All in the Family
By Terri


Emergency and its characters don't belong to me. I just use them for fun.

“Man, Chet, I don’t know if I can do this or not,” John whispered.

“Sure you can,” Chet encouraged.

“He’s not gonna be too happy with me once he finds out.’

“True. But once things calm down, it’ll be okay. He’s a reasonable man.”

“I thought I had it all figured out. You know, what I was gonna say to him but now I’m sot too sure.”

“Look, John, it’s going to be hard. I didn’t say it wasn’t. But you can’t continue to date his daughter behind his back.” Chet tried again to convince his friend.

“Everyone is going to think I’m scum. We’re practically related. That’s what they’ll say and it’ll be true. Not to mention the age difference.”

“But you are not related,” Chet reminded him. “And who cares what anyone thinks. Do you love her, John?”

“Yeah, Chet, I really do.”

“And does she love you?”

“Yes.”

“Then nothing else matters. You two will weather this storm together. I don’t think it’ll be too bad.”

“What won’t be too bad?” Roy asked as he came through the screen door that opened into the kitchen where Chet and John were huddled close together.

“You two look like you’re up to something, what is it?” Roy inquired not giving either man a chance to answer his first question. The two of them looked like little kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

“Nothing, Roy, nothing at all,” Chet sang out as he breezed past Roy to join the rest of the party in the DeSoto’s backyard.

Roy fixed John with a hard stare. “You sure there isn’t something you’re not telling me.”

John nearly choked on the beer he’d been drinking. “No, of course not. I think I’ll join the others out back. Let me know if you need help with anything, okay?”

As Roy watched him leave, he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something going on that he should know about. “I’ll just have to keep an eye on the two the them,” he thought to himself as he grabbed the desserts that Joanne had sent him to retrieve.

The party was winding down and Roy stood on his deck and surveyed the crowd. There was a huge crowd this year at the DeSoto’s annual Memorial Day picnic. Yes, he thought to himself, Joanne had definitely gotten one over on him this time. With Johnny’s help, she had combined Roy’s retirement party with their annual picnic. Just about everyone that Roy had ever worked with had put in an appearance. All of the guys from his days at 51 were there but that was no surprise. Even after all these years, they were still a close knit group. All of the guys that had served under Captain Roy DeSoto had come as well and that had really touched Roy. Dixie McCall and Kelly Brackett, both now retired themselves, had been there but took an early leave to visit with Joe Early who was now in failing health. It was no big surprise to anyone that Dixie was now Dixie Brackett. It took them a long time but they finally made it down that aisle.

Roy’s eye scanned the crowd, taking in as many faces as he could. This was such a wonderful day and Roy wanted to remember every detail. His oldest son, Chris, was trying to round up his own children and Roy smiled as he recalled his own days as a young father. Chris followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the fire department right after college. He had married a wonderful girl he’d met in college and the two now had three children of their own. They’d bought a nice house not too far from Roy and Joanne, which gave Roy a lot of time to spend with his grandchildren.

His eyes came to rest on his daughter, Jenny. She was sitting at the picnic table talking with Johnny. Johnny must have noticed Roy watching them because he pointed up to Roy as he said something to Jen. She turned in the direction Johnny was pointing and gave Roy a big smile and wave. At 30, she was a beautiful woman but still single. She was a now a doctor at Rampart and very committed to being the best just like Kelly Brackett, her mentor. Roy knew that she’d had very little time for romances on her chosen path but he hoped that she’d soon find someone to share her life with. Joanne thought that there might be someone special in her life now but she hadn’t come out and said anything yet.

He looked for his youngest child but didn’t see him anywhere. He, too, had joined the fire department and Roy suspected that he was hanging out with some of the guys from his station that had come to the party. Roy and Joanne hadn’t been expecting anymore children when their third child came along. Chris had been nine and Jenny seven when JC was born. They’d almost lost him that day. Roy had been out of town for a Paramedic convention when Joanne went into premature labor. Roy would never forget the frantic phone call that he received telling him to come home right away. Chris grew up quickly that day and really came through for Joanne in Roy’s place as they waited for the paramedics to arrive. They were very lucky that Johnny had decided to stop by and check up on them that day. Very lucky indeed, Roy thought as he brought his thoughts back to the present.

He searched out Joanne and his heart still skipped a beat even after all these years together. She was more beautiful then ever and Roy was happy that they would finally have time together. It was one of the bright spots of his retirement. He and Joanne were both 55 and were looking forward to doing some traveling and spending time with their grandchildren. He never could believe how lucky he was that Joanne had chosen him. They’d been childhood sweethearts and neither a stint in the army nor the crazy fire department hours had been able to come between them. This was to be their time and they were both excited about it.

“Hey, Pally, how’re you doing?”

Roy smiled at the sound of the voice. “I’m good, Junior. I really am,” he answered. “You know, I didn’t really want to have a big retirement party but I must say it’s been great. Thanks for helping Joanne with everything."

“You don’t have to thank me, Roy. I was glad to do it. Besides, it won’t be too much longer until my retirement party, you know.” Johnny said pointing a finger at his chest.

“I get the hint, Junior,” Roy laughed.

Both men stood on the deck in companionable silence. They had been partners for seven years and had quickly forged a life long friendship. They had always been there for each other, in the line of duty and in their personal lives. Roy cast a sideways glance at his friend. John Gage had filled out over the years but was still thin and his hair was peppered with gray, which only served to make him look distinguished as opposed to older. He still attracted a lot of attention from the ladies but John was not the girl crazy kid that he once was. He thought sadly of John’s brief marriage. It had lasted only two years. That had been a terrible time for his friend.

Johnny had met the love of his life and they’d had a whirlwind six-week romance before marrying. Roy was glad that he had not been successful when he told Johnny that he should wait a while before getting married. Johnny and Julia were married just six weeks after they met. At the time, everyone thought they were crazy to rush into marriage but John said he’d found what he’d always been looking for. Julia wanted to have a lot of children and she and Johnny started trying right away. It took over a year for Julia to get pregnant. Both she and Johnny were so happy but when Julia was five months pregnant during a routine sonogram, doctors discovered that Julia had cancer. The doctors wanted to start chemotherapy right away but Julia was too worried of the effects that it would have on her child. She refused treatment of any kind and she passed away a week after giving birth to their daughter, Cassandra, never regretting her decision. Johnny had been a mess and Roy and Joanne had stepped in to help their friend with his baby and his grief. Jennifer had been a huge help as she had been thirteen at the time and did a lot of baby-sitting for Johnny over the years. Roy used to think that Jenny spent more time at Johnny’s then she did at home during her teen years. Jenny had nursed Cassie through quite a few sicknesses when Johnny was working and couldn’t get off. Roy suspected it was one of things that started Jenny on her way to becoming a doctor.

Cassie became the center of Johnny’s universe and he treasured every moment with his daughter. Roy and Joanne had worried for awhile that Johnny would see his daughter as a painful memory of losing his wife but quite the opposite happened. Johnny knew that Julia had given everything to give life to his child and he lavished his daughter with love. Johnny had always been a extended member of Roy’s family but when Cassie came along, they truly were a family. The kids were like cousins and got along famously despite their ages.

Cassie had now grown into a beautiful seventeen-year-old with her father’s dark hair and her mother’s bright blue eyes. She was so full of energy just as her father had been in his younger days. She was now finishing up her senior year of high school and Roy knew that John wanted to push his retirement off as long as he could because he still had college to think about. Roy looked around but couldn’t spot Cassie even though the crowd was thinning. People had been coming and going all day long and the crowd that was left was either family or the extended family from 51.

“Where’s Cassie?” Roy asked. “I haven’t seen her much today.”

“I saw her a little while ago with JC and some of his friends,” John answered. “But I should probably check up on her,” he added after thinking of his daughter with a couple of young firemen. John knew what guys that age were like; he’d been one of them.

“Johnny, she’s with JC. She’s fine. Let her enjoy herself. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her,” Roy said knowing how protective his friend was of his only child.

“I know that, Roy, it’s just that…” Johnny was interrupted by Chet and his family taking their leave.

“Roy, I just wanted to say goodbye. Great party, as usual. Man, I can’t believe you’re retired now,” Chet said shaking his head. “It seems like only yesterday that the Phantom was hitting Gage, here, with water bombs.”

“Well, I, for one, am glad that the Phantom retired, Chet,” John shot back.

“But Johnny he didn’t retire. You just moved to a different station where he didn’t have as much opportunity,” Chet answered. “You never know when he’ll pop back up again,” he added mischievously.

“By the way, Roy, has Johnny hear told you about his new girlfriend?” Chet asked innocently.

John threw him a hard look. Leave it to Chet to go stirring things up, he thought to himself. Why did it have to be Chet who walked into the hospital cafeteria that day?

“No, I don’t believe he has,” Roy replied turning to Johnny and raising an eyebrow. “I think I’d like to hear about this one. If he’s keeping it quiet, it must be true love,” he said laughing.

“So, Junior, who is she?”

Johnny was saved from answering by none other than Chet himself.

“Roy, we really need to be leaving. Thanks for everything. It was great.”

“I’ll walk out with you,” Roy offered. “I think Joanne is inside anyway.”

Since Roy was busy with his good-byes, Johnny decided to go in search of his daughter. No matter what Roy said about JC protecting her, he didn’t like the idea of his seventeen-year-old girl hanging out with a bunch of twenty something firemen. And he needed time to think about what he was going to tell Roy about his “new girlfriend”.

Johnny finally found Cassie and JC on the sofa in the DeSoto’s family room watching television. The lights had been turned out and the volume was so low that Johnny originally thought the room was empty. He’d only gone in to turn off the television.

“What are you two doing in here,” Johnny asked as he turned on the lights. “What are you doing in the dark?”

“Uh, nothin’, Uncle Johnny,” JC answered quickly.

“We were just watching a movie, Dad,” Cassie said sounding bored. “We had the lights off because it makes you feel like you’re in the movie theater.”

“Cass, are you about ready to go? It’s getting kind of late and I have to work tomorrow not to mention the fact that you have school,” Johnny reminded his daughter.

“Could we stay just until this movie is over? It shouldn’t be too much longer,” Cassie pleaded. “Besides, it’s the last week of classes before graduation. No one’s doing anything anyway. But if you want to go now, I’m sure JC can ride me home. Right, JC?”

“Yeah! Yeah, I could give Cassie a ride home, Uncle Johnny. I mean if you want to go now, that is.”

Johnny looked at his watch to check the time and decided that he could stay a little while longer.

“No, that’s all right. Just come up as soon as it’s over, Cass,” he said as he turned towards the stairs.

“Dad,” Cassie hollered nonchalantly over her shoulder, “could you turn the lights back off?”

Johnny threw an exasperated look back at the two kids on the couch but he hit the light switch off on his way out the door.

Making his way back up the stairs, Johnny found Roy and Joanne in the kitchen cleaning up the mess from the party.

“Anything I can do to help,” he offered.

“No thanks, Johnny. We’ve got everything under control,” Joanne assured him.

“Everything okay, Johnny?” Roy asked him. “You looked worried,” he explained when Johnny looked at him quizzically. Roy always did know when something was bothering him, Johnny thought. It had been quite a number of years since they’d actually been partners yet Roy could still read his friend like a book. Johnny pondered Roy’s question for a moment before answering. He’d actually had quite few things on his mind recently but he didn’t know where to start and he was too tired to want to deal with most of it.

“Did you know that JC and Cassie are downstairs watching a movie in the dark?” he asked his friends.

“No, actually I didn’t,” Roy answered honestly. “You say that like there’s something wrong with it.”

“Well…I think…it’s kind of weird, don’t you think?”

“What’s weird?” Joanne asked as she came back into the kitchen carrying some more dishes.

Roy hopped up immediately to help his wife and answered her question at the same time.

“JC & Cassie are watching a movie in the dark and Johnny thinks it’s weird.”

“What’s so weird about that, Johnny?” Joanne asked him. Her kids loved to watch movies in the dark and the scarier the better.

“Nothing, I guess. It’s just…I don’t know…I got this feeling that I was interrupting something down there.”

“Interrupting what?” Roy asked not at all understanding.

“I DON’T KNOW WHAT, ROY!”

Johnny lowered his voice, “I felt uncomfortable. It felt weird. I don’t know how else to explain it. Forget I said anything. Changing the subject, he asked “Is Jen still here or did she go home?”

“She left a little while ago, John. She’s got early morning hours,” Joanne answered from her spot at the sink where she was doing dishes. “She said to tell you goodbye, though.”

“Oh, okay,” he replied. Cassie and JC could be heard trudging up the stairs and Johnny stood as he said, “Looks like that’s my cue to leave as well. Are you sure you don’t need me to do anything.”

“Go,” Joanne said, “it’s about time you got that daughter of yours home to bed.”

“And don’t forget you’ve got work tomorrow, Junior,” Roy chuckled.

“Rubbing a little salt in the wound there, Pally?” Johnny asked with hurt feelings.

Each knew the other was kidding. No one was happier for Roy then Johnny. Roy had worked a long time by fire department standards and he deserved his retirement. Besides, Johnny knew his own time was not that far away.

Turning towards Cassie, he asked, “movie over, Sweetheart?”

“Yes, Dad. Thanks for letting me stay to see the end,” she answered. John smiled at his daughter and told her that she was welcome but that they really did need to get going.

Cassie hugged both Roy and Joanne and said goodbye to JC. Johnny gave Joanne a kiss on the cheek, shook hands with both Roy and JC and the Gages made their way home.

John had just finished getting ready for bed when there was a knock at his door. Knowing that the only other person in the house was Cassie, he called out, “come on in.”

“Dad, do you have a second?” Cassie asked hesitantly.

“All the time in the world for you, Sweetheart. What’s up?”

“Well…I don’t know how you’d feel,” she stammered before trying again. “Okay, you know that we’re having a graduation dance next weekend. Well, I wasn’t going to go because… well, because I didn’t have a date. It’s been a couple of months since I broke up with Ben and there just wasn’t anyone that I wanted to ask,” she continued to ramble on and Johnny was trying to make sense of what she was saying.

“Well, I decided that I do want to go because it will be something that I remember for the rest of my life. But since I’m not dating anyone I didn’t know who to ask and I definitely do not want to go alone when everyone else will have dates, you know. So tonight I thought maybe I would ask JC. What do you think?”

Everything she’d said finally sank in with Johnny and he was stunned.

“JC? You want to take JC to the dance? Cass, he’s what, seven years older than you? Yeah, that’s right, he’s twenty four years old, Cassie, and you are seventeen.”

“I’ll be eighteen in August, though, Dad. It’s really only six years and it’s just a dance.”

“Isn’t there a guy at school that you’d rather ask? Someone a little closer to your age?”

“No, they’re all so immature. Besides I said something to JC about it and he said he would take me.”

“What? You asked him before talking to me? Cassie, I can’t believe you did that!”

“Dad, calm down. I didn’t ask him to take me. I told him that I wanted to go but that there wasn’t anyone that I really wanted to go with. JC and I have so much fun together and I kind of… well, I sort of said it would be great if I could take him to the dance. I figured he’d probably say no but well, I guess he was thinking that he’d be doing me a favor and well, he would be. You like, JC, don’t you, Dad?”

“Of course I do, Cassie. How can you ask that? I love that boy. He’s my godson and he’s named after me. I can’t believe that you would ask me that!”

“I’m just trying to make a point, Dad,” Cassie replied. “I like JC, you like JC. I have a good time when I’m with him. Would you rather me take someone that you don’t know and have never met or someone that we both know and love?” She held her breath waiting for his reply.

Johnny found it hard to argue with his daughter’s logic. He trusted JC but that nagging feeling that he’d had earlier at Roy’s was in the pit of his stomach again. It’s just a dance, he said to himself. JC is a good kid. Hell, he’s a man now no longer a kid. Perhaps that was his problem, JC was a man and Cassie was still his little girl. The knot in his stomach grew larger.

After telling Cassie that he would consider the matter and give her an answer in the morning, John lay awake in bed. Sleep just wouldn’t come. How could he justify telling his daughter that age was a factor given his own situation? Of course, it was just a friend taking a friend to a dance. Hell, they were almost cousins. What harm was there in that? A lot, Johnny thought to himself. It didn’t matter that they had been raised as cousins, the fact of the matter was that they were not related. And there was something going on between them tonight, Johnny was sure of it. But he trusted his daughter, she’d never given him any reason not to. And he knew that JC was a good man and his daughter would be safe with him but he just couldn’t help but feel that this was going to lead to something more. Or had it already. Sometimes love just creeps up on you, Johnny knew that for a fact. You don’t have to go looking for love, sometimes it’s just right there in front of you and all you have to do is open your eyes and your heart to it. Isn’t that just what Jennifer had just told him. He had never felt so torn in all his life. He had a beautiful, vibrant woman who was in love with him but she was the daughter of his best friend not to mention the fact that he was more than twenty years her senior. He had been shocked when she admitted her feelings to him and he knew that he would never look at her the same way again.

Jen had been so young when he and Roy teamed up and Johnny was around so often that it was Jenny who first began to call him “Uncle Johnny”. At first, Johnny was a little skeptical about Roy’s kids calling him their uncle but Joanne had pointed out that he and Roy were closer than most brothers so it was only natural that the kids think of him as their uncle. And after awhile Johnny realized that even when the inevitable day came that he and Roy were no longer partners, they would always be the best of friends. Jenny had worshipped Johnny from the first moment she laid eyes on him. He was invited to all of her birthday parties and school events and she loved showing him off to her friends. Chris had a severe case of hero worship as well so between the two kids, they kept Johnny very busy with all of their activities. When JC came along, Johnny was so proud to be his godfather and if it was possible he spent even more time with the DeSoto children. In fact, if it hadn’t been for JC, Johnny would never have met Julia and thus never have had Cassie. Julia had been JC’s kindergarten teacher.

After Julia had passed away, Johnny never thought he’d find love again. He’d had his true love and there could never be another or so he had thought. He didn’t know what he would have done if it hadn’t been for Roy, Joanne and his family helping him through that terrible time. As Cassie grew older, Johnny had relied on Jennifer to baby-sit for him quite often and she always seemed to be available whenever she was needed. She spent quite a bit of time at the Gage ranch right up until she went to college. Somewhere along the way, she had stopped calling him “Uncle” and he had never noticed. When she left for college, he was sorry to see her leave but he knew that she had high hopes of becoming a doctor. And with her excellent grades and recommendations from Dr.’s Kelly Brackett and Joe Early, Jen had no trouble getting accepted into Pre Med at Johns Hopkins University.

She went clear across the country to fulfill her dreams. Though they saw her for holidays and semester breaks, everyone missed her deeply. After finishing medical school, she came back out to LA to do her residency under the tutelage of Dr. Brackett. Roy and Joanne were extremely happy that she chose to come back west when she had so many other options open to her. But gone was the young girl who left and in her place was a very mature and confident woman not to mention a remarkably capable doctor. She had been gone for eight years and was twenty-six years old. She spent the next three years as a resident doctor in Emergency Medicine at Rampart Hospital. She had no time for a social life, her work was her life as she had known it would be. But for the last year she had been a full-fledged member of Rampart’s staff and though her hours were sometimes crazy and she still worked a lot, she had begun to have more time for herself. Jennifer began to date more seriously but there was never anyone special in her life.

A couple of weeks ago, Jen had invited Johnny to have lunch with her at the hospital. He hadn’t seen her for quite some time and readily agreed. The cafeteria had been relatively empty that day and they had a nice lunch up to the point that Jennifer decided let her true feelings be known. Johnny had been shocked to say the least. What a beautiful, successful woman like Jennifer would want with a old fireman like him was beyond reason. If he hadn’t been so completely bowled over, he might have been prepared to stop Jennifer’s next move. She kissed him. It was so quick that he could’ve imagined it but he hadn’t. And what surprised him even more was that he’d enjoyed it. She didn’t even give him time to respond before she left to return to work and when Johnny turned to leave, there was Chet standing in the doorway with his mouth hanging open.

As Johnny lay in bed, he remembered every detail of that day. Jennifer had laid her heart out for him and just walked away. The fact that Chet had seen and pretty much heard everything did not please Johnny but Chet was more than understanding and in fact, he helped John to see that Jennifer was so much more than Roy’s little girl. He encouraged John to have an open mind and truly explore his feelings. His support had given John the courage to actually take Jennifer out on a “date” to see if there was even anything to pursue. They’d had more than one date since then and Johnny knew that he needed to say something to Roy but he just didn’t know what to say or how to say it. Chet had even tried to push him to open up tonight by mentioning his new “girlfriend” but Johnny just couldn’t do it, not yet. And now as he lay he thinking of his daughter and JC and of Jennifer, he was glad that he hadn’t. When he thought about his daughter going out with someone just 6 years older than she was, he was not at all happy about it. He began to see things from Roy’s point of view and didn’t like what he saw. He would have to talk to Jen and soon.

He let his thoughts drift back to Cassie and realized that he had to let her make her own choices in life. She was almost eighteen after all. She was smart and levelheaded and she would be going off to college in September where she could date anyone she wanted and John wouldn’t know about. The fact that she came to him first to ask his permission was out of respect. Yes, he would grant her his approval to take JC to the dance. He didn’t have very much time left with her and he didn’t want her to spend the summer being mad at him. He was saddened at the thought that this would be their last summer together. Sure, they would have others but their relationship would be changing which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. But Johnny realized that not only would she go away to college but also she would eventually marry and have children.

Children! Shit, Jen probably wants to have children as well. Jeez, Gage, he said to himself, you’re fifty-two years old. You’re way too old to be thinking about having children. Hell, in a few years, I’ll probably be a grandfather. What the hell was I thinking. Jennifer deserves someone younger, someone that she can raise her children with and spend a retirement with. Not someone who is ready to retire now and may not even be around to see their kid graduate. I really need to talk to Jen and stop this before it goes any further and people get hurt. He resolved to talk to her first chance he got tomorrow.

The sun streaming through the window woke John Gage in the morning. He shielded his eyes from the glare and rolled over to check the time on the alarm clock. Six-thirty. He could lay here for a few more minutes or get an early start to his day. Knowing that if he lay here any longer, he would start second-guessing the decisions he’d made last night, he threw back the covers and headed for the shower.

Despite a restless night, Johnny felt renewed. Today was the day that he would set his life straight again and Jennifer could get on with hers. As he bounded down the stairs, he caught the aroma of bacon and eggs and headed for kitchen knowing Cassie was already up.

Cassie had set the table and was just putting the food on the table having heard her father coming.

“Good morning, Dad,” Cassie called out cheerfully.

“Yes, it is a good morning. Did you sleep well, Sweetheart?” he inquired.

“Like a log. I didn’t realize how tired I actually was,” Cassie said as they sat down. “It will be so nice not having to get up early for the next three months.”

John surveyed the table. Cassie had served him a plate full of bacon, eggs and toast, a glass of orange juice and his newspaper was sitting on the table.

“Wow, you thought of everything,’ he laughed. “Trying to butter me up?” he joked.

“Dad! What’s wrong with a girl wanting to make sure her father has a nice healthy breakfast before he heads off to a very stressful job.”

“Nothing, nothing at all. It just doesn’t happen every day,” he said taking a bite of toast. “In fact, it should happen more often, don’t you think.” He was teasing her and she knew it.

“Perhaps it will,” she agreed.

Johnny studied Cass as she pushed her food around on her plate without actually eating anything. He knew she was waiting to hear what he had decided so he figured to let her off the hook.

“Cass, about the dance,” he began.

Her head came up quickly and there was uncertainty in her eyes. Johnny’s heart melted as it always did when he looked at his daughter but today more so.

“It’s okay with me if you want to take JC to the dance on Saturday,” he added quickly so as not to prolong her torture. He smiled his trademark half smile at her, which she returned in kind before jumping up to hug him.

“Dad, you’re the best. Thanks so much,” she gushed before sitting back down. “I have so much to do. I’ve got to find a dress to wear and shoes and get my hair done. Do you think Jen will have time to help me pick out a dress? I sure hope so. I’ll have to call her at the hospital and ask. She’s got such great style and taste, you know? Oh, and I’ve got to talk to JC so he can get a tux. I’m pretty sure he’s off today.”

Johnny just watched his daughter in amazement as she rambled on about everything she had to do before Saturday. His heart was filled with love for this child of his and he was glad that he could make her so happy. He felt a pang of guilt when she mentioned Jenny. Cassie adored her and he hoped that what he had to do wouldn’t hurt their relationship.

“Dad? Dad?” Johnny quickly came out of his reverie as he heard Cassie calling his name.

“I’m sorry, Honey, what was that last part?”

Cassie was immediately concerned about her father. He looked sad. She hoped that it wasn’t her and JC that were making him sad.

“Dad, is everything okay? Because if you aren’t okay with this, then I won’t go.”

“No, everything is fine,” he assured her. “ I want you to go and have a wonderful time.”

“Well, do you think Jen will help me pick out a dress?”

“I’m certain of it. Why don’t you give her a call and see when she’s available? I’ve got to run if I’m going to make it to work on time. Can’t have the Captain being late,” he said with forced joviality as he stood up and gathered his dishes and carried them to the sink.

Cassie did the same remarking that she had to get moving as well. Johnny gave his daughter a kiss and was heading out the back door when he turned back.

“Do you need money for gas?”

“No, I think I’m good, Dad. Thanks. Oh, I almost forgot. I got the extra tickets for the graduation ceremony that we needed.”

Johnny smiled. “Hey that’s good news. Three tickets wouldn’t have been enough. How many do we have now?

Cassie was sporting a huge grin. “We have six. So it’ll be you, Uncle Roy, Aunt Joanne, Jen, Chris & JC. It worked out perfectly.”

“Yeah, it did, Sweetheart. Don’t forget Ms. Betty will be here when you get home. I’ll call you tonight. I love you.’

“Love you, too, Dad. Be safe,” Cassie called out to her father as he made his way to his car. Johnny waved to her in acknowledgment and Cassie closed the door to get herself ready for school. She decided to try Jen at the hospital before she left for school in the hopes that she could catch her before Jen’s day got crazy.

Johnny arrived at his station at 7:15. None of the members of A shift were there which meant that they must have gotten an early morning call. John quickly changed then headed for the dayroom. Just as he suspected, no coffee. He put a pot on to brew and headed to office. He knew A shift would be needing some when they got back. His engineer was just coming in as John exited the dayroom and they waved to each other.

“Hey, Cap”

“Morning, Steve,”

Normally Johnny would have stopped to chat with his engineer but he wanted to call Jen before everyone got back so he went straight into his office.

His luck didn’t hold out though because Dr. DeSoto was busy with a phone call and wasn’t available. He decided against leaving a message and would try to find time later to call. He thought he could set it up for them to meet for breakfast after he got off duty tomorrow. He definitely didn’t want to tell her this over the phone. She deserved better than that.

Just before eight, A shift rolled back in looking dead to the world. They made quick work of downing the coffee that Johnny had made and then showered and changed. They didn’t waste any more time than they had to before leaving. Meanwhile, John had roll call for his crew and passed out assignments. While everyone went about their designated tasks, John headed back to his office. Much to his dismay, there was a ton of paperwork to go through and he was dreading it. Where were the tones when you needed them, he thought. The morning seemed to drag by and they hadn’t been called out at all. As Johnny picked up the phone to try to reach Jen again, Steve rapped on the office door to let him know that lunch was ready.

The station hadn’t been toned out all day, which meant that as soon as they would begin eating, they would get a call. And sure enough, that’s the way it happened. There were only having sandwiches so it wasn’t a big deal but the guys were hungry nonetheless. The call turned out to be minor and they were back sooner than they expected. This time they managed to finish their lunch. It was a bright sunny day in LA county and someone must have wanted everyone to enjoy it because it sure was quiet around the station. Most of the guys were playing hoops out in back of the firehouse and Johnny soon joined them in a game. In the back of his mind, he knew he should try again to reach Jennifer but he put the thought out of his head.

This time when the tones went off, it was a big one; a multi-car pileup on the 405 freeway that would keep them busy for hours. The interstate had been closed down because of the accident and the need to medivac some victims to the hospital. Chris DeSoto’s company had responded as well but they were all too busy for anything but their jobs. John knew Jen would be kept busy as well. They returned to the station well after dinnertime and everyone decided to just pitch in and have some pizzas delivered.

Around eight, Johnny found some time to call home. When he was on duty, he always liked to talk to Cassie before she went to bed just to see how her day was and make sure everything was okay. He knew Ms. Betty was there but he liked to check in anyway and he knew Cassie liked hearing from him. She could go to sleep at night knowing her father was safe. Tonight his daughter was full of news.

“I talked to Jen this morning and she’s going to pick me up tomorrow after school so we can go dress shopping. She’s on early and is working until three so it worked out great. Is that okay with you, Dad?”

“Sure, that sounds great. Do you want me to fix dinner or will you two grab something while you’re out?”

“I’m not sure. It depends on Jen. Can we play it by ear? I’ll call you and let you know how the dress search is going. If we find something early, I’ll be back for dinner but if not, then we’ll just grab something I guess.”

“That’ll work.”

“Oh, and I talked to JC, so that’s a go. In fact, since he has to work tomorrow, he went today to order his tux. I told him to just go with black since that would go with any dress I pick out. Do you think was a good idea?”

“Yeah, it was,” Johnny answered shaking his head and smiling while listening to his little whirlwind continue.

“Good, because actually it was Jen’s idea. I was a little worried about how she would feel about me asking her little brother but she was totally fine with it. Isn’t that great, Dad?”

Of course she would be fine with it, Johnny thought to himself but didn’t say that to his daughter. Instead he merely agreed.

“Yes, that is great.”

“Oh, yeah, I also told her that we had the extra tickets to the graduation and that she and Chris and JC were all invited. She sounded really excited.”

“No more so than you, Cass. Am I right?” Johnny asked teasingly.

“I know I am, Dad, but I just can’t help myself. Everything is happening at once and this is going to be such a busy week. You’re working again Friday right?”

“Right. Should I have taken off for something?”

“No, I just wanted to double check, that’s all,” she answered honestly.

The tones sounded cutting their call short.

“Cass, gotta run. I love you.”

“Love you, too, Dad. Be safe.”

“I always am, Sweetheart,” Johnny said before he hung up the phone and ran for the door. He knew it would be too late when they returned to try to reach Jen tonight. It would just have to wait another day.

It was five o’clock in the morning as Dr. Jennifer DeSoto was coming on duty. It was still dark as she made her way to the hospital. She hadn’t slept well and she had a long day ahead of her. A ten hour shift and then shopping with a seventeen-year old. Yes, it would be a long day indeed but Jennifer didn’t mind because she loved her job and she loved Cassie. She smiled as she thought of Cassie and JC together. She knew that her brother was crazy about Cassie and she was glad that things may be working out for them. She also knew that JC was conscious of the fact that Cassie was still young and would never want to hurt her. The thought of her “cousin” brought another smile to her face. She was such a sweet girl, so full of life and beautiful, too.

“God, what I would have given to look like that at her age. At any age,” Jennifer said out loud. Cassie was one of those people that were beautiful both inside and out. Like father, like daughter, I suppose, she thought as she pulled into the staff parking lot.

She made her way into the ER and it seemed relatively quiet for a change but this wasn’t a weekend and for that she was thankful. The last thing she needed was to have a non-stop day like yesterday when they’d had that huge accident on the 405.

“Hey, Dr. J,” on of the nurses called out to her. Dr. Early had given Jen that nickname when she graduated from medical school. He said Dr. J worked miracles on the basketball court and Jen would be working them in the ER. Besides, he’d told her, Dr. DeSoto sounded so formal. They’d all laughed at that. Somehow the name just stuck and now everyone called her Dr. J.

“Good morning, Carl,” Jennifer returned the greeting. “Are you working a 12?”

“Yeah, I’m off at seven. My girlfriend is picking me up and we’re heading up to Carmel for a few days.”

“Great! I hope you guys have a good time. At least, the weather looks good for the rest of the week, so that’s good news,” Jennifer said smiling.

Carl lowered his voice to a whisper, “Don’t tell anyone, Dr. J, but I plan to propose while we’re there.”

“Carl, that’s wonderful,” Jennifer exclaimed. “But why don’t you want anyone to know.”

“You know, just in case she says no,” Carl explained.

“Now, Carl, why would she do a silly thing like that?” Jennifer joked.

“I don’t know. Just nerves, I guess. Makes you think about things like that,” he replied in all seriousness.

“Carl, you’ve got to think positively. Don’t dwell on the negative things unless you have to. Look I’ve to go get changed. I’ll see you in a bit.” Jennifer turned in the direction of the doctor’s lounge.

“Oh, hey, Dr. J, I almost forgot, your dad’s friend was here last night.”

“I think you need to be a little more specific than that,” she laughed. “He’s got more friends than he knows what to do with.”

“The dark haired guy,” Carl said. Carl had only been working there a few months and he couldn’t remember his name.

At Jennifer’s confused look, he continued, “about 6’1, has that salt and pepper thing going on up here,” Carl pointed to his hair.

“John Gage?” she asked with trepidation.

“Yeah, that’s him. Captain Gage, right?”

“Yes, Captain Gage,” she answered quickly. “Why? Why was he here?” Jennifer’s mind was reeling and her heart felt as if someone were squeezing it. She knew Johnny had been working last night. Should still be working, as a matter of fact.

“Oh, nothing serious. He needed a couple of stitches. Doc Benton stitched him up and sent him home. Well, I guess not home really because he was on duty so I guess he went back to work.”

“Thanks, Carl. Thanks for letting me know,” Jennifer told him as she went to change for her shift. She had a million thoughts going through her head. Brad Benton was a good doctor and would never have sent Johnny back to work if he was seriously injured so she knew that he must be okay but she resolved to pull his chart anyway just to see what was going on. She would worry about him until she actually saw him and she wished that it wasn’t so early because then she could at least call him at the station before he got off duty.

She quickly changed and headed out to the base station to see what, if anything, was happening and tried to push thoughts of Johnny out of her mind, for the time being at least. One of the nurses hollered that they had a heart attack coming in and Jennifer’s day was on.

John knew he should be sleeping but it just wouldn’t come. He’d gotten off duty at eight and traffic was so bad that it took almost an hour to get home. He thought back to that run last night trying to figure out what went wrong. His engine company was called in after a domestic dispute turned ugly. Some guy was quite upset that he was making payments on a house that his ex-wife was living in with her new boyfriend and after a rather heated argument decided he wasn’t paying for them to live in that house anymore so it torched it. Everyone had gotten out all right and Johnny’s crew was able to bring it under control. The scene on the outside is where it went bad. The police were trying to get statements from witnesses and they had the ex-husband in handcuffs when the boyfriend went after him. Johnny helped to subdue the guy but managed to get himself banged up in the process. He didn’t think the cut was anything serious but the paramedics took him to Rampart anyway. Truth be told, he knew that if had been any one of his men, he’d have made them go get checked out. It only took four stitches. He’d had much worse before but his head still hurt like hell.

He grabbed a quick breakfast and downed a couple of Advil. He was still sporting a headache and longed for nothing more than a good sleep but it never came. Frustrated at not being able to fall asleep he decided to do a little of the work around the house that he’d been putting off. He knew he had Cassie’s graduation on Sunday and they would be having a party back at the house after the ceremony.

The back deck had a couple of floorboards that were coming loose and they needed to be fixed before Sunday so he grabbed his hammer and a box of nails and set to work. From there it was a number of other little things that kept him quite busy until he realized that it was almost one and he still hadn’t slept. He left a note for Cassie to wake him when she came in. He took another Advil and this time when he laid down, he had no trouble at all falling asleep.

Jennifer DeSoto’s day had been a good one, busy but good. It started with the heart attack victim who coded on the way in but they were able to get him back and he was now resting comfortably in the Coronary Care Unit. Jen loved those moments when she was able to tell the families good news. And now due to a scheduling mishap, she found herself off duty a half-hour early. She was supposed to meet Cassie at the Gage’s at 3:30 which would have been perfect since she was getting off at three but now she found herself with an extra half hour to kill. But Johnny should be up by now, she thought, so I’ll just go on over and wait for Cassie there. Besides, I haven’t seen or talked to him since Monday. And I never even got to say goodbye to him that night.

She smiled as she remembered Cassie saying that she might be a little late getting home because of graduation practice. “That wouldn’t be an inconvenience for me,” she thought happily as she got into her car.

When Jen arrived at Johnny’s house, she found the front door unlocked. She knocked lightly but when no one answered, she let herself in. The house was quiet. She called out to him but received no response. Knowing that he had received a head injury last night, she became concerned. A quick check of the first floor turned up nothing so she went upstairs. She found Johnny sound asleep in his bed. The shades had been pulled down to keep the light out. But there was enough light coming from Cassie’s room across the hall for Jen to see clearly.

Johnny’s left arm was thrown across his eyes, a trait that Jen found particularly endearing. She crossed the room towards the bed to see for herself that he was okay. Her clinical eyes checked him out. She could see the small bandage on his forehead up near the hairline. The bandage was clean so the wound didn’t appear to be seeping. She noticed the Advil on the nightstand and realized that he must have had some pain. He looked so peaceful and appeared to be no worse for the wear. Many times over the years, she’d seen John Gage looking much worse.

She relaxed and let her eyes roam over him again. This time it was not professional. She soaked in the sight of him. She had loved this man her entire life. When she was just a little girl she’d told everyone that she was going to marry him. Everyone had thought that was so cute but she’d been serious. As she grew older and Johnny got married, she put those feelings on a shelf. She’d been in his wedding and though she loved Julia, too, she was secretly jealous of her. She’d always thought that Johnny would be available when she was old enough to marry.

Then tragedy struck and to her young girl’s mind, she believed it to be her fault. She did everything she could to help Johnny take care of Cassie. If Johnny needed a baby-sitter, she would cancel plans. If Cassie were sick, she would come over to help Johnny take care of her. She spent so much time with them and fell in love with him all over again. At sixteen, she knew that it wasn’t constructive to have a crush on man who was so much older than she was but she just couldn’t help herself. And she certainly couldn’t tell anyone. She’d tried to confide in her brother, Chris, but he just didn’t get it.

It was then that Jennifer threw herself into her studies. She had always been interested in medicine. You couldn’t live in the DeSoto household without being exposed to it. Her father’s friends were paramedics, firemen, doctors and nurses. It was one of those doctors, who’d taken Jennifer under his wing and encouraged her in her pursuits. By the time that she graduated, she’d decided that the only way to get over John Gage was to get away from him. With Dr. Brackett’s help, she was accepted into the Pre Med. Program at John Hopkins University in Baltimore. She studied medicine, dated and lived across the country for eight years and yet she still couldn’t shake him and it wasn’t for lack of trying.

When Dr. Brackett and Dixie got married last year, Jen had decided that was where she was different than Dr. Brackett. He’d loved Dixie for a long time but both of them had been too stubborn, too committed to their jobs and too scared to admit their true feelings. Then when Dr. Early had taken sick, Jen suspected that both Dixie and Kel were seeing their own mortality and finally gave in to their feelings. Jen knew she wasn’t going to wait that long. She knew she’d shocked Johnny and that the hospital was definitely not the place to tell him but it just happened that way. She hadn’t seen him for awhile and was missing him so she invited him to lunch. She had no intentions of telling him how she felt that day but it all just came out.

She’d kissed him. She couldn’t believe she’d done that. And in the hospital cafeteria no less but she done it and she hadn’t regretted it either. She left him standing there and walked away. It was up to him to make the next move. She was sure he was going to tell her that she shouldn’t feel this way, that their age difference was too significant, that they had to think of Roy. And he did. He’d told her all of that and more. It was Chet Kelly, of all people, who helped Johnny to see what was right in front of his face. Jen would be forever grateful to Chet.

The phone rang and Jen jumped. God, how long had she been standing here staring at him? She checked her watch 3:20. Cassie would be home shortly. The phone rang again. Should she answer it? Johnny rolled over in the bed and groped for the phone. He never even opened his eyes as he lifted the receiver.

“Hello.”

“Oh, hey, Roy. How’s it going?”

“No, I’m fine. Yeah, it’s just a little cut. How’d you find out?”

“That’s the fire department grapevine for you. Nothing too big, nothing to small.”

“No, I’m fine. Really.”

“Tomorrow? Yeah, I can do that. Yeah sounds great. Who’s all coming?”

“Okay. Good deal. See you tomorrow, Roy,” Johnny said as he hung up the phone. He rolled back onto his back, rubbed his hand over his face and opened his eyes. He jumped when he saw Jennifer.

“Jennifer! What are you doing here?” he exclaimed.

She smiled down at him. “I’m meeting Cassie here at 3:30 to go shopping. Didn’t she tell you?”

“Yeah, she did. Is she home?”

“No, not yet. I’m early. I was worried when I couldn’t find you. I heard you visited our fine establishment last night. How’s your head?”

“It’s fine. I just got to sleep late, that’s all.” Johnny was sitting on the edge of bed by this time and Jen sat down next to him.

“You sure you’re okay?” she asked him.

“Jeez, Jen, you’re as bad as your dad,” he said in mock seriousness and she laughed.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Johnny looked at her and there was no mistaking the desire in her eyes. He quickly looked away.

“I need to get dressed.”

“Go ahead,” she said huskily, “I don’t mind.” God, she was going to make this hard and his body was already betraying him.

They both heard the front door open. “I’m home! Dad? Jen? Anyone here?” Cassie called out.

Jen quickly jumped up off the bed and out into the hallway. Johnny grabbed his jeans that were draped across the chair by his bed and pulled them on.

“Cass, we’re up here,” Jen hollered.

Cassie came up the stairs two at time with boundless energy.

“What are you guys doing up here?”

Jen told her the truth.

“Your dad had a little accident last night. But he’s fine,” she was quick to assure her. “Since I was here early, I thought I’d check him out.”

Cassie went into her dad’s room to see for herself.

“Dad, you okay?” she asked him.

“Yes, I’m fine. It’s just a little cut. Nothing serious,” he assured her. Cassie turned to Jen for the expert opinion. “Jen?”

Her eyes met Johnny’s. “Yes, he IS Fine,” she replied.

The remark was lost on Cassie but, not on Johnny.

~*~*~

It was a beautiful California evening. There was a slight breeze and the sun was beginning to set. Cassie and Jen had been shopping for hours but they’d just called to say that they’d be home soon. Cassie told him that she’d found the perfect dress and couldn’t wait to show him.

John had eaten alone and was feeling very melancholy, which was unusual for him. He supposed that it had to do with Jennifer. But his daughter’s mood on the phone was infectious and he found himself in brighter spirits by the time they got home.

Cassie was so excited as she modeled the dress and her new shoes for her father and Johnny had to admit that she was breathtaking. She would be even more so on Saturday. When Jen and Cassie went to put her things away and hang the dress back up, Johnny wandered out to the back deck.

His thoughts were a million miles away and he didn’t hear Jen as she slipped out onto the deck. She came up from behind him and wrapped her arms around him as she laid her head against his back and breathed in the scent of him.

She felt him stiffen but realized it was probably because Cassie was home. She quickly let go and stepped up to the railing beside him.

“I’ve missed you,” she said as she ran her hand down his arm. Johnny didn’t reply so she tried to fill the silence. “I’m sorry that I didn’t get to say goodbye to you the other night at my parents house. But you were nowhere to be found,” she laughed.

Something in her gut told her to tread lightly.

Becoming more serious she asked, “you aren’t mad at me, are you, Johnny?”

With a sigh, John shook his head and looked at her. “No, Jen. I’m not mad at you. I could never be mad at you.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn’t figure out what she could have done to upset him.

“But we do need to talk about some things,” he said turning to face her.

It was the way he said it that had her stomach in knots. She knew she was not going to like what he had to say.

“Let’s sit down.” He motioned to the chairs nearby with his hands.

“Johnny, you’re scaring me. What is it?”

“I don’t think I can do this, Jennifer,” he replied honestly.

“Do what?” She asked the question but she already knew the answer.

“Us. I don’t know … The other night…” For some reason his brain couldn’t form a coherent thought. He tried again. “A relationship between us is not going to work out, Jen. There are two many other factors to consider. Your father, my daughter, our ages, children.” He let it all out.

“John, what are you taking about? We’ve discussed most of this, well except for the children part,” she laughed. “But we haven’t even gone past first base so it’s kind of early to think about that.” She was trying to lighten the mood and he knew it.

“That’s just it, Jen. We need to discuss it. I’m sure you’ve thought about having children, haven’t you?”

“Yes, but”

“And you should have them,” Johnny told her softly. “You’ll be a fantastic mother. I see the way you are with Cassie. You should have that. You deserve that. But I can’t give that to you.”

“You can’t,” she asked with a twinkle in her eye.

“Well, I can,” he stammered. “But I’m too old to have any more children. I have a daughter who’s going to be eighteen in a few short months. I’m three years away from retirement. I can’t start all over again.”

“Why not?”

“What do you mean why not?”

“Just what I said, Johnny, why not? Why can’t you start all over and have more children? So what if you’re retired?”

“I’d be lucky to be alive when the kid graduated high school, that’s why not.”

She shook her head. “You’re blowing this way out of proportion, John.”

“And your father, he going to blow a gasket. I don’t think I really realized that until Cassie asked to go out with JC. I… I was upset because he’s six years older. Just six. I’m old enough to be your father!”

“No, he’s not. My parents have always told us to do makes us happy. You make me happy, Johnny.” She took his hand in hers. “The last few weeks, I’ve never been happier in my life. You do that to me.”

“Jennifer,” he said softly. “You deserve a husband that will grow old with you not one who’s already old and will leave you alone to raise his children.”

“Johnny, that’s bullshit. That’s what that is!” She let go of his hand. She was beginning to get angry. She took a deep breath.

“I hope I’m not out of line here but look at Julia. She was younger than you were and she still died. She left you to raise her child alone.”

“That’s not the same thing,” he replied hotly.

“Isn’t it? I could get hit by a car and die tomorrow or next week or next year. Or you could in a fire. Don’t you see, Johnny, tomorrow’s are not guaranteed to us.” She hoped she was getting through to him.

She took his hand again. “Johnny, I love you. I always have. And I would rather have three minutes of something wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special.” Her eyes pleaded with his. “You’re my something wonderful, Johnny. You.”

She placed a soft kiss on his lips.

“But I won’t beg. You know where to find me if you come to your senses.” A tear escaped her eye as she left.

Johnny didn’t move. If he had, he wouldn’t have been able to let her go.

Neither of them knew that Cassie had heard everything through her bedroom window and she was crying too.

It was cold and damp as Johnny made his way to the Firehouse Tavern. Johnny looked up at the sky as the rain started to fall harder. I thought it was supposed to be sunny all week, he thought. Great weather forecasting.

All of the guys were already there when Johnny arrived. Roy hadn’t even been retired for two weeks yet and already he was missing the camaraderie. He’d rounded up a bunch of the guys from their days at 51’s to meet for lunch. Jeez, we just had Roy’s retirement party three days ago. I can’t believe he’s going nuts already, Johnny thought.

“Hey Johnny, over here,” Chet called out.

“I see ya, Chet, I’m not blind, you know.”

“Man, what’s with you? Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed today, Gage?”

“No, I did not. This weather’s just depressing is all,” he replied snidely.

“You know, my mother used to say that when it rained like this that it was the heavens crying,” Marco piped in.

“Speaking of crying, we had quite a bit of that last night at our house.” This was from Roy and Johnny’s head snapped up.

“Whadda ya mean?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Looks like Jennifer’s latest relationship has hit the skids. I don’t quite know what’s going on but she was really upset.”

Chet fixed Johnny with a hard stare, which John chose to ignore.

“It must have been someone special, though, because I’ve never seen her like that.” Roy continued oblivious to John’s distress.

“Well, was she okay? What did she say?” Johnny wanted to know.

“I don’t know. She and Joanne went in the bedroom for a long time. She was better when she left, though, which was a relief.”

“Well, that’s good, right?” Johnny said.

“Who knows?” Roy replied. “Never can tell, you know?” The married members of the group, which was all of them except Johnny nodded their heads.

Hank Stanley came through the door and the conversation about Jennifer was forgotten. Forgotten by everyone but Johnny and Chet who kept throwing questioning looks towards John.

“So, Roy,” Hank said “missing the job already?”

“Yeah,” Mike chimed in, “we didn’t think we’d get a call till at least next week.” Everyone laughed at Mike’s comment.

Roy looked sheepish when he replied. “Joanne said I was getting on her nerves and I better find something to do today.” The group laughed even harder.

They had lunch and played a couple rounds of billiards and genuinely had a good time but Johnny couldn’t help but feel terrible about how he had hurt Jen.

And Chet kept trying to get him alone to find out what was going on but Johnny did his best to ignore the Irishman. He just wasn’t ready to discuss it yet and he already knew whose side Chet would be on anyway. He wasn’t ready to be told just what an idiot he really was. He already knew that.

Cassie made him feel even worse with her dinnertime conversation. He hadn’t thought it possible but she managed it.

“I can’t believe that I’ll be graduating on Sunday,” Cassie told her father.

“You? How about me? Just yesterday I had a little girl living in my house,” Johnny exclaimed.

Cassie was thoughtful before she replied. “Did you ever wish that you’d have a son instead?”

“What? Where’d that come from? No, of course not!” Johnny laid his fork back down.

“I don’t know. Just seems like it would have been easier for you to raise a son all by yourself than a daughter, you know?” Cassie was picking at her dinner roll.

“I guess, maybe it might have but I wouldn’t trade you for anything and I didn’t exactly raise you alone. I had a lot of help, from Uncle Roy and Aunt Joanne and Jennifer. I love you very much Cassandra. Don’t ever doubt that. And we’ve always been okay, haven’t we?”

“Oh, Dad, I don’t doubt it. I didn’t mean to imply that at all. I guess I just didn’t say it right. I guess I just feel bad knowing that when I leave for college, you’ll be here all alone. It makes me kind of sad to think about it but you’re right, we’ve done more than okay.”

“Cass, I’ll be fine. You don’t have to worry about me. I can take care of myself.”

“Oh, I know you can. I just wish you didn’t have to. I never really thought about before now but you really should have remarried. I’ll be worrying about you constantly.”

“I don’t want that, Cass. I want you to go, learn, have fun, not too much fun, though,” he joked. She gave him a smile at his joke.

“Dad, be serious. Didn’t you ever think about getting married again?”

“Yes, no. I don’t know. Your mother was a very special person. You just don’t find that everyday.”

“But if you’d have found it, then you would have gotten married?”

“I guess, Cass. What’s with all the questions about marriage anyway? Please don’t tell me that you’re even thinking along those lines.”

“DAD! Heavens no! I’m just thinking of you here in this big house all alone. Maybe you should’ve had more kids.”

“That would have been a little hard seeing as I no longer had a wife. And besides, I won’t be alone. I’ll have the dog.”

“Dad, the dog is poor substitute for a wife,” she told him. “I think you should consider the wife and kids thing.”

Johnny just stared at his daughter. Where the hell was this coming from? They often had conversations about her mother because Johnny always wanted his daughter to know how much her mother had loved her. But on this subject, well, her timing was unbelievable.

“Cass, I think I’m a little too old for that and you just don’t find a wife so let’s just find something else to talk about, okay.” Johnny was extremely uncomfortable with this topic of discussion.

“Sure, Dad, if that’s what you want. But if you ask me, you’re not too old,” she threw in for good measure.

He crumpled up his napkin and tossed it at her, “Well, I didn’t ask you, did I?” he teased.

He quickly changed the subject to something he could handle by telling Cassie that Mrs. Wilson wouldn’t be available Friday night while he was working. She had two options; staying at a girlfriend’s house or staying with Uncle Roy. Cassie had other ideas. She knew that Johnny didn’t like her staying in the house by herself overnight. They’d had many an argument about it but it was something that he never backed down on. He’d seen way too many tragedies and it was something that he felt very strongly about.

“Could I ask Jen what she’s doing? Maybe she could stay here with me?” She just knew that if she got them together in the same room, her dad would see that he was making a mistake. God, she thought, it would be so cool having Jen as a stepmother. And it would be cool to have a little brother or sister.

“Cass, that’s not such a good idea.”

“Why not? She’s done it lots of times,” she stated.

“I know but she most likely will be working. She works crazy shifts just like I do.” Johnny tried simple reasoning. Why was she doing this to him now of all times? He looked at his daughter. No, she couldn’t possibly know. Could she? It had to be a coincidence.

“How about if I ask her? If she says no, then I’ll stay at Stacey’s, okay?”

“Okay,” he agreed. He wouldn’t be there so he figured no harm done and Jen most likely would say no. No, she probably wouldn’t. Even as hurt and angry as she might be at him, she wouldn’t say no to Cassie if she could work it out.

Score one for me, Cassie thought. She could very easily have stayed at Stacey’s house but she wanted the time alone to work on Jen. She didn’t know why she didn’t see it before but Jen and her dad were perfect for each other. Jen knew it, Cassie found that out the other night, but she also knew that Jen was hurt and angry now. She had to fix that. And she had to find a way to make her dad realize what he would be missing.

Cassie poked her head into the living room where her dad was watching television. “I’m throwing a load of darks in the wash, Dad, do you have anything that needs to go in?”

“Um, no, I don’t think so but thanks for checking,” he answered.

“Everything okay, Dad?” she inquired.

“Yeah. Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?”

“Because you’re watching Nickelodeon! That’s usually not your style,” she laughed pointing at the TV.

Johnny had been fiddling with the remote control while he pondered over the events of the last few days and hadn’t even realized that he’d changed the channel. He looked up surprised to see that he was watching the Nick at night channel.

“Must have dozed off there for a minute,” he said clicking off the set.

“Okay, whatever,” she giggled. “I’ll be in the laundry room,” she said picking up the basket.

Johnny continued to sit there staring at a blank screen. His daughter was his greatest joy. It amazed him how much she reminded him of the younger Johnny Gage. She was such a ball of fire and he couldn’t help but smile just thinking about how much like him she really was. UC Berkley didn’t know what they were in for, he thought.

His mind drifted back to their dinnertime conversation. What was it that she’d said. Oh, yeah, she’d be sad knowing that he was all alone. He hadn’t really thought about it. He’d lived alone until he was 33 when he married Julia but he’d never really been lonely. He had so many friends in the department to keep him busy not to mention his fair share of dates. Then he’d had two great years with Julia, well almost two. The last few months seeing her deteriorate weren’t so great. But then he’d had Cassie and she had been his world.

It will be really strange around here when she’s gone, he thought looking around the room. But that’s no reason to want to get married. Marriage. Jen hadn’t asked to marry him. She only wanted to explore the relationship, what harm was there in that?

His mind came back to same old thoughts. Because a relationship eventually has to lead somewhere, you idiot, he thought to himself. Jen was eventually going to want more. He didn’t think he could give it to her. Could he? Did he have what it takes to start all over again? Cassie seemed to think so and much to his surprise seemed to like the idea. Of course, she had no idea that the only person he’d want to do that with was Jennifer. He was pretty sure she wouldn’t like that idea not to mention Roy, he wouldn’t like it at all!

Somewhere in the distance he heard the phone ringing and Cassie shouting for him to get it.

“Hello.”

“John, its Jennifer. I’m returning Cassie’s call,” she stated quickly so as not to give him the wrong impression.

“Oh, oh, yeah, sure,” he sounded hesitant. “Hold on a minute, I’ll get her, okay?”

“Thanks,” she said dryly while mentally berating herself for sounding so cold.

“Um, how are you? I mean how are you doing?” he found himself asking.

“I’m fine but I don’t have a lot of time, I’m on duty,” she explained. “So, if you could just get Cassie, I’d appreciate it.”

“Sure, sure, hold on. Sorry.” He sounded dejected.

Damn, she told herself she wasn’t going to act like this. It was childish, but she just couldn’t help herself. The man was an idiot. She needed to get a grip on herself. They’d been friends long before this and their families would be friends long after.

“Johnny,” she said but he’d already put the phone down and she could hear him calling for Cassie in the background.

Cassie picked up and breathlessly told Jen what she was calling about.

“I told my dad that it wasn’t necessary to have someone baby-sit me but you know how stubborn he can be,” Cassie said.

John glared at her but Cassie just smiled. She put her hand over the receiver and said “I’m just kidding, Dad, don’t have a cow.”

“Cass, I’m afraid I’d have to agree with him on this one,” Jen stated. “The world can be a crazy place and your dad has seen that first hand. He’s just worries about you. Go easy on him, okay.” God, why does he have to be such a great guy, she thought.

“I know but he is stubborn, don’t you think?” she said sweetly as she looked at her father.

“Yes,” Jen agreed. “He is stubborn. But as luck would have it I’m working tonight straight through til morning and for once I have the whole weekend off so yes, I’ll come over. But are you sure this is okay with your dad?” She didn’t want John to be uncomfortable. Well, maybe a little but she was above that.

“Sure, he’s okay. Why wouldn’t he be?”

“No reason in particular, just checking. Cass, I’m being paged I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow around five. We’ll go out to dinner or something, how’s that?”

“Sounds good, see ya, Jen.”

“Bye,” Jen called as she hung up the phone to race into the treatment room.

Cassie turned to face Johnny who was standing in the doorway leaning against the doorjamb.

“Did you two have a fight, Dad?” she asked innocently. “Are you mad at Jen for something?”

“No, I’m not mad at her,” Johnny said softly. “Does she think I am?”

Cassie shook her head. “No, she just asked if it was okay with you if she came over. Like she thought it wouldn’t be. She’s never asked that before.”

“Well, no I am not mad at her and she is welcome here anytime. I think you’re reading too much into it,” Johnny told his daughter as he tapped her on the nose. “I’ve got to get up early so I’m going to turn in. What do you have going on for tomorrow?”

“Just graduation practice at ten. After that, we’re free. Done. No more school! But a couple of us girls might do something in the afternoon. I’ll call the station and let you know, okay?”

“Good deal,” he said as he kissed his daughter good night.

Watching her father’s retreating back, she smiled. Jen was softening already. Cassie could hear it in her voice when she took up for him about Cassie not staying home alone. It’s hard to stay mad at someone you love so much, she thought happily.

Roy pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it on the hamper. Joanne who’d been turning down the sheets looked at her husband and sighed.

“Roy, how long have we been married?” she asked.

“What?”

“I said how long have we been married?”

“A long time,” he teased his wife.

“Well then you would think that by now you would know that the dirty clothes go in the hamper, not on top of the hamper,” she laughed.

He grinned. Yeah, she’d been telling him that for a long time, too, he thought as he picked up his shirt and put it inside the hamper.

“Happy, my dear?”

“Yes, thank you,” she said sweetly.

“Hey, Jo, did you talk to Jenny today? I was wondering how she was going. You know, after last night and all. What was that all about anyway?”

“I talked to her this morning. She’ll be okay. I was a little worried last night. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her that upset. You know, she always was one to keep things bottled up. She gets that from her father, I think.”

Joanne and Roy climbed into bed and Roy clicked off the bedside lamp putting the room in total darkness.

“That’s what makes her a good doctor,” Roy replied. “And what’s wrong with being like her father?”

“Nothing, nothing at all, Roy. I happen to like her father very much,” Joanne said as she snuggled up next to Roy.

“Well, what did she tell you? I hate seeing her like that,” Roy asked.

“Not much to be honest. Only that she liked someone very much and had thought they felt the same. I’m not sure if it’s someone at the hospital or not but she said there were some pretty large obstacles that she didn’t know if they’d be able to overcome. As of last night, her gentleman friend didn’t seem to think so.”

“Oh,” Roy said. “What did you tell her?”

“I told her that if it was meant to be, they would find a way. Maybe all this guy needs is some space right now. I think she’s a little worried about how we’ll feel about him. That’s why she hasn’t brought him around just yet.”

“Why would she be worried about us? We’ve never told the kids who they could date and who they couldn’t. I wasn’t too crazy about this whole Cassie JC thing but I didn’t say so. If they want to date, then far be it for me to say they can’t.”

“I get the impression from Jen that this guy is older than she is and that might be what the problem is.”

“Older, how much older?” Roy asked.

“I don’t know,” Joanne said exasperated. “She just said older, that’s all.”

“Well, I don’t think I relish the idea of her taking up with someone twice her age.”

“Neither do I Roy but if he’s as great as she seems to think he is…” Joanne let that thought trail off.

“I know, Jo, what right do we have to object. It’s her life and she’s a grown woman. I just want her to be happy, you know?”

“I do too, Roy. I guess we’ll just have to deal with it if and when the time comes. It should be our problem not hers.”

“You’re right as usual, Honey. It just might be hard if he’s my age for crying out loud. You don’t think he’s that old, do you?

“I don’t know, Roy. Goodnight – go to sleep. I’ve got a long list of things for you to do tomorrow to keep you busy.” And out of my hair, she thought. “You’ll be needing your rest,” she said before kissing him.

Roy groaned at the thought of what she had lined up for him.

Friday was a quiet day around the station. Johnny’s crew had dealt with a car fire and a false alarm in the morning but it had been quiet since then. Some kid must have wanted out of school real bad, Johnny thought. Well, when they found out who he was, he imagined that they’d get a few days out of school and then some.

The door to Johnny’s office was open and the sounds of his men washing down the engine floated in. He’d just gotten off the phone with Cassie when he heard Steve’s voice.

“Hey, Cap what brings you down here?”

Who the hell was he talking to, Johnny thought but then he heard another voice and he knew.

“Just in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by. Is he in the office?”

“Yeah, he is,” Steve answered. “Just can’t stay away, can you ,Cap?”

“No, you can make a fireman retire but you can’t keep him out of the firehouse,” Roy said over his shoulder.

Roy popped his head in the doorway of Johnny’s office.

“Hey Junior, how goes it?”

“I think I should be asking you that, Roy.” He laughed. “What brings you down this way on such a fine afternoon?”

“Joanne’s got me doing so much yard work that I just couldn’t take it anymore. I told her that I had some errands to run. It’s only been two weeks and I’m getting on her nerves already!”

Johnny grinned at his friend. “Can’t sit still, huh?”

“No, I keep trying to help her with stuff but I always manage to get in the way. Man, Johnny, I don’t think I’m cut out for retirement.”

“Maybe you should take up golf, Roy,” Johnny told him.

“That’ll be the day. You saw how bad I was at that Firemen’s Golf Tournament,” Roy replied.

“Well, you could take lessons, you know.”

“Nah, I need to be doing something. Something constructive.”

“Oh hey, you know what? We just got this memo about an opening for a part time paramedic instructor. I don’t know all the details but you could check it out. Who knows maybe they’d take you back on as a consultant or something.”

“I don’t know,” Roy was unsure.

“Look, you said yourself, you need to be doing something and this is right up your alley. It’s worth looking into at least, isn’t it?”

“I suppose I could talk to Joanne about it to see what she thinks. But I haven’t been a paramedic for a long time.”

“Come on, Roy. You act as if you’re all washed up. You’re only 55 years old, for crying out loud. There are lots of avenues out there that you can explore. You can’t spend the next 20 years being miserable just because…” Johnny stopped when he heard what he’d said.

“What? Because of what?”

“Um, because… because…” he lowered his head. “Because you’re afraid to try something new,” he finished.

Johnny ran his hand threw his hair. God, isn’t that just what I’m doing he thought. I’m pushing away what could be something great because I’m afraid.

“Johnny? You okay? You don’t look so good.”

“Yeah, I’m okay, Roy. Anyway, I think you should consider this teaching thing. You’d be really good at it. Just look how well you taught me.” He grinned as he said it.

Roy looked at his watch and figured he should really get going if he was going to finish the rest of the items on Joanne’s list anytime this century. He stood.

“Well, I better run,” he told his friend. “I will think about what you said. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. What are friends for anyway?” Johnny said standing up as well.

“ Speaking of friends, you never did tell me about your new girlfriend. How’s that going?”

“To be honest, Roy, I’m really not sure. As usual, I did something stupid. Well, I didn’t think it was stupid at the time but I’m beginning to think it was stupid now.”

Roy smiled. Leave it to Johnny, he thought. It was probably some little thing that Johnny was blowing all out of proportion. His friend had a way of doing that.

“I don’t think I even want to know what you did but let me know how it turns out. See ya, Johnny.”

“Yeah, I’ll see ya, Pally”

Roy, you just don’t know how true that is, Johnny thought. Roy definitely did not want to know what he had done.

Just what are you afraid of John, he asked himself after Roy had gone. What is holding you back? He knew that he loved Jennifer. If he were really honest with himself, he’d know that he loved her even before she made the first move. He hadn’t seen her as a child, much less a niece, since she returned to LA. Well, she wasn’t one, he thought. What was that Chet had asked him that day? Oh yeah, if there were no history, if he’d just met her, what would he do? He’d ask her out had been his answer.

But try as he might, there was history there. And a friendship at stake. What was he afraid of? Roy, that’s what! He didn’t want to do anything that would jeopardize his friendship with Roy. That friendship meant a lot to Johnny but so did Jennifer. How the hell was he supposed to find any middle ground? God, give me an answer, he prayed. I’m at a loss here. The woman I love or the friend I love. How do I choose?

Jen showed up at the Gage house at five as she had promised but she had JC in tow. She’d thought it was a good idea when she invited him to come along but now she wished she hadn’t. The three of them had gone out to eat and then stopped by the video store to rent some movies.

Jen was exhausted. She had gotten off work later than she had anticipated and by the time she got home, she barely had enough time to grab a few hours of shut eye before her doctors appointment. Even being a doctor herself, she still hated the thought of these annual check-ups.

Now all she wanted to do was to go bed but she knew she couldn’t because JC was there. Johnny would kill her if she’d gone to bed and left them alone. Another of his little rules was that Cassie couldn’t be alone in the house with a boy. True this was JC and she knew she could trust them but Johnny would have her head especially given the fact that the two were beginning to date. No, she would just have to stay up.

Finally around twelve, the last movie ended and Jen told JC that it was time for him to go. Now, maybe she could get some sleep. This whole thing with Johnny and her work schedule this week had left her completely drained. Thank God for Cassie’s graduation, she thought. It had allowed her the opportunity to have a whole weekend off.

“Wait! I almost forgot,” Cassie said. “The guest room is a mess.”

“What?”

“I was looking for something in the attic and I couldn’t find it so I brought the boxes down to the guest room.”

“I totally forgot about the mess in the there. I’m so sorry Jen.”

“Well, let’s go clean up and quickly. I could sleep for the next twenty four hours,” Jen groaned.

She was definitely not prepared for the sight that met her when she opened the door.

“Cassie, what in the world were you looking for? The place isn’t a mess it’s a disaster. We are never going to be able to get this cleaned up anytime soon. I can’t sleep in here.” Jen was fuming. She did not need this now.

“I’m really sorry. I was looking for one of my mother’s necklaces so that I could wear it tomorrow and I know Dad had all her stuff in the attic but I still couldn’t find it,” Cassie replied sadly and Jen’s heart went out to her.

“That’s okay, Cass. I’ll just sleep on the sofa,” she told the girl.

“No! I can’t let you do that. Dad would kill me if he knew you had to sleep there because of my stupidity. How about if you take my room?” Cassie suggested but continued before Jen could answer.

“Or better yet, you can sleep in my dad’s room. My room gets the most sunlight in the morning and I know how tired you are. Dad’s room stays really dark even in the daytime.”

“Cass, I can’t do that. Your dad will be coming home in the morning and wanting to go to bed.”

“We’ll leave him a note telling him what happened. He usually doesn’t go right to bed anyway. Sometimes he just lays on the sofa and sleeps. It’ll be okay.

“I don’t know, Cass.”

“Come on, Jen. Dad’ll be so mad if he thinks you slept on the sofa all night.”

“All right,” Jen acquiesced. “But I’m none too happy about this.”

“I’m really am sorry, Jen.”

“I know. Goodnight Cass. Go write that note to your dad.” Jen turned and went into Johnny’s room.

“I will. Good night,” Cassie said smiling as Jen closed the door. She and Stacey worked all afternoon bringing that stuff down from the attic. She really did want to wear her mother’s peal necklace to the dance but she didn’t have to make as much of a mess as she did.

When she was a little girl and she got scared or upset, she would climb in bed with her dad and she felt so safe. Sometimes when he was working, she would sleep in his bed at night just to feel closer to him. That’s what she wanted for Jen.

She ran back downstairs and quickly wrote a note for her father telling him that Jen was in his room sleeping. She left it on the table by the front door where they always left messages for each other and she went to bed feeling very happy.

The night proved to be brutal for John and his crew. They had one call after another and never got more than two hours sleep. The worst had been the fatal traffic accident at 2 am. A group of high school seniors out celebrating their last official day of school had gotten a little carried away. Now, two were in critical condition and two were dead. Instead of attending their graduations, their parents would be attending their funerals and keeping vigil in the ICU.

Johnny knew that he probably was a little overprotective where Cassie was concerned but it was times like this that we was glad he was. He knew that his daughter was at home safely ensconced in her bed while his men worked to free four other teenagers from a badly mangled sports car. He wasn’t a deeply religious man but he looked towards the sky and said a silent prayer of thanks.

By the time they got off duty at eight, the men of B shift wanted nothing more than to go home and crawl into bed and hope they could forget the sights they had seen that night.

Johnny drove home on automatic pilot and quietly let himself in the house. It was fairly windy out this morning and a gust of wind whipped through the door as Johnny entered the house. Without even thinking, he checked the table by the door for any messages and finding none wearily climbed the stairs.

Cassie’s door was open and John couldn’t help but check in on his daughter. She looked so angelic and peaceful, he quietly crept from the room closing the door behind him. The door to the guestroom was closed and Johnny listened for a moment to see if Jen was stirring but didn’t hear anything.

He entered his darkened room. This was the one room in the house that didn’t have mini blinds. Because he often slept during the day, he had room darkening shades put in years ago. He quickly undressed and climbed into bed. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Jen stirred in her sleep and rolled over. The room felt chilly and she didn’t have any covers. She felt around for them and pulled them back over her. She never completely woke but she felt warmth coming from the other side of the bed and she subconsciously gravitated towards it.

John rolled over in his sleep and hugged the pillow that was pushed up against him.

Cassie woke up around 10:30 and went downstairs to get some orange juice. She paused as she passed the living room. Her dad wasn’t on the sofa as she had expected. That must mean that Jen’s already gone, she thought. She hoped that her little plan had worked. She hoped that her dad and Jen had at least talked before she left. She knew they could work this out if they just tried. She hoped she was successful in making Jen feel closer to her father.

A bedroom was a very personal place. What better way to get Jen to stop being angry and start loving her dad again than for her to be in his personal space! She felt bad about being so sneaky about it but sometimes grown-ups just didn’t know what was best for themselves. And they think kids are bad, she thought.

Cassie was excited about the dance this evening. This was to be her first date with JC. She couldn’t believe that they were actually going to go out. She hadn’t ever really thought about him that way before. Not until Stacey mentioned how cute she thought he was and Cassie decided that her friend was right. He was cute. Well, handsome is more like it, she thought. Cute applied to little boys.

She poured herself a glass of orange juice and put a bagel in the toaster. Picking up the glass she wandered towards the window where the sun was streaming through. The house is a bit chilly this morning, she thought. She watched the flowers swaying with the breeze and hoped that the wind would die down before tonight or it would ruin her hair.

Jen’s car caught her eye. “What in the world? I thought she left,” she said out loud. Then the realization hit her, “Oh my god!”

She ran to the foyer but the note wasn’t on the table. “I left it here last night. I know I did,” she cried looking around. Then she spotted the white piece of paper on the floor, just barely visible.

“It must have fallen off of the table,” she exclaimed. “Boy am I in trouble now.”

She didn’t know what to do. She asked herself. Should I wake them? Should I knock on the door? Maybe if I make a lot of noise they’ll wake up. I could go outside so they don’t feel so awkward or I could go in my room and never come out for the rest of my life.

No, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to go back upstairs. She’d just stay down here and play dumb like she hadn’t noticed that her father and Jen were sleeping together. She giggled quietly. It was sort of comical but somehow she didn’t think that either of them would see it that way.

She put the note back on the floor in the exact spot where it had fallen and went back to kitchen to eat her bagel.

Jennifer lingered in a state of semi consciousness. She hadn’t slept this good in a long time. She felt safe and warm and she snuggled closer. Somewhere in the back of her mind, an alarm went off. She opened her eyes and let them adjust.

Where the hell am I, she thought. At Johnny’s, she remembered now. She felt an arm pull her closer. It couldn’t be. It had to be. She must be dreaming this because she’d fantasized about it for so long. She looked at the long, lean arm that held her and let out a sigh of contentment. It was brief as she realized that either Cassie forgot to leave the note for her father or Johnny just hadn’t seen it. Because she knew that she was not what John Gage wanted. He’d made that perfectly clear. The moment of joy at waking up in his arms gave way to reality.

Now she just had to decide what to do. Johnny was holding her tightly as if he had no intention of ever letting her go. His face was buried in her hair and one of his long legs was thrown carelessly over hers. She tried to ease him off of her much to her own regret. She could have lain there for hours like that.

But Johnny just tightened his grip on her. God, why are you doing this to me, she thought. It’s just torture that’s what it is. She managed to roll over to face him. Even in her dreams, he had never looked this good and her heart ached with longing. Not to mention her body. And his. There was no mistaking that. If she didn’t wake him now, they’d definitely be in some trouble.

“John.” She touched his shoulder.

“Johnny.” She gave him a little shake.

“Jen,” he mumbled in his sleep and she smiled. She didn’t care what he said, she knew he wanted her just as much as she wanted him.

“Johnny!” It was much louder this time and his eyes flew open.

“Jennifer!” It took a moment for him to come fully awake. “What are you… What am I… How’d”

He sat up and the sheet dropped to his waist as he ran his hand through his hair. He stole a glance at her.

“What, um, what happened? How come you’re here?” he asked totally confused as to what was going on.

“It was a complete misunderstanding,” she said and explained what happened the night before. “But I have to say I don’t mind. It was a wonderful way to wake up,” she finished and smiled at him.

“I didn’t,” he started. “I, uh, I didn’t do anything, did I. I mean, well you know what I mean.”

“No, Johnny, nothing happened,’ she laughed thinking how utterly adorable he was when he was flustered. But how I wish it had, she thought to herself.

“What time is it?” he asked rubbing his hand across his face and laying back down. Jen leaned over him to look at the clock and he groaned inwardly. She had to know what this was doing to him. Well, of course she did, it was very obvious.

“Almost noon,” she answered not being too quick to move off of him.

“Oh my God, Cassie!” he said. “I’ve got to get up but you have to go first,” he sheepishly told her.

She was grinning from ear to ear.

“This is not funny, Jen,” he admonished.

“Maybe not to you but I find it quite amusing, Johnny,” she said. She put her lips to his ear and whispered, “say what you will, Mister Gage, but it is not over between us. Not by a long shot.”

She was still smiling as she rolled over him to get out of the bed brushing a light kiss across his lips as she went. She grabbed her overnight bag and headed for the bathroom in the hall.

Johnny watched her walk from the room. His eyes took in the cute but skimpy pajamas she wore and the way they seemed to hug her bottom. He groaned out loud this time.

Jennifer couldn’t wipe the smile off her face all day. Cassie had made her promise to come back that evening to help her get ready for the dance. Johnny would be taking lots of pictures, no doubt but it was times like these that Jen knew how much Cassie needed a mother’s touch. She readily agreed.

Her cleaning service had been there earlier that week but she always liked to go over things in between their visits. She was doing just that when her mother called.

“Jenny, I was just wondering how you were. I tried calling last night but you weren’t home,” Joanne said.

“No, I stayed with Cassie. Johnny had to work and well, you know how he is about his daughter,” she joked.

Joanne laughed as well.

“Your father and I wanted to invite you over for dinner tonight, Jen. How about it?”

“I would love to, Mom, but I promised Cassie that I would come back to help her get ready for the dance. Can I have a rain check?” Jen hated to pass up a home cooked meal. With her hours she didn’t get too many.

“Sure, No problem. I guess it would be kind of silly for me to ask you if you’re going to Cassie’s graduation, huh?”

Jennifer laughed. “Yes, I’m going. How about you and Dad?”

“Are you kidding? We wouldn’t miss it for the world! I just can’t believe that that little girl is so grown up now,” Joanne said shaking her head.

“I know, where did the time go?”

“All right, Jen, well, I guess we’ll see you tomorrow at Johnny’s,” Joanne stated.

“Yeah, Mom, I’ll see you tomorrow. Love you.”

Joanne hung up the phone and smiled. Jen certainly did sound a lot better and Joanne breathed a sigh of relief. She was so worried after she’d shown up at the house so upset the other night but perhaps things were looking up now.

How does she even have time for a relationship, she thought. Between her hours at the hospital and the time she spent at Johnny’s she didn’t have time for much else. An unsettling thought occurred to her.

“No, it couldn’t be,” she cried out loud. No, she had to be mistaken. Johnny wouldn’t go after Jenny, would he?

She racked her brain trying to think of anyone else that it could be and came up empty. Jenny never talked about anyone at the hospital only Johnny and Cassie. Oh my God, what will this do to Roy, she thought. I sure in the hell hope I’m wrong.

Should I tell Roy, she wondered. No, he would be devastated and would most likely fly off the handle. Tomorrow was Cassie’s graduation day and she couldn’t ruin it. The girl was an innocent bystander in all of this.

And I might even be wrong, she thought but the nagging feeling in her gut, her mother’s instinct, told her that she wasn’t. Roy, she thought, this will be a true test of your friendship with Johnny. I hope it can survive this but I’m not so sure. I’m not even sure if I want it too.

Of course you do, Jo, she said to herself. Johnny has been too big a part of our lives for us to want it any other way. If it weren’t for Johnny, JC probably wouldn’t even be with us. We owe Johnny a lot, she thought. But our daughter? Was she the price we have to pay?

Part 2