The Fire Within (wlw)

"Real Heroes Don't Wear Capes."

I leaned against the ambulance, talking with Shay and Gabby. "Hey Matchstick, nice jacket." Gabby said, touching the sleeve of it. Shay looked up from where she was disinfecting some of the stuff in the back of the truck to prepare for any calls we may get. "Yeah, it looks sexy on you." she said, winking. I laughed and bit my lip. "Aww you really think so?" I asked, in a joking tone. "Hell yeah, Dawson don't you think it looks sexy on her?" Gabby looked at me again and smirked. "Of course, I'm not gay but she looks hot as hell in that jacket." Shay scoffed. "Are you kidding me Dawson, you don't have to be gay to see that." Gabby and I exchanged glances and laughed.

"Anyways, are you going to the bar with the rest of us tonight after shift?" Shay asked, returning to her cleaning duties. I looked at Gabby. "The bar?" She looked at me and nodded. "Otis, Hermann, and I own a bar. Molly's...you ever heard of it?" I shook my head no and Gabby sighed and threw her head back jokingly. "Shay, this girl's never heard of Molly's!" she said. This time it was Shay's turn to act offended and do the sarcastically offended chest grab. "You uncultured swine!" she teased. I smiled "I know I know, guilty as charged! I'm just the absolute worst for not knowing anything here despite the fact I just got here." I said sarcastically, putting my hands in the air like I was being arrested. Shay smiled at me as I set my hands down and put them in the pockets of my jacket.

"Hey, Quill!" Gabby and Shay looked up to see who it was. I turned around to see Kelly standing by Squad's truck. "Uh oh, someone just got called by their last name by Rescue Squad 3's Lieutenant.." Shay said, making Gabby laugh. "Oh shut it Shay." I said, rolling my eyes and throwing a quick smile in with it. "Yes?" I asked, walking up to Kelly. "Come here kid." he said, walking around to the back door of the truck cab. I followed him and he opened the door, revealing a pile of gear in the seat. I looked at him and he smiled. "Go on Quill, it's all yours. That seat's yours too." he said, leaning his arm on the door.

I reached up and grabbed the gear out of the seat, setting the bottom half on the floor and looking at the back of the coat, seeing my last name written across it. I flipped it back around and admired the "Rescue Squad" reflective stripes across both arms. I looked at Kelly and smiled. He smiled back. "Go on, put it on and see how it fits." he said. I took my shoes off and put my feet in the boots, pulling the pants up and adjusting the suspenders to make them fit comfortably. I then pulled the coat on and zipped it up, velcroing the front up over the zipper. I looked at Kelly. "It's comfortable and allows for good movement." I said, doing weird moves to make sure it did in fact move well, earning some laughs from Shay, Gabby, and Kelly.

"You're not done yet." he said, pulling a helmet out from under the seat and handing it to me. I took it and put it on, adjusting the straps and the size fitting on the inside. I started doing weird moves again and then looked at him. "It's good." I said, glancing over at Gabby and Shay who were giving me a thumbs up before giggling again. "Good, now you can just leave your gear right here by your door and any time we get a call, it'll be waiting for you." As I took the coat off first, there was a tone through the speaker.

Beep

I looked up curiously and listened to the speaker.

"Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61. Structure fire.."

Kelly looked at me as everyone ran to the trucks, quickly getting at least their pants and boots on. "Perfect timing." he said, raising his eyebrows and smiling. I put the coat back on and opened the door, hopping in alongside everyone else and shutting the door as the lights and sirens came on. We rushed out of the truck bay towards the call.

~Timespeed to arrival on scene~

I jumped down out of the truck and assessed the scene. It was a two story building with flames flickering through the windows. Black smoke rolled out of the cracks of the house so I knew it would be hot in there.