The Nightmare

Part 2

Roy felt like an idiot sitting in the treatment room. He was here because of his own anger and now he might have a broken hand as a result. It was just stupid. He’d gotten to the point where he could no longer contain his rage and he’d taken it out on the wall.

Dr. Brackett came back in with the x-rays and after scrutinizing them closely declared that Roy was a lucky man.

“You’ve bruised it pretty bad, Roy, but it’s not broken. It’s going to hurt something awful for the next couple of days.”

Roy shook his head. He didn’t think it was broken but it hurt like hell and Joanne had insisted that he get it checked out. He knew what was coming.

“I’d like you to take the next shift or two off and then we’ll see how it’s doing. Okay?”

“Yeah,” he said solemnly. “Uh, thanks Doc. I appreciate you taking the time to look at it. Guess it was pretty dumb, huh?” His face was flushed in embarrassment.

Kelly shook his head but was quick to sympathize with his paramedic, “I guess things aren’t going so well.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Roy replied with a shake of his head.

“Well, you’re certainly not doing anyone any good if you end up in this condition, Roy.” He paused hoping that he wasn’t overstepping his bounds. “I know that Joanne said she was still seeing Dr. Anders, if you don’t mind my asking, are you?”

“Not lately,” he admitted. “I was doing a pretty good job of handling things or so I thought but … well it just got to be a little too much today. Know what I mean?”

Kelly nodded. Life could get that way sometimes and it always seemed that when it rained, it poured. But it was disconcerting to him to see one of his best paramedics full of so much rage that he’d had to punch a wall to get rid of it.

“You’re just lucky that you didn’t hit any studs. Then you’d be out for more than a couple of shifts.” Kel turned to pick up his prescription pad.

“Wish I could’ve hit something else,” he mumbled under his breath.

“What was that Roy? Did you say something?” he said turning back to Roy.

“Uh, no, nothing important. So am I all right to go?” he asked.

“Yes, but first here’s a script for some pain meds. Only as needed , though.”

Roy nodded and again thanked Dr. Brackett for his time. Kelly sadly watched him leave. Friend or not, he was going to have to keep a closer eye on Roy to make sure that he didn’t have anymore violent outbursts. What would happen on a call if Roy were to lose his temper? A temper that seemed to be held together only by a thin thread at the moment.

********

Johnny felt like he had come home. He had come in to cover for his friend on 51’s A shift after Roy had gotten the call from Joanne. Roy had just called him and filled him in on the latest developments and Johnny winced when Roy told him what he’d done. He would never have thought that Roy could ever get that angry. He was such a mild mannered person and he could get along with just about everyone he met. Which is probably why he was able to tolerate me so well, Johnny thought with a smile.

Both men were kind, good hearted and loyal to a fault and it had served them well in duties as paramedics and in their friendship. There wasn’t anything that either of them wouldn’t do for the other.

Johnny had taken Roy’s call in the dorm and as he walked back into the dayroom, the guys were curious about what had happened to cause Roy to leave in the middle of a shift. Well, they certainly won’t hear it from me, he thought and shrugged his shoulders as if it was no big deal.

“Joanne wasn’t feeling well and Roy had to get the kids from school,” he said nonchalantly and it was partially true. After all, Joanne really wasn’t feeling very good.

And for once when they sat down to eat, Johnny was quiet. He was enjoying being with his friends again even though Roy was absent and he just wanted to sit and absorb the atmosphere. 36’s is good, he thought, but it isn’t 51’s. He was thankful that they had a quiet night since he was still tired from his regular shift.

They’d had a few runs but nothing serious until around midnight. They got a call for a man down, but when they arrived they found a woman instead. And not just any woman. It was a woman who looked very much like Joanne Desoto. They were about the same height and both had short dark hair. She wasn’t hurt too badly, a few cuts and bruises.

Johnny seethed inwardly as he tended to her wounds. It appeared that their “friend” was back in business, only this time he had not been successful in his mission. The woman had fought like a wildcat and was able to hold him at bay and make enough of a commotion to attract the attention of some passerby’s and according to what she was telling the police, she had inflicted some damage of her own. Johnny felt a small amount of satisfaction in that knowledge.

They transported her to the hospital just to be on the safe side and the police were by no means done questioning her. She’d ripped off his ski mask and had been able to catch a glimpse of her attacker. They wanted her to come down to the station and look through some mug shots while the image was still fresh in her mind.

For as much as Johnny wanted to sleep, he couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that he hadn’t gotten when the squad had pulled up and he thought he was seeing Joanne. It wasn’t until he got closer that he realized it wasn’t her. He had remained professional the entire time but in his heart he knew that this was not a random attack. This had something to do with Joanne. But what?

He knew that rape was not about sex but about power and control. And this guy was still exercising his control over Joanne Desoto and Roy for that matter. But why? Was Joanne merely a pawn in some sick individual’s game? Was Joanne merely a way for some to get to Roy? And if that was so, why?

Johnny racked his brain in an effort to come up with someone, anyone who would have a grudge against either of the Desotos. He came up empty. Roy was just a likeable guy. And now he was faced with the decision on whether or not to tell them about this run tonight. The police knew and would be following up on any leads. Would it do anyone any good to tell Roy and Joanne or would it only cause them more harm?

He rolled onto his back and flung his arm across his eyes trying to block all thoughts from his mind. He’d have to play it by ear and see what tomorrow would bring.

As it turned out, Roy called the station early the next morning while Johnny was in the shower and left a message with Chet to tell Johnny that he was taking Joanne and the kids to her mother’s house. He wanted her to have a change of scenery for a while and to get away from the stress of the situation. Roy was going to stay for a few days and get them settled and make sure things were quiet before he returned. And so Johnny never had the opportunity to tell Roy about the run the night before.

*******

Johnny’s one day off was very relaxing and he found himself in good spirits when he arrived for his own shift at 36’s on Sunday. He quickly changed into his uniform and deposited his helmet and turnouts in the squad.

Everyone was already gathered around the table in the dayroom. They were sharing stories about their days off and Jack Singer, the Engineer, had everyone in hysterics with his tales from his kid’s boy scout camping trip.

Jack is a far cry from Mike Stoker, 51’s Engineer. Mike is a relatively quiet guy but you gotta watch out for him sometimes because he likes to have his fun just like anyone else. But Jack is out there, bigger than life. He doesn’t hesitate to tell you what he’s thinking and he’s horrible to the probies but he insists that it’s for the greater good of the department. “I’m just toughening them up,” he’d tell anyone who complained, “can’t have them going to pieces out there, where it counts.”

Scott Shipley can’t help but get in some good natured ribbing at Singer’s expense and Johnny is reminded very much of Chet Kelly as he listens to the sparring going on between the two. Shipley is 36’s practical joker. If Johnny thought Chet was bad, Scott was ten times worse. The only thing off limits to him was Captain Garcia. Johnny had seen Shakes, as he is called because he loves to dance, pull off some crazy stunts in the time he’d been at 36’s. Some he couldn’t believe and some he filed away for use on a certain Phantom when he was able to get back to 51’s.

Chet had said that he’d gone through the academy with Jenkins and that he’d found the guy to be “quirky”. Now that Johnny had been there for a while, he knew what Chet meant. The things the man ate, the music he liked to listen to, the books he read and the things that came out of his mouth were more than quirky. And although he was a nice enough fellow, he was not a person that Johnny was likely to forge a long friendship with.

Evan Thompson, his fellow paramedic, had his nose in a book as always. The guy was always studying. Granted he was new and still slightly hesitant at times but Johnny had no doubts that he would make a very good paramedic. Trouble was, he wouldn’t stay one. Evan was a career man. No position would be too high. To him being a paramedic was only another step on the ladder. It would look good on his resume. He took a lot of ribbing from Shipley and Singer about his aspirations. They called him “the worm” as in bookworm.

Captain Garcia was a man who commanded respect not for what he said but for what he did. In that way he was similar to Hank Stanley. Neither man would ask their men to do something that they themselves wouldn’t do. Both valued their men’s safety above all else. But he was different from Hank in that he didn’t fraternize with his men the way Hank did. It didn’t bother Johnny, it was just different and it didn’t diminish Johnny’s admiration for the man.

After a quick roll call, the equipment was inspected and the men went about their assigned chores. Before long, the station was called out for a fire at a construction site. The building was not completed and Captain Garcia was unsure of its stability. Luckily, everyone on site had been accounted for and it was strictly a surround and drown. Johnny’s blood was pumping and he found himself on the hose with Shakes.

Although he loved being a paramedic, there is something about fighting the beast that got him going like nothing else. It was pure adrenaline coursing through his veins. Both he and Shakes were caught off guard by an explosion. Neither man was seriously hurt and they pick themselves up and get back to the business of fighting the fire.

It wasn’t until they were back at the station that Johnny noticed that Shakes was massaging his shoulder.

“Hey man, you okay,” he asked his crewmate.

Scott rolled his shoulder a few times to try to work out the kinks. “I’m okay,” he assured the paramedic.

“How about I take a look?”

“No, really, it’s okay,” he replied tersely. Johnny backed off.

“All right if you say so but if it keeps up, let me know,” he said.

“I will, Gage,” he replied. “And, uh, thanks.”

“No problem,”

“I, uh, I think I’m gonna grab a quick shower. Get some of this shit off me.” Scott supplied feeling a little awkward.

Johnny nodded and wandered into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee. A shower sounded like a good idea to him. I think I might just jump in there myself when Scott’s done, he said to himself as he poured the coffee. The rest of the crew were talking about the fire that they’d just come back from.

He grabbed a donut from the plate on the table and bit off half of it. “I ga the shower affer Shakes,” he told his crewmates.

“Jesus, Gage, you’re worse than my kids,” Singer hollered. “Can’t you chew with your mouth closed.”

Johnny shrugged him off and swallowed. “Not when I want the shower next,” he said with a grin. He sat down and took a sip of his coffee. After he finished the coffee and the rest of his donut, he went to see if the shower was free.

Scott was standing in front of the mirror, a towel around his waist, and Johnny called out to him, “You finished, Shakes?”

Startled, Scott whipped his head around and Johnny caught a glimpse of scratch marks on his neck and arm.

“What the hell happened to you?” he asked suddenly concerned that Shakes had been hurt even more than he thought.

Scott looked at his arm. “Oh that, it’s nothing.”

“The hell it isn’t,” Johnny replied moving closer so that he could get a better look. “Let me see your neck. Did this happen today?” He couldn’t imagine how it could have but anything was possible. As he looked at the cuts, he realized that they weren’t fresh enough to have happened today.

“Nah, it happened the other day. My girlfriend’s cat got a little upset with me,” he answered.

“Jeez, what’d you do to get a cat mad at you?”

“We were getting a little frisky on the floor and uh, I guess the cat thought I was hurting her. The damn thing attacked me,” he explained.

Johnny winced. That had to have hurt, he thought. But then his mind traveled another path. Attacked. It made him think about his run the other night when that woman was attacked. She’d told the police that she had clawed at the man and she knew she’d hurt him. Johnny eyed Scott suspiciously. It had to be a coincidence, didn’t it?

Johnny wasn’t sure what he should do. Was it really possible that Scott could be behind these attacks. Johnny would have never thought it possible. If not for those scratch marks, he thought. He raked his hand through his hair. What do I do, he asked himself.

It can’t be him, it just can’t be, he thought. Why? Why would Shakes have any reason to want to hurt Joanne or Roy? As Johnny got undressed, he watched Scott out of the corner of his eye. The guy appeared normal enough. Maybe, I’ll just call Vince and ask him what he thinks I should do, he thought. I’ll do it as soon as I get finished here, he told himself.

He showered and dressed and made a beeline for the phone in the dorm. After checking to be sure he was alone, he pulled out his wallet and checked his list of phone numbers. Once he located Vince’s name, he dialed the number.

“May I speak with Officer Vince Howard please?”

“He’s not available at the moment. Would you like to leave a message?”

“Uh, yeah, ask him to give John Gage a call, would you,” he answered.

“I’ll see that he gets the message.”

Johnny thanked the receptionist and sat contemplating his options. How was he going to get through the rest of this shift, he thought. He scrubbed his hands over his face and stood just as the tones sounded.

“Station 36. Motor vehicle over embankment…”

He ran for the squad and nearly bumped into Shakes on the way.

“Easy there, Johnny boy,” Shakes said to him and Johnny just glared at him before getting in the squad. Shakes stood there for a second pondering the reason for Gage’s dirty look. It wasn’t like Johnny to act cool towards him. They had gotten along really well in the time that Gage had been stationed at 36’s.

They got to the accident scene in under five minutes. The men of station 36 stood at the top of the cliff surveying the area to determine the best course of action.

Captain Garcia took charge. “Thompson, Gage, it looks a little rocky down there. You think you can get down there if we tie your lines off to the Engine? Then we’ll tie another off for the stokes. We can send the equipment down in it.”

Johnny and Evan nodded their agreement and ran to the squad to grab what they would need. Johnny put his belt on and checked the line and the carbiners. He threw the rope to Jenkins. “Tie this off to the engine for me, would ya?”

Shakes grabbed it instead. “I got ya, Gage,” he called out. Jenkins picked up Evan’s line and tied his off. Johnny gave a quick nod and watched as Shakes tied off his line.

The two men slowly made their way over the side of the cliff. They had to use their feet to push off the side as they repelled downwards. Just as they were about half way down, Johnny’s line gave way and he found himself free falling. He slammed into the side of the cliff where it jutted and tumbled down further. He lost consciousness when his head struck a jagged piece of rock.

Captain Garcia and the rest of the men above could only watch in horror as John Gage fell. Singer ran to the engine and radioed HQ to call in the Code “I” and to respond another squad and an additional ambulance.

“What the hell happened?” Captain Garcia shouted. He grabbed his HT and tried to make contact with Evan.

Neither Jenkins nor Shipley had an answer for him.

“Engine 36 to HT 36. Come in HT 36.”

It took some time before Evan could answer them. He had seen Johnny fall and was helpless to stop him. He could only speed up his own descent in order to get to him more quickly.

When he reached the bottom, Evan unhooked his belt and ran to Johnny’s side.

“Gage. Johnny. Come on buddy, talk to me,” he requested but Johnny was deathly silent. Evan checked his neck for a pulse and found one. It was weak but it was steady. He said a silent prayer of thanks and grabbed his own HT.

“Engine 36 this is HT 36. Gage is alive but he’s in bad shape,” he advised. He set the HT down and ran his hands up and down Johnny’s arms and legs checking for breaks. Next he palpitated his abdomen to check for internal injuries. Johnny still showed no signs of movement and Evan gave him a sternum rub but received no response.

“Damn,” he muttered under his breath as he once again grabbed the HT.

“Cap, he’s bad. We’re gonna need to fly him out of here and I have no idea about the driver of the car.”

“Shipley’s on his way down with the stokes. Check on the driver and do what you can for Gage until he gets there,” the Captain advised.

Evan ran to the car as fast as he could. When he got there, he found it empty. “Shit. Shit. Shit,” he hollered as he ran back to Johnny.

“Cap,” he hollered into the HT. “Vehicle is empty. Looks like it’s been here for a while.”

On the top of the ridge, Captain Garcia muttered a string of expletives. “Cancel that other ambulance and squad,” he instructed Singer.

As soon as Shakes reached the ground, the stokes basket carrying the equipment was lowered. It took longer than any of them would have liked. But it finally arrived and Evan was able to put his skills to use. He just didn’t like having to use them on John Gage.

Immediate contact was made with Rampart Hospital and Evan advised them of the patient’s condition.

“Rampart, this is squad 36,” Evan said as he grabbed the biophone from Shakes. “We have a male paramedic, victim of a fall, approximately 28 years of age. Patient is unconscious. Blood pressure is 90 over 60. Pulse is 80. Patient has suffered head trauma and appears to have internal injuries. Also, broken left tibia.”

Rampart gave the necessary instructions and demanded that they transport immediately.

Together, Evan and Shakes, carefully put a C-collar on their crewmate and rolled him onto a backboard. Evan cleaned and dressed Johnny’s head wound and he let out a small sigh of relief when he elicited a groan from Johnny as he splinted his broken leg to immobilize it during transport. It wasn’t much but it was a start. The required IV would have to wait until they could get him topside.

“Take it easy, Johnny,” Evan said as he worked. “We’ll have you out of here in no time.”

They moved quickly to prepare him for the ride to the top, which was an excruciating slow process but one that they could not rush. They could not risk any further damage. Once they reached the top, they loaded him into the chopper and Evan climbed in with him. Once inside, Evan started the IV that Doctor Brackett had ordered and the helicopter took off.

Captain Garcia turned to his men. “Check out that equipment. I want to know exactly what went wrong,” he barked.

********

Captain Stanely called Roy at his mother in laws and broke the news to him. Hank hated having to do this because Roy and his family had been through so much lately. The last thing they needed was to be dealing with this. But Johnny and Roy were best friends, brothers really and he needed to know.

“Roy, it’s Hank Stanley,” he said dispensing of the formal titles. “John’s been injured.” He waited for the news to sink in.

“Injured? How?” Roy asked as the blood drained from his face.

“They got a call for a car over an embankment and Johnny’s line gave out as he was repelling down the cliff,” he said for the fourth time. He’d already made calls the other members of 51’s A shift.

Roy’s heart sank into his stomach. He knew it had to be bad for Hank to call him at his mother in laws.

“But how? Jesus, Cap, how could that happen?” Roy was incredulous. They always checked their lines, always. He felt the first pangs of guilt. This would never have happened if Johnny hadn’t transferred to 36’s, he admonished himself. He wouldn’t have been there if it wasn’t for me, Roy thought.

“Captain Garcia and headquarters are conducting a full investigation. Initial word is that the carbiner was faulty,” Hank reported.

“Faulty? My God, how’s Johnny? Where’s Johnny?” Roy’s mind was reeling.

“He’s at Rampart, in surgery…he’s critical.” Hank didn’t need to say much more than that. Roy didn’t need to know the extent of Johnny’s injuries. He would find out soon enough.

“I’m on my way, Cap,” Roy said without hesitation. He’d wanted to ask a million questions but he could tell by Hank’s voice that the situation was dire and all he wanted to do was to hang up the phone and get in the car and drive. As fast as he could.

He explained to Joanne that he needed to leave and told her what had happened. She insisted on going with him. He started to argue against it but one look at her face told him it would be useless. Johnny was her friend as well and she wanted to be there for him this time and for Roy, too. The kids had gotten out of school for the summer two days ago so it wouldn’t be a problem to leave them with Joanne’s mother.

While Joanne packed their things, Roy explained to the kids that they had to leave because Johnny had been hurt. He tried not to convey his anxiety over how critical the situation was but just to give them enough information so that they would understand why mommy and daddy had to leave.

“Did he get hurt like Mommy did?”

“Not quite, Sweetie, but he did have to go to the hospital so Daddy needs to go and help him.”

She nodded her head. It had been enough for her. Her daddy always had to go help people when they got hurt and he’d really want to help Uncle Johnny.

Chris wasn’t so easily fooled. “Is Uncle Johnny gonna be all right, Dad?” he asked after Jennifer had left the room.

Roy looked at his son. He’d grown up a lot his year. Roy was sorry that he’d lost part of his innocence. He’d seen the ugly parts of the world this year, the parts that Roy had always tried to shield them from.

“I hope so, Chris. I hope so,” he said as he hugged his son to him.

********

Roy and Joanne drove straight to the hospital and it was late when they arrived. The traffic had been horrible and their worry over their friend made the trip that much worse. The emergency room was in chaos due to an accident on the 405 freeway but finally Roy was able to find Dixie and she informed him that Johnny was in the ICU. Roy hesitated to ask her about his condition but he wanted to be prepared when he went upstairs.

“I’m not going to lie to you, Roy, he’s in pretty bad shape,” she told him gently and Roy’s head dropped to his chest. “But he made it through surgery and he’s young and strong and we have every reason to hope that he’ll pull through this.” Dixie, too, was upset about the condition of their friend. Of all the paramedics that came through Rampart on a daily basis, Roy and Johnny were her favorites, although she would deny it to anyone who suggested it. They both held a special place in Dixie’s heart.

She put her hand on Roy’s arm. “The guys are upstairs but if you need anything, you let me know, okay?”

Roy shook his head but it was Joanne who spoke, “thanks, Dixie.” The two women shared a small smile. Not a smile of joy or happiness but one of hope and faith and it conveyed that each knew the gravity of the situation.

Joanne and Roy made their way to the bank of elevators that would take them to the Intensive Care Unit. Neither spoke nor did they have to. They held hands and each drew strength from the other. Roy took a deep breath as the elevator door opened and they stepped out into the ICU waiting room. Chet, Mike, Marco & Cap were all seated there and their expressions were grim.

Roy walked slowly over to the group still clutching Joanne’s hand in his. His eyes darted from one to another. “How’s Johnny?”

Cap rubbed his hands together and then indicated for Roy to sit, which he did. Chet got up and walked away. He wandered over to the window and stared out. He’d heard this all before and he didn’t know if he could hear it again but he wasn’t far enough away and he knew it. Captain Stanley’s voice floated over to him despite the difference.

“Dr. Brackett and Dr. Early were just here a little while ago,” he said. “Johnny did a number on himself, that’s for sure.” He paused not knowing where to begin. “You know more about this stuff than I do, Roy, so here’s the run down. He’s got a grade 4 concussion,” he looked at Mike for confirmation and saw him nod, “it took fifteen stitches to close the head wound, he’s got a broken leg and multiple broken ribs.”

Roy sighed for he knew what kind of damage broken ribs could cause inside the body. “What about the internal injuries?”

“He was hemorrhaging when they brought him in. Dr. Brackett wasn’t sure if it was his spleen or his liver so they took him up to surgery as soon as he was stable. Something about the blood levels, anyway, he had a lacerated liver, which was causing the bleeding and they also had to re-inflate his lung.”

“Jesus,” Roy said as he slumped down in his chair. He’d had a guy just last week that had died from a lacerated liver. But he couldn’t think about that now. “Is he conscious?”

“Thompson said he was in and out on the way in. Mostly out,” Mike answered. “But they haven’t let anyone back to see him since the surgery.” Just as he said that, Dr. Early came out and Roy jumped out his chair. The others gathered around behind him and Chet left his spot by the window as well.

“Doc?” Roy croaked. “How’s he doing? How’s Johnny?”

“He’s still in critical condition. We repaired the tear in his liver. We’ll be monitoring him closely for infection. The next couple of hours will tell us more,” he answered.

“Can I see him?” Roy immediately asked and then realized that the other guys had been waiting here for hours. “Umm, can we see him?”

“I can’t let everyone in, you know that, but one of you can go back and see him,” he told them regretfully. He knew how close this group of men were and that each one of them would love the opportunity to visit with their friend if only for a few minutes.

“Go ahead, Roy, you go,” Mike said.

Roy looked around the room. He was dying to get back there and see his friend but he was hesitant.

“Yeah, go ahead, Roy,” Marco added.

“But you guys have been waiting all this time,” Roy said. “I just got here.”

“You’d have been here, too, if you could have,” Cap reminded him. “It’s okay, Roy,” he assured him when Roy made no move.

Roy looked to Chet and Chet nodded. “Thanks guys,” he said as he choked back his emotions. Joanne grabbed Roy and hugged him and she whispered, “tell Johnny that we love him,” in his ear.

Roy followed Dr. Early through the doors to the ICU. He always hated being in here. It was eerily quiet. The only noise was the beeping and humming coming from the expensive medical equipment. The nurse’s station was in the center of the room so that it centrally located and each patient was visible at all times. Dr. Early walked over to Johnny’s room.

Roy braced himself mentally as he entered the room and the sight of his friend, his best friend, so banged up was almost too much to bear. He steeled himself as he made his way over to the bed. Johnny was black and blue, at least what Roy could see, and Roy was grateful when he saw Dr. Early slip out of the room.

“Hey Junior,” he said quietly. “I heard you took a little tumble.” That was an understatement he thought. “But you’re gonna be fine, you hear me.” He paused rather than lose the hold that he had on his emotions. He looked around the room at all of the equipment and was thankful that Johnny was breathing on his own and didn’t have to be intubated.

“Joanne sends her love, and the kids. The guys are all outside. They wanted to come in, too, but Dr. Early is being a hard nose. You know how he is,” he said with a small laugh.

“I don’t know what happened, Johnny but believe me I’m gonna find out. I’m gonna find out what went wrong so you just concentrate on getting better. Cause when you do, you’re coming back to 51’s. Okay?” He knew he wouldn’t get an answer.

Dr. Early stuck his head back in the door. “Roy,” he called softly and Roy held up in arm in acknowledgement but he didn’t turn around or make a move to leave.

“Listen, Junior. You sleep now but I’ll be back and you better be awake.” He looked back to see if Dr. Early was still there but he wasn’t so Roy put his hand on Johnny’s arm for a brief moment, “Come on, Junior, keep up the fight. We need you. I need you,” he whispered before he turned away.

When he returned to the waiting room, he was surprised to find Vince Howard sitting with the rest of the crew but didn’t say anything. He was immediately bombarded with questions.

“How’s he doing?”

“Was he awake?”

“How’s Johnny?”

He told them what little he could but it wasn’t much. He’d only been able to see for himself how bad off Johnny was and he wasn’t about to tell them that. He wearily slid into one of the hard chairs and Joanne sat down next to him.

Roy looked at Vince. “It was nice of you to come down here, Vince,” he told the policeman.

Vince looked a bit uncomfortable. “I didn’t know Gage was hurt until I got here,” he admitted. Roy and the rest of them looked at him curiously.

“I got a message that Johnny wanted me to call him and when I inquired about his whereabouts, I was told he was at Rampart. I, uh, I didn’t know it was as a patient.”

“What was Johnny calling you about?” Roy asked with more than a little curiosity this time. He saw Joanne tense as they waited for his answer.

“I have no idea,” Vince replied.

*******

Scott Shipley walked into the ICU and inquired at the nurse’s station about Johnny’s condition. The following regulations asked him if he was immediate family.

“Yeah, he’s my brother,” Scott answered. It was a bit of a stretch but Scott figured that they, after all, brothers in the department so it wasn’t exactly a lie. The nurse looked at him curiously but directed him to Johnny’s room.

He was emotionless as he entered the room. He’d been here before, not in this particular hospital but he was familiar with the routine and he felt the hairs on arm stand up. He looked at his crewmate lying motionless in the bed and the thought went through his head “there but for the grace of God go I”.

His eyes took in the still form not sure if he wanted him to wake up or not. He narrowed his eyes as if he was trying to read Johnny’s mind as he looked at him. He had noticed the look that Gage had given him at the station and then again when he had offered to tie off his line. “What’s going through that head of yours, Gage?” he said out loud.

He didn’t know how long he had stood there lost in thought. He’d always like Gage. He’d always thought they got along okay. Until yesterday. Scott didn’t know what had happened to set him off but Gage had been okay until the awkward conversation in the locker room about his various injuries.

What’s up, Johnny boy, he thought to himself. Why’d you have to go and get so testy about a couple of scratch marks?

“I didn’t know you were coming here,” a voice behind him said and he spun around to find himself face to face with Jenkins.

“Uh, I wasn’t going to, but then at the last minute I changed my mind,” he offered by way of explanation and Jenks nodded. “You, uh, you didn’t say anything about coming either,” he said but it sounded more like a question and Jenkins just shrugged.

The room was deathly quiet as neither man spoke. “How’d you get past the nurse,” Scott asked.

“Told her Gage was my brother,” he laughed. “She told me to tell my other brother that only one of us could stay.”

Scott smiled. “Yeah, well, I gotta get going anyway,” he said as he turned to leave.

“Hey, um, yesterday… in the engine…you said you thought Gage was upset with you. Is that why you took his line instead of Thompson’s?”

Scott’s eyes narrowed. “What the hell is that supposed to mean,” he asked loudly.

“Take it easy, Shakes. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“The hell it doesn’t,” he shot back. “What’re you implying?”

“Nothing,” Jenks defended himself. “It’s just that… never mind, all right. Forget I said anything.”

“Yeah, I suppose you think ‘cause I was on Gage’s line that what happened to him is my fault, don’t you?”

The nurse hurried into the room at the sound of raised voices. “Gentlemen, please, you’re disturbing the patients…”

“It’s all right, I’m leaving,” Scott said emphatically as he glanced at the nurse and then back at Jenkins. “I don’t know what happened to Gage’s line but I do know that it didn’t give way because of anything I did.”

“For your sake I hope not,” Roy Desoto said matter of factly as he stepped around the nurse. She threw her hands up in the air. “You can’t all be in here at the same time. Two of you must go now,” she said sternly.

Roy stood his ground and made no move to leave forcing the other two to step out the door. He didn’t know what was going on in Johnny’s room but it sounded like a lot of blame was being passed around and he didn’t like it. He hated the thought that Johnny could have been hurt through someone’s negligence and he hated to think that it could have been a fellow firefighter. In their line of work, trust was an important factor and if you didn’t have that, you couldn’t do your job properly.

But this had been a difficult year for Roy and there had been so much pain already. He couldn’t bear the thought that another person he loved was suffering. If it was an accident, it would be one thing but if someone had screwed up, Roy would be sure that there was hell to pay. He hadn’t been able to do anything about what had happened to Joanne just yet but he was sure going to do something about this. He made a promise to himself to find the time to stop in and see Captain Garcia to find out exactly what happened and what he was doing about it.

Roy visited for as long as they would allow him and then he would leave for a while but he always made sure that he was back as in time for the next set of visiting hours. In the ICU the rules specified that you could only visit for 30 minutes at a time ever two hours. Chet, Mike, Marco and Hank all came by and Roy let them have their time with Johnny and Joanne came by as well to see Johnny but also to check up on Roy. The nurses were beside themselves with all the visitors traipsing through the ICU but both Dr. Brackett and Dr. Early had assured them that the guys were all family.

Joanne had been so tired when they got back home last night that Roy insisted that she sleep in and come to the hospital later. She’d been reluctant to do so but she knew she needed her rest. The last thing she needed was to run herself ragged and become ill as a result. She needed to take care of herself and their baby.

It was half past seven in the evening when Johnny woke up and the first thing he was aware of was had bad he hurt, all over. His head, his chest, his stomach, his leg. He didn’t think there was a part of him that didn’t hurt. He immediately began to groan and Roy was at his side in an instant.

“Hey, Junior, welcome back,” Roy said to his friend as Johnny struggled to open his eyes. Roy pushed the call button for the nurse and when she came to see what was needed, Roy asked them to let Dr. Early know that Johnny was waking up.

“Roy?”

“Yeah, Johnny, I’m right here. You need something?”

“What happened,” he asked. “I hurt… everywhere,” he said and it was true. Despite the pain meds that he was receiving intravenously, the pain seemed to radiate through his body.

Roy explained the facts as he knew them and soon both Dr. Early and Dr. Brackett arrived to examine him. They reevaluated his meds and gave him neurological examine which consisted of questions as to his memory of the events and were slightly concerned when Johnny couldn’t remember anything past returning to the station after their big fire the day before.

Dr. Brackett gave him a list of the injuries that he had sustained and Johnny winced inwardly as he listened. They explained that they still had to be concerned about infection setting in so although he was now awake and alert, they wanted to keep him in ICU for at least the next 24 hours and then they would re-evaluate him and possibly move him to a regular room. Both doctors shook their heads at the fact that Johnny had seemed to beat the odds once again as not many people could survive a fall such as the one Johnny took. And here he was 24 hours later awake and complaining about being in the hospital and telling them all that he was starved.

Roy could only smile and he said a silent prayer of thanks that his friend appeared to be on the road to recovery. Perhaps, Roy thought, perhaps this is where things will begin to go our way.

********

He drove slowly by the house. It was dark as it normally was. She always had the shades pulled down and that thought brought a smile to his face. He knew that the very thought of him scared her to death. Good, he thought, they should be scared. They deserve to be scared. They needed to know what it felt like.

He’d been shocked when he’d seen her at the picnic. He couldn’t believe she was pregnant. He’d heard someone say she was six months along and when he did the math, he realized that it could very well be his. He’d had a good laugh over that one. They’d forever have a reminder of him. He couldn’t have planned it any better. Desoto would be stuck raising his brat. Serves him right, he thought.

Desoto was always so freaking perfect it made him sick. Desoto and Gage, Desoto and Gage. Well, he’d shown them, hadn’t he. Desoto wasn’t so perfect now. Desoto’s nice little life was torn to pieces just as his own had been many years before. It was fitting. He didn’t see the little sports car in the driveway but the station wagon was in the garage. He wouldn’t have any trouble if he chose to have her again but he didn’t. He’d inflicted enough physical terror on her. Now, he just wanted to mess with them.

He drove to corner drugstore and deposited his coins. He dialed the number that he had memorized. She picked up on the second ring and sounded quite out of breath. He didn’t say anything as she called out “hello” three times. Then she hung up. He waited ten minutes and dialed the number again and repeated the scene. He could hear the tremble in her voice she was scared. He waited forty-five minutes before he called back. He knew if he called right away that she wouldn’t answer. He just hoped that her husband hadn’t returned yet.

Again, he deposited his coins and dialed the number.

“Hello,” she said tentatively.

“Hello Joanne,” he replied. “Did you like the flowers?”

“Who is this?”

“I’m hurt that you don’t know me,” he said. “After all, you are having my baby.”

The phone slammed in his ear and he smiled. He knew she’d be calling her husband by now. Couldn’t call good ole Gage, he thought, he’s still recuperating at Rampart from his little accident. That hadn’t been planned. It truly was an accident but he had enjoyed it nonetheless even though he’d had to act concerned. It was true that Gage had never done anything to him personally, only Desoto and Buchanan, but Gage and Desoto were tight. In fact, they were legendary in the department. The perfect paramedic team, he’d heard them referred to on more than one occasion. And he knew that had Gage been there that night instead of Buchanan or even Desoto, the result would have been the same.

He climbed back into his car and drove towards home.

Why couldn’t they just let her die? She’d never been the same. She was so sweet and so innocent but not anymore. No, the two heroes had to play perfect paramedic. Didn’t they realize that she’d have been better off dead? They had saved her life but for what. It was only right that he show them what kind of life they’d given her to live.

He hit his fist on the steering wheel as he thought about his baby sister. She’d been beaten, raped and left for dead. It was kind of ironic that he hated them for saving her life when that was what they, and he for that matter, were paid to do. But her life wasn’t worth living after that. She had only been married a few short months and her husband took off like a shot. He couldn’t deal with her anymore. She withdrew into herself, never talking to anyone, afraid of her own shadow and eventually ceased to participate in life at all. They’d had to put her in an institution and when his mother took her home for a weekend visit, she’d committed suicide.

If they had only let her die that night, she’d wouldn’t have continued to live the terror for two years. Well, he hoped they knew what his family had gone through. They had to live with the terror now. I wonder how they like it, he thought.

Buchanan, he’d heard, was just a few short steps from walking out on his wife. Desoto, on the other hand, turned out to be a stand up guy where his wife was concerned. Figures, he thought, Mr. Perfect was capable of no less. Well, he’d make sure that they continued to live with it just as his sister had. And, of course, there was the baby. That would be sure to put a crimp in Desoto’s perfect little family.

He actually felt bad about that last woman but he had to go after someone who wasn’t associated with the department in order to throw the police off. He’d gotten the idea when he had heard about the first two rapes and one of the women had been murdered. He hoped her family knew how lucky she really was. That was when he had decided to show Desoto exactly what he’d done for his sister by saving her life. And Buchanan, too, because he’d been working with Desoto that night. He deserved to know as well. His third victim he’d had no intentions of raping but he need another attack to throw police off his trail. And when he saw her, he couldn’t resist. She looked so much like Joanne Desoto and he knew that, if nothing else, Roy would pick up on that little fact.

Damn, he thought as he rubbed his neck, why’d she have to fight so hard. She scratched me up something awful. It had been hard trying to hide those marks from the guys but so far no one had noticed. And the nosiest guy in the station would be minding his own business for a while.

*******

Roy was visiting with Johnny in the hospital. It had been a couple of days since the fall and Johnny would be a guest at Rampart for at least another week. The internal injuries had been serious to say the least not to mention the concussion that he’d sustained. The doctors were more than pleased that the little details that Johnny could not immediately remember were beginning to come back to him.

There was a knock at the door and both men looked up to see Vince Howard at the door.

“Hey Johnny. How you doing? Roy,” he said acknowledging both men.

“Hey Vince, I’m good… well, I’m better,” Johnny answered. “What brings you down here?”

He glanced at Roy briefly not sure if he should have this conversation in his presence or not. Roy, however, picked up on Vince’s discomfort.

“It’s all right, Vince,” he assured him, “whatever it is.”

Vince nodded. “Johnny, you remember that girl that was attacked a couple of days ago?”

Roy’s head shot up. “What girl?”

“Now, Roy,” Johnny broke in quickly, “she was okay. It was the night that I came in to fill in for you. You know, the uh, the day the flowers came,” he paused for a second. “Anyway, we got a run that night and turns out this woman had been attacked but thankfully someone got to her before, um…”

“Before she was raped,” Roy finished for him and Johnny nodded.

“I was gonna tell you but you left the next day to go to your mother-in-laws so I didn’t get the chance.” He watched Roy’s face to try to figure out what he was thinking but Roy merely turned and stared out the window. Johnny turned back to Vince.

“Is she okay? The girl, I mean.”

“Yeah, yeah, she’s okay. We were able to get a blood type from the scrapings from under her fingernails. She sure did a number on that guy,” Vince mused.

“What? What happened?”

Johnny and Vince filled Roy in on the unsuccessful rape attempt and Roy actually smiled when he heard how the woman had fought back and he agreed with Vince that it sounded like she had gotten a few good licks in herself. Maybe that’ll teach you to go after innocent women, Roy thought. It wasn’t much but at least someone had finally inflicted a little pain back on the guy.

“Well, at least we know now that guy is AB and we had her come in to look at some mug shots but so far nothing has turned up there.” Vince turned to look at Roy. “We will get this guy, Roy, trust me on that.”

“Jesus,” Johnny exclaimed.

Roy jumped from his chair in alarm. “What? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I mean not me. It’s just…the day I had my accident,” he paused as he recalled the details in his mind. “Shakes. We had a pretty big fire and I was gonna use the shower after Shakes and when I walked into the locker room….he,” Johnny turned pain filled eyes towards Roy, “he had scratch marks all over his neck and arms. He said it was from his girlfriend’s cat. You don’t think,” he looked to Vince.

“It certainly bears looking into,” the policeman said as he took out his notepad. “Shakes? What’s his real name?”

“Shipley. Scott Shipley,” Johnny answered.

“Roy, you know him? Any reason to think that he’d want to harm Joanne…or you?”

Roy shook his head. “I’ve heard of him but I don’t really know him.” Vince nodded as he stood to leave, “well I’ll get on this right away.”

After Vince’s departure, Roy sat beside Johnny’s bed lost in thought for so long that Johnny was beginning to get worried. “Roy? You okay?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, I was just thinking. Trying to figure out if I could place Shipley at all but I can’t. What do you know about him, Junior. You think this could be the guy?”

“I don’t know what to think anymore, Roy. To be honest, no but he was pretty scratched up so I don’t know. He’s a great guy. Reminds of Chet, a lot,” he said with a small grin but sobered quickly. “I don’t know why anyone would do this Roy.”

“Well, I sure as hell hope they catch him before I do,” Roy said out loud. He ran his hand through his thinning blonde hair. “I never thought it possible but I think I could kill him.” Silence hung in the air as neither man spoke.

“I look at Joanne and I want to kill him. I know people say stuff like that but I do mean it and it scares me, Johnny. It scares me to think of what I may be capable of, you know?”

Johnny merely nodded sensing that Roy just needed to talk.

“I see my wife in so much pain and I don’t know if I can take it. Sometimes, I just want to walk out the door and never look back because I love her so much and I can’t protect her and I can’t take that pain away and it’s killing me inside. It’s crazy isn’t it?” He turned his head to look at his friend.

“No, Roy, it’s not crazy,” he assured him.

“Well, it sure as hell sounds crazy to me. I love my wife so much that I’d want to leave her. That doesn’t sound crazy to you?”

“Roy, you don’t want to leave Joanne and you know it. You love her so much and you can’t stand to see her hurting, that’s all. That’s normal. You’d never walk away from her because, first of all, you’d only be adding to that pain. And, second, just because you don’t have to see it on her face, in her eyes,” he laid a hand across his chest, “you’d know it was there. You’ll get through this, Pally. You’ll get through this because you love your wife.”

Roy smiled, “Thanks, Johnny.” He stood up. “Look I gotta run. I need to get home and check on things.”

“No problem,” Johnny said as he smiled back at his friend. “And, Roy, you don’t need to come by here everyday and baby-sit me. Stay with Joanne. Besides, I got plenty of nurses that can keep me company.”

“Yeah, you’re a real Casanova,” Roy said as he made his way to the door. “I’ll call you late, Johnny.”

“All right. See ya, Roy.”

*******

The next day Johnny awoke from his nap to find Scott Shipley sitting in the chair by his bed.

“S-Scott. Hey, what’s up?”

“Why don’t you tell me, Johnny boy? I thought we were friends.” He stood up and moved closer to the bed.

Johnny didn’t say anything and Scott continued.

“That is, until the police came to the station last night. Now, here I thought we were friends and all this time you’ve been thinking that I’m a rapist. Haven’t ya? It’s a good thing that my girlfriend is able to back up what really happened to me. Otherwise, thanks to you, I could be in some big trouble.” Scott’s voice echoed in the small room.

“Look, Scott, you don’t know the whole story,” Johnny shot back in defense. “I wanted to talk to you about those scratches but then we got that call and I ended up here and I didn’t even remember about them until yesterday. Vince Howard came to talk to me about this girl that had been attacked and that’s when I remembered. Look, I’m sorry if I dragged your name through the mud. But you’ve gotta understand, my best friend’s wife was raped and I don’t care who I gotta drag through the mud to unearth this guy. And that guy may very well be one of us. She heard him at the picnic so, if I’m gonna make a mistake then it’s gonna be on the side of trying to catch this guy.”

Scott had been furious when the police showed up at the station last night wanting to question him about an attack on some woman. Thankfully, Captain Garcia had given them the use of his office so it hadn’t been made public that he was being looked at. And the police assured him that it was merely routine to follow up on any leads but he didn’t like it that his name could be linked with this kind of criminal activity. He’d planned on coming down here and telling John Gage just where the hell he could go.

But after listening to him talk and knowing the details as he did now, he couldn’t fault the guy for trying to help bring this guy to justice. He still didn’t like it but if it was his girlfriend or his sister, he’d want anyone and everyone brought in for questioning.

“Do they really think it’s someone in the department,” Scott asked in shock and Johnny sadly shook his head.

“It could be but we don’t know for sure,” he corrected.

“Man, look Johnny, I’m sorry I came in here ready to tear your head off…I just wish we’d had the chance to talk and clear the air before the police got involved. But, I guess I shouldn’t be too upset. I mean, it’s not like my story can’t be verified. It’s just that once it gets out, and it will, I’m gonna hear all kinds of cat jokes.”

“Yeah, sorry about that, Shakes,” Johnny said honestly knowing that some of the guys would definitely have some fun at Scott’s expense especially because it was Scott.

********

Joanne Desoto never did tell her husband about the frequent phone calls that she had been getting. They scared her to death and she had every intention of telling Roy about them but when she looked into his face, she couldn’t do it.

Roy was so troubled and it showed in the lines of worry around his eyes and the tightness in jaw. She didn’t want to add to his worry and she felt so stupid and helpless every time she ran crying to him. He had enough to worry about, she thought, a friend in the hospital who came very close to losing his life, a wife who was falling apart at the seems, a baby on the way that may or may not be his and a mother in law who decided when she brought the kids back that she was going to stay for awhile…to help out.

And the last time she had gone running to him, Roy ended up putting his fist through the wall and injuring his hand. She certainly didn’t want a repeat of that incident. She didn’t like seeing her husband with that much anger although she understood where it came from so even though her mother was now gone and Johnny had healed from his injuries, she opted to keep silent about the calls.

The phone calls were regular now and Joanne decided that she was never going to get over her fear so her only alternative was to learn to live with it. She was not going to let him rule her life.

She still attended her therapy sessions and she went to the support group. She talked to her new friend Liz quite often and it actually helped Joanne to be able to be there for Liz especially since her husband wasn’t. Liz confided that they were actually drifting further and further apart and Joanne resolved that she was not going to let that happen to her and Roy.

Her pregnancy was progressing normally despite the tremendous amount of stress that she was under and she was looking forward the baby’s arrival. She had wanted a baby for so long and once they had decided to have this baby, her maternal feelings had kicked in and she let herself fall in love with child that she was carrying. And in a little more than a month, she would be able to hold her child in her arms.

She knew that she would have no problems loving this child and she prayed that Roy would be able to as well. He told her in the beginning that he would and he had been true to his word so far, accompanying her to doctor appointments and helping to get the baby’s room ready and basically just being there for her. He had been no different than he had been when Chris and Jenny came along. If anything, because of what she’d been though, he was more attentive, more protective of her.

She eventually confided her story to Cathy, the director of her support group and she’d been surprised to find out that rape pregnancies were very rare. There were still studies being done but Cathy informed her that there was a better likelihood that Joanne was carrying Roy’s child than that of her attacker. It hadn’t removed all of her doubts and it still left open the possibility but it further cemented her belief that this child was her husband’s.

And Cathy had also introduced her to a wonderful young woman and her beautiful two-year-old daughter. She was the sweetest child and it was easy to see why the mother adored her child so Joanne was shocked when the young woman confided that her daughter was conceived through rape.

It was then that Joanne had been able to totally accept the child that she was carrying without reservation and once she had done that, she felt a peace inside of her that hadn’t been since the attack. She knew without a doubt that she would love this child unconditionally. It was the beginning of her healing process.

*********

He was getting frustrated. He no longer heard the trepidation in Joanne Desoto’s voice when she picked up the phone, if she picked up the phone. Sometimes when he called there was no answer but he’d drive past the house and he knew she was home. It wasn’t right. She should be scared but instead it was more like he was just an inconvenience in her life. He’d have to do something to put the Desoto’s back in their place.

He just wasn’t sure what would be appropriate for them.

*********

Vince hung up the phone and sighed. “It’s about damn time,” he said out loud to no one in particular.

“What’s about time?” one of his fellow officers asked as he grabbed a donut off the tray next to the coffee maker.

Vince threw a sideways glance at the man. “Any more of those left,” he asked.

“Couple. Just glazed though,” came the answer.

Vince stood up and walked over to the table. He poured a cup of coffee and picked up a donut.

“So, you never said what it was about time for,” he was reminded.

“You remember that last woman that was attacked?”

“The one from Vegas?”

“That’s the one,” Vince replied. “She was staying with a friend down here when it happened. She looked a couple of mug shots but nothing. I wanted to have her sit down with Davis but she never came in,” he finished his explanation.

“So, now she’s coming?”

“Yeah, it’s been a couple of weeks and she’s going to be back in town. I’ve been pestering her a bit,” Vince admitted, “and she’s finally relented. She’ll be here in two days. Hopefully her memory of this guy is still good and Davis’ll be able to give us a visual.”

“It’ll be the first real break that we’ve gotten,” the man said with a sigh. He threw his half eaten donut in the trashcan.

“I sure hope so,” Vince replied as he sipped his coffee. His friends sure could use some good news.

*********

“Chris!” Joanne hollered up the stairs.

“I’m coming, Mom,” he said as he appeared on the landing.

“We’ve got a lot of things to do today,” she reminded him. “Where’s Jenny?”

“I dunno know. Not upstairs,” he replied shrugging his shoulders.

Joanne sighed. If it wasn’t one then it was the other disappearing on her.

“Jennifer,” she called out but received no answer. She looked at Chris. “I’ll look out back, you look out front. I’ll meet you by the car. Keep Jenny with you and don’t go anywhere else,” she instructed. The last thing she needed was for him to wander off.

She went out the back door and looked around.

“Jennifer,” she called again.

The swing set was still and there was no sign of Jennifer anywhere. She made her way around the house to the front yard.

As she rounded the corner, she spied a white car stopped in the road and she could see both of her children standing by the passenger side door. A bad feeling settled in the pit of her stomach.

“Kids,” she called to them. The car pulled quickly away leaving Chris and Jenny standing alone in the street. Chris pulled his sister’s sleeve “Come on, Jenny. Get out of the street. Mom’s gonna be real mad at you,” he whispered quietly.

The two children silently made their way over to their mother.

“What were you doing in street,” she asked sternly. “And who were you talking to?”

Jenny’s lower lip came out in a pout and tears formed in her eyes.

“I asked you a question, Jennifer,” Joanne said not giving in to her daughter. “You know better than to be in the street. And who was in that car?”

Jenny couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. “I’m sorry, Mommy,” she sobbed. “That man….lost his dog….He just wanted someone to help him look…..but I told him I couldn’t….unless my mom could help, too,” she sobbed. “He showed me a picture…he was so cute. I’m sorry, Mommy.”

Joanne gathered the crying girl in her arms and held her close. She smoothed Jenny’s hair with her hand. Once the girl was calm, Joanne moved so that she could look directly into her eyes. “Jennifer, you must not leave the house without permission. Is that understood?”

The little girl nodded and Joanne looked at Chris and he nodded as well knowing that this message was meant for him as well.

She looked back at Jennifer. “You are not to be in the street unless your father or I are with you. Is that clear?” Again both children nodded.

“And most importantly,” she continued, “you are not to talk to strangers. I don’t care how cute their dog is,” Joanne instructed. “I want both of you to promise me, okay?”

“I promise,” both children replied in unison.

Joanne had seen the lost dog posters that had been hung in the neighborhood for days but her gut nagged at her and she speculated on whether or not to call Roy or the police or both. She had learned this year that you couldn’t be too careful but she also didn’t want to let that fear run her life. She decided that she would mention it to Roy when he got off shift the next day but for now she wouldn’t make a big deal out of it.

She tousled Chris’s blonde locks that were so much his father’s. “Come on, let’s get in the car,” she said taking Jenny’s hand. “We’ve got a lot of errands to do today and Chris needs to get new shoes so we have to get going.”

She ushered the kids into the car and then took a long look around. The white car was nowhere to be seen but the uneasiness in her gut remained.

**********

Johnny was still off on medical leave. Dr. Brackett had ordered six weeks of recuperation and he had about two more weeks to go before he could get back on the job. He was antsy with nothing to do and decided to stop by the station and shoot the breeze with the guys.

Johnny stood leaning against the counter with a glass of milk in his hand. Roy and Mike sat at the table, the paper they had been reading when Gage came in was still spread out in front of them but they were no longer reading it. Marco was at the stove keeping a watchful eye on the chili that he was making for dinner while Chet was on the sofa rubbing the ears of the station’s faithful mascot. Cap was still on the phone in his office where he’d been when Johnny had popped his head in the door to let him know he was here. Cap had waved a hand in acknowledgment and rolled his eyes as he gestured to the phone.

The only one missing was Roy’s current partner. He had excused himself and retreated to the dorm shortly after Gage’s arrival. After he had left the room, everyone’s eyes turned to Chet.

“What’d I do,” he asked innocently.

“You have no heart, you know that, Chet,” Johnny told him.

“What?”

“Why’d you have to make such a big deal about when Johnny’s coming back,” Marco hissed at his friend. He really liked Chet but sometimes the man could be dense.

“I didn’t make a big deal about,” Chet protested. “Why would I make a big deal about Gage coming back?”

“Chet,” Mike said shaking his head, “you just made Bowers feel like he didn’t belong here.”

“Come on, guys. He knew this was only a temporary assignment when he got here. Cap’s always made it known that Gage would be back. It shouldn’t a surprise to the guy.”

Roy shook his head. He’d talk to Bowers later, he thought. “Itching to get back to work, Junior?”

“Something like that, Roy,” Johnny said as he walked over to the table and sat down.

“Well, maybe he’d better stay at 36’s,” Chet chimed in.

Johnny scowled at him but couldn’t resist taking the bait. “Why?”

“Cause we haven’t had one single accident since you’ve been gone. We don’t want to mess up our safety record, do we guys?”

Mike smirked and Marco stifled a laugh but Johnny wasn’t amused. “Shut up, Chet!”

“Well, it’s true, Gage. You know, 36’s had an impressive safety record, too, until you got there. You went and messed it up for them. You were there what 4 months,” he couldn’t resist needling his friend.

“Chet,” Johnny warned.

“What? I’m just pointing out the obvious,” he replied. Before Johnny could get out another comment, Cap came into the room.

“Hey John, good to see you,” Cap told him.

Johnny smirked at Chet. “At least someone appreciates me,” he replied.

“Now, I didn’t say that,” Cap shot back in amusement and Chet roared with laughter.

Stanley hit Chet with a look that cut off the Irishman’s laughter. “But I do and it is good to see you. You gave us quite a scare this time,” he said coming around behind Gage and putting his hand briefly on his shoulder. He gave it a quick squeeze before he removed his hand and walked over to the stove. Marco lifted the lid off the pot of Chili and Captain Stanley breathed in the aroma.

“Smells good, Marco. I’m ready to eat now….”

The klaxons sounded for the entire station and Chet mumbled under his breath, “thanks a lot, Cap.”

Johnny had jumped up when the tones sounded but quickly realized that he wouldn’t be joining his friends. He walked out into the bay and watched them as they scrambled to the vehicles and flew out of the station. Boy, how he did miss the job. He walked slowly back into the dorm and picked up his glass. He washed it out, dried it and put the cup away before leaving the station.

*********

Joanne left the shoe store and as she was pulled out of the parking lot onto the street, she checked her rearview mirror and spotted a white car. A shiver ran up her spine. It couldn’t be the same white car, could it? She looked again and it was gone. Relief washed through her. “Get a hold of yourself, woman,” she said to herself. She was becoming paranoid. She’d read about it and knew that it was common for victims to feel that everything and everyone was out to get them. She just didn’t want to be one of those people. She pushed it out of her mind as she drove to the dry cleaners.

She picked up Roy’s extra uniforms and put them in the car before going into the grocery store next door. She did her food shopping and only needed to make one more stop at the butcher’s before she could head home. As she put the bags of groceries in the station wagon, she saw the white car again.

“Kids,” she called, “get in the car now.” They had been standing next to the car arguing about who was going to get the prize out of the box of cereal but something about their mother’s tone had them jumping quickly into the car.

Joanne’s face was white as she jumped in the front seat and locked her doors. She turned around and leaned over the seat to lock the door on Jenny’s side. “Chris, lock your door, please,” she told him.

Chris pushed the button down. “M-Mom, are you okay,” he asked.

Joanne smiled at him. “Of course, I am, Honey,” she said in a shaky voice. She turned back and looked out the side window. There was no sign of the white car. She turned the key in the ignition and started the car. She began to back carefully out of her parking space but stopped suddenly when a white car pulled up impeding her progress.

She slammed on the brake out of instinct but made no other move. The white car just sat there and didn’t move. Tears ran down her cheeks but she was unaware of them. The windows of the car were tinted and Joanne could not see who was driving. Both cars sat there like that for a couple of minutes. Finally, the white car sped off yet Joanne’s station wagon remained where it was.

“Mom,” Chris’ voice reached her, “are we gonna go home now?”

She wiped at her tears and finished backing out of the space. She put the car in drive and cautiously drove out of the parking lot. She sat for a moment trying to decide if she should still stop by the butcher’s or not. She really was not in any shape to stop but she needed to get the meat for tonight’s dinner. As she sat there thinking about it, her car was hit from behind and pushed into the intersection.

She kept her foot on the brake but it didn’t do any good. The car behind her continued to push her out into the street. She looked in the mirror and it was the same white car. “Stop,” she cried, “why are you doing this to me?” She was screaming and crying and the kids were crying not understanding what was going on. Thankfully, there were no cars in her way and she didn’t hit anything and when she realized this, she took her foot from the brake pedal and floored the gas. The tires screamed as she roared down the road. The white car was staying close behind.

Drive right to the station, her mind screamed. And she prayed, “please let someone be there, please let someone be there.”

The last thing she needed was to have both the engine and the squad out on runs. She let out a sigh of relief as Station 51 came into view but she didn’t slow down. She roared into the parking lot narrowly missing John Gage as he walked across the lot to his Land Rover.

“Jesus, Joanne,” he said seeing the hysterical woman and her banged up car. “What happened?” He yanked on the door but it was locked. He banged on the glass. “Joanne, unlock the door. Come on, Joanne, unlock the door.”

She didn’t move. He turned to the kids in the backseat. “Jenny, unlock your door, Sweetheart,” he told the little girl and she reached up and pulled the knob up. Johnny threw the door open. “Are you kids okay?”

Two tear streaked faces nodded at him. He reached over the seat and unlocked Joanne’s door. He moved around and opened it from the outside and reached in to check on Joanne. She swatted at his hands.

“Joanne,” he said sternly. “Look at me, Jo. It’s Johnny. Come on, Joanne,” he said as continued to try to calm her down. How she ever managed to drive here was beyond him. Eventually, the realization that she was safe seemed to sink in. “J-Johnny?”

“Yes, Jo, it’s me, Johnny,” he said softly. He didn’t want to move her as he didn’t know how badly she might be injured. “Are you okay, Sweetie,” he asked her as if he’d been talking to Jennifer.

Joanne shook her head up and down at first and then side-to-side.

“Are you hurt anywhere, Joanne,” he tried again. She shook her head no. “Well, let me look you over anyway, okay,” he asked and she nodded again. After being reasonable sure that she wasn’t seriously injured, he checked the kids over as well.

“Can you tell me what happened?” He could see that the back end of the station wagon had been pushed in and knew that something had hit them from behind.

“He was trying to kill us,” Joanne whispered so that the kids couldn’t hear.

“Who was?”

“I don’t know. I think it was HIM,” she said as tears continued to stain her face.

“Jo, we need to call the police. I don’t want to leave you out here alone. Can you walk?” She shrugged her shoulders not knowing if her legs would support her when she stood up because she was shaking so badly.

“Kids, come on and hop out here, okay?” Both children obeyed without hesitation. Chris stood with his arm around Jenny’s shoulder and watched as Johnny reached in and lifted their mother from the car. They followed behind him as he carried her inside.

Johnny knew Brackett would kill him for carrying Joanne into the station after the internal injuries that he had sustained but he pushed that though to the back of his mind.

He laid Joanne on Roy’s bunk in the dorm and had the kids sit on his old bunk. He ran to call in the still alarm. The squad hadn’t been gone all that long and Johnny wasn’t sure if it would be returned to quarters or if another squad would be sent. And as he ran back to the dorm, Sam Lanier’s voice echoed throughout the station.

Sam ordered Squad 51 to return and send 110’s squad on their original run with the station. Neither Roy nor Bowers had any idea what could have happened at the station. All they knew is that Johnny had been there when they’d left. Roy flew into the bay headfirst and was stunned to see Christopher standing at the door that led to the dorm.

“Daddy,” he called out. “Somebody crashed into us.” The color drained from Roy’s face and Bowers said, “Go Roy. I’ll get the equipment.” Roy flew through the door and was at Joanne’s side in matter of seconds.

“She’s okay, Roy,” Johnny was quick to reassure him. “I checked her out in the car and she’s okay.”

Bowers arrived with the equipment and Johnny let him in to have access to his friend’s wife. He checked her pulse which was racing and her blood pressure which was high and completed the rest of his exam.

Joanne was trying to explain what had happened but the story wasn’t coming out quite right. Bits and pieces of the day were all mixed up.

Bowers called Rampart and gave them Joanne’s history and current vitals and Dr. Early advised them to transport her to be checked out further.

Vince arrived and Johnny told him what information he knew and Vince asked the kids a few questions about what had happened but he kept them very simple so as not to confuse them. When the ambulance arrived, Roy and Bowers loaded Joanne onto the gurney and Roy rode with her to the hospital.

Johnny took responsibility for the kids and Vince advised him that he would be along shortly. He wanted to look at the car and have his people come out to photograph it.

The ride to Rampart was excruciatingly long. Four minutes into the trip, Joanne was gripped by severe abdominal pain and her membranes ruptured. It took everything Roy had to remain calm and professional. When she felt the water gush between her legs, she grabbed his arm, “It’s too early,” she cried. “Roy, it’s too early.”

“Everything’s gonna be okay, Jo. Try to stay calm,” he said soothingly. He picked up the biophone and notified Rampart. He advised them of her doctor’s name and they said that they would get in touch with him. Joanne clung to his hand as another pain hit and Roy said a silent prayer that everything would truly be all right. He started the IV that Rampart had ordered and busied himself checking her vitals. He was never so glad to feel the ambulance shift into reverse and begin backing into the hospital bay.

Part 3