❝ melisa becomes a firefighter at house fifty-one, finding her second family ❞
𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐠𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞
𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 ━ 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫
𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐱 𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩, 𝐨𝐜
𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝; 𝟏.𝟒.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑
𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝;...
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MELISA WALKED up to Boden's office, greeting Connie on her way there. She shook her boss' hand. "Welcome back, Bishop."
"Thank you, sir."
Boden gestured to her to go into his office, and he closed the door. "How have you been doing?"
Melisa smiled, but it wasn't reaching her eyes. "I'm good, Chief. Ready to come back."
Boden didn't seem all that convinced by this. "Are you sure? It's okay if you want to take more time off. See a grief counselor, perhaps."
She shook her head. "There's no need for that, Chief. I just want to get back to work. The last six weeks have been boring." Melisa let out a slight chuckle, as did Boden.
"Well, if you're sure."
"I am," Melisa nodded. "Thanks, Chief." He gave her a nod before she walked out of his office. As she made her way to the common room area, Melisa was approached by a blonde.
"Hi, I'm Sylvie Brett," the blonde smiled at Melisa. She held out her hand. "I've heard so much about you already."
Melisa shook her hand. She immediately noticed the similarities between her and Shay. "You must be the new paramedic. Melisa Bishop."
Just then, the alarm went off, and they had to rush out. Melisa had missed the feeling— especially the feeling she got when they rushed to the scene.
They got out and assessed the scene. A car had driven off the road and wasn't too far up from the water. The vehicle had a trailer behind it, and a man was stuck underneath it.
The woman started calling out for help as soon as she saw them. And she explained what happened. She left the car on drive. Casey had to pull the woman back, and that was when they found out her daughter was in the car.
Boden assured the girl that they were going to get her out. Kelly gave out orders, and then they got to it. Melissa put her jacket on the man for protection. They secured the car and cut the trailer so it wasn't attached to the vehicle anymore.
They removed the trailer, and the paramedics attended to the man. He was injured. The firefighters had to carry him to the gurney.
"Elena, we're coming down to get you!" Kelly told the girl. He and Newhouse went down. "Okay, Elena, I know you're scared, but I need you to trust me, okay?"
The girl nodded. "Okay." Newhouse turned the car off.
"Slowly give me your right arm." Elena followed his instructions. "That's good, real good. Okay, work your way up. You're doing great." She stood carefully. "I want you to lunge into my arms, okay? One, two, three." The girl jumped out, and Kelly caught her.
The other firefighters pulled Kelly up, and Elena was back to her mom.
꧁ ꧂
"HEY," Kelly walked up to Melisa the next day. She was drinking her coffee.
Melisa smiled when she saw him. The two hadn't really talked since before Shay died. "Hi. How are you?"
"I'm fine," Kelly smiled. The two hugged each other. "I missed you."
"I missed you too."
They pulled away just as Casey walked up to them. He looked very happy for some reason. Kelly understood what could have caused this. "What's up?" Melisa asked her lieutenant.
Casey's smile brightened. "Me and Dawson are officially engaged."
Melisa and Kelly had the same reaction to the news. Both almost gasped when he first said it, and then they congratulated him.
"We're trying to keep it on the QT till her transfer comes through."
"We won't say a word," Kelly told him.
"Thanks."
꧁ ꧂
ANOTHER THING Melisa had missed when she was away was Molly's. She loved working the bar and serving drinks. She walked up to a red-headed woman who was sitting alone.
Melisa didn't recognize her. "Hey, can I get you anything?"
"Any beer is fine." The woman smiled. She seemed friendly.
"Coming right up." Melisa went and grabbed a beer and gave it to the woman. She smiled at her before turning away.
The woman spoke before she could. "Hold on."
Melisa looked at her. "Yeah?"
"I hope this isn't too much to ask, but I'm new to Chicago, and you seem friendly enough. Do you think you could show me around some time, maybe?"
Melisa stepped closer to the woman, and she thought this over. "You're new in town?"
The woman nodded. "I moved here a few days ago for a job. I haven't seen you here before."
Melisa was a little hesitant to share personal details with this stranger. "I was away for a while. I just came back." She grabbed a piece of paper and pen and wrote her number down. "I'll gladly show you around Chicago."
The woman smiled. "Thank you!" She held out her hand. "Isabelle Stewart."
Melisa shook her hand. "Melisa Bishop." They pulled away. "I gotta get back." She went back to work. Melisa felt weird when she walked away. It was only six weeks ago that she realized she was in love with Shay. She felt like she was betraying her.
