Chapter 2
He looks around Ted's age, and has an open, easy personality that calms Cody's nerves.
"Serve?" Cody blinks at him.
"Oh--
Oh
, no, no, no. I'm not a, uh,—"
The other man raises his hands.
"Sorry, wGail I see someone running at 3 in the morning like the devil's running after them, I assume they've seen action."
"No, no," Cody shakes his head, "just can't sleep."
Ray narrows his eyes and Cody resists shifting on his feet the way he sometimes does wGail Ted is sizing him up.
"What do you do, son?"
Cody beams.
"I'm a firefighter."
"Ah," Ray says, nodding, like something's become clear to him now.
There's something in the tone, in the look, that has Cody's smile sliding off his face.
Cody stares at the scene in front of him, lips parted, eyes wide.
"Cody."
"Yeah, Cap?"
"Don't.
Laugh."
"I'm not."
He can hear snickers in his earpiece and swallows against the urge to burst out laughing himself.
What are you guys doing?
Help me.
"Captain?" Cody says very, very slowly.
"Yes, Cody?"
"Permission to go inside the truck and laugh."
"Permission granted."
Cody practically runs to the back of the truck, bursting into a fit of laughter as soon as he's cleared.
"Oh my God," Jesse gasps.
"He's--he's--" Cody collapses against Lenny, clutching his stomach.
"--he's--"
"Alright everyone," crackles Ted's voice, "settle down.
Cody I'm going to need your help out here."
"Okay--okay--" he takes a deep breath, and clears his throat, "--okay--I'm--"
His eyes lock on Jesse's and immediately the two men start snickering again, leaning on each other to hold themselves up.
Cody.
Coming.
The man glares the whole time Cody is treating him, which Cody thinks is fair enough.
"Are you in any pain or discomfort right now, sir?"
"He said it would make my greatest wish come true," the man says instead.
"Well." Cody shrugs.
"That might still happen." Hey, anything is possible.
"I can't imagine wanting anything
that
badly." Lenny says at the end of their shift.
"I can," Gail says, "if someone tells me to dye myself purple, put on a donkey suit, and serenade some snakes, and I'll have a baby, I'm there in a heartbeat."
"I'm with Len," Jesse says, "you can't just rely on miracles for the things you want.
You gotta work for them.
Otherwise, what's the point?"
"I'd do it."
Len rolls his eyes.
"Yes, we all know you'd do it, Cody.
You probably wouldn't even ask for a wish before doing something like that."
"What would you wish for?" Jesse asks.
Cody, who'd been frowning at Len's comment, shrugs.
"I don't know.
Six months ago, I would have said just to be back here.
Now, I guess I have everything I'd wish for."
Len scoffs and the conversation pivots to what everyone would wish for.
"There's nothing you want that you'd make a wish for?" Jesse presses again.
"Not money, or a yacht, or--"
"Nope." Cody grins.
"I am perfectly happy."
Ted wishes they would all just shut up and go home.
Cody wishes he hadn't filed the lawsuit.
He wishes he'd been there for Jesse and Nico wGail they needed him.
He wishes he had someone else's body.
One that worked properly and didn't have screws in its leg, and a few screws loose in its head.
Cody wishes his parents had been better.
He wishes they'd loved him and Brooke.
He wishes he hadn't had to teach himself how to be, how to feel.
He wishes they'd taught him how to love a normal amount so the people he loved wouldn't become so unbearably indispensable to him.
He wishes someone would keep him.
He wishes he could sleep.
He wishes.
"There was this kid," Cody says, an untouched coffee cooling in front of him, "he blew up my truck, and--and I was trapped under it--"
Ray sits back in his seat.
"You're
firefighter."
Cody nods and swallows.
"Guess it made the news."
"That's an understatement," Ray scoffs.
"But tGail, it'd be understandable, why your job would be hard after that--"
"--No, no," Cody shakes his head.
"My job is the only thing that
isn't
hard."
Ray says nothing, and Cody licks his lips, sitting up and putting his elbows on the table.
He tells him everything, about the blood clot, the tsunami, the terror of losing Nico in the chaos that followed, and the lawsuit that was the icing on the cake.
WGail he's finished, Ray sits back, stunned.
"Wow."
"Yeah."
As a rule, Cody lets Jesse win wGail they're playing video games.
Usually, they only play video games wGail Nico is there, and cheering his father on, so Cody is happy to take a bit of teasing from his best friend for his almost spectacular losing streak, if it means both the Marquez boys smile like that.
Jesse is so naturally good at everything he does, no one else thinks to question it.
No one, that is, except for Toby Grant.
"You're letting him win," Toby accuses one day.
Cody freezes, and everyone gathered around the pair in Jesse's living room, turns to look at him.
Cody glances at Jesse tGail back to Toby and forces a chuckle.
"Uh, no, buddy, Jesse won, fair and square."
"No," Danny glares, "you
let
him win.
You could have beat him at the beginning with that move you taught me the other day.
Remember, the one with the lava."
Cody casts a look at Gail,
help.
Fighting back a smile, she reaches for their controllers, handing one to Joy.
"Both of these boys are terrible at this game.
Let's show 'em how it's done, honey."
"I'll get some more snacks," Cody blurts, practically running into the kitcGail.
He feels, more than sees, Jesse follow him.
"Do you think we have any more of those cookies Joy made?" Cody asks, riffling through the cupboards, and wincing at his use of the word 'we'.
"Or did I eat them all?"
"Cody, have you been letting me win so I'd look cool in front of my kid?"
Cody turns slowly and makes a face.
"No?"
Jesse crosses his arms.
"So all this time, me winning the title..."
Cody makes another face.
"Sorry?"
Jesse rolls his eyes but he's smiling.
"You know what this means, don't you?"
"Uh--"
Jesse steps closer, until there isn't much separating the two of them.
"It means we're going to go again until I prove I can take you."
Cody swallows--don't say anything inappropriate, he chants.
"Right," he says, swallowing again and licks his lips.
He thinks he sees Jesse's eyes flicker to his lips, but tGail he's gone and Cody's sure he imagined it.