throw away this uniform, and then take a shower.
She barely made it out of the shower before sinking down into her bed and falling into 16 hours of dreamless sleep.
***
Emma arrived at the Critical Incident Stress Debriefing at 7:30. Her step was light and her mind happy. She had attended two of these before, and they really helped to get out any lingering horrors that she didn't even know her mind had grabbed onto.
Paramedics dealt with more horror every we ek than most people did in a lifetime. Most incidents rolled off their back like water off a duck, but some stuck around. Big incidents where multiple people were hurt or killed and where the paramedics worked too long under intense stress almost always lodged somewhere in their brains.
She walked into conference room A and started coffee. Paramedics and firefighters love their coffee. She felt the whoosh of air as the door opened behind her and she turned to see who her fellow early bird was.
Craig Masterson walked in the door. Emma sucked in her breath. Boy, he is handsome, she thought. He looked at her and smiled, showing perfect dimples in each cheek. Emma felt her knees weaken. Those dimples did her in. An image of a fresh-faced baby with those dimples and wispy, strawberry blond hair flashed in her head. She felt her cheeks flare red. What in the world did that image mean? She plastered a smile on her face and said, "Hi."
Craig's smile widened and those luscious dimples deepened. "Hi Emma, how are you r ears?"
Did she hear him right? Her ears? Her right hand stole up and touched her ear. "My ears?"
"Yeah, has your hearing returned?"
Oh man, her hearing! What was wrong with her? She couldn't even keep a thought in her head when this guy was around! "Oh, yeah. Yes, thanks, I can hear OK now. I still have some ringing and you sound a little muffled, but I can hear you."
"That's great." He crossed the room and stood in front of her. "Hey, I just wanted to tell you that you did an amazing job at that scene. Y ou and your partner worked that scene like mass casualty experts, even though neither of you could hear a thing. I was a little in awe of your expertise."
Warmth flooded Emma's face again. This guy was constantly making her blush! She barely remembered him even being at the scene. She was sure he had been there, but she couldn't remember interacting with him. She remembered barking orders at several firefighters over and over again throughout the day and night, but not noting who they were. "Oh, ah, thanks. Just training I guess."
"Hey now, don't sell yourself short. Your focus and knowledge and authority were clear. Training can only give you so much of that."
Emma felt warm at his compliment. She had long ago given up trying to prove herself in this man's world, figuring her work would speak for itself. And here was a man who said it did, very well. "Thank you," she said, putting her hand on his muscular shoulder. "I really appreciate that."
"Of course, you deserve it." He flashed her one more fresh-faced, all-american-quarterback smile and asked, "Is there coffee?"
"Yes! Sit down and I'll get you some." She turned and busied herself with two cups of coffee, glad to look away from his drop-dead gorgeous face and body for a bit.
She brought two coffees and some creamers and sugar to the table and sat down across from him.
"So did you guys ever figure out what caused the explosion?" Emma asked.
His face darkened. "Um yeah, we have some leads, but I'm not supposed to say. Hopefully the Chief will share today what they think happened."
Emma's heartbeat quickened. That didn't sound good. Why did he look so mad when he said that? She opened her mouth to ask but then the door opened and two more firefighters filed in.
The newcomers said hi and went straight for coffee. Emma checked her watch. 10 minutes until the debriefing started. People should be coming in quickly now. The door did continue to open and shut until about 45 fire rescue personnel
She barely made it out of the shower before sinking down into her bed and falling into 16 hours of dreamless sleep.
***
Emma arrived at the Critical Incident Stress Debriefing at 7:30. Her step was light and her mind happy. She had attended two of these before, and they really helped to get out any lingering horrors that she didn't even know her mind had grabbed onto.
Paramedics dealt with more horror every we ek than most people did in a lifetime. Most incidents rolled off their back like water off a duck, but some stuck around. Big incidents where multiple people were hurt or killed and where the paramedics worked too long under intense stress almost always lodged somewhere in their brains.
She walked into conference room A and started coffee. Paramedics and firefighters love their coffee. She felt the whoosh of air as the door opened behind her and she turned to see who her fellow early bird was.
Craig Masterson walked in the door. Emma sucked in her breath. Boy, he is handsome, she thought. He looked at her and smiled, showing perfect dimples in each cheek. Emma felt her knees weaken. Those dimples did her in. An image of a fresh-faced baby with those dimples and wispy, strawberry blond hair flashed in her head. She felt her cheeks flare red. What in the world did that image mean? She plastered a smile on her face and said, "Hi."
Craig's smile widened and those luscious dimples deepened. "Hi Emma, how are you r ears?"
Did she hear him right? Her ears? Her right hand stole up and touched her ear. "My ears?"
"Yeah, has your hearing returned?"
Oh man, her hearing! What was wrong with her? She couldn't even keep a thought in her head when this guy was around! "Oh, yeah. Yes, thanks, I can hear OK now. I still have some ringing and you sound a little muffled, but I can hear you."
"That's great." He crossed the room and stood in front of her. "Hey, I just wanted to tell you that you did an amazing job at that scene. Y ou and your partner worked that scene like mass casualty experts, even though neither of you could hear a thing. I was a little in awe of your expertise."
Warmth flooded Emma's face again. This guy was constantly making her blush! She barely remembered him even being at the scene. She was sure he had been there, but she couldn't remember interacting with him. She remembered barking orders at several firefighters over and over again throughout the day and night, but not noting who they were. "Oh, ah, thanks. Just training I guess."
"Hey now, don't sell yourself short. Your focus and knowledge and authority were clear. Training can only give you so much of that."
Emma felt warm at his compliment. She had long ago given up trying to prove herself in this man's world, figuring her work would speak for itself. And here was a man who said it did, very well. "Thank you," she said, putting her hand on his muscular shoulder. "I really appreciate that."
"Of course, you deserve it." He flashed her one more fresh-faced, all-american-quarterback smile and asked, "Is there coffee?"
"Yes! Sit down and I'll get you some." She turned and busied herself with two cups of coffee, glad to look away from his drop-dead gorgeous face and body for a bit.
She brought two coffees and some creamers and sugar to the table and sat down across from him.
"So did you guys ever figure out what caused the explosion?" Emma asked.
His face darkened. "Um yeah, we have some leads, but I'm not supposed to say. Hopefully the Chief will share today what they think happened."
Emma's heartbeat quickened. That didn't sound good. Why did he look so mad when he said that? She opened her mouth to ask but then the door opened and two more firefighters filed in.
The newcomers said hi and went straight for coffee. Emma checked her watch. 10 minutes until the debriefing started. People should be coming in quickly now. The door did continue to open and shut until about 45 fire rescue personnel
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