I'm Not The Only One - Open

[Wallace Boden]

Wallace had been in for an hour and already his head was splitting. He had tried to get a jump start on the paperwork he had sitting when Connie brought the sheet of fax paper through. If there was one thing he didn’t need on top of everything else was an audit. He had hardly any sleep as Terrance had been up with cold all night and between the crying child, getting up every ten minutes or more and now there was this on his desk.

The morning had been quiet so far, no major calls which made for an easier morning as he grabbed the paper and the audit sheets. It was head office crossing something their pain in the backside requests for the day he thought as he made an attempt at starting his audit in the clothing area. He counted and checked the jackets and corresponding trousers before he started to check the oxygen tanks.

It had been something he had done his whole career so stopping at counting everyone had one, no he checked the levels, that the meters were working as he knew each fire fighter did after every call but then there was no harm in being sure about it all. Fifty one for that shifts was soon done and finished before he moved onto the night shift, he knew it was over kill but then if it saved the next chief a headache then he could show some spirit.

Three tanks, there were three tanks that were below his ideal version of good enough to go out with. Hauling the three over his shoulder he stormed out of the clothing area and into the training area placing the three tanks onto the floor as he mumbled under his breath. That was exactly how accidents happened, it was how people were killed and if the next shift thought that it was acceptable then he was about to write the entire lot of them up for it as he set about filling the first tank.

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Chloe had found a quiet spot to spread out all of her books to study for her first test in Med school, she'd been hard at it for a couple hours when she heard the chief mumbling under his breath and saw him set three SCBA tanks in the floor. She silently watched him start to fill the first tank before speaking up, "Hey..uh...is there anything I can do to help Chief? I may or may not have filled a few SCBA tanks before, and I am really not feeling this whole studying thing this morning. Are all of the masks good, or do they need to be checked too?" Chloe started to pack up her books so that she would be able to help. Chloe started rambling nervously "And in case your curious, I took my firefighter exam and passed in Iowa did the whole fire thing volunteer...it's really not for me, but I don't mind helping with the equipment at all. If you need help that is.."

[Wallace Boden]

Wallace was annoyed, it showed in the way he was acting and what he was saying though he was surprised to hear a voice talk to him. People usually stayed away let along offer any help he thought as he looked up to see Chloe there. “Masks are all good, and yes if you want to grab a tank to fill then feel free.” He said as he took a breath as he waited for the air to get to maximum. Wallace listened to her talk about her fire fighter exam and nodded.

“Sure the more help the better.” He said as he relaxed a little. “So what are you studying for?” He asked her curiously, there was usually people studying things around the fire house though he tried to take an active interest in what everyone was up to. It was his way of trying to help if and when he could do. “And tell me, you know why the tanks are supposed to be filled to the maximum level?” He asked her deciding that not explaining why he was annoyed might look bad.

He was hardly like a bear with a sore head everyday but when people made silly mistakes that could cost people their lives. Then he was mad because of the time it would take to fill the tank, it took less time to grab on in haste and not realise they were walking in with a half tank on their backs and need that bit extra.

[Deleted]

"Um..well you want them full because when you go into a burning building you want to know that your air is going to last you...hate to get into the far back corner somewhere and get trapped only to find out your tank was almost empty when you started. I mean...realistically you should check them when you put them on, but it helps prevent mistakes that could cost lives if everyone refills them after use and if everyone checks them before you put them on...it's like being double sure that there is air in the tank.." Chloe tries to explain the best that she can as she picks up a tank to help fill it. "oh..and I uh I'm in Med School, the first big exam is coming up so I was studying...hope that's ok?"

Chloe continues to work silently alongside the Chief, she decides he seems upset about and more than likely didn't care to listen to her rambling on about school and air tanks.

[Wallace Boden]

Wallace listened to Chloe explain why he wanted the tanks full, at least there was one sane person in the fire house that day to talk to. “See great answer, you sure you dont want to be a fire fighter in this city?” He asked with a sly grin, the girl knew her stuff and if she knew to fill the tanks then she was one step ahead of the last shift too. “Okay, what that you’re in med school?” He asked as he shook his head before laughing and nodding.

“Yes of course it’s okay, more than okay. Least we can say when you make the big leagues. Yeah she used to work with us.” He stated before he grinned, he was glad for the distraction that morning anything but to think about the audit that was more trouble that it was truly worth. That was until he found the tanks, he had debated gathering the entire house and going through the A B C of life but then perhaps that was just his own head over thinking things.

“So this exam, you feeling confident?” He asked her deciding that finding out more about her was going to be a good thing. He cared about the people he worked with and if he knew things then he could give her time to get her studying done while at work or whatever it was that he could do to help.

[Deleted]

Chloe giggled "Yeah..I'm pretty sure I don't want to be a firefighter, I enjoyed it..but I'll be honest, I'm too small and not strong enough to pull some people out of harms way, namely other firemen. I'd hate to be the reason that a coworker and someone I cared about didn't make it, so I prefer to wait for someone to bring them to me so I can fix them on the outside."

Chloe finished filling the tank she was working on before she answered the Chief's next question. "Yeah..I feel pretty good about this first exam, seems to be mostly review from nursing school. I'm hoping the whole thing is a lot like nursing school. I guess I'm just the perfect example of a kid that had no clue what they wanted to do with themselves and I still wonder sometimes. I've done a little of everything firefighting, medic, nursing. Half the time I don't know what to put at the end of my name Medic/BSN... Just hoping I'm not wasting my time... I thought I had everything figured out back home before...well just before life happened, sometimes I still wonder."

[Wallace Boden]

Wallace smiled and nodded, a fire fighter wasn’t everyone’s dream job though he was glad to hear that she had enjoyed it. “Well there’s nothing wrong with that at all but don’t forget small and mighty. Height and strength isn’t everything, you could be the strongest and tallest and fall down faster than someone who is less so.” He said knowing it to be true, strength could only get you so far if you knew how to use it and sometimes you needed someone smaller to get into placed the taller couldnt go.

Wallace finished his tank as he set to filling another one, he was starting to feel more like a human being in talking to her than he had done a minute or two ago. “Anyone who says they have life figured out is a good liar.” Wallace stated having thought he had done just that and then there was always that something else that happened. The something that came in from the left or right and before you knew it what you had figured out was all new yet again. “It’s good your finding out what you like, it’s not like life is slowing down and there are a lot of opportunities out there so why not grab them.”

It wasn’t that Wallace was going to suddenly decide to swap over into bar tending he enjoyed is work too much. As the saying went find something you love to do and you’d never work a day in your life, that was what he felt about being Chief. It had its days but most of them were good ones. “What is it you still wonder about?” He asked her wondering exactly what it was that had here there in Chicago in the first place.