Dosed

I never liked Taylor Kelly 😒

Maeve has never seen a helicopter close up before, and it wasn't the best first impression. It span out of control, stuck on the ground with people inside. "I don't like helicopters anymore." Maeve whispered to Buck.

Ever since they met, Buck and Maeve became very close. Buck loved kids obviously, and he almost immediately bonded with the kid.

"Uh, t-they're more fun w-when they are working well... a-and you're inside... and it's in the air." He replied, pausing after every sentence. "Alright, Eddie! You're up!" Bobby announced, turning to his crew.

"Me?" Eddie asked, pointing to himself. "You can turn that death trap off right?" Chimney asked, and everyone stared at him. "... Uh, yeah.... Yeah, I unfortunately can."

Eddie didn't look too happy about it.

"The news lady and her camera man are still inside." Athena explained, coming to their side.

"This thing is spinning out of control- people!" She suddenly shouted. "That thing is a death machine, go, go!" She yelled, shooing at people who stayed to watch the helicopter spin. "We need someone to get close enough and not get sliced and diced." Hen explained.

Everyone was stumped until Buck had a crazy idea.

He smiled smugly at Bobby who raised an eyebrow, but he got the message once everyone turned to Maeve, who was playing with her duck. She looked up, confused about why everyone was staring at her.

"Ohh no."

"Cap, she's strong and she can shape-shift! She's here, and she can help." Buck insisted, yet Bobby still refused. "She's my kid! I would never forgive myself if something happened to her!" The captain shook his head.

"You may wanna consider grounding her then." Hen winced, and Bobby turned around again.Maeve had already shape-shifted into a mouse and was approaching the helicopter.

"I sometimes forget I'm raising a mini-Buck..." The captain groaned, giving the named firefighter a tired look.

"Maeve, be careful!" Athena shouted.

The little mouse squeaked as she stood inches away from the blades. Suddenly, the little mouse turned into a wolf and caught one blade in her jaw, making the whole thing stop.

"... That works too." Bobby sighed, rushing forward.

"What the hell is that?" The girl inside asked her coworker, who was backed up against the wall, fearful of the creature.

"Good job, kid, hold her steady." The captain said, holding Maeve by the scruff of her neck to hold her still, she needed extra weight if they wanted to hold the blade still.

"Mam, it's okay, you can come out now." Buck asked, lending the reporter his hand. "Are you sure because..." the lady pointed at Maeve, and the wolf's ears folded back a little.

"She's-... part of the team... She's safe." Eddie explained.

"Okay.." Her coworker said, Buck and Chimney led them out while Eddie disabled the helicopter. Once he finally disabled it, Maeve finally let go of the blade, leaving a big bite mark in the metal.

She shape-shifted back and licked her teeth, making a face. "Metal tastes weird.. like blood." Maeve grimaced, sticking out her tongue. Blood reminded her of a not too distant memory.

"You did good, kid." Bobby said, picking her up. "Thank you, you saved my life!" The lady, who Buck found out was named Taylor Kelly, smiled at them. "It's our job Mam." Bobby smiled back as Hen took her to the ambulance.

Maeve watched her go inside the ambulance, and noticed Buck's expression.

"... I think Buck likes her."

"What?"

...

Maeve was watching TV with her lunch when she heard chattering from downstairs, even though it was soft, she could hear it clearly. She peeked down and saw Bobby talking to the lady and her coworker.

He looked almost annoyed.

Buck came over to tell Bobby something and the fire captain left, leaving Buck to talk to her.

Maeve could hear them laughing a little.

She was definitely right.

"Is she going to be here all day?" Maeve asked Hen who came to check on her. "Hm... I don't know." She replied, also looking unsure. "Come on, you can have a cupcake. I think we're all gonna need one."

...

"This is why we keep going. The love."

"And carbs." Buck added in, stuffing his face with a cupcake. "And the carbs." Chimney repeated. Because the 118 saved them, the news crew were doing a story on them.

"Can I ask where you got this special girl?" Taylor asked, smiling sweetly at the young girl. Maeve glanced at the others, and back at Taylor, with an uncertain look on her face.

"I didn't know they allowed kids to go on missions..."

"She's the captain's kid, has a special ability that I wouldn't recommend filming..." Hen explained. "I am doing my job." Taylor argued. "I am a reporter, I am literally paid to not mind my business."

Hen was about to say something back when Buck did it for her.

"Maeve is just anxious around cameras, I had to buy three new phones this week." He lied, and it surprisingly worked. "Oh okay then." Taylor said, making Hen rolled her eyes in secrecy.

It was gonna be a hell of a day.

Suddenly, the alarms rang again, interrupting the snack break.

"That interrupts our dessert, alright, let's go." Chimney sighed.

The calls were simple, just someone stuck in a double bicep position and something about a monitor lizard. Maeve found the monitor lizard quite cute, and Bobby had to say no when she asked to bring it home.

When they returned, Maeve was going to eat some cupcakes when she realised everyone was eating these brownies. "Are those brownies?" Chimney asked. "It's fudge." Eddie replied.

"Chocolate!" Maeve chirped until she realised it was gone, mean. "Aw, sorry kid. Not sorry, Chimney." Silver star laughed. "Brutal, I'm sorry you had to witness such mercenary behaviour... idiots do this in front of kids..."

"Here, you can share with me" Bobby smiled, making Maeve face light up. "Thanks, daddy!" She took a bite of the fudge, chewed for a bit and spat it out into the dustbin. "Blech, it tastes worse than metal."

"Maybe, it's the adult kind of fudge." Buck chuckled. Maeve never understood why people put the 'adult drink' as Athena calls it into pastries.

...

The next call was simple, as Maeve thought. She found it funny when people fought over little things, it became more funny when Hen, Buck and Eddie acted weird.

"Maeve, you look like the beauty queens. Small little guys." Buck giggled, patting her head. "Huh?" She tilted her head, and squinted at them. "Mama..."

"What is it, baby?" Athena asked. "They've gone crazy." She giggled, pointing at them. Athena looked up at the weird firefighters, and snapped her fingers. "Hey! Buckley, Diaz."

"Athena! These beauty queens are small! Teeny Tiny." Buck replied. "Excuse me?"

"So tiny." Eddie whispered.

"Henrietta." Athena called, and Hen came. "Athena!" She was clearly high.

Oh Athena, you smell like love!" The paramedic squealed, grabbing Athena's shoulders which made Athena give her a look. "Chimney! Need you over here."

"Why are they acting weird?" Maeve asked. "I don't know yet, hon."

"Guys! I need my- woah." Chimney said. "Hey guys! Do you know where you are?" He asked, to which Eddie replied. "We're everywhere, man."

Not the best answer.

"They're high!" Athena exclaimed, and Chimney shrugged. It took him a minute to realise what was going on, and when he did, his mouth formed an O. "The brownies! There were these brownies that someone gave us. We have been getting a lot since the earthquake."

"You guys eat that stuff? We just throw them in the trash!"

"We're firefighters, everyone loves us!" Chimney shrugged, he wasn't wrong. "Did Maeve eat any?" Athena asked. "... Oh geez, Bobby did give her a bite!" Chimney nodded, and kneeled down to her level.

He shone a light into her eyes but they reacted normally, normally meaning shrinking and dilating like a cat but the doctors said that is just what she does.

"She seems okay. How do you feel?"

"Fine, I guess." Maeve shrugged. "Maybe her immune system is stronger than average." Athena suggested. "No wonder the brownies tasted yucky."

...

Athena took out her handcuffs and cuffed the high firefighters, and it was a little funny to watch. "What's going on? I don't like this..." Eddie sobbed, and Buck grinned silly. "Ooh, you made him cry!"

"I'm not arresting you, this is just a precaution." Who knows what kind of trouble they could get into? High or not.

"Do you think Daddy is okay?" Maeve asked. "Let's go find out." Athena replied, short answer, he was not. He was standing on top and on the edge of the firehouse's roof.

There was a small crowd at the bottom, looking up with anticipation.

"What happened?" Athena asked the news lady. "He got high, then he got higher." The camera man replied, which made Maeve snort. "Enough jokes. Can you stop filming this, he is in danger!"

"Like you, I am just doing my job. Who do you think called 9-1-1?" Taylor asked, but Athena was already walking away.

Athena and Maeve got to the roof, staring down a high Bobby.

"Bobby!" Athena called, and he turned to her. "Athena! I can see my daughter, Brook! She's so big and bright, can you see her?" He asked, pointing to an empty space next to her.

What's a Brook?

"No, I can't."

"She's floating in the sky, right next to you. I just want to float away with her everywhere she goes, there's so much colour."

"Can he fly? Is that a thing he can do?" Maeve tilted her head.

"It's not real, you know that.." Athena said, stepping towards him.

Maeve watched as Athena talked him down, and it left Maeve to wonder about who Brook was. The day ended and everyone gathered to watch Taylor's story on the 118.

Fortunately, Maeve's face was blurred out. They did mention her as some kind of firehouse dog thing, it was better than 'shapeshifting child'.

Maeve left halfway to go see Bobby, because he wasn't there. "Not going to watch the show?" Hen asked, and Maeve shook her head. "The news is not that interesting." Maeve replied.

She walked down the stairs and over to Bobby who was lifting weights. "What are you doing?" She asked, even though it was obvious. "People lift weights to build their strength, it's something a lot of firefighters do." He explained, still lifting.

"Can I try?"

"Uhm... okay, but they may be a bit too heavy for you."

Bobby immediately took all his words back when Maeve lifted the weights he was lifting with one arm. "Am I doing it right?" She asked confusedly.

"I'm sure... Heh, I think the weight is the problem." Bobby laughed and sat her on his lap. "Who's Brook?" Maeve asked, making Bobby's smile falter.

He wished he didn't have to explain it so soon.

Now, he was supposed to explain the death of his family to a 5 year old.

"I'll tell you a story, Maeve."

"Ok."

"Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there was a king and a queen. They loved each other very much, and had a son and a daughter, the princess and the prince."

Bobby couldn't believe he was explaining his life in the form of a story for his kid who didn't go to school because doctors feared the schools would be targetted and parents would complain.

"One day, the king wasn't careful.. And a fire... broke out in the castle, the castle that was home to many people."

"The king tried to save them, but he couldn't. That day, the queen, the princess and the prince died."

"That's sad..." Maeve said. "It is." Bobby replied.

"The king was very sad, he missed his family. He started some bad habits and tried very hard to correct it. He had to move on for his sake, and the sake of the kingdom."

"One day, the king met a little girl.. And a wonderful women... And an amazing crew. It gave him a reason to live again."

"The end."

"Is Brook the princess?" Maeve asked, clever girl. "She was. The princess would have been 13 today." Bobby nodded. Maeve stayed silent for a while before she looked up at Bobby.

"I have a story too." Maeve said. "Oh yeah?" Bobby answered. All he needed was a little information to try and get the idea of where Maeve was really from.

"Yeah. Once an upon a time, a long time ago, there was a king and queen. And.... Uh... the end."

Okay, maybe not.

"That's a nice story, kiddo." Bobby said. "Thank you, daddy.."

He hugged Maeve and she hugged back. What a sweet moment- oh and Buck, Hen, Eddie and Chimney just took photos.

Great.