Blinded by the Stars - Emergency fanfiction

Chapter One

Sometimes Brice wondered if he had made a horrible mistake. When he'd stop at the store on his way home from the station. He would see something, but he couldn't afford it because he was splitting his paycheck with her. Then when he got home she would be holed up in her room. He would make dinner and she wouldn't come down. He would bring up a plate for her and she wouldn't even acknowledge his presence. He would sigh as he ate alone, disappointed that even his best friend wasn't talking to him.

But that was only sometimes.

Most days he was sure that there was no mistake. He would come home and she would be waiting on the front steps for him. In her hands would be a stack of typed pages. She would hand him a cup of coffee and drag him to the sofa. She would start reading what she'd written and he would smile because it was beautiful and she was beautiful and he loved her to pieces.

That was his only mistake: falling in love with Liesel Hollands.

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It was the day before Christmas eve and Brice was having a really shitty day. It was barely even lunch time and so far he'd gone on seven runs, changed his uniform three times, and lost four victims.

Plus his usual partner Peter Evans (who was at least bearable) was gone. Leaving him working with Jim Cook. The tall sandy haired paramedic despised Brice.

And to top it off it was pouring rain.

All in all, a really shitty day.

Liesel had, apparently, been having a really good day. Or so she'd told him months later. But that's a story for another time.

Brice walked in the the ER with Jim on his heels. Both were thoroughly soaked and shivering, and neither particularly keen to be working together. They had hardly talked to each other all day, other than the necessary "will you pass me the BP cuff," or "his pulse is 60 and thready." There was a certain tension in the air between the two.

Brice was perfectly fine with said tension, as long as he didn't have to speak with Jim. Jim however felt differently. He was a generally very social person, known in the department for his practical jokes and pleasant demeanor. (Brice had bluntly informed him that morning that if he so much as said the words "practical joke" around him he would flip his shit.)

In a futile attempt to make a normal conversation, Jim walked up along side Brice, who gave him a cold sideways glance.

"Might as well go swimming at this point!" He joked with an unenthusiastic half smile.

Brice did not laugh. Instead he repeated his inner mantra again, don't get emotionally attached to anyone. Then he turned to face Jim.

"That's a terrible idea." He deadpanned before turning on his heel and squeaking in his sopping shoes all the way to the nurse's station.

Brice could hear what his partner was muttering under his breath. His inner mantra blasted louder to drown out the names Jim was calling him. DON'T GET EMOTIONALLY ATTACHED TO ANYONE.

Brice thumped the drug box up on the counter, startling Dixie. Jim came a moment later, still obviously sulking that he'd had to be the one to fill in for Peter Evans.

"Hello boys," said Dixie with a brilliant smile.

Jim tried to respond with a greeting but Brice spoke over him.

"We need two bags of saline and one bag of D5W." Dixie was taken aback for a split second before realizing that, of course, this was Brice. He was never friendly. She was moving to grab said supplies when the red phone on the wall began to ring.