Here's the third story of Lou and the guys. I took some time to use the constructive criticism I got from one reviewer realizing they had an excellent point. I re-read some of the stories I had and instead of the slow build to exploring the guys and not making Lou their 'center' I had I pulled in elements from all those stories to make this one. This won't affect the path I have planned for everyone but I feel will make my 'universe' richer quicker. Thank you for reading and your patience.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTtt
Lou stood on the window balcony of her new apartment she had moved into two weeks ago enjoying the early morning sun. She was lucky and had found an apartment that wasn't too run down but could afford on her budget. She had refused to touch her trust and got this with just her paycheck from the department and savings she had started on her own. She had barely had enough for the couch and bed after buying everything she would need but she loved it. She was finally living like a twenty-something that was just starting out on their own.
She closed her eyes and thought to today she was going to give, yet another, statement about the events that happened on her birthday. Her mother was going to jail for a long time and she never wanted to lay eyes on the woman again, but her laywers were trying everything possible to delay it. "Penny for your thoughts?"
She turned and smiled at her guest. "Gonna cost you more than that."
"Oh is it?" She watched as he crossed the spance of her kitchen and pulled her close. "You stole my jacket." He unzipped it and tilted her chin up toward him and kissed her deeply.
"I was cold." She teased.
"I can see why you're wearing nothing under it." He picked her up by her hips and she wrapped her legs around him. "Let me warm you up."
"You're supposed to be putting out fires not starting them." He laid her on the bed, and she felt his comforting weight above her.
Giving a throaty chuckle. "Oh my sparrow, I can do both." He leaned forward and captured her lips again.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
"Alright Chester B what brings us here?" Johnny looked around the nearly empty bar and grill that the other man had invited him to. The place had opened for the day not too long ago and the staff was getting ready for their daily rush for businessmen taking lunch there. He grimaced at the beer in his mug, the cooler hadn't been on long either so the beer was not quite cool enough and had too much foam on top.
"I don't know if I can come back." He never looked up at his friend who was looking at him with concern in his eyes.
"What do you mean? Last week you told me that Doc Early released you medically and you would get to requal by December or January." He tried to take a sip of his beer but the foam got in the way. The Irishman stayed quiet and just stared at the bar. "Chet, you gotta speak."
"It's not just my lung, Johnny, I just..." He sighed.
"You're in love with Lou." Johnny finished for the man, causing him to finally look at him in shock. "Don't be shocked man, it's not a big secret. I think even Cap knows but decides to ignore it." He sighed. "Why did you pick me to be the one you finally tell this to?"
"Because we're both unlucky in love." His friend raised an eyebrow at him. "Not that, real love. I mean you were engaged to that woman with kids and you were head over heels for her." He took a sip of his beer and grimaced at the temperature. "I don't know when it happened but...God...it's almost stupid. She somehow became my best friend and now I want to know what it's like to wake up with her, everyday."
"I can't help you there." The foam finally had flattened out enough for him to drink from his mug, Chet watched as he downed it quickly heedless of the temperature. "I've been unlucky in real love since I was nineteen." He shut his eyes as if he was trying to shut out the memories that Chet was not privy to. "Will probably never be lucky again, but back to you not coming back. You're a damn good line man, saved all our lives on more than one occasion. We're both almost thirty, do you really want to start at a new station after seven years put in with 51s?" The bartender brought them over two new beers, these ones had less foam thankfully but were still too warm.
Chet looked at the bubbles in his glass before he turned his up much like Johnny had. "I don't know." He got a napkin and wiped the foam from his mustache. "I just wish I knew how she felt about me."
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Hank and Emily were enjoying an empty nest, Hannah was on shift and Danielle was going to spend the night at a friend's and was going there straight after school. "I never thought I would see or hear the day when this house was silent. No crazy music playing, no bickering, no friends of theirs just making themselves at home and eating all my food." Hank said. "While I miss her, it's nice that Lou has a place of her own now and I'm glad no one from the crew needed me today."
"I kinda hate it." Emily admitted. For twenty years their house had the noises of life in it but now it was silent, you could hear the dishwasher in the kitchen running and while the television was on, it was down low and you couldn't discern any words that were being said. They had spent the day just being them, trying to capture what it was like when they were newlyweds but after twenty-two years of marriage, two kids, and being a part of the firefighter family for sixteen years they were used to the noise. If their kids weren't there someone from the crew was, either helping Hank fix something or, more recently, working on their physical therapy with the older man.
He was sitting on the end of the couch while she laid across his lap her head on the armrest. He looked down at her and then around the house again. "Yeah, me too."
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Mike took Rebecca's hand while they walked down the pier, he was glad that they had decided to make today a family day. He smiled as they pushed the stroller that carried a sleeping Louie. He grinned widely as he peak at his wife and could see the bump of his new child under her shirt. "I'm so glad you're spending the day with us." She said as she leaned her head onto her shoulder.
He had made a promise to himself when they were first married, he was going to be a present husband and father. His dad had to work two jobs to upkeep him and his four brothers, he was never a 'bad' dad but he was so busy a simple day like this never happened. His dad had even worked on the day he died, having a massive heart attack at age fifty, he never had a chance to meet Mike's kids. He adjusted his arm from holding her hand to wrapping around her shoulder. It was just after noon and they had already eaten too much cotton candy and rode the little rides they had. He even had won a small teddy bear that he gave his son who was holding tight to it. He wondered what his dad would think of him and what he had become, he kissed the top of his wife's head. "Me too, and I can't wait to do it again."
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Roy reached over and held his wife's hand tightly as the doctor sat across from them, explaining everything. "So, we think it's just benign but I think will be best to go in and complete a hysterectomy, next week."
"But you think it's benign?" Jo asked. "Then why so quickly?" Roy could hear the fear in her voice, it was the same fear he had since she told him that Michaelson was worried about her exam and was wanting follow ups quickly.
"JoAnne, I'm not going to lie. Most tumors like this are fibroid and besides the symptoms it's been causing you pose no long term threat to your health. The size of this one though is quite large, nearly softball size."
"So it could be...cancer?" Roy asked, more fear springing forth with that word.
Michaelson took a deep breath. "From the biopsy it doesn't appear to be but since then it's grown in size and that concerns me." He pulled out a date book. "Tuesday is my surgery day."
"No that won't do." Jo answered causing Roy to snap his head at her. "Roy has work and I'll have the kids."
"Jo work is not the thing to think about today. I will take the whole damn year off to take care of you and the kids." He nearly pleaded. "Let's just get this done so we can know."
"Know what, Roy!?" She nearly shouted. "If I'm going to die of cancer? If I will never get to see the kids grow up? If I will leave you a widower?" He flinched at her words. "When I went to see Michaelson a month ago you want to know what I thought was wrong?" She gave a mirthless laugh. "I thought that, somehow, even with all we do I had gotten pregnant. No period, breast tenderness, and my clothes weren't fitting." Tears in her eyes broke free and rolled down her cheeks. "I know we said we were done with two, but the thought of a new life made me happy and now I know the thing growing inside of me can kill me."
He squeezed her hand. "Jo, I wish I could say something that will make it better but I have nothing." He felt his own tears. "I want you to be ok, I love you so much, please." He got up from his chair and knelt. "I will be with you no matter what, and we will fight." She leaned over and gave him a hug, a sob escaping her lips.
The doctor stayed quiet during this exchange, he was normally on the happy side of medicine, but this had happened more than once in his office. JoAnne broke the hug and took a deep breath. "Tuesday?"
He nodded. "Yes." He wrote her name down and what procedure she was getting done. "Be here by five AM and we will do your surgery by noon, you will spend four days in the hospital then recover at home for the rest of the eight weeks." He stood and walked around his desk. "I will be here for any questions." He handed Roy his card with numbers on it. "The receptionist out front will get all the information she needs to put you on for Tuesday. Jo..." The woman looked up at him. "I promise we are in this together no matter what and I will do everything to ensure you be ok." He left the office quietly knowing that the couple needed a few minutes as she clung to her husband and cried.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
"Mamà stop fussing." Marco said as the woman kept trying to smooth his hair back.
"Niño, you haven't been out on a date in forever, you need to be my handsome boy I know you are." He smiled as she smoothed his clothes and continued to fuss. "Why is that?"
"Why is what?" With English being her second language at times his mother would start in a middle of thought if she couldn't think of the words.
"Why have you not had a woman on your arm in months?" She asked stepping back finally happy with the state of his clothes and hair.
"Because I just hadn't met someone I wanted on my arm in a while." He shrugged his shoulders. "It's been a weird few months with Chet almost dying and everything."
"I will never understand that friendship you have with that man." She said. "He has a smart mouth and needs to be introduced to some manners or soap."
"Mamà! He's a good guy. I don't know everything about him, but he has saved your son's live on more than one occasion." He told her, she never liked it when he would talk about work and how dangerous it was but it was true if it wasn't for Chet Kelly he would not be standing here for her to berate for not having a date in months.
She pursed her lips. "Well, if he is saving your life then he can't be so bad, I guess." She tisked a bit and picked at invisible lint, the doorbell rung. "Isabella is here!"
He sighed, regretting that he had agreed to go out on a blind date that his aunts had chosen for him, literally the only things he knew of the woman was she was twenty-four and her name. The door opened and the regret instantly left. Isabella was gorgeous with long black hair that, big brown eyes and dark skin that looked perfect. She was wearing bright red lipstick and when she smiled it framed her mouth wonderfully. "Marco Lopez?" She said as she held out his hand to shake it.
He took her hand and shook it gently. "Yes and you must be Isabella Nunez."
"I am and I am so glad to meet you." Her hand never left his and they walked out to his New Yorker. "Wow you have kept this up nicely, her hands ran across the apple red paint. Seven point two liter, V8 right?"
His jaw dropped. "Yeah." She smiled at his shock.
"I have five brothers it was either learn cars or, well, there wasn't a second choice." She laughed.
He looked up at the house where his mom was standing on the porch and mouthed 'thank you' to her as he began to pull out. His mom's expression never changed from the smug smile she was wearing.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTt
George Landly knew he shouldn't be working today, he had too much to drink last night and in order to get rid of his hang over he had been drinking small shots throughout the day. The box in front of him blurred as he worked but he had been doing this for nearly twenty years. He could probably do maintenance on one of these outposts with his eyes closed, which was a good thing because he kept drifting off to sleep. He bent and grabbed the tool he needed and clipped the wrong wire. It wouldn't have mattered that he was drunk, numbing his feeling of pain, the explosion and resulting fire was so quick and violent, George Landly was dead before he even realized what he had done. It had been a dry winter and the underbrush and surrounding grass ignited quick catching the nearby young trees and then moving to the larger ones on the ridge. The smoke began to billow and it quickly grew out of control. Residents of the nearby neighborhood came out of their homes to watch as their electric had gone out and they heard the explosion. Everyone assumed help was coming but once it seemed to surround them, people began to run and grab their loved ones, several ran into their homes to call for help and nearly everyone tried to evacuate their spot on the ridge. There was one small access road in and out as it was still new construction and there were plans to widen the road next year. This road, their only way out, was blocked by a several power poles that had fallen across the road from the force of the explosion. This forced them to turn back to the cul-de-sac of homes. Fifty two people were now in an island that was surrounded by fire.
Finally, even as high on the mountain as they were, the sirens of help reached their ears.
Thank you for reading, please let me know if you like, or if you didn't, and I will take any pointer you may have. I really do hope you enjoy their adventures.