Broken

SCBA

A short hearty burst of laughter interrupted his journey to the water bottle sitting peacefully on the counter of the kitchen.

"Hey Webb,didn't know you were taking a shower,should have told me I would have brought you a towel." Danny laughed,grinning like the idiot everyone thought he was.

Danny Roberts was an impossible man. Just slightly shorter than Paxton,he was built with lean muscle almost appearing skinny and had dark black hair and dark skin that made Paxton stand out with light hair and eyes as well as his fair skin.

He was really Paxton's best friend aside from family and they teased, fought, and competed constantly. As they were relatively the same age,Paxton being a year and a half younger,they almost seemed as though they were brothers. Danny worked on the station with Paxton,finishing his probation a year before.

"Shut up,Danny,Cap didn't have you drilling all day did he?" Paxton poked grabbing the bottle and taking large greedy gulps.

"No,'cause I don't need it." He replied cockily as Paxton finished his water and threw the bottle at his partner playfully but hard enough to sting.

"Whatever,Hot-shot,have fun on Laterine duty."

"What?" He objected sprinting to the cork board where all chores were posted,practically knocking over the table in the process,scrunching his nose at the horror. "But...how?" He wondered.

"Hard work pays off,towel boy." Paxton teased cockily striding out of the room with a victory grin like he just won a mini lottery. C-Shift was supposed to arrive within the next hour so all chores had to be done before then,the end of their shift.

Before the young fireman had time to fully enjoy his victory, the alarm sounded and muffled padding of boots sounded down the narrow hallway to the bay. The dispatcher announced a "fallen person" call and they responded,only to be turned away halfway to the location.

Responding to the call and returning back to the engine took about twenty-five minutes by then the first early men of C-Shift began to arrive. B-Shift finished their chores and ate breakfast leaving after the rest of the crew arrived soon Danny,Paxton,and the other men of B-shift were on their way home.

Upon his arrival at the scene of his small two-story house that he rented from an elderly couple who lived a state away,he sat in his car for a few moments giving his tired muscles a time to relax before the ambush he was certain would occur.

Stepping out of the car traveling to the front door,he swung it open instant sounds of joy and excitement filling his ear drums. Ambush? Yes. Almost as fast as the sounds had traveled eight small feet could be heard skittering over the hard wood in an excited manner,bodies hitting Paxton's at their full intensity.

Paxton pretended to be knocked to the ground and yelled "you got me" laughing as two small boys and a dog attacked him with small lick,kisses,and hands.

"Daddy!" Tyson and Jonah squealed in glee squishing his cheeks together to look like a fish,difficult to do with the sharp cheekbones and skeletal facial structure. The dog just barked loudly as if he wanted in too.

If there was anything Paxton loved more than being a firefighter it was his family. Never having one of his own,he created his own. He met his wife Kelly while he was in the army. She was an army nurse and he met her after falling out of the back of a jeep overseas. He had broken his collarbone and received a concussion but always said it was worth it for meeting the love of his life.