Chapter Thirty-Eight
Simon
“I have a question,” Kelly asked on New Year’s Eve as Megan left the living room to shower. I was sitting on the couch and she had just appeared from her bedroom in a beautiful gold dress that fell to the floor. It was completely backless and was only held up by the tie around her neck. As she spoke, she pushed some earrings into her ears.
“You look beautiful, Kel.”
She gave me a small smile and pushed her long hair behind her ear. “Thank you. Are you going to propose to her soon?”
“What?” I narrowed my eyes as a smile tugged at my lips. “Is she having you fish for information?”
“No.” Kelly shook her head and sat on the couch next to me. “She hasn’t mentioned it but I was wondering. I’ve never not lived with Megan so I wanted to prepare myself if you are.”
I dropped my arm across her shoulders and hugged her to my side. “Not in the immediate future. I want to give us a bit more time before I do. Even then, Kel, I don’t think we’re in a huge hurry to change our living arrangements. I like knowing she has someone with her when I’m working overnight. I know I’m in your home a lot, but...”
“We both love having you here,” she interrupted as she pat my thigh. “Really.”
“Well, good. If anything was going to change and I had your blessing, I think we’d transition me here completely. I’m not needed nearly as much since Alex has Stacey and I think they’ll be moved in together by summer.”
“Will you tell me if you think something’s going to change? Just to warn me?” Her voice was quiet and had undertones of sadness.
I squeezed her tighter and nodded as I dropped a kiss to her head. “I promise.”
Megan walked out of the bedroom in just her bathrobe and cocked her head to the side as she caught sight of Kelly and me on the couch. She didn’t stop as she moved in our direction with a smile on her face.
“I want in on this.” She settled opposite of Kelly and I chuckled as I wrapped my other arm around her shoulders. Megan was a better person than I would ever be. If the roles had been reversed and it’d been Megan and Alex, I probably wouldn’t have been so accepting but she didn’t think twice.
So I sat on the couch with two beautiful woman cuddled to my sides. One in an evening gown and the other in nothing but a bathrobe. I was a lucky man.
After a few minutes, Kelly pulled herself out of my hold and stood.
“I’m going to finish getting ready. What time are we leaving?”
Megan glanced at the clock and sighed. “Half hour. I need to go get dressed.” She stood and tugged on my hand to try to get me on my feet. “You, too.”
We were going to a large New Year’s Eve party in at a hotel in downtown New Hope. It was supposed to be a huge to-do and we’d only managed to get invited because of Megan’s boss. Kelly had been talking about it for weeks and I knew Megan was looking forward to it, too. I would have preferred to stay in but instead I followed Megan to her bedroom and pulled on my suit.
I was working on my tie when Megan did an exaggerated twirl in her dress. It was a deep, midnight blue color, sleeveless, had a matching belt around her waist, and fell to her feet. Her chocolate brown hair fell in soft waves to her shoulders and her make-up was done subtly, making her hazel eyes stand out.
“What do you think?”
I stepped forward, forgetting my tie, and gently cupped her jaw with one hand. I brought my other up to lightly brush against the necklace she was wearing.
“You look breathtaking.” I touched my lips to hers and she smiled.
“Thank you. I’ll look good on your arm, then.” Megan reached up and made quick work of knotting my tie, faster than I would have been able to. She just shrugged when I gave her an impressed look. “My dad taught us how.” Once she was satisfied with the black tie, she gave it a nod and stepped back. “Ready?
I grabbed my jacket and her shawl and followed her out into the living room. Both women were in heels, Megan’s black and Kelly’s a gold that matched her dress, and I followed them out to Megan’s SUV. She handed me the keys after I made sure they could both get in okay and I drove us towards downtown.
“Just drop it at valet, Si,” Megan directed as we pulled into the hotel parking lot. I did as she said and someone was at my door as soon as the car was in park.
I walked around to the passenger side of my car and offered up an arm to both women who accepted instantly. One of the younger valets looked at me with his jaw dropped and I just grinned at him. We sauntered into the ballroom and Kelly let out a low whistle.
“This is legit.” She took a flute of champagne when a server came by offering it up and handed one to Megan before offering me my own. I shook my head with a small smile.
“I’ll drive tonight.”
The girls finished off the champagne and I took them to the dance floor. I twirled them both for a few minutes before a guy sauntered up and asked if he could dance with Kelly. They stayed next to us for a bit before eventually stepping off the dance floor to get another drink.
When a slower song came on, I wrapped my arms around Megan’s waist and she rest hers behind my neck.
“Do you know that I love you?” Megan asked quietly as she grinned up at me, her cheeks flushed from our dancing. I nodded, giving her a smile of my own as I pulled her tighter.
“I’ve figured it out. I hope you know that I love you, too.”
“Yeah?” She let me spin her slowly before we resumed our dancing. “You better.”
We fluttered on and off the dance floor to get drinks, food, and to keep tabs on Kelly. She and the guy she’d been dancing with, who introduced himself as Devin, stayed together all night, obviously having taken a liking to one another. We found Megan’s boss and a few of her colleagues and chatted with them for a while. I also ran into a few people I knew from over the years and we made polite conversation.
We were dancing next to Kelly and Devin when the countdown started. Megan grabbed the horns she’d stuck in my jacket pocket and handed us each one with a wide smile. Her cheeks were red from the alcohol she’d consumed and her eyes were bright with happiness as she counted down with the crowd. When midnight hit, balloons and confetti fell from the ceiling and we all blew on our horns loudly for a moment.
Megan pulled her horn from her mouth and met me halfway as we kissed passionately. I felt like we were the only two in the huge ballroom as I enjoyed the taste of champagne on her tongue and the way her soft body pressed against mine as if she couldn’t get close enough. When we pulled back, we just stared at each other for a moment.
“Happy New Year, Megs,” I said quietly as I dropped another quick peck to her lips.
“Happy New Year, Simon.” Megan pressed her cheek to my neck as she embraced me hard and I returned it eagerly. When I finally let her go, she turned and wrapped her sister in her arms as Devin stood by with a silly smile on his face.
I couldn’t hear what the sisters were saying as they murmured to one another but they held each other for a long minute as they spoke. When they separated, Megan gave Devin a polite smile and wished him Happy New Year as well.
We all resumed dancing since the girls weren’t ready to leave and it was about thirty minutes after midnight when my phone rang. I frowned when I saw it was the number for dispatch and I gave Megan an apologetic look.
“Go. I’ll be right here.”
I smiled at her as I stepped back and brought the phone to one ear, plugging the other with my finger.
“This is Simon Owens.”
“Lieutenant Owens, this is dispatch zero nine eight, requesting assistance for company 22.”
I sighed and nodded my head, even though she couldn’t see me. If they were calling in my company it meant that there was a lot of activity for the night and they were afraid they wouldn’t have the coverage. It also meant they couldn’t get ahold of Captain Stevenson since they’d called me first.
“Acknowledged. Please send out the alert to the rest of the company.”
“Copy that, Lieutenant. Sending out the alert now.”
I ended the call and waited for the onslaught of text messages to hit my phone from my company whining they had to come in. Not all would be able to due to the late hour and the alcohol I was sure flowed for the evening, but if I could get a team of four or five I would be happy. We’d be able to handle the Engine Company just fine.
I walked back to the dance floor where Megan was dancing next to Kelly and she gave me an understanding smile when she caught sight of me.
“Duty calls.”
“I’m sorry, babe,” I replied softly as I tugged her towards me. She immediately shook her head and gave me a kiss.
“Don’t be. When you’re needed, you’re needed. Why don’t you take my car? We’ll Uber home. It’s not like I could drive anyway.” I frowned and she just smiled. “Get out of here. I’ll be okay.”
“You text me the name and info of your driver and call me when you’re in the car. Got it?” My voice was low and serious and Megan continued to smile.
“I promise.”
I gave her a hard kiss before releasing her with a groan. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. Be careful.” She blew me a kiss as I nodded.
“Always am.”
After I picked up her car from valet, I drove towards the station house and answered calls from my company. Dickerson, Williams, Barthe, Jones, and Trujillo were all on their way in. Christos had called and confessed that he was drunk off of his ass, Simpson was out of town, and Hughes hadn’t bothered responding. The one I was worried about most was the Captain. It wasn’t like him to not respond at all.
When I made it to the house, Jones and Dickerson were already there. The other three showed up shortly after and we all headed upstairs to change our clothes.
“Damn,” Jones said as she looked at me with a smile. “You look nice. It sucks we had to pull you away.”
I smiled with a shrug. “You should have seen my date. Leaving her on the dance floor looking like she did was a travesty.”
Williams and I changed our clothes in our bunkroom, which showed signs that company 22 was on shift since the sheets were all turned down. Once we were all dressed, we rendezvoused in the common area.
“Everyone okay? Anyone need to sleep? Anyone been drinking?” Five heads shook around me and I gave them all grateful looks. “Thank you all for coming in. You’re an amazing team.”
I moved to the wall to call into dispatch to let them know my team was ready, although only staffed at seventy-five percent. The dispatcher acknowledged that and I hung up the receiver.
“22 had cookies, guys,” Dickerson said from the kitchen before appearing with a plate of chocolate chip cookies. We all took one quickly and stuffed them in our mouths before taking spots on the huge sectional couch. We were watching reruns of some stupid sitcom when Megan text me information on her Uber driver. She called me two minutes later to let me know she was getting in with Kelly and Devin.
“Devin’s going home with you guys?” I asked quietly and Megan giggled.
“It’s okay. I ran into someone I knew from the hospital who vouched for him. He’s an anesthesiologist there, I guess. I text you a picture of his driver’s license, too. Just in case.”
I sighed at Megan’s slurred speech and rubbed the back of my neck. “Put him on the phone, okay?”
Megan’s muffled voice told Devin I wanted to speak to him and he answered quickly.
“Hi.”
“Are you drunk?” I asked immediately, making my voice harder than it had been.
“No, sir.”
I narrowed my eyes at his kiss ass answer. “I’m friends with most of the police department. If either woman so much as stubs her toe while you’re there, your life will be over.”
“I understand. Neither girl will get hurt.”
“Let me talk to Kelly.”
Kelly’s loud sigh came over the phone as she answered. “Hi, big brother. My last drink was well over an hour ago and I will make sure my sister gets in her bed alone the second we get home. We’re going to be okay.”
“You tell that fucker that I’ll be popping by for surprise check-ins and that Simba has rabies. Got it?”
Kelly laughed softly. “Got it. Love you, Owens.”
“I love you, too, Kel,” I replied with an exasperated groan. “Let me talk to your sister, okay?”
“Hi, Si,” Megan said with a giggle. “That rhymes.”
I tugged at my hair in frustration. My girl was tipsy, giggly, and adorable and I couldn’t be there. “Go to bed when you get home, okay? I should be there soon. Company 23 will be in at seven and I can leave then.”
“I will. I love you.” Her voice was serene and I couldn’t help but smile.
“I love you, too. Goodnight, Megs.”
She said goodnight and ended the call. I stuffed my phone into my pocket and glared at the TV. My co-workers exchanged smiles with each other but didn’t dare say anything. We watched the stupid show for another twenty minutes before the green lights flashed above us and the alarm went off.
“Let’s go, guys,” I said as we all moved to our feet. Everyone filed down the stairs and pulled on their turn-out gear before we went to the idle engine that was in the back bay.
I jumped in the front passenger seat while everyone else took their normal spots. Williams sat between Barthe and me, operating the sirens and managing the equipment as he did, and Trujillo sat in the back to get us details.
“Four oh one, Vehicle accident,” Trujillo said over our radio. “On I-90.”
I quickly sent a text to Megan and Kelly and Kelly text back almost immediately to tell me they were home and that Megan was in bed. I breathed a sigh of relief as we screamed through the streets. A police car was the only other one at the accident when we pulled up. One car was its roof while the other had spun into a guardrail.
“Dickerson, Jones, take the car to the north. Dickerson on airbags, Jones on occupants. Trujillo, you’re with me on the vehicle to the east, make sure all airbags are disabled, please. Barthe, request an additional ambulance and set up the hose for incidentals, and Williams, work with the trooper to get us some flares.”
Everyone did as they were told and I listened as Barthe reported our status over the radio. Trujillo verified that every airbag had gone off and he and I got on our knees to look in the vehicle. I shined my flashlight on the driver, who looked to be a guy in his forties. Blood streamed down his face but his eyes were open and he was looking around.
“I dint’ see th’other car,” he slurred and I shook my head as I glanced at Trujillo.
“Altered mental status. Possible head injury, likely high BAC. I’m going to grab the backboard.”
“Two occupants,” Jones said over the radio. “Both conscious. Injuries seem to be minimal.”
“Copy that, Jones,” I replied as I moved to the rig and heard sirens telling me assistance was nearing our location. “We have one occupant…” I trailed off as I saw a set of headlights moving quickly, heading right where the trooper and Williams were setting up flares. “Look out!”
Both of them tried to dive out of the way but the crunch from the impact was loud and the truck swerved onto the shoulder. I sprinted towards where the men had been standing and grasped my radio frantically.
“We have a four twenty-two, officer and fire crew down. Four twenty-two. Send back up immediately.” I let go of the button on my mic as I ran. “Williams! Williams!”
I found the trooper first, and he moaned as he held his leg. When he saw me approach, he waved me away.
“I’m okay. I’m okay. Find the other guy.”
I left him there and used my light to search for Williams. I found him about twenty feet away, immobile where he lay in the road. His helmet had flown off his head and his eyes were closed. I fell to my knees next to him and ripped my gloves off as I felt for a pulse. I searched his neck before moving to his wrist and shook my head when I couldn’t find one.
“Tony. Fuck. No.” I opened up his jacket so I could tug up his shirt and saw that the vehicle had slammed directly into his chest, leaving behind massive trauma. A paramedic from an ambulance that had just arrived joined me and she shook her head as she inspected him.
“His cervical,” she said as she turned to look at me. I nodded but didn’t say anything else. His neck was broken. Between that and his chest, he was already gone. I scrubbed my hand down my face as I shook my head quickly.
“Damn it. Damn it!” I stood and threw my glove as I yelled again and finally registered someone shouting at me over the radio.
“Talk to me Owens!” It was Jones, her voice frantic. “What happened?”
I shook my head as I walked over to pick up my gloves from where I’d thrown them. “Williams is gone.”
Instead of dropping to my knees and closing my eyes like I wanted to, I continued working. The other paramedic was already at the truck who’d hit Williams so I went back to the officer and forced him to lie down so I could check him out. He kept mumbling about how Williams pushed him out of the way but I didn’t listen.
Police car after police car showed up, along with two other ambulances and a rig from one of the other NHFD stations. So much chaos was going on around us but my company kept moving around, helping where we could, and eventually the District Chief showed up in a company truck. My crew stood off to the side as we watched the coroner load up Williams and we didn’t move until they’d pulled away.
“Company 21,” I said quietly as I looked at the ground. “Back to the rig.”
We all shuffled back to the truck and the District Chief was waiting for us with a grim expression.
“You did well, crew. I’m proud of all of you.” He gestured to the man behind him. “This is Silberhorn. He’s an equipment operator from station two. He’s going to drive you back home.”
“I can drive, Chief,” Barthe mumbled quietly but the Chief shook his head.
“I know, Barthe, but Silberhorn’s going to do it anyway.”
Our equipment had already been loaded back up, probably by station two, and I nodded at my crew to get in the truck. The Chief gripped my shoulder before I could get in, though.
“You did good out there tonight, Lieutenant. I just spoke to Captain Stevenson’s wife. He’s down with the flu and has no idea what just happened but I’ll brief him tomorrow. I want you to take your company back to the house, clean up, and go home, okay?” He paused and let out a long sigh. “I’ve vacated your shifts for the next week.”
“Yes, sir,” I replied quietly and got into the rig as soon as he let me go. No one spoke until we got back to the house and I relayed the Chief’s instructions as we pulled in the bay. Company 23 was in the garage waiting for us, three hours early for their shifts but obviously there because of the news. They all looked solemn as we put our gear back and went upstairs.
I waited in the common room for everyone as they dressed and made sure that each person was good to drive and had someone to go home to. Trujillo rushed home to his wife and kids and Dickerson mentioned that he was going to his best friend’s rather than home. Barthe was visibly shaken up, having been the closest to Williams, and his girlfriend met him outside to take him home. Jones was the last one out, her hair wet from showering and her eyes were red from crying.
“Where are you going, Tori?” I asked quietly, knowing she lived by herself.
“I’m going to go to my dad’s. I am,” she added when I raised my brows. “I don’t want to be alone.”
“Want to come with me to Megan’s?”
She shook her head quickly and offered me a small smile. “Thanks. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
I nodded and watched as she walked away. I quietly said goodbye to the 23rd before running into the 22nd as they pulled in the bay. I just waved, not wanting to talk to anyone else, and headed to Megan’s car.