IN THIS SKIN -- CHICAGO FIRE

20;

  Marley huffed angrily as she marched out of the principles office with Kelly. Due to her missing those several months, she was allowed to go out on work experience for the remainder of the year, on the condition that she repeated her senior year starting in September. Whilst she was happy that she would be allowed to work on both the ambulance with Gabby, and alongside Antonio and Jay, she was upset that she would have to repeat a year with people who had never been very nice to her when she was there.
"Cheer up kiddo." Kelly said as he shoved her playfully. She rolled her eyes, but smiled anyway.
"I know, I know. It could have gone worse. This is a good way of doing it. And I'll be with the people I love. Think positively." She said the last part in a nasily voice, impersonating the councillor that Kelly had signed her up to. They both grinned at each other at this point. Neither of them were particularly fond of Marley's new councillor, but she was the only one that seemed highly qualified in the local area and so they made do.

Later that evening, Matt was out with Gabby and Otis was out working at Molly's when there was a knock at the door. Marley raced to the door, thinking it was the pizza they had ordered. When she opened the door, however, her breath hitched in her throat.
"How much is it Marls? Because I only have a-" Kelly walked into sight and immediately stopped talking.
"Shay." He choked out, and she quickly embraced him in a hug.

The rest of the evening was spent eating pizza and catching up with Shay and Marley. Kelly was nervous, but had to ask.
"So where's Devin?"
"Oh, she went to Miami to see some family for a while. Her mom passed away, so she needed to be with them for a while. She's coming back soon though." Kelly frowned at this.
"She's staying her again?"
"Yeah, I didn't think it would be too much of an issue." Shay snapped.
"She sent you off the rails! Marley was beaten up because of you and her!"

The arguement went on for a while, but ended with Kelly giving in if it meant Shay was back and returning to work. A few days passed and Devin had returned. Her and Marley were sat watching a movie together, whilst Matt, Otis, Kelly and Shay were all at work.
"That's a pretty necklace." Devin commented, eyeing the locket around her neck. Marley reached for it, and showed her it closer.
"Thank you- Kelly bought me it for Christmas."
"It looks expensive! Is it real gold?" Marley frowned slightly at this.
"I don't know. You'll have to ask Kel that. It's my favourite thing I own though. I rarely take it off."

The next day, Marley was woken up with the others. It was her first day of work experience, and she was spending the week working on the ambulance. She was anxious, but very excited. It was a quiet morning for them, when the sound system rang through the house.
"Ambulance 61, man in distress..." Shay and Gabby exchanged a look and stood up, Marley following them.
"You jump in the back. This should be fairly quick- he's a regular." Gabby informed Marley, whilst Shay got in the drivers seat.
Upon arrival at the address, the three walked into the man's home.
<A/N: I've forgotten what the man in this episode is called so I'm naming him Peter!>
"Peter, you called for us again?" Shay asked, with a playful smile when they walked in.
"I couldn't resist seeing you guys one more time- and you've brought a new friend?" He smiled at Marley.
"Hey, I'm Marley." She smiled.
"Aren't you a little young to be a paramedic?" He joked.
"A little."
"Peter, what's the problem this time? There could be a real emergency and we're here now." Gabby said sternly, making Peter's face drop.
"You're right. I'm sorry. Just leave me." He said, his voice shaking and his head dropping.
"Hey, if there's a problem, we're here to help. But if it's not a medical issue, then we can't." Marley said softly. Gabby raised her eyebrows, she was impressed with how she was handling this. What happened next happened quickly. Peter's eyes filled with tears as he raised a gun to his head. Gabby and Shay pulled Marley back.
"Peter, put the gun down. Now."
"I'm better off dead. I'm better off dead." The man repeated. Shay attempted to get through to him, by promising to marry him, but this didn't work. Marley decided to try.
"Hey Peter. You really don't want to do this. Trust me. You might think you're better off dead, but you're not. I promise you that."
"What would you know? You're just a kid!" Peter snapped. Marley took a deep breath and took a step closer, ignoring Gabby telling her to back off. She looked him in the eyes, and slowly pulled up her sleeve, showing him the scars.
"Trust me, I wanted to die. I wanted to end it all so badly. But i got help. I'm getting better. You can too. I can help you. Just put the gun down." Marley said softly, offering a smile. Peter considered it for a second, before smiling back at her.
"I'm sorry." Was all he said before pulling the trigger. His blood squirted everywhere, all over Marley's face and clothes, and Shay's face carried a layer too. Marley's breath hitched in her throat. She struggled to find any words. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open. Gabby was the first to come to her senses, and she slowly pulled Marley back, snapping Marley out of her trance.
"Holy shit." was all she said. Usually, she'd be scolded for swearing, but the circumstances were understandable.

Chief Boden arrived soon after, and told them to take the rest of the day off, but all three of them turned down this offer. Marley didn't know why it had bothered her so much- she had seen a dead body before. But this was different- she couldn't help but feel that it was her fault. She was speaking to him, she was the one who had pushed him to listen to her, she should have left it, she should have said something different. She felt undeniably guilty. But she pushed these thoughts aside, and wiped her face and hands once more.

Once they arrived back at the firehouse, Shay and Gabby rushed to shower, and Marley followed slowly. Kelly called her over to the squad table quickly. She headed to them and stood in front of them. Kelly held her hand.
"You okay kid?" Capp asked. "We heard about the call." Marley nodded, a sad smile on her face.
"Yeah, I'm alright." A quick and small conversation passed, and her mind was taken off the incident. That was, until Clarke held his breath and said her name softly. He pointed to her belt buckle and she quickly looked down. She hadn't noticed before, but there was a small piece of flesh caught in her belt, and she held a hand over her mouth to prevent her from throwing up as she ran to the toilets.

Casey nearly fell when Marley pushed past him as he was walking out of the shower room. Marley shouted a 'sorry' but kept her pace. He was going to follow her, but decided to give her some space so she didn't feel smothered.

Upon entering the cubicle, Marley desperately undid her belt and threw it into the shower, turning it on, trying desperately to get rid of any trace of the mans skin. After a few minutes, she decided to ask Chief if she could have the rest of the day off. The incident had set her anxiety off and she was feeling low and knew it would do no good for her to be here right now. Chief Boden immediately agreed.
"Of course you can. Actually, Donna wanted to know if you wanted to go out for a while with her. I think she wants to go wedding dress shopping but she wanted someone to go with her." Marley smiled widely, she loved Donna, and they got on very well.
"I would love that."

Donna and Marley spent the following three hours in wedding dress shops, trying dresses on. Donna eventually found one that they both loved and Marley commented on how beautiful she looked. The owner came over and asked if there was anything else. Donna raised her eyebrow at this.
"Actually, I need to look for a bridesmaid dress."
"Okay, and is the bridesmaid here?"
"I hope so." Donna grinned at Marley. Marley opened her mouth wide.
"Marley, you know I think of you like a daughter, so would you be my bridesmaid?" Marley immediately embraced Donna in a hug, and they both laughed together.
"Yes, of course, thank you Donna!"

Considering how her day started, Marley was happy with how the day ended. It reminded her of why she was thankful for getting help. It reminded her that even the darkest of days can have the happiest endings. It reminded her that no matter what, family was all that mattered. It reminded her that whilst depression was a lifelong illness, it isn't rainy forever, and happiness is always around you.