline raced through my system. This was it. This is what I have been waiting for. Several years of college, many hours of volunteer time and now I stand at the precipice of love. Not love for another in the sense of being in love. No, love for the chase, for the fight. Being the one running into the burning building that others are running out of. Love for the feeling of overwhelming accomplishment at saving a life, putting out a fire, saving a home. Being a savior, almost playing God. I don't have a God like complex but I know that even he needs help now and again. That's where we come in.

I could hear my comrades racing above me to get down to the engine. Bella had darted around me so fast I almost didn't see her. I expected her to trip like she had early on her own two feet. But just watching her for those first few seconds of the call, the fire rush seemed to pull out a certain grace in her. I quickly made my way over to the cabinet holding my gear. I was tugging it on as swiftly as I could. I grabbed my helmet, gloves, flash hood and jacket and ran to the engine. The ladder truck next to us already had their guys loaded in and waiting. We roll out of the station together, always. I met Carlisle next to the side of the engine as we started climbing in. Bella already had her turnout pants on and was sitting behind the wheel of the engine looking eager to go. "Come on Eddie, jump in. Let's do this thing." I looked up to see the big guy, Emmett, calling out to me. I'd have to remind him later that it's Edward, not Eddie. I climbed in and took a quick seat next to him. All the guys were in various stages of getting their gear completely on and as soon as my ass was in the seat, Bella flipped on the lights and siren pulling forward out of the engine bay.

I could feel my leg bouncing up and down as we raced down the road to the fire. This isn't my first time going to a fire. I did years and years of volunteer work in the small town I lived in. However, those guys seemed to find it necessary to keep me out of any huge fires or potentially harmful situation. It wasn't the best circumstances to learn in but I took whatever I could get. I glanced out the front window and saw the cars parting out of the way like the Red Sea. There was occasionally the idiot driver who didn't see us until Bella was right up on their ass, but they sure noticed when she laid on the horn. I knew the church the dispatcher had been talking about. It wasn't terribly far from where the station was. But I also knew it was in a densely populated part of town and had the potential to turn ugly quite quick.

"Feeling a little nervous there Eddie?" I turned and looked at Emmett and shook my head.

"Nah man, I'm just excited. And please, call me Edward." I quickly stuck out my hand and shook his. I glanced out the window again and could tell we were getting closer.

"Is this your first fire?" Jasper yelled out of the sound of the siren to me.

"No. I mean, technically not. Besides training, I was on a volunteer department since I was fifteen. The old captain didn't like sending me in unless it was necessary though." I could feel my voice getting a little hoarse from having to basically scream over the sound of the siren. Bella and Carlisle were sitting in the front cab of the engine. Us four guys were jammed into the back of the cab and sitting in every which direction that would fit us and our gear.

"Dude I'm stoked!" I heard Jacob yell over to Jasper. "With the amount of crews called out to this fire, it has to be good sized. Your wife is fucking awesome Jazz!" I looked over at him puzzled and he caught my eye.

"My wife works for dispatch. She was the voice you heard call us out." He cracked a subtle smile. "She always makes sure we get the good ones." I nodded my head at him. Now I understand why this station had gotten the reputation of being so busy all the time.

I took another look out the front window to see if we were almost there yet. The anticipation was killing me. I noticed we were now following another engine going code three down the road and I knew we probably had less than a minute until we rolled up. I took a second to watch Bella appreciatively as she drove this massive engine. It really was illogical that this small little woman was the one that controlled this engine. I drove our smaller engine just once at the station I volunteered at. It was incredibly hard to maneuver and control. Bella handle this thing like it was second nature. Like she was breathing or sleeping. It's no wonder that she was the engineer. Her ardent attitude earlier showed that she could easily step in and take control of almost any situation which is exactly what an engineer and lieutenant need to be able to do.

"I do hope you are just spacing out and not actually checking out your superior." I heard a voice quietly say in my ear. I snapped back to reality and noticed Emmett sitting next to me with a knowing look on his face. "Don't worry man; we might have all had those moments at one point. She is a fiercely beautiful woman and even if we are all married, she is still damn fine to look at. Don't let my Rosie know I said that." He turned his face away from me with a small smile still plastered across it. I lightly chuckled.

I felt the engine start slowing to a crawl and I could see all the other emergency personnel parked around the church. Yeah, this was definitely going to be a good fire. Carlisle was jumping out the door of the engine before Bella had even pulled to a complete stop. I could see him jogging over to the obvious IC in his white turnouts. As soon as the engine came to a stop we started piling out looking for orders.

The guys started slinging on their BA packs and getting their gloves and helmet on. I decided to follow suit when Bella stopped me. "Rook!" Okay, I guess that's my new name. "Get over here." I ran around the side of the engine to where the control panel was for the pump. "Climb up there and grab that two inch line and connect it to that gated Y over there coming from that hydrant. Don't open until I give you the signal that I am connected." Demanding Bella was fucking sexy. Shit Edward, don't think about that now and get on your game.

I quickly grabbed a fifty yard section of the two inch line, dropped the male end with Bella and ran over to the already set up gated Y that the engine ahead of us was pumping off of. I turn to look at Bella and she swung her arm up in the air indicating to release the flow. It was organized chaos going around us and by the time I got back to the engine Carlisle was back. I quickly pulled on all my gear while listening to him give orders.

"Okay, IC as instructed us to go in around the rear side door entrance. Em, you and Jazz take left. Jake, you and Edward will take right. Give him your nozzle man duties." Holy shit, I'm nozzle man on my first day?!? "Our objective is to find any survivors in there. It's reported that fire is in the front half of the building started from some candles, but that doesn't mean there won't be any fires lying dormant in the back so be on your game." I listened intently trying to hear everything Carlisle was saying over the intense noises I heard everywhere. Sirens, yelling, the sound of the fire crackling through the building. I could feel the heat from here and I was fifty yards or better away. Carlisle grabbed something out of one of the compartments on the side of the engine and turned back towards me clipping it on my turnout. "Edward, this is your PASS device. We also have built in radios in your helmets so we can all keep in contact with each other." He turned back to the guys. "Okay, grab the two inch line from the back of the engine. I want a gated Y reducing down to a one and three quarter inch line. Bella, 125, got it?"

I quickly scrambled with the rest of the guys to hurry and get in. For being my first day I was rather blown away at how quickly and effectively we all worked together right from the start. I guess Carlisle really knew his shit when he chose me for this position on his crew. He must have known we'd work really well together. We quickly found ourselves at the door leading inside in the rear of the building. Carlisle checked the door by running his hand up and down it for warmth before turning the knob and letting ourselves in. We were instantly hit with a wall of billowing black smoke. I had never been more grateful for the SCBA mask I was currently wearing.

Carlisle gave the signal and Emmett and Jasper moved in and off to the left. Jacob came up behind me and grabbed a hold of the hose and I tightened my grasp on the nozzle. It was now or never. "Go on rook…" I heard Carlisle voices echo through my helmet. "Keep to the right, keep to the wall, keep low and go slow. And don't worry; Jacob really is a decent firefighter." His attempt at calming me with a little joke on the end did nothing for the natural high I was feeling at that very moment. I was on edge but totally in my element. Life couldn't possibly get better than this.

I turned to the right and crouched down and slowly started walking. The top of the ceiling was fogged in with thick black smoke making it incredibly hard to see. I heard my own breathe echo in my helmet as I was breathing heavily inside the mask. I felt the sweat rolling down my face and into my eyes. It had to be 85 degrees today; in this suit it was probably more like 100 degrees. In this suit inside a burning building where temperatures could at any point reach 1100 degrees when a flashover occurs– I was cooking and we hadn't even really begun.

We came to the end of the hall and there was a door on the left and one on the right. The ultimate decision, which way do we go? I looked and saw that one of the doors had a title across the door like a placarded on an office door. The other door was narrow much like a hall closet. I motioned to Jacob behind me at the doors. He pulled me to one side of the smaller door and him on the other. He tested the door for heat much like Carlisle did outside, and turned the knob. Nothing. It was a nearly empty supply closet. We turned and took our stance on opposite sides on the other door. We took this position just in case a backdraft occurs when the door is opened.

I motioned to Jacob and he reached up and turned the knob. Thick black smoke came wafting out of the door making it nearly impossible to see. Jake quickly got back behind me and grabbed a hold of the hose. I pushed forward into the room to find that fire licking its way through the wall on the right. From what I could see this office was huge. I turned the nozzle towards the fire and cranked it open. The kick back of the water coming out of the nozzle almost knocked me on my ass. It was much like the recoil from shooting a gun. I held onto it tight as I aimed the stream at the base of the fire on the right. I quickly extinguished what was coming into the room, but it was obvious by the whole in the wall that the room next to us was fully engulfed. Our actions from here were almost futile. We needed to search and possibly rescue before attempting to put this out. We quickly pushed to the left and crawled into the next smaller room. We followed in around following the walls looking for any people. It wasn't until we made into the next room that we stumbled over a body. Whether or not they were alive would be the ultimate question.

I quickly surveyed the room and saw one other figure lying on the floor. Jake nodded his head at me and crawled towards them. Within seconds we had hoisted them up over our shoulders and were retreating from the room, hose in hand. The crawl back out to the door Carlisle was waiting at was much slower than the initial crawl in. But soon enough we could see the sunlight streaming in through the open door cutting through the smoke like a knife. It was our beacon for safety, but both Jacob and I knew we would be directly turning around and heading back inside. Carlisle was talking rapidly on his radio and in the distance you could see several paramedics running towards us with backboards and medical bags in hand. We stepped out the door carrying the victims and softly deposited them on the ground. Emmett and Jasper exited the building directly after us both of them carrying a rather large man.

I watched as Emmett quickly pulled off his BA mask to talk to the tall blonde paramedic about the survivor they pulled out. Jake was also over there letting her know what we assumed about our rescued. Emmett pecked the blonde woman on the lips and donned his helmet again. I'd have to remember to ask him later if that was his girl. All four of us returned to the door and spilt off again heading back down the hallway. This time, we were going in as the defense with the intent of getting the fire out. We knew that there were other firefighters on the opposite side of the building fighting their own battles; this one was up to us.

When we got back to the office we found more of it burned away then just minutes before. I opened the nozzle again, fully aware of the recoil from it, and pushed forward. Knocking this fire down now was much easier not having to worry if there were any more people needing to be rescued. It was an adrenaline rush like you would not believe. I felt powerful. I was in charge of the beast and I was able to tame him. The beast happened to be the fire breathing dragon in front of me that stood no chance against us. I was a flame fighter. We pushed forward through the wall and into the next room easily spraying the fire out. It was losing its speed and consumption. I felt high as I continued on in the room and extinguishing the flame. Before long we heard Carlisle radio that the other firefighters had gotten the front half of the building out and were now assisting with Emmett and Jasper on that side. We pulled back and decided to exit the building for further orders. Typically mop up would be next where we would go through the building and making sure that the fire was completely out and not hiding in a vent duct somewhere.

Bella POV

This was a good day so far. The fire at four this morning was decent size and easy to get out. Now, this church fire was much bigger, and it was Edward's first fire with our department. It was easy to get lost in my job and focus on one thing. I was trying not to be complacent as I started up the pump and looked towards the building for Carlisle's sign. I was watching the guys run towards the door, hoses in hand ready to run in. I remember those days. I haven't been in a building for a fire in a while. Since becoming an engineer, I tend to stay close to my equipment. I only go in when they need someone smaller then Ben to crawl through a space to rescue someone. Those times have been few and far between. Jasper is usually the more agile one on our crew that does the closed quarter's rescues.

I glanced towards the building and saw Carlisle wave his arm to have the water start flowing. This is where my job gets complicated. Math is a necessity. I need to have 125 psi coming out the end of that nozzle so I have to compensate here at the engine and over the distance of hose. Concentration is a must and mistakes do happen, but I haven't gotten good at predicting what my guys need. Edward was the wildcard I would have to get use to.

I heard Carlisle's voice radio for medical personnel to come to the door and seconds later I saw an ambulance drive up next to me. Rosalie and her partner Heidi jumped out of the ambulance quickly grabbing backboards and medical bags. "Bella, what do you know?" I heard Rose shout over the all the multitude of sounds.

"I don't know much Rose. Our guys went in the back; I imagine Carlisle knows more if he called you guys." Rose stepped over and gave me a quick hug before looking up at the door.

"You got the new guy today?" She had a mischievous look in her eyes and I had to assume that maybe Emmett called her earlier.

"Yeah, we did." I quickly turned back to the side of the engine to adjust the pump and hide the slight blush that was creeping up my checks. I could try to deny it but he was fuck hot and I knew it.

"Isabella Swan!" I turned back and looked at her. "You, me and Alice are going to have a talk this Friday over drinks at Marty's, away from everybody else obviously…" I opened my mouth to rebuttal her but she continued before I could. "Ah, ah, ah Bella, I know better. Don't even try, because I can see that look in your eyes." She laughed but our conversation didn't continue. We heard a commotion over by the door and I could see a couple of our guys spill out the door carrying people. Rose and Heidi darted off after them without as much as a good bye. I couldn't tell from here who they were because they still had on their masks. But I assumed it was probably Jake and Edward, Emmett is kinda hard to miss when he is fully geared up. We had done a classroom demonstration once with some of the elementary kids to explain who firefighters were and that they were your friends. Emmett had to go in dressed normally and suit up in front of them so they wouldn't be scared. Hell, even I would be afraid of Emmett coming at me in a dark smoke filled room looking the way he did in his turnouts. But he really was nothing but a teddy bear.

I watched has Rosalie and Heidi took two of the survivors and tied them to a backboard. Rose must have called for additional help because minutes later three more paramedics came running past me towards them. All three survivors were strapped down and being hauled back to the ambulances. As Rose passed she whispered to me, "They look like they will all live. Any longer and they could have died from smoke inhalation. I'll let you know if they make it." I nodded my head once in her direction and turned my attention back to the task at hand. This is how we have always done it. Rose tends to get dispatched to all the same fires and incidents as us; thanks to Alice I am sure. Rose and Alice knew each other from college and it was because of Alice that we met Rose. She was constantly showing up at our calls and of course, Emmett noticed. After many failed attempts at getting her to go out with him, all she had to see was him carrying a little girl out of a fire and the rest was history. They are now married with two little girls of their own.

Alice was married to Jasper, Jake and Leah, Carlisle and Esme. As I thought more on it I realized Edward and I were the only single people at the station. Ah shit. If Alice learns that she will try her damnedest to hook us up. Alice loved to live in a bubble where everyone was happily married with children, careers and a house with a white picket fence. I don't know how many times I have told her – that's not me. I don't do commitment. "Bella, you can cut the engine now."

I heard Carlisle through the radio in the engine and it brought me out of my musings. The fire was out and we would be breaking down the one and three quarter inch line. We only needed the one inch line for clean up, besides, it was easier to cart around the lighter one inch line. I watched as the guys came out of the building and started pulling apart the hose and rolling it up emptying the water from it. They had all taken their helmets, masks and BA tanks off to make it a little easier to maneuver. I tried, and failed, to not watch Edward pull off his helmet, gloves, flash hood, tank and even his jacket. It was like my own personal naughty firefighter striper act from Chippendales. I was near salivating when Emmett walked up next to me. I didn't even hear or see him until he spoke.

"See something you like huh Bella?" I jumped at his voice and spun to look at him. The almost ever present blush returning.

"What in the hell are you talking about McCarty?" I snapped.

"You just look like a woman who's been denied chocolate her whole life and finally got her hands on a Hersey's Kiss. Oh so delectable but never enough, huh Bella?"He had a haughty smile on his face and an eyebrow lifting up in question.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I mumbled as I turned to the engine to pretend like I was busy doing something, anything.

"Yeah yeah, and I'm virginal." Emmett laughed loudly. "Keep denying it all you want Bells, but I saw the look just now…it's the same one you had this morning."

I quickly turned and looked at him again. He looked even more smug and the smile on his face was obviously him trying to hide something, poorly. Then it dawned on me. "You ass! You promised you wouldn't watch this morning's prank through the fire pole hole!" I went to slap his shoulder but he quickly dodged it. For being a big guy he could move pretty fast.

"Yeah yeah, I wasn't supposed to watch, but it was fucking hilarious watching you two check each other out and try to hide it from each other. Tsk Tsk, you know that doesn't work." I finally got close enough to slap him across the shoulder.

"So you did call Rose didn't you?'

"Yep." He chuckled.

"Great. Thanks. Now I have to deal with her and Alice on Friday. Jackass." Emmett just laughed, grabbed the one inch line from the back of the engine and walked away. I knew I would have to get him back for that eventually.

Mop up of the fire was actually quite quick this time around instead of this morning's fire. With several other engines on scene as well, they just sectioned the building off to make the work quicker. An arson investigator was able to get in and quickly find the point of origin. As predicted it was indeed started accidently from a few candles inside. It's unfortunate to see something like this happen, but thankful it wasn't a hate crime this time around. This isn't the first church fire we have seen, last couple were started by someone in the community, who they were still looking for.

Soon enough we were all piled back into the engine and on our way back to the station. I drove slower back then normal since we were so close by. I couldn't help myself from glancing back in the rear view mirror at Edward. He had a huge grin on his face much akin to that of the Cheshire cat. His hair was sticking up in every which direction and he had swipes of soot and dirt wiped across his cheeks and brow. He would definitely need a shower. A shower. We would all need a shower. Hmmm….maybe this time I would take a shower at the same time as everyone else. I don't do it often, mainly to make them feel more comfortable, but I could care less. The little devil sitting on my shoulder started doing a happy dance at the thought. Yes, I think a shower is definitely in order once we get back to the station.

A/N: Firefighting 101: IC is Incident Command (or commander) is usually the first on scene chief or captain. A PASS device (Personal Alert Safety System) will automatically activate if the device does not detect motion for a certain short period of time, typically 15-30 seconds, so that the alert will sound if the firefighter is seriously injured or otherwise incapacitated. A gated Y is a valve that connects three hose lines. The valve is obviously Y shaped. When Carlisle told Bella '125' that meant water pressure at 125 from the engine to the nozzle. Nozzle man is obviously the guy at the end of the hose directing the lead and has control of the water. Rookies are typically the nozzle man. A flashover is the near simultaneous ignition of all combustible material in an enclosed area (heavy thick smoke along the ceiling is a tell tale sign). Despite protective gear, a firefighter has less than 5 seconds to evacuate a flashover environment if wearing proper NFPA (Nation Fire Protection Association) approved gear. A flashover is one of the most-feared phenomena among firefighters. A backdraft is a situation which can occur when a fire is starved of oxygen; consequently combustion ceases but the fuel, gases and smoke remain at high temperature. If oxygen is re-introduced to the fire, i.e. by opening a door to a closed room, combustion can restart often resulting in an explosive effect as the gases heat and expand. (You can look all this up on wiki for more answers, or PM me.)

Ok, I think that was everything for our little firefighting lesson of the day. Any other questions please do email me. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Feedback is appreciated. Thanks!