Work Text:
Monday
Erin entered the firehouse at exactly 8am, letting a yawn escape. She was happy that she had her Starbucks coffee in hand. It was a treat that she allowed herself every Monday to start the week off. She observed what was in front of her. Abby was typing away on her computer. Patty was reading but looked like she could pass out at any moment. And Holtz was staring at her own computer in awe.
It was unusual for Holtz to not be working. The younger girl was a workaholic. Even Erin, who had some of her own trouble with pulling away from work, often found herself prying a wrench out of the engineer’s hand. But today there were no tools in Holtz’s hand.
“Hey babe, what are you doing?” Erin asked her girlfriend.
They had been dating for four months now. And even though they hadn’t made the big step of moving in together, they often found themselves with each other more often than not. Erin had grown to love Holtz’s wild personality and Holtz loved how much Erin seemed to care for her. Even Abby and Patty, who were skeptical of the relationship at first, had to admit that they were a great couple.
Holtz continued to stare at the screen and seemed to be unaware that there was a person beside her.
“Babe?” Erin asked again.
The computer spoke for Holtz. “Elephant families are very close. They wrap their trunks around smaller elephants to comfort them and even wrap their trunks with other adult elephant trunks.”
Erin looked confused and turned Holtz’s computer slightly so she could see. The computer displayed an elephant documentary.
“She’s been watching them since I got here, which was an hour ago,” Abby informed Erin.
“Holtz, how long have you been here?” Erin asked.
Holtz snapped out of her daze. “Oh, huh. I guess it’s been three hours already.”
“Have you been watching elephants for three hours?” Erin asked.
“Yes,” Holtz said. She returned her attention back to the computer screen.
“Are you going to do any work today?” Patty called out.
“Doesn’t look like it,” Holtz shrugged.
And Holtz was right. For the rest of the day, Holtzmann’s eyes were glued onto her screen, watching the big animals eat, swim, and sleep. Erin worked quietly from across the room as it was a little distracting. But she constantly found herself gazing at Holtz who happened to be making facial expressions at certain times. Sometimes a soft smile formed on her lips. Other times, it was a frown. And even a small gasp escaped her lips on occasion. Erin shook her head at her cute girlfriend and went back to work.
Tuesday
When Erin came to work the following day, her girlfriend wasn’t in the building. This worried Erin. Holtz was always there before Erin and even though Holtz was bad at using her phone, she made sure to tell Erin if she was going to be late. However, this was not the case this time. Erin double checked to make sure she didn’t miss a text message but the last text from Holtz was from the night before.
“Have any of you guys seen Holtz?” Erin asked her two other team members.
“Is she playing hide and seek?” Kevin asked, popping out of nowhere. “I hope she is. We could really use another teammate.”
“I don’t think she is,” Erin informed him.
“Darn,” Kevin snapped his fingers, walking away. “She’ll come around.”
“I thought maybe you guys had spent the night together,” Abby confessed.
“What? Why would you think that?” Erin asked, surprised.
“Because y’all are a couple,” Patty said, filling in the blank.
“Yeah but we haven’t-“ Erin started before stopping herself. “Okay.”
At that moment, the firehouse door opened and Holtz shuffled inside. She looked tired with bags under her eyes and her messy hair seemed extra messy.
“I’m sorry I’m late. I was up all night,” Holtz said, walking over to the group.
“We’re our own bosses,” Patty told her. “You don’t have to apologize.”
“Why were you up all night?” Abby wondered.
“I may have fallen down the hole of elephant documentaries,” Holtz admitted, scratching the back of her neck sheepishly.
Abby snorted in response.
“I was worried,” Erin said. “You didn’t text me.”
“Yes, I did,” Holtz said and pulled out her phone, tapping on it. “I just forgot to send it.” She showed Erin the text message that sat in the box as proof.
Erin sighed and kissed Holtz’s temple. “It’s okay.”
“Well I’ll be in the lab if you need me,” Holtz said. Erin watched as Holtz grabbed her laptop and headed for the stairs. She was sure that the work that would be done that day would be minimal.
Wednesday
“Hey, Holtz. Patty was able to convince Abby to order subs instead of soup for lunch. I got your favorite. All the meats along with pepper jack cheese.” Erin placed a sandwich on a plate next to Holtz.
Holtz set down the screwdriver that was in her hand. She was almost done fixing Patty’s proton pack that had been crushed in their most recent bust.
“Thanks, babe,” Holtz nodded. “I’m starving.”
“I figured. I haven’t seen you leave the lab all day,” Erin said. She began eating her own sandwich that she had brought up as well.
Holtz used her hand to gently push Erin a few inches away. “No food by the workbench. Specifically sandwiches. I have some weird things that can’t get close to sandwiches.”
Erin made a face. “Why would sandwiches specifically-”
“And to answer your question, I have to catch up from the last few days,” Holtz told her,
“Oh from the elephant documentaries,” Erin nodded. She then realized that there was yet another one playing on Holtz’s laptop. “I guess you still are.”
But Erin couldn’t help but watch too. She slowly ate her sandwich as she learned about how elephants have self awareness. Eventually, Holtz had joined her with her own sandwich and they began to watch together. Erin had to admit that it was far more fascinating than she had thought before lunch.
Thursday
“What do we want to watch tonight?” Erin asked Holtz as they sat on her couch. Every Thursday night, they made a simple meal or ordered takeout and watched a tv show together. It was a nice way of spending time together, especially when they were both dedicated to their work, often finding it hard to do other things.
“I have an idea,” Holtz smirked. She plucked the remote out of Erin’s hand.
Erin twirled her spaghetti on her fork while she waited. She didn’t really care what they had watched because it was time spent together. Holtz was fun to hang out with and there was never a dull moment. But when she realized that yet another elephant documentary was playing, she had to sigh.
“How have you not seen them all already?” Erin asked.
“I honestly have no idea,” Holtz said, shoveling her own spaghetti into her mouth, focusing on the TV. Erin gave a small smile. She had to admit that her girlfriend’s new elephant obsession was kind of adorable.
Friday
“Erin!” Holtz yelled down the fireman pole in the building.
Erin looked up at her. “There’s no need to yell, Holtz. But what?”
“Did you know that you can watch a live feed of elephants at the zoo?!” Holtz shouted.
“I’m not surprised,” Erin nodded.
“And you didn't think to tell me?” Holtz asked.
“It didn’t occur to me until just now. But I’m trying to work, Holtz. Maybe you should too. I’m sure the elephants are too,” Erin told her girlfriend.
“Silly Erin, the elephants are bathing themselves,” Holtz chuckled and walked away. “Hey, Kevin! Come check this out!”
Patty shook her head besides Erin. “What are we going to do with her?”
Abby looked up from her own work. “Yesterday she forgot her laptop charger so she stole my laptop when hers died. I had never felt so manipulated in my life when I tried to take it back.”
“She gave you the puppy eyes, didn’t she?” Patty asked.
Abby sighed in defeat. “She gave me the puppy eyes.”
Saturday
Guess what I’m doing! Holtz texted Erin.
Watching elephant documentaries? Erin texted back.
What? No, I’m watching giraffe documentaries now! Holtz texted her again and sent a picture. Just like Holtz said, two giraffes were on her TV. Erin couldn’t help but smile and shake her head. Her girlfriend really was adorable.