Chapter Twenty Eight
When Johnny and Scotty entered the dayroom it was like walking into the silence in a library. Everyone seemed suspended in time…waiting to see what had happened in Cap's office…cups held in mid-air…the turning of pages of the newspaper stopped in the process…conversations dropped mid-sentence; it was so quiet it seemed as though everyone held their breath.
The 'behind closed doors' at a fire station was kind of an oxymoron…in a fire station it seemed that nothing was really done in private…word spread fast that someone had been called to the Cap's office and the door closed…and before long everyone had assembled to witness the results...hover by the closed door hoping to overhear some tidbit of the goings on inside, but not wanting to get caught in the act…or waiting as a unit in the dayroom for the inevitable return of the 'victim'.
Johnny stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he felt all eyes on him.
Scotty cleared his throat and winked at the assembled men and all the suspended activity resumed exactly where it had left off; the noise of the room echoing into the equipment bay and helping relax the young lineman. "Come on Boot, let's get something to drink." He pulled Johnny into the kitchen and over beside the cabinets.
Johnny still looked pale and skittish. Scotty could tell he was still on the edge. First, the heat exhaustion from the fire, and then the stress that enveloped him after, because of his actions at the fire and pending meeting with Cap; finally, the relief from knowing he wouldn't be washed out, had left him near collapse. The Boot kept his eyes on his shoes; one hand fidgeted with the seam of his pant leg while the other was shoved deeply into a pocket to keep it still. Scotty moved past Johnny to get a glass. He quickly filled it with milk knowing it was Johnny's drink of choice.
Johnny took the proffered glass and downed it in a few gulps. Before he was fully aware of it, the glass had been removed and refilled. Scotty held it back out to him. He took it and emptied it almost as fast, turned to the sink to wash it out and placed it in the rack to dry. He then looked to his friend who stood close by sipping his drink of choice. Johnny thought he'd never seen anyone drink as much coffee as Scotty did. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it." Scotty smiled.
"Uh…I'm kind of tired." Johnny said softly looking back at his shoes.
"You're gear is already beside your bunk." Scotty answered almost as soft. He didn't want to embarrass Johnny with the fact that he'd set up his bunkers for him. Johnny looked up with a raise eyebrow. "Well, you were kind of out of it after that fire." He shrugged and grinned broadly before taking another sip of coffee to mask his amusement at the red that grew from Johnny's neck and up onto his face.
Johnny stared at him for a few seconds before a crooked grin appeared on his reddened face and he chuckled. "Okay…thanks…I guess." Then he turned, nodded his head in his own amusement at the way Scotty tried to take care of him. Actually, it felt good to know someone had his back. "Nite." He called over his shoulder.
"Night Gage," Cody called to him which was followed by most of the guys in the room offering some kind of good wishes for a good night's sleep for the exhausted man.
Each step up the staircase to the dorms seemed to require more energy than should have been necessary, and with each step his feet seemed to become heavier and heavier. Johnny practically had to pull himself up the stairs. He gripped the railing tighter with each upward step…even his bones felt weary. When he finally reached the top, slid out of his uniform and lowered himself to his bunk he fell asleep before his head hit the pillow.
The rest of the crew followed him at different times, but after fighting fires like the ones they had today they were all tired and by ten o'clock the firehouse was eerily quiet.
Their respite didn't last long…at half past one the klaxons rang out jerking the men from their restful slumber and sending them once again into the streets of LA with lights flashing and sirens screaming. Johnny watched the lights streaming passed his window in a daze. He still felt groggy. The normal adrenalin rush that energized him on a call seemed to be missing tonight…replaced by a weary weightiness and dread at the heat he guessed they would soon be facing, but he knew they had a job to do no matter how tired they were or how many fires they'd fought; MVA's they'd worked or hoses they'd hauled…they would answer the call to duty and perform that duty as they'd been trained.
He struggled to sit taller and focus his energies on the call. He scrubbed his hands over his face and blinked the sleep from his eyes. He glanced over at Bill and noticed he seemed to be doing the same thing…trying to will away the sleep and prepare for the job.
The fire was BIG…it usually was when they called out all the equipment from 10's, but this…this was a monster! A fully involved two story market in an old strip mall had smoke pouring into the night sky like a ghostly shroud; in the front display windows the vibrant colors of fresh produce mixed with the orange glow of the flames threatening to devour everything in its path.
The second story windows remained blackened but Johnny couldn't be sure if that was because it was night and the lights were out or because they were blackened from the heavy smoke, but there was no time to ponder that thought. He and Bill were ordered to pull a line and enter the structure through the main entrance. As soon as they stepped inside they were blasted with unbelievable heat and rapid fire spread. Another team followed immediately behind them into the attack. Johnny couldn't be sure who the other team was. When a fireman is in full turnouts with SCBA the only thing that separates one man from another is the name stenciled on his back…unless you had worked with the men so long you recognized their movements. Still being new to the department, Johnny didn't have that knowledge of the other men in the battle beside him on that night.
Other teams set up an exterior defensive effort with the heavy stream appliances mounted atop the engines directing streams into the upper floor windows which easily caved under the strong water pressure.
Scotty busied himself with his gauges, but hesitated as he watched Bill and Johnny disappear into the thick smoke. 'Be safe guys…this is a bad boy…I hope your instincts are working tonight Boot, cause you're gonna need 'em'
Gary Cooper moved the ladder truck into position and extended her load high above the burning structure and one of her crew moved up the length of the ladder with his hose to establish an aerial defense. The stark white sections stood out against the darkened smoke filled night sky. As soon as the Chief felt they had an upper hand, men would be dispatched to the roof to ventilate. The crewmen at the base of the ladder waited at the ready with axes in hand to mount the outstretched bridge to the roof.
Additional stations continued arriving and joining the defensive. As their hoses were laid crisscrossing those from the original response teams, their heavy stream appliances were aimed at the structure crisscrossing the high powered streams dancing in the night sky. A dissonance of pumps and motors echoed into the streets making tune to a peculiar song of the battle against the destructive forces of the flames snaking up inside the building trying to reach its tendrils toward the heavens.
Shoots of water spread across the building's façade raining down in sheets over the men below who stood guard outside the entrance keeping a clear exit for those brave souls inside. While more teams found their way passed the front and into the heat of the interior others already face to face with the dragon grew weary in the fight…but refused to give up.
Johnny tapped Bill's shoulder and moved to take the nozzle for his turn at the lead. Sweat trickled down his neck and back soaking into his t-shirt making it stick to his overheated skin. The men were limited to hand gestures, shoulder taps and inadequate eye contact to communicate. The unbearable wall of intense heat made them keep their distance from moving further into the structure. Johnny danced the hose in a circular motion to extend the output over as much of an area as he could to push the flames down, but they continued to dance with delight at the ineffective spray hopping from one timber to the next and roasting the produce along the way. He was glad he had his SCBA mask on to block most of the smell of burnt fruit and vegetables, but the stench still seemed to seep in and make him nauseous.
Outside the Chief had deployed the roof attack and men began the trek up the outstretched ladders.
Scotty and the other engineers watched with a trained eye the entire scene while maintaining water pressure in a delicate balance of water and purpose.
Suddenly HT's around the battlefield squawked to life and orders to pull back rang out in tandem from the myriad of hand held and cab mounted radios. The roof team scrambled to the ladders leaving behind a wake of small holes they'd begun to create emitting smoke into the already darkened clouds. Shortly after they were called off a sagging portion of the roof collapsed bringing debris down hard onto the weakened second story floor and causing it to drop unwittingly onto the men below who hadn't had time to escape the structure.
Johnny saw it…felt it…sensed it coming…he quickly shut off the nozzle just as the call to evacuate started from the HT in his pocket. He turned and waved his arm at the other teams around him and Bill; then grabbed Bill's shoulder in urgency and pushed him toward the exit, but before either could move the ceiling above fell hard against their backs and pushed them to the floor under the weight of wall, water, furniture and wet insulation.
Scotty knew as soon as the hoses were shut off. He adjusted the pressure on the pumps and watched the door for his team. Instead of men running from the structure what he saw was a burst of debris and glass as the windows blew out in a gust of air pressure and littered the street with tiny shards of sparkling glass that disappeared beneath the river of water that had spread onto the street from the heavy onslaught and rushed toward the storm drains carrying dust, soot and now glass into the depths of the sewers below. He waited in anticipation and hope for his brothers to emerge…but his hopes were dashed in the split seconds that followed by the loud crashing noises from inside.
Johnny felt the pressure slam against his back pushing him into and down with Bill. Together the two men fell in a tangled heap of bodies and debris. Exhaustion mixed with pain filled him as he slipped into darkness.
Scotty called to his superior, "Cap! Gage and McDonald are still in there."
As Captain Jones' attention turned to the entrance two men stumbled supporting each other from its mouth and into the street collapsing into the arms of their brothers…but Cap knew it wasn't his men. Johnny was much taller than either of these two, and Bill much broader. No his men were still inside with the beast. He quickly raised his HT to his mouth and barked out orders for Tony and Joe to assemble a team to go in after the missing crewmen.
Tony, Joe, Dave Gotchalk and Jim Graves moved toward the structure and into the black hole that once opened into a brightly colored display area of fresh delicacies. The firefighting crews had reassembled and a resurgence of water poured onto the flames in an effort to hold the beast at bay until the missing men could be brought to safety.
Johnny struggled back to consciousness not knowing how long he'd been out and blinked his eyes to clear them. Everything appeared fuzzy and dark. He thought it might be the smoke and ash, but in fact he was a little dizzy too. He tried to push up, but the weight on his back prevented much movement. Bill tried to move as well. Johnny could feel Bill's legs beneath him, but he couldn't discern if Bill could get them out or not. He was just too exhausted and hot to think clearly, and with his mask on Bill wouldn't be able to understand his muffled speech if he asked.
Outside Jeff Swanson made his way back up the ladder and disappeared into the black smoke pouring from the opened roof. Word had spread quickly of who the missing men were. He aimed his spray into the cavernous hole in the center. 'Come on Gage…we've come too far in this to give into it. I'm doing my part up here…now you do yours and you and Bill get out of there.'
Johnny could feel the spray of water falling down on them and the cooling effects it had. He could hear muffled noises somewhere nearby. "Here!" He called. "Over here!" His strength diminished quickly, and he thought he heard Bill calling to their rescuers as well, but the darkness overtook him again before he could tell for sure.
"Over there!" Joe called to everyone. "I can see Bill." His words were muffled by his mask, but the others followed his pointing and could see their fallen crewmate buried from his waist down. He was conscious and trying to pull himself from the rubble. As they drew closer they could also see Johnny's gloved hand lying limply atop a crushed and partially burned melon.
The men made quick work of uncovering their brothers. Bill was helped to his feet and held between Gotchalk and Graves as Joe lifted Johnny's limp form over Tony's shoulders. Joe spotted Tony as they moved toward freedom from the shell of livelihood now a disheveled pile of smoking ruin.
Shouts of exhilarated relief could be heard as the rag tag group stumbled forth into the welcoming spray and across the attack zone to the safety of the rescue squad.
Bill sunk down onto the running board and Johnny was lowered onto a yellow blanket. Tony held him in a seated position as Joe removed his SCBA; then he was laid back and checked for broken bones. "I don't think anything is broken, but he's out cold. We had better get him on some oxygen and over to Rampart." Tony waved the ambulance attendants over with a stretcher. "I'll ride in with him. Bill are you okay? Maybe you should ride in with us and get checked out."
Bill stood slowly. "I'm okay, just a little tired and banged up." He stretched his right arm in a circular motion up and over his head and back down to his side. "Everything seems to be working." He looked over at Johnny. "I sure hope he's okay. He shoved me out of the way before I even realized what was happening."
"He probably has a concussion, and he already had heat exhaustion from the earlier fire. It's probably a combination of the two. Dr. Brackett will sort him out when we get him to Rampart." Tony reached over and gripped Bill's shoulder in reassurance before following Johnny's gurney into the ambulance. "I'll see you guys back at the barn."
The ambulance doors were closed and slapped twice to indicate their readiness to depart.
Across the expanse of red vehicles and hoses snaked through the puddles the victory was on the side of the Los Angeles County Fire Department on that fateful night. The produce store was a total loss, but the adjoining stores had been saved due to the division walls separating portions of the large structure from the fire that gutted the produce store. Those protective walls prevented significant vertical and horizontal fire spread to other uninvolved stores housed in the strip mall and allowed structural support to maintain the integrity of the adjoining storefronts when the roof collapsed down on Johnny and Bill.
No lives were lost and only one man suffered injury enough to be transported to the hospital.
The ambulance pulled away with lights flashing and sirens alerting anyone paying attention that they had an injured man onboard.
When Johnny and Scotty entered the dayroom it was like walking into the silence in a library. Everyone seemed suspended in time…waiting to see what had happened in Cap's office…cups held in mid-air…the turning of pages of the newspaper stopped in the process…conversations dropped mid-sentence; it was so quiet it seemed as though everyone held their breath.
The 'behind closed doors' at a fire station was kind of an oxymoron…in a fire station it seemed that nothing was really done in private…word spread fast that someone had been called to the Cap's office and the door closed…and before long everyone had assembled to witness the results...hover by the closed door hoping to overhear some tidbit of the goings on inside, but not wanting to get caught in the act…or waiting as a unit in the dayroom for the inevitable return of the 'victim'.
Johnny stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he felt all eyes on him.
Scotty cleared his throat and winked at the assembled men and all the suspended activity resumed exactly where it had left off; the noise of the room echoing into the equipment bay and helping relax the young lineman. "Come on Boot, let's get something to drink." He pulled Johnny into the kitchen and over beside the cabinets.
Johnny still looked pale and skittish. Scotty could tell he was still on the edge. First, the heat exhaustion from the fire, and then the stress that enveloped him after, because of his actions at the fire and pending meeting with Cap; finally, the relief from knowing he wouldn't be washed out, had left him near collapse. The Boot kept his eyes on his shoes; one hand fidgeted with the seam of his pant leg while the other was shoved deeply into a pocket to keep it still. Scotty moved past Johnny to get a glass. He quickly filled it with milk knowing it was Johnny's drink of choice.
Johnny took the proffered glass and downed it in a few gulps. Before he was fully aware of it, the glass had been removed and refilled. Scotty held it back out to him. He took it and emptied it almost as fast, turned to the sink to wash it out and placed it in the rack to dry. He then looked to his friend who stood close by sipping his drink of choice. Johnny thought he'd never seen anyone drink as much coffee as Scotty did. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it." Scotty smiled.
"Uh…I'm kind of tired." Johnny said softly looking back at his shoes.
"You're gear is already beside your bunk." Scotty answered almost as soft. He didn't want to embarrass Johnny with the fact that he'd set up his bunkers for him. Johnny looked up with a raise eyebrow. "Well, you were kind of out of it after that fire." He shrugged and grinned broadly before taking another sip of coffee to mask his amusement at the red that grew from Johnny's neck and up onto his face.
Johnny stared at him for a few seconds before a crooked grin appeared on his reddened face and he chuckled. "Okay…thanks…I guess." Then he turned, nodded his head in his own amusement at the way Scotty tried to take care of him. Actually, it felt good to know someone had his back. "Nite." He called over his shoulder.
"Night Gage," Cody called to him which was followed by most of the guys in the room offering some kind of good wishes for a good night's sleep for the exhausted man.
Each step up the staircase to the dorms seemed to require more energy than should have been necessary, and with each step his feet seemed to become heavier and heavier. Johnny practically had to pull himself up the stairs. He gripped the railing tighter with each upward step…even his bones felt weary. When he finally reached the top, slid out of his uniform and lowered himself to his bunk he fell asleep before his head hit the pillow.
The rest of the crew followed him at different times, but after fighting fires like the ones they had today they were all tired and by ten o'clock the firehouse was eerily quiet.
Their respite didn't last long…at half past one the klaxons rang out jerking the men from their restful slumber and sending them once again into the streets of LA with lights flashing and sirens screaming. Johnny watched the lights streaming passed his window in a daze. He still felt groggy. The normal adrenalin rush that energized him on a call seemed to be missing tonight…replaced by a weary weightiness and dread at the heat he guessed they would soon be facing, but he knew they had a job to do no matter how tired they were or how many fires they'd fought; MVA's they'd worked or hoses they'd hauled…they would answer the call to duty and perform that duty as they'd been trained.
He struggled to sit taller and focus his energies on the call. He scrubbed his hands over his face and blinked the sleep from his eyes. He glanced over at Bill and noticed he seemed to be doing the same thing…trying to will away the sleep and prepare for the job.
The fire was BIG…it usually was when they called out all the equipment from 10's, but this…this was a monster! A fully involved two story market in an old strip mall had smoke pouring into the night sky like a ghostly shroud; in the front display windows the vibrant colors of fresh produce mixed with the orange glow of the flames threatening to devour everything in its path.
The second story windows remained blackened but Johnny couldn't be sure if that was because it was night and the lights were out or because they were blackened from the heavy smoke, but there was no time to ponder that thought. He and Bill were ordered to pull a line and enter the structure through the main entrance. As soon as they stepped inside they were blasted with unbelievable heat and rapid fire spread. Another team followed immediately behind them into the attack. Johnny couldn't be sure who the other team was. When a fireman is in full turnouts with SCBA the only thing that separates one man from another is the name stenciled on his back…unless you had worked with the men so long you recognized their movements. Still being new to the department, Johnny didn't have that knowledge of the other men in the battle beside him on that night.
Other teams set up an exterior defensive effort with the heavy stream appliances mounted atop the engines directing streams into the upper floor windows which easily caved under the strong water pressure.
Scotty busied himself with his gauges, but hesitated as he watched Bill and Johnny disappear into the thick smoke. 'Be safe guys…this is a bad boy…I hope your instincts are working tonight Boot, cause you're gonna need 'em'
Gary Cooper moved the ladder truck into position and extended her load high above the burning structure and one of her crew moved up the length of the ladder with his hose to establish an aerial defense. The stark white sections stood out against the darkened smoke filled night sky. As soon as the Chief felt they had an upper hand, men would be dispatched to the roof to ventilate. The crewmen at the base of the ladder waited at the ready with axes in hand to mount the outstretched bridge to the roof.
Additional stations continued arriving and joining the defensive. As their hoses were laid crisscrossing those from the original response teams, their heavy stream appliances were aimed at the structure crisscrossing the high powered streams dancing in the night sky. A dissonance of pumps and motors echoed into the streets making tune to a peculiar song of the battle against the destructive forces of the flames snaking up inside the building trying to reach its tendrils toward the heavens.
Shoots of water spread across the building's façade raining down in sheets over the men below who stood guard outside the entrance keeping a clear exit for those brave souls inside. While more teams found their way passed the front and into the heat of the interior others already face to face with the dragon grew weary in the fight…but refused to give up.
Johnny tapped Bill's shoulder and moved to take the nozzle for his turn at the lead. Sweat trickled down his neck and back soaking into his t-shirt making it stick to his overheated skin. The men were limited to hand gestures, shoulder taps and inadequate eye contact to communicate. The unbearable wall of intense heat made them keep their distance from moving further into the structure. Johnny danced the hose in a circular motion to extend the output over as much of an area as he could to push the flames down, but they continued to dance with delight at the ineffective spray hopping from one timber to the next and roasting the produce along the way. He was glad he had his SCBA mask on to block most of the smell of burnt fruit and vegetables, but the stench still seemed to seep in and make him nauseous.
Outside the Chief had deployed the roof attack and men began the trek up the outstretched ladders.
Scotty and the other engineers watched with a trained eye the entire scene while maintaining water pressure in a delicate balance of water and purpose.
Suddenly HT's around the battlefield squawked to life and orders to pull back rang out in tandem from the myriad of hand held and cab mounted radios. The roof team scrambled to the ladders leaving behind a wake of small holes they'd begun to create emitting smoke into the already darkened clouds. Shortly after they were called off a sagging portion of the roof collapsed bringing debris down hard onto the weakened second story floor and causing it to drop unwittingly onto the men below who hadn't had time to escape the structure.
Johnny saw it…felt it…sensed it coming…he quickly shut off the nozzle just as the call to evacuate started from the HT in his pocket. He turned and waved his arm at the other teams around him and Bill; then grabbed Bill's shoulder in urgency and pushed him toward the exit, but before either could move the ceiling above fell hard against their backs and pushed them to the floor under the weight of wall, water, furniture and wet insulation.
Scotty knew as soon as the hoses were shut off. He adjusted the pressure on the pumps and watched the door for his team. Instead of men running from the structure what he saw was a burst of debris and glass as the windows blew out in a gust of air pressure and littered the street with tiny shards of sparkling glass that disappeared beneath the river of water that had spread onto the street from the heavy onslaught and rushed toward the storm drains carrying dust, soot and now glass into the depths of the sewers below. He waited in anticipation and hope for his brothers to emerge…but his hopes were dashed in the split seconds that followed by the loud crashing noises from inside.
Johnny felt the pressure slam against his back pushing him into and down with Bill. Together the two men fell in a tangled heap of bodies and debris. Exhaustion mixed with pain filled him as he slipped into darkness.
Scotty called to his superior, "Cap! Gage and McDonald are still in there."
As Captain Jones' attention turned to the entrance two men stumbled supporting each other from its mouth and into the street collapsing into the arms of their brothers…but Cap knew it wasn't his men. Johnny was much taller than either of these two, and Bill much broader. No his men were still inside with the beast. He quickly raised his HT to his mouth and barked out orders for Tony and Joe to assemble a team to go in after the missing crewmen.
Tony, Joe, Dave Gotchalk and Jim Graves moved toward the structure and into the black hole that once opened into a brightly colored display area of fresh delicacies. The firefighting crews had reassembled and a resurgence of water poured onto the flames in an effort to hold the beast at bay until the missing men could be brought to safety.
Johnny struggled back to consciousness not knowing how long he'd been out and blinked his eyes to clear them. Everything appeared fuzzy and dark. He thought it might be the smoke and ash, but in fact he was a little dizzy too. He tried to push up, but the weight on his back prevented much movement. Bill tried to move as well. Johnny could feel Bill's legs beneath him, but he couldn't discern if Bill could get them out or not. He was just too exhausted and hot to think clearly, and with his mask on Bill wouldn't be able to understand his muffled speech if he asked.
Outside Jeff Swanson made his way back up the ladder and disappeared into the black smoke pouring from the opened roof. Word had spread quickly of who the missing men were. He aimed his spray into the cavernous hole in the center. 'Come on Gage…we've come too far in this to give into it. I'm doing my part up here…now you do yours and you and Bill get out of there.'
Johnny could feel the spray of water falling down on them and the cooling effects it had. He could hear muffled noises somewhere nearby. "Here!" He called. "Over here!" His strength diminished quickly, and he thought he heard Bill calling to their rescuers as well, but the darkness overtook him again before he could tell for sure.
"Over there!" Joe called to everyone. "I can see Bill." His words were muffled by his mask, but the others followed his pointing and could see their fallen crewmate buried from his waist down. He was conscious and trying to pull himself from the rubble. As they drew closer they could also see Johnny's gloved hand lying limply atop a crushed and partially burned melon.
The men made quick work of uncovering their brothers. Bill was helped to his feet and held between Gotchalk and Graves as Joe lifted Johnny's limp form over Tony's shoulders. Joe spotted Tony as they moved toward freedom from the shell of livelihood now a disheveled pile of smoking ruin.
Shouts of exhilarated relief could be heard as the rag tag group stumbled forth into the welcoming spray and across the attack zone to the safety of the rescue squad.
Bill sunk down onto the running board and Johnny was lowered onto a yellow blanket. Tony held him in a seated position as Joe removed his SCBA; then he was laid back and checked for broken bones. "I don't think anything is broken, but he's out cold. We had better get him on some oxygen and over to Rampart." Tony waved the ambulance attendants over with a stretcher. "I'll ride in with him. Bill are you okay? Maybe you should ride in with us and get checked out."
Bill stood slowly. "I'm okay, just a little tired and banged up." He stretched his right arm in a circular motion up and over his head and back down to his side. "Everything seems to be working." He looked over at Johnny. "I sure hope he's okay. He shoved me out of the way before I even realized what was happening."
"He probably has a concussion, and he already had heat exhaustion from the earlier fire. It's probably a combination of the two. Dr. Brackett will sort him out when we get him to Rampart." Tony reached over and gripped Bill's shoulder in reassurance before following Johnny's gurney into the ambulance. "I'll see you guys back at the barn."
The ambulance doors were closed and slapped twice to indicate their readiness to depart.
Across the expanse of red vehicles and hoses snaked through the puddles the victory was on the side of the Los Angeles County Fire Department on that fateful night. The produce store was a total loss, but the adjoining stores had been saved due to the division walls separating portions of the large structure from the fire that gutted the produce store. Those protective walls prevented significant vertical and horizontal fire spread to other uninvolved stores housed in the strip mall and allowed structural support to maintain the integrity of the adjoining storefronts when the roof collapsed down on Johnny and Bill.
No lives were lost and only one man suffered injury enough to be transported to the hospital.
The ambulance pulled away with lights flashing and sirens alerting anyone paying attention that they had an injured man onboard.
Chapter Twenty Nine
Johnny felt sick.
He was lying down on a rocking surface and his head hurt really bad making him sick to his stomach. Truthfully, he ached all over. He opened his eyes and looked around noticing the now familiar inside of a Mayfair ambulance. He swallowed several times trying to remove the burning sensation from the back of his throat. A mask covered his mouth and nose, and though it blew fresh oxygen on his face it made him feel claustrophobic.
"Hey you're awake." Tony smiled at him.
Johnny tried to sit up, but the straps on the gurney kept him from it. He didn't like being tied down. He pulled at the straps with his arms.
"Take it easy. You got knocked out back there. We're on our way to Rampart to let the doctors check you out." Tony noticed the stressed tension in Johnny's eyes. He thought he saw a flash of terror in the deep brown eyes. "Just take it easy."
Johnny pulled again at the straps, but gave up without too much of a fight. He knew from experience that he couldn't free himself unless he could get at least one hand free. He squeezed his eyes shut and willed his discomfort of being tied up back down.
A few minutes later the confusion of waking in the back of an ambulance and the initial concern about being restrained subsided, and Johnny suddenly remembered what had happened to land him strapped to a stretcher on the way to Rampart. His eyes shot open wide. "Bill!" he almost yelled the name.
"Is fine thanks to you." Tony patted Johnny on the shoulder. "He's still back there helping with clean-up. If you're lucky you'll be back there in a little while too."
Johnny closed his eyes and nodded. He had vowed to himself that he wouldn't let another crew mate be injured like he had Cody, if he could prevent it.
A short time later the ambulance backed into the bay at Rampart. When the driver came around to the back of the rig to open the doors it was two firemen who stepped out instead of one still on the gurney. Johnny had talked Tony into letting him up.
Joe backed the squad in beside the ambulance and stood waiting to help with the gurney when he was surprised to see Johnny stepping out the back doors first. He looked at Tony with his mouth open ready to ask what was going on…but the words didn't get a chance to leave his lips before Tony stepped out behind Johnny and answered the unanswered question. "What? He said he's okay. I'm not a doctor. If a guy says he's okay then I guess he's okay."
Joe's eyes turned to follow the younger man as he rounded the corner just inside the double doors and headed to a treatment room. "You know he's not okay."
"How do I know that? He said he was just tired. I know he is. He nearly collapsed at that fire earlier. We were all hot and tired. None of us got enough sleep tonight. So he got knocked down back there. So did Bill, but he was walking around and ready to help with clean-up. Gage said he's okay, and the doctor can decide if he is or not." Tony moved past his soon to be Ex-partner. "I'm gonna see if I can find a cup of coffee." He stopped just inside the double doors and turned back to Joe. "You coming?"
"Yeah I'm coming." Joe caught up with Tony. "But you know Gage has a tendency to say he's okay when he's not. I don't get it with that guy."
"Why not…we all do it; we firemen are always suffering from heat exhaustion, bumps, bruises, cuts and minor burns. Never slows us down unless we drop like a rock…does it?" Tony said with a tinge of aggravation in his voice. "If we ran to the hospital every time we felt a little bad we'd never have enough people to put the fires out."
Joe scratched his head where his helmet had left his hair damp and thought about what Tony had said. "I guess you have a point there, but Johnny…he just seems to get hurt a lot and doesn't always admit how hurt he is, besides he did drop back there."
"Come on Joe, I need some coffee while we wait on Johnny."
Inside the treatment room Johnny sat on the exam table waiting for a doctor. The nurse had him take off his shirt, but since he was ambulatory she had let him keep his turnout pants on. He winced when he pulled the t-shirt over his head. He was sore and stiff. His back muscles were tense. 'Probably bruised from that stuff that fell on us.' He stretched his neck and shoulders trying to ease the tightness some before the doctor came in.
A young blonde haired Caucasian man in a white coat came into the room. "What do we have, Carol?"
"A firefighter, doctor; he was brought in from a syncopal episode." The slender black nurse busied herself preparing a chart.
"What's his name?"
"I was just getting to that." The nurse turned to ask Johnny who thought it was very strange how doctors and nurses always seemed to talk about him as if he wasn't right there.
"John Gage." He answered before she could ask. "Station 10, LA County Fire Department. What's a syncopal episode?"
The doctor glanced over at the smart-alecky way the patient answered before the nurse was even ready to ask. He didn't answer the question, but instead turned back to the nurse. "What are his vitals?"
The nurse looked back at the chart embarrassed. "I'm sorry doctor. He got out of the ambulance of his own accord, and I brought him here. I haven't had a chance to get the vitals. I'm sorry."
Johnny couldn't help the uneasy feeling the guy in the white coat gave him. He started to get up from his seated position on the exam table and reached for his clothes that lay beside him.
He felt a hand on his arm. "Just where do you think you're going?"
"I'm leavin'." Johnny said as he slid off. "This is a waste of time." He swayed slightly from the quick way he tried to get up and flee the room.
"Easy there."
"I'm alright…just tired." He straightened up and tried to pull his arm away.
"Sit down." The white coated man demanded.
Johnny didn't respond well to the demand. In his past demands like that were usually followed with a slap or punch of some sort; he flinched and pulled back. His eyes narrowed and his body tensed making his bruised back spasm, but he stood stark still.
The resident mistook the masked fear as rage and told the nurse to alert security to his uncooperative patient. Johnny didn't move. The tension in his body further added to the exhaustion he already felt. He didn't want to cause any trouble. He tried to slow his racing heart by taking a few deep breaths and trying to clear his mind of the feelings that had crept in. He closed his eyes; like he had earlier on the hose rack, he tried to remember how to meditate like he had learned back on the reservation to calm himself. "I…I'll sit." He softly said as he moved slowly back to the exam table.
The resident stepped back quickly when the unruly patient moved. He stumbled against the equipment tray and almost fell. Johnny instinctively reached a steadying hand to him. The man stumbled further away from the helpful hand. "Don't touch me!"
Johnny raised his hands. "I was j..jus' t..tryin' to help."
Security, having heard what they thought was a ruckus, burst into the room ready to apprehend the perpetrator. What they saw was a rattled resident backed against the storage cabinets, ER nurse Carol across the room with a chart and pen hanging at her side and her eyes wide, and a tall skinny young man in fireman's turnout pants with his hands in the air in a non-threatening stance. "What's the problem in here?"
Johnny's mouth opened, but no words would come out. He knew he was in trouble here, but like when he was a young boy and often ended up in trouble, he didn't know what he had done. He just wanted to get out of there and back to the station.
Tony and Joe having seen security race down the hall to the treatment room they knew Johnny was in followed and now stood in the doorway to the treatment room. "Johnny are you okay?"
Johnny looked like a panicked animal ready to bolt its captors. He looked from the security men to Tony and then to the resident. His mouth moved like he was going to say something, but his eyes rolled back, and he slid to the floor instead.
Tony and Joe pushed past the resident, the nurse and the security men and helped their barely conscious crew mate up and on to the exam table without a word. Tony shot daggers at the resident, but he and Joe stepped back against the wall to wait until Johnny was checked out. Nothing would make the two "guards" leave even if it wasn't normal for rescue men to be in the exam rooms.
The security officers turned to the resident. He was known to be overly nervous and had called for them before for no apparent reason. "Everything seems to be okay here." The senior officer said. "We have real problems to deal with if you don't need us anymore."
The resident had the good graces to look sheepish, "Uh…we're fine thank you." He walked over beside Johnny. "Nurse, get me some vitals." He slipped the stethoscope into his ears and placed the disc on Johnny's chest to begin the exam."
Johnny only slightly knew what was going on around him. He felt the coldness of the stethoscope and hands on his wrist, but he lacked the strength to pull away at the moment.
The nervous resident did a cursory exam without even asking how Johnny was hurt in the first place. He declared him as suffering from heat exhaustion and released him to his friends. "Keep him hydrated for the next few hours. He should be fine." He turned and slipped from the room before anyone could ask him any questions.
Nurse Carol couldn't believe the resident had not asked for any blood tests or X-rays. He hadn't even recommended an IV which was standard protocol for firemen with heat exhaustion. She smiled to the familiar rescue team. She knew most of the rescue teams that brought victims into the ER. "Tony, I'm sorry about the way the doctor acted. He really is good at what he does, but he's just skittish." She smiled to try to ease the tension in the room. "Your friend really should be okay in a few hours. I know the doctor didn't say anything, but how long is it until he gets off shift?"
Tony looked at his watch. It was nearly six o'clock in the morning. "Don't worry about it Carol. By the time we get back to the barn our shift will almost be over."
"Well…" She looked at the chart and sighed. "Make sure he drinks plenty of water or juice." She then slipped from the room as well. When she got to the nurse's desk she ran into her supervisor. "Good morning Dixie."
Dixie looked over at her friend and immediately knew something was amiss. "Carol?"
Carol looked into kind blue eyes, "It's just that new resident, Dixie. He seems like he's going to make a good doctor someday, but I'm not sure if he can handle the craziness of the ER."
"What happened this time?" Dixie knew exactly what Carol was talking about. She too had seen the new resident lose his "cool" with an upset, injured patient. People just didn't sit still and quiet when they were in pain or sick. They were nervous and scared. The new resident was yet to learn how to calm his patients. He was too "clinical" for her tastes, too tightly wound and too quick to call security when they weren't needed. "Did he call security again?"
Carol smiled at how easily Dixie could ascertain a situation. She nodded to the affirmative.
Dixie closed the chart she had been reviewing and reached out her hand for the one Carol had just brought out of the exam room. Carol handed it over without complaint. Dixie's eyes widened. "Johnny?"
Carol looked at her superior with questioning eyes. "You know him?"
"Yes, I do." She slid from her stool and walked toward the exam room with chart in hand. When she pushed open the door she found Tony and Joe struggling with a mostly limp Johnny Gage, trying to pull his t-shirt back over his head. "Tony, Joe…" she greeted, "just leave it off while I find Dr. Brackett or Dr. Early."
The two rescue men smiled at the familiar nurse. They knew she would sort things out for their friend. They eased Johnny back down onto the exam table and retreated to their earlier spot against the wall.
Dixie returned a few minutes later and re-started the chart. "Okay boys, who wants to tell me what happened to Johnny this time?" Her blue eyes sparkled with calm assurance.
Joe cleared his throat to answer, "He uh…there was a roof collapse. He was hit with some debris and knocked out or passed out. We don't really know."
Tony broke in, "He had already been exhausted…earlier at a fire. We gave him some water. He seemed okay. It's been a rough day Dixie."
"Okay so…heat exhaustion, possible injuries to his…?" She looked at the men for the answer.
"Back." They said in unison.
Dr. Brackett entered the room. "What have we got?" He stopped in his tracks when he saw who the patient was. "Again?" he looked up questioningly. He didn't care for the young man on the table. He had to be reckless to keep getting brought in to his ER. His mouth pursed and his lip twitched. But he had a job to do. "What are his vitals?"
Dixie looked at Carol's notes and read off the details.
Dr. Brackett listened to Johnny's chest, looked at the bruises on his back; ordered some blood work and an IV of D5W to hydrate. He didn't find any broken ribs or overly tender places on his back to warrant X-rays. He knew the man would be sore, but that came with the job. "Call me when the lab work is back. In the mean time gentlemen, we don't usually need your help in the exam room. Why don't you wait in the cafeteria? We'll send for you when we know if he'll go back on shift or needs to be admitted."
"If it's all the same to you Dr. Brackett, after all the excitement before…we'll just stay here with Johnny." Tony answered for them both.
Kel looked at Dixie for an explanation.
"I'll explain later." She flashed him a look that said "Not Now."
He nodded his understanding and turned to leave. "I'll be in my office."
Dixie noticed Johnny looking up at her with tired brown eyes. "Hey tiger…we'll have you fixed up in no time." She patted his shoulder before moving over to the medicine cabinet to gather the IV supplies. "Why don't one of you get Johnny some water? The more fluids we can get into him the better." She had returned to the patient who by the look in his eyes knew he was about to get a needle stick. "Relax Johnny, you know I won't hurt you." She knew his dislike of needles.
He closed his eyes to block out the site of the offending needle. When Dixie picked up his arm to find a good vein he clenched his jaw and squeezed his eyes shut. Dixie felt his body tense, but she continued her work. He was so tense at the thought of getting stuck by the needles to start the IV and draw blood that he didn't even notice that she was finished before he even knew she had started.
Dixie raised the head of the exam table so Johnny could drink the water Joe held out to him.
He turned the cup up to guzzle the liquid, but Tony cleared his throat from across the room to remind him to take it slow. Johnny smiled sheepishly as he lowered the cup to his lap.
Dixie smiled at the men. "I'll be right back." She left the exam room to take the blood sample to the lab. She was pleased to note that Johnny's color looked better already.
"Man you dropped like a rock earlier." Joe started the conversation once the three firemen were left alone.
"What happened with that other doctor?" Tony asked.
Johnny shook his head in wonderment. "I have no idea." He simply stated. "He thought I was gonna hurt him or somethin'. All I did was get up to leave. They were talking about me like I wasn't even here. They didn't even ask me why I was here."
"You looked scared." Joe declared.
"Well you would be scared too if they called security on you." Johnny shot back defensively. "I told you I was alright."
"You don't look alright to me." Joe rebutted. "You're lying on an exam table with that liquid running into your veins aren't ya?"
Johnny looked at the tube running to his arm. "'snot necessary."
"Dr. Brackett said it was." Tony said teasingly. Things were getting a little too argumentative for his liking. He wanted to try to diffuse the disagreement at hand before it got ugly. "Besides, now that Dixie knows you're here there will be no leaving until she lets you go." The three men chuckled at that. They knew Tony was right.
Johnny felt sick.
He was lying down on a rocking surface and his head hurt really bad making him sick to his stomach. Truthfully, he ached all over. He opened his eyes and looked around noticing the now familiar inside of a Mayfair ambulance. He swallowed several times trying to remove the burning sensation from the back of his throat. A mask covered his mouth and nose, and though it blew fresh oxygen on his face it made him feel claustrophobic.
"Hey you're awake." Tony smiled at him.
Johnny tried to sit up, but the straps on the gurney kept him from it. He didn't like being tied down. He pulled at the straps with his arms.
"Take it easy. You got knocked out back there. We're on our way to Rampart to let the doctors check you out." Tony noticed the stressed tension in Johnny's eyes. He thought he saw a flash of terror in the deep brown eyes. "Just take it easy."
Johnny pulled again at the straps, but gave up without too much of a fight. He knew from experience that he couldn't free himself unless he could get at least one hand free. He squeezed his eyes shut and willed his discomfort of being tied up back down.
A few minutes later the confusion of waking in the back of an ambulance and the initial concern about being restrained subsided, and Johnny suddenly remembered what had happened to land him strapped to a stretcher on the way to Rampart. His eyes shot open wide. "Bill!" he almost yelled the name.
"Is fine thanks to you." Tony patted Johnny on the shoulder. "He's still back there helping with clean-up. If you're lucky you'll be back there in a little while too."
Johnny closed his eyes and nodded. He had vowed to himself that he wouldn't let another crew mate be injured like he had Cody, if he could prevent it.
A short time later the ambulance backed into the bay at Rampart. When the driver came around to the back of the rig to open the doors it was two firemen who stepped out instead of one still on the gurney. Johnny had talked Tony into letting him up.
Joe backed the squad in beside the ambulance and stood waiting to help with the gurney when he was surprised to see Johnny stepping out the back doors first. He looked at Tony with his mouth open ready to ask what was going on…but the words didn't get a chance to leave his lips before Tony stepped out behind Johnny and answered the unanswered question. "What? He said he's okay. I'm not a doctor. If a guy says he's okay then I guess he's okay."
Joe's eyes turned to follow the younger man as he rounded the corner just inside the double doors and headed to a treatment room. "You know he's not okay."
"How do I know that? He said he was just tired. I know he is. He nearly collapsed at that fire earlier. We were all hot and tired. None of us got enough sleep tonight. So he got knocked down back there. So did Bill, but he was walking around and ready to help with clean-up. Gage said he's okay, and the doctor can decide if he is or not." Tony moved past his soon to be Ex-partner. "I'm gonna see if I can find a cup of coffee." He stopped just inside the double doors and turned back to Joe. "You coming?"
"Yeah I'm coming." Joe caught up with Tony. "But you know Gage has a tendency to say he's okay when he's not. I don't get it with that guy."
"Why not…we all do it; we firemen are always suffering from heat exhaustion, bumps, bruises, cuts and minor burns. Never slows us down unless we drop like a rock…does it?" Tony said with a tinge of aggravation in his voice. "If we ran to the hospital every time we felt a little bad we'd never have enough people to put the fires out."
Joe scratched his head where his helmet had left his hair damp and thought about what Tony had said. "I guess you have a point there, but Johnny…he just seems to get hurt a lot and doesn't always admit how hurt he is, besides he did drop back there."
"Come on Joe, I need some coffee while we wait on Johnny."
Inside the treatment room Johnny sat on the exam table waiting for a doctor. The nurse had him take off his shirt, but since he was ambulatory she had let him keep his turnout pants on. He winced when he pulled the t-shirt over his head. He was sore and stiff. His back muscles were tense. 'Probably bruised from that stuff that fell on us.' He stretched his neck and shoulders trying to ease the tightness some before the doctor came in.
A young blonde haired Caucasian man in a white coat came into the room. "What do we have, Carol?"
"A firefighter, doctor; he was brought in from a syncopal episode." The slender black nurse busied herself preparing a chart.
"What's his name?"
"I was just getting to that." The nurse turned to ask Johnny who thought it was very strange how doctors and nurses always seemed to talk about him as if he wasn't right there.
"John Gage." He answered before she could ask. "Station 10, LA County Fire Department. What's a syncopal episode?"
The doctor glanced over at the smart-alecky way the patient answered before the nurse was even ready to ask. He didn't answer the question, but instead turned back to the nurse. "What are his vitals?"
The nurse looked back at the chart embarrassed. "I'm sorry doctor. He got out of the ambulance of his own accord, and I brought him here. I haven't had a chance to get the vitals. I'm sorry."
Johnny couldn't help the uneasy feeling the guy in the white coat gave him. He started to get up from his seated position on the exam table and reached for his clothes that lay beside him.
He felt a hand on his arm. "Just where do you think you're going?"
"I'm leavin'." Johnny said as he slid off. "This is a waste of time." He swayed slightly from the quick way he tried to get up and flee the room.
"Easy there."
"I'm alright…just tired." He straightened up and tried to pull his arm away.
"Sit down." The white coated man demanded.
Johnny didn't respond well to the demand. In his past demands like that were usually followed with a slap or punch of some sort; he flinched and pulled back. His eyes narrowed and his body tensed making his bruised back spasm, but he stood stark still.
The resident mistook the masked fear as rage and told the nurse to alert security to his uncooperative patient. Johnny didn't move. The tension in his body further added to the exhaustion he already felt. He didn't want to cause any trouble. He tried to slow his racing heart by taking a few deep breaths and trying to clear his mind of the feelings that had crept in. He closed his eyes; like he had earlier on the hose rack, he tried to remember how to meditate like he had learned back on the reservation to calm himself. "I…I'll sit." He softly said as he moved slowly back to the exam table.
The resident stepped back quickly when the unruly patient moved. He stumbled against the equipment tray and almost fell. Johnny instinctively reached a steadying hand to him. The man stumbled further away from the helpful hand. "Don't touch me!"
Johnny raised his hands. "I was j..jus' t..tryin' to help."
Security, having heard what they thought was a ruckus, burst into the room ready to apprehend the perpetrator. What they saw was a rattled resident backed against the storage cabinets, ER nurse Carol across the room with a chart and pen hanging at her side and her eyes wide, and a tall skinny young man in fireman's turnout pants with his hands in the air in a non-threatening stance. "What's the problem in here?"
Johnny's mouth opened, but no words would come out. He knew he was in trouble here, but like when he was a young boy and often ended up in trouble, he didn't know what he had done. He just wanted to get out of there and back to the station.
Tony and Joe having seen security race down the hall to the treatment room they knew Johnny was in followed and now stood in the doorway to the treatment room. "Johnny are you okay?"
Johnny looked like a panicked animal ready to bolt its captors. He looked from the security men to Tony and then to the resident. His mouth moved like he was going to say something, but his eyes rolled back, and he slid to the floor instead.
Tony and Joe pushed past the resident, the nurse and the security men and helped their barely conscious crew mate up and on to the exam table without a word. Tony shot daggers at the resident, but he and Joe stepped back against the wall to wait until Johnny was checked out. Nothing would make the two "guards" leave even if it wasn't normal for rescue men to be in the exam rooms.
The security officers turned to the resident. He was known to be overly nervous and had called for them before for no apparent reason. "Everything seems to be okay here." The senior officer said. "We have real problems to deal with if you don't need us anymore."
The resident had the good graces to look sheepish, "Uh…we're fine thank you." He walked over beside Johnny. "Nurse, get me some vitals." He slipped the stethoscope into his ears and placed the disc on Johnny's chest to begin the exam."
Johnny only slightly knew what was going on around him. He felt the coldness of the stethoscope and hands on his wrist, but he lacked the strength to pull away at the moment.
The nervous resident did a cursory exam without even asking how Johnny was hurt in the first place. He declared him as suffering from heat exhaustion and released him to his friends. "Keep him hydrated for the next few hours. He should be fine." He turned and slipped from the room before anyone could ask him any questions.
Nurse Carol couldn't believe the resident had not asked for any blood tests or X-rays. He hadn't even recommended an IV which was standard protocol for firemen with heat exhaustion. She smiled to the familiar rescue team. She knew most of the rescue teams that brought victims into the ER. "Tony, I'm sorry about the way the doctor acted. He really is good at what he does, but he's just skittish." She smiled to try to ease the tension in the room. "Your friend really should be okay in a few hours. I know the doctor didn't say anything, but how long is it until he gets off shift?"
Tony looked at his watch. It was nearly six o'clock in the morning. "Don't worry about it Carol. By the time we get back to the barn our shift will almost be over."
"Well…" She looked at the chart and sighed. "Make sure he drinks plenty of water or juice." She then slipped from the room as well. When she got to the nurse's desk she ran into her supervisor. "Good morning Dixie."
Dixie looked over at her friend and immediately knew something was amiss. "Carol?"
Carol looked into kind blue eyes, "It's just that new resident, Dixie. He seems like he's going to make a good doctor someday, but I'm not sure if he can handle the craziness of the ER."
"What happened this time?" Dixie knew exactly what Carol was talking about. She too had seen the new resident lose his "cool" with an upset, injured patient. People just didn't sit still and quiet when they were in pain or sick. They were nervous and scared. The new resident was yet to learn how to calm his patients. He was too "clinical" for her tastes, too tightly wound and too quick to call security when they weren't needed. "Did he call security again?"
Carol smiled at how easily Dixie could ascertain a situation. She nodded to the affirmative.
Dixie closed the chart she had been reviewing and reached out her hand for the one Carol had just brought out of the exam room. Carol handed it over without complaint. Dixie's eyes widened. "Johnny?"
Carol looked at her superior with questioning eyes. "You know him?"
"Yes, I do." She slid from her stool and walked toward the exam room with chart in hand. When she pushed open the door she found Tony and Joe struggling with a mostly limp Johnny Gage, trying to pull his t-shirt back over his head. "Tony, Joe…" she greeted, "just leave it off while I find Dr. Brackett or Dr. Early."
The two rescue men smiled at the familiar nurse. They knew she would sort things out for their friend. They eased Johnny back down onto the exam table and retreated to their earlier spot against the wall.
Dixie returned a few minutes later and re-started the chart. "Okay boys, who wants to tell me what happened to Johnny this time?" Her blue eyes sparkled with calm assurance.
Joe cleared his throat to answer, "He uh…there was a roof collapse. He was hit with some debris and knocked out or passed out. We don't really know."
Tony broke in, "He had already been exhausted…earlier at a fire. We gave him some water. He seemed okay. It's been a rough day Dixie."
"Okay so…heat exhaustion, possible injuries to his…?" She looked at the men for the answer.
"Back." They said in unison.
Dr. Brackett entered the room. "What have we got?" He stopped in his tracks when he saw who the patient was. "Again?" he looked up questioningly. He didn't care for the young man on the table. He had to be reckless to keep getting brought in to his ER. His mouth pursed and his lip twitched. But he had a job to do. "What are his vitals?"
Dixie looked at Carol's notes and read off the details.
Dr. Brackett listened to Johnny's chest, looked at the bruises on his back; ordered some blood work and an IV of D5W to hydrate. He didn't find any broken ribs or overly tender places on his back to warrant X-rays. He knew the man would be sore, but that came with the job. "Call me when the lab work is back. In the mean time gentlemen, we don't usually need your help in the exam room. Why don't you wait in the cafeteria? We'll send for you when we know if he'll go back on shift or needs to be admitted."
"If it's all the same to you Dr. Brackett, after all the excitement before…we'll just stay here with Johnny." Tony answered for them both.
Kel looked at Dixie for an explanation.
"I'll explain later." She flashed him a look that said "Not Now."
He nodded his understanding and turned to leave. "I'll be in my office."
Dixie noticed Johnny looking up at her with tired brown eyes. "Hey tiger…we'll have you fixed up in no time." She patted his shoulder before moving over to the medicine cabinet to gather the IV supplies. "Why don't one of you get Johnny some water? The more fluids we can get into him the better." She had returned to the patient who by the look in his eyes knew he was about to get a needle stick. "Relax Johnny, you know I won't hurt you." She knew his dislike of needles.
He closed his eyes to block out the site of the offending needle. When Dixie picked up his arm to find a good vein he clenched his jaw and squeezed his eyes shut. Dixie felt his body tense, but she continued her work. He was so tense at the thought of getting stuck by the needles to start the IV and draw blood that he didn't even notice that she was finished before he even knew she had started.
Dixie raised the head of the exam table so Johnny could drink the water Joe held out to him.
He turned the cup up to guzzle the liquid, but Tony cleared his throat from across the room to remind him to take it slow. Johnny smiled sheepishly as he lowered the cup to his lap.
Dixie smiled at the men. "I'll be right back." She left the exam room to take the blood sample to the lab. She was pleased to note that Johnny's color looked better already.
"Man you dropped like a rock earlier." Joe started the conversation once the three firemen were left alone.
"What happened with that other doctor?" Tony asked.
Johnny shook his head in wonderment. "I have no idea." He simply stated. "He thought I was gonna hurt him or somethin'. All I did was get up to leave. They were talking about me like I wasn't even here. They didn't even ask me why I was here."
"You looked scared." Joe declared.
"Well you would be scared too if they called security on you." Johnny shot back defensively. "I told you I was alright."
"You don't look alright to me." Joe rebutted. "You're lying on an exam table with that liquid running into your veins aren't ya?"
Johnny looked at the tube running to his arm. "'snot necessary."
"Dr. Brackett said it was." Tony said teasingly. Things were getting a little too argumentative for his liking. He wanted to try to diffuse the disagreement at hand before it got ugly. "Besides, now that Dixie knows you're here there will be no leaving until she lets you go." The three men chuckled at that. They knew Tony was right.
Chapter Thirty
Tony and Joe were called away on another rescue. They left with promises to return for Johnny to give him a ride back to the station after he finished his IV. He fell asleep shortly after they left.
Dixie had just finished checking on him when she ran into Dr. Brackett in the hall. "How's he doing Dixie?"
"He's almost done with the IV." She smiled. "He's been asleep since Tony and Joe got called out."
"Good. You can release him as soon as he's done. The blood tests came back fine. Those hose jockeys really need to learn to hydrate better." Dr. Brackett turned to walk away, but stopped and turned back to Dixie. "I have a meeting in my office. Call me if you need me."
"With a certain very nervous resident I hope." Dixie winked at Kel. She'd filled him in on what had happened in the treatment room earlier and he'd read the security officer's report.
"Yes, Dixie, with a certain resident." Though they shared a very personal relationship off the job and held great respect for each other on the job, Dr. Kelly Brackett drew the line when it came to the way he ran his department. He knew he had answered Dixie tersely…he had no intention of allowing anyone…especially a nurse…tell him what needed to be done with one of his doctors. He turned without another word and stalked down the hall toward his office.
Dixie knew she had, yet again, struck a nerve with Kel. She saw the way his lip twitched and his forehead creased after she made her comment, not to mention the way he walked stiffly down the hall. She knew he led the ER with skill, but his people skills and bedside manner were lacking in her opinion. She realized it might take some time, but she hoped to have some influence on him in that department. However, right now she had other duties to attend to.
Johnny awoke a short time later. It took him a few minutes to acclimate himself to his surroundings. After remembering that he was still at Rampart, he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the treatment table. He sat there for a bit, hoping someone would come in to check on him. The IV had long since finished; that together with the water they had made him drink had presented a need that wouldn't wait much longer. He tried to think of other things; tried to distract himself for as long as he could, but if someone didn't come in that door in the next five minutes, he was going to be in real trouble.
He looked down at the IV site wincing at the thought of the needle sinking into his arm, but he also realized that it didn't hurt to have an IV removed. After a few seconds of consideration he slipped off the edge of the exam table and carefully removed his own IV. Then he turned to the supply cabinet for some gauze and tape. He'd had enough IVs and blood tests to know he needed to make sure to stop the bleeding. Having taken care of that…he had another pressing matter to attend to.
He peeked out the door into the hall. He knew he hadn't "really" done anything wrong, and he did have to get to the men's room, but something in the back of his mind told him Dixie would not be very happy with him for removing the IV. The hallway was very busy, so he decided to chance it. He slipped into the stream of hallway traffic and headed to the men's room and the relief he sought.
Once he had taken care of business and washed up he opened the door to the men's room to find Dixie McCall standing just outside with her arms crossed, her lips pressed in a serious scowl and her foot tapping an irritated beat. Johnny ducked his head, his shoulders lowered and his arms dropped to his sides as he walked over to the waiting nurse.
Dixie couldn't help herself. As angry as she was at Johnny for removing his own IV and disappearing down the hallway, he looked so much like a child fearing harsh discipline, her ire melted into compassion for him. "And where do you think you're going?" She asked with just a hint of irritation in her voice.
Johnny spoke softly, almost too softly for Dixie to hear him, with his head still lowered, "I'm s..sorry. I…I tried to w..wait."
Dixie lifted her hand to her mouth to make an attempt at hiding the smile that threatened to appear. She cleared her throat and continued her questioning of the escapee. "And who removed your IV?" She already knew it had to have been Johnny, because she knew exactly where each of her nurses were and exactly what they had been assigned to do. She reached for his arm to examine the make-shift bandage he had taped there.
Johnny looked up at her with alarm. His mouth opened to respond, but he was afraid that he had overstepped the line this time. Experience had taught him that overstepping the line led to very unpleasant discipline. He reflexively pulled his arm back and stepped away from Dixie running his back into the wall. Dixie noticed the change in his stature. He'd gone from that repentant child to an apprehensive adult in a matter of seconds. He spoke this time with a determination she hadn't seen before. "I had to. No one else was there. I've had enough needles in my arm to know what to do." He waved his arm at Dixie to prove that he'd dressed the wound appropriately. "It's fine. It's not even bleeding."
Not wanting a scene in the ER, Dixie let the issue drop. She knew Johnny had a lot of experience with hospitals and clinics…he'd had several trips to her ER already, but she would not allow patients to treat themselves on her watch either, "I can see that, but let me tell you one thing here fella. This is my ER. You are a patient here, and that means you will act like a patient. Do you understand?" Johnny's shoulders once again drooped, and he nodded his understanding. "Now that that is out of the way, come with me." Dixie turned and began walking away. Sensing that Johnny hadn't followed she stopped and looked back at him with her eyebrow raised, waiting for him to acquiesce.
She led the way to a room Johnny had never been to, pushed the door open and stepped aside to let him pass. "You can wait in here." Dixie pushed open the door and led Johnny into what looked like a small break room. "It's the doctor's lounge. Tony and Joe had a run, but said they would be back for you. I expect they should be here any time."
Johnny stopped in his tracks. "Um…I…uh…th..the waiting area is fine." He turned to walk over to the waiting area.
Dixie grabbed him by the arm. "Oh no you don't!" She smiled at the nervous young man. "You can wait in here with a fresh cup of hot coffee, and keep me company on my break."
Feeling a little more relaxed after finding out Dixie would be in the lounge with him, Johnny followed her in. He glanced around the room. There was a sofa and chair over by the window. A TV on a stand was over by the wall. There was a wall with shelves on it filled with all colors of coffee mugs and in front of that was a coffee pot. In the middle of the room there was a table and chairs. Johnny walked over and pulled a chair out from the table intending on sitting down, but Dixie had other plans.
"Let's sit over here on the sofa. I sit on that hard stool at the nurse's desk all day." She motioned to the sofa before turning around and grabbing two cups from the shelf and filling them with the hot brew. She lifted one cup to her nose. "Smells fresh." She handed one to Johnny, sat on the sofa and patted the cushion beside her. "Sit down Johnny."
Johnny looked around the room as though he was trying to be sure it was okay for him to be in the doctor's lounge. When his gaze fell on Dixie again she smiled and patted the seat again. Not having any excuse not to, Johnny sat down next to Dixie.
"Now that wasn't so hard was it?" She teased him.
"No ma'am." Johnny ducked his head and looked away.
Dixie sank back against the cushions and sipped her coffee. She didn't force conversation. She just wanted to relax a minute.
Johnny took a tentative sip of his coffee. He had gotten used to drinking it, but the taste still seemed bitter to him…unless Scotty made it. Somehow Scotty had coffee making down to a science. The coffee passed for pretty good, so Johnny sipped some more.
"It's pretty good." Dixie commented. "I usually get time for a cup when it's nearly burnt." She laughed softly. "Never really stops me from drinking it though. Sometimes getting through the day around here is difficult. Coffee seems to help." She raised her cup in salute and took another drink.
Johnny smiled. "Works in the fire fighting business too." He saluted his cup back to her and took a drink himself. Feeling a bit more relaxed he sank back into the couch as well. "Dixie…"
"Yes Johnny?"
"I'm sorry…" He looked at her. "About before."
"No harm done." She said soothingly.
"Maybe not, but I shouldn't have…well you know." He shrugged. "I just had to…you know…go." Dixie had just taken a sip of her coffee and nearly spewed it out again. She ended up coughing instead. Johnny sat up alarmed. "Are you all right?" She smiled, placed a hand on his knee and nodded. She cleared her throat and took another experimental sip. Johnny slumped back on the couch, his face red with embarrassment. First he couldn't wait for a nurse to take out his IV, he had to sneak to the men's room and now he'd nearly choked the head nurse with his apology. He wondered what could possibly go wrong next.
Dixie saw the redness creep up Johnny's neck and into his cheeks. "It's okay Johnny. Listen, just don't be removing your own IVs or sneaking out of treatment rooms and everything will be okay between us." She patted his knee again. "I guess my break is over. I need to get back out there." She started to get up. Johnny started to follow her. "No…you can wait here for the boys. Have some more coffee. I'll let them know where you are."
Just as Dixie finished telling Johnny to stay put when the door opened and another nurse stepped part way into the room, "Miss McCall, Dr. Brackett needs you in treatment three."
"I'll be right there."
"He said right away."
Dixie sighed. "Okay…" She turned back to Johnny, "Have some more coffee Johnny. Turn on the TV if you want." Then she turned, placed her cup on the table and followed the other nurse out of the room.
Johnny sat unmoving on the couch for a few moments before getting up for some more coffee. When he finished filling his cup he went over to the TV and flipped it on. Then he settled back on the couch to watch the morning news.
A few moments later the same nurse that had come for Dixie led another man into the room. "Miss McCall said you should wait in here. There's coffee. Your wife is in the treatment room with your daughter. They will come for you as soon as the doctor finishes with his examination."
"Thanks." The young man said before turning scared eyes toward Johnny. "Oh hi, I didn't know anyone was in here."
Johnny shifted nervously. He knew he hadn't done anything wrong, but his run in earlier with the resident and security was still fresh on his mind. The fact that he was now alone in a room with a police officer in uniform made him just a little nervous. "Hi."
"Say…aren't you a fireman at Station 10?"
Johnny smiled. "Did the turnouts give it away?" The question immediately put him more at ease. He loved being a fireman. It gave him a sense of pride in himself that he hadn't had before.
The officer smiled, took a few steps closer and outstretched his hand. "Drew Burke."
Johnny stood and outstretched his own hand. "John Gage."
Drew studied the tall dark haired man before him. "I know I've seen you out there on at least one MVA, but haven't I seen you at the bowling alley with the Dwyer twins?"
"Yep…we're on the fire department league. You bowl?" Johnny flipped off the TV and resumed his place on the couch while Drew poured himself some coffee.
"Police department league. I love to bowl. Don't get to as much anymore…" His face turned serious again. "…family…ya know." He paused and stared into his coffee cup before continuing. "I…um…I've been married for a few years…right out of high school. We have a beautiful little girl. She's two. She's real sick." He stopped talking and sunk into a chair at the table. "I'm real worried about her. My wife, Pam, she called the station…" Drew looked up at Johnny. "They radioed me in the squad car. I got here as soon as I could."
Johnny got up and moved to sit in the other chair at the table. He didn't know what to say. "They're good here. They'll fix her up."
Drew looked into the sincere brown eyes. "Thanks."
Johnny studied the officer's face. He seemed nice. Nicer than any cop Johnny had had the pleasure of meeting except Jimbo and he was retired. "Have you been a policeman for very long?"
"No…I'm a rookie. Just graduated the academy a few months ago. I'm still on probation. My partner…" He chuckled, "Well…my trainer dropped me off and went back out on the beat. I'm supposed to call dispatch when I'm done here. If my daughter is…" Drew felt a lump in his throat and couldn't continue.
Johnny could see the concern in Drew's face. He wanted to help…somehow. He just felt that it was his responsibility to say something to help, but what? "So…are you any good at bowling?" He hoped changing the subject might help.
Drew looked up, cleared his throat and welcomed the change of subject. "Good? I'll have you know, John Gage…I am the best." He sat up a little taller as he boasted.
Johnny chuckled. "The best? I don't think so…you see, I'm pretty good myself." He splayed his hand on his chest.
Drew took the bait, "Well then John, you may have to prove that at the lanes."
"My friends call me Johnny." He smiled broadly. "And you're on. Just name the time. If I'm not on shift, I'll be there."
A competitive sparkle flashed in Drew's eyes, "When are you off next?"
"Well…I'm off this morning for two days…then on for 24, and off the next day. If you're available that day we could test your skills."
"Test my...?" Drew glared briefly at Johnny. "I believe you mean test your skills." Both men chuckled. "You're on Johnny." He pulled a notepad out of his pocket and jotted his number down. "Give me a call. We'll set up a time."
"All right!" Johnny beamed. He loved a good competition. "Loser buys dinner?"
"How about you just come to my place after? I'll grill some steaks."
Johnny shifted nervously. He wasn't accustomed to going to anyone's home. Drew noticed the change in his demeanor. Thinking Johnny might think his wife would mind, he offered a word of encouragement. "Relax…Pam won't mind."
Hesitant brown eyes looked up into smiling eyes. "Okay…I can bring the steaks."
"How 'bout the loser buys the steaks? We'll stop by the grocery after I cream you on the lanes." Drew boasted.
Johnny looked down at the table and grinned. Then he looked back at his new friend. "Hope you policemen make good money. I can eat a big steak…a very big steak…and lots of steak fries."
Dixie smiled from the doorway where she had been watching for a few minutes. It was good to see Johnny so relaxed and enjoying himself. She noticed his teasing nature and the glimmer in his eyes when he was comfortable with someone else's teasing, and apparently, the other young man had needed the distraction from his worry. "Ahem."
Drew shot out of his chair almost sending it backwards to the floor. Johnny stood also.
"You're daughter will be fine Mr. Burke. She has a respiratory infection. Dr. Brackett called in a pediatrician, and they both agree that she needs to stay at least overnight until we get her fever down and some fluids into her. If you will come with me, I'll take you to see her." She held out her hand inviting him to come with her.
"See, I told you they were real good here." Johnny smiled.
Drew looked back at him and smiled in return. "Yes you did." He reached across to shake Johnny's hand. "Don't forget to call. I'm looking forward to proving to you that I…" He mimicked Johnny's earlier splay with his own hand across his chest. "…am the best."
"Oh no, Officer Burke, I'm the one who will be doing the proving." A crooked grin spread across Johnny's face. "I'll call. I'm looking forward to it."
"Johnny, Tony and Joe just brought in a patient. They will be ready to go in a few minutes." Dixie pointed her finger at the young fireman. "Now you get some rest, and keep hydrated." She smiled fondly, "I don't want to see you in my ER again anytime soon, unless you suddenly decide to join the ranks of rescue." With that Dixie and Drew disappeared leaving Johnny alone in the lounge.
Feeling a warm sense of belonging in a room where just a short time ago he felt totally out of place. Johnny grabbed up the dirty coffee cups, took them to the sink and washed them. He was drying them and replacing them to the shelf on the wall when Tony poked his head in to summon him to the squad. Soon they would be back at Station 10 and another shift would be over. Johnny followed Tony with a spring in his step.
Tony and Joe were called away on another rescue. They left with promises to return for Johnny to give him a ride back to the station after he finished his IV. He fell asleep shortly after they left.
Dixie had just finished checking on him when she ran into Dr. Brackett in the hall. "How's he doing Dixie?"
"He's almost done with the IV." She smiled. "He's been asleep since Tony and Joe got called out."
"Good. You can release him as soon as he's done. The blood tests came back fine. Those hose jockeys really need to learn to hydrate better." Dr. Brackett turned to walk away, but stopped and turned back to Dixie. "I have a meeting in my office. Call me if you need me."
"With a certain very nervous resident I hope." Dixie winked at Kel. She'd filled him in on what had happened in the treatment room earlier and he'd read the security officer's report.
"Yes, Dixie, with a certain resident." Though they shared a very personal relationship off the job and held great respect for each other on the job, Dr. Kelly Brackett drew the line when it came to the way he ran his department. He knew he had answered Dixie tersely…he had no intention of allowing anyone…especially a nurse…tell him what needed to be done with one of his doctors. He turned without another word and stalked down the hall toward his office.
Dixie knew she had, yet again, struck a nerve with Kel. She saw the way his lip twitched and his forehead creased after she made her comment, not to mention the way he walked stiffly down the hall. She knew he led the ER with skill, but his people skills and bedside manner were lacking in her opinion. She realized it might take some time, but she hoped to have some influence on him in that department. However, right now she had other duties to attend to.
Johnny awoke a short time later. It took him a few minutes to acclimate himself to his surroundings. After remembering that he was still at Rampart, he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the treatment table. He sat there for a bit, hoping someone would come in to check on him. The IV had long since finished; that together with the water they had made him drink had presented a need that wouldn't wait much longer. He tried to think of other things; tried to distract himself for as long as he could, but if someone didn't come in that door in the next five minutes, he was going to be in real trouble.
He looked down at the IV site wincing at the thought of the needle sinking into his arm, but he also realized that it didn't hurt to have an IV removed. After a few seconds of consideration he slipped off the edge of the exam table and carefully removed his own IV. Then he turned to the supply cabinet for some gauze and tape. He'd had enough IVs and blood tests to know he needed to make sure to stop the bleeding. Having taken care of that…he had another pressing matter to attend to.
He peeked out the door into the hall. He knew he hadn't "really" done anything wrong, and he did have to get to the men's room, but something in the back of his mind told him Dixie would not be very happy with him for removing the IV. The hallway was very busy, so he decided to chance it. He slipped into the stream of hallway traffic and headed to the men's room and the relief he sought.
Once he had taken care of business and washed up he opened the door to the men's room to find Dixie McCall standing just outside with her arms crossed, her lips pressed in a serious scowl and her foot tapping an irritated beat. Johnny ducked his head, his shoulders lowered and his arms dropped to his sides as he walked over to the waiting nurse.
Dixie couldn't help herself. As angry as she was at Johnny for removing his own IV and disappearing down the hallway, he looked so much like a child fearing harsh discipline, her ire melted into compassion for him. "And where do you think you're going?" She asked with just a hint of irritation in her voice.
Johnny spoke softly, almost too softly for Dixie to hear him, with his head still lowered, "I'm s..sorry. I…I tried to w..wait."
Dixie lifted her hand to her mouth to make an attempt at hiding the smile that threatened to appear. She cleared her throat and continued her questioning of the escapee. "And who removed your IV?" She already knew it had to have been Johnny, because she knew exactly where each of her nurses were and exactly what they had been assigned to do. She reached for his arm to examine the make-shift bandage he had taped there.
Johnny looked up at her with alarm. His mouth opened to respond, but he was afraid that he had overstepped the line this time. Experience had taught him that overstepping the line led to very unpleasant discipline. He reflexively pulled his arm back and stepped away from Dixie running his back into the wall. Dixie noticed the change in his stature. He'd gone from that repentant child to an apprehensive adult in a matter of seconds. He spoke this time with a determination she hadn't seen before. "I had to. No one else was there. I've had enough needles in my arm to know what to do." He waved his arm at Dixie to prove that he'd dressed the wound appropriately. "It's fine. It's not even bleeding."
Not wanting a scene in the ER, Dixie let the issue drop. She knew Johnny had a lot of experience with hospitals and clinics…he'd had several trips to her ER already, but she would not allow patients to treat themselves on her watch either, "I can see that, but let me tell you one thing here fella. This is my ER. You are a patient here, and that means you will act like a patient. Do you understand?" Johnny's shoulders once again drooped, and he nodded his understanding. "Now that that is out of the way, come with me." Dixie turned and began walking away. Sensing that Johnny hadn't followed she stopped and looked back at him with her eyebrow raised, waiting for him to acquiesce.
She led the way to a room Johnny had never been to, pushed the door open and stepped aside to let him pass. "You can wait in here." Dixie pushed open the door and led Johnny into what looked like a small break room. "It's the doctor's lounge. Tony and Joe had a run, but said they would be back for you. I expect they should be here any time."
Johnny stopped in his tracks. "Um…I…uh…th..the waiting area is fine." He turned to walk over to the waiting area.
Dixie grabbed him by the arm. "Oh no you don't!" She smiled at the nervous young man. "You can wait in here with a fresh cup of hot coffee, and keep me company on my break."
Feeling a little more relaxed after finding out Dixie would be in the lounge with him, Johnny followed her in. He glanced around the room. There was a sofa and chair over by the window. A TV on a stand was over by the wall. There was a wall with shelves on it filled with all colors of coffee mugs and in front of that was a coffee pot. In the middle of the room there was a table and chairs. Johnny walked over and pulled a chair out from the table intending on sitting down, but Dixie had other plans.
"Let's sit over here on the sofa. I sit on that hard stool at the nurse's desk all day." She motioned to the sofa before turning around and grabbing two cups from the shelf and filling them with the hot brew. She lifted one cup to her nose. "Smells fresh." She handed one to Johnny, sat on the sofa and patted the cushion beside her. "Sit down Johnny."
Johnny looked around the room as though he was trying to be sure it was okay for him to be in the doctor's lounge. When his gaze fell on Dixie again she smiled and patted the seat again. Not having any excuse not to, Johnny sat down next to Dixie.
"Now that wasn't so hard was it?" She teased him.
"No ma'am." Johnny ducked his head and looked away.
Dixie sank back against the cushions and sipped her coffee. She didn't force conversation. She just wanted to relax a minute.
Johnny took a tentative sip of his coffee. He had gotten used to drinking it, but the taste still seemed bitter to him…unless Scotty made it. Somehow Scotty had coffee making down to a science. The coffee passed for pretty good, so Johnny sipped some more.
"It's pretty good." Dixie commented. "I usually get time for a cup when it's nearly burnt." She laughed softly. "Never really stops me from drinking it though. Sometimes getting through the day around here is difficult. Coffee seems to help." She raised her cup in salute and took another drink.
Johnny smiled. "Works in the fire fighting business too." He saluted his cup back to her and took a drink himself. Feeling a bit more relaxed he sank back into the couch as well. "Dixie…"
"Yes Johnny?"
"I'm sorry…" He looked at her. "About before."
"No harm done." She said soothingly.
"Maybe not, but I shouldn't have…well you know." He shrugged. "I just had to…you know…go." Dixie had just taken a sip of her coffee and nearly spewed it out again. She ended up coughing instead. Johnny sat up alarmed. "Are you all right?" She smiled, placed a hand on his knee and nodded. She cleared her throat and took another experimental sip. Johnny slumped back on the couch, his face red with embarrassment. First he couldn't wait for a nurse to take out his IV, he had to sneak to the men's room and now he'd nearly choked the head nurse with his apology. He wondered what could possibly go wrong next.
Dixie saw the redness creep up Johnny's neck and into his cheeks. "It's okay Johnny. Listen, just don't be removing your own IVs or sneaking out of treatment rooms and everything will be okay between us." She patted his knee again. "I guess my break is over. I need to get back out there." She started to get up. Johnny started to follow her. "No…you can wait here for the boys. Have some more coffee. I'll let them know where you are."
Just as Dixie finished telling Johnny to stay put when the door opened and another nurse stepped part way into the room, "Miss McCall, Dr. Brackett needs you in treatment three."
"I'll be right there."
"He said right away."
Dixie sighed. "Okay…" She turned back to Johnny, "Have some more coffee Johnny. Turn on the TV if you want." Then she turned, placed her cup on the table and followed the other nurse out of the room.
Johnny sat unmoving on the couch for a few moments before getting up for some more coffee. When he finished filling his cup he went over to the TV and flipped it on. Then he settled back on the couch to watch the morning news.
A few moments later the same nurse that had come for Dixie led another man into the room. "Miss McCall said you should wait in here. There's coffee. Your wife is in the treatment room with your daughter. They will come for you as soon as the doctor finishes with his examination."
"Thanks." The young man said before turning scared eyes toward Johnny. "Oh hi, I didn't know anyone was in here."
Johnny shifted nervously. He knew he hadn't done anything wrong, but his run in earlier with the resident and security was still fresh on his mind. The fact that he was now alone in a room with a police officer in uniform made him just a little nervous. "Hi."
"Say…aren't you a fireman at Station 10?"
Johnny smiled. "Did the turnouts give it away?" The question immediately put him more at ease. He loved being a fireman. It gave him a sense of pride in himself that he hadn't had before.
The officer smiled, took a few steps closer and outstretched his hand. "Drew Burke."
Johnny stood and outstretched his own hand. "John Gage."
Drew studied the tall dark haired man before him. "I know I've seen you out there on at least one MVA, but haven't I seen you at the bowling alley with the Dwyer twins?"
"Yep…we're on the fire department league. You bowl?" Johnny flipped off the TV and resumed his place on the couch while Drew poured himself some coffee.
"Police department league. I love to bowl. Don't get to as much anymore…" His face turned serious again. "…family…ya know." He paused and stared into his coffee cup before continuing. "I…um…I've been married for a few years…right out of high school. We have a beautiful little girl. She's two. She's real sick." He stopped talking and sunk into a chair at the table. "I'm real worried about her. My wife, Pam, she called the station…" Drew looked up at Johnny. "They radioed me in the squad car. I got here as soon as I could."
Johnny got up and moved to sit in the other chair at the table. He didn't know what to say. "They're good here. They'll fix her up."
Drew looked into the sincere brown eyes. "Thanks."
Johnny studied the officer's face. He seemed nice. Nicer than any cop Johnny had had the pleasure of meeting except Jimbo and he was retired. "Have you been a policeman for very long?"
"No…I'm a rookie. Just graduated the academy a few months ago. I'm still on probation. My partner…" He chuckled, "Well…my trainer dropped me off and went back out on the beat. I'm supposed to call dispatch when I'm done here. If my daughter is…" Drew felt a lump in his throat and couldn't continue.
Johnny could see the concern in Drew's face. He wanted to help…somehow. He just felt that it was his responsibility to say something to help, but what? "So…are you any good at bowling?" He hoped changing the subject might help.
Drew looked up, cleared his throat and welcomed the change of subject. "Good? I'll have you know, John Gage…I am the best." He sat up a little taller as he boasted.
Johnny chuckled. "The best? I don't think so…you see, I'm pretty good myself." He splayed his hand on his chest.
Drew took the bait, "Well then John, you may have to prove that at the lanes."
"My friends call me Johnny." He smiled broadly. "And you're on. Just name the time. If I'm not on shift, I'll be there."
A competitive sparkle flashed in Drew's eyes, "When are you off next?"
"Well…I'm off this morning for two days…then on for 24, and off the next day. If you're available that day we could test your skills."
"Test my...?" Drew glared briefly at Johnny. "I believe you mean test your skills." Both men chuckled. "You're on Johnny." He pulled a notepad out of his pocket and jotted his number down. "Give me a call. We'll set up a time."
"All right!" Johnny beamed. He loved a good competition. "Loser buys dinner?"
"How about you just come to my place after? I'll grill some steaks."
Johnny shifted nervously. He wasn't accustomed to going to anyone's home. Drew noticed the change in his demeanor. Thinking Johnny might think his wife would mind, he offered a word of encouragement. "Relax…Pam won't mind."
Hesitant brown eyes looked up into smiling eyes. "Okay…I can bring the steaks."
"How 'bout the loser buys the steaks? We'll stop by the grocery after I cream you on the lanes." Drew boasted.
Johnny looked down at the table and grinned. Then he looked back at his new friend. "Hope you policemen make good money. I can eat a big steak…a very big steak…and lots of steak fries."
Dixie smiled from the doorway where she had been watching for a few minutes. It was good to see Johnny so relaxed and enjoying himself. She noticed his teasing nature and the glimmer in his eyes when he was comfortable with someone else's teasing, and apparently, the other young man had needed the distraction from his worry. "Ahem."
Drew shot out of his chair almost sending it backwards to the floor. Johnny stood also.
"You're daughter will be fine Mr. Burke. She has a respiratory infection. Dr. Brackett called in a pediatrician, and they both agree that she needs to stay at least overnight until we get her fever down and some fluids into her. If you will come with me, I'll take you to see her." She held out her hand inviting him to come with her.
"See, I told you they were real good here." Johnny smiled.
Drew looked back at him and smiled in return. "Yes you did." He reached across to shake Johnny's hand. "Don't forget to call. I'm looking forward to proving to you that I…" He mimicked Johnny's earlier splay with his own hand across his chest. "…am the best."
"Oh no, Officer Burke, I'm the one who will be doing the proving." A crooked grin spread across Johnny's face. "I'll call. I'm looking forward to it."
"Johnny, Tony and Joe just brought in a patient. They will be ready to go in a few minutes." Dixie pointed her finger at the young fireman. "Now you get some rest, and keep hydrated." She smiled fondly, "I don't want to see you in my ER again anytime soon, unless you suddenly decide to join the ranks of rescue." With that Dixie and Drew disappeared leaving Johnny alone in the lounge.
Feeling a warm sense of belonging in a room where just a short time ago he felt totally out of place. Johnny grabbed up the dirty coffee cups, took them to the sink and washed them. He was drying them and replacing them to the shelf on the wall when Tony poked his head in to summon him to the squad. Soon they would be back at Station 10 and another shift would be over. Johnny followed Tony with a spring in his step.