Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The thing about fire is that you can’t touch it, but it can certainly touch you. It burns your skin, leaving its mark long after it’s extinguished. Then, for a long time, you would be reminded of it whenever you looked at your own body.

Racing through the field with a hose, Elvis prayed that his protective gear would keep the flames from scarring their way onto his arms. When he pulled down the lever to start the water, the liquid didn’t make a single dent in the blaze. 

Seeing smoke beginning to surround him, he ducked closer to the ground and pressed a button on his radio. “Whole Note to Ginger Fury, do you copy?” 

From far away, he could faintly hear Sam’s voice calling for him. “Elvis? Elvis?” Elvis could not see him through the fire and smoke. Where could he be?

Through the flames, Elvis could barely make a silhouette. It seemed to be of a man, who tried to beat back the fire, but instead fell to the ground and stopped moving. That wasn’t real, was it?

Was it Sam?

“Elvis?”

“Elvis?”

“Elvis?”

Elvis woke up back in his own bed, in a pool of his own sweat. Sam was kneeling next to him, his wrist over his forehead. “You were mumbling in your sleep, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, Sam.” Elvis took Sam’s hand. “I had this dream… There was a fire, and we couldn’t put it out. I couldn’t find you, or Penny or Briar.”

“Hey.” Sam said softly. “You’re safe now. It wasn’t a real fire.”

From the other room, Penny and Briar could vaguely make out Sam soothing Elvis, who explained his nightmare in a weak, trembling voice. "Is he alright?" Briar asked.

"Go and check in him," advised Penny. 

"Me?" Briar balked. "I don't want whatever he has!"

"I know you don't like germs, Briar," said Penny softly, "but you probably won't catch his flu if you don't make direct contact. Just go and say hi, you'll be fine."

"Okay." Briar got out of bed. "Okay, I'll go." They exited the bedroom and appeared in Sam's doorway, casting a shadow into the room as their silhouette blocked the light from the hallway. "What's wrong? Is he still running a fever?”

“Must be,” mused Sam. “He says he’s been dreaming of monster fires.”

“I’ll run a cloth under a tap,” said Briar. “That will keep him cool.”

Sam turned back to Elvis as Briar left for the linen closet. “See? We’re all fine. It was just a dream."

"I don't think I'm ready to come back to work yet," groaned Elvis. "I still feel very queasy, and my head is aching something awful."

"I figured as such," said Sam. "Especially with that fever. But the rest of us have to leave soon. You just stay here and keep resting, okay?”

“You’re going to come back, right?” Elvis looked up to Sam with a pleading look in his eyes. 

"Wha- of course," said Sam. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I know what I saw in that dream!" Elvis sat up, with a twinge of sadness in his anxious eyes. "You went down and didn't get back up. I'm not going to be there to keep you safe today. The last thing I want is to get a phone call telling me you've been killed in a fire!"

"Elvis, it's okay. Calm down." Sam gently put his arms around his companion. "You're going to make yourself sick."

Elvis clung to Sam and put his head down on his shoulder. Sam was right; he was so worked up, he felt like he was going to vomit. "Just...don't get hurt today, okay?"

Sam smiled and ruffled Elvis’ hair. “I promise, we’ll all come home tonight completely unharmed. You can trust us.” 

Briar then returned from the bathroom. “Here we are; this will help get your temperature down.” They urged Elvis to lie back down and placed a salmon-orange face cloth on his forehead. 

Elvis winced a bit at the cold, but otherwise relaxed his shoulders. “Okay. …Okay. Keep that promise.” He was admittedly surprised; Briar hated germs, and usually steered as clear as they could when one of their housemates was sick. He supposed they were putting on a brave face for them."

“Oh, quit worrying,” joked Briar. “We’ll be fine, you big goof.” They noogied his shoulder. “You get some sleep. We're off.”

Sam turned back to Elvis, who had a look of "please don't go" on his face. "I have to leave now," he said. "But I'll be home tonight. If you really need me, you can call, and I'll be there as soon as I can." He tucked a blanket snugly over his slick-haired friend. "I never ignore a cry for help, no matter how big or small."

In the middle of the day, out in the plains, Trevor Evans had taken the Pontypandy schoolchildren out for the day, and for lunch, he was grilling up some sausages with an outdoor cooker. “So, how do you like your sausages, Mrs. Chen?”

“Cooked to sizzle,” said Mrs. Chen, pushing her glasses further up her nose. “That’s how you know they’re done.”

“Catch the butterfly!” Mandy, Hannah, and Sarah all chased after a holly blue butterfly. 

“They’ll certainly have an appetite worked up by the time these are done,” chuckled Trevor.

At the fire station, Station Officer Steele began the day with a drill on using floppy shovels to put out small grass fires. “You take the floppy shovels, and pretend this is a grassy plain that has caught fire.”

Sam, Penny, and Briar each took a floppy shovel from their box, and began to smack their heads on the ground. By which I, the wonderful narrator, mean that they smacked the heads of the floppy shovels onto the ground. It would not be wise to smash one’s own skull into asphalt. The consequences of such an act would be painful at best and fatal at worst. 

“Um, sir,” asked Penny, “why exactly are we practising this? The weather doesn’t seem dry enough for grass fires.”

“Because it’s something we can do with only three people,” answered Station Officer Steele. “Some of these first aid drills I was counting on getting done need partners, and without Cridlington, there’s only three of you left.”

“Couldn’t you partner with one of us?” Sam asked. 

“Oh, I thought of that, Sam,” said Steele, “but we still need someone to keep track of our times.”

“Arf!” Radar came running by, chasing after his ball. The ball started rolling down the driveway and towards the sidewalk.

“Come back, Radar!” Briar shouted.

Radar skidded to a stop, just before he could knock a passing-by Svetlana flat onto her bottom. “Whoa, puppy! Let’s be careful, okay?”

“Sorry about that,” said Penny, running to retrieve Radar. “It’s hard to watch a dog and practise drills at the same time.”

“Oh, yes.” Svetlana nodded along, her blonde ringlets bouncing with every bob of her head. “Whenever my father isn't working for our family's tech company, he volunteers at an animal shelter. I spent a lot of my childhood playing with dogs.”

After thinking for a minute, Penny got an idea. “Station Officer Steele, maybe we can borrow Svetlana for our first aid drills?”

“Svetlana?” Steele looked down at the sidewalk. “Mm…well, she’s an adult. Surely she has at least the bare minimum of knowledge about first aid.”

"We learn how to wrap and cover up bandages in dance school," said Svetlana. "Very useful."

Svetlana followed Penny up to the fire station. “Right, team,” said Steele, “let’s get out Dolly and get started.”

Steele brought Sam, Penny, Briar, and Svetlana upstairs to demonstrate CPR on Dolly. “First, you need to place one hand over the other with the fingers intertwined. Then over the chest, and press down. And put your whole back into it.” He placed his intertwined hands on Dolly’s chest and began compressions. “One, two, one, two.”

“Ooh, it looks like hard work,” mused Svetlana. 

Steele directed the firefighters to try for themselves, so Sam and Briar began their own compressions on the other dummies, while Penny and Svetlana kept track of their pace and number of compressions. “Very good,” said Steele, watching over them. “Once you’ve completed the round, switch.”

Penny and Svetlana took their places above the dummies. Svetlana found that doing the chest compressions weren’t as difficult as she thought; she had worked up a lot of upper arm strength from her dance training, so she was able to put her whole back into it, just as Steele had directed her.

“Very good, everyone.” Steele checked off a box on his first aid list. “Now, we’re moving on to bandaging. This is an exercise that can be done individually.”

“Individually? Is that my cue to exit?” Svetlana brushed a bit of dirt from the floor off of her posh blue skirt and picked up her purse off the table.

“Well, this is meant to be firefighter training,” said Steele. “And you did say you've already been trained for that. Still, we appreciate you taking time out of your day to help us with these matters.”

“Oh, no danger on the roof,” said Svetlana, waving him off. “I was looking for something interesting to do today.”

“If you don’t have any other plans,” said Sam, “I need to ask a favour.”

“Oh, yes?” Svetlana asked.

“Do you mind swinging by our flat to check up on Elvis? He’s rather poorly today, and we all promised him we would come home safe tonight.”

"Oh, of course," said Svetlana. "I could even bring by my mother's soup recipe if you'd like."

"Perfect." Sam passed her a house key. “Take this, let yourself in. It’s at 3 Vale Road.”

“Alright, kids, the sausages are ready!” Trevor called. “Come and have your lunch!”

The six children came over to the picnic table to eat. “Oh boy, he grilled the buns, too!” Norman exclaimed. “They’re great when they’re nice and crispy!” The five older children all had their sausages with buns and tomato ketchup, while Mrs. Chen cut some sausages into bite-sized pieces for Lily. 

Sarah looked up at the sky. “Those clouds look dark. Are we going to have another storm?”

“I don’t think so,” said Mrs. Chen. “We just had one yesterday. I doubt there will be two big thunderstorms in a row.”

However, it could certainly be windy two days in a row, and that is just what happened; wind began to roll through the hills. No one paid it too much mind, even though it was making the outdoor cooker sway…

As wind continued to blow through Pontypandy, Svetlana made it to the house Sam directed her to. She pushed the key into the door’s lock and let herself inside. “Hello?”

Upstairs, Elvis, who was still in bed and had been boredly reading an article about which vegetables were in season, froze up and went very quiet. What was that?! He thought.

Downstairs, Svetlana confusedly looked around. The house seemed empty. “Hello?”

Trying to be as quiet as possible, Elvis slid out of bed and picked up a broom to protect himself. “Who’s there?!”

“Elvis? It's me, Svetlana.” Svetlana called into the house. “Sam sent me over to check on you. Is everything okay?”

Recognizing the voice, Elvis peeked around the stairwell to look down at the front entrance. “Yes, I see you,” said Svetlana. “Come downstairs and talk to me.”

Elvis finally bumbled down the stairs, looking dishevelled and high-strung. “Oh, nothing is okay. I'm so worried about everyone, I can hardly do anything.”

“Come, come, sit down here.” Svetlana pointed to the couch. “You act as if there are cows on the ice! Trust me, everyone at the fire station is perfectly fine.”

Elvis hugged his arms over his middle. Svetlana took a seat on the couch as well, with one leg over the other. “You are warm with fever, but you shiver as if you are cold.” She shook her head. “It’s the anxiety. Not good for anyone.”

“I know it’s not,” said Elvis. “I can’t help it; I don’t really know what’s happening to Sam right now. Or Penny, or Briar. If they get into danger, I won’t be able to help them.”

“No, no, they don’t want that,” insisted Svetlana. “Sam told me that all they want is for you to rest. You are much too ill to be fighting any fire.” 

The house fell very silent, as neither Elvis nor Svetlana knew how to continue the conversation. After all, they were barely more than strangers to each other; Svetlana knew that Sam only asked this favour of her because she happened to be the closest person there who could leave the fire station for extended periods of time. 

But then Svetlana got an idea; she also knew that Elvis was a good friend of Gabby, just like she was. Maybe bringing her up might ease this poor man's nerves. “You know, I really should thank you for teaching Gabriella first aid. You both saved my life.”

“Huh?” Elvis took a minute to remember the events of that fateful Valentine's Day. “Oh. Right. That was a good night. Gabby sure did a great job.”

“Yes, yes.” Svetlana nodded along. “And it was your teaching that made it that way. That’s what I like about you.”

“It was Sam who taught me that,” said Elvis. “It’s him you should thank.”

“Then you know that Sam will be just fine,” said Svetlana. “Because he is a very good fireman.”

Elvis mulled over this for a second. “You’re right. Sam will be fine. It’s silly to worry about him over a dream.”

“There you go, smiling again.” Svetlana rose from the couch. “I don't want to intrude for long, so just know; Sam told me he promised you he would come home safe tonight, and he intends to keep that promise.”

In the plains, the schoolchildren had just finished up their lunch, and were going off to play again. “Boy, I tell you, Lian, nothing tires these kids out!” Trevor mused. “How do they do it?”

“It’s been years since we were children,” said Mrs. Chen. “So I assume it’s to do with excess energy that, in adulthood, gets used up for more important matters.” 

“Like what, tax deductions?” Trevor chuckled. 

As the wind began to pick up, Trevor’s outdoor cooker was knocked over. Trevor noticed, and was about to pick it back up, when the grass around it caught fire! “Oh, ‘eck!” He yelped. “Get the kids out of here!” 

Trevor and Mrs. Chen shooed the kids towards safer grounds. “This cannot go on!” Mrs. Chen declared. “I’ll call Fireman Sam!”

The call was directed into the Pontypandy Fire Station, where it was printed out in Station Officer Steele’s office. “A fire in the plains?” He pressed the alarm button. “There’s a grass fire in the plains!”

Hearing this, Sam, Penny, and Briar slid down the pole and put on their helmets. “There should be floppy shovels already down there!” Steele announced to them. “You had best hurry; Trevor and Mrs. Chen have the children down there!”

Sam, Penny, and Briar all piled into Jupiter, and with the sirens blaring, raced to the fields. Sam observed the area from the window. “It’s a barbecue fire,” he said to Penny and Briar. “We’ll need water. Penny, you grab the hose. Briar and I will get the floppy shovels.”

All three firefighters hopped out of Jupiter, and while Penny opened up a locker to take out the hose, Sam and Briar took two floppy shovels out of the nearby box. Penny sprayed down the area with the barbecue, while Sam and Briar beat out the remaining flickers of fire.

“Wow, that was amazing!” Hannah praised. “Two different ways to fight fire, working together!”

“I’m sorry, Sam,” said Trevor. “I should have kept a better hold on that thing.”

“Just remember to turn off cookers when they’re not in use,” answered Sam.

“Do you think those floppy shovels would be good for scaring away bats?” Norman began to mime fighting motions. “Hi-yah! Back, you foul beasts!”

“I don’t think so,” said Briar. “Bats don’t live out in the open!”

That night, when Sam and Briar were heading home after work, Briar did a quick check on the due. “Alright, are we all in one piece?”

“Of course,” said Sam. 

“And are we all uninjured?” Briar asked.

“That too,” said Sam. 

On the other side of the street, Penny, coming back from the fields after doing an extra safety check, approached the house with a string of pink flowers in her hand. "Took you long enough," snickered Briar.

"What've you got there?" Sam asked.

“A sweet pea; I know they're his favourite,” said Penny as she opened the front door; Svetlana had left it unlocked. Inside, Elvis was curled up on the couch, fast asleep, just as he had been when they came home the previous day.

“Fancy Svetlana's soup for tea?” Sam whispered to Penny.

“That sounds lovely,” said Penny, as both went off into the kitchen.

Briar took the flower from Penny and knelt down next to Elvis. “Elvis…are you awake?” 

Elvis mumbled and shifted a bit as he blinked the sleep from his eyes. “Hm?”

“I take it Svetlana found the house okay?” Briar asked, tucking the sweet pea string behind Elvis' ear.

“Oh, yes.” Elvis sat up a bit straighter. “She was very sweet to come and visit.”

“And just as promised,” continued Briar, “all three of us came home unharmed.”

Elvis rubbed his eyes. "Why are you being so nice to me today? I thought you hated germs?"

"I do," said Briar. "But I figured you'd need a little extra TLC right now, and that's much more important to me."

After a few minutes, Sam and Penny came back into the living room with the chicken soup; the nice thing about living with all adult friends is that if you so choose, you can eat dinner while sitting on the living room floor. "Where on earth does Svetlana find hand-cut chicken for her recipes?" Penny asked. "I just used the pre-cut stuff from the freezer."

Briar shrugged. "Rich people things."

“You’re certainly looking a lot better, Elvis,” mused Sam.

“Well, I’ve been sleeping most of the day. Surely I’d have something to show for it.” Elvis took a sip of soup.

“Lucky you,” mused Briar. “We had to rush off after another barbecue fire today.”

“I really wish people would stop taking their eyes off those things.” Penny shook her head. “Every year, without fail, we get at least one barbecue fire.”

“What’s important is that no one got hurt.” Elvis put an arm around Sam and snuggled up to him. “I knew I could trust you.”

“You always can, Elvis boy,” so said Sam softly. “You always can.”

Late into the night, after Penny and Briar had gone to bed, Sam and Elvis were still downstairs on the couch. They had put on the television to watch some old reruns from the 90s, and hours later, they were both nearly asleep. Sam was woken back up from a half-sleep daze from the loud sound of Saved by the Bell on TV. He fumbled for the remote and turned the noise off, as to not disturb anyone else.

When he put his arm back down, he noticed that Elvis was curled up with his head on his chest, sound asleep, the sweet pea still tucked gently behind his ear. Sam figured he was worn out from fighting off his illness, and rubbed his back. Elvis mumbled a bit, and in his sleep, grabbed onto Sam's arm. Sam smiled as he drifted off to sleep, content to be in the moment.

When the pale sun rose in the morning, Penny blinked sleep from her eyes when the alarm clock began to ring. As she sat up, she thought of something. "Did Sam and Elvis go to bed last night?"

"Hm?" Briar shifted over to their side. "I didn't hear them come upstairs."

"Where are they?" Penny, still dressed in her faded red t-shirt and matching floral capri pants, descended the stairs looking for the men, and found them still on the couch, sleeping peacefully. "Aww..."

Briar followed after Penny, and put a hand over their heart at the adorable sight. They quickly got their smartphone to snap a picutre of the moment. "Just watch," they said softly to Penny. "Next time we ask, Sam's going to say they're just friends."

Chapter Text

While the fire service were waking up and getting ready for work, there came a knock at the door. Briar opened up for Dr. Moumin, waiting with a small medical kit. "Good morning," said Briar, "what brings you here today?" 

"I'm here for a check-in on your Elvis," said Dr. Moumin. "I understand you called in a few days ago regarding him showing symptoms of a virus, and I'd like to just check to see how he's recovering."

"Oh, yes, he's right in here." Briar allowed Dr. Moumin inside and went over to the couch to nudge Elvis awake. "Wake up, germ boy, the doctor's here."

"Huh?" Elvis blinked the sleep from his eyes. "Doctor? I didn't have an appointment..."

"She's just here to see how you're feeling," said Briar. "Come on, up with you." 

Sam also began to wake up. "Morning, Doctor," he mumbled as he lifted Elvis off of his chest and down into a sitting position on the couch.

"So," began Dr. Moumin, "how are you feeling this morning?"

"I feel a lot better." Elvis cooed sleepily. "No more throwing up, no more headache."

"Very good." Dr. Moumin took out her thermometer to take Elvis' temperature.

"He's able to hold down solid food," added Sam. "I made him some chicken soup for dinner last night, and he finished the bowl." Elvis, unable to verbally respond, nodded along.

"I suppose then, I should prescribe my next flu patient a nice hot bowl of Campbell's." Dr. Moumin took the thermometer back. "He still has a small fever. It's best if he takes today to catch up on sleep and get back into a proper eating schedule. After that, he'll be good as new."

"Station Officer Steele will be pleased," said Penny. "I know he gives you a hard time, but he's been complaining that you're gone. I think he misses you just as much as we have."

Seeing how sleepy Elvis still was, Sam eased him down onto his back and tucked the blankets over him. "There we are," he said softly. "Back to sleep with you." He shook Dr. Moumin's hand. "Thank you for your visit, Doctor."