Another busy week had passed. She wasn't able to be at the firehouse because of so many patients at urgent care. All of them are out patients but still.

Luisa spoke to Big Mike when he visited her at the care. Big Mike saw her there. They talked of what had happened, why Luisa wasn't able to show up for their lunch date and why Miane called on a day that they needed a complete set of hands at post.

They both explained what happened and why she wasn't able to show up. Big Miike understood and made a very good excuse for her for not being at the firehouse; only a few, like Mike, Allan, Bernie and Philip, knew what her other job was. Well, Cisco and Leon now knew, too.

"One of these days you will need to let everyone know that side of Maine Mendoza. They may start getting an idea that I am covering up for you." Big Mike utter in all honesty. "My Dad can pull ranks over anybody, but not me. Soon they start asking questions and they will need an answer." Maine understood what he was saying. She needed just a little time to let other people in her life for her to be comfortable enough to open up.

Allan and Bernie found out that she's a nurse when Bernie brought his nephew for an urgent check and Allan happens to be around to drive him there.

Philip knew because they brought in a kid who got his arm cut by a broken wooden bat playing baseball at school. They were both surprised to see each other there.

It's firehouse duty for her today. She got there on her bike fast. She parked her motorcycle behind Nene's house.

"Nay Linda, how are you?" She asked the lady who was cutting up assorted vegetables.

"Oh, it's you, Maine. I'm fine." Aling Linda replied with a sweet motherly smile to her. It warmed her heart instantly.

"How do you feel?" She asked. Aling Linda has been sick for a while. Nene is always worried for her mother.

They were the only two in life so Nene is always afraid that her mother would get sick severly and she'd be left behind since they don't have the money for hospitalization. Luckily Maine met Nene at one of the late nights that she goes home. Nene was out and about selling stuff like potholders, dashboard wipes, towels, just to make a little money for their food and her mother's medicine.

Maine was driving towards home when she saw two guys picking on a girl. But it was not the teasing kind, it was more like harassing her to the point of forcing her. At least, that's how she sees it.

Maine focuses her bright headlight on them and blows her horn loud and long. It startled the guys and rattled them a bit. One ran to the left and the other to the opposite direction. When she lowered her beam, she saw a young girl crying.

Maine went to check on her. And saw that half of her blouse was torn and she had a scratch on her shoulder and hand mark on her right cheek. She took the girl to a convenience store, where there is a second-hand clothing store next to it. She bought her a replacement for her top and some ice to lower the inflammation on the girl's cheek.

She found out the girl lives close by the firehouse. She took her home and introduced herself to Nene's mother. She stayed for dinner and dined with them. It was one of Maine's simple happiness.

Ever since then, Maine gave Nene and Aling Linda some money to start up something close to home. That's where Aling Linda's cheap lunch was born and Nene doesn't have to stay late in the street to sell stuff so they can buy food and some medicine for her mother. She also brought Aing Linda and Nene to the urgent care the following day for check up and Luisa sent them home some free medications and supplements.

"Hey, you're too early. Welcome back by the way." Conrad greeted her. "How are you feeling now?" She furrowed her brows, she's not getting what he was talking about.

"I'm fine?" She replied with a question, unsure of what he was referring to.

"Oh good. I heard you had a nasty migraine and allergy attack." Then it dawned on her. This was the excuse Big Mike told everyone.

"Yeah. I am okay now. Thanks to the Chief, I was able to rest." She went on. Conrad raised up his hand for a high five, she obliged. Then Conrad ruffled her hair.

"Lieutenant!!" She groaned and he just laughed walking away.

"We missed you by the way." Conrad said as he was walking away. She just smiled. She might be the only female in the house but she knows, she earned all their respects except one. And speaking of which...

"Hey, Richards. Big Mike said to stay late tonight and extend one more day." Ruben said walking out of the house. It is their switch day. Team 3 & 4 are going home and team 1 & 2 will be exchanging after 24 hours.

"Why? Because the princess hasn't come back yet?" She heard him say. He might have not seen her yet.

"You need to stop being a prick on her! She deserves respect whether you like it or not. She had proven herself to all of us and she doesn't have to prove anything to you, Psycho!" Ruben sounds so angry, and she is, too. What did she do that made this man so angry with her? She's confused.

"Whatever!" He retorted back. Ruben came back to face Alden. She can see and hear them from where she's at but not them.

"Don't you whatever me, Probie!" Ruben had Alden on his collar, against the wall. His face was angry and his vein on the sides of his neck were showing. Maine was about to step in when Big Mike and Adie showed up.

"Hey! What's this all about Tuico and Richards?!" Big Mike asked angrily.

"Ask your asshole probie, Chief." He looked at Mike with a fiery stare. "The next time I hear hm bad mouthing Mendoza, I. Will. Peel. Him. ALIVE!" He yelled at Alden's face before he let him go. Alden seems like he didn't get phased with what had happened.

"Richards, what's wrong with you?" Big Mike asked. He just looked at Big Mike blankly.

"None. Nothing's wrong with me but there is something wrong in this house. Nobody is safe here." He then turned his back from Big Mike and went straight to the locker room.

Maine just sat there and wondered what really made this man so angry with her. What did she do? She doesn't understand. He never met this man in her life although his eyes look familiar, and his lips, other than that, nothing.

The day went by slow. No actions, no adventures, no fire... thank God. Alden didn't throw her a glance, nor said any snarky remarks towards her, no sexual tension between them either and that made her feel better, so she decided to go see Aling Linda again.

Before she left, she went to the Chief's office to let him know that she will be stepping outside the firehouse. And of course, she told him where she would be. Big Mike nodded and she left. As she was going out the building someone stopped her from her tracks.

"It is really different when you are a princess huh. You can come and go as you pleased." Maine heard every word that came out of this man's mouth. She doesn't have to turn to know who it was.

She wondered why he was so angry with her. She did not remember a single thing that she had done to this gentle jerk for him to always intercept everything she does and say.

Every action she does and every word she says always gets criticized by him or worse, she got pushed to the point that she can't do her job right. She knows she doesn't deserve to be treated that way, so she turned to him and gave him a raised brow.

"Do you want the crown?" She gave himthe femme fatale smile "I can give it to you!" She spat back, he fell into silence.

Maine didn't wait for him to say anything. There's no good words coming out of that mouth anyway, why would she stay and listen to him? Arrogant ass jerk!!

Maine stayed with Aling Linda for about an hour. They talked about Aling Linda's life after her husband passed away, her own life after her parents divorced and dumped her in the boarding school some odd years ago, her achievements without her parents, her dreams and fears, and for the first time in so many years after Luisa, she opened up to someone.

The time passed so quickly, the one hour was gone. She bid her goodbye to Aling Linda, and promised her she'll visit them on her day off and went back to the firehouse.

She sat on her desk to sort the reports that were entered in the database and emailed copies to Big Mike when the alarm went off. Without any words, she got up and went straight to the pit, down the pole and into the truck.

Since they opened up the ground floor of the warehouse as a museum for school and office field trips, they have to climb up the stairs to the fire suit chamber and slide down the pole.

When she got to the bay, there's no one there but trucks. She checked her suit if she got everything in place, then she heard Big Mike.

"Engine 1, ready?!" He yelled. Adie gave Maine a high five, she obliged and smiled at him.

"First one again?" He chuckled and ran to his truck. He's an engine 2 driver.

"Engine 2!" Conrad yelled. She climbed up to the side of engine 1 and got ready to go.

"Everyone here?" Asked Cisco, he's engine 1 driver. Maine looked around and realized that she was sitting next to Alden.

"Mendoza, to the medic!" She didn't ask why. She got down and went to the ambulance and rode with Leon. Three can ride Red and two on Ambie.

Engine 1 was out of the bay, as soon as the door opened up, the siren flared. Ambie 1 was following Red, then here comes engine 2 followed by Ambie 2. The ride was short since they knew all the shortcuts and with their siren blasting, almost all vehicles moved to the side.

They got to the scene. People are all over the place. Cops are trying to contain them at least to be calm and somehow collected so they don't get run over by fire trucks and emergency responders.

She left Cisco to help with the engine. She pulled one hose and attached it to the hydrant valve after Big Mike uncapped it. Big Mike then turned it on. She aimed it to the building away from the fire and slowly to the burning part making sure to have the fire away from the building surface nearby.

She was concentrating on what she was doing till someone grabbed it from her grasps.

"You don't know how to do it right!" Alden yelled at her. She let go since it is not the place to argue with.

She looks around and assesses the situation. Three Reds, two from Emerald and one from Dragon. Five ambulances - eight medics. Emerald is short of two medics. Since she can't fight the fire because of Mr. I-can-do-it-alone is on it, Big Mike and Cisco are teaming on one, what will she do? Of course, what she does best, being a nurse.

She was going to help Leon on more victims when she heard a faint cry of a child from a distance. Maine looked around, side to side and then up. She was sure that the cry was coming from one of the second floor windows of the burning apartment building.

"Mamaaaa!!" There it goes again. She did not think twice. She made a beeline to the side where she saw a fire exit door.

Without any hesitation, Maine put on her leatherhead, wetted her suit and went in. She remembered hearing the cry from a second floor window. She opened up the door and went into the dark hallway with just a flashlight in her hand.

She scoured through each door then she stopped. She pictured the layout of the building on how it looks like outside. She's on the north side of the building earlier, she heard the cry northwest, the fire exit is on the northeast. She smiled when she realized she's going the right direction. Next door she checked was locked. Maybe this is the unit.

She used the axe she's carrying to break the door. As soon as she did that, she called out.

"Hello! Anybody here?!" She said it out loud, making sure whoever is here will hear her. Then she heard the faint cry, then a tiny cough. She followed where the sound was coming from. It led her to a closed bedroom door. She wingle the knob, it turned. She hurriedly opened it to see who's inside.

Her heart breaks to see a little girl at about four or five years of age crying over an unconscious woman. She teared up a bit. She pulled a blanket and went to the bathroom to wet it. She covered the girl with the wet towel and picked her up.

"Maamaaa!" The little girl cried. She tried to pacified.

"Ssshhhh... it's okay, baby. Don't cry. I'm here." She said almost in tears. The little girl turned to her.

"Mama?" She couldn't help it anymore but cry. She felt so heartbroken to see this innocent being left behind. Maine hugged the kid tightly.

"Anybody here?!" A male voice from the outside yelled.

"Yes. Help me please!" She called out. The man appeared in front of her, he is from the Dragon Post.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yes. Please help that woman. I am not sure if she is alive or not, I made sure the child is protected right away. He leaned in and felt the neck. He looked at Maine and shook his head. Maine choked her tears in.

"I'll bring her down for you." And he did. Maine ran down the hallway where she came from, carrying the child as fast as she could get out of that floor and down to the streets. The man was following her, too.

"Take the child, I'll contact you for the mother later." That's what he heard from the guy.

"No problem." Then she disappeared with the crowd.

She brought the child to the ambulance where Leon is. She pulled the folding chair attached to the side of the vehicle and sat the child there but she won't let go of her.

"Maine, made sure she's safe and okay. I'll take care of these." Leon said as he glanced at the five cots in front of them.

"Thanks, Leon." She quietly said. She sat down and hugged the girl.

"Wow. Just wow. While everyone is killing themselves to save these people, you still manage to sit down like a princess!" Maine had enough of Alden. She got up with a word, handed the crying child to Leon, slapped Alden across the face as hard as she could and she was going to do it again on his other cheek when someone stopped her hand.

"Mendoza! Richards! What is this all about?" Mike was so furious.

"Your princess here took upon her to sit down and pretended to take care of a kid while all of us are killing ourselves for one tennat's carelessness." Alden uttered, staring intently at her. His stares felt like drilling holes in her.

Maine took a deep breath and handed him the child. The child screamed as loud as she could and called out "Mama".

"Alden, while everyone is busy saving every adult here, she went up there to save that child whom no one heard her crying but Maine." Leon said calmly but sternly. He had an angry look on him.

"Still. She should have just left her for you or the other medics here. She's a firefighter first not a nanny." Alden said annoyingly. "Unless she wants to change career, then firefighting is not for her." He then sarcastically added. Mike was about to say something when Maine held his arm.

"She's a nurse by profession, you moron." Leon yelled. "I'm sorry, Maine. I know I have no right to tell anyone your life but this arrogant know-it-all has gotten in my very last nerve!" Leon angrily added. Well, she knows soon enough people will know who she really is.

"She can't help it. It comes out of her naturally." Nathan cooed. He himself is getting tired of Alden's nip-picking on Maine.

"We will talk when we get back to the firehouse." Big Mike said sternly. He himself is angry.

"No worries, Chief." Maine said. She handed the crying baby to Leon.

She kicked her boots off, took her fire suit off, let it drop on the ground. She then went on taking her leatherhead off. Her shoulder length hair dropped and spread out. It was shiny and healthy and long and Alden was taken aback. He stood there for a while staring at the beauty in front of him. He had never seen her this beautiful before, sweats and all. His heart skipped a beat. He shook his head violently to shake that thought away.

"Maine! What are you doing?" Big Mike asked.

"He can do my job since he's a know-it-all. I quit!"

__________
End of TPA 11: I Quit

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💖 ~ Ms J ~ 💖
03.27.20

The Periwinkle Affair
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August 26, 2019