Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Nathanial

"I swear," Freddy says as he drops an outfit on the ground for me. "You pull shit like this all the time and always end up smelling sweet. Must be all the damned honey you eat."

I'd laugh but I'm a bear.

I shift back and he says, "Get dressed. You're a fucking hero. The teacher is fine and all of the kids are fine. The men inside went back to check on them and they got out, too. You saved everyone. You basically did the insubordination every one of us has wanted to do to that prick forever and ended up a hero. So, fuck you very much."

"Yeah, well, fuck you, too, you damned baboon." Freddy is my best friend. Freddy isn't a baboon. He's a gorilla. Not as big as the one from the classic movie but he's the only shifter at the station who could give me a run for my money in a fight. Well, except for the dragons but it's hard to tell if they're part of the company or not given how they seem to be here one minute and then not here the next. Dragons are the least human of all shifters, I think, and so they're here and very valuable when they are but they're not always here. As far as those I'm sure will be there when I arrive on any given shift, Freddy's the only one who would give me pause in a fight. Not even the other bears would do that. There's another gorilla at the station but he's not as large. Garrett is his name and I guess he's the best firefighter we have.

As Freddy walks away, I hurriedly get dressed. All of us have changes of clothes on the different engines and trucks just like every shifter will keep an extra outfit in the car or somewhere else close by as a matter of course. We're not supposed to shift except in the most extreme of circumstances and if we do shift, we need to be able to hide that fact. That's the theory, anyway. Soon, I'm dressed again, and as I pull on the jacket, I realize how on top of things Freddy really is. It's my jacket, the one I gave to the girl. It's covered with grime and soot, and it looks just like I came out of the fire.

I sneak from the tree line to the back of the largest fire engine, which isn't ours, and then walk around to where the ambulances are checking and releasing the kids. I walk toward the crowd and I finally stand amongst the crowd of kids. They hang on me and giggle and laugh. Even though I'm an asshole by most standards, an antisocial grump who wants to be left alone; I can't keep from feeling great about all these children being alive and, I'll admit, about all these children thinking of me as some sort of hero.

Parents are arriving, though, and so the kids are peeled off with hugs and tears. They check in with a police officer and it's just beautiful. Then, suddenly, I'm alone and standing in front of the girl. Addison. Damn it, she's a fire victim. A rescue. That's it. Not a girl. Not a woman. Not for me. For me, she's a citizen I was fortunate enough to help rescue.

Yeah, big fucking lot of good my resolve does for me when she hugs me. I feel her lips right against my ear and she whispers, "I knew you were going to save us. I knew it. And… Uh…" I can feel her nervousness as she adds, "Well, you didn't need it this time but… if you want to… um, you can, um, tear my clothes off whenever you want." I could hold her forever and it would be a great life.

It can't happen, though, of course. While I'm trying to come up with a badass, soundbite-worthy response, I hear Captain Holt shouting from behind, "Cameron!"

Before I can help myself, I kind of let out a throaty growl. I gently push her back and then turn around, resolving not to beat the hell out of the man as I do. He scowls as he steps up. "You think just because things worked out that you're not in trouble, you son of a bitch? I'm going to make sure you never work for a fire department anywhere ever again!"

"Good luck," I say. I think the threat in my voice is obvious because he wavers a little. And then, he prepares to start up again.

"Here he is!" a familiar voice says.

I smile at the city fire chief, Rodney Thompson. "Hello, Sir," I say.

He steps forward, takes my hand, and pumps it vigorously. Flashes go off and he smiles at the suddenly gathered reporters, "This is firefighter Nathanial Cameron, one of our absolute best. You can be certain there will be a medal of valor for him. I've also checked with the Authority Board and I've been given the latitude." He turns to me and says, "Nate. You're not Firefighter Cameron anymore. You're Sergeant Cameron now."

Holt looks like he'll throw up. The chief sees him and notices his uniform. He says, "Captain, have we met?"

Holt says, "A few times at events."

"Well, I meet a lot of people. What's your name?"

"Holt, Sir."

"Great," Chief Thompson says. "Captain Holt, good job here. The reporters want some pictures of me and the hero, so if you could give us some room, that would be great."

I know I'm rather immature for being so happy about Holt's humiliation but it's hard not to be. I say quickly, "Chief, this is Addison. She's the children's instructor and without her, we never would have made it out."

"Come here, young lady!" he says. "We'll definitely need some pictures with you, too. You're a hero, you know that."

I sure as hell hope she knows that.

This is the last night of my four-night stay at the firehouse this week. What I do in the morning isn't exactly against policy but it's certainly not encouraged. I head home to shower and change and then drive to the address on the reports. I mean, I drive to Addison's address.

Yeah.

I drive to a fire victim's place. Not exactly against policy but definitely frowned upon by everyone. I still do it, and I have to admit that when she opens the door and I see her, I don't feel bad about doing it. She's beautiful. She stands in front of me with a tee shirt and yoga pants, and what I want to do is grab her and screw her right on her front porch.

But I'm a bear and not a wolf. I can control my impulses. Instead of tearing her clothes off, I say, "Addison. Hello."

She doesn't even hesitate. I say those words to her and then she's grabbing me by my tee shirt and pulls me into her house as she kisses me.