the doorstep surprises
The members of the 118 enter the new year much to their relief. A clean slate waited for them as they wished to leave their troubles in the previous year. The firehouse appeared to be at whole again though dynamics definitely changed merely with Josephine. Her distant behavior trailed behind her into the year. With Buck's return to the 118, it didn't go unnoticed of their straining relationship for a duration. However, Josephine and Buck remained cordial on the job. Neither would jeopardize their jobs. For the most part, she kept more to herself along with the reluctance to join the team for casual hangouts off the clock.
Her relationships at the firehouse weren't the only ones that she kept at bay. Since the argument with Vanessa back in Halloween, neither of them spoken until it came around Christmas to bring gifts for the kids. Josephine couldn't be more content to be working on the holiday than others. She wasn't in the Christmas spirit to bring herself around to be with her relatives that year. But the surprise Christmas meal orchestrated by Athena and Buck warmed everyone's hearts. Her mother Isabel shown up for her youngest daughter. It broke her heart that both of her daughters weren't speaking to each other. Yet, she understood Josephine's choice to stray from the family for some time after being told of the miscarriage when Josephine dropped by at the house and consumed a few glasses of wine.
Now, three months into the new year, Alexis and Josephine were strolling down the courtyard of the mall. They urged for some retail therapy, more so, Alexis exhausted from working shifts at the hospital. Josephine sipped on a strawberry smoothie while listening in to some interesting gossip about the blond's colleagues.
"They were caught in the supply closet?" Josephine asked curiously upon hearing one of several inclusive couples Alexis discovered in the last shift. She twirled the straw in her drink, "Are you sure we aren't talking about plot of a Grey's Anatomy episode?"
Her remark caused Alexis to erupt in giggles, dismissing a hand. "Oh, the relationships on Grey's Anatomy surely parallel at the hospital."
Josephine craned her neck at the blond, "What about you? Any sexual encounters with a hot surgeon, doctor, nurse?"
"Few meaningless hookups." Alexis shrugged before there was a glint in her eyes recalling a significant memory. "Speaking of meaningless hookups, make sure your guy takes all of his things. I found a black hoodie lying around."
"Noted."
She squinted at her. "So, are you going to tell me about this guy?"
The brunette simply shook her head, pursing her lips. "Meaningless hookup, not worth the conversation." She winked as they continued their venture in their retail therapy that afternoon.
"What do you think? Any feedback that I should work on the presentation? Does the pitch make sense?"
Bryan stood nervously in the middle of the living room at his condo in front of Josephine eating her dumplings on the couch. He invited her over that evening to gain another perspective on his presentation for the investors flying in from the UK this week. And in order to get the brunette to agree to come over was offering to buy takeout from their favorite Chinese restaurant with anything that she desired. Without any hesitation, she agreed to the help him out.
Josephine hindered a laugh at the bombarding questions. She placed the chop sticks on the plate and then took a sip of her glass before answering. "You're too much in your head about this. The presentation and pitch are excellent. Those UK investors will love it." She has overlooked almost every presentation that he's done since the beginning of this company. Seeing Bryan become a little antsy over his work isn't new to her.
"You're just being bias, Josie." He snatched his beer from the table to take a swig.
"If I had something to critique your presentation, you'll know I wouldn't hold back to say it." She argued, arching her eyebrow. Bryan's face deflated as he nodded in agreement. "You need to be a little less harsh on yourself. Everything will go well if you believe in yourself."
Bryan sunk into his couch with the beer in his hand. "Shit, I hope so." He flickered his eyes onto Josephine. "Thanks for coming by tonight. As well getting me out of my head."
"Thank you for the food." She sent him an joyful smile, picking up another dumpling. She went for another one to feed the man who happily took a bite.
At the 118 firehouse, the team celebrated Chimney's birthday. However, the birthday man himself wasn't too enthused since Albert's abrupt presence continued to plague his mind. He's known of his half-brother for years, thanks to his stepmother who kept in touch by sending pictures. Unlike his father who seemed to disregard his existence ever since moving back to Korea. Albert might have a blood relation yet to Chimney, he remains a stranger.
Everyone sitting around in the kitchen ate their slice of the birthday cake except Josephine drawn to a phone call with her mother. Isabel was proposing a dinner at this new restaurant to which she had connections for an exclusive opening. They've been spending some quality time like these weekly dinners to enable growth in their relationship.
After accepting to the dinner date idea, Josephine dismissed the call and reported back to the table where Chimney and Eddie sat. She resumed shaving off the frosting of the cake when Bobby discussed about how May and Harry have been dealing with Michael's current health status with his brain cancer. Her lips frowned at the thought and made a mental note to check in with May.
"Well, I think Harry's okay. I'm worried about May. She's got a better understanding of what's going on."
Chimney interjected, letting out a deep sigh. "That's 'cause older siblings don't have the luxury of blissful ignorance. They understand the truth even if they don't want to."
Sitting at the counter, Buck turned his head. "Guessing it's not going too well with Albert."
All eyes darted at Chimney in confusion of the mentioned name. This only caused him to sigh even more, now prompted to entail the whole team of his estranged younger brother.
"Maddie told you?" He presumed.
Buck grimaced, "Ooh, sorry. Was she not supposed to?"
"Who's Albert?" Josephine quipped merely intrigued like the others eager to hear.
"He's my younger half-brother from Korea. He showed up on my doorstep. Not quite the birthday surprise I was expecting."
Eddie cheered, "That's awesome. I didn't know you had a kid brother."
"Yeah, when do we get to meet him?" Bobby questioned.
Chimney delayed conjuring an answer, "Well, that doesn't really seem necessary. He's gonna be leaving soon anyways. My dad insisted on it." He excused.
"Come on, you finally have a chance to get to know your brother." Buck exclaimed.
"I don't know it just feels weird to me." Chimney truthfully shared. "Sure, we share some of the same DNA, but he's still practically a stranger to me."
Shaking her head, Hen rose from her seat carrying a stack of papers in her hand. "I keep telling you. Family comes to us in different ways, Chim." She patted his back and then handed out papers to the trio before coming around to Buck and Bobby. "Lean in. And don't think you're gonna send him home without meeting all of us. I know you."
"Uh, what is this?"
Bobby cocked his brow, reading aloud. ""Talking points regarding Henrietta and Karen"?"
"Social services are vetting Karen and me to become foster parents. We listed each and every one of you as references so when they call, I need you all to sing our praises." Hen explained to them.
Eddie stifled a chuckle, "You mean these specific 26 praises?"
A laugh slipped out of the paramedic's lips, "Karen made the list. She's very thorough."
"Hen, we know you." Bobby declared, looking up at her. "We don't need some piece of paper to remind us of your many wonderful qualities."
Josephine nodded in agreement, "Yeah, you and Karen are great parents."
"I appreciate the reassurance but I'd rather you didn't improvise. The stakes are very high."
Buck furrowed at one of the printed statements, "I didn't know you played a musical instrument."
Hen took a moment to answer, "Mm-hmm, Bassoon. First chair. And I was damn good. Memorize people!" She encouraged them before retreating to her table.
"What's a bassoon?"
"I don't...I don't...I don't know what came over me. I...look, he said he was gonna take my house a-and I just lost it."
The man leading the team who was clearly in a state of shock of his poor actions told them. This one they all can concur for running over a bank mortgage representative with his tractor. Surely, the first responders have ran into cases when civilians' brains "seize the day" to result in life threatening consequences for others affected.
Soon, the brutal sight of the victim appeared to the firefighters. Hen, Eddie, and Chimney raced to the man screaming in immense pain underneath the tractor. While Bobby, Josephine, and Buck stood to the side ready to assist them to transport after checking the man's current state.
"Sir, can you hear me?" Chimney called out, landing besides the victim.
He grunted, trying to keep his breath steady. "Yeah."
"Can you tell me your name?"
"Harrison."
Chimney glanced up at Bobby after pressing his fingers against the man's throat. "Pulse is strong. It's rapid." He declared.
"Starting a line. Running it wide open." Hen announced, taping it onto his hand.
Eddie chimed in, "Collar and the O2."
Meanwhile, Bobby called into his radio for an LAPD unit to be sent to their location at Saddle Peak Drive. He casted down to the group working on the man. "Chim, can you see if he's impaled under there?" He inquired, instantly navigating a way to transfer the man out under the tractor safely.
"Can't tell yet, Cap." He frowned due to the dirt and tractor forbidding a visual.
"Okay, we need to get this thing off of him."
"I've got this, Cap."
Josephine volunteered to take the wheel of the tractor. She gingerly lifted the vehicle to relieve Harrison enough for the team to pry it up. Given the exceptional space, they whisked him away as screams left his mouth.
"Cap, I'm feeling something here. We gotta turn him." Chimney told their Fire Captain.
Bobby questioned, "How's his spine?"
"Lower extremities appear to be moving." Eddie answered.
Hen added on, "Upper extremities too. Collar's in place. Pupils are good."
"Let's flip him. One, two, three." Chimney counted down as the team responded in sync moving the man on his stomach.
They were now faced with Harrison's internal organs that surfaced out of his back due to the tractor toppling over him. Chimney, Hen, and Eddie worked to prevent a hemorrhage by keeping Harrison on his side while cleaning and using doses of morphine. Eventually, they were able to transport him onto the backboard and safely into the ambulance as the man who caused this horrid ordeal had been arrested once officers arrived.
When the ladder truck rolled into the firehouse, Josephine escaped the vehicle to discover a young man standing around the apparatus floor to her amusement. Although, it didn't take her long to piece that it might be Chimney's younger brother. As soon as his eyes locked onto hers, a warm grin tugged on his mouth as they met each other halfway.
"Hi, I-I'm Albert. Chimney's brother from Korea."
Josephine smiled back, accepting his extended hand. "Yeah, I've figured. We were just talking about you earlier." She replied. "My name is Josephine but call me Josie. I work with your brother."
"Sorry for coming unannounced but I was curious to see the place he works at. I've never been to a firehouse before." He shamelessly expressed.
A small laugh left her lips, "It's no problem. Besides, everyone's excited to meet you and this couldn't be better timing."
Incoming footsteps came from behind Josephine. Both Eddie and Buck stood beside her, "And who might this be?" Buck asked.
"Albert, Chimney's brother. It's nice to meet all of you."
Bobby joined the group in a matter of seconds happily to give Albert a tour and join them upstairs to wait on Chimney. For the time being, Albert ended up cooking dinner for the team—let alone teaching Bobby and Josephine how to cook Korean dumplings. The mention of the dish interest the brunette considering her adoration of Chinese dumplings as well. She recalled when Bryan first taught her and making them with him and his mother.
They were all seated at the dining table after setting up the food and plates when Chimney and Hen jumped to the top of the floor.
Chimney clasped his hands together, "Okay guys. Grossest cases to talk about while we eat. We go first." His eyes suddenly recognized his younger brother seated at the end of the table. "Albert."
"Hey, bro." He beamed.
Buck interrupted, suppressing a laugh. "Chim, your...your kid brother is a pistol."
"Half-brother. What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see you. See where you work." Albert told innocently. "Your captain said you're on the way back from the hospital. I, uh, heard you saved a man's life."
"Yeah, we don't really talk about that stuff here. You can't really show up without calling."
Josephine pouted at the man. "Ah, come on. He's no trouble." She proclaimed. "He's been great company."
Buck nodded at the brunette, diverting to the man. "He even had time to give Cap and Josie a tutorial on how to make Korean dumplings." He looked over at Albert for affirmation. "Um, Mandela?"
"Mandu."
"Mandu."
"I grew up watching my mother make them every other day. Best thing is she can freeze them in bulk, pop 'em in a pan, and boom, lunch." Albert fondly recalled.
Bobby grinned, "I'm gonna keep that in mind."
"Even better, I snack on them at ball games."
Eddie paused, shooting a look at him. "Wait, you like baseball?"
"Very much."
"We should go to a game together."
Chimney intervened with a faint smile, "He's probably not gonna be here that long." There was a hint of jealousy growing of how easily Albert captured the likeness of his colleagues.
Hen brushed his remark and moved past him to greet the young man. "Hi. My name's Hen. I'm your brother's long-time bestie."
"It is a pleasure to meet you."
"I'm sure you probably have a lot of questions about your brother." She sat in the seat adjacent to him.
Albert nodded, peering over at Hen while his brother sat far down the table. "Yes, I do. Do you know why they call him Chimney?"
Car doors slammed at the parking of a karaoke bar that evening. Alexis came around to the front of the car, looping her arm with Josephine's. The duo began walking towards the establishment already crowded with people. Members of the 118 minus their Fire Captain were gathering for Chimney's birthday party. Knowing Chimney, a karaoke bar is possibly the best place to host his birthday celebration. Karaoke bars to him are what those who ravish being out in nature.
Josephine invited Alexis to accompany her to which worked out with her schedule at the hospital. She wouldn't be on the graveyard shift much to her delight for once. A fun night out is what she needed as she has envied the brunette a little bit.
Entering further into the bar, the duo managed to spot the team including Albert appearing marveled in the conversation.
Eddie was the first to seek the latter. "I see the hospital finally let you off for the night." He teased Alexis' surprise appearance.
"To not be dressing up in scrubs and scrambling in the ER tonight is a blessing." She mused before greeting the rest of the team with Josephine.
Once they were acquainted and Alexis introduced to Albert, the group decided to start picking out songs for karaoke. Only Hen and Albert were willing to volunteer as partners. They chose one of Hen's favorites: Elton John and Kiki Dee's "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" which ironically is one of Albert's go-to songs.
As soon as they headed for the stage, Josephine, Alexis, Buck, and Eddie resided by the bar. Yet Alexis and Eddie departed to order more drinks for the group leaving Josephine and Buck by themselves.
Buck glanced over at the brunette watching the pair before Hen and Albert performing on stage. His eyes lingered until clearing his throat to speak up. "So, I had a doctor's appointment about my leg." Josephine perked and swiveled her head for him to continue. "Doctor said I-um have a clean bill of health. No more worrying about the screws or blood clots." He elicited a sheepish grin.
Her face softened, "That's amazing news, Buck. I'm happy for you." She told and then snorted. "Especially for that risky rescue on top of the moving firetruck this week."
"Yeah...my doctor pretended not to hear that." He cringed causing Josephine to roll her eyes and shake her head at him.
Their brief conversation came to an end when Eddie and Alexis returned with their drinks just in time for Hen and Albert to hit the stage. When Albert sang into the microphone, he shocked the crowd and received roars of enthusiasm simultaneously. Meanwhile, Chimney and Maddie had arrived as Chimney ranted of his younger brother with the hope to be away from him and bask in the company of his friends for the night. Since to him, everyone seemed to love and are all about Albert. He spoke too soon by the time his eyes loomed over to the stage. Internal dread enveloped as he realized how the night will proceed.
Later into the night, they all moved to the pool table where they spilt into teams while Maddie and Chimney remained in their seats. Considering the number of beers that Chimney had consumed, Maddie had an instinct feeling that something bad was bound to happen. Nobody noticed of his slumped mood since their attention directed to Albert. The group immersed on a conversation about the choices they decided that led them to their paths in life since Albert decided to change his scenery from Korea.
"Listen, everyone has their path. You just do you, Albert." Hen advised in a genuine tone.
His mouth formed into a satisfying grin, "I will. I will do me." His wholesome response earned laughter from the group.
"Yeah, might wanna watch how you phrase that one, buddy." Buck suggested strongly.
"I just need a little of my brother's courage." Albert stated proudly, taking a glimpse of his older brother over his shoulder. "You know, he did not let father dictate his life. He took a stand, got out. Came to America to follow his dreams."
Between the alcohol and the remark, it set off Chimney who spoke up. "There was no stand." He simply said. "I didn't get out. I was left behind."
"Chim." Maddie muttered with concern.
He ignored his girlfriend then proceeded to ramble on. "See, most of my life, all I wanted was for him to see me, to be proud of me, be proud to call me his son, but no matter what I did, I was always invisible. Because you are the only son that he cares about." His face hardened at Albert. "You have all his attention, all his love, and you just walked away from it all, which I guess is easy for you because you've never had to work for it." He spat out.
"No, everybody...everybody loves Albert. This entire table is proof of that." He gestured to the table to which confusion contorted on their faces.
Albert's face faltered, "You do not know what my life was like at home."
"I know you have always had a family, and I have always been trying to piece one together. Well, these people are all that I have. You don't get to take them, too." Chimney exasperated.
"I do not wish to take anything from you, Howard. I'm your brother."
Chimney shook his head in disagreement, "You are not my brother. I had a brother. His name was Kevin. And he died." His eyes welled up at the thought of his late friend. "Do you see, Albert? You didn't come to me because you wanted to be my brother. You came to me because you needed something from me."
Everyone stood there in silence caught off guard by Chimney's sudden infuriation targeted at Albert. The harsh words coming from his older brother hurt the young man who stormed out of the bar. Buck threw his pool cue like Albert onto the table to chase after him not without shooting a glare at Chimney in passing.
The man sunk into his seat as all eyes were on him. "I know, I know. I suck." He exhaled before taking another swig of his beer.
Alexis leaned into Josephine's ear to whisper. "Seems like your gatherings always end in a catastrophe."
Josephine stepped out of the elevator into the hallway of the apartment complex. She strolled down until approaching one of the doors. Her fist raised to send a couple of knocks on the door and waited for an answer. Immediately, feet shuffling on the other side of the door were heard until it burst open.
She didn't waste no time to push herself into the apartment causing the figure to reluctantly pave a way for her. By the time they closed the door behind them, a black hoodie was thrown to their chest which was caught by their quick reflexes.
"Next time, make sure you grab all of your belongings before you leave my place." Josephine crossed her arms upon her chest, darting at him. "Alexis found it lying in the living room. I don't need her playing Sherlock Holmes figuring out who I've been hooking up with these last few months." She huffed.
His eyebrow arched in amusement, clasping his hands with the hoodie. "If you weren't chasing me out of your place so quick then I wouldn't have forgotten it." He challenged, sporting a sly smirk as he advanced to her.
"We had rules, where you almost broke one of them by overstaying your welcome. Plus, you were going to have us late to shift. Shouldn't you be glad that I care?" She tilted her head up at him.
He licked his lips and sigh in defeat, nodding along. "Is that all you came here? To scold me, Josephine?" Watching her inhale sharply out of annoyance caused the man to form a smug grin.
She took a step forward to close the gap between them. "No, Evan. I was hoping if your schedule was free today." She suppressed a mischievous smile while removing the hoodie from his possession to the table behind her.
Her hand slithered its way to the back of his neck.
Buck stared down at her lips before leaning forward. "You're in luck because I am for you." He whispered, sealing with a sloppy kiss.
The hunger of lust for one another quickened by the heated make out session. Buck who had his arms around Josephine's waist went down to scoop underneath her legs to lift her onto the table. He began kissing down her jawline to her neck. Soft moans elicited from her lips as she raced her fingers into his arms.
As soon as Josephine felt his fingers toying with the hem of her shirt, she let out a shaky exhale and gripped onto his wrist. "No, upstairs."
Buck had complied to her demand and carried Josephine upstairs to his bed where they continued to be entangled with each other under the sheets.
-Kind of have mixed feelings about my writing this chapter but I couldn't wait to get to the ending haha. Yes, I may have skipped a few episodes. Since I'm writing another Buck book, I like to change it up because it gets tiring. Hope you like it! Tell me what you think! Don't forget to vote and comment! Stay tuned!-
WRITTEN: 9/30/22
PUBLISHED: 9/30/22