Hold My Hand

After a week of rest, Taylor had finally been cleared to return to work and found herself thrown in at the deep end. Flames erupted from the upstairs windows of the two-story house and smoke rose high into the sky, causing her heart to hammer in her chest as the adrenaline kicked in.

With her orders received from Matt, she pulled down her mask and headed into the heat without hesitation. Inside the building was a mess and the heat was intense, but, despite that, Taylor pushed through to the upper floor.

“Fire department, call out...” she shouted, although she doubted her voice could be heard over the roar of the fire, “Is there anyone up here?”

An explosion from downstairs soon had her stopping dead in her tracks, listening as Boden called for everyone to evacuate over the radio and immediately headed out to the safety of the street. Taking off her mask, she took a few moments to appreciate the cool air against her skin and moved to stand by the truck as engine put out the flames.

“How can the chief pull us out knowing that we hadn’t finished our search?” Rebecca asked as she joined them.

“Years of experience,” Matt answered, “He’s seen enough fires to know when it’s too dangerous for his people to be inside, then it’s up to him to decide whether to risk our lives or accept that we can’t save everyone and pull us out.”

Overhaul seemed to take forever, but finally, the scene was clear and they headed back to the firehouse. Laid on her bunk a few hours later, Taylor stared up at the ceiling and closed her eyes as sleep pulled her under.

The alarm ringing brought her back to consciousness and Taylor jumped up, heading out to the truck. No fire could be found at the address they were given, but they spread out and checked the area to make sure that it was safe.

Taylor was following Herrmann back to the truck, when the first brick narrowly missed them and smashed against the side of squad’s rig. Taken by surprise, they hurried back to the truck as more objects were thrown and slammed the door closed as Cruz took off. The ride was silent and the anger was clear, but everyone knew better than to let things like that drag them down for too long.

“Well, that was a waste of our time...” Aaron commented as he sat at the squad table.

“Look at it as practice for when there’s an actual emergency,” Taylor suggested with a shrug, heading over to the ambulance and sitting on the back step.

“Hey you,” Shay said, poking the side of Taylor’s head and sitting next to her, “What are we doing for your birthday?”

“Having a lay in?” Taylor replied, earning a smack on the arm and rolling her eyes, “I don’t know, a few drinks at Molly’s or a takeaway and a movie at home?”

“How about we have a few drinks at Molly’s, then end the night with a takeaway and a movie?”

“Sounds good.”

The truth was that Taylor hated her birthday and had never really celebrated it, but for some unknown reason, Shay didn’t let the day go unnoticed. The shift was soon over and Taylor was waiting outside the firehouse for Kelly, when Greg approached.

“You set me up,” he accused angrily, fists clenched at his sides and a familiar nasty look in his eyes.

“I didn’t do anything,” Taylor told him, backing up as he bore down on her threateningly, “You set yourself up when you got involved with the people you did...”

Greg took another step forward and quickly found his path blocked by Kelly, causing Taylor to sag against the wall in relief.

“I strongly suggest that you back the hell off,” Kelly warned, “You get one chance, come near her again and there won’t be a conversation.”

Taylor swallowed nervously, watching as Greg contemplated Kelly’s threat and staying silent as he walked away with a glare. Unsure of what to say, she stepped forward and placed her hand on Kelly’s arm.

“Thank you,” she mumbled as he pulled her into a hug.

“I already told you, I’m not going to let him hurt you and we will deal with it together.”