Page 24 of Phoenix Rising

"But what about our work? We have to be on a team together." Lucinda took a bite and thought that she could eat this pizza every day for the rest of her life.

"Hot," Artie said, making Lucinda laugh.

After dinner, Artie and Lucinda traded numbers to keep in touch.

The next few days, Lucinda threw herself into preparing for next week's wildfire drill. She began organizing her efforts, making sure the medical teams would be absolutely perfect. She stayed up late so she wouldn't dream about what happened in Becky's office. Lunch with the chief waspostponed because of the cold Lucinda had "developed." They both knew it was a lie. She was sure of it.

Becky: No worries. Let's touch base after the drill. Feel better!

The text glared at Lucinda, who was very much not sick but hiding away in her office.

Still no mention of the kiss. Lucinda was going to pull her hair out. At this point, she wondered if she had just imagined the whole thing. Becky didn't text her, call her, or stop by her office. Why would Becky stop by the hospital? It wasn't like they were dating or anything.

The day of the drill came upon her with no warning. She was utterly exhausted, but she was satisfied with her work. She sat in the back of the firehouse's briefing room with the rest of her medical team, waiting for the firefighters to start streaming in.

"Dr. Everett?"

She looked up from her files to see Becky holding two drinks in her hands. She was wearing the red firefighter shirtsleeves instead of her standard chief uniform. The woman looked strong in the more relaxed fit, causing Lucinda's pulse to skyrocket.

"Good morning, Chief Thompson," Lucinda said simply.

Becky shifted awkwardly on her feet. "Got you this." She set down a frappuccino in front of Lucinda. Caramel was drizzled on the side of the cup, and it was topped with a heaping mound of whipped cream. "The coffee shop was having a buy-one-get-one-free thing, ya know?"

Lucinda tried to stifle the broad smile that wanted to break across her face. "This is exactly what I needed this morning. Thank you."

Becky licked her lips and smiled. "Sure, Doctor." She walked to the front of the briefing hall like she hadn't just given Lucinda such a sweet gesture.

Lucinda sipped from the sweet drink, butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

"Alright, Dr. Everett's team has already been briefed on the medical side. My team"—she pointed at the firefighters and motioned toward the map on the back wall—"there will be a controlled area where we start our wildfire and a place where we set up the med tent. Actors will be pretending to be pedestrians with casualties. They will be away from the controlled fire but must still be transported to our med centers.Once we get the alarm, we need to act like this is a real situation. So, planning our attack, getting to the area, and setting up our lines. Understood?"

"Understood."

Becky smiled at her crew. "Then let's get started."

Once they got the call, Lucinda flew into action. She got her team to the parking lot next to the control field. It only took them twenty minutes to get the tent fully set up.

"Move oxygen tanks to location 1F," Lucinda barked.

The few residents and nurses moved easily to get everything in place before the first casualty was brought in.

Lucinda's radio buzzed on her hip. "Ready, Doctor? Over." Becky's voice cut through.

"Yes, Chief, over," Lucinda said, handing over a clipboard to a nurse.

"Alright, people!" Lucinda clipped her radio back on her hip. "The drill is live! Let's keep this as smooth as possible."

Ember hauled in their first patient, who had realistic burns made out of tissue and makeup stuck to his arm.

"Third-degree burn," Ember said as she set the man on the cot, her full gear clunking.

The man was wailing and crying, a true Tony-worthy performance. "My wife!"

"She's right behind us, sir," Ember said.

"Thank you, Thompson," Lucinda said. "Let's get this man some help!"

A nurse and resident immediately went to the man to patch up his fake wounds. Ember nodded at Lucinda before leaving the tent. Curious.

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