Dating

Sometimes being on shift meant sitting back in a recliner watching TV and waiting for tones to sound. Today was one of those days. We seldom acknowledged the lack of calls fearing it would jinx the string of luck. There are certain words banned for all first responders. Quiet, slow, uneventful, bored are just some of the words any first responders know not to say. Everyone makes the mistake once and chaos always endues. The calls you never want to have are the ones you get when you sin with one of those words. It's like the universe punishing you. It's the only job in the world you can sleep and still get paid a decent wage. Often times I took naps at times like this. We tend to have more calls at night. While I sat

nodding off in my recliner I could hear movement at the table behind me. The quiet shuffling sounded as if they were trying to be considerate of my slumber.

"You can stop trying to be quiet, I'm not sleeping," I mumbled tiredly. I sat up rubbing my eyes gently. I wasn't quite sure how long I'd been in and out of sleep but I felt like it had been hours.

"You were snoring so loudly just a second ago," Rondo said humorously. I could hear more shifting and a stifled laugh. It sounded like Alex.

"You guys are so damn loud, who could sleep. Plus I don't snore." I realized the tv had been turned off at some point. I sighed shifting around in my seat to find where the remote had gone.

"You snore we all heard it." The voice came from the kitchen area beside me. I glanced over to see Smith and Adonis standing with bottles of water. Adonis looked relaxed and cool. He leaned against the faux counter top, his large stature made him look like a beast against its frail surface. I caught myself as I ogled my Captain. Hopefully no one noticed my penetrating stare at his body.

"I've never snores," I said stubbornly folding my arms. I could feel the atmosphere lightening into a low laughter. It rolled over a fell silent as quickly as it started. I stood to look around the room. Now silent the guys returned to what they were doing. Rondo, Jack and Alex sat at the long conference table playing cards. From the looks of it they play Rummy. I remember playing with my parents on rainy days. I sighed quietly, watching the smiles on their faces as the placed cards down. It had been a long time since I had played. I was reminded of the many times Smith came for dinner and the four of us played. He really was great friends with my dad.

"Smith when's the last time we had a meal together," I asked feeling nostalgic. After my dad died he came quite often for meals and to spend time with my mom and I. He and my mom never dated despite all of the time I spent hoping they would begin a relationship. I knew that out of respect for my father they never moved forward.

"It's been maybe two months. How's your Dianna doing? It's been a while since I heard from her." He smiled brightly as he spoke my mothers name. I've always known that he had love for her. I could see it through the constant care he took toward my mother and I. At first I thought it was because of my father friendship that he took care of us. When he stayed I grew to think of him as a second father.

"Well that's because she's been traveling a lot. You know she's in her golden years and enjoying life." Part of me felt a ping of guilt for not telling him about Tom. It felt weird to tell him after years of his care.

"It's not safe for a woman like your mom to travel around on her own," he said furrowing his brow. His face looked concerned.

"She's not alone," Adonis started, "didn't you hear Rory and I are gonna be brother and sister?" He laughed. For the tiniest second I saw Smiths face twist int an unfamiliar expression.

"What?" His face looked a bit sick. He recovered quickly smiling again.

"Adonis' dad is dating Aurora's mom," Rondo said from the table without looking up.

"It's true," I stated quietly, "But Adonis is jumping the gun by saying that we will be siblings. They aren't even engaged." I looked at Adonis firmly. His expression shrank slightly but then his smile sparkled brightly.

"She's right, they're not engaged...yet" He chuckled lightly.

"What do you mean yet, don't spread rumors," I smacked his back roughly. He coward laughing loudly as my hit did not hurt him.

"Alright kids, don't you have station duties to attend to?" Smith's voice was smooth and even. I was glad to see that he wasn't to upset about my mom. I never knew when the love began but I knew he loved her deeply. Even though he couldn't date her himself I felt that he was happy for her. I guess that's what it means to truly love another.

"We finished those up this morning. I think we are gonna do some training if nothing comes up. I think we could all use some."

"Fair enough," Smith said, "I think I should get back to work. Lately we've had more fires in our area. It's been giving me a lot of work. They even called me in to look over that huge mutual aid fire. Wasn't it your shift that went?"

"Yeah Rory got trapped in some wires on that. The fucked up the utilities on it and she got stuck with flashover immanent." Alex answered as he set down another set of cards.

"What! Why didn't you call me sooner?"

"It was fine, Adonis helped me make it out."

"Next time you should call me. I want to know these things. You've got to be more careful."

"Hey I'm okay. Cmon, don't lecture me," I said. He sighed loudly and shrugged his broad shoulders. He moved toward the door.

"Next time call, and be more careful." He left the room briskly. I felt a bit bad that I hadn't talked to him. I should have him come to dinner soon. I didn't want him to feel abandoned after everything he's done for me.