From Intern to Family | 9-1-1 Fanfic

Chapter 31

"Cooper! Stop walking without your crutches!" Hen called out from the kitchen. I grinned guiltily, scooping up them up from beside the sofa.

The hospital had released me the day after I woke up and I had to go back for appointments for my leg, but other than that I was good to go. Of course, the team still fussed over me and made sure I wasn't in any pain. I didn't mind, though.

I hobbled over to the kitchen, hopping up on the counter. Due to my leg, I wasn't able to do any of the physical parts of my internship, which the Chief was very understanding of. Hence why Hen and I were busy upstairs whilst the boys were downstairs scrubbing the trucks.

"How was your school work?" She asked, handing me a hot chocolate. I glanced over at the sheets of paper on the coffee table, "It's okay. The school gave me some time to catch up and I have to go in for a meeting in a few weeks." I stated.

"A meeting? What for?" I turned my head to see the others walking up the stairs, Buck in the lead.

My teeth clamped down on my lip nervously, "Andrea has been telling them about my progress and how I've been doing well. They want to see if I'm ready to come back to school for real." I explained.

The team all shared various looks of surprise, slowly grabbing their cups of coffee. "Well you have been doing better. Would you want to go back to school?" Eddie asked, a sense of caution in his voice.

I couldn't help but scoff, "No way. That means I wouldn't be able to continue my internship here with you guys." I argued.

"But, school is important." Bobby chimed and I shook my head.

"This is important. I don't fit in at school." I emphasised. This internship was the best thing to ever happen to me, why would I give it up? I was still doing school work and keeping up with the rest of my age group.

Sensing an argument, Buck slid in and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "We'll do whatever is best for you, Blue." He promised.

I let the argument go, smiling gratefully at the man. Recently, I had been less argumentative with the team. It was good for me and after everything I've been through with these guys, it's only right that they earned a bit of my trust.

"Anyway, Thanksgiving's coming up! What's everyone doing?" Chim exclaimed, nudging Hen beside him.

Everyone was on shift for Thanksgiving, meaning they wouldn't be able to do anything until they finished working. I technically had the day off, since my internship didn't allow me to work holidays, but I was going to spend the day at the firehouse anyway.

"Do you have any traditions, Coop?" Eddie asked curiously.

A small laugh left my lips and I shook my head, "I've never celebrated it." I stated.

Various gasps and murmurs of shock echoed in the group and I rolled my eyes playfully. "I know you're English, but you've been in the US for five years!" Buck exclaimed, jostling me with his arm.

"The first two years I was in foster homes that didn't celebrate it. Then, the other ones didn't want to celebrate Thanksgiving with anyone but their actual family. So, I typically just went out and kept myself busy for the day. Sometimes I'd even help some charities hand out turkeys- that was fun." I rambled on.

I was much happier sharing details of my life with the team, since they knew the worst parts. These details were insignificant to me, so I didn't mind.

But, that doesn't mean their reactions changed. "Well this year can be your first then. We can do what we did last year and celebrate at the firehouse." Buck suggested and I bit back a smile.

The team started explaining last year's Thanksgiving and I couldn't help the excitement bubbling in my stomach. Everyone's families spent the day at the firehouse and whenever the team weren't on call, they'd be here all together.

The Chief would give every firehouse an hour offline at different times, so they could all have a mini celebration during the day. Unless an emergency required the presence of every firehouse, the team would have an hour to sit down and eat dinner with their families.

It was a really nice thought.

An echo of footsteps reached my ears and I turned my head. Maddie climbed up the steps with Jee-Yun in her arms. I grinned at the small toddler, hearing her babble away.

To limit the number of times I had to visit the doctors, since everyone knew my hatred for the hospital, Maddie would check-up on me and decide whether I was doing okay or not.

I didn't mind too much because it meant I got to hold Jee and play with her. The toddler was plonked into my arms as Chim gave his wife a greeting kiss. Buck cringed at the action, instead focusing his attention on his niece.

Jee giggled as I pulled a funny face at her. She reached up and patted my nose as I felt Maddie lift my leg up. I winced at the small ache at my legs, avoiding Maddie's disapproving look.

"When was the last time he had some pain meds?" She asked.

Bobby pulled out a notepad from the draw, which they had used to keep track of my medication. "Four hours ago, which means he's due some. Cooper, you're supposed to tell us if it's sore." The Captain read out.

I grumbled, "It didn't hurt until Maddie moved it." Jee tugged at my frown and I playfully nipped at her fingertips. Eddie passed me the pills and I used my hot chocolate to wash them down nicely.

Maddie continued her inspection, taking a quick look at the healing cut on my head. I had been putting some cream on it and cleaning it daily, so it didn't get infected. I don't think I could deal with any other injuries.

"Yeah he's good for this week." She teased, sending me a cheeky wink.

She reached into her purse and pulled out a lollipop, handing it to me. I cheered, ripping the wrapper off and stuffing it into my mouth. This was the best part of having check-ups.

The team all laughed at my childishness, including Jee who tried to pull the stick out of my mouth. I tickled her lightly and let the sound of her giggles fill me with joy.

We all stayed in the kitchen until the bell rung, signalling for the team to get back to work. Maddie and Jee stayed for a little while afterwards, but soon enough had their own things to do.

I settled back down on the sofa and rested my head back. A small smile fell on my face as I tuned back into my school work. Maybe things were going well after all.

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Hi guys! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

This is a little heads up/warning- but I will be finishing this story soon! I'm not sure what chapter number it will end on, but I can confirm it will be less than 40.

I want to thank you again for all of the support for this book! I can't wait to finally complete it for you guys :)