Serendipity

  Part 3

They didn’t return from the fire until one-thirty in the morning, and all the men fell into their bunks, exhausted; Chet and Johnny’s argument was forgotten for the time being, at least by most of the guys.

The seven a.m. tones woke the tired crew from their sleep too early. They rose with difficulty, wearily pulling up their bunker pants’ suspenders as they each plodded out of the dorm, heading for the kitchen for some much needed coffee. Johnny lingered in the dorm, more tired than the others, after getting very little rest. The ‘conversation’ he’d had with Chet had been on his mind, and he’d found it very difficult to sleep with the memory of their unpleasant argument swimming around in his head.

Now he sat on the edge of his bunk, scrubbing at his face to wipe the sleep, or lack of it, from his eyes. At first he’d been really angry with Chet, but as he’d lain there in bed, going over the whole argument over and over in his mind, he began to realize that what Chet said had some merit. That realization made him very uncomfortable, not to mention guilty, and he lamented over what he was going to do to rectify the situation.

Not being able to put off the inevitable, he pulled himself up from his bunk and made his way to the kitchen. Everyone seemed very quiet that morning; no one was talking, just drinking coffee and reading the paper, waiting for the next shift to show up. All the men were in the kitchen except for Roy, who had already gone to his locker to change.

Chet avoided Johnny, moving away from the counter and going to sit on the sofa next to Henry after Johnny approached him to get some coffee.

Sighing, Johnny walked over to the door, looking out into the parking lot, thinking. He didn’t notice Chet eyeing him guiltily from the sofa. Johnny wanted to talk to Chet, to apologize, but didn’t want to get into it in front of the others, and so he finished his coffee and walked out, deciding to go change his clothes in the dorm. He was hoping Roy was still there, but he wasn’t anywhere around.

Deciding to go ahead and change his clothes, he’d just pulled on his jeans when Chet walked in. The two glanced uncomfortably at one another upon Chet’s entry, neither saying anything as Kelly opened his locker and pulled off his bunker pants. Johnny heard him sigh deeply, and looked over.

Chet sat down and looked back at him. “Hey, Johnny?”

“Yeah?” Gage answered softly.

“I, um, I owe you an apology. I’m sorry man. I shouldn’t have gone off on you like that last night. It’s just a stupid poker game.”

            Johnny’s face softened. “It’s okay, Chet.” Johnny sighed slightly and smiled softly. “Actually, I’m the one that should be apologizing.”

            “You? Why?”

            “Well, because you were right. I…I have been blowing you guys off too much lately because of Heather. It’s just….I don’t know….she’s just….”

            “It’s just that you’re in love.”

            Johnny looked at Chet in surprise, not expecting the quietly worded sentiment he got, then wiped his hand over his face. He wasn’t quite sure that’s what he was going to say. “I don’t know, Chet. Maybe. I mean, I know I, I’m crazy about her, but….love….I…..” his voice trailed off and he sighed. “I think….maybe I do.” He sighed again.

            Chet smiled, looking down. “I’m happy for ya, man. You found somebody. I can’t blame ya for wanting to spend time with her. I wish I was that lucky.”

            The corner of Johnny’s mouth turned up. “It’s still not a good reason to blow off your friends.” he looked earnestly at Chet.

            “So, uh, are you two….serious?”

            “I don’t know, Chet. Maybe.” He sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “She talks about us getting a house together.”

            “Sounds like she wants to get married.” Chet’s eyebrows rose.

            Johnny looked over at his nemesis with wide eyes. “Don’t say that word.”

            “What word?”

            “The ‘M’ word.”

            “You don’t sound too sure of this thing.”

            He turned away, rubbing his bottom lip with his thumb. “I….I don’t know.” Johnny hesitated, thinking. He thought sure he loved Heather, and she said she loved him, but there was something….he just couldn’t put his finger on it; he hadn’t figured it out yet. He loved being with her; she was so beautiful and charming…and sensuous, and smart, all at the same time. When they were together, he almost felt…like a different person. It was weird; when he was with her he felt…important, like royalty or something. But what Chet had said about him doing everything she and her father dictated had struck a nerve, and it bothered him to think that might be true.

            Then, there were those comments Roy had made on the drive home from the run last night that he couldn’t get out of his mind. During a conversation in the squad, Johnny had indignantly pointed out to Roy what nerve Chet had to say the things he did to him, during which Roy had remained quiet. When Johnny asked his partner if he agreed with Chet, Roy had replied softly, “I think what he said has some merit.”

            Johnny’s mouth had dropped open then, and he’d defensively asked Roy to explain. Stopped at a light, Roy had turned to him and asked, “Johnny, when was the last time you did the things that you enjoy, and not just the things Heather enjoys? When was the last time you went camping, or rock climbing, or bowling? When was the last time the two of you spent time with your friends, instead of hers? It just seems like she’s turning your life in a direction away from who you really are.” The light had changed then, and Roy turned away from Johnny. Softly, he said, “Or maybe, you’ve just changed, now that you have all this money.”

            That statement had hit him hard, but at the time he had been too tired to analyze it, and so he had remained quiet, at a loss for how to respond, and the squad had pulled back into the station moments later. Between Roy’s comments and the argument with Chet, Johnny hadn’t gotten much sleep.

            He looked around, wondering where Roy was, wanting to talk to them both now. He turned back to Chet.

            An idea came to him that instant. “Look; I – I’d….like to make it up to you. Um, listen, how would you like to go to the hockey game next Friday? I can get box seats – they’re great!” Johnny’s enthusiasm grew. “All the food and beer you can eat and drink, and front row seats.”

            Chet’s face lit up. “Wow! That sounds great. I’d love to go!” His smile faded a bit. “But you know, maybe you should ask Roy instead.”

            Johnny looked puzzled. “Roy?”

“Well, yeah,” Chet shrugged, “You’ve kind of been blowin’ him off a lot more than me, and, well, I think he’d appreciate it.”

            Johnny nodded slowly, realizing what Chet was getting at. He had neglected his best friend. Yes, they still got together occasionally, but not nearly as much as they’d used to. Joanne had never even met Heather, and now Johnny recalled Roy’s hints at getting the two of them over for dinner. It seemed he’d always had some reason why they couldn’t – or at least Heather always seemed to have a reason. Well, he decided, that was going to change.

            “You can both go,” Johnny answered. “And so can the rest of the guys. I can get tickets for everyone.”

            “Sounds great!” Chet slammed his locker shut. “Listen, I gotta go. Thanks, Johnny. I’ll look forward to the game.”

            Johnny smiled, glad now that things were moving back on the right track. He decided right then and there that he was going to find Roy and talk to him, and invite him to the game. He went off to look for Roy, but when he got out to the parking lot, was dismayed to see his best friend had already left, no longer in the habit of waiting for Johnny before leaving, so that they could walk out together.

            Johnny’s elevated mood slid downward quickly as he drove home. He’d thought about driving straight to Roy’s, but realized that it would look like he was inviting himself for breakfast, and he didn’t feel comfortable doing that. In the past, he wouldn’t have given it a second thought, and knew Roy and Joanne would have welcomed him, but his lack of attention to their friendship lately spoiled that open door policy.

            With a growing regret, and with a determination to make things right, he entered his apartment, and headed toward the phone. Dialing Roy’s number, he waited during ten rings, then hung up, wondering where the heck his partner was. Sighing, he realized how exhausted he was and went to his bedroom to peel off his clothes. Plopping down onto his bed, he stared up at the ceiling, and began to think. He would wait a half hour and then call Roy again. Damn. He really had been putting off his friends. Roy had never complained, never mentioned it. But that was Roy. So opposite of him at times; usually his light-haired partner kept things to himself. Now Johnny wished he had said something. Johnny had been so consumed with his new relationship that it didn’t even occur to him that he was neglecting his friends. And they weren’t just his friends. They were his family. How many times had Roy included him in his life and family plans, and look how he was repaying him. A woman walks into his life, and suddenly, she comes first. It had happened without him even realizing it. Heather seemed to have this way of taking control of his life, and she had been so subtle about it he hadn’t noticed. It was hard; she was just so intoxicating. He felt so different when he was around her, she had this way of making him feel good, especially in bed. He closed his eyes; just thinking about her got him aroused. Could what Chet said really be true? A part of him knew it was, but there was more to it than that. It seemed so complicated. He really did feel Heather loved him, and he loved her too – he thought. Why else would he want to be with her every minute, why, he could hardly get her off his mind when they were apart.

            He sighed, throwing his left arm over his eyes. Women. They would forever be a mystery. Oh well; he would figure it out eventually. In the meantime, he would get back on track with his friends, and he would test the truth of what Roy had said as well. If she really loved him, she would find value in the things that were important to him as well.

            All his thoughts and troubles swirled around in his mind, changing, then fading, and before he knew it, he was asleep.

            A loud ringing near his head jolted him awake, and he sat up, bleary-eyed. The telephone. How long had it been ringing? He lunged for the receiver, groaning as he noted the time on the clock as he did so. Five o’clock. Oh, man. I’ve slept all day.  “Hello?” he answered in a groggy voice.

            The voice on the other end hinted at irritation. “John? It’s Heather.” She hesitated. “Are…are you all right?”

            “Yeah,” his voice was low, and he pulled himself into a sitting position, swinging his legs off the bed.

            “Well, you were supposed to be here five minutes ago. Are you running late?”

            He ran his fingers through his hair, angry with himself for sleeping all day. “Yeah. I’m sorry. We had a long night last night, and I didn’t get much sleep. When I got home, I just kinda crashed here on the bed. I didn’t realize I’d fallen asleep. I’m sorry, Heather.”

            Her voice was slightly tight, but she didn’t scold. “It’s okay. When can you be here?”

            He looked at the clock again. “Can you give me thirty minutes?”

            She sighed to herself. “All right. We’ll miss the movie. I guess we can just do dinner.”

            “I’m sorry, Heather. Maybe we can go to a later show?”

            “We’ll see. Actually, I had….something else in mind for later,” she said seductively.

            He perked up instantly at her suggestive comment, and smiled. “Mmm, I can’t wait to find out what that is.”

            “Well, hurry up and get over here. I can’t wait to see you,” she said even more seductively.

            “I’ll be there in a flash. Bye.”

            She said good-bye and they both hung up. Instantly, Johnny was on his feet and ran to the shower. He was showered, shaven, and dressed in twenty minutes, taking a few extra minutes to blow dry his hair, since he knew how much Heather liked it that way. Knowing he’d be later than he promised though, he took a moment to phone Roy, asking if they could get together the next day. A glad feeling came over him when Roy happily accepted, and he heard not only the surprise in his partner’s voice, but the cheerfulness as well.

She hadn’t acted angry that he’d been late, but as they drove to the restaurant, she made mention of the fact that he worked too hard at his job. “I just don’t understand why you want to stay up half the night getting all smoky and dirty fighting fires when you don’t have to,” she stated.

            He shrugged, a little caught off guard by her comment. “What do you mean, ‘when I don’t have to?’” He knew what she meant, but wanted to hear her say it, wanted to know exactly where she was coming from. Did she loathe his work? Was that it?

            “Well, I mean, you don’t really need to work, do you? You’ve got enough money now to take care of yourself, and even a family for the rest of your life,” she hinted, “so why do you want to keep working? Especially such a backbreaking job as yours – and a dangerous one at that. Why risk your life when you don’t have to?”

            It took Johnny a moment to answer. He was taken aback by her comments. Obviously, she’d never picked up on how much his job meant to him, how important it was to him to be able to help people.  But maybe her comments were just out of concern for him. Then it occurred to him, she never asked about his work. Was she afraid to hear about the danger he faced on a day-to-day basis, or was it just that…she wasn’t interested? He hoped it was the former and not the latter.

“Heather, I love my job; it’s who I am,” he tried to explain. “I like helping people. Ever since – ” he stopped. He was going to say that the death of his brother in a fire, and then the death of his parents in a terrible automobile accident were what prompted his career choice. After those two events, he had wanted to be able to help others in similar circumstances be able to survive the tragedies that his own family had been powerless to avoid. But explaining that meant explaining his losses, and those feelings and memories were carefully packed away, in avoidance of having to feel the agony of dealing with the pain he’d so forcefully pushed away for so long. That was something else she didn’t seem to ever be curious about – his family, or lack of one. She never asked about it, and he never told, which in of itself, was a relief. Instead of explaining further, he continued, “And I like the excitement.” He glanced over at her and said teasingly, “Don’t you like me when I’m smoky and dirty?”

            Again, that seductive smile took over her face and she interlaced her fingers into his as he drove. Leaning toward him, she murmured, “I’ll take you any way I can get you.” Then she started nibbling on his ear.

            Blowing out a breath through his mouth, he said in a low voice, “You better watch out, or we might not make it to the restaurant.” He pulled up to a light, reached behind her neck, and pulled her mouth to his. So lost were they in the kiss that they both jumped when a car horn honked from behind, signaling for him to pay attention and get moving. The light was green.

            They sat holding hands at dinner that night, each staring dreamily into the other’s eyes over candlelight. Heather had suggested her favorite seafood house that night; as usual, knowing the owner personally helped guarantee one of the best tables in the house, and the best service. 

            After they brought their wine, she held her glass to her lips, took a sip, and said, “I have some exciting news.” There was an irresistible sparkle in her eyes.

            “What’s that?” he smiled, first holding the glass up to the light, examining the wine for its color, any sediment, and its legs, before tasting it.

            “I found a house for you.”

            Johnny almost choked on his wine. “You…found a house for me,” he repeated, as if he hadn’t heard her correctly.

            She squeezed his hand and spoke excitedly. “Oh, John, it’s absolutely fabulous. You’re going to love it; it’s just so perfect for you. And it’s so close to Mother and Daddy’s.”

            He listened speechlessly as her description of the house tumbled out, so caught off guard he didn’t know what to say.

            The house did sound wonderful, the way she described it, but it wasn’t what he had in mind at all, and living in that neighborhood near her parents was the farthest thing from his mind. She went on, describing the house, growing more and more excited, until he’d promised to at least go look at it with her. “On one condition,” he said seriously.

            “Anything,” she answered.

            “Come away with me for a couple of days.”

            Her eyes positively lit up. “Oh, John. That sounds lovely! What did you have in mind? I know,” she smiled knowingly, “a trip to the wine country! Oh how wonderful! I know the perfect places to stay, and we can drink all the wine we want, and – ”

            “No,” he said softly, shaking his head.

            “No?” Her brow furrowed, then she smiled again. “Oh, I know. San Francisco! Oh! We can ride the trolley cars and, oh, I know the best restaurant in China Town – ”

            He shook his head and looked down. “That’s…not exactly what I had in mind.”

            Now she was baffled. “Well, what then?”

            He looked up at her hopefully. “I want to take you….camping.”

            Her face froze, and she looked like a deer caught in headlights. “C-camping? Like,” she had a hard time saying it, “like in a….a tent?”

            He smiled. “Yep.”

She was unable to camouflage her dismay, and his smile fell away when he saw her unbridled hesitation, and started trying to convince her, almost desperately. He took her hands in his. “Heather, it’ll be great. The fresh air, we can hike through the woods – it’ll be beautiful this time of year – and, and we can sit by the campfire, and….” His voice trailed off as he saw the almost aghast look on her face.

            She saw his crestfallen and defeated expression and felt guilty. “John, it….it’s just that….well, I’ve never been camping, and, and, well, I don’t think I could sleep on the ground. It’ll be so cold…”

            “I’ll keep you warm,” he tried.

            She sighed, and he could tell she really didn’t want to go, but he was determined. If she said no….. “Please?” his voice was almost desperate, for if she turned him down, it would prove Roy right. “I promise, you’ll love it. I’ll make sure of that.”

            She swallowed, and looked away, then made her decision. With a soft smile on her face, she looked back at him. “All right. I’ll go.”

            Johnny’s face lit up with a smile, and he leaned forward and kissed her enthusiastically. Just seeing his sexy smile and knowing she had caused it made her feel warm, and she was glad she accepted. Inwardly, she sighed, wondering how she would get through two days of no bathrooms, no shower, no comforts of home. Oh well, somehow she would put up with it, then maybe she could convince him to buy that house. Returning his smile, she squeezed his hand and whispered, “Je t’aime.”

            He knew the meaning, for she had been teaching him French words, and softly and without hesitation, he said them back to her, nearly taking her breath away. Then, raising her hand, he began to kiss it, and she felt his tongue softly caressing her palm, all the while his dark brown eyes bored into hers, nearly driving her crazy. They both ate their dinners quickly that night, anxious to get away and be with each other – alone.

            The next day, Johnny stopped over at Roy’s, and after helping him with some house repairs, the two spent the day together. Johnny took him to the yacht club for lunch, and then they decided to go out on a sail, spending the afternoon fishing. It felt good to do something with a friend again; Johnny hadn’t realized how much he’d missed Roy’s company outside of work. Roy seemed to enjoy it as well, and by the end of the afternoon, it seemed like their friendship was as comfortable as it ever was.

Johnny made a vow that he was going to spend more time with his friends, and Roy was surprised and obviously pleased when he was invited to the hockey game. Joanne was happy to give him her blessing to go and have a good time, for she had seen the disappointment in her husband’s face too many times lately at being seemingly forgotten by his best friend. Joanne had known it wouldn’t last, knew what it was like when a relationship was new and exciting, and that Johnny’s absence was only temporary. She had reminded Roy of that several times. Now she smiled as she watched the two friends gabbing outside on the back deck with a beer, engrossed in a conversation they were clearly enjoying. They both seemed relaxed and in good spirits when they had returned from the sailing trip, and it hadn’t taken much to convince Johnny to stay for dinner.

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

            Roy looked up at the sound of the dorm door swinging open, and saw his partner enter. He looked tired, and a little down as he slowly pulled his locker door open and shrugged off his coat.

Roy watched him a moment, then asked the inevitable question, anxious to find out the answer. “So how was the camping trip?”

            Johnny glanced over at him, then away. “It was okay.” He sighed, offering no more, and began to absently scratch at his knee.

            “Just okay?” He waited, getting no answer. “Hey, did the rain spoil it? I know it rained here really hard.”

            “Well, it sure didn’t help,” Johnny finally answered glumly. He sighed again, and sat down heavily on the bench.

            “Were you able to do any hiking?”

            Johnny grimaced, remembering their ‘hiking’ experience. “Yeah, some; if that’s what you want to call it.”

            “What do you mean by that?”

            He sighed again. “Well, Heather didn’t have any hiking boots. She wore these shoes she wears to play tennis, so they weren’t much good for hiking. I tried to stay on the easy trails, but halfway through, she slipped and turned her ankle. I had to carry her for over two miles over hills and rocks to get back to the campsite.” He grimaced as he pulled on a sock. “I thought I was gonna get a hernia. You know, a hundred and twenty pounds isn’t much until you’ve got to carry it for two miles.” He turned his body to face Roy’s. “That wasn’t all. You should have seen her suitcase. It musta weighed as much as her, and I had to lug that thing for half a mile, plus all the camping equipment, to the camp site.”

            “A little sore today, are you?”

            He snorted. “Slightly.”

            “So, what did you do when she turned her ankle?”

            Johnny started scratching at the other knee. “Ah, we put some ice on it, and the swelling went down. But I could tell she wasn’t happy about it. You know the look.” He looked up at Roy out of the corner of his eye. “I mean, she never said anything, never complained, but I could tell she was miserable. Her hair got messed up, and she was cold, and it was rainy, and then there was the ankle problem on top of everything else. I guess I just picked the wrong days to go.”

            “Total loss, eh?”

            “Well, not a total loss. I mean, we had some fun, but well, I guess if we end up married I’ll be goin’ campin’ by myself, or with my friends, if you know what I mean.”

            Roy’s eyes had grown wide. “Married? Did I just hear you use the ‘M’ word?”

            Johnny realized what he’d said a little too late, and looked at Roy, not wanting to give any explanation of what he might have meant by that. Hell, he didn’t even know what he meant by that. “Slip of the tongue, Roy.”

            “Gage!” They heard Cap’s voice bellow from the office. “Phone!”

            Johnny sighed and pulled his other sock on, then got up and headed toward the phone in the dorm at the desk. Roy overheard his side of the conversation as he picked up the phone.

            “Hello, this is John.”

            “Hi – ”

            “Huh?”

            “What’s wrong?”

            Roy heard a long pause, then,

            “Oh, no.”

            When Roy heard that, he peeked into the sleeping area and saw that Johnny had the phone in one hand, listening, and was pinching the bridge of his nose with the other, eyes closed, as if in pain.

            “I’m sorry.”

            Another long pause.

            Johnny’s voice rose a notch. “I’m sorry. Honey, I don’t know what to tell you. Can you get some calamine lotion?”

            Roy shook his head to himself.

            Another pause.

            “Look, I know, I’ve got it too.”

            “On my knees and legs.”

            “I know it itches.” Roy saw him reach down and start scratching his leg.

            “Look, I’m sorry! How was I supposed to know it was there? You were the one who wanted to – ”

Johnny sighed again. “I know it’s in a bad place. Just….try not to sit down.”

At that comment, Johnny had to pull the phone away from his ear; apparently because the yelling on the other end was too loud. He squinted his eyes painfully.

Roy almost gave himself away when he was barely able to restrain his laughter.

“Well,” Johnny sounded a little exasperated now, “just be glad you didn’t get it on your – ”

Once again, he had to pull the phone away from his ear.

            “Look; why don’t you go see one of those doctors your dad knows? If it’s that bad, maybe he can give you a steroid shot or something.”

            “Yes, really. Why don’t you call someone right now?”

            “All right…..okay….yeah….bye.” John finally hung up the phone with a big sigh. After a moment, he finally got up and headed back to his locker to put on his shoes.

            Roy looked at him with an amused expression on his face. “Trouble in paradise?”

            Johnny groaned. “You don’t wanna know.”

            “I just have one question.”

            Johnny looked up at him as he was scratching his leg.

            “How did she get poison ivy on her b – ”

            Johnny held up his hand to stop him from completing his sentence. “Roy, if you can’t figure it out, I’m not gonna explain it to ya,” Johnny said in an annoyed tone. Then he pointed his finger at his friend and said, “And quit eavesdropping on my conversations.” With that, he got up and gestured for his partner to follow him. “C’mon. We need some supplies at Rampart.”

            “What do we need? The last shift just went on a supply run – ”

            “I wanna see if Dix has any calamine lotion.” And with that, he hopped out of the dorm, trying to scratch his knee as he walked.

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

            “I just need you to sign here, here, and here,” the realtor told Johnny, and pushed the paperwork in front of him.

            Drawing in a deep breath, he took the pen, and after hesitating a moment, signed the paperwork. Swallowing, an uncomfortable feeling of heat rose up in his chest, and he felt a little light-headed, but it passed fairly quickly. He felt as if he’d just signed his future away. He’d never spent this much money in his life before, or at least had never committed to spending this much in his life. His fingers shook as he held the pen in his hand.

            Heather stood over his shoulder watching, almost jumping with glee as he scribbled his signature across the bottom of the three papers. He pushed them back at the realtor.

            “Very good. Thank you, Mr. Gage. Now, we’ll try to arrange a closing date around the twentieth. I’ll be in touch with you this evening to finalize everything, and let you know what to bring, all right?”

            “Fine,” Johnny smiled tightly. He knew he should be feeling happy right now; after all, he’d just agreed to purchase his first house. But for some reason, the only feeling he had right now was a sick queasiness in his stomach.

            The realtor left, and Heather hugged him. “Oh, John, I am so excited for you! I just know this house is going to be perfect! You’re going to love it! Now we have somewhere to spend time together, alone, and we’ll be so close to Mother and Daddy. And oh, it’s a perfect house for entertaining. Think of the parties we’ll have.”

            Johnny had pasted a smile on his face, mostly for her sake; he didn’t want to ruin her excitement, but also because he had to keep telling himself that he’d done the right thing. He figured if he told himself enough times that it was the right thing, that’d he begin believing it.

            “John, let’s go drive by the house right now!”

            “Now? Uh, don’t you want to get some dinner?”

            “Oh, I couldn’t eat if I tried. I’m so excited! Please, can we just drive by it? I know you’re hungry; we’ll go out to dinner after we see the house. Just one more time?”

            He looked at her, and once again was enchanted by the happiness in her beautiful face. His heart melted, and at that moment, he didn’t give a damn what house he bought as long as he was with her. It was just a house, anyway; what did it matter? A hell of an expensive house, but hey, he could afford it, couldn’t he? He looked into her sparkling eyes and said, “All right. Let’s go.”

            The house was magnificent, but never in Johnny’s wildest dreams would he have ever imagined buying anything like it for himself. The Queen Anne Victorian was perched magnificently up on a hill; its series of stone steps leading majestically up to the huge wraparound front porch. The details adorning the wood clapboard house were delicately accented in rich shades of moss, rusts, creams, and indigos, perfectly blended to show off every ornate detail characteristic of that period. The stone pillars under the porch were unusual for that style of house, but they seemed to accent it nicely, giving the home a unique look.

            Johnny pulled his Corvette up into the driveway and parked, and the two got out to admire it once again. The house was empty, its owners having moved out only a week before. A very lucrative job offer on the east coast had persuaded them to leave their beloved home rather hastily. The opportunity had arisen to buy the house before it was listed, when the realtor, who happened to be a personal friend of not only the home owner, but also of the Bank’s family, had mentioned to Heather that the house would soon be for sale. The realtor was familiar with Heather’s love for this particular house, and so had mentioned it to her immediately. When Heather heard the news, she had nearly jumped for joy, for it was a house she had admired ever since she was a child. It held a storybook-like appearance, and she had always dreamed of living in it one day, and raising a family there. Heather knew her father would never put up the money for a deposit on a house so expensive for just her to live in, especially when she had a perfectly good place to live at home, so Heather went to work on convincing Johnny to buy it, in the hopes of being able to fulfill her dream.

            They gazed up at the façade; Johnny was still amazed at the size of the round corner tower with its pinnacle roof, and the magnificent gardens and grounds that surrounded it. Out back was a swimming pool with a hot tub attached at one corner, made very private by the landscaping. That had been a major selling point, especially when Heather had pointed out to him the type of ‘fun’ they could have out there.

            Now as he stood there looking at it with her, he couldn’t believe that he was soon going to be living there. What would his friends think? They probably wouldn’t believe it, because he himself couldn’t believe it. But it was true. Heather had somehow managed to talk him into it, and somehow he had let her. It was all kind of like a dream, and now he felt a little numb. He was suddenly anxious to leave and go to dinner, for he was in need of a strong drink.

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

Roy stood at the foot of the grand staircase, stunned. His eyes took in the massive and intricate balustrade and followed it upward, past the oriental pattern of the carpeted stairway to the second floor, where his view stretched past rows of transomed mahogany doors.

The other guys from Station 51’s A-shift were wandering around the foyer, in awe of all the intricate details, from the gleaming hardwood floors, the carpentry work, and on to the delicately etched glass on the wall sconces. Johnny could hear their admiring comments as he stood next to Roy. “Wanna see the upstairs?”

Roy nodded. “Sure.”

Johnny trailed behind him up the stairs, followed by the rest of the crew, who had all come over that morning after work to see Johnny’s new house. The tour included five bedrooms and three bathrooms, leaving them lingering in the master suite. It had been carefully renovated in period detail, but certainly didn’t lack the latest modern amenities such as a whirlpool tub, and shower for two. Chet whistled upon sliding open the glass shower door, and smirked at the two shower heads, making some lewd comment that Johnny didn’t hear, but Marco and Mike snickered at.

This particular bath had marble floors and countertops, shiny brass faucets, and a Murano glass chandelier in the center of the ceiling. Johnny could see the looks of disbelief on their faces, and looked away uncomfortably when Roy’s gaze focused on his face, a look of restrained shock giving away his feelings. Roy had had that look on his face since he’d first seen the house, but thankfully hadn’t said anything conveying his obvious misgivings.

Johnny was anxious for them to leave; for some reason he hadn’t been very excited to show them his new residence, but they’d all insisted on seeing it, and so they followed him there that morning.

After a tour of the grounds and the pool, the crew finally split up and went home, leaving Johnny to wait for the moving van to arrive. Roy had been the last to leave, and as he lingered on the front porch a moment, Johnny hesitantly asked, “Well, what do you think?” He didn’t know why he’d even inquired, because given Roy’s subdued reaction, he really didn’t want to know. He was hoping he’d get the blessing of his friend, whose opinion he really had come to respect after nearly seven years of friendship, but wasn’t hopeful he’d get it. In fact, now he was afraid that Roy would say exactly what was on his mind, which would probably match his own thoughts, as they often did, and he decided too late that he didn’t want to hear the reality of the situation that Roy would likely point out.

Roy thought carefully before he answered. “Um, it’s….” he shook his head, “it’s…unbelievable.” In his heart, he felt the house was all wrong for Johnny, and was positively stunned that his friend would sink this much money into a property that he knew he didn’t want. The explanation was clear, however. Roy knew why this had happened. This wasn’t Johnny’s house, it was Heather’s, and he had to fight to keep his anger at bay when he thought of how Heather had manipulated his partner into buying it. But at the same time, he didn’t want to show his disappointment or have his attitude bring his friend down. Johnny seemed happy, and who was he to spoil what should be one of the most exciting times of Johnny’s life? Buying your first house was a high point in most people’s lives, and he truly wanted to be happy for his friend, even though he felt that Johnny was making a mistake.

Johnny looked over at Roy from the corner of his eye. “You don’t like it, do you?”

Roy quickly backpedaled. “No, no, it’s not that. It’s a….a great house, Johnny. I mean, it’s spectacular.” He tried to sound upbeat. Roy licked his lips and plunged on. “I’m just….kind of surprised. I thought…” he hesitated, then, “I thought you said you wanted a house out in the country. You said you wanted a ranch, with horses, and land, remember?”

Johnny turned away, trying to masquerade the pained look on his face. I did. Don’t remind me. He had to think of some way to explain. “I did, but, well, this house came up for sale, and,” he turned to Roy with a very earnest look on his face, “the price was way below what it should have been. The owners had to move, and I got it for a steal. I-I-I mean, I couldn’t pass it up. It was just…too good a deal.”

“Yeah, well, I saw some shoes that weren’t in my size the other day that were only five bucks, but I didn’t buy them.”

“Look, Roy, you can’t compare a pair of shoes to a house…..this house is….perfect for me. I-I-I always wanted a swimming pool – ”

Roy looked at him, his face growing incredulous.

“Did you see that hammock out back?” Johnny flashed a wide smile.

“You bought the house for a hammock?”

“No! Of course not. Look, there’s nothing that says I’m gonna live here forever, ya know. It’s just….well, when I find the house I really want, I can sell this one. And I’ll make money off it; the property values increase over ten percent a year in this neighborhood.” There. That was logical, wasn’t it? It actually made him feel better that he had come up with the idea himself of only living here temporarily, until he found the house that was really perfect for himself.

Roy decided he didn’t want to get into an argument with him. Let Johnny have his delusions if he wanted. He would figure it out sooner or later, and when he did, Roy would be there to help put the pieces back together, much as he didn’t look forward to it.

Roy simply nodded. “Look, I…I hope you enjoy the house. Is there anything I can do to help this morning? I mean, you’re gonna have a lot of work ahead of you when the moving van shows up.”

Johnny smiled wanly. “Nah, I’m good. The moving company will take care of everything. I just gotta follow ‘em around and tell ‘em where to put everything.”

“Boy, you’re gonna have to buy some new furniture to fill up all those rooms.”

“Oh, well actually, I’ve already done a little shopping and I – ”

“Let me guess. Heather helped you pick stuff out.”

Johnny’s smile faded. “Yeah, she did.”

Roy smiled, and patted his friend on the shoulder. “Well, that’s good. Listen, I gotta be going. You call if you need anything, okay?”

Johnny nodded slowly. “Sure. I will.”

But you won’t. Because you didn’t have to say it, Johnny. Heather will be over here to help you, and she’ll make all the decisions about where everything goes. You’ll just be standing here while she walks all over you. “See you.” Roy trotted down the steps and slid into his Porsche, started the engine, then pulled away.

Johnny stood on the front porch a long time, looking around, feeling totally out of place. He stared out over the front of the property and shivered, wrapping his arms around himself. It was a cool, gray day, and a gust of wind pushed a stray swirl of broken and dried leaves around the front yard, sending them fluttering into the air before floating down to settle in new places. After a deep sigh, he went inside to wait for Heather.

Steam rose up, clinging to the windowpanes, obscuring the darkness outside, while the flames from the candles danced around the room, flickering silent shadows everywhere. His face was buried in her neck.

“So how do you like…the house now,” she asked breathlessly, emphasizing the word ‘now’, “….mmmm….faster,” she begged, her fingernails beginning to dig into his back.

His hands gripped her hips, lifting her, eagerly obeying her command. “Baby,” he rasped, his voice now coming in short pants, “right now….I….I love this house…..ahhhhh…..more than anything…..ohhhhh God…..”

Water slipped over the edge of the tub, extinguishing one of the candles.

Johnny wasn’t lying. By morning, they’d initiated nearly half of the rooms in the house.

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

Even though the A-shift of Station 51 had to work on Thanksgiving, they didn’t let it dampen their holiday. A massive Thanksgiving feast, compliments of John Gage, had been delivered to the station, and thankfully, the day held very few runs, allowing them to enjoy their dinner. Johnny had surprised the crew with a huge turkey, which was browning in the oven, and had arranged for the meal to be catered by one of the finest food services in the area. In addition to all the food Johnny provided, the families of the men brought pies and family specialties to the table as well. The day was a festive one, with all the married men’s wives and children filling up the station; even Chet’s date had shown up, a new girl he had recently started seeing, and Marco’s mother and grandmother stopped by, bringing more delicious dishes to eat.

Johnny had been dismayed when Heather hadn’t shown up, and tried to hide his disappointment by busying himself with preparing the turkey, trying to make sure at least the rest of the guys had fun. Heather had been angry when she’d found out Johnny had to work that day, complaining that he shouldn’t have to work on such an important holiday, and once again bringing up the fact that he didn’t need to work. After ignoring her comment about work, Johnny had pointed out to her that he would have Christmas off, and that it wasn’t fair that the same men would have to work both holidays. He’d practically begged her to come by the station, but she’d insisted that she couldn’t leave her family gathering, which was always a very large formal affair consisting of dozens of people.

He did call her that night, and Roy heard him talking quietly on the telephone to her before they all went to bed, the sadness in his partner’s voice unmistakable as he heard him quietly say good-night, and ‘I love you’ to her. Roy’s heart ached for his friend, sad to know that Johnny was in love with someone seemingly so selfish.

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

Thanksgiving was no sooner over than Christmas Eve was upon them. Roy had known even before he asked that Johnny probably wouldn’t be at their house this year for Christmas. After all, if the past few months were any indication, chances were slim they’d see Johnny at all. He was right, to an extent, but pleasantly surprised when Johnny said he’d be over in the morning to watch the kids open their gifts. Roy’s children had been extremely disappointed to learn that their ‘Uncle Johnny’ wouldn’t be joining them for the entire day, as he had every year since the two paramedics had been partners. Explaining to them that Johnny had a girlfriend who didn’t seem to want to spend any time with Johnny’s friends wasn’t an option, for it would hurt their feelings too much. He’d had to simply explain that now that their ‘uncle’ had someone special in his life that they’d just have to share him, and that as much as their Uncle Johnny wanted to spend time with them, he had to be fair and divide his time with her family too. It hadn’t been easy to convince them, for often children were more perceptive than many adults gave them credit for, and this was one of those times.

After running home to shower and change at the end of the Christmas Eve shift, Johnny arrived at the DeSoto’s by nine o’clock that morning, his arms full of presents. The children soon forgot about their disappointment at not having Johnny around all day, when they saw the load of gifts he had carried in. Johnny was having so much fun enjoying the kids’ excitement over opening his presents, he didn’t notice the wide-eyed look of disbelief at his overindulgence on the faces of his partner and his wife. Just when Jennifer and Christopher finished opening one gift, he had placed another under their noses, barely able to contain his own joy at listening to their squeals of delight.

Johnny had helped himself to a large piece of Joanne’s coffee cake upon his arrival, and had been gulping coffee all morning, causing him to practically ricochet off the walls as he leaped between taking photographs of the kids, and plopping down with them on the floor while he helped them open their packages. Joanne couldn’t help suppress a smile as she watched the man whom she considered her biggest kid help Chris tear open the elaborate train set he’d bought him. In a way, she hoped things would develop further between Johnny and Heather. Then maybe some day she and Johnny would have their own children, which she suspected was something that the dark-haired paramedic wanted deep down more than anything else, whether he would openly admit it or not. Johnny was clearly enjoying himself, even more than the children were. Roy, however, sat quietly as the morning unfolded, a dark look of annoyance often passing over his face.

Johnny didn’t seem to notice; he was basking in his own private glow in the joy of giving, without worrying what anything had cost. As the noon hour drew near, he grew anxious, knowing the best was yet to come – the gifts he had for Roy and Joanne.

As the children were happily playing with their huge pile of toys, Johnny reached into a remaining shopping bag and pulled out two large envelopes, handing one each to Roy and Joanne.

“What’re these, Johnny?” Joanne asked in a puzzled voice.

Johnny shrugged, unable to suppress the big grin on his face. “Just something special; for each of you.”

Joanne and Roy looked at each other, a little apprehensive to open their envelopes. After the lavish display of gifts John had bestowed on their children, they were almost afraid to peek inside.

“Open ‘em,” Johnny coaxed, moving to sit on the edge of his seat.

“You first,” Roy said to his wife. He had no idea what could possibly be in these two envelopes, and he had to admit to himself that he was a little excited.

Joanne tore hers open, and pulled out an owner’s manual. It was for a new washer/dryer set. Her mouth dropped open in surprise as she comprehended what the gift was, and looked up at Johnny in disbelief.

“Sorry I couldn’t wrap ‘em, but they were a little large,” he chuckled.

“Johnny,” Joanne almost whispered. “This isn’t what I think it is…..is it?”

“Well, you needed new dryer, didn’t ya?  I just thought you’d like the matched set – ”

“Johnny, this is too much – ” Roy started.

Johnny waved his comment away. “No, it’s not. Look, I know it’s not that exciting a gift, but it was something you needed, and I just thought it might help.”

“Johnny, I…I don’t know what to say,” Joanne stated, and she didn’t.

“Well, just say when you want it delivered, and I’ll have it here.”

Joanne smiled, still in disbelief, and looked over at her husband. “Roy?”

Roy didn’t know what to think or say. He was still in shock. “Um, okay…next week….anytime. Would that be okay?”

“That’ll work,” John answered enthusiastically. “I just need to give ‘em forty-eight hours notice.” John got up from his chair and went to sit next to Joanne. Peering over her shoulder, he reached over and opened the owner’s manual to a particular page and said excitedly, “I think you’re really gonna like this feature here,” he pointed, then went over everything the salesperson had told him about it. He went on and on about it while Roy and Joanne tried to absorb what had just happened. Slowly, it dawned on Joanne just what a nice thing Johnny had done, and she began to get excited over her new appliances, knowing that not only had her husband’s partner just saved them a ton of money, but he’d also just made her life much easier. She thumbed through the manual, pointing at the different amenities her new washer and dryer had, excitedly relaying them to Roy.

Roy looked over at Johnny. “How did you know?”

“How did I know what?”

“How did you know we needed this?” Roy left out his thoughts of surprise over Johnny knowing anything that was going on with the DeSoto’s lately, since he was rarely around any more.

Johnny grabbed a handful of nuts out of the candy bowl on the coffee table and shoved them into his mouth. “Oh, that’s easy. I heard you guys talking on the phone one day at work. Plus, I knew your dryer was on its last legs; if you remember, I helped you fix it a couple of times.”

“So, you were eavesdropping?”

“Yep,” Johnny said smugly. “Don’t look at me like that. You’ve eavesdropped on my conversations before.”

That brought a smile to Roy’s face and he simply shook his head. When he looked over at his partner, he could clearly see the pleasure this was bringing him, and decided to accept Johnny’s gift without further argument. It was hard; no one had ever given them anything so expensive before. On the one hand, he felt happy that his friend felt strongly enough about them and cared enough to give them such a large gift. But on the other hand, he struggled with feelings of inadequacy, inadequacy over the fact that he and Joanne couldn’t afford to give anything of this proportion to Johnny, and also inadequacy that he himself hadn’t been able to afford this for his own wife. It made his own gift to her look insignificant by comparison, but he knew voicing those feelings would make him sound terribly ungrateful, so he kept them to himself. All he could do was to thank his partner as graciously and in as a heartfelt way as he possibly could.

“Thank you, Johnny.”

“Yes, thank you so much, Johnny,” Joanne added.

Gage looked down, a little embarrassed, almost forgetting about the other gift. Then his head snapped back up. “Hey Roy, you gonna open yours?”

Roy looked back down at the envelope still resting in his hands, wondering what else Johnny could possibly be giving them. After that last gift, Roy wondered what in the world it could possibly be, obviously this was Johnny’s gift to him; the other had been for Joanne. He smiled nervously and fingered at the seal on the envelope. “Okay.” He tore it open, pulled out the brochure, and stared at it, stunned. “Johnny, what – ”

“What is it, Roy?”

“It’s….it’s an in-ground swimming pool brochure.” Under a furrowed brow, his eyes slowly lifted to look at Johnny, who was gazing back at him, a soft apprehensive smile on his face. “This isn’t….you’re not….no…” Roy stammered, not believing what he thought his partner was implying by giving him this swimming pool brochure.

The look on Roy’s face was one of shock, which John had expected, but there was a trace of annoyance visible there as well that made Johnny suddenly feel uncomfortable. Well, there was nothing he could do about it now; he’d already given the gift.

For a moment the only thing that could be heard was the children excitedly talking about their toys; the adults sat in an uncomfortable silence. Roy stared disbelievingly at the brochure he now loosely clutched in his hands, shaking his head. Johnny finally stepped in, feeling a little nervous, wondering if he’d overstepped his bounds. Trying to explain, he said, “I…I just figured that since you were gonna tear the old one down, it would be nice to replace it with something in the ground.” Looking up, he tried to be his most convincing. “I know how much you like to swim and all….um….and…and I thought the kids would really enjoy it.”

Roy’s eyes finally became unglued from the brochure, and he looked up at Johnny, a corner of his mouth had sunk down into a frown.

Johnny tried to ignore Roy’s expression and went on. “Actually, there…there’s two of them there, Roy. See?” He pulled another brochure out from behind the first one. You can choose either one; they’ll both fit in your yard; I already checked it out. They’re the same price, so it doesn’t matter which one – ”

Roy stood up abruptly, totally flabbergasted. He looked down at his friend. “Johnny, no,” he said firmly. “This is too much.”

Johnny looked up at him, a little disappointed in his friend’s reaction, which had taken the wind right out of his sails. He had to convince Roy that he really wanted to do this. “No it’s not, Roy. Really. It’s not.”

Roy was shaking his head.

“Johnny,” Joanne started, “we really appreciate your generosity, but this is….well…above and beyond. We can’t expect you to pay for a new swimming pool – ”

Chris and Jennifer’s ears perked up at the words, ‘new swimming pool’, and jumped up from their pile of toys, running over to where the adults were standing. Chris practically knocked his father down in his excitement. “A new swimming pool?! Dad, is Uncle Johnny giving us a new swimming pool?”

Roy, Joanne, and Johnny ignored their children’s excited cries while the three of them stood discussing it, an uncomfortable atmosphere beginning to cloud them.

“Joanne, you’re not expecting me to do anything! This is something I want to do. I know how much you liked having the pool, and so why give it up just because it’s broken? The thing was just becoming a money pit.” He looked beseechingly between the two of them, the expressions on their faces conveyed a combination of disbelief and discomfort. Johnny sighed, then said softly, “I just wanted to give you guys something really special this year.”

Jennifer and Chris were squealing with delight over the thought of a new swimming pool in their back yard.

“But Johnny, you can’t,” Roy started, holding his arms out.
            “It’s already done, Roy. I’ve already paid for it. So, you’re just gonna have to accept it.”

Roy sighed and looked at Joanne, then back at John. “I can’t believe this, Johnny.”

“Well, believe it. You guys are,” he looked down, “well, you mean a lot to me, and…and I just wanted to show ya…” he looked back up and licked his lower lip, “how important you are.”

Roy warred with his emotions. He truly was touched by what Johnny said, but at the same time he was angry and annoyed. Those latter feelings caused a knot of guilt to tighten in his stomach, especially when he knew how hard it must have been for Johnny to verbally express what they meant to him. He tried not to let it override what he knew was a more sensible reaction, but it was hard.  It was too much, everything Johnny was giving them. It felt uncomfortable. And it was just so presumptuous of Johnny to take it upon himself to decide that his family needed a new pool, an in-ground pool at that, in their yard. He had gone and paid for it. What if they really didn’t want a pool any more? Did Johnny even think of that before his overambitious overzealous impulses took control? Johnny tended to just dive into things without thinking ahead, and this was one of those times. But when he saw the naked emotion and sincerity on his partner’s face, when he saw how badly Johnny wanted to do this, felt he had to do this, his resolve to fight it off withered. They all stood looking at one another a moment longer, then Roy finally offered a small smile and said, “Well, I guess….we can take a look at the brochures,” which brought a huge grin to Johnny’s face, and the children began screaming and jumping up and down, hugging their uncle and thanking him at the same time.

It wasn’t ten minutes after that that Johnny looked down at his watch and said he had to leave. The kids moaned in disappointment, but Johnny explained that he had made a promise to spend the day with Heather’s family, and then promised to be there for the whole day next year.

That comment irritated Roy, because he didn’t like Johnny promising things to his kids that he knew he might not deliver on. Johnny’s promise might be well-intended, but if Johnny continued to see Heather, they might well be married by this time next year, and then they’d never see him for Christmas at all any more.

They said their good-byes hastily, then Johnny flew out the door, not wanting to be late.

The day wore on into the evening, and the remnants of Christmas lay strewn around the DeSoto home. The living room was a shambles of wrapping paper and ribbons, stacks of toys and boxes, and empty coffee cups and crumbs. Joanne’s parents, sister, nieces and nephews, and Roy’s mother had all just left for the evening after a long, tiring day. Joanne finished cleaning up the last of the dishes while Roy finally got the children off to bed, and then the tired married couple met each other in the living room and silently began to clean up the mess.

Roy was just glad it was all over. While he enjoyed the Christmas holiday, the constant noise and craziness of the day was stressful, made even more stressful by the presence of his mother-in-law, whom even after all these years of marriage, he still wasn’t completely comfortable around. In an effort to unwind, Roy poured himself one last glass of wine and plunked down on the sofa with a sigh to relax a moment. The room was quiet now; soft Christmas music never turned off still played on the stereo, and the room looked cozy and inviting with all but one lamp off; the warm glow from the Christmas tree bulbs under sparkling tinsel providing most of the illumination. He watched as his wife moved tiredly around the room picking things up, then began arranging some of the boxes under the tree.

“Roy, what’s this?” Joanne held up an envelope she had found left under the tree.

“I don’t know. Let me see it.”

She handed it to Roy and he examined it, surprise once again showing on his face as he recognized Johnny’s handwriting. “It’s from Johnny,” he said softly.

“From Johnny?” she exclaimed. “What is it?”

“I don’t know,” Roy answered. “I’m almost afraid to look.”

“Well, open it.”

He looked up at her warily, then tore the envelope open. It was one of those Christmas cards that one could put money in, only instead of money, there were some sort of official looking documents.

“What is it, Roy?”

Roy fanned the money-sized items out, silently reading the note. “I don’t believe this.”

“What?”

He set his wine glass down roughly on the coffee table, spilling some. “They’re bonds.”

“Bonds?”

“Yeah. Savings bonds. Here.” He stood up and thrust them at her.

Looking down, Joanne saw that there were four five-hundred dollar savings bonds clipped together. The note attached read,

Dear Roy and Joanne,

These are for Chris and Jennifer for college. I know it seems a long way off, but it’s never too soon to start saving. I know how much you want your kids to go to college, and I thought this was a good way to get them started. Merry Christmas!

 ~Johnny

Joanne was stunned. “Oh my God, Roy.” She turned to look at her husband in disbelief, and saw that he looked incensed. “Roy, what is it? You look upset.”

“I am upset!” he stormed.

“Why? You’re mad at Johnny for giving us college money for our kids?”

“Yes!”

“But why? That’s an awfully nice thing he’s done, don’t you think? I mean, two thousand dollars, Roy! That’s a huge gift! How could you be angry about that?”

“Because,” Roy’s face contorted in anger. “he just swoops in here and throws his money around at us, then leaves,” Roy made a sweeping motion with his arm. “What the hell is he trying to do? A washer and dryer for you, a swimming pool for me, tons of toys for the kids, and now two thousand dollars worth of savings bonds! For college! Our kids won’t be going to college for eight or nine years! He spent thousands of dollars on us, Joanne! Does he think that can make up for his absence? That he can just buy our friendship, buy the affections of our kids?”

Roy’s voice had risen loudly enough that Joanne was afraid the children might hear him. “Roy, keep your voice down; you’ll wake the children.”

Roy plopped back down onto the sofa, fuming in silence.

Joanne looked at him a minute, considering what she was going to say next. She decided she could use a glass of wine as well, and after pouring one for herself, went over and sat down next to her husband. She lifted his glass off the table, handing it to him. “Here.”

He took it, refusing to look at her, knowing she was going to defend Johnny, and not wanting to hear it.

She silently sipped her wine, giving her husband a chance to cool off. “Roy,” she started softly, “do you really think that’s what Johnny was trying to do?”

“I don’t know. All I know is that all this wasn’t necessary.” He thrust his arm out, as if displaying all the things Johnny had bought. “Him being here today would have been a better present to the kids than all this crap.”

“That’s what this is about, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“Him not being around much any more. It’s not about the money or the gifts.”

Roy remained silent.

Joanne spent the next ten minutes trying to make Roy understand that now that Johnny had new commitments, that being a new love in his life, and new responsibilities, things were bound to change. She pointed out that his new Victorian “mansion” was going to be time consuming until Johnny got settled. Roy had driven her by it after Johnny had shown it to him, and she imagined the huge laundry list of things that her husband’s partner would need to do upon moving in to a house that size. He had the entire interior of the house to deal with, from purchasing and arranging furniture to painting, repairs to make, and the yard to take care of, just to name a few things. It would probably take months to get a house that size in order.

And then there was Heather. Of course Johnny was spending a lot of time with her, she told her husband. She pointed out that it seemed his partner had possibly found someone that he might end up sharing the rest of his life with. Joanne had told him this before, but she said it again. “When you meet someone new and fall in love Roy, you want to be with that person constantly. That’s just the way it is in the beginning. Don’t you remember when we first started dating? We were like that too.” She turned more toward him and laid her hand on his forearm. Gently, she said, “You’re so used to him always being around all the time, always helping you with projects at home, showing up for every holiday, being at your beck and call all the time because he’s always been alone. You never stopped to consider that if he ever met anyone and developed a serious relationship, that some of that time you spend with him would be shared.”

“Not just some of it, Joanne, almost all of it. Johnny’s dated other women, and it’s never been like this.”

Joanne smiled sadly as her husband went on, apparently not realizing that the difference was that Johnny had never been this serious with any other woman.

“Every day off is spent with Heather. Everything he does is planned by Heather. She tells him what to wear, where to go, what to buy, how to act. ”

Joanne smiled and arched an eyebrow. “Well, I do that to you too, dear.”

Roy sighed in exasperation. “Not to the extent that she does.”

“I get the feeling you don’t like her too much.”

“I don’t like the way she runs his life.”

Joanne smiled inwardly at her husband’s over-protectiveness of his partner. “Well, obviously Johnny likes it or he wouldn’t be allowing it.”

“Yeah, he likes it all right. Except right now I think his brain is in his pants, if you know what I mean.”

Joanne laughed. “Oh, Roy. Maybe if you got to know her you’d see what Johnny sees in her.”

“Well, that’s a little difficult since I never see her. Hell, I’ve only met her once and he’s been dating her for several months!”

“Doesn’t she ever come by the station to see him?”

“Nope.”

“Well, let’s get a babysitter and invite them to go out with us.”

“You know we’ve invited him before. He’ll probably be too busy. He always is.” Roy stopped and took a swallow of his wine, thinking. “You know, it’s not just Heather. It just seems like he’s changed ever since he won that money. Now that he’s rich, it seems like he’s constantly flaunting it.”

Once again, Joanne sensed the presence of that little green monster resting on her husband’s shoulder. She understood how he felt, after all, here was Johnny, her husband’s best friend, single and carefree, no real responsibilities, and he just happens to become a millionaire over night. It didn’t seem quite fair, given their own situation. Roy had a wife and two kids to support, a mortgage to pay, all on a salary that was constantly stretched to the limit. They certainly could have put the money to much better use than Johnny. Her husband would never admit feeling that way, but she knew he was thinking it, and understood where Roy was coming from, even though she didn’t agree with him.

Joanne looked at her husband. She was beginning to feel like she was taking sides, but still, she wanted to make Roy see that he was wrong. “How is he flaunting it, Roy?”

“Well, all he does is spend money. First the car, then the boat, now the house. He’s constantly buying stuff for the station – a dishwasher, a new grill, a microwave; I can’t even remember everything.” He turned to her and added, “and I know he’s given money to Chet for things, and who knows who else he’s giving money to.” Johnny had never told him about the money he had given Chet, and Chet had managed to keep Johnny’s gifts a secret, but Roy had overheard them talking one day in the dorm, and found out that way.

“Roy, it sounds to me like Johnny’s just trying to be nice. You would be doing the same thing if you had won the money, wouldn’t you?”

“I don’t know,” he sighed. “Maybe,” he paused to think. “I guess him buying that house really bothered me.”

“Why?”

“Because it was a house that Heather wanted him to buy that I don’t think he even wanted.”

Joanne shook her head. “You don’t know that.”

“Honey, you saw it. That’s not the kind of house Johnny would buy; it’s not what he told me he wanted to buy. He said he wanted a ranch, away from everything, with horses. This thing is a….a Victorian gingerbread house! I just get the feeling that she wanted this house, and talked Johnny into buying it.”

“I bet she didn’t talk him into buying all this stuff for us.”

He just looked at her.

“Roy, think about it. Why do you think he did all this?”

“Hell if I know. Maybe to make up for the way he’s been blowing us off lately.”

“Oh, Roy. Didn’t you see his face? Didn’t you watch him as the kids opened their gifts, as you and I opened ours from him? If you had you would have seen the thrill he got out of it, I mean, his face was positively beaming with happiness, Roy.”

“And what did we give him? A book and a sweater. It was nothing compared to – ”

“He loved the book, Roy. It was the one he’d been wanting. And he said the sweater was perfect. He certainly didn’t expect us to spend the kind of money on him that he spent on us.”

Roy blew an exasperated breath out his nose. He knew she was right; he had seen the look of joy written all over Johnny’s face; he’d just chosen to ignore it, caught up in his own feelings of inadequacy over being outdone by his partner in his own home. Somehow, unintentionally, Johnny had made him feel….insufficient, and it was a feeling he didn’t like very much.

“Roy, did it ever occur to you that Johnny is just enjoying being able to give for once in his life? I mean, I doubt he’s ever had much money before, and now that he does, maybe he just wants to share it with his friends.”

“Kind of surprising, knowing what a cheapskate Johnny’s always been,” Roy muttered, then inwardly cringed. That was a cheap shot; Roy silently chastised himself. He knew that comment was below the belt, and was glad Johnny wasn’t there to hear it.

“Oh, Roy, quit being so jealous.”

Roy sighed. “I guess that comment your mother made just got to me.”

“Oh. You mean what she said about the washer and dryer?”

“Yeah; how she said it was about time someone bought you something nice for the house since your husband wasn’t able to do it.”

Joanne sighed. “I’m sorry, honey. You know how mother is sometimes.”

“Yeah, I know. She’s never thought I was good enough for you. The ironic part of it is, she’s never liked Johnny either, and today she had nerve to say what a good friend he was to help us out, since I couldn’t afford to supply you with nice things on my salary.” Roy had overheard Harriet’s comments to Joanne in the kitchen that evening while they were cleaning up the dishes.

Joanne reached out and wrapped her arms around Roy. She kissed his earlobe and murmured, “Well, what’s important is that I think you’re good enough for me, and I love you, and I think you’re the most wonderful husband I could have ever married. I wouldn’t trade you for all the money or presents in the world.”

Roy hugged her tightly, a little choked up. “What would I do without you?” he whispered.

She pulled away slightly and kissed his lips lightly. “I don’t know. But you certainly need someone to talk some sense into you once in a while.”

He smiled.

“Look,” she said. “It’s been a long day, and you’re just stressed out from being around Mother all day. Don’t be upset with Johnny; I really believe his intentions with all this were just to show how much he cares about us. Maybe that’s just the only way he knew how to express how important you are to him.”

“He should know he doesn’t have to buy my friendship.”

“I don’t think he’s trying to buy your friendship, Roy. I think….sometimes that Johnny is just a little insecure, you know? I mean, in his personal life. Sometimes I think he just tries too hard when he doesn’t need to. He doesn’t completely understand that we love him just for who he is, and maybe he feels like he has to overcompensate sometimes.”

Roy looked into his wife’s eyes. “You know, maybe you should have been a psychologist. How’d you get so smart?”

“I don’t know,” she smiled. “Maybe just from hanging around you. Roy, sometimes it just takes another person’s perspective to point things out that you can’t see because you’re too close to the situation.”

Roy pulled her into his arms. “Well, I know one situation I’d like to be close to right now.” He leaned toward her and kissed her.

“Oh, really? What would that be?”

Roy got up, picking up his wife in his arms. “How about a situation in our bedroom?”

Joanne smiled coyly at her husband. “That sounds like a very good situation to be in.”

“I always said you were very smart.” And with that, he carried her upstairs.

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

The day after Christmas tended to be busy at Station 51, and this year was no exception. The men had been called out to three runs already that morning, and they finally returned to the station just before lunch. Not having had time to do their assigned chores earlier, they all dug in, with the exception of Mike, who started making lunch in the kitchen.

Roy had finished cleaning the dorm, when he came out and spied Johnny silently mopping the floor in the engine bay. Roy noted how tired his friend looked as he pushed the mop around, seemingly lost in thought, as he didn’t notice Roy walk up to him.

            Johnny startled at the sound of Roy’s voice near him. “Hey, Johnny.”

            Jumping slightly, John looked up, then back down as he continued working. “Hey, Roy.”

            Roy walked up to stand next to his partner. “Uh, Johnny?”

            “Yeah?”

            “Uh….I, um, wanted to thank you, for yesterday.”

            Johnny stopped and looked up; a corner of his mouth tipped upward. “Oh. Well, you already did that.”

            “Ah, Joanne and I found the envelope you left under the tree.”

            “Oh, well…good.” Johnny looked like he was going to say something more, then the words died on his lips.

            “Listen, Johnny, um, I just wanted to let you know…we really appreciated getting the bonds for the kids. That was really….thoughtful of you, and….and I just want to say thank you – for everything, yesterday.” Nervously, Roy continued, knowing he should have shown his friend a little more gratitude the day before, instead of fuming silently in the background. After his talk with Joanne, he had begun to analyze his behavior a little, and the thought crossed his mind that maybe his mood was why Johnny had left so suddenly on Christmas. Maybe Johnny had sensed his anger and felt uncomfortable being there. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, it really meant a lot, what you did, and….I feel like maybe I wasn’t very appreciative,” he paused, then, looking up, added, “but I am.” This time his words sounded heartfelt and sincere.

            Johnny smiled softly and averted his gaze from Roy’s eyes, nodding at the same time. “It’s okay, Roy; I understand. I’ve been thinking about it too, and I know I probably overwhelmed you a little.” Johnny glanced up at him, looking slightly sheepish. “I’m sorry if I kinda went overboard.”

            “Johnny, it’s – ”

            “You know, I never would have won that money if you hadn’t have loaned me the cash to buy that ticket. After I thought about it, it didn’t seem fair that,” his gaze dropped, “that you didn’t get any part of it. That’s one reason why I wanted to get you and Joanne something really nice for Christmas.” Johnny looked back up at his partner, a serious expression on his face. “I hope you like what I got – ”

            “Johnny, of course we do. Joanne’s nuts about the washer and dryer, and the pool, well, I just can’t believe you’re giving us a pool! The kids are beside themselves; they’re already planning pool parties.”

            That drew a smile from Johnny, and he relaxed slightly. “I’m glad you like it. I guess maybe I didn’t need to get that much stuff for the kids.”

            “Well – ”

            Johnny looked down shyly and continued before Roy got the chance to verbalize his thoughts, “I guess I…I couldn’t control myself,” he smiled self-consciously then looked up at Roy. “I mean, I got into that toy store, and,” his smile grew wider, “and I saw all these cool toys that I never had when I…..was a kid, and I…I just….couldn’t stop myself, ya know? Before I knew it, I had half the store in my car,” he chuckled. “Just be glad I’ve got a small car,” he added.

            Roy smiled at him knowingly. “Yeah, I know. It’s always hard for us every Christmas not to want to buy everything for the kids.”

            “Yeah,” Johnny said quietly. “Well, I don’t have any of my own kids to spoil, so I guess I gotta spoil yours, you know?”

            “Maybe some day you will.”

            “I will what?”
            “Have your own kids to spoil.”

            Johnny looked thoughtful. “Maybe,” he said quietly. He decided to change the subject. “So how did things go after I left? How was Harriet?”
            Roy rolled his eyes. “I’ll tell you, I was never so glad when she left.”

            Johnny grinned. “The usual, huh?”

            “Yeah. Just one time I’d like to not hear her comments about my hair.”

            Johnny laughed, then Roy laughed. “Oh, well, at least you won’t have to see her again for awhile.”

            Roy grimaced. “You’re wrong about that.” Johnny raised his brows questioningly. “She’s coming back – in two weeks.”

            “Two weeks?” Johnny said in surprise. “What for?”

            “She’s getting her house painted – every room. Joanne offered to let her come stay with us for a week! She doesn’t think she can stand the smell.”

            “Oh, man. I feel for ya,” Johnny commiserated.

            “I may have to move out for the week,” Roy joked.

            “Hey, you can stay with me if you want.”

            “Thanks, but I don’t think that would set too well with Joanne.”

            “Yeah, guess not.”

            Now Roy changed the subject, not wanting to think about his mother-in-law any more than he had to. “So, how was your day after you left?”

            Johnny’s smile fell slightly. “Oh, it was nice.”

            “Yeah? You went to Heather’s?”

            “Yeah.” Johnny sighed, then rested his forearms on the top of the mop, leaving his hands dangling down.

            Roy caught sight of a ring on his right hand that he had never seen Johnny wear before. Surprised, he stared at it, noticing it looked quite expensive. It was a simple man’s ring in gold, with three small diamonds across its face set into a square etched pattern. It was quite handsome, very masculine but not ostentatious or garish. Roy reached out and touched the ring. “Where’d you get that?”

            Caught off guard, Johnny quickly repositioned his hands on the mop so as not to call attention to it. “Uh….it was a Christmas gift.”

            Roy nodded, raising his eyebrows. “From Heather I presume?” He knew of no one else who would give a ring like that to Johnny.

            “Yeah,” was all he said, while thinking, among other things. His mind instantly went back to his feelings of shock at receiving the gift the previous day. He hadn’t imagined what could be in the small black box Heather had wrapped for him, and when he had opened it, his mouth had dropped open in utter astonishment. He’d been so stunned, he had been at a loss for what to say, his mind reeling with thoughts of what Heather could be thinking or possibly expecting by giving him a gift of this proportion. It turned out that to her, it was simply an expression of her affection, no strings attached. The expense of the gift was insignificant to her; she merely thought the ring would look handsome on him, and was something a man of his ‘stature’ needed.

            “Let’s see it again,” Roy asked, and Johnny rather reluctantly held up his hand. “This is nice, Johnny.” Roy quit examining the ring and looked at his partner seriously. “She’s pretty serious about you, isn’t she?” he said very softly.

            Johnny licked his lips nervously. He didn’t really feel like explaining his relationship with Heather to him right now; he wasn’t sure he could even put it into words. “I…yeah….I think she is.” He started scratching his nose.

            Roy nodded, then said, “I don’t mean to be nosy, but….do you mind if I ask what you got her?”

            Johnny shrugged. “No, I don’t mind. I just got her some jewelry is all.”

            Roy’s eyebrows raised. “Jewelry? You mean like….you didn’t….did you….”

            Johnny grimaced slightly. “No, I didn’t get her an engagement ring if that’s what you’re getting at. It’s a little early for that, don’t you think?”

            Roy’s shoulders relaxed, relieved that his partner seemed to not want to rush into anything serious so soon. “Well, yeah, I just – ”

            “I got her a bracelet and some earrings.”

            “Oh.”

            Even though Johnny had spent quite a bit on the jewelry, it wasn’t anything near what she had spent on him. The ring surely had been costly enough, but she had bestowed a barrage of other presents on him as well, including clothes, and some other personal items. He had felt overwhelmed, for no one had ever showered him with gifts before in this manner. It was really too much, and he found himself realizing late last night as they lay in bed that what Heather had done to him was exactly what he had done to Roy and Joanne. That revelation had caused him enough worry to lose some sleep, helped along by Heather’s undivided attention through at least half of night, thus causing his fatigue this day after Christmas. It felt heartening to know that at least now Roy seemed to feel comfortable with his overindulgence, and seemed appreciative as well. Johnny had also reminded himself of something else – he and Heather had only known each other a few short months. He and Roy had been partners for years, and Roy’s family was as dear to him as his own, so he felt more justified at the extravagance he had spoiled Roy’s family with, as compared to what Heather had given him. As for the ring, Johnny wouldn’t have even worn it into work, except that he had spent the night at Heathers’ again, and couldn’t leave it there, and was paranoid about leaving it elsewhere, for fear of losing it. It was a beautiful gift, but at the same time, he felt out of place wearing it. He’d never been much for wearing any jewelry. Giving it had made Heather happy though, and so he’d told her he loved it, and that it was beautiful.

            Roy nodded, deciding not to ask any further questions about gifts. He sensed Johnny’s discomfort at the mentioning of the ring, and so he decided to shift the subject slightly. “So, how was Christmas with the Banks?”

            Johnny drew in a deep breath. “Well, it was….like nothing I’ve ever seen, Roy.” He leaned on the mop once again. “They had an eighteen foot Christmas tree in their living room; it must have had ten thousand lights on it.” Roy’s eyes widened as he listened to Johnny’s description of the Banks’ house, the elaborate decorations, the seemingly hundreds of gifts under the tree, the elegant dinner, and the party afterwards, in which at least fifty people ‘dropped by’. It had been anything but relaxing, and Roy couldn’t quite tell by Johnny’s description whether he enjoyed it or not.

            “I tell ya, Roy; it was incredible. It must have taken at least five hours to get through all the gifts, and in between times their servants were bringin’ in food and champagne and people were stoppin’ by.” He leaned in slightly toward Roy, his eyebrows raising. “You shoulda seen what Art got Barbara.”

            It wasn’t lost on Roy that Johnny referred to Heather’s parents as Art and Barbara, as if they were old friends. “What?”

            “A five carat diamond necklace.” He emphasized each word. “I thought the thing was gonna blind me.”

            Roy just shook his head in amazement. “I guess that’s how the other side lives, eh?”

            “I guess.” Johnny sighed. “It was a bit much, I’ll admit that. I mean, Roy, it was like bein’ at…at an orgy over there, it was so decadent.”

            Chet chose that moment to walk into the engine bay, and caught the tail end of Johnny’s sentence. He walked over to where John and Roy were standing. “An orgy?!” he exclaimed. “Did I hear you right, Gage? You went to an orgy? Where? And why didn’t you invite me?” he added in total seriousness.

            Johnny rolled his eyes, smirking at Chet, then stole a glance at Roy, deciding to play it up. “Yep, sorry, Chet; you missed it. It was a regular sexual smorgasbord. Of course, it woulda been too much for you; you gotta have a little endurance to participate.” He grinned wryly at Chet, stuffed the mop back in the bucket, and shoved the cleaning tools off to the side before he departed into the dayroom in search of a cup of coffee.

            Chet stood bewildered, his face growing incredulous, his mouth dropping open before chasing Gage back into the dayroom. Roy laughed as he heard the curly-haired fireman say, “Johnny, are you serious?!”

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

It was nearing the end of Roy’s mother-in-law’s visit, and Roy was very near the breaking point, on the verge of asking Johnny if he could move in with him until she was gone. Tempting as it was, he refrained, not wanting to cause WWIII to break out between himself and his wife.

            Her visit had proven so exasperating that Roy found his pent-up anger spilling over into his job, and by the time he got to work every day, he seemed incapable of not taking his frustrations out on the rest of the crew. Unfortunately, since Johnny was his partner and spent the most time with him, he received the brunt of Roy’s short temper. Roy snapped at his partner consistently and continually during the week she was there. Even Dixie had noticed Roy’s moodiness, and Johnny had to fill her in on what was going on to quell her paranoia that something serious was wrong with Roy. Her response had been, “Makes me glad I never got married,” to which Johnny heartily agreed, putting the thought way in the back of his mind that he may be experiencing his own ‘mother-in-law blues’ sooner than he thought. Knowing the stress his partner was going through, Johnny tried hard not to take Roy’s anger personally, and tried to ignore it, getting some relief in the knowledge that at least he hadn’t caused it.

By the end of the week, however, his patience was wearing thin, and Johnny found himself looking forward to Harriet’s departure from the DeSoto residence almost as much as Roy. Fortunately, the few days off they had had allowed Johnny to gain some distance from Roy, spending time with Heather instead, whose warm ways tended to help John forget the previous day’s wrath from Roy.

            Unfortunately, Roy’s dark moods seemed to multiply exponentially whenever he returned from his days off, after receiving a fresh dose of Harriet the day before.

            Johnny overheard several heated telephone conversations between Roy and Joanne that week, and even witnessed a tremendous effort on Roy’s part to stay cool when his mother-in-law called the station to talk to him. Johnny’s ears perked up during one particularly upsetting call in the middle of that week, when he overheard Roy responding to a panicked call from his wife. Apparently, their water line had burst, causing water to completely soak their finished basement before the problem was discovered. Johnny bit his tongue and refrained from offering advice, when he had his head taken off upon his inquiry as to what was wrong. All that day, Roy was on and off the phone, trying to schedule a contractor to get the water line replaced quickly, for the longer he waited, the more ammunition Harriet had for criticizing Roy for moving ‘her daughter’ into an inferior home.

The last conversation Johnny overheard was an argument about which contractor to use; Roy’s choice was an off-duty firefighter who did plumbing work on the side, and knew he would get a good deal. Joanne’s mother insisted on using a well-known plumber she knew, who was charging two hundred dollars more than Roy’s choice. The problem was that Roy’s man wasn’t available to do the job until the next day, which wasn’t fast enough for Harriet. The exchange grew more and more heated until Roy finally yelled into the phone that he ‘didn’t give a damn who did the work any more’, and that ‘she should just let her mother decide’, and in fact, ‘why don’t you just have your mother move in permanently and take my place’, then slammed down the phone.

Unbeknownst to Roy, Johnny later surreptitiously telephoned Joanne to ask her if everything was all right, and to find out which contractor they were using. He took a big chance calling her, because if Roy had found out, Johnny was afraid he might just strangle him with the blood pressure hose. In John’s mind, however, after hearing the increased stress in Roy’s voice over paying for the job, he thought he would just do them a little favor and help them out. When Gage got a hold of the plumbing company to do the job, he arranged to pay for the job himself, requesting they not send a bill to Roy. He figured at least this might relieve a little bit of the stress Roy was under, then when Harriet left, everything would be back to normal.

            The next shift would prove him wrong. Roy was even moodier than ever, and barely talked to Johnny all day. John knew that Harriet had left the day before, so he was somewhat baffled at Roy’s standoffish treatment toward him. He figured Roy would be back to his old self now that she was gone, and couldn’t understand why Roy was being so cold to him. The odd thing was that Roy didn’t seem to be upset with any of the other guys.

            Johnny had held off all day asking his best friend what was wrong, but after a day of uncomfortable silence, couldn’t stand it any more, and decided to seek him out and ask what the problem was. John finally went in search of Roy, who had made himself scarce all afternoon, just after dinner, and found him in the locker area shining a pair of shoes. Roy glanced up briefly at his partner when he entered, then looked away without a word, continuing his polishing.

            “Hey,” Johnny greeted.

            Roy looked up, then back down at his shoes. “Hey.”

            “Whatcha doin’?”

            Looking up with an annoyed expression, Roy said sarcastically, “I’m waxin’ my car.”

            Johnny snorted. “Funny.”

            “Ask a stupid question….”

            Now Johnny was annoyed. Roy had been grouchy all week, and Johnny was sick of putting up with it. What the hell had he done to warrant such treatment? He rested his hands on his hips. “Do you mind if I ask you a question?” There was a slight edge to his voice.

            “Does it matter? You’d ask it anyway.”

            Johnny’s mouth dropped open slightly, then he decided to plunge forward. “What is your problem today?”

            “Problem?”

            “Yeah. I want to know why I’ve been getting the silent treatment all day. I thought now that Harriet was gone you’d be acting a little more normal, but if anything, you’re worse than you were when she was here.” Then Johnny’s voice grew more concerned. His hands dropped away from their assertive position on his hips. “Is there….anything wrong at home?”

            Roy threw his buffing cloth into his locker and stood up. “Nothing that a little money won’t cure. Or at least, that’s what you thought.”

            Johnny stared at Roy nonplussed. “What are you talking about?”

            Roy reached into his locker and fished into his coat pocket for something, then thrust it to Johnny. “Here.”

            It was a check made out to Johnny for $975.00. “What’s this for?”

            “It’s reimbursement for the water line that you decided to take upon yourself to pay for.”

            Johnny’s looked at the check, then back up at Roy, his face confused. “You don’t want it?”

            Now Roy wished that Johnny hadn’t come in here. He was still angry about the two fights he’d had with Joanne the day before and that morning about the water line and her mother, and he felt himself on the verge of losing control. A part of his brain told him it was irrational to be angry with his partner; he knew Johnny had only been trying to help, again, but this time his butting in had gone over the top. It was bad enough that Harriet had gotten involved in the debate over which contractor to use and had cost him more money than he’d wanted to pay; Johnny’s involvement just seemed to fuel the fire where his mother-in-law was concerned. When Joanne had accidentally let it slip that Johnny had paid for the water line job, Harriet had only chastised Roy further for ‘having to have his rich friend pay for work that, if he’d only have taken the engineer’s position, he would have been able to afford.’ That led to a dialogue about how successful an ex-boyfriend of Joanne’s was who had become a doctor. Harriet had made it sound like a casual conversation over lunch yesterday, but Roy had been boiling mad over it. He hadn’t calmed down, and after Harriet had left, he and Joanne had gotten into a heated argument. Now, it was all Roy could do to stop himself from blowing up at Johnny. “No. I don’t,” he answered emphatically. “I can take care of my own problems and my own family.”

            Johnny’s face dawned in comprehension, and he held out his hands. “Aw, Roy, c’mon. I know things are a little rough for you right now; I was just trying to help out.”

            “Thanks anyway, but I can handle it,” Roy said tightly, and turned away.

            “I – I know you can,” Johnny said sincerely. “I just thought since I could afford it, I’d

just – ”

            Roy’s voice raised a notch, and Johnny immediately knew that he’d gone too far. “Yes, I know you can afford it. You can afford anything. You seem to keep reminding all of us that continually. I don’t need your help, okay?”

            Johnny cringed slightly, taken aback at Roy’s hostility. “O-okay. I’m sorry. I, I didn’t mean….”

            “Let me get one thing straight.” Roy pointed his finger at John’s chest. “I’m not a charity case. I don’t need your money, and neither does my family.” Roy’s blue eyes were icy as they bore into Johnny’s. “Quit tryin’ to buy your friends.” With that, Roy threw his shoes into his locker and stormed out the door, nearly knocking Chet down on the way as he passed him.

            Johnny stared after Roy, stunned; the sting from Roy’s last comment left him feeling like a hot poker had been plunged into his stomach and was slowly twisting. He could barely breathe as he tried to comprehend what Roy had just said.

            Chet walked the rest of the way in the room silently, his eyes on Johnny, the combination of hurt, confusion and anger all evident on John’s face. He hadn’t meant to intrude; he’d simply been on his way into the dorm to get something, and had made the mistake of being in the locker hall during the last part of the two paramedic’s ‘exchange’. In an effort to diffuse the interaction, Chet gave John a half smile and said, “Man, Roy sure has been grouchy lately, hasn’t he?”

            Johnny continued to stand staring down the short hall through which Roy had just disappeared, his face frozen in a distressed expression.

            Chet sensed the devastation in the younger paramedic, and reached over and nudged him once on the shoulder. “Hey, man; don’t let what Roy said bother ya. He’s just….in a bad mood because of his mother-in-law.”

            Slowly, Johnny turned to face Chet, his brown eyes almost looked mournful as he quietly asked, “Is that what you think too? That I’m….tryin’ to buy my friends? Is that what….all of you think?”

            Chet shook his head. “Of course not. C’mon, Johnny, you – ”

            Chet’s words were cut off by the tones sounding. The two stood face to face another second,

then both turned to run toward the engine bay in time to hear, ‘Station 51, respond to shooting victim; 534 Maple; time out 19:35’. As Captain Stanley’s voice replied with the usual response, ‘Station 51, KMG-365,’ the two men separated, each jumping into their own vehicles. With dual screaming sirens, the engine followed the squad out into the night.

            “Nice neighborhood,” Marco said sarcastically to Chet as they pulled up to the run-down apartment complex. Weathered gray boards covered several of the windows in the building, while long-ago cracked and dirty panes of glass hid what might have existed inside. Broken glass and trash littered the gravel parking lot, while a stray dog howled in the background. A slight mist of rain fell upon the men as they exited their vehicles and ran toward one of the two police cars parked out front. Flashes of red light bounced off the shiny oil and rain-slicked street.

            After grabbing their supplies, Roy and John followed Captain Stanley as he approached Officer Vince Howard. “What have we got, Vince?” they heard Hank ask.

            Vince’s face was grim as he answered. “An undercover drug deal gone sour. One of our men was in the process of nailing the dealer when he must have smelled a rat. They were in the middle of a drug exchange when the suspect got spooked and shot our man, then took off.”

            Captain Stanley grimaced. “You catch the guy?”

            “No. We think he made his exit out the back door. The house is clear, and the door was left open. We’re conducting a search, but he could be a long ways away by now. C’mon.”

            Hank, Roy, and John quickly followed Vince into the house. Inside, a plain-clothed police officer lay on a filthy gold shag-carpeted living room floor, his abdomen stained with blood. He was only semi-conscious.

            Vince knelt down beside the officer. “Jack? The paramedics are here to help you. You’re gonna be okay.” The officer’s eyes were nearly closed; his face screwed up in pain. He didn’t seem to have heard Vince.

            After vitals were taken, an urgent call to Rampart initiated several IVs to stabilize the officer. Roy then administered oxygen while Johnny applied pressure bandages to the wound to try to stop the bleeding. John and Roy’s eyes met briefly, their grim expressions conveying a simultaneous and unspoken knowledge that they both knew the man was in very serious condition. Roy’s eyes lingered on Johnny’s face a moment, and Johnny registered a fleeting look of regret on his partner’s face before he averted his gaze back to the patient. Now was not the time to think about or acknowledge what had transpired between the two of them only minutes earlier.

            The ambulance arrived, and soon they had their patient packaged up and on the gurney. Captain Stanley had gone back out to the engine to make them available, while Roy, John, and the ambulance attendant moved their patient toward the door. Unable to roll the gurney over the rough gravel and broken concrete, Roy and the attendant lifted the front of the gurney, with Johnny holding the back end up as they crossed the threshold. Heading toward the street to the waiting ambulance, they followed Vince, who made his way toward his squad car.

            They were about fifteen feet from the building when a shot rang out. Johnny saw Roy recoil as the bullet flew by the lighter-haired paramedic’s head, missing it by only a few inches.

“What the – ” John whirled, looking around behind him, when another shot was heard. A loud, clanging noise resounded, and they felt their patient jerk as the bullet ricocheted off the metal rail of the gurney.

After that, everything happened at once. Vince screamed, “Run!” then the men heard him yell, “Code eight! We’ve got a sniper! Take cover!” In a blur, Johnny saw Vince running, turning and drawing his gun as he did so, and the rest of his crew dove behind the engine, while the three of them tried to move forward with the downed officer. At the same time, more shots rang out, which seemed to be coming from the other direction.

The ambulance attendant seemed to freeze in uncertainty, his face terrified, his hand gripping white-knuckled onto the railing of the gurney as he stopped, unmoving for a moment, while Roy and John tried to push forward.

“Run, man!” Johnny yelled, “He’s shooting at us!” This seemed to jar the attendant into action, and the three broke into as fast of a run as they could manage, trying to get to safety. Carrying a two hundred pound man on a heavy gurney was cumbersome, however, and they were unable to move very fast.

The air reverberated with the shrill sound of gunshots, followed by the return gunfire of the officers now in front of them. A bullet ricocheted off the ground near the paramedics; the echo rang threateningly around them as they ran.

Another loud blast filled the air, and white-hot lead tore into Johnny. He was on his third step when his brain registered the pain, and his right leg collapsed from under him. With a soft cry, he pitched forward, crashing face down to the ground. Roy felt all the weight of the stretcher slide to the rear, and the back end dropped heavily to the ground at an angle as Johnny lost his grip.

As the other two men lost their grip on the gurney, it tipped over on its side, concealing, but not protecting the injured officer from the gunman’s sight. Shots flew all around them. Roy looked back in horror as he saw his partner lying prone on the ground. He instinctively started toward his downed friend, when he felt arms grabbing him, forcing him away as he fought to stay. An officer dragged the paramedic behind a police car; Roy’s heart was thumping wildly in his chest, absolute panic threatening to take over his sensibilities. Roy watched, his breath coming in short pants, as more gunfire was exchanged, and the officers began to close in on their suspect, who was up on the roof of one of the buildings. It was obvious the man had been trying to hit the wounded officer on the stretcher.

After what seemed like an eternity, it was over. Roy saw a man fall from the roof of the building, and a group of officers ran to contain him. Two more police cars had pulled up to the scene, their sirens blaring. Red lights were flashing everywhere. Roy started toward Johnny, but he heard a fierce, “Stay back!” from one of the other officers, and felt a firm grasp digging into his upper arm. He looked up at the man with eyes betraying his anguish for his friend. The officer knew the feeling, for he had a friend out there too who was hurt and needed attention. The officer gazed at him, his expression softening somewhat, and said, “Not until the area is cleared.”

Roy glanced sideways to see the other men from his station crouching behind the engine, their faces fearful and grim. They had seen John go down, and the co-workers exchanged worried stares as they looked from Roy to the scene, each of them concerned for their brother that lay unmoving on the gravel a few feet away from them, not knowing if he was dead or alive.

Seconds ticked by with agonizing slowness, then Roy felt a hand give a slight push to his shoulder, and the officer told him to go. “All clear,” he said, following Roy to the scene.

Roy ran toward the two downed men, his split second hesitance in deciding which one to go to first went unnoticed. Protocol dictated that he check on the officer first, and the gurney had already been righted by several other officers by the time he got there. It felt like an eternity as he anxiously checked the man over quickly, making sure that he was stable. After repositioning the oxygen mask over his face, and making sure that the IV hadn’t been pulled, he rushed to Johnny’s side, and kneeled next to him, gently touching his shoulder. “Johnny? Johnny! Can you hear me?” He leaned down, trying desperately to keep the shaking out of his voice. He didn’t see any blood, and was unable to tell where Johnny was wounded, but it was dark, and misting rain, which helped camouflage any signs of injury that might be there.

Johnny didn’t acknowledge Roy. He couldn’t. The pain was so bad he couldn’t speak. Instead, he lay paralyzed on the cold hard gravel, trying to cope with the blinding agony that was spreading through his entire pelvic region as if it were on fire. His unseeing eyes were open at half-mast, while short breathless gasps seemed to be the only sound he was capable of making.

There had been a short delay between the time that he’d first felt the sting of the bullet, then the pain had blossomed into gigantic proportions as the fearful realization of what had happened registered in his consciousness, and his brain processed the reality that he’d been shot. After that, disjointed thoughts leaped through his mind at lightning speed, though he was unable to focus on any of them. Sights, smells, and sounds swirled around him – red lights spun wildly like a kaleidoscope as hard gravel flew up to meet him, digging their pointed edges ruthlessly into his face. The wetness from the mist slowly soaking into his clothing made him shiver, and his ears were ringing from the gunshots. Visions of Heather’s face appeared in his mind – an expression of utter terror on it, then her face changed to Roy’s, whose expression looked angry.

Johnny felt a trembling hand touching his back. Through the ringing in his ears came the same voice urgently asking again, “Can you hear me?”, and he still couldn’t answer. The pain overtook everything.

The men sprang into action. Having already pulled the necessary items out of the squad, Chet and Marco were beside Roy instantly with the biophone, trauma box, and drug box, setting them down next to him. Captain Stanley hovered over them, proud of his men for their quick actions, then stood silently, subconsciously chewing his lip as he watched Roy begin to treat one of his charges. 

“Chet, get Rampart,” Roy commanded evenly, trying hard to remain calm while he checked Johnny’s respirations. Reaching down, he gently picked up Johnny’s wrist to check his pulse, dislodging his grasp from its tight hold on several pieces of gravel. He heard Chet contacting the hospital with shaking voice, explaining the situation to them, then telling them to stand by. “Marco, get a new set of vitals on him,” Roy gestured to the police officer on the gurney, then proceeded to get John’s blood pressure. Both Chet and Marco did as told wordlessly and quickly while Roy next tried to determine where Johnny had been hit.

Roy checked Johnny’s back, then, not seeing any blood, scanned down his body, trying to determine where the injury was. It was hard to see in the dark, and Johnny’s navy pants made it more difficult. Roy rested his hand on Johnny’s hip as he looked him over, and felt a warm wetness. Pulling his hand away, he saw blood, and looked closer. Then he saw it, a small neat round hole torn in the back of John’s pants in the upper part of his right buttock. Swallowing convulsively, he managed to speak to Chet. “Chet, I need you to help me lift him up a little.” Chet moved into position, readying his hands at Johnny’s head and shoulders. “Okay, easy…just a little….keep his spine straight….” Grimacing, he gently grasped John’s shoulders alongside Chet and lifted him, turning him slightly. Johnny’s eyes opened wider, and he moaned painfully, his whole body becoming tense.

“It’s okay, Johnny. I’m just gonna check you out,” he soothed. “Marco,” he commanded, “I need a flashlight.” Marco produced one for him instantly, and taking it, Roy shone the beam of light on the underside of Johnny’s body. He felt sick as he saw the puddle of blood that was collecting on the gravel under John’s body. He knew he had to get Johnny on his back to stop the bleeding, but also knew that he had to be very careful in case there was any spinal damage. “Okay, Chet, let’s log roll him….careful…” Together, they gently turned John onto his back, illiciting a choked cry of pain. Roy cut his pants away to reveal a horrible gaping hole in Johnny’s lower abdomen, a few inches above where his left leg and body connected. An involuntary gasp escaped Roy’s lips as he took in the sight of the torn flesh, and the blood bubbling out of the wound, pouring down the side of Johnny’s hip. Fearing the worst, Chet and Marco exchanged worried glances as they saw Roy momentarily close his eyes. Feeling nauseous, Roy’s hands shook as he reach for the pressure bandages. God, Johnny; the bullet went right through you.

“Roy, Jack’s stopped breathing!” Cap’s voice.

Roy’s head snapped up, and for a split second he froze, unable to pull himself away from his bleeding partner. Shit! He looked down at Johnny, then up at Chet. “Chet, can you hold these bandages on him? Not too much pressure.”

“Sure, Roy,” came a very hesitant-sounding reply from Chet, who took over Roy’s spot as he got up to take care of the officer. Gingerly, he placed his trembling hand on the bloody bandage that Roy had to abandon. He suddenly felt a desperation that Johnny had to get to the hospital quick, or he wasn’t going to make it, and his eyes grew wet with the thought that Gage might die with his last thoughts focused on Roy’s animosity toward him; the picture of Gage’s face after his confrontation with Roy still fresh in his mind.

Jack was in dire straits; now unconscious, the blood loss and shock was causing his body to shut down. Roy inserted the ordered esophageal airway, then relayed the latest vitals Marco had taken to Rampart. His blood pressure was dropping dangerously low, and Roy knew he had to get to the hospital immediately, or he would die. Sirens screamed in the background as the paramedics from Squad 16 neared.

Captain Stanley squatted down next to Roy. An unpleasant decision had to be made, and Hank hated more than anything to order it, but this police officer’s life was hanging by thread. “Roy, you’ve gotta go in with him.”

Roy glanced over at Johnny, now lying with his eyes closed, panting shallowly through his mouth. Chet continued to hold a blood-soaked bandage onto the ragged wound. “I can’t leave Johnny; he’s….” Roy said desperately, knowing that his first allegiance was to his patient, knowing what he had to do. He looked up at his captain, seeing his own feelings of distress and anxiety mirrored there.

“Roy, 16’s paramedics are almost here. They’ll take care of John.”

Hank saw the anguish in his senior paramedic’s face, and it killed the Captain to make him leave, but he had no choice. The attendants had loaded the police officer into the ambulance, and they were waiting for Roy.

“I’m sorry Roy, you gotta go.” Captain Stanley patted him on the shoulder, and with one desperate look back at Johnny, Roy reluctantly jogged over to the ambulance and climbed in. The doors swung closed just as 16’s squad pulled up to the scene. The ambulance screamed off into the night.

Part 4