Page 15 of Her Paramedic (Men in Uniforms #3)

S late wondered if Talia’s crazy week had rubbed off on him as they finished their seventh call of the night.

It had to be some record for the first five hours of a shift.

They were having a full moon type of night.

Which they rarely had until after specific holidays or when shit got crazy at festivals.

It was the first time they were getting a moment to breathe, and he pulled his phone out.

Talia had called him at the beginning of his shift, but he’d been on a call. After that, they were back-to-back. He’d text her to let her know he would call her back when he got a minute, but it was after midnight, and if she was sleeping, he didn’t want to wake her. He texted her to check.

Slate: Are you awake, baby?

Talia: I’m awake.

He grabbed his portable radio in case they got another call and stepped out of the ambulance to call Talia. Jonah was taking the downtime to play his Switch, and Slate knew from experience that if he got in the zone, it took him a few seconds to come back into focus if a call came in.

“Hey, babe,” she answered.

“Hey, baby. It’s late. What are you still doing up?”

“My first appointment isn’t until ten tomorrow. So, I thought I’d wait up a bit.”

“I would have called sooner, but tonight has been like your week.”

“That’s okay. I know that when you’re working, you need to focus on the job—speaking of my week. Thank you for the deliveries. They were very sweet and definitely helped.”

Slate leaned against the ambulance. “You don’t have to thank me, baby.

I only wanted to give you something to brighten your week.

” He paused, zipping his coat as the wind picked up.

“Come visit this weekend,” he requested.

He knew the twins were having their birthday celebration Friday night, but she hadn’t mentioned having plans Saturday.

“You work this weekend, and I don’t want to keep you up when you being well-rested and focused, could be life or death for someone.” He listened to her sigh as she shifted. “No matter how much I want to see you,” she finished.

This coming weekend would be the third that they hadn’t seen each other, and he wasn’t a fan.

He understood why she didn’t want to visit when he had to work, because she was right.

He’d stay up longer, sleep less, to spend that time with her.

Slate supposed he could be patient until his days off were consecutive, which wouldn’t be for a few more weeks, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to go much longer without seeing her.

“I miss you too, gorgeous. Did you decide what you were doing for your birthday?” It was in two weeks, and she hadn’t mentioned her plans yet.

“We’re going to have dinner the weekend between my birthday and Kaydence’s.”

That worked for him. He planned on surprising her for her birthday.

He knew they were spending Valentine’s Day in his city, and since her birthday was during the week after, she’d suggested they celebrate them both that Saturday, and he’d agreed but had no intention of not celebrating her on her day.

“Dispatch to unit seventeen,” his radio sounded.

“Shit,” Slate mumbled. “Hang on, baby.” He muted his phone.

“Seventeen, go ahead.” Slate opened the ambulance door and climbed in.

He listened to the specifics of the call, and Jonah took down the address on an incident form.

“Copy that dispatch en route.” Slate unmuted his phone. “I have to go, gorgeous.”

“Okay. Be safe. Call me in the morning?”

“I will. Goodnight, baby.” He hung up, placed his phone in the cup holder, and turned on the sirens as he pulled out of the parking lot.

“Goodnight, baby,” Jonah teased. “Do you put that voice on for her or alter it for me?”

Slate rolled his eyes because the answer was neither, and he knew Jonah enjoyed trying to pick on him. “Shut up, kid.” Jonah laughed, and Slate added, “Wait until we see that nurse you like.” Which immediately sobered his partner up.

T he rest of his shift was as hectic as the first half, and where he would have usually walked out of the hub fifteen minutes after seven, he hadn’t left until almost eight-thirty. Their last call had come in a little after six, and they hadn’t finished it until right before eight.

“Are you home now, baby?” Talia asked as he walked through his front door.

“I am,” he responded. He’d called her as soon as he’d gotten in his car. He put the food he picked up on the coffee table as he went to his room.

“At least you’re off tonight,” she said as he undressed. “You should rest since you are.”

Slate smiled to himself. He’d gotten used to her telling him he needed to rest or making sure he’d done so. He couldn’t remember the last time he was in a relationship with someone, where that was constantly the case. It was nice to know she thought about something so small as him sleeping.

“I will, baby.”

Once he was down to his boxers, he returned to the living room to eat. He talked to Talia until he was done, and she demanded that he get some sleep.

Once they hung up, he threw his trash away and went into his bathroom, turning on the shower. The hot water worked wonders in alleviating the tenseness in his muscles from the hectic night, but Talia was right. The plus side was that he didn’t have to work, and he would spend it relaxing.

After his shower, he got into bed, set his usual alarm for two hours later, and settled in. Sleep came quickly.