Danger Zone (File One of The First Responders Files)

Chapter Eighteen

So I told myself I wouldn't stay up way longer than I should to finish this . . . and then after fluff and goodness I just wrote angst after angst after angst and went . . . screw it, might as well get this over with so I don't have to deal with angst for the next chapter. So . . . have 0.2K shy of 10K words, folks. Worth every bit of sleep I didn't get.

Sylvie meets Chief Radford, Carlos meets his boyfriend's new siblings, Josh introduces Maddie and Eddie to a friend, the 126 gets intruders, Chicago has entered Investigate Mode, Owen makes a call, and Sylvie gets the courage to do something from two of her new colleagues.

Enjoy!

***

Deputy Chief Radford had contacted Sylvie himself to give her options about when she wanted to meet for her evaluation. She had decided the sooner she met with him, the sooner their entire crew could get to work at the 126. The next morning, after the Strands had taken her and Buck to their favorite breakfast diner, she was taken to AFD headquarters for her interview.

Radford had her taken to his office immediately, and Sylvie stepped inside to see the man flipping through a few papers. When he looked up, Sylvie felt herself relaxing, something in Radford's gaze reminding her of a mixture of Herrmann and Voight. "Sylvie Brett," he smiled warmly, standing from his desk. "Welcome to Austin."

"Thank you, sir," Sylvie smiled, shaking his extended hand. "I'm happy for this opportunity."

"I'm glad you accepted it," Radford nodded, gesturing for her to sit. "Though I was under the impression from Firefighter Strand that you would likely prefer to stay in Chicago."

Sylvie flinched. "Recent circumstances changed my mind."

Radford frowned, and Sylvie expected an interrogation before the man finally nodded. "Should you ever decide to tell me what happened, I will be more than willing to listen. You're part of my department now, and the AFD looks after its own."

Sylvie smiled. "That means a lot, sir. Thank you."

"You're welcome for basic human decency," Radford chuckled. There was a knock on the door, and as he sat down, he called, "Come in!"

Sylvie turned in her seat as the door opened, and a pretty brunette woman in a paramedic uniform stepped inside. "Good morning, Chief," she nodded.

"And to you, Captain," Radford nodded back. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," she nodded, walking over.

Sylvie turned to Radford, a little confused. Radford just gave her a smile. "I will be interviewing you for the rank of Paramedic Captain. I did want the opinion of the current Paramedic Captain at the 126, too."

Sylvie's eyes widened, and she looked at the brunette in surprise. "Michelle Blake," she introduced herself with a smile. "It's wonderful to finally meet you, Sylvie."

***

"How long does it take to decide she's perfect for Paramedic Captain?" TK scowled, pacing and checking his watch repeatedly.

"Until the chief decides," Owen deadpanned.

Buck snorted loudly. "I don't think I know of paramedics with ranks in the LAFD, so don't ask me anything."

TK sighed, dropping into a chair. "She deserves it."

"She does," Owen agreed. "But Chief Radford wants to make sure it's ironclad."