A/N: Huge thanks as usual to my awesome readers. You guys are so supportive and I love ya for that! Also, just found out that my other story, Royale, which I am sure some of you have read, was nominated for a Twific Award for Best Romance. I don't know who nominated me, but THANK YOU! I am just so shocked that my story listed with so many other great stories and authors. Link for the Twific Awards will be up on my profile in the next couple days.

Also, I will not be doing three chapters for each day at the station, but given that this is Edwards very first day, it was necessary to 'paint the picture'. We will start moving forward at a faster pace after this.

Thanks to my wonderful beta LittleLea05

Disclaimer: Plot mine, everything else, Stephenie Meyer

Fact-

The first female firefighter was hired 35 years ago in Arlington County, VA. In 1994, less than 2 percent of the 250,000 paid firefighters in the nation were female. Now, 15 years later, of the nearly 350,000 paid firefighters, 3.7 percent are female. (Information taken from The LA Times & the International Journal of Diversity)

Chapter 4 – Rapport

Bella POV

I pulled the engine into the station and saw the ladder truck guys already back and putting equipment away. They didn't have to stay for mop up so they beat us back. I backed the engine into the station. I had already washed it once today, I wasn't about to do it again. We had a few hours between rotation on the list and I was going to use this time to clean up, eat something and relax a little. We all piled out of the engine grabbing our turnout gear and putting it away. We switched out the BA bottles for full ones and made sure we were all fully prepared when and if we get the next call. It was nearly silent in the engine bay, all fourteen of us were exhausted and quiet from today's events so far. It's typically like this when we get back from a call. We have our routine. We cleanup and put away, prepare for the next one, shower and change, eat, sleep and wait for the next bell. We try to fill in the monotony with games, pool, watching a movie or anything else.

I watched in quiet fascination as Carlisle walked over to Edward. He clapped a hand on his back and spoke loud enough for us all to hear. "Nicely done Edward. Your first fire with the department is over, how do you feel?"

A huge broad grin spread across his face as he looked around. "It was awesome."

We all let out a low chuckle at his enthusiasm. We had all been there before. The first couple of weeks at your new station are always 'awesome'. Then it starts getting tiring. You miss meals with family, lose touch with friends, always missing some gathering or another because you are the one that responds to the call even if it's your day off. He will learn. This station, this crew, will become his life. His family. His only friends. It's why we all stick so close together, spouses included. We rely on each other for support because we are the only ones who understand what we go through. The general public kind of comprehends, but until they live the life for themselves, they'll never truly understand.

"With all that adrenaline coursing through your system you better get something to eat. I think it's…damn, Bella, who's turn is it to cook lunch again?" Carlisle turned and looked at me.

I laughed; Carlisle thought it would be beneficial for us to make a rotation of cooks for meals so one person didn't get stuck cooking it all the time. That one person was typically always me. "Ha ha Carlisle, I don't want to be poisoned today…" I shot a look over towards the ladder guys. "I'll cook after I get a shower…" I made my way over to my room to strip down and wrap my towel around myself to go shower. I could hear the guys all trudging upstairs and I knew we would end up showering at the same time. I wonder how well the new rookie will handle that. No time like now to find out.

I gently pushed open the door to the shower room and tried not to glance around. I always just looked straight ahead so I wouldn't see something I didn't want to see. Except this time, I had to admit to myself, there was one in particular I kind of wanted to see.

"Dude, don't drop the soap, Bella's with us today." I heard a soft round of chuckling at Emmett's comment. I just laughed and threw one hand up in the air flipping him off. I made my way over to my stall and waited until I was inside to drop the towel. I hung it up over the edge of the stall, flipped on the water and waited for it to warm up. I turned around to lean my head back underneath the spray and finally looked around the room. I wasn't really paying much attention to what they were saying. They were discussing what movie to watch while I cooked some food. I didn't care. What I did notice was the way Edward kept glancing over towards me and how he was trying to not engage in conversation with the rest of the guys. If I didn't know any better, I would assume he was a little shy or embarrassed.

"Bells, what are you making to eat, I am starving." I laughed. Emmett, he always had his mind in one of three places. Food, Sex or fire. Right now, it was obviously food.

"I dunno Emmett, what do you guys want?" I looked around as I asked the question. I was rinsing the soap out of my hair as the guys started responding with different answers. Pizza, chicken parmesan, spaghetti, orange chicken, enchiladas. I would say take out sounded like a more suitable plan then making something, but that would be more expensive then this station could afford. "Well, are any of you gentleman gonna help me or am I gonna have to do it all by myself." I put my hands on my hips and then dropped them in defeat when I realized they couldn't see me. I was still standing behind the shower stall.

The guys all grumbled. This is why we made a cooking rotation. Their idea of cooking consisted of top ramen or throwing a frozen pizza, or twelve, into the oven. "I'll help you make something." I looked up to see Edward stepping out of the shower stall with a towel slung low on his hips. I had to try my damnedest to not lick my lips at the sight of his near naked body dripping with water. His bronze hair hanging every which way and that perfect 'v' drawing my eyes in on the way the towel was slung around his hips. My mind instantly started drawing up different plans at ripping the towel away from his body in an attempt to see what was hidden underneath. I looked up and caught the devilish smirk on his face. I prayed he wasn't a mind reader at that moment and blushed at the vivid images my mind was creating.

"That would be helpful. Thanks. I'll be out in just second and meet you in the kitchen?" He nodded his head and walked out. I looked around and noticed that almost everyone was looking at me trying to figure out what was going on. Emmett, whose shower stall was right next to mine, leaned over and quietly whispered to me.

"Hershey Kisses Bella, Hershey Kisses." He laughed loudly causing the rest of the guys to look our direction. I got irritated and snapped the shower off, grabbed my towel around me and stomped out of there. I was trying to be mindful of my walking so I wouldn't slip, but as soon as I made it out into the hall; my wet feet on the hardwood floor had a different idea. I went down hard. I had barely kept one hand on my towel keeping it up as my other hand braced me falling on my ass. Edward came running over a second later trying to hide a smirk on his face.

"You alright Bella?" He reached down and started helping me up. I could feel the bruise already starting to form on my hip where I landed on one of the guys' boots. I stood up and tightened the towel around me. Edward was still standing in front of me but I wasn't paying much attention to him. I reach to the right of me and started to pull the towel up slightly to see the bruise on my hip. I didn't even think about the fact that I was exposing most of my thigh to him as I looked for the bruise. And sure enough, there it was, already forming a perfect oval shape from the toe of the boots. I heard a clearing of a throat and looked up realizing where I was. Standing in the middle of the stations hall dripping wet in a towel that I currently had shift up to my waist on one side. I looked over and saw that Edward was staring at the ground and Emmett was standing behind us.

"Bella, do you happen to have some Hershey Kisses?" I could see he was desperately trying to hide his smile, I was getting frustrated.

"God dammit Em, no I don't!"

"Why do you want some Hershey Kisses?" Edward asked quietly from beside me.

Quick Bella, say something before Emmett can. "Edward, you'll soon learn that Emmett thinks of one of three things constantly. Sex, food and fire…"

"Hey hey, that's not entirely true…" Emmett piped up. "I think about sports occasionally." The door opened behind Emmett and Jasper stepped out in a towel. Edward was the only one dressed standing in the hall way and he was just barely in his nomex pants.

Jasper came to stop next to Em and looked back and forth between Edward and I. "What are we doing just standing here in the hall?"

Em turned a little to whisper back to him except Em's concept of quiet was much different than the rest of ours. "Dunno man, stepped out here to get dressed and found her lifting up the side of her towel for him."

"Was not!" I quickly interjected.

"Bella, Bella, Bella…" Jasper said shaking his head. "If you're going to do strip tease you know the living room is better. There are at least poles in there." I growled under my breath about how annoying men were as I stomped away from their laughter.

Minutes later, and being fully dressed again, I made my way into the kitchen to help Edward make something to eat for the crew. I wasn't expecting to walk into oversized industrial kitchen and find Edward hard at work on a meal already. Most of the guys can't cook to save their soul, if he can, I will be eternally grateful. "What are we making?" I asked as I walked up behind him. He seemed so at ease in the kitchen and whatever he was making smelled absolutely phenomenal.

"I am making orange chicken, fried rice with pot stickers and egg rolls. You are going to go sit down and let someone else cook for the crew instead of you for a change." Huh, I didn't even realize we had all of that here. Maybe the guys actually did some shopping yesterday when I ran to the airport. I opened the fridge and the freezer, and just like I expected, almost nothing but frozen foods. Idiots.

"How'd you know?"

"Know what? That you cook all the time?" I nodded my head. "No offense, but you're a female and assumingly, a better cook then the guys around here. It's a no brainer why they would take advantage of that." He looked up at me and smiled a crooked smile that made my heart flutter and my knees weaken. I took a seat at one of the kitchen counter stools and decided to get to know him a bit better as he cooked.

"Well, thanks for that." He hummed his response and continued flittering about the kitchen. I watched as he walked around the kitchen preparing a meal for twenty. There were only ten of us stationed here, but with Emmett's appetite, you always need to cook more than necessary; it would never go to waste. "So….um…tell me a little bit about yourself…like, how do you know how to cook so well?" I hedged. I didn't want to talk about me and I had a feeling the longer I sat here the more likely he would ask about me first.

He smiled. "My dad was a horrible cook and my step mother wasn't much better. If I ever wanted to eat something worthwhile I had to learn how to cook it myself." I smiled and nodded. I completely understand since Charlie's idea of cooking was picking up the phone for takeout. "What else do you want to know?"

"Whatever you want to tell me…" I glanced out the door and into the living room. The guys were all sitting around the TV watching some shooting movie. I looked back at Edward and he seemed to have a contemplative look on his face. Probably wondering how much he could trust me or what exactly he felt comfortable telling.

"Well…I'm twenty three; I just finished college getting my Bachelor of Science in Fire Behavior and just completed my Firefighter II Academy. I moved from Chicago to Port Angeles when I was fifteen with my dad and step mother and started working at the volunteer department there. What about you?"

I sat there stunned for a moment think about what he just said. Well fuck me this should be interesting. "I'm 28, I grew up in Forks; I graduated with the same degrees as you actually. I got hired here for my probationary year and just worked my way up to engineer."

"What about your family?" His question was simple but it wasn't one I particularly wanted to answer.

"Um…No siblings. My dad was chief of police in Forks growing up, but when I moved here for school he kind of followed. He works here in the city to be closer to me I guess. There was nothing holding him in Forks once I graduated." I purposely skimmed over the part about my mother and moved on. "What about you?"

"Um, no siblings either. Father is a lawyer in Port Angeles still but I think he will be moving back to Chicago before too long. He never did like living out here but this was where my step mom wanted to live because her job was transferred here. She left him so I don't imagine he'll be here much longer." I noticed he skipped over his biological mom too. I could understand not wanting to delve to deep into our personal lives, especially if we have both been hurt by it. All I could think was at least he had a step mom to fill the apparently vacant role of mother. Charlie never remarried, and until he moved to Seattle, he never even dated. Now, I am almost positive that he does, but that was one of those father-daughter things we don't share. "Hey, Bella…" I looked up and saw him staring down at me. It looked like he was just about to say something until we heard Emmett's loud voice booming through the room.

"Hey Bella! Have you gotten the rook cooking yet? We're starving in here!" Edward laughed and shook his head.

"FOODS DONE!" He yelled loud enough for everyone to hear. I helped Edward bring everything to the table and we all sat down.

Carlisle cleared his throat and looked around the table. "You guys know I am a very religious person, and I know some of you aren't, but given what we do daily in our lives I feel it's prudent to bow our heads and say a prayer now and again. Now, since we know that Emmett is no longer allowed to give grace…" I heard Em mumble a 'hey' under his breath. Last time Emmett said grace he somehow got out a phrase of 'thank you god for women who put out on the first date'. Since then, Carlisle is normally the one who gives grace. "…maybe our new rook wouldn't mind saying grace?"

I looked over and saw Edward nod his head slightly. I didn't know whether he was religious or not, but he did look slightly uncomfortable. "Um…..Bless us oh lord, and these, thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ our lord, amen." We instantly started digging into our food as Carlisle made conversation with our newest crew member. I just sat back and listened while enjoying the food, which I had to admit, was really good.

"I'm sorry to put you on the spot like that Edward, are you a religious man?" Carlisle asked between bits.

Jasper leaned over to Edward and whispered, "You don't have to answer, but just know that not all of us are, actually most of us here aren't. After so long in this service, sometimes you question things…" I watched him nod his head towards Jazz in understanding as he answered Carlisle.

"Um, not so much. Used to be when I was younger, things changed. Family holidays I still say grace to appease my family, but that's about it…" I found myself nodding my head along to what he said. I could definitely relate to his hesitance.

"So…." Jake interrupted. He was always good at that. "Spill the beans. Girlfriend? Kids? Do you drink? Smoke? How about some things about you we could use."

Edward let out a low chuckle and answered all his questions adequately, "No girlfriend, wife or kids. I don't smoke, I drink on occasion. I like a good game of pool and I suck at video games."

Everyone let out a chuckle. "Well, you're much like Bella then…" Mike said between mouthfuls, "She sucks at video games too..." The guys let out a laugh as I scowled in their directions. "What about taste in music, movies and such..?"

"I like a little of everything. Whatever catches my attention, I'm not too picky." The rest of the meal passed in pleasant conversation. Most of which was spent quizzing Edward about his likes and dislikes. I was thoroughly blocking them out but I happened to catch my name in a conversation.

"…yeah Bella included, we all go." Jasper said. I looked over at him trying to figure out what they were talking about, but I was utterly lost.

"Wait, what?" Jasper looked up at me and smiled.

"We were just talking about drinks at Marty's this Friday. You are going right?"

I nodded my head. "Of course, do you really think Alice and Rose would let me not go?" I asked sourly.

He nodded his head smiling. "True enough. So far me, Em, Rose, Alice, Edward, Peter and Char are the ones going."

"Who's watching Danielle, Emily and Joshua?" Danielle and Emily were Rose and Emmett's beautiful little girls and Joshua was Alice and Jasper's first little boy. As far as I knew they were still trying for number two.

"I offered." I heard Jake pipe up. It was weird. We still didn't talk to each other like we used to after he left me for her. I wasn't harboring feelings for him, far from it, but it just made it seem more real, more like my horrible fucked up life wasn't enough for anyone. I wasn't enough to keep her here so I wasn't enough to keep any guy here either. I shot an incredulous look his way. "What? Leah is going to pop any day now and we both need to know what to expect. What better way than to babysit these rug rats. It's good practice."

I laughed. "Don't say I didn't warn you." I had babysat those kids before. We usually take turns different Friday nights so we all have a chance for an actual adult night off. Danielle was going to be heartbreaker much like her mom. And Emily, she was going to be a handful of trouble because she was just like her dad. Joshua was the quietest little boy I had ever met. He looked much like Alice but had Jaspers quiet exterior completely. I got up from the table to take my plate into the kitchen. The least I could do was start on dishes.

I started the hot water and started soaking the plates. Jake walked up next to me and set down his plate. "You know, you should have the probie doing dishes."

"No Jake, he cooked. Someone else should do the dishes. Just because he is the newbie doesn't mean he should be treated like a lap dog. If I remember correctly, we were all very lax on you when you were a probie, so why are you being so hard on him?"

"I don't know if I like him yet…" I shook my head and started washing the dishes.

"Why?" I finally asked out of curiosity. "From what I saw earlier, you looked like you worked well together."

"Yeah but….I just don't like…." He paused for a second and looked around making sure we weren't being overheard. "…I don't like the way he looks at you."

I turned and looked at him with a mixture of shock and anger cursing through me. I dropped the plate in the sink and looked him dead in the eye. "What does it matter if he looks at me Jake? What does it matter if he finds me attractive or not? That is none of your concern. That ship sailed the second you went after Leah. It's not his fault that there is unwelcome history between us and it's not your place to stand up for me. I can take care of myself, always have."

Jacob just stood there stock still for a second before the torrid of emotions crossed his face and he spoke. "Oh my god…..you like him don't you?"

"What, no…" I quickly turned back to the sink desperately trying to hide the hideous traitor blush creeping up my cheeks.

"Yes, you do. You defended him and now you're turning all red. Unbelievable Bella. And here I thought you were 'never going to date a firefighter again'." He used the air quotes and everything just to annoy the hell out of me. "I mean, that's what you said to me when we broke up. What's so special about him?"

I squared my shoulders and turned to him. I couldn't believe I was defending my feelings to Jacob when I haven't even figured them out completely for myself yet. "For one thing, he isn't you, and second, I shouldn't have to defend my life, thoughts and feelings to you Jacob. It is none of your concern who I spend my time with or who I even talk to. Stop lording over my life as if you deserve a place in it."

"Bella….are you okay?" I looked away from Jakes face to see Edward standing there with a couple plates in his hands. I was seething mad and being mad at your co-workers is definitely not a good thing especially given the type of work we do. We needed to get along and be able to work well with each other.

"She's fine." Jake practically growled at him.

"I didn't ask you if she was alright, I asked her…" I looked between the two of them and could practically see the fight scene forming in my head.

"Rook, you better just turn around and walk out. This is really not how you want your first day to go is it?" Jake was standing next to me with his fists clenched and I was done with it.

"Jacob!" I yelled at him. "Back up off this power trip you are on. There will be no fighting today, understand? He was just concerned because he heard raised voices I am sure. Why don't you go wash the one and three quarter inch line we used today? Keep yourself busy." I knew assigning him that task was going to cause problems. Jake seemed to think now that we had a probie all the mundane 'bitch work' would go to him. Well, Jake pissed me off. He can do it. Jacob stomped off muttering under his breath. Edward shot him a harsh look before he walked over to me.

"I'll do the dishes." He offered. I shook my head and went back to washing. "Well at least let me dry." He picked up a towel and stood beside me. We worked in comfortable silence for a few minutes before he spoke again. "So, are you really okay? I was trying not to ease drop but you guys were getting kind of loud."

"Yeah, I am fine. Jacob just has some territorial issues regarding me and well, let's just say you're the new dog next to the hydrant, make sense?" He chuckled.

"I mean this in the nicest way possible, but did you just refer to yourself as a hydrant?" I looked at him a little stunned. "I said I tried not to eavesdrop, but you guys were loud." I nodded my head and looked away from him. This was not the conversation I wanted to be having right now. "So…uh…I take it you guys dated?"

I nodded my head. If I didn't tell him the true story now then he would probably just hear some fucked up fake version by one of the other guys; they never could get their stories straight. "Yeah, briefly when he was a probie. It lasted about four months until he came to me one night claiming he found the woman of his dreams, Leah. They got married a few months later, and like you heard earlier, they're expecting their first child."

"So…I assume you still like him?" He asked cautiously.

I shook my head."Absolutely not. I wish I hadn't dated him actually. It really ruined our working relationship. I told him I would never date another firefighter after that." I glanced at Edward and saw his face fall a little. "It just ruins things for everybody all around. Things haven't been the same around here since. Jacob kind of started getting all territorial with me and that was what the argument just now was. I hate his possessiveness. But, if someday that one right guy comes around, come hell or high water, I won't care if he is a firefighter too."

Edward was quiet after that little conversation and I felt like I laid too much of me out on the line. I folded back in on myself and ignored the feeling in my stomach. I couldn't afford to be hurt again. I have been hurt too many times in the past to just lay it all on the line. We finished the dishes before too long and went our separate ways. Edward went around the place trying to memorize his surroundings and get use to his new station. I went downstairs to my room to just read. I ended up falling asleep sometime later.

I knew I was dreaming the second the image flickered into life. I looked around me and I could see fire licking up around me. But it wasn't hot; it was as cold as ice. Other then the vivid fire the only other thing I could see was Edward. He was standing right next to me holding out his hand. He was fully geared up in his turnouts and SCBA. I was standing there in civilian clothes. I looked so out of place given my surroundings and the job I held. I knew better then to go into a fire with no equipment. I felt exposed and vulnerable. I could barely hear him over the crackling of the fire, the sirens in the back ground and the beating of my own heart. But the words he said, clear as day, would forever ring in my heart. "Take my hand Isabella; I will always keep you safe."

A/N: Ok, so no need for any 'Firefighting 101' today. But I hope you enjoyed seeing them all connect a little better and seeing what the dynamic would be in the station. Edward and Bella's connection will continue to grow, and you'll get a little insight into what Bella and Edward have each been through. Also, the Hershey Kisses joke was from last chapter, so if you don't recall it please go back and read it. I will be making reference to that again later on. Always, hope you enjoyed it Please click that little button below and let me know. Thanks!