Burning Flames ¦ Evan Buckley

Chapter 37 - You're not alone

It was a slow and painful few days for El while Daphne worked on her case. She didn't hear much from Daphne but she understood, she was in her element and it was best to let her get on with things. El jumped when her phone began to ring and Daphne's name glared at her. She quickly answered the phone, "Hey"

When Daphne worked on a case, she had a tendency to have tunnel vision. The cases she worked on were all she focused on and this one was no different, if not even more important because it was for her best friend. She worked tirelessly to produce a concrete statement on El's behalf while making sure to plan for any eventualities or defences that the state could throw their way.

Daphne had carefully constructed a report over the last few days and had dropped it off the day before. Part of her expected it to take longer for the Chief to respond to her exhaustive list of demands but to her surprise, she received a call the very next day requesting an in person meeting with El, Bobby and the Chief.

"Hey, I have news" Daphne began "I submitted your report. I didn't expect to hear back so quickly but the Chief has requested a meeting with us and Bobby to discuss next steps" Daphne explained as she finished getting ready.

"Oh, wow, you really do work quick" El spoke, a soft chuckle escaping her lips, "When is the meeting?" She asked.

"Today, 12pm, come get me, we'll have coffee and head over to the firehouse" Daphne confirmed, "Be quick"

"Yes ma'am" El laughed a little before hanging up.

-

El and Daphne had got themselves some breakfast and coffee at one of El's favourite cafes, the one she used to meet Buck at every week since Maddie and Mikey had their unfortunate accidents. It was only since the lawsuit that Buck and El had stopped coming to the cafe.

With 12pm fast approaching, the two women headed to the firehouse for their meeting, nerves beginning to pester El the closer they got. El pulled up outside and took a deep breath.

"Ready?" Daphne asked.

"Yep" She nodded and stepped out of the car.

-

"Thank you both for coming at such short notice. I want to first start off by outlining the reasons for Eleanors forced leave. It was brought to our attention during Mr Buckley's lawsuit, that you, Miss Rhodes, left out very key information in terms of your medical history which as you know is against LAFD policy." The chief spoke, "With this being brought to our attention we had to look into the matter further just like we did with Captain Nash. It is a violation of LAFD employment to hire anyone that has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital with the conditions listed on our findings." He confirmed.

"If I may," Daphne began, looking down at the page of notes she had gathered "I have recently spent time with each member of the 118 who have had a close working relationship with Miss Rhodes. Each of them from different positions and walks of life. The one thing they have in common? Each and every single person I spoke to declared that Miss Rhodes is SUPERB at her job." She continued. "Now, policy is an important part of any establishment. However, we are talking about policy here, not legislation. Due to this, at the discretion of the Chief, amendments and exceptions can be made - just like you did for Captain Nash after his struggles with alcoholism, which is also counted as a mental health issue. Miss Rhodes should not be treated any differently." She concluded.

Bobby had a smirk on his face while Daphne spoke, El glancing his way, attempting herself not to laugh as Daphne destroyed them politely. The chief cleared his throat, "I understand that however I am trying to avoid a further lawsuit in case Miss Rhodes breaks in the line of duty."