Missing scene/story starter from "Floor Brigade"
by Caressa 

Continuation of her scene by Jamie Simmons

"You seem angry."

Dixie studied Roy's tightly crossed arms, the firm set of his jaw, and his narrowed eyes. She had never seen him like this before.

"I am."

"Johnny's going to be fine."

"I know."

She stood silently staring at him, trying to understand. His clipped responses said a lot as to how he felt, but not why. He shifted and looked over at her. She was surprised by the depth of his anger.

"He screwed up."

She waited.

"He was dead for sure."

Her eyebrows rose.

"We were climbing a tower to get a guy who was down at the very top. He was moving too fast, and slipped off. There were no safety ropes."

She froze.

"He was a hair's breath from free falling over 200 feet."

Her jaw tensed.

"He was gonna die,"

Her eyes narrowed.

"for a stuffed mannequin placed purposely for a thrill."

She looked down and sighed.

"Two days from now he'd have been on his final ride on the back of the engine. For what? A couple of pounds of pillows dressed up to look like a man."

What could she say?

"Dead. For nothing."

She nodded.

"Tell me something, Dix," he asked, looking her squarely in the eyes. "Are you still a hero if you die saving a bag of cloth?"

*******************

“I’m surprised at you, Roy DeSoto,” Dixie said angrily. She leaned forward, hands on her hips, and glared at the paramedic. “Since when did you start looking at yourself the way the public does?”

Roy glanced down. “Sorry. Poor choice of words.” He looked up, his expression taught. “But my question remains the same, Dix.”

Dixie’s hands fell to her sides. Taking a deep breath, she regarded the upset paramedic and spoke carefully, hoping her words would somehow ease his mind. “Dying in a senseless rescue would be tragic, but not being a rescuer would be the greater wrong, Roy.”

Roy’s brows furrowed as he considered the nurse’s words. He knew his anger should be directed more toward the two boys that perpetrated the stunt rather than his best friend, but his partner was always thinking more about a victim than himself. Taking chances. Every time he thought about Johnny’s misstep on that tower…

“Johnny loves being a firefighter/paramedic,” Dixie continued, watching the emotions play across Roy’s face. “To be able to help someone out means more to him than the type of rescue. That’s where his enthusiasm comes from. For him to act any other way would be to make him change who he is.”

Dr. Early joined them carrying an X-ray. Noticing Dixie and Roy’s serious expressions, he briefly wondered what they’d been discussing then said, “Come on; let’s see how John’s ribs look.”

Turning slightly with a last look at Roy, Dixie followed Dr. Early into the treatment room, confident the paramedic would work his way through his disquieting thoughts.

Roy exhaled slowly, surprised he’d been holding his breath, and tried to banish the anger and fear he felt. Dix was right, he knew, but the whole incident had happened so quickly. He hadn’t been remotely prepared for anything to go wrong. After all, they had been climbing stairs in a tower of all things. Just be thankful Junior wasn’t seriously injured, he told himself, but his question still hung at the back of his mind. “Forget it,” he softly growled and pushed open the door of the treatment room.

Dr. Early placed the X-ray film into the viewer and turned it on. As the door closed behind him, Roy moved to stand in front of the medicine cabinet while Dixie stood by the exam table that Johnny sat on. All eyes focused on the picture that appeared.

Dr. Early studied the image in the viewer then returned to the table where he began to examine Johnny’s bare chest. “How does it feel, John?” he asked as his hand moved around the paramedic’s left ribcage, pressing slightly.

“Pretty good. How does it look?” Johnny asked as Dr. Early lowered his hand.

“It looks pretty good too,” Dr. Early said. Dixie and Roy moved closer. “I think you just got the wind knocked out of you.”

Johnny nodded. “I think so too.”

“Let’s get back to work then,” Roy said, fidgeting slightly.

Johnny jumped off the exam table. “Thanks, Doc,” he said, walking around the edge of the table as Dr. Early and Dixie headed for the door. “See ya later, Dix,” he added then pulled his t-shirt over his head.

Roy silently watched his partner dress, his conversation with Dixie still echoing in his mind. Out of the blue Johnny asked him about the floor-cleaning machine-- for a split second, Roy couldn’t figure out what his friend was talking about. Then he remembered. He explained about the second card that had been tacked onto the supermarket’s bulletin board and how he’d convinced the store clerk to take down the card. He refrained from mentioning the subsequent conversation with Dixie that he was still trying to shake off.

The two men left the treatment room and headed for the squad, Johnny continuing to prattle on about the machine while Roy walked quietly alongside.

Roy started the engine and exited Rampart’s parking lot, only half-listening to his friend’s excited voice. Wasn’t Johnny going to say anything about the dummy? Suddenly Roy snapped out of his reverie. Did Johnny say franchises? Glancing at his partner, he listened closely as Johnny wove an increasingly complex floor-cleaning scheme. Roy stifled a sigh. All he wanted was a simple way to earn some extra money for his family. “Why don’t we just wait to see how we do with our one machine before we make any future plans,” he said, hoping to bring Johnny back down to earth.

Johnny stared then blinked, his rambling broken. “Well, okay, it’s all right with me, but just remember in business you’ve got to be fast or somebody’s gonna beatcha to the punch.” Slowly he turned his head and silently gazed out the window.

Roy shot a quick look at his friend; shocked that Johnny wanted him to rush when his earlier advice was to not be in such a big hurry to call DiGorgio when he’d first wanted to! Roy opened his mouth to tell his friend as much, then closed it and returned his eyes to the road. He didn’t want to start an argument with Johnny or to hurt his feelings. Suddenly Roy wished he’d never mentioned his idea to Johnny; he wished he could be alone for a minute or two to think; he wished the shift were over.

“I wonder what will happen to those two boys,” Johnny said quietly, continuing to stare out the passenger window.

“Not as much as what should happen,” Roy burst out then clamped his mouth shut on a curse. Clenching the steering wheel so hard his knuckles showed white, he stared straight ahead; wilding hoping his friend hadn’t heard his comment.

Johnny looked questioningly at his partner for a few seconds. He could see how tense Roy was and he wondered why. It was almost as if his friend didn’t want him to know how upset… Johnny’s expression softened and tested his theory. “Don’t you think that’s a bit harsh? It was just a freak accident, Pally.”

“I know, damn it. I know.” Refusing to meet Johnny’s gaze, Roy concentrated on backing the squad into the station. He could feel his friend watching him as he parked the squad and turned off the engine.

“You’re too upset,” Johnny said, hoping Roy would get mad enough to talk to him. He didn’t want his best friend keeping something like that bottled up; it was dangerous for them both. Roy turned on him, his eyes blazing. Johnny drew back against the door, thinking maybe he should have tried a different approach to get his partner to open up.

“You’re not upset enough. You went charging up those steps like always, without thinking about anything but the victim.” The words poured out of Roy. “I was right behind you when you slipped, but I couldn’t keep you from falling. You scared the daylights out of me. When I got up top and saw that dummy, I was so mad I kicked the damn thing off the roof without a warning.” His hands balled into fists. “Doesn’t it make any difference to you that those two boys didn’t care whether you died or not?” Roy leaned back against the seat and regarded his partner, his tirade over.

“So that’s why you didn’t say ‘heads up’. I wondered. Tell me something: are you mad at the boys or me, Roy?”

Roy shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Hey, Gage, you okay?” Chet asked, resting his arms on Roy’s doorframe.

“He’s just fine, Chet,” Roy said, opening his door so fast that Chet barely got out of the way in time.

“What’d I say?” Chet sputtered, as Roy headed for the dayroom without a backward glance. Looking at Johnny, who was emerging from the squad, he cocked his head toward the dayroom. “What gives with DeSoto?”

Johnny shrugged. “We were having a discussion is all,” he said briefly, knowing Roy would want their conversation kept private. He followed his partner toward the dayroom with Chet on his heels.

“I could see that, Gage. That’s why I interrupted—” Chet stopped just inside the dayroom, aware that he’d almost admitted something he’d rather downplay as much as possible: his concern for the paramedic.

Johnny rested a hand on Chet’s shoulder. “Ah, Chet, you were worried about me. I’m touched.”

Chet snorted, dislodged Johnny’s grasp and walked toward the stove. “In your dreams, Gage.” Quickly he grabbed the coffeepot and filled a mug with the hot liquid.

Johnny grinned as he watched the burly fireman take a long drink from his mug. He approached the stove almost laughing aloud as Chet abruptly walked to the table and sat down without meeting his eyes. While he poured himself some of the hot coffee, Johnny watched Roy, who calmly sat at the table reading the morning newspaper.

Roy tried once again to read the story he’d come across in the paper without success. Instead, he saw Dixie’s face. Her words about Johnny loving to be a firefighter/paramedic kept playing in his head. His mind recalled countless rescues he had been on with his friend: some easy, some not so easy, and some incredibly dangerous. Each one his partner had approached the same way, regardless of any personal risk involved. Roy’s tension eased as he realized Dixie was right: to ask Johnny to do anything different would be to make him change who he was. Something Roy would never do. He smiled slightly, knowing he would still worry about Johnny, but that the worry wouldn’t have the power to consume him as it had before.

The tones sounded. “Station 51, unknown type rescue. See the woman at 513 Red Rock Canyon Road. Time out 14:50.”

“I wonder what we’ll find when we get to Red Rock Canyon,” Johnny asked as Roy drove the squad through traffic.

“Hard to say,” Roy said. Keeping his eyes on the road, he ventured, “You asked me if I was upset with the boys or you.”

Johnny stilled. “And?”

“Both. But mostly with you.” Roy glanced at Johnny. “Until Dixie said something…”

“I can’t change who I am, Pally,” Johnny interrupted softly.

“I know, Junior. And I’m not going to ask you to. I’ll still worry; your chance-taking will drive me to it,” Roy chuckled as Johnny began to sputter indignantly. “But I can accept it now.”

Johnny was speechless for a moment. “That must have been some talk you had with Dix. I’d like to know what she said.”

“Later, partner.” Roy brought the squad to a stop beside a woman frantically waving her arms. “We’ve got a job to do first.”

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