Sunset Beach Condos

He had been busy in the kitchen for the last hour preparing food for his fellow firefighters. He, the most unlikely cook in the entire building, found a sense of relaxation in the quiet of the kitchen and the loose science that is cooking. He had been taught to cook by one of those people that didn’t follow recipes. It was a dash of this, a pinch, of that until it smelled just right and tasted even better. He had never been formally trained in the kitchen, but he understood the mechanics of the art and that was enough for him. Rather, no one had ever complained about the food he put on the table during their shifts and, when he worked, they never asked him not to cook. Not to mention, every plate was usually licked clean. He was laying the table with a spread fit for the labor-intensive crew. He had made pancakes, eggs both scrambled and over easy, hashbrowns, warmed tortillas, and grilled a dozen steaks, which he had sliced and ready to grab for tacos.

When he was done, he looked at his masterpiece of a table and stepped into the rec room. In a voice full of confidence and a tenor of command, but yet so gently spoken it was difficult to believe the words came from a man that stood at six feet, five inches and looked like Thor’s bigger brother. “Food's ready." And then moved out of the doorway to let the crew enter and make their plates. Meph stood back, allowing his crew to serve themselves first. He was hungry, but he always waited until everyone had served themselves first.

Although she mainly worked at Oak View Hospital, Paramedic and Expectant Mother Ashley Devereaux worked frequently with the Fire Department and occasionally came by to hang out at the firehouse, whether it was for a friendly chat or to join them for dinner. And today was no exception, not to mention it wasn't going to be long until she went on maternity leave, which was two months away.

While watching the fire crew line up for their meals, Ashley waddled up next to Meph, who had spent the last hour cooking dinner for everyone. "Thank you for cooking dinner." She said with a smile while straightening out her dress. "How are you doing today?"

Meph, stoic and serious, leaned against the doorframe, waiting for his crew to fill their plates. Meph was a big guy and a big eater. That is why he let the crew go first because once he started, there wasn’t much left. Meph had been at the firehouse for a little less than two months. He was much more used to fighting out of control forest fires than waiting around for a potential hurricane. But this was his assignments and here he would stay until he was released from his duty. In the less than two months he had been around the crew for Ladder 66 had learned three things about Meph: he didn’t talk much, he was a very experienced firefighter and paramedic, and he preferred reading over TV. Other than that, no one knew anything about him, other than what can be Googled. He didn’t talk about himself, never bragging about the previous fire he had fought or the awards he had won. He was modest to the extreme and only wanted to be of service where he could.

Since the people he worked with knew talking to him was a waste of time (unless they were fighting a fire, that was the only time he did talk), you can imagine his surprise when a woman walked up to him and started chatting to him. Meph was terrified of women. He had been abused by women in his youth and had fathered more than one child without his consent. When she parked herself next to him, he turned his storm grey eyes to look at her and cleared his throat. It’s not that Meph didn’t have anything to say, but his throat had been injured in one of his previous lives and talking was uncomfortable. If one were to look closely at him, they would see a star sharped scar just below his adam’s apple. An arrow had silenced him and ended his life in the dark ages and ever since then, he didn’t speak…much.

He swallowed uncomfortably, the pain of the action showing for just a moment in his eyes. He then said in a gentle voice, “I’m fine. You?’ Meph was awkward, to put it nicely. There was no one else you would want to save you in an emergency, but small talk was not his forte. With her so close, he crossed his arms over his chest in a protective manner. Almost as if, he expected her to try and hurt him. He swallowed again, the discomfort showing, “Feel free to eat as much as you like.” He had manners and understood hospitality. He was just the last person you would ever want to be the host.

Just as he had responded, Ashley began cradling her swollen belly as it was starting to feel heavy and she wanted to lift some of the strain off of her lower back. But she also couldn't help but notice the stoic tone. Maybe not really one for small talk? "I'm alright, just glad I clocked in time for dinner. I was worried I was gonna miss it." She said, smiling as she proceeded to quickly tie her hair into a ponytail.

He then proceeded to tell her to feel free to indulge, prompting her to raise an eyebrow. Her stomach proceeded to let out a brief growl. Well, she certainly wasn't going to say 'no'. She then began wondering about how the week had went between the neighborhood and the coastal town of Sunset Beach. A couple of medical emergencies, car accidents and altercations. Every day was different, but every day was eventful. The people she treated, the lives she saved. It was a little tough the further she progressed in her pregnancy, but she wouldn't trade it for anything else. A few days ago, she did get a bit of a stern talking to because a patient in transit made a complaint about her belly getting too close to his face when she was treating him. Not that she had very much of a say in that... Shoving that thought aside, Ashley took a deep breath.

Then she saw that the food line had been cut in half while she had been lost in thought. "C'mon, the line's halfway through. Let's go grab some dinner." She added before waddling forward and then briefly looking over her shoulder, smiling at Meph before taking her place at the end of the now shorter line.

Meph only went out on the calls that dealt with fire, beach rescue, or extremely bad accidents. He was trained to deal with the worst of the worst scenarios, and it was those scenarios he spent most of his days preparing for now. He had been working closely with the chief on how the town fared in the previous storms that devastated the areas. His job was to create action plans that would preserve life. He hadn’t bonded with the crew completely yet. They listened to him if he was put in charge. They liked the way he cooked. And a few of the guys had good-naturedly challenged him lifting contests in the gym. There was trust, but Meph knew he needed to do more to solidify those bonds. For when the shit hit the fan, they would need to trust him.

He was about to follow Ashley into the line when the chief stuck his head out of his office. “Meph? Can I see you in my office?” Meph looked at the line and then used his shoulder to push away from the doorway. He turned, letting his arms drop from his chest as he made his way through the rec room and into the chief’s office. Once inside the fire chief gave him his directive of the day. “Would you might heading down into the garage and surveying the gear and doing an inventory?” The chief watched Meph for his reaction. His experience with hotshots like Meph was that they followed their own rules and didn’t play well with others – this was a test for him. “You see, since you joined the station, we have been given some additional funding for gear. I want your opinion as to whether our gear is stull sufficient and if we need anything additional that we don’t already have.” This was another test. He wanted to see if Meph would order big ticket items for the flash of it.

Meph eyed the captain and listened. He knew the politics of a fire station. Without any push back or even a shrug of his shoulders, Meph nodded and took a prepared clipboard from the chief’s desk. He swallowed hard, discomfort touching his face, “I’ll get it done.” Was all he said as he left the chief’s office. He bypassed the kitchen, knowing he would be missing out on food, and headed into the garage where he started on the list.