An Honest Mistake

The idea: In the beginning of 'Honest', Johnny starts out driving. Then when they arrive at the house that had the gas explosion, Roy gets out from behind the wheel. So, pretend it wasn't an editing mistake. Write a small scene explaining why they switched places.

Johnny sat proudly in the driver's seat of the squad. "Take the bull by the horns," Dwyer had said, "If you want to drive, just get in the drivers seat some run and see what happens." He had, and now here he was. Roy made no comment other than to tell Johnny to turn left leaving the station. Hey, I should have tried this years ago, Johnny thought as his grin spread across his face and he settled in for the drive.

"Hey, Johnny, the light's yellow. Hit the horn."

Johnny was reaching for the horn as Roy spoke. "Got it," he said as the air horn blasted through the siren.

"Johnny, watch out for that man on the side of the road up there. I'm not sure he sees us."

Johnny scanned the street, looking for the man in question. As he did, the squad followed his glance slightly to the right.

"JOHNNY!!! Watch out! You almost hit that parked car."

"I didn't almost hit it, Roy."

"Well, be careful. Watch this intersection up here. People don’t always stop. Don't approach it too fast."

Johnny looked around to assure the intersection was clear as he approached. There was not another moving vehicle in sight.

"Turn left here."

"HERE??" Johnny asked as he tried to slow down the squad to make the turn.

"Right here, Johnny."

Johnny quickly turned the wheel to the right, trying not to over compensate for the suddenness of the change. As he turned right he partner said, "Left, I said turn left!"

Johnny changed plans again. The tires squealed as the squad was asked to perform beyond its capacity for maneuvering.

"Johnny, be careful!!" Roy admonished.

"I am being careful. Some advanced warning on the turn would help. And you're the one who said to go left, then right, then left again."

"I never told you to go right."

"You did too, you said, 'right here'"

"Well, I didn't mean go right, I meant turn left at that exact spot."

"Well don't say right when you mean left, for cripes sake. What do I do next?"

"You need to stay on this road for about a mile, then turn right and the building will be on your left."

"Okay."

"Johnny, watch out for that truck. I think he's pulling out."

"What truck, Roy?"

"The one on that side street right there. I think its pulling out."

"Okay."

"Don't you think you're going a little bit too fast for this neighborhood?"

"Huh?"

"Slow down, just a little."

"Roy...."

"Watch out for that kid."

Johnny hit the brakes and looked around.

"What kid?"

"Over there."

"Where?"

"In his front yard."

"You mean the kid playing behind the white picket fence up there?"

"Yeah. Come on. Why are you stopped? We've gotta get a move on."

Johnny ignored his partner and got out of the truck.

"Hey, Johnny, where are you going? What the heck are you doing?"

Appearing at the passenger door, Johnny opened it and told Roy, "Move over."

"Huh?"

"Move over and drive. Come on, we need to do this quickly."

Roy moved over behind the wheel, and Johnny settled into the passenger seat. Roy drove ahead, giving his partner a confused look from time to time, but saying nothing.

"Roy," Johnny asked his partner. "When you and Joanne go out, does she ever drive?"

"No, she refuses. I don't know why."

"I do."

The paramedics were halfway to the scene of the explosion. Roy looked ahead at the intersection coming up in front of them, and began to direct his partner on which way to turn when he stopped in midsentence.

"Wait a minute."

"Wait a minute? Roy, I can't. We're on the way to a call. Just tell me which way to go."

"But there's something wrong here. . ."

"There's something even wronger where we're going. Which way?"

"Pull over."

"Pull over? But--"

"Johnny, just trust me on this."

"I'm not pullin' over."

"Okay, but then we're going to have to be tricky."

"Tricky?"

"I just realized, you're in my seat. We've gotta swtich."

"YOUR seat? It's not your seat. . .it doesn't have the name *Roy* or *DeSoto* marked on it anywhere. It's anyone's seat. *I'm* not switchin'"

Roy shook his head. "I always sit there. It's like an unspoken rule. I have to be in that seat."

"But--"

"Look, when we get to the scene, people are going to expect me to get out of that seat. If I don't, they're going to be going on and on about how *Johnny* got out of the driver's seat. And why? Because it's my seat."

"But they saw me get in!"

Roy shook his head.

"They didn't?"

"You got in, but they're so used to me getting in on that side, they probably didn't notice. BUT if we don't make the change now, it's going to distract them from the rest of the scene when they notice you get out."

Gage was about to argue again, but sighed as he gave in. "Oh, all right then. Man, just when I was getting used to this side of the squad, too."

The men carefully switched places, first Gage keeping his foot on the gas pedal as Roy grabbed the steering wheel. Johnny slid underneath his partner and across to the other side, releasing the gas pedal at the last second. Roy quickly slid in the driver's side and placed his right foot on the pedal. The paramedics continued on, the driver happy, and passenger grumbling as he gave directions.

When they arrived at the scene and got out, Captain Stanley was the first to say, "John, I thought YOU were driving the squad?"

Johnny looked at his partner and said, "Your seat, huh?"

Roy shrugged. He'd gotten to drive and that was all that mattered.

The end...

“Uh, Johnny, pull over and let me drive.”

“What! No way. I’m driving to this call.”

“Seriously, Johnny, pull over.”

“Why?”

“ ‘cause I’m gonna be sick.”

“Sick? But you were fine when we left the station.”

“It’s motion sickness.”

Gage snorted in disbelief. “Motion sickness? You? That’s impossible.”

“Look, I used to get car sick when I was kid. I haven’t had it happen in years. But for some reason, I’m feelin’ it now.”

“But you drive the squad all the time and don’t get sick.”

“It only happens when I’m a passenger.”

“I can’t believe this. The one time . . . the one time . . . I get to the squad first so I can drive and . . . and . . . I just can’t believe . . . you get sick . . . of all the times in the world . . .”

“PULL OVER!”

Johnny glanced at his partner just long enough to see the decidedly green tinge to his face. He immediately pulled the squad to the side of the road. Both paramedics quickly exited the vehicle and switched places.

“Geez, no need to yell. I don’t know why you feel the need to yell at me all the time. It’s not like I purposely made you car sick or anything . . . sheesh . . .”

*** The End ***

As soon as the squad was out of the station, both paramedics realized something wasn’t right. It dawned on Johnny and Roy at the same time.

"Hey! We’re in the wrong seats." Roy exclaimed with his brow furrowed.

"Yeah!" Johnny replied with a big smile on his face.

"We need to switch places before we arrive at the scene." Roy once again voice his concerns.

"Nope, not gonna do it. I *never* get to drive. So you might as well sit back and enjoy the ride."

"But Johnny, I read how the scene is suppose to play out and I’m the one who is suppose to exit the drivers side, not you. Remember those two little words we hear all the time, stock footage?" Roy pleaded his case once again.

Johnny wasn’t having any of it. He was driving and that was the way it was going to be.

Once again, Roy tried reasoning with his stubborn partner.

"John, you don’t want the directors to be mad, do you? They might inform the writers to stop letting you drive all together if we don’t switch places."

"Roy, I can’t!"

"What do you mean, you can’t?!?"

"I just can’t."

"You’re going to have to give me a better reason than that." Roy huffed.

"What’s the name of this episode? "Honest" right?"

"Right! But what are you getting at?"

"Roy, don’t you see, here I’ve been going on and on about how important it is to be totally honest. If we were to switch places after everyone saw me driving out of the station, they will think I’ve been spouting off and that I'm two-faced." Johnny said, all in one breath.

"Oh, I see. You may have a point there, Johnny. Let me think about this for a minute."

"Well hurry up, we’re almost to our destination. I don’t want the writers never to let me drive again, but I don’t want to mislead the audience either. What are we gonna do?"

"I say we switch places and hope that the viewers weren’t paying that close attention to who got in the drivers side. It‘s not like they have some sort of machine that will let them rewind the scene to see if it was you who was actually driving the squad to begin with." Roy stated with allegiance.

"Ok, I guess you’re right. I’d rather have the viewers wondering, than have the big wigs here at the Network upset with me. After all they’re the ones who sign my paycheck." Johnny half-heartedly agreed.

"Right! Now pull over."

After pulling over to the curb, Johnny and Roy switched places in the squad and continued their trek to the next scene, where the fans of the hit series saw, Roy DeSoto, exit the drivers side of Squad 51.

No one gave it a second thought, that is until a lady named Jill was watching a video tape of the series many years later and made the comment that Johnny Gage started out driving the squad in the eppy "Honest".

Who would have thought!

The End

Johnny adjusted the strap on his helmet and couldn't help the smug smile on his face as he took the address slip from Cap, then handed it over to Roy. In spite of the fact that they were on a possibly serious run, a gas explosion, he was in a great mood.

It wasn't often that John Gage came out on top, but today he'd won the golden prize. Tired of his partner's griping about never getting to drive, Roy had relented to drawing for it. The older paramedic had taken his card off the top with a confident expression. Every man on their shift knew Johnny never won this sort of contest. From doing the dishes to cleaning the latrine, every time they played cards for anything, Gage was the loser. But not this time.

Roy's face changed from assurance to dismay in an instant; as soon as he looked at his card. And Johnny's lit up like a Cheshire cat as soon as his partner laid the two of clubs down on the table. It was almost anticlimactic to actually draw the 10 of hearts. He'd won. And not just getting out of a chore. He was actually going to drive the squad on their next response.

He had to give Roy credit. He slid into the passenger seat and took the call slip without any sour grapes. Johnny wasn't sure he could have been as good a sport. He probably wasn't being a very good winner, but he couldn't keep the smile off his face as he hit the reds and headed the squad out the driveway.

"Take a right on Alameda," Roy instructed, his eyes scanning the map book.

"A right it is," Johnny answered happily, slowing slightly as they turned through the intersection. Once more going straight, he sped up again. A glance in the mirror showed Big Red following behind him. Johnny's grin grew even larger.

It was wonderful. He'd kept his window rolled down and could feel the wind on his face, blowing through his hair, the sirens filling his ears, the faint trace of orange blossom as they drove past one of the last remaining orchards in the city. He couldn't help it. He had to have more, and he inhaled deeply, trying to savor the subtle fragrance.

And then he was gagging, coughing, choking; his eyes watering so badly he could barely see; his hands clutching the steering wheel frantically as he struggled to keep from running off the road.

"Johnny! Johnny! What's wrong? Are you okay? Can you pull over?"

He couldn't answer Roy's panicked questions. He kept coughing and managed to shake his head. At the moment he wasn't able to do much of anything.

"Here, let go."

He felt the resistance in the wheel which told him Roy had grabbed hold of it. Grateful for the assistance, yet vaguely reluctant to give up his chance to drive, Johnny hesitated.

"Johnny, let go. Let me in there."

Still coughing, he yielded to the inevitable. Not even driving was worth killing himself or his partner, not to mention the trouble he'd get from Cap if they crashed. He felt Roy trying to maneuver over him and, fighting the gag reflex, Johnny slipped under his partner and scooted over to the passenger side.

Once he was behind the wheel, and their lives weren't in eminent danger, Roy turned his attention back to his distressed partner.

"You okay? You need to pull over?"

Johnny shook his head. His coughing was subsiding and his breathing was regaining its normal rhythm. He wiped at his eyes and coughed once more.

"I'm all right," he finally said.

Roy's eyes moved from the road to Johnny, not quite convinced. "You sure? You seemed to be having some problems."

Johnny shook his head again, this time in disgust. His one chance to drive and he'd ruined it.

"Johnny?"

The dark haired paramedic slumped down in his seat. Roy wasn't going to let it go. With a sigh of long suffering, he leaned his elbow on the open window and let his chin fall into his hand.

"I swallowed a bug, okay? I swallowed a stupid bug."

And to give Roy credit again, he managed not to laugh.

Johnny and Roy both hopped into the squad. Johnny was elated that Roy hadn't noticed he was driving.

But as fate would have it, it dawned on Roy who was driving. Why? Why did he not realize it any sooner? Well that would be a question that the fates would have to answer for him. "Pull over," the senior paramedic stated simply.

"Why?"

"Because, I don't want to be in here when you go crashing into another brick wall."

"Aw, come on. So I forgot to put on the brakes. Nobody else was hurt except for me."

"I don't care, junior. Besides, last time you were *real* lucky. So pull over now."

"Okay! Okay! Man, a guy has one little fender bender and you got to get all bent out of shape!" Johnny whipped the squad over to the side of the road barely missing a telephone pole.

"See, that's exactly what I've been talking about."

"Sheesh! Now I'll never get to drive!" John whinned as he climbed out the driver's side, slammed the door, and strode around the front of the squad. Climbing into the passenger side as Roy slid over behind the wheel, the dark haired paramedic sat slumped.

"As my dad always said, *Watch and learn,* while I was growing up," the older paramedic stated simply. "When I think your ready, then you can drive."

A bright smile passed over the younger man's face. "When? The next run?"

"No."

"Well, when?"

"I'll know."

"When?"

"Oh, in say another three or four more years."

"Aw, come on! You can't be that heartless and cruel? Can you?"

A slow smile spread across Roy's face as they pulled up to the scene.

The End

John Gage was elated at the chance of finally getting to drive the squad. He sat behind the wheel with a big grin on his face. Roy was dubious, he knew of his partner's ability to get into trouble with almost anything.

As they drove down the roadway, John heard a buzzing and watched as a bee flew around his head. He swatted at the pesky critter a couple of times but it had no intentions of leaving the cab.

"What are you waving at?" Roy asked.

"Don't you see it?"

"See what?"

"You mean you can't hear that buzzing?"

"Oh, the fly?"

"That ain't a fly. That's a honey bee, and it's buzzing around my head."

Roy began to laugh at his partner's predicament. But Johnny wasn't laughing. By some trick of fate the bee decided to take a u-turn and flew inside Gage's shirt. The younger paramedic began to shimmy in the seat trying to get the bee out of his shirt.

DeSoto felt a swerve and glanced over at his partner. Then he heard a panicked, "Grab the wheel!" Reaching over he grabbed the wheel and steered the squad over to the side of the road.

Johnny jumped out and tugged his shirt out of his pants and unbuttoned the buttons quickly and soon he had the pesky little critter out of his shirt. Buttoning up his shirt again he looked to see that Roy was in his seat. "Hey, I was driving!"

"Your not driving now, I am."

"Why?"

Roy snickered. "Cause that honey bee was looking for some honey." Roy burst out laughing as John climbed in on the passenger side.

"Not a word about this to anybody!"

"Oh, my lips are sealed." Roy spoke with hand on the wheel and his fingers crossed on the other hand which rested next to his leg.

The End

The klaxons rang out and the paramedics were quick to get to the squad. John Gage, the younger of the two, entered the driver’s side while his partner, Roy DeSoto, entered the passenger side. Captain Stanley handed Johnny their destination information as Mike Stoker opened the door for them to exit the station. Roy obtained the slip of paper and noted the time.

“Johnny, why are you driving?”

“Well, Roy, it’s like this. I feel I’m overdue.”

“Overdue?” Roy asked as they left the station.

“Yeah, you get to drive all the time, so not it’s my turn.”

“Okay, just be careful, Junior”

They began down the Los Angeles highway smoothly enough, and both paramedics were content and contemplating their next rescue.

~Hiccup~ “Oh, excuse me, Roy!”

“Do you always swerve when you’re driving with the hiccups?”

“Swerve? Who swerved?” ~Hiccup~

“Now, Johnny, you’re a pretty good driver, but if this continues you’ll have to give me your seat!”

“I don’t think so, Roy!” ~Hiccup~

“That’s it! You almost hit that squirrel.”

“What squirrel? The one over in the yard?”

“Johnny, I mean it!”

~Hiccup~ “What?”

“Pull over Johnny.”

“What? Why? It’s just the hiccups.” ~Hiccup~

“Every time you hiccup, you swerve the squad, and we’ll be no good to anyone if we’re in an accident. NOW PULL OVER!”

~Hiccup~ As he pulled the squad over, Johnny glared at Roy.

“You really didn’t need to yell at me!”

“I had to do whatever it took. Now, Johnny, I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings, but you aren’t a safe driver when you have those hiccups.”

The men headed to the rescue without speaking another word, and each was in his “normal” seat. Much to Roy’s relief, by the time they arrived, Johnny was hiccup free, and back to being himself.

“From now on, leave the driving to me. Okay, Junior?”

“We’ll see, Pally!”

THE END

It was unusual for Johnny to just jump into the driver's seat when Squad 51 was called out on a run, but while checking equipment, he had been on that side. Roy didn't mind it too much, but if felt weird being the passenger. He shifted uncomfortably in the seat. 'Look at him,' Roy thought to himself, 'Just about ready to crack a smile because he's driving.' Roy watched the road, making sure that Johnny was going the right direction.

"It's a left up here."

"I know." John frowned. He hated when Roy didn't trust him. John took his hand off the wheel for a second to wipe his nose. He felt a sneeze coming on. The feeling was too strong. He couldn't stop it. He started to sneeze like a maniac, weaving all over the road.

"Johnny!" Roy yelled. He grabbed onto the wheel for Johnny, so he could have his hands to cover his mouth. "Here, get over."

"Wha-" John managed to get out before another sneeze came on. Roy lifted himself from the seat and moved over. Johnny thought Roy would sit right on top of him, so he quickly lay across the seat, trying to make it over to the passenger side. He didn't quite make it. As Roy took complete control of the squad, he sat down on top of Johnny's feet. Johnny didn't know if it was more uncomfortable for him or Roy. 'Probably Roy,' he thought.

"I guess that'll teach you, huh?" Johnny sneered at his partner. He would drive again. just maybe not during allergy season.

Sirens blaring, lights flashing, Squad 51 sped down the road. John Gage, trying to keep his focus on his driving could not help but feel excited. Roy had finally consented to let him drive the squad, while he rode in the passenger seat. Ever since the day, early in their partnership, when he had…. Veering his thoughts away from that subject, he brought his mind back to his driving. Suffice it say it had been a long time since Roy had consented to ride with him driving any vehicle.

"We have to switch places," Roy announced suddenly.

"What? Why?" John shot his partner a sidelong glance and thought he knew what he was thinking about. "Roy I promise, I’m not going to…."

"No…no, it’s not that." Roy replied quickly enough that John knew he was thinking about that day also. "They said there was an explosion…." Roy waved the paper he was holding.

"So?"

"So…there may be a fire…and we’ll have to put on our turnout coats…"

"…and my turnout coat is on that side…." John said, finally seeing Roy’s point.

"…and mine is on that side." Roy finished. "We have to switch."

Heaving a sigh John agreed. "I’ll pull over to the curb." Slowing the vehicle he began looking for a place to pull over.

"No, you can’t do that." Roy exclaimed. "We have to get to the scene as quickly as possible."

"So, what do you want to do?" John asked, scowling. "Switch while we’re moving?"

"We’ll have to," Roy said after a moments thought. "There’s no other way."

"You cannot be serious!" John glanced sideways at his partner again and saw that he was, indeed, serious. Roy had undone his seatbelt and was preparing to move into the driver’s seat.

"It’s the only way." Roy reached for the steering wheel. After a moments hesitation John gave in began to make the switch.

In the engine Captain Stanley sat relaxed in his seat. Staring out the windshield, he absentmindedly watched the squad as it led them through the streets to the scene. His mind on the upcoming rescue, he did not notice the squad doing anything unusual until he heard Mike exclaim beside him. Then he noticed that the squad was careening erratically. It only lasted a few moments and the squad never actually left its lane, but he had to wonder what the paramedics were doing up there.

When they reached the scene, he was momentarily surprised to see John exit the passenger’s side of the vehicle and begin to don his turnout coat. He didn’t have time to worry much about it though, because almost immediately his attention was claimed by the man who had, apparently, called the incident in.