I Hate The Rain

By E51Writer

They all hated the rain. Especially when it fell this hard. While it was still early in the day, they had held several conversations about the fact that if the rain didn’t let up, they wouldn’t get a minute’s sleep that night.

Johnny and Roy had a rare break in runs. They sat around the kitchen table drinking coffee and reading the newspaper.

The engine crew returned. Several minutes later, the men filed into the kitchen.

“Tell me how the hell there can be a trash fire when it’s raining this hard!” Chet was buttoning his shirt – the third one in the still young shift. “Man, I hate the rain!”

“Hey, guys, Joanne said she’d run by and pick up our wet clothes. Says she’ll return them dry and warm. Don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m on my last dry set.”

“Roy, your wife is an angel!” Chet was smiling ear-to-ear.

The men had just settled around the table, coffee in hand, when the tones sounded again.

“Station 51. Auto accident. Corner of Sepulveda and Oakdale. Sepulveda and Oakdale. Time out 13:15.”

“Station 51. KMG 365.” Captain Hank Stanley handed the ticket to Roy and headed toward the engine.

~* ~ * ~

“Cap, we should probably take him in. He doesn’t seem to be badly injured but better safe than sorry.”

“I agree, Roy.”

Johnny made a quick decision. “I’ll ride with him, Roy.” All Johnny could think about was getting out of the driving rain. His waterlogged partner frowned but didn’t argue. “Careful driving to Rampart, Roy. Man, this rain is awful!”

Johnny looked over his shoulder at the rest of the men from Station 51. **Suckers!** he thought. **I’m gonna be out of this rain in a minute. You’re all stuck here getting this wreck cleared up.**

As Johnny stepped into the ambulance, he slipped.

“Johnny!” Roy, Cap, and Chet all saw it happen and yelled for their friend in unison. They watched him fall backwards and hit his head on the wet pavement. His helmet went flying. Johnny lay motionless.

“LA, Engine 51. We have a Code I at our location.” Captain Stanley made the call that always made him nauseous.

“Johnny? Can you hear me?” Roy was at his partner’s side.

“Huuh…uuuh…aaa.” Johnny was drifting in and out of consciousness.

“Chet, get me a neck brace and backboard. Cap, set up the bio-phone. Johnny? Wake up, Johnny.” Roy began his exam. “C’mon, Junior. Wake up.”

The penlight caused Johnny to stir again. “Uuuhh…sta…”

“What? C’mon, Johnny, talk to me. It’s Roy, Johnny. I need you to wake up.”

Johnny was out again.

“Rampart, Squad 51.”

“Go ahead, 51.” Dr. Brackett hated the rain. Especially when it fell this hard. It would be a long day.

“Rampart, we have an injured paramedic.” Roy paused.

“Johnny?”

“Yeah, Doc.” Roy knew it wasn’t really a question but he wanted to give Dr. Brackett a few seconds to gather his thoughts.

“Go ahead, Roy.”

“Rampart. Johnny fell getting into the ambulance. He sustained a head injury. He’s drifting in and out of consciousness. Pupils are even and reactive but sluggish. They are dilated. BP 128/86. Pulse 110. Respirations 20 and normal.”

“Was he wearing a helmet, Roy?”

“Yes, Doc. But, it fell off when he hit the street. There’s a knot forming on the lower base of the skull.”

“Get him in here, Roy. Monitor him and maintain contact during transport.”

“10-4, Rampart. Transporting.” Turning his focus to the firemen around him, Roy began readying Johnny for transport. “Chet, put the neck brace on him, please. Marco, let’s get him on a backboard. Mike, get the stretcher over here.”

Within minutes, the ambulance was rolling.

“Arr…uuuhhh…rrr…ooooo.”

“C’mon, Junior, wake up and talk to me.”

Johnny began blinking his eyes. He was out again before reaching the hospital.

~*~*~

“Did he come around at all, Roy?” Dr. Brackett was getting a BP reading while Dr. Early was looking into Johnny’s eyes.

“Yeah, Doc. Couldn’t understand what he was trying to say though.”

“Kel, I want a full skull series. His pupils are even but they’re still dilated and sluggish.”

“Okay, Joe. I don’t see any fluid in the ears. The bump on his head is growing though. About the size of a tennis ball.” Dr. Brackett looked over at Dixie. “Dix, get x-ray in here.”

Dixie opened the door and motioned the waiting x-ray tech into the room. An anxious group of firemen stood across the hall. “Get yourselves some coffee in the doctors’ lounge, guys. It will be a bit before we know anything.” She turned her attention back towards what was going on inside the trauma room.

“We need a full skull and cervical series.” Dr. Brackett’s orders were interrupted by Johnny.

“Wha…uhhh…ohhh…mmmm.”

“Johnny? Can you hear me? It’s Dr. Brackett. Open your eyes, Johnny.”

In a matter of moments, Johnny was out again and Dr. Brackett continued his instructions to the x-ray tech. “I want those films back up here immediately. Got it?”

The x-ray tech acknowledged the doctor’s demands. The doctors, along with Dix and Roy, left the room.

“I don’t know, Joe, I’d expect Johnny to be a bit more coherent by now.”

“Let’s see what the x-rays tell us, Kel. I’ve notified the neurosurgery team but I don’t think we’ll have to use them.”

“Hope not.” Roy just stared at the floor.

“Roy, why don’t you join the guys in the lounge. I’ll come and update all of you as soon as we get the x-rays back.”

~*~*~

The men looked up when the door opened. “Anything, Roy?”

“No, not yet, Cap.”

The conversation returned to the topic at hand.

“I just don’t get it. We wear our turnouts and we still get soaked.” Chet was beginning to shiver from the cold, damp clothes he was wearing.

“I’ve never seen it rain like this. It’s like working in the line of the hose. There’s no way to stay dry. I hate the rain.” Marco was as miserable as everyone else in the room.

The door to the lounge opened again and Dixie peeked in.

“News, Dix?”

“No, Roy, not about Johnny anyway. But, I think I do have good news for you.” Dixie opened the door wider to allow Joanne to pass though. In her hands, a folded stack of dry uniforms.

Mike was the first one to reach her. “Let me help you, Joanne.” He reached out for the pile. “Oh, man! They’re still warm!” Without thinking, he reached over and kissed her on the cheek.

“Hey, Mike, don’t do that!” Roy was on his feet. “What are you thinking? Don’t just stand there letting the uniforms cool. We want to put them on while they’re warm.”

The worried look on Mike’s face turned to a smile. Roy winked at Joanne and gave her a kiss of his own.

They weren’t sure but they thought the sudden blur was Chet. Someone yelled, ‘You ARE an angel!’, grabbed his set of clothes, and bolted from the room at lightening speed.

Even Cap was smiling. “Ooh. Warm – DRY – socks, too!”

~*~*~

The x-rays were finally available.

“There it is, Kel. It’s just a hairline fracture but it’s there.”

“I’d hate to think what this x-ray would look like if he hadn’t been wearing his helmet, Joe. I think we’re lucky here. He hasn’t gotten sick – yet. There doesn’t seem to be any increase in internal pressure.”

“You’re right, Kel. All we need to do is get him to come around and observe him for a few days.”

They didn’t notice the paramedic open his eyes while they were looking at the x-rays.

~*~*~

“Cap, any chance of keeping us here all night? Warm, dry, hot coffee, nice TV set.”

“Sorry, Chet. If we don’t hear something soon, we’re gonna have to head back out to the station and return to service.”

Chet was just about to complain when they all heard the scream. In an instant they recognized the voice. They all went running toward Johnny’s room.

~*~*~

“NO! NO! Get the sheet off me. I’m not dead. Don’t kill me. NO! Don’t kill me!”

“Johnny! Settle down. You’re okay. You’re at Rampart.” Dr. Brackett was trying to gain control of his patient.

“Stop it. Don’t kill me. NO! Take the sheet off. Please take the sheet off my face.”

The men of Station 51 stood silent. They were terrified at what was going on.

“Roy!” Kel pleaded for some help. “Try something. See if he responds to you.”

“Johnny, it’s Roy. Settle down okay? No one is going to hurt you. Settle down. Please.”

“NO! Help me, someone. Help!”

“Kel, his BP is 164/98. We have to settle him down.”

“With what, Joe? His head injury…”

“We have to risk it, Kel. He’ll have a stroke if we don’t stop the BP from going higher. Dix, get me a mild sedative.”

“NO! Stop killing me. Take the sheet off me. NO! NO! N…”

The sedative took affect quickly, probably due to the head injury.

Dr. Brackett looked around the room. Each person he looked at appeared more worried than the one before.

“Doc,” Chet asked, “what was Johnny yelling about? What sheet had him so scared?”

“I don’t know, Chet. He’s got a slight fracture at the base of his skull. The confusion is obviously from that.”

“Is he going to be okay, Dr. Brackett?” It was Marco’s turn to express concern.

“Yeah, Marco, he should recover fully.”

Joe Early was rechecking Johnny’s BP. “It’s a good sign that he hasn’t gotten sick. That would indicate a bit higher level of trauma to the head.”

As if on cue, Johnny vomited.

~*~*~

“Man, this is one shift I’m glad to see end. I hate it when it rains.” Mike yawned as he changed his clothes.

“I’m going past the hospital. I’ll call all of you with an update.”

“No way, Cap. We’re all going, too.” Chet was yawning as well. As he’d guessed, they didn’t get much of a chance to sleep. When the chance did come, the sleep didn’t. Worry kept all of the men awake.

~*~*~

Roy looked up to see Chet, Mike, Marco, and Captain Stanley walking towards him. Although he’d been relieved from duty when the replacement paramedic team arrived, he didn’t get much sleep either. He’d spent the night by his best friend’s side.

“Hi, guys.” Roy stood up and stretched. “Brackett, Early, and Dixie are in there right now. He woke up once during the night. Screamed in terror again. They gave him another dose of light sedation.” Roy looked at his watch. “’Bout time for it to wear off.”

The door to Johnny’s room opened. Dixie stepped out. “Okay, guys, come on in.” She hadn’t expected to see the entire A-shift out there – but she wasn’t surprised. She silently wondered how many times they’d broken the rules for these guys and let them all into a patient’s – one of their friend’s – rooms. She silently prayed that one day soon, their injuries would end so there’d be no rules to break.

The anxious group of men stood talking to the doctors and Dixie. Everyone’s attention was focussed on Dr. Brackett when Johnny opened his eyes.

**Damn, I still can’t see.** Johnny was calm this time around. He blinked his eyes several times. **Brackett? Is that you talking? Where am I? What the hell happened?**

“Hey, Junior! Welcome back!” Roy’s words caused everyone to turn and look at Johnny.

**Roy’s here too. Where is here?**

Johnny flinched when the shadow leaned over him.

“Whoa, Johnny. It’s me – Roy.”

Johnny just laid there trying to make sense of what was going on around him.

“Johnny?”

**Dr. Early**

“How are you feeling?” Several seconds passed with no response from Johnny. “What’s wrong, Johnny? Don’t you know us?” Joe Early was frowning.

“Just take the sheet off my face. Please, Doc.”

Brackett stepped up to Johnny’s side. He gave a worried look to Joe and Dixie before speaking. “Johnny, it’s Dr. Brackett. There’s no sheet over your face. Why do you think there is?”

Johnny continued blinking his eyes. “Because I’m looking at you through a sheet. All I see is a shadow of your outline. You know, the sheet is just making you look like shadows – like ghosts.”

Kel looked at Joe and Dixie. He then turned to Johnny’s silent friends. “Men, can you wait outside, please?”

The men from Station 51 dejectedly left the room.

“Johnny, I’m going to look in your eyes. You may see a bright light.”

**Sure, Dr. Early. I’ll probably never see anything again.**

“Do you remember what happened, Johnny?”

“No, Dr. Brackett, I don’t. What did happen?”

“You slipped getting into the ambulance.”

“Slipped? How’d I slip?”

“It was raining so hard, your foot just slipped on the step. You fell backwards and hit your head on the street.”

“Raining? When was it raining? I hate the rain.”

“Everything looks fine, Kel. We should probably run another set of x-rays just to be sure.”

“I agree, Joe. Johnny, what’s the last thing you remember?”

“I don’t know. The warehouse fire, I guess. Yeah, the warehouse fire. It wasn’t raining though. We could’ve used some rain on that one.”

Joe, Kel, and Dixie all looked at each other.

“Hang in there, Johnny. We’ll get some more x-rays soon. Don’t worry about this until we get the results back.”

“Okay, Dr. Brackett.” **Yeah, right. Don’t worry. I can’t see a damn thing but I won’t worry.** Johnny closed his eyes – there wasn’t much difference from when he had had them open.

~*~*~

Dr. Brackett updated the firemen. “We’re going to take some more x-rays. I don’t think his blindness will be permanent. There is another problem though. The last thing he remembers is the warehouse fire.”

“The warehouse fire?” Cap couldn’t believe it. “That was 6 days ago!”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Stop arguing, Junior! You’re spending the next few days with us. Joanne will have my head if I show up without you.”

“Roy’s right, Johnny. And, Kel would never have agreed to release you if he thought you were going home alone.” Dixie was shaking her finger at one half of her favorite paramedic team. “Your sight has only been cleared up for 12 hours. You’re lucky Kel and Joe don’t keep you here another 3 days.”

Brackett had been listening from the doorway. “I can rip up this release form right now.” Brackett acted like he was going to tear the paper.

“Okay, okay. Geez. I’ll find something to do at Roy’s.”

“Oh no you won’t! You’ll lay around watching TV. You don’t do anything until I see you in 3 days. Understand?”

“Yes, Dr. Brackett. The head injury didn’t kill me so now you’re going to bore me to death.” Johnny smiled.

~*~*~

“Uncle Johnny!”

“No, kids. Don’t jump on Uncle Johnny. He hurt his head – he has to rest. No running. No jumping.”

“Can we hug him, Mom?”

Johnny answered this one. “Of course you can. Come here, munchkins.”

~*~*~

Johnny slept like a baby. Didn’t stir the entire night. He awoke to the sound of thunder. Despite the never-ending headache, he showered and made his way to the kitchen.

“Good morning, sleepy head.”

“Good morning, Joanne.” He eyed the breakfast spread out before him. “You shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble.”

“No trouble, Johnny. How do you feel?”

“My head is pounding. And, I just can’t seem to get warm. Slept great though. You might have a hard time getting me to leave!” Johnny and Joanne both laughed.

Jennifer came into the room. “Hi, Uncle Johnny!” She gave him a good-morning kiss. “You’re sweaty, Uncle Johnny. Mom, can I go outside?”

“No, honey. It looks like it’s going to rain again.”

“Oh! I hate the rain!” Jennifer turned and headed towards the family room pouting all the way.

~*~*~

“I don’t know, Cap. Dr. Brackett wants to see him day after tomorrow. I guess he’ll tell us then how much longer Johnny will be out.”

“Is Johnny doing okay, Roy?”

“When Joanne called this morning, Johnny was still in bed. Thought I’d check up on him around lunch, Chet.”

“Man, when I saw him hit the ground, I was sick. You could hear his head hit the pavement.” Chet was shaking his head.

“As bad as that was, pal, it didn’t compare to his screaming at the hospital. Scared the hell out of me.” It was Cap’s turn to shake his head at the memories.

The tones took them away from their awful thoughts.

~*~*~

Johnny followed Jennifer to the family room.

“Sit in Daddy’s chair, Uncle Johnny. Will you watch TV with me?”

“Of course I will, Jen. Are you sure your dad won’t care if I sit in his chair?” Johnny was teasing Jen.

The little girl skipped across the floor and whispered into Johnny’s ear, “We won’t tell him.” She put her finger to her mouth and said, “Shhhh, it’s our secret.” Her smile lit up the room.

From the recliner, Johnny could see into the kitchen. Joanne was still cleaning up the breakfast dishes. Jennifer’s innocent laugh turned Johnny’s attention back to the cartoon on TV.

Joanne was almost done cleaning up. She set a roll of paper towels on the table and bent over to put some pans away. The clanging of a dropped pan lid caused Johnny to look out to the kitchen.

**Oh my God! The roll of paper towels! It’s coming towards me. It’s going to crush me. Oh my God, no!**

Johnny covered his face with his arms and screamed. It was the scream of someone dying. Joanne dropped the pans and Jennifer cried.

“Johnny, what’s wrong? What’s wrong?”

Johnny uncovered his eyes and sat up straight. He looked at Joanne then over to Jen. The little girl was still crying. “I don’t know, Joanne. I just got scared of something. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Jen. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Are you okay, Uncle Johnny?”

“Yes, honey, I’m fine.”

Jen turned back toward the TV. No one noticed Chris standing at the top of the steps. Once he saw that everyone was okay, he returned to his room.

“Johnny, I think we should call Dr. Brackett.”

“No, Joanne. I’m fine. Really. I’m sorry to be so much trouble.”

“Well, I’d still feel better calling Dr. Brackett. If you go rest and don’t feel well when you get up, I AM going to call him!”

“I’ll be fine. Thanks for everything, Joanne.” **Most of all, thanks of not calling Brackett. That would be cute. ‘Yeah, Doc, the roll of paper towels was coming straight for me.’ I’d be on the express train to the psych ward!**

Johnny decided he should go lay down for a few minutes. Joanne was relieved. She really wanted to talk to Roy. The phone rang and rang. **Damn, why do you have to be on a run right now, Roy?!**

Joanne made her way to the guestroom. Johnny was already sleeping. She pulled the shades down to darken the room. Before leaving, she decided to turn the bathroom light on so that Johnny would have some light when he woke up. One more quick check of the sleeping paramedic and she left the room.

~*~*~

The pans were put away and Joanne was sharing a cartoon with Jennifer.

Johnny woke up to a fully soaked sheet. He’d been sweating but he was freezing cold. He rolled over and looked toward the bathroom. It took a moment for his eyes to focus. He was sorry when they did.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Noooooooooooooooo!” The scream was blood curdling. **The toilet paper. It’s rolling. Stop it. It’s huge. Please, someone, stop it! How am I going to get out of here? It’s going to crush me.**

Chris was the first one to the room. He found Johnny with his head covered by his pillow. He was rolling back and forth saying ‘no, no, no’ over and over. Chris was glad when his mom came into the room.

“Chris, go down and watch TV with Jennifer.”

“Johnny. Johnny. You’re okay. C’mon, settle down.”

Johnny relaxed at Joanne’s touch.

“Johnny, you’re soaked. Let me feel your forehead.” She felt Johnny’s forehead and cheeks. “You’re burning up. I’m calling Dr. Brackett.”

“No, Joanne. I’ll be okay. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. There’s nothing to be sorry about. But, what is scaring you so much? You scream like you’re going to die.”

“I don’t know, Joanne. Nightmares, I guess.”

“Nightmares? While you’re awake?”

“I was sleeping.” Johnny lied.

Not knowing that Johnny had waken up before his terror struck, she shook her head. “Maybe you were asleep this time but you were awake downstairs. We’ll see what Dr. Brackett has to say about it.”

“No, Jo, please. Let me shower. We’ll talk about it when I come down. If I’m still feeling bad, we’ll decide what to do.” He flashed his best puppy dog eyes and look of innocence at Joanne.

“John Gage, don’t you think for one minute that that look is going to win you any slack.” Johnny continued looking at her. “Oh! Damn you! Go shower. I’ll be downstairs.”

Johnny smiled as Joanne left the room. He got up and headed toward the bathroom. He stopped when he saw the roll of toilet paper. He picked it up and threw it against the wall. **John Gage, you’re crazy. You run into burning buildings for Christ’s sake! Do you really think a roll of toilet paper or paper towels is going to hurt you? Get a grip!**

Johnny turned the shower on.

~*~*~

When Joanne walked into the family room, she saw Jennifer drawing a picture and Chris looking out the window watching the puddles form on the driveway.

She stopped by the little girl first. “What are you doing, Jen?”

“I’m drawing a picture for Uncle Johnny. I want to cheer him up, Mommy. Will Uncle Johnny be okay?”

“I think he’ll be just fine when he sees this beautiful picture.”

“I love him Mommy.”

“Oh, Jen, he loves you too.” She gave her little girl a big hug then headed over to the window. “What are you looking at Chris?”

“The puddles, Mom. I hate the rain.” He looked up at his mom. He had tears in his eyes.

Joanne wiped the tears and gave Chris a big hug. “He’ll be okay, Chris. He loves you too, you know. And, so do I.” One more big hug and Chris joined Jen on the couch.

Joanne picked up the phone. **Pick up, someone. You can’t be out again. Damn it, Roy, pick up. Weather must be running you ragged. Get back to the station, will you please. I hate the rain!** Joanne hung up the phone without getting an answer.

~*~*~

Johnny was dizzy and looked like hell. He put the wet, COLD washcloth on his forehead again. He drank cold water trying to cool down. He had to look well for Joanne. He didn’t want to go see Dr. Brackett. And, he sure didn’t want to go out in the rain. He put on his best – fake – smile and headed downstairs.

“Hey, munchkin, what’s that you’re drawing?”

“Uncle Johnny! You’re okay! It’s a picture for you.”

Johnny took the picture from the little girl. “This is b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l!”

“Does it make you feel better, Uncle Johnny?”

Johnny looked over at Joanne. “It sure does, honey. I feel lots better!”

Joanne frowned and shook her head. She was wrapped around Johnny’s little finger just as much as her little girl was. Neither one could say no to him. Of course, the difference was Johnny could never say ‘no’ to Jen. He did a very good job of saying ‘no’ to Joanne. And, she let him.

“Chris, where’s Sampson?”

“He’s on the back porch, Mom.”

“Bring him in. I don’t want him running out in the yard. You know how he stinks when he gets wet.”

Sampson came running into the room. He dropped his ball a few feet away from Johnny. Johnny scratched Sampson’s head and patted his belly. Sampson loped away, happy as could be.

Johnny wasn’t feeling well. He was really sweating again. And, he was dizzy. He looked around the room and his eyes fell on the dog’s ball laying a few feet away.

**Oh, no. Not again. Please, not again. Here it comes. Oh, God. It’s going to crush me. Stop the ball. Someone stop the ball. It’s rolling! It’s rolling!!**

“Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” Johnny turned to avoid the crushing ball that was nearly on top of him. He stumbled and passed out on the floor.

Joanne, Jennifer, and Chris all stared in horror.

“Jen, get me the phone. Chris, get me a cold, wet towel.” The children ran to get their assigned items. When they returned, Joanne gave them another order. “Now, go look out the front window. Let Daddy and the firemen in when they get here.”

Joanne dialed 911. **Please let 51 respond!**

~*~*~

The men had just exited the engine and the squad when the tones sounded again.

“I hate the rain!” Cap yelled before the dispatch came through.

When the address was given, there was a moment of stunned silence.

“Roy? That’s your house, right?” Mike was as nervous as Roy was.

The men jumped back in their vehicles and headed out. Roy wanted to go 20 miles an hour faster than he could because of the wet streets.

“I hate the rain!” Roy’s thoughts were racing. **It has to be Johnny…doesn’t it? What if it’s one of the kids? Come on – let’s get there, damn it.** “Ugh! I HATE the rain!!”

~*~*~

Joanne was on the floor next to Johnny. He hadn’t moved since he passed out. She didn’t know what to do other than try to cool him down. He was burning up. **I knew I should have called Rampart. Damn your smile and puppy dog eyes, Johnny! Please let Roy respond.**

Finally, the sound of the approaching sirens could be heard.

Roy breathed a guarded sigh of relief when he saw the kids on the front porch.

“Daddy, Daddy. Hurry up. Uncle Johnny is sick.” Jennifer had tears in her eyes.

All of the men stopped in their tracks at what Chris said next. “I think he’s dead, Dad. I think Uncle Johnny died. He just fell to the floor in the family room. He’s not moving. I think he’s dead.” Chris started crying.

Cap looked around. “Mike, stay with the kids. Keep them away from Johnny.” Cap knew that Mike had kids of his own and would be able to help comfort the kids. He didn’t know who was going to comfort Mike.

The rest of the men grabbed their gear and ran to the family room.

“Jo, what happened?” Roy was already on the floor next to his best friend.

“He’s been screaming all day, Roy. He’d get scared of something. I never could figure out what. He’d scream like he was dying. I tried calling you but you were always out. A few minutes ago, he screamed again and fell to the floor. He’s burning up.” Joanne was talking a mile a minute. Cap took her by the shoulders and moved her away from Johnny.

“Cap, get a line to Rampart. Chet and Marco, get some more towels. Break the ice packs. We have to cool him down.”

Cap set up the bio-phone while Roy got Johnny’s vitals. “Rampart, Squad 51.”

“Go ahead, 51.” Dr. Brackett grabbed the notepad.

“Rampart, we have a sick paramedic. Johnny. He is unconscious. Roy is getting the vitals. Stand by.” Cap was getting nervous. Johnny hadn’t moved since they had arrived.

“Standing by, 51.” Dr. Brackett looked up in time to see Dixie coming through the door. She was drenched.

“I’m going to dry my hair, Kel. Back in a second. I hate the rain!” Dixie shook her head as she walked by.

“Rampart, Squad 51.”

“Go ahead, Roy.”

“Doc, Johnny is unconscious. Apparently, he has been hallucinating throughout the day. About 10 minutes ago, he screamed and passed out. He is burning up with fever. BP 130/88. Pulse 120. Respirations 24. Diaphoretic. Pupils even and reactive.”

“51, start IV Ringers lactate. Wide open. Can you cool him down, Roy?”

“10-4, Rampart. IV, Ringers, wide open. We have ice packs at the pulse points and cold wet towels on his forehead.”

“Transport, 51.”

“10-4. Transporting.”

The men loaded Johnny onto the stretcher and into the ambulance. Just before the doors were closed, Roy heard a little voice.

“Daddy? Is Uncle Johnny dead?” Jen was standing at the base of the ambulance.

“No, honey, he’s just really sick.”

“Daddy. Uncle Johnny and I have a secret. Uncle Johnny sat in your chair today. Is that okay?”

All of the men smiled as Roy replied. “Yes, honey, it’s okay. He can sit in my chair…but only when I’m not home!”

Jen and Chris smiled. Roy looked at Joanne and winked. The doors were closed and the ambulance drove away headed toward Rampart.

Joanne looked at Captain Stanley then at the kids. “Why don’t you guys go make sure Sampson is okay?” She directed the kids to the house.

“Yeah, we better. He ran under the table when Uncle Johnny was screaming. He was so scared. We better let him know that Uncle Johnny is okay. Come on, Chris.” Jennifer grabbed her older brother’s hand and pulled him toward the house.

“Those are great kids you have there, Joanne.” Cap watched them scurry toward the house.

“Yeah they are. They’ve sure been through a lot today.”

“I think you have too!” Cap placed a reassuring hand on Joanne’s shoulder.

“Call me from the hospital, okay?”

“You got it. Thanks for taking care of Johnny, Joanne. It means a lot to me.”

“He means a lot to all of us, Hank.”

Joanne headed in after the kids. The engine and squad left for the hospital.

~*~*~

Dr. Early exited the exam room and joined Kel and Dixie at the desk. “Man, that is the fifth car accident victim I’ve treated today. I wish people would slow down then the weather is bad. Man, I hate the rain. What has you guys looking so worried?”

“Roy is on his way in with Johnny. Johnny’s been hallucinating all day. He passed out about 15 minutes ago and hasn’t come around yet. They’ll be here any minute.”

The doors opened and Roy rushed in with Johnny on a stretcher.

“Room 3, Roy.”

“My God, he is burning up. Dix, get his temperature.” Dr. Brackett began checking his vitals.

“104.5, Kel.” Dixie was as surprised as everyone in the room.

“Get the chilled Ringers, Dix, let’s get him cooled down.” Brackett looked at Early. “Ice baths?”

“Yeah – I think we should.”

The team worked for over an hour to break Johnny’s fever. He finally started coming around. His eyes started fluttering.

“You’re not going to start screaming, are you Johnny?” Dr. Brackett was smiling at his patient.

“No, Doc. Not this time. You don’t have any toilet paper around here, do you?” Johnny frowned.

“Toilet paper?” Both doctors asked in confusion.

Johnny looked away.

“Don’t be embarrassed, Junior. Fevers do things like that.” Roy was trying to hide his smile.

“Like what?” Dr. Early asked.

“Nothing. Nothing!” Johnny was dreading this.

“Johnny, you need to tell us what’s going on.” Dr. Brackett was intrigued.

“I thought I was getting crushed, okay? The toilet paper, paper towels, and ball were all the size of a truck. They were rolling toward me. I thought they were going to roll over me and crush me, okay?” Johnny now wished they had crushed him!

“Johnny, with a fever that high, you’re lucky you didn’t have convulsions. No need to be embarrassed by your hallucinations. You’re one lucky man!” Joe Early was trying to be reassuring.

~*~*~

“Toilet paper? He was afraid of toilet paper?” Chet was laughing hysterically.

“Chester B. Kelly, you will stop laughing now!” Cap was not finding this amusing.

“Sure, Cap.” Chet broke out laughing again.

“Look, mister, this is not funny. Well, okay, it’s a bit funny. But, I don’t want you to say a word to Johnny about this. Roy just told you how embarrassed Johnny is about it. You won’t speak a word about this. Got it?” Cap was trying not to laugh.

“Yes, Cap.”

“Now, let’s get out of here and go back to the station.” Cap turned and looked at his entire crew. “NO ONE will mention this to Johnny. NO ONE!” Cap couldn’t help but laugh as he left the hospital.

~*~*~

It was another 3 weeks before Johnny returned to the station. He had permanently lost those 6 days from his memory. But, he was a lucky man. There was no other permanent damage caused by his fall or the fever. He was a bit nervous about returning to work but not one of his friends had harassed him about his hallucinations when they visited him. Still…

“Hey, Gage, welcome back.” Chet greeted his friend. “Hey, do you mind putting away that stuff?” He pointed to the bags on the table. He turned back to finish drying the coffee cups from the prior shift. He was glad Johnny couldn’t see his smile.

“No, Chet, I don’t mind. But you don’t give a guy a break, do you. Been gone all this time and you don’t even let me get a cup of coffee before I have to put the groceries away.” Johnny grabbed a bag. “What the…? Chet!”

Chet was laughing but kept his back to his friend. “Hey!” Chet ducked. He was being pelted by rolls of toilet paper. He was glad he opted for the toilet paper and not the balls.

Cap walked in at the sound of all the men laughing. “Well, look at that, it’s raining toilet paper!”

Johnny smiled. “Man, I love the rain.” With that, he started throwing the rolls at Chet with both hands.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The End

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

Author's note: Johnny's injuries in this story are all things that I personally experienced. The summer between 4th and 5th grade, I fell off my bike and had a head injury just like Johnny’s. I couldn't see anything but ‘ghosts’ right after the injury. I also suffered a raging fever that caused me to hallucinate. I know it might be hard to imagine but if you can picture yourself looking at a roll of paper towels and suddenly it's like you're in a paper factory or something and this huge roll of paper is heading towards you, that's what was happening. Try explaining that one to someone when you're a kid! :-) The only difference between Johnny and me is that I actually lost 6 months of memory which I've never been able to recover and I damaged my ocular nerve and have had to wear glasses ever since. Lessons learned...always wear a helmet when biking, and hide the toilet paper and paper towels when you have a fever! ;-)