Smoke and Mirrors

When Alex wakes up again he's starving, stomach grumbling in discontent and he peers into the empty abyss that is his fridge, wondering just what he can make with half an eggplant, hot sauce and apple juice. The prospects aren't that good.

In the end he settles on toast, scraping the last of the strawberry jam from it's jar, scrawling a note to go food shopping before he starves onto the magnetic whiteboard his mother bought him last Christmas.

He's just heading to the sink to wash his plates when his phone shrills loudly from his room, the horrid generic ringtone he's never been gotten around to changing.

Alex jogs into his room, pulling his phone from the tangle of bedsheets.

“Hello?”

“Alex? It's Chief Harmond”

Alex straightens, holds his phone a little tighter.

“Yes sir?”

There's a chuckle on the end of the line.

“Chief will do just fine”

“Yes s-chief” Alex parrots again, quick tongue nearly betraying him while he starts to panic a little. What if it's about yesterday? What if Merrick had said something to imply Alex should be moved?

“I'm wondering if I can interest you in an extra shift this week? Tomorrow morning, 6 til 2?”

Alex lets out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. He's not being kicked out of the station. Just an extra.

“I'd be interested” He says carefully, trying not to sound as excited as he suddenly feels. He can't be the most awful new guy ever if he's being asked to come in.

“Excellent, i'll see you then”

“I'll be there” Alex confirms, waiting to make sure the Chief has hung up before he puts his phone down, resisting the urge to to do a little jump or a fist pump or something. He's got an extra shift. The Chief called him personally. Personally.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Predictably, being awake all night and then having an early morning nap has screwed with Alex's already deeply messed up sleeping patterns. He tosses and turns, feels the minutes slipping away from him until it's after midnight before he turns on his lamp and stares blankly at the pale yellow wall in front of him. Sometimes boring himself to sleep works.

It doesn't, just causes him to go back to Merrick and Alex presses his fingers against his throat, as if expecting to still feel Merricks fingers there. He wonders if there's really going to be a bruise like Rian had said but despite his inability to get to sleep, Alex can't be bothered to get up and have a look.

Somewhere between three and four Alex drifts off into an uneasy sleep, jolting awake when his alarm goes at five, eyes heavy and mind unrested.

He heads to shower, takes a moment to inspect himself in the bathroom mirror and Rian was right, there's a ghost of a still forming bruise on his skin, most noticeable just to the right of his jaw, where Merricks thumbs would've pressed in the hardest.

It's not a definitive shape though, and Alex thinks that if anyone asks he could probably get away with mentioning an overly enthusiastic partner from the night before.

Alex eats his toast with just butter, wedges an extra few dollars into his wallet so he can stop at the grocery store on the way home and is in his car with little time to spare if he doesn't want to be late.

Thankfully the traffic lights are good to him and he's heading into the station with exactly two minutes before he's due to start.

“Morning!” Jack greets him cheerfully, sprawled across one of the cafeteria tables with a mug in one hand, bagel in the other. It's reasonably quiet, just Flyzik by the coffee-maker and Evan buried in the mornings paper.

“You're way too cheerful for this hideous hour”

“Someone’s gotta be, you hotshot fire-fighters are always so bitchy in the mornings” Jack says with a grin, taking another bite of his breakfast.

Alex ditches his bag underneath the table Jack's sitting on – he'll put it in his locker later, and heads across to grab a bagel of his own, it's ham and salad contents much more appealing than his meagre start to the day.

“Why're you here so early anyway, surely paperwork doesn't start till nine?”

Alex isn't entirely sure what Jack's actual job description is but he can't see it being anything so desperate that it can't wait until normal business hours.

“Free breakfast is worth getting up for, that and Matt stomps around like an elephant so there's no sleeping in”

“I do not stomp” Matt grumbles as he comes over, dragging a chair out and burying his nose in his cup of coffee.

Jack shares a conspiratory wink with Alex, who smiles back at him.

It's nice, this morning thing.

Rian and Merrick turn up not too much later from the garage entrance, grabbing their own snacks and settling down at the table.

Alex catches Merrick's eye but the other man says nothing, just stirs about eighteen sachets of sugar into his tea.

Expecting another quiet shift Alex heads to put his bag away, pulling out his well worn copy of the Chamber of Secrets, which he's brought along as some light reading to hopefully fill in some time and hell, who doesn't like Harry Potter?

Alex is curled in his armchair, coffee on the table in front of him, sun shining through the large glass windows and is just flicking to his dog-eared page when the alarm sounds, and he drops the book to the floor.

It's always an adrenaline fuelled rush to Constantine, making sure he's not last in line to jump in, remembering to bring his helmet and button his coat and part of Alex is wondering just who decides that prior to 7am is a good time for a fire.

They can smell the smoke from two blocks away, a five storey apartment block billowing smoke into the bright blue sky, an audience already gathered around the entrance. There's already a police cruiser on scene, motioning for people to step back as Alex follows Matt out onto the street.

Rian gestures for them wait as Merrick jogs over to speak with the officer and Alex watches the smoke continue to rise, scanning the windows for any sign of life.

Merrick's making his way back over to them when the sound of smashing glass can be heard, and then a yell.

“Hey! Hey! Up here!”

There's a man, leaning halfway out one of the third floor windows waving his arms at them and his existence spurs them into action.

“Cap, Fly, get the ladder up there – '72's on the way to bring her down, Dawson, Gaskarth, team up and sweep 1,2 and 3, i'll get 4 and 5”

Alex turns back to the truck, working with Rian to pull the hear they'll need out, Rian tossing Merrick's to him as Alex slips his pack and mask on, following his team-mates into the building.

It's hot is Alex's first thought, the smoke pulling the hallways into a thick darkness that seems to ebb and flow around them.

Rian taps his shoulder.

“Stay in hearing range, and don't stop moving” He commands, leading the way through an open door and further into the darkness, calling out to anyone who might still be inside.

Alex takes the rooms on the right side, yelling as loud as he can and making sure to check in cupboards and underneath beds – just to be sure, since there's no open flames just yet, no overly frantic rush.

The first floor is empty and they jog up the stairs to the next and that's when Alex hears a womans scream from somewhere above them and Rian calls out, and her voice sounds out again.

Alex thinks to go left, follow where he's sure the she is but Rian shakes his head, pointing the other way

“It came from this way” Alex argues, “I'm sure”

“Trust me” Rian says shortly, striding off and Alex can't do anything but follow him, hope that he's right.

They round another corner, smoke more densely packed around them and Alex is proven wrong when Rian calls out and the woman replies and as they head into what Alex thinks might be a bathroom she's there, curled in the shower with the water on, hysterical.

“Come on, we'll get you out safe” Rian calls, reaching out to her but she just clings tighter to the tiles.

“No! It's safer here!”

The woman refuses to come out from the shower stall and in all of Alex's training they never covered what to do if someone was being difficult to help. He should probably write them a letter or an email or something, because he's go no idea what to do. Do they negotiate? Just grab her? Both?

Fortunately, it's not Alex's call to make as Rian strides across the room and at first offers the woman his arm, and then when she refuses again, picks her up in genuine, bona-fide firemans carry. She protests, but by the time they reach the ground floor again she's much more amicable, thanking them profusely as Rian drops her down just outside the building, Flyzik sweeping in to guide her away.

They've just got one floor to go, Rian signalling for them to head back inside, the smoke seeming darker, thicker and Alex knows it's got to be spreading quicker than he thought.

It's near pitch black on the third floor and Alex can see flames licking down from the ceiling, a passing thought of concern for wherever Merrick is up there.

There's no one to be found, Rian leading the way back outside away from the building a little, an unfamiliar truck and crew running hoses to the upper floors, police having cordoned off the area.

Alex runs a gloved hand across his brow to stop the ashen sweat from running into his eyes, ditches his pack and mask back by Constantine as Rian passes him a bottle of water, both of them turning back to watch the smoke spiralling ever higher into the sky.

-------------------------------------------------------

It's a blur after that, Merrick reappearing and helping them run a few extra hoses, windows smashing outwards as the flames spread further through the building and back at the station all five of them head for the showers to clean away the black, Alex thankful that they're separate, not a shared row like he knows some stations have.

Alex has hardly slipped into clean clothes, a luxury he knows he won't get every single time – he's not about to shower unless everyone else deems it a necessary occupation, the alarm rings again.

A store fire this time, a corner cafe with a little too much oil on the grill – smoke alarms wailing loudly, patrons being rushed outside – some still clinging to their cups of coffee. Dimly, Alex wonders if he'd be that attached to his morning beverage. Probably.

It's a simple operation, cut the power, put out the fire and make it hasn't spread further than the now blacken cooking area. They're done in about fifteen, leaving the rather agitated store owner to argue with his insurer, sheepish chef looking on.

They take a detour on the way back, something Alex isn't entirely sure they're allowed to do but Rian's handed over the wheel to Merrick so Alex is just going to shut his mouth for the time being, wait to see where they're going.

The last place Alex is expecting them to pull up is outside an old style ice cream place. He leans over Matt to get a closer look out the window. There's probably something across the road he can't see that they've stopped for.

“Damn, someone’s in good mood” Matt muses, playfully shoving Alex back into his seat as Rian pokes his head into the back.

“What's your flavour, Gaskarth?”

Apparently they really have stopped for ice cream.

“Ice cream?” Alex echoes dumbly, confused. They're a group of grown men. Fire-fighters. They've stopped, while on duty mind you, for ice cream?

Merrick stopping for ice cream is the weirdest mindfuck Alex has had in a while. The guy is nearly impossible to get a read on.

“Best in town, now what's it gonna be?”

“Uh,” Alex hasn't an ice cream in a long time. There's so many options.

“Strawberry” He decides on, or what. “Actually no, cookie dough”

If you're gonna have ice cream on the job it might as be most supreme flavour.

Rian grins widely at him.

“Gotcha.”

Constantines doors slam and Jack watches Rian and Merrick disappear into the quaint little store.

Alex can't quite believe they've actually stopped for ice cream.

“Isn't this kind of against policy?” He wonders aloud because whilst it might be fine for the rest of Alpha, Alex is only an apprentice of sorts and he doesn't want to do anything that might compromise his future.

Evan claps him on the knee.

“Relax, Harmond's cool with it – as long as we bring him a smoothie”

Alex breathes a little easier after that.

He traces idle patterns on the top of his helmet while they wait until he hears the doors clicking open, Merrick and Rian hopping back inside, Constantine roaring to life once more.

“Here” Rian says, shoving a cardboard tray of ice cream cones dangerously close to Alex's head. The perils of the middle seat.

There's three, Flyzik taking the bright green one – green tea perhaps, lime? And for Evan, chocolate choc chip with a sprinkling of nuts. Which leaves only one, pink and Alex stares at it, admittedly a little disappointed that Rian went with his first choice.

He was looking forward to a mouthful of cookie dough.

“Cookie doughs underneath” Comes Merricks voice and Alex's head snaps up, meeting his superiors gaze in the mirror.

“Oh,” Alex inspects his treat a little more closely and sure enough, there's definitely a layer underneath his scoop of strawberry.

“Awesome, thanks!” He chirps, probably a little too cheerful for a guy with an ice cream but fuck yeah, cookie dough and strawberry. Merrick holds his gaze a moment longer and Alex considers the possibility of this being an ice cream apology.