❝ melisa becomes a firefighter at house fifty-one, finding her second family ❞
❝ amy took the intelligence job in chicago to
solve her parents' murder, falling in love
...
chapter four; one minute [ season one, episode four ]
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"HEY," GABBY greeted Melisa as she entered the locker room.
"Hi." Melisa closed her room. When she turned to walk out, Gabby stopped her. Something caught her attention.
She had a black eye. Gabby looked at her with wide eyes. "What happened?" Melisa didn't answer, feeling too ashamed about the incident. "Amber?"
"It's fine," Melisa insisted.
Gabby let out a low scoff. "This is not fine, Melisa." Her voice wavered slightly. They had grown closer, and she was getting even more worried.
"I got it under control." Melisa walked out before Gabby could say anything.
Melisa went to the kitchen where the guys were. They were talking about something and stopped when they saw her. The black eye, more specifically.
"Whoa!" Hermann exclaimed. "What happened?"
"Nothing," Melisa brushed it off. "I'm clumsy." She went over and made herself some coffee. She could tell they didn't completely buy her excuse, so she changed the subject. "Did you guys read the newspaper?"
It worked. "It's crap," Hermann commented. He was holding the newspaper.
Peter grabbed the paper from him to have a look. "Why is that crap?" That question earned him some looks from the others. "I just mean... that's what happened, isn't it? So?"
Peter had gone to the chief the previous night and told him he wanted to go back into the building to save a man. But there was no time to get him. And the man died. Peter must have felt guilty.
"Where's the headline about how we busted our humps and saved three guys? Huh?" Most, if not all, were on Hermann's side.
The chief walked in. "Okay, everybody, listen up." Vargas and the firefighters from squad were behind him. "Today our very own Jose Vargas transfers from Truck to Squad. As of now, he's officially a member of Rescue Squad 3."
They started clapping for Vargas. "I'll make sure to bow next time you walk by," Otis remarked sarcastically.
꧁ ꧂
NO ONE EXPECTED to see the victim's brother on television, but he was. The firefighters and paramedics were planted in front of the tv and listened to the man speak. The chief was there as well.
"My brother died because he was homeless and poor," the brother stated. "If he had been a firefighter or a banker in a fancy apartment, they would've found a way to save him. It was recorded on cell phone." He proceeded to show the recording.
The voices of Boden and Peter could be heard. They had argued that night about whether or not to get back inside. Apparently, this guy recorded the conversation.
He stopped the recording. "Even his own men wanted to go back in and save my brother's life. But the chief on the scene, Wallace Boden, said no."
The chief turned the tv on, and the rest could only imagine what he was thinking at that moment.
It was bad enough that Marc went on tv to publicly talk down the chief, but he decided that wasn't enough. So he showed up at the firehouse. He wasn't alone. He brought along a friend with a camera.
"My name is Marc Thorne," he announced. "I'm here to talk to Chief Wallace Boden. Is he here?"
The firefighters on truck were playing basketball but stopped when he appeared.
Boden then walked out and approached Marc, shaking his hand. The others stood and watched.
"I'm very sorry for your loss, Mr. Thorne." Boden turned to leave and only got halfway to the door before Marc spoke up.
"Chief Boden! You knew my brother was in that warehouse."
Melisa scoffed at his words. She couldn't help it. "Did you?" She retorted. "Your brother was homeless, keeping warm in a warehouse. You're his brother. Where have you been?"
Peter stepped up to stop her before she could say anything else. "Melisa," he scolded her. He didn't want them to get into any more trouble.
"No, she's right," Hermann spoke up. He stepped closer to Marc. "'Cause a few weeks ago, I almost bought the farm trying to save a stranger. It's what we do, every day. It's what we tried to do for your brother. Chief Boden made the call he had to make."
Hermann stood in front of Marc. "Just be glad you never have to do that."
꧁ ꧂
MELISA HAD NOT expected to be called into Boden's office the following day. A lot had been happening, with some people not trusting them anymore. Shay had run into an ex-girlfriend that no one in the firehouse liked.
She didn't know what to expect when she went to Boden's office. She hadn't done anything or gotten into trouble.
"You wanted to see me, chief?" Melisa noticed Gabby and Shay when she stood at the door.
Boden nodded. "Close the door."
Melisa closed the door and took a seat. She had a feeling she knew what this could be about.
"We're worried about you," Gabby started. "We don't want to get you into any trouble. We just want to help, and we didn't know how to."
"So we told the chief," Shay added. "We're just concerned."
Boden leaned on his desk. He had a worried expression on his face. "Is it true? Is someone hurting you?"
Melisa looked down. She couldn't handle looking anyone in the eye when her own were tearing up. She didn't want to cry in front of anyone and tried to blink away her tears.
She didn't answer the question. She just nodded. Melisa shrugged slightly. "I don't know what to do," she muttered.
Shay reached out and put her hand on Melissa's arm. "You're gonna stay with me and Kelly."
Melisa looked at Shay with a mix of shock and surprise on her face. She shook her head. "I can't—"
"We don't mind," Shay interrupted her. She had a slight smile on her face. "It's already decided. You're staying with us."
