Sudden Response (EMS 1)

"Is everything okay?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed to pull off his socks and pants while Nathan did the same on the chair.

"With what?" Nathan asked, yanking off his shoes.

"With Caitlyn," Eric said, wondering if his brother was already starting to pull away from the woman. The man had a nasty habit of dumping women that in Eric's opinion were damn near perfect for his brother.

"Nothing's wrong. She's great."

So were the other women that had come and gone out of his brother's life over the past ten years, but tonight wasn't the night to bring up the sad expression on his brother's face. Tonight he was exhausted.

"I'm going to take a quick shower," Eric said, grabbing a pair of fresh boxer briefs from Joe's bureau. He ignored Nathan's amused expression and went to bathroom where he took a long hot shower. It helped relax his muscles, but it did nothing to calm his nerves.

The only thing that helped was seeing Joe safely curled up in bed sleeping. He wasn't too surprised to discover Nathan lying on top of Joe's old sleeping bag on the floor. Although none of them had a problem sleeping in the same bed together since it had been a necessity on more than one family outing when they were kids, however none of those experiences had ended well for Nathan.

Odd things just seemed to happen to Nathan when the three of them shared a bed. Most of the time he'd end up falling off the bed, but on more than one occasion he'd ended up with a few minor injuries like a bump on the head, a knee to the groin, a few broken fingers and a broken nose. They were accidents no matter what Nathan claimed, but they were still unsettling.

Even last October when they'd gone up to Maine for a weekend and been forced to share a tent hadn't ended well for Nathan. How the poor bastard ended up being shoved out of the pup tent into the rain, he still didn't know. Not that he had cared at the time since he'd been happily snuggled up with a very warm Joe.

He carefully crawled into bed with Joe and pulled her into his arms. She immediately relaxed back into his arms and let out a content little sigh.

"How long do you think they'll keep her on light duty for?" Nathan whispered.

Eric sighed heavily. "Normally they'd probably keep her on light duty for a week, but knowing how stubborn she is, she'll probably manage to get back to work in a few days."

"I still can't believe a mental patient attacked a cop and went for his gun. You're both lucky that he didn't get it free," Nathan pointed out. Eric's arms tightened around Joe. They had been lucky, but it had been close, very close. When he spoke to Nathan earlier on the phone he left off the little fact that the patient had managed to switch the safety off just seconds before Joe's little stunt.

Joe's little groan had him loosening his hold and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. He had to figure a way to get Joe the hell off the truck before something bad happened.

"Nathan?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you still looking for a secretary?" he asked, glad that it was too dark for his brother to see the calculating expression on his face.

Nathan sighed heavily. "Yeah, business is really taking off and I could use a hand in the office to free up some of my time. Why? Do you know someone?" he asked, sounding eager.

Eric couldn't help but smile. This was going to be too easy. He knew how much Nathan's internet company meant to him. He'd built it from the ground up when he was barely sixteen years old. It was his baby, his pride and joy and he knew the man was nervous about letting anyone near it.

This was perfect. Joe needed a new job and Nathan needed someone he trusted. He mentally congratulated himself on his fast work. This was going to be easier than he thought.

"Joe," he simply said.

"Joe, what? Is she awake?" Nathan asked. Eric heard the telltale sound of the sleeping bag zipper being pulled down and wasn't too surprised to find Nathan standing next to the bed, peering down at Joe nervously. The man clearly wanted to make sure Joe was okay and what better way to do that then to give her a safe job?

Too f**king easy.

"She's fine."

"Oh," was Nathan's obviously confused response.

"I meant you should hire Joe."

There was a heavy pause before Nathan snorted his reply. "No way. No f**king way in hell. Not happening."

"What the hell do you mean 'no way'?" Eric demanded, shifting Joe out his arms so that he could sit up and properly glare at his brother.

Nathan simply turned his back on him and returned to the safety of his sleeping bag. "Just what I said. There's no way in hell that I'm hiring Joe. Besides, she has a job already. A good job I might add."

"Why the hell wouldn't you hire Joe?" Eric demanded, unable to stop himself from feeling insulted on her behalf. "She's a good worker, never late, and she works her ass off."

"She's also stubborn, pushy, and would laugh her ass off the first time I asked her to do something," Nathan pointed out.

Eric opened his mouth to argue, but then closed it, realizing that he was right. Nathan would probably fire Joe's ass within the first hour. Joe was a great EMT and never argued or copped an attitude with one of their supervisors, but she'd have a hard time taking orders from a pushover like Nathan.

"Besides," Nathan continued, "it's not like she'll be on light duty forever and I need someone for the long term."

This is where it was going to get a little tricky. Thankfully Joe was still lightly snoring so he didn't have to worry about her overhearing the conversation and kicking his ass.

Yet.

"After tonight, I was thinking it might be better if Joe found something else to do."

"You decided?" Eric could almost picture Nathan cocking an eyebrow with that tone.

"Yes, but it's not only about tonight. This field is too dangerous for a woman like Joe," he ignored Nathan's snort of disbelief, "she needs a decent paying job, something that won't interfere with her having a life."

"She seems to like her life just fine."

"She deserves better."

After a moment Nathan sighed warily. "I don't think Joe would be happy doing anything else, but after seeing what that bastard did to her tonight I have to admit that I wouldn't mind seeing her in a safer position, too."

"Then you'll help me convince her to find something else to do?" Eric asked, trying not to sound too eager. He needed his brother on board with his plan. Tag teaming Joe might be his only hope. Of course if he got his mother on board......

"Yeah, I'll help," Nathan said, not sounding too happy about it. "But when she finds out, and we both know that she will, don't be surprised when I sell your ass down the river."