"You mean to tell me that I fell through a roof, hurt my arm, and nearly died and all you got to do was put out a trash can fire?" I asked.
"Yeah, it was kind of a slow day," K'eon chuckled, but then his face dropped. "And now I've jinxed it."
"Yeah, for those on second watch at your station," I laughed. "Man, where is that damn Dr. Choi with my x-rays? I wanna go back to the firehouse."
"Seriously? You nearly died!"
"And? I'm still on shift."
"You are absolutely unbelievable."
"Have you been home yet? I left a note for you to pick up Boromir from the firehouse."
"Um...no?" K'eon motioned to his uniform. "I gotta go back to the firehouse and return my gear after this. My lieutenant wasn't happy, but he understood it was an emergency. Just don't make a habit out of this."
"Yes, sir," I smirked.
"So, what poor bastard's life was worth risking yours? And please say it was Brian."
"Actually...it was Herrmann."
"The grumpy old guy?" K'eon snapped. "You nearly died for that grumpy old fuck?"
"Yes, and I'd do it again. I don't get to pick and choose who I save, K'eon, I just do my job."
"I know," K'eon angrily sighed. "I hate you've got morals, you know that?" I shrugged one arm in amusement. "That prick better start treating you better at least or I swear I'll—" A gentle knock at the door caused K'eon and I to look up. To my surprise, Herrmann was standing in the doorway, still in his dust covered bunker gear.
"Herrmann," I softly smiled. "How are you?"
"I-I'm good," Herrmann gently nodded.
"Did Boden send you to get evaluated?"
"No, Shay and Dawson evaluated me and said I didn't need any medical assistance." The room fell awkwardly silent.
"Well, I think I'm gonna see what's taking Dr. Choi and Dr. McDreamy so long." Herrmann stepped out of the way and K'eon left the med bay, shutting the door behind him.
"H-How are you?" Herrmann asked.
"I'm okay," I reassured. "Just a cut on my head and a dislocated shoulder. I'm waiting for x-rays to confirm that before they'll pop it back in place." Herrmann removed his helmet and slowly walked over to the side of the bed, sitting down in the chair where K'eon was just moments ago.
"I, uh...I never got to thank you for what you did today."
"Herrmann—"
"No," Herrmann shook his head. "Just—just hear me out, okay?" I gently nodded and Herrmann continued. "I—what I said to you on the roof, that wasn't right. Not one bit of it. But what you said, there was some truth to it. I've had my fair share of experiences with women firefighters, and almost all of them couldn't handle the job and quit or didn't get offered a full time position after their probation period...so I expected the same from you...but you started proving yourself and became the shiny new toy of Ladder 51. I guess you can say I was...jealous. I mean, it took me months to prove myself, but you? You're a natural at this, every single bit of it. Also, look at you. You're young and fit and I'm just...old and, well...I've got a lot of miles on me.
The way I treated you, not just on the roof, but since day one, was absolutely unacceptable and I'm so—" Herrman's voice cracked. "—so sorry. I mean, you were just trying to fit in and do your job, and I treated you like dirt, like you weren't worth anything, and you took it. I can't ever take that back. I'm so sorry, Zahra. I'm so sorry."
"Herrmann, there's nothing to forgive."
"No, there is. I treated you like shit and what do you do? You—" Herrmann sniffled. "You saved my life."
"Hey," I softly smiled. "51 is my home, you're all my family, okay?" I carefully reached my right hand out to him and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "You are my brother. I wasn't about to let my brother die." Herrmann gently nodded and the tears instantly began to roll down his cheeks.
I carefully pulled him into a hug. His quiet sobs muffled into my shirt and all I could do was sit there and hold him. I looked down at Herrmann and all I could think about was how I wished I could have this moment with Jamal. My eyes began to sting, making me realize that I was crying too. Herrmann quickly sat up as a gentle knock filled the room. The sliding door opened and Dr. Choi and Dr. Rhodes entered the room, freezing at the sight of us.
"Oh, uh..." Dr. Rhodes cleared his throat. "Were we interrupting something?"
"No," I softly smiled and wiped the tears from my eyes. "We were just..."
"Making up for lost time," Herrmann smiled.
"Well, we have your x-ray results," Dr. Choi smiled. "It's just an anterior shoulder dislocation."
"That's good...right?"
"It's the most common type of dislocation," I informed. "Should be rather easy to fix as long as there are no other issues."
"Which, amazingly, there isn't," Dr. Choi informed. "You fell how many feet?"
"I don't know, ten feet?"
"Fifteen, max," Herrmann nodded.
"Amazing. With all the weight between both of your gear and body weight, it could've been a lot worse, it should've been."
"Guess I got lucky," I half shrugged.
"Very lucky," Dr. Rhodes nodded. "Next time you feel like pressing your luck, get a lottery ticket."
"I'll be sure to weigh my options the next time Herrmann falls through a roof. Save Herrmann...win a million dollars...tough decisions." Herrmann playfully laughed. Making room for the doctors, Herrmann pushed the chair back against the wall and stood at the foot of the bed, watching as they prepared to pop my arm back in place.
"Do you want anything to take the edge off?" Dr. Choi asked. "I can give you a little fentanyl—"
"No way," I declined. "I take that shit, I won't be able to work."
"You're not gonna be able to work anyways," Dr. Choi informed. "It's an injury that takes a minimum of four weeks to recover. Even after that, you're still going to be possibly prone to re-dislocations."
"And you two must be patients of Dr. Charles' if you think I'm going to be benched for this. I'll take light work restrictions, but I'm not gonna be stuck at home for four weeks with Bless the Rains Down in Africa out there." I motioned towards the door. Everyone turned to look and saw that K'eon was dancing to Africa at the nurse's station with the nurse who had took my vitals. April, I think was her name. "I'll go insane."
"Okay," Dr. Choi chuckled. "I'll see what strings I can pull."
"Are you sure you don't want anything?" Dr. Rhodes asked. "It's going to be very painful."
"I'm sure," I nodded. "Just do it quick like a bandaid." Dr. Choi and Dr. Rhodes exchanged glances and took their places; Dr. Rhodes stood on my right side to hold me still and Dr. Choi took the left side to set my shoulder.
"Herrmann, you might want to leave the room for this."
"No way," Herrmann shook his head. "I'm not leaving her side." Herrmann looked to me. "I mean...it's what besties are for, right?"
"No, it's what family is for," I smiled.
"Aww," Dr. Rhodes smirked.
"Shut up before I dislocate your arm," I hissed.
"On three, ready?" Dr. Choi spoke. I gave him a nervous nod. Herrmann walked over to the side of the bed and stood next to Dr. Rhodes. Herrmann took my hand into his and smiled.
"You've got this," Herrmann softly, and yet confidently spoke. "Just keep your eyes on me, Zahra. It'll all be over quick." I gave Herrmann's hand a squeeze and braced myself.
"One..." CRACK! With a quick jerk, Dr. Choi popped my shoulder back into place, making me bellow out in pain.
"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO THREE?" I snarled.
"You would've tensed up."
"I fucking hate you, you know that?"
"You'll live. Now, how do you feel?"
"Other than betrayed and like I've been beaten with a hot fire poker? A little lightheaded.
"That's to be expected. You're a tough one, I'll give you that." Dr. Choi smiled and pat my leg.
"You did great, Herrmann," Dr. Rhodes smiled and pat Herrmann on the back. "Way to tough it out."
"Thanks," Herrmann smiled. "Say, uh, it's a little hot in here, don't you think?"
"Uh...no, not really," Dr. Choi shook his head. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, you look a little pale," Dr. Rhodes informed.
"I'm fine," Herrmann weakly nodded. "I just...I think I, uh...I think I need to sit down."
"Herrmann!" I exclaimed. Before Dr. Rhodes could grab him, Herrmann collapsed to the ground. Dr. Choi instantly rushed to his side.
"Yup, he's out," Dr. Choi informed.
"I'll go get the nurse," Dr. Rhodes groaned.
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
"There she is!" Mills called out and began to clap as Herrmann, K'eon, and I entered the firehouse. Soon, the entire firehouse was filled with applause, even Herrmann and Boden were clapping. The attention instantly made me feel uneasy. Why were they celebrating me? I just did my job.
"Good work, Candidate," Casey smiled as he pat me on my good shoulder.
"Thank you," I nodded with appreciation. "But I was just doing my job, all this wasn't necessary."
"You saved Herrmann's life and you don't want to celebrate that?"
"It's just...it's my job."
"Girl, you need to learn to live a little," Cruz scoffed.
"Thank you!" K'eon smiled.
"Don't you get him started, Cruz," I glowered.
"Oh, so there are more dirty secrets," Cruz smirked.
"I've got a book of them," K'eon teased
"And you're about to violate pact order number one, asshole."
"Okay okay, fine."
"Pact?" Dawson asked.
"We made a pact a long time ago," K'eon explained. "If we break the pact, the other gets to shoot the other."
"That's morbid," Shay gasped.
"Some stuff's that serious. Besides, we didn't mean kill the other, but more like shooting in the foot, right?" K'eon looked to me, but I remained silent. "Right?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said with a straight face.
"Zahra!"
"Okay fine," I chuckled. "No, but seriously, if we break the pact, it'll end our friendship."
"Why?" Capp asked.
"Trust. 'With this pact, you are hereby entrusted with secrets of the opposite party and are contractually obligated to uphold the sanctity of the pact and it's contents. If either party violates the pact, be it purposefully or accidental, the pact and friendship is null and void and both parties will go their separate ways, refraining from contact of any form until either party's death.'"
"...You have that memorized?" Mills chuckled.
"It's required," K'eon shook his head with amusement.
"How long are you going to be out?" Mouch asked.
"I'm not," I smiled. I reached into my pocket and held a folded piece of paper out to him. Mouch took it, put his glasses on, and silently read to himself.
"Light duty?" Mouch exclaimed. "Did they miss the bunker gear? Are they aware that you're a firefighter?"
"Very," I nodded.
"They agreed to light duty with the agreement that she comes in every week to see Dr. Rhodes or Dr. Choi to make sure it's healing fine," Herrmann explained.
"I-I—how?" Mouch stammered with confusion.
"I'm very persuasive," I smirked. "That or because I'm pretty. Haven't decided yet."
"Who cares, you're alright, that's all that matters," Shay smiled.
"Yes, and thank you guys for getting us out so quickly, especially me. A minute longer, I think I would've passed out."
"You should've told me you were hurt," Herrmann argued.
"No way, you were already freaking out as it is, the last thing I needed was you knowing that an injured arm was the only thing keeping us alive. That's just something to stress you out even more. Sometimes a lie's benefits outweighs the truth."
"I wouldn't have freaked out."
"You were nearly pissing in your bunker gear."
"So were you!"
"Yeah, and it would've gone on your head. If I did it, it would've been on purpose."
"They argue like brothers and sisters," Dawson smirked.
"Wait, does that mean you two are cool now?" Cruz asked.
"Yeah," Herrmann smiled. "When someone saves your life, it changes your perspective, right?" Herrmann playfully smacked my upper back.
"Oww!" I whimpered.
"...Sorry." An alarm sounded overhead.
"Truck 81, ambulance 61, person in distress, Chicago Skyway, Calumet Heights," dispatch announced. Severide, Shay, Dawson, Cruz, and Capp all rushed out to the garage.
"Well, I better get Boromir and take him home," K'eon sighed.
"Aww, you like him," I cooed.
"I pretend he's a very large cat so I can tolerate him."
"WHERE IS SHE?" Everyone quickly turned towards the doorway to the garage as a woman frantically began to shout. "WHERE IS SHE? WHERE IS—" the woman entered the building and froze at the sight of me.
"Cindy?" I smiled. Cindy quickly made her way towards me. "Cindy, what are you—" I groaned in pain as she wrapped her arms around me and embraced me in a tight hug. "Gah! Cindy, can't breathe," I choked.
"I can't believe you're okay," Cindy sobbed. "My husband—you saved his life! Oh my God! I can't thank you enough! I don't know what I would do without him!"
"Cindy," Herrmann softly spoke as he put his hand on her shoulder. "Sweetheart, she got hurt and you squeezing her is probably making it worse."
"I-I'm sorry," Cindy sniffled and released me, allowing me to gasp for the desperate breath of air I needed. "I just—" Cindy looked up at me. "He's my everything. Him, my boys, they're my absolute everything. Without them I-I don't know what I'd do."
"I get it," I smiled reassuringly. "He's my brother, this entire firehouse is my family, I don't know what I'd do without them either." I looked to Herrmann and smiled. "I love them. I've only known them for a very short time, but I know I'd do anything for them." Herrmann softly smiled and gave me a gentle nod.
"Man, I promised myself that I wasn't gonna cry," Mills teased as he wiped his eyes.
"Mills, I can live without," I chuckled.
"Well," Cindy sniffled. "You are part of my family now."
"Does this mean I get invited to all the cookouts?"
"Cookouts, Christmas, family reunions, all of it," Cindy laughed, shaking tears from her eyes.
"Speaking of food, what are we doing for dinner?" Mills asked. "I don't mind cooking, but I need to know what we want. I mean, we have stuff for chili—"
"NO!" Everyone except Mouch exclaimed.
"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad!" Mouch protested.
"I think you should have a celebratory dinner," Cindy input. "What happened today needs to be celebrated."
"No," I rejected. "I was just doing my job, as was everyone else on scene. I don't want to celebrate anything."
"Hon, you both could've died," Mouch spoke up. "Isn't living worth celebrating?"
"I just—I want everything to be as normal as possible, okay? Nothing special, just dinner."
"Okay," Mills smiled. "I can do simple. How about chicken parmesan?"
"Sounds good to me," Casey nodded.
"I'm game," Mouch smiled.
"Zahra?" Mills smiled.
"Chicken parm sounds amazing," I nodded. "I'll just—"
"—Sit on your ass and do nothing. I've got this."
"Mills, as candidate, it is my job to—"
"—Sit on your ass and do nothing," Casey finished. "That's an order from your lieutenant."
"I'm on light duty, not medical leave."
"Even though you should be," Boden slightly scolded. "Still, I commend your tenacity and dedication. After dinner, you will work with your lieutenant to see what jobs you are able to perform so we can properly place you until your arm has healed."
"Thanks, Chief."