Tales from the Firehouse

The Park Siblings

"Excuse me," she asked, trying to get the attention of a reporter on the scene.

One of the talking heads, someone she vaguely recognized from Granada News but couldn't name, was wrapping a microphone cord around her hand. She looked up at the sound of her voice and said, "I'm sorry, miss, you can't be here."

The arsonist fought the urge to smirk, wondering how many times fire fighters had said the exact same thing to her. "I-I live around here," she said. "I saw the fire. I hope no one was hurt..."

The reporter sighed. "They're saying that maybe a fire fighter was trapped inside. That's all they're saying right now. Please, I'll have to ask you to step back."

She fought the urge to smile at this news, struggling mightily to keep her expression neutral. "Oh Jesus," she managed. "Oh, dear, that is horrible!"

She started to walk away, not getting too close to anyone lest they smell the petrol stink that clung to her like a second skin. She shoved her hands into her pockets, ducking her head and finally releasing the snicker and beaming grin that had been building up since the fire engines had first arrived. She'd done it. A fire fighter had gone down!

Looking over her shoulder, she saw the building was a maelstrom of flame; perhaps she'd gone overboard with this one. Between the first fires, which had been too weak, and this one, she needed to find a middle ground.

It would be fine, though... the next fire would be a masterpiece compared to these three. Snickering again, she turned and hurried away from the scene.

x-0-x

They pulled Hoshi from the rubble at half past six in the morning. His oxygen mask had melted into his skin and his uniform turned a deep charcoal colour. The paramedics loaded him onto a trolley and covered him with a body bag before they removed him from the remains of the building. Jackson passed Jisoo and Lisa, handing each of them a corner of a blanket he'd grabbed from the ambulance. They nodded their understanding and moved a few feet apart.

When the medics carried the stretcher from the building, Jisoo climbed onto the bumper of the engine and lifted her portion of the blanket over her head. Lisa did the same on the bumper of the ladder. The reporters who had by now shown up in full force, were stuck scrambling back and forth in an attempt to get a halfway decent shot around the sudden barricade. Once Hoshi. had been loaded into the ambulance, they dropped the blanket and went back to their duty. The building still wasn't safe.

Lisa watched the ambulance bounce as it rolled over the TV camera cords and other various pieces of equipment the reporters had left lying around, probably trashing them. Several of the talking heads tried to get their stuff out of the way, but the ambo driver wasn't giving them time to clear out. Lisa managed a weak, grim smile and picked up her axe, following Jisoo back into the smoky husk.

x-0-x

Jennie did whatever was needed, since she was there, but she spent most of her time leaning against the doorway of the waiting room and watching the fire coverage on the news. One of the reporters announced that they were bringing the body out, at which point the camera spun back towards the building.

"Oh, what the hell are they thinking?" Jennie muttered. She hated the fact that she was glued to the screen. The reporters were just getting in the way and why? So people like her could sit at home and gawk. She twisted her lips and rubbed the back of her neck, angry at herself.

At that moment, two fire fighters stood on the bumpers of the engines nearest to them. From Lisa's lesson earlier, Jennie saw that one of the big machines was the engine and the other with the big white 'cherry picker' was the ladder. The fire fighters held up a smoke-damaged blanket. She smiled, fighting the urge to applaud. When the blanket was dropped again, the fire fighter that had stepped onto the ladder turned and slipped around the edge of the truck.

Jennie felt her breath catch when she spotted MAN written in reflective tape over the tail of the jacket before the fire fighter disappeared with the rest of the name before she could read it. She whispered, "Lisa," as she clutched her lucky pendant hanging from her necklace. "Thank God, Lisa."

A few minutes later, the reporter back in the studio - the replacement of the one who had been in on the earlier shift - broke in. "We have a little more information to offer you at this time. Apparently, the casualty was a probationary fire fighter, which means he had only recently graduated from the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Academy. The service has revealed no further information."

Jennie had a flash of the blond haired man standing at the stove earlier in the evening, ladling stew into a bowl. He had offered her some; she could practically still hear him say, "You're sure? There's plenty to go around." She could see his short hair, his brown eyes blinking and that nervous mile that she was sure had melted a few hearts all around town. He had been so young looking. She'd seen young people die; it was a fact of life in the hospital and she certainly wasn't that old herself. But he had been so... alive earlier, so vital. Just making stew and joking with the guys. The worst part was she couldn't even remember his name.

"Miss?"

She looked into the dark waiting room, straightening slightly. The speaker had been a young man, probably the same age as the fire fighter, sitting on the couch. He looked concerned. She cleared her throat and said, "Um, yes, sorry, yes?"

"Are you all right? Would... you like me to get a nurse?"

She realized that she was crying, realizing a moment later that she was still wearing her street clothes. "No, that's all right," she said, forcing a smile. "Thank you."

She turned and went back to the nurses' station, resting her hands on the edge of the counter until one of the women there noticed her. "I'm going to go home," she said softly.

"All right, Dr. Kim. Do you want us to give you a call if someone from the fire is sent in?"

"No," she said. "I don't think I'd be the best thing for them right now." She smiled and thanked the nurse before she headed to the elevator.

The corridor branched off right before the elevators, stretching out to either side in short halls. It was a benefit for the more mobile patients, so they could look out the windows. Convalescing patients were walked from their rooms to the windows during their exercises. Even though the view was mostly of a car park and shopping centre across the street, everyone still seemed fond of coming down and looking at the trees. It was also used by nurses who wanted to have their smoke breaks without going all the way to the ground floor.

As she passed, she spotted Jungkook sitting in his wheelchair and staring blankly through the glass. Following his gaze, she saw the weakly rolling black cloud at the other edge of town. She started over, thought better of it and stayed where she was. She wondered if he knew; if he had heard the news. He most likely had; hard to believe he hadn't seen the news broadcast of his friends doing their jobs. She swiftly walked up behind the wounded man, placing a hand on his shoulder in comfort before leaving again.

She pressed the down button on the lift and left the recovering fire fighter to his thoughts.

x-0-x

At the fire house, Lisa headed to the edge of the apparatus bay and turned on the tap. Polly the truck needed to be hosed down and there was no reason why she shouldn't get it done with as soon as possible. Jackson and Fleming were heading for the bosses office where the unfortunate task of calling Hoshi's family would be done. She pulled a couple of sponges from the cabinet and went to find the hose. They still had a little time left on shift, and work to be done before they were relieved.

Jisoo walked over and she automatically handed her a sponge. She took it without comment and turned to look over at the Chief's office.

When she picked up the bucket and carried it over to the truck, Jisoo spoke. "Too young, man. Shit."

She knew she was talking about Hoshi's age. They'd managed to salvage his helmet, the singe-marks contained to the front. She noticed the cross he'd drawn with a marker hadn't been touched and she wanted to take an axe to it. He'd prayed on the way to this fire, the way he did on every call. Fat lot of good it had done. She motioned at the engine. "C'mon. Let's get this done. You want to hang the hose to dry?"

"Sure," she said. She pulled some of the equipment from the truck, setting it aside to be washed. She looked over her shoulder at the office and asked, "Who do y'think they'll put with us?"

She shrugged. "One of the Park's, probably."

"You'd like one of the sisters, huh, Manoban?"

She could tell by the tone of her voice she was kidding, probably expecting a crack back about her preferring to get the Park brother but she shot her a look instead. "Not today, Soo."

She nodded in understanding and sprayed the hose at the side of the truck. A wave of soot and dirt immediately began to cascade down the red flank.Lisa watched the stream for a moment before she shook her head and blinked herself back to reality; dunking her sponge into the bucket and getting to work.

x-0-x

Hoshi's temporary replacement arrived before the shift ended.

Lisa and Jisoo had finished washing the truck and had replaced all of the now-gleaming equipment. The hose was hung up to dry in the hose bed and they were finally taking a few minutes to decompress in the den before signing out. Lisa was seated so that she could see the front of the bay and kicked Jisoo's shin when the other woman arrived. "Look who's here."

"Figured she wouldn't come 'til next shift," Jisoo said.

"Probably just wants to touch base, get her stuff in a locker... save her time getting acclimated."

Jisoo nodded, watching as she walked into the bosses office. Her long blonde hair was in a ponytail that reached only mid-shoulder. She had a set of bunkers over one arm, her helmet tucked under the other. Jisoo raised an eyebrow and said, "Damn. I heard they were the best looking siblings in the service."

"Down, girl," Naomi smiled.

"Hey, you got the doctor yesterday, and Kookie got that paramedic. Can't I call dibs on this one?"

"She's not a turkey drumstick at Christmas dinner, Jisoo."

She scoffed and shrugged. "All right, all right." The blonde had left the office and was carrying her stuff across the bay to the lockers.

The woman spotted them after stowing her gear and headed over, extending her hand with a smile as they left the den ready to leave. "Hi. Roseanne Park. You can call me Rosé."

"Rosé" Lisa said, taking the other woman's hand. "Pleasure to meet you under the circumstances".

Lisa winked at Jisoo, who had managed to control her drooling. "It's nice to meet you," she said shaking her hand.

"Three women in the same station," Rosé smiled, raising an eyebrow. "Whatever will the old boys club think?"

"No worries," Lisa said. "We hardly even think of Jisoo as a man any more."

From her casually slumped position leaning against the wall, Jisoo brought her foot up and kicked her rear.

x-0-x

Lisa tossed her rucksack onto the couch and shrugged out of her fleece. She draped it over the back of her comfy chair as she passed and ran her fingers through her still-wet hair. She'd ended up showering at the station after showing Rosé around, getting all the soot and grime out of her hair, but she had still smelled of smoke when she climbed into her old Nissan at the end of the shift. Stifling a yawn, she stripped down to her underwear, not bothering with pyjamas before collapsing on top of her quilt.

Her next shift was in 48 hours and she planned to spend at least half of that unconscious. Her eyes closed as soon as she hit the pillow, her bed seeming to catch her as she fell into it. Just before sleep claimed her, she thought of how lucky she was to not have anything to do for two whole days.

And that's when it hit her.

She rolled onto her back and muttered a curse as she ran back into the living room. She grabbed her jacket off the back of the chair and turned the pockets inside out. No phone. Her backpack had fallen over and spilled across the couch cushions, saving her the trouble of doing it herself. She finally found her mobile phone at the bottom of the pile. She turned it on and fumbled with her keys until she found her voice mail in box.

No new messages.

She frowned and checked her watch. She and Jennie had made plans to meet at noon. She was thirty minutes late, so why no call? She knew the irony of her being offended, but still couldn't bring herself to ignore it. She kicked herself for not getting Jennie's phone number and went back into the bedroom. As she pulled on a hoodie and found a pair of jeans in her wardrobe. As she buttoned the jeans, she tried to think of the best place to intercept the doctor. Not the hospital; she wouldn't have scheduled a date if she had been on duty.

Unfortunately, that was the only place in Jennie Kim's life that she knew about.

She sat on the edge of the bed, distraught, feeling like she'd missed the opportunity of a lifetime. It was silly... some woman she'd spent a grand total of fifteen minutes with over the course of a single day... who cared? There were other women. Theoretically, anyway, there were other women. She groaned and ran a hand through her hair. The one woman in years who had actually made her feel something, the one woman who had made her excited about the prospect of eating a meal across from someone... and she'd missed it.

She stared at the phone and tapped her thumb against the display screen and was shocked into yelping when it began to vibrate in her hand. She kicked herself for being so jumpy and answered it when Jisoo's mobile phone number appeared on the display. "Jisoo?" she said. "Why... what's up?"

"Hey, Lisa, got a minute?"

"Yeah, course. Where are you?"

"Still at the station. Jackson, he... he wanted me to kind of go through D.O.'s things and... you know..." She trailed off, leaving the unpleasant details to Lisa's imagination. It was a fact of life; D.O. had died and his full time replacement would likely need the locker space. Didn't make the process of cleaning it out any more enjoyable. She cleared her throat and moved on. "Anyway, that nice doctor from last night?" Lisa's heart kicked up a notch. "She stopped by, wanted to know if we could give her your phone number. I wasn't sure and..."

"Yes! She... it's all right, Soo. Is she there now?"

"Yeah, want me to put her on?"

"Yes!"

After a pause, Jennie's voice came over the line. "Lisa?"

"I was just trying to figure out how to get a hold of you!" She paused. She was out of breath, smiling like an idiot, and in danger of making a very big fool out of herself. She cleared her throat and said, "I, uh... thought you were going to call."

"Well, I somehow washed your number in my pocket and after last night, I..." There was a long pause and Lisa thought they'd been disconnected. After a moment, Jennie quietly said, "The woman whose phone I'm borrowing is standing right here smiling REALLY weirdly at me... Um, i-is there some place we can meet?"

Lisa gave her the address of Peter's café and gave her directions. When Jisoo got the phone back he said, "Hey, Lis. Need a chaperone?"

"Good-bye, Jisoo."

"Make sure she doesn't get too handsy?"

"Good-bye, JISOO."

"Will you take some pictures for me if she does get too handsy?"

She snapped the phone shut without bothering to say good-bye again, but she smiled at Jisoo's sense of humor. One five-minute phone call and here she was, revitalized and almost cheerful. She gathered her backpack and headed out the door, hoping to get to the café before Jennie did.

x-0-x

Peter had inherited the café when his father retired, a kindly old man who had lovingly referred to Michael as Peter's "spouse." He seemed to accept them as a couple, but Peter had hinted a few times that it had been a long, tough road. When Peter's father recently decided to pack up and move to Southport, he had been torn between selling the business and keeping it in the family. He'd only handed over the reins after he'd tasted Peter's cappuccinos and personally tested half of Michael's menu.

Lisa sat nervously at the table next to the front door, fiddling with her coffee cup as she watched the pavement. 'How long does it take to get here from the fire house?' she wondered. 'Why would Jennie seek me out just to blow me off?' A few customers passed the threshold of the café, but not so many that Peter couldn't come around the counter and stopped next to her table. "Waiting for someone?"

She smiled nervously.

He gasped and slid into the seat across from her. "Lisa has a girlfriend!" he grinned. "Who is she? How long as this been going on?"

"I met her yesterday."

"Ooh, she moves fast!"

Naomi shrugged and said, "Well, she was the doctor I saw after the first fire..."

He shushed her and moved forward, touching her unburned arm. "Honey, that reminds me... no talk of the fire around Michael. The sirens woke him up last night and we watched the whole horrid thing on the news. He was terrified. Just... so you know. He's fragile right now."

"I didn't know," Lisa said. She glanced towards the kitchen door. "Is he all right?"

"He really likes you. Your job scares him a lot. Me too, for that matter."

"Why don't you guys come over some night for dinner? My treat. I'll soothe his nerves."

"He'd really appreciate that. I would, too." He looked over her shoulder and said, "We'll set it up later, all right?"

"Sure," Lisa said and turned to follow his gaze. Jennie was standing behind her, looking flushed and smiling brightly. She was looking nervously between Lisa and Peter, as if trying to figure out whether to stay or make tracks. "Jennie! Hi! This is..."

Peter shushed her and stood with his arms held out. "This is a man who is just vacating your seat. I'll leave you two ladies alone... unless you'd like something to drink?"

Jennie slid into the seat he'd just vacated and said, "Yes, um... could I have a latte?"

"Normal or decaf sweetie?" He cooed over the petite brunette, much to both women's amusement.

"Decaf would be fantastic, thank you."

He went off behind the counter returning a few minutes later with a streaming cup of coffee in a cup, placing it in front of her. He smiled at Lisa and said, "If you ladies need anything else, let me know." He went around the counter, as far from their booth as he could get. Lisa knew he would do his best not to eavesdrop, but she still dropped her voice a notch.

"I was so relieved when you called."

"I wasn't going to," Jennie said. "I saw everything on the news and I knew you were having..." She swallowed and said, "I just thought that coffee would probably be the furthest thing from your mind today."

Lisa shrugged. "It sort of was. I have to confess, I had forgotten all about it until just before you called. But I'm glad to have the excuse to ignore everything that happened this morning, even for a little while."

Jennie took the hint and nodded her understanding. After a beat, she said, "You look exhausted... are you sure you don't want to reschedule this?"

"You know, it's silly, but... I'm afraid if we call off our first date, it'll curse us."

"First date," Jennie repeated cocking her head with a smile. "Us?"

Lisa looked out the window and smiled nervously. "I really suck at relationship stuff."

"Eh, you get at least a passing grade."

Lisa looked at Jennie's cup and said, "Tell you what... take a drink of your latte." As Jennie picked up her drink and took a long sip, Lisa drank what was left of her cappuccino. "Okay, there. Our date is over. Would you like to walk me home?"

"Are your dates always this short?"

"Only when I'm saving the best for later."

They slid out of the booth after Jennie took another long sip of latte, managing not to burn herself and Lisa reached for her wallet. Peter gave away his eavesdropping and rushed over, waving her off as he transferred the remains of her drink into a takeout cup before handing it back to the blonde. "No, honey. First dates are always free in Peter's Café"

"Thanks, Pete," Lisa said. As Jennie stood, carrying her cardboard cup, Lisa put her hand in the small of the other woman's back, a gesture she'd done once before and was already finding more and more natural. And apparently, she wasn't alone; this time, Jennie didn't tense at all. She guided Jennie out of the café and pointed down the street. "It's just down this way."

"Oh...? My car is right here," Jennie said, indicating a little Fiesta parked at the curb.

"Oh," Lisa said. Her face fell as she saw her romantic idea collapsing around her. "I didn't think about your car."

"It's the thought that counts, I think is the saying," Jennie said. "Look, you just got off shift late; you've got a right to be exhausted. On top of that, it was a hellish shift. We should just try it again later."

"Okay. It's a deal... can I have your mobile number?"

"Oh, right," Jennie said. She pulled her bag around and rummaged around inside. She withdrew a pen and pad and wrote her number down. "This is my mobile and my home number... I don't want another treasure hunt like today."

Lisa nodded. "Yes... and the less exposure you have to Jisoo, the better."

Jennie laughed and said, "Okay. And I washed yours, so..."

Lisa scribbled her home and mobile numbers down as well. As she capped the pen, she looked down at her hands and said, "I'm really glad you went to the trouble to find me today. It's been... a really bad day and..."

"It was entirely a selfish move, trust me," Jennie said softly. She slid her hand across Lisa's shoulder and moved in. She pecked Naomi's cheek and hesitated, obviously debating whether or not to move to the lips. Before she decided, too much time had passed for it to be spontaneous, so she hugged her and stepped back. "Want a ride home?"

"I think I'd better walk off that kiss first," Lisa said, avoiding Jennie's eyes.

Jennie laughed and said, "Okay. When is your next day off?"

"Tomorrow, actually," Lisa said. "Twenty-four on, forty-eight off..."

"Oh, right, right. Well, do you want to..."

"Dinner. Tomorrow."

Jennie laughed. "Well, then! We'll work out the kinks tomorrow then?"

Lisa nodded. "I'll call you."

"You'd better," Jennie said playfully reaching out and briefly running her hand down Lisa's arm.

Lisa watched Jennie climb into her little car, waving at her through the wind shield as she started it. When she'd pulled away from the curb, Lisa turned and caught movement inside Peter's Café out of the corner of her eye. She turned and saw Peter and Michael both in a window booth, smiling at her through the glass. Peter made a heart shape with his fingers and Michael mimicked a heart pounding against his chest.

Lisa gave them another hand gesture, but she only needed to use one finger.

x-0-x

Lisa stretched out on her bed again, this time in a pair of pajama bottoms and a tank top. She threw an arm over her face to block the early afternoon sun, settled in, and hoped for a good, peaceful sleep. At least for a couple of hours... She had Jennie's phone number safely transferred to the pad by her house phone, so she wouldn't accidentally throw it out or lose it when she dug around in her bag.

The only problem was that every time she closed her eyes, she saw Hoshi opening that door, saw the flames engulfing him, heard the screams.

He should have been behind her. She should've been the one to open that door. Letting him lead the way had been a show of faith, a reward for his excellent progress. Instead... instead, she had signed his death certificate. It was just like Jungkook's accident, only...

She opened her eyes, moving her arm and staring up at the ceiling.

It was exactly like Jungkook's accident, except the flames were bigger. She sat up and got out of bed, going into the kitchen, searching until she found one of the street maps she'd stocked up on while studying to be a driver with the service. Unfolding it onto the dining room table, she found the sites of the three fires and covered the distances with her finger and thumb. They were just a few hundred meters from each other.

She sat down, thinking back to Jungkook's accident. He had opened the door and the back draft had knocked him down and burnt him badly. The second fire, less than twelve hours later, had been only a few blocks away... it had been bigger, it had been badder and it had actually killed the fire fighter that was caught in it.

Someone was torching these buildings. Worse, they seemed to be traps set to catch reporting fire fighters off-guard. She stood up so fast she nearly toppled her chair; she had to call Jackson and tell him what she'd learned

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Any mistakes are mine.