Watching Johnny sleeping, Roy was dreading the moment he woke and the pain would start again. Roy’s thoughts turned to Elizabeth. What was she thinking now, he wondered. How any woman could think his partner wasn’t enough of a man for her was beyond Roy. What did she want him to do? Walk on water? His heart clenched against the pain as Johnny stirred.

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

“She’s fantastic, Roy!” Johnny exclaimed as he sorted through the drugs box, checking to see if they needed any supplies before their first run. Roy doubted if his partner was actually paying any attention to what he was doing. “Gorgeous, smart and she likes me! What more could a guy want?”

“Nothing, I guess,” Roy replied. He knew he didn’t really have to say anything; Johnny could hold a conversation with himself. “So where’d you meet her?”

“We need more Ringers,” Johnny mentioned as he poked some more. “I met her at the beach yesterday.”

“Uh-huh.” The noncommittal comment was enough to keep Johnny going.

“She’s a legal secretary for one of those big downtown firms. She did tell me which one, but I’ve forgotten. We’re meeting up tomorrow evening.” Roy wasn’t sure if Johnny ran out of air or just out of news, but mercifully, he stopped talking for a few minutes.

“She can’t be that smart, Gage,” Chet Kelly commented, walking around from the back of the squad. “She’s goin’ out with you.”

“Go play on the freeway, Chet,” Johnny retorted.

“So what’s her name? Roy asked, as Chet vanished, chuckling.

“Elizabeth Riley,” Johnny replied. “She was sitting just along the beach from me. I was playing volleyball with some of the guys, you know? And she came over to talk to us when we had a break. Next thing I knew, she was all over me like a rash.” Satisfaction coloured the younger man’s tones. “She’s gorgeous!” he repeated. “Long blonde hair, legs that go on forever…” He described the shape of her figure in the air.

“That’s great,” Roy told him sincerely. He didn’t voice the thought that he hoped this girl would last longer than the others Johnny dated. His partner seemed to belong to the ‘girl of the week’ club. He went back to checking the drugs box.

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

On their next shift together, Roy braced himself for whatever mood Johnny might be in. But his partner seemed to be in a good humour as he entered the locker room with ten minutes in hand before roll call. “Good mornin’,” he carolled, clapping Roy on the shoulder.

“The date went well then,” Roy diagnosed, from long experience.

“Ooooh yes!” Johnny grinned broadly and began to whistle as he changed into his uniform. “We had a great time, Roy.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Roy smiled. He suspected he might be less glad as the day progressed, though. He did hope Johnny would not go on and on about how wonderful Elizabeth was.  Not that he begrudged his partner happiness – he didn’t. He just didn’t want to hear endless stories of their time together.

As it happened, the shift was busy. First there was an MVA involving ten cars, many injuries and a couple of fatalities. The paramedics hadn’t got back to the station after that when they were toned out again to a heart attack. Leaving Rampart once more, Johnny sighed. “I don’t suppose there’s any lunch left for us,” he complained. Lunch had passed a couple of hours ago.

“There might be,” Roy commented optimistically.

“Man, what a day!” Johnny exclaimed. Then he brightened. “Did I tell you I’m meeting Elizabeth for breakfast tomorrow when we finish?”

“No, you didn’t,” Roy replied. He didn’t comment on the likelihood of them getting off-shift on time. On days like the one they were having, it wasn’t unheard of for a call to come in at six or seven am and them not get back to the barn till gone ten. Mentioning that would be calling down the fates and sometimes, even Roy felt a bit superstitious.

Later, he would rue even allowing the thought to cross his mind.

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

The busy day continued. The tones seemed to go constantly. There was a structure fire, closely followed by a child who had swallowed a handful of his mother’s pills. Both Roy and Johnny hated calls involving kids and they were particularly worried about the little boy, but they reached him in good time and Brackett assured them that the child would make a complete recovery.

Just for once, the tones didn’t go off during supper, but Johnny had to abandon washing the dishes to go on an unknown rescue. It turned out to be an elderly gentleman who had fallen down stairs. He lived alone and it had taken him quite some time to reach the phone. The follow-up proved lengthy, as he went sour in the ambulance and Johnny was frantically giving him CPR when they arrived at Rampart. When Brackett freed them to leave, the old man was still hanging on, but the prognosis was not good. Feeling depressed, they went back to the station.

When the tones went off at 4 am, Roy silently cursed himself.  But any grumbles were silenced when the tones kept going off. This was a big one. They jumped into their turn-out pants and snapped the suspenders over their shoulders as they ran to the engine bay. Sleep was driven away by the surge of adrenalin as they realised the magnitude of the fire they were about to face.

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

The four storey apartment building was well alight when they arrived. Flames were shooting from many of the windows and people in nightwear stood around helplessly, watching as their homes were destroyed.

51s were first on the scene. Stanley took charge at once. “Kelly! Lopez! Inch and a half on there.” He looked around as though trying to decide if there was a manager or landlord of any kind present. A few quick questions took him to the correct person and he heard the words he dreaded. “Gage! DeSoto! There are still people in there.”

The words were no surprise. The paramedics were already suited up, shrugging the heavy SCBA tanks onto their backs and sliding the face masks into place. They ran over to the building and disappeared into the flames.

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

The halls of the building were still clear of flames although smoke hung heavily in the air. On the first floor, most of the doors stood open, a silent testament to their occupiers’ frantic rush to escape the blaze. It made the paramedics’ job easier.

There were several people on the second floor but no injuries. Johnny and Roy shepherded them down the stairs before moving on upwards. The third floor was horribly hot and the smoke was much thicker. The partners separated, each taking a wing as they banged on doors, checking that everyone was out before marking each apartment with a cross to indicate it was empty.

“Johnny!” Roy’s voice was muffled by his mask, but Johnny heard him. He turned enquiringly and saw Roy had someone draped over his shoulder. “I’m taking this lady out. I’ve checked the other apartments down there. They’re empty.”

“All right!” Johnny called back. “I’ll head on up once I’ve done this one.” He pointed upwards to emphasis his words and Roy nodded.

“Be careful!” He saw his partner nod and then hurried downstairs with the victim.

The last apartment on the third floor was empty, so Johnny quickly climbed the stairs to the top floor. The smoke was thick there and the first door Johnny tested was warm. There was no answer to his hail, so he cautiously forced the door open. Flames licked along the wall and he saw at once that there was no way he could get in to check the place out. He pulled the door closed and hurried to the next apartment. Time was running out.

By the time Johnny had worked his way along one wing and had started on the other, the heat was overwhelming. Sweat trickled down his back and his nose. The alarm went off on his air tank, warning him that he only had five more minutes of air left. Johnny picked up his pace slightly.

The door of the last apartment refused to yield as easily as the others had. Putting his shoulder to it, Johnny catapulted into the room as it unexpectedly gave way. He almost fell over a young woman who lay unconscious on the floor. Kneeling, he felt for a pulse, relieved to find one. He slid his helmet off, shaking his sweat-soaked hair and pulled off his air mask, giving the woman a blast of oxygen. Then he slipped it back on and picked her up.

Even in those few minutes he had been inside the apartment, conditions had worsened in the corridor. Flames were licking out from underneath a door and Johnny knew the building could flash at any moment. He hurried towards the stairs, gasping for breath. The combination of heat and exertion were taking their toll on him.

Half way down the stairs, Roy met Johnny. He saw at once that Johnny was exhausted and took the victim from him. He put one hand under his partner’s arm and tried to support Johnny as much as he could. They hurried towards the exit and outside.

Suddenly, Johnny missed a step and, despite Roy’s hand, stumbled and fell. “Johnny!” Roy made sure he placed his feet carefully so that he didn’t fall, too and went to his partner’s side. “Come on, let’s get you up.”

“I’m all right,” Johnny panted, although he felt anything but all right. His vision wavered slightly and he blinked hard to get the sweat out of his eyes. “Go on. I’m coming.” He struggled to his feet and met Roy’s worried gaze. He nodded and the older man headed towards the exit once more.

Forcing his leaden feet to move, Johnny managed no more than a couple of steps when his body betrayed him again. The floor rushed up to meet him as darkness overwhelmed him.

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

The paramedics from Squad 16 met Roy at the door and relieved him of the victim. Roy glanced over his shoulder for Johnny and realised that his partner was not in sight. Without hesitating, he plunged back into the interior of the building. Johnny was lying on the floor, not moving. Roy didn’t waste any time checking him out. It was imperative that they get out of the building at once. He slung Johnny over his shoulder and raced out of the door once more.

He had barely reached the safety of the squad when the building flashed. Panting, Roy laid Johnny on the ground and pulled off his helmet and mask. He shrugged the air tank from his back and repeated the procedure for his partner. Johnny was hot – very hot. Roy quickly stripped off Gage’s turnout coat and reached for the biophone.

“Rampart, this is Squad 51, do you read?” He took Johnny’s pulse while he waited for a response.

“Go ahead, 51,” came the reply.

“Rampart, I have a 28 year old firefighter suffering from heat exhaustion,” Roy replied. “Stand by for vitals.”

“Standing by,” Morton agreed. He jotted down what Roy told him and pressed the transmit button. “51, start IV Ringer’s Lactate and transport as soon as possible.” He hesitated and then asked, “Do you have an ID on the victim, 51?”

“Ringer’s Lactate and transport,” Roy echoed. “Uh, affirmative, Rampart. It’s Johnny.”

“Acknowledged,” Morton responded. He sighed as he put down his pen. He would have been surprised had it been anyone other than Johnny, although they had several firefighters on their way in suffering from heat exhaustion. He left the base station and grimaced at the nurse in charge. “We need another treatment room set up.”

“Right away, doctor,” she replied and hurried off. Somehow, Mike Morton didn’t find her as efficient as Dixie and wished that the head nurse had night shift this particular night. He headed off to wait for Roy and Johnny to arrive.

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

By the time they arrived at Rampart, Johnny was conscious and feeling rather embarrassed. He lay quietly as he was transferred to the exam table and didn’t groan when he saw Mike Morton come into view. “Hi, doc,” he said.

“Heat exhaustion, I’m told,” Morton replied. He popped a thermometer into Johnny’s mouth and waited while the nurse took his patient’s vitals. Johnny’s temperature was still elevated, but lower than it had been at the scene. “Did you hurt yourself when you passed out?” Morton asked, as he ran his fingers through Johnny’s shaggy hair.

“I don’t think so,” Johnny replied. He glanced over to where Roy was standing by the door.

“He still had his helmet on,” Roy answered. “It was pretty hot in there, doc.”

“So I believe,” Morton nodded. “All right, Gage, we’re going to keep you for a while until your temperature is back to normal and you’re re-hydrated. You can probably go in the morning as long as nothing else crops up.” He laughed at the grimace that crossed Johnny’s face. He left the room.

As the nurse went over to organise a bed for Johnny, Roy crossed to the table. “I’d better go back to the fire,” he offered. “But I’ll come by and pick you up in the morning.”

“Thanks, Pally,” Johnny murmured. He was struggling to keep his eyes open now.

“You rest,” Roy told him and let himself out of the treatment room. Johnny closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

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

Elizabeth’s displeasure could still be clearly heard even though Johnny had prudently removed the receiver from his ear. He had forgotten to give Roy her number so he could phone and let her know that Gage couldn’t make their breakfast date. Now, several hours into the morning, Johnny was at last at home and had phoned to apologise. Elizabeth was not buying it.

“Elizabeth, I collapsed from heat exhaustion,” he repeated, hoping that the sympathy card would work in his favour. “I only got home from the hospital a few minutes ago. I’m sorry I missed our date.”

“Sorry?” Elizabeth snapped. “I would think so! And you didn’t even phone! Heat exhaustion? Please! What kind of a man are you?”

“What?” Johnny gasped, unable to believe that he had heard correctly.

“Johnny, it’s over between us,” Elizabeth declared. “You aren’t man enough for me. No man I know would collapse from a simple thing like heat exhaustion.”

“Wait a minute!” Johnny objected. He wasn’t sure which stung most – her dumping him or calling heat exhaustion ‘simple’. “Heat exhaustion is serious. It can lead to heat stroke, which is even more serious. People can die from that!”

“Oh sure, make it sound like you have a really dangerous job!” Elizabeth scoffed. “Johnny, everyone knows that firemen talk themselves up. I did like you, but this has shown me you’re simply not what I’m looking for in a man. Goodbye.” She hung up.

Dazed, Johnny gazed at the receiver in his hand for several long moments before slowly replacing it in the cradle. He simply couldn’t believe it. He ran a hand through his hair and looked vaguely around his apartment. “Not man enough,” he repeated.

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

“Are you all right?” were the first words that came out of Roy’s mouth when he rang to check on Johnny later that day. His partner sounded dreadful.

“Yeah, I’m all right,” Johnny replied.

“Are you sure?” Roy queried.

“I’m all right,” Johnny repeated. “It’s just…” His voice trailed off.

“Just what?” Roy asked, anxiety colouring his voice.

Sighing heavily, Johnny knew he had to tell someone and Roy was his best bet. “Elizabeth dumped me.”

“I’m sorry,” Roy sympathised.

“Yeah, me too, I guess. You know, Roy, she said I wasn’t man enough for her. That no man she knows would get heat exhaustion and that firemen like to ‘talk themselves up’. I mean, can you believe that?”

“No, I can’t,” Roy agreed. “But it sounds to me like you’re better off without her if that’s what she thinks. How dare she say something like that! I’m sorry this happened, Johnny.”

“Yeah,” Johnny sighed. “Sorry to dump on you, man.”

“That’s what friends are for,” Roy soothed. “But how are you apart from that? Feeling okay?”

“I’m fine, honestly.” Johnny smiled. “All back to normal.”

“Wow, that would be a first,” Roy teased and was relieved when Johnny laughed. They talked some more and then hung up. Roy immediately sought out Joanne. He couldn’t believe what Elizabeth had said to Johnny.

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

The next shift, Johnny was in slightly earlier than his usual. He looked depressed and Roy’s heart went out to him. Bad enough to get dumped, but to have unfair aspersions cast on his manhood, too! Roy was still fuming about it, although he had allowed Joanne to talk him out of phoning Elizabeth and giving her a piece of his mind. He just hoped Chet would keep his distance from Johnny this shift.

“Hey,” he called softly.

“Hi, Roy,” Johnny replied, lifting his face. His eyes were darkly circled and he looked tired.

“Bad night?” Roy asked, moving to change into his uniform.

“A couple, actually,” Johnny admitted. “I haven’t slept well since I spoke to Elizabeth. Oh, don’t worry,” he added, as he saw the frown on Roy’s face. “I haven’t been awake all night every night. Just a couple of hours here and there.” He rose slowly and started unbuttoning his shirt. “I’m not too tired to work, honest.”

“If you need some down time for a sleep later, then say so,” Roy instructed. “I’ll get Cap to stand us down for a while.”

“Thanks,” Johnny murmured. “I appreciate it. But I’m sure I’ll be fine.” He grinned at Roy before his partner could speak. “But if I need to, I’ll let you know.”

“Gee, Gage, you look like hell,” Chet told his workmate cheerfully as he breezed into the locker room. “What’s the matter? Been dumped again?”

The utter frozen immobility in the room penetrated Chet’s senses after only a few seconds. Roy was looking at Chet with his eyes and mouth wide. Johnny was reaching into his locker for a shirt, but not actually moving at all. Chet knew that he’d blundered big time – the problem was, he didn’t know how.

“What?” he asked defensively, as Johnny slowly completed his movement. “What did I say?”

“Never mind,” Johnny replied, his voice hoarse. He slid into the shirt, clumsily fastening the buttons. He really wanted to run over and punch Chet in the mouth, but he knew that the stocky man had not meant to hurt his feelings. Chet didn’t know what had happened – he wasn’t being mean intentionally. He just hadn’t thought before he spoke. It was no different from the teasing he indulged in every day. It was just that today, it really hurt. Johnny stuffed his shirt tails into his pants and walked slowly to the door.

“What did I say?” Chet pleaded with Roy when Johnny was gone. “Roy?”

“It’s not my place to tell you,” Roy replied. He sounded almost as hoarse as Gage had. “But I’m warning you, Chet; lay off Johnny today. He really can’t take it, all right?”

“But…” Chet protested but Roy cut him off with a gesture and look that even Chet didn’t want to argue with.

“I’m telling you to leave him alone,” Roy hissed. “You rile Johnny and I won’t be responsible for my actions, understand?”

The shaken Chet Kelly was left alone in the locker room, his mouth hanging open in shock. He had never heard the mild-mannered, utterly patient Roy De Soto sound so threatening in all his life. Slowly starting to change his clothes, Chet realised that he still didn’t know what was going on.

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

It was the usual short of shift. Most of the calls were bumps and bruises, interspersed with some life threatening ones and the odd weird one. They weren’t overly busy, even managing to have lunch and supper while it was all still hot, which was something of a novelty.

About 10 pm, they were toned out to an MVA. It was a mess. A flat-bed truck had shed its load of iron bars on top of several cars that were overtaking it at the time. Cars travelling behind, going too fast, had come to grief and the pile-up seemed to stretch for miles.

It was the worst kind of situation. The paramedics went into full triage mode, tagging the ones who were dead or less seriously injured. It was the part of their work they hated the most. And then things got worse.

An undetected gas leak sparked somewhere in the midst of the pile of cars. Within seconds, the whole thing blew. Multiple explosions sounded. Firefighters were knocked off their feet left and right. Screams from trapped victims could be heard from all around.

Scrambling to their feet, Roy and Johnny reached back into the car where they had been working and grabbed the victim. There was no longer any time to think about spinal damage. The only priority in this situation was to extract the victim live. Neither man noticed that the other was bleeding from minor cuts – they had other things to worry about.

Water began to spray around them as the firefighters regained their feet and started tackling the huge blaze. It allowed the overheated paramedics a little relief as they carried their victim to the triage are by the squads. Other hands there willingly took her, freeing Roy and Johnny to go back into the fray.

For a while, it seemed that the firefighters would win the battle against the beast, even before the haz-mat truck could arrive. The paramedics worked frantically, knowing that the window of opportunity was closing quickly. Johnny went over to station wagon and peered in. The young woman at the wheel was obviously dead, but Johnny felt for a carotid pulse anyway. It wasn’t there. He placed a black tag on her sleeve. As he turned away, a whimper reached his ears.

Turning, he bent to peer into the crushed back of the car. There, barely visible, was a baby in a car seat. From where Johnny stood, it looked as though the infant was unhurt. He grabbed at the car door, not noticing the hot metal burning his bare hand. It resisted his strength. “Gimme a pry bar!” he bellowed.

“Here!”

Johnny didn’t recognise the firefighter who thrust the required tool into his hands. He grunted his thanks and started working on the door as the other man disappeared again. He fought furiously with the door, knowing that there wasn’t time to get a K-12 or halligan to where he was. Somehow, his strength had to be enough. Johnny put more weight onto the bar and the door popped open as he felt something tear in his shoulder. But he didn’t stop. The fire was moving closer, suddenly gaining on the hard-working firefighters.

As Johnny emerged from the wreck of the car with the baby safe in his arms, he heard a whoosh from behind him. Turning, he saw with horror that he was now trapped by a wall of flames. Beyond the station wagon were more wrecked vehicles, most of them on fire. Johnny was trapped!

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

“Help!” The cries were pitifully weak compared to the noise of the flames. The smoke was now settling in Johnny’s chest, making it hard for him to breathe. The infant in his arms squalled suddenly and Johnny looked down at the tiny face and knew he had to do something to save this child’s life. He swiftly opened his turnout coat and tucked the infant inside.

Looking up, Johnny saw Roy on the other side of the flames. His friend’s mouth was open, as though he was shouting, but no sound reached Johnny over the roar of the flames. Johnny smiled as best he could and took a deep breath. That was a mistake. The smoke made him cough, but Johnny knew he couldn’t wait a moment longer. The gas tanks in the cars surrounding him would ignite any moment.

Wrapping his arms firmly around the squirming bundle inside his jacket, Johnny ran at the flames, launching himself through them into the clear air beyond.

The pain was agonising as the fire bit at his legs. He couldn’t see as his eyes stung and watered from the smoke. Somehow, he managed to land on his side, not flat on his face, skidding along the asphalt and skinning his face, but he still knocked the air from his lungs. The child inside his coat let out a huge wail as he was jarred on landing. Hands grabbed at Johnny, taking the infant from his grasp and moving him bodily away from the cars. Johnny didn’t resist – couldn’t resist. He was finding it harder and harder to catch his breath.

Then darkness took him.

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

The explosion was the biggest one yet. They had barely reached safety when the cars exploded. Carefully, Chet and Roy lowered the unconscious Johnny to the ground where a blanket had been laid out for him. Someone – Marco – handed Chet the oxygen and Chet put the mask over Johnny’s face, setting it wide open.

Roy was cutting Johnny’s pants legs. “Get me a burn pack!” he ordered and it was in his hands before he had John’s pants removed.

“BP’s 140/110,” Mike reported calmly. “Pulse 100, respirations 24 and shallow.”

“Thanks,” Roy rasped as he picked up the biophone, which had somehow miraculously appeared, set up and ready under his hand. “Rampart this is Squad 51. How do you read?”

“Loud and clear, 51. Go ahead.” It was Brackett’s reassuring voice on the other end of the line.

“Rampart, we have a 28 year old paramedic who has second degree burns on both lower extremities. He also has first degree burns on his face near his eyes and a second degree burn on the palm of one hand. The victim is currently comatose. He is diaphoretic. Vitals are…” Roy paused before reading them off, regaining control of his emotions for another moment.

“51, apply burn dressings to the legs and hand. Cover the eyes lightly in gauze. Start an IV D5W TKO. Start victim on 15 litres of O₂. Transport immediately.” There was a pause and then Brackett spoke again. “Roy – is the victim… Johnny?”

For a moment, Roy thought tears were going to overwhelm him. He knew that he didn’t have to answer – his silence thus far had been answer enough. But somehow he pulled himself together again. “Uh, that’s affirmative, Rampart.”

“10-4,” Bracket responded quietly.

Dropping the biophone, Roy did as Brackett had instructed. “How’s the child?” he asked, knowing that Johnny would want to know when he came round.

“Completely unharmed,” Cap replied. He peered anxiously over Roy’s shoulder as he worked. It hurt him to see any of his men injured, but as Roy bandaged the angry-looking burns and wound gauze gently around Johnny’s head, he found himself wanting to rail against the fates. Silently, he packed up the biophone as Johnny was transferred to a stretcher. He handed it to Roy and gave the ambulance door the customary two taps.

But his mind was no longer entirely on what he was doing as he turned back to the carnage.

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

The gurney whisked through the emergency entrance and straight into treatment two. Both Brackett and Joe Early were waiting for Johnny and Roy moved aside as they started to work. He was finding it hard to keep track of what was going on, but luckily Dixie noticed his distraction and managed to get him out of the treatment room and into the lounge before his knees gave out.

“You stay there,” Dixie instructed him, making him lie down on the couch. “I’ll be back as soon as there’s news. Johnny’s gonna be all right, though.”

“But his eyes,” Roy whispered. “What about his eyes?”

“You know as well as I do that something around the eyes always looks worse than it is,” Dixie lied. “Johnny’s in the best hands. Don’t you give up on him, Roy DeSoto!”

“You’re right; sorry, Dix.” Roy closed his eyes, exhaustion sweeping over him. He didn’t hear Dixie leaving the room.

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

“He’s taken in a lot of smoke, Kel,” Joe Early said as he listened to Johnny’s lungs.

Grunting, Brackett looked over at his colleague. “I’d have been surprised if he hadn’t,” he replied. “But he’s been lucky this time, Joe. These burns aren’t as serious as they could have been.” He swiftly moved up the table as Johnny groaned and stirred. “Johnny? Can you hear me?”

“Ugh… Doc?” Johnny’s hand moved, but Early grabbed it before he could dislodge either the IV or the bandages on his eyes. “What… what happened?”

“What do you remember?” Brackett asked in reply.

Suddenly, Johnny’s body stiffened and he made an abortive attempt to get off the table. “The baby!” he cried. “What happened to the baby?”

“The baby is fine,” Dixie soothed, having been told by Chet, who brought the squad in. “You saved his life, Johnny.”

Relaxing back onto the table, Johnny winced as his injuries started to hurt. “Oh man!” he breathed. “That hurts.” He gritted his teeth.

“I’ll give you something for the pain now,” Brackett told him. “Dixie, 5mg MS IV. I wasn’t sure if the road rash on your cheek was a sign you knocked your head or not,” he told Johnny.

“I kept my helmet on this time,” Johnny muttered. “Doc, what’s wrong with my eyes?” The quiver he couldn’t control was audible to them all.

“I’m going to get an ophthalmologist down to look at them, Johnny,” Brackett explained. “You’ve got a couple of burns near them and your eyes have swollen up. We’re keeping them covered for the moment to protect them. But as far as I can see, they look fine. Your pupils react to light, so don’t worry.”

“Okay,” Johnny agreed, but they could hear the lack of conviction in his voice. However, the MS was kicking in at last and he was beginning to feel drowsy.

Thanks to the treatment of his burns, Johnny never quite managed to drop off to sleep, but he was kept fairly comfortable and by the time he was ready to go up to his room, he knew that his eyes were all right which was a huge relief. However, the burns on his cheeks needed to be kept covered and so he made no complaints when his eyes were bandaged again.

When at last he was tucked into bed, Johnny was fighting off exhaustion. “Where’s Roy?” he asked.

“I’ll fetch him,” Dixie assured him. “You get some rest.”

“I want to speak to Roy first,” Johnny insisted, a jaw-cracking yawn catching him unawares. “Please.”

“Be right back,” Dixie smiled. She didn’t think Johnny would still be awake when she brought Roy up.

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

Watching Johnny sleeping, Roy was dreading the moment he woke and the pain would start again. Roy’s thoughts turned to Elizabeth. What was she thinking now, he wondered. How any woman could think his partner wasn’t enough of a man for her was beyond Roy. What did she want him to do? Walk on water? His heart clenched against the pain as Johnny stirred.

“Johnny?” he questioned, as his partner stirred again.

“You all right, Roy?” Johnny mumbled. He turned his head on the pillow towards the sound of Roy’s voice. “What time is it?”

“It’s about 9 am,” Roy replied. He put his hand gently on top of Johnny’s burned hand. The IV was in the same arm, so Johnny wasn’t left helpless. “How’re you feeling? Ready for more joy juice?”

“Gettin’ there,” Johnny mumbled. He realised he hadn’t had an answer to his question. “Roy? You all right?”

“I’m fine,” Roy replied. “Not a scratch. And that baby you rescued is fine, too.”

“Good.” A frown creased Johnny’s forehead and he winced slightly. “You been here all night?”

“Not all night,” Roy assured him. “Dwyer came in and took over for you. But it’s been a quiet night. I just dropped by to see how you’re doin’ before I go home.”

“I’m all right,” Johnny insisted, but his voice told another story. Roy quietly pushed the call button.

The nurse who responded came back with Dr Brackett and he gave Johnny a quick check over. “Your chest sounds good, Johnny,” he told the paramedic. “I half expected you to come down with pneumonia after the amount of smoke you ate yesterday.”

“Sorry to disoblige you,” Johnny murmured and Brackett smiled.

“I don’t mind in the least,” he laughed. “I gather that you’re pretty sore right now, huh?”

“Yeah,” Johnny admitted reluctantly.

“I think this might help,” Brackett told him. “You get some more rest and Roy is going to go home before he falls asleep in this chair.”

“I wouldn’t use the chair,” Roy replied as he rose. “There is a spare bed over there, you know.” He patted Johnny’s arm. “See you later, Junior.”

“Bye, Pally,” Johnny murmured. The painkilling drug spread through his veins and he drifted off to sleep.

  ******************************

“How can I be on TV?” Johnny demanded. He had had the dressings on his burns changed a short time ago and the MS was taking rather longer than he liked to kick in.

“There was a TV helicopter up above you last night with floodlights on,” Dixie replied. “Didn’t you notice it?”

“I was kinda busy,” Johnny replied. He frowned. “But now you mention it, it was quite bright.”

“Well, believe you me, you’re headline news, Johnny. They got you saving the baby and jumping through those flames.” Dixie’s voce became serious as she took Johnny’s hand in hers. “You’re lucky you’re not more badly injured.”

“I didn’t know if I would make it,” Johnny admitted, his voice bleak. He raised his hand to rub his eyes, but Dixie prevented him.

“Lots of people are phoning the hospital to ask how you are,” Dixie went on, trying to cheer Johnny up. He had saved the child’s life, but it was hard for him to be in such pain.

The door to Johnny’s room opened and Johnny turned his head expectantly. He was waiting impatiently for Roy to come back, and he was finding it frustrating not being able to see who was entering his room.

“Johnny!” gushed a voice and Johnny froze.

“E-Elizabeth?” Johnny asked, sounding stunned. “W-what are you doing here?”

“You were hurt, darling,” she replied. Johnny found himself enveloped in a cloud of perfume. He flinched at the unexpected touch. “Did you really think I would stay away?”

There was an uncomfortable silence. Dixie wondered who Elizabeth was and why Johnny didn’t seem pleased to see her. “I’m Dixie McCall,” she introduced herself. “I’m a friend of Johnny’s.”

“Elizabeth Riley,” the other replied. “I’m a ‘friend’ of Johnny’s, too.” She turned away from Dixie to gush over Johnny once more. “Johnny, why didn’t you call me? Darling, I got such a fright when I saw it all on TV. I just said to the girls at the office ‘why, that’s my boyfriend’.”

“Funny,” Johnny retorted harshly, “you told me the other day that I wasn’t man enough for you and that firefighters talk themselves up. What’s changed? The fact my name was on TV?”

“Johnny…” Elizabeth started to protest, but Johnny had had it for that day.

“No, no more,” he interrupted. “You made your feelings pretty plain. Its over, Elizabeth.” He dropped his head back onto the pillow, utterly exhausted.

Into this frozen tableau came Roy. He looked at Johnny and Dixie and saw at once that there had been trouble of some kind. “Elizabeth; how surprising,” he murmured with deadly courtesy. He went across to place his hand on Johnny’s arm. Elizabeth noticed that Johnny didn’t flinch away from Roy’s touch. “How ya doin’, Junior?” he asked.

Unable to muster the strength to speak, Johnny shrugged. He felt Dixie take his wrist in her hand, silently counting his pulse. He suddenly felt protected, with Roy and Dixie on either side of him. He started to relax and felt the pain meds kicking in at last.

“Johnny, surely you didn’t think I meant what I said the other night?” Elizabeth sounded aghast and rather desperate. “I was only joking.”

“It wasn’t funny,” Johnny responded. “Its over. Go away. I’m not a hero. Not someone you can show off to your friends. I’m just an ordinary working man.” A yawn shook him and he sighed.

“But what am I going to tell the girls in the office?” Elizabeth wailed. “I said you were my boyfriend!”

“I hardly think that’s Johnny’s problem,” Roy told her. He thought she was pathetic.

Without another word, Elizabeth left.

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

The smell of his evening meal wakened Johnny a few hours later. He turned over awkwardly and immediately a hand was there to help him raise the head of the bed. “About time you woke up,” Roy complained good-naturedly. “You aren’t a great conversationalist when you’re asleep.”

“Sorry,” Johnny yawned. He was quite glad when Roy offered to help him with his meal. “When do these bandages come off?” he complained.

“I don’t know, but if you belly-ache enough, then it might be sooner rather than later,” Roy suggested.

“Elizabeth didn’t come back did she?” Johnny asked, fearfully.

“No, she was gone when Dix left a few minutes later.” Roy gave Johnny another forkful of mystery meat. It might have been turkey – he wasn’t entirely sure. Johnny didn’t seem to care what it was. He gulped it down in his usual manner – like a starving man.

“I can’t figure her out,” Johnny muttered. “She dumps me one day and then wants me back a couple days later. What changed? It sure wasn’t me.”

“Well, in a way it was,” Roy replied.

“Huh? You lost me there, Pally.” Johnny took another bite and chewed reflectively. Roy was extremely glad that his partner did so with his mouth closed. In fact, just for once, Johnny didn’t speak with his mouth full. He swallowed first and said, “You need to explain that one to me.”

“The difference in you between the day she dumped you and today is that today your face and name have been all over the TV. You’re perceived as a hero and I guess that makes you more attractive to Elizabeth than just an ordinary firefighter would be.”

“But I’m not a hero,” Johnny objected.

“Well, I guess it depends on how you measure a man,” Roy answered. He had had time to think this through while Johnny slept. “Most people judge a person by how they live their life every day. Others judge them by how good-looking, rich or famous they are. I guess Elizabeth judges on how heroic they are.”

“Weird,” Johnny mused. “I still don’t know why she thought I’m a hero.”

Smiling, Roy didn’t answer. He knew that a lot of the public viewed them as heroes for doing their job. He didn’t see it that way and he didn’t know a fireman who did. To the brotherhood, they were simply doing their jobs. Since each man was different, how could there be a universal measure for a man?

“Hey, Roy?” Johnny asked and Roy realised he’d drifted away for a few seconds.

“Yeah?”

“D’you think the nurses think I’m a hero?” he asked thoughtfully. “I might get a date out of this stay…”

The End

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