Sam climbed into her little truck and fired it up, shifting into reverse before shifting again to pull out of the parking lot. This truck had been the first vehicle she had bought and paid for herself, and she loved it as much as anything else in her life.

She was somewhat relieved to get away from the station for a little while. Her last rotation had been so difficult she had considered quitting. But she and her friend Martine had made a pact the moment they met at the fire academy, that neither one of them were going to quit before that first year was up.

They had met their first day of the academy, the only two women in their class. Where Sam had initially done her best to blend in to avoid the inevitable harassment, Martine all but dared those men to mess with her. She took no shit from anyone, and Sam admired that, was even a little jealous.

By the time they graduated and started their rotation, Sam had found a little of that same spirit and had done her best to carry with her. But, God, it had been hard. If the guys weren't outright hostile, then they were trying to hit on her.

Sam loved the work itself. She was really coming to hate what she had to go through to do it.

She didn't dare hope that Station Fifty-One would be much different. So far, so good, she supposed. No one had been outright hostile to her, so that was a start. A couple of the guys had actually been quite friendly.

Especially Chet. He resembled a friendly dog, if Sam was being honest. She had noticed him right away as he had leaned forward as soon as Captain DeSoto had introduced her. And then afterward, as he had rather awkwardly attempted to flirt with her.

She knew she had done the right thing in being clear with him, even as he seemed a bit hurt by her bluntness. Better to be upfront than to lead him on, Sam figured. Most of these guys seemed to take a girl being polite as an invitation, and she had no desire to get involved with anyone she worked with.

Thankfully, Chet seemed to take it well enough, even as he continued trying to make conversation with her. Maybe he was just being friendly and she was just taking it badly. It was hard to tell.

All Sam knew was that most of these guys at the department couldn't be trusted. And that went for the guys of Station Fifty-One until proven otherwise.

She got through the store in fairly quick order, setting the groceries on the belt and waiting as the cashier rang her up. The cashier seemed to regard her with great curiosity. "Are you really with the fire department?" she asked.

"I am." Sam replied, straightening herself up a little bit.

"Good for you, honey." The cashier told her. "You show those men what we girls can do."

Sam managed a slight smile as the young man at the end bagged her groceries. She wasn't out to prove anything. She just wanted to do the job that she had trained hard to do without having to put up with all the indignities that came with it. That wasn't so much to ask, was it?

She set the groceries in the seat next to her and returned to the station, parking and grabbing both bags before heading back toward the station, shifting the bags to open the door, catching it with her hip to enter.

Chet immediately leapt up from the table to meet her. "Let me take one of those."

Sam could hear someone snort derisively from the table. "Look at you, Chester. A regular knight in shining armor." Johnny commented.

"Why don't you go play in traffic, Gage?" Chet shot back.

"And miss you making a fool of yourself?" Johnny answered. "Not a chance."

Sam had to admit she felt a little bad for the guy. "Thanks, Chet. I appreciate the help."

"No problem." Chet muttered, his cheeks growing noticeably redder by the minute.

The tones sounded, the dispatcher calling for the rescue squad, and the two paramedics rose from the table to answer the call. Chet let out a huff. "Thank God. Those two should be out of my hair for a while."

"They seem nice enough."

"Sure, to you." Chet scoffed. "Those two have been tag teaming me for years. Ever since Adam showed up."

"Captain DeSoto did warn me about the little prank war you guys have going."

Chet smiled a little, a spark seeming to light in his eyes. "It passes the time between calls."

Dammit, he was kind of cute now that he had relaxed and wasn't so focused on hitting on her.

"And I'll tell you something else." Chet was still talking. "When you're really up against it, there's no one you'd rather have watching your back than those two. Can't tell you how many times those two have saved my ass…er, butt, hide. Whatever. You know what I mean."

"Must be nice." The words flew out before Sam could stop them.

Chet paused at the refrigerator. The merriment that had been in his eyes moments before was replaced with something else entirely, and Sam immediately regretted her words. The last thing she wanted was sympathy. She had chosen this job, and she was just going to have to develop a thicker skin if she was going to make it here.

"Stop that." Sam told him sharply.

Now Chet looked confused. "Stop what?"

Sam waved a hand. "Looking at me like…that. It's weird."

Chet shrugged as he closed the refrigerator. "If I could apologize on behalf of all the men in the department, I would. You girls deserve better."

"Women." Sam automatically corrected him.

Chet had the grace to look a little embarrassed. "Right, women. You women deserve better. I mean, the way you handled that hose earlier? Not sure you needed me at all."

Sam shrugged. "When you constantly have to prove yourself, you get damn good at what you do."

Chet seemed mildly surprised, his eyebrows shooting straight up. "No modesty there."

"Why should I be modest?" Sam responded bluntly.

"No reason." Chet's expression changed to that damn smile again. "No reason at all. So, what are you making, anyway?"

"Chicken and dumplings." Sam answered. "My grandma's recipe."

Chet looked as if he was going to say something, and Sam already had a suspicion of what it might be.

"Oh, this should be good." Johnny was suddenly beside her, reaching for the coffeepot and scaring her half out of her wits. "Go ahead, Chet. Ask her."

Chet huffed and rolled his eyes. "It's just not what I expected. That's all."

Sam couldn't help but be a little amused at Chet's obvious discomfort. "And why is that?"

"Yeah, Chet." Adam chimed in. "Why is that?"

Chet looked completely exasperated. "See what I mean? Tag team."

Sam didn't know what possessed her to rescue Chet from his self-induced predicament, but she found herself doing it anyway. "My parents are white. They adopted me from South Korea when I was a baby. And my grandma makes a great chicken and dumplings."

Chet visibly relaxed. "Well, anything's bound to be better than whatever it was Adam made last week."

Adam sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. "Give me a fucking break. It was my first time making it."

"Adam." Chet pretended to be scandalized. "Watch your mouth. We have a lady among us."

Adam merely gave Chet a sideways glance. "You have no room to talk."

"I'm working on it." Chet answered defensively, sending Johnny into a fit of laughter that turned into a coughing fit when he choked on his coffee.

"We'll see about that." Adam replied with an amused expression.

Sam just listened as the guys gave each other a hard time as she started the chicken and dumplings until the tones sounded, calling out the rescue squad once again.

Johnny lightly grabbed Sam's shoulder on his way out. "Looking forward to some of that when I get back. Smells good already."

Sam was startled, but Johnny was gone before she could muster a reaction. Chet soon moved so that he was next to her. "Guess I kind of set myself up for that one."

"I guess you did."

"You probably get those questions a lot, huh?"

"All the time." Sam answered as she continued working.

Chet nodded. "Don't suppose you need any help."

"No, I've got everything under control."

"Okay, good." Chet nodded but didn't leave. "Seriously. I'm sorry. I have this bad habit of sticking my foot in my mouth and—"

"It's fine." Sam responded more sharply than she intended.

"Right." Chet finally backed away, leaving Sam alone at the stove. She listened as he and Marco quietly chatted among themselves, with Mike occasionally chiming in.

"Sam, do you have a minute?" Captain DeSoto's voice made Sam turn around.

"Sure."

Sam followed the captain to his office. "Close the door and have a seat." He told her.

She did as directed, sitting down at a chair near his desk, suddenly nervous. "Is anything wrong, Captain?"

Captain DeSoto smiled ever so slightly. "Not at all. You did an exemplary job at that house fire earlier today. I just thought you should know."

"Thank you, sir."

He seemed to wince a little at that. "No need to be so formal, Sam. The guys usually call me Cap, to my face, anyway."

Sam relaxed a little. Captain DeSoto's calm demeanor was a stark contrast to other captains she had worked under, and it put her somewhat at ease.

He gave her a steady look. "Now, are the guys treating you right? If there's any trouble…"

"No, not really." Sam answered. "They've been pretty friendly. Especially Chet."

Captain DeSoto smiled a little more at that. "I suspected he might be. Sometimes a little too friendly."

"Oh, I've already let him know that he's out of luck." Sam asserted.

"Smart move." Captain DeSoto laughed a little at that. "If he, you know, keeps pushing, you just let me know. I won't tolerate that kind of behavior at my station."

That's what all her other captains had said, too. Fat lot of good that had done. "Of course, sir…Cap."

Captain DeSoto nodded. "Now, given any more thought to paramedic training? Adam seemed to think you might be interested."

Sam had asked Adam a few questions as she was helping gather equipment for him and Johnny on the house fire call. Adam seemed more patient in that regard than Johnny, who didn't seem to care for the intrusion. "Maybe. Seems pretty complicated."

"It is, but in a good way." Captain DeSoto answered. "It's a good challenge. And someone as sharp as you should pick it right up. Think about it."

"If you liked it so much, why did you give it up?" Sam asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

Captain DeSoto shrugged. "At the time, I needed the money. I had a young family, and money was always tight. It turned out fine, and I liked being an engineer, but I kind of missed being a paramedic."

"Well, seeing as they barely let women into the department, I don't think I have to worry about being promoted any time soon." Sam laughed bitterly.

"You might be surprised." Captain DeSoto told her. "I have no doubt that within a few years, you'd be right at the top of the promotion list if you wanted to test for it."

"You sure seem to have a lot of plans for me." Sam told him.

"You have a lot of potential, Sam." Captain DeSoto replied with a smile. "The sky's the limit for you."

Sam wished she had half the confidence in herself that Captain DeSoto had in her. "I should probably check on dinner."

"Right." Captain DeSoto nodded.

Sam rose from the chair and returned to the day room, where Chet was stirring the pot. She cleared her throat to get his attention.

Chet turned around, slightly startled. "I was just making sure it didn't burn. Everything okay?"

"Seems to be." Sam answered. "And thanks."

Sam checked on the cooking chicken, and when it was done to her satisfaction, she started putting together the dumpling dough, dropping them into the bubbling stew before setting the lid back on the pot and going to her locker to retrieve her book.

She heard the squad pull in and shut off, followed by Johnny and Adam talking as they climbed out of the squad.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Adam was asking.

"I'll fail." Johnny answered sharply. "I'll fail the exam."

"First of all, no you wouldn't." Adam was arguing. "And second of all, even if you did, so what? At least you'd know."

Johnny turned around just long enough to glare at Adam, before shaking his head and heading into the day room, Adam and Sam not far behind.

Sam took a seat at the table while Johnny and Adam approached the stove. "That smells good." Johnny commented as he went for the lid.

"Leave that alone." Sam spoke more sharply than she intended. "I just put those dumplings in."

Johnny stopped immediately, straightening up and turning back toward Sam with a curious look.

Matter of fact, everyone was looking at her. Sam could feel her face heating up. "Sorry." She murmured.

"Johnny has a wife and a two-year-old." Chet cracked. "He's used to getting yelled at."

Johnny rolled his eyes and reached for the coffeepot as everyone else had a good laugh.

Adam nudged Johnny. "Hey Sam, think maybe you could use that tone to convince Johnny to take the captain's exam?"

"Jesus." Johnny huffed in exasperation. "I'll take the damn thing, okay? But if I fail, don't say I didn't tell you so."

Adam thumped Johnny on the back. "If by some odd chance you fail, you can 'I told you so' all you want. But you're not going to."

Captain DeSoto came in just as Adam was finishing. "That does smell good."

"Just don't touch the lid." Johnny warned him. "Sam will fuss at you."

Adam moved so that Captain DeSoto could get a cup of coffee. "Good news, Cap. Johnny's finally going to get off his ass and take that captain's exam."

Captain DeSoto's whole face seemed to light up. "It's about damn time. Sam, you'd better sign up for paramedic training. There might be an opening here soon."

Johnny turned to scowl at Captain DeSoto. "I haven't even taken it yet and you're already pushing me out the door."

Captain DeSoto seemed to take Johnny's complaint in stride, smacking him on the arm. "Think I might send Sam on a ride-along with you guys next shift, just so she can get an idea of what it's like before she makes a decision."

"Sounds good to me." Adam responded immediately.

Johnny didn't seem nearly so enthusiastic, and looked as if he was about to say something before shrugging instead. "Sure."

Sam rose from the table to check the dumplings, taking off the lid as Johnny leaned over curiously. She fixed him with what she hoped was a glare. "Almost ready."

Johnny smiled a little then, seeming to relax as he leaned against the sink. "Good. And despite what Chet says, my wife does not yell at me. My daughter, on the other hand…well, she's two. She doesn't really, you know, use words yet."

"Your wife is a saint." Chet commented.

"'Course she is." Johnny replied. "She has to be to put up with you twits invading every time we have a poker night."

He turned to Sam. "You're welcome to join us, of course."

"I'll think about it." Sam replied. "Food's ready."

Everyone dished up a bowl and the room was soon silent, save for everyone eating. A good sign, Sam figured.

Chet nudged her. "This is really good."

"Yeah." Johnny chimed in. "I might have to take this one down, if you don't mind."

"Oh boy." Captain DeSoto chuckled.

"What?" Johnny asked. "I'd be the one making it, anyway."

Sam was surprised. "You cook at home?"

"Sure." Johnny shrugged. "My wife's schedule and mine don't always match up, you know. If I'm home and she's not, I do all the house stuff. It's no big deal."

Captain DeSoto shook his head. "Crazy."

"What's crazy about it?" Johnny asked, sounding a little defensive. "We both work. It's only fair that we split all the work at home, too."

"You sure have come a long way, Johnny." Chet told him, rolling his eyes.

Johnny rose from his chair, heading to the stove for seconds. "Guys, I hate to tell you this, but it's the eighties. You've got to get with the program. You think some woman is gonna give up her job to stay at home these days? No way. Right, Sam?"

Sam hated being put on the spot. She swallowed the bite that was in her mouth before answering. "Right. I didn't bust my ass at the academy just to quit and be a housewife."

Chet lightly smacked her shoulder and gestured at Adam. "Hey now, watch your mouth. There's a lady among us."

Adam merely flipped Chet the bird as the others had a good laugh before returning to their meals.

Sam relaxed a little as the others talked among themselves. Maybe this part of her rotation wouldn't be so bad after all.