by Jamie Davis
Dean watched her leave, wondering if James was planning on a snack from his partner before bed. He must have had a sour look on his face because Bill noticed it right away.
“Dean, dude, you have to let up on this whole ‘James the vampire dating your partner’ thing,” the older paramedic said as Dean continued to stare at the door to the parking lot. “Brynne can handle herself. She’s doing nothing she doesn’t want to do.”
“I know, Bill,” Dean said, turning and looking at the elder medic. “It just creeps me out.”
“Speaking of dating an Unusual, how are things with you and nurse Ashley, Dean?” Lynne asked, changing the subject. “I heard you two had a date. I’ve been waiting to ask you what it’s like dating an actual angel?”
Dean blushed and stared at the floor in embarrassment. Bill clapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t you listen to her, Dean. She just wants to think about it as one of her soccer-mom novels where the guy falls for the angel and all sorts of steamy, girly romance ensues. She’s a hot nurse, and that’s all we care about, right?”
“Uh, well, I don’t know if I’d put it that way either, Bill,” Dean said, uncomfortable with that characterization of the relationship that was developing. “I think she’s great, and I hope we can see each other again. That’s all.”
“Don’t listen to him, Dean,” Lynne said. “Ashley’s a nice girl and a good match for you. Don’t you let lecherous old men like Bill ruin your love life.”
Dean laughed as Bill made a face of shock at that description of his temperament. “Moi? Lecherous? I don’t know what you mean?”
“Yeah, right, Bill,” Lynne replied. “Try that innocent act on someone who doesn’t know what a lech you are.”
Dean picked up his jacket and slipped it on over his uniform shirt. “I think that’s my cue to leave. I’ll see you two in twelve.” He headed out the door as the other two paramedics said bye and got to work on their shift. He was enjoying getting to know the crew better at Station U. They weren’t just good paramedics. They were good people, and becoming good friends. He liked the way they looked out for each other. Maybe that was as good a reason as any for him to stop being concerned about his partner’s relationship with a vampire. He’d have to think on that. Perhaps Mike would have some thoughts on it, too. He had been Brynne’s partner before moving to the Fire Academy to train new paramedics.
He hopped into his pickup and backed out of his space in the parking lot, leaving the run-down industrial park that was home to Station U and heading to Hank’s Diner, where Mike was meeting him for breakfast.
———
The diner was busy, but Mike was already there when Dean arrived and had grabbed a booth. Daisy, one of the waitresses, said hi as Dean entered. He saw his mentor sitting at the back and walked over while he waived back at the waitress. Mike was sitting in the booth looking over the menu. He glanced up as Dean approached.
“Hi, Dean,” Mike said warmly. “It’s good to see you.”
Dean reached out to shake Mike’s hand as he slid into the booth opposite him. Daisy came over and got their drink orders. Mike must not have been waiting long, he hadn’t ordered his coffee yet. Dean didn’t want any caffeine since he was going to be headed home to bed soon. He ordered a Sprite and grabbed a menu from where is was stashed behind the condiments at the end of the table, while she went to get their beverages.
Mike waited while he looked at the menu and when he set it down, spoke up cheerfully. “So, how have you been? It’s been a few weeks since I’ve talked with you.”
“It’s been good, mostly,” Dean said, qualifying his response.
Mike raised an eyebrow when Dean said “mostly” and probed right away. “What’s that mostly part. Is there something that isn’t as good as the rest?”
Dean thought for a moment about how to approach this. Daisy returned with their drinks, coffee for Mike and Sprite for him. He used the break while she took their orders to keep thinking. He watched her leave and looked back at Mike.
“I don’t know where to start, Mike. There’s been so much going on,” Dean said.
“Why don’t you start at the beginning,” Mike said. “What started you down this path to worrying about your work.”
“I think it mostly has to do with a call we had the other night. There was a patient attacked with burning lighter fluid, or gasoline or something. It was a pretty rough call, and I saw someone there who I wondered might be involved with it,” Dean said.
“You saw Brynne’s old partner, Zach,” Mike said, watching Dean’s eyes.
“Yes. How did you know?” Dean asked.
“I still keep in touch, and I hear things while at the academy,” Mike responded. “Do you think Zach did it? Burned the witch girl?”
Dean looked up and paused at the term “witch girl.” That sounded a lot like the way Zach had talked about her. “She was a Wiccan, it’s true, but that’s no reason to do that to her.”
“So you’ve talked with Zach about this?” Mike probed.
Dean stared at the cup of soda in front of him for a while before answering. “Yeah, I have talked with Zach a few times, and he’s mixed up with some anti-Unusual group called The Cause. He seems to think I would side with him and help identify and target our patients for them. He’s threatened me with exposure to the Chief, tagging me as a member with him if I don’t help.”
“Don’t you sympathize with some of what Zach said?” Mike asked. “It’s not necessarily bad to have doubts about what you see going on at work, if you think something is wrong.”
“I’ve already told you in the past, I have problems with James and Brynne,” Dean said. “I don’t like what goes on between the two of them. I don’t think it’s healthy. But that doesn’t mean that I would use that to justify random attacks on our patients.”
“I’m not saying it does,” Mike said. “I’m just helping you talk through your feelings a bit. I knew Zach when he worked for the Fire Department. I helped train him in the academy, like you. I don’t think he would do something like that without good reason.”
“What do you mean, Mike? What could possibly be a ‘good reason’ for doing something like that?”
“I’m just saying there are opposite sides to every issue out there,” Mike answered. “If you have no evidence that Zach did anything wrong, it’s probably not a good idea to implicate him. I know from the Chief that Brynne saw him there. Your additional information about some crackpot things he said, or ideas he’s told you about would only serve to make him look even more guilty.”
Dean leaned across the table and whispered urgently, “I don’t just think he’s guilty, Mike. I heard him all but admit he had something to do with that attack. He knew too much about the girl and made some accusations about her magic activities that were affecting humans.”
Mike leaned back in his seat and looked at Dean for a bit. The pause was further interrupted by Daisy’s return with their breakfast. She set their order down and, after checking it over, laid the bill down on the table, too.
“I’ll get that when you’re ready,” She said. “Enjoy your food.”
Dean watched her move on to another table and then looked back to Mike. His mentor was starting in on his food, and motioned with his fork at Dean’s plate to do the same. He picked up a piece of bacon and chewed while thinking about the conversation so far. It seemed as if Mike was defending Zach, but that couldn’t be right. He had a sudden thought and, as he swallowed his mouthful of bacon, it was as if a lead weight settled in the pit of his stomach.
“Dean,” Mike said between bites. “You’re still pretty new to Station U. I know you’ve seen some interesting things. I also know you’ve been through some tough situations, like the time you were charmed by that Siren. Surely you can see some of why Zach feels the way he does. I’m not necessarily condoning anything he may or may not have done. I’m just saying that some of his feelings may be valid.”
The probationary paramedic took anot
her bite while he pondered the shift in the situation. He kept eating, keeping his mouth full so he couldn’t politely answer while he thought of what to say. If Mike was on Zach’s side, then he might be part of The Cause, too. Was that possible? He had always thought of Mike as the perfect paramedic, the model to which he aspired when he was in the Academy. This revelation of another, less attractive side of his mentor was jarring. He finished his food while the awkward silence continued. Mike just sat there watching while he finished. It was just the way he used to wait quietly for an answer back in the Academy. Mike’s patience while waiting for the answer to a tough question was legendary with his students.
Dean looked up and decided just to ask him. “Mike, do you agree with Zach’s position about the Unusuals? Do you think they are a danger to our community?”
“What do you think, Dean?” Mike asked. “That’s the question at hand. I think you already know the answer to your own questions. I want to know if you are up to the challenge of being part of something bigger than you are alone. Something that has been going on for longer than you can know. This isn’t just a conflict in Elk City, Dean. It’s a battle for the good of humanity. You’ve got the chance to make a difference here and choose the right side. If you don’t, then it could be the end of everything you’ve ever wanted or dreamed of doing.”
Dean picked up his drink and took a sip. God, what did he do? He suddenly wished he hadn’t met Mike for breakfast. His whole world seemed to be crashing down again, and he felt like he did when Zach confronted him in his apartment. His mentor and the paramedic he aspired to emulate the most was just as twisted as Zach was. Did he have no one he could count on that could be trusted?
“Hi, Dean. Hey Mike,” a familiar voice said. “Mind if I join you guys? I’m famished.”
Dean looked up and saw Ashley standing there, in her navy blue scrubs and a light jacket. She motioned to Dean to slide over, and she sat down next to him. She was like an answer to his prayers. Again.
“Hello, Ashley,” Mike said, cooly. “What brings you here, all the way across town from the hospital?”
“Oh, I was heading by when I thought I saw Dean’s truck.” She slipped her hand into Dean’s, interlacing her fingers with his. He gripped her hand back, giving it a grateful squeeze.
Mike’s eyes narrowed at that exchange. “I see,” He said, staring at their clasped hands for a moment and then paused, glancing at his plate. “Well, I think that’s that. I’m done eating, and I don’t want to get between the two of you. Dean, you need to think hard about what I said. You don’t want to end up on the wrong side in this.” He stood up, glanced at the check and dropped a few bills on the table next to it. “That should cover my portion. I’ve got to go.”
Dean turned his head and watched the older paramedic leave. Ashley switched sides to sit across from him, taking Mike’s empty seat in the booth. She didn’t release her grip on his hand. A little squeeze of his fingers returned his attention to her.
“How did you know?” Dean asked, shaking his head. “I just thought I needed someone, something to get me out of that conversation with Mike before it went too far, and then there you were.”
“I told you, Dean,” She said, her quiet, calming voice washing over him like a gentle wave. “I now know why I’m here, and who I’m supposed to help out. I’ll never be far away anymore when you need me.”
“Ashley,” Dean said, hardly daring to say it out loud. “I think Mike’s part of The Cause, too. He’s tied up with Zach somehow, and he wants me to take sides in some upcoming conflict.”
She squeezed his hand in support. “And have you chosen a side in this conflict?”
He looked at where her delicate hand held his tanned, weathered one in hers. His eyes tracked up and met hers. Those deep hazel green eyes seemed to go on forever. He knew the answer to that question. “Yes. Yes, I have.”
CHAPTER NINE
The rest of the day went fast for Dean. Ashley stayed while he finished eating, but had to return to work for a few hours so they said their goodbye’s with a kiss in the parking lot and the promise they’d see each other again, soon. He was tired and wanted to get home. He needed to get some sleep before he had to return to night shift later that evening. He was just getting in the door at his apartment when his phone chirped with a text message from Bill at work.
It read, “Freddy wants to make dinner for us tonight - Bring a date! Dinner at 5 PM.”
Freddy was a former chef, turned into a zombie by a jealous ex-girlfriend who happened to be a voodoo priestess. He couldn’t cook in a restaurant anymore since he lost random body parts without feeling it. He couldn’t even taste or eat food. But despite all that going against him, he was still one of the best chefs Dean had ever had the pleasure to meet. He regularly offered to cook a meal for the Station U paramedics, usually after they came by to help reattach some lost body part onto him. Dean had first met Freddy when he was choking, and Brynne’s Heimlich maneuver launched a blackened, rotting tongue across the zombie’s broken down trailer. The next night, Freddy made a five-star restaurant meal in their little kitchenette at the station. Dean was looking forward to having another excellent meal again tonight.
He glanced at the text message again. Bill had texted “… Bring a Date!” He wasn’t sure if she was available, but he shot a quick text off to Ashley, inviting her to meet him at the station tonight at five o’clock. She didn’t text right back. So he got ready for bed, looking forward to a decent meal that single guys, especially paramedics, rarely got. He fell asleep thinking about food.
———
Dean was excited and a little anxious as he drove into the Station U parking lot in the back of the industrial park in which it was located. Ashley had texted back an excited “Yessss!!!!” at his request to meet at the station for dinner. He was happy to see her but a little nervous at having her there as his guest in front of all of his co-workers. He decided it wouldn’t be that bad since all of them had known Ashley from the hospital emergency department for longer than they had known him.
He saw Ashley’s car already there; her red MG convertible pulled in next to Bill’s Ford SUV. He pulled his pickup in next to her car and hopped out to head inside. That was when he saw the car parked next to Bill’s. The silver Lexus belonged to James, Brynne’s vampire boyfriend.
Dean walked up to the door in the side of the metal building that housed Station U and glanced through the rectangular glass panel in it, seeing James and Ashley talking together just inside. He pulled the door open and went in. Ashley turned when he entered, crossed the room over to him and slipped an arm around his waist, giving him a quick kiss. She was dressed in light blue scrubs so she must have to work again that evening.
“Heading to work after this?” Dean asked.
“Yep,” She replied. “I’m on again tonight from seven to seven.”
James walked over. He was tall, dark haired, wearing black skinny jeans, a white t-shirt and a black sports coat, a typical hipster look. “Hello, Dean,” James said. “It’s been a while since we’ve had the chance to chat.”
Dean took the cool hand in his and shook it firmly. He didn’t bother to try the macho hand-squeeze. Only a fool played that game with a vampire. “Hi James,” Dean said. He looked around and didn’t see his partner. “Where’s Brynne? I would have thought she would have driven over with you.”
“She had a meeting with the Chief this afternoon,” James said, glancing at the Rolex on his wrist. “She should be here soon.”
The two were interrupted by the sound of a raspy voice behind them. “Hors d'oeuvre?” Freddy asked lifting up a plate. It held small scallops, wrapped in bacon, skewered by a toothpick.
“Oooo, yum!” Ashley said, reaching across between James and Dean, grabbing a toothpick with one of the appetizers and popping it in her mouth, sliding it off the toothpick with her teeth. “Mmmmmm, that’s really good,” She said. “Dean, you have to try one.” She grabbed another from the proffere
d plate and held it up for him.
“Yes, Dean,” James said, grinning. “Do try one.”
Dean leaned forward and took the bite that Ashely offered him, a little embarrassed. His embarrassment was forgotten as he chewed the bite-sized seafood and bacon appetizer. It was delicious. The sweet taste of fresh scallops was combined with the salty bacon, and a marinade that caused his mouth to water. He thought about having another.
“Oh, good Lord,” Brynne said from the doorway behind him. “She’s feeding you bites of food now? Ashley, we have to have a discussion about spoiling my probie like that.”
“He’s your probie, but he’s my boyfriend,” Ashely said, giving his waist a squeeze where she had her arm around him. “I’ll spoil him if I want.”
Brynne laughed as she finished coming into the squad room. She clapped a hand on Dean’s back and crossed to James, giving him a quick kiss. She reached over to Freddy and took one of the scallop bites off the plate. “Freddy, it smells awesome in here,” She said as she popped the scallop in her mouth. “And this is delicious. I can’t wait for the main course. What are we having?”
Bill spoke up from across the room. “Kristof at Sabatani’s heard Freddy was making us dinner and sent over a delivery with a whole boatload of fresh ingredients from his restaurant. Freddy’s whipping up a Frutti de Mar with linguine and a garlic butter sauce. Sorry, James.”
“No worries,” the vampire said. “I’ll just be having the wine anyway. You all enjoy the food. I’m here for the company.”
Freddy set the plate of scallops down and shambled back to the kitchenette area of the squad room. “Dinner is almost ready,” he croaked. “It’ll be ready as soon as the pasta is done.”
