From Intern to Family | 9-1-1 Fanfic

Chapter 19

After I received my first pay check, I remember staring at it for hours before I actually figured out what to do with it.

Wisely, I hadn't spent any of it and I tucked it under my bed for emergencies. But then my second pay check came in and just yesterday I received my third.

Never in my life had I had so much money and I wanted to buy something with it. A treat for myself since I had never really gotten one before.

Which is how, on my day off, I found myself entering the firehouse. I revved the engine of the bike to alert them of my presence and stopped it in the middle of the room, flicking the kickstand down.

The team all came to the balcony, curious as to what all the noise was about. I saw their various looks of shock and Bobby's expressionless face, something that was very uncharacteristic of him.

"Check it out!" I yelled, climbing off the vehicle.

They all made their way down and I pulled the helmet off my head, running a hand through my damp curls. "What do you think?" I asked as I bounced with excitement.

Hen laughed and patted my shoulder, "It looks cool, Coop." She assured and I beamed. Chim ran a hand across the blue and white bike, whistling lowly. "So this is what you've been saving all your pennies for, huh?" He asked.

I nodded in reply, turning to the other three. Something churned in my stomach as I saw Bobby's expressionless face again and Eddie's to match. Buck just looked slightly nervous, as if he knew what was about to happen.

Still, he ruffled my hair and smiled slightly. "I assume you went out and got a license too?" He questioned, relaxing when I nodded. The other three seemed fine about the bike, which only left the question as to what the other two were upset about.

Hen whispered to Chim, who tugged on Buck's arm. They smiled cautiously at me and made their way back upstairs, seemingly knowing that they didn't want to get involved with whatever was about to happen.

"Why did you get a bike?" Eddie asked. His voice was tight, as if he wanted to say more but wisely chose not to. I, on the other hand, was baffled by the question.

"Look at how cool it looks! And I won't be late to work ever on this, so that's good right?" The pair didn't respond to my question and unease settled in my gut.

"Bobby?" I whispered.

"Get rid of it." He stated firmly, leaving no room for questioning.

Of course, I was going to question him. "What do you mean get rid of it? I just bought it!" I argued.
The man huffed and I saw the anger slowly morph his face into a stern frown, "It's not safe and I forbid you from bringing it into this firehouse." Bobby snapped.

No matter what I had done during my time here, Bobby had never gotten mad at me. So this new side to him made all types of unease run through my veins.

"You can't forbid me to do anything-"

"Cooper, maybe just listen to what he has to say."

"What the hell Eddie? Now you've got a problem with it too?"

We argued and things got out of hand very quickly. I knew the two cared about me, more than they should, but this was ridiculous!

Eddie snatched the helmet from my hands and I flinched back, not expecting the physical change. The pair froze at the fear in my face, but stayed firm in their decision. I could see the regret on Eddie's face, yet it was already too late.

"I came here on my day off to show you guys something I was excited about. When I was buying it, realising that for the first time I was able to have something nice for myself, my first thought was to show you guys. Guess I made a mistake." I ranted, taking my helmet back from Eddie's hands in an equally snappy way.

Bobby rested a hand on my shoulder, which I shrugged off quickly. "I watched a man get sliced in half on a bike in a freak accident. We had to sit with him whilst he made his last call to his son to tell him how much he loved him. That boy is now without a father because of a bike accident which can happen just as easily to you." He explained, heat behind every word he said.

Eddie leaned forward too and I suddenly felt cornered by the two men. "None of us want to receive a call from you in the same situation. That's all we're saying." He tried to lean on a softer approach, not that it did much good now.

I climbed on to my bike and shoved the helmet on my head. The engine came to life and I revved it loudly for good measure, flicking my visor up to look them in the eyes.

"I told you to stop caring. You're not my parents, so stop acting like it." I growled.

With a final glare, I flicked my visor down and reversed my bike. The two were shouting things as I sped out of the firehouse, but I didn't bother to turn around.

Stupid Bobby and stupid Eddie. The other three knew how to keep their noses out of my business, why couldn't they? It's like they don't understand that they aren't allowed to make these decisions.

As much as Eddie acts like it; he's not my dad and as much as Bobby acts like it; he's not my dad or grandad either.

I concentrated on the road in front of me and the cars, not wanting to prove the two men right. It was hard, with how angry I was, but I managed.

It'd only been five minutes before the sound of police sirens echoed from behind me. I tilted my head and moved out of the way, only for the car to follow behind me.

As if this day couldn't get any worse.

I pulled over on the side of the road, turning my engine off and taking the key out for good measure.

As the officer approached me, I immediately let out an annoyed huff. Of course it had to be-

"Athena." I greeted. She tilted her head slightly and I pulled the helmet off so she could recognise it was me.

"Why'd you pull me over?" I questioned and she smiled apologetically.

"I saw you leaving the firehouse and I knew that it would not be good to let you drive around angry." She explained and I resisted the urge to scoff.

Athena wasn't the one I was angry at, but she certainly didn't help. "I can handle myself Athena or are you going to be like the other two and try to tell me what to do?" I argued.

She raised an eyebrow at me and I looked down at my hands, muttering an apology for my attitude. The woman was a scary lady, but I also respected her. So I was not going to argue with her about my bad manners.

"Look Cooper, I agree that the bike isn't very safe and it doesn't help you're driving when you're angry. But, I'm not like my husband or Eddie. You told me to back off and so I am." She explained softly, rubbing a hand on my shoulder.

I gave her a small smile, thankful that she was more level-headed than the other two. It was frustrating having to argue with the others more often than before and it would've been so much worse arguing with Athena.

A voice came over her radio and she responded before turning back to me, "Okay kiddo, I'm going back to work now. If you have any issues you can call me and be safe." I waved goodbye as she made her way back into her car.

The statement felt oddly maternal and I put my helmet on to hide the odd smile on my face. A destination popped into my mind and I almost wanted to curse at myself. It was dangerous riding a bike, I knew that, but I finally had something that was mine. Nobody else's- mine.

However, when I walked into the firehouse the next day I didn't speak to Eddie or Bobby. I threw some documents on to the table where they were sat, which stated that I was no longer in possession of the bike and had a full refund on my purchase.

They didn't say a word or even smile at me and I did the same. Whilst they had gotten what they wanted, it had only caused a strain between us. One even bigger than before.

Despite that, a part of me pondered over the thought that maybe I did the right thing in the end. Whatever keeps someone else happy, right?