" LET GO "

✦

"911, WHAT'S your emergency?"

Josephine was working her official night shift at the call center. So far, she had only been assigned a few afternoon shifts which usually cut a bit close to when her classes ended. At first, it was a bit of a struggle, but she found herself slowly getting in the groove and finding a way to balance the two.

She was also getting a hang of the dispatch thing and like Abby said, the more calls she took, the easier it seemed to get.

"Oh, my God. Some guy just got thrown off the roller coaster! He's just lying on the ground. He's not moving. Send an ambulance."

Josie reassured the woman on the other line and then notified her that she would dispatch the nearest first responders around. After ending the call, she removed the earpiece, sighed, and then glanced at the time on her phone. It was finally time for a break.

She headed for the break room and marched up right to the refrigerator to grab the energy drink and sandwich that Karen made for her. She rolled her eyes at the note attached, she must've been making Denny's lunch and got carried away.

Josie glazed her eyes at the scattered tables, the break room could be a bit like high school at times the way everyone was huddled up in their groups. It wasn't until she saw Abby wave a hand in the air that she realized her stare lingered a bit too long but she walked the woman's way and flashed her a small smile.

"Hey, Josie."

"Hi, Abby. How are you?"

"I'm okay. A bit tired but that's how the night shift goes. How are you holding up?"

"Honestly, I thrive at this time of night so I'm doing fine."

"Must be the college student in you," Abby laughed. "I wish I could do the late nights you kids pull."

"I'm not sure anyone should be doing those late nights regardless of age," Josephine joked as she unwrapped the plastic of her sandwich.

"Probably not but it'd be nice to say that I could," Abby snorted and raised her empty mug before standing up. "I'll see you later. Enjoy the rest of your break."

"Thanks. See you."

⏜● ⏝●⏜

"HOW'S THE NEW GIG?"

Athena stared over at the young adult riding in the passenger seat of the squad car. As part of Josephine's training, she needed to set up a ride along with a police officer and luckily for her, she had one on speed dial so the day wouldn't have to be spent in a painfully awkward silence.

So far, the day hadn't been too crazy, Athena even mentioned that it was one of those rare slow days for her on patrol. Josie witnessed her pulling a man over for a traffic violation but that was as much excitement they had seen for the day.

"It's okay," she shrugged and lowered her eyes down to her lap, typing away on her phone. "I mean, it's a job, you know?"

"You see yourself staying there for long?"

"Maybe."

"Need all available units. Please report to 673 Leland Way. We have a canine attack in progress."

Athena pressed the button on her radio. "Eight-L-Thirty handling." She flickered on the sirens of the patrol car, maneuvered through cars, and drove over the divider of an intersection.

Josie furrowed at the sight of the fast food place that seemed to clear with the whoop of the siren. "'Thena, what are you⎼"

"This is an emergency," Athena spoke over the loudspeaker. "I need you to back up." Of course, at the sight of a police car and the announcement, the cars instantly reversed out of the drive-thru. "Hey, girl, give me four cheeseburgers and fries. Put the fries in another bag, okay? Oh, and a medium root beer."

Poking her head behind the police officer's, Josie flashed a wide smile. "Ooh, add an order of onion rings to that."

Once Athena got all the bags of food, her foot instantly pressed on the gas and she quickly made it to their location. When they pulled up to the driveway, they could hear two dogs barking loudly.

"Chim?!" Josie watched the paramedic flee the scene with a panicked expression.

"Josie!" Howie "Chimney" Han opened his arms and tugged the girl in for a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"Ride along with Athena."

"That's right," the Asian man nodded with a grin. "You've got that new job at the call center, right?"

"Yup."

"Our little Josie is just growing up," Chimney swiped away a fake tear. He glanced at the incoming vehicle with the words Animal Control slapped on the side. "I need to talk to them but you've got to stop by the station for family dinner, okay? We miss you."

"I miss you guys too!"

Josephine returned to the patrol car and leaned against the vehicle as she waited for all of the chaos in the house to die down. It wasn't until a few minutes later that the animal control and Chimney came stumbling out of the house with two large Dobermans practically walking them around.

Hen and Athena came walking out just a few seconds behind them and seemed to be deep in conversation until the former's eyes landed on the young adult. Hen elicited a wide smile and immediately wrapped her in her arms, squeezing her tight.

"Josie, hi!"

Josie rolled her eyes but reluctantly hugged the woman back. "I literally saw you at home."

"I know but I never get to see you while I'm at work unless we're at the station."

Looking up from the report, Athena squinted her eyes at the door. "Hen, when you got here, was that slide door open or closed?"

"Closed."

"So was the front door. Dogs can't get inside unless they live here."

"Finally! Some action."

⏜● ⏝●⏜

"CAN'T BELIEVE SHE cleared the whole drive-thru."

Isabella let a smile wash over her face as her friend recounted her day with Athena. The two decided to meet up and grab a quick cup of coffee before the nursing student was bound to go off and start a hectic day.

"Well, believe it, she's crazy," Josie deadpanned. "But you already knew that."

"I love her and the rest of Karen's interesting friends," Bella grinned. She tugged on her friends arm so she would follow her to the end of the coffee bar. "What'd you get again?"

"Forgot what it's called but it has like four shots of espresso so it's my go-to."

At the sound of Josephine's voice the figure in front of them turned his head with furrowed brows, he knew that voice somewhere. He did a once-over and tried to his best to narrow down the list of many hookups but still, he couldn't figure out where he knew her from.

"Can we help you?" The shorter of the two broke him out of his trance. "Hello?"

"I-I'm sorry. I-I just⎼"

"You just what? Like staring at girls. Creep."

"Bella," Josie mumbled and touched the girl's arm. "Relax."

"Do I know you?" The man stepped forward, causing the two girls to instantly stumble backward.

Josephine eyed the tall, light-haired, blue-eyed man standing in front of them. He was hot, she would definitely remember if they ever hooked up. "No. No. I don't think so."

"No, I think I do," he insisted. "Your voice. It's just so...distinctive. I know you from somewhere. I-I just can't remember where."

Isabella rolled her eyes even if she recognized the man standing before them because his gorgeous face had splashed on the news for the past week, her friend most definitely did not. "Look, she said she doesn't know you and quite frankly, you're freaking us both out." The man was so forward and outspoken, even if it was a ploy to hit on her friend, it was weird.

"I'm sorry⎼"

"No. Don't apologize. Y-You don't look familiar but your voice. I know it too."

"Oh, you can't be..."

"Buckley!" Josephine snapped her fingers with a grin as his voice settled into her brain. With the millions of calls she takes per day, it took her a while to realize who he was. "You're a firefighter, aren't you?"

A cocky smile spread across his lips and he nodded. "I rescued you, didn't I? That must be how we know each other."

"No. I'm a dispatcher."

"A dispatcher? Must be why I recognized your voice. I mean, I definitely would've remember a face like⎼"

"Buck!" The barista at the end of the bar shouted his name and placed a cup down.

Both Josie and Bella glanced at the coffee bar and then at the man. "You should get that." The dispatcher tilted her head with a small smile and waved.

"Can I get your⎼"

Still in the same position, the barista glanced at the untouched coffee. "Buck!"

"Okay, I should get that." Buck stalked over to the end of the bar but by the time he wanted to return to the conversation, the two girls were standing by the window and looked like they wanted nothing to do with him. It just wasn't his week.

"He was hot."

Isabella snapped her head at her best friend's words and her eyes grew twice in size. "Josie...tell me you're kidding."

"I knew the face behind that voice was hot. I knew it."

"I can't believe you didn't recognize him. Well, I can but still!"

"How do you know him?"

"He's been all over the news."

"Oh, please, you know I don't watch the news."

Isabella smirked and bumped her shoulder against her friends. "You gonna hit that?"

"I don't date firefighters."

"Famous last words, Davis."

--------------------

authors note

-a bit of a shorter chapter but they have officially met! i feel like buck recognizing her voice and automatically assuming she was an old hook up was fitting for this version of him🙂

-hope you all enjoyed the chapter!