Liam was driving to the next call while Jared found himself as co-pilot in the passenger seat. The co-pilot in an ambulance is one of the most difficult jobs facing anyone. They must remain quiet, not scream at near misses, or yell at the driver. Fortunately, Liam was actually an excellent driver, which made Jared very happy.
It did give Jared a chance to think about Liam. Although he was relatively new to the job, Liam was very good at it. The two of them seemed to mesh the first time they had met about two months ago.
It seemed like they were meant to be partners in the job, and Jared had asked for it to happen. They worked together well as a team, almost anticipating each other's actions. They also loved their jobs as paramedics.
Overall, Liam looked like he spent a lot of time swimming. He was a twenty-two-year-old, blue-eyed, curly-blond, well put-together man. He was 6 feet tall and tanned nicely. Jared had seen him in the locker room in his tight briefs a couple of times, noting he had a nice solid chest, not overly muscled, with a light covering of blonde hair, full-sized nipples, and a good-sized package hiding in the pouch of his underwear.
Jared also liked his cute bubble butt. Liam had long legs, which had fine blond hairs running down them. Jared had never seen him naked, but he could imagine the package being hidden in the underwear.
He really liked the way Liam was smart, confident, had a good sense of humor, as well as being a great guy to be around. Jared glanced briefly at him again with a fleeting look at the large package confined by his tight uniform pants.
'One could dream,' thought Jared.
His thoughts were interrupted when they arrived at the scene of the accident. Another unit was already at the scene, as well as a multitude of firefighters and policemen. Jared and Liam did the usual things and were given the responsibility to transport one victim to the Emergency Department.
The patient assigned to them by Triage Medic was in bad shape, and Jared knew the man wasn't going to make it. This was the man's second-to-last trip in a vehicle, the last being a hearse. Jared's gift told him it was the end of this man's journey in life and not to interfere.
Liam was just pulling the unit in through the receiving doors when the patient's heart stopped. Although futile, Jared started CPR just as treatment protocols required and yelled at Liam in the front of the ambulance,
"He's coded!"
Liam parked the unit and yelled at the nurses in the emergency department while running to open the back doors of the ambulance. They pulled the stretcher out of the unit and pushed it into the waiting treatment room, giving a verbal report as the trauma team took their patient over.
Liam and Jared went outside to clean up the unit. It was near the end of their shift, and they had to restock supplies.
One of the nurses approached them in the ambulance bay. "I am sorry, guys. I know you guys did everything as did we, but he didn't make it," she said.
She looked at them both and smiled. She was looking at the two over and thinking to herself, "What a pair of hotties. Wonder if they would date me at the same time."
Her face flushed with the thought as she walked away from them. She looked over her shoulder just before going back into the ER and called to the guys, "See you again soon, guys."
Jared smiled at her and waved. Liam was quiet.
"Are you ok?" Jared looked at him and asked.
"I don't know how you do it. You are so calm while dealing with all this tragedy and death. Nothing ever seems to faze you. This is the part I don't enjoy - when we can't make a difference and save them." Liam looked at him, speaking slowly.
Jared thought for a moment. "Death is a normal part of life. Although it sounds cold, it is a fact. When a person has walked their path of life, the journey on this existence is over, and they move on to the next one."
Liam looked at Jared with his beautiful blue eyes and had a tear slowly leaking out of one.
"Does it get any easier for us to lose our patients despite everything we do?" he asked.
"Liam, it takes time for all of us to accept that we can only prolong life in those cases which were supposed to continue, and the other ones are in the hands of the Creator for his protection." Jared looked at him quietly.
Liam looked away. He started to put the bags he had filled with new supplies away. He seemed deep in thought.
"Liam, you are obviously upset about this. After we get to the base and park the unit, let's get changed, and I will take you out for dinner where we can talk some more. Is that OK? I mean, if you aren't too busy...." Jared looked at him.
Liam stopped and looked at Jared. "I would love it. I mean, like it. I mean - yes, that would be nice," he said too quickly.
Jared had never seen Liam this tongue-tied before, and he looked so cute while trying to recover. Liam blushed and looked away from Jared. They finished up and drove back to the base.
After handing the paperwork and changing into street clothing, they headed out to a restaurant Jared knew had booths. This allowed people to talk without being overheard.
Jared frequented the place and was met at the door by the Maitre'D who welcomed him by name. "Bonjour Jared. Comment ca va mon ami?"
"Bien, et vous?" Jared replied. Switching to English, he continued, "Pierre, this is my friend and paramedic partner Liam. Liam, this is Pierre, the Maitre'D at one of the finest French restaurants outside of Quebec."
They both shook hands.
"Ne laissez pas cela un rendez-vous, il est mignon." Pierre looked at Jared.
"Bouchée moi," Jared looked at Pierre and, with the straightest face possible, laughed.
Pierre showed the two men to a booth and left menus with them. Shortly thereafter, he returned with two glasses of red wine.
When Pierre had left, Liam looked at Jared and smiled. "What did Pierre mean when he said don't let this one get away, he's cute? '"
Jared was taking a sip from his glass of wine when Liam asked that question. He started to cough and sputter, dripping some onto the table.
"This is the first time I have seen something unexpected catch you off guard, Jared." Liam smiled and handed Jared a napkin to wipe himself. Liam's blue eyes were twinkling as well as having a slight smirk on his face.
"Parlez-vous français?" Jared regained his composure and set his glass down.
"Yes, I do, as well as a couple of other languages." Liam smiled and answered in English.
"That I didn't know," he replied. Jared looked serious for a moment and started speaking.
"I know losing our patient today was rough for you. It was obvious to me you needed some time to vent your feelings, and I thought I would see how you felt by the end of supper. I am concerned about you, Liam, both as your partner and your friend. I was not expecting Pierre to make the comment he did, but I will not lie to you, I am gay."