Under Suppression

Bad Partner

"I can't believe that damn bitch puked all over my pants!"

"Mike, she was fucking 9, give her a break," I scoffed, rolling my eyes as we pulled out of the hospital.

"Doesn't matter. She should be old enough to make it into the bag... And vomiting shouldn't be reason to call 911 either, if you ask me," he mumbled the last part.

I tried to drown out his complaining for the rest of the trip to the station, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't mentally draining to deal with.

It was fairly common for people to be burnt out in this job, and normally, I'm pretty understanding of it, but when it's constant for the full 24 hour shift, I'm damn near ready to take a nap in the middle of the freeway.

We soon reach the station and I backed the truck into the bay, leaving my partner to finish his report in the truck while I made my way straight to Joel's office.

*knock knock*

"Come i-"

I opened the door, catching Joel with his jaw hung slightly open and a hand lifted as I quickly shut the door behind me.

"What's the point of knocking if you're not even going to wait for an answer?"

"You have to take MacDonald off my truck," I groaned, leaning my hands onto his desk, and he let his shoulders sink, giving me a look.

"You know I can't do anything about th-"

"Yes you can! Send him back to station 3 and give me whoever is over there! Literally anybody, I'll even take a probie! Fuck it, I'll take Aaron!"

"Would you stop interrupting me?" He snapped, and I bit my bottom lip, silently sitting in the chair across from his desk. "Y/n, I told you. My hands are tied. The chief made the transfer, not me."

"But Joel- I mean, ugh, Serg. All he ever does is complain! He's got a shitty attitude with the patients, he's short tempered with me, and he's pissing off the hospital staff! Even Alycia's told him off.."

He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, rolling his eyes. "Him and everyone else that's in this field."

It's true.. She's even yelled at me, and I'm sleeping with her!

"It's not news to me, Y/n... You're gonna have to find a way to deal with him like the rest of us."

"What if I tell him I'm gay and he persecutes me? Will that get him off my truck?"

"Y/n, get the fuck out."

I rolled my eyes, standing up from my chair and stepping out of the office, before pausing and leaning on the door frame.

"You could always come back to the squad..?" I added, with a cheeky smile and he returned a fake one.

"Cute. Now go. There's a mop in the closet that's calling your name," he pointed out the door, dropping his eyes back to the work on his desk and I frowned, dragging my feet out of the office.

It was nice that I was still able to still see Joel after his promotion, allowing us to banter like this every once in a while, but it sucked not having him on the squad anymore.

Your partner on the truck can really make or break the job, and he was a prime example of how great it was to work with your best friend.

I let my mind drift off to the good ol' days when Miller was still around and Joel didn't suck while I mopped the floor. We always made the most of our shitty days, and took pride in the way we wouldn't let it affect us, allowing our humor to lift our spirits. I'd give almost anything to have it all back. I only wish I would have appreciated it more, back then, before I lost it.