The new Female Fire Chief

Chapter 3: Santa Teresa

Waking up the next day was a bit weird, both of them didn't know what to say. Andy went into the shower in deep thought and when she got out, Robert was sitting leaning against the headboard of the bed and gave him a reassuring smile as he said "Don't worry, we've found out other things, we'll find a solution for this too."

"Thank you, you always have the right words, but I would like to say that everything is going to be alright but I really don't know. What I do know is how traumas end up manifesting in different ways and sometimes they present themselves with physical responses from your body. But I'm working on it and I'm more than sure we're going to get there."

They shared a comforting hug and kiss, which in Robert's case meant I'm here for whatever it takes, and in Andy's case it meant I'm going to fight for us and I'm never running away again.

-----------

Two months have passed since Chief Ari Lan was introduced along with her Team and her Plan. The first resolutions had already been carried out, the team was working efficiently and the atmosphere was great. In those first two months, the investigation of the Sullivan Case was closed in favor of Robert and he was reinstated as Battalion Chief and the case of Bishop, that once all her actions, response times, protocol jumps and the last disobedience to authority, it was concluded that they were reaffirming her degradation but could once again be in the race for a new captaincy.

Although the members of the team might have seemed like an unlikely group, the truth is that a camaraderie and a lot of trust was quickly established, to the point of occasionally going out together for lunch or a drink along with a dance after a hard day's work. This confirmed the good intuition of the Chief when it came to bringing together that group of people so different that the only thing they had in common, a priori, was the love for firefighting. In that group Andy and Robert felt very comfortable, they did not feel judged or analyzed in their actions and they did not hesitate to carry out some acts of affection between them if the opportunity arose.

Flashback two weeks earlier.

Chief Lan addressed her team with solemnity, everyone already knew that when she acted in that pose it was because she had to announce something big, "Surely I should have announced this to the interested party first, but I wanted to do it here, in front of my entire team already. I am sure that you will all like what I have to announce. The investigation of the Sullivan Case has been closed with the result that it should have had from the beginning, he is reinstated as Battalion Chief and he takes up the position immediately". Everyone clapped and congratulated Robert, hugging him and patting him comfortingly on the back.

At that moment, Andy remembered when the first investigation was closed, since that wheel of hugs was similar to that first one, only this time she would not stay hugging herself and just smiling at her husband, this time she waited for them to conclude everyone's congratulations and rushed towards him giving him the biggest hug imaginable, Robert not so comfortable with those public shows usually, at that moment he did not think of anything or anyone, only his Andy and in that moment of happiness and bliss as he lifted her off the ground in his embrace as they brought their lips together in a desperate, longing kiss. "I'm so, so proud of you. Life is sometimes so unfair, but it also has rewards for those who know how to wait. I love you and I think I could not express how proud I am that you are the best part of my life".

"Let the air run!" She was heard by Lieutenant Dearbonr as everyone let out a light laugh.

"Well, once our particular lovebirds have both their feet on the ground again," Lan continued, "I must report the actions that this entails. The Battalion you will be in charge of is not the one you were in, so as not to create awkward situations, since here the roles between commanders and subordinates have been mixed up more than once, so you will occupy the position that was left vacant in retirement of Frankel. You will also receive compensation for damages".