A Place For Everyone

by Di ;)

 

“And that worries you?”

Roy DeSoto and Johnny Gage had just completed their early morning equipment check. Squatting next to the squad, the two men were deep in conversation about the possible sale of Johnny’s apartment building.

 “Well, yeah, a little,” Johnny admitted to his partner. “I mean, what if they raise the rent on me? I can’t afford much more than what I’m paying now. Which reminds me...” Johnny snapped his fingers as the thought hit him. “I’ve got to get those want ads before Henry sits all over the paper again and destroys it.” 

“Why don’t you just wait and see if your rent goes up first? You might not have anything to worry about.” Roy was forever the voice of reason.

“And if I wait, and my rent goes up, that won’t leave me any time to find a new place,” Johnny countered. “Besides, I’ve been thinking of finding something else anyway.”

“Why? I thought you liked it where you are now.” Roy considered the past apartments that his partner had inhabited, and thought that Johnny’s current dwelling was far and above the lot of them put together.

“Well, sure, I like it plenty fine, but, well, I’ve been there long enough already, ya’ know? It’s just time to find something new.” Johnny shrugged his shoulders, not expecting Roy to understand.

Roy shook his head at his partner and wondering what possessed Johnny to move around as much as he did. While he was perfectly content to stay in one place for years, Johnny never seemed to want to stay in one place for more than a year at a shot.

“Well, if your place sells, and you have to move before you find something, you know you can bunk with us till you do,” Roy offered in earnest.

Johnny flashed a quick smile over the top of the door. “Thanks! I knew I could count on you! I don’t think it’ll take all that long though. You know what they say, ‘There’s a place for everyone’.”

Roy froze as he suddenly had a strange feeling he’d just been 'had.' “Well, okay then,” he said slowly as Johnny’s smile grew. “But I think you mean the saying that goes, ‘There’s a place for everything and everything in its place’.”

“Yeah, that too!” Johnny agreed mischievously with an impish grin planted on his face.

The two paramedics had just finished returning the rest of their equipment to their rightful places when Captain Stanley stuck his head out the office door.

“Roy? John? Can I see you a minute?”

Johnny threw Roy a worried glance and lowered his brow as if to say: ‘What’d we do now?’

Roy shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. He had no idea either why Cap had summoned them into his office, but he was sure there hadn’t been a problem from the last shift – at least nothing that came to mind. He nodded at Johnny to follow as he acknowledged his Captain’s request.

“Be right there, Cap!” Roy called back.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

“Ah, Cap! C’mon. Isn’t it someone else’s turn?” Johnny protested with a raised voice.

Clasping his hands, Cap relied in an even tone as he tried in vain to hide a grin. "Now, John, you do it to yourself, you know. If you didn’t keep reminding everyone who would listen that you and Roy are the best paramedic team in L.A. County, this wouldn’t even be an issue.”

“But, Cap...”

 “We’ll be fine, Cap. Won’t we, Johnny?” Roy interrupted.

Johnny swung his head in Roy’s direction, with his mouth hanging open and a look of disbelief on his face.

“Good. I’m glad that’s settled. I’ll meet you in the break room in a few minutes. You’re dismissed for now.” Cap ended the conversation.

“But...” Johnny started to complain again.

“You have a problem I should know about, Gage?” Cap asked with a hint of expectation in his voice yet expecting no reply.

“No, Cap, no problem,” Johnny muttered in low tones.

“Dismissed then,” Captain Stanley repeated.

“Yes, Sir,” Johnny answered in defeat.

Cap watched as his two paramedics vacated his office and smiled to himself. He knew they would be just fine, as always.

 

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Seeking privacy in the locker room, Roy tried to ease Johnny’s qualms about their newest assignment.

“But Roy, you really want to go through this again? We just...”

 “Relax, Johnny. It’s bound to be different this time. Everyone’s different.”

“But Roy...”

“Look Johnny, if you really don’t want to do this, then you better march right back in there and tell Cap right now,” Roy said forcefully.

“ME?” Johnny’s eyes widened in exclamation.

“Yes, you,” Roy answered with conviction.

“Fine then. I guess I have no choice,” the younger man grumbled. He threw open his locker and tossed its meager contents around.

“Oh you have a choice, Johnny. We all have choices, but for the record, I think this is the right one.”

Roy knew that his partner would be okay with their new assignment. It might take a while, he surmised, but Johnny would be okay.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

In the break room, the men of A-shift gathered around the table finishing their morning coffee when a young man entered through the door with Captain Stanley close on his heels.

“Men,” Cap addressed the group, “I’d like you to meet Danny O’Sullivan. He’ll be riding with Roy and John as a paramedic trainee.”

The two men approached the table as Stanley made the introductions, starting with Chet Kelly, going on down the line to Mike Stoker and Marco Lopez, and ending up with the men he would be riding with, Gage and DeSoto. With the formal side of introductions completed, Chet spoke up first.

“O’Sullivan! Well, now, it’s about time we get another Irishman around this station house!” Chet’s face broke into a broad smile.

“Yeah, great, that’s all we need,” Johnny muttered under his breath before taking another sip from his cup.

“Gage? You say something, Pal?” Stanley asked in a rhetorical tone.

“No, Cap. Not me.” Johnny smiled at his captain, and offered a hand of welcome to their new trainee. “Welcome to 51s, Danny.” Johnny flashed his best smile at their newest trainee, all the while remembering their last one.

“Thanks, John.” Danny offered his hand in return. “I hope I can live up to your standards,” he responded with a genuine smile.

Me too, thought Johnny, with a great deal of reserve.

“Hey, Gage, what’s the matter?” Chet taunted. “Feeling a little outnumbered?”

“No, Chet!” Johnny shot back. He turned to Danny, nodding at Chet. “Just be careful about getting too close to that one, Danny. He’s bad news,” he snorted, wearing a sarcastic grin.

After a hearty round of welcomes from the rest of the men, and an offer of coffee, Roy and Johnny led Danny out into the apparatus bay to show him the squad’s setup.

“So, Danny. How long have you been a firefighter?” Roy asked as he opened the side compartments of the squad.

“Two years here in L.A. Before that I was in Pittsburgh for three.” Danny liked Roy right off the bat, but the other one, Gage, seemed a little distant. He wondered if he’d said or done anything in the short time since he’d arrived at the station that had offended him.

“Well, I think you’ll find being a paramedic a little more challenging. Just remember your training and do as you’re told, and you’ll be fine. We’ll get you used to the way we do things for awhile, and little by little give you more responsibility,” Roy explained.

“Sounds good,” Danny answered confidently.

All this time, Johnny kept his distance, leaning against the squad, being uncharacteristically quiet.

“Johnny?” Roy turned to his partner, startling him out of a near-trance. “Want to help out here?”

“Oh, uh, sure....” he answered quietly. He grabbed the drug box and set it on the floor in front of him. Danny turned to him and Johnny quickly explained its setup, offering nothing more to the conversation than the matter at hand.

No sooner had they returned the equipment to their compartments, than the first sound of klaxons sounded...

 

***Squad 51, unknown type rescue, 9475 Pacific, 9-4-7-5 Pacific***

***Time out 08:28***

 

“Squad 51, KMG 365,” Roy spoke into the station’s mic.

Instinctively, Johnny jumped into his side of the squad before he remembered he needed to let Danny slide through to the middle. He cocked his head and grinned as he stepped back out of the squad to allow entrance for their trainee. Roy was already behind the wheel by the time Johnny got himself seated again, barely leaving him time to slam the door behind him as the squad rolled out of the station.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

When Roy pulled the squad up to the curb of a private residence, a young boy met them on the curb.

“He’s in the back.” The boy called out and ran around the house to the backyard before any of the men could get further information out of him. Grabbing their equipment, the three of them raced to the back of the house where the boy had disappeared.

“Up there!” called out the same boy who had been at the curb. Pointing skyward, he directed their attention to a treehouse high on a branch. “Boy, is he ever gonna be in trouble when his mom finds out!” The boy giggled gleefully.

“Hello up there!” Roy called out to the boy looking down from the treehouse. “Are you hurt at all?”

“No!” The boy shouted back down to Roy. “I’m just STUCK! The ladder fell and everyone else ran home. Get me outta here!”

“Okay, just hold on. We’ll be right up.” Roy was losing the battle at keeping a smile from forming. “What’s your name, son?” Roy tried to distract the boy to calm him down.

“Ricky. Get me OUTTA here!” he yelled down again.

Meanwhile, Johnny had been talking with the friend who had been wise enough to stay on the ground.

“So how did your buddy get stuck up there in the first place?” he asked.

“Well, we got the ladder up to the tree, but when Ricky got to the top, it started sliding and just sorta fell. The other guys got scared and ran home. I couldn’t get the ladder back up by myself, so I called the fire department. Mom always said to call you guys if there was trouble. Boy, is he ever gonna get in trouble!”

Johnny just shook his head. “You know, you should never climb a ladder unless you have someone to steady it as you go up.” He pointed to the ladder lying on the ground. “And that’s why.”

Roy and Danny grabbed the ladder and set it up against the tree again and Johnny headed over to help them. As he started to ascend the ladder, Roy stopped him and turned to Danny.

“Why don’t you do the honors, Danny,” Roy said with a smile as he addressed their trainee, never noticing the look that Johnny threw him.

Roy and Johnny took their place at the bottom of the ladder while Danny climbed to the top and back down again, guiding young Ricky along the way. Once they were safely down, the two anchormen lowered the ladder to the ground again.

Danny knelt down on one knee, putting himself closer to the boys’ level. “Now, boys, I think it’d be a good idea if you left the ladder just where it is until your mother gets home.” Turning to Ricky, he added, “You’re lucky the ladder decided to wait till you got to the top before it decided to fall. You could have been seriously hurt. Now promise me something, okay?”

Both boys looked at Danny with questioning eyes.

“Promise me you’ll wait till an adult is around before you try a stunt like this again, okay?”

“Yes, Sir,” both boys answered with a relieved look on their faces.

“Good men,” Danny said with a smile.

“Yes, Sir!” they repeated with vigor, returning his smile.

On the return trip to the station, Danny and Roy laughed lightly at the boy’s predicament.

“Think Ricky will really get in trouble from his mom?” Danny asked.

“I think that’s a safe assumption," Roy laughed. “No way are they going to be able to keep this a secret. Not if their neighborhood is anything like mine!”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Ours is the same way. If a fire department vehicle showed up in my front yard, my kid would be the first one to spread the news.” Danny joined in Roy’s laughter.

Meanwhile, Johnny quietly stared out the side window.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

Back at the station, Johnny cornered Roy before he had a chance to follow Danny into the dayroom.

“Why’d you pull me back like that? I was halfway on the ladder already!” Irritation in his voice was evident.

Roy shrugged his shoulders. “I just thought it’d be a good first rescue for Danny. That’s all.”

“Well, yeah, but...” Johnny started to protest, but stopped himself.

“What?” Roy asked.

“Oh nothin’,” Johnny muttered, brushing past Roy to the door, leaving him to wonder what had just happened.

Inside the dayroom, Danny was busy telling the others about the boys and the treehouse. In a very animated conversation, Danny acted out Ricky’s look of horror at being stuck so high in the tree and his friend’s look of glee as he repeated how Ricky was going to be in trouble with his mom. The men laughed at Danny’s story, not so much at the story itself, but in the manner in which he told it.

Johnny was pouring himself a cup of coffee and when the storyteller was finished, interjected, “It wasn’t that funny!”

“You’re just sore because you’re incapable of telling a good story, Gage,” Chet teased the already upset Johnny.

Johnny grunted an indiscernible reply and carried his coffee cup over to the couch to sit with Henry.

“What’s up with Gage?” Chet asked Roy.

“I don’t know,” Roy answered. He leaned in closer to Chet and said quietly, “but I think a little green-eyed monster just might be nipping at his heels.”

“Over what? Was there a good lookin’ chick that snubbed him again?” Chet chortled.

“Nah, nothing like that, but...”

The klaxons interrupted the rest of their conversation, and the men of A-shift scrambled to their respective vehicles.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

Over the next few shifts, Danny O’Sullivan proved himself more than capable at his duties. It wasn’t long before Roy was giving him more responsibility. He’d made no glaring mistakes, was pleasant with their patients, and had a unique gift of gab which the others found refreshing. The man could take a boring little rescue and turn it into a tantalizing tale of intrigue.

Danny had a way with him that seemed to draw the others close. When he had transferred to L.A. two years earlier, he had considered the versatility of the population and taken Spanish lessons to help him on the job. Marco found this simple act a telling fact on Danny’s compassion for the non-English speaking portion of the community, and was duly impressed. Captain Stanley was likewise struck with his dedication to the job, and was not at all threatened when one of the first meals that Danny had prepared turned out to be a clam chowder that rivaled his own. In addition, Chet was thrilled to share those Irish tales with him, matching him story for story. Even Mike found himself drawn into conversation a time or two, which surprised the rest of the crew.

Roy and Danny hit it off particularly well from the very beginning. They were both family men. They both had mothers-in-law that deemed them less-than-fit to be married to their precious daughters, and they both liked to tinker around in the garage. On their down time, if they weren’t prattling on about their latest work projects, they were sharing the latest escapades concerning their kids. In fact, the only one who seemed unenthralled with the new man on the crew was Johnny.

As Danny ensconced himself more and more into the station, Johnny became increasingly withdrawn. The only problem was, no one seemed to notice, or so Johnny thought.

As Danny shouldered more responsibility, he and Johnny seemed to bump heads more frequently. More than once, they had both reached for the drug box at the same time, or grabbed the BP cuff simultaneously. Johnny conceded to the trainee in those cases, in view of that fact that he knew their trainee did indeed need to perform these tasks. Nonetheless, he was beginning to feel a bit like a fifth wheel. What upset him most was, the rhythm that he and Roy had established over the years seemed a trifle off its beat. He was more than uncomfortable with that. He started counting down the days until it was just the two of them again.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

“Johnny?” Roy startled him as he came up from behind in the locker room.

“Gees, Roy, make some noise next time, will you?” Johnny exclaimed.

“Sorry.” Roy smiled, but sobered as he continued, “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m okay,” Johnny shrugged.

“You sure? You’ve been awfully quiet lately,” Roy persisted.

“Nothing to say, I guess,” Johnny answered with another shrug.

“That’s what I mean. I can’t remember the last time you’ve had nothing to say.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Johnny challenged.

“It’s not supposed to mean anything. I was just wondering if you’re okay. Are you still worried about your apartment? Or is it something else?” Roy prodded.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know, that’s what I’m asking you, but your mood seemed to change about the same time we found out we were getting a trainee to work with us. Ever since Danny came on board, you’ve been, well...not yourself. Anything I should know about?”

Johnny opened his mouth to speak, but seemed to change his mind in mid-stream. Instead, he answered with another one-word reply. “No, not at all.”

Roy rolled his eyes. “Well, if you have a problem with it, with Danny, I think it’s best you get it out in the open, before, whatever it is, steamrolls you.”

“I’ve got no problem, Roy! Now will you leave it alone?” Johnny threw the shirt he’d been holding into the bottom of his locker and slammed it shut. As he headed out the door, he stopped and turned back towards Roy. “Look, I’m sorry. I’ve got no problem though, so will you just leave it alone? Things will work out on their own.”

Roy was left standing in front of the lockers, knowing, despite what his partner said, that was, indeed, a problem.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

Captain Stanley had called Roy and Johnny into his office for an informal evaluation of their trainee. Though he could see for himself how well Danny was integrating himself into his new role, he still needed to hear it from the two men who worked directly with him.

As expected, Roy gave a glowing report on Danny. Stanley trusted his senior paramedic to tell him if, and when, any problems would arise, but it appeared that, to date, there were no problems as far as this trainee was concerned. The only concern he had was Johnny’s lack of participation in the conversation.

“So, John, do you have any concerns?” Stanley directed the question to Johnny.

“Well, I don’t know if ‘concern’ is the right word, but...” Johnny hesitated.

“But what? Let’s hear it if you have any reservations,” Cap instructed.

“Well, it’s just that...everyone seems so taken by this guy, I was just wondering if they would notice anything, well, out of whack.”

Stanley raised his eyebrows at John’s statement. He had noticed that John did not seem as amiable towards Danny as the rest of the men, and he wanted to hear why.

“And have you noticed anything ‘out of whack,’ as you put it?” Cap asked.

“Well, no, but, you never know. I’m just not ready to put him on a pedestal just yet either.”

“Well, if you do notice anything, you better come out with it right away. For now though, you would agree that Danny has been an exemplary example of a paramedic trainee, wouldn’t you?” Cap pinned him down.

Johnny took a deep breath, “Yes, Cap. That he is.” Johnny felt he was choking on his words.

Once out of the office, Roy grabbed Johnny’s arm.

“Would you mind telling me what that was all about?” Roy demanded.

“Nothing.”

“Well, sounded like something to me. Want to spill the beans? You’ve been moping around the station ever since Danny arrived.”

“I’ve...just got some things on my mind, that’s all. It’s nothing.” Johnny pulled free of the grip that Roy held on his arm and walked away.

Roy sighed and watched Johnny disappear through the doorway. He knew he’d have to get to the bottom of whatever was bothering his partner; and Johnny knew he’d have to lighten up on his feelings about their new trainee; if he just knew how.

 For the rest of the shift, Johnny tried his best to be ‘good ol’ Johnny Gage’, but it wasn’t easy, and he wasn’t happy with the effort it took. With each run, he tried to take the time to notice that Danny did seem to know his stuff as far as his duties went. For that, he was glad. There was nothing more cumbersome than an unsure trainee, or worse, an overly confident one. Plus, he was hoping to get this guy out of their hair as soon as possible. The better Danny did, the quicker he’d be gone. Johnny smiled at the very thought.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

It was nearly lights out when the tones sounded.

A drunk driver in an old, rusted-out pickup had run a red light, broadsiding a newer car entering the intersection. The drunk had nary a scratch on him, but the driver of the car wasn’t as lucky. The impact hit the front of the car, just shy of the driver’s door, pinning the driver’s legs underneath the dash. He was conscious, but in a lot of pain.

When Captain Stanley dismounted from his seat in the engine, he noticed a slight gas leak streaming from one of the vehicles. He called out to Chet and Marco to grab a line and water down the scene to prevent an outburst of flames. As water began to spray over the accident site, the paramedics grabbed their equipment from the squad and went to work.

Roy directed Danny towards the drunk driver to check him over thoroughly, while he raced to catch up to Johnny to help with the other victim. By the time he got to the damaged vehicle, his partner had already slid through the passenger door and was assessing the victim’s injuries.

“What’d ya’ got, Johnny?” Roy asked, leaning in through the driver’s window. The driver was gnashing his teeth in an effort to withstand the pain in his legs.

“Well, he’s in a lot of pain here, Roy. Legs are jammed up under the dash. We’ll need the jaws to get him out.” Removing his helmet to access the situation, he leaned down to feel for a pedal pulse. “He’s got a good pulse, Roy, but we better get the backboard, too.”

“Right,” Roy answered simply. He turned around to see Danny trotting in their direction. “Danny!” he yelled after the younger man. “Grab the backboard and tell Cap we need the jaws and a stokes!”

Danny stopped in his tracks, waved in confirmation, and spun around to retrieve the needed items for extrication.

In a matter of seconds, Danny returned with the backboard and a yellow protective blanket. Following right behind him were Stoker and Cap, with the jaws and stokes in hand.

Roy unfolded the blanket, and draped it over the driver and Johnny, while Cap and Stoker set up the jaws and chains.

Over the din of the generator, Johnny yelled at them to stop when the cavity had enlarged enough to free the man from the clutches of his vehicle. Shifting the equipment over to the door, Stoker pried open the driver’s door next for easier extrication. With the door propped open, and the backboard in place, Roy and Cap eased the man onto the backboard, with Johnny guiding them from his vantage point inside the car.

Finally free of his imprisonment, the driver was eased into the stokes so Roy could begin taking the man’s vitals.

Stepping back out of the pickup, Johnny’s pant leg caught on a piece of metal protruding from the bottom of the door. In one fell swoop, he lost his footing and unceremoniously fell backwards, nearly sliding under the car in the process.

“Gage!” Danny cried out. He reached out to grab the falling man but wasn’t close enough to close the gap between them in time.

“Uhn,” Johnny grunted when he hit the wet pavement.

“Johnny? You okay?” Roy yelled when he heard Danny call out Johnny’s name.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Wet, but fine,” Johnny grumbled. Danny reached down to help him up but the dark-haired man pulled away from him. “I said I’m fine!”

Danny stepped back, a little perplexed. He was just trying to help a fallen comrade. He just didn’t realize that this particular fallen comrade did not take kindly to playing the part of victim.

Slowly, Johnny rose to his feet. When he put his full weight on his right foot, a low hissing sound escaped from his lips.

“You sure you’re all right, Gage?” Danny asked again.

“I said I was, didn’t I?” Johnny shot back. The last thing he needed was a trainee telling him he wasn’t.

“I’ll go help Roy out, okay? You take it easy,” Danny offered.

“Yeah, fine, go,” Johnny uttered with a wave of his hand. By the time he hobbled his way over to the other side of the car, Roy was half way to the ambulance with their patient. He started to pick up the rest of their equipment, gingerly putting as little weight as possible on his right foot. He could already feel his ankle swelling inside his boot, making a bad situation worse. Trying to hide his limp, he made his own way over to the ambulance.

This whole time, Danny kept one eye on Gage, out of concern. He had helped gather up the squad’s equipment and now followed the two paramedics to the ambulance.

“Hey Roy?” Danny called to the senior partner as the two men got closer to the ambulance. “You better stick Gage in there with you. He hurt himself in that fall.”

Johnny swung around to face Danny, nearly knocking himself over from the action. Dark angry eyes glared from a taut face.

At the same time, Danny couldn’t help but notice the look on Roy’s face as he snapped his head around nearly as fast as Johnny had. For the first time, he saw for himself what others had told him about the closeness of this team, and envied it.

“Johnny? What happened?” Roy asked with obvious concern in his voice.

“Nothin’,” Johnny’s face lightened slightly as he turned back to his partner. “Just twisted my ankle a little. I just need to shake it off, that’s all.”

“You sure you’re okay?” Roy asked.

“Yeah, go ahead. I’ll meet you at Rampart,” Johnny answered.

“Well, okay, but why don’t you have Danny drive the squad in,” Roy instructed as he climbed into the back of the ambulance.

“I can drive!” Johnny nearly shouted.

Roy just shrugged. He knew driving was a sore spot with his partner, so he let it go. As the ambulance sped off, Johnny and Danny put the squad’s equipment back in the compartments and then took off for the hospital in stone cold silence. Johnny would have never admitted it to Danny, but it was more difficult to drive with that sore ankle than he’d realized it would be.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

Backed up next to the ambulance at Rampart, Johnny told Danny to go in with Roy, while he stayed with the squad. The truth was, he didn’t want to have to try to walk on that ankle just yet. He was hoping to loosen up his boot once he was alone to relieve the pressure. Not wanting to anger the man a second time that night, Danny did as the man instructed.

A few minutes later, Roy was standing next to the driver’s window, with his index finger in a come-hither motion, and smiling.

“What?” Johnny barked at his partner.

“Oh nothing. There’s just an empty exam room, that’s all.” Roy was still smiling, which annoyed Johnny to no end.

“I said I’m okay, Roy! Just need to work it out a little, that’s all.”

“Want me to get a gurney?” Roy was enjoying this whole situation a little too much for Johnny’s mood.

Sighing, Johnny swung open the squad door and stepped out carefully. Deliberately, putting weight on his right foot, he forced a smile.

“See? All better!”

Roy wasn’t buying it any of it. He put his hand on Johnny’s back and half steered, half pushed him through the doors.

“Slow down, will ya’? Where’s the fire?” Johnny griped. Roy was moving too fast for him and his ankle was objecting. He noticed Danny was over by the base station, trying to look busy, as Roy led him to Exam Room 3. The door opened for them, just as they approached it.

“So, Johnny, what’s this I hear? Sprained your ankle?” Dixie, already apprised of the situation, was waiting for them in the room.

“Geesh, can’t a guy keep a secret around here?” Johnny muttered as he limped through the door.

“Not around my hospital,” Dixie joked. She motioned him to jump up on the bed, which he did without further resistance. Roy stood at a safe distance by the door, still smiling.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

“OW! Take it easy, will ya’?” Johnny whined when Dr. Brackett pressed a little too hard on his ankle.

“Well, Johnny, I think it’s just a sprain, but we better take some film, just in case.” Brackett said in his usual matter-of-fact doctor tone.

“Great,” Johnny mumbled to no one in particular. “Would you quit smilin’ already?” This, he directed to his partner.

“Um, I’m going to go get some supplies and grab a cup of coffee. Let me know when the patient is ready to go, okay, Doc?” Roy snickered as he turned to leave.

“I’m glad everyone finds me so amusing,” Johnny grumbled as he turned his head away. One arm went up to rest under his head as everyone left him to himself to await the portable X-ray equipment.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

“Well, Doc, will he live?” Dixie asked in all seriousness.

“I think so, Nurse,” Brackett deadpanned, “but he may never play the flute again.”

Johnny rolled his eyes. “Ha, ha. Just give me my boot and get me outta here!”

“You can leave, Johnny, as long as you’re heading for home.” Brackett informed his reluctant patient.

“HOME! No, no, no, it’s not that bad!” Johnny protested.

“No, it’s not bad, but bad enough for you to miss what’s left of this shift. Keep the ankle elevated, and soak it in Epson salts. If the swelling’s gone down by your next shift, you can probably get by with a good ankle wrap. I’ll even call your captain for you to explain the situation,” Brackett threatened.

Johnny sighed. He knew that once Cap heard the diagnosis that he would have no choice. Cap would surely order him home, and no amount of objections would change that fact. Brackett wished him well, and Dix set up to wrap his ankle.

With his ankle firmly bound, Johnny slid off the exam table. “See? It’s nothing, Dix, really. I don’t know what the big deal is.”

Wordlessly, Dixie handed him a set of crutches. The look on her face told Johnny immediately that there would be no arguments. He grabbed the crutches and hobbled through the door that Dixie held open for him

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

On the ride back to the station, Johnny sat sullenly, clutching his crutches as he stared out the window. His ill mood seemed to have no effect on the idle chatter between Roy and Danny, however. They were deep into conversation on kids – theirs, to be exact. Danny was sharing stories on how hard it had been on his young son to make the move to Los Angeles. Roy was sharing stories on his own two children and their antics around the neighborhood, when suddenly he got an idea.

“Say, Danny! I know there’s a little bit of an age difference between our boys, but why not bring them over sometime? Boys don’t seem to care about age anyway, as long as there’s another one around to get into trouble with.”

Danny and Roy laughed at the thought of their boys finding trouble together. Johnny, however, just rolled his eyes, shook his head, and continued to stare out the window.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

One week left, Johnny thought as he headed to the station. His ankle had healed, for the most part, if not a little bit sore, but nothing he couldn’t handle. His days off had been good, despite the fact they had started out with forced time off. One more week and this new trainee of theirs would be out of their hair and off to his new assignment. As he pulled into the back lot, he saw Roy’s car pulling into its usual parking space just ahead of him. Smiling, he pulled in beside him but was unprepared to see Danny sitting in the passenger seat.

“Morning, Gage!” Danny called out cheerfully.

Losing his smile immediately, he simply nodded his head in acknowledgement to Danny’s greeting. Geesh, thought Johnny, no one’s that cheerful in the morning!

“Hey Johnny!” Roy called out, as he climbed out of his car. “How’s the ankle?”

“It’s good. Thanks for asking.” Johnny nodded towards Roy’s car. “You guys living together now or something?” He tried to sound casual, as he hoped his comment sounded like a light-hearted tease.

Danny supplied the explanation. “Nah, my car didn’t start this morning, so I called Roy and he was kind enough to come pick me up.”

“Oh. Well, you could’ve called me! I could’ve gotten you too, you know,” Johnny surprised both men with his offer.

Danny was a little perplexed. Gage had not exactly tried to be his best friend since he’d gotten to this station and was uncertain as to how to respond to his offer.

“Well, thanks anyway, Gage, but Roy only lives about a mile from me, so it really made more sense to call him first. Next time though, okay Buddy?” Danny smiled and shot a finger in Johnny’s direction.

“Yeah, sure, next time, Buddy…” Johnny forced a smile.

Roy squinted as he watched Johnny walked on ahead.

“He sure is a quiet one, isn’t he?” Danny commented to Roy, only Roy wasn’t really listening.

“Huh? Sorry…” he apologized.

“I said, that Gage is sure a quiet one, isn’t he? Kind of surprises me though. When my last station heard I was coming to 51s for training, they described Gage as, well, not exactly the quiet type.”

“Uh, no, he’s not actually. I think he’s just going through something right now. He gets kind of quiet when he’s going through something,” Roy said  more to himself than Danny.

“Just my luck. I get assigned here and Gage goes quiet on me.” Danny laughingly shook his head at the dumb luck he’d walked into, but Roy never noticed. He was thinking back to the day that Danny arrived, which incidentally coincided with the day Gage’s problem started.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

Johnny was in and out of the locker room in record time, trying to beat it out of there before Danny and Roy joined him. Stuffing his shirt into his pants as he walked, he headed for the dorm. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he removed his shoe to make sure the wrap on his ankle was secure and comfortable. A heavy sigh involuntarily escaped from somewhere deep within.

 He knew he had to shake off the feelings he had concerning Danny. After his days off, he had felt like a new man. He’d done a lot of thinking and realized he was probably being unfair to Danny. So Roy was the one Danny had called for a lift. He couldn’t really blame him. He knew he hadn’t exactly tried to be Danny’s friend since he’d arrived. He was sure things would be different for this next shift though, and he was going to prove it. He was going to walk in there and be ‘Mr. Charming’ when it came to Danny O’Sullivan. He’d show him who had the charisma around Station 51, and it sure as heck wasn’t Danny O’Sullivan.

 Even so, his triumphant return hadn’t started out on a winning note. First, he had overslept. Already running late, the traffic had been horrific on every road he took, and to top it all off, the scene in the parking lot did nothing to warm his heart. Shaking his head, he headed for the break room. Hearing Roy’s voice on the phone, he stopped just shy of the doorway.

“Great, Hon. I’ll tell him it’s all set then. Thanks. You’re a peach!” Roy hung up the phone and turned around to call out, “Hey Danny! It’s all set. Tomorrow night, my house, about seven.”

“Great, Roy! I know Angie and Ryan will love it!” Danny was all smiles.

Just around the corner, in the bay, Johnny leaned against the wall, his head falling back to rest against the wall.

So much for a new attitude, he thought dismally.

Suddenly, Johnny felt like he was falling down a deep dark hole with no safety line and didn’t know how to stop the descent.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

If the phone call he’d eavesdropped in on wasn’t getting to Johnny enough, Chet’s teasing for the day was finishing the job. Unfortunately, the station was having an unusually quiet day, which left the men with little to do once their chores were finished.

“So, Danny, you know where you might be stationed once you’re certified?” Chet asked of his new friend and ally.

“No, but I hope wherever it is, I like it as much as I do here,” Danny laughed.

“Oh, that’s impossible, my friend. We’re a one-of-a-kind group, right Johnny?” Chet turned to ask an obviously quiet Gage.

“Whatever you say, Chet.” Johnny didn’t care where Danny ended up as long as he ‘ended up’ somewhere else.

“Say, Gage, I have a great idea!” Chet jumped on Gage’s mood.

“Let me make a note of that one, Chet,” Marco piped up smugly, “since it happens so rarely.”

Sticking his tongue out at Marco like a schoolboy, a slow grin formed on his face as he turned to Gage again.

“Well, Gage? Want to hear it?” he egged on.

“Sure Chet, why not?” Johnny knew he was going to babble on, with or without his implied permission.

“Well, I was just thinking, since you’re such a wet blanket these days, and Danny Boy here fits in here so well, you might want to consider a transfer yourself, and give him your spot so we can brighten up this ol’ station house again! We barely noticed you were gone the other night anyway.”

Instead of the retort that Chet was expecting from Gage, the man in question sat in stone cold silence. Marco, Mike and Roy stared at Chet in disbelief, and Danny looked a mite uncomfortable himself.

After a couple of awkward minutes, Johnny turned to Chet, forcing his best smile for everyone else’s benefit.

“I could never do that, Kelly, and do you know why?” he challenged. “I would never give you the satisfaction of thinking the Phantom had gotten the best of me. I’ll still be here long after when you retire!” Scooting his chair out from under him, he left the room, leaving a group of relieved men behind him. The others seemed content that he seemed to take Chet’s crude comment so lightly. Only Roy was not so certain he’d meant it. He felt a ‘heart-to-heart’ coming on with his partner.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

The following day, Roy pulled up to Johnny’s apartment building just as the man in question was getting ready to back out.

“Hey, Johnny!” he called out to his partner from his car window. “Are you coming or going?”

“Hey Roy!” Johnny called back, glad, yet surprised, to see his partner. “What brings you by?” He was trying to think if he’d forgotten some plans that they might have made together.

Roy got out of his car and walked over to Johnny’s Land Rover.

“Well, you do, to tell the truth,” Roy answered.

“Me!” Johnny asked in surprise.

“Well, yeah,” Roy continued, “I’ve been a little concerned. You’ve been mighty quiet at work lately and since we haven’t really have a chance to talk it out at work, I figured the next best thing was to track you down here.”

Johnny frowned. He had hoped Roy had stopped by with plans for the two of them. Talking was not the type of activity he had envisioned. Instead, he felt he was in for one of Roy’s interrogations and he was not in the mood.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Johnny said, trying to side-step the issue.

“I think you do, but for some reason, you’re uncomfortable with telling me what it is this time.”

“What do you mean, this time?” Johnny asked defensively.

“I mean, any other time, when you have something on your mind, you usually take your own sweet time in clueing me in, but you do, finally. This time, you don’t seem willing to do that. What’s up?” Roy paused. “I guess I’m just wondering if you’re mad at me for some reason?”

Johnny looked at the man standing before him in surprise. How could this man possibly think he was mad at him? They were not only partners, but best friends as well. Johnny could think of nothing that Roy could do to make him truly angry with him.

“No! I’m not mad at you!” Johnny scoffed.

“Okay. Who are you mad at then?” Roy kept prodding.

Johnny sighed, and Roy let out a breath. He knew that was a good sign. He might finally get some answers.

“I’m not mad, really. I’m just a little… concerned is all,” Johnny admitted.

“About…?”

“About Danny, I guess…”

“Danny?” Roy was confused. As far as he knew, Danny had been doing his job very well and gotten along with everyone, as no other trainee had before.

“Well, yeah,” Johnny hated this. He knew he had nothing concrete on which to base his fears, and he hadn’t wanted to voice his concerns, not even to Roy. “I just think everyone’s getting a little too… involved with this guy.”

“Involved?” Roy couldn’t help repeating himself.

“Yeah, involved. I mean, he’s only a trainee. He’ll be gone before too long.” Johnny hoped. “He’s a good trainee and all, and I think he’ll make a fine paramedic, some day, but Roy, no one’s as great as everyone thinks he is!”

“Have you seen something I haven’t? When we’ve been out on a run?” Roy was afraid he might have missed something pertinent. He was, after all, the senior paramedic on this team and it was his call in the end as to whether or not Danny should make it through the program.

“Well, no,” Johnny had to admit, “but after that last time, Roy, you just never know where someone’s coming from.”

“You mean Ed Marlowe?” Roy asked.

“Oh, don’t remind me!” Johnny groaned. The nightmare of Ed Marlowe had never quite left Johnny. As a firefighter, Marlowe was top-notch. As a paramedic, Ed Marlowe could not accept the limitations of the job, constantly wanting to second-guess the rules and the doctors.

“Johnny, Danny is no Ed Marlowe. I think we would have seen signs of that by now. He really seems to know his stuff without being overbearing, plus, he fits in really well with the crew, and he has from day one.”

Johnny knew Roy was stating the truth, and he wasn’t sure what to say to counter his argument.

“I know, I guess I’m just a little trainee-shy right now,” Johnny flashed a half-grin in hopes this conversation would end, now. He did not want to admit the truth, especially when he wasn’t entirely sure what that was himself. At least he wasn’t ready to admit it to himself right now.

“Look, Johnny, just give Danny a chance. You seem to be only one with reservations, but, if you notice anything on the job that deserves my attention, I do expect you to fill me in, immediately. You will, won’t you?”

Johnny hesitated a minute, thinking. “Okay Roy, maybe you’re right. I know I gotta give him a fair chance.” Maybe he was being a little bit unfair. “Look, I’ve really got to get going now, okay?” Johnny turned his key over to start his vehicle.

“Come over for supper tonight?” Roy asked as he backed up. Johnny’s face lit up, until Roy continued.

“Danny and his family are coming over too. Maybe it will give you a chance to see him in a different light,” Roy said hopefully. If he caught the change in expression on Johnny’s face when he mentioned Danny, he never let on.

“Uh, sorry, can’t. Hot date, you know?” Johnny flashed a grin, hoping Roy believed in its sincerity.

“Well, okay. Next time though, okay?” Roy said as he returned to his own car.

Waiting until Roy had driven away, Johnny laid his head against the steering wheel for a brief moment and sighed. Putting his car in reverse, he backed up.

So much for fair chances. I’ve got a man to see, anyway.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

When Roy got into the locker room, Johnny was already half dressed.

“Early today, huh?” Roy noticed with a smile.

“Uh, yeah, I had some calls to make before I got to work this morning.” Johnny offered nothing more in explanation.

“Oh yeah?” Roy inquired. “Who’d you have to call this early in the morning?”

“Just making some arrangements. Uh, my apartment building finally sold.”

Roy stopped what he doing, noticing Johnny’s hesitance to get into whatever subject he was trying to avoid. His partner was beating around the bush, and he knew it.

“And?”

“Well, I was right. They raised my rent.” Johnny shrugged and turned to sit in his locker. “A friend of mine just lost his roommate though and he’s, ah, he asked me if I wanted the spot.”

“Roommate? You’re sort of used to living alone, aren’t you?”

“Well, it won’t be so bad. He’s on a different shift than I am, so we’d hardly see each other.”

Roy sighed. Sometimes, talking with Johnny was harder than pulling teeth.

“So, he’s with the department. Anyone I know?”

“Um, no, I don’t think so. He works out of 66.”

“66! That’s clear over in Pasadena. I thought you said they dressed kind of funny. Besides, that’s gotta be, what...a good 45-minute drive. Little out of way for you, isn’t it?” Roy asked uncertainly.”

“Won’t be…”

“And how do you figure that?” Roy asked cautiously.

Johnny cleared his throat and took a deep breath as he stood to close his locker door. “‘Cause there’s a paramedic opening at his station and I was thinking of transferring when I move, that’s how.” Johnny slammed his locker door shut, turned on his heels and left abruptly. The shock of that last statement left Roy frozen to the floor.

Forcing himself to recover, he hurried to finish dressing, slammed his own locker door and rushed after his partner. “Johnny! Wait up!” Roy called after him.

Mike, Chet, Marco, and Danny were already sitting around the table in the break room. Johnny was leaning casually against the counter, sipping his coffee. Roy had to stop himself from asking any further questions, just as Johnny knew he would. In fact, he had counted on it, knowing Roy would not mention this latest bombshell in the other’s presence.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

Between morning roll call, station assignments and various runs throughout the day, there left no opportunity for Roy to confront Johnny. He grew increasingly upset at the thought of his partner, and friend, leaving for no apparent reason. Johnny, at the same time, grew increasingly nervous over their inevitable conversation. He knew he would have to explain why he wanted to transfer and hoped he could pull it off. Meanwhile, the others seemed oblivious to the underlying tension between their two resident paramedics.

By supper hour, the pressure on Roy was giving him a headache. As Danny worked his magic over the stove, Roy rummaged through the cabinets looking for aspirin.

“Can I help you find something, Roy?” Danny asked as he leaned over the pot to sniff the contents.

“No… well, yeah, you seen any aspirin around here lately?” Roy asked as his head pounded.

“No, but I’ve got some in my locker if you need ‘em,” Danny offered.

“Thanks, I think I could use them.” Roy accepted the offer.

“Sure thing, c’mon, let’s go find ‘em.” Danny put his pot on simmer and the two of them went in search of aspirin.

Johnny came strolling into the break room just after the other two men disappeared through the door.

“Where’s Roy?” he asked to whomever wanted to answer.

“He and Danny just went into the locker room, I think,” Mike answered from behind the newspaper he was reading.

“Mmm…” Johnny muttered quietly. “Figures.”

“What?” Mike asked.

“Nothin’, Mike. Nothin’.” Johnny turned to leave again, waving off Mike’s question.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

It wasn’t until well after lights-out that Roy finally got his chance to corner Johnny. He’d fallen asleep the minute he hit his pillow, but something nudged him out of his sleep. Waking with a start, he glanced over and noticed that Johnny was not in his bunk. Slipping on his turnout pants, he quietly slipped out of the dorm room in search of his partner. Seeing a soft glow coming from the break room, he headed across the apparatus bay and into the kitchen area.

Johnny was lying on the couch with the TV on for company, though he wasn’t really watching. He never noticed as Roy walked over to the sink to get a glass, until the sound of running water startled him.

Jerking with a start, he cranked his neck to look behind him, tensing a little when he saw the reason for the intrusion.

“Oh, hi,” Johnny said sleepily as he turned back to the TV. “Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you.”

“I wasn’t asleep.” Roy answered simply.

“Good.”

Heading over to the other side of the room, Roy pulled up a chair to where Johnny was sprawled out on the couch and leaned close to ask, “Want to tell me about it now, Johnny?”

“Tell you what?” Johnny feigned ignorance.

“You know full well what,” Roy continued. “You just don’t go drop a bombshell like you did this morning and then pretend it’s business as usual.”

“Oh, that. Well, there’s nothing to tell, really.” Johnny pretended to be interested in the old movie showing on the set. It was all he could do to keep his gaze off of Roy.

“Nothing to tell?” Roy asked incredulously. “You tell me you’re thinking of a transfer and then sit there and tell me there’s nothing to tell?” Roy’s voice raised a couple of octaves with each sentence, a telltale sign of the stress he’d been feeling throughout the day.

“What’s to tell? I can’t afford my apartment anymore. A friend has offered a place. I’m taking it. It’s that simple.”

“Nothing’s ever that simple with you,” Roy muttered under his breath.

“What?” Johnny didn’t hear him clearly.

“I said, nothing’s ever that simple with you,” Roy repeated in a louder voice.

“Well, this time it is…” Johnny was hoping he could stall Roy off long enough for him to tire out and return to bed. At the same time, he knew this would be next to impossible.

“Okay, I can understand the apartment being too high-priced after the sale. I can understand you needing to find something else. What I can’t understand, is you willing to move in with someone else, in Pasadena, and transferring out of 51s.”

“I need a place to live, Roy.” Johnny straightened to sit as he talked, getting defensive. “Can’t exactly live in my car, you know. And why’s it so hard to believe I want a roommate?”

Roy raised one hand as he started ticking off the points, finger by finger. “Because I know how you value your privacy. I know how you like living alone. I know how you like a place to take your lady friends. And I know there’s more to this than you’re telling me!” His voice raised even further in frustration.

Johnny’s eyes were mere slits by now, partly from anger, partly from frustration. He began to wonder if he shouldn’t have transferred long ago, before anyone had gotten to know him as well as this man had.

Roy continued. “Look, if you need a place to stay until you find suitable housing, stay with us! You know you don’t even have to ask. Joanne and the kids would love having you for as long as it takes,” Roy offered in desperation.

“I can’t do that.”

“Why not?” Roy challenged.

“Because, well, I just can’t! Besides, you have…” Johnny stumbled on his words, then appeared to change thoughts in mid-stream. His hand brushed across his neck. “I have no idea how long it might take to find something I can afford on my salary. I’m not a charity case, you know. I can find my own place, and I did! It just happens to be in Pasadena. You said yourself, Roy, we all have choices, well, this is my choice.” Johnny shrugged at that last statement.

“Your choice…” Roy shook his head as his words trailed off. He was not done with this conversation by any means, but just then, Danny came walking in.

“Hey guys! Couldn’t sleep either?” Danny called out cheerfully, not noticing he’d interrupted something important as he headed over to the sink.

Roy noticed Johnny stiffen at the younger man’s greeting. For some reason, this man rubbed his partner the wrong way, but he was damned if he knew why. Danny was a pleasant, amiable enough fellow and the rest of the crew really seemed to like him. He knew his stuff as far as the job went, was cooperative, and listened to instructions well. As far as trainees went, Danny was the best they’d ever had. In fact, he and Roy had hit it off particularly well, almost as well as he and Johnny when they first teamed up.

Finally, the proverbial lightbulb lit up over Roy’s head. Perhaps a little too well…

Danny pulled up a chair beside Roy, joining the two men. At that instant, Johnny rose from the couch and announced he was heading off to bed. The two remaining men looked at each other, then towards the retreating figure.

“Hmm... Was it something I said?” Danny asked half-heartedly.

“No, I think it was something I did,” Roy answered.

“What?” Danny was uncertain he’d heard right.

“Nothing, Danny, just thinking out loud. I think I’m heading to bed too. See you in the morning.”

“Sure thing, Roy,” Danny scratched his head wondering what the heck had just happened.

If Roy was thinking of trying to talk to Johnny back at the dorm, all thoughts raced right out of his head when he returned to bed. His partner’s back turned to him, and the soft, rhythmic breathing told him he might well be sleeping, though he doubted it. Best to leave the next conversation on their day off, in private.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

The next conversation would be a long time in coming. Johnny did an excellent job of avoiding his partner the following morning. He made it a point to keep himself surrounded by the other men at the station, or completely out of sight. When it came time to leave for home, he was the first one out the door and down the drive before he let himself get cornered. That was fine with Roy, he knew where Johnny lived and he was not going to let him get off scott-free. If he had to sit on his front door step till they talked, he would do just that.

When he tried calling Johnny at his apartment later that morning, however, there was no answer. After giving up on trying to reach him by phone, Roy got into his car and headed over to Johnny’s apartment building.

When he got there, the Land Rover was gone. Regardless, Roy went up to the door to leave a note. As he tucked the note into the doorjamb, he got a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, he walked over to one of the front windows overlooking the outside walkway to the apartment and peered inside. Except for the furniture that came with place, Johnny’s apartment was empty. The pit in Roy’s stomach tightened as he hoped he wasn’t too late.

He kicked himself mentally for not asking whom the friend was that Johnny had mentioned. He would have had no problem in tracking him down if he had asked. The fire department grapevine was very long, and very reliable.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

Roy had been on the phone for the better part of the morning, calling everyone he could think of who might know where his partner might be. He even called over to 66s in Pasadena to see if anyone knew Gage, or whom he might have moved in with. He'd had no luck there either. He was growing frustrated and worried. He found himself debating whether he wanted to smack him or… smack him. He hunched over the kitchen table rubbing his temples where his latest headache had settled.

There was one more number to call. He picked up the phone and dialed.

“Hello?” Captain Stanley answered.

“Uh, hello, Cap, this is Roy.”

“Roy? What can I do for you?”

“Uh, yeah, Cap. I was just wondering…” Roy hesitated. He suddenly felt silly calling his captain for the sheer purpose of checking up on his partner, which was exactly what he was doing. “I was wondering. Did you by any chance talk to Johnny today?”

There was a long pause.

“Cap?”

“I’m still here, Roy. No, I haven’t talked to John today. Should I have?” Stanley was getting concerned.

“So he hasn’t talked to you? Or given you anything?” Roy was not about to blow a confidence if Johnny had not yet informed Cap of his plans to transfer.

“No,” Stanley said with more than a little trepidation. “Is there a problem, Roy? What’s this all about?”

Now, Roy was embarrassed. He wished he hadn’t called, but he had done so out of sheer desperation.

“No, not really. I was just looking for Johnny and thought maybe, um, never mind, Cap. Sorry to have bothered you. Bye.” Roy hung up before Stanley could interrogate him any further. He never heard Stanley as he started to ask what was wrong.

I shouldn’t have done that, thought Roy. Now I’m going to have to tell him something the next time I talk to him.

Just then, the phone rang, but Roy didn’t pick it up. He was afraid it was Cap calling back to find out what the heck was going on. Had he picked up the phone, he would have discovered he was wrong.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

He slammed the phone down in disgust, at himself. Johnny had tried calling Roy several times now, but kept getting a busy signal. When he tried again, the line was no longer busy, but now there was no answer. Sighing, he pushed the phone back on the desk and returned to his task of unpacking. He had hoped that Roy would be home. He didn’t really want to be here. What he wanted to do, was accept Roy’s offer of a place to stay. Roy had been right. Johnny wasn’t sure a roommate would be the answer for him. He had already given up his apartment though, and now he was stuck. He half thought of calling Danny to see if he knew where Roy was, but if he did, and Danny did know… Johnny decided he didn’t want that much information this early in the day.

He looked around the room he was forced to call home, and sighed heavily. At least it was a roof over his head until he figured out what to do next. After tossing and turning most of the night, maybe a good day’s sleep would help, but he doubted it. Heaving the rest of his belongings into the corner, he flopped down on the lumpy mattress and stared at the ceiling.

Maybe I should try calling again. Instead, he closed his eyes, willing himself to sleep.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

“Roy?” Joanne came up from behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Don’t you think you’re worrying for nothing? You know Johnny. He never goes on a tangent so far that he can’t find his way back.”

Roy could feel the soft breath of his wife on his neck, sighing at the sheer pleasure of it. He felt his muscles relax with her touch and reached up to caress her hand. If all of life could be this simple...

“Besides, if he was really upset about something, he’d come to you to talk about it. He always does. Or he’d call me!” She laughed softly, remembering the times Johnny did indeed call her when he thought Roy wouldn’t understand.

“I don’t think so, Joanne. Not this time.” Roy shook his head, ready to admit defeat. “I think this time, it’s me he has the problem with.”

Joanne released her hold around Roy’s neck and settled in the chair next to his, laying her hand tenderly over his. “What do you mean?” She had never seen her husband look quite so defeated before, and this worried her. She knew he’d been troubled the last few days, but he seemed unwilling to discuss it with her, until now.

Roy sighed, and then talked to his wife. He talked about the last couple of weeks. He talked about Danny. He talked about his conversations with Johnny. He talked about the suspicions he had concerning Johnny’s change in behavior. All the while, Joanne sat quietly and listened, never taking her eyes off of her husband, never letting go of his hand.

Although unloading on his wife didn’t solve his problem, Roy felt infinitely better when he was finished. Why he hadn’t told her the whole story from the beginning, he had no clue. Probably because he hadn’t realized the situation was heading in such a downward spiral.

Joanne suggested that they run over to Johnny’s apartment building and talk to the super. Johnny was sure to have left a forwarding address.

“Now why didn’t I think of that?” Roy smiled for the first time that day.

“That’s what you have me for,” she answered coyly, batting her eyelashes flirtatiously. .

With the kids in school, they had no other responsibilities for the day, so the two of them jumped into Roy’s little car to look for answers. He prayed they would find them, along with Johnny.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

Talking to the super provided no insight as to Johnny’s whereabouts.

“Just like Johnny to move on the spur of the moment and neglect to leave a forwarding address,” Joanne observed.

“Now what?” Roy asked of his wife.

“Well, now we wait, I guess. We wait until that stubborn partner of yours gets over himself and calls,” Joanne answered.

“And if he doesn’t?” Roy asked unconvinced.

“Oh he will. Trust me,” Joanne stated confidently, as she smiled knowingly. She leaned over to give her husband a light peck on the cheek. “Now, let’s go eat. I’m starving!”

After they finished an early lunch, Joanne decided they needed to do a little shopping before they returned home. Actually, she needed nothing, but she thought it would be a nice diversion for Roy, to get his mind off his wayward partner, if that was possible. She had never seen such dynamics between two people as she did with these two. They acted like children much of the time, despite the intensity of their jobs. She shrugged it off as their way to unwind after the pressures their job afforded, so she just let them be, most of the time. What she wasn’t telling Roy was, she was becoming somewhat worried about their friend as well. It really wasn’t like Johnny not to inform someone of his whereabouts. Deep down, she hoped, that when they returned home, that Johnny would be calling. She wished it sooner rather than later, for Roy’s sake, and hers.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

A fitful few hours later, Johnny rolled over and looked at the clock. He closed his eyes again when he realized not as much time has passed as he’d hoped. Being stuck in that tiny room was driving him up the wall. The four walls closed in on him with each passing second. The bed was lumpy and uncomfortable enough that he knew he would never be able to recapture some of the sleep that had escaped him the previous night. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, and stared at the dirty, marred wall glaring at him. If he hadn’t already been depressed before he walked in, it wouldn’t have taken very long to get that way in these gloomy surroundings. Head in hands, he tried to think about what to do. Knowing he had only one choice, he reached again for the phone.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

When they pulled up in the driveway, Roy rushed into the house. He’d been afraid that maybe Johnny had been trying to call while they were out, or had perhaps stopped over. Seeing no note on the door, he guessed he was wrong about that part of his wishful scenario.

Roy knew exactly why Joanne wanted to go shopping. He knew it was to divert his attention from the matter at hand. Unfortunately it didn’t work. He was still just as worried, but he knew his wife had the right idea. Better to keep busy than sit by a phone that wasn’t ringing.

He was in the middle of mowing the lawn when the kids got home from school. Joanne yelled out that she was running next door. Jennifer sat on the back step watching her dad finish up with the lawn, while Chris opted to stay in the house to watch TV. Having worked up a good sweat, Roy finally finished his chore and put the mower back in the shed.

“What say we find some nice cold lemonade, okay, Hon?” he asked his daughter.

“Sure thing, Daddy!” the little girl squealed. 

Roy’s mood was much improved. There was nothing like working up a little sweat to take your mind off your troubles. Pouring a glass for himself and Jennifer, he called into the living room to see he could interest his son in some lemonade as well.

“Sure, Dad, at the next commercial.” Chris shouted back from his roost on the couch.

Roy smiled at his son’s sense of priorities, which was no different from any other adolescent's, when he thought about it. It took only a minute for Chris to show up in the kitchen to claim his cold beverage. Knowing he’d never be able to take the glass into the living room, he gulped it down with little fanfare.

“Chris!” Roy scolded. “Think you could at least drink it slow enough to catch the flavor as it goes down?”

“But, Dad, the commercial will be over in a second!” his son protested. He moved the glass from his lips just long enough to shove a cookie in his mouth. Roy saw this, thinking absent-mindedly that Chris had watched his partner eat far too many meals.

His partner – Roy hadn’t thought of him in at least… five minutes, not since he’d finished mowing to take a break with his daughter. He sighed heavily as he pulled up a kitchen chair and plunked down on it.

“By the way, Dad,” Chris called out behind as he returned to the living room, “Johnny called while you were outside.”

Roy spun around in the chair he was sitting. “What!” Chris was already back in the living room, slumped over the couch. Jumping out of the chair so fast that it fell backwards against the wall, Roy raced into the living room.

“When, Chris?” he asked his son.

“When what?” Chris asked, half-listening, and still munching on the remnants of his cookie.

Temper starting to flare, Roy reached over and popped the off button on the TV.

“Dad!” Chris yelled, "I was watching that!”

“When did Johnny call?” Any other time Roy could handle his almost-teenage son’s seemingly inability to communicate like a normal human being, but his patience had already been worn thin by the other overgrown kid in his life, Johnny.

“I don’t know, while you mowing, I guess,” his son offered.

“Why didn’t you come get me!” Roy found himself half-yelling at Chris.

“Cuz’ you were mowing?” Chris wasn’t sure why his dad was so upset, unless… unless there was something wrong with Johnny that he wasn’t telling him. “Is Johnny okay, Dad?” He figured he might as well ask, since he was already in trouble.

Either Roy didn’t hear the question or choose to ignore it. He turned to see Jennifer staring at his him with wide eyes. She wasn’t sure why her daddy was so upset with Chris. He had warned Chris a hundred times to take a message if he was mowing, over trying to yell over the old mower. The only exceptions were, if it was the station, or their mom. Once that mower stopped, there was no guarantee that it would start again. Watching her dad yelling over a phone call from Johnny scared her.

Roy’s face sank when he realized what had just taken place. Only Johnny could disrupt this household so quickly, whether he was in it or not. He swooped up his little girl and gave her a big smile and a kiss. The two of them turned back to the kitchen, leaving Chris in his wake. Afraid he’d screwed up with his dad, Chris ventured into the kitchen after his dad and sister.

“Sorry, Dad,” he apologized, “if I’d have known you wanted to talk to Johnny so bad, I would’ve gotten you, but you always said not to bother you when you’re mowing.”

“I know, Chris, and I’m sorry too.”

“Why don’t you just call him back?” Chris asked innocently enough.

“I can’t do that,” Roy admitted, closing his eyes to his returning headache. “I don’t have his number. He moved out of his apartment.”

Chris pulled the phone pad over to the edge of the counter. “I wondered where he was calling from. I didn’t recognize the number.”

“What?” Roy eyes flew open, as he asked this for the second time that afternoon.

“The number Johnny left, I didn’t recognize it.” Chris answered matter-of-factly. He picked up the pad, which Roy snapped out of his fingers.

“Why didn’t you tell me he left a number?” Roy was torn between frustration at his son for not coming forth with this little tidbit of information earlier, and elation over the fact that he’d gotten a phone number for his missing partner.

“I wrote it down…” Chris defended himself, “just like you always told me to do. Can I watch TV now?” He’d had enough of his dad’s hot and cold disposition for one afternoon.

“Sure, sure, Chris, go ahead, watch TV, have a cookie, have some lemonade, you too, Jenn. I’ve got a call to make.” Roy’s face was plastered with a stupid grin as he grabbed the phone’s receiver and dialed the number off the pad still grasped tightly in his hands.

Chris motioned his sister to follow, taking his dad’s orders seriously and grabbing more cookies on their way out of the room. “Parents!” he muttered to his younger sibling, shaking his head.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

When Johnny finally got through to Roy’s house late that afternoon, his partner had been out mowing. Chris had offered to get his dad, but Johnny insisted on letting him be. He knew Roy’s old mower, and didn’t want Chris to get into trouble for making Roy shut the engine off. Johnny had offered to look at it on numerous occasions but Roy liked to bring up that little incident with the mini-bike that he and Chet had tried to fix for a young hospital patient. He wasn’t about to let Johnny dismantle his mower in the same way. At least this way, it still worked. Not very well, but it still worked.

At any rate, he did decide to leave his phone number with Chris. He wished he had asked Chris just how far into the mow job Roy had gotten himself, but he didn’t. Nervous energy abounding, he couldn’t stand it any longer. He snatched his car keys off the dresser top and headed out the door. Any place would be better than here. Besides, he was hungry and needed to pick up a newspaper.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

An hour later, Joanne walked in the back door only to find Roy sitting in a familiar position. The phone was in front of him as he hunched over the kitchen table, rubbing his temples.

“Roy?” Joanne walked over to her husband and repeated that morning’s rituals. Wrapping her hands around him, she leaned over and kissed the back of his neck lightly. “Now who are you trying to call, Honey?” She thought that they had exhausted all possible leads by now and couldn’t imagine whom they might have forgotten.

“Johnny,” Roy offered quietly. Had he turned around he would have seen the look of total confusion on his wife’s face. Instinctively, he knew she must have been wondering if he’d lost his mind. “Johnny called while I was mowing. Chris answered. He left a phone number. Now there’s no answer.”

“Well, thank goodness!” Joanne sighed with relief.

“There’s no answer,” her husband repeated.

“But at least you know he’s all right, Roy, and you have a phone number!” She tried her best to encourage him.

“But there’s no answer.” Each time he repeated himself, his voice got quieter and quieter.

“Honey, why don’t you go shower and lie down till supper? He’s bound to go home sooner or later.” Sooner Joanne prayed. “And then you can call him, or, he’ll probably call back. You know Johnny.”

Nodding his head in silence, Roy got up and headed dejectedly down the hallway. A shower and a nap sounded good about now.

The smell of fresh coffee and grilled steaks played with Roy’s senses as he slowly stretched his way out of a well-deserved nap. He felt refreshed and hungry. Rolling over to see the clock, he realized he’d slept much longer than he had intended. Knowing Joanne, she had probably fed the kids first, so he could sleep as long as he needed. That meant the two of them could dine alone, in peaceful bliss.

“Hi Honey,” Joanne whispered through the open door. “How do you feel?”

“Hungry!” Roy smiled, as he rubbed his stomach for emphasis.

Joanne was glad to see that the nap seemed to do him some good. “Well, good, because there’s plenty left. The kids are fed, so it’s just you and me.”

 Losing his smile as quickly as he’d formed it, he asked his wife, “Any calls?” He didn’t have to specify from whom, and Joanne didn’t have to ask.

She shook her head in answer to his question. “I’m sorry. Let’s just eat. Maybe he’ll call or come over yet. He’s always had impeccable timing when it comes to meals around here, you know.” She tried to sooth the way so they could at least have a semi-enjoyable meal.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

Johnny drove around for close to an hour looking for a newspaper stand and a decent place to eat. This late in the day it was hard to find a stand with any newspapers left. Pulling into a dingy little looking gas station, he spied a beat-up looking newsstand harboring one last paper.

He put his money in the slot and pulled the handle. Nothing happened. He pulled again, this time a little harder. Looking around to see if anyone was watching, he gave the stubborn newsstand a swift kick. Wincing when the stand proved stronger than his kick, he ran his hand through his hair. The machine ate his money, he had no paper, and now his ankle hurt.

He looked around in disgust, when he noticed a hamburger stand across the street.

Well, if I can’t get a newspaper, at least I can eat. He ran across the street and took his place in line behind a couple of teenage boys. The teens were arguing between themselves on what to order. Johnny stood impatiently, tapping his foot on the ground.

“Hey man, what’s your problem?” the teen with dark stringy hair asked. Johnny chose to ignore him and looked away.

“Say man, my buddy here is talking to ya’!” The blond one took a step in Johnny’s direction.

“Look, I’m just here for a burger, alright? If you’re not ready to order, step aside and I’ll get my food and be on my way.” Johnny was tired, his ankle hurt, and he was frustrated. His temper was starting to flare, despite trying to keep it under wraps.

“Oh, now this guy thinks he’s gonna cut! I don’t think so.” The stringy-haired teen spat on the ground in defiance, and stepped closer to Johnny alongside his friend.

“Look!” Johnny started, his arms held up in an attempt to diffuse a worsening situation. He never got to finish. The blond teen shoved him, sending him flying backwards. Johnny cracked the back of his head against the cement, sending a bolt of pain shooting through his brain.

The manager of the burger stand, who had been watching the escalating trouble, ran outside to help. The two boys took off running when they saw the hulking man come flying out the door. The manager helped a dazed Johnny into a sitting position.

“Hey, buddy, you okay? Those punks! They come here every now and again and cause trouble for my customers, but they’ve never done anything like this before. I’m really sorry.”

“Yeah, I’m okay. Just give me a minute.” Johnny shook his head, realizing quickly that this was the wrong course of action.

“You want me to call the fire department? They’ve got those guys that can help, you know.”

“NO!” Johnny shouted adamantly. “I’ll be fine, just give me another minute.” The last thing he needed was for this to get around the department. Luck not being Johnny’s strong suit, a police car pulled up just about then. He had been cruising by when he noticed a ‘man down’ at his favorite burger joint.

“You need some help there, Vic?” the officer asked.

“He says no, Earl, but I’m not so sure.”

The officer came closer, realizing he recognized the man on the ground. “Johnny Gage! Is that you?”

Johnny looked up to see the face of a policeman he just happened to know from being on some of the same calls.

“Oh, hi Earl.”

“You all right, man? Maybe we should call a squad.”

“Oh for Pete’s sake, I’ve just got a little bump on my head, don’t everyone go make a federal case out of it!”

The two men helped Johnny to his feet, while Vic told Earl about the earlier confrontation. Johnny sat down on one of the outside benches and took the offered cold pack for the back of his head. After a good deal of negotiation, he finally convinced both men he was fine and did not need an examination. When Vic learned that Johnny was a paramedic himself, he took him at his word.

Still apologizing, Vic also insisted that Johnny order anything on the menu, his treat. Johnny had lost his appetite by now, but graciously accepted the man’s offer.

Only after reassuring Earl, for the hundredth time, that he was fit to drive and did not need a police escort home, he walked back across the street to retrieve his vehicle. The last thing he needed was for anyone to find out where he was living.

Back at his place, he plopped down on the bed. Before he knew it, he was fast asleep, hearing a ringing sound only in his troubled dreams.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

With dishes cleared away, Roy pulled the phone over to table again and dialed the number Chris had written down.

“Damn it,” cursed Roy, “if he didn’t want me to call him back, why did he leave a number?” Ten more rings, and I’ll hang up. Ten rings later: Okay, five more…

Slamming the phone back on its receiver, he glared at the black contraption in front of him, willing it to ring. Joanne stood at a safe distance by the sink, wishing the same thing.

“Roy, maybe you could try some of the other guys again,” Joanne suggested. “Maybe he’s called them since this morning. Too bad you can’t put an address with that phone number though…” she pondered to herself as she left the room.

“That’s it!” shouted Roy. “That’s it!”

Joanne stuck her head back through the door. “What’s it?” she asked out of curiosity. She knew the phone hadn’t rung or she would have heard it.

“An address. All I need is an address!” Roy was all smiles as he reached for their list of personal phone numbers, thumbing through it till he hit the one he needed. Dialing furiously, he had no idea how he was going to ask this favor, but this was the one man to do his bidding.

“Hello?” a woman’s voice answered.

“Hello, is Vince there please?” Roy’s mind was working feverishly to come up with a good cover story. He knew he was crossing a fine thin line here but he also felt there was no alternative. He and Vince had exchanged phone numbers some time ago when Vince was involved in a traffic accident. Roy had felt responsible when the policeman was injured and he’d missed the signs. Consequently, his and Vince’s families had became friends from the many times Roy called or dropped by to see how his recovery was progressing.

“Hi, Vince, this is Roy DeSoto,” he started.

“Roy! What can I do for you?” Vince asked of his friend.

“Well, this sounds kind of stupid,” Roy thought for a minute then opted to go with the truth, mostly. “Johnny moved into a new apartment and I lost his address. I’ve got his phone number but I’m thinking maybe the phone isn’t hooked up yet. Think you can use some of your departmental clout and find an address for me? I, uh, really needed to get a hold of him today and no way to do it.” Okay, so I didn’t totally lie… now I’m sounding like Chris.

“Well, sure, Roy, no problem. Let me grab a pen quick and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. How soon do you need this?” Vince asked.

“How about this morning?” Roy said jokingly. He was feeling better already.

Vince returned the laughter. Roy gave him the phone number and Vince promised he’d call as soon as he had the address. Roy hung up the phone feeling mighty pleased with his accomplishment, and more relaxed than he had all day.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

Waking with a start, Johnny realized he’d fallen asleep. He knew better than that. With the evidence throbbing in his head, he knew a mild concussion was likely. He’d had enough of them to recognize the signs by now. When the first attempt to sit up failed, he laid back until he felt steady enough to try it again. This time, a little more slowly, he forced himself to sit by the side of the bed. Grabbing hold of the nightstand to steady himself, he stood, a little wobbly at first, but he stood.

I must have some aspirin somewhere around here. A full-fledged band played in his head, consisting of drummers only. He rummaged through his duffel bag until he found the hidden treasure. He made his way to the bathroom for a glass of water and downed the pain relievers. Drenching a rag with cold water to use as a compress, he returned to edge of the bed and sat down. He wanted to lie down but he was afraid he’d fall asleep again.

He wasn’t sure how long he sat holding the cold rag to the back of his head waiting for the pills to take effect. Not long enough in his opinion, but some relief was better than nothing at all. At least he wasn’t nauseous, and the dizziness had subsided.

What am I doing here? Idiot! He chastised himself.

Throwing the rag on the bed, he reached over for his bags and shoved his few belongings into it in no particular order. I should have done this a long time ago. I’d have saved myself a long, miserable day, and most likely, this headache.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

Roy jumped when the phone rang. It was Vince returning his call.

“That’s great, Vince! I owe you one,” Roy thanked his friend as he grabbed a pen to write down the address.

“Well, anytime, Roy, but the phone number isn’t a private number. It belongs to a motel, and not one of nicer ones, if you catch my drift.”

“A motel?” The surprise in Roy’s voice showed.

“Yes, it belongs to a room at the Oceanside View Motel, over on West Willow, near Pacific. I thought you said this was Johnny’s number.”

“Well, I thought… I mean… my son took the message when Johnny called. Maybe he got the number wrong.” Roy hoped not. That would put him right back at ‘square one.’ After reassuring the man on the phone that there was nothing to worry about, he copied the address down, and thanked Vince for his trouble. Roy wondered how convincing he had been.

He stared at the piece of paper in his hand and realized that this was nowhere near Pasadena. In fact, it was in the opposite direction, not too far from the station.

Address in hand, Roy headed for the Oceanside View Motel. When he pulled up, he grimaced in disgust.

What a dump! Surely, Chris must have written that number down wrong. No way would Johnny hole up in a place like this.

Roy found Room 114 and parked his car right outside the door where the call supposedly originated. Just in case, he figured he had better check in with the motel office to make sure there was a John Gage registered there.

The motel office was just as dingy and depressing as the outside of the building. Roy rang the bell for service and a young woman with dirty blonde hair strolled out of the back room.

“Yeah?” she drawled.

“Um, I was wondering, could you tell me if you have a John Gage registered in Room 114?” He prayed he was in the wrong place.

“Gage, you say?” the woman asked.

“Yes, Gage. G-a-g-e, John’s the first name.” Roy repeated.

The woman flipped open a beat up looking register book and thumbed through it. “Yup, Room 114. You thinkin’ of sharing the room with him or somethin’? If you do, it’ll be extra,” she warned him.

Roy frowned at the unwelcome news. “No, I don’t need a room. I just wanted to make sure I had the right place. If it’s all right with you, I think I’ll just find his room.”

“Go ‘round back. There’s parking by the doors.” She pointed the way, then disappeared into the back room again.

Roy walked back to his car in dismay. Johnny’s Rover was nowhere in sight. Great. Well, I’ll just sit here till you get back then, Partner. He pushed his seat back as far as it would go to give him more legroom and settled in for the duration. Hopefully, Johnny was just out getting a late bite to eat and he wouldn’t have to sit in this motel parking lot very long.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

It was late when he finally pulled up to the house. All the windows were dark and the familiar little car was not in the driveway.

Great! They must have gone out for the night. Wonder if they went alone, or…? Johnny shook the thought out of his head.

Maybe he got called back to work. If anybody had tried to call ‘him,’ they wouldn’t have gotten very far. That means Joanne and the kids would be home though. Doesn’t matter. Can’t be bothering them if they’re in bed already. Maybe I should just go back to the station . . .

Nixing all the ideas that came to mind, Johnny settled for climbing into the back of his car. Tossing his bags over the front seat, he rolled out the sleeping bag he always kept on hand. Might as well try to get some sleep until Roy gets home, whenever that might be . . .

He shifted his weight to get comfortable, but the bump on his head made the job much more difficult. It felt stuffy in the car, even with the windows down, and he felt cramped.

There must a better solution . . .

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

Roy had fallen asleep sometime after midnight. He just didn’t realize it until an unfamiliar voice lulled him back to life.

“Mmph ...Joanne?” Roy murmured.

Again, the unfamiliar voice invaded his dreams. “Sorry, Sweet Stuff. The name’s Maxie, and I own this fine establishment.”

Roy snapped to attention when he realized he had fallen asleep in his car outside a cheesy hotel. Did she say ‘fine’ establishment?

“Can I ask what you’re doing here?” the voice that belonged to someone named Maxie asked.

“Oh um, I’m just waiting for a friend to show up.” He blinked his eyes a couple of times, in an effort to wake himself up.

“Sorry, Sugar Lumps, this ain’t that kind of motel.”

Confused at first, Roy quickly realized what she was inferring. “No, not…I mean…” I’m gonna kill Johnny when I see him. “My friend is in 114. I was just waiting for him to come back. We work together.” Roy hoped this was enough of an explanation for the woman.

“Wait a minute! Did you say 114? You mean the cute one with the dark hair?” Maxie smiled as she remembered the good looking young man who had checked in early that morning.

“Sounds like him, yeah,” Roy grinned, grateful, for once, that the Gage charm seemed worked on ladies of all persuasion.

“Well, Buttercup, if that’s who you’re sittin’ for, you’ve got a long wait ahead of you. He checked out earlier tonight.”

“He what?” Roy couldn’t believe his ears. I’ve been sitting here for, he looked at his watch, over five hours, and he wasn’t even in the motel? “But when I checked earlier, the girl at the counter said he was still registered.”

“Oh, that would be Tammy. She wasn’t here when he left. I guess I forgot to mark him off as ‘checked out.’ Sorry, Sugar.”

“Did he leave a forwarding address or say anything about where he was going?”

“Honey, when people leave here, they don’t tell me nothin’! ‘Cept maybe the cockroaches were gettin’ too friendly!” Maxie’s laugh resonated through the parking lot. For a split second, an image of the Wicked Witch of the West flashed through Roy’s mind.

“Come to think of it though, I think he did mention something. Now what was it?” Maxie rolled her eyes upward as if she would find the answers in the treetops.

“Please, Ma’am, anything you remember would be a great help,” Roy encouraged.

“My! What a polite boy you are! Betcha you made your mama proud,” winked Maxie.

“Yes, Ma’am.” Roy would agree to anything at this point.

Suddenly she snapped her fingers. “Oh, I remember! He said he was headed over to a friend’s house!”

Great! thought Roy glumly, right back where I started. The unknown friend.

“Well, thanks, Maxie, I’m sorry to have bothered you.” He leaned forward to start his car when Maxie put her hand on Roy’s shoulder.

“Sure you don’t need a room, Cutie Pie?” Maxie smiled at Roy.

“Uh, no, thanks. I have to get home.” He thought better of peeling out of there. Even that wouldn’t have been fast enough for him.

Maxie watched as the little car backed out and pulled away. Too bad he couldn’t stick around; he’s just as cute as his friend.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

When Roy pulled onto his own street, he had to do a double take. There was Johnny’s Land Rover, parked in front of his house! It suddenly dawned on him that he must have been that friend that Johnny had mentioned to Maxie.

He quickly parked the car and quietly stole into the house being careful not to wake anyone. Tip-toeing through the front door, he peeked into the living room expecting to see his partner sprawled out on his couch, but no. That’s strange. His next course of action was to peek into the kids’ bedrooms, thinking Johnny might have been reading to one of them and fallen asleep. Still nothing. Hmmm ...The only place left was ...Roy shook the thought out of his head. No! No way ... He quietly made his way down the hallway and creaked open the door to his own room to find Joanne rolling over, squinting towards the squeaky door.

“Hi, Honey. How’d it go?” Joanne yawned.

Roy ignored her question, instead asking one of his own. “Where is he?”

“Where is who?” Joanne asked sleepily.

“Johnny. Where’s Johnny?” Roy asked his waking wife.

“How should I know? You’re the one who went to go see him.”

“He wasn’t there. He checked out earlier tonight,.” he explained.

Joanne woke up more and more with each confusing question. “If he checked out earlier tonight, then where were you? It’s,” she looked at the alarm clock to confirm, “almost two a.m.”

“Long story,” Roy sighed. “He’s here though, Joanne! His car’s parked out front.”

“Well, I’m telling you, Roy, I haven’t seen him all night. Did you look in his car? You know he keeps that back seat out, for emergencies.” Joanne winked.

“Well, yeah, I knew that, but I didn’t know you knew that.”

His wife smiled at him as he retreated out the door to check the Land Rover. It only took a minute before he came back inside, a look of total confusion on his face by now.

“He wasn’t there?” she asked the obvious.

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“Joanne, it’s a car, there’s not that many places to look! Something must be wrong. I should call someone.”

“Who would you call? Oh, Roy, not the police!” She had mastered reading her husband’s mind over the years.

“Well, how do you explain it? He checked out of his motel room earlier tonight. His car’s parked out front, with no one in it! You haven’t seen him. He’s nowhere in the house. I’m telling you, there’s something wrong!”

Joanne took Roy’s outburst in stride. She knew from past experiences that Roy was not at his best when he suffered from an acute lack of sleep, compounded by worry over his partner.

“Look,” she said, “before we go off the deep end, let me fix a pot of coffee first. Maybe he got stiff and just took a walk.”

“At two o’clock in the morning?”

“Roy, this is Johnny we’re talking about,” she reminded him as she grabbed her robe.

He knew she was right. Besides, he was so tired; his thinking was more muddled than he cared to admit.

In the kitchen, Joanne set a cup of steaming coffee down in front of Roy and went to fill a cup for herself.

“Maybe I could call Vince again,” he threw out to Joanne.

“Um, Roy?”

“He might have an idea.”

“Roy . . .”

“We’ll leave it to him if he thinks we need to call in the police, officially.”

“Roy!”

Roy finally turned to see his wife holding her still empty cup and staring out the window over the sink. Joining her by the window, he peered into the darkness, following her gaze.

There was just a touch of moonlight streaming through the trees, casting irregular shapes and shadows in the yard. It took a minute before his eyes landed on the object that caught his wife’s attention.

There, just beyond the patio, a sleeping bag lay on the freshly mown grass. Tucked safely in the sleeping bag, in his familiar sleeping position with one arm cocked over his head, lay the unmistakable form of his missing partner.

“Now that’s Classic Johnny if ever I saw it. I’m going to bed. You do, whatever . . .” Joanne informed her husband. She raised her hands in surrender and padded down the hallway in search of sleep. Roy was still standing at the window, in apparent shock. He couldn’t believe it. That whole time he’d spent waiting for Johnny at that dump of a motel; the whole time he’d slept in the cramped front seat of his car; the whole time he’d spent chatting with Maxie; that whole time Johnny was sound asleep in his backyard.

What did Joanne call it? ‘Classic Johnny.’ Roy shook his head in wonderment. He took one last sip of his coffee, slid open the patio door, and strolled over to the sleeping figure. Still shaking his head, he knelt down and nudged the sleeping man.

Stirring slightly, the arm came down and dark eyes slowly opened his eyes to see his partner leaning over him. “Hey, ‘bout time you got home,” Johnny said groggily as a smile slowly formed on his face. He glanced over his own form sacked out in the sleeping bag and shrugged. “Sorry, I didn’t want to wake anyone.”

“Come on in the house. The couch is more comfortable. Besides, you’ll be soaked from dew by morning.”

Without another word, the two men gathered Johnny’s things together. Roy grabbed his pillow while Johnny dragged his sleeping bag behind him. It reminded Roy of when Chris used to drag his blanket around behind him so many years ago.

After depositing his partner safely on the couch, Roy dragged himself to bed. It had been a long, long day.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

Laughter was the first thing Roy woke up to the next morning. Sounds of his children giggling from the kitchen drifted down the hallway and through the bedroom door. He smiled at the sound of it. Then it happened. A laugh he hadn’t heard in some time mixed in with his children’s fits of glee. There was only one person who could generate that much ruckus so early in the morning – Johnny.

“Hi, Honey,” Joanne smiled as she popped her head in the door.

“It that Johnny I hear?” he asked his wife.

“Oh yes, the kids have been up for awhile already and they’re eating breakfast,” she said, still smiling.

“Johnny’s up too?”

“I did say the ‘kids,’ didn’t I? Better hurry before all the pancakes get devoured.” She closed the bedroom door again and returned to the kitchen. Roy climbed out of bed, threw on some old clothes and followed her. He stopped just short of the kitchen door, listening to the ‘kids.’

“No, no, like this!” Johnny instructed, laughing.

“No, Uncle Johnny!” shrieked Jennifer. “I want a BIG one!”

“Ok, how’s this then?” Johnny asked mischievously.

When Jennifer screamed in delight, Roy’s curiosity got the better of him. Nobody seemed to notice when he joined them in the kitchen.

Johnny was making faces in the kids’ pancakes with canned whipped cream. He’d always preferred it to syrup with his pancakes. When he wasn’t making a big enough face on Jennifer’s, he’d grabbed the can and piled it high with the foamy substance. Meanwhile, Jennifer watched, sporting small globs of the white sticky substance all over her chin.

“Oh, hi Roy!” Johnny finally looked up and greeted his partner with a big smile. “Care for a pancake?”

“Uh, yeah, but I think I’ll dress it myself, thanks.” What a difference a day makes in the life of John Gage.

“Hurry, kids. If you don’t start eating those things soon, you’ll be late for school.” Joanne scolded all three of them, directing her gaze at Johnny.

“Sorry, Joanne,” Johnny apologized, sobering instantly. When she winked at him, his smile returned.

He’s still feeling a little vulnerable, observed Roy.

“Daddy, look at my pancake!” Jennifer pushed her plate close to the edge of the table to show it off.

“Jennifer!” Joanne screamed just as the plate went over the edge.

Johnny grabbed the plate in mid-air but the damage was done. Pancakes went flying, and the white, sticky cream plopped into large gobs onto the floor, and Roy’s stocking feet.

“Huh, sorry, Roy. Joanne. I just…” Johnny started apologizing again.

“Don’t worry about it Johnny, really. It will give you and Roy something to do while I take the kids to school.” Smiling sweetly, she scooped up her daughter, grabbed an apple for her to eat on the way to school, and grabbed her car keys. “Come on, Chris. We’ve got to run.”

With a big grin planted on his face, Chris slowly got up, dodged the sticky spots on the floor, and said his good-byes to his dad and Johnny. At the same time, he was glad he hadn’t caused that mess. He knew he wouldn’t have gotten off so neatly.

“Roy,” Joanne called out behind her, “I’m stopping at the store on the way home so don’t wait around for me to clean up that mess.” Roy didn’t have to see her face to know she had a smile planted right in the middle of it. He also knew she needed nothing from the store.

“Sorry,” Johnny apologized for the third time that morning. He set the gooey plate on the table and wiped his hands on the jeans he had slept in. Without thinking, he got up to get a mop and bucket out of the broom closet and filled the bucket with soapy water. He knew the DeSoto house almost as well as he knew his own, when he had one.

“Didn’t mean to wake you so early,” he apologized yet again, as he swished the mop on the floor.

“I wasn’t asleep.”

“Good ...Um, I need to ask you a favor.”

“You need a place to stay.”

“Yeah, how did you know?” Johnny looked up from his mopping in surprise.

Roy thought for a minute, then decided against telling him about his night at the motel, or the fact that he even knew about the motel.

“Just a sixth sense, and the fact that you were sleeping in my backyard last night.”

“Oh yeah, that.” Johnny cleared his throat. “Look, about…”

The telephone ring interrupted the conversation.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

“Roy, it’s Vince.”

“Oh, hi, how are you?” Roy could hardly mention Vince’s name without explaining the phone call to Johnny. In turn, that would lead to having to explain about the other phone calls from the day before.

“Fine, Roy, but I thought you’d want to know, I’ve heard something on Johnny.”

“Oh, um, thanks…” Before Roy could say ‘but,’ Vince continued.

“Seems your partner got into a little confrontation last night.”

“Last night?” Roy asked without thinking.

“Yes, a couple of teenaged boys were arguing with him up in front of a burger stand and shoved him into the pavement. A police officer came onto the scene just after it happened and mentioned it to me this morning since he knows we’re friends.”

Roy quickly glanced at his partner as he was clearing away the breakfast dishes.

“Um, is that all?”

“Well, no, I guess he hit his head on the concrete but he refused any help. This incident happened pretty close to that address I gave you last night. Roy? Is there anything I should know about?”

“Um, no, thanks anyway, my partner and I just finished breakfast here at my house. In fact, he’s cleaning up as we speak.” Roy finally had a chance to explain.

Finally understanding Roy’s odd behavior and seeming lack of initial interest in the news, Vince ended the conversation. “Well good, I hope everything’s okay then. I’ll talk to you later, Roy.”

“Okay, bye then, and, thanks,” Roy added.

“What was that all about?” Johnny asked, looking up from the sink as he set the dirty dishes in it.

“Um, my neighbor,” Roy lied unconvincingly. “He wondered if I wanted to go out for breakfast.”

“Oh.” Either Johnny bought the story or just didn’t let on that he knew Roy was lying. “You could have gone. I don’t want my being here putting you off any schedule.” He had gotten noticeably quieter since Joanne and the kids had left.

“You feeling okay?” Roy was fishing for details on Johnny’s condition.

“Yeah, just got a little headache. Got some aspirin around here?” He ran his hand through his hair, wincing a little when his hand stopped at the spot on his head which was causing his headache. There was still a sizeable lump where he had landed on the pavement.

“You know where it is. Help yourself.”

When Johnny made no move towards the cabinet where the aspirin was stored, Roy got it himself and handed the bottle to his partner. Johnny popped two of them in his mouth and threw his head back to down them. He shuddered slightly at the quick movement.

“I think you better sit down, you’re lookin’ a little pale there.” Roy pulled a chair out and set Johnny down.

“Yeah, lack of sleep.” It was Johnny’s turn to lie. He would have never admitted it, but he was starting to feel a little light-headed. After a few minutes, the color slowly returned to his face, much to Roy’s relief.

“Up to talking?”

“Yeah, I guess so. Where were we?”

“You need a place to stay.” Roy filled him in.

“Oh yeah...” Johnny sighed.

“Didn’t things work out between you and your friend?” Roy was fishing again.

“Well, yes and no.”

“Look, Johnny, if we’re going to sit here and play twenty questions and you answer in one-word answers, this is going to take all day. Why don’t you just tell me what happened.”

Johnny frowned at his partner. He was quite happy playing twenty questions. It wasn’t his style to go rambling on and on about things. Okay, at least not about something serious. He folded his hands in front of him and stared at the table.

“I’ve been doin’ a lot of thinking. I don’t think me living with Mac is going to work out. I don’t really like that part of the city anyway, and…” Johnny hesitated. He wanted to say he didn’t want to leave 51s, but he knew that Roy knew that already. Still, it needed saying. “I don’t think I want to work at another station either, not yet anyway.”

Roy sighed with relief. He had hoped that his partner had come to this conclusion, but he was glad to have it confirmed.

Johnny continued. “I won’t be any trouble. You won’t even know I’m here. I’ll sleep on the couch. I’ll eat my meals out. I’ll make myself scarce when you want just your family, or, um, other friends, around. I’ll even sit with the kids to give you and Joanne a night out. I’ll…”

“Johnny!” Roy stopped his partner’s little bargaining act. “You don’t have to sell me on the idea. I asked you,  remember?  And you don’t have to make yourself scarce, and you don’t have to eat out. Now, about the babysitting part though…or not knowing you’re here…” Roy grinned as he glanced over at the bucket of water still sitting by the sink.

Johnny snorted a laugh. “Well, you won’t know I’m around most of the time. But I meant it about making myself scarce if you, um, have friends over, or something.”

“Well, if anyone I invite over isn’t comfortable with the whole family around, they’re not much of a friend, are they?” Getting brave, Roy decided to go for the gold and ask Johnny the $64 question.

“Can I ask why you even considered transferring in the first place?”

“You can ask…” is all Johnny offered.

“Can I guess?”

Johnny shrugged his shoulders. “Let’s just say, I finally realized, there is a place for everyone, and I was just too stubborn to see it.” He finally took his gaze off the table and looked at Roy for the first time since their conversation started. They both knew there was more to this story, but they both decided to let the conversation end here.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

Traveling in separate cars to work the next morning, Roy followed Johnny in. Johnny wanted to check out a couple of apartments after their next shift, so he insisted on taking his own car.

During the drive, Roy’s thoughts turned back to the day before. They had had a good day after their ‘talk.’ In light of Vince’s phone call, Roy had kept a watchful eye on his partner for the remainder of the day. He had insisted that Johnny take Chris’s bed to catch up on some sleep while the kids were in school. In spite of the fact that he’d suspected the headache was worse than Johnny let on, by that evening, he had seemed better, and more talkative. If not, Roy had decided he would have given in and told Johnny what he knew, of the motel, of the altercation, of everything. Luckily, it hadn’t come to that. Johnny could keep his pride intact.

Come morning, Johnny was feeling much better, about everything. Though Roy had noticed that he had popped a couple more aspirin right after breakfast, he thought he looked good. He just hoped that everything went smoothly today and that nothing would set his partner off again. Maybe he should have kept that last thought to himself.

The Land Rover pulled off the street into a parking lot ahead of him, so Roy pulled over to find out what was wrong.

“What’s up?” he yelled from his car.

“I gotta make a quick stop. Go on ahead, I’ll meet you there,” Johnny called back.

Roy hesitated for a moment. He had planned on following Johnny all the way into the station, and this was not in his plans. Deciding he had to trust in his partner, he simply waved and pulled out of the lot.

 

<*> <*> <*> <*> <*> A Place for E!veryone <*> <*> <*> <*> <*>

 

The other guys filtered into the station one by one. Johnny was the last to show up.

“Hi guys!” he addressed the group with a decidedly cheerful greeting. “Mornin’, mornin’, mornin’.” He plopped a large white box down in the middle of the table and headed to the lockers, leaving a group of very puzzled firemen in his wake. A few minutes later, he came back to find that no one had yet opened his box of goodies.

“What’s the matter? You guys suddenly become allergic to donuts or something?” He ripped open the box and grabbed a jelly-filled roll for himself, shoving the gooey donut into his mouth. “Come on! Eat up! Hey, Chet, there’s even your favorite, those messy sugary ones.”

“What’s wrong with ‘em, Gage?” Chet asked warily.

“Nothin’s wrong with ‘em!” he answered defensively. “Here, I’ll show ya’.” With that, he grabbed one of the two powdered sugar donuts and proceeded to wolf if down just as he had the first one.

Chet and the other guys dived into the donut box, following Johnny’s lead. A second later, the klaxons sounded signaling the squad for it’s first run of the day.

With a mouthful of donut in his mouth, Johnny winked at Roy and Danny and rushed past them towards the squad, just as Chet took a mouthful of his coveted donut.

“Aaaaah! Gage!” yelled Chet.

Danny stopped just short of the door, and turned back to see Chet puckering up his mouth and making a face he’d never seen on the man before. Johnny stuck his head in the door and yelled at his two partners.

“Come on, Roy! Let’s go Danny m’ boy. Let’s show the world what real firemen do for a living!” He fairly giggled at the look on everyone’s faces.

“Gage!” Chet mumbled after him, sputtering donut crumbs as he talked. “You’ll live to regret this!”

As the three men climbed into the squad, Johnny looked at two questioning faces. He shrugged his shoulders and flashed a wicked grin.

“Alum…”

Danny stared at Johnny as if he’d never seen him before. Roy leaned close to the younger man sitting next to him and told him quietly, “When we get back to the station, remind me to introduce you to my partner. I think he just made an appearance.”

As Roy pulled the squad into the street, he got to thinking, We both had it wrong, Partner. That saying should say, ‘A place for everyone, and everyone’s in their place.’