Fire Valley - 1. New Beginnings

Fire Valley

New Beginnings:

Jake made his way into the station heading to the locker room and sat down on the bench, then started pulling out his uniform, nodding to the other firefighters.

"Hi Sam, wonder what we are in for today?"

"God, I hope it's a quiet day today, Abby kept us up all night, I never thought a baby could cry so damn much," Sam said as he ran his fingers through his hair, he yawned from lack of sleep due to his newborn. Jake laughed to himself as he thought 'how cute baby Abby could rattle her father.'

"Hey Jake, the battalion chief is in the office looking for you," a firefighter shouted as he walked by the locker room.

"Okay, thanks, I'll be right there." Jake sighed and hurried to pull on his uniform, and made his way to the office. He slowed at the door wondering to himself what he could have done to warrant being summoned to the office, he took a deep breath and knocked.

"Enter," the Chief's loud authoritative voice.

Jake entered, "Chief, Jake Roberts reporting as you requested."

"Have a seat son, and you can call me John," smiled the distinguished older man. "Jake, you have taken the written exams for Lieutenant promotion and passed twice before, but we didn't have an opening to fill until now, and your record has been exemplary to date. If I were to offer you a promotion would you accept?" John asked quizzically.

"Yes sir, but can I ask where I would be stationed?" Jake asked curiously, wondering if he would have to move.

"You would be stationed at House 27, I know you would have a pretty young group of guys, and you being young will be able to relate and gain respect with them. You would be in charge of Rescue 27 and their team on your shift."

"Uh... Wow.... This is the chance I have always wanted. Thank you so much, sir, I don't know what else to say or do." Jake smiled appreciatively toward the Chief.

"So, I take that by the shit eating grin on your face you accept?" the Chief smiled.

"Yes Sir, I definitely accept, you won't regret this at all Sir." Jake leaped from the chair and saluted the chief, and went to leave the room, but stopped dead in his tracks and looked back at the chief. "I almost forgot, when am I to report to House 27?"

"Tomorrow at 7 am, have a good last tour here Lieutenant and here is the cluster for your uniform, which you may put on now - Dismissed." The Chief stoically said.

Jake smiled, "Thanks again sir." Jake stepped into the hallway and went to the restroom to splash water on his face letting his promotion sink in and control his excitement. He placed the cluster on his shirt collar, admiring the golden cluster momentarily in the mirror, before heading to the common room to hang out with his friends. Jake walked in smiling like a child on Christmas morning.

"Hey, Jake, what's up with the gold dude?" Sam asked grinning.

"Hey guys, can I get everybody's attention for a moment, please? I have had the privilege of working alongside all you guys for the past two years since I came out of the academy, but today will be my last day here. Tomorrow I will start at House 27 as Lieutenant on Rescue 27." All of the firefighters hooted and hollered congratulations to Jake and his promotion.

As the day progressed it was evident, there was little to do around the station as they all cleaned and organized the fire apparatus. After lunch, the guys threw together a little party wishing Jake good luck on his new duties and saying their goodbye's. Before the end of the shift, Jake went out to look in the truck room and reminisce at what had been his second home for the past two years. "Be safe with these guys," he thought to himself. Jake went to his locker and stuff his work gear into the large duffel he has for it, and removed pictures and some mementos acquired over his time there. Jake closed the locker and prepared himself for a new chapter in his life starting tomorrow.

Jake walked out to his Ford F-150, throwing his gear into the back seat, and then hopped in the driver seat smiling. He fired up the motor and made his way to the apartment which rented, it wasn't fancy, but it was his since he graduated the fire academy. He walked in the door, and wandered to the refrigerator finding himself a can of beer, popped the tab on the can and chugged it down. Jake was happy and amazed at how his life is going, finishing high school, and then completing the fire academy at the top of his class made him beam with pride. However, his life was lonely beyond the time he spent at work.

Sitting in his recliner, Jake turned on his television to watch a hockey game that was recorded a few days prior. After the game had ended, Jake shut the television off, showered, then turned in for the night to get a good night's rest before he started his new job.

*****

The alarm clock went off at its designated time, and Jake stumbled to the kitchen to brew a pot of coffee, once it was started he headed to the bathroom for a quick ritual of his morning 'sss' (shit, shower, and shave). Upon completion, he returned to the kitchen for his cup of coffee and a quick bagel.

Jake gathered his keys and went to his truck to head to House 27. The drive was uneventful other than a few idiots who drove like they belonged in NASCAR.

Pulling into the parking lot, Jake shut off his engine and grabbed his gear throwing his bag over his shoulder. Jake smiled as he approached the door to his job, reaching for the handle, he realized this is the beginning of forever. He was no longer just a firefighter, he was a leader, an officer. Jake walked in smiling looking for somebody to direct him to the locker room.

Jake approached one of the firefighters, who was walking towards a door, "Hi, excuse me but could you direct me to the locker room?"

The short, but the well-proportioned man turned around smiling, "Hello, you must be our new Lieutenant, I'm Peyton." He said offering his hand to Jake, there was an immediate jolt like lightning had struck them when they took each other's hand.

"Uh... Ya, I'm Jake, nice to meet you," Jake realized he had yet to release Peyton's hand, and blushed slightly while letting go.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Jake, follow me to the lockers." Peyton pointed out the offices, breakroom, kitchen, and bunkroom along the way. "Well this locker here is yours, we each have our own permanent locker."

"Okay, thanks, man. So, do you work rescue or ladder?" Jake asked as he eyed Peyton's physique. Jake guessed he was 5'7" and weighed probably 145 pounds. The cutest curly brown hair Jake had ever seen, with emerald green eyes. Jake had trouble prying his eyes off of him.

"I'm a rescue man, I started on the ladder but enjoy the action on rescue," Peyton said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Cool, so do you wanna show me our truck so I can stash my turnout gear. I'd like to get a quick look at it, even though all our trucks are laid out the same." Jake smiled warmly toward Peyton.

"Sure, right this way Lieutenant." Peyton motioned for him to follow.

"Peyton, you can call me Jake, being we will be working together." Jake followed Peyton while letting his eyes roam to his ass. Without even realizing Peyton stopped and Jake slammed into Peyton sending him off balance, he managed to catch him by the waist.

"Shit! I'm sorry Peyton, I don't know where my mind was at." Jake winced as he knew right where his mind was, directly on Peyton's gorgeous ass.

Peyton chuckled, “Hey it’s okay man, I’m sure having two left feet can’t be easy.” His eyes beamed with pride while pointing to the rescue truck all polished and shiny, “There she is, man you couldn’t ask for a better truck, and I may be biased but we have a hell of a group of guys.” Jake spent a few minutes glancing over the apparatus, after stowing his gear.

“Alright, I guess I need to go meet our crew, wanna lead the way, Peyton?” Jake smiled at Peyton guiltily.

“Uh, sure, but shouldn’t I call for the ambulance before you run me over again?” Peyton joked and grinned toward Jake, “Over here is the crew.” Jake smiled and shook his head following Peyton to the table seating five firefighters.

"Hi guys, I'm the new Lieutenant for rescue, my name is Jake Roberts," Jake said smiling friendly to all of his crew. "I know I am new to the group, but I bring a lot of experience and will treat each of you fairly with respect, but I expect nothing but the best out of each of you." He smiled warmly to each of his men.

He was greeted with a friendly round of, "Welcome aboard Sir!" Was heard through throughout the room before Jake held up his hand for a moment, "One last thing, I am your boss, but I would like to be a friend also, so could everybody please call me Jake?" He lowered his hand and took a moment to shake each of the guy's hand. Also taking the time to try and learn their names, as much as Jake tried his mind was overwhelmed with thoughts of Peyton.

The day was busy for Jake with meetings for officers at his new station, after lunch Rescue 27 was dispatched to a vehicle accident. "Guys once we get on the scene I want the vehicle checked for hazards, and assess any injuries," Jake smiled back at his crew, letting his eye linger on Peyton.

Peyton and the rest of the crew hopped out of the truck once on scene and quickly assessed no hazards. "Lieutenant no hazards, all drivers are out of the vehicles, only a few minor scrapes."

Jake nodded and reported the findings to dispatch, and waited for the police to arrive so they could return to the station. While they waited Jake talked and joked to the other guys of his crew, thinking how lucky his life has turned out with his promotion. The police finally arrived and released Jake and his crew from the scene.

As the evening progressed, the calls were few and far between for the entire department. Jake figured he would head to bed, and get a good night's sleep. Jake crawled into his bunk at the station, pondering if Peyton felt the same attraction as he did, he could only hope. Next thought to enter his was what should he do about the feelings? How could he get to know Peyton, without him figuring out his feelings? Jake had a rough time falling asleep. Part way through the night Jake had a dream which woke him from his sleep and left an uneasy feeling. Even though Jake couldn't remember the dream, he knew it involved Peyton and left a dreadful feeling in his gut. Jake crawled out of his bunk, and headed for the common room, placing a pot of coffee on to brew.

Jake waited impatiently for his cup of black gold, and once he received its offerings, he attempted to shake the dread he felt but it just wasn't letting go. He went and took a shower, and was dressing in street clothes as the shift was coming to a close in the locker room.

Peyton passed by nodding, heading to the facilities to relieve himself. On his way out of the restroom, he stopped and smiled at Jake, "Hey, um… Jake, would you like to stop for breakfast? I mean, do you have plans, or do you need to get home to your wife?" Peyton shrugged as he thought to himself, how much of an idiot he was making out of himself in this conversation.

Jake looked into his eyes and smiled, “That sounds really good Peyton, at least I won’t have to go home and cook anything till later tonight.” Grabbing his bag, as the clock signified the end of their shift. “Where are we going?” Jake asked while they walked side by side to the door.

Peyton walked into the doorframe and Jake chuckled, “I was uh… thinking… maybe we could go to my place and I’d cook some homemade waffles and bacon?” Peyton rubbed his shoulder thinking, “He’s gonna think I’m a walking safety hazard on the job, fuck me. I should get them orange cones to surround me at all times.”

Jake smiled as they crossed the parking lot, “Ya, that’d be fine with me, as long as you aren’t walking with a hot frying pan or anything dangerous. Should I hide your knives when we get there? I’m not sure either of us would survive unharmed.” He jokingly said with a smile. “What’s your address, Peyton?”

Peyton blushed and smiled, “It’s 123 Arvada Street, you can park in the driveway it’s a small house, but it’s all mine. I bought it after I got my position at this station.” Peyton smiled proudly at his achievement of owning his own home. “Here’s my cell number if you happen to get lost.” Peyton said as he handed a slip of paper with his number on it to Jake.

“Thanks, I’ll see you there. Do you need me to bring anything?” Jake asked sincerely.

Peyton smirked, “Nah, just show up, I got all of the ingredients to make breakfast.” He then thought, “Mmm… a nice Jake sandwich would be great this morning.” He fumbled with the buttons on the remote to his car and set the alarm off, “FUCK!” He jumped and disabled the alarm, and got into his car his face red with embarrassment and drove off. Jake laughed to himself while he got in his truck for the drive to Peyton’s house.

*****

Jake pulled into the driveway of a bungalow styled house that had a neatly groomed yard and thought, “Peyton definitely has done well for himself, maybe someday I will own a nice house and find a man to fall in love with me. We could have a few kids, and be a family.” Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Jake jumped out of his truck and locked the door with his remote as he walked up the path.

Knocking on the door Jake waited patiently as Peyton opened the door, “Welcome to my castle, come on in.” Peyton motioned him inside with a smile.

Peyton wandered into the kitchen getting the ingredients he needed out of the cupboards and refrigerator and paused, “Would you like something to drink Jake? I have coffee, sweet tea, and orange juice.” He looked towards Jake awaiting a response.

“Sweet tea,” Jake said with a smile, as his stomach growled.

“Sounds like the beast has awakened,” Peyton quipped with a chuckle, as Jake had a funny grin on his face. Peyton handed Jake his glass of sweet tea and stood at the stove cooking like no tomorrow, while Jake sat at the kitchen table staring at Peyton’s ass.

Peyton said over his shoulder, “Are you dating anybody Jake or is there a special somebody in your life?” He asked as he flipped bacon while it crackled in the grease.

Jake was well lost in his thoughts staring at Peyton’s perfectly proportioned ass, “Huh? Oh ya, you…” Peyton turned and looked at a dazed Jake with a smirk.

“Is that your smooth way of asking me out on a date Jake? He asked hesitantly while he thought to himself, “Lord let him be asking, please?”

Jake blushed and thought about what he had said to Peyton, “Umm… would it bother you if I was?” Jake studied Peyton's face while waiting for a response.

Peyton smiled bashfully, “I’m good with it if you are.”

“I’m definitely good with it, shall we say next Saturday since we are both off?” Jake asked seriously.

Peyton placed the food on the table and took a bite of his waffle, “Sounds like a plan.” They finished their breakfast contently with little conversation.

Jake helped Peyton with the dishes and said, “Well I guess I should be going, I need to do laundry.”

Peyton nodded, “I’ll walk you to your truck.” He reached out to take Jake’s hand in his but pulled back at the last second, as they walked out to the driveway. Pausing at Jake’s truck, they both leaned in to kiss one another like it was a normal occurrence. “Be careful, call me later, okay?”

Jake hopped into his truck and fired it up, “Alright, I’ll talk to you later.” He said with a sigh of contentment as he headed home.