The alarm that pulls Harper from sleep isn't hers.

It's mechanical, the rings sounding nothing like the familiar iPhone tune that sets off her fight or flight reflexes. There's a loud moan next to her before the alarm is turned off.

Shit.

She told herself it wouldn't happen again, that she wouldn't wake up in this bed again.

"Mornin'", the man next to her rasps out.

Shit, shit, shit!

"Hi," Harper doesn't look at him. She sits up on the white sheets and squints at the sunlight pooling through the curtains. The man's hand finds her hip, but she dodges it easily. She leans down to the floor, one hand holding the sheets to her bare chest, the other reaching for her jeans. Her phone just barely pokes out of the pocket, but she picks it up with ease, first noticing her battery percentage, then the time.

11: 16

"Shit!" This time she says it aloud, throwing the sheets back and lunging for her underwear "I'm gonna be so late!" she hears a grumble from behind her, and after successfully pulling her pants and bra on she turns with an accusing finger "I told you not to call me,"

"You picked up," he shrugs, and Harper rolls her eyes, managing to shimmy into her jeans in record time, throwing on her t-shirt and nearly tripping on one of her Converse laid out on the floor.

They never kept it tidy.

Once her shoes are on, she bends down to look at the mirror placed above her companion's dresser, she runs her finger through her hair, making it slightly neater than seconds before.

She can feel his eyes trained on her ass, and she straightens her back, flicking her hair and looking behind her shoulder, he's propped up by one elbow, smirking lazily "Don't you have an ER to get to?"

Realisation flashes across his face "Crap,"

"Mhm," Harper smiles ever so slightly before stepping out the bedroom door "See you never Theo!"

"We'll see about that!".

Harper makes it to the firehouse just in time, speeding through the garage doors and through to the locker room where she changes into her uniform, pulling her hair up into a tight ponytail.

"I know exactly what that polite, distant smile means: she's bored, one foot out the door," Chimney's voice carries through the firehouse, but gets louder as Harper makes her way up the stairs to the kitchen, Bobby raises an eyebrow in greeting.

"What? I'm not late," she shrugs. Hen gives her a nod from the counter as Chimney continues his vent

"This woman's so far out of my league, but she's just once-in-a-lifetime. I can't let her go,"

"Lots of fish in the sea," Bobby comforts and Hen laughs, bringing a bowl of salad to the table

"Not with the bait he's using,"

"Cruel but true,"

"Sometimes you've just gotta cut your losses," Harper advises, moving around the kitchen to grab napkins for the team. It was lunchtime, and that meant Cap was cooking.

"I met her on this new dating site just for cops and firefighters, 'RomancingTheUniform.com.'"

Harper snorts "Sounds like a place to hire strippers,"

"Rude. She's an adrenaline junkie, so foreplay is me telling her stories about running into burning buildings and jumping into icy lakes and -"

"I'm sorry, wait. Remind me, when was the last time you ran into or jumped over anything?" Hen chuckles

"Yeah, Chim, was this before my time or...?" Harper trails off with a smirk

"I embellish a little."

"Oh. Noted."

"I'm telling you, the uniform is a major aphrodisiac,"

"Clearly,"

Harper sits next to Hen, patiently waiting for all the bowls to be placed down before she makes a grab for the broccoli laid out "Hey, is Buck on shift today?"

"Aw, are you missing the newbie?" Chimney teases

"It's not my fault you're all so old," Bobby gasps in mock offence "Sorry Cap," before Harper has to defend herself any further, the loud beeping of a firetruck reversing catches the team's attention; they turn and watch as Buck exits and makes his way up to the kitchen.

"Hey, Buck," Harper drawls out, smirking. Whatever punishment she may have received for being a few minutes late will definitely be outweighed by Buck stealing a firetruck, it was good to have him around.

"Hey, Harper," he imitates, grabbing some food off Hen's plate.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wash your hands. We don't know where they've been!"

"I think we do,"

"What if we had a call?" Bobby sighs, exasperated

"I was in the neighbourhood. I was just, uh, getting it washed.

"They charge you extra for the full detail?" Chimney mutters

"Oh. Yeah, yeah," Buck laughs, grabbing a plate and leaning on the sofa, Bobby looks down at him

"Listen, I like you. You're a good firefighter. I know we got this thing... You call me 'Pops', and I give you a hard time for being a dumbass kid, we went to a Springsteen concert together. But this is not a family. It's not a clubhouse. So I'm writing you up,"

"Come on, Bobby," Buck groans "See the fire, put out the fire. The rest is blah-blah,"

"No. The system and the rules are not arbitrary. First infraction. Two more, you're out," he grabs the plate off Buck "Wash your hands," Buck sighs but walks off towards the bathrooms, Bobby sits at the table.

"You know, you're not helping him by going easy on him," Chimney sighs

"He just needs a little direction. Everyone does when they first start," he gestures to Harper who was trying very hard not to be noticed, chewing on a piece of bread quietly.

"I'll remind you of that after he gets you killed,"

Bobby doesn't reply, merely reaching out across the table "Anyone want to pass me a spoon, so I can serve myself some salad?"

Chimney hands him a fork.

The alarm rings.

"Ugh!" They all groan and shoves as much food in their mouths that they can before rushing off into the truck.

The firetruck and ambulance pull up mere minutes later, dispatch said a resident of the apartment complex heard a baby crying...from the walls.

"Where are we headed?"

"The fourth floor,"

"I'll race you!" Buck exclaims

"Ah, race yourself, Rambo. I'm 50 years old. I'm taking the elevator," Bobby sighs

"Who's Rambo?"

On the fourth floor, the team is stood in silence, listening for any small sounds.

"I don't hear anything,"

"Look, I'm telling you, I heard a baby crying!" the man who called 9-1-1 exclaims "Someone flushed a baby down the toilet,"

Hen looks around disbelievingly and picks up a red bong "Oh, I'm not high," she raises a an eyebrow "Okay, I-I'm pretty high, but it's a sativa. You know? I-It makes you happy. I-It doesn't make you hallucinate,"

"It could've been a cat, right? Sometimes rats get stuck in the walls," Chimney suggests

"Yeah but we'd still have a cat to get out," Harper mumbles walking into the bathroom and trying to listen, she hears something in the distance "Cap?"

"I got you," he joins her and starts to tap on the wall "Hen, do you know what, can you give me a stethoscope? Thanks" he puts his ear up to the wall and starts to tap, on a certain spot they can hear a faint whimper

"Give me a pen. Give me a Sharpie!" Bobby marks a spot on the wall with a large 'x' "All right, we need to open up this wall."

"No, no. We're being punked!" Chimney exclaims, "It's a tape recorder or something. Right, Spicoli?" he turns to the apartment owner. Harper doesn't quite get the reference and turns to Buck, who shrugs back.

"Mm-mm. Maybe he's right," Hen interrupts "Maybe a mother gives birth on the toilet and flushes it,"

"Okay, first of all, that's awful. Second, do you not know how a toilet pipe works? There's this piece of serpentine pipe that takes the waste from the toilet to -"

"If this is a premature baby, its bones could bend and compress like sponge," Harper grimaces at Bobby's words. "Okay? We need to go in there,"

"Stand back. I got this!" Buck goes charging at the wall with an Axe but the team all shouts out, Bobby pushing him back as Harper pulls on his right bicep.

"Hey, hey, hey! Did you even stop to consider that you might hit a baby?" Buck gulps "Yeah, I didn't think so. Go get the saw."

"Okay. I'm, uh, I'm gonna..." Buck walks off

"Try to find some common sense while you're down there," Chimney sighs.

"I'm not 100% sure this isn't a nightmare," Harper groans, rubbing her temples.

Buck returns with the proper gear, and Bobby starts to drill into the wall, once a gap is made, Harper hammers into it gently, allowing them to pull the wall back and reveal a large pipe.

"Guys, that-that pipe services a quarter of the toilets above us, that's gonna be messy...Oh, shoot. Which means, even with the water off, if somebody flushes a toilet above us, it could drown the baby," Hen drops her med kit and runs out the door, they can hear her shouting as she runs up the stairs

"Do not flush your toilet! This is LAFD. No one flush your toilets!"

Slowly they cut the pipe out of the wall and transport the small section with the baby in onto the kitchen table, Harper has laid down a towel and the team crowds around, trying to quickly but efficiently remove the child.

"Get the head out, Bobby! Get the head out,"

"Yeah. You got to push from below,"

"All right,"

"Careful, careful,"

"Get the defibrillator," Bobby orders

"Are you nuts?!" Chimney exclaims as Buck stands, following orders, he lifts it up and Bobby rolls his eyes

"Just the lube, Buck,"

"All right. Here,"

They chatter over each other as they spread the lube down the pipe, Hen appears in the doorway with wide eyes

"Wow,"

"This is gonna be a scoop and run. Hen, get the ambulance ready,"

"I'm ready here," Chimney kneels by the head, hand out

"Okay, ready? Come on,"

"It's moving, It's coming...It's coming," slowly the baby's head is pushed out, Harper and Buck stand by with towels as they stare disbelievingly at what's happening

"Oh, my God."

"Stay on the shoulders."

"I got it. I got it."

"Pull her out. Pull her out. Pull her out!"

Eventually the whole baby is out, and Harper moves the pipe onto the floor, laying down another towel for the now identifiable baby girl to be placed on.

"All right, she's not breathing. Starting CPR.," Bobby taps on her chest "Come on. Come on. Come on,"

"Maybe her airway's blocked,"

"I-I'll get the, uh...the pump," Buck rummages through Hen's bag and brings out a small pump, placing it in the baby's mouth. "Bobby, it's-it's not working!"

"Come on," Harper mutters from her spot next to Chimney, tapping her foot in anxiety. Buck keeps trying, and it seems like forever as he pumps the air into the child's mouth.

Time passes.

The baby coos.

"All right. Okay, wrap her up. Let's go," Bobby wraps her up in his arms, keeping her steady while the team swiftly exits the apartment and heads towards the elevator "Down to the lobby. Here we go."

"Nobody held the elevator?" Harper sighs

"Guess not. Sorry," Chimney starts pressing the down button "Come on, come on, come on.

"Yo, give her to me," Buck reaches his arms out and Bobby looks worried "Come on, I'm twice as fast,"

"All right, you go,"

Buck takes a hold of the little girl, holding her tightly to his chest as he comforts her, rushing off down the stairs "Okay. I got you. You're gonna be okay. You're gonna be great,"

It takes an embarrassing amount of time for the elevator top appear, and the remaining three team members arrive by the ambulance just as Buck appears to be arguing with a police office - one Harper recognised as Athena Grant.

"What are you waiting for? You gotta go!" Bobby exclaims

"He is refusing to take her-" she points to a teenage girl on a stretcher

"Okay, Bobby-" The three argue over each other and Bobby pushes the girl into the ambulance himself, getting in next to Buck who turns to Athena before the doors shut

"Yo, if this baby dies, it's on you!" The ambulance drives away and the remaining three firefighters sigh, getting into the truck.

"He's fucked,"

Shockingly, that was a normal day in Harper's books: they save someone, Buck gets mouthy, and they drive back to the station in silence.

Her next shift starts in an LA home...filled with snakes.

"Oh, my God,"

"Bobby, I can't do snakes. They scare the crap out of me. That scene from Conan the Barbarian with the giant snake, it traumatised me for life," Chimney breaths out "I-I can't-"

"Who's Conan?"

"Conan the Barbarian. Arnold Schwarzenegger. 1982. Geez!"

"Dude, as far as I'm concerned, the world began the day I was born,"

Harper laughs slightly, but she stays behind Chimney, eyes on the creatures around her

"Guys, in here!" Bobby calls and they rush into the bedroom area where a redheaded woman is being choked by a large yellow snake.

"Oh, my God." Hen rushes to help

"We got to help her get some air, guys,"

"Oh, my..."

"God?" Harper suggests for Chimney who's stuttering in the corner - she was right next to him.

"Bobby, it's no use. That thing is, like, ten feet long. Its constriction strength is, like, 50 pounds per square inch,"

"Oh, my God, I'm gonna start calling you 'Snake-ipedia'. Stop it!"

"How do you know that?!"

"Are you two going to be any help today?" Bobby turns to Harper and Chimney who grimace

"All I'm saying is that you'd stand a better chance of tearing down a cement wall with your bare hands,"

"Why don't I just punch it in its face?"

"You can't punch it in the face, Buck. It's a snake. It's not some guy at an El Torito happy hour,"

"Look, I have Dilaudid. We can inject the snake. It'll pass right out,"

"How much time is that gonna take? Minutes. And minutes we don't have. I think we're gonna have to put it down,"

"Kill it!" Chimney exclaims

"Kill it? No! No, um, no!"

"Kill it. Just kill it!"

"It's looking at me! Kill it!"

"It's a snake. It's doing what nature intended for it to do. Nobody told this fool to bring a snake into her house!"

"Yeah, well, I'll make a donation to PETA for you," Bobby grunts as he tries to pry the snake off the woman "Crap. It's getting really tight,"

"Okay, stand back. We don't have time for this!"

"Buck!"

"No!"

In seconds Buck has solved the problem, beheading the snake with a fire axe.

"Holy shit!" Harper watches the head roll onto the floor and she falls into the wall, Bobby and Buck get the snake off the girl.

"Okay. Wow. Why is that always the first option for you white boy, macho tough guys?" Hen shouts

"Guys, I am totally gonna take credit for this with Tatiana. It's gonna get me laid for a week. Thank you,"

"Really Chim?" Harper watches him exit the home, nearly screeching at another snake.

"Oh, Spartacus..." the woman looks at her snake

"Yeah, well, it was him or you, and, uh, when faced with a situation like that, I always choose to save the more attractive one," Buck crouches down in front of her

"Is that right?"

"Oh, yeah, that's right,"

"Okay. Hard pass. I'm gonna skip the part where the two idiots flirt," Hen picks up her medical kit and leaves, Harper following behind

"Is it bad that I think that line might work on me?"

"Yes,".

It's later that afternoon when Harper hears what Buck did after the call that resulted in Bobby's foul mood and Buck's unemployment. She watches Hen leave, giving her a small smile as she leans on the changing room door.

"Hey you,"

Buck looks up slowly "You heard?"

"Yeah... " Buck sighs "If it helps, I'll miss you. And just because we won't work together doesn't mean you can't come to the bar's karaoke night," he laughs, possibly remembering the several nights he and her had stayed up after a shift and visited the place where Harper occasionally did bar work. 

"Thanks Harp,"

"Mhm, besides the guy before you was real asshole, you were a brief of fresh air, you're an idiot, but you're not an ass. Remember that yeah?" The alarm blares and Harper grimaces "See you around,".

She doesn't expect to return for her next shift and find Buck sat at the kitchen table in his uniform, Bobby handing him a plate of food.

She wasn't complaining.