𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗘𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧
"𝖬𝖮𝖭𝖲𝖳𝖤𝖱 𝖨𝖭𝖲𝖨𝖣𝖤"
𝗦eeing that same black car parked down the street for the 6th time in a week was enough for Adrienne to take extra measures for security. She warned Carlos that she felt like someone was stalking her, so he made a promise that he would be driving around her apartment building any chance he could get to make sure she was safe.
None of the cameras she had installed two weeks prior were visible, so whoever is watching her would get caught without even noticing it. The only ones who knew about the cameras were Paul and Judd because she trusted them the most.
While running around her apartment making sure everything was okay, a knock came from the front door. Adrienne opens the door to reveal Chadwick on the other side.
"You ready for our date?" Chad asked. Adrienne was confused, she would've remembered if anything important was happening. She scrolled through her phone and found that she had marked today as "date with Chad at 6:45pm."
She already made plans to run some errands for a few hours. Thankfully, her babysitter was currently with Estelle in her bedroom.
"Oh, shoot. I'm so sorry, Chad. It just slipped my mind. Just give a few minutes, okay?" Adrienne replied. Chad nodded and stepped inside of the apartment.
Thanks to her job, Adrienne learned to only take 10 minutes to get ready. She came out wearing a black pantsuit and matching heels.
"Let me just check on Ellie and her babysitter," Adrienne informed. She gave Chadwick a quick kiss, then goes to Estelle's bedroom.
Estelle was fast asleep in her crib and her babysitter was cleaning up. Adrienne returned to the living room to find Chadwick sitting on the couch.
"Let's go," She smiled.
⁂
The two arrived and were seated at a fancy restaurant. Adrienne felt nervous leaving Estelle alone, even with her babysitter, because she felt like her stalker would try to kidnap Estelle. Chadwick caught her glancing over at her phone every chance she got.
"Estelle's fine, Adrienne," Chadwick says.
"I just want to be 100% sure. You know, carried her 10 months, and then birthed her," Adrienne says. She reached for her phone, only for Chadwick to place his hand on top of her's.
"Would one peak make you feel better?" Chadwick asked, to which Adrienne nodded.
Adrienne flips over her phone to check the camera through an app she installed. She was thankful to see that Estelle was fine in her crib, but she couldn't help but still feel like something was wrong. She saw something slither along the wall.
Adrienne started to panic once she got a closer look. It was a snake slithering around Estelle's room.
"Chad, call 911!" Adrienne panicked.
⁂
Adrienne saw the 126 fire truck parked along the sidewalk of her apartment. She practically flew out of Chadwick's car door when she saw Paul walking out with Estelle.
"Oh, my baby!" Adrienne cried. She grabs her daughter from her brother's arms and hugs her tight. Chadwick rushed up behind them.
"Everything okay?" Chad asked.
"It is now," Adrienne replied. Estelle fell asleep in her mother's arms. TK, Mateo, and Marjan pulls out an unconscious body from Adrienne's apartment. It was Estelle's babysitter with multiple bites covering her body.
"Is she...?" Adrienne asked.
"Dead? No, she'll live," Michelle replied. Adrienne made a mental note to visit her in the hospital with a gift basket. The 126 left just a few minutes later after saying their goodbyes.
Adrienne, Estelle, and Chadwick walked into the apartment. Chadwick took a seat on the couch while Adrienne puts Estelle to bed.
"I'm so sorry, Chadwick. I feel like I've ruined everything," Adrienne sighed, returning from Estelle's room, and taking a seat beside him.
"It's fine, Adrienne. Your daughter needed you," Chad replied, "Maybe we could have a do over? How does going to see a movie sound?"
"I like the sound of that," Adrienne sighed. They share a kiss, then Chadwick's phone starts to ring. He breaks away from Adrienne to answer it.
"Alright, I'll be right there," Chad says to the phone. He sighs and turns to Adrienne.
"I have to go," He tells her. Chad took Adrienne's hand and kisses it. Adrienne follows him to the front door.
"Call me when you can?" Adrienne asked.
"You know I will," He replied.
⁂
"Now, that is a fine looking animal," Judd commented.
The 126 team, who were missing Owen at the time, were having a conversation about what they thought were the scariest movies out there. Adrienne agreed on all the Chucky movies because creepy dolls frightened her.
Their conversation was interrupted by Owen walking in with a dog. Adrienne immediately ran over to pet it.
"Everybody, say hello to the newest member of the 126. Buttercup," Owen says. Buttercup started licking and sniffing Adrienne's hands. Paul and Marjan joined her in petting Buttercup.
"Seriously, Dad?" TK questioned.
"What?" Owen replied.
"I begged you my entire life for a dog and you've always said no," TK says.
"We lived in an apartment in a high-rise. Who was gonna walk him?" Owen questions. He explained that the reason why he chose Buttercup was because he was his canine counterpart.
It was sad to hear that the newest addition to the 126 had the same type of lung cancer as Owen. TK didn't seem to take the news well since he walked off.
⁂
The team returned from their latest call to find the kitchen in a mess and a eaten pecan pie eaten into on the floor. Adrienne wasn't too mad at the mess since the culprit is way too cute.
TK wasn't having it though because he kept on referring to Buttercup as "dog" and not by his actual name.
Inside of the sleeping quarters, Marjan, Paul, Mateo, and Adrienne were trying their best to get Buttercup to sleep on their beds with them.
Despite their efforts, Buttercup wouldn't budge. TK was laying down with his covers draped over his body trying to draw out the "noise".
"Can somebody please turn the lights off?" TK asked, "Also you guys are totally embarrassing yourselves."
"TK's right. A good doing don't need no bribe. They just need to come up and feel who the alpha is," Judd says.
"Buttercup, up!" Judd commanded, pointing at an empty spot in his bed. Buttercup surprisingly gets up from the ground and walks past them. He hops on to TK's bed and lays down.
"Get down, boy! Down! Get down!" TK tried to command. He tried to shove Buttercup off of his bed, but when that didn't work, he stormed off.
"Man, you're being a dick to a cancer dog?" Paul scolded, "That is not a good look, bro."
"What's your deal? Why do you hate him—" Adrienne questioned, only to be cut off by TK.
"I don't hate him, okay?" TK replied, stopping just before leaving the room. Paul and Adrienne exchange awkward looks.
"I think he's cynophobic. It's a fear of dogs, usually stemming from a childhood incident or trauma," Mateo explained, "Cesar did an episode about it."
⁂
Adrienne was called into the Captain's office early the next morning. She knew what the conversation was going to be about.
Just a few days after her rescue with the people at the office and in Chicago, Adrienne was contacted by the Captain of the 118, Bobby Nash, to convince her to transfer to his team. She was already considering moving back to California weeks prior and her potential transfer would be the perfect excuse.
When she arrived at the office, she found Owen sorting through papers on his desk. There were two cups of coffee in front of him.
"Long night, Cap?" Adrienne asked.
"Oh, yeah. Had a talk with TK," Owen replied. Adrienne took a seat on one of the cushion chairs. Owen passes a coffee cup to Adrienne.
"Thanks," Adrienne says. She took a sip, and Owen drops her work file in front of her.
"Heard you wanna transfer to the 118 in LA," Owen says. Adrienne took a sip of her coffee.
"It's just a consideration, Cap, I'm still thinking about it. Since, you know, Ellie's father is also a member of the 118," Adrienne replied.
She never told anyone the full story of what happened with her and Estelle's father. The only person who knew was her older brother. Owen looked at her with worry.
"Did something happen between you two? Should I be worried?" Owen asked.
"A week before I found out I was pregnant, he cheated. He's why I left for Chicago," Adrienne replied, "I think I'm ready to go back, but I don't think I'm ready to face him again."
"Well, I'll take this back, and I'll wait for you to give me your approval," Owen says, sliding her file back towards him.
"Thank you, Captain Strand."
"No problem, Adri."
⁂
"Austin Fire and Rescue!"
The 126 marched into the house of a man having a possible cardiac event. Medics were on standby to transport the man. Owen knocked on the door, and a woman calls out for help.
TK uses the battery ram on the door to burst it open. A young boy, who seemed to be no younger than 8 years old, had a gun raised at TK and shoots him. Adrienne catches TK as he falls to the ground.
"Was that a gun shot? TK! TK!" Owen shouts. Adrienne looked up at the scared little boy. She slowly makes her way towards the boy to try and calm him down.
"Hey, buddy. Can I see that?" Adrienne asked. She slipped on some gloves and takes the gun out of his hands. Michelle and her team rushed in the grab the guy.
The woman, who Adrienne assumed to be his grandmother, followed the team outside of the house. Adrienne stuck by the little kid until she came back.
"D-Did I kill him? I'm sorry... I didn't mean too," The boy stuttered.
"I understand, buddy. You were scared," Adrienne replied. Paul and Marjan walked back into the room.
"Adrienne, let's go," Marjan says.
⁂
The 126 waited outside of TK's hospital room while Owen was inside. Adrienne decided to bring Estelle along with her so she could see her Uncle TK.
Marjan passed out cups of coffee to each of the members so they could stay awake for when it's their turn to see him. Chadwick marched into the hospital waiting room.
"Adrienne! Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Adrienne replied.
One thing she knew for sure was that she didn't tell Chadwick that she was currently at the hospital. How did he know that she was here?
"Chadwick, how did you know I was here?" Adrienne asked. She handed off Estelle to Judd and took Chadwick to a more private area so they could talk.
"I was in the area. I saw you and the others rush in here," Chad replied, "Can I take you home, please? I don't like you being here."
"I think I'm going to stay, Chadwick. You should go home," Adrienne says. She grew a little suspicious of him. Adrienne thought back to the black car she kept on seeing.
"Babe, don't be like that. You look tired, let me take you home," Chad says, taking Adrienne by the hand. Adrienne pulls her hand away from him.
"I'm staying. Go home, Chadwick," Adrienne says. Chadwick sighed and leaves Adrienne alone in the hallway. She turned to go back to waiting area, only to find Judd and Paul standing in the middle of the hall way.
"Now, what the hell was that all about?" Paul asked. Adrienne folds her arms and stares at them.
"Have you two been standing there this entire time?" Adrienne asked.
"Maybe we have. Maybe we haven't."
"Oh, you two are ridiculous."
⁂
Adrienne was sitting in her living room scrolling through Instagram posts when she stumbled across a familiar face. It was a post made by her ex-boyfriend about another woman he started dating... or was dating.
She quickly identified the woman as Abby Clark, aka, the woman he cheated on her with. She was apparently going to travel the world and he just wanted to make a post to wish her safe travels.
Adrienne felt a sense of relief after seeing that post. Although he did break her heart, she still loved him because he is Estelle's father. She scrolls through her contacts in her phone and stopped at "Cap. Strand".
Owen was quick to pick up the phone.
"Hey, yeah, sorry for calling you so late," Adrienne says, "But it's important."
"You okay, Adrienne?" Owen asked.
Unbeknownst to her, she was being watched by a man in an all black disguise through her window.
⁂
𝗮/𝗻:
Looks like someone has an admirer...
Only 2 chapters left until act 2!