Fireproof

I was released from the hospital four days later and I was glad. I wasn’t far from killing someone if they had kept me any longer. I made a horrible patient. I was released into the care of Criss and Jimmie who were giving me a ride home. I had very strict orders to rest and take it easy, but that wasn’t going to happen. I had been thinking about my dad and how much we used to go flying and I had the intentions of getting all of my planes cleaned up and current with FAA regulations again so that once I got cleared medically I could start flying again. It had been too long.

My dad had been a part of a local aerobatic flight team that had formed with some of his pilot friends around town. They started out just doing small, local air shows and eventually built their way up to being a big name in the world of stunt flying. My dad had been appointed the captain of the team not long before he had gotten killed, but after his death the team quit flying, feeling that they were missing a vital team member that they didn’t want to go on without. I had received a phone call yesterday from one of the guys asking me if I would like to have my dad’s place on the team so that they could start flying again. I couldn’t say no which they were glad to hear and that added a few more things to my to do list.

The guys of Motley Crue had began their long road to recovery and were doing well for the most part. Vince had returned home to his wife after being released from the hospital while Tommy had remained in Oklahoma City to be there for Mick and Nikki who had yet to be released. I had offered Tommy a room at the house as well as my truck to use until I could drive again. The shock had worn off that I had been talking to the members of a world famous band every day, and now it was just like they were old friends. It was too soon to tell and I knew that they would eventually return to their lives as rockstars but I was beginning to think I possibly could have found new friends for life in these guys.

“Good morning.” I said to Tommy as he walked through the front door, coming in from spending the night with the guys at the hospital.

“Morning.” He mumbled. “Something smells good.”

“Yeah, I woke up craving pancakes so I decided to make some before I headed out to the hangar. I made enough for you and Criss too. I’m warning you though, I’m not the best cook.”

“Hey, if they taste anything like they smell they are going to be awesome. Thank you for cooking. So, you’re playing with the planes today?”

“I would love to pull them out and play, but I’m hurting pretty good this morning. I’m just going to go round up all of the maintenance logs to see what needs to be done to what plane. I probably can’t even get into half of them to even get the log books though. I hate being injured.”

“Yeah, it fucking sucks. I was going to ask if you mind if I crash here tonight. I’m getting pretty tired of the hospital night life.”

“Of course you can. In fact, I’ll be happy to go stay with them if they wouldn’t mind. Just in case one of them needs anything.” I offered as I sat a plate of pancakes down in front of Tommy.

He smirked. “I’m actually pretty sure Nikki definitely wouldn’t mind.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What was the smirk for?”

“That guy has not shut up about you since all of this happened. I don’t know if the whole some hot chick saving his life thing has him turned on or what. So yeah, you would probably make his night.”

“Whatever. There’s nothing special about me. Probably just a weird affect from the near death experience or something.” I laughed, blowing him off. There was no way some famous rock star was interested in me.

“Keep telling yourself that. You never know. You’re an awesome person and Nikki is an awesome guy.”

I went on about eating my breakfast, once again blowing him off. Another relationship was the very last thing on my mind at this point. My two main focuses were getting back to one hundred percent again so that I could get back to firefighting and then get back in an airplane and start flying again. That was going to take up a great deal of time for a little while and those were the only two things I was going to be worried about any time soon.

I somehow managed to round up all of the maintenance log books from the airplanes with the help of Criss and Tommy. There would have been no way I could have climbed into each plane like I should have to been with my side hurting like it was. Broken ribs were no joke and it wouldn’t bother me one bit if I never broke another one in my life.

By late afternoon my house had been invaded by all of the guys from the station wanting to cook and hang out unless they got a call, so the evening turned into a huge cookout and a lot of fun. There was never a dull moment when we did things like this and had the guys not been on duty, things probably would have been a lot more rowdy than what they were. I don’t think I would have chosen any other profession for myself than firefighting. I did it in the beginning because I loved physical work and helping people, but I never would have imagined the family that I gained when I was assigned to the station a few years ago. There was a bond between us all that would never be broken no matter what and that wasn’t something easy to find.

“Well guys, I hate to leave good company but I’m going to swap up with Tommy tonight and stay at the hospital. Please don’t destroy my house and you guys be safe if you get a call.” I told the guys as I got ready for Tommy to take me to the hospital that night.

“Are you sure you don’t mind staying? Because I really don’t.” Tommy said.

“No, it’s cool. As long as Nikki and Mick don’t mind. Did you ask them?”

“Yep. They are fine with it.”

We arrived at the hospital to find Mick already asleep so I decided to crash in Nikki’s room being as he was still awake. Mick and Nikki’s rooms were side by side so I figured I would check in on Mick periodically in case he needed something.

“You’re looking perky tonight.” I smiled at Nikki as I sat my bag down in the corner of the room.

“Yeah, it’s nice to be in quite as much pain as I have been.”

“Yeah, tell me about it. So, I have a confession to make.”

“Okay. What’s that?”

“Well, I kind of watch My Little Pony every night and it’s about to come on. Would you mind?” I asked, trying to keep a straight face. I didn’t even know if there was a nightly show for my little pony but I was feeling funny at the moment and decided I would see what his reaction was.

“Sure.” He smiled. “It’s not like I’m in much of a position to protest anyway.”

I couldn’t keep a straight face anymore and started laughing which I regretted the second I started. “Ouch. Okay bad idea. Yeah, I was just kidding. I don’t even know if there is such a show. I’m not much of a tv person anyway.”

With the help of a nurse ,I got the chair bed all pulled out and fixed and got situated as we made small talk. I couldn’t help but admit to myself that Nikki’s smile was captivating. Even in the state that he was in, his smile was so vibrant and genuine. It reminded me of the way I used to think of Eric’s smile and then that thought reminded me of why I needed to keep my thoughts straight for the time being.

Our talk was interrupted by the sound of sirens passing down below on the street. I stood up to look out of the window to see what was going on and I stood up just in time to see the truck from the station go racing by followed by several other trucks from different stations. I grabbed my phone to text Criss to see what was going on even though I knew he wasn’t working tonight, but he had already beat me and texted saying that there was a chemical plant fire on the edge of town and that I was going to miss the fun. I took another look out of the window and the glow of the fire in the night sky caught my gaze and my heart sank. Judging by the glow and how far away the chemical plant was from the hospital, the fire was huge. I was definitely missing the fun tonight.

“Everything okay?” Nikki asked.

“Yeah. Just a huge fire on the edge of town. The guys will have fun with that one.” I smiled weakly, wishing so bad that I was on the truck with them.

“Why did you do it, Parker?”

“Why did I do what?”

“Risk your life for us?” Nikki asked, his eyes locked with mine.

“Why wouldn’t I have? A beating heart is something precious and I will never turn away from another beating heart to save my own. That may go against our safety rules, it may get me suspended for disobeying orders or get me killed but so be it. Either I get lucky and save myself plus one, or I die trying. I know you know how much Motley Crue means to so many people around the world, my dad included. That’s all he played in the many hangars I grew up running around while he worked on airplanes. Each one of you guys have inspired so many people for different reasons and I wasn’t going to stand back and hope for the best. I did it for you guys and I would have done it for anyone else. Firefighting and helping people means to me what your music means to you.”

“I don’t even know what to say back to that except for thank you.”

“Please, no more thank you’s. Just get better and get back to the stage and don’t forget me when you guys go back to rock starring. Ya’ll have become like family in the one messed up week that we’ve known each other.”

“Trust me, I don’t think we could forget if we wanted to.”

The hours went by as it got later into the night and Nikki and I continued talking. I had laughed with him so much that I was in a great amount of pain, but I was enjoying myself too much to stop and go to sleep. Plus, I was keeping a check on the glow of the fire on the outskirts of town, which didn’t seem to be decreasing very much at all. I hadn’t heard from the guys which wasn’t unusual because I knew they were busy, but chemical fires were tricky and I was worried about them.

“Holy shit. Is it five o’clock already? Wow.” Nikki said glancing up at the clock on the wall for the first time all night.

“Oh my gosh! It feels like it’s only been an hour. You should get some sleep. I’m so sorry I’ve kept you up.”

“Really, Parker? I’ve been talking more than you have.”

Nikki’s room had windows that allowed you to see outside as well as windows that allowed you to see outside into the hallway. He kept the blinds on the hallway windows open in case he needed to get someone’s attention for attention for something. I glanced out the window at the busy nurse’s station and something caught my eye that made my heart drop. Criss, Jimmie, Michael, Pete, and John were walking towards the door of Nikki’s room, still in their turnout gear which was covered in black from the fire.

“What the hell?” I mumbled as I stood up and met them at the door.

Criss had a huge gash on his forehead that was still bleeding profusely, Jimmie was limping, and the others looked like they were going to collapse at any second. They looked like they had been to hell, battled with the devil himself, and returned.

“What the fuck guys?! What happened?” I asked.

“That was one of those fires that you dread.” Jimmie said.

“Is everyone okay? You guys are scaring me.”

“We lost Austin.” Criss said, his voice thick.

It took a second to comprehend what he had said. Austin was an amazing guy and an amazing firefighter and he was one of my favorite guys to work with. He would raise hell with me when things were slow at the station and it was no secret that Jep was not a fan of us working the same shift together just because of the shenanigans we could get up to.”

“Shit.” I mumbled.

“I figured we should tell you before it got out on the news. You would have loved to been there Parker, but this is one time that I’m glad you weren’t because we would be draping a flag over your coffin too in a couple of days. We’re going to go get taken care of and I’ll see you at home later, okay?” Criss said.

“Okay. I’m sorry guys. Call me if anyone wants to talk, okay?”

I stood there in shock as they walked away, the smell of smoke and chemicals trailing behind them. I made myself walk back into Nikki’s room and I told him what had happened. The good mood that we had been in all night was now gone, and the pain and fatigue started to overtake me. I sat down on my bed trying to piece it all together in my head that my station family was now one brother short. This was the first time that I had lost a fellow fireman and it sucked bad.

“Parker.”

I looked up at Nikki who had tear filled eyes and had his hand outstretched to me. I placed my non-casted hand in his as a tear rolled down my face.

“I’m here if you need me, okay?” He said softly.

“Thanks, Nikki.”

I laid back on my bed, never breaking my hold of Nikki’s hand. The sun was coming up in a smoke filled sky when I finally started drifting off to sleep, still in a state of shock.