City of Smoke // Brian 'Otis' Zvonecek ✔️

08 || ROUGH

During her time as a paramedic, Rory had experienced her fair share of rough calls. From the heartbreak of parents having to watch as their child didn't quite make it to the hospital in time. Or the tearjerkers that were children seeing their grandparents take their last breath and not really knowing what was going on or why grandma wasn't waking up.

Whatever it may be, Rory had seen it all. And it had never once gotten any easier.

Rory knew that being a paramedic probably wasn't the best job for someone as sensitive as she was when it came to her emotions, but she loved helping people. She loved saving lives and she wanted to keep doing what had once been done to her, so if that meant she had a couple breakdowns in the shower a few times a month when things got to be too much, then so be it because there wasn't a single thing that could ever make her quit being a paramedic.

Except maybe what had happened a couple of weeks ago when she had very nearly quit because she couldn't handle fifty-one any longer. But thankfully that was in the past and she didn't ever have to worry about feeling that way ever again.

But unfortunately for Rory, her good mood wouldn't last too long into todays shift as her very first call would push her to that point of it all being too much.

The sun shone brightly through the uncovered windows, projecting colourful patterns all over the adjacent walls. Rory had been too tired last night to bother closing her curtains before she collapsed onto her fluffy mattress and fell asleep the minute her head hit the pillow, so it meant that she got an extra sunny wake up the morning of her next shift.

The alarm on her nightstand blared loudly, making Rory groan a little as she covered her head with her pillow and wished for an extra half an hour in bed. She may have stayed up a little too late last night hanging out with her dads crew at the roadhouse, and now she was paying the price.

Bark.

"Domino please, just five more minutes." Rory mumbled into her pillow even though the impatient little dog couldn't hear her. All she need was five more minutes, that's it, just five. But unfortunately for her, Domino had other ideas.

Bark.

"Ugh fine." Rory groaned out as she lifted the pillow from her face and was immediately pounced on by the mischievous little pup. And once that happened, well, Rory couldn't exactly stay grumpy after that. "You're lucky you're so goddamn cute." She cooed as she happily accepted the kisses Domino was smothering her with.

Now that she was awake, or rather now that Domino knew she was awake, Rory had no choice but to drag herself out of bed, feed the hungry pup and start getting ready for work, where she would probably have to drink all the coffee in the firehouse to keep herself awake.

It wasn't long before Rory was walking up the apron and into the firehouse, half asleep and like a zombie as she barely lifted her feet with each step she took. She really needed that coffee. Or a nap. Or both actually, a nap while an IV full of coffee just pumped directly into her veins.

"Long night?" Came a slightly sarcastic voice from behind her, making Rory turn a little to see Cruz and Otis just a bit behind her, the former of which the voice had come from.

And if she hadn't recognised that the voice didn't belong to Otis, who she'd heard many times from his podcast, which she was listening to now more than she ever had... Was it possible to fall in love with a voice? Maybe... Anyway, had she not known it was Cruz who spoke, the cheeky grin on his face would have given it away.

"The longest." Rory mumbled, slowing down a little so as to fall in line with the two of them. Her words made Otis's stomach knot together a little over the untold meaning behind them and he suddenly felt glad that Cruz was in between them.