Original: "Into the Furnace," Chapter Twenty-five
A morning dealing with the AC guy, an afternoon of not doing anything, and an evening of furiously trying to hit my word count. Ah, the new schedule. How I hate it. ;)
Chapter Twenty-five
AO3
In her dream, Kelly died on the way to the hospital.
Or she thought she was dreaming, and she was actually experiencing a ghostly afterlife. There was no way to tell one from the other, so far as she knew. She watched as the EMTs tried to revive her but eventually give up. There was no transition from the defeated air of the ambulance to the waiting room where Chief Dobbs broke the news to Patrick, Addie, and the boys. That scene was blended with the dream (reality?) of them standing at her grave. Her name was carved into the stone next to Casey’s. She saw her father quitting the department, saw Kyle doing the same. She watched as Courtney leaned against the closed door of her office and wept.
She was in a bed. She was cool, comfortable, and there was a reassuring beep coming from something over her right shoulder. Her neck was craned far to one side, her lips slack, and she sucked in her bottom lip to prevent any further drooling as she opened her eyes and looked around the room. She heard motion from the far wall and turned toward it as Kevin got to her feet and came to her side.
“Hey, faker. You really upped your game since you faked cramps to get out of school.”
“Screw you, jerk,” she rasped.
He squeezed her hand. “Kel...”
“Shut up,” she said.
“You scared us.” He leaned over the bed and kissed her between the eyebrows. “Dad suggested we take shifts sitting with you.”
She frowned. “How long have I been out?”
“A couple of hours. I took the first shift.” He smiled. “I knew you wouldn’t be asleep very long.”
“I don’t think they call that ‘sleeping.’ Recuperating, maybe, healing, or...”
He sighed and made a rolling gesture with two fingers. “Yeah, yeah. All I know is, you have two big fires, and you leave both of them being carried out on a nice comfy bed and...” His voice broke and he pinched her thumb. “Bitch.”
“Asshole.”
“Stop doing this, huh? You’ve gotten your close calls out of the way, so from now on, no more trying to give us all heart attacks.”
“I’ll try.” She looked past him and saw three different flower deliveries. “Looks like you guys tried to put the gift shop out of business.”
“It’s the one time we can get you flowers without getting our asses kicked for treating you like a girl. Deal with it. I’m going to go get a nurse and let her know you finally decided to wake up.”
She held onto his hand. “Wait. Is Mom out there?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Could you ask her to come in after the nurse is finished?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? You want to talk to Mom?”
“Just ask her to come in, okay?”
“Okay.” He held up a finger with his free hand. “Follow the finger. I want to make sure you didn’t get a concussion. Do you know what year it is?”
She grinned and swatted at his arm. “Just go.”
He left and, for a moment, she was alone. She had seen bandages on her arms when she grabbed Kevin’s hand, but now she held them up to see them properly. The gauze began just above her wrists and continued down almost to her elbows. She didn’t remember her arms burning, but there was very little of her flight out of the building that she could recall. Had she really jumped out of the window when the bucket was still swinging toward her? And had she really been saved by Casey’s spirit?
No. She was oxygen deprived and close to collapse. Her brain had manufactured a way to get her moving. That was all. She dismissed the thoughts as the nurse came in and began bustling around her and the machines. She listened with half an ear to what the woman was saying, part of her brain still cataloguing the aches and pains that hadn’t been there before the fire. Yet another part was focused on what she would say when Addie came in.
The nurse finally finished her duties and opened the door to bring Addie inside. Addie smiled politely and waited for the door to close before she stepped closer to the bed.
“I wasn’t sure you would even want me here,” Addie said. “I’m relieved to see you’re okay.”
Kelly nodded. “Yeah. Made it out in one piece.”
They were silent. Addie looked out the window and smiled slightly. “You can see the Space Needle from here. That’s nice.”
Kelly looked at the window. “Yeah...”
“I also wasn’t sure you would be talking to me again after... the conversation we had the other day. We didn’t exactly part ways with any definitive conclusion.”
“I’m not going to tell him. Them. Either of them.” She sighed and rested her head against the pillow. “It was over twenty years ago. And Daddy is his father as much as the rest of us. Revealing the truth now would just be petty and pointless.”
Addie moved closer and gingerly lowered herself to the edge of the bed. “Is this why things between us have never been like they are with the boys? Because you saw... what you saw?”
“Because I didn’t know what I saw. I thought maybe I imagined it. But I could never be sure, and I could never ask you, so it just hung there over our heads.”
“Like the sword of Damocles.”
Kelly nodded. “Yeah.” She smoothed down her blankets. “I’m bisexual.”
Addie looked at her. “Pardon me?”
“I just broke up with my girlfriend. I’ve had a few girlfriends... and fewer boyfriends. But that’s the reason it doesn’t seem like I date very much. I just don’t tell you and Daddy about the women.”
“Oh.” Addie became still as she processed the information. “I’m not sure what you expect me to do with this information. And now, of all times...”
“I know your secret, and you know mine. No one else in the family knows. At least I don’t think they do. Kevin knows but that might just be our twinniness coming through.”
Addie chuckled. “You date women.”
“Not exclusively.”
“But... women.”
Kelly shrugged. “Yeah. I guess now you know sort of how I felt.”
“Yes, I suppose I do. Although this does explain a few things.”
Kelly furrowed her brow. “Like what?”
“Playing baseball with the boys. The way you dress...”
“The way I dress? I can’t believe you’re clutching to all those old stereotypes.”
Addie said, “Well, I don’t know any real lesbians.”
“You still don’t. I like men just as much as I like women.” She considered that statement. “Well, maybe not just as much. But it’s still close enough I don’t get invited to the meetings of the girls-only club.”
“I guess there’s a lot I have to learn.” She looked at Kelly. “Will you help me be less stereotypical?”
“I’ll try.”
Addie stood up and leaned forward to hug Kelly. It started awkwardly, the first true physical contact between them since she was a child, but finally Kelly brought her hands up and rested them on Addie’s back. Finally Addie sat up and brushed the hair out of Kelly’s face. The soft brief sweep of her mother’s fingers across her forehead was almost enough to make Kelly cry, but she blamed the sudden burst of emotion on the painkillers she was on.
“I’m going to tell them,” Addie said. “Not about... your... because honestly, Kelly, who cares in this day and age?”
Kelly laughed.
“I’ll confess everything to your father. And to Kyle.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. There’s nothing either of them can do about it. We’ve all come this far...”
Addie said, “I know. But they deserve the truth. Things might get rough for a while, but I think it will be for the best.” She touched Kelly’s hand. “Will you be there when I tell them? It would be nice to have one person there who already knows the truth.”
“Sure.”
Addie patted her arm again. “Thank you, sweetheart. And I’m... I’m very glad you’re okay. I don’t know what we would’ve done if we lost you. Your father wants to see you, but he’s also aware that if you let him in, he won’t be able to stop himself from crying and crushing you in a hug. So maybe if you’ve seen enough visitors for one day...”
Kelly smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I’m pretty tired out.”
“I’m sure he’ll understand. Sleep well, darling.”
“Goodnight, Mom. Can you turn off the light?”
Addie turned off the overhead light and softly closed the door behind her. Once she was alone Kelly slid down and folded her hands over her chest. She didn’t think she would be able to sleep, but having the lights off gave the room a cozier feel. She found the television remote and turned it on. She had missed the vast majority of the day, unconscious through most of the afternoon and early evening. She watched some cop drama with her brain turned off, watching as the pretty actors and actresses followed a carefully-drawn set of clues to the predictable conclusion. She wondered why there weren’t more shows about firefighters and decided the practicality of burning down a building every week probably got expensive.
When the killed was handcuffed and led away, the show faded out. The screen faded to black and then cut to a tease for the local news.
“A firefighter’s daring escape that almost ends in tragedy. And the daring hero’s name may seem familiar to you. Stay tuned.”
“Oh, shit,” Kelly growled. She changed the channel and found herself staring at the vaguely but not specifically ethnic features of Rita Wynn. “Oh, shit. Oh, no.”
Rita had just started her segment. “--days ago you may have seen an interview on our morning show, or you might have seen the clip once it went viral. My interview with Firefighter Kelly Lake went quickly from awkward to downright confrontational.”
The image cut to Kelly’s face, startling her. “Badmouth us all you want,” she said, her voice hollow and strange through the TV speakers, “Claim we’re elitist or racist or that we just don’t give a damn. Because the fact is, it doesn’t matter. The next time you need us, the next time that alarm goes off, we’re going to be on the truck racing to save your lives anyway. Because that is what we do.” She stood up then and began pulling at her microphone pack. The image cut back to Rita Wynn in the newsroom.
“That interview was the result of a very heated few days for the Seattle Fire Department. Accusations of not doing enough, of leaving innocent people to die, of being unprepared, were swirling around the brave men and women who put their lives on the line every single day.”
“Oh, you fucking hypocrite,” Kelly muttered.
Rita Wynn said, “Earlier today the department was given a chance to prove Kelly Lake’s premonition. A small building that housed a diner, several offices, and a handful of apartments. The firefighters of Engine 12, the same crew that responded to that tragic Nob Hill fire so fresh in everyone’s memories, were dispatched to the scene. Eyewitnesses caught the scene on their phones.”
Kelly growled again. Stupid civilians always waving their phones whenever they saw sirens. She watched as the front of the Merganser Diner came onscreen in a shaky, vertical shot. Their engine was blocking most of the view but she still saw herself as she followed Scott through the front door. The image cut to a different angle, this time horizontal, as Scott evacuated. His uniform was blackened by soot, his mask hanging free as he grabbed Lieutenant Berg’s arm.
“Kelly’s in there somewhere.” His voice echoed enough to be picked up by the phone’s speakers.
Another cut, and Kelly saw Tarik and Tim riding the bucket over to her. She watched as she leapt out into thin air, breath catching in her throat as if the recording could possibly have a different outcome. It was insanely close, and her already considerable gratitude ratcheted up a few slots. She would have to be sure to take Tim and Tarik out for dinner to thank them for their derring-do.
Rita Wynn spoke over footage of her crew overhauling the building. The front of the diner was completely hollowed out, and rivers of water rolled lazily over the front steps and down into the gutter. She caught a glimpse of Scott without his helmet and he looked distraught, his face smeared with long black lines of soot. She wondered if he was concerned about her or mourning the diner’s delicious hamburgers. She chuckled and hoped she remembered to make the joke the next time she saw him.
“I am chagrined to admit that the reporters at this station, myself included, were partially to blame for some of the animosity shown toward the Seattle Fire Department these past few weeks. But the actions of these brave men and women today have shown without question just how far they’re willing to go to protect us. I can only apologize for my part in the witch hunt that followed the Nob Hill tragedy, and give my sincere hope that they know how grateful the city is that they are here for us.”
Kelly turned off the set, unsure if she was willing to accept the apology. At the very least it might shame the other stations into a heel-face turn. She put the remote aside, suddenly certain she had seen enough television for the night and relaxed. She could only imagine what the Chief would have to say about her leap being the top story on the news, but that was a problem she could face tomorrow.
For the time being, she only wanted to enjoy a little sleep that wasn’t helped along by large amounts of drugs.
Chapter Twenty-five
AO3
In her dream, Kelly died on the way to the hospital.
Or she thought she was dreaming, and she was actually experiencing a ghostly afterlife. There was no way to tell one from the other, so far as she knew. She watched as the EMTs tried to revive her but eventually give up. There was no transition from the defeated air of the ambulance to the waiting room where Chief Dobbs broke the news to Patrick, Addie, and the boys. That scene was blended with the dream (reality?) of them standing at her grave. Her name was carved into the stone next to Casey’s. She saw her father quitting the department, saw Kyle doing the same. She watched as Courtney leaned against the closed door of her office and wept.
She was in a bed. She was cool, comfortable, and there was a reassuring beep coming from something over her right shoulder. Her neck was craned far to one side, her lips slack, and she sucked in her bottom lip to prevent any further drooling as she opened her eyes and looked around the room. She heard motion from the far wall and turned toward it as Kevin got to her feet and came to her side.
“Hey, faker. You really upped your game since you faked cramps to get out of school.”
“Screw you, jerk,” she rasped.
He squeezed her hand. “Kel...”
“Shut up,” she said.
“You scared us.” He leaned over the bed and kissed her between the eyebrows. “Dad suggested we take shifts sitting with you.”
She frowned. “How long have I been out?”
“A couple of hours. I took the first shift.” He smiled. “I knew you wouldn’t be asleep very long.”
“I don’t think they call that ‘sleeping.’ Recuperating, maybe, healing, or...”
He sighed and made a rolling gesture with two fingers. “Yeah, yeah. All I know is, you have two big fires, and you leave both of them being carried out on a nice comfy bed and...” His voice broke and he pinched her thumb. “Bitch.”
“Asshole.”
“Stop doing this, huh? You’ve gotten your close calls out of the way, so from now on, no more trying to give us all heart attacks.”
“I’ll try.” She looked past him and saw three different flower deliveries. “Looks like you guys tried to put the gift shop out of business.”
“It’s the one time we can get you flowers without getting our asses kicked for treating you like a girl. Deal with it. I’m going to go get a nurse and let her know you finally decided to wake up.”
She held onto his hand. “Wait. Is Mom out there?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Could you ask her to come in after the nurse is finished?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? You want to talk to Mom?”
“Just ask her to come in, okay?”
“Okay.” He held up a finger with his free hand. “Follow the finger. I want to make sure you didn’t get a concussion. Do you know what year it is?”
She grinned and swatted at his arm. “Just go.”
He left and, for a moment, she was alone. She had seen bandages on her arms when she grabbed Kevin’s hand, but now she held them up to see them properly. The gauze began just above her wrists and continued down almost to her elbows. She didn’t remember her arms burning, but there was very little of her flight out of the building that she could recall. Had she really jumped out of the window when the bucket was still swinging toward her? And had she really been saved by Casey’s spirit?
No. She was oxygen deprived and close to collapse. Her brain had manufactured a way to get her moving. That was all. She dismissed the thoughts as the nurse came in and began bustling around her and the machines. She listened with half an ear to what the woman was saying, part of her brain still cataloguing the aches and pains that hadn’t been there before the fire. Yet another part was focused on what she would say when Addie came in.
The nurse finally finished her duties and opened the door to bring Addie inside. Addie smiled politely and waited for the door to close before she stepped closer to the bed.
“I wasn’t sure you would even want me here,” Addie said. “I’m relieved to see you’re okay.”
Kelly nodded. “Yeah. Made it out in one piece.”
They were silent. Addie looked out the window and smiled slightly. “You can see the Space Needle from here. That’s nice.”
Kelly looked at the window. “Yeah...”
“I also wasn’t sure you would be talking to me again after... the conversation we had the other day. We didn’t exactly part ways with any definitive conclusion.”
“I’m not going to tell him. Them. Either of them.” She sighed and rested her head against the pillow. “It was over twenty years ago. And Daddy is his father as much as the rest of us. Revealing the truth now would just be petty and pointless.”
Addie moved closer and gingerly lowered herself to the edge of the bed. “Is this why things between us have never been like they are with the boys? Because you saw... what you saw?”
“Because I didn’t know what I saw. I thought maybe I imagined it. But I could never be sure, and I could never ask you, so it just hung there over our heads.”
“Like the sword of Damocles.”
Kelly nodded. “Yeah.” She smoothed down her blankets. “I’m bisexual.”
Addie looked at her. “Pardon me?”
“I just broke up with my girlfriend. I’ve had a few girlfriends... and fewer boyfriends. But that’s the reason it doesn’t seem like I date very much. I just don’t tell you and Daddy about the women.”
“Oh.” Addie became still as she processed the information. “I’m not sure what you expect me to do with this information. And now, of all times...”
“I know your secret, and you know mine. No one else in the family knows. At least I don’t think they do. Kevin knows but that might just be our twinniness coming through.”
Addie chuckled. “You date women.”
“Not exclusively.”
“But... women.”
Kelly shrugged. “Yeah. I guess now you know sort of how I felt.”
“Yes, I suppose I do. Although this does explain a few things.”
Kelly furrowed her brow. “Like what?”
“Playing baseball with the boys. The way you dress...”
“The way I dress? I can’t believe you’re clutching to all those old stereotypes.”
Addie said, “Well, I don’t know any real lesbians.”
“You still don’t. I like men just as much as I like women.” She considered that statement. “Well, maybe not just as much. But it’s still close enough I don’t get invited to the meetings of the girls-only club.”
“I guess there’s a lot I have to learn.” She looked at Kelly. “Will you help me be less stereotypical?”
“I’ll try.”
Addie stood up and leaned forward to hug Kelly. It started awkwardly, the first true physical contact between them since she was a child, but finally Kelly brought her hands up and rested them on Addie’s back. Finally Addie sat up and brushed the hair out of Kelly’s face. The soft brief sweep of her mother’s fingers across her forehead was almost enough to make Kelly cry, but she blamed the sudden burst of emotion on the painkillers she was on.
“I’m going to tell them,” Addie said. “Not about... your... because honestly, Kelly, who cares in this day and age?”
Kelly laughed.
“I’ll confess everything to your father. And to Kyle.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. There’s nothing either of them can do about it. We’ve all come this far...”
Addie said, “I know. But they deserve the truth. Things might get rough for a while, but I think it will be for the best.” She touched Kelly’s hand. “Will you be there when I tell them? It would be nice to have one person there who already knows the truth.”
“Sure.”
Addie patted her arm again. “Thank you, sweetheart. And I’m... I’m very glad you’re okay. I don’t know what we would’ve done if we lost you. Your father wants to see you, but he’s also aware that if you let him in, he won’t be able to stop himself from crying and crushing you in a hug. So maybe if you’ve seen enough visitors for one day...”
Kelly smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I’m pretty tired out.”
“I’m sure he’ll understand. Sleep well, darling.”
“Goodnight, Mom. Can you turn off the light?”
Addie turned off the overhead light and softly closed the door behind her. Once she was alone Kelly slid down and folded her hands over her chest. She didn’t think she would be able to sleep, but having the lights off gave the room a cozier feel. She found the television remote and turned it on. She had missed the vast majority of the day, unconscious through most of the afternoon and early evening. She watched some cop drama with her brain turned off, watching as the pretty actors and actresses followed a carefully-drawn set of clues to the predictable conclusion. She wondered why there weren’t more shows about firefighters and decided the practicality of burning down a building every week probably got expensive.
When the killed was handcuffed and led away, the show faded out. The screen faded to black and then cut to a tease for the local news.
“A firefighter’s daring escape that almost ends in tragedy. And the daring hero’s name may seem familiar to you. Stay tuned.”
“Oh, shit,” Kelly growled. She changed the channel and found herself staring at the vaguely but not specifically ethnic features of Rita Wynn. “Oh, shit. Oh, no.”
Rita had just started her segment. “--days ago you may have seen an interview on our morning show, or you might have seen the clip once it went viral. My interview with Firefighter Kelly Lake went quickly from awkward to downright confrontational.”
The image cut to Kelly’s face, startling her. “Badmouth us all you want,” she said, her voice hollow and strange through the TV speakers, “Claim we’re elitist or racist or that we just don’t give a damn. Because the fact is, it doesn’t matter. The next time you need us, the next time that alarm goes off, we’re going to be on the truck racing to save your lives anyway. Because that is what we do.” She stood up then and began pulling at her microphone pack. The image cut back to Rita Wynn in the newsroom.
“That interview was the result of a very heated few days for the Seattle Fire Department. Accusations of not doing enough, of leaving innocent people to die, of being unprepared, were swirling around the brave men and women who put their lives on the line every single day.”
“Oh, you fucking hypocrite,” Kelly muttered.
Rita Wynn said, “Earlier today the department was given a chance to prove Kelly Lake’s premonition. A small building that housed a diner, several offices, and a handful of apartments. The firefighters of Engine 12, the same crew that responded to that tragic Nob Hill fire so fresh in everyone’s memories, were dispatched to the scene. Eyewitnesses caught the scene on their phones.”
Kelly growled again. Stupid civilians always waving their phones whenever they saw sirens. She watched as the front of the Merganser Diner came onscreen in a shaky, vertical shot. Their engine was blocking most of the view but she still saw herself as she followed Scott through the front door. The image cut to a different angle, this time horizontal, as Scott evacuated. His uniform was blackened by soot, his mask hanging free as he grabbed Lieutenant Berg’s arm.
“Kelly’s in there somewhere.” His voice echoed enough to be picked up by the phone’s speakers.
Another cut, and Kelly saw Tarik and Tim riding the bucket over to her. She watched as she leapt out into thin air, breath catching in her throat as if the recording could possibly have a different outcome. It was insanely close, and her already considerable gratitude ratcheted up a few slots. She would have to be sure to take Tim and Tarik out for dinner to thank them for their derring-do.
Rita Wynn spoke over footage of her crew overhauling the building. The front of the diner was completely hollowed out, and rivers of water rolled lazily over the front steps and down into the gutter. She caught a glimpse of Scott without his helmet and he looked distraught, his face smeared with long black lines of soot. She wondered if he was concerned about her or mourning the diner’s delicious hamburgers. She chuckled and hoped she remembered to make the joke the next time she saw him.
“I am chagrined to admit that the reporters at this station, myself included, were partially to blame for some of the animosity shown toward the Seattle Fire Department these past few weeks. But the actions of these brave men and women today have shown without question just how far they’re willing to go to protect us. I can only apologize for my part in the witch hunt that followed the Nob Hill tragedy, and give my sincere hope that they know how grateful the city is that they are here for us.”
Kelly turned off the set, unsure if she was willing to accept the apology. At the very least it might shame the other stations into a heel-face turn. She put the remote aside, suddenly certain she had seen enough television for the night and relaxed. She could only imagine what the Chief would have to say about her leap being the top story on the news, but that was a problem she could face tomorrow.
For the time being, she only wanted to enjoy a little sleep that wasn’t helped along by large amounts of drugs.