‹ Prequel: Stand By Me
Status: Active ♥
Hold My Hand
Two
Despite her reservations, Taylor had a great night at Molly’s and woke up the following morning feeling a little worse for wear. After a quick shower to freshen herself up, she headed to the kitchen and frowned when she spotted a folded piece of paper with her name in it.
‘Happy Birthday’ she read with a smile as she opened it, ‘I had a few things to do at the boatyard, but I will be picking you up at five to take you out. Kel xx’
The day passed slowly, but, finally, five o’clock arrived and with it Kelly. Waiting for him to get changed, Taylor put on her jacket and followed him out to the truck.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” Taylor asked as he started the engine.
“It’s a surprise.”
With a smile on her face, Taylor settled back into her seat and hummed along to the song playing on the radio. She knew exactly where they were as Kelly pulled into a parking lot, glancing over as the engine was cut and nervously climbing out. The outdoor ice rink was relatively quiet as they swapped their shoes for ice skates, putting them on and heading towards the ice.
“I have a confession to make,” Taylor said, pausing at the gate, “I’ve never been ice skating before.”
“You’ll be fine,” Kelly told her, holding out his hand, “I promise I won’t let you fall.”
Taylor hesitated momentarily, before taking the offered hand with a deep breath and stepping shakily out onto the ice. It took her a while to find her balance, but, finally, she got the hang of it and let go of Kelly’s hand.
The freedom she felt was exhilarating as she glided across the ice, using the wall to stop herself and laughing as Kelly wrapped his arms around her from behind. She turned to look at him, unable to hold back the smile that spread across her face and leaning up to press a sweet kiss against his lips.
“I...” Taylor began, falling silent as anxiety swirled in her chest and lowering her eyes, “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Kelly replied without hesitation, lifting her chin with his thumb and kissing her again, “What do you say we go and get some food?”
“Sounds good to me.”
It was late by the time they got home, having grabbed ice cream after dinner and Taylor headed straight to bed. Her alarm woke her up the following morning and she got ready for work, before joining the others to head over to the firehouse.
“So, what did you and Kel get up to last night?” Shay inquired as Taylor joined her and Gabby at the ambulance an hour into the shift.
“He took me to that outdoor ice rink and then we went to dinner at this little Italian place.”
“I wish Matt would do stuff like that,” Gabby commented, “He takes me out, but it’s always to Molly’s or somewhere we’ve been a hundred times before.”
“Well, Corrine and I prefer to not leave the bedroom,” Shay added, causing both Taylor and Gabby to laugh.
The conversation was brought to an abrupt halt by the alarm and Taylor went to get ready, jumping on the truck. The scene that met them was a mess and she knew that it was going to be a bad one, but she had a job to do.
Without hesitation, she led Rebecca over to one of the more severely damaged cars and motioned for the candidate to check on the passenger before focusing on the driver. A pulse was present as she checked, but the young girl was pinned inside the vehicle and it was going to be difficult to get her out.
“Ferguson?” Taylor called, looking over and knowing from the expression on the girl’s face that the passenger was dead.
Another team soon took over and Taylor scanned the scene, guiding a few of the walking wounded over to waiting ambulances. Frantic shouting pulled her attention behind her and she turned in time to see squad scatter, flinching as the car they’d been working on burst into flames.
Everyone was silent as they made their way back to the firehouse, all lost in their heads and thinking about the people that had lost their lives in that accident. She climbed down from the truck as they pulled into the firehouse, watching Kelly disappear into the locker rooms without a word and moving to follow him.
“Give him some time,” Matt stated, placing his hands on her shoulders and steering her towards the rec room.
‘Happy Birthday’ she read with a smile as she opened it, ‘I had a few things to do at the boatyard, but I will be picking you up at five to take you out. Kel xx’
The day passed slowly, but, finally, five o’clock arrived and with it Kelly. Waiting for him to get changed, Taylor put on her jacket and followed him out to the truck.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” Taylor asked as he started the engine.
“It’s a surprise.”
With a smile on her face, Taylor settled back into her seat and hummed along to the song playing on the radio. She knew exactly where they were as Kelly pulled into a parking lot, glancing over as the engine was cut and nervously climbing out. The outdoor ice rink was relatively quiet as they swapped their shoes for ice skates, putting them on and heading towards the ice.
“I have a confession to make,” Taylor said, pausing at the gate, “I’ve never been ice skating before.”
“You’ll be fine,” Kelly told her, holding out his hand, “I promise I won’t let you fall.”
Taylor hesitated momentarily, before taking the offered hand with a deep breath and stepping shakily out onto the ice. It took her a while to find her balance, but, finally, she got the hang of it and let go of Kelly’s hand.
The freedom she felt was exhilarating as she glided across the ice, using the wall to stop herself and laughing as Kelly wrapped his arms around her from behind. She turned to look at him, unable to hold back the smile that spread across her face and leaning up to press a sweet kiss against his lips.
“I...” Taylor began, falling silent as anxiety swirled in her chest and lowering her eyes, “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Kelly replied without hesitation, lifting her chin with his thumb and kissing her again, “What do you say we go and get some food?”
“Sounds good to me.”
It was late by the time they got home, having grabbed ice cream after dinner and Taylor headed straight to bed. Her alarm woke her up the following morning and she got ready for work, before joining the others to head over to the firehouse.
“So, what did you and Kel get up to last night?” Shay inquired as Taylor joined her and Gabby at the ambulance an hour into the shift.
“He took me to that outdoor ice rink and then we went to dinner at this little Italian place.”
“I wish Matt would do stuff like that,” Gabby commented, “He takes me out, but it’s always to Molly’s or somewhere we’ve been a hundred times before.”
“Well, Corrine and I prefer to not leave the bedroom,” Shay added, causing both Taylor and Gabby to laugh.
The conversation was brought to an abrupt halt by the alarm and Taylor went to get ready, jumping on the truck. The scene that met them was a mess and she knew that it was going to be a bad one, but she had a job to do.
Without hesitation, she led Rebecca over to one of the more severely damaged cars and motioned for the candidate to check on the passenger before focusing on the driver. A pulse was present as she checked, but the young girl was pinned inside the vehicle and it was going to be difficult to get her out.
“Ferguson?” Taylor called, looking over and knowing from the expression on the girl’s face that the passenger was dead.
Another team soon took over and Taylor scanned the scene, guiding a few of the walking wounded over to waiting ambulances. Frantic shouting pulled her attention behind her and she turned in time to see squad scatter, flinching as the car they’d been working on burst into flames.
Everyone was silent as they made their way back to the firehouse, all lost in their heads and thinking about the people that had lost their lives in that accident. She climbed down from the truck as they pulled into the firehouse, watching Kelly disappear into the locker rooms without a word and moving to follow him.
“Give him some time,” Matt stated, placing his hands on her shoulders and steering her towards the rec room.
♠ ♠ ♠
Enjoy ♥