Warning:
This story does not contain any sex.
None of the characters are based on real people nor are they meant to
resemble any living or dead people.
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Copyright ©
2017-2020
Character
list for Chapter 8:
Cameron
Lockhart – Age 24, boyfriend to Jamie
Jamie Best –
Age 29, Boyfriend to Cameron
Brayden Yost
– Age 28, friend to Jamie
Princess –
the puppy
Crystal –
age 27, girlfriend to Brayden
Time in
relation to the last chapter – It is literally the same exact night and into
the next morning.
Love from
The Ashes
Chapter 8
"It's My
Job"
Cameron and
Jamie are watching television, when the news came on normally, the news would
be turned off, but since the guys are talking, they leave it on in the
background. One of the segments is about
a fireman in Chicago who was injured in putting out a fire. His injuries are serious which landed him in
the hospital. It's always a possibility
that any fireman can get hurt while on a call. It's on Jamie's mind every time
that he goes on a call. For Cameron,
it's been shoved to the back of his mind.
He's never thought about the possibility of Jamie being hurt. Now, it's very clear that it could happen and
it's not something that he wants to see happen to Jamie. He wonders how he will handle it if Jamie
does get hurt.
***
Cameron
looks at Jamie as he's sitting on the couch.
He doesn't want Jamie getting hurt and he has no problem telling
him. They turn off the television and
Cameron looks Jamie in the eyes. He's silent just staring into Jamie's eyes.
"Cameron are
you okay?"
Cameron is
quiet for a second or two, then Jamie repeats himself.
"I can't get
that firefighter from Chicago out of my head.
I'm just worried about you being hurt."
Jamie get's
it he does. Each call comes with some
danger, and there is always a chance of being hurt, and he's been hurt before
pretty badly too, and someday he'll tell Cameron about it, maybe even show him
the scar. Tonight though, he can't. It would only add to the Cam's worries.
"Honestly, I
could get hurt, just like you could get bit at work."
Cameron
looks angry.
"Oh come on
Jamie, I know dam well that I could get bit, but you...you could get seriously
hurt or even killed."
Cameron
isn't lying. They both know that it
could happen but somethings are worth the risk.
Jamie accepts those risks because lives are important. All lives are important and between the two
of them animal lives and human lives are
covered.
"I don't
want you thinking that way. You'll drive
yourself crazy with worry."
Jamie is
telling Cameron the facts but the question is will they stick in his guy's
mind.
"Aren't we
supposed to worry about each other?"
While
Jamie's last sentence held much truth,
there is also wisdom in what Cameron just said. Still the question is what does Jamie think
of what was just said by his best friend?
"Yeah we are
supposed to worry about each other.
Cameron, we do what we do because we love our jobs. You and me do it because we love people and
animals. I get to save both people and
animals. I'm not quitting my job
because of a guy, and I am not asking you to stop your work either."
Maybe
Jamie's words are starting to sink into Cameron's head.
"I don't
want to see you get hurt. I can't see
you get hurt, I just can't."
Jamie is
done. He can't talk to Cameron
anymore.
"We'll talk
about this later. I shouldn't' have to
convince you like this, Cameron."
There is
only one thing left to do.
***
Jamie
doesn't want to end the day on a sour
note, and maybe it's best to go their separate ways for a little bit.
"Cameron, I
think you should go home."
There is an
edge to Jamie's words that Cameron doesn't like. Jamie has never used this tone with him
before, and it bothers him a lot.
"Babe?"
Cameron says
as he reaches out for his keys.
"Yeah!"
It's all
Jamie can manage get out of his mouth.
Cameron gets up head towards the door.
His heart is dropping down to his stomach. He pauses at the door hoping Jamie will
change his mind.
"Come on
Jamie, I'm sorry."
Cam tells
Jamie with as much heart as he can.
"No, you
need time to think, and I need time to cool down."
Jamie walks
over to the door as Cam walks out the door.
"We aren't
over, but this is best for both of us."
They may not
be over according to Jamie, but it sure does feel like they are over at least
to Cameron.
***
The drive
home for Cameron has been horrid. They
haven't had a disagreement like this since they met. What's worse, is that he just wants to be in
Jamie's arms, and Jamie doesn't want him there.
He knows that fire fighting is dangerous, but seeing that part of video
on the news was unsettling. He just
doesn't like this feeling. How is he
going to spend the rest of the day knowing that Jamie is sitting at home upset with
him?
***
For Jamie,
he's trying to calm down after trying to tell Cameron that his job is what he
wants to do with his life. He couldn't
get through to him at all, and the more they talked, the more he got upset he
got with the guy who he is in love with and wants so badly. Can he date a guy who doesn't understand why
the risks and why what he does is so important to him? He hated having to send Cameron back home,
but he was getting angry with him, and he didn't want it to get bigger then it
was. Getting angry is going to happen in
a relationship, but at the same time having a break away from Cameron is a good
thing. Still, he knows and understands
Cameron's feelings. He wanted to cry
when he saw the look on Cam's face as he stood at the door hoping that Jamie
change his mind and let him stay. He
knew that, he needed time away from Cameron.
***
A full
twelve hours have passed since Jamie sent Cameron home. Cameron realizes that, he doesn't want to
spend any more time away from the man he considers to be his boyfriend. He grabs his phone that has been sitting
beside him all this time, and stares at it.
`Should I
call him or text him?'
He debates
between one or the other, but in the end decides on texting. It will hurt like no other should Jamie give
an answer that Cameron doesn't like, but at least he won't hear it.
"Jamie, we
need to talk. Can we meet at the beach?"
When the
message comes through, Jamie smiles. He's
hoping that this means that Cameron has figured everything out.
"Okay, we
can meet up? I just don't want to meet up if you aren't sure about us."
They agree
to meet up with When the guys arrive, they don't kiss, hug, or even take
hands. Instead, they simply walk. They come to a log that washed up on the
shore, and this is where they decide to sit down and talk. The guys talk for several hours.
***
While, they
are sitting on that log Jamie and Cameron speak with each other. Trying to do it from the heart, they both
want to fix the situation that they find themselves in at the moment.
"Jamie, I
don't want to be apart any more. I hated
being apart yesterday. Leaving your house, was the worst feeling in the world."
Jamie admits
to himself that it was a horrid feeling watching his bestie walk out of the
house. It sucked when he saw Cameron's
face after being told to head home. It
was heart wrenching to say the least.
"Last thing,
I wanted was too send you home, but I didn't know what else to say to you. I wanted you to understand that I love what I
do."
How can
anyone argue with Jamie on that thought?
He really does care for the guy sitting next to him.
"You know
how I feel about you getting hurt. I
just..."
Cameron
wants to see his bestie safe and sound after every call. Jamie doesn't want to have this argument
again. Somehow, there has
to be a way to get Cameron to see that the job is important to him.
"Cameron, I
don't want to be hurt either, but if I go out just once and save a life, then
it's worth it. I don't want to see
someone die because I'm afraid of getting hurt."
Again it's
not something, that anyone could argue with Jamie about what he said. Cameron just nodded his head to show his
understanding of what Jamie just said. It's
all about saving lives for Jamie. If
someone is in a house that is on fire, Jamie will do what he has
to do in order to save a life.
"I don't
want to see someone get hurt either. "
Cameron gets
that part of it, and it's important to him.
The disconnect is where Jamie is concerned. He still doesn't want to see Jamie hurt, but
is that such a bad thing?
"So if you don't want anyone hurt, why is there a problem?"
Jamie asks
Cameron because, he's wanting to know what the problem is exactly.
"You know how
I feel about it. I just don't know how I
would feel if something happened to you."
Jamie can't
say a thing about it because Cameron has every right to be upset if he got
hurt. Jamie decides to just drop
everything for right now. Jamie doesn't
want to ruin anything. They decide to
just relax and enjoy the moment.
***
Jamie
doesn't understand why Cameron is so upset over the job, but maybe it's really
him with the problem. Still though, it
worth having this discussion. Cameron
doesn't want to be a stumbling block.
Jamie just wants to have him understand what is going on in his
companion's mind. Jamie decides that
they should head back towards the house.
He's still sort of troubled by this issue.
***
On the way
home, Cameron thinks back to the night that Princess appeared at the
clinic. She came in with three other
puppies; her siblings. Jamie and the
puppies smelled of smoke, and was clear that the fireman was worried sick about
them. From the minute that Jamie walked
into the pet hospital, there was some sort of connection between the fireman
and the vet tech. Everyone in the clinic
that night picked up on it, and Cameron was doing everything he could to hide
it. Every time that, Jamie came into the
clinic pulled the vet tech into his heart a little bit more until they
exchanged numbers, and went on their first date. More importantly, Cameron realized that
despite the muscles, the tattoos, and the sense that Jamie could at snap time
snap him in two, that he truly wanted to have a chance with stud, and still
does; he still does.
***
At Jamie's
house, there is a point where Jamie receives a phone call and a short time
later Brayden and Crystal show up at the house.
Brayden introduces Crystal to Cameron and the two quickly become
friends. Jamie breaks out a trivia game
and it quickly becomes a match between Jamie and Cameron facing off with
Brayden and Crystal. Then there was another
game of trivia between Crystal and Cameron versus Brayden and Jamie. Jamie and Crystal retire to the kitchen to
get lunch going which leaves Brayden and Cameron to talk.
"Brayden, I
know that I like Jamie, but something has been bugging me lately."
Brayden
thinks, he knows exactly what is bugging him.
"Does this
have anything to do with the fact that Jamie is a firefighter?"
Hearing
Brayden say those words hits Cameron like a knife.
"Yeah, it
does. Has Jamie ever been hurt on the
job?"
Brayden
chuckles a bit. He's a little
uncomfortable discussing this with Cameron when he could just ask the man
himself.
"Cameron,
I'm sorry but that is something you'll have to ask Jamie yourself. Okay?"
Cameron
doesn't respond just nods his head in agreement. Another question pops up in his head.
"Have you
ever been hurt or been afraid during a call?"
Brayden nods
his head and then pats Cameron on the back.
"Yeah, and
it was your man who helped me get out of the fire in one piece. But yeah, I have been afraid. I think we are all afraid at some point. Sometimes, we try to push that fear aside so
we can do our jobs without so it doesn't distract us."
Cameron can't
help but feel the need to get up and hug Brayden but it's Jamie that he wants
to speak with before he is taken home.
What Cameron doesn't know is that Crystal has been asked to speak with
him, so he'll have to speak with her before he can talk with Jamie.
"Hey can we
talk for a second?"
Crystal says
and Cameron follows right behind her.
She walks into Jamie's bedroom, and sits on the bed.
"Close the
door for a second."
She tells
Cameron and he does as he is asked despite some misgivings about being in the
bedroom with someone else's significant other.
"So what's up?"
Cameron asks
wanting to get out of the room as soon as possible.
"I wanted to
talk with you about our boyfriends. I
know what it is like to worry. I went through it with Brayden in the beginning
and sometimes, I worry about him but I've learned that Brayden doesn't need me
worrying about him. He has a whole team
whose job it is to keep him safe and he helps keep all of them safe as well. I will say that sometimes accidents happen, and
they suck. It boils down too that old
saying of not being able to control every little thing that happens. You can't worry that Jamie is going to get
hurt every time he goes out on a call.
If you ever need to talk, you can call me. Here let me see your phone."
Cam hands
Crystal her phone and she enters her number and her email into the phone. Cameron does the same with her phone, and
then the friends leave the bedroom and join Jamie and Brayden.
***
Cameron
finally gets it. He understands why Jamie
was upset, now there is only one thing left to do. He has to talk to
his Jamie. He walks into the living room
and finds him speaking with Brayden and Crystal.
"Jamie can
we talk?"
Jamie
excuses himself and follows Cameron into the bathroom. It's as good as a place as anywhere else in
the house.
"I'm sorry!"
Cameron for
whatever reason starts to cry. Jamie
wraps him up in his arms and doesn't say a thing. He stands with his guy until the tears
stop. When Cameron looks up into Jamie's
eyes, he sees his smiling face.
"It's okay
Babe, can we go back to our friends?
Jamie
doesn't need this be long and drawn out and neither does Cameron.
"Yes."
With that,
Jamie hands Cameron a clean face cloth.
Cameron takes it and wipes his eyes, and then he puts down in on the
sink. Together, they head out to the
living room. Crystal smiles at Cameron
and Cameron smiles back at her. Neither
Jamie or Brayden know what's going on, but Crystal and Cameron get it.
***
After
Brayden and Crystal leave the house, Princess comes up to Cameron looking for
some lovings.
Cameron gets down the floor and Princess immediately goes for the
face. He gets tons of puppy kisses. At point, she puts her paws up on his chest
and gives him a few licks and then gets her back legs up on him and lays
down. She looks at him like she is
wanting him to play some more. He
carefully sits himself up so he is sitting on the floor and the puppy is in his
lap. His right hand is petting her.
"What is she
going to do when we are here 24/7?"
Jamie says
as he joins Cameron on the floor. He
kisses Cameron on the lips, and Princess looks at him trying to figure out what
she just saw.
"I was just
giving him a kiss."
Jamie says
she he reaches out to pet her. For the
next 10 minutes, Princess gets all the attention from Jamie and Cameron. As they are playing, Cameron catches sight
of something on Jamie's left leg.
***
Jamie knows
that Cameron saw it, and now he needs to come clean about it. He wasn't hiding the scar from him, but
somehow Cameron has missed it. Cameron
reaches out and touches it. The whole
time, he was moving his hand towards it, his eyes were locked with Jamie's
eyes. He didn't want to touch if, his
touch was unwanted by his bae. Jamie
flinches just a little because this scar could open up
old wounds that neither of them want to open back up.
"What
happened?"
Cameron says
as his fingers make contact with the scar. He traces the scar as he waits for an
answer. Jamie watches each move that
Cameron makes.
"I was
carrying out a child who was hiding from the fire, and made it outside with the
child, and turned to head back inside. I
made it fifteen feet into the house, when the floor gave out from under
me. My gear protected me from the heat,
but when I landed, I hit something and it caused my tibia and fibula to
break. I was lucky they didn't shatter, and also lucky that I wasn't carrying out anyone. As lucky
as I was, I ended up with my tibia coming through my skin. I was able to call out for assistance, and
they got me to the hospital. Funny thing
was, I was going in to assist another fireman with a rescue, a pet. They were able to fix me up, but I'll always
have that scar."
Jamie lifts
Cameron's hand away from his leg. A part
of Jamie wears this scar like a badge of honor, a reminder of a day that he
saved a child's life. He just doesn't like being reminded of the pain. They spend another twenty minutes cuddling
and talking.
***
Cameron is
on his way home from Jamie's which leaves Jamie alone in his house. Jamie feeds Princess and refills her water
dish. As he is making his dinner, he
starts to wonder about Cameron. Random
thoughts start to run through his mind.
Some of them are pleasant thoughts while other thoughts are not so
nice. He wonders if Cameron will be
strong enough to handle the painful times that might spring up in their time
together. You just can't promise that you're not going to get hurt, because
accidents happen. Will he crumble in
response to the Jamie being hurt or will he stand strong? It's easy to imagine Cameron not standing by
his side should things get rough, but at the same time, Jamie is fighting to
stay positive. Eventually though, he
gains control of his thoughts and pushes the negative thoughts away.
***
Meanwhile at
Cameron's place, he is safely arriving at home.
Parking the car, he unlocks and enters the house. First things first, he takes out his phone
and calls Jamie. The call goes straight
into voice mail, so he leaves a message.
"Hey Cameron
here, I just wanted to let you know that I made it home safely. You don't have to call me back. I am going to have dinner and then get to bed
early. Talk to you later."
Cameron
washes his hands and then gets out one of the frozen pizzas from the freezer,
gets it ready to throw it into the oven, and then makes a quick salad. After dinner, he brushes his teeth and heads off
to bed. As he's lying in bed, his mind
goes back to Jamie's leg and that scar.
He can see it in his mind, and he's tracing it on his own left
foot. What he put Jamie through is not
fair. It's not easy realizing how much you hurt someone else.
***
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