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Ryan and Don looked at each other when they heard the rhythmic click thunk click thunk click thunk, both trying to figure out where it was coming from. They realized, though, when Taylor popped into the room, carefully maneuvering herself on a pair of crutches. She had on a hilarious mix of a boho peasant skirt in a mix of blues and a Nashville Predators jersey (#84), finishing off the entire look with one lone sandal.
"What are you doing here?" Don asked, eyeing her. "Shouldn't you be at home, resting?"
"I know, I know, but I'm so bored." Taylor maneuvered herself down on the couch in the main room, grunting quietly. She knew at least they weren't kicking her out when Ryan reached over and grabbed her crutches and set them to the side.
"What?" He asked, when Don gave him a look. "She won't be in the way and at least with her here we can keep an eye on her to make sure she's not doing too much."
Taylor looked over at Blue, who plopped down beside her. "Tell me you're married to a doctor without telling me you're married to a doctor."
Blue snickered at that.
Ryan pointed at her. "I will tell on y...how'd you get here?"
"I walked." Taylor deadpanned.
Ryan looked at her worriedly.
"Oh my God!" Taylor threw her hands up. "Ryan, I took an Uber, you know what those are, right?"
"Oh, yeah." Ryan flushed. "I didn't think of that."
Roxie walked over and handed Taylor a travel mug filled with Don's special hot cocoa recipe (the secret being that he added a whole two bars of Olive & Sinclair cinnamon and chili chocolate bars in the mix) and kissed her cheek. "Forgive him, we just back from a clusterfuck of a call."
"What happened?" Taylor asked.
"Dude was trying to burn some stuff and the wind carried it over to his house." Blue explained. "Then it went while we were there and hit an old metal shed he had on the other end of the property."
Taylor winced. "Man, I'm sorry, if I was..."
"Stop." Blue said, putting a hand on her arm. "It's not your fault your neighbor's dog took you out when you were taking your trash out to the curb."
"Roscoe." Taylor grumbled, making a face. "I swear that dog is a menace!"
"What kind of dog is he again?" Ryan asked. "One of those cutesy little..."
"What kind of dog named Roscoe would be little and cutesy?" Don asked, looking like he was doubting Ryan's paternity.
Taylor laughed. "Nah he's an American bulldog, kinda like that movie Homeward Bound? What was his name?"
"Chance." Don said, sounding amused.
"Yeah that one." Taylor said. "He's not a bad dog overall, he's just very big and he's still technically a puppy. He got out of the backyard and took me down."
Blue winced. "Bet that wasn't fun."
"No, what wasn't fun was laying on my butt on the sidewalk waiting for someone to come find me to help." Taylor grumbled.
"You didn't have your phone on you?" Don asked.
"Do you take your phone when you take the trash out?" Taylor asked.
"You assume dad takes the trash out." Ryan snarked.
Don gave him a look. "Go take the trash out."
"We don't have any trash." Ryan smirked. "But I..." Before he could say anything else, the alarm went off.
Don looked over at Blue. "You be the man behind, keep an eye on her."
"Cap, I don't need..." Taylor started.
"Stay!" Don called, heading off to get ready to go on the call.
Once they'd left in a whirlwind of activity, Blue looked over at Taylor and laughed at the look on her face.
"I don't mind being the man behind." He said. "I like to never get the smoke smell out of my hair after that one call."
"I'll be the judge of that." Taylor grabbed him by the bicep and pulled him toward her, sniffing the top of his head. "That's...ooh that shampoo is really nice, Blueboy, what the...nope, no smoke smell whatsoever."
"It's Frederick Benjamin." Blue smiled at her, sitting back up. "While I was at my previous job, I decided to splurge and treat myself on some things. It's got this sort of minty..."
"Oh the tingle?" Taylor said. "I use this tea tree oil shampoo and conditioner, it's supposed to hydrate...and you know by now working all these hot jobs and fires...it dries your hair out so bad..."
"Yeah and your lips and skin...my poor skin..." He pushed up his sleeve and showed off the fact that his arm was covered in dry skin. "It itches."
"Oh..." Taylor winced. ""You need to get yourself some Unscented Southern Natural Goat Milk lotion."
"Unscented?" Blue asked.
"Sometimes the stuff they put into lotions to scent them hurts more than it helps." Taylor explained. "So unless it's something natural like shea butter, it's actually...not good. Plus it's like...a money grab. You know, they get you as a teenager, like Victoria's Secret Love Spell or Bath and Body Works Japanese Cherry Blossom."
"I've never heard of those. I mostly just use Nautica Voyage, Versace Dreamer, or Stetson." Blue admitted.
Taylor laughed, nudging him. "Spoken like a true cowboy."
---
A while later the 113 were still out (Don radioed in to say they were being called out to another job and after Blue asked if he wanted him to drive out to it and Don said no) they settled down again and Blue made them some lunch and more of Don's hot chocolate (he paid attention more than people thought and could replicate it pretty easily), and they settled in to eat. Taylor stretched out on the couch with her feet in Blue's lap and he looked at her curiously.
"Do you got any nail polish?" Blue asked out of the...blue.
Taylor picked her head up and looked at him curiously, a small grin on her face. "Want to prettify yourself?" She teased.
Blue rolled his eyes. "It's funny you think this is the first time I've worn nail polish, but no. I was going to offer to paint your nails."
Taylor reached over to grab the bag she dragged with her (Blue averting his eyes when her shirt rolled up a bit to show off her stomach, ignoring the urge he had to lean over and kiss it...or ask about body shots) and unzipped it, digging around until she took out a blue box and held it out to him.
"Why's it got an elephant on it?" Blue asked.
"It's...just the logo for the company I guess." Taylor said.
Blue opened the package. "What do you want me to do?"
"Whatever you want." Taylor said. "I'm not picky. It's my toes anyway. If you mess up, it's no big deal."
Blue snorted. "Mess up. Do you know how many times mama made me paint her nails growing up? I got this."
Taylor tensed a bit when Blue grabbed her casted foot, but relaxed again when she felt the brush against her toe. She wound up dozing like that, not being able to sleep very well at night because she tended to toss and turn normally and her heavy cast made it hard for her to do that.
She woke up sometime later when her other foot was grabbed and she tensed at first, but then realized it was just Blue. She looked up at him blearily and smiled at the concentrated look he had on his face.
"You doing ok, Blueboy?" She asked playfully.
Blue looked up and gave her a roguish grin. "I got one more foot to do, I'm trying not to smudge your first foot."
Since the foot she had in the cast was her left one, and that one was the one closest to him, she wiggled until he moved back and pulled it back, tossing it over his head (causing him to have to duck briefly), propping it up against the back of the couch. It was an awkward angle, but it wasn't too uncomfortable.
"That better?" She asked.
He nodded. "Much." He said.
"Good." Taylor closed her eyes again.
She wasn't sure how long she fell back to sleep, but when she woke up her other leg was back in Blue's lap and he was watching TikToks on his phone. She raised her head and squinted at the awful harsh lighting in the station for a second before her eyes adjusted.
"I think once I get my cast taken off we could totally do the chair thing." She said.
He looked up at her, probably having felt her wake up and laughed. "I could do it even with your cast on."
Taylor scoffed. "Are you kidding? This thing adds like...10 pounds."
Blue looked at her weirdly. "It adds like two pounds at most. They just feel weird and heavy because of how they brace you."
"Ain't you smart." Taylor nudged him with her foot. Then she remembered he did her toes and she looked at them curiously. There was 10 colors in the set of nail polish she got (an Ella+Mia set she got for her birthday) and he'd used one color for each toe (which couldn't have been easy and must've taken a while). There was a bright green, a light bright blue, a purple, a very light pink, a white that had some sparkles in it, a bright red, a dark pink, a regular Pepto Bismol pink, an orange and a yellow. "Wow...you weren't kidding, you are a whiz with nail polish."
Blue ducked is head, his hair sort of hiding the blush on his face. "Thanks. It was pretty easy when I didn't have someone micromanaging everything I did."
Taylor chuckled. "Well, it just so happens I'm pretty easy to please."
Blue grinned. "I'll be sure to remember that." He said. "Dad called in while you were asleep, by the way, and said we could leave once shift was over because they'd still be out."
Taylor frowned. "Is everything ok?"
"Apparently. Dad said something about dotting T's and crossing I's." Blue shrugged.
"You mean dotting I's and crossing T's?" Taylor asked, amused.
Blue held his hands up. "I'm just repeating what dad said. I think he was a bit frazzled. I texted Ry to ask if things were really ok, and he said it wasn't anything they couldn't handle."
"Well, sounds good to me." Taylor said, sitting up, running her fingers through her hair.
"Want me to take you home?" Blue asked.
"I'd like that." Taylor admitted.
Blue stood and went to get her crutches. "Hey, how about, on the way, we go get dinner somewhere."
"Are you asking me out on a date?" Taylor teased.
"Maybe I am." Blue said, as she stood and got her crutches under her.
"Well, who am I to turn that down?" Taylor smiled, turning to head out of the fire station.