Vicki.”
Darren turned to her. “I’m disappointed in you, Ruiz. But maybe you can make it up to him by holding his hand until the medics get here.”
Darren had said it with such seriousness that it almost made him want to laugh, even if he was the main recipient of the mockery.
“Sorry. I’ve gotta wrap things up with the victim over there.”
“Hey, Vicki, she all right?”
“Yeah. It’s a domestic, but they’re not even gonna transport her. Someone is coming down to give her a ride.”
“Thank God for that.”
He heard more sirens.
Oh shit. Trent’s on tonight.
Darren glanced down at him. “Sounds like your ride’s almost here. Trent’s not gonna beat me up for letting something bad happen to his boyfriend, is he?”
Shawn couldn’t stop his jaw from dropping. He whipped his head around to glare at Vicki.
She put her hands up. “I never said anything. I didn’t even know for sure until tonight.”
“What do you mean ‘for sure’? No one knew anything at all.”
Darren sputtered out laughter. “Right. Everyone knew it was only a matter of time— especially the way he’s had his paws all over you this past week. Never mind the meaningful, Twilight-worthy stares you’ve both been sharing with each other.”
Shawn was pissed. The fuck. Off. It must have showed.
“Hey, hey, Shawn. Don’t be mad. We’re actually really glad for you guys.” He squatted down next to him, bringing his voice down. “Look, a lot of us knew Paul. liked him a lot. It was hard on everyone when we lost him, but watching Trent go through that was devastating. He’s always been such a tough guy, no visible emotions. After Paul died, it was excruciating to see him work so hard to remain stoic every day. Sometimes I wanted to shake him and tell him to let it all out.” He patted Shawn’s arm. “You have no idea how nice it is to see him get soft about someone. And I mean that in the best possible way.”
Shawn wasn’t able to formulate actual words. He’d never really thought about what the other officers must have been through as a result of Paul’s murder. Of course they would have known him, had a relationship with him. He’d only been focused on Trent’s personal relationship with his lover.
The lights on the Fire and Rescue truck approaching blinded him, kept him from seeing where it was from right away. Two guys jumped down and ambled over to him. He was finally able to adjust his eyes and read the side. They were from Station 11. Maybe 32 was on another call. It was hard to say. He pondered whether to phone Trent. If he was at an incident or asleep at the station, he wouldn’t want to be interrupted. On the other hand, he didn’t want to have him find out through someone else. It had become startlingly clear that everyone blabbed to everyone else across all the departments. Maybe that was the case for all work scenarios, but it was just that he was the one who was blab-worthy for the first time ever.
After an examination by the medics, they were sure it was only a sprain, but they insisted on transporting him so he could be checked out at the hospital. An ambulance arrived to cart him off and he noted that his little tumble had kept a group of bystanders interested right up until he was loaded into the back of the truck. It was amusing from the standpoint of there being so many other things much more interesting going on in the immediate vicinity. But he supposed it was all relative. Those people probably saw a lot of the same shit every night. At least a police officer tripping was different.
It was well past midnight by the time he got to the hospital, so he decided he’d wait and send Trent a text in the morning. He’d be getting off his shift at noon anyway, so it would be better that he not have anything bothering him before then.
No hiking this weekend, dammit. Or foot patrol.
He was sure they’d find other things to keep themselves busy—he grinned at that thought. But he’d been
Darren turned to her. “I’m disappointed in you, Ruiz. But maybe you can make it up to him by holding his hand until the medics get here.”
Darren had said it with such seriousness that it almost made him want to laugh, even if he was the main recipient of the mockery.
“Sorry. I’ve gotta wrap things up with the victim over there.”
“Hey, Vicki, she all right?”
“Yeah. It’s a domestic, but they’re not even gonna transport her. Someone is coming down to give her a ride.”
“Thank God for that.”
He heard more sirens.
Oh shit. Trent’s on tonight.
Darren glanced down at him. “Sounds like your ride’s almost here. Trent’s not gonna beat me up for letting something bad happen to his boyfriend, is he?”
Shawn couldn’t stop his jaw from dropping. He whipped his head around to glare at Vicki.
She put her hands up. “I never said anything. I didn’t even know for sure until tonight.”
“What do you mean ‘for sure’? No one knew anything at all.”
Darren sputtered out laughter. “Right. Everyone knew it was only a matter of time— especially the way he’s had his paws all over you this past week. Never mind the meaningful, Twilight-worthy stares you’ve both been sharing with each other.”
Shawn was pissed. The fuck. Off. It must have showed.
“Hey, hey, Shawn. Don’t be mad. We’re actually really glad for you guys.” He squatted down next to him, bringing his voice down. “Look, a lot of us knew Paul. liked him a lot. It was hard on everyone when we lost him, but watching Trent go through that was devastating. He’s always been such a tough guy, no visible emotions. After Paul died, it was excruciating to see him work so hard to remain stoic every day. Sometimes I wanted to shake him and tell him to let it all out.” He patted Shawn’s arm. “You have no idea how nice it is to see him get soft about someone. And I mean that in the best possible way.”
Shawn wasn’t able to formulate actual words. He’d never really thought about what the other officers must have been through as a result of Paul’s murder. Of course they would have known him, had a relationship with him. He’d only been focused on Trent’s personal relationship with his lover.
The lights on the Fire and Rescue truck approaching blinded him, kept him from seeing where it was from right away. Two guys jumped down and ambled over to him. He was finally able to adjust his eyes and read the side. They were from Station 11. Maybe 32 was on another call. It was hard to say. He pondered whether to phone Trent. If he was at an incident or asleep at the station, he wouldn’t want to be interrupted. On the other hand, he didn’t want to have him find out through someone else. It had become startlingly clear that everyone blabbed to everyone else across all the departments. Maybe that was the case for all work scenarios, but it was just that he was the one who was blab-worthy for the first time ever.
After an examination by the medics, they were sure it was only a sprain, but they insisted on transporting him so he could be checked out at the hospital. An ambulance arrived to cart him off and he noted that his little tumble had kept a group of bystanders interested right up until he was loaded into the back of the truck. It was amusing from the standpoint of there being so many other things much more interesting going on in the immediate vicinity. But he supposed it was all relative. Those people probably saw a lot of the same shit every night. At least a police officer tripping was different.
It was well past midnight by the time he got to the hospital, so he decided he’d wait and send Trent a text in the morning. He’d be getting off his shift at noon anyway, so it would be better that he not have anything bothering him before then.
No hiking this weekend, dammit. Or foot patrol.
He was sure they’d find other things to keep themselves busy—he grinned at that thought. But he’d been
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