Burning For You - Evan Buckley

Chapter One - Change Is Good

Beau looked at herself in the mirror, straightening out the wrinkles on her new LAFD shirt. It was her first day and she swore she felt like a rookie all over again. Even though not only was she a trained EMT with three years experience, she did a tour in Afghanistan as a field medic. Even so, sweat still collected in her palms and nerves twisted in her stomach. She really wanted this job to work out. Moving to Los Angeles was pretty unexpected to say the least. But, she couldn't deny her sister the help and support she needed to go to USC.

Jeannette was accepted into her dream college and there was no way she was going to let an 18 year old move from New Orleans to Los Angeles on her own. She had to keep an eye on her. The 26 year old looked at her reflection once more. Fixing her curly, strawberry blonde hair into a tight pony tail, before walking out of her bedroom. Jean was lounging on the couch, scrolling on her phone. She looked up and noticed her sister in her new uniform, "Hey, I thought you didn't have to go in until 8."

"Yeah, I just wanted to get there early and get the boring paperwork out of the way." She started as she begin picking up her bag that always carried a change of clothes (you just never know when you'll need it) and her car keys, "Also, what are you doing up so early?"

Jean sighed, "I'm trying to fix my sleep schedule before the semester starts."

"Good thinking kiddo." Beau picked up her phone and headed for the door. "Well if everything goes well, I won't be home until late tonight. Don't wait up, there's money on the counter if you want to order delivery."

"Wait!" Jean ran over to her older sister who was now holding the front door open. She hugged her as tightly as she could, "Come home safe, okay Marcé?"

Beau returned the hug, smiling softly at how childish her sister still was, "Of course."

—

Beau parked her car and looked at the firehouse in awe. It was a lot bigger than the one she worked at in New Orleans. It was almost daunting in a way. She tried to not let that bother her as she checked the time, she was thirty minutes early.

She walked inside, passing people cleaning and prepping the trucks. She walked over to the two Paramedics talking amongst themselves. She always felt more comfortable talking to them than the broody firefighters most of the time.

"Excuse me, sorry for interrupting." The two of them looked over at Beau. One was a beautiful dark-skinned women with glasses and the other was a shorter Asian man. "Could you point me in the direction of the Captain's office."

The woman smiled at her, "No problem. Just take the stairs, take a left and you'll see his door from there.

"Thank you, sweetheart." Beau returned the smile, very grateful for the kindness. She then walked in the direction she was told.

The two looked at each other before the man laughed a bit, "Did she just call you sweetheart?"

"Come on, Chim. Did you hear that accent? She definitely southern, born and raised. I'll bet she's gonna call everyone sweetheart."

"How much do you wanna bet that Firehose is gonna get the wrong idea?" And with that they both laughed.

Beau climbed up the stairs and rounded the corner. Once she did she almost bumped into some body. They both stopped just in time before colliding.

"Hey, sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." Was what the guy said. Beau hated to admit it, because she always hated to admit when she found someone attractive. But he was, short blonde hair and blue eyes, not to mention the stray scar or birthmark above his eye that added that hint of uniqueness and mystery. He looked at her uniform and smiled, "New recruit?"