Summary: Three years after losing her fiancé in a fire, Buffy is working as a 9-1-1 dispatcher in LA when she receive a call that will change her life forever…again. Only this time, will it be for the better? 
As a rookie for the LAFD, Spike is dead set on proving himself, but when he's injured in a fire and needs a place to convalesce, Buffy's conveniently got an extra room. A little less convenient is her stubborn refusal to give him a chance. He knows she's sworn off firefighters for good, but he hopes he can prove himself to her and maybe burn through her barriers along the way.
Written for the Elysian Fields ‘Called Challenge'. Banner made by honeygirl51885.
Beta and Sensitivity Readers: None
Artists: None
Categories: Alternate Reality, Challenge Response, All Human
Characters: Angel, Buffy, Cordelia, Riley Finn, Spike, Willow
Genres: Angst, Drama, HEA/HFN, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Slow-Burn
Warnings: Adult Language, Buffy/Other (Temp), Character Death, Mental Health Issues, Sexual Situations
Event: Called Challenge 2021
Completed: No Chapters: 3
Word count: 13,702 Hit Count: 931 ePub Downloads: 22
Published: October 15, 2021 Updated: January 12, 2022


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Story Notes: This story was inspired by the show 9-1-1. At its conception, it was intended to be nothing but smut. I mean, hot firefighter Spike? Need I say more. But somehow along the way, the story evolved into something much more intense. Trigger warnings are necessary here! There will be mentions of non-canonical character death (Riley) and miscarriage, although both take place prior to the beginning of the story. Despite this being AH, I definitely channel some season six Buffy. With all that said, I promise there will be lighthearted moments and it will end on a happy note. HEA included!
Big thank you to honeygirl51885 for the beautiful banner! And another big thanks to DeepBlueJoy and Lnw86 for betaing!
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

1. Chapter 1 - Ignite by Jmfangs - Likes: 18 Comments: 11 Word Count: 5,253 Hit Count: 424 Published: October 15, 2021

Big thanks to my beta DeepBlueJoy for her invaluable help with info regarding fire and rescue and what is and is not survivable (big shocker here, did you know the show 9-1-1 actually overdramatizes stuff!? Hehe). It is thanks to her that Spike is still with us for chapter two. Also, she's great at catching when I randomly decide to use words that don't make sense. (I don't think that word means what you think it means, Morgan!) Another thanks to Lnw86 for also looking this over. You guys are awesome!

2. Chapter 2 - Fuel by Jmfangs - Likes: 14 Comments: 4 Word Count: 4,124 Hit Count: 286 Published: November 02, 2021

In which Spike moves in, and we see how they handle it.

Continued thanks to honeygirl51885 for the beautiful banner! And mega thanks to Lnw86 and DeepBlueJoy both for doing a fabulous job betaing this for me! I'm eternally grateful! I, of course, did mess with it some more afterward, so all mistakes are mine.

3. Chapter 3 - Flame by Jmfangs - Likes: 14 Comments: 5 Word Count: 4,325 Hit Count: 221 Published: January 12, 2022

If anyone is still reading, thank you! I had to do some rewrites for this chapter, but that doesn't at all explain why it took so long to get this posted. Suffice it to say that 2021 was the most miserable year of my life so far. I had some real world stuff come up that made it nearly impossible to sit in front of a computer for any time at all. The good news is that I do think things are getting better, so hopefully these updates will come much faster, despite some rewriting I'm doing to this completed story. Thank you guys for understanding. 

I owe a huge mess of thank yous to DeepBlueJoy. When I first asked her to be my beta for another story I was working on, I couldn't have known that I'd decide to start working on this one next, nor could I have known that she would end up being the perfect person to assist me through this one... for so many reasons, only a few of which have to do with her amazing eye for catching stray commas. This story is 1000xs better due to her, and I couldn't be more grateful.