Separated ways

27.Mischievousness

Leaving home was hard, but coming back could also left your heart broken. When the lights on the streets of Pontypandy started to fade, Station Officer Steele came back from Newtown. He talked with Ryan about sending someone else as a new teamleader, but to his deep disappointment, he got rejection. 

He sighed as he opened a door to his office and found it was empty. At moments like that he missed his old friend Boyce. Not to say anything bad about dead people, but Horacio Boyce could be stubborn and could have his own reasons for doing things his way. There wasn't a single decision Norris Steele didn't see something more two-dimensional than his friend told him it was. That complicating and therefore pretty confusing way of being of Horacio Boyce was so different to the one Norris Steele saw that day. 

He also saw the same way of being in Horacio's daughter, even before he knew that Penny was Horacio's daughter. She was as stubborn and resilent as he always was, however her reserved nature, made it hard to see right through her when she first came to Pontypandy. Her calm mind was always in control, just like her father's. And only one thing was always able to change it - her weakest point was always how much she cared for others. It made her an even better firefigher and helped Station Officer Steele developed her talents to become her strenghts. But one thing he couldn't make work no matter how hard he tried. 

Sam was always a talented kid and showed an interest in firefighting from when Station Officer Steele could remember. Sam grow up before his eyes and when he pursued his dream, Station Officer Steele couldn't have been prouder. But now he hesitated. He sent Sam on the exchange without hesitation to push him to finally realize how much Penny really meant for him. He was probably the most touched by her disappearence and Station Officer Steele couldn't handle looking at younger firefighter anymore, as he closed inside himself trying to fool himself that his place was only in Pontypandy. It was well known that Sam would never abandon Pontypandy, but he tried to force his heart to stay here as well, when its home was far away. 

And that was what worried Station Officer Steele. The goal after the exchange was to gain experience to later on candidate for chief's possitions. But deep in his heart, Station Officer Steele knew that Sam wouldn't be the right choice for it. He loved action way too much to give it up for paperwork. He was a great firefighter, but the desk job wasn't actually for someone so ... as Sam. On the other hand, Penny would be a better choice here. Not only because half of her life she listened what it was about, but also because her rational way of thinking and, sometimes complicated, plans that always worked out. Someone could say a woman is too ... for such high rank as chief officer, but Penny definately was standing out. She was too resilent and faced too many challenges on her career path already to bow her head to someone that do something wrong. 

'She must have  inherited it after her father' Station Officer Steele thought as he put the file down on his desk. That was the reason he went all the way to Newtown personally. He knew he wouldn't do anything with this bad-joke teamleaders, but he could do something better. He put an opinion letter for Penny. She had pretty strong chances with Ryan if she would agree. 

When the shift started he told Elvis, Ellie and Arnold what he found out in Newtown. They weren't much more surprised than he was. 

But the day didn't want to take it easy on them. In the lunch break, he came upstairs to eat with his firefighters, but he heard familar footsteps coming from both directions of inside and outside stairs.  

He and Ellie, as well as Elvis and Arnold looked up from their plates when they heard two hushed screams. They knew these voices too well, but could it be possible? They were supposted to be far away...

"Aren't you supposted to be dead?" They overheard a femine voice asking. Judging by the sadness in it, she must have belived what she was saying. 

"I could ask you the same question" The second voice spoke calmy. 

When Station Officer Steele followed Arnold, Elvis and Ellie downstairs, he had to stopped them from jumping happily from behind the wall on their two teamleaders. Because Sam and Penny were indeed standing there, looking at each other, each one of them squeezing a black and white piece of paper in their hands. 

"I thought you died" Penny said, but her voice was barely a whisper when she handed Sam her newspaper. Sam ran briefly thought the front page, letting go of his own. 

"I didn't die. It was indeed me, but I just passed out from the smoke inhalation, but I'm fine" Sam explained. "I thought you had less luck after I'd read this" he picked up his newspaper from the ground. 

But Penny didn't answer. She read the article Sam pshowed her as briefly as he did, but she didn't reply. She just smiled embarrassed as she accepted Sam's short hug. They were standing like that for a longer while, assuring themselves that nothing happened to the other. 

"We hate to interupt, but what exactly you two are doing here?" Station Officer Steele started dyplomatically when he had enough of that silence. 

"Right, aren't you suppost to be in France and Germany?" Elvis chimmex in as he hugged his two friends.

"I prefer it much better here, Elvis" Sam smiled as he turned around to face Station Officer Steele. "I took some time off to come to inform you about this" he handed him two newspapers. 

"What is that about?" Station Officer Steele was as confused as Sam and Penny themselves. 

"The problem is we don't know, sir. We got injured on similiar calls, but it was only one examlpe of these newspapers" Sam explained briefly. He cut the long story short, but he told what was his mission and how he got a newspaper. He left what he felt while reading the article to himself, because he prefered to talk with Penny in private. "I wouldn't know anything if I didn't get one". 

"Me neither" Penny spoke for a first time since Sam hugged her. "I got a call from Ellie right before I saw the newspaper, I belived you passed away for real" she admitted, but she avoided looking at Sam.  

"I don't understand anything here" Station Officer Steele looked up at all of the firefighters. "Where's Ellie?" He asked when he didn't spotted her anywhere. Only when he looked back he notuced how she tried to backed away step by step. However when she felt their gazes on her back, Ellie turned around. "What is that, firefighter Philips?" 

"I might have something to check in Jupiter, sir..." Ellie deperately tried to excuse herself but when her chief cleared his throat in that way, she knew she had to explain herself first. "We've all seen how much trouble it gives you to handle McLoad and Johnson. So I sent the newspapers, sometimes little mischief is an only option, right?" She tried to explain, but she backed away quick enough before the gazes of Sam and Penny laid down on her. 

Hi! I hope you enjoyed the part that along with former three chapters and the newspapers were originally the idea that brought this story to life. Even though I myself I'm not satisfy how it turned out in the end, maybe someday will be an oportunity to write something similiar better. Maybe Sam and Penny will be less Stubborn next time ;-)