Lieutenant Buckley – Chapter 12 – ScarsLikeVelvet

Chapter 12

Evan settled into working with his new team quickly. He was glad to have met them all before, so when his first day of work was there, he settled easily into their midst when Captain Sal DeLuca led him out of his office to the open loft area where the team was waiting for them.

“I know you’ve met them before, but let me introduce you to my team in an official capacity anyway,” DeLuca said as they settled with the people sitting at the dining table. He started on his left.

“Meet the people manning RA1, Firefighter/Paramedics Michael Serrano and Tobias Jensen. Next to them, we have Paramedics Jeremiah Johnson and Lucinda Mason, who man RA2,” Sal said, continuing on with the identical twin of the paramedic. “This is firefighter Grace Mason, the engineer taking care of our fleet and leading the team manning our ladder truck. She leads Jensen Meyers, Arthur Stanton, and Darius McLean.”

Evan looked at each of the people mentioned, committing names and faces to his memory the way he had been trained to do.

“And here are the people who will help me teach you that which you are missing right now over the next year. Jonas Marten, Sebastian Stanton–yes, he and Arthur are brothers, too–and Martin Ackles,” DeLuca finished.

“Ladies, Gentlemen, this is our new probationary firefighter Evan Buckley. He is a former Navy SEAL and comes with a metric shit ton of certifications and the intention to finish his masters in Fire Science by the end or shortly after his probationary period. He is a wet dream when it comes to obeying the chain of command and he knows how to use the rules and regulations of the Los Angeles Fire Department in the way that will serve him and the people he has sworn to protect,” Captain DeLuca officially introduced his probie.

Everyone stared at Evan. They knew their captain had been excited about snagging the probationary firefighter, who had taken the top spot at the academy, when they all knew that a lot of other, more established captains had their eyes on him.

“A Navy SEAL?” the Mason twins asked in unison.

Evan inclined his head.

“Yes. A Navy SEAL. Yes, I’ve seen combat. Yes, I have killed in combat and for my country. No, I do not want to talk about,” he said calmly. He bit his lip. He was a bit angry for blurting out these words, so he apologized. “I’m sorry …”

“No, no,” Lucinda said. “I am … we are sorry. We both know that one should not ask a soldier about their history. Our grandfather was with the Marine Corps before he mustered out and became a firefighter.”

“Lucy is right. Our apologies, Buckley. We have no right to question your service,” Grace added.

Evan released a slow breath and looked at his captain, who simply smiled.

“Thank you for your service,” the rest of the team chorused.

“I’m still working through what I went to with my therapist, so please, do not ask me more than I am willing to offer,” Evan added.

The team nodded slowly.

“We are willing to listen if you wish to talk,” Martin Ackles said. “But if you do not wish to talk, that is fine too.”

Evan nodded slowly in acceptance and leaned back in his seat.

“Ah, I should warn all of you,” Sal spoke up. “He tends to find and keep strays. He was already about to adopt Probationary Firefighter Baker from C-shift, just so you know. We might end up with two probationary firefighters.”

Grace chuckled in amusement.

“I wouldn’t mind. Baker is quite willing to learn. He just doesn’t have anyone to teach him on C-shift,” she said.

“He didn’t seem all that willing until I gave him a reason to listen,” Evan remarked.

“Ah,” Grace said. “They’ve been failing him from the get-go. They wanted a probie, but that would have meant change for their team, and that wasn’t something they wanted.”

Evan rolled his eyes.

“If they didn’t want to teach, they shouldn’t had offered,” he said. “It is an atrocious thing to do to a man willing to learn a craft like this. They’ve been dragging him around for months and taught him nothing. Not even how to wear his uniform with pride.”

He shook his head. “If we could get the higher-ups to transfer Baker into our care, I would be willing to teach him the way I taught my fellow recruits at the academy,” he added.

Captain DeLuca shook his head in amusement.

“You are really into taking on strays, huh?” he asked.

Evan found himself shrugging.

“I was such a stray at one time, and I really benefitted from having supportive people at my back,” he remarked.

The team started to laugh, and eventually, DeLuca managed to get them all to listen again. He gave them their first assignment of the day.

“Are you really telling me that you eat take-out three times every shift?” Evan asked as he stood at the table, his hands resting on top of it.

“There’s no time to cook on shift,” DeLuca protested.

Evan rolled his eyes.

“You never heard of meal-prepping, did you?” he asked.

“Are you saying, you could feed all of us without having to spend hours in the kitchen every shift?” Grace questioned.

“If everyone is willing to step up, we could prepare meals for the whole shift in about an hour and a half. I could bring options with me for our next shift. Healthy food makes for a healthy body, and it most certainly helps to focus better,” Evan explained.

“I want you to help Jonas and Sebastian getting the Engine checked over,” DeLuca said. “Once you are done, you come back up here and write me a shopping list for whatever meal prep ideas you have. You are welcome to give the team options to pick, before we go shopping.”

Evan looked surprised.

“I’ve got a notebook in my car with recipe options,” he said.

“Go get that then, before coming back up here,” DeLuca ordered before ushering everyone down the stairs to get their day properly started now that C-shift had left.