Chapter Text
Nancy didn’t know what happened when you had just lost a bet to a dead guy. The way Tim could be she wouldn’t be surprised if he came back as a ghost just to collect his hundred bucks. It certainly sounded like he was there now, even if the voice was just in her head.
I knew it, a firefighter, I always knew you would.
He had.
They’d made the bet years ago. Not long after the 126 had reopened and the new crew was brought in. Tim had probably picked up on the tiny bit of envy she felt for the fast friendship the firefighters had formed but it wasn’t until after the ambulance accident that he called her out on it.
Marjan, Mateo and Paul had stopped by the hospital to check in on her. Tim was already set to be released but she and Michelle were under observation for at least a few more days. Word had gotten back to the fire house and the three had shown up with a care package of books and magazines, an assortment of snacks and a fresh set of pajamas. She’d been surprised to see them but quietly pleased to be included in their little circle of friends.
“You are such a sucker.” Tim mutters when the trio finally leaves in a chorus of ‘get well soon’.
“Excuse me?”
“You are just as weak in the knees for firefighters as everyone else.” He’s barely got the words out his mouth and she’s already using the tiny bit of energy she does have to roll her eyes at him. He scoffs at her in return. “Oh, don’t even, I’d put money on it.”
“On what?” She asks, now mostly ignoring him in favor of digging through the bag of treats in front of her. She’s happy to see the snacks are mostly of the salty variety and the reading material is slightly more substantial than celebrity gossip articles.
“You’re going to get some ridiculous starry-eyed crush on one of them.”
Nancy stops rummaging and fixes him with an amused smile. “One of them, that’s specific, all the firefighters in the world, the odds aren’t exactly in my favor.”
“Okay, specifically, one of them.” He stresses and gestures at the door her guests had just exited. “They seem like they’re all kind of your type anyways.”
He wasn’t wrong and he’s known her too long for her to try and deny it so instead she focuses on searching for and removing the tags on her new pajamas. They’re green, she notices, her favorite color. Information she knows she’s never shared with them.
“Hundred bucks?” He wagers and she’s truly shocked at how sure of this he is. Maybe he hit his head harder than they thought and he’d forgotten how truly particular she could be about who she chose to get close too. Always very much a few good friends and several acquaintances kind of person. While she’d never found anything unlikeable about coworkers and typically enjoyed their mid-shift conversations, the likelihood she’d have actual feelings for any of them was slim.
“Fine.”
She agreed to the pointless bet, not knowing at the time, how close she would soon be with them. She couldn’t predict getting together with them for weekly game nights. But their friendship was welcoming and wonderful and a little different than any she’d really experienced before. She wasn’t thinking of them in that way and the bet was long forgotten.
She should have known Mateo would be the one to change that, because while Marjan is confident and beautiful and Paul is brilliant and one of the coolest people she’s ever met, Mateo is good and genuine and to someone like her who does not like many people, let alone trust them, that means everything.
She doesn’t even realize it until he’s sitting next to her on her couch as they try to reach their friends who have bailed on their hang out. Paul and Marjan had been called into work, earning them both a pass for their absence, but Mateo hasn’t heard from TK or Carlos since they’d left to go apartment hunting that morning.
The knowledge twists a knot in Nancy’s stomach until he tells her that Carlos seemed really excited about this one place he found. He didn’t give up any of the details, but it sounded promising. The additional information gives her a little peace. Knowing those two, they probably found a great place and were just celebrating. “It would be great if they found somewhere, TK’s been miserable to work with ever since the loft downtown fell through.”
“At least you only get mopey TK, I’ve got all the mushy, ‘it’ll be okay babes’ and ‘don’t worry, we’ll find a place soon.’”
She tries to hide her smile at his, admittedly accurate, mocking of the pair. She can’t even imagine what daily life at the Strand house entailed with the ever-preening Captain Strand, the currently moody and pouting TK and Carlos’s supposed control freak tendencies. She hopes he at least doesn’t have to share a bathroom with them.
“You have to give them a break,” she reasons, “they’re homeless and they’re in love.”
“They’re in the room above mine.” He retorts and there is so much exasperation in his voice she can’t help but laugh this time, sinking back into the plush couch cushions. She glances at Mateo who is grinning back at her, no real resentment towards their friends in sight and she feels her disappointment fading. Her night wasn’t going as planned, as anyone could tell by her poor coffee table weighed down with bags of take out, cold beers and waters but she wasn’t alone.
“I don’t think we have enough to play Catan.” She admits, glancing at the unopened Catan set buried beneath everything else.
“It wouldn’t be as fun without getting to destroy the others anyways.” Mateo agrees, referring to the winning streak that had started to form before their game nights were put on hold. She couldn’t remember which one of them had technically won last. Probably him. She was happy to help tip the scales in his favor, his excitement for every point earned was so contagious, it still felt like a win for her. That said, if she was in a particularly competitive mood, which happened sometimes if she and TK had spent too much time together, Mateo wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice his own chance at winning to help her path to victory. It was an effective system, one she was hoping was still in place, although she wouldn’t be finding out tonight.
It goes quiet again, both unsure what to do next. “I guess I should probably get going, but let me know when – “
“You can stay, if you want.” Nancy blurts out unexpectedly.
Mateo stops, halfway to standing, and looks at her uncertainly. “You sure?” She briefly considers that it might be weird, just the two of them, but weighing a little awkwardness against crushing loneliness and disappointment? It was no contest.
“Yeah, why not, we can watch a movie or something and the foods already here, I’ll never finish it on my own.” She assures him and her decision is rewarded with one of Mateo’s incredible smiles that eliminates any weirdness created by the offer. As she walks to the kitchen to grab them some plates, it occurs to her that he’s just as relieved as she is and that maybe she’s not the only one who would have been left alone due to their cancelled plans.
They dish out servings of food as large as they think they can manage before she clicks on a movie someone at work had recommended to her. It doesn’t take long for them to realize it’s awful and they spend most of it mocking it mercilessly, eventually falling into conversation instead.
“How is work, besides TK’s bad mood?”
“Pretty much awful, I feel like we’re working for the villains in bad movie or something, our boss is constantly reminding us to make sure our patients are as comfortable as possible during transport, which just means he wants us to administer anything we can charge them for.”
“Even if they don’t need it, that’s not illegal or something?”
“Well it has to be in line with injury or illness but it doesn’t matter, Tommy is the master of manipulating the system, if we can get away with it the patient doesn’t get anything stronger than ibuprofen unless they actually need it and the people in charge can’t do anything about it because our patients always come back to tell them how wonderful we are.”
“That’s awesome, you guys are like vigilante paramedics screwing over the corrupt corporate medical system, sounds more like badass origin story to me, I’d watch that movie.” She appreciates his positive take on the situation. If nothing else, it might make going to work a little easier if she can think of herself as ‘thwarting’ her boss’s ‘evil doings.’
The amusing thought suddenly gives her a horrible reminder.
“How are things at the 129?” Here she was complaining about her job when at least her boss maintained some level of civility, meanwhile the captain at the 129 was a cranky old man who treated Mateo terribly. And he was there alone. She still had Tommy and TK and could avoid almost everyone else she worked with.
Mateo doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he shifts the last bits of food around on his plate for a minute lost in his own thoughts. “It’s not so bad, at first it sucked but everyone’s been cool lately, maybe because I’m no longer a probationary firefighter and that means something or earns some sort of respect.” Nancy feels a jolt of anger run through her, a frown forming on her face. Mateo worked harder at being a firefighter than any one she’d ever met. That alone deserved respect from his colleagues, regardless of years of experience or an official title. “It might also be because my former teammates saved our captain’s life instead of letting him choke to death in the street.”
Despite Mateo’s joking she’s still fighting back annoyance. “The guy had it coming, he was awful to you.”
“I swear it’s getting better, he’s still like he is but he’s that way with everyone, I think he might get on me more because I’m younger and he wants me to learn.” Mateo explains in a way that seems like he’s still reasoning it to himself. “As crazy as it sounds, I think he’s starting to like me.”
Just like that her frustration is gone and her frown is replaced with a fond smile. “That’s not crazy Mateo, it’s inevitable.” The doubtful look he shoots her compels her to keep talking because she can’t stand it when he’s down on himself. “Come on Mateo, you’re good at your job, you’re hardworking and loyal, and genuine and positive.” She tries to explain why any sane person should like him, to point out how undeniably wonderful he could be. Then it hits her, and the words are out of her mouth before she can reconsider. “I like you.”
Immediately she knows she’s made things weird. He’s looking at her with surprise in his wide brown eyes and she doesn’t know how to back track. What she said wasn’t wrong. It was true, she was realizing quickly, in more ways than just the one she had intended. And now she was trying to process this information over the sound of Tim’s taunting ‘I knew it, I win’ repeating in her head.
Okay, so she lost the bet. She’s got a little crush on a cute firefighter. It’s not like it’s a big deal.
Or it wouldn’t be, had she not immediately gone and announced it out loud.
“I only mean that I don’t like a lot of people, but I always liked you.” She tries to explain her words how she’d originally intended them but now that’s she’s heard it that way she can’t quite hear it any other way.
“Oh - yeah, of course, same here.” He agrees, still staring at her curiously.
“So do you want to watch a different movie?” She asks, scrambling to find the discarded remote, partly for a distraction and partly because she desperately needs him to stop looking at her.
Mateo’s gaze jumps away from her as he searches as well. She finds the remote fallen between the cushions and hands it off to him. “You should pick, maybe you’ll have better luck.” He nods, turning his focus to scrolling through movie after movie, a obvious smile on his face. For a minute she’s not sure he’s even reading the titles. He passes several acceptable movies and hits the end of the selection page before giving his head a shake and picking the first promising movie he see on the way back up.
The tension she’d created slowly disappears and the rest of the night passes uneventfully despite her mind now running a mile a minute. Before he leaves, he promises to make it to the next get together and to just let him know what day. She reminds him that she fully intends to pass hosting duties back to TK and Carlos once their new place is ready.
The next morning, Nancy leaves early for work and stops at the animal shelter that Tim had adopted Buster from to make a donation in his name. It was best way she could think of to pay off their bet. As she’s climbing back into her car her phone lights up with a message from Mateo. A small thrill runs through her and she let’s herself enjoy the sensation. It’d been some time since she’d had a crush on anyone and after a restless night’s sleep, she’s decided to embrace it.
Mateo:
I think you might have to host a few more game nights
No luck with the house hunting?
Mateo:
I think they broke up