Elmira's Embers

Six

"Hey, where'd you head off to? Truck was gone when I got back and I didn't hear any calls over the-" Brooke took a look at Elena's bleeding knuckles. "You didn't."

Elena opened up her phone, plopped onto the couch, and checked her emails. "I didn't what?"

"You didn't punch Xander in the face," Brooke said, sitting next to her roommate. "Please tell me you didn't."

"I'd be lying if I told you that."

Brooke let out a quick exhale. "Is he okay?"

"Should be," Elena said, putting down her phone without making eye contact with the blonde. "At most he'll have a broken nose and a busted lip."

"That's all?"

"And maybe a black, eye too," Elena shrugged. "He deserved worse." She looked at Brooke's lifted eyebrows and felt a small twinge of guilt. "Hey, all I'm saying is he's lucky the guys stayed in the truck."

"He's lucky I was on a call," Brooke smiled and picked up Elena's left hand, examining her knuckles. "Come on, let me patch you up."

Sitting on the back of the ambulance, Brooke put great detail into the medical wrap she was winding around Elena's knuckles. It reminded Elena of the times Brooke would accompany her to the gym and wrap her hands so she could practice with her punching bag. Elena missed that. She missed boxing. She missed the feeling in her chest after successfully knocking a man off his feet with one punch. She missed looking over at Brooke, with her trainer in the corner, and pumping her gloved hands in the air to let her roommate know she had done it. A sprained wrist 6 months ago had rendered her unable to box. In her recovery, Elena had focused entirely on getting cleared for work instead of getting back into the groove of things with her boxing coach. She hadn't even seen him since she had sprained it. Every time she thought she was ready to go see him, to resume training, she remembered the match that could've easily ruined her career as a firefighter. She didn't want to jeopardize the career she had been working toward for so long, but she didn't want to sit idly by and let Jackson the Jet believe he was a better boxer than her. All because of one bad punch. One bad angle and the whole gym looked at her like she was some fragile dove. Now that she was officially recovered, and safe in her career, perhaps paying a visit to her coach, and cousin, Kevin wouldn't be so bad.

"You should've brought your gloves with you," Brooke said after a while. "You're gonna be sore for a while."

"Should've punched harder. It was worth it." Elena wiggled the fingers on her left hand and winced at the pain.

"Just...don't do that again, okay? You could've messed up your wrist again."

"I won't. Next time I'll bring my gloves," Elena laughed. "The purple floral ones too, so the guy knows he just got knocked out by the best female boxer in Elmira."

"Alright deal," Brooke laughed. "Have I thanked you yet?"

Elena stood from the ambulance, "No need." She completed an overdramatic curtsey, "It was my pleasure." She laughed.

"Well," Brooke said, stepping closer to Elena as she straightened out. Brooke lifted herself on the tip of her toes, placed her hand on the side of Elena's neck and placed a firm kiss on her lips. "Thank you."

Elena watched as Brooke shut the doors of the ambulance and walked off into the firehouse, seemingly unable to move. "Fucking hell," she whispered to herself, having to take a seat to stop her head from spinning.

It's only because she's hurt right now, Elena reasoned with herself. She was just thanking me. Right? It wasn't real.

From the other side of the apparatus floor, just behind the ladder truck, Elena heard a low whistle. Tiny looked back and forth between the blonde and brunette with his eyebrows high. "So, uh. You and Howard, huh?" He whistled again.

"No, uh. I-she-we. Oh boy. It's not like that," Elena hopelessly sputtered to the large man.

"So Brooke didn't just kiss you?" He crossed his arms, walking up to his friend.

Elena responded with a series of hushed Portuguese swears and walked off into the day-room. Inside she found Brooke sitting on the couch with a bowl of popcorn. She patted the seat next to her and Elena kept walking. "Chores, y'know. Got a lot to do," Elena said.

"Yeah, sure." Brooke watched her go and damned herself silently for being so bold. She looked up at Tasha lowering herself into the seat next to her and let her mind race.

"You mind if I put on the hockey game?" Tasha snapped Brooke out of her daze and changed the channel without another word.

The men from Squad came pouring into the dayroom after their call and gathered around to watch the Elmira Knights play the Tampa Bay Lightning. Most of them didn't even bother to change out of their turnout trousers, simply shrugging off their coats and suspenders and finding a seat.

Meanwhile Elena was sitting on her bunk in the suppression dorm on the second floor with a book nestled in her lap, reading so intently she barely heard the klaxon ringing out. Elena descended the cliche, albeit fun, fire pole to the apparatus floor, ready to face some flames.