Boundless

Charlotte's position at Firehouse 51 proved to be one that she would always remember. She made friendships that she was sure would last a lifetime, and had the job not have been temporary she would have stayed with them forever.

Unfortunately, the two weeks she was there flew by and before she could blink she was back to her ritual of sitting on the sofa flipping through the channels, desperately awaiting some sort of contact from the two roommates who had essentially moved her in.

"What am I doing?" She spoke aloud, her own voice sounding foreign. While she sat in the eerily quietness of the room her thoughts wafted to the decision she made earlier in the month; the decision she clung to.

Slowly she opened her eyes, blinking a few times, before strolling toward the small shelf against the wall and pulled out a few sheets of paper from a notebook and sat on the floor, using the table to write on. Every emotion, every action, everything that had happened in the last few months she spilled into the letter, letting each word flow from her soul.

Writing liberated her, letting herself go in that way, to express the exact way she felt without holding back. For several minutes she wrote intimately, desperately, fully immersed until she felt the weight that forced her into the ground slowly rise with her chest, leaving her with each broken exhale.

It was only then she felt the hot tears dripping off her chin. Her breathing was erratic, she noticed, as she hastily wiped the offending moisture from her face.

Charlotte reread the letter once more before closing it with her signature.





Sitting in an comfortable silence with someone you love is an undeniable pleasure, and every chance she got Charlotte reveled in it. Kelly held her close, his large, warm hands ghosting over the arm farthest from him while he caught up on the latest Deadliest Catch, then indulging her in conversation with each commercial.

"Kelly," Charlotte murmured as the credits rolled later that night. "What made you want to be a firefighter?"

She felt him shift against her, moving so that he could look into her eyes, a small smile on his face. "Well, I was about ten the first time I ever saw a real life firetruck on our block. My neighbor, Mrs. Stevens, had left her stove on and her drapes caught on fire," he explained lightly, "you know, typical old woman stuff. Anyway, when I saw one of those men crawling out of a window with a dog in his arms. It's hair was all charred and black, but it was okay, all because of the man that saved it. It sparked something in me, and I knew from that moment that I wanted to be one of those heroes."

Charlotte listened happily, the tone in his voice one she'd never heard him speak with, one of pride. Her lip quirked up on one side as her chest tightened with nothing but love for the man. "You are a hero."

He dragged her to him and planted a kiss on the side of her head. "What about you? What made you want to be a teacher?"

"My mom was a teacher," she said simply. "And she was my role model my entire life."

She glanced up at him from under his chin, watching him watch her. "I've never heard you talk about your family," he noted.

"Yeah," she mumbled. "I don't really mention them a lot, do I?"

Again his hands ran over her arms to comfort her. "You don't have to."

Charlotte shrugged. "If there's anybody I want to talk to about them to it's you, Kelly."

She leaned closer to his chest and began to speak. "I have a brother, a younger brother, named Eric- he's in the military on his third tour in Iraq."

On the side of her head she felt his ears perk up from what should could only assume to be a facial expression of shock.

"Then there's my parents," she said quietly. "They were the best parents in the world. Loving, supporting," she paused with a smile, reminiscing the pair, "they were everything to us. When I was twenty-two they were killed in a car crash, and I became Eric's legal guardian since he was only sixteen. When he turned eighteen he signed up for the Marines." She quieted for a moment with a shake of her head. "I can't believe it's almost been five years."

"When was the last time you seen him?" Kelly questioned. "Your brother, I mean."

Charlotte counted in her head. "Almost a year."

Kelly made a humming noise in the back of his throat, his hand unconsciously halting it's movements on her arm. "Can I ask you something now?"

She nodded, placing her hand on his forearm. "Anything."

"That night we went on our first date you asked me something that I've thought about a lot," he said, his voice slightly muffled by her curly hair. "You told me not to lead you on, and it's not the words in particular but the way you said them- almost like-"

"-it's happened before?" She finished sadly. "It has."

Kelly said nothing while he allowed his guilt to consume him. He hadn't necessarily broken his promise to her, he had been faithful; he wouldn't cheat on her for the world, but he hadn't been quite honest with her either. He hadn't told her about the bet.

I have to tell her, he thought. She deserves to know.

"Charlie-" he began, only to be cut off by her turning to face him, her brown eyes shining brightly.

"I don't know what I would've done without you these past few months, Kelly." She pressed a gentle, loving kiss to his lips lingering for a moment before she pulled away. "I love you."

He bit back a sigh and smiled at her having been rendered speechless from her words.

Maybe it's a conversation for another day.