Chapter Text
It’s no secret that many veterans have issues adjusting back to civilian life when they get out of service, no matter how long they were enlisted or how many tours they had. This held doubly true for Fatima. She still technically held her commission, although she spent her time stateside with the National Guard now, but that did not make things any easier. If anything, it was worse. She might not be overseas anymore, but she wasn’t a full civilian either.
It felt like she was in a weird in-between. Having decided to join the LAFD a few years back on the advice of her best friend, the transition was easier. She didn’t trust the silence though. After growing up in Iraq in the nineties and later serving a large part of her 17 years of active duty back in her home country, the sights and sounds of warfare were all she knew. Los Angeles was by no means a sleepy little town in the middle of nowhere, but the chaos of a lifetime of war took its toll on Fatima, even though she’s back in the US permanently now. You would have to put a gun to her head to force her to go back to active combat.
Bouncing around a few different houses after joining up with LAFD and filling in for people as more of a temporary fix versus a permanent addition to anyone’s team didn’t help matters very much either. While she never wanted to go overseas again and having long since adapted to the schedule her National Guard duties required of her, she couldn’t help but think how much she missed the camaraderie and family she tried to find with the men and women she served with. The people who served under her relied on her, and she on them. She was perfectly content not getting Captain, or being in charge of anyone else … well, ever again really, but she was feeling listless without a family of her own.
So, when the news came in that one of the houses close to her home was looking to fill a permanent spot, she put in the application. She never really thought that much of anything would come of it, having filled out many of them in the past and finding that it never worked out… Come to think of it, she had filled the thing out a few months ago but she did it anyway. She thought that might as well give it a try. Putting it out of her mind, she decided she better be semi-productive and went downstairs to the basement turned home gym and hopped on the treadmill. Fiddling with the remote to the speaker system until she found the playlist she wanted, she turned the volume up to max while she put her towel off to the side of the console and settled into her familiar cardio routine.
She was some ways through the hour-long workout, serene amid her run until a phone call interrupted the music on the speakers, wincing slightly at the shrill ringtone and stumbling as she grabbed the safety handles and caught her breath. While she was feeling a little skeptical at the unfamiliar phone call, she turned off the usual cardio program she ran and crossed over the basement floor to disconnect her phone from its usual place in the dock on the speaker system and answered it. Having long gotten used to getting random calls, her innate good manners had her answering in a matter-of-fact tone, “Fatima Pierce.”
The man on the other end of the line cleared his throat and introduced himself. “Firefighter Pierce, Captain Bobby Nash. Do you have a moment? I saw your file come across my desk regarding the opening we have over here at the 118. I have a few questions for you. If you have a chance, could you come down to the firehouse so we could talk face to face?”
Feeling a wave of anxiety wash over her, she replied almost instantly. “Of course, Captain, I can be there in about an hour.”
”Sounds good! I’ll see you soon. When you get here just let whoever you come across know you’re there to speak with me and I’ll be right there.”
”Thank you very much Captain, I will see you soon.” Hanging up after they said their goodbyes, she felt slight panic. Even though she had never really spent much time in the American school system, something in her still felt like she was being called into the principal's office. Even when she was at the height of her army career, and while by all accounts an exemplary soldier, getting called into the commander’s office had always sent a chill down her spine. She always felt a need to prove herself, and being singled out for whatever reason for a private conversation by her superiors was terror-inducing indeed.
Fumbling with the phone in her hand, she almost tripped over one of the exercise mats as she ran through the house to take a shower. With military precision, she scrubbed away the sweat from her workout, being careful not to wet her hair. She didn’t have the time to properly wash and dry her hair before she had to be at the 118. Well, she probably could have gotten away with it… but she was always early to things and this meeting Captain Nash had requested had her feeling on edge.
Drying off, she walked over to her walk-in closet in search of an outfit professional enough for a meeting with a potential employer that hid the tattoos on her arms and chest as well as the many scars she preferred to keep hidden from… Well, everyone. None of the people she met since she left Iraq knew. Not those who served under her or even the man she’d been seeing for a few months knew.
Her best friend that she lived with knew some of it but seeing as they’d both served together in the same unit (she sighed in front of her tops, fond memories of that time coming to mind), as a fellow veteran he knew better than to ask. That was what she loved so much about him; they just got each other in a way no one else had. He was the family she chose, and he knew more about her than anyone else.
Shaking her head to focus back on choosing what to wear, she quickly pulled off a green button-up blouse, black pants, a bomber jacket, and trusty black boots. Even though she knew she was more civilian than soldier at this point, she still never saw much point in having a lot of shoes, and anything but boots or workout shoes felt odd. It was handy, she thought, they served multiple purposes. They were nice boots, she wore them to work a shift with the LAFD, she wore them out in public… She wore them to practically everything that wasn’t army-related or a workout now that she thought about it. Pulling her hair back into her usual bun, she tucked her dog tags back under her shirt and steeled her nerves as she grabbed her keys and made her way over to the 118.
Pulling into a visitor parking spot, she tapped her feet nervously in her car before she psyched herself up and got out, walking in through the open doors, looking for anyone who could introduce her to Captain Nash. She took a moment to look around the nice, well-equipped house and thought to herself that this house was far nicer than the ones she’s been floating around in. She was still looking around, standing off to the side of one of the engines close to the entrance to stay out of the way when she heard someone talking to her.
“Can I help you?”
Turning to look at the man who had walked around the side of one of the engines, she saw that they were probably about the same height if she had to hazard a guess and introduced herself. Darn her polite manners. “Yes hi, I’m here to meet with Captain Nash? I got a phone call asking for me to come by and meet with him. Fatima Pierce.”
Quirking an eyebrow, the man extended a hand to her to shake it. “Eddie Diaz. What brings you out to the 118?” Pausing a moment, he turned around to shout out, “Hey Cap! Come on over here.” Turning back at her he threw the towel he had in his hands over one of his shoulders and leaned against the engine. “You’re not a probie are you?”
She chuckled. It was a fair question, she got it a lot. A perpetual newbie, her best friend said. “No, no, I’ve been with the LAFD for about 2 years now. I’ve floated around, filling in where I’m needed. I’ve been to like half the houses in the Greater Los Angeles area by now.” She shook her head and stuffed her hands in her jacket pockets. “What can I say, I move around a lot.”
Before Eddie could say anything else, Captain Nash came jogging around the same side of the engine Eddie had, and the pair of them both turned around to look at him. Bobby focused his attention on Fatima first. “Can I help you ma’am?”
”Fatima Pierce, Captain. We spoke on the phone earlier?”
Hearing her name, he reached out a hand to shake hers. “Ah yes, Firefighter Pierce, thank you for coming in on such short notice. I see you already met Eddie. Follow me, we can speak in my office.”
She gave him a firm handshake in return, turning back to Eddie and nodded at him, noting that he seemed to be more in awe of her than his initial curiosity. Not that she wasn’t used to it, anyone she spoke to seemed to have no real idea what to think of her. This fact suited her just fine, she was quite content in not talking about herself. She was highly disciplined in all aspects of her life, thanks to close to two decades in the military as a commissioned officer. “It was nice meeting you.”
Turning around, she followed Captain Nash into his office and waited until he gestured to one of the chairs in front of his desk before she sat down. Placing a hand on his chair, he sat down in front of her and shuffled around a few of the stacks of paper on his desk before he pulled out what she assumed was her personnel file and application. Adjusting her posture, she clasped her hands together and put them on her knees, waiting while Captain Nash looked through her records, feeling almost self-conscious. Much to her best friend's chagrin, she was eternally downplaying her accomplishments and accolades, instead opting for minor amounts of self-deprecating humor. She was around 34 years old when she joined the academy, and she had hopped around so many different houses not finding a permanent home that she was beginning to get concerned at the silent perusal of her paperwork until he spoke up.
”Well Firefighter Pierce, I have to say these are some impressive qualifications. You got top marks at the academy, broke a few records. From what I can see here, you waited to apply to the LAFD until you were 34. Could you tell me about that?”
Holding back some nervous energy, she formulated her response. “Well Captain, I joined the Army when I was 17. Got my commission shortly after. I spent most of my life in Iraq, and eventually, it was time I made some changes. I felt at the time that while I no longer wanted to be a part of active combat, I still wanted to be of service and one of my friends recommended the LAFD. A lot of veterans join the fire department or the police, and I’ve spent enough time holding a gun that, quite frankly, I had no real desire to continue to do so.”
Captain Nash took a moment to laugh at her matter-of-fact way of speaking, which instantly set her at ease, dropping her shoulders and feeling more relaxed than she had in a very long time (if ever, if she was being honest with herself.) “Well, credit goes out to you for being that honest with yourself Fatima. A good firefighter recognized their limits”
She felt a rush of familiarity and warmth go through her at the sound of her first name, the only thing she had left from her home country. “I’m not so sure about that Captain, I’m still in the army. I’m this close to retiring with full benefits, I spend days I’m not with the LAFD down at the National Guard base in Torrance.”
”I can see that. 19 years in the army, as an officer no less, I could see how that would eventually take its toll.” Contemplating her words, he wanted to get more familiar with her, and her comfortable with him and continued. “Please, call me Bobby. I have a few more questions for you if you don’t mind, then we can get started on the next steps.”
Caught off guard, she sputtered a bit around her next words. “Cap- sorry, Bobby,” she caught herself at the look Bobby gave her. “Sorry, force of habit. Please, go on.”
Softly smiling at her to try and keep her at ease, he leaned forward, placing his elbows on the desk. “You don’t need to be nervous Fatima. I just have a few more questions about your history, that's all.” He looked down at her file, presumably looking for the spots in it he had questions about. “Let’s see here, education. High school in… New York? Looks like that was from 2001 through to 2004 when you graduated?”
Unclasping her hands, she rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, yeah. I was born in Basra, in southern Iraq close to the Iranian and Kuwaiti borders. Spent most of my childhood bouncing around, picking up any book I could get my hands on. Taught myself English when I was around… 10 I believe? Somehow ended up translating for a few of the American soldiers I’d come across who eventually took me in. When some of them rotated home, they took me with them. I was adopted when I was 14 and went through an accelerated program to graduate. It just made sense to join up as soon as I could.”
She was rambling. Damn her, she knew she was rambling but her childhood and well, lack of formal education was always a sore spot for her. She’d suspected that was a large part of why previous houses she had applied to had just rejected her outright. It didn’t matter how well she did in the academy, but she'd overheard enough conversations from the houses she’d covered shifts for to know people did not see that as a good thing.
Somehow sensing her train of thought, Bobby snapped her out of her self-deprecating train of thought. “It’s okay Fatima. Now, was your path to the LAFD unusual? Yes, absolutely.” Raising her gaze, she let out a chuckle. It certainly was that. “But, if I may?”
Focusing back on Bobby, she quirked her head. “Yes sir?”
”It takes a lot of courage to do what you did. You are darn good at what you do. You joined up to serve a country that was not your own. You didn’t have to do that.”
”With all due respect Captain, yes. I did. American soldiers saved my life, I had to return the favor. With no real family to speak of… Well, the Army was my family in a way. I needed to give back.”
”You gave back and then some. There’s a lot of commendations here,” he said, looking down at her file again. “That’s not something just any ordinary soldier would do,” he pointed out. “This is a record to be proud of Fatima.”
His words gave her pause. She had so few meaningful relationships in her life that such praise was highly unusual for her. Something about Captain Nash just made her instantly comfortable, a sense that this is someone she can rely on. Someone who would have her back, while she, in turn, would wholeheartedly defend and follow. “I’ve followed, and given a lot of orders Bobby,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “At this point, it’s second nature.”
It was Bobby’s turn to do some thinking himself. Here in front of him was a highly accomplished and skilled woman. “Firefighter and soldier. You’re a busy woman, aren’t you?” She chuckled at that. “Can you give me some more details about that? From what I can see here, you’re still active duty.”
She was back at ease, somehow. He’s one of those rare leaders she thought, insanely talented at reading those under him and already in tune with her emotions and line of thinking. Leaning back, she chose her words carefully. “I mean, of course. I spent most of my time in either Iraq or Afghanistan. I was around 19 when I got my first command. Because I grew up in southern Iraq, I went straight back once I graduated training. Went between Iraq and Afghanistan for the most part.”
Bobby’s smile seemed permanent at this point. He handpicked every single person in his house, and while a few of the files on his desk were impressive… They were impressive on paper. The opening he had on A shift had been there for a few months at that point, and any of the people he had called in well, he could sense that none of them were going to be the right fit. He could, however, see that she was going to be absolutely perfect for the 118.
”I know you can’t go into specifics but before we get to the paperwork,” he ignored her stunned expression on her face and continued on, “Could you tell me a bit about what your job was? Obviously it looks like it prepared you plenty to do so well in the academy, but the file doesn’t say much about your time in service.”
”Oh, um…. Well throughout, I was for the most part a translator. English is not my first language and with such a need for troops in Iraq in the early 2000s, it was easier to be of some sort of service by starting there. I knew the language, the culture, the people. They tended to trust us more if I was there, you know?”
”Makes sense,” he said, nodding along. He kind of knew more surface-level-type information about the US in the Middle East (everyone alive, when 9/11 happened, could tell you what exactly they were doing, when, and where), but it was different having someone with a wealth of knowledge about it who he could see had a front line and first-hand experience of it. “I take it you did that the whole time?”
”For the most part, yes sir. Sorry, Bobby.” She chuckled. “A lifetime of rigid protocol is hard to break, if I know someone’s rank, well. Old habits die hard.” She shook her head. Politeness and deference are in her DNA at this point. “Yes, I did. I tended to go wherever needed. Be of service you know? When I joined, I had initially signed up to be a pilot. Didn’t have much time to do it in the field, but it was more of an as-needed basis than anything. My license is still active, it should be in the file somewhere if you want to double-check.”
At this point, Bobby was also more relaxed, and he leaned back in his chair. That helped explain one of the questions he had, he could see that her one emergency contact was a long-familiar name to him. “I did see that. Shame you never got to use it much.”
Shrugging her shoulders, she continued. “I mean, it is, and it isn’t. I remember meeting my best friend that way. We were pretty much inseparable ever since until he got out. We stayed in constant contact though, even when I was still re-enlisting. I spent most of my time overseas.”
Bobby took careful note of the warm smile that was now on Fatima’s face. “It’s clear he means a lot to you if he’s one of the names on your emergency contact list. Him and your…“ trailing off, he looked down at her file to double-check the information, “Uncle Ben, is that right?”
Nodding, she concurred. “That’s correct. They’re like family to me. The whole ‘family is bonds you build, not the one you are born into’ thing, you know? I was brought to the US when I was 14 or so, so I made my own family. As insufferable as they can be sometimes, I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. Tommy was the one who recommended I try my hand at the academy. I’ve found that it’s made transitioning out of the military a bit easier, finding a way to feel of service to people.”
Taking her words into consideration, he sensed that this was not information she volunteered very readily. He could tell that she was a bit uneasy at his silence, watching her shift nervously in her chair but he needed time to process what she had talked about with him thus far. This uncle of hers was the only family that she listed anywhere in her information. Nothing of her parents-adopted or otherwise. Her file paints her as something of a loner, if it wasn’t for Tommy’s name (and oh, what a surprise that was) in her file throughout, he might be more concerned than curious.
Highly trained and qualified as she was, when she started talking, he could see someone who very much kept to herself. Tommy was good people though, and from what he knew of the both of them they fit together very well indeed. “Fatima?”
Snapping her head up, she was obviously very nervous. She didn’t purposely volunteer that information, but something in Bobby just made her feel so at ease that she felt she had to extend some sort of trust. Which she did not do lightly. “Yes sir?”
Tilting his head, he said his next words very carefully, trying to put her at ease on purpose versus stumbling across it accidentally like he had done earlier. “Thank you for sharing that with me. You shared a lot about yourself, and I value your candor. I won’t thank you for your service, since something about you tells me you wouldn’t accept it anyway.” His words had the desired effect, her posture relaxing back to being more at ease as she chuckled and ducked her head, bashful. This was not a woman used to receiving this type of praise.
”You would be right about that one.”
Taking a moment, he rifled through one of his filing cabinets before he found what he was looking for. Arranging the files of the applications and transfer requests he had on top of his desk, he put the bulk of them in one tower and placed hers in a separate cabinet, labeled “active personnel.” Turning back toward her, he adjusted his posture and waited until she did the same. “Luckily, since you’ve already been a firefighter for a few years now, we don’t need you to fill out anything special. All of your onboarding information is still up to date, and anything in your file that needs updating is something I will do on my end. I assume that your beneficiary is still Tommy, correct?”
He looked at her, watching as she nodded her assent. “Alright then. Last thing, before I take you out to introduce you to the A shift.” He knew he was going about this in a roundabout way, “making a game of things” as Chimney once said about him, but as Fatima said earlier, old habits die hard. Moving his chair, he stood up and Fatima did so shortly after, noting that she stood “at ease” more or less. She lived up to the “once a soldier, always a soldier” stereotype he thought, although he supposed she still was one. Just in a different capacity. Moving away from behind his desk and closer to her, he stood a few feet away.
“Let me know if there’s going to be any conflict in your schedule once we get you started. On behalf of all of us, welcome to the 118. Firefighter Pierce.” Reaching out, he took her hand in a firm handshake. He always strived to tailor how he approached the men and women he served with to what would best suit them, and this was the sort of thing that seemed best suited to her. It was a little more formal than what he usually did, but he wanted to pay respect due to a woman with her background as well as what he thought would be best appreciated by her and he wanted to return the trust she had given to him in kind. Placing his left hand over where their hands were still clasped together, he squeezed hers with both hands before letting them go.
”Will do Bobby. I tend to serve more on an as-needed basis these days. I almost always know far in advance of any long-term assignments, it’s one of the benefits to being someone in charge.” Finishing her statement, her brain finally fully processed what Bobby had said. She thought she was here for a full grilling, taking into account what happened when she had put in her previous requests to find a permanent station. She was used to that. She was used to getting the third degree, captains going over every inch of her file with a fine-tooth comb, and not once had someone ever wanted to know more about the whys behind her record instead of pure facts. Bobby watched her brain short-circuit in real time, quite amused. “Wait what? What just happened? That-that’s it?”
Chuckling, he took a slight risk and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I didn't call you down here to interrogate you, Fatima. You’re already a fine firefighter, but I wanted to know more about you. Everyone is more than just what cold, hard facts say about them. You have close to twenty years in the Army, you could retire right now and take your pension and go if you wanted to, but you obviously don’t, or you would have done so by now. You joined the LAFD so you could still be of service, as you’ve said. That’s impressive. We have one veteran on A shift already, and you got along with him just fine. I brought you down here to get to know you and I like what I’ve heard about you already.”
Beaming at this point, she turned slightly bashful at the blush she felt on her cheeks. “That’s high praise, Captain Nash.” Her smile turned cheeky at this point, using his formal title as a little joke compared to the nervous habit of always referring to a superior by rank.
Barking out a laugh, he tapped her back with his hand and gestured to the door. “And don’t you forget it. Come on, let’s go introduce you to everyone.” Opening the door, he made his way through the station and up the stairs to where the shift was congregating on the second level that overlooked the vehicle bay. Standing in a way that everyone knew meant he had something to say, they all put down what they were doing and turned to look at them both, curious about the visitor they all saw that had spent considerable time before their shift started in the captain’s office.
Clapping his hands together, he turned to look at everyone. “Alright, 118. As I am sure you are all aware, I’ve spent the last few months looking to fill the open spot on your shift. Well, after looking through what feels like half of Los Angeles at this point-“ everyone laughed at that, used to Bobby’s sense of humor. Their curiosity was piqued, sensing where Bobby was going with this, what with the woman who was standing a little off to his side. “It seems I finally found it. Everyone, I’d like to formally introduce you to the 118’s newest addition, Firefighter Fatima Pierce. Eddie, I believe you already met her.”
Standing up, Eddie made his way over to her too, feeling no need to introduce himself again. “Well, since you never got to answer my question earlier it looks like I found my answer.” Clapping her on the shoulder, he let out a chuckle. “Welcome to the 118.”
Bobby looked at the two of them with a certain sense of warmth. They had a lot in common. Both were obviously different people, but the fact that both of them had served? He was glad that it was Eddie who first came across her. Turning back toward the rest of the gang, he spoke up again, gesturing at each of the people he was referring to. “Alright Fatima, you already met Eddie. We also have Buck, Chimney, and Hen. If you could please take a moment to introduce yourself, we can go ahead and get you on your way.”
Making way for her, he moved over to one of the couches where Buck and Chimney were sitting. “Okay then. Hi, I’m Fatima. I’ve been with the LAFD for about 2 years now. Um, let's see…” Rubbing her hands together, she thought over her next words carefully. “Joined the Army when I was 17 and made my way to LA a few years ago. I’ve been in the area ever since.” Finished with her short introduction, she nodded her acknowledgment of the other firefighters who were looking at her.
Everyone was thinking about her words, Bobby especially. Fatima had opened up to him about much of her history, and while he had some sense that her candor with him was special, he didn’t fully grasp just how special it was until he watched her more polite demeanor take over as she gave a broader strokes-style introduction of herself to the team. He was still one hundred percent sure this was the right fit, and he knew full well that it took everyone on the team a while to be fully comfortable with each other whenever someone new had joined and figured out how best to work with and get to know each other and mesh well as a single unit. Sensing Buck was about to say something, presumably to ask some questions about what Fatima and Eddie had in common (or even acknowledging to the team that it was Eddie who saw and spoke to her first), he turned back to Fatima, trying to stop any nervous energy she might have at the pass. “Alright everyone, you can save your interrogation for her first shift. But for now, once again, welcome to the 118. We will see you in a few days, Firefighter Pierce.”
Considering the inside joke that it seemed she and Bobby had stumbled across by happenstance, she turned towards the group and gave a little wave. “It was lovely meeting everyone, I’ll see you in a few days.” Nodding again, she turned around and quickly made her way down the stairs and back to her car. Getting in, she thought that maybe, just maybe she was finally where she belonged.