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To say that it had been a long few months would be something of an understatement. Between being deployed and rarely home himself as it was, hell he was currently stationed off the coast of Japan and that was far too far away in his opinion, and the hell that his partner had been through…
Well.
Rooster had thought Evie was safe. Sure, she still worked for the Navy on occasion – he knew she was spun up for the SEALs sometimes, though she had never officially been one. She had confessed to him before in the quiet of the predawn hours, lying tangled together in bed and sharing secrets and innermost thoughts sometime early in their relationship (the romantic relationship that was, they had been friends for a long time by that point) – anyway: she had confessed that she had been glad when they had decided they didn’t want females in the SEALs yet after all.He knew that now they were allowed – though it was very hard to get in – but back then? Back then, Evie and a couple others had been trial runs.
And Evie had been glad when they had changed their minds and decided not to bother after all, even after putting them through all that training.
She hadn’t wanted to quit – knew how it would look.
But she had hated having to switch off her emotions like that, and had been more than willing to move to Aviation.
She had smirked at him, and said she was glad for it mostly because she would never have met him otherwise, and the sex was too good to pass up.
He knew she was joking (mostly) but she had taken the out she had been practically begging him to take to change the subject and had quickly trapped her beneath him, stating that he had better practice in order to live up to her expectations then.
Her laughter had been a welcome reprieve from the serious turn their conversation had taken, and it was a sound he treasured, always had.
So yes. He had thought she was safe. Sure, she was a firefighter – danger kind of came with the territory what with the, you know: running into literal fires for a living thing. But the danger of getting shot at, of getting blown up? Yeah, that was supposed to be past – well, mostly. He could still vividly recall the video call where she had told him all about the old guy who had fired a live grenade into his own leg – and of course his fiancee had been the one to volunteer to climb into the ambulance to help get it out.
Anyway. The last thing he had been expecting was to get a call saying that she had been blown up while out on a call while safe in L.A.!
What had followed had been months of hell. Rooster had done his best to be there for her, but there was only so long he was allowed to be on leave – it didn't matter that the love of his life could barely walk.
Their friends had been great – several had managed to get some leave themselves, and had spent it in L.A. to help her out.
Even that prick Seresin had been a godsend, apparently. Rooster could barely stand the guy, but he knew that he and Evie were good friends.
And, when he had got the call from her and she had been seething mad, explaining how her so-called ‘captain’ was stabbing her in the back, he had even found himself glad that Hangman had already said he would help her get someone good to represent her.
Rooster knew he himself would never have managed to get her a lawyer like Amelia Williams, he just didn’t have the contacts that Seresin and his family did.
Right now, Rooster was back on American soil, and headed for the woman of his dreams.
He may or may not be slightly terrified of what he would find (Evie was scary when she wanted to be) but he was looking forwards to it regardless.
Hearing the story unfold from thousands of miles away, learning that her boss was betraying her and blocking her from getting a job elsewhere even while not wanting her to work in his own firehouse anymore, how he was actively trying to get her killed and the LAFD was letting him get away with it…! Well. Heads would roll, and he was beyond down for it.
He may not have told Evie he was coming home, having not been sure exactly when he would get back here. So she wasn’t there to meet him at the airport – he could surprise her later.
Tommy Kinard, an ex army pilot turned firefighter that Seresin had introduced Evie to when she had first moved out here, was there.
Rooster hadn’t spent much time with the other man, not prior to Evie getting blown up. They had only met properly after that, actually, when the other man had helped her out – incidentally, where the 118, her supposed ‘team’, had been nowhere to be found.
Yeah. He had heard all about that too.
Tommy smiled at him as he met him at the arrivals gate, shaking hands as Rooster reached out his own. “Flight OK?”
Rooster shrugged. “I’ve had worse. How’re things here?”
“Buck and Jake have stormed the LAFD. Heads are going to roll.” Tommy sounded almost gleeful at this – an asshole for all of five minutes when you first met him, Rooster had quickly come to find that the man was a complete dork and loved gossip.
Though he hated what was happening with his friend, he was also loving having a front row seat to the drama.
Rooster couldn’t really blame him. Had he been a little more removed from the main people in the situation, he would have been delightedly following along as well.
“Good. Any idea of a timeframe?” They began strolling towards the exit and the parking structures, where Tommy was no doubt parked. LAX was as busy as usual, and the throng of the crowds was exacerbating Rooster’s exhaustion, feeling it pull on his bones.
“I think she said they’re going to inform the 118 of the investigation being launched into them today. Have you heard from Buck recently?”
“Not in detail. Last I heard she was recovering well from the tsunami -” Because the woman had been caught up in a tsunami of all things, she really couldn’t catch a break… “And giving Nash one last chance to come clean. Had a meeting scheduled despite this though, since she figured he wouldn’t.”
“And he didn’t. Continuing to dig his own grave too: apparently the woman who’s covering her spot at the 118 is working active duty with broken ribs. And Nash knows about it too.”
Rooster scowled at that. Of all the irresponsible, hypocritical -!
“So no one knows yet?”
“Well, Diaz knows apparently. Jake told me he came by Buck’s place the day after the shift she stopped by for – apparently she cursed them,” The older man shared Rooster’s smirk at this, both fully able to imagine the woman in question doing precisely that, “And they had… well, the start of the serious and long conversation that they really need to have if they want to salvage any of their friendship.”
Rooster scowled. He had… thoughts, about Diaz. On the one hand, he kinda hated the guy for more or less abandoning his so-called friend to fend for herself (as far as he knew) after such a serious injury, and using her unashamedly for free baby-sitting services. On the other hand, he knew full well that Diaz had a lot going on too, and that he was not coping mentally: Evie had been telling him to cut the guy some slack for a while now, though he knew that even her patience would not be endless.
And, judging by their conversations since she had taken off to Hawai-i for a week – and good for her for doing so! – that patience with the other man was rapidly running out.
“Hey, so I was wondering,” Tommy suddenly cut into his thoughts, “You’re here for a while, right?”
“I guess? Not long, but a couple months, I think – unless they call me back again,”
“Right, and there’s a lot of shit going on, so I was wondering… Well, more than just me, really, we’ve kinda been wondering about it, uh…”
“Spit it out, man,”
“Why don’t you guys et married?” OK, that was not what he had thought the other man would blurt out – it wasn’t even close to anything he would even vaguely have guessed!
Although… Huh. He supposed it should have occurred to him – their friends had often jokingly complained that their engagement was seemingly never ending. They just… hadn’t got round to actually tying the knot yet! They were practically married anyway, and both knew that the other was ‘it’ for them. What did a piece of paper matter?
“...Huh?”
“Well, think about it. Not only have you guys been engaged for ages, but… well, it would certainly be something positive, wouldn’t it? And, honestly, Buck seems like she really needs a little positive in her life right now…”
Well, he couldn’t exactly argue with that… “You do know we’ve never got round to an actual wedding ‘cause it’s a nightmare to organise, right?”
“Sure sure. But I was doom scrolling on shift the other day, and came across a random wedding video that struck me as… well, honestly, very Buck!”
“Oh yeah? What was it?” They were Tommy’s truck now, and Rooster tossed his rucksack in the back before climbing into the front with Tommy in the driver seat.
“This couple and a few of their friends hiked up some mountain early morning, got changed into their wedding shit, and had the ceremony at the summit.”
Rooster had to laugh at that – Tommy was right: it did sound very Buck.
“You think she’d be up for something like that?” Honestly, he was intrigued by the idea himself: it sounded right up both their alleys, and he could imagine it in sudden vivid clarity.
“Sure, probably. I mean, you know she already has a dress right? Some friend in… Peru? I think? Made it for her,”
“Right, yeah. She said she didn’t get a say in it, and that they told her she absolutely did not have to wear it they just wanted to make it to see if they could, but that she loves it and fully intends to wear it on her wedding day if possible and if we ever get round to it. She hasn't let me see it, though.” No, he was not pouting, thank you very much!
Tommy just laughed at him. “As she shouldn't. Anyway, Jake and I were kinda talking about it – and we agreed that we would be more than happy to plan your reception for you, because you know that people are going to be pissed if they don’t get to have anything if they can’t see the ceremony itself. Hell, you could do a vow renewal or some shit, but after this long engaged I feel like a lot of people are invested in you two, you know?”
Rooster did know. He knew very well, and had fielded a lot of good natured complaints from a lot of people over the years about them taking so damn long to get around to an actual wedding of some kind.
“You know,” He mused thoughtfully, settling back in his seat and making himself comfortable for the long drive – he had not missed L.A. traffic while he was deployed. “We might just take you upon that,”
Honestly, outsourcing the planning and organising of the whole thing would be pretty good – much as he loved Evie with a clipboard (she was hot, sue him) she was also kinda terrifying.
And as much as she may enjoy it, he also knew she would stress. and she did not need more stress right now.
Their friends organising a wedding/party for them? Well, that would probably be pretty great, actually.
And if they could get most folks out here for it? Somehow, he knew that the mass showing of support would do her the world of good…
***
Across town at the 118, shit was about to hit the fan. Alonzo stalked into the station, a secretary hot on his heels.
After reviewing what Buckley and her shark of a lawyer had brought to them, he had to admit that he was beyond glad they had not gone straight to suing them – much as he had been unimpressed to begin with, he was self aware enough to admit and acknowledge that they would have been in a world of trouble had they ot tried one last time to get someone in the LAFD to actually listen and apparently do their damn jobs for once.
He had been prepared to laugh them out of there, to give Buckley a sharp reprimand for threatening as he had heard they were doing.
He really should have kept on top of her case. And why hadn’t he been more aware? He was the one who had reinstated Nash after that bombing, after all, why had he not kept a better eye on the firefighter who had been injured in the literal targeted bombing of one of their trucks?! He knew that he had meant to, he had just… got distracted? No, that was excuse.
Regardless, he was listening now, and he was not pleased with what he was hearing.
Even a preliminary investigation that was only just starting after looking over all the evidence Buckley and Williams had brought to his attention had him storming in here, ready to rain hellfire own.
“Everyone to the loft, now!” He barked, and heard firefighters scurrying to obey.
He waited, close to tapping his foot as they all lined up in front of him up the stairs, standing at attention.
Nash came to stand in front of him. “Chief Alonzo, we weren’t expecting you, were we?” He managed an affable smile, but Alonzo thought he detected a hint of anxiety in those lying blue eyes.
Perhaps he was just seeing things, however.
“This isn’t a social call.” Alonzo snapped. “Robet Nash, you are suspended without pay, effective immediately. An investigation is being launched into the running of this station and your decisions. If I have to, I will go back to the day you started at the LAFD! QUIET!” The immediate outrage was to be somewhat expected, but that didn’t mean he was impressed with the other firefighters.
Nash had gone alarmingly pale in front of him, but was still trying to play it cool. “Sir? I don’t understand?”
“You know Nash, it wasn’t that long ago you were suspended from lying to this department. And what do you do when you are reinstated? You lie to us some more! If we find grounds for your dismissal – and believe me, the little we know so far when this situation was brought to our attention suggests that the least of your repercussions would be losing your captaincy, let alone your job! – there will be no reprieve this time. We let things slide before given the events of the time, but that was a mistake. And speaking of your decisions and the questionability of them: Bosko.” He snapped, seeing the woman in question snap to attention where she was standing next to Diaz – he had become very familiar with the main players in this drama since Buckley had made her case to him. “You are on medical leave, effective immediately. If I hear even so much as a whisper about you trying to come back before you have been fully cleared to and I have paperwork on my desk testifying that your broken ribs are fully healed, there will be hell to pay. The sheer stupidity of going out in the field like that is deplorable! We are here to protect the citizens of that city, and you are placing them in more danger by being reckless with your own health and wellbeing!”
Nash was arguing now, and why the hell was he going to bat for this woman who was a relative stranger to him, and yet was trying to force Buckley – whom he had known for years at this point – into a job that would literally kill her? “Sir, she has already proven that she can work through the pain -”
“I don’t give a damn about her pain tolerance!” He couldn’t believe this man, he really couldn’t. This was not something Alonzo wanted to be dealing with – and yet, Nash had forced his hand. Whatever happened to Nash and his cronies now, it was on his own head. “I care about the stupidity and blatant flaunting of regulations that is letting someone with broken ribs work in the field! What if she moved wrong at a crucial moment, ended up puncturing a lung and distracting the rest of this crew from the victims of whatever call you were working at the time? Or a whole host of other things that could go wrong! No. Bosko, you are on medical leave, and a note will be added to your file that you did not disclose your injury to the department. And you had better be prepared to answer some questions as to why there is no record of hospital visits to get them checked out properly as well.
“All of you,” He added, looking meaningfully around the assembled group of worried firefighters, “Had better be prepared to answer a lot of questions. Over the coming days you will all be called in individually to be interviewed, and I expect full cooperation. It’s not brain surgery: you lie to us, there will be repercussions. Things are going to be changing around here, and if you want to keep your jobs, you better pray you’ve earned it and tell us nothing but the truth.”