Rescuing Alec

Chapter 7

Nate

I tried to enjoy my evening with Josh, but my mind kept wondering if that was really Alec that I saw walking out the door. We danced a few more times and had a couple more drinks, thankfully Tara and Val wanted to go home. Josh and I exchanged numbers, why hadn’t I done that with Alec. I told him I would call him next week and set up a time to go out again, just the two of us this time. He smiled and we left to go home.

I spent all day Sunday thinking of Alec, and then thinking about Josh. Josh was really a great guy, but I just didn’t have the same feelings for him that I had for Alec. Was that really Alec I saw last night or was it just wishful thinking on my part. I busied myself doing laundry and dishes, as I would be at the station for the next two days, I didn’t like to leave those things while I was gone for work.

“Hey Nate, how was your weekend?” Thad asked as I walked into the station on Monday               morning.

I answered, “not bad, how about yours Thad.”

He said, “oh, you know, the wife just had a big honey-do list that I only got half done. What did you do?”

I said, “not too much, I went out with Jess, Cole and their wives Saturday night.”

He laughed, “sounds like more fun than what I did. We better get the squad stocked, Hanson told me they had a busy weekend and didn’t have time restock.”

Hanson was one of the EMTs that work the shifts opposite us, we went to get busy with our work and walked past the captain’s office, he was talking to a couple guys that I didn’t recognize, they were facing away from the window.

I asked, “who does the cap have in his office?”

Thad looked over his shoulder, “I’m not sure, might be the new guys.”

“What new guys?” I asked.

Thad started grabbing packages out of the supply closet, “don’t you remember at the meeting last week, cap told us we had a couple new firefighters starting today?”

I thought a second, “oh yeah, that’s right, do you know where they are from?”

As we walked to the squad with our arms full Thad said, “no I don’t, I guess we’ll find out at the morning meeting.”

We put our supplies away in the squad and did our inventory to make sure we hadn’t missed anything. Just as we were finishing up, the captain announced over the PA system that our morning meeting was starting in 5 minutes. Thad and I grabbed a cup of coffee from the kitchen and took our seats in the meeting room. The captain walked to the front of the room and started the meeting by introducing the two new members of the fire department. My stomach did a complete flip.

Captain said, “I would like to introduce Jack Roberts, he comes to us from St. Louis and Alec Clark, he is from San Diego, they will be riding on truck 51 with Jones and Newhouse.

Jesus Crist, it was Alec.

Thad elbowed me, “you alright?”

I whispered, “huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine.”

They sat in the chairs next to their truck mates and the captain proceeded with the rest of meeting, I think I might have heard a quarter of what he said. After the meeting I quickly went out to the squad and finished putting our supplies away.

Thad crawled in with me, “what is up with you? You sure are acting weird.”

I said, “Shit Thad, I know that guy from San Diego.”

Thad frowned, “what the hell are talking about, what guy?”

I rolled my eyes, “the new fire fighter, Alec, he is the guy I was telling you about, the one I met in Cancun.”

Thad stared at me, “holy shit, what is he doing here?”

I shrugged, “how the hell should I know, evidently he is working here now.”

Thad said, “so go talk to him, you said you were trying to figure out how to find him. Well, here he is, go talk to him, ask him why he stood you up.”

I shook my head, “it just isn’t that simple, he may not want to see me, hell I’m not sure I want to see him.”

Before Thad could say anything else, Jones poked his head around the corner, “hey you guys, you rushed out of the meeting before I could introduce you, this is Jack and Alec.” He pointed to each of them as they stepped around, he continued, “Jack, Alec this Thad and Nate.” As he pointed to us.

Alec looked in the at us and as he saw me, I saw the color drain from his face. Thankfully, before the moment could get any more awkward, Thad and I got a call.

“Station 3, Squad 1, 58-year-old male, having severe chest pains and trouble breathing, 3487 Hillcrest Lane.”

We quickly jumped in the front of the squad and drove out of the station, I don’t care how many times we get a call, I still get a rush of adrenaline. I was glad to push Alec out of my mind, at least for the time being. We arrived at the address a few minutes later, we were able to stabilize the patient, get him loaded into the squad and on the way to the hospital. The ER staff was waiting as we pulled up to the doors, they quickly took over treating the patient. His wife pulled in behind us and we took her to the waiting room, the doctor came out briefly and told her that they were taking him to the operating room, and they would keep her posted. We sat with her until her daughter showed up. We headed back to the station, I called dispatch on the radio and told them that we were available. As we neared the station, I was starting to dread seeing Alec again, what was I going to say to him. Just as we were about 2 blocks away, we got another call.

“Station 3, squad 1, truck 51, 2 car accident with injuries, intersection of Lockwood Avenue and 65th street.”

We turned at the next street to get to the scene, I saw the truck catching up to us in the rearview mirror. We arrived at the scene and the police already had traffic rerouted, Thad and I jumped out of the squad, we found a girl about 16 or 17 trapped inside, it took me back 10 years to my accident. The guys from station 1 jumped out of their truck and were able to quickly free the driver, Mike and Joe loaded him into their squad. I jumped into the wrecked car to help the girl that was pinned in the passenger seat.

I tried to calm her, “hi, please try to stay calm, I’m here to help you. What is your name?”

She was crying, “I’m Hannah.”

I said, “Hi Hannah, I’m Nate and we are going to get you out of here, just relax, ok.”

We had the same conversation that Mike and I had when he was sitting with me when I was trapped. Once the rest of the crew had cut enough of the car away, we loaded Hannah into the squad and headed to the hospital. Her parents were waiting for us as we pulled in, once the ER staff had her stable and her parents calmed down, we headed back to the station.

As we pulled in, I saw Alec and the others getting their equipment stowed away, we backed in and started to get our unit cleaned and restocked. I was putting supplies away as Thad went to get the rest of what we needed.

Alec looked in at me, “you did a great job with that girl today.”

I looked back, “Thanks, you looked like you knew what you were doing with that saw too.”

Alec nodded, “thanks, so do you think we could talk?”

I snapped, “not sure we have anything to talk about, I think you made your feelings clear when you stood me up in Cancun.”

He hung his head, “Nate, that isn’t what happened, if you would just give me a chance to explain.”

I went back to work, “maybe later, I’m kind of busy right now, I need to be ready if another call comes in.”

Alec sighed, “please Nate, if you would just let me explain.”

Thad walked up and handed me the last of our supplies, Alec just turned and walked away.

Thad asked, “sorry I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

I said, “no problem, I wasn’t in the mood to talk anyway.”

Thad scratched his head, “what the hell is wrong with you man?”

I glared at him, “what do you mean?”

“The guy evidently wanted to talk to you, and you have been moping around here the last few months whining about never seeing him again, well Nate, here he is.”

I continued to work, “how about you just mind your own business.”

Another call came in and we were on our way again. When we got back to the station a few hours later, the trucks were out assisting another station on a house fire. Thad and I ate some supper and showered and headed to bed. The station had rooms set with up four beds in each room, there were 4 guys on each truck, so each group shared a room. Since Thad and I were the only ones in our squad, we shared a room and had two empty beds, they were only used if we had guys in for training or for extra help. I was having trouble sleeping and heard the trucks come back a couple hours later, I stayed in bed and tossed and turned the rest of the night.

The next day was another busy day, thankfully no car accidents, just transporting patients to the hospital. It kept my mind off Alec and the time passed quickly. At the end of our shift, I changed into my street clothes and headed to my truck, I saw Alec walking toward the street. A car was waiting there for him. A woman was standing there, she gave him a hug as he got to the car, he opened the door of the car and a little boy, that looked to be about 4 or 5 jumped out and into his arms.

Damn it, the bastard was married and had a kid, no wonder he took off without telling me. The whole “this is my first time” was all an act, I’d bet it wasn’t the first time he used that line. I was getting more pissed by the minute, how the hell was I going to work with this guy?

I got in my truck and sped out of the parking lot, as I drove home, I thought to myself, how did I fall for this guy so quickly, I have a lot of thinking to do over the next two days.

I walked into my apartment, stripped down and stood in the shower for about half an hour. I threw on a pair of shorts and t-shirt as my phone beeped, it was a text from Jess.

“Tara just got home, just need to stop to pick up the pizza and beer, be there in 20.”

We always get together for supper after I have my two-day shift, they usually grab take out on their way to my place, or I will grill when the weather is nice. I just hit the “thumbs up” emoji and set my phone on the couch as I plopped down beside it.

A half hour later Jess and Tara walked in, Jess threw me a beer and Tara took the pizza to the kitchen and started to put the slices on paper plates and handed one to Jess and I.

Jess took a bite, “how was work little bro?”

I took a drink of my beer, “ok, I guess.”

Tara sat in the chair across from me, “what’s the matter Nate?”

I took a bite, “nothing.”

Jess set his plate down, “oh no you don’t, there is something bothering you, spill it.”

I shook my head.

Jess said, “are you still upset about Alec?”

Tara added, “I thought you were going to go out with Josh again, you know, to help you get your mind off Alec.”

I took another drink, “well that was the plan, but we had two new firefighters start today.”

Jess just gave me a confused look, “what the hell does that have to do with anything?”

I shook my head, “one of them was Alec.”

Jess’s eyes went wide, “are you shitting me?”

I shook my head no.

Tara asked, “what did you say to him?”

I said, “nothing, I tried to avoid him all day.”

Jess threw his hands up, “damn it little bro, you have whining about this guy since Cancun, now he is right in front of you, and you won’t talk to him?”

Tara said, “he’s right Nate, why didn’t you talk to him? Did he say anything to you?”

I sighed, “he said he wanted to explain, but I told him I was busy. We got a call, so I was able to get away from him. Then when we were leaving after our shift, I saw him hug a little boy that called him daddy and then hug the women that picked him up. He’s married, with a kid.”

Jess sat back, “are you sure that it was his wife?”

I shrugged, “well who else could it have been?”

Tara said, “you will never know unless you talk to him.”

Jess broke in, “Jesus Nate, it’s obvious you still have feelings for this guy, you just need to grow a pair and talk to him, at least then you will know where you stand, and you both can get on with your lives. Honestly, you have become a real drag to hang around lately.”

Tara agreed, “he’s right Nate, just talk to him.”

They spent the next couple hours giving me all the reasons why I should talk to Alec, I finally gave in and said I would talk to him at work the next time we had a minute alone. We finished our pizza and beer, Jess and Tara headed home. I stretched out on the couch a was deep in thought when my phone rang, I grabbed it and looked at the screen.

It was Josh.

“Hello”

Josh said, “hey Nate, how was work?”

I answered, “it was good, we were busy, so the time went fast, how about you?”

 He chuckled, “it was ok, about as exciting as it could be for an IT guy, you know, I just ask everybody who calls if they tried turning the computer off and restarting it.”

We made small talk for a few more minutes.

Josh asked, “so, I was just wondering if you would like to get together again?”

I thought a moment, “yes, that sounds good, how about tomorrow night?”

We finalized our plans, and I hung up the phone. I thought about everything for a few minutes, I ran my thumb across the screen of my phone and found the picture that I had taken earlier today. It was an updated roster from the bulletin board at work, it had all our names and phone numbers on it. I found Alec’s name and number, I sent him a text.

“It’s Nate, now you have my number.”