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All because of one night.
Redmond considered hiding the regression from Courtney but decided instead that he couldn’t put his daughter in a traumatic position again. He refused to see their daughter, and Courtney agreed that his decision was best. They’d always worked well as a team, and their parenting was just as in sync as everything else. Until he figured himself out, Courtney wouldn’t give him visitation rights, and as much as Redmond hated it, he understood.
He showed up to work wearing the same mask he’d worn for years without drawing anyone’s attention. He walked through the halls of the fire station, greeting the men with a nod as usual. He walked into the central pit, looking around for his team. Aiden, the youngest of the men in their engine, sat at one of the desktop computers and turned his head as Redmond entered.
“We’re probably going to have a lot of crashes today with all the rain. You ready?” Aiden asked, leaning back in his seat.
Redmond nodded. “As ready as always.”
He hated the sense of relief he felt at the sentiment of sitting at a car accident rather than facing actual fires—rather than doing their primary job.
“Donovan,” Aiden started. “How are you doing?”
He cringed, realizing that someone had likely brought the news of the shooting to the station. He’d gone to his first shift after the shooting, and nobody had known what happened to him and Chelsea.
“I’m fine.”
“Chelsea told Em about the situation during their meeting the other day. I had no idea. Is there anything I can do for either of you?”
Aiden’s heart was in the right place, but Redmond didn’t need the young man to spread his knowledge around the station. He couldn’t blame Chelsea for talking to her friend about the situation, and he couldn’t blame Emily for bringing it to Aiden, but it had to stop before it got further. Redmond didn’t need the added stress of people knowing.
“No, we’re both fine. I’d appreciate it if you kept the incident to yourself.”
Aiden nodded. “Of course, man.”
Another person walked into the room, and they both looked over at their battalion chief, Kellen. Aiden hardly acknowledged his presence, but Redmond noticed the tightness to his jaw as he walked toward them.
“Hey, Kelly,” Aiden greeted, a grin pulling at the side of his lips. Only Aiden could get away with calling his brother ‘Kelly.’ Redmond just nodded his head at his battalion chief.
“Donovan, we need to have a conversation.”
He knew exactly what the talk would entail, and he wanted to cower away from the confrontation. Redmond wasn’t in denial about the situation. He knew that he hadn’t been upholding the Engine 10 Company’s legacy.
“Yes, sir,” he replied, turning to follow the oldest O’Connor brother into his office.
The office was sparsely decorated, but there was an extra chair across from Kellen’s desk, which Redmond took without permission. They’d been close friends when Kellen used to be a part of Engine 10, so only mild formalities were in order.
Kellen circled the desk and leaned back in his seat with a huff.
“Donovan, I worked with you for years. You’re one of the best firefighters I’ve known. You had my back in some of the worst situations I’ve encountered with the department.” Redmond nodded, but he knew he hadn’t been called to the office to be praised. “I never thought I’d have to call you in here. If it was anyone else with this record, Donovan, I’d have them fired in an instant.”
Donovan nodded, but he had nothing to say. He couldn’t deny the fact that he’d been too scared to go within feet of a fire. He’d been distant and reckless.
“Nobody in your engine was willing to explain why the Engine 10 hasn’t been as stellar as usual. When I turned my attention to Shailene, assuming that the newest member must be the cause, that’s when Sully spoke up. Donovan, your team was ready to be punished to keep your secret. Why didn’t you come to me when you started struggling with the job?”
“I thought I had it under control, sir.”
Kellen snorted and shook his head. “You don’t. So far, nothing drastic has happened, but you could kill one of our brothers if you’re not careful. I’m not going to let it get that far. Not even for you, brother.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to.”
“What are you doing to fix this?” Kellen asked, leaning forward.
Redmond felt like mentioning his therapist was too personal to share with his boss, so he shrugged. “I’m working through it.”
Kellen nodded slowly, narrowing his eyes. “I’ll be keeping an eye on the situation, Redmond. Consider this conversation a warning. Whatever you need to do to get over this, do it.”
Redmond left the office, caught so deep in his thoughts that when the loud bell rang through the fire station and Aiden jumped to his feet, Redmond jumped, hesitating for a long second before following. Once they got closer, Shailene and Sully manifested, already dressed in their turnout gear. Shailene, like usual, beat everyone into the truck as Redmond manned the sirens and peeled the truck from the station, navigating to the roadway where their first traffic accident of the day had occurred.
