RESCUE - Part 2

Chapter 37 - Firefighter charlie

We pulled up on a busy road, we'd been told it was three cars involved and it was mayhem, police had arrived and so had the ambo, then i saw mouse show up with the lads in his car, "hey spence...I thought you said it was three cars? I only see two?" He then pointed to a bridge where a car was see-sawing "stay here" he looked at me "shout me if I can do anything" I felt useless, sat there in the fireman uniform, when I saw police arguing with spencer, I jumped out the truck and walked over "I'm in charge of this scene, you're not closing that road off!" "There is a missing girl who has been launched from that car, she could be in that traffic and you're not letting me shut that road" "you're not shutting the road" "Charlie" spence turned to me "drive the truck and block the road off" "you do that miss I'm going to arrest you" "yeah what for?! Saving a life, I'd like to see you try!" I took one look at the police man as he reached for his cuffs, I ran to the truck and started the engine "oooh you're bigger then I remember" I began to move the truck, lights flashing towards the incoming traffic and parked it across the roads before jumping out and running towards the policeman "come on then arrest me!" He took his cuffs out "you've got to be kidding me" he placed one on my wrist when Stevo another firemen shouted from the queuing cars he'd found the missing person "now take the cuff off" I looked at the cop, he sighed heavily before taking it off, suddenly Spence shouted me over.

I ran over along with the lifeguard lads to the seesaw car "Charlie there's a baby in the front seat...were too big to get through the car window...." I stripped off the jacket and trousers, took off the hat and looked at Spence "I'll climb in, hold the car and lower me the lift rope okay" he nodded and smiled as I smashed the back window, and carefully climbed inside the car, bad move to remove the jacket, I only had a black tank top, shards of glass stuck in the seats sliced my arms as I shimmied into the diver seat where the baby looked at me "hey sweetheart, hey lets get you outta here whoa!" The car juddered slightly "SPENCE ROPE!" A blue rope with two wrist straps came down through the car, "okay sweetie let's get you outta here" I unclipped the baby from her seat when the car began to move....and quicker then I liked....

Mouse POV

We all stood there as the car slid over the edge, slipped from the fire men's fingers...the entire street went silent, "oh my god!" I cried as I ran over to the edge, "CHARLIE!" I looked down, no sign, nothing but the car at the bottom that caught on fire "CHARLIE!!!" The rope began to move as it swung out, and there was Charlie, hugging the baby to her chest sobbing quietly with one arm attached to the blue role "PULL HER UP!" I shouted to the firemen as the slowly, and carefully began to pull the rope up...

My POV

With blood gushing from my head where glass had cut me when the car slid off past us, my arms were cut from previously, and my hand had a slice that would probably need stitches, to anyone I wouldve looked a state, as the guys pulled me up enough, I pushed the baby upto them when Spence appeared with mouse "gimmie your hand!" They both shouted over, if I took either of them the other one would be offended "I got it!" I hauled myself up on the rope and flopped on to the path below me, "fucking hell Charlie!" Mouse ran his fingers through his hair "what?" I chuckled as I looked up at the lads around me, before Laurie the paramedic came over "let's get a look at you, come on, Ambo" she helped me up And made me sit in the bed, as she was attending to my cuts and bruises the fire squad and lifeguards came over "how did that feel?" Steve smiled at me "like she's never been away I bet" Spence laughed as he rubbed my face "nasty cut on your hand there char" "that would've been the baby's head..." Spence looked at me and smiled.

We all went back to the station to have a few drinks and chill, I took a sip of beer when someone placed something on my head, I knew what it was instantly "oh my god you kept it!" I took my old helmet off and placed it on the table "kept it?" Maxi looked at me clueless "she's a trained firefighter" Steve downed his beer "what?" Mouse raised his eyebrows "she was the youngest to pass the test and become a fully trained fireman, no one has broken her record yet" "why have you never said anything!" Mouse looked at me "wait, you guys didn't know?" Spence looked at the guys "you any idea how much stick women firefighters get?" I looked at them all "is that why you left, were they being nasty to you?" Maxi sat forward "you're joking right? She ruled the roost" Spence nodded toward me "no that isn't why I left" "no it was me" whip smirked as he looked at me "see I tell you that...but really it was the thought of all those men, running around and frolicking in the sea topless" I grinned as everyone burst into tears of laughter until I caught Spencer's eye...and my smile dropped.

An hour or so had passed when I managed to catch Spence alone in the corridor, "I know you loved it today Charlie!" "Yes alright! I loved it! I'd be lying if I said I didn't, hell I'd come back in a heartbeat" "so do it!-" "you know i can't-" "hey who's this?! Whoa sorry was I interrupting something? " mouse stood behind me "no you're fine what's up?" I spun around and was greeted by a picture, it was a picture of me...and Marie. "It's just a friend, an old friend" "oh right, cool! Charlie why did you give this up?!" He chuckled to himself before walking off after placing my helmet of my head "we kept all your stuff, jacket, shoes, helmet" he knocked on my helmet "you know I can't Spanner" "God I've missed that nickname" "there's too much pain here" "what and there isn't pain down at the beach?" "Not personal pain...Spence, I've never known anything like that" "well just know...we're here with open arms, whenever you wanna return" I nodded once at him before walking back to the lads who were getting ready to go.

Mouse and I sat down for lunch that night, I'd cooked us a meal with steak, it's what he fancied, I placed the plate in front of mouse and sat down with mine and a glass of wine "Charlie...you know I love your cooking right?" "Uh huh" "I just....I can't eat raw meat" I looked at his plate "shit sorry!" I went to get up until he pulled own on my arm "who was Marie" I sat back down "you were all sunshine and enjoying yourself until I showed you that photo, Infact...when you stepped foot in that fire house" I took my wine, not really knowing if I was ready for this, finishing the glass and stood up to go pour some more, "we swapped places" I put the bottle of wine down and leant on the counter, looking at the now full glass mouse spun around on his chair "what?" My bottom lip began to tremble, "what in the firehouse? Like swapped jobs?" "No...I...I killed her" "....what?!" "We...we were treating a man trying to get him away from the fire, I'd damaged my arm where a pole had pierced it when the floor collapsed..." I pointed to the faint white scar "we swapped places because I couldn't lift with my right arm...." Tears began to roll as my voice went high "a metal scaffold fell from the ceiling and hit Marie's head, it knocked her to the floor, she was dead straight away, it hit her temple, and I knew that, but I couldn't stop compressions, Spence had to drag me away so they could carry her body away....it should've been me!" I downed the glass and poured another "thats why I quit, not because of whip, not because of half naked men, but because I'd killed my best friend" "Charlie you...you couldn't have known-" "I told her to swap places...we were always that way around until I told her to swap and I killed her and I couldn't go back to that firehouse so I placed my fire uniform neatly in front of the red doors and I walked away...I left all my stuff, all my locker...everything" mouse didn't say a word, he just came towards me and hugged me tightly.

We were finally in bed, we had an early night, mouse was asleep, but I couldn't, my head was spinning still from earlier, so instead I sat on my laptop, and had been for a while "found anything on your secret cameras Mrs spy?" Mouse's groggy voice filled the silence "no" I sighed "no? Why not? Because he isn't actually hurting your mother?" "No, because I didn't turn the fucking things on!" I suddenly felt the bed shake "don't you dare laugh" "I'm sorry...I'm sorry But if they're not on what have you been sat looking at on your laptop?" "Googling how to murder someone and get away with it" mouse looked at me "oh yeah, next time you piss me off...watch your ba-" I was interrupted by my phone ringing....