An Emergency! Moment in Time

The squad rolled to an easy stop inside the bay at Station 51. Roy jumped out from behind the steering wheel, talking his way to the dayroom only to realize that he was having a conversation with himself. His partner, whose custom it was to fly out of the squad and skid around the corner, nearing knocking Roy over in the process, wasn't behind him as he'd expected. Looking back, Roy could see the black head of hair that was Johnny through the rear window of the squad. His partner sat firmly planted in his seat, seemingly staring ahead.

Frowning, Roy walked quietly over to the squad and peered in through the driver's window. "Are you alright? Johnny?"

"Huh?" Still distracted, Johnny turned to Roy's voice. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking."

"Uh-oh," Roy teased. "Should I grab my helmet?"

"Funny, Roy." A smile flitted across Johnny's lips and disappeared again. "I was just thinking about that run we just went on...."

A moment of silence settled between the two as Roy went over the rescue in his mind. "There wasn't anything wrong with that rescue, Johnny. Was there?"

"No," Johnny agreed. "There wasn't."

That said, Johnny jumped out of the squad and practically flew to the kitchen in his usual manner, which left Roy standing with his mouth open poised to ask the next question. He shook his head and followed the vapor trail left by his partner. By the time Roy entered the dayroom, Johnny was already sipping on a cup of steaming coffee.

"Want some?" Johnny raised his cup in a questioning gesture.

"Sure," Roy said.

Johnny grabbed another cup from the cabinet and poured the black gold into the waiting receptacle. "Ah, nothing better than a good, strong cup of java, huh, Roy?" Johnny smacked his lips in emphasis after another sip and plopped down at the table.

Roy brought his coffee to the table and sat next to him. "You going to tell me what that was all about?"

"What "what" was all about?" Johnny asked.

Roy took a sip from his cup and immediately brought his hand to his mouth to suppress a choking cough. Johnny looked at his partner and smiled slightly. "Little strong for you?"

"Chet made the coffee today, right?" Roy cleared his throat to rid the catch that had settled there.

"I hate to admit this, but that little runt sure makes a mean cup of coffee!" Johnny smirked. "But if you tell him I said that, I'll see to it the Phantom strikes at you next!"

"Like that would ever happen, Gage!" Chet entered the dayroom just in time to catch the tail end of the discussion. "You have no control over what the Phantom does, or who he goes after."

"Pftttt!" Johnny offered in reply.

"Oh, good one, Gage, you're getting really quick with those snappy comebacks!" Chet laughed heartily as he poured the last drop from the pot. "Well, doesn't that just figure. I come in from hanging hoses all morning and you two sponges have already soaked up all the coffee! Why do I always have to make the coffee around here? Who do I look like? Betty Crocker?"

"Actually, Chet…" Johnny nudged Roy with a look of evil glee on his face. "You look more like Juan Valdez."

"I didn't know you knew Juan," Marco said as he joined the three men in the dayroom. "He lives next door to my family. Real nice guy. Always helping my mother out with heavy work around the house."

"Not that Juan, Marco!" Johnny started to explain. "The guy with the horse, in the commercials! You know!"

"I don't think that's a horse, Johnny." Mike spoke up from the couch where he'd been watching the entire exchange. "It's either a mule or a donkey."

"Who has a donkey?" Cap asked, the last to enter the room.

"Marco's neighbor," Chet deadpanned.

Cap clapped his hands together and burrowed his brow in confusion. "Sorry I asked…so, is there any mud left in that pot, Chet? Or are you just holding it for old time's sake?"

"Uh, sorry, Cap, no," Chet answered. "Gage here sucked down the last of it."

"Well then, may I suggest you brew up another pot." It wasn't a suggestion.

While Chet busied himself with the coffee pot, the other men grabbed their favorite sections of the newspaper. For the next several minutes, the only audible sounds were the rustling of newsprint and the pop-pop of the percolator.

Roy laid his paper down, still curious as to what had been on his partner's mind back in the squad. He wanted to ask Johnny about it but thought it might be better to wait until they were alone and could talk privately. He racked his brain, wondering what Johnny could have been so concerned about regarding their last run.

"Something wrong, Roy?" Cap asked from the couch. He had noticed the contemplative look spreading over his paramedic's face from where he sat.

The coffee pot chose this moment to finish perking. Silence hung over the entire room as five sets of eyes fell on Roy.

"Uh, no, Cap, not really." Roy hadn't realized his concerns were that visibly evident.

Johnny immediately perked up. He hadn't even noticed that his partner might have been troubled about something. He looked at Roy, studying his face. There was something. Johnny thought back, but he couldn't think of a reason as to why Roy should be concerned.

"You sure, Pal?" Cap asked again out of concern, rising from the couch and walking over to the table. "We can go to my office…."

"Roy, if…" Johnny started.

"Look!" Roy said out of frustration. "It's nothing, really!"

By now, Roy had become the obvious center of attention. Mike joined Cap at the side of the table, and Marco and Chet laid down their papers.

"It helps to talk it out, Roy," Marco offered. "If it has to do with the job, you know any one of us would understand."

Roy lowered his head and shook it. Now what? He sighed aloud and looked up into the worried faces of his shiftmates. He took a deep breath, then turned to Johnny, looking him directly in the eye.

"It's not me," he told his partner. "It's you…."

The steady gaze of concern directed at Roy suddenly shifted in Johnny's direction.

"WHAT?" Johnny asked. "I didn't do anything!"

"I didn't say you did anything, Johnny." Roy lowered his voice. "It's about earlier."

The curiosity of the other men elevated as they silently watched the exchange between Johnny and Roy.

The look on Johnny's face told Roy he didn't have a clue as to what he was trying to convey. Roy took another deep breath, realizing that his every word was being taken in not only by Johnny but by the entire crew.

"When we got back from that last run," Roy explained to all but focused on Johnny, "you didn't get out of the squad." Roy hoped that would be enough of an explanation but Johnny still stared at him as if waiting for the punch line to a bad joke. "You just sat there, staring straight ahead." Somewhat like you are now. "When I asked, you said you were thinking about that last run."

Realization spread slowly over Johnny's face. Roy continued. "Johnny, there was nothing about that run that went wrong. It was routine. That man would have had a heart attack no matter what. He was just lucky that we were there when it happened. If we hadn't been there, he might not have made it. We're only paramedics. We can't stop accidents. We can't prevent illnesses. We can just be there to help when they happen."

Roy was ready for just about any reaction except for the one he got.

An easy smile spread across Johnny's face as he slowly shook his head.

"You're wrong, Roy…" Johnny countered. "It wasn't routine." He held his hand up to stop Roy's protest.

The focus no longer on Roy, Johnny now held everyone's attention. "Didn't you hear his family when we left the hospital? Roy, they were thanking us. Us! They weren't even just thanking us. They were falling all over themselves doing it! All we did was do what the doc told us to do. We didn't cure him. We couldn't even stop the heart attack from happening. All we did was get him to the hospital alive. Sometimes this job gets a little too routine, you know? But then something like this happens and it just reminds you that these are real people out there. All we're doing is our job, but we're making a difference in their life."

Johnny paused, but no one else spoke. "When we got back, I was just thinking how nice it was to be appreciated, and thanked, that's all. But you know what? I'd do this job even if I never got another thank you. You called that man lucky, Roy, but he wasn't the lucky one. We are."

Just then the tones sounded for the entire station, and six men ran to their rigs, ready to help someone in need, and thinking how lucky they were to be able to do so.

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