Becoming Part of the Team

Chapter 1

Andy had awoken early, before the sun, and realizing they both needed to be at work in just a few hours, had snuggled up next to her husband, hoping she could fall back asleep. She rested her head against his back and wrapped her arm around him. She felt relaxed, and well-rested. For the first time in a while, both his shifts as battalion chief and her A shift had aligned. They had been home together for two days, and after tackling some cleaning and organizing, spent much of their two days in bed, both sleeping, and not. Soon, however, they would be heading to Station 19 for the 7 a.m. start of their 24-hour shift. When sleep wouldn't come, Andy started drawing lazy circles on her husband's chest, who was still fast asleep. "When not in the firehouse," Andy thought to herself, "this man could sleep through an earthquake." Feeling both playful and amorous, Andy decided to see how far she could take her ministrations before she got her husband's attention. Stilling her hand, she moved up his body and blew gently on the back of his neck. While he twitched slightly, he still didn't rouse. Next, she planted a gentle kiss on the side of his neck, but his body remained still and his breathing even. A bit frustrated that she didn't yet have an awake and willing partner, she decided to push things even farther, returning her hand to his chest, and letting her caresses move lower and lower down his body. When her hand reached the waistband of his boxer briefs, she let out a small, startled scream when his hand quickly grabbed her wrist. "How far are you planning on taking this?" he asked, his voice teasing, but still raspy from sleep.

"You jerk," Andy yelped, sitting up quickly, and trying to calm her heart, which was now racing for reasons that had nothing to do with how attractive she found her husband. "How long have you been awake?"

"Awake enough to enjoy what was going on?" he queried. "Since you kissed the side of my neck."

"Jerk," she repeated, smacking him gently on the arm. "You could have joined in the fun."

"I was kind of curious to see how far you would take things, but I wanted to be able to touch you, and I couldn't do that if I was still pretending to be asleep," he replied.

At the mention of him touching her, Andy began to feel the telltale churning in the pit of her stomach. Her husband's large hands knew exactly how to touch her, and now that her heart was settling down from her unexpected startle, all she could think about was how much she wanted him to touch her. "Really," she teased, laying back down on the bed next to her husband. "And where did you want to touch me?" Rather than respond with words, Robert's hands slid up under Andy's nightgown, providing a tactile, rather than verbal answer to her question.

They teased and touched until both could think of nothing else but the joining of their bodies. Once they came together, the union was quick and explosive. As they lay together in post-coital bliss, Andy said, "I think I like starting my day this way." Robert nodded his agreement, but a glance at the clock made him realize that they would both be late for work if they didn't move quickly. They had both worked so hard to remain professional at work; showing up late because they couldn't keep their hands off one another would undo all of their efforts. "We're going to need to hustle if we're going to make it work on time," Robert said.

"I suppose calling in sick is out of the question," Andy replied, already heading toward the shower.

"Tempting, but I think people might get suspicious if we were both out together after 2 days off," Robert added.

"I'll be in out in five," Andy said. "Why don't you pour two cups of coffee and you can get in as soon as I'm out."

"Got it," Robert replied, heading down to the kitchen to fill their travel mugs with coffee. As much as he would have liked to join his wife in the shower, that definitely would make them late. They managed to make quick work of their remaining tasks, Andy hastily pulling her wet hair into a ponytail as they grabbed their overnight bags and walked out the door to the car.

Thankfully, their commute was a short one, and by 6:45 they were pulling into the parking lot. It was a little later than they usually arrived, but it still gave them time to get settled before their shifts officially started at 7:00. Robert went straight to his office, and Andy made a quick stop by the locker room to drop off her bag before heading to the beanery to grab another cup of coffee and greet her coworkers. She smiled to herself as she thought about their early morning adventures, but tried to tamp her feelings down, lest her morning tryst with Robert turn into fodder for her teammates' teasing.

"Morning, everyone," Andy said, as she tried to walk to the coffee pot without bringing too much attention to herself. Vic, however, had taken notice of her later than normal arrival. Glancing conspiratorially at Travis, Vic decided they could have a little fun with their newlywed teammate and sidled up beside her. Pretending to look Andy over, Vic mused, as if she were trying to work through a difficult puzzle: "Hmm, arriving closer to 7:00 than I ever remember. Wet hair. What do you think, Travis?" Travis, quickly figuring out where Vic was going with her comments, joined in the fun, moving to stand on the other side of Andy. "Flushed cheeks. A bit too happy for this early in the morning. I'd say someone had a little morning delight with her new battalion chief husband." Maya, Ben, Dean, and Jack had taken notice of the conversation and stopped their morning chatter to see how this conversation would resolve. "Come on, guys, give me a break," Andy replied with a little laugh, desperately trying to think of a way to shift the conversation. Turning away from the counter, her eyes fixed on Dean: "Hey Dean, is baby Pru sleeping through the night yet?" she asked.

Her awkward attempt to change the topic gave her teammates all the confirmation they needed, and everyone burst into laughter, even Andy. While she didn't love the attention on her love life, she had essentially grown up in the firehouse and knew that it was just this sort of teasing that demonstrated a team's bond. They could poke and tease at the station, but when it came down to it, they would all put their lives on the line for each other.

"Morning, 19," Robert said, as he walked into the beanery. At that, the laughter stopped abruptly, and everyone, including his wife, seemed to be doing his or her best to be looking somewhere else. Andy, for her part, seemed very intent on stirring her coffee. "Morning, Chief," Andy said, glancing up, but not quite meeting his eyes. Robert, feeling a bit like an unwanted chaperone at a high school dance, grabbed a cup of coffee and made his way out of the beanery, with a quick, "Stay safe today, everybody." He didn't know what he had interrupted but figured he could ask Andy about it later. He wanted his teams to be able to enjoy their downtime, and if his presence affected that, he would make himself scarce.