Worth the Risk – Chapter 1

The fire was raging and quickly consuming the walls. Edward knew that time was running out. He had to get his team through the house before the ceiling started to burn. Looking to his left, he saw his partner and nodded. They proceeded to the next room and finally found what they were looking for. Once he had it safely in his arms, he called out on his radio:

"House is clear. Yogi and Boo-Boo on our way out."

As they made their way carefully back out of the burning house, he heard the rest of his team's response.

"Butch and Sundance clear and on our way out."

"Kudjo and Lassie clear and on our way out."

When Edward made it through the charred doorway of the house, he ran down the porch and straight to the little girl that was being held back by both of her parents. Opening his arms, he gently placed the small, scared kitten at her feet. Pulling off his helmet, he said gently, "Here you go, sweetheart. He's okay. The black will come right off with a bath."

The little girl looked up into Edward's eyes with tears running down her face. Throwing up her arms, she launched herself at Edward and squeezed him around his neck. Whispering in his ear, she said softly, "Thank you, Mr. Firefighter. You saved Boots."

Turning back to her mom, the little girl said, "See Mommy? Superheroes are real."

Edward clutched a hand to his heart and nodded to the little girl's parents before walking back to the truck to join his team. As he always did at the end of a fire, he took a mental inventory of his team.

His partner Emmett McCarty, otherwise known as Yogi, was helping Garrett with the hose. Jasper Whitlock, better known as Butch, was lending a hand on the other side of the truck with the second hose. Jasper's partner Peter Collins, or Sundance, was on the talking to the Captain. The two youngest on the team, Jacob Black, or Kudjo, and Seth Clearwater, aka Lassie, were checking the gears on the truck and closing the hydrant.

When the house was safe and secure, they closed up and loaded everything back on the truck. Everyone rode in silence as Garrett made his way back to the station. After the adrenaline rush of fighting a fire, the guys had an unspoken rule to keep quiet on the ride back as a way to wind down and decompress.

All in all, today was a good day. The family got out before the fire took the house, and a little girl got her kitten back. They may have lost their home, their clothes, and their toys, but they still had their lives. Although their pictures may be burned and damaged, they have the rest of their days to make more memories. Every pair of firefighters that went into the house came back out to fight another battle on another day.

When all of the suits were put away, all of the guys hit the showers to wash away the stench of the smoke. It was just past one in the morning, and they were all beat. While some of the guys would eventually wander to the kitchen for a snack, Edward opted to jump straight into bed. He was beat, and he knew that it was only a matter of time before the siren went off again.

At five thirty, Bella's alarm went off. Groaning, she slid her hand out of the warmth of her blankets to shut it off. She sat up immediately because she knew if she lay there long enough, she'd fall back asleep and end up being late. The morning passed quickly as she walked through her small one bedroom apartment to gather her things for work. By 6:15 she was out the door and in her big, red Chevy truck.

The sun was just coming up as she drove to the elementary school where she worked. As much as she hated waking up, she loved this time of the morning because it was so beautiful. The pinks and oranges that crossed the sky made her smile. As she parked her car and made her way to her classroom, she took a deep breath and steadied herself for another busy day of wrangling 20 kindergarteners.

As Bella got her lesson plans ready for the day, she heard a small knock on the door. Looking up, she saw Alice Brandon standing in the doorway.

"I come bearing coffee," Alice said holding out a steaming cup. "Grande Americano with a half inch of soy and two packets of Splenda."

Bella wrapped both hands around the cup and walked back to her desk. Alice followed with her own cup and perched herself on the corner of Bella's desk. Reaching into her bag, Bella brought out a bag with two cranberry scones. "My contribution to breakfast."

"Is this from the bakery down the street?" Alice asked as she took one of the scones.

"Yup. I stopped on my way home yesterday," Bella took a sip of her coffee and sighed. "Perfect."

A few minutes into breakfast, there was another knock on the door. Alice and Bella both turned to see the school's principal, Rosalie Hale, standing in the doorway. "Do I smell coffee and scones?"

"Yes," Alice and Bella answered together.

Pouting, Rosalie said, "You guys suck. You know I can't have that."

Bella pulled an apple and a banana out of her bag. "You decided that you absolutely had to run a half marathon. You can have rabbit food for breakfast. Don't hate on ours."

Grabbing the banana, Rosalie said, "I feel like my ass is getting jellified sitting behind that desk all day. You guys get to run after the kids and play. The only time I get to get out is during recess, and that doesn't really count."

The three continued to make small talk for a few more minutes before they noticed the time. Rosalie went to her office, and Alice went back to her classroom next door. Bella walked through her classroom to make sure that she had everything she needed for her first lesson. It had only been a month since she'd moved to Phoenix from Jacksonville, and every day she got a little more confident that her decision to move was the right one. She was happy that she was able to find a job quickly and that Rosalie and Alice became fast friends. They'd taken her under their wings and made sure that she felt at home both at school and in the town.

Soon enough the first bell rang and she heard little feet start down the hallway. One by one her little wonders started to walk through the door to greet her with hugs and high fives before they took their seats at their desks. Looking at all of their smiling faces, Bella felt her heart warm. It was those looks right there that drove her every day.

At eight, most of the guys were awake and getting ready to switch teams. Edward grabbed his backpack and went to check out with his Captain. Once he loaded up his car, he made his way into town and stopped at a small coffee shop. Picking up one black drip for himself, he also got one non-fat vanilla latte and walked to the building two doors down. Getting in the elevator, he went up to the top floor.

When the elevator doors opened, he smiled at the name on the frosted glass doors, "Cullen Interior Design." Edward walked into the lobby and smiled quickly at his mother's receptionist without making too much eye contact. Looking down, he said, "Good morning, Jessica. Is my mom available?"

Jessica stood up and licked her teeth to make sure there was no lipstick on them before she aimed her best smile at Edward. Pushing her shoulder's back, she stood straighter and hoped her boobs looked good. "Good morning, Edward. Yes, your mom's here and just settling in. You look-"

"Jessica! Stop flirting with my son and get back to work," Esme yelled from her office.

Edward held back his laugh and nodded to Jessica before walking into his mom's corner office. Shutting the door behind him, he placed the coffee on her desk.

"Edward, didn't I tell you to stop dazzling my staff? It distracts them," Esme said with a smile. Walking over, she gave Edward a hug and kissed his cheek.

"Mom, didn't I tell you to stop hiring bitches in heat?" Edward sat down in the chair across the desk and took a sip of his coffee.

"Edward Anthony!"

"Tell me it's not true," Edward dared his mother with raised eyebrows. When Esme said nothing, he said, "I wouldn't say it if it weren't an accurate assessment. Malibu Barbie out there can't wait to sink her claws into me. I don't even want to look her dead in the eye. Can STDs be transmitted through eye contact? Maybe I should ask Dad."

"Stop it, Edward," Esme said stifling a laugh by taking a sip of her coffee. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit this morning, son?"

"Got a called to a fire last night. 'Just wanted to let you know I'm okay," he said.

Smiling softly, Esme said, "Thank you, son. I heard about the fire on the news this morning. I thought that might've been you. I'm glad no one was hurt last night."

"Yeah, we won. The fire lost," Edward leaned back and closed his eyes.

"Are you off for the day?"

Edward just nodded. "I'm free today. Go back tomorrow for another 24-hour shift. I have to go home and do some laundry. I'm out of clean underwear."

"That's disgusting, Edward," Esme said with a roll of her eyes. "You're getting a little old to be living out of laundry baskets."

"Didn't you read the last issue of People Magazine, mom? 30 is the new 20. I've still got at least 10 more years of living like this," Edward said as he threw his mom his most dazzling smile.

"God help us all. You're lucky I'm not the type of mom that nags about settling down, getting married, and popping out grandchildren."

Edward looked Esme dead in the eye and said, "No, mom. You're not a nagger. You're craftier than that. You throw out passive aggressive, underhanded statements."

"Damn right," Esme winked at Edward. "Now get out. I have to get a bid ready for a ten o'clock. Don't forget to call or text your dad so he knows you're okay too. Will we see you this week?"

"Yeah. I'm off on Sunday. Tell dad I'll be by to watch the game." With that, Edward walked over and kissed his mother on the forehead before walking out of her office.

He praised God, Buddha, Allah, and Michael Jackson that Jessica was on the phone when he passed her desk. Making his way down to his car, Edward tried to remember if he had laundry detergent at home. When he couldn't remember what kind of detergent he even liked to use, he growled in frustration. Maybe there was some legitimacy to what his mom was hinting at. If he had someone in his life, then he wouldn't be going home to an empty house, and he'd have someone to remind him what kind of detergent he liked.

After school, Bella checked her phone and saw that she had a series of text messages from her mother, which was surprising because Renee was one of the most technologically challenged people on Earth.

"B, Phil got me a new cell phone! Look what he taught me to do!"

"You can text me now, and I'll be able to answer you back. He even showed me how to go online from my phone. That's the most amazing thing. Who needs computers?!"

"Did you know there all kinds of abbreviations that you can use? LOL."

"B, you should see all the cool stuff they have online. Some of it just makes me LMAO. Some of it was so good I felt like ROFLMAO."

"Oh, honey, did you know that you can get anything, I mean ANYTHING online? Maybe you should sign up for one of these dating sites? It might help you meet people in your new city. YOLO, sweetie."

Bella threw her phone back in her purse and cursed Phil for teaching her mother how to text. Why did he need to give that woman a new way to cause trouble? Renee was like a little kid on too many pixie sticks when you taught her a new trick. She got all hyper and obsessed over it until her passion for it fizzled out. That's how Renee was with all of her fad hobbies – Tae Bo, Yoga, Pilaties, Pi-Yo, Zumba, and now it was Cross Fit. She was afraid her mom was going to turn into some hard bodied, She-Ra.

Why couldn't Renee be like other mothers and take up knitting? Then Bella's mind went through what it might actually be like. When she pictured the horrendous beanies, scarves, and sweaters she'd have to wear, she decided that maybe texting wasn't so bad.

Sighing, Bella thought, "Moms…"