Going to Extreme
Measures
Chapter Thirteen
by GCS
Twenty four hours later the A-shift crew of Station 51 lined up for roll call in front of the engine. Everyone was present except for the youngest member of their crew. Johnny slipped into place at the end of the line just as Captain Stanley started to speak. "Good morning men. It's good to see everyone here on time this morning." All eyes looked over at Johnny who stood quietly looking at his feet. "Okay, assignments, Roy you're cooking today and the day room, Marco and Chet hang hose, Mike you have the dorms, John you have latrines. Dismissed."
The group of firemen all headed to the dayroom for a final cup of coffee before starting their duties, everyone except Johnny.
Johnny walked slowly to the door leading to the locker room.
"What's with Gage this morning?" Chet asked as the rest of the crew sat around the table drinking coffee and reading the paper.
"How am I supposed to know? I'm not his keeper." Roy said apparently aggravated at the question.
"Whoa Roy, what did Gage do now?" Chet pressed again.
Roy just shot a glare at Chet.
"Leave it alone Chet," Captain Stanley said.
"But Cap something is obviously wrong. Johnny's too quiet and Roy here is mad at him. I just think that as we are all depending on them to work as a team we should get to know what's going on."
"I said leave it Chet. When you become Captain you can demand answers, but until then I am in charge here." Hank sipped his coffee and rose from the table. "I don't want to hear you asking again. What I do want is to see you hanging hose."
"Yes sir," Chet said as he rinsed his coffee mug, turned from the sink and left the dayroom mumbling under his breath with Marco following closely behind him.
"Roy, if there is anything you need to discuss, I'll be in my office."
"There's nothing Cap." Roy continued staring at his empty mug.
Mike got up and left the room without commenting. He walked slowly passed Big Red as he headed toward the dorm thinking she needed polishing. He pushed open the door to the locker room and found Johnny sitting in his locker with his head in his hands. "Johnny?"
Johnny didn't move or act as though he had even heard Mike.
"Johnny are you okay?"
"Huh? Oh sorry Mike did you say something?"
"Are you all right?" Mike was concerned at Johnny's slow reactions.
"Yeah, yeah I'm good. I….uh…I need to get busy on the latrines." He stood slowly and picked up the cleaning supplies that he had beside the bench and disappeared into the latrines without another word.
'Roy's mad at me for not showing up to help him yesterday like I promised. I don't know why. I did call him. I couldn't help it.' He began scrubbing the tiles in the shower stall. The smell of the cleaner made his nose hurt. His eyes were watering, but they had been doing that for a couple of days. 'He should know I wouldn't bail on him without a good reason. Well he'll just have to get over being mad. I can't help it.' He leaned his head against his arm. He had a headache. Truth was he felt really bad all over. His nose was running, the smell of the cleaner made his sinuses burn. He was achy and wished he could just lay down in his bunk and sleep. 'I just didn't want to make the kids sick. They pick up every infection they get exposed to. Why didn't he understand that? He started cleaning again. 'Maybe if you had told him you didn't feel good instead of just telling him you couldn't come. Man Gage, you screwed up again.'
In the kitchen Roy was also thinking about the day before. 'Johnny must have had good reason for not showing up yesterday like he promised.' He wiped down the counter. 'Yeah right, probably some chick. He just got distracted again. I really needed his help. He knew I needed his help and he let me down.' He moved to clean the top of the table. 'No that's not right, he promised the kids he'd play catch with them, and he never breaks a promise to the kids. He must have had a very good reason, but why didn't he explain it to me this morning?'
The tones were quiet and the men had plenty of time to finish their chores. One by one they came back into the day room. Marco and Chet looked for something to watch on TV. Roy was reading the sports page, and Mike was working the crossword puzzle from the paper. Johnny was again missing from the group. Captain Stanley came in for a refill on his now cold coffee. "Everyone finished with chores?"
"Yes sir," the group of men answered together.
"Where's John?" Hank asked.
"He was still in the latrine when I came from the dorm," Mike answered.
"Well when he's done we need to go over the floor plan of that warehouse that opened up in our territory last week. Someone go check on him if he's not done in ten minutes." Hank went back to his office.
After ten minutes with no sign of Johnny Mike slid his chair back, "I guess if no one else is going I'll go check on Johnny." He left the room. Looking in the latrines he didn't see Johnny anywhere. He saw the cleaning supplies stacked on the bench near Johnny's locker. He peeked into the dorm and saw Johnny lying on his bunk covered in a blanket. Walking over he could hear the deep breathing of sleep. He turned and quietly left the room.
"Cap," Mike stuck his head in the door. "Johnny's in his bunk. He's…uh…he's asleep."
"Asleep?" Hank asked concerned. "That's not like Johnny." Rising from his chair he followed Mike out of the office and across the bay. Moving quietly into the dorm Hank walked over beside Johnny's bunk. Johnny stirred and let out a soft moan. Hank reached down and laid his hand on Johnny's forehead much like he would his own children. "He's awfully warm. Mike maybe you should get Roy to come in here."
Mike walked swiftly across the bay and called Roy from the doorway as he moved to the compartments on the squad to get the drug box. "Roy, Cap needs you in the dorm."
"What's up Mike?" Roy asked as he came up beside him by the squad.
"Johnny's sick."
"What? What's wrong with him?" Roy walked quickly through the locker room to the dorm. Coming up beside Johnny's bunk Roy immediately placed his hand on Johnny's forehead. "He's definitely got a fever." He reached for Johnny's wrist to get his pulse. "Mike can you get me the cuff?" After a quick assessment Roy decided that he would feel better if he consulted with one of the doctors at Rampart. He didn't want to call in a run so he used the telephone to call the nurse's desk in hopes of getting Dixie.
"Rampart Emergency, Nurse McCall speaking."
"Dixie, this is Roy Desoto."
"Well hello Roy. To what do we owe this unexpected treat?" Dixie smiled.
"Um could I…is there a doctor around?"
"Who's sick Roy? Is everything all right? You just came on shift right?"
"Yes, it's Johnny. We found him in his bunk. He has a fever 102. He didn't complain about any symptoms. Well he uh he didn't come over yesterday, so I guess he wasn't feeling well then. But you know Johnny Dix. He never complains when he is really sick, only when it's something little like a scratch or something."
"Hang on a minute Roy." He could hear her call out to Dr. Brackett to come to the phone.
"Hello Roy, what's going on with Johnny?" Roy explained again to Dr. Brackett.
"Well since we don't really know what is going on to cause the fever, and you said he didn't complain of any symptoms, I think we need to run a blood test. How do his lungs sound?" Dr. Brackett rubbed his hand across his forehead.
"Well he sounds congested, but he hasn't been coughing any."
"He could have the beginnings of pneumonia. I'd like to get him in here."
"Okay Dr. Brackett. Can you hang on a second?"
"Sure Roy."
"Cap Dr. Brackett thinks it might be the beginnings of pneumonia. He wants me to bring him in."
"Do you want me to call for an ambulance?" Hank asked.
"I could take him in the squad if you help me with him. It would be faster. I'll be out of service until you get a replacement anyway."
"Okay with me if it's okay with Dr. Brackett. I'll start working on a replacement. Mike will help you get him in the squad."
"Dr. Brackett we'll bring him in the squad, ETA 15 minutes."
"Okay Roy we'll be waiting." Brackett hung up.
"Johnny." Roy gently shook Johnny's shoulder. "Wake up for me Junior."
"Huh? "m sorry Roy. I would've come. I don't feel well. I didn't want to make the kids sick. 'm really sorry I let ya down."
"Hush Johnny it's okay. I'm gonna take you to see Dr. Brackett." Roy gently helped Johnny sit up. "Come on out to the squad."
"I don't want to Roy. He'll give me a shot." Johnny whined. His head lulled to the side.
"Come on Johnny I'll help you." Mike put his arm around Johnny's back and lifted him off the bunk.
"Okay Mike, but I just wanna go home. I feel lousy."
"I know Johnny. It's okay." Mike kept moving toward the squad supporting Johnny.
At the hospital it was determined that Johnny did in fact have the beginnings of pneumonia. He was started on some strong antibiotics and settled into a room.
The horseback riding, afternoon of surfing with Mike and Lizzy combined with the extended CPR he had to perform on the swimmer, and then the busy shift that followed had helped make him sick.
The group of firemen all headed to the dayroom for a final cup of coffee before starting their duties, everyone except Johnny.
Johnny walked slowly to the door leading to the locker room.
"What's with Gage this morning?" Chet asked as the rest of the crew sat around the table drinking coffee and reading the paper.
"How am I supposed to know? I'm not his keeper." Roy said apparently aggravated at the question.
"Whoa Roy, what did Gage do now?" Chet pressed again.
Roy just shot a glare at Chet.
"Leave it alone Chet," Captain Stanley said.
"But Cap something is obviously wrong. Johnny's too quiet and Roy here is mad at him. I just think that as we are all depending on them to work as a team we should get to know what's going on."
"I said leave it Chet. When you become Captain you can demand answers, but until then I am in charge here." Hank sipped his coffee and rose from the table. "I don't want to hear you asking again. What I do want is to see you hanging hose."
"Yes sir," Chet said as he rinsed his coffee mug, turned from the sink and left the dayroom mumbling under his breath with Marco following closely behind him.
"Roy, if there is anything you need to discuss, I'll be in my office."
"There's nothing Cap." Roy continued staring at his empty mug.
Mike got up and left the room without commenting. He walked slowly passed Big Red as he headed toward the dorm thinking she needed polishing. He pushed open the door to the locker room and found Johnny sitting in his locker with his head in his hands. "Johnny?"
Johnny didn't move or act as though he had even heard Mike.
"Johnny are you okay?"
"Huh? Oh sorry Mike did you say something?"
"Are you all right?" Mike was concerned at Johnny's slow reactions.
"Yeah, yeah I'm good. I….uh…I need to get busy on the latrines." He stood slowly and picked up the cleaning supplies that he had beside the bench and disappeared into the latrines without another word.
'Roy's mad at me for not showing up to help him yesterday like I promised. I don't know why. I did call him. I couldn't help it.' He began scrubbing the tiles in the shower stall. The smell of the cleaner made his nose hurt. His eyes were watering, but they had been doing that for a couple of days. 'He should know I wouldn't bail on him without a good reason. Well he'll just have to get over being mad. I can't help it.' He leaned his head against his arm. He had a headache. Truth was he felt really bad all over. His nose was running, the smell of the cleaner made his sinuses burn. He was achy and wished he could just lay down in his bunk and sleep. 'I just didn't want to make the kids sick. They pick up every infection they get exposed to. Why didn't he understand that? He started cleaning again. 'Maybe if you had told him you didn't feel good instead of just telling him you couldn't come. Man Gage, you screwed up again.'
In the kitchen Roy was also thinking about the day before. 'Johnny must have had good reason for not showing up yesterday like he promised.' He wiped down the counter. 'Yeah right, probably some chick. He just got distracted again. I really needed his help. He knew I needed his help and he let me down.' He moved to clean the top of the table. 'No that's not right, he promised the kids he'd play catch with them, and he never breaks a promise to the kids. He must have had a very good reason, but why didn't he explain it to me this morning?'
The tones were quiet and the men had plenty of time to finish their chores. One by one they came back into the day room. Marco and Chet looked for something to watch on TV. Roy was reading the sports page, and Mike was working the crossword puzzle from the paper. Johnny was again missing from the group. Captain Stanley came in for a refill on his now cold coffee. "Everyone finished with chores?"
"Yes sir," the group of men answered together.
"Where's John?" Hank asked.
"He was still in the latrine when I came from the dorm," Mike answered.
"Well when he's done we need to go over the floor plan of that warehouse that opened up in our territory last week. Someone go check on him if he's not done in ten minutes." Hank went back to his office.
After ten minutes with no sign of Johnny Mike slid his chair back, "I guess if no one else is going I'll go check on Johnny." He left the room. Looking in the latrines he didn't see Johnny anywhere. He saw the cleaning supplies stacked on the bench near Johnny's locker. He peeked into the dorm and saw Johnny lying on his bunk covered in a blanket. Walking over he could hear the deep breathing of sleep. He turned and quietly left the room.
"Cap," Mike stuck his head in the door. "Johnny's in his bunk. He's…uh…he's asleep."
"Asleep?" Hank asked concerned. "That's not like Johnny." Rising from his chair he followed Mike out of the office and across the bay. Moving quietly into the dorm Hank walked over beside Johnny's bunk. Johnny stirred and let out a soft moan. Hank reached down and laid his hand on Johnny's forehead much like he would his own children. "He's awfully warm. Mike maybe you should get Roy to come in here."
Mike walked swiftly across the bay and called Roy from the doorway as he moved to the compartments on the squad to get the drug box. "Roy, Cap needs you in the dorm."
"What's up Mike?" Roy asked as he came up beside him by the squad.
"Johnny's sick."
"What? What's wrong with him?" Roy walked quickly through the locker room to the dorm. Coming up beside Johnny's bunk Roy immediately placed his hand on Johnny's forehead. "He's definitely got a fever." He reached for Johnny's wrist to get his pulse. "Mike can you get me the cuff?" After a quick assessment Roy decided that he would feel better if he consulted with one of the doctors at Rampart. He didn't want to call in a run so he used the telephone to call the nurse's desk in hopes of getting Dixie.
"Rampart Emergency, Nurse McCall speaking."
"Dixie, this is Roy Desoto."
"Well hello Roy. To what do we owe this unexpected treat?" Dixie smiled.
"Um could I…is there a doctor around?"
"Who's sick Roy? Is everything all right? You just came on shift right?"
"Yes, it's Johnny. We found him in his bunk. He has a fever 102. He didn't complain about any symptoms. Well he uh he didn't come over yesterday, so I guess he wasn't feeling well then. But you know Johnny Dix. He never complains when he is really sick, only when it's something little like a scratch or something."
"Hang on a minute Roy." He could hear her call out to Dr. Brackett to come to the phone.
"Hello Roy, what's going on with Johnny?" Roy explained again to Dr. Brackett.
"Well since we don't really know what is going on to cause the fever, and you said he didn't complain of any symptoms, I think we need to run a blood test. How do his lungs sound?" Dr. Brackett rubbed his hand across his forehead.
"Well he sounds congested, but he hasn't been coughing any."
"He could have the beginnings of pneumonia. I'd like to get him in here."
"Okay Dr. Brackett. Can you hang on a second?"
"Sure Roy."
"Cap Dr. Brackett thinks it might be the beginnings of pneumonia. He wants me to bring him in."
"Do you want me to call for an ambulance?" Hank asked.
"I could take him in the squad if you help me with him. It would be faster. I'll be out of service until you get a replacement anyway."
"Okay with me if it's okay with Dr. Brackett. I'll start working on a replacement. Mike will help you get him in the squad."
"Dr. Brackett we'll bring him in the squad, ETA 15 minutes."
"Okay Roy we'll be waiting." Brackett hung up.
"Johnny." Roy gently shook Johnny's shoulder. "Wake up for me Junior."
"Huh? "m sorry Roy. I would've come. I don't feel well. I didn't want to make the kids sick. 'm really sorry I let ya down."
"Hush Johnny it's okay. I'm gonna take you to see Dr. Brackett." Roy gently helped Johnny sit up. "Come on out to the squad."
"I don't want to Roy. He'll give me a shot." Johnny whined. His head lulled to the side.
"Come on Johnny I'll help you." Mike put his arm around Johnny's back and lifted him off the bunk.
"Okay Mike, but I just wanna go home. I feel lousy."
"I know Johnny. It's okay." Mike kept moving toward the squad supporting Johnny.
At the hospital it was determined that Johnny did in fact have the beginnings of pneumonia. He was started on some strong antibiotics and settled into a room.
The horseback riding, afternoon of surfing with Mike and Lizzy combined with the extended CPR he had to perform on the swimmer, and then the busy shift that followed had helped make him sick.
