Kayla O'Malley grew up in a family full of lifesavers. Her mom is the Chief of Police, and her dad is Fire Chief. She joined the Pinehaven Fire Department when she turned 18 and never looked back. At 23, she left Pinehaven to join the LAFD. Three ye...
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The mall hums with carols and the soft squeak of stroller wheels, lights strung like constellations across the atrium. Kayla stands in the winding line with Christopher, the scent of gingerbread wafting from somewhere she can't see. Earlier, the 118 had scraped up the pieces of another couple's holiday disaster—nose vs. drone, love vs. pride—and Hen had delivered the kind of quiet truth that sticks. Kayla's been chewing on it all afternoon.
"Christopher!" Eddie's voice cuts through the murmur, warm and bright.
"Look at your dad, Chris," she says, pointing with a mittened hand. They both light up as Eddie weaves toward them with Buck at his shoulder.
Buck elbows Eddie, low. "Go, Dad Mode."
Eddie tries for a grin and misses it by a mile. "I am really into her," he admits, so low it feels like it costs him breath to say it. "I know she's for me, too. But she thinks it's better for Chris and me if I give things another shot with Shannon. That it's more stable. More familiar."
He pauses, watching Kayla kneel to fix the crooked zipper on Christopher's jacket. Santa calls him forward; Kayla squeezes his shoulder like a promise. Eddie swallows. "I just... don't know."
Buck follows his line of sight, the teasing dropping from his face. "I think you do know. You're just scared." He lets that sit, then adds, gentler, "History doesn't automatically equal home. Your wife stepped out on you. Kayla never would. Maybe it's time to stop thinking with your history and start thinking with your heart."
Kayla giggles at something Christopher whispers and then, as if the air itself nudges her, turns and covers her ears in exaggerated anticipation for the Santa photo. She catches Eddie looking. The world narrows: the lights, the brass of the carols, the sugar smell, gone. Just them.
She offers a small smile. It falters when she sees what's in his eyes, like a man on a cliff edge, wind in his face, trying to decide if falling is flying.
A tap at her arm breaks the spell. Christopher stands there grinning, a red-and-white candy cane clutched in triumph.
"How was that, buddy?" she asks, letting him pull her toward the exit of the velvet-roped maze.
"It was awesome," he says. "Thanks for going with me, Kiki. I wouldn't have let Dad or Buck do this."
Kayla laughs, thrown. "Why not?"
"They'd treat me like a baby." He shrugs, simple as a weather report. "You're the only person who treats me like a normal kid."
Something catches in her chest. She looks down at him, the lights painting his cheeks. "Well, you are a normal kid, Chris. A really special one."
He leans into her side for a quick, absentminded hug, complete with sticky candy cane hands, careful not to touch her coat. Eddie drifts up behind them, hands jammed in his pockets like he needs somewhere to put his nerves.
