𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗬 𝗧𝗪𝗢
"𝖬𝖠𝖫𝖥𝖴𝖭𝖢𝖳𝖨𝖮𝖭"
"𝗕e careful, Buck!" Adrienne shouts.
She nearly crashed into him again on the ice. Buck tried his best not to fall as he made his way over to his girlfriend to help her up. Yet again, they ended up falling on the ice.
The two quickly recovered and separated to recover the missing fingers.
She heard Buck shout, "Found two fingers, Cap. Still looking for the other ones."
Adrienne carefully stepped around to find a finger. She just hoped to find at least one so she wouldn't be empty handed.
"Hey, got the pinkie!" Eddie shouts.
"All right. Three down, one to go," Buck replied.
Spotting drops of blood, Adrienne walks over the a pile of fake snow and digs through it. Eureka! She found one of the fingers, but...
"Now why the heck did I find the middle finger?" Adrienne questioned, lifting the finger.
She looked over her shoulder to find Bobby looking at the ground with a flashlight. The others seemed to notice and decided to make their way over to Bobby.
"Found it," Bobby muttered to himself. He holds up a tiny speck in the air.
"What's that?" Eddie asks.
"A sequin. When your blade runs across one of these, it stops your skates dead in their tracks," Bobby replied. Adrienne drops the finger she found into a red cooler Buck held.
"Wait, one sequin did all of this?" Buck asks.
"A wardrobe malfunction can be the most dangerous part of figure skating."
"So how come you know so much about figure skating?" Chimney asks.
"My partner Heidi Shatsky and I were Twin Cities Junior Pairs Champions three years
running," Bobby replied.
"I always thought you were a hockey player, Cap," Eddie says.
"Who says you can't do both?"
⁂
Finding Adrienne was easy for Andrea. She was exactly where Chadwick told her where she would be. Andrea steps out of her vehicle and grabs the three boxes of cupcakes she kept in the passenger seat.
There was some commotion coming from the loft, so Andrea assumed that's where Adrienne would be. Andrea was disappointed when Adrienne wasn't the first firefighter she saw when she got up the stairs.
"Can we help you?" Eddie asks. Andrea found Eddie to be a little attractive. She cleared her throat, pushing away the thoughts growing in her mind.
"I'm looking for Firefighter Strickland. Adrienne? Is she here?" Andrea asks. As if on cue, Adrienne walked up the stairs. She was slightly surprised and confused by Andrea's sudden appearance.
"I think I recognize you," Adrienne says with a questioning look.
"You saved me during the tsunami," Andrea replied, smiling, "I couldn't think of another way to thank you but with these."
Adrienne looked down at the label of the box. It was from one of the most well known and expensive bakeries in the world. The rest of the 118 team gathered around to look at the cupcakes.
"There's enough for everyone to have one," Andrea says. She gives the box to Adrienne, who places it on the kitchen counter.
"Thanks, Andrea."
Buck, Eddie, and Chimney already had their mouths stuffed with a cupcake. Chimney licks the frosting off of his fingers.
"Bring these in everyday," Chimney says.
"I'll try my best," Andrea replied. She checks the time on her phone, "Looks like I have to go. It was nice seeing you all."
"I put my number on the box," Andrea whispered to Adrienne. She winked at Eddie, then waved goodbye to the 118. Adrienne looked over her shoulder to find Buck going for seconds. She stopped him just before he could and takes it out of his hands.
"Wait until everyone has one, Buck," Adrienne scolded. The team disbanded themselves around the firehouse and got to work on making sure everything worked right.
⁂
Athena made a surprise visit to the firehouse. The "special guest" Bobby said was going to cook for the team was actually Athena. She needed to keep herself occupied wide the remainder of her suspension.
"I still think it's ridiculous you got suspended for solving a murder. But I might get over that if you keep bringing us food," Chimney says, taking a bite out his food.
"Well, the brisket is my special recipe. You just smoke it low and slow for 14 hours. And then you turn it—," Athena paused after seeing Buck pick up a salt shaker. She sent Buck a death glare, Bobby shook his head, and Adrienne cleared her throat.
Adrienne takes the salt shaker from Buck and puts it back on the table.
"She's been cooking at home too. Every meal's been a feast," Bobby says. It also helped that Athena offered to watch Estelle for Adrienne and Buck. The little 1 year old would always come home with a new outfit.
"Have you ever considered being suspended forever?" Eddie asks. Adrienne pretended to be hurt while Bobby just glared at him.
"Not that you two's cooking isn't good," He continued.
"Well, I like all three of your food equally," Buck says.
"Oh, I'm not liking it. I'm loving it," Hen said as she cuts into a piece of meat, "So when I go back for seconds, y'all better watch your fingers."
Her cellphone rang, and Hen fishes her phone out of her pocket to answer it. Few words were spoken before she gets up and leaves.
"What was that about?" Buck whispered to Adrienne.
"I don't know," Adrienne replied.
⁂
"Hi, Jerome. Are you having any trouble breathing?" Hen asked. The 118 were responding to a scene where a robot had gone wrong. Adrienne, Hen, and Chimney crouched down to the man's level. Metal shelves were stacked on his body.
"No," Jerome groaned.
"Obvious crush injuries. Don't know the condition of his extremities under there," Chimney says, examining Jerome's trapped limbs. Jerome went on a rant about wanting to use the bathroom.
Adrienne watched as Buck went over to the robot and smelt it. His face turned to Jerome in slight disgust.
"Uh, did... did you pee on this before it crashed?" Buck asks.
"Why would you do that?" Eddie asks, his voice sounding as if he was scolding him. Apparently Shane, their supervisor, restricted their bathroom use. One the employees were more than happy to show Bobby where Shane was amongst the crowd.
"Cap, heart's racing, blood pressure's a little low and not a lot of blood. I'm gonna start a line," Adrienne says.
"It could be something severed underneath but currently compressed," Hen added, getting some supplies for ready. She hands some off to Chimney, "Ready for either extremity."
Bobby instructed Eddie and Buck to join him in lifting the shelves. Adrienne took charge of getting the gurney. Chimney was going to take over working on on Jerome for Adrienne.
She came to back the sound of clapping and cheers.
⁂
Hen was driving with Chimney in the passenger seat while Adrienne tended to Jerome. Talking to Jerome would keep him alive, and if there's one thing Adrienne knew how to do best, it's knowing how to keep someone talking.
"Maybe they'll put a catheter in me at the hospital," Jerome says, "and then I'll be able to go to the bathroom any time I damn well please."
Adrienne chuckled a bit, "Jerome is joking about wanting a catheter, Hen. I think he may have a head injury."
"Tell him to hold on," Hen replied.
"We're almost there, buddy," Chimney says, looking over his shoulder.
Suddenly, Adrienne felt her head being smacked against the back of the ambulance. The force was enough to knock her out for just a few moments. Adrienne opened her eyes to Eddie and Bobby checking on her.
"She's responding," Eddie says. Adrienne rubs her head and groans. She felt a sharp pain in her hand. Adrienne looked down at her hand and saw blood seeping from her palm.
"Shit," She mumbled.
"That cut seems deep. We'll get you transported so you can get some stitches," Bobby says.
"What's happened?" Adrienne asks.
"There was an accident. You hit your head and cut your hand," Bobby replied, "We're getting you to a hospital soon."
"No, Bobby, I'm fine."
"You are not, okay? We're taking you."
⁂
A few stitches later, Adrienne was checking herself out of the hospital. Bobby had to force Adrienne to go to the hospital. Buck waited for her at the hospital entrance.
"You okay?" Buck asks, walking up to her. Adrienne lifts up her hand so he could see the small stitch on her hand.
"I guess I hit my head a little hard. There's a bruise back there, I can tell," Adrienne explained, "And I just needed a stitch. I cut my hand."
Buck sighed in relief. At least nothing too bad happened to Adrienne. Adrienne waited until they were alone in the car to continue with the conversation. She told him about the unnecessary tests they ran on her.
"They checked if I was pregnant," Adrienne sighed. Buck was about the turn on the car and drive when Adrienne blurted it out.
"Are you...?"
"I'm not pregnant. Trust me, Buck," Adrienne replied. Although they want it, Adrienne and Buck knew that now wasn't the time to start giving Estelle a sibling. Maybe in another year or two.
Or after they become Mr. & Mrs. Buckley.