From Intern to Family | 9-1-1 Fanfic

Chapter 2

It had been three days since the application day at the firehouse. I was waiting on a phone call from Bobby to determine whether I had been accepted or not. After my conversation with him and Eddie, I knew my chances were incredibly slim. But they were never zero.

They had done a background check on us all and Bobby spoke to each of us individually in his office too. The only thing is, there's some things that aren't on my official files that Bobby can see. That's a story for another time though.

Currently, I was at a local cafe owned by an older couple. Willow and Poppy were in their sixties and an incredibly loving pair. Not only did they love each other, but they cared about every person that walked through their doors too. It was sweet.

I was their favourite customer (I claimed the title) and they were always too kind to me. Often giving me free baked goods or a warm drink in the winter. Whenever I tried to give them money they refused, so I normally tried to repay them by doing little jobs.

Right now I was lifting heavy boxes from the delivery van and taking them into the storage room out back. It meant I had to walk through the cafe with customers giving me strange looks every time they saw me.

I didn't mind it really, especially since Poppy and Willow were more than happy for me to help.

My hands clasped the edges of the heavy box and I heaved it into my arms, internally groaning at the heavy weight.

What did they order, rocks?

I couldn't imagine either of the women carrying this. I let my back push against the door and I narrowly avoided bumping into a customer leaving.

"Cooper don't hurt yourself!" Willow called out, a cheeky grin on her face. I laughed quietly, flicking the hair from my eyes. "I'm hard as nails Willow!" A few people around me laughed at that. I blushed, momentarily forgetting people were listening.

Many customers that came by thought Willow was my grandma and it wasn't surprising considering our relationship. We looked alike too.

She had dark brown hair with some grey in it and blue eyes, just like mine. My hair was a lot curlier than hers, causing my fringe to flop messily on my forehead. It reminded me I'd probably need it cut soon.

A few more trips with the heavy boxes and soon I was on the last two. My hands were a little achy and I really didn't want to do a second trip. So, I stacked the boxes on top of each other and lifted them carefully into my arms. I couldn't see above the boxes, meaning I had to rely on someone not bumping into me.

I thanked the delivery driver for his patience, then made my way to the door. The bell chimed loudly, making my ears cringe at the high pitch. I assume Willow had gone to the back as she would've scolded me for straining myself.

"Cooper?" A voice echoed to my left and it was somewhat familiar. My head turned slightly and I caught the eye of one of the firefighters from the 118.

"Oh, uh hey. Hen right?" I asked, hoping I had got her name right.

She smiled kindly at me, "Yes that's me. What are you doing with those boxes?" I could hear the laughter in her tone. "Willow and Poppy let me help them out from time-to-time. I don't want them hurting themselves trying to lift these." I replied honestly.

I noticed the other woman she was sat with and I refrained from making eye contact. She looked scary. "Well that's very good of you. I won't keep you here, those boxes look very heavy." We exchanged brief goodbyes and I made my way over to the counter.

"Cooper Reed, what have I told you about carrying too much at once?" Willow's voice echoed from the door to the back room. I placed the boxes on the ground, spinning to face her.

"When's Poppy going to be back? I haven't seen her in a while." Willow shook her head at my diversion tactic.

A smile crossed her lips, so I knew she wasn't too annoyed with me. "She's on her way now. Would you mind serving some tables for me? I don't want some of the ingredients in these boxes to go bad." I nodded instantly, more than happy to help out.

I bounced from table to table, taking their orders or getting refills on their drinks. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits, which made the customer service a lot more smooth. Hen and the woman were sat in a booth chatting aimlessly, mugs of coffee clasped gently in their hands.

The bell chimed again and I glanced up to see Poppy walk in. "Hey honey!" She greeted, clasping me in a hug. I chuckled and hugged her back, feeling a sudden wave of warmth in my chest. My eyes caught on to the heavy bags weighing down her arms, which I quickly took off.

We began our usual chat that we had every time we saw each other and it was nice to see her again. It had been a while since I had come to the cafe, something both women had scolded me for. What can I say, they worry.

A buzzing noise interrupted our conversation and I scrambled to pull my phone from my pocket. Poppy waved me off, going to the back room to greet her wife.

"Hello?" I answered nervously, taking a seat on a barstool.

"Is this Cooper Reed? It's Bobby Nash from the 118 fire station." My breath caught in my throat and I unconsciously began tapping my fingers on the countertop. "Yes yes, this is Cooper. It's good to hear from you Cap." I answered. Thankfully my voice didn't waver as I spoke.

I heard him murmur to someone else in the background before he focused his attention back on the call, "I'm glad. I'm sure you'll be even more pleased when I tell you that we've decided to give you the internship." Willow and Poppy came back to the counter, studying me with worried eyes.

My tapping increased and I nodded to myself, quickly realising Bobby couldn't see me in person. "Yeah that's great. Awesome! Thank you, really, thank you so much." I rambled on, the feeling of excitement coming out. I don't think I've been this excited for something in a long time.

We talked through some details and he informed me of any information that was important to me at this stage and I think I thanked him about a hundred more times before we ended the call.

My phone made a small noise when it landed on the counter and I paused momentarily. Willow glanced over worriedly and Poppy moved to stand beside me.

"Everything okay, Cooper?" She asked quietly, trying not to grab the attention of the customers.

Another pause.

"I got the internship.." I whispered in awe. Poppy blinked in surprise and opened her mouth, but I cut her off accidentally. "I got it! I got the internship, I did it!" I repeated, jumping up from my seat and giddily bounding around the small cafe.

Poppy and Willow both hugged me as we all laughed in disbelief. I can't believe I got the internship. All I needed to do now is keep it!

They kept their smiles as I rambled animatedly to them, my hands moving in the air at rapid speeds as I spoke. I couldn't sit still. It had been a long time since I acted like this and I couldn't hold myself back.

Through my celebrations, I caught the eye of Hen who had stood up after finishing her drink. She smiled knowingly in my direction and gave me two thumbs up. I reciprocated the action, even grinning at the lady next to her.

I'd be seeing her at the station on Monday (two whole days I had to wait) and I couldn't be more excited. Bobby had told me that as an intern I didn't have a uniform, but I had to wear appropriate clothing.

So tomorrow I had to search through my very limited wardrobe to find something that wouldn't mess up my chances of keeping this internship.

I waved goodbye to Hen and then Willow and Poppy. There was still some of my schoolwork left to do when I got back to the house and I now needed to prepare for Monday. Maybe I could sneak in a little trip to the local supermarket for a treat as a little 'yay' present for myself.

For now, I could be excited and giddy. Then Monday, I needed to be the most focused, sensible sixteen year old that the station had ever seen. (Sensible and focused weren't common adjectives ascribed to me, but I'm sure I could pull it off if I tried hard enough).