Character profile:
Name - Alexa Bliss
Age - 31
Height - 5 feet
Weight - 100 pounds
From - Columbus, Ohio
"Capp, is that woman really as hot as I think? Or am I seeing things?" Blake Gallo asked his colleague.
"She sure is," Capp said, standing and staring at the petite blonde who walking towards the open doors of Firehouse 51.
The two firefighters had been given the tedious task of starting their shift by mopping the floor of the engine bay. The work had now abruptly stopped.
"Please tell me that's the new paramedic," Gallo said.
Capp considered it for a moment. "Well, she's carrying a kit bag, and she's in time for the start of the shift, just about. I'd say she's the new paramedic."
"You should have been a detective," Kelly Severide said dryly as he walked past them. "That floor isn't going to mop itself."
Chastised, the two got back to work, half-heartedly at least. They kept half an eye and both ears on Severide and the new arrival as they approached each other.
"Morning," Severide said, taking first stock of the woman who couldn't be over five feet tall. She looked young, probably one of those people blessed to look younger than her age. She had long blonde hair, although not naturally blonde, with pink colouring at the ends. There were several piercings in each of her ears and a stud in her nose. She was very attractive, not that he needed to window shop when he had a beautiful wife of his own.
"Good morning," the woman said, showing off a gorgeous smile with perfect white teeth. Severide laughed internally, imagining what the single firefighters were going to be like if this was indeed their new paramedic. Some of the married ones would be bad enough.
"Are you joining us today?" he prompted her.
"Yes, sorry. I'm Alexa Bliss. I'm your new paramedic. Who do I report to?"
And she has a name that makes her sound like a stripper. Perfect, Severide thought, somehow not laughing out loud. "I'm Kelly Severide, Lieutenant on Squad 3. You'll want to report to Sylvie Brett. She's your Paramedic in Charge. If you're quick, you'll find her in the locker room. I saw her arrive about five minutes ago." He gave her directions.
"Great, thank you," Alexa said, heading off across the engine bay without further conversation. She noticed a couple of firefighters making a half assed job of mopping the floor while checking her out. It was behaviour she had seen before, and wasn't surprised or bothered by in the least. Firefighters were firefighters.
She followed the directions that Severide had given her and walked into the locker room. There were two women and a man in there. One of the women had paramedic attire on, which helped with identification.
"Sylvie Brett?" Alexa asked politely.
"That's right," Sylvie said with a welcoming smile, getting a first impression of the woman she had only known so far by reading her personnel file. She was qualified and had a good service record. For now she was only a floater, but the permanent spot on Ambulance 61 was there for her to earn after Violet Mikami had moved on.
"I'm Alexa Bliss. I'm your paramedic for the next few shifts. I'm looking forward to working with you."
"Likewise," Sylvie said, meaning it. Ever a hopeful and positive person, she wondered if this might be a new friend coming into her life as well as a work colleague.
"I'm Darren Ritter," said the man who had been in conversation with Sylvie when Alexa walked in.
"Hey," Alexa said with another smile.
The other woman then nodded at Alexa. "Lieutenant Stella Kidd. Welcome. We're a good group of people here. Treat us right, you'll be treated right."
Alexa took that seriously. "Understood." She looked at Sylvie, who was now her boss. "Is there a locker I can use?"
"There's one right here," Sylvie said, motioning to what had once been Mikami's locker. There was now no name on it, and it was empty. That saddened her. She missed Violet a lot.
"Thanks," Alexa said. She went over to the locker, put her bag on the floor and started unloading a few essentials.
"Where are you from?" Kidd asked.
"Ohio. Columbus," Alexa said. "I've lived in Chicago for two years though."
The small talk went on for a few minutes as Alexa sorted her locker out. She then undressed, not caring in the least that Ritter was there, and she didn't know he was gay. Sylvie admired the confidence as much as she admired the body she saw. It did make her a little jealous, though. Alexa was a beautiful woman in ways that in Sylvie's mind she herself didn't come close to. Maybe Alexa was a little on the thin side, but that was seriously reaching for something to criticise.
Joe Cruz walked in, getting the sight of Alexa wearing only her black underwear as his morning greeting.
"Holy... I mean... Uh... Good morning," he floundered.
"Hi. I'm Alexa Bliss," she said, putting on the pants of her paramedic attire.
"Joe Cruz," he said, recovering quickly.
Alexa put on her Fire Department t-shirt then put her hair up into a ponytail. "Nice to meet you. Hey, can someone tell me where to get good coffee around here? I would have been in earlier but I was trying to find somewhere and not having much luck. I'm a hopeless coffee addict." While speaking, she noticed Kidd watching her with something close to disapproval on her face, or so it seemed. Being initially disliked by female colleagues also wasn't new to her, and it bothered her about as much as men ogling her – not at all. As a floater, you had to get used to taking crap from people wherever you went. Floaters were seen as an easy target.
"There's a good family place a few blocks away. I'll show you today when we get a chance," Sylvie said.
"Thanks. First round on me," Alexa said as she put on her fleece jacket.
The firehouse's alerting system went off. "Ambulance 61. Person trapped." It gave an address.
"I nearly got dressed," Alexa said, hurriedly putting her work boots on.
"Nearly," Kidd said.
Alexa didn't bothering reacting to what sounded suspiciously like a dig. She stuffed her bag into her locker, slammed the door and rushed after Sylvie on the way to the ambulance.
Sylvie got behind the wheel, so Alexa jogged around to the passenger side. She had barely gotten in before Sylvie had the ambulance pulling away, lights flashing and siren on.
"Hand me some gloves, please," Sylvie said. "I always have my crew show up ready to work the moment we arrive on scene."
"Yes, I'm used to that anyway," Alexa said pleasantly. "Hand me some gloves, I see what you did there."
Sylvie cringed. "It's too early for jokes that bad."
"I won't make a habit of it," Alexa promised. She pulled a pair of blue nitrile gloves out of the box that was stored between the seats and gave them to Sylvie. Then she took another pair for herself and put them on. "These are medium. I usually wear small. These will do for this call though."
Sylvie smiled as she drove the ambulance through traffic, not surprised that Alexa had small hands, given her height. She herself was only five feet five, but she was considerably taller than her new partner. The phrase good things come in small packages might be appropriate, she thought.
"I've only got medium in the back, but we can grab some small ones when we go to Med," Sylvie said.
"Thanks. I brought a box with me but didn't get the chance to finish unpacking my stuff. So, Sylvie, tell me a bit about yourself. That's not a Chicago accent you've got there."
Sylvie managed to work her hands into the gloves, using her legs to hold the steering wheel straight. It wasn't the best practice, but she was used to doing it. "No, it's not. I'm from Fowlerton, Indiana. Needless to say you've never heard of it. I was raised on a farm out there."
Alexa raised her eyebrows. "Wow. A country girl, huh? I've never been on a farm, much less worked on one. Did you like it?"
"Loved it," Sylvie said, keeping her attention on the traffic around them at all times. "It took me quite some time to get used to city living, but now I love that too. You'll find I'm positive about most things in life."
"Makes sense why you became a paramedic then. I imagine you wanted to have a positive impact on the world?"
Sylvie glanced at her for a second, smiling. "That's exactly right. Obviously my impact is not a big one, but us paramedics do positive things for sure. There's no better feeling than saving a life that would otherwise be lost."
"Got to admit, my reason isn't as noble. I was always interested in medicine, but didn't want to work the ridiculous hours a doctor needs to put in."
The frankness made Sylvie chuckle. "Fair enough. According to your record, you do a good job."
"I do my best. My motivation to choose this as a career was different to yours, but I do take pride in helping people and doing the best I can with my work."
Sylvie decided that this was the moment to ask a question that any floater needed to answer. "So, why haven't you found a permanent position since you moved to Chicago?"
"Haven't found the right place yet," Alexa said openly. "More specifically, I haven't found the right partner. The first guy I got was a creep and a sex pest. I moved on after two shifts. My next partner was a woman who was a good medic, but we were totally different people. We were like oil and water. We both agreed it wasn't going to work, so I moved on again. And the most recent guy I had was a total control freak. He'd tell me to do something on a call, then micromanage and correct me just for the sake of correcting me, when I was doing nothing wrong. So eventually I moved on again. I'm hoping 51 is going to be my home."
That was all well and good from Alexa's side of the story. It left Sylvie wondering if the truth had more to do with Alexa being hard to work with. Time would soon tell. For now, being a positive person, she intended to assume the best until she was shown something negative.
"And what is your first impression today?" she asked.
Alexa considered that. "Good. You seem nice and so did Lieutenant... Severide I think he said his name was? The question mark I've got is Kidd. She gave me the line about treating people right, then stood there judging me, it seemed."
"Stella's a really good person and an excellent lieutenant. She does get wary of floaters though, so you might have to give her a bit of time to warm up to you. It was also hard not to get a bit envious when you undressed."
"Was it?" Alexa asked, portraying innocence perfectly.
You're a good actress, especially at coming across all sugar and spice and all things nice, Sylvie thought, having looked at her in the moment. It reinforced her belief that guys probably fell on their knees for Alexa at a click of her fingers. But Sylvie didn't necessarily appreciate an actress. She liked straightforward people.
Whether the timing was good or bad in terms of the conversation, Sylvie wasn't sure, but pulled the ambulance up out front of the residential address they had been given. It was a bungalow. There was no sign of anyone waiting outside for the ambulance.
"Take the bag," Sylvie instructed, meaning the first responder backpack.
"Got it," Alexa said, and they both got out of the ambulance.
Sylvie led the way up to the house and loudly knocked the door. "Paramedics!" she called out.
"Come in!" a woman shouted in reply.
"Hover back a bit," Sylvie said, motioning her partner back with her hand. The call seemed odd so far, and you never quite knew what you were walking into when that was the case. Pretty much every paramedic ended up in danger at some point while trying to do their job. It had happened to Sylvie several times.
"Got it," Alexa said. The jovial nature from the ambulance were gone now. She, like Sylvie, was all business. That was a check in the positive column for her as far as Sylvie was concerned.
Sylvie opened the front door and stepped into a hallway. She found herself looking at a woman in a wheelchair, who had one leg and was maybe sixty.
"We got a report of a person trapped?" Sylvie said.
"Yes, my son. He's my carer. He's been ill with a fever for a couple of days. He went to the bathroom, didn't come back, now I can't get a response from him and I can't open the door. He must have locked it. I think he's passed out in there. Obviously I can't break the door down. Can you do it? I'm sure he needs help. Please! Hurry!"
The woman had motioned to a door next to her, then backed away to give the paramedics room. Reassured that there wasn't anything suspicious going on, Sylvie led Alexa down the hallway to the door.
"What's your son's name, ma'am?" Sylvie asked.
"Dean. Dean Foden. I'm Darlene Foden."
Sylvie stood by the bathroom door and called out, "Dean? I'm a paramedic. Can you hear me?"
There was no response.
"We're going to have to put the door in," Alexa said.
Sylvie nodded, then looked at Darlene. "Do we have your permission to break the door open?"
"Yes! I just said that. Get in there and help him! Please!"
"We will," Sylvie assured her. Before she could proceed, she had to radio dispatch and ask for authorisation to break the door down, clarifying that she had permission from the home owner.
"Go," she said to Alexa when permission was granted.
Already in position, Alexa gave the door a kick near to the lock. There was a splintering sound, but the door didn't give. Alexa kicked it again, and a split appeared in the door itself. It appeared that the flimsy wooden panelling of the door was going to give before the lock did.
"Hit it again " Sylvie said.
Alexa did, and with a loud crack she kicked a hole clean through the door and her foot got stuck in it. The lock still held firm.
"I've got you," Sylvie said, gently helping Alexa's foot out of the ruined door without letting any of the sharp splinters stick into her ankle.
"Thank you," Alexa said once she was free. "Can you reach through and unlock it?"
"Yes," Sylvie replied, doing exactly that. There was a click from the lock, and finally the door opened.
Sylvie stepped into the bathroom, where Dean was indeed passed out on the floor. She began administering aid to him, directing Alexa on what to do, finding her performance professional and competent. Dean was alive, but needed hospital treatment quickly. She sent Alexa to the ambulance to get the backboard so that they could move him, and explained to Darlene what needed to happen.
"You go ahead," Darlene said. "Get him there as soon as you can. My sister is on her way over here. She'll bring me to the hospital."
Shortly, Sylvie and Alexa had Dean in the ambulance. Alexa rode in the back to continue treating him as best she could, while Sylvie drove through traffic to Chicago Med.
When they arrived at the hospital, Alexa pushed the stretcher into the ER and Sylvie briefed Dr Archer, who had been assigned to Dean Foden. One Dean to another. Once Foden had been lifted from the stretcher to the hospital bed, that was the end of the paramedics' involvement. They left the room, and almost literally bumped into Dr Halstead.
"Oh, hey, Sylvie. Hey, Alexa," he added with surprise. "You're at 51 now?"
"As of today," Alexa confirmed. "How are you, Will?"
"Doing good. You've landed on your feet at 51, and with Sylvie. Make the most of that."
Sylvie appreciated the kind words and smiled. She didn't need to ask if Will and Alexa knew each other. It was obvious that they did.
"I'll do my best," Alexa assured him.
Halstead looked at Sylvie. "Good luck with this one."
"What does that mean?" Sylvie asked with some trepidation.
"Let's just say she's enough to make a good girl go bad."
"Given half a chance," Alexa added, and winked at Sylvie.
A/N: Thank you for checking out this first chapter. What did you make of Alexa so far? And what do you think Halstead meant by his comment?
