Saved By The Firefighter
Chapter 52

Davey's Point of View.

I let out a groan, my day had been going well. I had stayed with Kathline last night, not in her bed, that spot was reserved for her brave little man. He was suffering from nightmares after the fire, poor thing. But I did sleep in the spare room, so I could be on hand to help with Andy this morning, and let Kathline have a well-deserved lie in. She is exhausted, almost asleep on her feet, and I wish I could do more.

I had carried him downstairs, and made him some Nutella on toast, feeling like I was the luckiest guy in the world to be given this chance, when my phone rang. Liv was in a state, as it seemed, the wanker she was with, had not only re-mortgaged the house, and got a load of legal debt, but also had turned to unscrupulous money lenders, and they had turned up at her door demanding money.

It seemed he had borrowed £5,000 and had never made a payment. The debt was now at 15,000 and they did not care he no longer lived with her, telling Liv she had to pay, or they would be back. To say she was frightened was an understatement, and this was one debt that phone calls, and payment plans, along with an explanation of what was happening, would not sort out. So, I had to call the loan shark and pay the amount, in full.

However, it has put a halt to the plan Kathline had talked to me about, where I purchase the house from Liv, getting a mortgage-to-rent loan, which I was already pre-approved for. Then Liv could pay off all the debt and start again, giving me the mortgage payments each month as rent. But I cannot, or should I say will not do that, not now. Yes, I still have the deposit money safe and secure. But I firmly believe she needs to move, and that it is inevitable now, as who knows who else will crawl out of the woodwork. That call had pissed me off, then Kathline's ex rang, demanding to know why Andy had been in a fire, shouting at her as if it were her fault. Funny how the fucker seems to care now. So that had me pacing the floor wanting to punch something. The upside of that conversation was that Kathline had told him, if he was so bothered, then he could have Andy for a few days next week between hospital appointments, and the wanker agreed, so at least she gets a break. I intend to spoil her rotten as well. But now my day has gone south once more as I have just received a message from the boss.

Team. All fire crews are dealing with fires due to the weather, along with our friendly teenage toerags, the station is unmanned as a result. If any of you can spare a few hours to cover, it will be very much appreciated, and I will personally make sure you get double- time for your efforts.

I sent back a message saying I was going in, after all, what am I supposed to do, message back telling him to let the fuckers burn? Of course not!

Kathline stands, she is dressed in just a pair of shorts and tight top, which makes leaving her even harder, both literally and figuratively. I place a soft kiss on her lips as Andy giggles and shouts "Ewww" before I ruffled his red hair, and I head out of hers, back home and get my uniform on.

I walk into work, with the Sunderland Echo under my arm, okay I may not get a full thirty-minutes of reading, but even grabbing a few moments will make me feel better. As I enter, everyone is there, Josie is not her usual cheerful self, guess she had plans with her Arsehole that had to be cancelled.

Ben was just as miserable, but still he was there, ready and waiting, should we be needed.

Headache was here, complaining he still felt unwell after sweating in the Fireman Sam suit yesterday, so he is happy.

Wayne is busy at the kitchen with Twinkle making some god-awful smelling concoction, as Twinkle moans he is going to be back on the sofa tonight.

The boss walks into the common room.

"Firstly, thank you all for coming in so quickly on your time off. I really do appreciate it. We are here only to offer extra cover, if nobody else is available, until they have a few more engines back at their stations, then we can all clock off. I have already authorised that you will get the full 12-hours shift pay at double-time, or you can take single-time and add another day to your holiday entitlement, the choice is yours. Just let me or Joanne know on Thursday when she begins her first shift working with us as my secretary. You guys never fail to make me proud. Thank you," The boss said, then turned on his heel and headed back into his domain.

"How did Andy enjoy yesterday?" Josie asked, as she slumped down in the seat beside me.

"Yeah, he had so much fun, but still had a couple of nightmares last night, bless him," I tell her with a smile.

"That will take time to pass. Lucy had one the other night as well, then I started with one of mine." Ben sighs out understanding what the little lad was going through.

"Yeah, but kids, man, they seem to bounce better than adults, so hopefully he can get passed it quicker," Twinkle shouted over his shoulder.

I was not sure if I believed him or not, my understanding was, this nightmare could come back and haunt him at any time, even as an adult, and we had to be prepared for the long term affects. If I get my hand on that f*****g-arsonist, I would cheerfully kill him with my bare hands, and not flinch as I got sent down to the 'clink' after the court case.

I begin to read the newspaper, that shows pictures of the residents of Sunderland all enjoying the hot weather at Seaburn Beach yesterday; good for them.

"We need some rain," Headache complained.

f**k, for once he is not wrong, we really do need some f*****g rain.

"Now there's a sentence I never thought I would hear living in the northeast of England." Josie laughed, only her tone held little of her normal humour.

"So how is Liv?" Ben asked me.

"Don't f*****g ask. Got a phone call this morning, that wanker took a loan from a shark and they turned up at her door. That's 15 grand I will never see again," I huffed.

Josie's eyes widened, and she shook her head.

"She needs to come home," Josie sighed out.

"Yeah, I have told her that she is going to have to sell the house, but I can tell she doesn't want to leave, and my guess is, that she is already 'missing him'. Because we all know what a f*****g catch he is," I growl out in annoyance.

I get up out of my seat and head to the fridge to get a bottle of water, Ben follows behind, then goes to grab a bottle out of the fridge at the same time.

"If you need some money let me know, I have quite a lot left off my injury payment. I don't mind." He whispers so the others cannot hear.

"No, it's okay. I have savings but I appreciate that mate." I shrug.

For all the banter, and piss-take, I know each of these guys would give me their right arm if I needed it, as I would for them.

Each with a bottle of water we head back to the sofa area and take a seat. I f*****g kid you not, the sofa practically lifts up my end when that giant fucker sits down at the opposite side. "How as Lucy about you leaving today?" Josie asked.

"She is at work, so just said stay safe, and she will see me when I get home." Ben smiled.

"I was going to organise a picnic for her tonight at Whitburn, but I guess that isn't going to happen now, may take her to that Asian place instead." Ben continues with a shrug.

"What about the Arsehole, what did he say?" I ask Josie.

"He was great, told me to look after myself, and that he would go into work himself." Josie smiled.

"What about Kathline?" Josie asked.

"Yeah, sound as a pound. Just told me to take care, and would see me later." I shrugged.

It was good to hear all three of our new partners were cool with this type of emergency situation, when we had to come into work, even when we were off. Not that it happened much, but yeah, it was still good that all three understood. "In other news, Andy's wanker dad rang. He went off on one at Kathline about the fire, as if it was her fault," I tell them, not able to keep my utter hatred of the man from my voice... nor do I want to, truth be told.

"What? f*****g dickhead." Josie shakes her head in disgust.

"Yep," I respond popping the P.

"However, he has said he is going to take Andy for a couple of days next week, and it works out on my time off, so I want to spoil her. Any ideas?" I ask both Josie and Ben.

"Maybe you could come ballroom dancing with me and the Mrs., they are looking for more couples. It is good exercise as well," Twinkle shouted over his shoulder.

"f**k off," I respond flashing my middle finger for good measure. No way in hell is that old bastard getting me into a sparkly shirt dancing around like an i***t.

Ben and Josie both let out a small laugh, as Twinkle huffs and returns to make his concoction with Wayne.

"Is she at work?" Josie asked.

"No, she already had two weeks off work booked for the beginning of the school holidays, and works from home the rest of the time, plus her boss told her to take an extra week off as compassionate leave," I tell them. "That was good of them, well, if she is already off work, when is Andy at the wankers?" Ben asked.

"We finish last night of shift on Sunday night, back Thursday for day shift, he is going Wednesday and Thursday night, back Friday," I tell them.

"Ooo, so one day and night, along with one other night for a date as well. Go you." Josie laughs,

"Couples massage. The Ramside Hall Hotel do them at their spa. They also do overnight packages, that include a full day spa, lunch, evening meal, and night at the hotel, with breakfast," Ben tells me.

Clearly, he has been looking for him and Lucy, and it is not a bad plan, with all the s**t going on, Kathline deserves a pamper day. Yeah, I think that will be a winner, even if we don't have s*x, it will be nice to just relax for the day and not worry about anything. Although I believe Kathline will worry about Andy, but hopefully it will help her relax a little bit.

"Not a bad shout." I grin.

Just as the word shout comes out my mouth, the alarm goes off, and we all spur into action, running to the pole and sliding down into the garage for the standby engine. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles as our normal engine, or the other one on duty, but it will have to do.

As Headache pulls out, I grab my gear and pull it on.

"Field fire, out of control, Hastings Hill Farm." Josie informs us.

Well, here we go again.