And Then, There Was Fire.

thirty seven.

T H R E E    W E E K S   L A T E R

"Nev." Trey finally overheard his coworker trying to get his attention over the loud sound of Future playing through his headphones. His nickname, Nev, at the station never hit the same after his time in Germany.

"Neverson." He said again as Trey had dropped down from the pull-up bar in their small, makeshift gym in the station. He slid his headphones from off his head as he caught his breath. "Cap wants to see you." He told him before disappearing into the adjacent room.

Trey sighed amongst catching his breath from his pull-ups. Turning his headphones off, he grabbed his hand towel to wipe the sweat off his face. He looked at the time on his watch, seeing that it was now four in the afternoon.

He was now inching a fourteen-hour work day, on a day that should've been twelve hours. However, Lauren was at his house getting evaluated by April. According to their new agreement, he had to preoccupy himself with something to do until Lauren was free from their house.

He was looking forward to seeing another ultrasound and hearing the heartbeat of his baby. Though, the fact that he couldn't share it with Lauren, nor was he able to be there in real-time to experience it, he was sent into a dark place mentally.

He hasn't faced her nor talked to her since their altercation, therefore, he hasn't been the same and he could admit to himself that he hasn't. It wasn't fair, he thought. He had no one to talk to about it, because the only person he talked to about anything with substance was Lauren.

His boys didn't know about her pregnancy, and quite frankly, they didn't know a lot about Trey besides his dislikes. He's spent years with them, and even longer with Devahn since he first moved to Virginia, yet they couldn't even remember what his mother's name was.

It was pathetic, in his words, that he had to wait until Lauren could leave before he could go home and watch a pre-recorded video of the ultrasound that would took place. Although the living being growing inside of her was still so small, like a large peanut at a baseball game, he still felt as if he was missing out by not experiencing it at the same time as Lauren.

He walked through the station in his black boots that his dark blue cargo pants were strapped around. His dark, fitted, navy blue fire station shirt formed to his body, highlighting his muscles and physique that has grown to be more defined over the past months as his powers continued to come in.

His right elbow pointed to the ceiling as he walked, running the towel behind his neck as he held his water bottle in his free hand. He nodded up at Marlon as he passed him, sitting in one of the brief rooms as Marlon's crew waited for another brief to begin.

"Cap?" Trey knocked on the stations' captain's opened door, standing in the doorway as he waiting for him to look up from his desk.

"Nev, come in. Can close the door." Captain Leonard smirked once he noticed Trey, causing another awkwardness in Trey as he was called Nev, when it used to be the norm.

Trey walked in as he softly closed the door behind him, walking up to his desk and pulling one of two leather chairs out in front of the desk and sat down.

"Been meaning to talk to you recently." His captain began as he leaned back into his chair, pulling a manila folder in front of him.

"I know I took quite a bit of leave over the summer. Had to take care of some family stuff, shouldn't be a continuous thing." Trey immediately tried to beat him to the chase.