"I need to know if I'm part of the reason that you turned this down," he said quietly.

"And if you are?" she asked, not really sure that he'd be happy that she wanted something that he may not be able to give her. The fact that he was able to handle a real relationship with her should have been good enough, but she wanted more.

"Am I part of the reason, Joe?" he asked again.

She looked up and met his eyes and shrugged like it was no big deal even though the thought of him telling her that he couldn't give her anymore scared the living hell out of her. Honestly, she didn't know what she would do if he didn't want anything more than what they had now. This should be more than enough for her, she knew that, but it wasn't. She wanted to fall asleep in his arms every night and wake up the same way every morning. She wanted to fight with him over the remote, manipulate backrubs out of him every week and know that he was hers.

He pressed his lips against her forehead. "Please tell me I'm the reason, Joe."

"Why?" she asked, unable to hide her surprise. Never in a million years would she have thought, prayed yes, that Eric wanted more with her.

"Because I want to know that you want me as much as I want you," he said against her forehead.

"And if I do?" she asked, smiling as she relaxed in his arms.

His hold around her tightened as he let out a little growl that curled her toes. "I wish like hell that we weren't having this conversation at work."

"Me too," she said, sighing softly as she reached up and cupped his jaw. "I love you, Eric."

"I love you too, Joe," he said, pressing another kiss to her forehead before moving back. He reached up and cupped her face. "You know I want to marry you, don't you?" he asked as uncertainty flickered across his features.

"Now I do," she said, leaning in to brush her lips against his, but just like it usually did, the kiss quickly got out of hand.

Although they'd fooled around in the ambulance before they'd never done it in front of an audience and she had no plans on doing it now, but the second their shift was over she was tying him to her bed and using him until they both passed out.

"We have to stop," Eric said, gasping as he pulled back. She nodded her agreement as she climbed off his lap and willed her shaky legs not to give out.

She sat down in her seat and ran her hands down her face, willing her body to cool down and doing her best to resist the urge to jump him. Her eyes landed on the pastry box and sighed in relief, thankful to have something to focus on besides the sudden ache between her legs.

Without a word she handed the apple fritter over to Eric and grabbed the chocolate frosted coffee roll for herself. She took a bite and tried to focus on anything but Eric, but it was difficult being this close to him and not thinking about him or wanting to touch him. For a few minutes they sat there silently as they ate until Eric broke the silence.

"I don't want you to quit for me, Joe," he said softly, surprising her.

Frowning, she looked over at him to find him staring down at his half-eaten fritter. "That's what you wanted a few months ago."

"I know," he said, shaking his head as he sighed heavily, "but I don't want you to give up something that you love because of me, Joe. I don't want you to have any regrets later."

She reached out and took his large hand into hers. "I won't, Eric. I'm not giving it up entirely. I love dispatching and teaching and I would love to focus on that for a while. If it doesn't work out I plan on coming back to work on the truck and going to school," she explained. Of course if she went to paramedic school later on she doubted the city would pay for it.

"I only want you to be happy, Joe," he said, bringing their entwined hands to his lips. He pressed a soft kiss to the back of her hand.

"I am happy," she promised before giving him an impish little grin. "But, I'd be happier with an orange juice."

Chuckling, he shook his head as he started the ambulance. "Little gold digger."

"That's me," she agreed.

Loud sirens caught their attention. Joe looked to her right to see Greg speed across the large empty parking lot with his lights going and his sirens blaring.

"What a f**king idiot," Eric said, following after him at a much slower pace.

She couldn't agree more, especially when he peeled out in front of an SUV and raced down the street. They watched the ambulance as it rode down the middle of the road, forcing cars to pull off to the side or get hit.

******

"Remind me to have Bill give OEMS a call about that little prick," Eric said, voicing her thoughts at the moment. He really didn't belong working in an ambulance and he sure as hell didn't belong behind the wheel.

"Oh shit," Eric snapped, turning on the emergency lights and grabbing the mike as she watched in horror as Greg ran through a red light and was slammed into by a tractor trailer that hadn't been given an ounce of warning to stop.

"Echo seventeen to dispatch," Eric said as they sped through the parking lot, watching as the ambulance rolled over several times until if finally landed on its hood only to have the truck slam into it as the sound of screeching breaks broke through the sounds of metal being crushed.

"Echo seventeen."

"We are onsite at an MVA involving an ambulance and a tractor trailer at Washington and Paramount. Requesting assistance from fire and ambulance," Eric said, smoothly turning onto Washington.

"Received Echo seventeen, MVA at Washington and Paramount."

"That f**king idiot," Eric growled out as he moved through traffic, switching the sirens as he requested the right away.

Once they reached the scene of the accident he pulled up and blocked the road that the destroyed ambulance occupied. He left the emergency lights on as he jumped out, glad to see the other ambulances that were stationed alongside of them earlier heading towards the accident.

When he got his hands on the little bastard he was going to kill him, he decided as he and Joe worked quickly to pull their stretcher out, load it with oxygen, a trauma bag and the long board. Just as he was about to push the stretcher towards the overturned ambulance Joe jumped back into the ambulance. Seconds later she was jumping out with a fire blanket in her arms.

"Glass," was all she said. With a nod of understanding they headed towards the ambulance.

As soon as the scent of gasoline hit his nose he shot a look towards Joe and mumbled a few curses that she thankfully missed over the sounds of sirens drawing near. He didn't want her anywhere near this accident, but he didn't have much of a choice. They had three patients inside the f**ked up ambulance and were going to need as many hands as they could get to get them all out of there before the damn thing caught fire.

It was probably selfish, but he was glad that Joe was moving on and finding other things that interested her. He wanted her safe and happy. He knew accidents could happen anywhere probably better than most people and that she could just as easily get hit by a bus than get hurt working on an ambulance, but it made him feel a hell of a lot better to know that she wouldn't be in a position to take risks soon.

Well, she wouldn't be taking risks fulltime anymore and when she did he would be there to keep her safe. He'd still worry, but for her he'd deal with it. As long as she was happy he would deal with anything even if that meant she stayed on the truck fulltime. He wouldn't like it, but he would accept it for her.

"Eric," Joe said, her voice breaking.

"What?" he asked, shaking his head clear and forcing himself to focus. It was only then that he realized that they'd stop pushing the stretcher and Joe was kneeling next to the mutilated driver's side door.

"He's dead," she said hollowly.

Praying that she was wrong, he moved to kneel next to her and tilted his head to look at the bloody mess. When his eyes landed on Greg's vacant expression and the severe damage to his head and neck he knew the man was gone.

Legally they weren't allowed to pronounce someone dead and were technically supposed to do whatever they could for Greg but there really was nothing they could for him. They also had multiple patients and as the first EMTs on the scene it was their job to access the damage. Without a word they stood up and hurried over to the passenger side to find Greg's partner in the same condition.

"The third rider," Joe said flatly as she got to her feet and moved to the side doors of the patient compartment.

When she couldn't get the doors to budge he helped, but it was more than obvious that the doors weren't going to open without the help of the Jaws of Life. They quickly moved to the back of the ambulance and he let out a sigh of relief when the doors opened and he heard the young woman sobbing.

"We need a neck collar and the long board," Eric said.

With a nod, Joe took off to grab the stretcher while he inspected the scene inside the ambulance. The stretcher had come out of its hold and was on the floor, or rather ceiling. He grabbed it and pulled it out, giving it a good shove away from the ambulance so they had room to get the woman and get the hell out.

He noted the broken glass and medical supplies scattered on the floor before moving his eyes to the woman hanging upside down in the tech seat. Blood dripped off her as she struggled to free herself.

"Hold still. We're going to get you out," he said, crouching low as he walked towards her.

"I-I c-can smell gas!" she cried.

"I know," he said soothingly. "We're going to get you out as fast we can and get the hell out of here, but I need you to do exactly what I tell you to do, okay?"

"O-okay," she agreed, forcing herself to remain still even as she trembled with fear.

He heard broken glass being crushed behind him and wasn't surprised when Joe and Justin, an EMT that worked for a large private ambulance company, moved in behind him. He damn near sighed with relief. Justin was a large guy, but most importantly he knew his shit and would help get the woman the hell out of here. More importantly he'd work fast so that he could get Joe the hell out of here.

"I'll secure her neck if you two gentlemen and I use that term loosely," Joe said, forcing herself to get into the rhythm of things and keep everyone calm as she moved towards the patient, "would be so kind as to get her down and out of here."

"Sounds good," Justin said, shifting to Eric's left.

They both donned gloves as Joe carefully worked the collar around the woman's neck. Eric reached over and held the woman's head still as Joe secured the neck collar. When she was done he removed his hands and Joe got into a position where she could hold the woman's head still and stay clear of the area while they worked.

He knew from experience that job was extremely uncomfortable and sometimes had to be held for a long time while crews worked around the patient, but that wouldn't be the case today. They needed to get the hell out of here. He hoped that Fire was on its way since they'd take care of the gas problem quickly.