Rookie Mistakes: A Station 19 FanFiction

Chapter 1: The New Rookie

     "Hi there, everyone. My name is Lily-Anne Young, but everyone calls me Lily," I pause out of nervousness, hesitant about what I should say next. "Umm..... this is my first job as a firefighter. I just finished training a few weeks ago, so I am eager to start fighting fires and saving people's lives. I am just trying to say that I am very excited to learn what this job is all about." Feeling anxious about my peers' stares, I smile and stop talking.

     I stare at the ground for what feels like a whole minute before I hear a woman's voice and quickly look up to see who is speaking. It is a woman with the name Bishop threaded into her shirt. "First of all," the blonde-headed woman with an offended look on her face says in a firm voice as she rolls her eyes and glances at the woman standing next to her, Herrera, who smirks, "This "job" is not just an ordinary job. It is your life for the rest of your life... unless you decide you can't handle it anymore." Singing her last statement, another woman butts who is standing to her left, mumbling, "or you know....dies." This woman has brown skin and the most perfectly braided back black hair that ends with a puff of curly hair that I can see as she turns to face Bishop, who nods. This woman has the last name Hughes stitched into her collared shirt. "And second of all," Bishop pauses, "Is your first name Lily-Anne or is your middle name Anne?" I smirk and answer, knowing well that this is not the first time someone has been confused about my stupid name, "my first name is Lily-Anne, my middle name is Kay, and my last name," I say, grabbing my shirt and looking down at my new uniform, "is Young." "Good to clear that up," Bishop replies, quickly smirking at me.

     With all eyes on me, I hesitate, deciding whether to tell them the truth or to quickly come up with a lie. I don't even know these people, and so far, they don't seem very welcoming. However, starting with a lie is never good, so I decided to get on with my story. "Umm...," I try to find the right words to explain this, "when I was eleven years old, the house my family and I lived in burned down. My mom and one of my sisters died in that fire. All my childhood memories were there also, so it was tough to lose everything I've ever had up to that point in my life." "Oh," Hughes and Bishop whisper simultaneously with shocked looks. I notice each of the team members having a sorrowful look. "Ever since," I continue, "I have wanted to become a firefighter so I could hopefully save the lives of people like my mom and sister. With all this, I am excited to have made it to this point in my life." I glance at each group member with sad faces and look down at my brand-new combat boots, briefly thinking of my papa, who gifted them to me for getting through training and landing a job here. "Wow," a male's voice, who I have not heard yet, says in a remorseful voice, interrupting my thoughts. I look up, and he looks back at me with sorrowful eyes. "We all have stories, but that... had to be so hard and so painful to go through, especially at that young of an age," he steps towards me with his hand outstretched, "my name is Travis Montgomery." I take his hand with a firm grip, "thank you," I say in a low and sad tone of voice. I give him a sad smile, and he returns one as he turns, steps away, and lets go of my hand. "My husband," he says sadly while pausing for a second. He then turns around. He makes eye contact with me, "my husband..umm... he passed a few years back while in the line of duty so I have some idea of what you may be going through but, I cannot imagine what it could be like to lose two people at the same time that are very close to you so I am very, truly sorry. And I promise I'm done rambling now," he laughs and turns around to get back in his place in the group. With tears in my eyes, I know I need to change the subject before I break down and start balling in front of everyone. "Am I allowed to ask a question? Or is the rookie not allowed questions?" I ask with a smile forming on my face. "Sure, ask us anything," replies Montgomery. "Do you all call each other by first or last names?" Some crew members snicker while Montgomery smiles as he replies, "both." "Yep," replies Hughes. She adds a laugh to her statement. She smiles at me and steps forward to shake my hand, copying Montgomery, "Victoria Hughes. Everyone calls me Vic. Nice to meet you," she says as he takes my hand. "Yeah, you too," I reply.

     Everyone follows her lead afterward to step forward and shake my hand. "Lieutenant Andrea Herrera. Call my Andy." "Maya Bishop." "Dean Miller. No one calls me Dean; everyone calls me by my last name," he smiles. Next, the other rookie steps up, "Benjamin Warren. You can call me either Ben or by my last name, whichever you prefer," He says, and let's go from my hand. "Lieutenant Jack Gibson," the last team member I can see, steps up to shake my hand. "Hang on," Herrera says, searching around the room with her eyes, "where's my dad?" "He was in the Captain's office last time I saw him before this meeting," Miller says quickly after her question. "Okay, stay right here, everyone. I'll go find him so we can introduce the rookie," she says and hurries towards the stairs. I am glad I do not get easily offended, I think to myself.

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     "Hey," an old man with grey hair and a mustache walks fast towards me with Andy following closely behind says as he holds out his hand to take mine, "Pruitt Herrera. Former Captain of Station 19 and current.... Receptionist." He seems to be pained whenever saying the last word. Noticing his uniform also stitched with the last name Herrera I say, "Lily-Anne Young. Call me Lily. Nice to meet you."

     "Okay," Andrea roars, looking around to get everyone's attention, "now that everyone has met our new rookie, it's time for chores, so..... Miller and Warren, you two are on hoses. Montgomery and Hughes are on the aide car as usual. Gibson, Bishop, and I will be on the rigs. And dad, of course, reception. New girl, you will be on aide car for starters with Vic and Travis." She gives me a firm stare and looks around at everyone before saying, "Okay, let's get to work! Move it, people!" She claps her hands a few times as everyone starts heading their way. "Oh! I almost forgot," shouts Herrera as she reaches over to a work table and quickly grabs a packet of papers, "Young! Here, you'll need to study these rules. They will help you out a lot as a rookie." I take the packet of papers from her hand and look down and read the title, "Probationary Firefighter Rules". "Thanks," I say lowly and turn around to find Hughes and Montgomery.