FRIENDLY FIRE: A 9-1-1 fanfiction

Part Ten: Moving Day

•

EMMA

•

"So he just handed you the credit for the save?" Hollis confirmed with me, chucking a dirty towel into a garbage bag.

"Yeah, just like that. He and Eddie thought I needed the points with Bobby," I finished explaining what happened on our first call of the day.

I'd invited Hollis round to help me unpack my house; she'd brought the boys with her, so very soon unpacking turned into a treasure hunt for them and a gossip session for us. A grand total of one item had made it into the house and that was the couch that we'd only just finished unwrapping, along with the boxes that I'd dragged up days ago and I'd left to barricade the entrance.

"I mean, it sounds like a nice thing to do; I agree that you needed a win with your captain after last night. Dinner sounded like a whole episode of kitchen nightmares,"

"More like a whole season," I shuddered dramatically, collapsing onto my couch, "he's trying to make up for it now, I think, with the whole being supportive thing."

"But you're not buying it?" Hollis sat down beside me, passing me a glass of wine, her housewarming gift.

I groaned, waving my hands around, "I don't know! I'm starting to see that there were points where I was in the wrong, and I would reach out to him but—"

"But he trash-talked your fire dad, yeah," Hollis pat my shoulder lightly, "why not just let it play out? If Nash has turned over a new leaf, things will only get better. If he hasn't, there's another station like two minutes away you could join."

"That's what I was planning on doing," the doorbell rang twice loudly throughout the house, and I glanced down the corridor, "Did you order food?"

"No?" Hollis frowned, raising her voice to yell, "Ajay! Did you order food?"

"No! We ate at Gramp's."

"It always scares me when he says that," Hollis shuddered, "Dad's idea of food is mackerel out of a can and bacon bites."

I grimaced with her, standing up slowly and heading towards the door. I was nervous just doing that; there was no one except Hollis who knew where I lived, no one else was supposed to know. There was only one person in the whole world looking for me right now, and it was not a person I wanted to see, so if Harry had found me, this was not going to be pretty.

I reached my hand up to my key shelf that hung next to my front door; on top of it sat my gun, loaded and ready.

"You want back-up?" Hollis called out softly, appearing at the end of the hall, her face serious as she held her phone in her hand, ready to dial.

I offered her a small smile, situating the gun in my hand properly before leaning against my door, "Only one way to find out."

Hollis nodded, taking a step back as I placed my hand on the handle.

I swallowed harshly before opening it, keeping my gun concealed to the shadows.

"I told you it was the right address!" Chimney's voice burst out a second later.

It felt like a bucket of water had fallen on my head and my hands shook very slightly as I took a step back, quickly tucking my gun away in the back of my jeans, covering it with my hoodie. "Chimney?" My voice came out a little strained, nervous even, "What are you doing here?"

"I told him it was a bad idea but he's a sucker for surprises," Hen's voice drew my attention out of the tunnel vision I'd developed on Chimney, forcing me to look at her and Eddie as well.