Point of Origin.

chapter four , Getting Back in the Saddle

a/n : is it 'in the saddle' or 'on the saddle'?

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There were a lot of things that Emery could do to help clear her mind. And with the many memories that plagued her mind, she had a lot of clearing to do. Emery inhales a deep breath and holds it as she pulls herself up on the bar. She lowers herself and and pulls herself back up again.

A whistle comes from behind her and she rolls her eyes. Emery drops to the floor, her sneakers hitting the tiles. She grabs the towel and turns to the boy.

"What do you want, Probie?" Emery huffs.

"Aren't your muscles already...muscle-y?" Buck walks toward her.

"Well, as a black woman in America. My muscles can never be too big." Emery chuckles. "But I'm sure you have...zero clue why I would be worried about something like that."

"I have a clue, I just don't have to worry about that kind of thing myself." Buck leans against the bar machine.

Emery's right eye twitches. "Well, at least your aware of your privilege." She pats the towel on her neck. Her phone rings, she reaches for it. But Buck was much more quick than her. He grabs her phone and Emery curses.

"Probie—"

"Oh My God." Buck laughs.

Emery scratches her brow with embarrassment. "Can you please—"

"You got a match?" Buck inquires. "You never told me you got a match."

"Why would I have to tell you?" She snatches her phone from him and looks at the text. A smile forms on her lips.

"Because I helped you create the profile." Buck says. "This is like a win for me too. Maybe you'll stop being such a stick in the mud."

Emery's smile drops. "I beg your pardon? I am not a stick in the mud."

"Oh, please. You've got a stick shoved so far up your ass, you can hardly breathe."

Emery's chuckles, "How long did it take for you to come up with that one?"

"I actually just came up with it." Buck crosses his arms.

Buck lied. It took him 3 days practicing saying it without fumbling over his words. Emery sits on the bench of the bench press and texts the person on her phone.

"So, who's the special guy?" Buck asks.

Emery rolls her eyes.

"Why do you assume it's a guy?" Henrietta asks, making her way over to them. Emery points at Hen, agreeing.

Buck raises his brows, "So, they're a girl?"

"They don't have to be a girl either." Emery shrugs, her eyes glued to her phone.

Buck nods his head. "So, who are they?"

"A guy named William."

Hen quietly laughs and Buck pulls his brows together. "But, you just said—"

"I just didn't want you to assume I'm only interested in guys." Emery shrugs. She looks at Buck then at Hen. "He's a Probie at this job and in life, isn't he?"

Hen laughs harder than before causing Emery to smirk and Buck to frown. Hen touches Emery's shoulder. "I'm proud of you, Em."

Emery smiles softly, "Yeah. I thought it was about time to...move on."

Buck raises his brows and smiles. "Ooh, gossip. Move on from who?"

Emery's eyes sadden and she exhales through her nose. She quickly recovers and turns to Buck with a smug smirk. "Your mom. We talked about it for a while and we both decided it was for the best."

Buck rolls his eyes and Hen snorts.

"I am so done with you two."

Emery knits her brows together and turns around. "Have you guys seen Cap?"

"His office." Hen states.

"Yeah, I don't think he's coming out. Not until—"

The alarm blares through the firehouse and Buck presses his lips together and he points at the ceiling.

"That."

They got to the scene to see the floor collapsed. "16 DOA so far. Mostly blunt trauma to the head or crushed by failing debris or other bodies."

"One victim impaled."

Bobby shifts his eyes up the large hole in the floors "They fell through two stories. I won't be surprised if that number goes higher."

"Captain, the groom is devastated—his bride hasn't been accounted for yet." Henrietta informs.

"We'll find her. Buck, Em, I'm gonna need you two to go up top." Bobby orders. "Access to the second floor is blocked. We're gonna have to tackle this thing from other ends."

Emery and Buck look at each other before looking at Bobby. "Okay, Captain."

Buck looks at the curly-haired girl. "Race you up the stairs?"

Emery knits her brows together. "Right. I'm gonna race you up those stairs after the top floors collapsed." She then scoffs. "Come on, Probie." She walks up the stairs.

Buck shrugs a shoulder and walks up the stairs beside Emery. "Did you not take a shower before we left—"

"I didn't have time!" Emery snaps. "Mention it again and I will end you."

Buck chuckles at her frustration. He tosses her one of the harnesses and Emery catches it. She buckles her harness around her waist and ties it around her pillar and Buck does the same. They lower themselves down to the level beneath them.

"I-In here!" One of the men shouts, a pipe through his stomach.

"We're coming, sir!" Emery calls outs.

"My leg. I think it's broken."

Emery's boots come into contact with the cement floor.

"Okay, hang tight."

Buck and Emery pick up the blocks of cements and set them to the side. Once they get the man out of from under the cement. They each grab an arm and place them over their shoulders. They lead him down to the lower level and hand him off to other firefighters.

"Buck, Sharpe! Get over here, give me a hand."

Emery looks into the tower of cement blocks and see a woman trapped.

"Savita!" The groom shouts.

Emery places both of her gloved hands against the wall, while Buck grips the edge of it. Emery pushes the whole and Buck pulls it. "Em, let me take over for you here. Check on the bride." Bobby orders.

Emery gives Bobby a nod. Bobby and Emery switch places. She gets underneath the cement tower. "She's not moving, Cap."

"All right, is she breathing?"

Emery pulls one of her gloves off and places a hand underneath the bride's nose. "Yeah, she is. She's starting to wake up."

Emery pulls out more of the cement pieces from underneath. Savita starts to stir awake and the cement begins to move around, which causes Emery to freeze. "Hey, hold still, all right?" She softly speaks. "We're gonna get you out of here."

Emery slips her glove back on and gently grabs Savita's hand. "Let's go, very slowly." She assured the weak girl.

Slowly, the two women crawl out of the space. Emery allows Savita to leave the crawl space first. "You guys got her?"

"Yeah, yeah." Bobby and Buck grab Savita's hands and help her up. Emery crawls out of the space and huffs.

"Is the owner here?" Bobby asks.

Emery pulls her brows together as she pats the dust off her gloves.

"Uh, that's him right there." Hen points out. "Why?"

"Hey!" Bobby calls out.

Emery raises her brows at Bobby's tone.

"When'd you put in the third floor?" Bobby makes his way over to the owner.

When the man doesn't answer, Bobby grows agitated. "When did you put in the third floor? You think I don't know what that is?!" He tosses the metal sheet to the ground.

"This is apart of protocol...right?" Buck asks the curly haired girl.

Emery huffs, "I mean as long as he doesn't—"

Bobby grips the man by his shirt and shakes him. "That's Kal-Pal! That stuff's been banned!"

Emery points, "Now that isn't apart of protocol." She gulps.

"You didn't reinforce the conversation concrete with steel! Instead you use that crap!"

"Uh, sir?—"

"This used to be a two-story building. That floor that collapsed that was the roof, wasn't it? Wasn't it?!"

"This is kind of not the right way to go about this situation, Captain!" Emery calls out, a nervous chuckle mixes in with it.

"Bobby!—"

"You know what you did, you son of a bitch!" Bobby shouts. "You're going to jail. That's manslaughter!"

Hen pulls Bobby back, "Captain, Captain, come away." She scoffs. "What is wrong with you?"

"Back off, Hen." Bobby snaps.

Emery and Buck's mouths hang open. It wasn't a written down rule, but everyone knew not to mess with Hen.

"Back off, really?" Henrietta scoffs with disbelief. "Not 24 hours ago, you were saying, 'Help'. What happened to that?"

He rips his arm from Hen's grip and stalks out of the building. Emery sputters, she looks at Buck. "Change the subject, change the subject, change the subject..." she says under her breath.

Buck clears his throat and walks forward. "So, this wedding—its an arranged marriage. That's a trip, right?" He questions. "Can you imagine committing to someone you don't even know?"

"Does anybody really know anybody?" Henrietta murmurs. She walks out of the building.

Emery clicks her tongue and nudges Bobby's arm. "What the hell?" Buck rubs his arm with a hiss.

They both look at each other. Emery shakes her head. "You didn't even pivot that much from the conversation." She pulls her face back.

"I talk about the arrange marriage." Buck holds his hands out. "How was that not a pivot?"

"You couldn't talk about dogs? Or...how the weather is?"

"You will never be happy with what I do, will you?" Buck chuckles out of disbelief.

Emery wrinkles her nose, "Do you really have to ask that? The answer is obviously no." She walks away from him.

☆

Emery doesn't normally go out. She likes to stay home and be alone. But if she was going out with Athena and Hen? Count her in.

"So, are we only ordering drinks? Or can I get some food too?"

Hen and Athena look at the girl who was chewing on a pretzel stick. "You don't have to starve yourself on our account. Eat something."

Emery lets out a breath and grabs a menu. Her eyes skim across the words.

"So, how long they gonna have you chained to that desk?" Hen asks.

"Well, the Creedy's are ready to drop their complaint—you know, so long as the department drops the charges on their daughter." Athena explains.

"Are you okay with that?" Hen asks.

Athena scoffs, "Not even a little bit. That girl is wicked."

"Teenage girls usually are." Emery looks over her menu. "I remember one time the girls at my school poured milk in my hair. While it was straightened."

"Oh, hell no." Athena and Hen voice

Emery nods her head and presses her lips into a firm line. "I can't walk past a group of teenagers without my stomach turning."

"What? You always think they have extra milk on hand?" Athena chuckles.

Emery shakes her head and quietly laughs with the two women. "No." She falters. "Okay, kind of. But it's also because they're judgmental as hell."

"I would rather walk on the other side of the street..." she says into her fruity umbrella drink. Her eyes shift to Athena. "Is May doing okay?" Emery taps the pad of her finger against the table four times.

"She's at home." Athena answers. "I mean, it feels like we're back on solid ground. If we ever were."

"I swear, it's like I don't even know these people km supposed to be the closest to." Athena sighs.

Emery lets out a soft breath, "I hear that..."

"There is a lot of that going around." Hen nods, agreeing.

Athena looks at Emery then Hen. "Trouble at home?"

"I live alone." Emery states.

Hen shakes her head, "No, no. Not at home. At least, not yet, no. It's Bobby."

"Clark Kent?" Emery giggles at the nickname. Athena looks at Emery. "Is that who you were referring to?"

Emery rolls her lips into her mouth. "Actually, no...I was referring to mí familia. I'll tell you after." She sips her drink.

"After the plane crash...he went on a bender." Henrietta tells Athena. "Didn't answer his phone for, like, two days. Buck, Em, and I went over there to make sure he was still alive."

"And can I tell you, there was not one single picture on the wall. Nothing, no sign of a family. Nothing." Henrietta explains. "It was just, it was weird. Was it not weird?" She looks at Emery.

Em was balancing her straw on her upper lip. She raises her brows and takes the straw off her lip. "Uh, yeah—it was definitely weird. For sure. I mean...he's been our captain for over a year. And he's never really talk about his personal life." Emery thinks back to the pain in Bobby's eyes when she asked about the four plates.

"It's like he's got this invisible wall up." Henrietta adds.

"What you think his wife left him, took everything?" Athena asks.

"See, it didn't look like somebody had come and cleared out. It was more like..."

"...nobody was ever there." Emery finishes. Her finger taps against the table four times.

"Well, if you two want, I'll do a background check." Athena offers. "I got nothing to do all day anyway."

Emery gulps, "That's not ethically moral..." she drags out.

"Always for the rules, aren't you?" Athena chuckles.

Emery winks and sends a finger gun to Athena. "And don't you forget it."

"Bobby already has trust issues." Hen says. "I don't want those problems. Nah. And it's, you know...it's not like I'm saying that he's a bad captain. Hell...I think he's the best captain I've ever worked under."

"But I'm starting to worry about him."

Emery nods her head in agreement.

"So, what'd you mean by "not yet'?" Athena asks. "Before when I asked if there was trouble at home, you said 'not yet'."

Emery raises a finger, "Yeah. What was that about?"

Hen let's out a soft sigh, "I got a call this morning from Palmer Women's Correctional Facility."

Emery and Athena both had the same reaction. Their eyes drooped low and they deadpanned.

"What does she want?" Athena questions.

"To see me." Hen states. "She said it's urgent. I feel like I owed it to her."

"Well, you don't, Hen." Emery shrugs a shoulder. "You owe her nothing."

"In fact, you got credit in that account." Athena adds.

"You guys are right. But she didn't fight us when we wanted to adopt Denny." Henrietta points out. "I just don't want her making waves."

"And what does your wife have to say about that—you going to visit your exhales at the pokey?" Athena asks.

"I haven't told her yet."

Emery winces, "Well, are you going to?"

Hen shakes her head, "I don't know." Her voice was filled with uncertainty.

Athena leans back in her seat. "Looks like Bruce Wayne isn't the only one with a few secrets."

"Now, what were you referring too with not knowing people you're closest to?" Athena looks at Emery.

Emerson raises her brows and hums. "Oh, uh...I had dinner with my parents a few nights ago."

Hen raises her brows.

"Oh, you did. Did you?" Athena pulls her face back.

Emery purses her lips and nods. "Oh, yeah..." she sips on her drink.

"And how was that?" Hen asks.

"I didn't even get to eat. I just left." Emery exhales a sharp breath.

"What'd they do?"

Emery scrunches her nose. "Honestly? They...apologized."

Athena and Henrietta blink. "And you left?"

Emery scratches her brow, "Yeah...all I've ever wanted was for them to apologize. But then, I found out that Amaya was the one who came up with the dinner." She sinks into her seat. "So, it just seemed fake."

Her eyes stay on her empty glass. "I just want them to actually understand what they've done." She quietly starts to chuckle. She taps the rim of her glass four times.

"Uh oh..."

Emery looks at Hen with her brows pulled together. "What?"

"She's got the sad drunk eyes." Hen sighs.

"Wha...?"

"Yeah, who's gonna take her home?" Athena asks.

"Guys—"

"Rock, Paper, Scissors?" Hen raises her brows.

Emery frowns, "Guys, I can take an Uber."

Athena and Henrietta look at each other again. They both knew how Emery got when she was intoxicated. She got dangerously sad. It was something that has always been there.

Emery sputters her lips, "I can Uber. I like to Uber..." she looks through her bag and sets money on the table.

"How about you stay over at my place tonight, Emi?" Athena asks.

Emery shakes her head. "What? No."

She's not someone who asks for help. That was never a thing in her family. It took everything in Emery to be able to talk about her feelings. Especially, since her family was a 'don't talk about your feelings' kind of family. But one thing she will never get over is not asking for help. Emery Sharpe is not an imposer.

Athena leads Emery into the house. "Okay, watch the steps..." she whispers.

Emery hangs her head lower and sighs. "I'm sorry for imposing."

"You are not imposing, Em." Athena whispers. "Here we go..."

Emery lays on the couch. Athena lays her on her side and sets a wastebasket beside her. She grabs a throw and pillow. Athena places the pillow under Emery's head and places the blanket over her.

"Thanks, Athena..." Emery whispers.

Athena crouches in front of the girl and smiles softly. "Get some rest, sweetheart."

Athena stands up and turns off the light. She wasn't new to Emery's life story. She knows the family struggles Emery had. But the struggles after she moved out were the ones that were burned into Athena's brain. Athena felt like Emery was this machine that had to keep moving. Because if she stopped then everything she wasn't dealing with would come back into her head and Emery couldn't handle that.

Even though Emery thinks she doesn't have anyone by her side. She does.

☆

Emery feels a poke at her cheek, but she chooses to ignore it. She then feels a poke again. Her eyes flutter open and she meets the eyes of the young boy.

"She's not dead, mom!"

"Harry, leave her alone!"

Emery holds up a hand and Harry gives her a high-five. "What's up, Harry?" She wipes her eyes.

"I was just checking if you were breathing," Harry says.

Emery sits up, "Well, thank you for that." She chuckles. "Never hurts to check."

Emery looks at the kitchen table and sees the girl sitting there. "Hey, May."

May looks at Emerson and gives her a small wave. Emery presses her lips together. "Did your dad already leave?"

May lets out a scoff, catching everyone's attention. "You told her?"

Emery blinks. "Uh--"

"No, May, I didn't." Athena sighs. "I'm sure Emery's referring to something else."

"I don't believe you." May stands up and walks to her room.

Emery rolls her lips into her mouth, "And that is my cue to leave." she stands up and stretches.

"Em, I made waffles." Athena says, holding the plate up.

Emery slightly opens her mouth and she points at Athena with a smile. "I can go for some waffles."

Emery walks over to the table and Athena chuckles.

After eating breakfast, Emery got back to her apartment. She opens the door and places her purse on the coffee table. Emery goes to flop on the couch.

"I'm here, I am right here!"

Emery lets out a scream and grabs her purse. She spins back toward the couch and starts to hit it with her eyes closed.

"Ow, ow—STOP IT!!!"

Emery pulls her purse back and looks at her little sister on the couch with her hands up. "Amaya...?" She then lets out a soft breath. "Oh thank god." She then scrunches her brows and she starts to feel angry. "Amaya?! What are you doing here?!"

"What the hell?!" Amaya stands up and huffs.

Emery sets her purse back on the table. "Why are you here, Amaya?"

"I...I needed to get away." Amaya sighs.

Emery looks at her watch. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

Amaya sputters her lips, "It's exam week. I was able to leave early."

"So, you walked here? All by yourself?" Emery shakes her head. "How did you even get in here?!"

Amaya blinks, she then shrugs her shoulders. "I picked the lock." She takes the Bobby pin out of her hair and holds it up.

Emerson's eyes widen, "Are you out of your mind?"

"I don't know. That's still to be determined." Amaya sighs.

"What if someone caught you?" Emerson scoffs.

Amaya blinks, "Then I would tell them that my sister was the one who taught me how to pick locks. Because ya did." She rolls her eyes and walks into the kitchen.

Emery exhales through her nose. "What happened this time? With mom and dad?"

Amaya opens the refrigerator and looks through it. "They started doing that thing where they ignore actual mental health issues." She grabs the cranberry juice.

Emery leans against the island and presses her lips into a small line. Amaya pours herself a glass of juice. "I had a panic attack at school yesterday and they told me I was fine and brushed it off." She shrugs. "Same way they're brushing off dad's urge to go off his meds..."

Emery places her knuckles against her check and listens to her sister. Amaya quietly chuckles, "I thought they changed..."

"Yeah, well, I hate to say I told you so, but—"

"Then don't." Amaya snaps.

Emery raises her brows. Amaya's gaze softens and she  huffs. "Sorry...I didn't mean to yell." She scratches the top of her brow.

Emery holds her hands up. "It's cool." She sputters. "I...should be more sensitive to the situation." She stretches her arms.

Amaya closes her eyes and sighs. "They liked Charlie."

Emery knits her brows together. "Charlie...?"

Amaya looks at her older sister and raises her brows. She sips her cranberry juice. "Oh. My partner."

Emery freezes and her jaw was slack. "P-Partner? As in—"

"Significant other." Amaya clarifies.

Emery pulls her brows together, "And...mom and dad are cool with it?"

Amaya chews on the inside of her cheek and nods her head. "Yeah...they are."

Emery frowns, "Wow. That's uh, unexpected." She scratches her ear.

Amaya watches as Emery taps her fingers against the island. Emery sputters as her chest tightens. Her entire life, Emery had to defend her sexuality to her parents. They never accepted her. Emery wanted to be happy that her parents were changing for the better, but she couldn't help but feel sad too.

"Do you want to get food or something?" Amaya suggests with a small shrug, wanting to change the subject.

Emery blinks, "I just had waffles. Thanks though." She curtly replies. Emerson stands up and walks down the hall. "Make yourself at home."

Amaya lets out a sharp breath and goes back to drinking her cranberry juice.

☆

Amaya tosses the popcorn in the air and catches it in her mouth. She lets out a triumphant laugh and throws the popcorn back into the air. Before it could fall into her mouth, Emery grabs the popcorn and tosses it in her mouth. Amaya looks at her sister and rolls her eyes. She goes to look away, but stops, when she notices that Emery's curly hair was hanging down, and she was in a black dress.

"Where the hell are you going?" Amaya pulls her face back.

"On a date." Emerson cheekily smiles.

Amaya pulls her brows together. "A date?" She sets her bowl onto the table and stands up. "You're...are you actually ready for that?"

Emery snorts, "It's been 2 years, Maya. I'm ready."

Amaya slightly raises her brows and searches her sister's eyes. Emerson rolls her eyes, "Stop." She softly scoffs. "I'm good. I will be okay."

The younger sister places a hand in her hip and scratches the inner corner of her eye. "I guess that's cool."

Emery pulls her face back and chuckles. "You're talking like I wouldn't have gone if you weren't okay with it." She walks toward the door.

"I'm just looking out for you—"

"You don't have to. I am a grown ass woman and can handle myself." Emerson turns back to Amaya with her arms out.

"Just because you're barely around, doesn't mean I can't worry about you."

Emery freezes and inhales a deep breath. "Right..." she looks away from Amaya. "...are you staying the night?"

Amaya stuffs her hands into her vest pockets. "I dunno. Is that okay?"

Emery bites her tongue. "Yeah. Sure." She scratches the back of her neck.

Amaya tilts her head, "Are you staying the night at...whoever's tonight?"

A small chuckle escapes her lips. "No. I'm not gonna sleep with someone I just met."

Amaya holds her hands up. "I'm not judging, all right? Just want a heads up."

"Heads up. I'm coming back home tonight." Emery leaves the apartment.

Amaya sputters her lips and walks toward the fridge. She opens the fridge and looks through the neatly placed food items. She grabs the bag of cheese, but then she gets a text on her phone. Amaya looks at her phone and chuckles at her sister's text.

Put everything back where you found it

...

A laugh leaves Emery's lips and she looks at the pavement of the park. "There's no way that happened!"

"I promise you!" He looks at her.

Emery shakes her head and rolls her lips into her mouth. "So, your pants fall down in front of your whole school at the Talent Show. You run away...what happened the next day?" She stops and turns to him.

He lets out a deep sigh and sits on the park bench. "Well, surprisingly, some people felt really bad for me."

Emery sits next to him, her leg pressed against his. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, and I became pretty popular."

"No, you did not." Emery looks away from him with a chuckle of disbelief.

"Did too."

Emery snaps her eyes back over to him. "Your pants dropped and you ran away crying...and that made you popular?"

"Got all the ladies numbers." He says leaning back with a smug smirk.

Emery squints her eyes, "And what was the catch?"

The man shakes his head. "No catch."

Emery tilts her head and raises her brows. They both stared at each other for almost a minute. The man finally gives in. He hangs his head low. "They called me 'No Pants Willy' for the rest of middle school."

Emery frowns and covers her mouth. She tried to keep it in, but she gave up, and let out a heartfelt laugh. "Yeah, okay—laugh it up." He shakes his head, a small smile on his lips.

"I just...I'm sorry." Emery holds her hands up. "No Pants Willy is-is good. I think I'm gonna start calling you that on the next..." she trails off her sentence, realizing what she was going to say.

The man raises his brows. "Next...?" He places a finger over his lips. He then points at her. "Were you going to say next date?"

Emery inhales a breath and looks at her watch. "Wow! Would you look at the time?" She stands up. "I-I've gotta go."

"Wait, wait! Let me walk you home." He stands in front of her. Emery slightly tilts her chin up and connects her eyes with his. She lightly scratches the corner of her lip with her pinky. Her eyes shift to the ground and her heart beat starts to quicken. "Are you sure? I mean, I can take an Uber."

"What kind of date would it be if we didn't walk home underneath the stars?"

Emery bites the inside of her cheek. "I really do like the stars." She points at him.

"Everyone likes the stars, Emerson." He slips his hands into his slack pockets and walks down the concrete. Emery walks beside him, her arm brushes against his. "So, I told you an embarrassing story. You've got one for me?"

Emery snorts softly. "I have a lot of embarrassing stories." She nods. "But if I tell you now, what's going to motivate you to ask me on a second date?"

He shrugs a shoulder. "I mean, our first kiss can be motivation enough, right?"

Emery's ears get hit and she inhales a sharp breath through her teeth. "Great point, No Pants Willy."

"That name isn't gonna stick." William walks backwards in front of her.

Emery knits her brows together. Almost feeling a rush of deja vu. But she ignores it and chuckles.

"Oh, really? Because it stuck for you in middle school. Why not make you feel a little nostalgic?"

William stops and Emery stops as well, the tips of her heels touches his loafers. She looks down at his shoes and snickers. "You're wearing old man shoes."

"And you're wearing clubbing shoes." William states. "Were you planning on going clubbing?"

"Nope. These are just some cute shoes." Emery walks past them.

"They are pretty cute." He follows her.

They made it to Emery's apartment complex. She stood at the steps to her apartment building and turns to William with her hands folded in front of her. "This is me."

William inhales a breath, "What a shame. I wanted to talk to you longer."

Emery tilts her head, "Yeah...this was surprisingly nice."

William watches her soft expression change. Her brows scrunch together.

"Is this your first date in a while?"

Emery chuckles, "Was it that obvious?"

William shrugs a shoulder, "You just looked like you remembered something that would...hold you back."

Emery raises her brows. William's jaw goes slack, "Sorry, that I said that. I'm overstepping—"

"No." Emery shakes her head. "I...It's no one has ever got me so fast." She looks to the side, then looks back at him. "Some people say I'm a complicated person to read."

William laughs, "That was only a tidbit of my gifts." He walks up the steps and opens the door for her. "Maybe next time I could find something else to read about you."

Emery chuckles softly. She keeps her eyes on the steps and walks toward him. She stuffs her hands into her jacket and looks at him. "I would like a second date with you, William."

William smiles and a smile crawls onto her lips. Emery walks into the apartment complex, "Good night, William."

"Good night, Emerson."

The door closes behind her and gets to her apartment door. She unlocks the door and presses her back against the door, closing it. She closes her eyes and inhales a deep breath to try and control her thumping heart.

"So, I'm guessing it went well?"

Emery opens her eyes and looks at her little sister. "Did it go well?" She sets her purse on the island. "It went swimmingly!"

Amaya winces, "Oh, wow, you're using white people words. Must've went...swimmingly."

Emery rolls her lips into her mouth and squeals. Amaya raises her brows, "You are really happy, aren't you?"

Emery chuckles and her excited face relaxes. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Amaya shrugs a shoulder and looks away. Emery knew what Amaya wanted to say, but she chose to ignore it. Emery was on a high right now and she didn't want to come down from it anytime soon.

☆

"Did he pay?"

Emery leans against the counter and sighs. "We split the bill."

Hen raises her brows, "His idea or yours?"

"Mine." Emery shrugs. She had a thing where she needed to pay half for any bill. Some people have grown to get used to it, while others will always be annoyed by it.

"Did he let out a breath of frustration or—"

"No, he didn't." Emery sighs. "He just said 'sounds good'."

Hen smiles at the girl as she looks at the ceiling. "It's good to see you smiling, Em."

Emery looks at Hen and chuckles.

"And it's not from tormenting Buck."

Emery's eyes light up. "I have to brag that I went on a date. I'm gonna settle down and Buck...isn't."

Hen rolls her eyes, but smiles. She walks over to the fridge and opens it. Bobby makes his way up the stairs and towards the fridge.

"Morning, Captain!" Emery beams.

"Good Morning, Sharpe."

Bobby stays a few feet away from Hen, waiting for her to stop looking through the fridge. Emery watches as Hen and Bobby send each other cold and dismissive expressions. Hen holds a hand out to the fridge, allowing Bobby to get to it. Emery grabs a grape from the bowl and plops it into her mouth with her brows pulled together. Silence settles into the kitchen and Emery chews.

"Whoo! It is a beautiful day, Henrietta!" Buck jogs up the stairs. "My love."

Emery raises her brows and snorts.

"Call me Henrietta again, you're going over the balcony." Hem threatens.

"Ooh! I'll help!" Emery holds up a hand.

"Okay, then..." Buck turns to the Captain. "Bobby! Oh, Captain, my handsome Captain."

"What are you, high?" Bobby questions.

"No, I'm not high." Buck smirks. "I met a woman."

Emery's smile drops. Hen looks at Emery with an amused smile.

"Two, actually." Buck adds. "I met a woman and her mother."

"What the fuck?" Emery looks at Hen. "I just can't win."

"And I didn't have sex with either of them."

Emery pulls her brows together, "That doesn't sound right."

Hen and Bobby look at each other with a smile. They realize that they're smiling at each other, their smiles drop and they look away. Emery and Buck look at one another. "Ooh. Why's it so cold in here?" Buck dramatically shivers.

"Yeah, you guys usually call me awkward. But this situation is so awkward." Emery grabs an olive and tosses it into her mouth.

The alarm blares through the firehouse. Emery looks at the flashing lights and raises her brows. "Hen and Bobby, saved by the bell."

They got to the car wash and the operator caught them up.

"I have told him a million times. Wait for everything to be shut off before you hose down the place. But does he listen?" The operator scoffs. "No. He doesn't listen. You know what happens? This. This is what happens."

Emery stops and pulls her face back from the boy wrapped in the brush. "Looks like someone's in a sticky situation." She laughs and slaps her knee.

Hen let's out a soft chuckle and shakes her head. Bobby softly laughs. Hen and Bobby look at each other. Their smiles drop and they look away from one another. Buck pulls his brows together, "But...he's tangled. Not stuck."

"Then he's...entangled in...I don't know—dammit, Probie!" She rams her elbow into his arm.

"Sir, can you hear me?" Hen asks.

"Um...yeah."

"Does anything feel broken?" Hen inquires.

Bobby leans forward to help the guy out, but Hen tenses. "Uh, you want to maybe wait until I decide he's okay to be moved?"

Bobby lets out a huff, "Be glad when Chimney gets back."

Emery frowns with her mouth slightly open.

"We'll all be glad for that." Hen retorts.

"This is getting out of hand." Emery whispers.

"Right?"

Buck and Emery look at each other.

"I cannot believe this." He scoffs. Emery shakes her head. "These two are arguing so much that we're actually—"

"—agreeing with each other." Emery says.

Buck and Emery's eyes widen.

"Now we're finishing each other's sentences?" Emery practically gags. "Oh, enough is enough."

They cut the bristles off the brush and get the boy out of the car wash brush. They get him into the stretcher.

Emery pulls her brows together, "I didn't think you could actually get trapped in one of these without getting seriously injured."

Buck raises his brows and wraps his fingers around Emery's bicep. She turns her head to him with her brows knitted. Buck looks at the owner. "Do you have any footage of this...situation?" He then looks at his hand around Emery's bicep. "I had no idea you were this buff."

"Jealous?" Emery pulls her arm for his grip.

Buck rolls his eyes, "Can we look at the footage, please?"

Emery and Buck stand beside each other as the Owner plays the footage. The girl raises her brows, watching the guy spin in the brush. Her mouth hangs open and Buck bursts out into laughter. She smacks his arm. "Stop it."

Buck looks at her, "Oh, come on!" He points at the camera. "For once, just once...don't be Emerson Sharpe, the stick in the mud."

Emery rolls her eyes. "Be...your other persona. The more fun version of you." Buck urges.

Emery huffs, but she nods. "Okay, fine. Whatever."

"Now...look back at the screen."

Emery looks at the screen and the video plays again. The girl pulls her brows together as the boy gets caught in the bristles. He starts to spin with the brush and a bubble forms in Emery's throat. She lets out a chuckle and that chuckle grows into a heartfelt belly laugh. Emery's stomach starts to hurt and tears prick her eyes. "Oh, My God—"

"I know!" Buck laughs.

"How did I not find it funny the first time?!" Emerson slaps her knee. She touches Buck's arm and laughs even harder to support herself.

"Run it again, please!"

Hen and Bobby enter the building to see Buck and Emery laughing. Together. It was an odd sight.

"Buck, Sharpe, what are you doing?"

Emery turns to Bobby and Hen. "Oh, My—you guys! You guys!" She points at the screen. "Buck has opened my eyes!"

"You got to see this!" Buck exclaims. "Play the tape one more time."

The man replays the tape. Emery holds up her pointer. "Wait for it, oh my god, just wait." She giggles.

They watch as the man spins around with the brush again. Buck and Emery laugh again.

"Buck, that man could have been seriously injured." Bobby says, his tone firm. "And Emerson, I am shocked that you're okay with this kind of behavior..." he lets out a small chuckle.

"Listen this is so...unprofessional—" Hen lets out a laugh. Emery points at Hen and laughs even harder, seeing her friend laugh. Hen shakes her head, "I'm not laughing..." she folds her arms. "I'm not—I'm not laughing!" She laughs harder than before.

Soon all four firefighters were left laughing as hard as anyone could in their lives.

☆

When the four firefighters got back to the firehouse. Bobby made them dinner, then he told them his life story. Hearing about Bobby losing his wife and kids all in one night, and him feeling guilty about it was gut wrenching. Bobby thought that he would lose their trust if they found out. But the truth is, they trusted him even more after that. Bobby was willing to share his painful background with his team. He had to have trusted them to an extent, right?

After dinner, Emery made her way to her car, hoping Hen wouldn't catch up with her.

"Emerson!"

Emery quietly groans, she inhales a deep breath and turns to the woman. "Hey, Hen. What's up?"

Hen stops in front of her. "You didn't say anything at dinner."

Emery quietly chuckles, "Well, I remember complimenting the food and thanking Bobby for opening up to us, but—"

"That's not what I'm talking about." Hen sighs. "And you know it."

Emery's chest tightens. "The conversation wasn't about me. It was about Bobby opening up to us, all right?"

"But, don't you think that Bobby and Buck deserve to know? Look how close we got when Bobby told us about what he lost."

Emery looks at the ground and sigh. "Look, Hen. I would've told Bobby and Buck. If I hadn't moved on."

"I went on a date last night." Emery states.

Hen's eyes soften. "Em..." she shakes her head.

Emery pulls her brows together. She recognized that look. That was the same look Amaya gave her, when Emery said she was ready to go on the date. "You don't think I've moved on?" Emery adjusts her bag.

"It's okay if you haven't—"

"I've moved on, Hen." Emery blurts out. "And I'm kind of tired of people telling me, I haven't."

Emery looks around the parking lot. "I'll see you later..."

Hen opens her mouth to speak again, but Emery gets into her car and drives away.

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author's note.

The car wash scene is one of my favorites. I'm not gonna lie 🫶

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