A/N this is my first story in a very long time. So hopefully its not terrible. I have finally gotten back into watching Chicago Fire so I had this idea floating around for a while. Enjoy! Some lines from 4x21 are in italics.
The apartment door opened and closed quietly, so quiet, it was like the person entering the apartment did not want to be seen or heard. Joe frowned, that wasn't the way Otis normally entered the apartment. For a moment he wondered if Otis' fear was true, and that he was going to lose his spot on eighty-one and have to move Houses. He shook his head, that was impossible, there was no way that Boden and Casey would allow Otis to lose his position on eighty-one while on medical leave, it just wasn't them. He turned his head to watch as Otis walked into the apartment undoing is bow-tie, his face crestfallen.
"Otis, buddy, are you okay?" Joe asked,
Otis startled as if he had not seen Joe, he shrugged. "I'm fine."
"You don't look it," stated Joe, rising to his feet and looking his friend and roommate in the eye. Otis just shrugged and went to walk past Joe to his room. Joe caught his arm gently and turned Otis to face him. "Seriously, I know something is wrong and you're worrying me."
"It's nothing," sniped Otis, taking his arm back forcefully. "Why are you worrying anyway? I bet you all had a great time at Molly's laughing about my evening with Connie. Not like any of you were worried you were losing your spots at fifty-one."
"That was just a joke! And we didn't know that you would arrange tickets for Connie!" Defended Joe, as he held his arms up in surrender.
Otis shook his head and glared at Joe. "Oh sorry. My mistake. I should have known it was joke by all the comments you were all saying about how great my replacement was." Otis took a step forward towards Joe and then stepped back in defeat. "I mean, how could I compare to him? He was much taller and stronger than me, what can I bring to eighty-one that he can't? Nothing." With that, Otis turned and started to walk to his room before Joe could say anything in reply.
Joe slumped back onto the couch and sighed. He hadn't thought about how Otis would respond to the joke, but in hindsight, he should have known that Otis would react badly. His whole life, Otis had been compared to his older brothers and this comparison worsened for Otis the moment he became a firefighter. Due to the comparisons to Vlad and Dimitri, Otis had suffered from a lack of confidence for years, and to have his friends commenting on how great his replacement was, even if that replacement was only temporary. Then how would Otis know that his family at fifty-one would not have him transferred anywhere? That they were only joking? All his life, Otis had never felt good enough, and this was just another comparison he couldn't live up to in his mind. So, with a determined nod to himself, Joe decided that he was going to show Otis how loved he was at fifty-one and how much everyone wanted him back in the drivers' seat of eighty-one.
Joe soon realised that his plan was easier said than done. Even when Otis' medical leave was over and he was back on shift. Otis kept to himself for the two days between shifts. He refused to go to Molly's, he barely left his room and didn't say much to Joe. As Joe racked his brains on how he could help Otis, he remembered the days after Otis got his diagnosis from Will. For a while, Otis wandered around the apartment as if in a daze, not too dissimilar to his behaviour now, and after he notified Chief about needing to be on medical leave his spirit seemed to pick up. Although, whatever was said in that meeting had Joe worried at the time, he knew Otis, knew him very well, and despite others seeing him slightly disheartened. Joe knew he had been upset and crying in Chief's office. It had worried him because he was on shift, he couldn't keep an eye on Otis once he left. However, he came home the next day to see Otis throwing out their junk food, his spirit revived.
"I'm not going to take this thing lying down Cruz. I'm gonna beat this thing."
"Well, I'm right there with you Otis. We're gonna beat this thing together."
They did beat it together, but then Joe had to join in the joke, not realising its implications at the time. So now, he had to figure out how to revive Otis' spirit again.
He was sat at the Squad table, staring off into the distance, wondering how he could make it up to Otis. Granted he hadn't played a big part in the joke, like Herrmann, Mouch, Stella and Casey, but he'd still taken part. He jumped when someone stopped in front of him. He looked up to find Cindy looking down at him in concern.
"Joe are you okay? You look upset," said Cindy, she put down her shopping bag and sat in the empty seat beside him.
"It's about Otis," he softly replied.
Cindy reached across the table to hold his hand, "But he's better now isn't he? Christopher said he was back on shift."
Joe hung his head and then told her everything.
Joe was scared. Very scared. And he wasn't even a target of angry Cindy Herrmann. She was on a warpath and her first victims were Herrmann and Mouch. She pulled them into the briefing room. Joe caught Otis looking confused and gestured for Otis to come and watch, he hesitated but Joe waved more vigorously and even propped the door open a little. Curiosity got the better of Otis and he walked down the corridor towards the briefing room door. They both leaned in to listen to Cindy.
"…Aw Cindy it was just a joke!" protested Herrmann.
"Just a joke Christopher?" snapped Cindy, "Poor Otis was on medical leave, coming to visit you all because he was stuck at his and Joe's apartment alone, and you had the audacity to joke about him getting replaced?!"
"We joke around with each other all the time!" countered Herrmann, his voice getting louder. Mouch was stood like a deer caught in headlights, flickering his eyes from Herrmann to Cindy.
"Well this, Christopher, crossed the line. Otis was unsure of when he could return to work and you acted as if you wouldn't care if he was transferred!"
"Of course, I would care! I watched him grow from a Candidate to driver of eighty-one, he was put on mine and Mouch's hips! We trained him! He's a damn great firefighter! Do you really think we would want to see him go?!"
Joe turned to see Otis looking at Herrmann with wide eyes and a smile on his face. Feeling eyes watching him, Otis turned to Joe and said, "You should have warned me this was happening. I would have brought popcorn."
Joe snorted in amusement and then they turned back to the action in the briefing room.
Cindy drew herself up to her full height and glared at Herrmann. "Well, consider how Otis must have felt. He probably thought you did want to see him gone. I heard what you had been saying about his replacement in front of him."
Mouch began to slink sideways towards the door that led to the common room, he froze when Cindy's glare landed on him. "Randall McHolland. You are not going anywhere; I have not finished yet."
"Oh God…" murmured Mouch.
Joe and Otis snorted into their hands in a bid not to be seen or heard.
"I am very disappointed and you both need to apologise to Otis. Now." Snapped Cindy, she turned and saw Joe and Otis. Her angry expression melted away into a motherly smile, she beckoned them into the room. "Ah Otis, perfect timing. These two have something they need to say."
Joe looked at Herrmann and Mouch who both rubbed the backs of their heads.
"I'm really sorry Otis. I didn't think about how it would all sound to you," said Mouch, he walked forward and briefly hugged Otis. "I'm really sorry."
"It's okay Mouch," smiled Otis as he returned the hug.
Mouch stepped to the side and then Herrmann looked up at Otis and smiled. "I'm sorry as well kid. Sometimes I open my big mouth before I think and trust me when I say, there is no way on this earth that I would ever want to see you transferred out of here okay? I'm really sorry."
Otis was nearly knocked flying by the force of the hug he received from Herrmann. "Got it Herrmann," chuckled Otis.
Cindy rubbed her hands together. "Excellent. Now excuse me while I go and find Matthew and Stella for a chat." With that Cindy bustled out of the room and out of sight.
"God help them," said Herrmann as he and Mouch headed out into the common room.
Joe turned to Otis and brought his friend into a crushing hug. "I'm sorry to brother. I knew what was going on and I only joined in. I shouldn't have. I also shouldn't have let you think for a second that you were going to be transferred. Where you go, I go."
Otis hugged Joe back fiercely. "It's okay Joe, you didn't say much and I over reacted."
Joe pushed Otis back to look him in the eye. "You did not over react. You were on an unknown timeline of returning to work and you were upset. Just accept the apologises!"
Otis nodded and smiled, "Okay." He hugged Joe again and murmured "I love you brother."
"Love you to," smiled Joe.
A/N I just wanted someone to apologise to Otis for the joke, you could see he was taking them seriously and thought he was going to be transferred. I also love Cindy Herrmann she is a gift, and any scene/episode she is in I love it!