Next of Kin.

chapter two, Come Back Kid or Firehose?

a/n : I'm gonna skip episode two for now because that is a very vital episode for Emery and Buck's relationship in the future 👀

But the part of the episode where May overdoses still happened, FYI. The only thing that didn't happen was Buck's plot in that episode.

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The clock ticks loudly. Each member of the family sits at the table in silence, not wanting to be the first to speak. Amaya looks at her parents on one side of the table, then her older sister on the other. Emery pops her lips and pushes the meatballs around her plate. Amara and Elijah keep their fingers intertwined while staying silent.

"Since no one else is gonna start..." Amaya slightly leans forward. "I guess I, the youngest and also the most mature, will." She folds her hands together. "Mom, Dad. Why did you invite Emery to dinner?"

They both exchange looks and Emery squints her eyes, noticing that look. She opens her mouth to say something rude, but her jaw slams shut. She rethinks her words and exhales through her nose. "You're doing it."

They both look at their eldest daughter. "Doing what exactly?"

"Debating with your eyes," Emery says. "Judging me."

"Can you watch your tone, please?"

Emerson loves her parents. Even after everything she was put through, she loves them. And she respects them. But this is insane. "I'm 25 years old, mama."

"Would you want me talking to you with that tone in your house?" Her mom questions.

Emerson runs a hand over her face. "No, ma'am..."

"Well, apartment." The father corrects. "A small one too, right, Amaya?"

Emerson looks at her little sister. "Dude, you told them about my apartment? And you didn't hype it up?!"

"That couch is absolute crap, Em," Amaya whispers. "You're going to murder someone's back with it."

Emerson folds her arms over her chest and sinks into her chair. "I love Harold."

"You named your couch?" Amara questions. She then nods her head. "Of course you did."

"You always got too attached to things..." Elijah murmurs.

Emery raises her brows. "What? We text every few months and never see each other." She shakes her head. "You don't know me anymore, guys."

"We know you. We have raised you for 18 years—"

"You told me that you wouldn't support me with photography." Emery cuts her mom off. "You told me you wouldn't pay for my college tuition...you..." her voice gets caught in her throat and she shakes her head. She quickly wipes her nose and pierced her eye's into her mom's. "...you guys never supported me. The real me."

Amaya looks between her parents and sister.

"We have always—"

"Helena Garcia?" Emery sets her fork down, her tone more serious than before. Her hand starts to shake and so does her throat.

Silence settles into the dining room. Amaya looks at her sister, trying not to cry at the mention of the girl.

"Who?"

Emery's jaw goes slack and her stomach violently turns. Who was Helena Garcia?—They're ducking with me...

Or they just genuinely don't care.

Emery lets out a scoff, but it sounded like she was out of breath. Her heart felt like it was going to explode out of her ears. Emery stands up with tears in her eyes. "I'm not doing this—"

"No, no, Em, please." Amaya urges. Emery looks at her sister and her eyes were practically begging Emerson to stay. Amaya just wanted her family back. She wanted them to eat it back as much as she did. Emery was trying to be a better big sister. And maybe doing this would be the first step.

"Fine." Emery forces out the word through her teeth.

Amaya looks at her, "Come on, guys. You know who Helena is..."

"...was." Emery corrects with her voice slightly cracking.

"Right, of course, we do--"

"You hated her," Emery says. "And you told me why not try to find a Jack or a Tony—"

"Oh God! Guys please!" Amaya shouts.

Everyone looks at the girl, who was picking at her arm.

"Amaya, honey, you can't keep doing that." The mom says.

Amaya takes her hand away from her arm and sighs. She looks at Emerson. "You said that they don't know you anymore. That you've changed. And that is right, you have changed. But, so have they."

Emerson pulls her brows together and looks back at her parents, waiting for them to speak. Her parents look at each other. "We invited you to dinner to talk about...what has happened in the past."

Emery raises her brows but she stays quiet.

"We're sorry," Elijah speaks.

Emery's jaw goes slack. Her parents continue to talk, but she just stares at them not comprehending what they were saying. All her life she's wanted an apology from them, but now that she was getting it—she didn't know how to feel.

"I-I need to go..." Emery slowly stands up.

Amaya opens his mouth, "Emery, don't go—"

"No, I have to go, okay?" Emerson looks at her parents before leaving the dining room. Amaya groans and stands up. She follows after her sister. Emery grabs her purse and jacket.

"Emerson, stop!"

Emery stops at the door. She turns to her sister, who had a look of disappointment on her face. Emery softly scoffs, "Don't look at me like that. Like your my parent."

Amaya ignores the resentment in Emery's tone and lets out a deep sigh. "It feels like I kind of am, right now." she pinches the bridge of her nose. "You didn't even hear their apology."

"Did you know that they were going to spring this on me?" Emery asks. "This apology?"

"I mean...yeah, I told them that they should try and—"

"Oh, you're the one who came up with this? Not them?" Emery scoffs. "Wow!" Emery chuckles. "This kind of feels like an ambush, don't ya think?"

Amaya shakes her head. She opens her mouth to say something, but Emerson looks at her watch.

"I've got a shift tomorrow. I'll see you guys...some other time."

Her parents walk toward their two kids. Emery looks back at Amaya. She knocks on the door four times before leaving the house.

☆

"Adult male, down, on the hillside. We got three kids in a bouncy house."

"All right, we're gonna stage the trucks on that service road," Bobby informs his team. "Hen, I want you, Buck, and Emery to rappel down, anchor that bouncy house. Assess the condition of those kids, and start to send them down one-by-one in a basket. I'll take care of the dad."

"Chimney, you're gonna stay up here and work the winch."

Chimney's shoulders sag. "Hey. How come I never get to do any of the fun stuff?"

"Working the winch is fun," Emery says with a reassuring smile.

"Oh, really? Then how about you stay and work the winch?"

"No."

"And why not?" Chimney tilts his head.

Emery scratches the back of her neck, "B-Because I have one of the fun things."

Chimney points at Emery, making a point. Everyone looks at her with a deadpan expression, knowing she didn't help the situation at all. Emery winces, "Sorry."

Bobby gives Chimney a reassuring pat on the shoulder and starts to walk away from the cliff with everyone following him. Hen, Emery, Bobby, and Buck put their harnesses on and secure themselves to the winch. Emery plants her steel-toed boots on the edge of the cliff and tightens her gloved hands around the rope. She looks to Hen and Buck, seeing if they were ready. They both give her a nod, so she gently pushes herself off the cliff and lowers herself down to the crying kids in the bouncy house. Emery clips one of the latches from her winch to the bouncy house's straps.

"Bouncy house's secure, Chim," Emery speaks into her radio.

"Copy."

The three continue down to the opening of the bouncy house. Buck pulls the flap of the bouncy house back and looks at the shaken kids. "Hey, guys? Hey! We're L.A. Fire and Rescue. We're gonna get you out of here, okay? Everybody just stay calm."

"Hey, boys, can you tell if your friend here is okay?" Henrietta asks. "Is he awake? Is he breathing?"

One of the kids shakes their head. Hen inhales a breath and looks at the curly-haired girl. "Em?"

"Already on it." Emery clicks her radio. "Lower the basket down, Chim."

"Copy."

"Is my dad, okay?" One of the kids asks, his voice shaking.

Emerson looks at the kid a soft reassuring smile across her lips. "You're dad is going to be fine. Our Captain is bringing him to the ambulance as we speak." As soon as Emery sees the relief across the kid's faces, she lifts her head up and looks at the basket lowering towards them. "A little lower, Chim."

"Boys, come on, let's go. Now." The urgency rises in Hen's voice.

Emery reaches for the basket, "Got it." she walks back over to the bouncy house. "Basket coming in."

Buck pulls the opening to the bouncy house wider. Emery ushers the basket into the bouncy house. Henrietta and Emery lay the unconscious kid on the basket. Emery holds her hand out to one of the kids. "Okay, let's get you out of here, yeah?"

The kid grabs Emery's hand and she gently tugs him forward. She wraps one of the straps around the kid's waist, securing him in front of her. "Chim, I'm good. Take me down."

The wire starts to lower Emery down to the stable ground. The kid's and man's vitals were checked and they were ushered into the ambulance. Emery lets out a sharp breath and detaches her harness from her body.

"So!"

Emerson flinches at the sudden voice behind her. She spins around and turns to the blonde boy. "Jesus, can you not look at me with those baby blues? They give me the Willys." she brushes past him and grabs her bag.

"How'd I do?" Buck follows after her.

"With?"

"You know, being a good firefighter?" Buck asks and bumps his hip with hers. Emery stumbles off to the side with a grunt, but she quickly plants her feet and chuckles. "Okay, let's get one thing straight..." she turns to him with her thumbs under her suspenders. "Do not bump me like that. Like we're friends because we are not friends. You know this."

A smirk forms on Buck's lips watching Emery's agitation rise. "And second, you need to get over that 'good firefighter' thing. Because it was a one-time compliment." she holds her hands up.

Buck looks away from the girl and chuckles. "Oh, come on, with me and you—it's never a one-time thing." he looks back at her.

Emery wrinkles her nose, "Listen, I don't know who you think I am..." she takes a step toward him her steeled-toed boots touching his. "...but I'm not some girl you can flash that himbo smile at, and make my knees go weak."

"Is that right?" Buck tilts his head.

Emery nods her head, "Yeah, I've got some sturdy knees." She slaps her knee and clicks her tongue. The girl then walks away from Buck as he laughs.

☆

"Oh My God, Oh My God—"

"No way..." Henrietta starts to laugh as she watches her two co-workers getting a little too competitive at Mario Kart.

Emery keeps her tongue stuck out of the corner of her mouth. Her thumbs move the joysticks around. "Oh. What's this?" She looks at the boy beside her. "It looks like I'm kicking your ass."

Buck scoffs, "Do you know what people call me, Emerson?" He places a hand over her eyes and she slaps his wrist away. "They call me the come back kid."

"Oh, really? I thought people called you 'Firehose'?" Emery looks at him with an arched brow. Buck's eyes widen and he snaps his eyes over to Emery and she smirks.

"Got your ass, Probie!"

Emery looks back at the tv screen and her character crosses the finish line. "Boom! First place!" She hops on top of the couch. Buck rolls his eyes and leans back on the couch. Henrietta laughs as the girl raises her arms in the air.

She sits on her knees and looks at Buck. "Just the way I like it." Emery tilts her head. "How does this loss taste? Does it taste good? Or is it nasty?"

"I'm never gonna live this down." Buck sighs.

Henrietta pats his shoulder. "No, you will not."

"Now, what is this Firehose thing?" Henrietta inquires.

"Nothing, it's just some stupid nickname..." Buck scratches his neck.

"Don't get all shy now, Probie." Emery chuckles. She looks at Henrietta. "That's his nickname the ladies call him on that fire dating app."

Henrietta pulls her brows together. "What does that even mean?"

"I bet I can take a guess." Emery speaks. "It might mean—"

"Okay, okay. Why exactly am I the only one being questioned here?" Buck interrupts. "How do you know that's my nickname anyway?"

Shit. Emery swipes her tongue across her lip then she winces. "I...guessed?"

Henrietta's mouth hangs open, "Did you download the app?"

"N-No..."

Buck's eyes widen and a smile forms on his lips. "And you searched me up?"

"No! No!" Emery points at Henrietta and Buck. "I didn't...I did not..." she trails off her sentence of denial when their staring becomes too much for her.

"Okay! I downloaded the app and I researched you!" Emery admits. "Only because I wanted to make fun of you." She huffs. "But you're profile was not...bad."

Henrietta shakes her head, "Now, you're never gonna live this down."

Emery wipes her forehead and sighs. Just when she was happy about her beating Buck in the game, now she's lost in the game of humility. "I'm just trying to get inspiration on what I should write on mine." She rolls her eyes. "Sadly, yours is all...ladies look at me shirtless." She says the last part in a mocking deep voice.

"And you're not like that." Buck says. "Not surprised..."

Emery side eyes him and Buck let's out a soft laugh. "Look, I can help you with your profile if you want?"

Emery wrinkles her nose, "Uh—no."

"Damn, that was quick." Henrietta chuckles. "Maybe you should accept his help."

Emery looks at Hen with wide eyes. "What?"

"Wait really?" Buck nervously chuckles.

"Yeah. I mean, no offense, Em. But..." Henrietta winces. "...you've been out of the game for a while."

Emery's mouth hangs open and Buck covers his mouth to keep his laughter silent. Her face grows hot. Emerson knows that she hasn't been out in a while, but she never thought it was so bad that others have noticed her desperation. Emery frowns and reluctantly looks at Buck, who was smiling in a cocky manner.

She lets out a sharp breath and her shoulders sag. "Fine. Will you help me with my profile, Probie?"

Just when Emery thought Buck's smile couldn't get any bigger. She was wrong. The girl clenches her teeth and winces. She slowly leans toward her friend. "Is this freaking you out?"

"That white boy smile is going to give me nightmares." Hen whispers back.

Buck's smile drops, "Hey—I can hear you guys!"

They both look at him. "Oh can you?" Emery tilts her head.

"You know what?" He points at her. "I'm not helping you—"

"Aw, what?" Emery holds her hands up. "I was kidding!"

"I'm sorry, I apologize." Emery wiggles her fingers.

"So, you checked out his profile on a dating app, asked for his help, and are now apologizing to him?" Henrietta lets out a low laugh. "You are on a roll, Buck."

Chimney walks up the stairs. And Henrietta grabs one of the remotes. "Chimney here, you're up!"

Chimney just walks past the three. The three exchange looks of confusion and worry. They stand up and walk over to Chimney.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Henrietta asks.

"Is...everything okay?" Emery inquires. "Physically? Mentally? Emotionally?"

"Yeah, Chim, if there's something you want to talk about..."

Chimney closes the refrigerator and turns to the three. "I'm a good-looking guy, right?"

"Yes."

Everyone looks at the curly-haired girl and she raises her brows. "He asked..."

"So, you can do a lot worse than me? Yeah?"

"Chimney, I've done a whole lot worse than you." Henrietta states.

"Wanna talk about worse? Let's talk to all the girls Buck has encountered." Emery laughs at her own joke. She walks over to the refrigerator and grabs some grapes.

"Oh, that was really funny, Emerson," Buck states, the sarcasm heavy in his voice. "I have a question for you, how's your love life right now?"

Emery's smile lessens and she looks at her grapes before stuffing them in her mouth. "Shut up." She says with a mouthful of grapes.

Bobby hands the plates to Buck and the utensils to Emery. They both grab their designed pieces of cutlery and walk over to the table, placing the plates and utensils in their spots.

"You think I'd be a good father?" Chimney asks.

"Of course, Chim."

"Heck yeah!" Emery says as she chews her grapes. "And look. You're good-looking now, but wait until you have a kid you're gonna become like a...a—"

"A Zaddy," Buck adds.

"I hate that word, but yes." Emery reluctantly agrees with the word. "Hey, what's this about anyway?"

"I asked Tatiana to marry me."

Everyone freezes. Emery chokes on a grape and starts to cough. Buck hits Emery's back a few times and she slaps his hand away before inhaling a deep breath. "You did what?" She exhales.

"Are you serious?" Buck asks, walking back over to the kitchen with Emery.

"Well, what happened?" Hen asks.

"First, she said she cheated on a fiancé that I didn't even know about, and that now we need to break up, then she said she didn't know. I..."

"Did you offer her the option of an open marriage?" Buck asks. "It's super modern."

"You know what's also super modern?" Emery turns to him with a brow arched. "Boys with blonde hair and blue eyes, who swing their dicks around; shutting up." She grabs the plate from Buck's hands and bumps her hip with his. Buck let's out a pain filled whine.

"Chim, I'm sorry." Hen speaks. "I mean, that may have not been the response that you hoped for, but it's not no."

"It might as well be." Chin sighs.

"Everything happens for a reason," Emerson calls out from the dining area.

"Probably for the best," Bobby says.

"What was that?" Chimney questions.

"Nothing. I'm sorry." Bobby looks at Chim. "I...I didn't mean anything by that. You doing okay?"

"Of course, you meant something by it. 'Probably for the best'? There's a lot of meaning behind that." Chimney states. "What, you don't...you don't like her?"

"I never said I don't like her. I don't like her for you."

Emery, Buck, and Hen slowly turn their heads to Bobby and Chim.

"And what does that even mean?" Chimney asks, almost getting defensive. Bobby tries to stay silent, not wanting the conversation to turn into something else. "No. Come on. Come on with it, wise man, just say what you want to say..."

Emery has always felt the same way Bobby has about Tatiana. But she was too worried that she might hurt Chim's feelings. She was also worried that the situation would turn out like the one she was watching now.

"...cause I'm getting real tired of you standing there, just silently judging me with that—yeah, right there, with that smirk on your face."

Emery raises her brows and nods. "The smirk can come off as condescending sometimes." She looks at Hen. "My intrusive thoughts have told me to deck him every time he does it."

"You know you're always so quick—"

"Chim—"

"—to comment on everybody's life, but you completely shut down whenever we ask you about yours."

Emery looks back at the conversation. "This reminds me of my grandparent's house when I was younger." She tilts her head. "Makes me wanna hide under the table again with my hands over my ears."

Buck and Hen exchange a look, then they look at the girl.

"I mean, how long have we worked together, Bobby?" Chimney asks. "I know nothing about you. I've never even met your wife and your kids."

"You know why? Cause all you do is you sit there, brooding, staring in that little book of yours."

"You know what? You're upset, let's drop it—"

"Oh, My God, Bobby. Come on, just say it! What is it? Say it—"

"All right, you're living a lie, man!" Bobby raises his voice.

Emery's mouth slightly opens. She really wanted to hide under the table right now.

"You let her manipulate you." Bobby continues. "You pretend to be somebody you're not when you're around her. Making up stories to satisfy some hero fetish of hers? What is that?"

"You know what? Maybe I wouldn't have to make up stories if every once in a while, you let me take point on something." Chimney states. "I have to operate the winch, right? And The Maneuver? I can do The Maneuver."

"I know you can. That's not the point here" Bobby tries to get back on track. "Chimney, this relationship that you're in is fueled by lies."

Chimney shakes his head, causing Bobby to sigh.

"Come on. You asked me to make you two dinner so you could pass it off as your own."

Chimney looks back at his friends. The three quickly look away from the two men and go back to setting up the food on the table.

"She's not in love with you." Bobby tries to get Chimney to understand. "She's in love with this fantasy version of you."

"You know what? I feel bad for your wife. I really do." Chimney starts to walk away. "Must be tough living with someone who thinks he's right all the time."

"Chim—"

"No, I'm getting some air." Chimney walks down the stairs.

Emery sputters her lips. "Well, that sure as hell drained me. I'm starving." She claps her hands together. "What about everyone else?" She lets out a chuckle, hoping to relieve the tension.

She definitely didn't succeed in that. They all ate in silence.

☆

As soon as Bobby told them it was Chimney that called. The 118 sprung into action and got into their gear. They made it to the freeway, where the car accident was.

"Your guys this way. He wouldn't let anyone else touch him." The man guiding them to the car hesitates for a moment which causes Emery to grow anxious. "You, Uh, you might wanna prepare yourself, sir."

Bobby slightly slows his walking and turns to the three. "Hang back, guys."

Emery pulls her brows together, but she stops. "I don't like this..." she speaks.

Bobby soon came back to inform the firefighters of what was happening. Just hearing about the rebar made Emery's gut twist. "He's alert and talking, doesn't appear to be in any pain."

"Got a piece of rebar through his skull. How is that even possible?" Buck asks.

"Oh, it's possible. Brain tissue has no nociceptors." Hen states. "It can't feel pain."

Emery inhales through her nose, she taps her finger against her thigh four times.

"What about the rest of his head?" Buck asks.

"It's probably just shock." Emerson exhales.

"Listen, guys, this hasn't registered yet," Bobby pronounces. "He knows he's pinned, but that's it, so we got to be cool."

"Em, mostly talking about you."

Emery nods her head. "I'm cool, Cap. As a cucumber, more specifically."

"Right..." Bobby hesitantly nods.

Emerson was a worrier. She likes to do things by the book and likes everything to be under control. And when those things were out of her control. She begins to worry. Mostly about the worst possible outcome.

"So, if this thing's right between his eyes, can he see it?" Buck asks.

"I don't know what he can see." Bobby states.

They get to the car and you could feel almost everyone's breathing stop from the state Chimney was in. But they all remembered what Bobby said and almost at the same time they recovered. Hen gets into the passenger seat and checks Chim's breathing.

"Airways sound good." Hen pronounces.

"What's your pain level?" Emery inquires.

"Not much pain." Chim answers. "I don't think there's any spinal damage. I can feel my legs, but when I try to move my head..." he slightly moves and everyone's eyes widen.

"Don't!"

"Just...be still," Bobby adds.

"What's going on?" Chimney starts to grow more aware of everyone's worries. "Wh-Why aren't you guys like, cutting me out of here?"

"It's complicated."

"Why?"

"You've been injured, Chim." Bobby states.

"How bad is it?" Chimney asks.

"It's not good." Buck answers.

Emery kicks his shin and he grunts. Buck's jaw slams shut.

"Well, I want to see it."

"No, you don't."

"Yeah, I do. Bobby, show me." Chimney insists.

Bobby reluctantly reaches into his pocket and grabs his phone. He records a video of Chimney's head and shows it to him.

"Holy crap..." Chimney murmurs. "How come I'm not dead?"

"Because you are the luckiest and the unluckiest son of a bitch on the face of the earth all at the same time." Bobby states.

"Hey, Uh, you guys. I can't even feel this." Chimney says.

"I know."

"All right, well, please get me out of here before I start to..." Chimney urges.

"All right, we're working on it. Normally I'd be consulting with my smartest EMT, but right now he's got a rebar stuck in his head."

Chim swallows nervously. "Sharpe, secure Chim."

"Yes, sir." Emery gives him a nod.

Emery climbs into the back seat of the car. She wraps a neck brace around him and ties a buckle around his waist and seat. Hen hands Emery a piece of cloth and the curly-haired girl tightly wraps it around Chim and the seat. "That okay?" she asks.

"Yeah, thanks." Chimney answers.

Emery looks at Bobby, "We're good here, Cap."

"All right, can you move?" Bobby inquires.

"Not a bit."

"Good. All right."

They get Chimney's car towed with him in it. "Hey, Buck," Chim calls out. "How's the car, man? Is it a total loss?"

"Nah, man, you...probably buff most of that out." Buck aggressively nods his head with a weary look across his face. Emery purses her lips.

Chim lets out a sigh of relief, "Good."

They all get to the hospital entrance. Buck uses the jaws of life to snap some of the rebar off. They help Chimney onto the stretcher and walk him to the entrance with the nurses.

"We'll take him from here." One of the nurses speaks.

Buck looks away from Chim and at the nurses. "Wha...no, w-we're not leaving his side."

"Are you family?"

Emery nervously bites the inside of her cheek and looks back at Chim.

"Buck, our jobs end here at these doors like always." Bobby states.

Emery pulls her hands away from the metal of the stretcher. "We should let them do their jobs." She rubs her hands against her jeans. "This is just like any other job."

Emery quickly walks toward the fire truck. Buck watches the nurses roll Chimney into the E.R. He looks at the curly-haired girl and quickly follows after her. "Hey, Em!" Buck calls out. "How could you say that? "This is just like any other job". This is Chim—"

"There are rules for a reason, Probie." Emery shakes her head. "Maybe you need to be here a little while longer to understand that." She lightly scoffs and climbs into the fire truck.

Buck slightly opens his mouth and goes to continue the conversation, but Bobby holds a hand out to him. Buck looks at The Captain.

"Maybe, you should give her some space," Bobby advises.

"I'm sure out of all of us, she doesn't want to talk to you." Hen states. "No offense."

☆

Everyone waited at the station in silence for any calls about Chim or even any calls for firefighter aid. But they heard nothing until the sun came up. Emery twirls the necklace around her neck. She uses her free hand to scrub the counter's with a sponge. Buck looks over at the girl that was more quiet than usual. He stands up from the table and walks over to her. "Hey, Em--"

"I'm busy." Emery walks over to the cabinet and opens it. She grabs some more cleaning products and gloves. She walks past Buck and goes toward the steps with the boy following after her.

"Where are you going?"

"To clean the bathrooms." Emery answers.

"Why?"

Emery stops and turns to him, causing Buck to abruptly stop. The tip of his boots touch hers. "Gee, I don't know, Buck. Maybe because when bathrooms are dirty. You usually clean them." she lets out a scoff and turns back to the stairs. Before she could take a step forward, Buck grabs her shoulder.

"I just wanted to apologize."

Emery turns her head with her eyes on his hand that was on her shoulder. Then she looks back at his eyes, then his hand again; hoping he understood the message.

He didn't.

"You can apologize without touching me. Thanks." Emery shrugs him off of her.

"Right..." Buck stuffs his hands into his pockets. "I'm sorry for coming at you outside of the E.R. I just...I was worried about Chim—"

"We all are, Probie." Emery says, her eyes on his. "Just because I follow the rules and treat every rescue like a job, doesn't mean I don't care." She looks at her boots and notices their shoes touching. She takes a step back.

"I know that." Buck says, his voice soft.

Emery looks back at him. "It's easier that way, you know? Making everything feel like it's a job." She presses her lips together. "Just some advice."

Buck pulls his brows together as he hears the pain in Emery's voice. "Is that like something you've picked up from an experience?"

Emery's jaw clenches and her back straightens. Her eyes immediately start to burn and she feels like she's back in front of the house, rushing in with her guard down and treated the rescue like it wasn't a job. "I need to...get those bathrooms cleaned." She clears her throat.

"Not so fast, Sharpe." Bobby runs up the stairs.

Emery raises her brows, "Is everything all right, Captain?"

"You follow the rules that much that you call Bobby 'Captain'?" Buck wrinkles his nose.

Emery shrugs a shoulder, "It's respectful." She sets the cleaning products on the coffee table and walks over to Bobby.

"Is this about Chim?" Hen asks.

"I just got off the phone with the surgeon." Bobby states.

"He alive?" Buck asks.

"He's alive." Bobby confirms.

"He still have both his eyes?" Hen inquires.

"Yeah."

"Is there any brown damage?" Emery asks, her nails digging into her arm.

"There were some complications when they took the rebar out. He started hemorrhaging." Bobby answers. "They got the bleeding under control, but had to put him in a medically induced coma. They'll let us know if his condition changes."

Emery pulls her brows together.

"You mean if he wakes up."

"Or if he doesn't."

Emery's chest tightens and she swallows. "I need to go clean the bathrooms." She quickly walks away from the group and grabs the cleaning products. She walks down the stairs as her throat tightens.

☆

The group got their first call since Chimney has been in the hospital. It was a great way for everyone to distract themselves. Even though some didn't want to admit it was a distraction.

"Truck is registered out of Texas." The officer informs the group. "We're still looking for the driver. It's got to be over 100 degrees in there."

"Sharpe, Buck!"

Sharpe slips the goggles over her eyes and walks over to the storage unit. She turns the saw on and cuts into the lock. The lock falls after a minute of sawing into it. She and Buck pull the metal doors back, revealing the many people in the crate. A man rushes toward the entrance with a child in his arms, begging to help in Spanish.

"Por supuesto, vamos a ayudarle." Emery replies, her tone gentle.

Buck carry's the child in his arms. He gently places the kid on the ground. Emery jumps into the crate and tries to calm everyone down while directing them outside. Bobby and Emery get everyone out of the crate.

Once everyone is out of the crate, Emery goes to Hop out but Buck holds a hand out to her. She pulls her brows together. "I got in by myself and I can get out by myself—thanks." She jumps out of the crate with her boots planting on the concrete.

"Hey, dick!"

Buck and Emery turn to Hen, who was chasing after one of the civilians. "Uh, what is Hen doing?" Buck asks.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?!" Henrietta shouts. She slams the man down to the ground. Emery raises her brows and her mouth hangs open. "O-Oh My God—Oh My God!" She runs toward Hen.

"Sick son of a bitch!" Hen growls. "Whole families could have died in there. Someone with a badge and a gun wanna put this trash in custody?!"

"Henrietta Wilson!" Emery seethes, ducking under the caution tape. "That's not what we're supposed to—"

"That was badass!" Buck makes it over to the two women. "But I thought we weren't here to blow off steam?"

"You know what you can blow." Hen snaps at Buck.

Emery scrunches her lips together and looks at Buck as Hen stalks away.

"Hen!"

Emery starts to giggle and she covers her mouth.

Buck looks at Emery, "Looks like someone's feeling better."

Emery looks at Buck and her mouth opens. "Oh, a good remark thrown at you will always make me feel better."

Emery holds her arms out. "Why are you just standing here, Buck? Shouldn't you be blowing something?" She laughs harder than before and slaps a knee.

Buck couldn't help but smile at the girl. He's never actually seen anyone slap a knee while laughing. It was weird.

...

"He's a tough nut."

Emery looks through the glass door and her eyes land on Chim. His eyes were bruised, his face was littered with cuts, and his forehead had a deep scar stitch.

"He's gonna be in this room for a few days." The nurse informs them. "Intubation tube is out, obviously, but the catheter's still in."

"Can he hear us?" Buck asks.

The nurse looks at them. "I always treat them like they can. All right, two minutes, and then I'm kicking you out." She opens the glass door for them.

One-by-one, the firefighters enters the room. Emery looks around the room as Bobby talks to Chimney.

"We're all here for you, buddy." Bobby says.

Everyone sits down, but Emery. She looks down at her boots and taps her knuckles against her thigh four times.

"Hey, Em?"

Emery looks at Bobby then everyone else. "Hm?"

"You wanna sit down?"

Emery bites the sides of her cheek. She exhales through her nose and looks around the room. She grabs the last chair, places it at the end of the bed, and sits down.

"H-Hey. I was thinking maybe when you come back to work, um, you know, you should do The Maneuver instead of me." Buck says.

Everyone looks at him. Buck shrugs his shoulders. "To motivate him to get better."

"He can't do The Maneuver." Henrietta whispers.

"Yeah, he can." Buck says. "Hey, Chim, you can do The Maneuver, right?"

Bobby feels Chim's hand twitch and he pulls his hand from his. Chimney forms a weak thumbs up. Emery raises her brows and a small hopeful smile forms on her lips.

"Chim..." Hen shakily whispers. "...I, um...I tried to get ahold of your parents. There's a 16-hour time difference with Seoul, you know, so maybe, maybe that has something to do with it."

Bobby holds Chim's hand again. "Yeah, it's all right. His family's right here."

Emery swipes her tongue across her lower lip. "You know how much I hate hospitals, Chim." She wipes her nose. "So, I guess you're kind of a big deal to me if I come here for you."

She softly laughs with everyone else. The two minutes went by so fast, but it helped Emery realize that Chim was going to be okay. She got home later, the silence more deafening before. She was relieved that Chim was going to be okay. But being at the firehouse, waiting and then, going to the hospital brought too many things up for her.

Emery takes her boots off and neatly seats them on the shoe rack at the front door. She then takes her jacket off and hangs it on the cost rack. The girl exhales a sharp breath and listens to the clock tick louder than before. She looks around her apartment that was neatly organized to her liking. Her hand reaches for the necklace hanging around her neck and tears fill her eyes.

Instead of dealing with her feelings, she decided to do what always makes her feel better and keeps her distracted. She decided to deep clean.

Even though there was nothing to clean.

━━━━━━━━━━

author's note.

I've been watching Station 19 and I think there might be times where I write some of their fire rescues into this story.

words : 6319