Log: Thrilling Heroics
Who: Finn and Nolan
When: Friday, July 23, 2018
Where: Their firetruck --> Cherry St.
What: Adventures in kitten rescue
Nolan sat in the passenger’s seat of the firetruck while Finn maneuvered through the streets of Lima. He liked riding with Finn; he was probably the only guy on the team that didn’t give the rookies crap. Plus, he was pretty chill and funny and they’d only gotten lost once.
“So do you know what the call is, man? House fire? Warehouse? Kids with explosives?” he asked, watching as Finn peered over his shoulder for a second before he changed lanes. Since he was technically still in training, Finn was the one taking the calls through the headset. Nolan really didn’t mean to sound excited about the possibility of any these occurring, but it’s Lima.
The most eventful thing that occured was speaking to first graders about not playing with matches.
Finn shrugged, turning down another street. “Dispatch just said there was a problem on Cherry Street. I think it’s pretty serious though, because it sounded like she was trying really hard not to cry.” It had actually been kinda hard to understand her, with every other word sounding like she was suppressing a sob. Finn really hoped it wasn’t anyone related to her.
Nolan nodded, sobering a little. He could only imagine what the victims went through. Finn turned on Cherry and Nolan leaned forward in his seat to squint through the windshield, trying to survey the surrounding buildings for any signs of distress. There weren’t any people running from smoking houses; instead, they spotted a man waving down their truck.
Finn quickly pulled over along the designated curb across the street from the man’s house. Nolan’s eyebrows furrowed a little at the man’s frantic gestures; he hoped nobody was trapped inside.
Confused, but ready for anything, Finn hopped out of the truck, stepping up to the man who looked like he was going to cry any minute. “Hello sir, were you the one that called us in?” The man nodded, wringing his hands together.
“Yes! Please, you have to save Mr. Peabody!” He turned to look behind him and Finn followed his gaze but only saw a rather large tree and no sign of a fire. “I really don’t know what I would do without him.”
“We’ll do our best, sir,” Finn replied, squinting in that direction as if that would help him see the problem more clearly. He furrowed his brow, turning to Nolan with a questioning look, hoping he saw whatever it was that he was missing.
Nolan followed Finn’s turning gaze to where the man was now avidly pointing. From this angle, he could make out the small outline of what appeared to be paws. And whiskers. As the man ran ahead of them towards the tree, still waving his arm, Nolan leaned towards his partner. “Dude,” he murmured. “I’m pretty sure...that’s a cat stuck in a tree.” He did his best to keep his expression and voice neutral and remain as professional as possible, but it was proving to be difficult. He thought these sorts of things only happened in movies.
“A cat... stuck in a tree...?” Finn looked more closely before seeing the animal and groaning. “Of course. Hey Nolan, check if there are any cameras around. I really don’t want to be on the next reality show.”
Finn turned back to the obviously distraught owner of “Mr. Peabody” and sighed, trying his best to remain friendly. “Sir, is Mr. Peabody your cat?” The other man nodded quickly, eyes watering. Finn spoke quickly hoping to avoid the waterworks. “We’ll get him down, don’t worry.”
Looking back at Nolan, Finn rolled his eyes before moving to pull the ladder off the side of the truck. Nolan bit back a grin as Finn walked the ladder over to the tree. He had to admit, this would be a pretty lame reality show prank, but it was hilarious to watch Finn maintain a serious face amid the fact he was a grown man rescuing a cat from a tree while trying to keep its owner, who seemed to be clasping his hands together against his chest in worry, from bursting into tears in broad daylight.
“Don’t worry, sir. Mr. Peabody will be down in no time,” Nolan said, trying to be reassuring. The man turned towards him with a watery smile before turning back to the tree. “Hey Hudson,” Nolan called upwards, feigning a serious tone while resisting the urge to laugh. “Need any backup?”
Finn grumbled to himself as he climbed up the ladder, calling back down in a fake cheerful tone. “Nope, I’ve got this one covered, but thanks, buddy.” Climbing up higher, he could finally take in the little grey kitten clinging desperately to the branch with his claws. The poor thing looked really frightened, trembling slightly in distress. Finn reached out an arm slowly as he got nearer, trying not to startle it.
“Hey there, little guy,” he spoke soothingly as the kitten looked at him distrustfully. “It’s okay, I’m not gonna hurt ya. Just need to get you down so your owner over there doesn’t pass out or something.” Finn smiled as the kitten leaned towards his hand slightly, nuzzling his palm. “That’s right. Easy does it.” He shifted his weight a bit so he could use his other hand to gently pry the kitten’s claws out of the branch, thankful that it was only a kitten and not a full grown cat. He was not fond of having his face scratched while standing on a ladder, thank you. At least he could control the kitten somewhat. Finally he pried the last leg off the branch and was immediately lept on by the frightened furball. Wincing as the small but still sharp claws dug into his skin, Finn gently cradled the kitten as he made his way slowly back down the ladder.
Before Finn’s feet fully stabilized on the ground, the kitten’s owner rushed forward. “Oh, thank you! You’re such a saint. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you weren’t here.” The man eagerly took Mr. Peabody into his arms. “Never do that again, Mr. Peabody,” he half scolded, half cooed, cradling the grey ball of fur against his chest. “Now...” He glanced up to Finn. “Why don’t we thank the handsome gentleman who saved you?”
Nolan watched as the owner’s expression morphed from worry to relief to desire in a matter of seconds. He summoned all the willpower he possessed to not burst into laughter right then and there.
Finn backed away slightly, eyes wide in surprise at the sudden onslaught of attention. “Uh... that’s okay... really. Just doing my job, sir.” He looked to Nolan for support only to see him practically beet red in his effort to keep the laughter in. Glaring at his friend, briefly he turned back to the man, only to see him reaching into his pocket to retrieve a pen. He moved toward Finn with a grin, sliding quickly into his personal space and grabbing his hand, Mr. Peabody tucked neatly into the crook of his arm.
“Nonsense,” the man said, winking at the startled fireman as he began to write something on his hand. “You went far and beyond the call of duty. I must repay you.” Finn tried to tug his hand away but the man seemed to have the reflexes of his pet, holding onto it firmly as he finished writing. “Call me, handsome. I’ll buy you a drink.” He winked at Finn, sliding his thumb over Finn’s palm gently before pulling away, waving over his shoulder at the two firemen before disappearing into his house.
Finn stood, gaping at the house in confusion for some long moments. “What just... Did he... Huh?”
Nolan took one look at Finn’s troubled expression and promptly turned away from the house, his head bowed while he poorly constrained his laughter, leaning against the side of the truck. After a few moments, he spared a glance to a now glaring Finn and decided to have mercy on his friend, trying his best to bite back the rest of his amusement-at least until they were a safe distance from Mr. Peabody’s owner’s prying eyes. “C’mon Don Juan, get back in the truck before he decides to come back out and ask you to dinner.”
He clapped Finn on the shoulder and proceeded to grab the ladder, marching it towards the truck, hoisting it back into place. Nolan then opened the door and clambered back up into the passenger’s seat. For a moment, they sat there in complete silence, both staring at the road through the glass in front of them.
“So...” Nolan cleared his throat, casting a hesitant glance at Finn. “At least there wasn’t a fire?” he offered, a grin already spreading across his face.
Finn looked over at Nolan, blinking slowly, his face still very confused. “Fire? Yeah... sure. Good.” He tilted his head, coming out of his stupor, his eyes widening again. “Did that guy just give me his number?” His voice raised in surprise. “And you didn’t help me out at all? What is wrong with you, man?”
“You didn’t look like you needed help.” He grinned again. At Finn’s glare he put his hands up in defense. “I’m sorry! I was about to jump in, but then he grabbed your hand and I was rendered both speechless and immobile.” Noticing that Finn didn’t exactly accept that as a decent excuse, he stifled the rest of his laughter. He did feel bad for not helping...even if that feeling was kind of overridden by amusement. “Sorry,” he repeated, his apology genuine this time. “Seriously, if it’ll make you stop pouting, I promise to have your back next time there’s a distressed flirty gay man. You can even feel free to sic him on me in return so it’s fair,” he paused, cringing a little at his quick choice of words, but held out his fist regardless. “Deal?”
Finn pursed his lips, considering the offer, before nodding, quickly bumping his fist against Nolan’s. “You better.” Finn opened his hand to see his palm, wincing at the black inked numbers, the name “Todd” scrawled underneath. “For now, you can have ‘Todd’s’ number,” Finn said, grinning as he held up his hand for Nolan to see, waving his hand slightly.
“Hate to break it to you, Hudson, but you were the only one he was interested in. After all, you did rescue his cat from that big scary tree,” Nolan laughed, casting a frown towards the number before acting quickly, grabbing the hand sanitizer that rested in the cup holder beneath the radio. He squirted some Germ-X onto Finn’s palm, easily wiping the number away with his sleeve. “There. Now I’ve saved us both.”
“Darn, Todd will be so heartbroken,” Finn said with a small chuckle. “Come on, let’s get out of here. Maybe there’s a nice straight chick whose cat needs rescuing.”
Nolan shook his head as Finn shifted gears and pulled away from the curb. “Yeah, maybe,” he considered it, staring as Mr. Peabody and his creepy owner’s house appeared in the rear-view mirror. “But with our luck, she’ll probably turn out to be like...a lesbian with fifty cats or something.”
“Ugh, that would be our luck, wouldn’t it?” Finn shook his head. “One day, man. One day.”
“Don’t worry, Finnster. I’m sure you’ll find a nice straight catlady someday,” Nolan smirked. “Even though I might’ve been too hasty in washing off that number for you. There goes your backup plan.”
“Just for that,” Finn announced, mock-glaring at Nolan. “You’re so buying the beer tonight.”
When: Friday, July 23, 2018
Where: Their firetruck --> Cherry St.
What: Adventures in kitten rescue
Nolan sat in the passenger’s seat of the firetruck while Finn maneuvered through the streets of Lima. He liked riding with Finn; he was probably the only guy on the team that didn’t give the rookies crap. Plus, he was pretty chill and funny and they’d only gotten lost once.
“So do you know what the call is, man? House fire? Warehouse? Kids with explosives?” he asked, watching as Finn peered over his shoulder for a second before he changed lanes. Since he was technically still in training, Finn was the one taking the calls through the headset. Nolan really didn’t mean to sound excited about the possibility of any these occurring, but it’s Lima.
The most eventful thing that occured was speaking to first graders about not playing with matches.
Finn shrugged, turning down another street. “Dispatch just said there was a problem on Cherry Street. I think it’s pretty serious though, because it sounded like she was trying really hard not to cry.” It had actually been kinda hard to understand her, with every other word sounding like she was suppressing a sob. Finn really hoped it wasn’t anyone related to her.
Nolan nodded, sobering a little. He could only imagine what the victims went through. Finn turned on Cherry and Nolan leaned forward in his seat to squint through the windshield, trying to survey the surrounding buildings for any signs of distress. There weren’t any people running from smoking houses; instead, they spotted a man waving down their truck.
Finn quickly pulled over along the designated curb across the street from the man’s house. Nolan’s eyebrows furrowed a little at the man’s frantic gestures; he hoped nobody was trapped inside.
Confused, but ready for anything, Finn hopped out of the truck, stepping up to the man who looked like he was going to cry any minute. “Hello sir, were you the one that called us in?” The man nodded, wringing his hands together.
“Yes! Please, you have to save Mr. Peabody!” He turned to look behind him and Finn followed his gaze but only saw a rather large tree and no sign of a fire. “I really don’t know what I would do without him.”
“We’ll do our best, sir,” Finn replied, squinting in that direction as if that would help him see the problem more clearly. He furrowed his brow, turning to Nolan with a questioning look, hoping he saw whatever it was that he was missing.
Nolan followed Finn’s turning gaze to where the man was now avidly pointing. From this angle, he could make out the small outline of what appeared to be paws. And whiskers. As the man ran ahead of them towards the tree, still waving his arm, Nolan leaned towards his partner. “Dude,” he murmured. “I’m pretty sure...that’s a cat stuck in a tree.” He did his best to keep his expression and voice neutral and remain as professional as possible, but it was proving to be difficult. He thought these sorts of things only happened in movies.
“A cat... stuck in a tree...?” Finn looked more closely before seeing the animal and groaning. “Of course. Hey Nolan, check if there are any cameras around. I really don’t want to be on the next reality show.”
Finn turned back to the obviously distraught owner of “Mr. Peabody” and sighed, trying his best to remain friendly. “Sir, is Mr. Peabody your cat?” The other man nodded quickly, eyes watering. Finn spoke quickly hoping to avoid the waterworks. “We’ll get him down, don’t worry.”
Looking back at Nolan, Finn rolled his eyes before moving to pull the ladder off the side of the truck. Nolan bit back a grin as Finn walked the ladder over to the tree. He had to admit, this would be a pretty lame reality show prank, but it was hilarious to watch Finn maintain a serious face amid the fact he was a grown man rescuing a cat from a tree while trying to keep its owner, who seemed to be clasping his hands together against his chest in worry, from bursting into tears in broad daylight.
“Don’t worry, sir. Mr. Peabody will be down in no time,” Nolan said, trying to be reassuring. The man turned towards him with a watery smile before turning back to the tree. “Hey Hudson,” Nolan called upwards, feigning a serious tone while resisting the urge to laugh. “Need any backup?”
Finn grumbled to himself as he climbed up the ladder, calling back down in a fake cheerful tone. “Nope, I’ve got this one covered, but thanks, buddy.” Climbing up higher, he could finally take in the little grey kitten clinging desperately to the branch with his claws. The poor thing looked really frightened, trembling slightly in distress. Finn reached out an arm slowly as he got nearer, trying not to startle it.
“Hey there, little guy,” he spoke soothingly as the kitten looked at him distrustfully. “It’s okay, I’m not gonna hurt ya. Just need to get you down so your owner over there doesn’t pass out or something.” Finn smiled as the kitten leaned towards his hand slightly, nuzzling his palm. “That’s right. Easy does it.” He shifted his weight a bit so he could use his other hand to gently pry the kitten’s claws out of the branch, thankful that it was only a kitten and not a full grown cat. He was not fond of having his face scratched while standing on a ladder, thank you. At least he could control the kitten somewhat. Finally he pried the last leg off the branch and was immediately lept on by the frightened furball. Wincing as the small but still sharp claws dug into his skin, Finn gently cradled the kitten as he made his way slowly back down the ladder.
Before Finn’s feet fully stabilized on the ground, the kitten’s owner rushed forward. “Oh, thank you! You’re such a saint. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you weren’t here.” The man eagerly took Mr. Peabody into his arms. “Never do that again, Mr. Peabody,” he half scolded, half cooed, cradling the grey ball of fur against his chest. “Now...” He glanced up to Finn. “Why don’t we thank the handsome gentleman who saved you?”
Nolan watched as the owner’s expression morphed from worry to relief to desire in a matter of seconds. He summoned all the willpower he possessed to not burst into laughter right then and there.
Finn backed away slightly, eyes wide in surprise at the sudden onslaught of attention. “Uh... that’s okay... really. Just doing my job, sir.” He looked to Nolan for support only to see him practically beet red in his effort to keep the laughter in. Glaring at his friend, briefly he turned back to the man, only to see him reaching into his pocket to retrieve a pen. He moved toward Finn with a grin, sliding quickly into his personal space and grabbing his hand, Mr. Peabody tucked neatly into the crook of his arm.
“Nonsense,” the man said, winking at the startled fireman as he began to write something on his hand. “You went far and beyond the call of duty. I must repay you.” Finn tried to tug his hand away but the man seemed to have the reflexes of his pet, holding onto it firmly as he finished writing. “Call me, handsome. I’ll buy you a drink.” He winked at Finn, sliding his thumb over Finn’s palm gently before pulling away, waving over his shoulder at the two firemen before disappearing into his house.
Finn stood, gaping at the house in confusion for some long moments. “What just... Did he... Huh?”
Nolan took one look at Finn’s troubled expression and promptly turned away from the house, his head bowed while he poorly constrained his laughter, leaning against the side of the truck. After a few moments, he spared a glance to a now glaring Finn and decided to have mercy on his friend, trying his best to bite back the rest of his amusement-at least until they were a safe distance from Mr. Peabody’s owner’s prying eyes. “C’mon Don Juan, get back in the truck before he decides to come back out and ask you to dinner.”
He clapped Finn on the shoulder and proceeded to grab the ladder, marching it towards the truck, hoisting it back into place. Nolan then opened the door and clambered back up into the passenger’s seat. For a moment, they sat there in complete silence, both staring at the road through the glass in front of them.
“So...” Nolan cleared his throat, casting a hesitant glance at Finn. “At least there wasn’t a fire?” he offered, a grin already spreading across his face.
Finn looked over at Nolan, blinking slowly, his face still very confused. “Fire? Yeah... sure. Good.” He tilted his head, coming out of his stupor, his eyes widening again. “Did that guy just give me his number?” His voice raised in surprise. “And you didn’t help me out at all? What is wrong with you, man?”
“You didn’t look like you needed help.” He grinned again. At Finn’s glare he put his hands up in defense. “I’m sorry! I was about to jump in, but then he grabbed your hand and I was rendered both speechless and immobile.” Noticing that Finn didn’t exactly accept that as a decent excuse, he stifled the rest of his laughter. He did feel bad for not helping...even if that feeling was kind of overridden by amusement. “Sorry,” he repeated, his apology genuine this time. “Seriously, if it’ll make you stop pouting, I promise to have your back next time there’s a distressed flirty gay man. You can even feel free to sic him on me in return so it’s fair,” he paused, cringing a little at his quick choice of words, but held out his fist regardless. “Deal?”
Finn pursed his lips, considering the offer, before nodding, quickly bumping his fist against Nolan’s. “You better.” Finn opened his hand to see his palm, wincing at the black inked numbers, the name “Todd” scrawled underneath. “For now, you can have ‘Todd’s’ number,” Finn said, grinning as he held up his hand for Nolan to see, waving his hand slightly.
“Hate to break it to you, Hudson, but you were the only one he was interested in. After all, you did rescue his cat from that big scary tree,” Nolan laughed, casting a frown towards the number before acting quickly, grabbing the hand sanitizer that rested in the cup holder beneath the radio. He squirted some Germ-X onto Finn’s palm, easily wiping the number away with his sleeve. “There. Now I’ve saved us both.”
“Darn, Todd will be so heartbroken,” Finn said with a small chuckle. “Come on, let’s get out of here. Maybe there’s a nice straight chick whose cat needs rescuing.”
Nolan shook his head as Finn shifted gears and pulled away from the curb. “Yeah, maybe,” he considered it, staring as Mr. Peabody and his creepy owner’s house appeared in the rear-view mirror. “But with our luck, she’ll probably turn out to be like...a lesbian with fifty cats or something.”
“Ugh, that would be our luck, wouldn’t it?” Finn shook his head. “One day, man. One day.”
“Don’t worry, Finnster. I’m sure you’ll find a nice straight catlady someday,” Nolan smirked. “Even though I might’ve been too hasty in washing off that number for you. There goes your backup plan.”
“Just for that,” Finn announced, mock-glaring at Nolan. “You’re so buying the beer tonight.”