“How’d you know I like these?” I ask. Ever since being around Rory and Ainsley more, I’ve developed a sweet tooth for these bad boys.
He smirks but doesn’t bother answering. He finishes his last check and walks me through a couple of the concerns he has about the rig. Nothing that draws immediate concern, but enough to remind me that Billy’s observational skills expand past his ability to read a person.
“Alright, I’ll make sure to keep an eye on it and tell Chief to have a new battery ordered so we can switch it out.” I look down at the bag of gummy bears in my hand. “And thanks for this.”
“Don’t mention it, Captain.”
What started as a slow day quickly turned into a headache. We received call after call to the point where I was convinced someone was pranking us, but each one was legitimate. Even the call about the raccoons that somehow started a small fire behind the townhouses that Emma and Ainsley live in was real. I called Tom immediately after, and he swore I was lying. If it weren’t for the video I now have of a very large raccoon running around with his tail on fire, there’s no way he would have believed me. I swear it was the same raccoon that tried to fight me a few months ago. It had the same crazed look in his eye. We put out the fire and the tail, but the day kept hitting us in the face with more. Finally, we all make it back to the station, each one of us exhausted. Any day that I’m not able to stop by and see my girls sucks, but it’s part of the job. I texted Tris and let her know I’d see her tomorrow.
“You guys did great today. I know it was rough, but we worked as a team and even managed to do our jobs,” I joke with Billy, Mark, and Maria, who throw me half-hearted smiles. “Oh, and I also ordered some pizzas. They’ll be here in about...”
There’s a knock on the firehouse door right on time.
“You, Captain, are magical,” Maria groans.
“I could kiss you!” Billy calls out, following Mark, who doesn’t bother to wait for the door.
“Please don’t,” I call back.
Everyone digs into the pizza, barely letting the box hit the table before shoving slices into their mouth.
Chief walks up beside me and makes a “hmph” sound that makes me turn to him.
“What is it?” I ask.
“I enjoy being right,” he says quietly so that only I can hear.
I turn my body to face him, keeping the conversation between us while the others chat about our day, now filled with energy that was non-existent only minutes ago.
“I told you when you started that I knew something you didn’t.” He smirks.
“And? Are you finally going to tell me what that was?” I ask carefully, waiting for him to let me in on this secret.
“Captain, we put some slices on the plate for you,” Maria calls out.
“Come eat it before it gets cold,” Mark adds.
“Or before Mark eats it all,” Billy jokes.
I chuckle, feeling a warmth fill my chest as I look on at them all sitting together like a dysfunctional family.
“It’s this Levi.” Chief nods at the table. “I knew when you started that you’d be the best Captain that this department has ever seen.”
“I don’t think pizza makes me the best,” I joke, but my throat clogs with emotion.
“It’s more than the pizza, Levi,” he says, but doesn’t elaborate.
He doesn’t have to.
I nod, giving him a knowing smile. “Go grab a slice.”
“I planned to.”
I laugh until something dawns on me.
“Wait, weren’t you once the captain?”
Chief lets out a short bark of laughter, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “I was,” he says, a shadow crossing his face. “Now I’m trying to be a better Chief.”
