Chapter Thirteen
The phone rang startling Jim. He turned from the groceries and briefly wondered who would be calling him. He didn't want the phone to wake Cody up. He already knew Cody would be irritable and probably have a hangover, so he hurried to the phone and grabbed if off the cradle. "Hello," he said softly.
"Jim?"
"Yeah, yeah, who is this?" He still kept his voice low.
"It's Bill, I…uh…we were wondering…"
"We?" Jim knew now that the call was about that nail.
"Yeah, Um Dave Gotchalk, Tony Freeman, Jeff Swanson and me…We wanted to talk to you."
"What about, McDonald?"
Jim's use of his last name struck a nerve making Bill a little uneasy about the call. "Well…ya see…Oh come on Jim, you now as well as I do it's about your brother and his vendetta against John Gage." Bill sounded frustrated through the phone. "Can you come by Tony's place?"
"Listen McDonald, Cody is asleep. I'm about to fix us some dinner. I don't think I can right now."
"Jim, we're not trying to accuse Cody of anything. He's your little brother. You're our friend. We…um…we just thought." Bill turned to the other men in the room. He wasn't sure how much to say over the phone. "We just wanted to talk to you about things. Do you think you could meet us later for a drink or something?"
Jim looked up and noticed Cody standing in the doorway to the kitchen. His hair was sticking up, his shirt wrinkled, and his eyes bloodshot. He looked like crap. "They think I did it too?" It was more of a statement than a question. Then Cody turned away and walked back down the hall closing his bedroom door.
Jim sighed into the phone. "Okay, I'll meet you. What time and where?"
Bill smiled at the others. "How about seven at McGill's Pub?"
"Seven's fine." Jim hung up the phone without saying goodbye. He rested his head against the wall. His hand remained on the phone. He slowly dropped it to his side as he turned his back to the wall and leaned against it. 'Did Cody do it? It must have been him. No one else would have. Why Cody? And how are we going to fix this? Maybe the guys can help. Maybe they can talk to Gage.'
...
Dixie walked out of the treatment room leaving a worried young man and his new friends to ponder who would be looking for Johnny.
She looked over at the nurse's desk and made eye contact with the young nurse who pointed to the waiting area. When she turned down the hall a smile spread across her pretty pink lips. She walked right up to the man who'd been flashing a badge and put her hands on her hips. "I thought you were retired?"
He whipped around at the sound of her voice. "Dixie!"
"James Boyd, your running around here flashing that badge and asking questions has that young man scared to death." She admonished. "What is this all about?"
He lowered his gaze to his shoes and scuffed his toe on the tiled floor. "No one would tell me anything. When he didn't call, I…he was supposed to call."
"Johnny? How do you know John Gage?" Her head tilted and she stepped up beside the man trying to make eye contact.
"He's a friend. I sent him here in a taxi. He was going to take the bus. I couldn't let him do that after he almost got mugged yesterday. I would've brought him myself but…the breakfast crowd." He looked into her eyes and shrugged hoping she understood. "I had to...I told him to call. Is he that sick? I knew he was sick, but….where is he Dix?"
She smiled and cupped his cheek in her hand. "I never once believed you were that gruff, no nonsense policeman you pretended to be for all those years. You really are a softy Jimbo." Her eyes sparkled with fondness. "I should have known better than to turn down your proposal." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him gently on the cheek."
He looked sheepishly up at her and returned her smile. "The offer still stands beautiful."
Dixie stepped back and smiled. "Now you know better than that. We haven't dated in years, and I happen to be in a relationship." She folded her arms across her chest in a gesture the man remembered. He flinched at the realization that she meant business. "He's just a kid. How did you get mixed up with him?"
Jimbo shrugged again. "Some thugs beat him up and left him for dead in my alley about a year back. I couldn't just leave him there. He's so skinny. I helped him, fed him. Hell I've been trying to fatten him up, but nothing works. He kept coming back, cleaning up the place, fixing things…to pay me back. He said he couldn't take charity. He's never taken advantage of me like so many others have. I just…I don't know Dixie…he's a friend." He smiled, "A good friend."
"He gets to you doesn't he?" She patted him on the shoulder. "Come on." She turned and led Jimbo down the hall. She stopped and turned to him just before they entered a treatment room. "He almost got mugged yesterday?"
"Yeah, but somehow he talked his way out of it; brought the guy to my place for some food instead." Jimbo chuckled. "He really is a good kid Dix."
She smiled and winked at him. "I'm beginning to see that."
...
"So Johnny do you have any idea why a policeman would be looking for you here at Rampart?" Scotty asked, his eyes on the door expecting it to open at any minute.
"No." Johnny answered softly. His eyes were also glued to the door. His hands pulled at the blanket, fidgeting with the edge that he had pulled up to his chest again.
Captain Jones walked over and put his hand on Johnny's shoulder. "I'm sure we'll find out soon enough." He had noticed Johnny's breathing increased. He could hear some wheezing…or at least he thought he did. "Don't get yourself all worked up. Ms. McCall will find out what it's all about."
Johnny's eyes moved to his Captain for a few seconds before he closed them and tried to calm down. The minutes ticked by slowly. Captain Jones and Scotty returned to the wall and leaned back to wait. There was no way they would leave John now. He was one of them, one of their crew, a brother.
Johnny was tired. His chest ached, and he felt sick to his stomach again. He thought maybe if he just didn't move; if he could lie still and breathe carefully he would be okay. The room was quiet. Scotty and Cap didn't speak. Johnny almost forgot they were there with him. Somehow, even though he was really worried about the policeman on the other side of the door, he managed to fall back to sleep.
"He's asleep again." Scotty whispered.
Cap nodded his agreement. "He's had a rough couple of days."
They both startled when the door pushed open.
...
Everything was a blur.
He was hot, very hot, and it hurt to take a deep breath. Wherever he was, it was dark. He could hear people talking. Someone was yelling obscenities about getting out of there. Another voice sang a sad tune that sounded a lot like the chants he remembered as a child when he visited his ailing grandfather. The medicine man waved herbs over his withered body and murmured strange words. Johnny thought he must be back home in Montana. Someone must be sick or dying. The medicine man continued chanting.
He had his back against a cold concrete block wall. He knew it must be made of cinder blocks because of the pattern that ran between the rectangular shapes and the size of the gray blocks. They didn't look like they were meant to be gray. Maybe they had become gray over time from lack of care. He couldn't quite make it out, but there appeared to be writing on the other wall.
There was a cot against that wall, but why wasn't he in it? 'Why am I in the floor, in the corner?' He didn't know the answer to that question. He just knew he hurt all over. 'Did I get hurt at a fire? No I was at the hospital.' His eyes widened as he remembered the pretty nurse popping her head in and telling them an officer was looking for him. 'Oh God! I'm…I'm in jail.'
His lowered his aching head into his hands and pulled his knees in tighter to his chest. His breathing became more gasps than breaths. He knew what happened in jail. He'd heard stories while growing up on the reservation. The stories of how Indians were treated in jail. How they were wrongly accused, badly treated, even beaten unnecessarily, but he couldn't remember why he was arrested.
He raised his head from his knees and slowly opened his eyes. He looked around the small space.
In the center of the ceiling there was a lone light fixture incased in some sort of grate. The dim lighting didn't allow much of a view. One thing he did know for sure. At the far end of the narrow space were bars that ran from ceiling to floor. 'Oh God.' Fear gripped his heart. His stomach lurched. 'What have I done? Why am I here?'
Thinking back to the past few days the only thing that came to mind was the seedy man on the bus, the man who tried to mug him, the man he'd taken to Jimbo's, the man he'd helped. Johnny wondered if the man had done something. Maybe he had mugged someone else. Maybe they thought. 'No, that couldn't be. I didn't know him. Oh please, they didn't think we were together.' He squeezed his eyes shut. That had to be it. Someone had seen him with that creep and thought he was helping him, that they were accomplices. Now he had been arrested and left to rot in a cell.
"I di-n…I don…" His head thrashed from side to side. His hands reached out and wrapped around something in his mind. His knees pulled up from the treatment table. "Out…I nee-d…ou…Help."
...
Bill hung up the phone and turned to the other guys.
"Well?" Tony asked first. "Will he meet us?"
"He said he'd be there at seven." Bill ran his hand through his hair and blew out a long breath. "I don't know guys. I mean Cody is his brother. He's part of our shift. We need to think about that. If he did it then fine, we'll deal with that. But if he didn't…if he says he didn't do it, we'll have to trust that he didn't."
"He did it." Jeff said quietly. "I'm pretty sure he did it, but I'm not sure why."
"Well that's why we're meeting with Jim. If he did it we need to understand why, so we can help." Dave took a swig from the beer he was holding.
"Yeah, but help how?" Bill walked towards the kitchen. "Anybody need another drink?"
"Better slow down on that if we're going out later." Tony suggested.
"Yeah, you're right. How about sodas then, you have any soda?" Bill continued into the kitchen.
"Help yourself." Tony called to him.
Dave looked at his half finished beer and followed Bill into the kitchen. "I'll take a soda too." He poured the remainder of his beer down the drain and tossed it in the trash. "So do you think we should call Scotty to meet us?"
"I think we should, he's senior man. Well other than Cap and I don't think Jim will want to talk if Cap is there." Tony grabbed a soda and some more salsa and chips and headed back to the living room. "We need a plan." The others follow him and gathered around the table sharing the chips and dip as they talked about what to say to Jim and how they could help Cody, even if it meant asking him to resign, or at least seek some help.
...
Jimbo followed Dixie into the treatment room where they found Captain Jones and Scotty trying to hold the thrashing man on the table.
"What happened?" Dixie asked as she reached for the phone to page Dr. Early. "Hold him until I can page a doctor. Don't let him fall." She turned to the phone and dialed the number for the hospital operator. "Page Dr. Early to the ER, STAT."
Jimbo moved over beside Johnny and tried talking to him. "Hey kid, calm down. Everything is gonna be fine." He reached over and put his arm across Johnny's chest and tried to ease his arms down.
"I di-n do it. I didn't. Please le-me go." Johnny could barely get the words out between gasps.
Dixie put her hand on Johnny's forehead and could immediately tell his fever had gone up. She could feel the shudder that moved through him. She bent close to his ear and spoke calmly to him. "Shhh, sweetheart, it's okay, everything is okay. You're at Rampart. You have a fever. Calm down, please calm down." She recognized the signs of a panic attack, but the fever wasn't helping. She suspected that he was somewhat delirious from it. She also knew he was worried about the thought of a policeman asking questions about him. He didn't know it was just his friend trying to find him. She brushed his sweat soaked bangs from his face and continued talking to him until Dr. Early came in the room.
"What happened?" Dr. Early asked as he reached in the drug cabinet and picked up several bottles quickly reading the labels until he found the one he needed. He grabbed a syringe and filled it with the needed medication to calm the thrashing young man. Then he handed it to Dixie. "This should calm him down."
Dixie administered the medication through the IV port and continued brushing her hand across Johnny's forehead trying to sooth him. Captain Jones and Scotty were still holding his other arm and legs. Jimbo had moved back out of the way. He felt responsible for his friend's upset. He looked up and met Dixie's gaze. She gave him a reassuring smile. "He's going to be okay. He's spiked a temperature. He doesn't know it was you."
Dr. Early took his stethoscope from his pocket and began listening to Johnny's lungs. "Dix, can you get some vitals?"
Johnny's body had stilled and his breathing slowed. His face relaxed, and he no longer had his eyes squeezed shut. After a few minutes he slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room. "Wha…what happened? Can I go home now?"
The phone rang startling Jim. He turned from the groceries and briefly wondered who would be calling him. He didn't want the phone to wake Cody up. He already knew Cody would be irritable and probably have a hangover, so he hurried to the phone and grabbed if off the cradle. "Hello," he said softly.
"Jim?"
"Yeah, yeah, who is this?" He still kept his voice low.
"It's Bill, I…uh…we were wondering…"
"We?" Jim knew now that the call was about that nail.
"Yeah, Um Dave Gotchalk, Tony Freeman, Jeff Swanson and me…We wanted to talk to you."
"What about, McDonald?"
Jim's use of his last name struck a nerve making Bill a little uneasy about the call. "Well…ya see…Oh come on Jim, you now as well as I do it's about your brother and his vendetta against John Gage." Bill sounded frustrated through the phone. "Can you come by Tony's place?"
"Listen McDonald, Cody is asleep. I'm about to fix us some dinner. I don't think I can right now."
"Jim, we're not trying to accuse Cody of anything. He's your little brother. You're our friend. We…um…we just thought." Bill turned to the other men in the room. He wasn't sure how much to say over the phone. "We just wanted to talk to you about things. Do you think you could meet us later for a drink or something?"
Jim looked up and noticed Cody standing in the doorway to the kitchen. His hair was sticking up, his shirt wrinkled, and his eyes bloodshot. He looked like crap. "They think I did it too?" It was more of a statement than a question. Then Cody turned away and walked back down the hall closing his bedroom door.
Jim sighed into the phone. "Okay, I'll meet you. What time and where?"
Bill smiled at the others. "How about seven at McGill's Pub?"
"Seven's fine." Jim hung up the phone without saying goodbye. He rested his head against the wall. His hand remained on the phone. He slowly dropped it to his side as he turned his back to the wall and leaned against it. 'Did Cody do it? It must have been him. No one else would have. Why Cody? And how are we going to fix this? Maybe the guys can help. Maybe they can talk to Gage.'
...
Dixie walked out of the treatment room leaving a worried young man and his new friends to ponder who would be looking for Johnny.
She looked over at the nurse's desk and made eye contact with the young nurse who pointed to the waiting area. When she turned down the hall a smile spread across her pretty pink lips. She walked right up to the man who'd been flashing a badge and put her hands on her hips. "I thought you were retired?"
He whipped around at the sound of her voice. "Dixie!"
"James Boyd, your running around here flashing that badge and asking questions has that young man scared to death." She admonished. "What is this all about?"
He lowered his gaze to his shoes and scuffed his toe on the tiled floor. "No one would tell me anything. When he didn't call, I…he was supposed to call."
"Johnny? How do you know John Gage?" Her head tilted and she stepped up beside the man trying to make eye contact.
"He's a friend. I sent him here in a taxi. He was going to take the bus. I couldn't let him do that after he almost got mugged yesterday. I would've brought him myself but…the breakfast crowd." He looked into her eyes and shrugged hoping she understood. "I had to...I told him to call. Is he that sick? I knew he was sick, but….where is he Dix?"
She smiled and cupped his cheek in her hand. "I never once believed you were that gruff, no nonsense policeman you pretended to be for all those years. You really are a softy Jimbo." Her eyes sparkled with fondness. "I should have known better than to turn down your proposal." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him gently on the cheek."
He looked sheepishly up at her and returned her smile. "The offer still stands beautiful."
Dixie stepped back and smiled. "Now you know better than that. We haven't dated in years, and I happen to be in a relationship." She folded her arms across her chest in a gesture the man remembered. He flinched at the realization that she meant business. "He's just a kid. How did you get mixed up with him?"
Jimbo shrugged again. "Some thugs beat him up and left him for dead in my alley about a year back. I couldn't just leave him there. He's so skinny. I helped him, fed him. Hell I've been trying to fatten him up, but nothing works. He kept coming back, cleaning up the place, fixing things…to pay me back. He said he couldn't take charity. He's never taken advantage of me like so many others have. I just…I don't know Dixie…he's a friend." He smiled, "A good friend."
"He gets to you doesn't he?" She patted him on the shoulder. "Come on." She turned and led Jimbo down the hall. She stopped and turned to him just before they entered a treatment room. "He almost got mugged yesterday?"
"Yeah, but somehow he talked his way out of it; brought the guy to my place for some food instead." Jimbo chuckled. "He really is a good kid Dix."
She smiled and winked at him. "I'm beginning to see that."
...
"So Johnny do you have any idea why a policeman would be looking for you here at Rampart?" Scotty asked, his eyes on the door expecting it to open at any minute.
"No." Johnny answered softly. His eyes were also glued to the door. His hands pulled at the blanket, fidgeting with the edge that he had pulled up to his chest again.
Captain Jones walked over and put his hand on Johnny's shoulder. "I'm sure we'll find out soon enough." He had noticed Johnny's breathing increased. He could hear some wheezing…or at least he thought he did. "Don't get yourself all worked up. Ms. McCall will find out what it's all about."
Johnny's eyes moved to his Captain for a few seconds before he closed them and tried to calm down. The minutes ticked by slowly. Captain Jones and Scotty returned to the wall and leaned back to wait. There was no way they would leave John now. He was one of them, one of their crew, a brother.
Johnny was tired. His chest ached, and he felt sick to his stomach again. He thought maybe if he just didn't move; if he could lie still and breathe carefully he would be okay. The room was quiet. Scotty and Cap didn't speak. Johnny almost forgot they were there with him. Somehow, even though he was really worried about the policeman on the other side of the door, he managed to fall back to sleep.
"He's asleep again." Scotty whispered.
Cap nodded his agreement. "He's had a rough couple of days."
They both startled when the door pushed open.
...
Everything was a blur.
He was hot, very hot, and it hurt to take a deep breath. Wherever he was, it was dark. He could hear people talking. Someone was yelling obscenities about getting out of there. Another voice sang a sad tune that sounded a lot like the chants he remembered as a child when he visited his ailing grandfather. The medicine man waved herbs over his withered body and murmured strange words. Johnny thought he must be back home in Montana. Someone must be sick or dying. The medicine man continued chanting.
He had his back against a cold concrete block wall. He knew it must be made of cinder blocks because of the pattern that ran between the rectangular shapes and the size of the gray blocks. They didn't look like they were meant to be gray. Maybe they had become gray over time from lack of care. He couldn't quite make it out, but there appeared to be writing on the other wall.
There was a cot against that wall, but why wasn't he in it? 'Why am I in the floor, in the corner?' He didn't know the answer to that question. He just knew he hurt all over. 'Did I get hurt at a fire? No I was at the hospital.' His eyes widened as he remembered the pretty nurse popping her head in and telling them an officer was looking for him. 'Oh God! I'm…I'm in jail.'
His lowered his aching head into his hands and pulled his knees in tighter to his chest. His breathing became more gasps than breaths. He knew what happened in jail. He'd heard stories while growing up on the reservation. The stories of how Indians were treated in jail. How they were wrongly accused, badly treated, even beaten unnecessarily, but he couldn't remember why he was arrested.
He raised his head from his knees and slowly opened his eyes. He looked around the small space.
In the center of the ceiling there was a lone light fixture incased in some sort of grate. The dim lighting didn't allow much of a view. One thing he did know for sure. At the far end of the narrow space were bars that ran from ceiling to floor. 'Oh God.' Fear gripped his heart. His stomach lurched. 'What have I done? Why am I here?'
Thinking back to the past few days the only thing that came to mind was the seedy man on the bus, the man who tried to mug him, the man he'd taken to Jimbo's, the man he'd helped. Johnny wondered if the man had done something. Maybe he had mugged someone else. Maybe they thought. 'No, that couldn't be. I didn't know him. Oh please, they didn't think we were together.' He squeezed his eyes shut. That had to be it. Someone had seen him with that creep and thought he was helping him, that they were accomplices. Now he had been arrested and left to rot in a cell.
"I di-n…I don…" His head thrashed from side to side. His hands reached out and wrapped around something in his mind. His knees pulled up from the treatment table. "Out…I nee-d…ou…Help."
...
Bill hung up the phone and turned to the other guys.
"Well?" Tony asked first. "Will he meet us?"
"He said he'd be there at seven." Bill ran his hand through his hair and blew out a long breath. "I don't know guys. I mean Cody is his brother. He's part of our shift. We need to think about that. If he did it then fine, we'll deal with that. But if he didn't…if he says he didn't do it, we'll have to trust that he didn't."
"He did it." Jeff said quietly. "I'm pretty sure he did it, but I'm not sure why."
"Well that's why we're meeting with Jim. If he did it we need to understand why, so we can help." Dave took a swig from the beer he was holding.
"Yeah, but help how?" Bill walked towards the kitchen. "Anybody need another drink?"
"Better slow down on that if we're going out later." Tony suggested.
"Yeah, you're right. How about sodas then, you have any soda?" Bill continued into the kitchen.
"Help yourself." Tony called to him.
Dave looked at his half finished beer and followed Bill into the kitchen. "I'll take a soda too." He poured the remainder of his beer down the drain and tossed it in the trash. "So do you think we should call Scotty to meet us?"
"I think we should, he's senior man. Well other than Cap and I don't think Jim will want to talk if Cap is there." Tony grabbed a soda and some more salsa and chips and headed back to the living room. "We need a plan." The others follow him and gathered around the table sharing the chips and dip as they talked about what to say to Jim and how they could help Cody, even if it meant asking him to resign, or at least seek some help.
...
Jimbo followed Dixie into the treatment room where they found Captain Jones and Scotty trying to hold the thrashing man on the table.
"What happened?" Dixie asked as she reached for the phone to page Dr. Early. "Hold him until I can page a doctor. Don't let him fall." She turned to the phone and dialed the number for the hospital operator. "Page Dr. Early to the ER, STAT."
Jimbo moved over beside Johnny and tried talking to him. "Hey kid, calm down. Everything is gonna be fine." He reached over and put his arm across Johnny's chest and tried to ease his arms down.
"I di-n do it. I didn't. Please le-me go." Johnny could barely get the words out between gasps.
Dixie put her hand on Johnny's forehead and could immediately tell his fever had gone up. She could feel the shudder that moved through him. She bent close to his ear and spoke calmly to him. "Shhh, sweetheart, it's okay, everything is okay. You're at Rampart. You have a fever. Calm down, please calm down." She recognized the signs of a panic attack, but the fever wasn't helping. She suspected that he was somewhat delirious from it. She also knew he was worried about the thought of a policeman asking questions about him. He didn't know it was just his friend trying to find him. She brushed his sweat soaked bangs from his face and continued talking to him until Dr. Early came in the room.
"What happened?" Dr. Early asked as he reached in the drug cabinet and picked up several bottles quickly reading the labels until he found the one he needed. He grabbed a syringe and filled it with the needed medication to calm the thrashing young man. Then he handed it to Dixie. "This should calm him down."
Dixie administered the medication through the IV port and continued brushing her hand across Johnny's forehead trying to sooth him. Captain Jones and Scotty were still holding his other arm and legs. Jimbo had moved back out of the way. He felt responsible for his friend's upset. He looked up and met Dixie's gaze. She gave him a reassuring smile. "He's going to be okay. He's spiked a temperature. He doesn't know it was you."
Dr. Early took his stethoscope from his pocket and began listening to Johnny's lungs. "Dix, can you get some vitals?"
Johnny's body had stilled and his breathing slowed. His face relaxed, and he no longer had his eyes squeezed shut. After a few minutes he slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room. "Wha…what happened? Can I go home now?"
Chapter Fourteen
Johnny blinked several times looking warily from face to face and whispered, "Why is everyone looking at me?" He lifted his glazed eyes to Dixie who stood above his head. Her hand still rested on his shoulder. Scotty and Captain Jones still held on to his arm and leg. He shifted a little and felt trapped. He hated to be the center of attention. A shudder ran through him. "Uh…" He cleared his throat. It felt like it was full of cotton. "Am I under arrest?"
"No Johnny. Just take it easy. It was a mistake. No one is going to arrest you." Dixie soothed. Captain Jones and Scotty moved back against the wall to give Johnny some space. Dr. Early nodded to Dixie to meet him at the nurse's desk as he slipped from the room.
"I di'n do nothin' wrong." Johnny whispered groggily. He closed his eyes and sighed. All he wanted to do was sleep, but he had to make them understand. "Th..that guy yesterday ..he was tryin' to take my wallet. Did he mug somebody else? I di'n know 'im. I promise." He looked at his new boss. He wanted…no he needed him to know. He needed to be sure he would still be able to return to the job that he had already come to love. "I di'n know 'im," he spoke softly, his voice almost pleading.
They all looked at each other. The realization that Johnny still thought he was going to be arrested and that he thought he had somehow been linked to his would be mugger dawned on them; Jimbo was the first to react. "Hey kid, everything is okay. Just relax." He moved back up beside the treatment table.
Johnny slowly turned his head and squinted at Jimbo whose face slowly came into view. "Oh man did they call you too?" His eyes moved back to Dixie. "I don't want to be any trouble. I'll just get out of your way." He tried to sit up, but Jimbo put his hand in the center of Johnny's chest and easily pushed him back down. "You didn't have to call Jimbo. He's gotta cook. 'm s..sorry Jimbo. I'll just go with them. I won' resist." His words began to slur, his eyes grew heavy, and he blinked a few times trying to keep them open. He was having trouble fighting the medication Dr. Early had given him to help him calm down.
"It's okay Johnny. I just came down because I didn't hear from you. No one called me. I'm real sorry you were worried about the police thing." Jimbo felt like a heel. Here he had wanted Johnny to see a doctor and now he had upset him so badly with his little white lie that he might have to be admitted to the hospital. He patted Johnny's chest and feeling like he no longer needed to hold him down, removed his hand. "I had to flash my badge to get some information about how you were. No one would tell me anything." He lowered his eyes and shrugged.
"Oh man, that was you?" Johnny relaxed a little more. Once he realized it was just Jimbo and not some officer come to take him into custody, exhaustion seemed to overcome his senses. His eyes blinked slowly.
Jimbo watched the tension ease out of Johnny's face. "Well you know old habits die hard." He chuckled. Then he looked up at Captain Jones and Scotty. "Hey Dale, Ben, nice to see you; I haven't seen you at the diner in a while."
Captain Jones walked over and shook Jimbo's outstretched hand. "Jimbo, good to see you. I've been meaning to stop by. You look like the retired life is agreeing with you." He patted his stomach indicating that Jimbo had put on a few pounds.
"Well, I don't know about the 'retired life', I work more hours now than I did when I was on the force, but I'll tell you the company is better." Jimbo smiled proudly.
"So Jimbo, you know this boot?" Scotty shook his hand as well.
Jimbo glanced over at the now sleeping Johnny, "Yeah, I know him. I met him about a year ago before he joined the academy. He kind of grows on you." He smiled. "Like a stray cat or something." Everyone laughed causing Johnny to stir. He softened his voice and continued. "He's ah…he's a good friend."
"Gentlemen if you will excuse me a minute. I'm going to see what Dr. Early wants to do about our patient." Dixie felt of Johnny's forehead to see if he was still warm. "Can you stay with him for a few minutes?"
"Yes, we'll be here." Jimbo answered; then turned to Ben and Dale. "Sorry," He shrugged. "I'll stay."
Understanding that Jimbo didn't want to speak for the two of them, Captain Jones nodded. "We'll stay. I need to know how to fill out the incident report anyway."
"I'll be right back Cap. I think I'll call Tony. He was expecting me to watch the game this afternoon. I need to let him know what's going on." Scotty followed Dixie from the room.
The phone rang just as the crowd cheered on the TV set. "Oh man this always happens when the game gets good." Tony complained as he rose from his chair and walked over to the phone. On the fourth ring he grabbed the receiver and lifted it to his ear. "Hello."
"Hey Tony."
"Scotty! Man where the heck are you? This game is getting good." Tony kept his eyes on the TV as he talked on the phone. "Did you see that?" He asked the other guys in the room. "So are you still coming over? We're at half time. You can still catch the second half."
"Listen Tony, I'm sorry I didn't get over there. I got tied up." Scotty ran his hand over his face and tried to stifle a yawn. Hanging around a hospital all day had made him tired.
"What hot young babe kept you?" Tony laughed.
"No man, it's nothing like that. I'm over at Rampart and…"
"Rampart! What happened? Are you all right?" Tony motioned to Gotchalk to turn down the volume on the TV. He, Jeff and Bill moved closer to Tony to find out what was going on. "Scotty's at Rampart." Tony whispered to them.
"I'm fine. Uh actually I came with Cap."
"CAP! What happened to Cap?" Tony's eyes were wide and his mouth hung open in disbelief.
"Tony…" Scotty sighed. "Slow down would ya…let me talk. I'm here with Cap, because he was called down here about Gage."
"Johnny, our new boot? What happened to him?" Tony put his hand over the phone speaker and whispered to the others again. "He's there with Johnny."
"Well you know yesterday…the nail. He had to take the bus to get home. He walked a long way in the rain. Some guy tried to take his wallet…"
Tony cut in again. "Gage got mugged. Man that kid has some bad luck."
"Johnny got mugged?" Jeff asked.
"Is he okay?" Bill asked. "I mean he just started at the station and uh...I like working with him on the engine. He's gonna be a good firefighter." Bill rattled off.
"Wait guys let's not jump to conclusions. Let Tony find out." Gotchalk was the voice of reason. He looked at Tony. "Well?"
"No Tony…Tony!" Scotty yelled into the phone.
"Yeah…yeah Scotty, I'm here. I'm listening." Tony rolled his eyes. He wanted Scotty to hurry and get to the point.
"He didn't get mugged. He talked his way out of it." Scotty chuckled. "He talked the guy into going down to Jimbo's diner. You remember James Boyd. He's that retired police officer who opened a diner. Anyway, Johnny slipped out the back while Jimbo fed the guy."
"He didn't get mugged." Tony mouthed to the others. "So what does all this have to do with Rampart?"
"Well after diving in to pull Cody out, then working in all that rain, and finally having to walk home in it after Co…someone put that nail in his tire, he got sick. He's real sick. Doc thinks he may have pneumonia." Scotty rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was getting a headache. Maybe he would ask at the nurse's desk if he could get an aspirin. "If I find out who…"
Tony whispered to the others. "Gage is really sick, pneumonia." He waited for Scotty to continue. When he didn't Tony decided to tell him about their planned meeting with Jim at seven. "We're meeting Jim down at McGill's around seven. Do you want to come with us. We were going to try to talk to him about Cody."
"McGill's? maybe. I want to stay here and find out if they let Johnny go home or not. Cap and I rode together. The kid took a cab to get here. We may need to give him a lift home…if they let him out of here. So you guys think it was Cody?"
"I don't know Scotty, but if it wasn't him, then I don't know who it could have been."
"Okay Tony, if I get out of here in time I'll be there. Listen I gotta go. I want to get back in there and try to find out how Johnny's doing. He was pretty upset earlier. He thought the police had come for him."
"The police? Why would the police be looking for him?" Tony mouthed the words 'the police' to his friends.
"It's a long story, but I will tell you it was a huge misunderstanding." Looking over at the nurse's station, Scotty saw Dixie turn to head back to Johnny's treatment room. "I gotta go."
"Okay Scotty, thanks for calling." Tony hung up the phone and immediately picked it up again. He dialed Gary Cooper's number. "Hey Gary, listen I'm calling to let everyone know that Gage is in the hospital."
Gary repeated the word, "Hospital?"
"Yeah, seems he got pneumonia from diving in after Cody the other day. Me and some of the guys are heading down there to find out what's going on. Do you want to meet us?"
"Sure, I'll call some of the other guys from our shift. Is he gonna be okay?" Gary asked.
"Scotty didn't know. We're heading over there to find out." Tony hung up the phone.
In the next fifteen minutes most of the men from Johnny's shift at Station 10 had assembled in the small waiting area to the ER at Rampart.
"Where is he?" Gary asked Tony.
"I'm not sure, but I'm gonna find out." Tony walked over to the nurse's station. "Hey Cindy, how's it going?"
"Hi Tony, what brings all of you boys down here today? Did someone from your shift get hurt?" The student nurse smiled up at the blonde fireman. She knew whenever a fireman or policeman was injured or sick it seemed like all of the other firemen or policemen showed up in the waiting room. They were more dedicated to looking out for each other than most families.
"New kid, John Gage. Is he still here?" Tony glanced over his shoulder when he heard a door open. When Dr. Morton walked out giving instructions about X-rays to the technician inside the treatment room, Tony turned back to Cindy.
"He is. He sure is popular today." Cindy smiled thinking about the good looking young man in the treatment room with Dixie. She remembered Captain Jones and Scotty were in there with him. "He may have pneumonia, but I don't know if Dr. Early is going to keep him or not. He got upset about something earlier. Dr. Early had to give him something to calm him down."
"What was he upset about?"
She leaned forward and spoke in hushed tones. "Some man was asking questions about him. He had a badge. I'm not sure, but I think maybe he's in some kind of trouble."
"I don't think so, Cindy. He's a good kid." Tony didn't know if he was trying to convince Cindy or himself. He had hoped to train Johnny to take Joe's spot in the Rescue Squad, but he might not want to work that closely with him if he was trouble.
Tony heard another treatment room door open. He turned to see Captain Jones, Scotty and Jimbo coming out of the room. He could hear Dixie telling them they could come back in after Dr. Early finished his examination. "Cap!" Tony called as he walked toward the group of men. "Bye Cindy, thanks."
"Hey Tony, what are you doing here?" Captain Jones smiled to his Rescue Man.
"Well one of our crew members is here. We came down to be sure he was all right." Tony waved his hand toward the group of men assembled in the waiting area.
"Looks like the gang's all here." Captain Jones chuckled.
"Most of us." Tony responded. "What's going on with Johnny? Is he going to have to stay in the hospital?"
"Dr. Early is trying to decide that now. Come on, let's all get out of the hallway. Scotty and I can fill everyone in at once. Tony this is Jimbo."
"Hey man. Good to see you." Tony and Jimbo knew each other and shook hands as they all turned to the group of assembled men.
Johnny struggled to sit up so Dr. Early could listen to his lungs. Joe put his arm behind Johnny's back and helped him sit up. "Cough for me." He moved the cold metal disc to another spot on Johnny's back. Johnny coughed. "Okay," he moved the disc again. It felt warmer now, "again." He coughed again only this time it led to a long string of strangled coughs that made his chest hurt. Joe simply waited while holding Johnny on the exam table. His body sagged. Joe and Dixie lowered him back against the raised head of the table. He gasped for breath. "Dixie, I think we need to put him back on the oxygen." She nodded her head and turned to get the mask from the hook on the wall.
"Can I go now?" Johnny's brown eyes locked onto the doctor.
"I'm afraid not young man. We're going to have to find you a room." Joe patted Johnny's knee. "All of this excitement has made things a little more difficult; I want to keep an eye on you."
"I don't want to stay." He whispered and looked away. Joe saw the sadness that crept into the expressive brown eyes.
"We'll get you out of here as soon as we can, but you need some breathing treatments and strong antibiotics to get you over this hump my friend." Joe calmly explained.
At the word friend Johnny turned back and looked at the kind doctor. "Friend?"
"I'd like to think so." Joe stated matter of factly. "Well," he smiled, "at least I hope we will be. Everyone needs a little excitement in their life and I suspect you will be exciting to know."
Johnny chuckled a little. "Yeah, I do seem to get into some in'eresting situations." He looked back at the doctor. "I…I'd like that…the friend thing I mean."
"Okay then. How 'bout we get you settled. Then I'll be up to check on you a little later." Joe smiled again.
"All right." Johnny sighed. "But I gotta tell ya Doc." He took a shallow breath. "I hate hospitals. I've had some pretty bad experiences in hospitals and clinics." He sighed.
"We'll try not to let this one be like that."
"As long as you're my doctor. I don't think that other guy likes me much." Johnny said quietly as his eyes drifted closed again.
Dixie slipped the oxygen mask over his mouth and nose and set the flow. "I think he's asleep again." She smoothed the hair from his face. "I think I'm going to enjoy getting to know him better."
Johnny blinked several times looking warily from face to face and whispered, "Why is everyone looking at me?" He lifted his glazed eyes to Dixie who stood above his head. Her hand still rested on his shoulder. Scotty and Captain Jones still held on to his arm and leg. He shifted a little and felt trapped. He hated to be the center of attention. A shudder ran through him. "Uh…" He cleared his throat. It felt like it was full of cotton. "Am I under arrest?"
"No Johnny. Just take it easy. It was a mistake. No one is going to arrest you." Dixie soothed. Captain Jones and Scotty moved back against the wall to give Johnny some space. Dr. Early nodded to Dixie to meet him at the nurse's desk as he slipped from the room.
"I di'n do nothin' wrong." Johnny whispered groggily. He closed his eyes and sighed. All he wanted to do was sleep, but he had to make them understand. "Th..that guy yesterday ..he was tryin' to take my wallet. Did he mug somebody else? I di'n know 'im. I promise." He looked at his new boss. He wanted…no he needed him to know. He needed to be sure he would still be able to return to the job that he had already come to love. "I di'n know 'im," he spoke softly, his voice almost pleading.
They all looked at each other. The realization that Johnny still thought he was going to be arrested and that he thought he had somehow been linked to his would be mugger dawned on them; Jimbo was the first to react. "Hey kid, everything is okay. Just relax." He moved back up beside the treatment table.
Johnny slowly turned his head and squinted at Jimbo whose face slowly came into view. "Oh man did they call you too?" His eyes moved back to Dixie. "I don't want to be any trouble. I'll just get out of your way." He tried to sit up, but Jimbo put his hand in the center of Johnny's chest and easily pushed him back down. "You didn't have to call Jimbo. He's gotta cook. 'm s..sorry Jimbo. I'll just go with them. I won' resist." His words began to slur, his eyes grew heavy, and he blinked a few times trying to keep them open. He was having trouble fighting the medication Dr. Early had given him to help him calm down.
"It's okay Johnny. I just came down because I didn't hear from you. No one called me. I'm real sorry you were worried about the police thing." Jimbo felt like a heel. Here he had wanted Johnny to see a doctor and now he had upset him so badly with his little white lie that he might have to be admitted to the hospital. He patted Johnny's chest and feeling like he no longer needed to hold him down, removed his hand. "I had to flash my badge to get some information about how you were. No one would tell me anything." He lowered his eyes and shrugged.
"Oh man, that was you?" Johnny relaxed a little more. Once he realized it was just Jimbo and not some officer come to take him into custody, exhaustion seemed to overcome his senses. His eyes blinked slowly.
Jimbo watched the tension ease out of Johnny's face. "Well you know old habits die hard." He chuckled. Then he looked up at Captain Jones and Scotty. "Hey Dale, Ben, nice to see you; I haven't seen you at the diner in a while."
Captain Jones walked over and shook Jimbo's outstretched hand. "Jimbo, good to see you. I've been meaning to stop by. You look like the retired life is agreeing with you." He patted his stomach indicating that Jimbo had put on a few pounds.
"Well, I don't know about the 'retired life', I work more hours now than I did when I was on the force, but I'll tell you the company is better." Jimbo smiled proudly.
"So Jimbo, you know this boot?" Scotty shook his hand as well.
Jimbo glanced over at the now sleeping Johnny, "Yeah, I know him. I met him about a year ago before he joined the academy. He kind of grows on you." He smiled. "Like a stray cat or something." Everyone laughed causing Johnny to stir. He softened his voice and continued. "He's ah…he's a good friend."
"Gentlemen if you will excuse me a minute. I'm going to see what Dr. Early wants to do about our patient." Dixie felt of Johnny's forehead to see if he was still warm. "Can you stay with him for a few minutes?"
"Yes, we'll be here." Jimbo answered; then turned to Ben and Dale. "Sorry," He shrugged. "I'll stay."
Understanding that Jimbo didn't want to speak for the two of them, Captain Jones nodded. "We'll stay. I need to know how to fill out the incident report anyway."
"I'll be right back Cap. I think I'll call Tony. He was expecting me to watch the game this afternoon. I need to let him know what's going on." Scotty followed Dixie from the room.
The phone rang just as the crowd cheered on the TV set. "Oh man this always happens when the game gets good." Tony complained as he rose from his chair and walked over to the phone. On the fourth ring he grabbed the receiver and lifted it to his ear. "Hello."
"Hey Tony."
"Scotty! Man where the heck are you? This game is getting good." Tony kept his eyes on the TV as he talked on the phone. "Did you see that?" He asked the other guys in the room. "So are you still coming over? We're at half time. You can still catch the second half."
"Listen Tony, I'm sorry I didn't get over there. I got tied up." Scotty ran his hand over his face and tried to stifle a yawn. Hanging around a hospital all day had made him tired.
"What hot young babe kept you?" Tony laughed.
"No man, it's nothing like that. I'm over at Rampart and…"
"Rampart! What happened? Are you all right?" Tony motioned to Gotchalk to turn down the volume on the TV. He, Jeff and Bill moved closer to Tony to find out what was going on. "Scotty's at Rampart." Tony whispered to them.
"I'm fine. Uh actually I came with Cap."
"CAP! What happened to Cap?" Tony's eyes were wide and his mouth hung open in disbelief.
"Tony…" Scotty sighed. "Slow down would ya…let me talk. I'm here with Cap, because he was called down here about Gage."
"Johnny, our new boot? What happened to him?" Tony put his hand over the phone speaker and whispered to the others again. "He's there with Johnny."
"Well you know yesterday…the nail. He had to take the bus to get home. He walked a long way in the rain. Some guy tried to take his wallet…"
Tony cut in again. "Gage got mugged. Man that kid has some bad luck."
"Johnny got mugged?" Jeff asked.
"Is he okay?" Bill asked. "I mean he just started at the station and uh...I like working with him on the engine. He's gonna be a good firefighter." Bill rattled off.
"Wait guys let's not jump to conclusions. Let Tony find out." Gotchalk was the voice of reason. He looked at Tony. "Well?"
"No Tony…Tony!" Scotty yelled into the phone.
"Yeah…yeah Scotty, I'm here. I'm listening." Tony rolled his eyes. He wanted Scotty to hurry and get to the point.
"He didn't get mugged. He talked his way out of it." Scotty chuckled. "He talked the guy into going down to Jimbo's diner. You remember James Boyd. He's that retired police officer who opened a diner. Anyway, Johnny slipped out the back while Jimbo fed the guy."
"He didn't get mugged." Tony mouthed to the others. "So what does all this have to do with Rampart?"
"Well after diving in to pull Cody out, then working in all that rain, and finally having to walk home in it after Co…someone put that nail in his tire, he got sick. He's real sick. Doc thinks he may have pneumonia." Scotty rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was getting a headache. Maybe he would ask at the nurse's desk if he could get an aspirin. "If I find out who…"
Tony whispered to the others. "Gage is really sick, pneumonia." He waited for Scotty to continue. When he didn't Tony decided to tell him about their planned meeting with Jim at seven. "We're meeting Jim down at McGill's around seven. Do you want to come with us. We were going to try to talk to him about Cody."
"McGill's? maybe. I want to stay here and find out if they let Johnny go home or not. Cap and I rode together. The kid took a cab to get here. We may need to give him a lift home…if they let him out of here. So you guys think it was Cody?"
"I don't know Scotty, but if it wasn't him, then I don't know who it could have been."
"Okay Tony, if I get out of here in time I'll be there. Listen I gotta go. I want to get back in there and try to find out how Johnny's doing. He was pretty upset earlier. He thought the police had come for him."
"The police? Why would the police be looking for him?" Tony mouthed the words 'the police' to his friends.
"It's a long story, but I will tell you it was a huge misunderstanding." Looking over at the nurse's station, Scotty saw Dixie turn to head back to Johnny's treatment room. "I gotta go."
"Okay Scotty, thanks for calling." Tony hung up the phone and immediately picked it up again. He dialed Gary Cooper's number. "Hey Gary, listen I'm calling to let everyone know that Gage is in the hospital."
Gary repeated the word, "Hospital?"
"Yeah, seems he got pneumonia from diving in after Cody the other day. Me and some of the guys are heading down there to find out what's going on. Do you want to meet us?"
"Sure, I'll call some of the other guys from our shift. Is he gonna be okay?" Gary asked.
"Scotty didn't know. We're heading over there to find out." Tony hung up the phone.
In the next fifteen minutes most of the men from Johnny's shift at Station 10 had assembled in the small waiting area to the ER at Rampart.
"Where is he?" Gary asked Tony.
"I'm not sure, but I'm gonna find out." Tony walked over to the nurse's station. "Hey Cindy, how's it going?"
"Hi Tony, what brings all of you boys down here today? Did someone from your shift get hurt?" The student nurse smiled up at the blonde fireman. She knew whenever a fireman or policeman was injured or sick it seemed like all of the other firemen or policemen showed up in the waiting room. They were more dedicated to looking out for each other than most families.
"New kid, John Gage. Is he still here?" Tony glanced over his shoulder when he heard a door open. When Dr. Morton walked out giving instructions about X-rays to the technician inside the treatment room, Tony turned back to Cindy.
"He is. He sure is popular today." Cindy smiled thinking about the good looking young man in the treatment room with Dixie. She remembered Captain Jones and Scotty were in there with him. "He may have pneumonia, but I don't know if Dr. Early is going to keep him or not. He got upset about something earlier. Dr. Early had to give him something to calm him down."
"What was he upset about?"
She leaned forward and spoke in hushed tones. "Some man was asking questions about him. He had a badge. I'm not sure, but I think maybe he's in some kind of trouble."
"I don't think so, Cindy. He's a good kid." Tony didn't know if he was trying to convince Cindy or himself. He had hoped to train Johnny to take Joe's spot in the Rescue Squad, but he might not want to work that closely with him if he was trouble.
Tony heard another treatment room door open. He turned to see Captain Jones, Scotty and Jimbo coming out of the room. He could hear Dixie telling them they could come back in after Dr. Early finished his examination. "Cap!" Tony called as he walked toward the group of men. "Bye Cindy, thanks."
"Hey Tony, what are you doing here?" Captain Jones smiled to his Rescue Man.
"Well one of our crew members is here. We came down to be sure he was all right." Tony waved his hand toward the group of men assembled in the waiting area.
"Looks like the gang's all here." Captain Jones chuckled.
"Most of us." Tony responded. "What's going on with Johnny? Is he going to have to stay in the hospital?"
"Dr. Early is trying to decide that now. Come on, let's all get out of the hallway. Scotty and I can fill everyone in at once. Tony this is Jimbo."
"Hey man. Good to see you." Tony and Jimbo knew each other and shook hands as they all turned to the group of assembled men.
Johnny struggled to sit up so Dr. Early could listen to his lungs. Joe put his arm behind Johnny's back and helped him sit up. "Cough for me." He moved the cold metal disc to another spot on Johnny's back. Johnny coughed. "Okay," he moved the disc again. It felt warmer now, "again." He coughed again only this time it led to a long string of strangled coughs that made his chest hurt. Joe simply waited while holding Johnny on the exam table. His body sagged. Joe and Dixie lowered him back against the raised head of the table. He gasped for breath. "Dixie, I think we need to put him back on the oxygen." She nodded her head and turned to get the mask from the hook on the wall.
"Can I go now?" Johnny's brown eyes locked onto the doctor.
"I'm afraid not young man. We're going to have to find you a room." Joe patted Johnny's knee. "All of this excitement has made things a little more difficult; I want to keep an eye on you."
"I don't want to stay." He whispered and looked away. Joe saw the sadness that crept into the expressive brown eyes.
"We'll get you out of here as soon as we can, but you need some breathing treatments and strong antibiotics to get you over this hump my friend." Joe calmly explained.
At the word friend Johnny turned back and looked at the kind doctor. "Friend?"
"I'd like to think so." Joe stated matter of factly. "Well," he smiled, "at least I hope we will be. Everyone needs a little excitement in their life and I suspect you will be exciting to know."
Johnny chuckled a little. "Yeah, I do seem to get into some in'eresting situations." He looked back at the doctor. "I…I'd like that…the friend thing I mean."
"Okay then. How 'bout we get you settled. Then I'll be up to check on you a little later." Joe smiled again.
"All right." Johnny sighed. "But I gotta tell ya Doc." He took a shallow breath. "I hate hospitals. I've had some pretty bad experiences in hospitals and clinics." He sighed.
"We'll try not to let this one be like that."
"As long as you're my doctor. I don't think that other guy likes me much." Johnny said quietly as his eyes drifted closed again.
Dixie slipped the oxygen mask over his mouth and nose and set the flow. "I think he's asleep again." She smoothed the hair from his face. "I think I'm going to enjoy getting to know him better."
Chapter Fifteen
When Johnny opened his eyes again he was being moved. He could feel hands sliding under his back and shoulders; the motion made him nauseas. He moaned and swallowed trying to keep everything in place.
"Shh, it's all right. We're just taking you upstairs to a room." Dixie soothed.
He felt air on his back just before he felt the cool sheet when he was once again lowered. A blanket was swiftly pulled up to his neck. The room seemed to spin from the jostling. Johnny squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath, willing the motion sickness to subside.
"Hey," Dixie could see that he was struggling. "Are you okay?"
Johnny let out the breath he was holding and swallowed several times. When he opened his eyes Dixie was gone. He struggled, trying to turn on his side before he lost the contents of his stomach. He just didn't seem to have the energy. The hands he felt earlier returned and helped him roll onto his side and somehow Dixie reappeared with a funny looking, curved orange plastic bowl that seemed to fit perfectly against his cheek. She held his head as he retched. When he was finished she washed his face and pulled the blanket snuggly around him. Just in case he was sick again on the trip upstairs they left Johnny on his side. He already had enough congestion in his lungs. The last thing he needed was to aspirate.
In the lobby Dr. Early explained to the men from Station 10 and Jimbo that Johnny had probably developed full blown pneumonia. "I was hoping we could fight this with oral antibiotics, but…" He sighed. "His earlier upset didn't help matters. His temperature is elevated and his oxygen levels are too low. We'll be moving him upstairs to a room shortly. Once he's settled he will be allowed visitors, but I want him to get as much rest as he can. He is a very sick young man."
"Thank you Dr. Early." Captain Jones spoke for his men. "How long do you think he'll need to be here?"
"Well that depends on how he responds to the antibiotics. Why don't you check back with me tomorrow? I should have a better idea of where we stand. Captain Jones, the man that Johnny pulled out of the water may need to be checked again. That water may have had some contaminants in it that the antibiotics we gave him aren't strong enough to handle. If he is at all susceptible, he may develop some complications as well."
"I'll give him a call and have him here as soon as possible."
"Tell him to have me paged when he arrives. Now if you will excuse me." Joe turned and walked back down the corridor and into another treatment room.
Just as Joe disappeared into a room the door to the room where Johnny was opened and his gurney was pushed into the hall. All eyes turned toward the movement in the hall.
Johnny heard the swish of the door and felt the jarring when the gurney knocked against the doorframe. The sudden jolt made his stomach flip again. 'Oh No…not again.' He chanced a glance as he felt the gurney moving into the hall. Bright lights flashed above him as he was wheeled along, the effect was dizzying. He quickly closed his eyes again and buried his face against the cool sheet.
Jimbo walked to the other side of the hall so he could be on the side of the gurney Johnny faced. The gurney stopped moving. The orderly punched the elevator button. Jimbo looked over his friend. He lay on his side curled tightly in several blankets. If it was possible he looked paler than he had earlier. Beads of sweat gathered along his hairline, and his eyes were squeezed shut. "Hey kid."
Johnny squinted up at his friend.
"I'm gonna head on back to the diner. I'll be back later to check on you." He patted Johnny's shoulder.
"I's okay. Ya don' hav'ta. 'm tired." Johnny whispered as he closed his eyes again and snuggled deeper into the blankets.
"Well I'll come back tomorrow then. If they decide to let you out before I get here, wait on me. I'll drive you home." Jimbo looked to Johnny for his agreement. He didn't get a response. "John?"
"O..okay…don' wanna be t..trouble." Johnny quietly said without looking at Jimbo who patted his shoulder again as the orderly began moving the gurney into the elevator. Johnny's back was to his station mates, so he never knew they were all there in support of him.
"Take it easy Johnny. I'll see you tomorrow." Jimbo stood and watched the elevator doors slide shut. He turned back to the men from Station 10. "That's one sick man." He nodded his head from side to side. "Listen Ben, I have to get back to the diner. Will you call me if you hear anything…if there are any changes in his condition…please?" He held out his hand to Captain Jones. "It was good to see you. Come on down to the diner soon."
"I'll do that. It may be sooner than you think now that I know you know my new man." Captain Ben Jones smiled at his old friend.
"Man, Gage looked like hell." Jeff said to no one in particular. A response of nods and "yeahs" came from his crew mates.
"I guess someone should call Cody. Doctor Early said he needed to get checked again." Scotty commented to Captain Jones. "You want me to do it?"
"No Dale, you guys get out of here. I'll call Cody. I'm going to check on Gage once they get him settled."
"Well Cap, I guess I'll be staying here with you then. Remember we rode together." Scotty chuckled.
"Don't worry about it Dale. I'll get a ride."
"Why don't I leave you my truck? I'll catch a ride with Tony and pick it up from your place later." He suggested to his captain.
"Okay, thanks."
Scotty handed his keys to Captain Jones and turned to the group, "Well guys I think we have just enough time to get over to McGill's and meet Jim. Whattaya say we head that way. Tony, can I bum a ride with you? Cap's gonna use my truck."
"Sure Scotty, but I'm driving." Tony good humouredly teased the engineer as he slung his arm across his shoulder.
Scotty ducked away and laughed. "Okay, okay, you can drive…this time."
Captain Jones chuckled at his men before turning toward the bank of payphones.
Jim paced around the living room to his apartment. Dinner had long been ready, but Cody was still asleep. He had finally given up and eaten his, leaving Cody's in the oven keeping warm. Glancing at his watch for the hundredth time he walked down the hallway and tapped lightly on the door to Cody's room before opening it. "Hey Bro you up?"
"Hmmm?" Cody mumbled from the bed.
"I'm goin' out for a while; if you're hungry dinners in the oven." He waited for a response.
"Thanks." Cody raised his head and looked over his shoulder at his brother.
"Are you feeling better?" Jimbo stepped into the room and up to the end of the bed.
"A little."
"Can I get you anything, some aspirin, something to drink before I go?"
"Nah, I'll get up in a little while and eat. Go on. Meet the guys."
"Cody…I"
"Don't Jim, just go." Cody turned back to the wall and pulled the covers back up effectively ending the conversation.
Jim sighed deeply and turned to leave. He stopped at the door and looked back at his brother.
Cody feigned returning to sleep and waited until he heard the front door shut and the deadbolt lock click into place before pushing the covers back, turning and putting his bare feet on the floor. He absently rubbed his hand on his chest. Standing up slowly he felt achy and stiff. 'Man I don't need to drink alone ever again. I feel terrible.'
Cody moved very slowly down the hallway to the kitchen. The smell of his dinner warming in the oven almost made him turn around and go back to bed. It wasn't an unpleasant odor…at least it wouldn't be if he didn't feel so bad. There seemed to be a band warming up for their next set inside his head, the drums taking precedence over the other instruments. 'Oh man, I hope we have something for a headache. I don't remember having this bad of a hangover from a few beers before.' His head hurt so bad he almost didn't hear the phone ringing on the wall across the room. "Hullo." He answered hoarsely, rubbing his palm over his forehead once the incessant ringing stopped.
"Hello, this is Captain Jones."
Cody didn't wait for his Captain to finish speaking. "Uh hi Cap, Jim's not here. He already left to meet the guys. Can I give him a message?"
"I called to talk to you Cody."
Suddenly alert and worried about why Captain Jones would be calling him, Cody stood straighter, "Yes sir? You did sir?"
"I'm at Rampart."
"At Rampart Sir, is everything all right? Are you all right? Can I do something for you sir?" Cody interrupted again and rattled off several questions.
"I'm fine Cody, thanks for asking, but I came down to see about Gage."
"Gage?"
"Yes, it seems he's developed pneumonia."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that Cap, but what's that got to do with me?" Cody rubbed at his chest. He coughed a couple of times.
"Dr. Early thinks you need to come in for another listen to your lungs. You were in the water too. He thinks there may have been contaminants."
"I was there. I was in the hospital. They said I could go home. If there was a problem wouldn't they have seen it then?" The last thing Cody wanted to do on his day off was to be tied up at Rampart. "I'm okay Cap. There's no need for me to come over there."
"That wasn't a request Cody."
"Excuse me, sir?"
"I'll expect you within the hour." Captain Jones looked down at his watch.
"Yes sir." Cody hung up the phone without even saying goodbye. 'Dang it Gage, you're getting me in trouble again.' He walked over and shut off the warm oven. 'Why did you have to get assigned to my station? Why couldn't you just show off somewhere else? I think you enjoy making the rest of us look like we didn't learn anything at the academy. Natural instincts they said. I've got natural instincts. Firefighting runs in my family. I don't see what is so special about you anyway. So what if you climb well, aren't afraid of heights, are so dang skinny you can fit into tight spaces better 'n anybody else. I could be as fast as you on those hose and hydrant drills if I practiced more. I bet you practice all the time when you're off. I mean what else does a guy like you have to do anyway. You probably don't have any friends to do anything with, and now, thanks to you, I probably don't have any either. Everybody's down on me because of you.' He ran his fingers through his hair, slipped his bare feet into his topsiders, grabbed his keys from the kitchen counter and stalked across the living room to the door, jerking open the deadbolt and flinging the door wide; then slamming it shut.
By the time the orderly got Johnny up to his floor and into his room he felt like he was gasping for air. His chest hurt and his eyes burned from the strangled coughs that overtook him in the elevator.
Somehow Nurse McCall had gotten there ahead of them, and she quickly pulled the oxygen mask over his face even before they transferred him from the gurney to the bed. Fresh, cool, pure oxygen filtered in and his breathing eased a little. Then suddenly the warmth of the blankets was replaced with cold air when the orderly threw them back out of the way. Then Johnny realized there was another man in the room and hands slid beneath him as he was once again shifted from one surface to another.
Everything was happening so fast. One moment he was being wheeled down the hallway and the next he lay on a softer surface feeling somewhat exposed. As fast as the thought of being exposed went through his muddled brain, the security of a fresh warm blanket covered him. And before he had time to assimilate the situation, pillows were strategically placed behind his head, elevating him enough to ease his breathing, but not too high to be uncomfortable. A cool folded cloth was draped across his overheated forehead. He felt a thermometer slide beneath his arm and gentle pressure on the arm to hold it against his body. Then he heard the soft comforting voice of his new friend Nurse Dixie McCall as she thanked the orderlies and dismissed them from his room. That was all he knew. He drifted into an exhausted sleep before anything else could be said or done.
Dixie smiled down at the young man in the bed. She reached up with her free hand and smoothed his bangs back away from the damp cloth. 'There's nothing like a fever or an injury to turn you strong brave men back into little boys again, but you Johnny are different. Even this sick, you are thinking of everyone else. Well it's time to think about you. It's time for you to concentrate on John Gage and getting better.' Dixie couldn't help herself. From the first time she saw him, just the other day, she had already developed a fondness for the dark haired young fireman. There was just something about this man, a hidden vulnerability that made her want to cuddle and care for him. One thing for sure, he had inner strength, that she was certain of; something in his past had made him that way. Something had forced him at a young age to fend for himself, and he didn't want anyone's pity or charity. She'd seen it before during her time as nurse in the military, many good strong men who didn't know how to accept help for fear they would appear weak or that they would break down and show everyone just how human they were.
When Johnny opened his eyes again he was being moved. He could feel hands sliding under his back and shoulders; the motion made him nauseas. He moaned and swallowed trying to keep everything in place.
"Shh, it's all right. We're just taking you upstairs to a room." Dixie soothed.
He felt air on his back just before he felt the cool sheet when he was once again lowered. A blanket was swiftly pulled up to his neck. The room seemed to spin from the jostling. Johnny squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath, willing the motion sickness to subside.
"Hey," Dixie could see that he was struggling. "Are you okay?"
Johnny let out the breath he was holding and swallowed several times. When he opened his eyes Dixie was gone. He struggled, trying to turn on his side before he lost the contents of his stomach. He just didn't seem to have the energy. The hands he felt earlier returned and helped him roll onto his side and somehow Dixie reappeared with a funny looking, curved orange plastic bowl that seemed to fit perfectly against his cheek. She held his head as he retched. When he was finished she washed his face and pulled the blanket snuggly around him. Just in case he was sick again on the trip upstairs they left Johnny on his side. He already had enough congestion in his lungs. The last thing he needed was to aspirate.
In the lobby Dr. Early explained to the men from Station 10 and Jimbo that Johnny had probably developed full blown pneumonia. "I was hoping we could fight this with oral antibiotics, but…" He sighed. "His earlier upset didn't help matters. His temperature is elevated and his oxygen levels are too low. We'll be moving him upstairs to a room shortly. Once he's settled he will be allowed visitors, but I want him to get as much rest as he can. He is a very sick young man."
"Thank you Dr. Early." Captain Jones spoke for his men. "How long do you think he'll need to be here?"
"Well that depends on how he responds to the antibiotics. Why don't you check back with me tomorrow? I should have a better idea of where we stand. Captain Jones, the man that Johnny pulled out of the water may need to be checked again. That water may have had some contaminants in it that the antibiotics we gave him aren't strong enough to handle. If he is at all susceptible, he may develop some complications as well."
"I'll give him a call and have him here as soon as possible."
"Tell him to have me paged when he arrives. Now if you will excuse me." Joe turned and walked back down the corridor and into another treatment room.
Just as Joe disappeared into a room the door to the room where Johnny was opened and his gurney was pushed into the hall. All eyes turned toward the movement in the hall.
Johnny heard the swish of the door and felt the jarring when the gurney knocked against the doorframe. The sudden jolt made his stomach flip again. 'Oh No…not again.' He chanced a glance as he felt the gurney moving into the hall. Bright lights flashed above him as he was wheeled along, the effect was dizzying. He quickly closed his eyes again and buried his face against the cool sheet.
Jimbo walked to the other side of the hall so he could be on the side of the gurney Johnny faced. The gurney stopped moving. The orderly punched the elevator button. Jimbo looked over his friend. He lay on his side curled tightly in several blankets. If it was possible he looked paler than he had earlier. Beads of sweat gathered along his hairline, and his eyes were squeezed shut. "Hey kid."
Johnny squinted up at his friend.
"I'm gonna head on back to the diner. I'll be back later to check on you." He patted Johnny's shoulder.
"I's okay. Ya don' hav'ta. 'm tired." Johnny whispered as he closed his eyes again and snuggled deeper into the blankets.
"Well I'll come back tomorrow then. If they decide to let you out before I get here, wait on me. I'll drive you home." Jimbo looked to Johnny for his agreement. He didn't get a response. "John?"
"O..okay…don' wanna be t..trouble." Johnny quietly said without looking at Jimbo who patted his shoulder again as the orderly began moving the gurney into the elevator. Johnny's back was to his station mates, so he never knew they were all there in support of him.
"Take it easy Johnny. I'll see you tomorrow." Jimbo stood and watched the elevator doors slide shut. He turned back to the men from Station 10. "That's one sick man." He nodded his head from side to side. "Listen Ben, I have to get back to the diner. Will you call me if you hear anything…if there are any changes in his condition…please?" He held out his hand to Captain Jones. "It was good to see you. Come on down to the diner soon."
"I'll do that. It may be sooner than you think now that I know you know my new man." Captain Ben Jones smiled at his old friend.
"Man, Gage looked like hell." Jeff said to no one in particular. A response of nods and "yeahs" came from his crew mates.
"I guess someone should call Cody. Doctor Early said he needed to get checked again." Scotty commented to Captain Jones. "You want me to do it?"
"No Dale, you guys get out of here. I'll call Cody. I'm going to check on Gage once they get him settled."
"Well Cap, I guess I'll be staying here with you then. Remember we rode together." Scotty chuckled.
"Don't worry about it Dale. I'll get a ride."
"Why don't I leave you my truck? I'll catch a ride with Tony and pick it up from your place later." He suggested to his captain.
"Okay, thanks."
Scotty handed his keys to Captain Jones and turned to the group, "Well guys I think we have just enough time to get over to McGill's and meet Jim. Whattaya say we head that way. Tony, can I bum a ride with you? Cap's gonna use my truck."
"Sure Scotty, but I'm driving." Tony good humouredly teased the engineer as he slung his arm across his shoulder.
Scotty ducked away and laughed. "Okay, okay, you can drive…this time."
Captain Jones chuckled at his men before turning toward the bank of payphones.
Jim paced around the living room to his apartment. Dinner had long been ready, but Cody was still asleep. He had finally given up and eaten his, leaving Cody's in the oven keeping warm. Glancing at his watch for the hundredth time he walked down the hallway and tapped lightly on the door to Cody's room before opening it. "Hey Bro you up?"
"Hmmm?" Cody mumbled from the bed.
"I'm goin' out for a while; if you're hungry dinners in the oven." He waited for a response.
"Thanks." Cody raised his head and looked over his shoulder at his brother.
"Are you feeling better?" Jimbo stepped into the room and up to the end of the bed.
"A little."
"Can I get you anything, some aspirin, something to drink before I go?"
"Nah, I'll get up in a little while and eat. Go on. Meet the guys."
"Cody…I"
"Don't Jim, just go." Cody turned back to the wall and pulled the covers back up effectively ending the conversation.
Jim sighed deeply and turned to leave. He stopped at the door and looked back at his brother.
Cody feigned returning to sleep and waited until he heard the front door shut and the deadbolt lock click into place before pushing the covers back, turning and putting his bare feet on the floor. He absently rubbed his hand on his chest. Standing up slowly he felt achy and stiff. 'Man I don't need to drink alone ever again. I feel terrible.'
Cody moved very slowly down the hallway to the kitchen. The smell of his dinner warming in the oven almost made him turn around and go back to bed. It wasn't an unpleasant odor…at least it wouldn't be if he didn't feel so bad. There seemed to be a band warming up for their next set inside his head, the drums taking precedence over the other instruments. 'Oh man, I hope we have something for a headache. I don't remember having this bad of a hangover from a few beers before.' His head hurt so bad he almost didn't hear the phone ringing on the wall across the room. "Hullo." He answered hoarsely, rubbing his palm over his forehead once the incessant ringing stopped.
"Hello, this is Captain Jones."
Cody didn't wait for his Captain to finish speaking. "Uh hi Cap, Jim's not here. He already left to meet the guys. Can I give him a message?"
"I called to talk to you Cody."
Suddenly alert and worried about why Captain Jones would be calling him, Cody stood straighter, "Yes sir? You did sir?"
"I'm at Rampart."
"At Rampart Sir, is everything all right? Are you all right? Can I do something for you sir?" Cody interrupted again and rattled off several questions.
"I'm fine Cody, thanks for asking, but I came down to see about Gage."
"Gage?"
"Yes, it seems he's developed pneumonia."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that Cap, but what's that got to do with me?" Cody rubbed at his chest. He coughed a couple of times.
"Dr. Early thinks you need to come in for another listen to your lungs. You were in the water too. He thinks there may have been contaminants."
"I was there. I was in the hospital. They said I could go home. If there was a problem wouldn't they have seen it then?" The last thing Cody wanted to do on his day off was to be tied up at Rampart. "I'm okay Cap. There's no need for me to come over there."
"That wasn't a request Cody."
"Excuse me, sir?"
"I'll expect you within the hour." Captain Jones looked down at his watch.
"Yes sir." Cody hung up the phone without even saying goodbye. 'Dang it Gage, you're getting me in trouble again.' He walked over and shut off the warm oven. 'Why did you have to get assigned to my station? Why couldn't you just show off somewhere else? I think you enjoy making the rest of us look like we didn't learn anything at the academy. Natural instincts they said. I've got natural instincts. Firefighting runs in my family. I don't see what is so special about you anyway. So what if you climb well, aren't afraid of heights, are so dang skinny you can fit into tight spaces better 'n anybody else. I could be as fast as you on those hose and hydrant drills if I practiced more. I bet you practice all the time when you're off. I mean what else does a guy like you have to do anyway. You probably don't have any friends to do anything with, and now, thanks to you, I probably don't have any either. Everybody's down on me because of you.' He ran his fingers through his hair, slipped his bare feet into his topsiders, grabbed his keys from the kitchen counter and stalked across the living room to the door, jerking open the deadbolt and flinging the door wide; then slamming it shut.
By the time the orderly got Johnny up to his floor and into his room he felt like he was gasping for air. His chest hurt and his eyes burned from the strangled coughs that overtook him in the elevator.
Somehow Nurse McCall had gotten there ahead of them, and she quickly pulled the oxygen mask over his face even before they transferred him from the gurney to the bed. Fresh, cool, pure oxygen filtered in and his breathing eased a little. Then suddenly the warmth of the blankets was replaced with cold air when the orderly threw them back out of the way. Then Johnny realized there was another man in the room and hands slid beneath him as he was once again shifted from one surface to another.
Everything was happening so fast. One moment he was being wheeled down the hallway and the next he lay on a softer surface feeling somewhat exposed. As fast as the thought of being exposed went through his muddled brain, the security of a fresh warm blanket covered him. And before he had time to assimilate the situation, pillows were strategically placed behind his head, elevating him enough to ease his breathing, but not too high to be uncomfortable. A cool folded cloth was draped across his overheated forehead. He felt a thermometer slide beneath his arm and gentle pressure on the arm to hold it against his body. Then he heard the soft comforting voice of his new friend Nurse Dixie McCall as she thanked the orderlies and dismissed them from his room. That was all he knew. He drifted into an exhausted sleep before anything else could be said or done.
Dixie smiled down at the young man in the bed. She reached up with her free hand and smoothed his bangs back away from the damp cloth. 'There's nothing like a fever or an injury to turn you strong brave men back into little boys again, but you Johnny are different. Even this sick, you are thinking of everyone else. Well it's time to think about you. It's time for you to concentrate on John Gage and getting better.' Dixie couldn't help herself. From the first time she saw him, just the other day, she had already developed a fondness for the dark haired young fireman. There was just something about this man, a hidden vulnerability that made her want to cuddle and care for him. One thing for sure, he had inner strength, that she was certain of; something in his past had made him that way. Something had forced him at a young age to fend for himself, and he didn't want anyone's pity or charity. She'd seen it before during her time as nurse in the military, many good strong men who didn't know how to accept help for fear they would appear weak or that they would break down and show everyone just how human they were.