𝐌𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝,
𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐡'𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐬
𝐌𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠,
𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 (𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭)
Eddie
It's been a few days since Chris met Buck and Amelia. He keeps asking when he can see Amelia again and I am convinced that he only likes Buck's place because his TV is bigger than mine.
"Have a good day at school Chris." I wave to Chris who is walking off quickly towards his private school.
Today is one of those slow days where my B shift doesn't start till 10:00 am so I have time to chat with Chris in the car and drop him off at school.
It's one of those days that I cherish because as a probationary firefighter, you don't have much time for your kid while at work.
"See you later, dad." I watch Chris wave at me once he is on the sidewalk safe with one of his friends who is helping him up.
I wave back to him then head to the station to get ready for my shift.
"Morning, Eddie. You ready for this heat wave?" I walk in and see Hen watching the weather report on the TV in the lounge with Chimney.
"I don't think so. Chris and I might have to make a trip to the beach soon." I reply then head to the lockers to change into my uniform.
"Morning, Eddie. How are you?" I walk into the lockers and hear Buck's voice from behind me while he's buttoning up his shirt and fixing his collar.
I stare at him for a moment and can't help but feel like I am attracted to him.
He's my mentor, I can't stare at him.
"Tired but good. Chris is in his stay up late and beg me to let him play video games phase." I say to Buck since I don't have any personal life updates from him.
"Oof. I wish Amelia was a gamer. She's in her arts and crafts phase now. I let Maddie handle it." I watch Buck walk out of the locker room with perfect posture.
After a minor call where we had to explain to an elderly lady how to turn her fire alarm off, the team and I headed back to the station for a late lunch.
It's Captain Nash's turn to cook this time.
I have a feeling it's going to be good since Hen explained to me that he's the best chef in the fire department.
"What's cooking?" I see a police officer walk into the dining room and kiss Captain Nash on the cheek while he's cooking by the stove.
"Chicken Chorizo, babe." I hear Cap say as Buck leans over to talk to me.
"That's Athena Grant. She's the best cop in California and Cap's girlfriend. She comes over for lunch at least once a week." Buck whispers to me and I shift to the right to create some distance between our chairs.
It's not that I don't like Buck, I just don't want to get close with anyone at work.
I know my boundaries.
As soon as Cap turns the stove off and starts plating the chicken, the alarm on the ceiling starts ringing.
Great.
Another call and no lunch.
Sometimes this is work life and it is normal.
Once Chimney and I reach the bottom of the stairs, we hop in the truck together.
"According to the dispatcher, the location of the call is at Rosemary Elementary School...." Captain Nash begins to talk as the team all climbed into the firetruck and put their headsets on before the ground could move even more.
Buck has his headphones on but is too focused on his phone to pay attention to Cap's instructions.
Since I am his mentee, I am assigned to sit next to him.
I glance over at his phone for one second and see that he keeps trying to get cell phone service to call the elementary school's secretary number.
Then it all clicks in place.
Amelia goes to Rosemary Elementary School.
"I'm sure she's fine. She's a strong and brave girl." I take my headset off and whisper to Buck even though he couldn't care less right now.
The elementary school is quite far away from the station so we have to speed through traffic build-up to get there quicker.
I watch Buck get out of the truck as soon as it stops in front of the building and run towards a crowd of children and teachers.
"Buck!" Cap yells while getting out the masks that protect us from chemicals and smoke.
I watch Buck as he asks multiple teachers for a sign of Amelia.
I can tell that this was a life-or-death situation for him.
If this was Chris' school, I'd be freaking out.
A school fire and his kid could be inside.
"Has anyone seen Amelia?" I can hear Buck say to a principal as we walk up the building with oxygen masks on and med kit bags with us.
We have to be very careful because the fire may restart or spread toxins and smoke we breathe in.
We cannot all go to the school to assess the fire and damage.
Then we risk all of us getting crushed.
"Excuse me sir, are you the fire captain?" Hen, Chimney, Cap, and I walk up to a group of students who made it outside safely to a shelter cabin with their teachers.
"The fire started in the art room. It was a small fire according to Ms. Mills, the art teacher. It keeps coming back and the fire alarm went off. We got everyone but a few students are still two missing from our headcount. I can give you their names and descriptions. Please be safe." I see the principal walk up to Cap while she's trembling.
While Cap listens to the Principal about the kids' names and descriptions, I hear her say Amelia Buckley and watch Buck try to run into the school.
"Alright, Hen, set up triage. Chimney are on hose duty. Buck, you are in no shape for this call, help Hen set up triage if you can in the corner of the sidewalk. Eddie, you are coming inside with me." Cap immediately ordered to us once he heard that the children were missing.
"No, Cap. I am going in. That's my daughter in there." I watch Buck push past Cap.
"There's no way, you're going in, Buck. Stay and help Hen with triage. Eddie, let's go." I hear Cap say as I put my mask and helmet on.
In the building, I can feel the heat rising.
I cover my mouth with the oxygen mask and turn my radio volume on so that I can hear Chim in case we need to leave the building ASAP.
I follow Cap down the colorful elementary school halls until we find the art room.
It's on the right-hand side of the school in a far corner.
From the door, it doesn't look like there is a fire, but once Cap has opened the door, we can see the flames rising throughout the room.
There's a room connected to the art room and it must be a bathroom for students to use.
The door is locked and I can tell that Cap is curious about it.
We have to be quick because the fire is spreading and it's getting warmer.
I am not even sure why Chimney hasn't put out the fire yet, it must be chemicals that caused it to arise.
I watch Cap as he knocks on the door and behind us, the fire is spreading.
We need to get out very quickly.
"Help me remove the door off the hinges." I hear Cap say through his mask.
The smoke starts to get foggy as I help Cap get the door off its hinge with a tool we were trained to use.
I cough a few times but I am okay.
I was trained to do stuff like this.
"Eddie!" We look down and see two kids. Amelia is sitting under a sink coughing and crying.
I don't even have to say a word to Cap before I help Amelia up and place my mask on her face while Cap carries the other kid out safely.
Amelia is crying over my shoulder.
And for a 10-year-old, she's pretty light.
The walk to the exit of the school isn't far but we have to get past a few columns that have fallen since the fire spread to the back doors and halls while we were trying to get the bathroom door open.
Once we've exited the school doors, I walk past Chimney and another firefighter who are still using the hose to put out the rest of the fire.
Amelia is clinging to my back and is handing me my oxygen mask back.
I notice that she is silent and still crying.
I have to take her to Hen for triage.
She's been coughing a lot more than I have and who knows how long she's been in that building.
"Amelia! Are you okay? What happened? You scared me half to death." I watch Buck run up to her as I place her on a stretcher for Hen to check out.
I watch Amelia start coughing loudly and notice that she has a major burn from the fire on the back of her hand that travels up to her elbow.
There's also a big blue bruise on her leg but that's the least of Buck's worries right now. She needs oxygen and a bandage.
She must have touched something and it caught on fire.
She was just trying to protect herself.
"Everyone, step back for a moment. Give her a moment to breathe. Here try using this, Amelia." I watch as Hen hands her a kid oxygen mask and holds onto a bottle of water for her.
Buck is still as a pole.
I can't tell if he's speechless or scared or both.
"I don't like this." I watch Amelia start crying some more while I watch Buck sit on the stretcher beside her to help her sit up.
"I know. It's going to be okay, babygirl. Just a few more breaths in and out. It will help clear your lungs." I watch Buck help her with the oxygen mask while she's hyperventilating.
"I want to go home." I can hear her sniffling and trying to breathe in the mask while sobbing.
This breaks my heart.
"I know. It's going to be okay." I watch Buck adjust the strap over her oxygen mask.
I can't imagine how he feels right now.
"Sorry to ruin the reunion, Buckaroo. I need to wrap up the burn wound on her hand before it gets worse." I step aside to watch Amelia calm down and breathe into the mask while she moves to sit on Buck's lap.
I can tell that she is also very clingy after that traumatic experience.
"It hurts. Make it stop." I hear her cries to Buck and watch her try to raise her hand to wipe her tears away from her face then she quickly realizes the burn is on her hand.
"Mils, Hen is going to wrap it and a doctor will treat the burn. He will make you feel better. You've been so brave." I watch Buck speak to her and move her hair out of her face.
"Buckaroo, can you hold her leg for a moment? I can't wrap the wound properly if she keeps shaking." I overheard Hen say to Buck while I watched her from afar.
I just met the kid and now here I am watching her being treated after I saved her in a fire.
I can hear Amelia's sobs and can tell that this journey has been really hard for her.
Not only does her dad fight fires every day, but she also just survived one.
"We should probably get her in the ambulance so she can be treated at a hospital. I did the best I could do. I hope you feel better soon, love." I hear Hen while I am walking over to where she's sitting with her dad.
I watch Buck look up at me with a half-smile.
"Dad, Eddie saved me." I overhear Amelia talking to Buck when she takes the oxygen mask off her face as her stretcher is being moved to the ambulance that is waiting.
Buck looks over at me and pauses for a moment.
"Thank you for everything." I listen to Buck and then watch him join her in the ambulance.
I give him a half-smile back and smile at Amelia who seems to be staring at my face which is covered in soot and dirt.