"Sloane?"

Sloane looked up from her intertwined hands in her lap at the call of her name, looking towards the now-open office door in front of her. A dark-haired woman with tan skin now stood in the doorway, dressed in a deep blue silk kaftan, beckoning her inside with a nonchalant wave. Her eyes had softened, and a closed-lip smile graced her lips as Sloane pushed herself off the waiting room chair, almost as if she could feel the nervous energy radiating from the firefighter.

Stepping into the office, Sloane was instantly enveloped in a warm vanilla scent flowing from a diffuser placed in the corner of the room on a shelf, the curl of the vapour dispersing into the cool air soon after being released from the spout of the machine. Around the space, there were a few seating options, including a sofa, a lounge chair, bean bags, and even some simple floor cushions.

"Please, sit anywhere you feel comfortable," the dark-haired woman stated as she closed the door before making her way toward the desk near the floor-to-ceiling window on the opposite side of the room, opting to sit on the edge of the light wood surface instead of the rolling chair behind it.

Sloane nodded in acknowledgement, looking around briefly before deciding to sit on the couch. She was unsure of her confidence in falling back into the very comfortable-looking bean bag she had eyed when first walking into the room. The thought of trying to get up after the session gave her a preliminary rush of embarrassment.

"My name is Camille," the woman, Camille, introduced herself shortly after, clasping her hands together and resting them on her legs as she leaned back against her desk, her posture casual and welcoming. "Frank, the LAFD therapist, said you requested to see someone outside the department?"

"Yeah, it was absolutely nothing personal, I'm sure he's great. But, there were certain things I preferred not to discuss and associate with my work. Not anymore, at least," Sloane rambled, and Camille nodded in understanding, turning her torso to reach behind her to retrieve a manila folder, flipping it open and scanning over it briefly.

"So you're from Boston?" Camille asked, and Sloane nodded in corroboration with the statement when the therapist looked up briefly when she didn't receive a verbal response. "Is your family still there?"

"My mom and dad are, I think. I don't really talk to them anymore," Sloane answered, pursing her lips as she thought of the two people who had raised her.

"When did you stop talking to them?"

"About a year before I moved here. My parents told me that they wanted nothing to do with me."

"Seems harsh."

"With the circumstances, I can't say I particularly blame them, but they had been distant for years before that. That I blame them for."

Camille then set down the open folder on the desk and looked back at Sloane, who had redirected her attention to the artwork on the walls. She noted some kids' drawings, inspirational quotes surrounded by painted flowers, and a couple of landscape paintings of American landmarks.

"What are you looking for from these sessions?" Camille asked, earning back Sloane's attention. Their eyes met, and Sloane hummed, indicating that she was thinking of her answer. "Some people come here looking for practical skills, ways to communicate or cope; some look for help finding themselves or want help understanding their place and role in this world. And some only want to have someone to listen to their feelings. Every reason is valid, but I want to know how best to help you."

"I think I'm still struggling with everything that happened in Boston," Sloane started but quickly felt her throat constrict with emotion when she started thinking back to the events only months ago. It almost felt like it was a past life, but the wounds were still fresh, and the stitches were quickly ripped back open the moment she thought about it again. "I still don't know if I'm ready to talk about everything that happened yet."

"That's okay," Camille instantly reassured her, standing up straight and walking over towards where Sloane was sitting on the couch, sitting down on the opposite side. "We'll talk about it when you're ready. So, why don't we start at the beginning, when you first became a firefighter?"

⸻

Sloane never seemed to mind working during the winter holidays. With no family to go home to at the end of the day and no other plans like partying with friends or extensive Christmas shopping, she was content with working her assigned shifts or even covering for someone desperate to be home with their loved ones.

She never complained about the increased amount in her paycheques either.

"You guys got a tree?" Sloane questioned, excitement present in her tone as she walked into the currently empty fire station for one of her first night shifts in December. She spotted the huge pine tree at the other end of the room near the stairwell the moment she entered the building, sparking a gigantic grin on her face. It was still undecorated, an open box of what she assumed were ornaments abandoned next to it after a call had likely pulled the B-shifters tasked with decorating away from the station. "Can I help decorate it?"

"Be our guest. Feels more like a chore to get this place all festive," Hen replied from beside Sloane, who she had walked in with after meeting up in the parking lot. Sloane gasped at the statement, disappointment written on her face as she looked over at Hen. "What? I already have to do all of this at home; I would prefer not to do it at work too."

Sloane had been with the 118 for almost three weeks, and the crew had been nothing but incredibly welcoming to the new addition. She had also come to learn that Eddie had been hired only a few months before her, so the two had found a connection they began to bond about. The Texan probie and the East-coast runaway.

In that almost month, Bobby had also discovered Sloane had been a certified engine driver back in Boston, one of the best according to her recertification marks over the years, and advocated for her to return to the driver's seat, filling the woman with a new sense of purpose.

Her relationship with Buck, though, had remained awkward and tense, and she had a feeling that the others had started to take notice of the two as they avoided as many interactions with the other as they could manage. They never let it affect the calls they worked on though, functioning together almost harmoniously and communicating effectively. But, the moment they returned to the truck, it was as if the other did not exist anymore.

Eddie had gone to Buck about it at one point but had been quickly brushed off, making him even more suspicious that there was something the rest of the crew were not aware of between the two.

"C'mon, Hen, where's your Christmas spirit?" Sloane had questioned as the two walked into the locker room where Eddie and Chim were finishing changing into their uniforms, looking towards the two women as they entered the room.

"Work a few more Christmases, and you'll know exactly where it went," Hen replied, and Chimney blew a raspberry while making a thumbs-down gesture, indicating that any and all spirit had gone down the drain.

Sloane had to agree that the holidays tended to be the more exhausting shifts. With more people being home came the stupid decisions and other mistakes that were less likely to occur during the typical Monday-to-Friday 9-to-5 routines. Kitchen fires, exploding deep-fried turkeys in dried grass backyards, falls off of ladders and roofs while hanging up lights or other flashy decorations. 9-1-1 calls and hospital visits saw an increase during this time of year.

"I'm going to make you guys love Christmas again; just wait."

"That sounds vaguely threatening," Chimney stated, earning a chuckle from Eddie as Sloane only smiled at him, an excited glint in her eyes.

Eddie and Chim left the locker room while Hen and Sloane had started to get ready for their shift, having some extra time while waiting for the B-shift to return from their call. At that time, Buck had shown up for the shift, Hen making an under-the-breath comment about feeling a chill as soon as he entered the room. Sloane responded with a silent roll of her eyes at the dramatics and made a point to greet Buck, who seemed surprised but returned the greeting with the smile that had gotten Sloane into trouble in the first place.

( She couldn't ignore the stupid butterflies that erupted in her stomach. )

"Cap, please tell me you've got some Christmas spirit left," Sloane called out as she followed Hen upstairs after changing, the two making their way towards the kitchen where Bobby was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee. He shook his head with a smile, looking towards Chimney, who had just sat down next to him and who obviously had told Bobby about Sloane's Christmas joy beforehand. Bobby laughed when the woman groaned, plopping down in an empty chair before dramatically throwing her head back. "Maybe it's the lack of snow making you all so miserable."

Before anyone could respond to Sloane's comment, the B-shift had returned from their call, backing the trucks into the station before the exhausted crew piled out and immediately made their way to the locker rooms to clean up and head home after a long shift.

The B-shift captain came upstairs to greet Bobby and fill him in on some of the calls they went on, along with any other information they thought would be helpful to the next shift. Sloane had made her way downstairs during the shift change, shuffling through the box of ornaments and other Christmas decorations that had been deserted beside the large pine tree.

She had made steady progress throughout the day, their crew luckily only having to leave the station for a few calls related to minor car accidents. Sloane had thought by some lucky coincidence that they would finally get through a holiday shift without any big calls. Of course, the moment she thought about the lack of emergencies, the bell started to ring, an ear-piercing summoning to a new call.

While pulling on her turnout gear, she had briefly heard the mention of an airplane from the dispatcher over the intercom, which was confirmed by Bobby once they had climbed into the engine.

"How long's he been in the air?" Buck asked through his headset as Sloane drove them toward the destination given to them by dispatch. It was late, which meant fewer cars on the road and made it easier for her to navigate through intersections in the city at a decent speed.

"Plane took off from LAX 18 minutes ago," Bobby announced from the passenger seat, turning slightly to address the crew sitting in the back. "It was diverted to SoCal airport."

"18 minutes. It's nearly long enough to reach altitude," Eddie mentioned from his spot directly behind Sloane, his voice crackling through the headset over one of her ears, the other uncovered to listen to her surroundings as she drove. "It's not good. Cargo isn't pressurized or heated."

"I thought coach was bad," Chimney chimed in next, trying to keep the atmosphere in the truck light so their heads wouldn't instantly go to the worst-case scenario for the poor person stuck on that plane.

"Hey, Chim, make sure we have oh-two and warming blankets standing by," Bobby redirected the conversation as Sloane turned the engine onto the service road that would lead them directly onto the tarmac where the plane was waiting for them, speeding through the open gate.

"Copy that."

She followed the flashing blue and red lights in the distance, indicating that the police had already arrived on the scene, and pulled the engine around to the side of the plane with the open cargo bay. She put the vehicle in park before everyone jumped out and rushed towards the aircraft steps that had already been placed for quick access.

"Oh, joy."

Sloane looked towards Chimney, who had stopped to look around the cargo hold once they had reached the top, the woman turning to find hundreds of boxes plastic-wrapped and packed into the small space.

"Well, it looks like we're opening presents early this year, huh?" Buck questioned as he moved further into the area behind Bobby, shuffling through the tight space and beginning to move the pallets around.

"Clock is ticking, guys. We got to find this kid," Bobby called out as the team spread out around the cargo hold, pulling open box tops and calling out for the victim, Brandon, looking and listening for any signs of life. "Dispatch said he was having trouble breathing even before he went up in the air."

"What are the chances we even find him alive?" Sloane whispered to Eddie as she pushed small boxes off the top of a large one, cutting the bottom box open and peeking inside only to find a kid-sized bicycle. She looked over to see Eddie had a grimace on his face, not wanting to say what he really thought aloud.

"Wait. Did you guys hear that?" Bobby questioned the team, and everyone instantly went silent, frozen in place and holding their breath as they listened for whatever their Captain had heard. Suddenly, a muffled cell phone ringtone started playing. They moved carefully and quietly, hearing the sound grow louder as they closed in on a stack of large boxes near the back of the plane. "Stethoscope?"

Eddie placed the stethoscope earpieces into his ears and pressed the diaphragm against the box on the bottom of the pile, nodding his head as he pulled the ear tips out.

"That's our guy!"

"Okay, get this shrink wrap off," Bobby ordered his team, helping to remove the boxes on top once Eddie had cut the plastic off from around the stack. Chim began to hand the smaller boxes on top back to Sloane, who placed them on top of other stacks around her before Buck was able to check inside the large box on the bottom of the stack. "What do we got?"

"Yeah, I got him. He's in there. He's in there," Buck announced, and the pace of the first responders in the plane quickened as Bobby and Buck grabbed box cutters and began to cut the sides of the box off. The packing peanuts inside poured out along with a limp arm as the side of the box was pulled off completely. "I see him. He doesn't look good."

Sloane stepped back to where the backboard had been brought up by some of the other crew members, watching as Bobby and Buck carried the victim out and over, placing him down onto the board and sliding him to the top as Chimney grabbed his paramedic bag and kneeled down next to the young man.

"He's cold, Cap," Chimney had called out, placing an oximeter onto his finger.

"Alright, get some blankets on him."

"I don't have a pulse," Chimney stated as they covered Brandon's body in shiny emergency rescue blankets. Sloane got down on the floor across from Chimney, watching as he pressed his fingers against the carotid artery.

"Starting compressions," Sloane called out to the team as she placed one of her hands onto the victim's chest, interlocking her fingers to keep them in place as she began to press down hard and fast, forcing the blood in his body to circulate. "We're not calling it until he's warm and pulseless."

"How's he doing, Eddie?" Bobby asked as Sloane continued with compressions, feeling her breaths start to become short as she began to exhaust herself from the resuscitation effort.

"Still nothing."

"Buck, switch out with Sloane," Bobby directed as the lifepak was connected, indicating that Brandon was still in flatline, the tone emerging long and loud.

"Alright, switching," Buck stated, immediately taking over as Sloane pulled back and shuffled away from the body, feeling Bobby's hand under her arm as he helped her stand up. The fire captain took a brief moment to check in with Sloane to make sure she was okay before redirecting his attention back to the active CPR.

"Hold for pulse check," Eddie called out, watching Buck stop his compressions before checking the carotid artery for a pulse again. "Still nothing."

Buck had only continued compressions for a few more seconds before a steady beeping began to emit from the lifepak.

"I got a pulse!" Eddie shouted as the rest of the crew immediately began to cover Brandon's body with the blankets again, rubbing their hands against them to try and help warm his body back up. Eddie grabbed a forehead thermometer, holding it in front of the victim's forehead and reading the numbers on the screen. "Temps rising."

"Welcome back, Brandon," Bobby greeted as Brandon opened his eyes, looking dazed and confused at the crowd of firefighters around him.

"I'm not dead?"

"You're not dead."

Sloane cleared out of the cargo hold to allow room for the others to extract the victim from the plane, helping to carry him over to the stretcher once they had reached the ground. She heard Brandon tell everyone how appreciative he was for their help continuously right up until the ambulance doors closed and the vehicle took off towards the hospital.

⸻

The middle of December brought along the annual LAFD toy drive. Sloane was excited to participate for the first time and offered to help set up and decorate the station on her off day, wanting to ensure that everything was perfect, offering some semblance of control in her life again.

On the day of the toy drive, Sloane had been hauling out large cardboard boxes to place in various spots around the station for donation collection when she felt a presence near her. She turned to find Buck standing awkwardly behind her with his hands in his pockets.

"Can we talk?" Buck asked, and Sloane looked around briefly to check nobody was nearby before nodding her head. The two made their way towards the locker room, the enclosed space allowing them some privacy and less risk of anyone they worked with overhearing what she assumed he wanted to talk about.

Once Sloane assured the door had been firmly shut behind them, she moved further into the room before turning back around to face Buck, crossing her arms over her chest as she raised a brow at him, a silent indication for him to start speaking.

"It's been almost a month, and we haven't really talked about what happened..."

"There hasn't been any time to talk about it. We're not really ever alone," Sloane responded to his trailed-off statement, inferring what event his comment was likely leading up to.

"So, are we going to talk about it?"

"Talk about what, Buck?" Sloane questioned, dropping her arms down to her sides in exasperation. "We slept together, that's it. It doesn't have to affect how we do our jobs. It was one night, and it was great, but I'm not planning on letting that ruin this for me."

"You just want to pretend that it never happened?" Buck asked, and Sloane swore she felt her heart clench at the almost wounded look on his face as he spoke.

"It's funny you're so caught up on this when you're the one who was gone before I even woke up," Sloane replied coldly, swallowing around the lump that had formed in her throat as she made her way toward the door, wanting to end the conversation before she said something more she would end up regretting. "What makes it different from a random one-night stand?"

Sloane left the locker room, closing the door behind her, and looked over to find Chimney and Eddie standing at the refreshment table a few feet away, staring at her before their eyes glanced toward where Buck was still standing in the locker room. She huffed a sigh, knowing that the moment wouldn't honestly be private with all of the glass surrounding them, but she had been hoping that they didn't overhear any part of the conversation.

She had been able to distract herself from her racing thoughts as soon as the toy drive officially started, busying herself by interacting with kids and collecting toys from the parents who had brought them in, placing them in the boxes she had set up around the firehouse.

But, she would catch glimpses of Buck in the corner of her eye, and suddenly, all of the current thoughts in her brain would cease and be replaced with thoughts of him. He would get down on the kids' levels, chatting adamantly with them about whatever they wanted before he would direct them to the shiny fire trucks, lifting them up into the driver's seat with a stupid grin on his face. Other times he would take their tiny hands and lead them to the refreshments table for Christmas treats that were likely to give their parents a headache induced by a sugar rush later on.

"What was that all about?"

Sloane quickly pulled her gaze away from Buck, instead moving it to Eddie who was standing behind one of the donation bins, smiling at the parent who handed him a toy before he looked at his coworker, waiting for an answer.

"It was nothing," Sloane brushed him off as Eddie turned back to greet the next donor.

"Thank you..."

Sloane heard Eddie's voice trail off and looked up to find him taking a toy firetruck from a pretty brunette woman. Sloane stepped up next to Eddie to grab the next set of donations and placed them in the bin while thanking the people for their kindness as Eddie continued to quietly talk with the woman.

"This is not the place."

"Maybe it's the perfect place. We can actually have a conversation that doesn't end up with us in bed."

Sloane stopped in her movements, looking at the two upon hearing the statement. Eddie glanced over at his coworkers, including Buck and Chim, who had been serving refreshments at the table behind Sloane, all of whom had very obviously overheard what was said. Eddie ushered the unknown woman into the locker room, and they began having a conversation that probably looked fairly similar to the one Buck and Sloane had earlier.

Buck moved over to help Sloane with accepting donations at that point, the two dancing around each other figuratively and literally as they interacted with those who approached with various toys but not with each other.

When Eddie returned to replace Buck, he was silent, and the brunette he was talking to was now nowhere to be found. He met Sloane's eyes briefly and sighed at the humorous glint reflecting in them.

"What was that all about?"

Eddie only rolled his eyes with a smile.

⸻

Near the end of December, in the evening on Christmas Day, Sloane found the driveway at Bobby's house crowded with vehicles, indicating that she was likely the last invitee to arrive. After parking her SUV, she took a moment to collect her thoughts, pulling a deep breath in through her nose before exhaling as she looked towards the front door, nerves making her stomach turn.

This would mark the first occasion she was meeting with the crew outside of the firehouse (other than the meeting she had with Buck on her first day in Los Angeles), and she couldn't help but worry that seeing her out of her element, out of the facade of firefighting, that they would grow to dislike her.

She quickly pushed all of her negative thoughts to the back of her brain before they could overwhelm her into making the decision to go back home, and reached over to grab the paper bag full of gifts and the bottle of wine from off of her passenger seat. She then stepped out of the car and made her way towards the front door, pressing down on the doorbell next to it.

"Hey, Sloane, c'mon in!" Bobby greeted her with a grin as soon as he opened the door after she had waited for a few moments, stepping to the side to allow her entry to the home. Sloane smiled back, tentatively stepping inside as she looked around nervously.

"I'm sorry I'm so late. I've been having to follow my GPS to get around since moving, and I'm starting to think it takes me the worst routes possible," Sloane apologized as Bobby closed the door behind her before leading her down the steps and into the living area. At that point, she had spotted Hen sitting on the couch, holding hands with a woman with dreadlocks, both of them looking over towards the newcomer with smiles.

"Hey, Sloane!" Hen got up from her spot on the couch to hug Sloane tightly, keeping an arm loosely around her shoulders as she turned slightly to gesture at the woman still sitting on the couch. "This is my wife, Karen."

"Hi, it's so nice to meet you," Sloane greeted, reaching forward to shake Karen's hand. As their hands disconnected, Sloane heard some laughter emerge from the adjoining room and turned her head, looking over to see Buck walking into the room with another woman she didn't recognize who had short brunette hair and dark skin. Trailing behind her were two kids, who Sloane assumed were hers based on how similar they looked.

Sloane immediately turned back to Karen, barely noticing the almost-knowing look that Hen shared with her wife. She put down the paper bag and wine that she still held on the coffee table as she turned back to those entering the room, carefully avoiding looking at Buck as she plastered a smile onto her lips.

"You must be Sloane," the woman that Sloane had not recognized inferred, but when looking down at the extended hand held towards her and seeing the big diamond ring, she realized that this was her Captain's girlfriend, now fiancée, Athena. The news of their engagement had been broken only hours earlier when Bobby had texted Sloane to ensure she was still planning on coming. "I'm Athena. And these are my kids, May and Harry."

"It's really nice to meet you all. Thank you for inviting me, I–uh– come bearing gifts," Sloane replied and reached behind her to grab the bottle of wine first, handing it to Athena, who took it with a smile and an appreciative thank you. Sloane then grabbed the paper bag and looked inside, shuffling through the contents to find specific pieces. "It's not too special, but I made cookies for everyone."

Sloane took out an individually wrapped cookie, this particular one decorated as a police badge with Athena's name in icing at the top. Sloane handed it to the woman who gasped at the sight, her eyes softening in appreciation of the gesture.

"Trying to figure out who all was going to be here and what they did took some work, but I think I managed."

She pulled more out of the bag, handing them to their respective individuals, who took them with newfound excitement while quickly unwrapping them and immediately taking bites, letting Sloane know how delicious they were soon after trying them.

The last cookie she pulled out was for Buck, who had been awkwardly standing to the side, watching everyone but Sloane, only looking at her when she approached him, holding out the cookie.

It was in the shape of a firefighter helmet, decorated to resemble the ones they wore out on calls. 'Buck' was neatly written in icing at the bottom of the helmet.

"You made all of these from scratch?" Buck asked her as he took the cookie from her, assessing it intently as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world at that moment. "They look amazing."

"Yeah, I took up baking this year in my–uh–free time. Turns out I'm pretty good at it," Sloane responded, carefully folding up the now-empty bag and holding it against her stomach as she watched a smile appear on Buck's lips. She dropped her voice so that only Buck could hear her next statement. "Consider this a peace offering."

"I say you should ditch us and open up shop," Hen called out from where she had sat back on the couch next to Karen, finishing off the last piece of her cookie.

"Should I be offended by that?" Sloane asked as she turned to look at Hen, raising a brow, which earned back laughter in response that she joined in with. "I'm glad you all like them."

Conversation flowed naturally after that, Sloane being pulled over to sit on the couch next to Karen, who immediately began to grill her with questions in an attempt to get to know her, but having likely been told by Hen to avoid anything too specific since the crew had already been shut down quite a few times when they had tried.

Bobby soon called everyone to the table, having finished setting out the rest of Christmas dinner.

Sloane had found herself sitting next to Buck, who she caught sneaking glances at her throughout the meal.

And, she wouldn't admit it, but every time she caught him looking, she had been sneaking glances at him too.

♯ AUTHOR'S NOTE !

this was a bit of a crappy filler chapter before we get into the good stuff with the next few chapters but i thought it would be a fun way to showcase how sloane is finally fitting in with the team while developing some of the friendships more and continuing to feed into that awkward tension with you know who...

i hope you all enjoyed this little christmas segment and i cannot wait to share the next chapter soon. as always, thank you so much for reading and please please comment and let me know your thoughts, i love reading them!!