From Intern to Family | 9-1-1 Fanfic

Chapter 3

For once in my life, I wasn't running late or rushing to make it on time. In fact, I was early!

I had spent a while with Poppy and Willow planning out a suitable outfit for my first day as Bobby had informed me of some of the tasks I'd be asked to carry out. I knew at some point I'd have to scrub down the firetrucks or the ambulances, so it was wise not to wear anything that could get easily ruined.

I had on some cargo shorts and a t-shirt, both of which were the same navy blue as the team's uniforms. Poppy said it was always good to be coloured coordinated.

I took a deep breath upon seeing the entrance to the firehouse. Typically, I was okay at keeping my nerves under control. But today seemed impossible to tame my nerves.

It wasn't often that I cared so much about something for it to make me nervous, even tests at school never made me like this. I guess it puts into perspective how big of a deal this was to me.

This was my make or break situation.

My ears picked up the sound of voices upon entering the fire station and I awkwardly pushed my bag further up my shoulder. Taking it slow, I walked between the two firetrucks and checked my watch. 8:30am. I was fifteen minutes early, so it's no surprise that I wasn't expected at the door.

"Hey kid!" A voice yelled, making me jump slightly. My eyes darted upwards and I saw a man waving from the balcony. He was the only one I didn't get to speak to last week, but he seemed friendly nonetheless.

I jogged up the stairs and faced the unknown man at the top, "Hey um, I'm Cooper. Sorry I know I'm a bit early." I greeted, gripping tightly on to my bag strap.

The man chuckled and held his hand out, "Nice to meet you, I'm Howie but everyone calls me Chimney or Chim." I raised an eyebrow at the odd nickname but wisely chose not to comment.

"At least you're not late this time." A few chuckles followed and I turned to see Eddie as the owner of the voice. He came over and clapped me on the shoulder, ignoring my small flinch.

We exchanged a mutual smile and I relaxed slightly as the small bit of familiarity in this unknown place. "Cap's just in his office, he was hoping to be out before you arrived. I don't think he counted on you being early." Eddie teased, pushing me towards the sofas where everyone was sat.

I smiled at Hen in greeting, receiving one in return and Buck just nodded in my general direction. Maybe he just wasn't in a good mood today. "That black eye has cleared up nicely, you can barely notice it now." Hen commented and I nodded in agreement.

We all continued to chat to each other and even Buck joined in too. Turns out he was quite cool, but I think it might just take a bit of time to warm up to him. Eddie stayed by my side on the sofa, which I was inwardly grateful for.

Even if it seemed a bit childish, Eddie brought a certain comfort into social situations and I was more than happy to use it for now. My foot tapped against the floor, the steady repetition soothing a small portion of my worries.

The team had been welcoming for the most part, talking to me about their own lives and asking me questions about mine. "Does everyone call you Cooper? Or do you have a nickname?" Buck chimed, eyeing me suspiciously.

A collective groan sounded out and Eddie shook his head at the man. "Buck has this obsession with nicknames. When I first joined and told him everyone just calls me Eddie, he was not impressed." Eddie explained, laughing at Buck's offended look.

"Uh well, I guess everyone just calls me Cooper or Reed? I don't think I've ever been called anything else." I answered honestly, feeling awkward when Buck frowned.

Luckily, Bobby took that opportunity to walk into the room. His eyes scanned the room, a certain type of glee filling his irises, before he settled on me. I got to my feet quickly, extending my hand and greeting the captain when he shook it.

I could hear the others chuckling behind me, but I opted to ignore it. "Good to see you again Cooper. Why don't we leave these guys to relax until our next call and we talk through what you'll be doing around here?" He suggested and I instantly nodded.

With a quick wave to the others, I followed behind Bobby and tried to listen to everything he was telling me. In all honesty, I wasn't great at processing spoken information, but I was trying very hard.

"Don't worry, I've made a small booklet with all of this in to help you out." I internally prayed for everything good to go Bobby's way upon hearing those words. Said booklet wasn't too big and I'm sure if I kept up with my reading then I'd study it fast.

He showed me how to work the coffee machine and that the team would tell me their wants in advance, but there was no pressure if I messed up. Something tells me they wouldn't be happy if they got the wrong coffee though, as they have enough to deal with on call.

I was shown all of the cleaning equipment for the trucks and their personal gear. I even got my own locker to put my bag in (though I'll never admit how happy I was at the small gesture).

Bobby was actually really cool. Most adults were either boring or mean, but Bobby didn't seem to have any faults about him. He seemed like a guy that genuinely loved his job and every aspect that was a part of it.

The captain brought us back upstairs after a little while and we sat down at the table to sign some forms. "Any questions feel free to shout them out, maybe not literally. We'll help you get settled and-" The bell cut Bobby off and judging by his expression, I have a feeling that it happened frequently. I could hear people rushing to the trucks and Bobby quickly got to his feet.

"We've got to go, but just spend this time reading things through and adjusting!" He called out, giving me a kind smile before he ran downstairs. I went over to the balcony and rested my arms on top, watching as the ambulance and truck rushed out of the station. My heart thumped heavily in my chest as the place became eerily quiet.

With a want to do well, I grabbed the booklet from the table and began reading it through as thoroughly as I could. Each section related to a different area of the station, so I decided to carry out the activities as I read them. I was a typical visual learner, so doing the task would make it stick in my head better than any other way of learning.

I started off with collecting a dusty radio box from the storage cupboard. Bobby told me that I'd be able to listen to their conversations once it was set to their channel. He offered to set it up, but then the call came in. I'm sure it couldn't be too hard to navigate, right?

Fortunately, I was able to turn it on with no trouble and I sat there fiddling with the different buttons and dials to get it to work. Loud static echoed from the electronic device and I cringed at the awful sound. I twisted the sound down enough to still hear, but now I wasn't being deafened.

My phone was swiftly pulled from my pocket and I used the combined help of Google and my brain to work out the stubborn radio. I wouldn't be able to carry it round with me as it was quite heavy, even if it was more helpful to have it close by to hear if the team were returning.

"-ow's it going up- Yes Buck, I- Come in Diaz-" The sound started up and I audibly cheered in victory. With a little more fiddling and tuning, I was finally able to get the steady flow of conversation between the firefighters. It was quite interesting to listen to, almost as if it was some sort of show. It was cool nonetheless.

With the radio fixed, I glanced around the rest of the kitchen and spotted a number of dirty dishes in the sink. The dishwasher was already quietly rumbling with a full load, so I knew then I had my second job of the day to complete.

I was going to be the best intern this fire station had ever seen.