Michael’s brows creased in confusion. “Oh, I didn’t even think of that. Where is she?”
Chris tilted his head, surprised Michael didn’t know. Mallory and Alyssa appeared to be as thick as thieves. He assumed Michael would know everything Alyssa did. “She’s with Mallory.”
Michael coughed in surprise while the other two continued eating. James had already heard all about it and Michael’spartner was new, having no idea who they were even talking about. Even if he did, they would have immediately shut him down if he attempted to join in the conversation. Fortunately, he knew better and made himself as inconspicuous as possible, scrolling his phone and eating his food.
“That’s—" Michael began before pausing to find the right words. “That’s a big step.”
Chris sighed as some of the tension left his body just knowing someone else understood what he was feeling. It was a big step. Aside from the fact that his daughter had never stayed overnight with anyone but his mom during his parenting time, it felt like a big fucking deal to have his girlfriend step in and take care of his daughter. He wasn’t looking for a stepmom for her.
“Yeah,” he agreed on a sigh. “Honestly, I was against it. I don’t want Mallory to feel obligated and I don’t want Lily to feel like I’m passing her off to my girlfriend.”
“I know my sister well enough to know she wouldn’t have offered if she didn’t want to. Does Lily get along with her?”
Chris already knew she wouldn’t have offered if she didn’t want to. She valued her peace and tranquility, and doing something she wasn’t comfortable with would get in the way of that. But even knowing that, he couldn’t shake the feelings of guilt.
“It’s fine,” Michael reassured him once again. “Mallory has never done anything halfway. They are probably in the middle of a movie marathon or a spa night. You’ll see.”
Chris finally took a few bites of his burger. Michael was right. He knew his daughter was fine. She was a mature thirteen-year-old who had plenty of practice entertaining herself. What worried him most was that she wasn’t actually comfortable staying with Mallory, and all the progress they had made would be erased. Helping her get through whatever it was she was going through was still his number one priority.
“Unit 706 for the assignment. 706,”the dispatcher’s voice crackled over his portable radio.
“Go ahead,” he answered.
“706: North Main Street and Adamson Road for the motor vehicle collision with injuries. ALS has been notified.”
Chris heaved a sigh. “Received.”
The others were already standing and closing up their to-go containers as Michael and his partner’s pagers chirped. Any time they ate at a restaurant, they ordered their food to-go so they would be ready to make a quick exit if they needed to.
“706 is responding with MIC 1,” Chris announced over the radio as soon as they stepped out onto the sidewalk.
“At 22:27.”
A few minutes later they arrived on scene to find the road already blocked off by police. There was a trail of parts leading to what appeared to be a mangled motorcycle in the distance. Just beyond the motorcycle, a car had smashed into the concrete barrier.
“What do we have?” Michael asked once he caught up to Chris and the police officer.
“Car vs motorcycle. Single rider. And the fire department is working on extricating two from the car,” the officer answered.
“The motorcyclist?” Chris asked.
The officer shook his head. “Looks like a DOA, but obviously that’s not my call. In the car we have one conscious.”
Chris looked at Michael and nodded in the direction of the wreckage. Wordlessly they separated to assess what was going on. James and Chris made their way to the car, while Michael and his partner stopped at the motorcycle. Once they made it to the car, they were able to see a woman in the driver’s seat slumped over the wheel and a child in the passenger seat.
Chris’s heart dropped when he saw the child. Usually, he was able to disconnect while he was working, checking his personallife at the time clock. But when he looked at the frightened child sitting in the front seat crying for her mother to wake up, it was his daughter’s face when he closed his eyes to gather himself.
It was the firefighter’s voice that snapped him out of it. “Two occupants. The driver is unconscious but the juvenile in the front seat has been responding the entire time. We’ll have the roof off in about five more minutes.”
“You should grab another board from the truck,” Chris suggested to James.
“On it.”
Before James made it back, Chris had the bags on the ground and the stretcher dropped to the ground, ready for rapid extrication. Michael and his partner joined him just as the roof was removed from the car. Michael shook his head, and Chris was able to see a white sheet covering the patient from the motorcycle.
In the sudden quiet, the child’s screams could be heard loud and clear. “Mom! Wake up!”
Chris sprang into action, desperate to comfort the child above all else. While Michael quickly moved to the driver, Chris went around to the other side of the car and leaned into the window. A quick glance inside and he could see what appeared to be an empty liquor bottle. Anger rushed through him, but he tamped it down in order to focus on the girl.
