"We'll be quick." I lifted her off the counter. She wrapped her legs around my waist, arms around my neck.
"You always say that."
"And I'm always right."
"You're never right." She was laughing as I carried her toward the bedroom. "We're never quick."
"Then you'll just have to be hungry for a little longer."
Her laughter followed us down the hall.
Thursday came faster than I expected.
The firehouse had been transformed. Someone had polished the apparatus until it gleamed. The common room had been rearranged, chairs set up in rows facing a small podium someone had borrowed from somewhere. The American flag hung beside the FDNY flag, both of them pressed and perfect.
I stood in the locker room, adjusting my dress uniform for the third time. Jacket stiff. Collar too tight.
"You look like you're about to face a firing squad." Shane, already dressed, looking annoyingly comfortable. "Relax."
"Easy for you to say."
"It is easy for me to say. I'm not the one getting a medal pinned on my chest by the fire commissioner." He grinned. "Although if they ever decide to give out awards for most improved reputation, I'm a shoo-in."
"Maya improved your reputation. You just showed up."
"I showed up consistently. That counts for something."
Brian appeared in the doorway. "They're ready for you. Commissioner's here. Sloane's in the front row, just like shepromised." He paused. "She's already taken about fifty pictures of the empty podium."
"Great."
"She also told me to tell you that you look very handsome and she's very proud and if you trip on your way to the stage, she's going to pretend she doesn't know you."
"Thanks, Brian."
"That's what friends are for."
I took a breath. Checked my reflection one more time. Squared my shoulders.
"Okay," I said. "Let's get this over with."
The common room was packed. Every member of Engine 295 in dress uniforms, sitting at attention. Rodriguez at the podium, the commissioner beside him. Brass from downtown, people I recognized from news conferences and official functions.
And in the front row, Sloane.
Green dress that matched her eyes. Hair down around her shoulders. Looking at me like I was the only person in the room.
She smiled. Mouthed something I couldn't quite catch.
I took my place at the front.
Rodriguez spoke first. About the documentation. The years of reports. The violations I'd flagged that had been ignored until they couldn't be ignored anymore. He talked about Emma Marsh without naming her, about buildings that should have been condemned, about a system that had failed and the firefighter who'd refused to let it fail quietly.
Then the commissioner stepped forward.
"Lieutenant Stone." His voice carried through the room. "Your dedication to documentation and fire safety has directly contributed to one of the most significant corruption investigations in FDNY history. Your meticulous records provided the foundation for criminal charges against multiple city officials. Your work has made this city safer."
He pinned the medal to my chest. Shook my hand.
