​KEEPING CHET AT BAY

 
They aren’t mine… I wish they were, because I could write about them a lot… but Universal owns them. I guess I’ll have to give them back… or maybe I’ll keep them for a while longer.
​

Sleep tugged at his awareness, pulling him down, down toward the grayness of twilight slumber until he jerked his head up; a deep yawn escaping before he settled back against the dayroom sofa and resumed scratching Henry’s ears. The much needed sleep had evaded Johnny on his days off, but now threatened to consume him when he needed to be alert. It was a vicious cycle of drifting, nodding, and jerking awake, but he couldn’t afford to miss a day of pay just because insomnia had crept into his life again. He glanced over at the guys sitting around the dayroom table in various stages of reading the paper, studying the Engineer’s handbook, and flipping through recipes, making a grocery list for the next epicurean feast. For a fleeting moment he wondered where Mike was, but that thought slipped away as fast as it had come. His eyes locked with Roy’s as he glanced up from the paper and raised an eyebrow. Johnny knew he knew there was something wrong, but being the best friend that he was, he’d never say anything in front of the others to alert them to it. Chet would have a field day if he knew.
 
Johnny rubbed his eyes and nodded his head. If Chester B. found out, he would probably find another stokes cradle hanging above his bed. The corners of his mouth turned up. It had been funny after the fact, but when he first saw that thing hanging in the dorm, he‘d been ticked off about it. The Phantom was always lurking to get the best of his pigeon. He shifted his weight again. If he kept moving, maybe he could stave off the sleep that relentlessly pursued his wakefulness.
 
“Hey Johnny, I think we need to make a supply run.”
 
When had Roy gotten up? How did he get there so fast without making any noise? The thoughts ran through Johnny’s mind as he blinked slowly and looked up to see his partner towering over him. “Uh, okay… sure.” Johnny felt Roy’s hand on his elbow as he got up. He instinctively pulled his arm away and frowned at Roy before stalking off toward the bay, disappearing around the back of the squad. Roy followed behind at a normal pace and slipped into the driver’s seat. “What was that about?” Johnny snapped.
 
“What was what about?” Roy shifted the truck into gear and pulled forward enough to align with the office door. Captain Stanley had heard the squad engine start up and slid his chair back, so he could see out the office door. “Cap, we’re going on a supply run. We’ll be right back, if we don’t get toned out.” Cap nodded his okay, and the squad continued its forward trek out the bay door and down the apron to the street.
 
“Why the sudden need to go on a supply run? I thought we agreed to wait until we were at Rampart on a follow up. We aren’t that low on anything.” Johnny glared at Roy waiting for a reply. Roy just shrugged his shoulders. Johnny huffed and turned to stare out the passenger side window propping his elbow on his knee and dropping his chin into his hand. As the scenery slid past the window his eyes began to droop, blink, and finally close as his forehead leaned against the cool glass. Roy smiled as he continued to drive. Getting Johnny out of the station before Chet realized he’d fallen asleep had been the real plan all along. Now at least he could get a cat nap in while Roy got the not so necessary supplies.

​3/7/2018