Chapter Text
There was way too much going on for Olivia to process all at once. Working under her late father’s former best friend, the whole Eddie situation and just getting used to her new reality was...a lot. Determined not to run away from any of it, especially not the Eddie of all it, she was going to dig her heels. But she was going to have to prioritize self-care and blowing off some steam.
“Liv, a bunch of us are going out for some drinks later,” Evan explained to her, “We haven’t had a chance to bond with you and officially welcome you to the team. How do you feel about karaoke and drinks?”
Olivia looked like she was about to protest until she noticed Eddie off in the distance, in the locker room with Hen and Chimney, and for a moment, they made eye contact and exchanged a quick smile.
“I’ll meet you guys there at around 8? Text me the address.”
“Sure.” Evan nodded. “Haven’t had a chance to really check in. How are you doing? How are you feeling today? Getting used to things all right?”
“I’m doing great. I’m in good hands with Hen and Chimney.” A bright smile slipped onto Olivia’s lips. “You can give Tommy a good report if you must. I have plans to catch up with him during our monthly movie night. You can come with if you want.”
“I should probably catch up with Eddie. I feel like we haven’t really talked in weeks.”
Olivia raised an eyebrow in response.
“There’s been a lot going on lately,” Evan explained with a shrug. “I’m really glad the two of you hit it off, by the way.”
“Yeah, and it’s always nice to make friends...speaking of which...” It was Olivia who saw him first as Eddie made his way out of the locker room after the shift, clocking him just past Evan’s shoulder. “Hey Diaz, rock climbing gym tonight?”
“What about some sparring at my place?”
As Eddie joined them, she shot him a playful glance. “I’m going to hit the gym and then I’ll see you at the bar.”
With his eyes darting back and forth between his friends, they settled on Olivia as Evan commented, “I should not be surprised you’re a rock climber.”
“You really shouldn’t, considering I used to be a smokejumper who rappelled down into wildfires as part of my job. I have my own ways of being up high without the hours of flight training.”
She gave both Evan and Eddie a cute little smile and as she turned to walk off, she could hear their comments behind her.
“The more I learn about her, the more I’m convinced she’s not human.”
“She knows karate, judo, and tae kwon do. Rock climbing. Rappelling. It’s pretty impressive.”
Their voices faded as Olivia walked away out of earshot, her thoughts interrupted by her phone going off as she stepped into her car. A singular text message was waiting for her.
You still owe me some sparring.
Olivia set her phone up in its rightful spot and fired up her engine, leaving the text message read but unanswered. With the top down on her Mini convertible, she sped off, the music blasting from her driving playlist, her sunglasses on, singing along without a care in the world.
She really did want to get back to the gym. She wanted to hit the obstacle courses and climb the walls like she used to, but the minute Eddie extended the invitation, she couldn’t resist him. She especially couldn’t resist teasing him with a little bit of a fake out in front of Evan, just to keep up appearances.
By the time Eddie pulled up to his house, Olivia had been parked on the side of the road nearby, leaning against the hood of her Mini.
“Hey, how long have you been waiting here?” Eddie asked as he approached her.
“Just a few minutes,” came the playful reply, as she peeked over her sunglasses before sliding them on top of her head.
“I thought you were going to the gym.” Eddie narrowed his eyes at her.
“I changed my mind,” Olivia offered with a playful smile as she pushed the button for the roof of her car, “Besides, I couldn’t just say yes in front of Evan. Gotta keep up appearances.”
Rolling his eyes at her, Eddie walked towards his front door, with Olivia following closely behind.
“It’s been an interesting week so far,” Eddie commented as they both stepped into the house.
Olivia didn’t respond, shrugging before she realized Eddie wasn’t looking at her, then she said, “Haven’t really noticed.”
Eddie turned to face her as she closed the door behind her. “I mean, aside from the lives saved and the usual business, you didn’t think the new captain was interesting?”
“Another shitty old white man in charge? Not even a little bit. Nothing like my Dad was.” Olivia dropped her duffel bag onto the couch as she spoke.
Eddie raised an eyebrow at her before he headed into the kitchen as he spoke. “You never did tell us what the old geezer wanted with you on your first day.”
Olivia followed Eddie into the kitchen before she responded with a hint of disgust in her tone of voice, “He remembered me from nearly 30 years ago and wanted to welcome me personally. He and my Dad came up as probies together and used to be best friends.”
Eddie’s eyes widened at the revelation.
“He thinks he can use that against me to keep me quiet...I want to tell everyone but I’m worried about Hen and Chimney’s reactions. I have to ride the ambulance with them and work with them, you know?”
“I’m sure they’ll understand when you explain it to them,” Eddie assured her as he offered her a glass of water out of habit.
“You’re right.” Olivia paused to hydrate before she asked, “What’s next? Where do you want to do the sparring?”
“I was thinking the backyard.”
Before Eddie could do or say anything else, Olivia immediately darted off towards the back door at a full sprint. It took a moment for Eddie react but after a beat, he chased after her. And when he caught up to her, he saw she had her guard up in relaxed defensive stance.
“I don’t know Muay Thai but I could try to keep up,” Olivia quipped, her feet always on the move, as if the footwork had been long practiced.
Eddie nodded his approval as he surveyed her. “Just don’t let me catch you, otherwise it’s over.” His tone was playful and slightly taunting as he began to close the distance.
Less about the sparring and more about showing off, Olivia executed a technically perfect crescent kick as a warning shot of sorts, inches away from hitting Eddie but not connecting. “Don’t come any closer, Diaz,” Olivia matched the playful energy Eddie was bringing, “unless you want trouble.”
As soon as Olivia completed her kick, Eddie came in for a flurry of punches that Olivia blocked swiftly and skillfully. “The more I learn about you, the more I’m impressed, Olivia.”
Seeing Eddie go for a knee strike, Olivia instinctively pulled back, keeping her feet light. “Tommy tried to teach me Muay Thai once, I pretended not to know how to fight. It was a whole thing. But I’m not gonna go easy on you.”
“Didn’t think you would. Give me your best shot, Chambers.” Eddie relaxed his stance slightly and side stepped before closing the gap again. “So explain to me how you went from being an Olympic level gymnast to being a black belt in three different martial arts styles?”
“When something stops feeling right for me, I move on, plain and simple.” Olivia saw the opening to unleash her own combination of kicks but when she started with her roundhouse kick, Eddie grabbed her leg and pulled her in close. “You were just waiting for me to get comfortable before you tried that, didn’t you?”
“Maybe.” Eddie’s mischief filled hazel eyes met with Olivia’s and a smile spread across his lips before he stole a kiss from her.
Olivia pulled away as soon as Eddie released her leg and immediately followed it up with a roundhouse kick into a front kick. “Just a little payback,” she countered playfully. “I don’t miss twice.”
The back and forth of the sparring felt as much of a conversation as the banter they playfully exchanged and it felt great to blow off some steam after a long shift.
“So is Muay Thai your primary martial arts style?” Olivia asked as she parked herself on the grass once they decided to take a break.
Eddie nodded, sitting directly in front of her. “I didn’t have the luxury of time or money to really learn another one.” Watching her, he asked, “So why karate, judo and tae kwon do?”
“I was the kind of kid that had to keep moving. I don’t know why. I just had energy for days. And when I realized that I didn’t want to dedicate my whole life to gymnastics and being an Olympian, I needed something else. And I was super into action movies when my Dad and I would watch them on his days off. At first my Dad thought I wanted to be an actor. But I told him I wanted to do the dangerous stuff. And he explained what stunt doubles did to me and I immediately asked for karate classes. And then I wanted to do more. So I picked up judo and tae kwon do.”
“So, did you ever actually become a stunt double? I don’t remember you mentioning that.”
Olivia chuckled. “Well, my 20s were a whirlwind, only because I spent so much of it actually trying to avoid anything to do with firefighting. By the time I was 22, I had enough qualifications to become a firefighter but instead I ran off to Norway to train at the International Stunt Academy for a summer. I did actually do stunt work for a couple of years. Then I became a paramedic and worked at the 122 until I qualified to apply for Air Ops as an Aero Medic. Then...at the last minute, I decided to apply for Ground Support as a smokejumper. It just felt crazy. But also it felt right to honor my Dad.”
“When did it stop feeling right? Why did you go back to being a paramedic?”
“After a decade of going non-stop, it just got to be too much for me, for my mental health.” Olivia averted Eddie’s questioning gaze as she added, “I have different priorities now, different things to figure out. It’s not like I’ll ever stop honoring my Dad. It just means something different to me now.”
Eddie nodded. “So what are you figuring out right now?”
“Just stuff I should have figured out a long time ago...” Olivia’s voice trailed off, and once again, she averted Eddie’s gaze.
Eddie nodded to himself, recognizing Olivia’s reluctance to continue with the conversation. Instead, he offered, “I know I’m absolute garbage at cooking but did you want to order something? I haven’t really done much grocery shopping lately.”
“I was going to offer to cook for you this time. As a thank you for my birthday, you know?” Olivia told him, “Buy the ingredients for your favourite recipe and I’ll try to put it together the next time we hang out.”
“Deal. But for now, we order?”
“We order. Whatever you want. I’m easygoing.”
From a seated position, Olivia backflipped into an upright position before helping Eddie up to go back inside inside the house.
They had been the last ones to arrive at the bar when they noticed Chimney, Hen, and Evan sitting at a booth together. Immediately, Olivia had been pulled in by Evan to sit as Eddie grabbed a chair from a nearby table sit at the open side of the table.
“Hey, you guys are late!” Hen teased the two of them, pointing at her watch.
Chimney pointed his beer bottle at Olivia as she placed her purse on the table. “You look like you went hard at something, Miss Red Cheeks.”
“How was the gym, Liv?” Evan immediately asked. “Rock climbing or obstacle courses?”
“Ended up doing obstacles. Great upper body workout. It’s not like it used to be when I first started out training them, that’s for sure.”
“So Buckaroo tells us you’re a martial artist. And you were on that American Ninja Warrior show?” Hen sought confirmation from Olivia.
“Yeah, back when it wasn’t a huge deal. I stopped doing it in 2014 when I finally got into Air Ops.”
Once drinks were ordered for Olivia and Eddie, the conversation flowed once again.
“So New Kid, what was the deal with Gerrard wanting to talk to you the other day?” Chimney asked, “When you first came in, he seemed to recognize you.”
“I’m not a kid, I just turned 38, I’m just a couple of years younger than Tommy.”
“Well you’re a kid to us,” Hen pointed out, pointing at herself and Chimney. “So...what’s the deal with you and Gerrard?”
There was a pause before she finally confessed, “He knew my Dad. He recognized me at the award ceremony but I hadn’t seen him in 28 years. He might have been keeping tabs on me over the years, but I know my Mom was firm on not letting him anywhere near me as a kid. Not sure why.”
Chimney and Hen exchanged glances as Evan looked to her, concerned. “What did he tell you on your first day?”
“Just that he would use his connection to my Dad to mess with me if I stepped out of line. He said you guys wouldn’t trust me if you knew he was friends with my Dad.” Olivia looked pretty vulnerable at this point. “I’ve spent my entire adult life trying so hard to earn my own way, to separate myself from my Dad. It’s like he knew I would be insecure about it. He knew that my Dad’s friendship with him would make him look bad, and it would make me look bad. He’s taking it out on me that he got kicked out of the 118.”
“Thank you for telling us,” Hen immediately assured her, “Whatever it was that your Dad figured out about Gerrard that made him sever ties, I’m sure it has something to do with how shitty he was back in the day.”
“And apparently how shitty he still is,” Evan grumbled, “How is this man still a captain after everything he put you guys through back then?”
Hen shrugged. “Wish I could tell you.”
Olivia could feel Eddie watching her but she ignored it until she saw him push a long island iced tea in her direction in her peripheral vision and simply nodded in his direction to acknowledge the gesture.
It was clear to Olivia that Evan, Hen and Chimney were already at least a couple of drinks ahead of her and Eddie. She found her thoughts drifting as the conversation moved on beyond work related issues with Gerrard.
“So what do we know about the New Kid?” Chimney was quick to turn the spotlight back on Olivia.
“Her Dad was the Captain at the 217,” Evan offered. “She used to do Ground Support there, she was a smokejumper for the last decade. Rappelled down into wildfires and stuff.”
“Actually started off as a paramedic at the 122 before she got into Air Ops,” Eddie chimed in, smiling brightly at Olivia, who was trying not to blush. “And she knows three different martial arts styles and she’s a black belt in all three of them.”
“What do you guys want to know?” Olivia asked the table as a whole.
“Are you single?” Chimney immediately asked.
“Aren’t you married?” Olivia interrupted before Chimney could finish his thought.
“Let me finish,” he told her, “I have an excellent history of matchmaking. If you’re single, I can find you your perfect match.”
Olivia raised an eyebrow at this, giving both Eddie and Evan a nervous glance. She wasn’t sure she liked the direction of the conversation.
“I’m the reason this one is married,” Chimney continued, pointing at Hen, then pointing at Evan, he added, “I saved his boyfriend’s life, and I’m the reason they met. The whole hurricane rescue we got a medal for. That’s me too.”
It took a moment for Olivia to connect that Howie and Chimney were the same person. But then she smiled. “All right, Mr. Matchmaker, I’ll bite. Make me a match.” She then sipped on her long island iced tea.
Evan eyed Olivia, carefully observing her reaction as she watched Chimney’s wheels start turning while drinking slightly faster.
“One of the dads at Jee’s preschool runs a karate dojo,” Chimney began to list off potential suitors he could pair Olivia with, starting with the first one he could think of as a good fit for her.
“All right, all right, all right, Chim, we get it. You’re a great matchmaker,” Evan cut him off, “Let’s not overwhelm Olivia with potential matches.”
Olivia’s lips formed a small ‘o’ as if shocked at how serious Chimney was about his matchmaking before her expression turned into one of mild regret.
“Yeah, you probably shouldn’t have agreed to it,” Eddie leaned in to tease her with a chuckle, “Chimney is very serious about this sort of stuff.”
“You know, maybe let’s put a pin on this conversation until we’re both a little more sober, Chim, and we can discuss Karate Dad’s potential later,” Olivia suggested as she polished off her drink.
“All right, all right,” Chimney playfully grumbled but he said in earnest, “If you want an introduction, let me know.”
It was fun to be able to bond with members of the 118. Hen and Chimney of course were absolutely lovely to work with and also very fun to hang out with. It was nice to get to know them better, listening to them talk about their families. While she was out of the conversation, and out of the line of fire, she took the opportunity to step up to the karaoke stage while everyone else had been distracted by conversation.
And in a matter of minutes, the opening bars of Sparks Fly by Taylor Swift filled the room and soon, it was her voice coming out of the speakers. She wasn’t the most skilled singer but at least she could carry a tune. It was really fun, and she even managed to sing in the direction of her booth, and she wondered if they could tell she was singing to Eddie when they locked eyes momentarily as she sang one line in particular.
My mind forgets to remind me you're a bad idea
For the rest of her song, she tore her eyes away from Eddie and just focused on the screen with the lyrics for the rest of the song. Whether anyone could tell or not, she was having a great time getting her Taylor Swift on.
When she finished her song, she returned to all sorts of playful cheering and hollering from the booth as she slid in next to Evan.
“Is there anything this girl can’t do?” Evan complimented her with a big smile.
Olivia, who opted out of ordering a second drink, shrugged at the compliment. She was glad they weren’t actually looking for an answer to Evan’s question. Glancing at her watch, she considered her next course of action. She and Eddie had taken a rideshare to the bar in the interest of not driving. And they had discussed her staying over. It was cheaper than her paying for a ridehshare to go home and having to pay for one to his house to get her car and her stuff before work.
While she was absolutely loving the team bonding, a part of her was keen to get back to Eddie’s house for some alone time. She gave Eddie a sideways glance to see where he was at. They both looked like they were ready to go. Lucky for them, Hen and Chimney were also ready to leave and were fixing to settle tabs. But one didn’t come for Olivia and she looked confused.
“I put your drink on my tab,” Eddie explained with a smile. “Don’t worry about it. It’s just one drink.”
Olivia simply responded with a smile. And they slowly began to scatter, starting with Hen, who left with Karen, and Chimney, who was picked up by Maddie. When Tommy arrived to collect Evan, he glanced at Eddie and Olivia with questions in his eyes.
“We’ll be fine,” Olivia assured Tommy, “I’m gonna grab a rideshare to Eddie’s and stay the night. It’s cheaper than going all the way back to my place at this rate, since I’d have to pick up my car and my stuff in the morning if I go home.”
To Olivia, he replied, “Okay, if you’re sure.” To Evan, he said, “Come on, let’s get you home.”
And then there were two. Pulling her phone out of her purse, Olivia had already been summoning the rideshare and they had a few minutes to kill before the car was due to arrive. It was her turn to cover the ride.
By the time they had gotten into the car, Olivia was spent. She was tired from work, and the socializing, while she loved it and fed off of the energy of everyone else, it didn’t quite counteract the fact that she was tired from working all day. Feeling her energy levels drop, Eddie couldn’t help but place a chase kiss on her forehead as she leaned her head against his shoulder.
When they got to his place, Eddie led Olivia inside, making sure she wasn’t going to fall over. And he led her to the guest bedroom, where he offered, “I’ve got a guest bedroom if you want to have your own space...”
“You’ve slept on my bed and we’ve seen each other naked, I don’t think that’s necessary, unless you do...”
Ignoring her comment, Eddie pointed out, “You look like the walking dead, Olivia. You need rest.”
“But I want you, Eddie...” She used a playful pout. With a sigh, she conceded to his point. “I am tired. I just need my duffel bag...”
Eddie was right, she really was very tired. So when Eddie headed for the living room to retrieve her duffel bag, she opened the door in front of her to the guest bedroom, and immediately kicked her shoes off and rested her head on the fluffy pillows, her eyes immediately closing shut as she lost her battle against her exhaustion.