[For Bay and Gwen] Fire!

[happy_dsign]

Bay was late. It wasn't a big deal yet, she was still cooking, but she could use help with garnishing and boxing the food that was ready, and if she didn't have everything boxed and loaded in about the next 30 minutes, she was going to be late with this catering order. They were still not as frequent as she'd like, beyond her morning orders for baked goods around the city, and every good performance equaled good word-of-mouth. That was important, it was critical at this point.

She got some oil heating in a skillet to start working on the fried foods, since they needed to be relatively fresh, and then she pulled out her phone and sent a video chat request to Bay.

Comments

[neither_a_nor_b]

To make matters worse, Bay was also running late and looking to be down one of her favorite tops. At the edge of the screen, a fresh stain of cat vomit was plainly visible on her collar. What had been tightly coiled curls that morning were now a frizzy and barely contained bun, hurriedly pulled back.

"Hey, shit. Daph, I'm running late from work."

[happy_dsign]

"How long will you be?" Daphne asked, trying to keep her irritation out of her expression. She was depending on Bay. She needed her here, and soon.

[neither_a_nor_b]

"I don't know? Twenty minutes if I speed? That's an if." Bay screwed up her face and gestured down at her shirt again. "It's been kind of a day over here!"

[happy_dsign]

Daphne sighed, then took a slow, deep breath. She felt bad that Bay was clearly not having a great day at work, and she knew Bay didn't have to let her use the Thing for her deliveries, but when she was counting on the car to do her job, she kind of need to be able to actually count on it.

"Fine. Twenty minutes should work. You're leaving right now, then?"

[neither_a_nor_b]

A flash of temper made Bay want to bring those facts up to Daphne when she sighed, but she knew there was way too much of a rush to get into an argument.

"Pretty much. I need to get a clean shirt when we get there, can you set one out?"

[happy_dsign]

"Yeah, I can do that. Just hurry, okay?" Daphne moved from her room to Bay's, heading for her dresser to find a shirt, the oil heating on the stove completely forgotten in the midst of her stress and frustration.

"Is there a specific shirt you want, or just anything that's clean?" She propped the phone against a stray piece of laundry on top of Bay's dresser so she could have her hands free to search through drawers while still being able to see Bay's signing on the phone's screen.

[neither_a_nor_b]

"Yeah, I'm going, I'm going. Um, anything clean. It's not a big deal, but I don't think your clients will think a driver with a cat vomit accessory," Bay said. "I'm so getting hair ball supplements."

[happy_dsign]

"Good idea," Daphne agreed dryly. "Okay, I'll find you something. See you soon," she said, forcing a stressed smile.

[neither_a_nor_b]

"I'll rush, promise," Bay said, hanging up.

[makeithome]

Rifling through her planner, Gwen smells the smoke before she sees it. She's got her books in the crook of her arm, free hand fumbling for her keys, and if it weren't for the smell, she might have missed it. When she looks up, though, the smoke billowing from underneath the door of the apartment next to hers is unmistakeable.

Though they aren't close, she's spoken to Daphne and Bay before. It's been nice knowing her next door neighbors were roughly her own age. Even if that weren't the case, though, she'd be rushing to the rescue. Setting her books and bag down in a hurry, she raps at the door. "Bay! Daphne!" she calls through it. "Guys, it's Gwen! Can you hear me?" The alarm is wailing inside and it makes her stomach turn. Either they aren't home or they can't hear it. Waiting isn't going to help any of them, so instead she tries to open the door.

[happy_dsign]

Daphne was still in Bay's bedroom, refolding shirts after digging through her sister's clothes to pick out something for her to change into. She didn't hear the knocking, of course, didn't hear someone open her front door, but even in her distracted, stressed state, the smell of acrid smoke was finally noticed. "Oh, my god." she cried, dropping Bay's shirts back into the drawer and running back toward the kitchen, where the stove was ablaze and the surrounding cupboards were starting to catch fire, too. She instantly started coughing, her eyes stinging as the oily smoke got to them, making it difficult to see as she tried to spot the kitchen fire extinguisher she'd purchased and kept tucked back to one side of the stove. At this point, she might not be able to get to it.

She turned to make her way to the front door, hoping to find one in the hall. Most apartments kept fire extinguishers in the halls, right? She'd never noticed one, but then she'd never been looking for one. It was the type of thing that just kind of faded into the background until you needed it.

[makeithome]

Gwen's heading toward the smoke when she sees Daphne, relief washing over her. "Oh, my god, there you are," she says. "Is Bay here, too?" If so, she'll have to go find her and make sure she gets out, too. Priority number two is putting out that fire before it gets any worse, though. There's got to be a fire extinguisher around somewhere or at least a large amount of salt or something to cut off its oxygen supply. She's smelled amazing food coming from the apartment before; there's got to be a cookie sheet or something she can use. "Are you alright?"

[happy_dsign]

Daphne could see someone through the smoke, and as she got closer, realized it was Gwen, but she couldn't make out what the other girl was saying. Her eyes were burning and watering, and she was starting to have trouble breathing. "Gwen. Fire extinquisher," she gasped, motioning toward the door into the common hallway. The smell of burning oil was now changing, a clear sign that the area surrounding the stove was starting to burn. She hoped they could stop it before it got too big, but just in case, she added, "Call the fire department."

[makeithome]

Gwen nods, steering her toward the door. "I will," she says, trying to angle herself toward Daphne as much as possible. She needs fresh air and fast. "Are you okay?"

With no sign of Bay present, she focuses on Daphne and the fire extinguisher. As soon as they make it to the hall, she draws away from Daphne to search, fumbling for her phone as she goes. There has to be one somewhere on the hall. She's pretty sure it's some kind of health and safety violation for there not to be one present. "Hi, I'm calling to report a fire at Chelsea Cloisters."

[happy_dsign]

"I'm okay," Daphne replied, having been able to make out that question through the haze of smoke, at least. "Just need to get away from the smoke." She leaned against the wall once they got out of the apartment, taking a few deep breaths that were interrupted by coughing. At least she was getting mostly fresh air, though if they didn't get the fire out soon, the hallway wouldn't be fit to breathe much longer, either. She could feel the fire alarm going off, now, through the vibration of the wall she leaned against.

After taking a minute to recover, she pushed away from the wall, though her lungs were still burning from the smoke she'd already inhaled. She was sure a hospital visit was in her future, just to get checked out if nothing else. But that was later. If they waited for the fire department to show up, there might not be much apartment left to save.

[makeithome]

It takes a little while, but Gwen finds the extinguisher finally, coughing as she makes her way back into the apartment. She's never used one on an actual fire before, but she's grateful she knows what she's doing. The mess it makes is better than letting the place burn down.

And it would — definitely the apartment would be unlivable, and when she spots the fire on the stove, she's not sure the entire building wouldn't go up in short order. Finding something to cover and contain it is out of the question; it's too far gone. Her eyes are stinging as she aims the extinguisher at the stove, chest tight, but she doesn't stop until she can't see flames anymore. As she staggers back out of the apartment, she can hear voices in the stairwell and the wail of a siren coming down the street.

[happy_dsign]

Daphne covered her face with the bottom of her shirt in an attempt to keep more smoke from getting into her lungs and hovered near the door. There was no point in both of them going back inside, but she wanted to at least try to keep an eye on Gwen, in case the smoke got to be too much for her.

She sagged a little in relief as Gwen turned toward the door again, moving out of the way. "Oh, my god, thank you. I'm so sorry, I don't know how it happened!" she exclaimed, reaching out to help Gwen as she moved into the more breathable air of the hallway again.

[makeithome]

Gwen's not sure if Daphne's helping keep her up or the other way around or if they're basically carrying each other down the hall, but she's thankful for it all the same. "It's okay," she assures her. She feels a little woozy now that the fire's out and she can think more clearly, but she's fine and so is Daphne, and that's all that really matters. She steers them toward the stairs. They'll be better off heading down that way and trying to get some fresh air. There probably isn't anything else they can do. "I'm fine and it's out. I can hear the firetruck coming. Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"

[happy_dsign]

Daphne shook her head tiredly. "Just from the smoke. My throat hurts, and my lungs. But I didn't get burned or anything." She smiled weakly and asked, "What about you? Are you all right?"

[makeithome]

Gwen nods, patting Daphne's shoulder like she would if she were one of her brothers, absently intended to comfort without being too emotional about it. Phillip was at an age when he would roll his eyes if she were more effusive; that's how she remembers him now, at least.

"Fine," she says, already low voice raspier than usual. That will wear off, though. "I'm just glad you're safe. What happened in there?"

[happy_dsign]

"I was cooking, and then Bay called, and we were arguing. I had a catering job--" Her eyes widened. "Oh, god. My client. I have to let them know I won't be able to make it." Great, this was going to impress them. Their caterer started her kitchen on fire. She groaned, pulling her phone out as they made their way downstairs to send a text to her clients explaining what had happened.

[makeithome]

Gwen can hear the footsteps coming up the stairs before she sees them, a number of firefighters making their way toward them. When they stop the girls to ask, Gwen tells them the floor they're looking for and what happened, as much of it as she knows, and they continue on their way. The fire may be out, but they still need to check the apartment. Gwen's pretty sure everyone will feel more at ease after they do anyway.

With that out of the way, she looks over to Daphne. "Was it for today? Is there anything I can do to help?"

[happy_dsign]

Daphne shook her head, looking down to find the contact. "I'm supposed to be leaving right now. Everything was in the kitchen, waiting for Bay to get home and give me a ride. There's no time to remake it." Great, just as things were starting to take off. Something like this could very well kill her business. Not to mention her kitchen. And she wasn't sure if the landlord would even let them keep living here, after this. Did people get evicted in Darrow?

[makeithome]

Gwen reaches out to rub Daphne's arm, brief and gentle. "I'm sorry," she says. "I hope they understand." It's a simple enough mistake anyone could make, distracted for a few moments. It's going to be an awful inconvenience for the client, but it's not like Daphne did it on purpose or didn't get the job done. It just... didn't get to them. With any luck, they won't be too harsh about it. At least everyone's still uninjured.

[happy_dsign]

"I hope so, too. I'll text them now and go over tomorrow in person to explain what happened." Of course, a caterer that couldn't even prepare an order without setting her kitchen on fire wasn't going to get the greatest reputation around town.

She really hoped this wouldn't ruin her business just as it was starting to get going well.

[makeithome]

A lot of people would be freaking out under these circumstances, and Gwen would understand. She's just glad Daphne isn't one of them. Daphne and Bay seem nice, but she hasn't gotten to know them very well yet, but in spite of the awful circumstances, the impression she gets is a good one. "Good luck," she says. "If there's anything I can do to help, let me know?"

[happy_dsign]

Daphne nodded. "Thanks. Not that you haven't helped already. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been there, so...thanks for that, too."

[makeithome]

It's a frightening thought, truthfully, though Gwen doesn't think she necessarily deserves all that much in the way of credit for stepping in. There isn't anything else that can be done in a situation like that. "Good timing," she says. "Thank god."