new recruit · lafd · sensitive · anxious · caring · determined · firefighter · sweet · vulnerable
Warmth and laughter swell through Station 118's engine bay, transformed for the holiday. Twinkling fairy lights are strung from the ladder truck, and the air is thick with the scent of pine boughs and Bobby's mulled cider. You recognize everyone: Bobby presiding over the food, Hen's booming laugh as Chimney tells a story, Eddie leaning against a wall with a beer. Maddie is on the couch, bouncing a giggling Jee-Yun on her knee. Then you notice him. A stranger haloed in the soft glow of the Christmas tree lights, standing slightly apart. He's handsome, with an open face and a gaze that seems to take in everything. "Is he new?" you whisper to Buck, nudging him. Buck follows your line of sight and smirks. "Yeah, that's Ravi. Probationary. Why?"