Secret Sister (Station 19)

Never Really Over

By the time the team got back from the coffee house fire, there was only an hour left before the end of the shift. Elle was helping Travis wrap up hoses when Vic burst in with an idea.
"You know what we should do tonight?" she asked excitedly.
Elle chuckled. "Sleep, I hope. I'm exhausted and still have a headache." Elle turned to see Vic giving her an exaggerated pout. "What did you have in mind?"
Vic jumped in and started helping them with hoses as she explained. "I was thinking we should go back to that bar and see if RJ's there."

This seemed to pique Travis' interest and he quickly inserted himself into the conversation.
"Who's RJ?" he asked.
"No one," Elle tried to say.
Vic responded at the same time "That hot bartender from the other night. The one that gave Elle their number."
With that, both Vic and Trav gave her a taunting look as they tried to convince her to go back to the bar. Elle tried to say she'd go another night, that she didn't feel like it.
"Come on," Vic started. Her expression softened as she looked at Elle. "I could really use a drink after that call. And something fun, and new happy love. Please?"
"Yeah, okay we can go." Elle gave in. Vic knew exactly what to say to convince her; Elle could never say no to her friends if she thought they needed her.
Accepting her defeat, Elle turned to her other friend. "Trav, you in?"
"Hell yeah!" He responded.

Just then, Maya walked in. "You seem awfully jazzed about hoses today Montgomery" she joked.
Elle laughed, "Nah, he's just delighting in my torture."
Maya chuckled and gave Elle a look asking for context.
"Vic is dragging me back to the bar we went to for my birthday to get another look at the bartender that gave me their number."
"Wanna come?" Vic chimed in.

"Ahh," Maya said with a laugh. "I have plans with Andy tonight but keep me posted."
Andy was passing by and having heard her name, popped her head into the room. "What about Andy?" She asked.
Elle laughed, "oh my god how many people can fit in the hose room?"
Maya turned to Andy to clarify. "I just said we're hanging out tonight. Vic is making Elle go back to the bar to check out that bartender and asked if I wanted to go."
"Ooh yesss!" Andy responded excitedly. "Keep us posted probie."
Andy hit Elle's arm as she left the room with Maya in tow.
Elle looked between Vic and Travis in disbelief. She laughed "what just happened?"

...............................................................................

When the shift finally ended, Vic wanted to go straight to the bar but Elle protested, saying that if they were gonna go there to see RJ she needed to actually look good. Vic teased her a little, but agreed and told Travis to meet them at their place in an hour.
Elle was fixing her hair, flipping between half up and fully down, when the doorbell rang.
"Trav's here!" Vic shouted across the apartment. "You ready?"
Elle pinned back a section of her hair, deciding it looked fine, and shook off the nerves she didn't want to admit she had. She couldn't explain why she was so nervous about going back to the bar but she couldn't stop thinking. What if she didn't like RJ now that she's sober? What if she got the wrong idea? What if RJ didn't actually like her?

"Dude," Vic said, as she poked her head into Elle's room, shaking Elle from her thoughts. "Are you ready?"
Elle turned and forced a smile. "Yeah, sorry. Let's go!"

The bar was only a few blocks away from their place so the trio walked, Travis and Vic teasing Elle the whole way. Eventually she ran across the street to escape them for a minute, hoping for silence, but it just made all three of them laugh so hard the entire block could hear. Elle was still giggling when they walked into the bar, but it faded as she looked around and didn't see RJ. Reading the disappointment on her friend's face, Vic walked up to the bar to ask.
"What can I get for you?" a young bartender asked casually as she put a napkin down in front of Vic.
"Oh I was actually just wondering if RJ is working tonight."
The girl looked surprised by the question but turned around and pointed to the other end of the bar, just as RJ was pushing through the doors from the kitchen. "Yeah they're just over there."
"Great, thank you!" Vic smiled as she grabbed Elle's arm and dragged her through the bar, Travis in tow. She practically threw Elle into one of the empty stools as Travis chuckled at his friends and handed them both menus. Elle was still hiding behind hers when RJ came over to take their orders. Vic and Trav went first and then Elle slowly put down her menu as she asked for an old fashioned.

"Coming right up," RJ said casually. They had only been half looking, but quickly turned and did a double take. "Hey birthday girl."
Elle blushed "Hey," she said with a smile. She felt butterflies fill her stomach; RJ was just as hot as she had remembered. As she watched them carefully mix drinks, she noticed that they seemed to be blushing a little bit too. "So," RJ said, trying to play it cool. "An old fashioned, huh? Guess you liked what you got last time?"
Elle smirked, "Just trying to see if it's as good as I remember."

There weren't too many people out on a Tuesday night, so Elle and RJ got to chat quite a bit. They found out that they liked a lot of the same music, are both obsessed with true crime podcasts, and had both been dying to go to this new Thai restaurant across town. Vic and Travis had to bite their tongues to not laugh as they awkwardly danced around the idea of going to the restaurant together. After an hour and a half and 3 drinks, Vic got a text from Andy and Maya asking how things were going. She laughed as she hit Trav's arm and showed him her phone. Vic invited them to come see for themselves just as RJ walked away to serve another patron and Elle leaned over to say they should get going. She was having a great time talking to RJ but the drinks were bringing her headache back in full force. They quickly settled up and Elle waved a shy goodbye to RJ as she left.
"Old fashioned as good as you remember?" they called out.
Elle smiled and nodded, "Better."
RJ blushed then turned back to the bar.

As soon as the door closed behind them Vic and Trav lost it.
"Dude! You're so in love," Vic jested, far louder than Elle would have liked.
She shoved her friend, "Oh my god, shut up!" She couldn't really be mad but she at least had to pretend.
Travis chimed in, "oh you're so in love with them."
"Ugh," Elle sighed. "You guys are the worst." They all burst into a fit of laughter fueled by the events of the evening, the company, and the alcohol.
As they walked back to their apartment, Vic told Elle about the text from Maya and Andy and how they were already on their way. Elle laughed and pulled out her phone to call Maya.

"Hey!" she said when Maya answered. "So change of plans, we already left the bar, but if you wanna meet back at our place I'll tell you all about it."
Maya laughed on the other end of the line. "Sounds good. We're actually just around the corner from your place now."
"Awesome! Well you're gonna beat us there, so there's a key hidden under the flower pot next to the door."

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Andy and Maya were chilling in the kitchen waiting for their friends when the doorbell rang. Wine in hand, Andy walked over to open it. "Did you drink so much you forgot how to use your key?" she joked. She almost dropped her glass when the door swung open and she came face to face with her mother.