From Intern to Family | 9-1-1 Fanfic

Chapter 16

By the twelfth call, I was surprised nobody was tired yet. Maybe it was because I didn't know the true nature of the job or maybe it was because they were just good at firefighting. Either way, I was grateful to be on the ride along today.

Until now.

I knew there was a possibility that the team got a bad call. They see so many things on a daily basis, so why should I assume that today would be any different?

The team scattered around the area, trying to cover as much ground as possible. Bobby went to the roof; Buck was on a balcony on the top floor and the others were trying to get a crash mat pumped up as soon as possible.

A man was stood on the roof and if I looked closely enough, I could see the toes of his shoes poking over the edge. There was a crowd of people gathering and my jaw clenched at the sight of cameras.

The others were too busy to tell them off and even though I was strictly warned to stay out of trouble, it didn't feel right standing by.

"Hey, put your phones away. Put them away, now!" I snapped, raising my voice when some of them hesitated. A middle aged man didn't put his phone down and I'm ashamed to admit I did knock it out of his hand.

Instead of waiting for him to get angry, I walked back over to the firetruck and watched the scene in front of me. Bobby was talking to the guy, obviously trying to talk him out of jumping. Buck was setting up a harness, secretly trying to make his way up to the man without him noticing.

I glanced over to the crash mat, seeing that it was only half inflated so far. From down here, I could hear the man shouting back at Bobby. He was upset- too upset.

Buck was too slow.

The crash mat wasn't fully blown up.

Bobby couldn't stop him.

My eyes closed before I could see the worst of it, but the gasps and cries around me were answer enough. I grabbed at the door handle beside me and swung my body into the truck. The team had enough to deal with now, so they didn't need me in the way.

I placed the headphones over my ears, just to muffle any of the noise outside. My head bounced from side to side as I sang a song in my head. Mastering the ability to distract myself came about when I was younger and now, I can easily disengage from a situation like I am now.

Was it healthy? Probably not.

It must've been a while before they finished with everything because I made it through two Katy Perry songs and halfway through 'I want it that way' when someone sat down next to me.

I opened my eyes and blinked at the light, noticing how everyone was staring at me. With a small smile, I slipped the headphones from my ears.

"Are you guys okay?" I asked quietly. They all seemed surprised at my question, pausing for a moment too long.

Eddie wrapped his arm around my shoulder and took a deep breath, "We're okay bud." He assured.

"I'm sorry you had to see that Cooper." Bobby stated sorrowfully. I shrugged at him, playing it off as cool as I could.

"I'm okay Cap. These things happen." I replied. Nobody seemed to like that answer and I could feel Eddie's arm tense around me. "You're awfully calm for a person who's just witnessed a horrific thing." Hen noted.

I glanced around the truck as I was unable to come up with an answer for that. "Calm because you've seen this before.." Bobby analysed.

My throat closed at that and I tried to swallow the feeling. Thankfully, the team chose not to continue this conversation. I think enough had been said anyway.