Hi! It's me again and it is calmer chapter than the first one. But I would like to mention one name here, because without her encouragement and curiousity, this story wouldn't start as it starts in this chapter and I'm not even sure if I had been here to update the second part of Stand by you at all. So Thank you FreeThoughts271, this chapter is here with your help ;-)

Penny didn't expect anything. For weeks now, there had been a rumor that she deserved another medal, but after what she did at the train station last week, the rumor had turned into action. Such an action couldn't go unnoticed, even if a train running without a driver was nothing new in Pontypandy. A train driven by a dog - checked, a train without a driver, who was supposedly kidnapped by aliens - also checked, but a train that escaped without a driver and additionally dragged a fire engine weighing several tons, even we had never done that. I was terrified every time she exposed herself like that, even though I understood that our job held such risk, and Penny knew what she was doing. But the fear remained, and with each year, as I got to know her better and better, my fear that I might lose her one day only grew. We were united by friendship, and you have to take care of a friend, right? Although in our case, above our friendship, there was also the team. And in our team, we were like family to each other, as Station Officer Steele claimed. I wish I could say that Penny was like a sister to me, but I couldn't lie. She was more than that. It took me a while to feel and understand it, but from that moment on, nothing felt the same. Only thanks to Penny's openness did I manage to relax and joke around the firestation more often. I didn't feel like being the only one in charge any more, so I started talking to Station Officer Steele about it and, as I predicted, he agreed immediately. After that, I spent long hours helping Penny study, even though I knew she was great at it and would definitely do great on the exam. She was a great firefighter and knew what to do, so she left everyone in her group behind, scoring only at the highest results.

Just like when the results came, today I was asked to tell her. I unconsciously glanced at the clock and nervously noticed that Penny should be at the station in a few minutes, and that Chief Fire Officer Boyce would be arriving in an hour to give her the medal. I still had some time to think of a few words to say to Penny, but I knew I wouldn't be honest. I had been trying for years, but I could never find the courage. I was afraid that Penny didn't treat me the way I treated her, and that a few words from me would ruin our friendship. And even if she did, it was easier now. Our job was dangerous, and last week's incident had shown that very well. Either I or Penny could have died, or both of us could have. Penny tried to pretend that it was nothing, but I knew she was the one who kept her cool and thought rationally, while I acted on emotion, wanting to protect the rest, endangering only myself. But Penny was just like that. She always strived to be the best, no matter how long it took her. She was calm and composed, always ready to help others. As she claimed, this was the reason she became a firefighter, but I knew there was something more. She had a spark of kindness in her eyes that never went out. You can try to cheat ambition and the desire to improve, but you can't fight what was already inside. Penny had a huge talent and I was always ready to support her to develop even more. I had to admit that with her love of books, she had a chance to go further than I did. But for now, I was glad that we were working together and that I could earn her friendship.

"I don't often see you so lost in thought, Sam," a nagging voice tore me from my thoughts. I was about to turn around when I realized that Ellie was standing in front of me.

"It happens more often after your jokes than before them," I replied evasively.

"Come on," Ellie sighed, bored. "You know I'm doing this because I want to help you. Just have the courage to tell her and I'll stop feeling the need to bother you," she assured me, walking away towards Venus.

"Is that even possible?" I shouted after her skeptically.

However, my solitude in the garage didn't last long, because Penny showed up just a few minutes later and greeted me with a smile.

"Am I late, that you're waiting for me personally?" she asked jokingly, walking over to her locker.

"You still have a few minutes to spare," I replied, taking a quick glimpse at the clock.

"I like that," Penny replied, and I saw joy in her eyes.

"As do I," a voice from behind the lockers made us both stand at attention.

"Dad?" Penny asked in surprise, even before Chief Fire Officer Boyce could get closer.

I had just managed to turn around and get out of the way, standing sideways to everyone. I could see from the faces of the rest that we were no longer surprised that Penny was calling our highest superior in the district "dad". The first time, however, all of our jaws dropped at the same time. But now it was part of the way we looked at Penny, although not much had changed. Only that we stopped asking her about her family when she opened up and told us about herself. Only I knew how many tears it cost her, because I was the one who stayed with her the longest, seeing how hard it was for her. If Penny hadn't actually cried, I would have been happy to hug her back then. There were few occasions when I could do that, but each one was equally special.

"What's going on?" Penny asked us all, confused. "My birthday was already, so it must be something else."

"Sam?" Chief Fire Officer Boyce turned to me, effectively gaining Penny's full attention.

"Sam?" Penny repeated, looking at me questioningly with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I..." I stammered, trying with all my willpower not to look Penny in the eye. I knew Penny would recognize a lie in my eyes and I wanted to avoid that until Chief Fire Officer Boyce embarrassed me.

"Normally you always know what to say, and now you're suddenly standing there silently, like you've lost your voice."

"Penny," Station Officer Steele began, drawing everyone's attention away from me for a moment. It gave me time to reach into my pocket and pull out my medal. "Remember what happened last week?"

"We only had one call. A runaway train," Penny replied, and I could tell from her voice that I didn't know what was going on.

"I'm not going to ask you what you do every day, because there are too many credits to list here," Station Officer Steele continued, indicating that it was my turn. However, Penny realized I had something to do with this sooner than I expected, and her question threw me off topic again.

"Sam? What's going on here?"

"We wanted to thank you for what you do every day," I began, looking up at her and gently lowering her shoulders, placing my hand on her shoulder. "And especially after you saved the lives of the passengers, as well as Jupiter's and mine."

"Oh, no. You didn't, did you?" Penny looked at me skeptically, hiding her face behind her hand.

"He didn't," Chief Fire Officer Boyce interrupted me. "You've earned it for weeks now, Penny."

"That call just proved what we've all known for a long time," I added, then pulled the medal out of the box and looked at Penny uncertainly, asking for permission. The look of confusion and slight disbelief was hardly permission, but everyone was looking at us and it was anything but pleasant. So I quickly pinned the medal to her blouse, and we saluted each other briefly.

I stepped aside to make room for the others. We were all happy for Penny's success and everyone wanted to congratulate her. I limited myself to just looking and shaking her hand.

"Will you join us for dinner, Chief Fire Officer Boyce?" Elvis asked invitingly when it was over.

"Thank you for the invitation, but not today," Chief Fire Officer Boyce declined. "I would like to have dinner with my daughter," he declared. "If it's not too much trouble, of course. Norris?"

"We should manage without Penny," Station Officer Steele stated after a moment's thought. "Sam can fill in for her."

Neither Penny nor I had the chance to deny it, so we both had to accept our fate. The only difference was that I had pasta waiting for me upstairs for the fifth time this week, and Penny would probably eat something tasty.