Page 53 of Hearts on Fire

The unspoken bond they had between them was second to none. After everything they had been through, they wanted to make the most of every minute.

Excusing herself from her circle of friends, she detached herself from the group and began to ascend the flight of stairs.

“Hey, I've been looking all over for you,” Scotti said as Naomi met her lips with hers. Their kiss was electric but also felt like coming home. However that balance worked.

“I've been attending to the guests. Damn, there are so many of them, have we really saved this many lives? Are people just pretending?'' Naomi joked.

It was nearly unbelievable for her, considering that not all the people were there in person, yet had called in ahead of the day and sent in presents.

This moment was a dream come true; a dream she would have thoroughly denied four years ago when she thought they were going to die.

But now they were two years into marriage and still felt the same for each other as they had since the very beginning.

“Damn, Scotti, I don't know how you pulled this off, especially under my nose all the while.”

“Oh, please, busy bee. It's not that hard.”

Naomi laughed. Her hands went around Scotti's neck. They were vaguely aware of the fact that they were still there on the steps and nearly everyone could see them. To them, it was just themselves they could see.

“I saw your former captain somewhere around,” Naomi mentioned.

“Really?” Scotti's eyes widened.

After the incident where they were trapped by the fire, Scotti realized that news of her bravado had spread. She had saved the famous Doctor Naomi Crane. Again. The press visited and interviewed, and the news carried the story. She felt a bit of a fraud for this one, as if it hadn’t been for her team on the other side of that crumbling wall seeking out the wailing sirens that signalled ‘Firefighter down’ neither of them would have survived. Her decision to move Naomi and try and get through a wall had been luck rather than judgement. It was Naomi. Brave, beautiful, super smart, Naomi. The love of her life. She couldn’t have just sat by surrounded by flames and let her die when her air ran out. Nevertheless, she figured she had done enough actual hero stuff in the past to perhaps warrant the attention. Not long after, she was promoted to captain.

Being captain meant having an even more hectic schedule and more responsibility. But Scotti loved that and had never failed in her duties. Being Captain meant she went into fires a lot less often and although the old Scotti would have always said that wasn’t what she wanted, the new Scotti definitely had a peace with it.

A small blonde girl toddled towards her and reached up her arms. “Mama,”

Scotti beamed with love and pride. If there was one person on this planet she loved as much as she loved Naomi, it was Romily. “Hey baby girl.” She scooped her up and kissed her all over her face until she was giggling.

Scotti had never been afraid of dying. But, she was afraid of losing Naomi and Romily. And dying would mean losing Naomi and Romily, losing her greatest loves.

Ashley the nanny showed up. “Do you want me to take Romily for a bit, give you guys some time.”

“That would be great, thanks Ashley.”

“I think I saw Agnes somewhere too. She was probably the first person here this morning.”

“Yeah, she's in the back. There are people in the swimming pool.”

“There are people everywhere,” Naomi said.

Scotti gave her a naughty look. “I know somewhere where there are no people,” she said.

“Trust me, Scotti, there are people in the bathroom too.”

Scotti grabbed Naomi's hand. “You've been so hardworking, Naomi. You deserve to see how many lives you've touched. I've been meaning to say that to you all morning.”

Naomi’s eyes glistened, thoroughly touched.

“But I have a little something for you, for all the hard work.”

Naomi narrowed her eyes and arched her brow. “Is it what I think it is?” They were walking now, waving at people as they passed. Soft music played in the background as their guests danced and sang.

Naomi wondered what Scotti was up to. Scotti had already given her a lot for one day and she was unable to guess what was coming now.

Until they stopped in front of their bedroom and Scotti opened the door to let her in.

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