Better on our own - English

Fire in the Town Hall

Malcolm wouldn't have the fingerprint matching results until Monday afternoon, which made us a little uneasy. Sam proved this most when they gave in to Cody's indignant complaining on Sunday about his parents going to the Christmas market without him and wanted to go there again for having peace. They had quickly asked us if we wanted to come along and Cody didn't let up until we agreed - which Sam also preferred. While I wasn't surprised at first that he was obviously looking forward to spending time with us, he stole my enthusiasm when he said that at least we couldn't do anything under supervision. Seriously?! We weren't 15 anymore!

So we had spent the day together and it had actually been fun, although it was hard to see how nervous Sam was. He was always near Penny anyway, or she was near him - almost like two burrs clinging to each other. But what's more, every time someone bumped into her at the overcrowded Christmas market, he would immediately pull her away from people or push in between them to shield her from any possible danger. Penny made fun of it a bit and wanted to get him to relax, but Sam maintained that he didn't have a good feeling and didn't want to take any risks.

However, Sam finally thawed out to me when we had drunk the third mulled wine on Brotherhood - and on my account! But I also had something to make up for, because unfortunately for me, Sam had found his ruined shirt under the couch while cleaning up on Saturday. He wasn't necessarily mad, but he wasn't happy either, especially after Penny and Sarah had nothing better to do than tease him about having still three of this shirts.

He liked my compensation gift from one of the stalls at the Christmas market in the form of a shirt with a reindeer pattern even less and so we ended up with mulled wine.

I had no idea how I got home that night, but Sam certainly didn't either. This morning, however, the two women and Cody had left no doubt about how much fun they have had because Sam and I danced together on a table while singing, rode on the carousel with Cody and, to top it all off, bought ourselves flashing Santa hats and distributed gingerbread hearts from the candy stand to the children.

I didn't wanted to believe it, but the many photos that Penny and Sarah had taken, plus the evidence in the form of the Santa hat under my bed and the gingerbread hearts that Penny, Sarah and Cody showed me, seemed to speak for themselves - my empty wallet not to mention, because obviously I had also paid the candy dealer. I hadn't been here for half a year and I had already made a complete fool of myself. But at least the hangover this morning made Sam and I give up alcohol completely from now on.

This morning it had been quiet so far, which was pretty good for my hungover head, especially since my colleagues, thanks to Penny, quickly figured out why I wasn't in a good mood this morning and were always lurking around me somewhere with a can of horn to give me the feeling that my aching skull would fly away at any moment. They were such fun!

Shortly after noon the alarm went off and I groaned. For weeks I was looking forward to a mission with a bit of action in our boring everyday routine and then it came on the day when I wasn't at my best? That was typical again!

"Fire in the town hall! It is not known whether there are still people inside," we heard Penny's voice over the loudspeaker before she stood next to us at the cloakroom less than a minute later to also put on her uniform. I could see how focused she was, but also worried. About Davies?

"Elliot, you take Lance. The rest of us are going in Arthus!", Penny gave us the order.

"Roger that, Penny!" we shouted and distributed ourselves among the vehicles. We weren't fully seated when Arnold at the wheel of Arthus and Elliot in Lance set off. Penny sat in the back with Trixie and me and equipped herself with respiratory protection, just as I did, at her signal. I couldn't say why she chose me when she knew I had a hangover, but I certainly wouldn't disappoint her. Surprisingly, all of my complaints disappeared. Was the adrenaline in my veins a contributing factor?