A/N I want to apologise in advance about the fact that it is hard to convert a montage into words. However, I tried my best which is hopefully good enough. Also, this was a fun chapter to write despite the issues. Anyway with that out of the way I want to remind you for what feels like the millionth time to vote and/or comment if you enjoy this story.

I am currently supervising Buck. Why? Someone was stupid enough to give him a clipboard. Seasoned veterans of the 118 would know that it is a bad idea to give Buck a clipboard. Right now he is double-checking the inventory with Eddie who is regretting the decision to help. At least it is providing some good entertainment. Before I can do anything Hen joins me.

"What's going on?" Hen asks as her attention is drawn to the scene unfolding in front of us.

"Some idiot from the B squad gave Buck a clipboard," I respond as Buck tells Eddie off again. A giggle falls from my mouth. I'm sure it is torture for Eddie but it is funny to us. Luckily for me, the inventory is the first thing that Hen and I do when we arrive.

"I'm going to put a stop to it," Hen says as she joins the pair. I go with it since Hen is going to need some backup.

"Oh no. Who gave that guy a clipboard?" Hen breaks Buck out of the power trance that is his clipboard.

"Don't worry. It's a kinder, more gentle clipboard. As is the person using it," Buck remarks, getting an eye roll from Eddie. I'm with Eddie. His parents coming over must have changed him.

"Meet Buck three point o. I'm trying something new. Since Ella and I are getting married I wanted to try something different," Buck explains. Well, he definitely checks those boxes. To be honest I think there is something more to the story. After a quick conversation about how and what led Buck to the personality change, we are joined by the new guy. Having noticed Buck turns his attention to him.

"Hey Probie!" Buck obviously catches him by surprise as he drops all of the various textbooks that he is carrying. Buck and I soon moved to help him.

"Oh. Uh...No. No. No. Don't worry, I've got it," The Probie quickly denies our offer for help. He is clearly flustered. With that Buck and I back off.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. You're the B shift Probie right?" Buck gets to work on finding out who the fresh meat is.

"Yeah. I mean yes sir. I just finished my first shift," he replies. At least he is excited in an awkward kind of way.

"Uh. So how was it?" I ask. Something tells me that I am going to regret asking.

"Oh, it was pretty quiet," The Probie responds. Buck and Hen recoil in horror while I give the Probie a death glare. He just said the Q word. He is lucky that he is going home. We have to deal with the consequences.

"Did he just say," Hen cuts herself off before she can make things worse.

"I just said it was-,"

"Don't say it again," I cut him off. There is no way that we are going to get out of this situation alive.

"No. Maybe if he says it again it will undo the curse," Hen remarks.

"Well if he says it a third time the Candyman will show up and kill us. I'm not taking my chances," I remark. Even though it is silly there is a reason why I call it the Q word. Even though it is just a coincidence the Q curse has happened a few too many times to ignore.

"Look that word is forbidden in this firehouse or any firehouse for that matter. We just don't use the Q word," Buck explains. Luckily for us, he has learnt his lesson. It just means that we have to suffer.

"Who used the Q word?" Bobby calls out from the balcony. He seems just as annoyed as I am. I put it down to the fact that he will have a lot of reports to file once this shift is done.

"What am I missing here?" Eddie asks. As soon as the question leaves his mouth the signal bell rings.

"We've been jinxed," I explain to Eddie as we head to our respective vehicles. Luckily for me, Hen has left me in charge of driving the ambulance for this call. That means I won't have to deal with the paranoia of the others. At least I will get some peace and quiet. Even though it will be short-lived. It doesn't take long for us to arrive at the scene. It is utter chaos but not the kind that you'd expect. As we all head to the crash scene.

"See, it's just a normal fender bender. Nothing crazy," Eddie remarks as we get to work. Bobby gives a disapproving grunt.

"Check it out! Izzy Chainz. Right here," A voice catches our attention. Of course, the cause of this issue is our first stupid victim of the day.

"Look up," Bobby says as he points to a man who has duct-taped himself to a billboard. He has a smirk plastered on his face. We have another issue. As far as I can tell the man is not wearing any clothes.

"Right here. Izzy Chainz, everyone! The greatest rapper alive! Download my album," The victim calls out. In all fairness, it gets his point across. Just not in a good way. With that Bobby gives his orders while our victim howls with laughter. It's the kind that could get you killed. As Hen and I get our equipment on Eddie gives us a confused look.

"Is he...?"

"Duct taped? Yeah. I've seen crazier though," I cut Eddie off. We have a job to do. We can't all admire the buffoonery on display. After a few lines of self-promotion, we get to work. I run over towards Hen. She is trying to get the victim of the car crash to calm down so she can get the details of what happened. The thing is in the grand scale of things it is obvious.

"Ma'am, can you tell me what happened?" Hen asks.

"Grandpa over there decided to go demolition derby on my bumper," The woman is staring daggers at the man that I am trying to treat.

"The light was green," He counters matching her temper.

"That's when you're supposed to go," He adds for good measure. One of my fellow paramedics comes to my aid as we try to get the man away from the woman.

"I was distracted for a second," She says. After getting a handle on the situation from a medical standpoint the rest of the crew get to work on freeing the cause of this mess. I am quick to hand the man over to one of the other paramedics. I want to see how this plays out.

"Do you need anything else?" Hen double-checks just in case the woman isn't telling her the full story.

"Everything's still a little blurry but that man on the billboard, is he famous?" The woman asks.

"He's about to be," Hen muses as we move into position. I think he is going to be infamous rather than famous. The bystanders get their phones out as Buck ascends the ladder. At least Izzy Chainz is getting the exposure that he wanted. After a couple of minutes of back and forth, we are joined by Athena. At the same time, we deploy the rescue mat. Even though his actions are stupid we don't want any more work to deal with. After what feels like an eternity Buck descends the ladder again.

"Cap, he's not willing to leave," Buck is giving up.

"I'm not leaving until my time is up," Izzy yells.

"And when will that be?" Athena yells back.

"Eight AM. Tomorrow morning," Izzy confirms before going back to the same rant as before. It doesn't take long for disaster to strike. The sound of the tape ripping can be heard. Buck's instincts kick it but it is too late. The crowd ohs and ahs as Izzy comes crashing down. Luckily for him, he hits the middle of the crash pad. We all moved to help him. After an awkward moment of celebration, Izzy is on his way to an ambulance. After what feels like an eternity we are back at the firehouse. While Bobby is making lunch for the group I am being unusually clingy. Since we are jinxed for the day I am trying to spend as much time as possible with Buck.

"Honestly I don't know why Bobby is fussing with cooking today," Buck remarks.

"Look Buck, I don't think Bobby believes in the Q word. Anyway I think we should enjoy the down time while we have it," I counter. In fact, I am looking forward to eating the Mac 'n' cheese that Booby is making. Bobby sighs as he pulls the finished dish out of the microwave. Everyone else descends on the dining room table. I don't bother as I know exactly what is going to happen. As if on cue the signal bell rings. After eleven minutes of driving, we made it to a property. Of course, it is just a cat stuck up a tree. The catch is a man climbed up the tree and got stuck. That's why we were called.

"Don't worry. He's next," Eddie remarks. Luckily for us, the man was able to be recused without any drama. The next thing I know we are back at the firehouse. Bobby is trying again with the Mac and cheese. Even though I am hungry I am not joining in the scramble for food.

"Come on Cap, hurry. Come on, Cap, before-," As soon as those words leave Buck's mouth the signal bell rings. After what feels like a never-ending hell of crazy calls we are finally back at the firehouse. Unfortunately for us, Bobby's Mac 'n' cheese has all but been burned. I was looking forward to it. Well, I guess I just have to dig into my snack reserve.

"It looks like we are ordering in. Not that we are jinxed," Bobby gives in. At least he is clear about his beliefs. In my case, like I said before, the amount of coincidences makes it real for me. Everyone else excluding Eddie rolls their eyes. Before anyone can make a suggestion the signal bell goes yet again.

"Yeah. Definitely not jinxed," Buck remarks as we all head down to the garage. After nine minutes we made it to an office building. Specifically a toilet cubicle. The victim has the misfortune of being in the direct path of a living octopus.

"What the Hell?" Bobby questions our unusual predicament.

"I think it might've come from the sushi place next door," A bystander remarks. It sounds like we are all shocked at the fact that this has happened.

"Ma'am, can you hear me?" Hen asks just as the woman takes a gasp of air.

"We need to get this thing in some water," I announce. Luckily for us, once the octopus was cleared from the victim's face we discovered that the only injuries were sustained from the suction of the tentacles. With that, we head back to the firehouse. As soon as we get back I shed my turnout gear then I make a beeline for my locker. With a few swift movements, I have my hand on the prize. A small chocolate bar. As soon as I have the wrapper open the signal bell goes for the millionth time. I roll my eyes as I stuff the chocolate bar into my mouth. I was hoping that I could savour the flavour. Our next victim is a man who is stuck under a recliner chair at a cinema. This one is proving to be particularly stupid as the man could've asked for help from someone who knew what they were doing.

"Easy. My head's in here," The man complains as Buck tries to work him free.

"Just hold still ok. Hold still," I try my best to reassure the man.

"Easy! Easy!," The man is all out panicking. Of course, he is. After a minute of work, he is free. Thankfully the only thing wrong with him is a mild case of embarrassment. Our next call is because of the fact that someone left their child in a white goods store and the kid got stuck. Another happy ending though. As soon as the truck is parked the signal bell goes again. It is as if the signal bell has comedic timing. We soon arrive at a balloon shop. The first thing I notice is a stack of helium bottles that have fallen over. Some of the seals must have broken as there is a distinct hissing noise. With that Hen and I start distributing oxygen masks. As soon as we are done we get to work on freeing the clown that I assume was the cause of this accident.

"Interesting," Buck remarks as he joins us.

"Help me move some of these tanks to help to relieve the pressure," Bobby gives his orders in the trademark high-pitched voice that is caused by helium. With that Buck and Eddie burst into laughter. It is hard to take someone seriously when they have a voice that is high-pitched.

"Come on!" Bobby reinforces his orders which only seems to make the situation worse.

"Buck, be professional," Hen remarks, catching us off guard. The squeakiness of her voice almost catches me off guard. It only makes Buck and Eddie's laughter worse. In an effort to distract myself, I turn my attention to the clowns.

"How are you two doing? Are you ok?" Of course, I am not immune to the effects of the helium. After assessing the first clown the other starts reaching.

"I'm going to need you to cough for me. Just cough," After a tense moment the clown pulls a ribbon from his mouth. A typical clown gag. After giving me a thumbs up I put his mask back on.

"Everyone's a comedian," I utter as I rejoin the others. After a few minutes of clearing up and triple-checking that everyone is ok including the crew, we are finally on the move again. Thankfully our next call was a simple elevator rescue. Eddie sighs as we leave the building.

"Man, that was a boring call. Two people stuck in an elevator. They didn't even need medical attention," Eddie remarks, causing Hen and I to give him funny looks. It is as if he is starting to question his decision to come to work today.

"Don't you dare, Eddie. We are cursed already," I stop him before he has the chance to say anything else.

"How can I not? You're all acting like a bunch of Viejas. There is no curse," Eddie counters.

"Oh so now we are being definitive," I say as we pack up. The thing is Eddie has been vague about it all day. Buck makes a quick remark about the wind. He is right. It is unusually windy.

"Look nobody is saying you have to believe in curses. Just maybe try not to tempt fate," Bobby counters Eddie's point.

"How is that not the same thing?" Eddie asks in response. He has a point. With that out of the way, we all get comfortable in the truck. Eddie clears his throat.

"See that went like clockwork. Wamm, bam. Thank you, Ma'am," Eddie finishes his point. After a few comments from Hen Eddie goes on to deny the curse. As soon as Eddie is done, disaster strikes. A loud crash rings through the truck. Sparks soon fly which can only mean one thing.

"Whoa!" We all say as we pull our hands away from the sides of the truck. Eddie is making things worse by not believing in the Q-word jinx.

"Hey Cap, did a live power pole fall on the engine?" I ask staring daggers at Eddie.

"I believe it did, Ella," Bobby confirms.

"Right. So there is no curse here," Buck remarks as he follows my lead in staring daggers at Eddie who begins to squirm in his seat. The thing is he is stuck with us until the shift is over. After a tense discussion on what to do about the curse and the fact that Bobby is being unusually quiet about it, help finally arrives in the form of engine 133.

"Ah look at that. Help has arrived," Bobby announces. At least now we can relax a little regardless of the jinx. Before getting to work members of the 133 pause to take photos. After what feels like an eternity we finally have some down time. I am nibbling on another chocolate bar while I catch up on my text messages. Most of them are from Gavin. He wants to catch up after my shift is done. Because of that, I suggested going out for breakfast together. The reason why I am up this late is due to the fact that I can't seem to shake enough adrenaline to fall asleep. Eddie soon joins us.

"I thought you were going to hit the bunks," Bobby acknowledges the newcomer.

"I couldn't sleep," Eddie responds.

"Maybe the curse is getting to you too," I jump in.

"Or maybe I can't sleep," Eddie retorts.

"Yeah well you're not the only one," I counter. Yep, I am at the stage where I am annoyed at every little thing.

"Am I interrupting the reading club?" Eddie asks.

"Medical, siblings, Women," Hen remarks. It is impressive that she knew I was texting Gavin. I put it down to the fact that the only person I text while I'm at work is Gavin.

"So Buck is bothered about what happens after the wedding. I was wondering why Buck had a book in his hand" Eddie half jokes.

"What would you say Ana's love language is?" Buck deflects the comment.

"Ana who?" Hen asks in confusion.

"Tratoir," Eddie utters, getting a giggle from me.

"Wait, are you dating someone?" Hen asks to clarify her confusion. This is the first time I've heard anything about this as well.

"Who's Ana?" I jumped in. We might as well gang up on Eddie. Gossip will help pass the time. Eddie sighs.

"Christopher's old English teacher, last year. I bumped into her at the billboard call and...," Eddie replies. He really isn't happy about the idea of gossip. Oh well, there is nothing that he can do about it. The only person that doesn't lean forward is Bobby. He still looks curious though.

"I hadn't seen her in a while, and I guess she got a new job," Eddie fumbles through his explanation.

"Wait, is this the teacher that you yelled at?" Hen cottons on to the situation.

"And then I apologised for that," Eddie retorts.

"But you still didn't ask her out?" I add while I watch Eddie try to defend himself.

"She's Christopher's teacher," Eddie whines. The only way he is getting out of this is if the signal bell rings.

"I thought you said she had a new job," I counter as I flash Eddie a cheesy smile. Hen follows my lead as the signal bell rings. As if on cue Eddie is saved by the bell. After a few minutes of driving, we made it to the scene. A residential property is well alight. Standing in front of it is a single man trying to beat the fire with a garden hose. I admire his commitment but it is dangerous.

"Buck, you guys start running a hose line. Ella Hen shut down the utilities here and to the neighbouring houses," Bobby gives us his orders. With that, we get to work. As we are working our attention is drawn by a series of loud bangs. Of course. The man was storing fireworks in the location of the fire. Everyone at the scene flinches. Even the bystanders.

"Everybody back up! Move!" My instincts kicked in as Hen and I heard the bystanders to a safe distance. It doesn't take long for Bobby to find the real reason for the amount of fireworks.

"Dispatch this is Captain Nash requesting assistance at Bay Park Drive. Fire has been upgraded to a second alarm-," Bobby is cut off by a firework that flew dangerously close.

"Send more units," Bobby continues as the smoke trail dissipates. After completing Bobby's orders I stand back and enjoy the show. There is not much that I can do unless someone gets hurt. Luckily for us, the man was the only one in this house. After the millionth eternity, we are finally back at the firehouse. I am currently checking the inventory. To my surprise, despite the chaos today, it is mostly intact. I mean I do have to replace things but not as much as you would think.

"How are you holding up? You seem to be taking the jinx well," Hen checks on me.

"Honestly it has been hell. The only thing that is keeping me awake is the adrenaline hit that I get from calls," I say as I attempt to stifle a yawn.

"I noticed that you have some snacks. Care to share?" Hen asks.

"So long as you don't tell anyone," I say before making a dash to my locker. As soon as I find what I am after. Unfortunately, I am down to a couple of muesli bars.

"Sorry Hen but all I have is muesli bars. They're not the greatest," I catch myself apologising. If she asked me earlier I would have shared some of my chocolate.

"Don't worry. Anything is better than nothing," Hen responds as we tuck in. She is right. As soon as we finish up the signal bell rings. A sigh falls from my mouth as I toss the clipboard aside. It doesn't take long for us to get to the next location. In this case, there was a supposed gas leak. Bobby gets to work on establishing what happened. After shutting down the gas and double checking there is no gas leak Bobby makes a surprising announcement.

"All clear however the gas is gonna remain shut down until further investigation," With Bobby's announcement the man starts panicking.

"I'm gonna get canned. Twenty years of customer service um in smoke...or gas," The man musses. Buck makes a comment which only makes the situation worse.

"The caller said he was the fire chief," Athena fills Bobby in.

"Somebody else pretending the be LAFD?" Bobby is surprised by Athena's explanation.

"What do you mean? Someone else?" Athena asks. She is just as surprised. It is at that moment that Bobby and I notice someone acting strange.

"I've got it, Cap," I say as I run after the man. The thing is he has the advantage and he isn't in turnout gear.

"Hey sir I just want to talk," I yell as I chase after him. Unfortunately, he is able to give me the slip as I get knocked over by a passer by. Despite my best efforts, I am unable to catch him before he jumps into the truck.

"No.No. No. No," I utter as the man proceeds to drive the truck away. This day had to get worse. I am hit by the brick that is embarrassment as the others catch up.

"Dispatch this is Captain Nash,118. Our engine got hijacked," Bobby announces via the radio. Hen comes around with burgers and other food in her arms.

"What did I miss?" Hen asks as Athena pulls away.

"Still jinxed," Buck confirms. It doesn't take long for Bobby to suggest an idea.

"When was the tank last filled?"

"I just topped it up. He's got, like, four hours, give or take," Buck responds as he rolls his eyes.

"Yeah unless he crashes it first," Bobby retorts. He is angry. I think we all are. After a minute of brainstorming everyone's radios crackle to life.

"All available units report to five three nine North Hill Street. Five-alarm fire. I repeat all available units report to five three nine North Hill Street. Five alarm fire," The dispatcher adds to an already complex situation.

"What do we do now?" Buck asks. An idea springs to mind.

"The man wants to be helpful so we get Athena and her crew to divert the engine to the scene and we get there via the ambulance," I announce garnering the stares of the others.

"Ok everyone in the ambulance now! Bobby orders. It is going to be a tight fit for the others but we have to make it work. With that everyone scrambles into the ambulance. As I thought it was a tight fit. Luckily for Hen and I since we are paramedics we get front seat privileges.

"I will try to make the ride as smooth as possible," I half joke. The thing is I need to leg it to get to the address since it is a five-alarm fire. Now that we are on our way Eddie gets to work on the second part of my plan.

"Brian it's Eddie Diaz, You there?...hey Brian if you're there key the radio so that I know you're listening," Eddie says. After the briefest of pauses, a click can be heard. That means he has the man's attention. I just hope that what Eddie says can convince the man to bring the truck to where it is meant to be.

"I just want to say thank you for helping us out at the garage fire. I needed your help. We needed your help. You were there," Eddie continues. He quickly finishes.

"That's it. All I ever wanted to do was help people," The man, Brian, retorts. His voice is filled with emotions.

"I know that's what you planned when you put on that uniform. Things don't always turn out how we planned though. It sucks. I know but you can't let yourself get stuck. All you can do is let go and move on. It sounds scary but I know you can do it," Eddie's speech sounds like it is coming from experience.

"No! I'm...I'm not brave. I want to be but I am not a hero like you," Brian is on the verge of a breakdown.

"You want to be a hero? There is a five-alarm fire right now. We need your help. People's lives depend on you," Eddie is now pleading with the man. I will have to ask how he got the skills later.

"No one's ever given me the chance!" Brian counters.

"Here is your chance," Eddie counters Brian's counter. After yet another eternity and some coaxing from Eddie, we make it to the scene. Thankfully Brian pulled thorough. With a few remarks from Athena, we get to work. Four long hours later the shift from hell is over. We are all ready to leave.

"I've never been so glad to finish a shift," I remark as Buck and I walk out of the locker room hand in hand.

"Hopefully the jinx is over. I mean that's it right? We go back to normal? Just in case I might take the next shift off," Hen remarks. We are soon intercepted by Bobby.

"I know you are all eager to get the hell out of here but I'd like to buy you all some breakfast," Bobby announces. Buck makes an off hand joke about the situation. Eddie and I hang back. Bobby soon notices.

"Ella, Eddie are you going to meet us there?" Bobby asks.

"I made plans with Gavin," I responded.

"I've made plans as well," Eddie is being vague for some reason. That can only mean one thing. He has a date. With that, we both leave. My body is flooded with relief as my butt contacts the driver's seat of my Tesla. After what is hopefully the last eternity I made it to a cafe. I spot Gavin quite quickly.

"Hey Gavin I need to apologise in advance. My shift from hell got a lot worse after I finished texting with you," I am still moody.

"Don't worry" Gavin responds. With that, we get to work on socialising. At least the shift from hell had a happy ending. I just hope that Buck will give me the chance to rest. Knowing him and the fact that we were in the same situation the rest of the day is going to be rather lazy. Not that I am complaining about it.