Saved By The Firefighter
Chapter 40

Ben's Point of View

Shell shocked, that is the best way to describe how I am feeling right at this moment as I pull the car up onto the drive. Switching off the engine, I remain in my seat, trying like hell to stop my hands from shaking. I guess that is another of my 9 lives I have used up, 7 more to go. This could have been so much worse, and I know I have to concentrate on the positives, we got all three kids out of there, each of them able to live and tell the tale. But still, my hands will not stop shaking no matter how much I try.

I have to get myself under control, today was Lucy's first day at work, and I want to celebrate that with her, but I cannot stop my body from shaking like a leaf in a storm. Taking a few deep breaths, I close my eyes, seeing again the collapsing roof all around me, at the time, I did not think twice about it, just got on with my job, but it is now, when everything is sorted, and I am sat on my own does the reality and fear kick in. Snapping my eyes open, I get out of the car, and head to my front door.

The smell of fajita seasoning welcomes me, along with the hissing sound of frying chicken and vegetables. I place my car keys in the tray on the windowsill as I hear Lucy, humming away to herself. A peace that I have never experienced, nor can I describe the full effect of that feeling in a million years, washes over me, as I look down the hall to see Lucy, stood, black moulded-to-her-amazing-a*s trousers on with a white shirt tucked in, her hair half up, half down, the long waves cascading down her back. The tremors in my hands cease, and I know that for now, I can put that fire, and all talk of an arsonist behind me. I am home.

I walk into the kitchen wrapping my arms around her tiny waist, she spins in my arms, and reaches out to stroke my jaw.

"Hey, I heard about the fire, go sit down, and I will bring you your tea. I am here if you want to talk about it. Whatever you need." Lucy offers me a soft smile.

"Yeah, it was not good, and thank you for this." I smile at her, she will never truly understand just how thankful I actually am, for this one small act of normal, in a day that was far from normal.

"How was your first day?" I ask, grabbing the kettle and filling it with water, I need a nice cup of soothing tea.

"Really good, I don't know why Davey has such an issue with Anders. He is a good boss, and trust me, I have had a lot worse. I have sorted out a series of interviews for next week, then jumped on the phones this afternoon, to get some pitches out. Managed to convert three small deals, and I have a larger one getting me a decision by tomorrow. Apparently, it is the most they have made in total, and Anders is beyond happy I managed to do that in a day." She smiles up at me, clearly happy with her achievements. "Wow, well done, so you think you are going to like it?" I ask her.

"Yes, although he was worried when news of the fire came on the radio, he paced the floor in his office, then asked if I wanted to pace with him." She laughed slightly.

"Did you?" I ask, I don't want her pacing the floor with worry.

"No, I prefer to throw myself into work rather than sit worrying about something I have no control over. How was it?" she asked, as she dished up the fajitas onto the plate, adding a side of sour cream and guacamole.

I finish off making the tea, and take them through to the dining room, as Lucy brings the plates of food in, setting them down on the place mats.

"Honestly, it was not good, three kids inside the building, one of them the son of Davey's girlfriend. We got them out, although Andy has a broken ankle, the roof collapsed as we were getting out of there. Used up more of my cat-lives." I shrug. "How do you feel about that?" Lucy gently asks.

"In the car, I was shaking like a leaf, but when I came in and saw you, I became peaceful."

A soft blush adorned her cheeks, she really is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, made more beautiful when she gets embarrassed.

We eat our fajitas in relative silence, but it does no feel strained or unnatural, it is comfortable. I am happy she is doing well with her work, but at the same time, I know if she hits her targets, she will get the deposit together for a new house quicker, and that fills me with dread. The truth is, I like having her here, she has made my house a home, just with her presence. Finished with the food, I grab the plates.

"Hey, I will do that!" Lucy exclaims.

"No babe, you cooked, I clean." I smiled at her, then quickly peck her soft lips, damn she really is my home.

I have noticed the past few days, Lucy always feels like she should do everything herself, I think it is because she is living here, and has a misconception she is a burden, and I want her to relax, to view this place as her home, because if I have my way, she will not be leaving anytime soon. "But you have had a trying day," she protests.

"Made better by fajitas that were cooked for me by a beautiful woman when I got home. You are working as well, so fair is fair. When I am finished doing this, how do you feel about popping over to the mothers? She will have heard the news, and I know she will be worried sick," I ask, hoping it does not make me sound like a mummy's boy. But having just been me and Mam for so long, we are extremely close, and I know she will not calm down until she sees me.

"Not at all, she will be worried. I will quickly change though." Lucy smiles and goes to head off.

"Erm, just one thing before you do, you forgot something very important," I say to her.

Lucy halts, spinning around, and furrowing her brows together, clearly wondering what she had missed.

"My kiss." I grin at her.

"Oh, sorry, how remise of me." She giggles adorably, then skips over, placing her soft delicious and slightly-spicey-off-the-fajita lips on mine, giving me a quick peck.

"Now you can go." I grin at her, as she laughs, and makes her way to her bedroom.

Pulling up outside the mother's house, I jump out of the car and rush round to open Lucy's door. She is getting slowly used to me opening doors for her, but I can see she still feels embarrassed about it. Hey, she deserves to be treated like a queen, so she had best get used to me doing this stuff for her.

We walk into my mam's house, hand-in-hand, both dressed in dark blue denims, and a pale blue T-shirt, you would think we had organised our clothes to match, but it was pure coincidence.

"Hey Mam, we thought we would drop by," I shout.

"Oh good, I have been slightly worried about you all day," my mother shouts through from the kitchen.

Lucy and I walk into the kitchen, to see that, yes, my mother has been worried, because there are trays and trays of muffins, and butterfly cakes made, that she is currently putting into large Tupperware boxes and placing into the fridge. Standing looking at me, she is covered in flour and icing sugar, and so is the floor and benches around her.

"I got a head start on the cakes for the family fun day." She shrugs, as if baking enough to feed the whole of Sunderland and their brother is normal behaviour.

"Have you both eaten?" she asks, when really, she wants to know what the hell happened today.

"Yes, Lucy made fajitas for tea." I smiled.

"Ooo, sounds nice, I haven't had those in ages, may do some tomorrow." She smiles at us both.

"So, can you tell me what happened?" my mother asks, her voice laced with concern.

"Just what you heard on the news, three kids in the school, but we got them out. They will all be okay." I shrug.

I am not going to mention the arson, or the fact the roof collapsed around me as Davey, Josie and I brought the kids out of that burning hell, there is no reason to worry her further.

"You are not going to mention the fact the roof collapsed around you?" she questions me with a raised eyebrow.

s**t.

"Ben, they had a local news TV Crew there, I know my son when I see him," the mother accuses me.

"Yeah, well we were all okay, so stop worrying." I shrug, it may sound harsh, but it is best to remind her that the worst did not happen, not today.

"I have told you multiple times, worrying is in the job description. Now who fancy's a nice cupper, and maybe a couple of these cakes, I think I went a bit overboard."

"Yeah, I will have a couple... Lucy?"

"They look delicious, so yes please." Lucy smiles.

"Do I need to make anything on Saturday, for Sunday, I will be at a loose end anyway?" Lucy asks my mother.

"Oooo, I will be doing the salads, you can pop over here if you like, and we can work together on them." My mam grins happily.

We take a seat with the cakes, as the mother asks Lucy all about her first day at work, chatting happily.

"Oh, did I tell you? Twinkles 'Mrs. is a t**t!" Mam suddenly declares.

I resist the urge to tell her 'often' because whenever those two have any conversation it results in the mother having a good old bitch-fest about her.

"What did she do this time?" I ask, she is not wrong, the woman is a pain in the arse, always thinking she is above the team, and hates that Twinkle isn't some pen pusher in an office earning a small fortune to keep her in designer clothes that will sit in her wardrobe and never see the light of day, rather than a firefighter.

"Well, I gave her a ring, to see what she is bringing on Sunday, and she said that... and I quote... 'I will not be attending I have far more important things to attend to. I don't see why William wants to go; he spends enough time at that place," my mother informs me, it is of little surprise, knowing 'Mrs. Twinkle' like I do.

"She is all fur-coat-and-no-knickers that one. When I said that Twinkle was hoping to do the BBQ she shouted, 'his name is William' and slammed the phone down on me," she continued to rant. Lucy nearly choaked on her cake, laughing at her statement about my colleague's wife.

"Sorry Lucy, but she really is. She thinks she is better than the rest of us, yet has never worked a day in her life, well, ... as long as I have known her, because in her opinion work is beneath her." Lucy grinned at my mother and nodded.

"I know the type, trust me." Lucy smiles.

Finishing our cakes, we say goodbye to the mother, then set off back home.

"So is Twinkles' wife really that bad?" Lucy asks giggling a bit.

"Yeah, she actually is. My mam normally likes everyone, but she is never afraid to call out people on their bullshit if she needs to." I laugh.

We get back in the house, and put on TV, snuggling up on the couch together. I let out a sigh of contentment, if I had been on my own tonight, I know I would have been rattling in my chair, focusing on the day's events, but having Lucy snuggled into my side, as we watch, and laugh at, the Love Island contestants together, things just feel ... right.

What doesn't feel right though, is at the end of the night, when once more, I place my lips on hers, whilst holding her in my arms, before she heads off to her bedroom. Not that I am desperate for s*x, well, I am a man, so I guess I am desperate for s*x, but it is more important than that. I just want to hold her, feel her in my arms, like we were at the hotel, but as of yet, I do not want to broach the subject, of sharing a bed each night, but with each passing day it gets harder and harder, pun intended, to watch her walk into her bedroom. I let out a low groan, as my body reacts to having her in my arms, enjoying the taste of her mouth.

"Night, night Lucy," I say holding her tight to my chest, not wanting to let her go.

"Night, night Ben," she breathlessly tells me, before breaking free and heading into her own room, as I watch the door close behind her.