This was originally written in answer to a "Make Johnny Naked" challenge. 

The Great Outdoors

By Becca

John Gage was tingling with anticipation as he ran out of the station at shift change, offering a quick goodbye to Roy.  As tired as he was from their sleepless 24-hour shift, the thought of a whole week of camping, fishing, and just plain relaxing gave him all the energy he could handle. He threw his gear in the back seat of the Rover and sped off down the road.

Arriving at his apartment, he found his camping equipment as he had left it, packed and waiting for him just inside the door.  He hastily tossed some toiletries on top of the clothing in his duffel bag - toothbrush, deodorant, after shave (you never know who you might meet hiking), and toted everything to his vehicle, the engine still running.  Then, he was off.

Arriving in the mountains a few hours later, he maneuvered his truck down a narrow dirt road to the secluded campsite he had discovered a year earlier.  When Johnny camped, he shunned the touristy locales and crowded campgrounds.  This little spot was perfect, and it was all his own.  The ground was flat, the trees were gigantic, there were plenty of hiking trails, and the lake was so close that he could hear the waves lapping up on it's edges on a quiet night.

It took Johnny the better part of the afternoon to set up his site . the tent, the stove, his cooking equipment and so on.  Once he was satisfied, he baited his fishing pole and trotted down the trail to the lake to catch dinner; to his disappointment, however, dinner wasn't biting.  Nevertheless, by dusk he had a nice string of blue gills gutted and ready for the fry pan; which was a good thing, since he hadn't eaten all day except for the granola he had snacked on in the car.

"Man, this is the life," Johnny sighed, leaning back in a folding chair just outside his tent.  After dinner, he had taken off his shirt and stuffed it in his duffel bag, and was now clad only in a pair of old Levi's and his favorite Chukkas.  It was late spring and the days were warm and sunny, though it could still get cold at night.  He closed his eyes and relaxed.  He had eaten heartily and rinsed the dishes off in the lake, and was delighted to finally have time to do nothing at all.  But the combination of the big meal and lack of sleep were taking their toll.  He quickly found himself fighting a losing battle to stay awake. 

After nearly dozing off several times, Johnny decided to turn in.  He really wanted to stay up and enjoy the stars and the breezes, the smell of the pines and the chirping of the crickets.  But he had six days of vacation ahead of him and figured his best bet was a good night's sleep and a fresh start in the morning.

~*~*~

Stumbling drowsily into the dark tent, Johnny couldn't see the duffel bag that he had left directly in his path.  His foot got caught in the handle and he tripped, falling hard on the tarp-covered ground, the bag twisted under his leg.  "Damn," he muttered, pushing himself up and brushing off his jeans.  Just then a strong, perfume-like odor wafted past his nose.  "What the .?" he asked, feeling around for his flashlight.  He found it and shone the light around the tent, spotting the duffel bag lying on it's side next to his feet.

Johnny set the bag straight and noticed the bottle of aftershave almost upside down on top of his clothes.  He lifted the bottle out of the bag, intending only to turn it upright, but quickly learned that not only was the bottle broken, but what was left of the liquid within it spilled out all over his jeans.  Illuminating the inside of the bag, he noticed that all of his clothes were drenched with cologne and covered with pieces of broken glass as well.

"I don't believe this!" Johnny exclaimed.  "Gage, only you." he groused, trying to decide what to do next.  He opened the tent flap and tossed the broken bottle into the woods, then placed the duffel bag and its smelly contents outside as well.  He stripped down to his boxers and tossed his jeans out next; he was dismayed to find that the cologne had even soaked through to his drawers.

"Well, I guess there's just one thing to do," he thought.  He peeled off the offending boxers and pitched them out of the tent.  He couldn't believe that every item of clothing he had brought with him was soaked with aftershave.  Pausing to think for a moment, his mind flashed on the Snoopy towel that he had draped over the back of the folding chair, so the scratchy fabric wouldn't irritate his shirtless back.  Okay, it wasn't really his towel, a date had left it in his apartment after a day at the beach, but it was in better shape than his own towels and bigger, too, so he had tossed it in with the rest of his camping gear.

Even though there wasn't another soul for miles around, he instinctively covered his private area with his hands as he snuck outside and grabbed the towel, wrapping it around his waist. 

Johnny was really tired, but he knew he needed to wash his clothes before the cologne dried and set in.  With a sense of resignation, he gathered up his clothing and held the flashlight with one hand, keeping the towel in place with the other, and headed down to the lake. 

After dipping and wringing his clothes over and over in the cold lake water, Johnny returned to the campsite and set the wet items down on the lawn chair.  He retrieved a long rope from the Rover and tied it between two trees, hanging his clothes over the makeshift clothesline and praying that they would be dry and sufficiently aired out by morning.

Johnny could barely keep his eyes open.  He was shivering from cold and fatigue.  It was well after midnight and he hadn't slept in over 36 hours; the fresh mountain air and higher elevation tended to make him sleepy even under the best circumstances.  Entering the tent, he dropped the towel to the floor and slipped naked into his sleeping bag.  It's warm flannel lining was soft and comforting on his bare skin, and he pulled it tight around his body.  For a moment, he could hear the waves from the lake lapping up on it's edges. Then, he was sound asleep.

~*~*~

"Help!"

"Huh.?" Johnny asked groggily.  He was totally disoriented as he sat up with a start, trying to figure out where he was.  His heart was pounding, but he couldn't see anything in the blackness of the night.  He thought he had heard a cry for help ... or was he dreaming?  Although he never told anyone, Johnny sometimes had nightmares in which he heard the cries of patients.  Was this one of those episodes?  As his eyes adjusted, he began to recognize his surroundings. 

"Help!"  This time he knew he heard a female voice yelling for help.  Instinctively he jumped up and ran out of the tent, trying to pinpoint the direction of the cry.  He heard it again and determined that it was coming from the area of the main road.  He started to run toward it, completely forgetting that he was naked.  The unexpected joggle of his own body parts as he ran brought him quickly to his senses.

"Oh, man!" he gasped, looking down at himself.  He dashed back into the tent and found his flashlight.  Gradually remembering the events of the prior evening, he ran outside and grabbed a wet pair of Levi's off the line, not bothering with boxers at all.  He pulled them on with difficulty and zipped up the fly, slipping one hand inside as he did so to protect tender skin and hair.  He threw on his shoes and took off running.

As he got closer to the main road, Johnny thought he could make out the silhouette of a small car parked under a tree.  When he reached it, he saw a young lady in the driver's seat, head in hands; she appeared to be crying.  "Hello?" he asked breathlessly, tapping on the driver's side window with the butt of his flashlight.  "Are you okay?"

The driver was momentarily startled at the sight of the shirtless young man.  She wiped her eyes with a tissue and blew her nose.  "Who are you?" she sniffled through the window.

"I'm John Gage and I'm a paramedic from Los Angeles."   Johnny was a little confused at finding the woman apparently well.  "Uh, Miss," he said politely, "were you calling for help?  I mean, I was asleep in my tent and I thought I heard someone yelling."

The young lady opened her car door and stepped out.  She was a slender brunette, about 19-years-old, wearing jeans and a Henley shirt topped by a down vest.  "Yes, that was me," she replied.  "You see, I'm supposed to meet my family at the big RV campground.  I just finished my college finals and it's our annual family camping trip.  But as you can see," she put her hand on Johnny's flashlight and aimed the beam toward the rear of her car, "I got a flat tire."

Johnny was both relieved and annoyed.  All this for a flat tire?  The expression on his face must have revealed his thoughts, because the young woman suddenly became quite flustered.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she cried.  "I must have scared you to death.  It's just that I'm all alone and it's the middle of the night and it's so dark, and . and . I don't know how to change a tire!" she sobbed, collapsing into Johnny's bare arms.

Johnny instinctively reached out and pulled her close.  "That's okay," he soothed.  "Come on, don't cry.  Besides, you didn't scare me.  I always enjoy a brisk run at two in the morning in the middle of nowhere," he smiled.  The young lady laughed. 

"Oh," she said, pulling back, "your pants are all wet."

Now it was Johnny's turn to be flustered.  "Yes, well, um, you see it's a. . . it's a long story," he stumbled.  "So, what do you say we have a look at that tire," he said, intentionally changing the subject.         

After a while, Johnny had changed the tire, never letting on that he was freezing to death in his wet Levi's.  A strong breeze had begun to blow and he had to really concentrate to keep his body from convulsing in shivers.

"Okay, looks like you're all set," he said, rubbing the grease off his hands.  Suddenly it dawned on him that he didn't even know the pretty girl's name.  "By the way," he asked with a charming smile, "what's your name?"

"Oh, I'm Maddie," she said coyly. "It's short for Madison.  And I can't thank you enough for everything you've done."  She reached out and gave Johnny a kiss on the cheek.  For a moment, he daydreamed about what it might be like to kiss her for real; maybe even more than kiss her.  But he was so cold and tired that the daydream was short-lived.  Besides, he figured her family was probably worried sick about her.

"Do you think you can find the campground all right?" he asked.

"Oh, yes.  Like I said, we've been coming here for years.  I just never had to drive here by myself before.  Well, thanks again.  Maybe I'll see you around the lake."  She got in the little hatchback and started it up.  Rolling down the window, she added, "don't forget to put some dry pants on!" and drove away.

Johnny felt himself blush.  He picked up his flashlight and watched as the taillights of Maddie's car disappeared around a bend.  Making his way wearily back to his tent, he pulled off his wet Levi's, tossed them over the clothesline again, crawled into his sleeping bag and fell deeply asleep.

~*~*~

When Johnny awoke the next morning, he became aware of the sounds of a gusty wind rustling through the pines.  "Man, it must be a windy day," he thought to himself.  He lay in his sleeping bag a few minutes longer, replaying the entire episode with Maddie the night before.  A smile crept across his face as he saw her petite figure in his mind's eye, remembering the warmth of her body as he held her close, if only for a moment.

He eventually slid out of the sleeping bag and stretched his lanky, unclothed body.  Locating his canteen, he took a long, slow drink of water.  For the first time in days, he felt well-rested and raring to go.

Johnny zipped open the tent flap and stepped outside, still keeping parts of his anatomy covered with one hand, just in case.  He figured that the wind must have helped dry his clothes, and thought maybe he would go for a hike before it got too warm.  But it was not to be.  Johnny simply couldn't believe his eyes when he stepped outside and learned that the gusty wind had brought with it some rain.  It was a light rain, but from the looks of his drenched clothing, must have been falling for at least a few hours.

Johnny threw his canteen angrily on the ground.  In a state of utter disbelief, he just stood there with the rain dripping off his hair and body.  He looked skyward, letting the drops hit him in the face.  "Can't you just give me one little break?"  he moaned with disgust.

He stared at his rain-soaked clothes a moment longer, then ducked back into the tent.  Picking up his towel and shaking it out, he began to wrap it once again around his waist.  "Well, Snoopy," he lamented, "looks like you and me are gonna be spending another day together."