Playing with fire (Amelia Shepherd) ABANDONED

forty five

"Congratulations on following your dreams today, 19. In my experience, following your dreams is how you end up homeless. Which, funny enough, is who we can expect to see today," Beckett announced, walking into the barn on the launch of the Dean Miller Memorial Clinic.

"Are we supposed to clap for that?" Mallie looked at Vic while they put chairs out.

"Um, hey... hey, everyone," Jack said, stepping into the middle of the room. "Uh, I just want to say that walking into a doctor's office or a hospital can be downright scary, especially when you feel like you don't have a voice and someone else has all the power, even if they're saying they want to help. I-I know from experience. But thanks to all of you for saying yes and, uh, putting in the work. Those who feel like I once did now have a place to go, and that's no small thing, right? And maybe we should give ourselves a hand?" Jack said.

"Now, that I will clap for," Mallie said.

"Alright, yeah," Vic grinned, starting to clap. "Go Jack," she said.

"Hey, Cruz!" Sullivan called across the barn an hour later.

Mallie looked over, seeing he was stood with a woman near the front desk. She walked over, shoving her hands in her pockets as she walked.

"What can I do for you?" Mallie said.

"I'm Tabitha Salzman, the Guardian Ad Litem assigned by the family court. We spoke on the phone," the woman said.

"Right, nice to meet you," Mallie said, shaking her hand. "I thought you were coming next week at the house to see Pru's room," she said.

"Yes, but the Millers have concerns about your ability to raise Pru due to yours and your wife's working schedule, so you both gave us your schedules in case we wanted to drop by and observe the two of you at work," Tabitha said.

"And I pulled the short straw instead of Amelia, right," Mallie nodded. "I'm not going to lie, today is the launch of the Dean Miller Memorial Health Clinic we've started here at the Station, so I won't have much time to talk to you. Feel free to walk around, do whatever you need, ask me anything you want to when I'm not with patients. I just can't show you around," Mallie said.

"No, that's fine. The idea is for me to just observe you without talking, get an idea of a day in your life, and take notes and gather what I can for my report, which will be going to the judge," Tabitha said.

"Great. Okay. Well, there's coffee upstairs, fresh pot. Help yourself and I will be going back to work," Mallie said.

"Okay, great," Tabitha said, smiling as she and her clipboard headed upstairs.

"What the fuck?" Mallie mouthed to herself.

She turned around, spotting Vic stood watching her with Maya. Mallie hurried over.

"Who was that?" Vic asked.

"Some court lady who's spying on me today and then reporting my work life to the judge. It was me or Amelia. We just kind of figured they'd pick Amelia, considering the three kids all go to the hospital daycare there," Mallie said.

"Yeah, but you had the same job as Dean and you're the reason Amelia has custody of Pru, 'cause he asked you to take her and Amelia comes with you," Maya said.

"Still, though. She's with the kids more in the day. Maybe Tabitha is expecting me to go on a call and die and prove the Millers right about how firefighters can't be parents," Mallie said.

"Well, maybe don't say things like that in case she hears you. Just... Just go and be normal and focus on how all of this counts towards getting Pru," Maya said.