Separated ways

1.Joke

Hello everyone! Here we started again a new story, which I'll try to hurry up with as much as it will be possible for me, I promise right here and right now. I hope you will like a new chapter on the first day of new year, however I wonder what your thoughts are about a title of whole story;)

The sun was falling in hot stripes from the sky and it was nothing better to do at Pontypandy for firefighters than trying to make some fun out of that suspictiously calm shift.
Ellie and Arnold had just ended rolling hoses downstairs and went upstairs to meet with Elvis and Sam at the kitchen table with their cold ice tea, they made up together at the beginning of this summer, while Penny was laying on the couch with her head stuck in the book.

"Penny, come to us!" Ellie shouted at her best friend, but Penny didn't respond. And the reason was all around it was clear that something went bad between two women and in a way all of them recognized.

"You need to apologise, Ellie" Elvis complained taking as always Penny's side.

"Last time it went by two and half weeks, so maybe better stop it now" Arnold added.

"What's wrong with you two?" Sam asked worriedly, Arnold was right, last time Ellie and Penny argued, it went for too long time.

"You need to apoligise to her, Sam" Ellie muttered loudly.

"What? Why me?" Sam looked at her briefly in surprise. "I'm not the one that is always starting a fight, teasing Penny all around."

"Listen Sam, I'm sorry that I keep fighting for" she was interrupted by an alarm.

"Atomic Boy and Super-Norman fall over the railing straight into the sea" Penny said through the speaker.

"Just another day in Pontypandy" Sam welcomed Penny at wheel seat of Venus as she started the engine and yellow vehicle ran out of garage.

They reached the Ocean Rescue Centre and quickly changed up. Ben and Penny jumped up on Neptune and Sam slided down to Juno. Hopefully they took two boys out of a water on time and they where safe and sound like always.

"It is second time in this week and seventh time in this month and it is your record, Norman" Sam said sternly standing with two boys on the quey.

"We're sorry, fireman Sam" Two boys apologised together.

"Alright" Sam waved at goodbye and turned back to see if Penny was coming back, but he saw no one was standing there. He looked into the sea and decided it would be better for Juno to be back in cold garage than in hot water.
So he went upstairs as soon as he and Juno were back inside Ocean Rescue Centre. And he was welcomed by Ben with a bottle of water.

"Are you looking for Penny, Sam?" He asked, smiling friendly, leaning on the railing. Sam nodded his head and Ben showed the door. Men waved to each other as they went their ways.

And indeed when Sam opened the door slightly, he noticed Penny leaning back on Venus, drinking cold water. So Sam decided it was a good idea to surprise her from back of Venus. He quietly went to the other side of vehicle, keeping in shadow, and when he was closed enough, he pushed the bottle in her hand forward with one quick movement.

"Sam! Get out of here!" Penny screamed angrily, hiding on passager seat of Venus and reaching for a piece of paper to put the water away from her face and eyes.

"You laughed, didn't you?" Sam tried to joke one more time, but Penny simply left it uncommented. "Come on, Penny, what's wrong with you?" Sam let go of joking tone and asked Penny as her best friend worriedly, because she really wasn't herself by last few days, something in her thoughful expression all the time was uncommon for her.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sam" she defeated herself. 'It can't go out like that and not now' she begged to herself.

"You've never spent so much time with your head stuck in a book in the summer before. Something has to be on the line" Sam tried to turn cat's tail around, but once again it didn't work. And he didn't have a third chance, because Venus already parked in garage of firestation. "Penny, tell me" Sam begged one more time standing right before her on the stairs.

"I am taking a few days break" Penny throw, without looking Sam in the eyes. She knew what she would see in that sea surface of them. A question...

"Why?"

"Because..." and at that moment when she and Sam reached the kitchen, Ellie's hand squeezed her shoulder and pulled her back downstairs with short:
"You with me."

They stopped in the lockers and by the way Ellie leaned on her own one, Penny recognized what it would be all about. She tried to run away, slowly taking small steps back, hoping Ellie wouldn't notice, but her best friend quickly caught her when Penny almost managed to make this wishful thinking a reality.

"Are you really think you can go anywhere?" Ellie whispered mischeviously right into Penny's ear. "You're going to tell me now why you're still trying to catch the wrong fish" she demended.

"You want me to stop, don't you?" Penny wished.

"Two things you are afraid of, try to make at least one out and it would be better" Ellie laid her hand on Penny's shoulder and forsed her to sit on the bench. "Talk with Sam, he will surely understand."