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The firehouse had finally quieted down for the night, with everyone either in their quarters or the bunk room trying to get some much needed rest. Stella Kidd however was still wide awake, piles of incident reports from that day strewn across her desk. A string of words on one glared back at her: PD did not respond. Stella had to look away before the rage that had been slowly simmering all day rose up again. CFD and CPD were supposed to work together and have each other’s back, and yet today when their lives were put at risk they were left to fend for themselves. The scene kept replaying in her head, a reminder of what a close call it had been. A soft knock at the door broke Stella out of her thoughts and she looked up to see Violet leaning against the doorframe. It only took one look at her expression to see she was in the exact same headspace. Stella used her foot to push the chair opposite her desk out, a silent invitation for Violet to join her.
“Looks like I’m not the only one that can’t sleep,” Violet grimaced, gesturing to the sea of papers.
“Yeah, not a chance,” Stella replied. “I don’t think I’ll be able to relax until Pascal gets us some answers in the morning about what the hell is going on.”
“Same here. It’s kind of terrifying,” Violet nodded. “It’s always been a little nerve-wracking going on medic-only calls because it’s just the two of us, but I’ve always felt safer knowing we could call a 10-1 at any point, you know? But now…” Her voice trailed off as her thoughts seemed to drift somewhere darker. It was clear there was more on her mind.
Stella set down her pen and pushed her paperwork over so that her full attention was on the woman across from her. “You doing okay?” she asked softly. “That call today was a lot.”
Violet sighed. “Yeah that was intense,” she said. “If Vasquez hadn’t caught that when he did…”
“Yeah that was close, maybe the guy’s good for something after all.”
“I just…” Violet’s eyes, which had previously been lingering on the desk, rose to meet Stella’s. “I just wanted to thank you.”
“For what?”
Violet’s head tipped as she realized Stella genuinely didn’t know what she was talking about. “Stella you… you literally threw yourself on top of me when the bullets started flying.” Her face darkened as she recalled the moment the first gunshots rang out and she hit the ground, only to feel another body press itself over hers and arms envelop protectively over her head.
“And you did the same for the victim,” Stella pointed out.
“I know I just… I don’t know, I guess I’m just not used to being on the receiving end of the rescuing. We were both equally in danger and you put yourself in between me and the gun. Which was crazy, by the way. But I just wanted to say it didn’t go unnoticed, you protecting me like that.”
Stella reached out and took hold of Violet’s hands, noticing the slight tremor in them. “We’ve got each other’s backs,” she said. “Always. Especially now.”
Violet nodded solemnly. It was something they’d always known, but the idea carried even more weight now that they were seemingly without the added support of police.
“You’re a good lieutenant," Violet smiled. “And an even better friend, and I want you to know I don’t take either of those things for granted.”
“Thanks, Vi,” Stella said softly. Ever since leaving the doctors office, Stella hadn’t been able to shake the subconscious feeling that somehow she’d failed and let people down. But hearing that simple affirmation felt like a little bit of light had been let back in.