fourteen
"let's prick him!"

—

—

"SO, I WANT TO THANK everybody for donating today."

Lynn glanced up from staring at the red ball she was having fun squeezing and then releasing, up towards Chimney. He had a clipboard in one hand, and with the other he was waving it around.

Currently, the fire house was filled to the brim with many different firefighters and paramedics all willing to donate their blood. Chimney was in charge of everything, saying he had to pay back the generous people of Los Angles for saving his life when he had the rebar stuck in his head. Lynn was squeeze in between Buck and Hen, who also seemed distracted with the red balls in their hands.

"I don't know if you know this or not, but ninety percent of all the blood given to patients in the Los Angeles area comes from volunteers," Chimney continued in a very speech like voice, and Lynn glanced over to a bored Buck and they tried their best to hold back their snickers. "I know that we all put
our asses on the line in the field every day to save people, but today, you're saving people, and all it's taking is a tiny prick of a needle."

Lynn glanced over to Bobby, who was now entering the firehouse, and wondered why he was so late to the blood drive in the first place.

"So simple, even Mr. Buckley and Mrs. Kennedy can't mess that up," Chimney finished, and Lynn tore her eyes from her captain to teasingly glare at the man standing in front of her. Buck didn't seem offended however, and just gave a quick captains wave while sending a wink in his direction.

Lynn sort of zoned out as Chimney talked to Bobby about him donating blood, which he apparently didn't want to do. Maybe it was because she was tired from the night before, but whatever it was, she wanted to just nap.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You're
the captain of this house, and you're the only one who didn't participate."

Lynn finally snapped out of her thoughts as she heard Chimney's voice echo throughout the firehouse, and for a second she thought that him and Bobby were about to once again have another showdown.

"I don't like needles, end of story," Bobby answered, and he noticed how his paramedics donating were now interested in the conversation that got a little loud than he anticipated.

"Oh, c'mon. Captain, c'mon," Hen persuaded, standing up from her chair as the nurse finished tying the bandage over her elbow. "You got to donate."

"I don't give blood, alright? I never give
blood," Bobby stated, waving his hands in the air aimlessly. "When I was a kid, they tried to take my blood, and I bit the doctor."

Buck and Lynn let out loud laughs at the captains frightened expression that he would have to face his fear of needles. He sent them a glare, and Lynn bit down on her bottom lip to stop the chuckles from coming out.

"It's not funny," Bobby scolded, and then turned back to Chimney to finish the story. "And the one time someone tried to take my blood as an adult...didn't go well."

This time however, even though both Buck and Lynn tried to hold back their amusement, they failed terribly and had to aim their faces down to the ground so no would see. Bobby was obviously not in the mood, so he turned on his heels and started heading to his office, but Chimney yelled up for him to stop.

"Who knew the paramedic was scared of needles?" Lynn joked, teasingly moving her elbow into Buck's stomach, who was standing directly behind her.

Buck groaned obnoxiously, and then wrapped his two muscled arms over Lynn's shoulders and around her neck, playfully tugging her backwards with a grin plastered on his face.

"Hey, rude, ow!" Lynn grumbled, and when Buck's joking grip didn't loosen, she backed her foot and tucked it right underneath his calf, and when she applied the slightest amount of pressure on his chest he went toppling down. "Ha!"

Lynn laughed loudly when she saw Buck's surprised expression as he landed on his butt, and all the firefighters around chuckled at the sight of the woman being able to take down Buck in a second.

"Wow, Evie, just when I thought we were friends," Buck gasped lightly, his pink lips spreading at Lynn tricking him down to the ground.

"Oops," Lynn tried holding her grin back, and then she let out a chuckle as she held her hand out to help Buck back up. But when he gripped it, he just pulled her onto the ground beside him. "Hey!"

"Alright, let's stick him!" Chimney exclaimed, and when he turned around to force his friends, he confusingly glanced at both Buck and Lynn sitting on the floor. "What, you two lightheaded from the blood donation?"

•••

"Rough shift?"

After a weird shift where the crew received a lot of karma is a bitch calls, Lynn was just grateful the shift was finally over with. Seeing a mans practically burnt off skin along with whatever pieces were left of a person from a tiger was not the ideal way she thought about spending her time.

Lynn glanced up from her computer sitting comfortably on her lap streaming netflix, to Lizzy, who had just walked through the apartment door. She had a bag of Lynn's favorite Thai food wrapped in a bag in one hand, with her phone in the other.

"How could you tell?" Lynn questioned, flashing a sympathetic half-smile, letting out a small sigh.

"It's all over your face," Lizzy stated, and then she placed the expressed food on the wooden coffee table. She looped her arms around Lynn's legs, and then took a seat while replacing Lynn's legs back on top of her lap. "That's why when I saw, I ran out and got you your favorite food, and..."

Lynn let a wide grin spread on her face, and she send her sister a gracious look. Lizzy returned it instantly, and then started undoing the plastic bag the food was in. She handed off Lynn's meal, and then took her own on her lap.

"You're the best sister anyone could ask for."

"And if the best sister in the world had a little favor, you would do it?" Lizzy questioned, passing a fork off to work as she popped open the box.

Lynn narrowed her eyes suspiciously at her older sister, and then collapsed the box of food onto the table in front of her.

"Oh, I should've known," Lynn teased, and then she nodded towards his sister with a nice smile, placing a hand on her knee for support. "Of course, anything, Liz."

"Okay, Lynn, I gotta...we gotta talk," Lizzy breathed out, and she glanced down to her slender fingers fiddling with the other. Lizzy was never the one who was an anxious, emotional person, so this seemed to worry Lynn even more.

"Is something wrong?" Lynn questioned, her head tilted to the side as she furrowed her eyebrows.

"No, no, it's just," Lizzy trailed, and she bite on the side of her cheek as she was trying to figure out the best way to phrase it. "Okay, Evelynn, we've been roomies forever, you know? And I'm turning twenty eight this month, and I-I...I've never, neither of us have ever moved out before. So, Joe asked me to move into an apartment with him, and Lynn, I think I want to."

Lynn was happy to hear that Lizzy was taking that next step with her long-time boyfriend, but there was a part of her that twinged with sadness, but she quickly shoved that down in her gut.

"Liz, that's...that's amazing, seriously," Lynn nodded with a sad smile, and then she reached forward and enveloped her sister in a sideways hug. "I'm so happy for you."

Lizzy narrowed her eyes at her younger sister, knowing that she was probably hurt that she was leaving her, but Lynn would never dare comment on it if it would hurt her sister in the process.

"You sure?"

"Elizabeth, I'm serious," Lynn explained, hooking her fingers around Lizzy's palm resting on her lap. "I mean, we've been in the same apartment for so long. I'm just surprised you've stuck with me for so long."

"Evelynn, it's not like I was forced to live with you," Lizzy answered while chuckling softly, shrugging her shoulders lightly. "I love you, so much. And living with you has been the highlight of my happiness, but it's just time, you know?"

"Of course," Lynn smiled, and she blinked away any of the wetness that was lingering in her eyes. "I love you, Liz."

"I love you, Lynn."

Lynn grinned while standing up from the couch, and she wrapped her small arms over Lizzy's shoulders with a certain tightness. Even though Lynn had no idea how she would come home to an empty apartment, she was happy that her sister was happy.

"Do you think you could help me move over a few boxes? Just like clothes, and stuff," Lizzy asked, and she bit on her bottom lip, hoping it wasn't too soon to spring this on her.

"Of course."

a/n: love you all❤️