Serendipity

  Part 6

True to his word, Dr. Early ordered the beginnings of food by mouth, to Johnny’s relief. The doctor was satisfied with the bowel sounds he heard in the paramedic’s four abdominal quadrants after he’d consumed the ice chips; now he would slowly begin to consume his nutrition, starting with liquids. He would then graduate to more “full liquids”, like meatless cream of chicken soup, and the dietician had even promised him he could have a chocolate shake soon, possibly even as early as tomorrow.

By the end of the week, Johnny was eating a bland diet successfully, and to his immense relief, the NG tube was finally removed. The food was tasteless, but Johnny figured anything was better than having that garden hose down his nose. The respiratory therapy continued, and Johnny was able to quit the nebulizer treatments, graduating to the spirometer instead. The non-drug, handheld device that exercised his lungs forced him to breathe deeply, providing resistance whenever he inhaled. It was much harder than he realized, but it was a necessary evil that he didn’t complain about. Using it wore him out, but it seemed nearly anything he did wore him out. Just eating dinner was a challenge.

As more days went by and his body continued to heal, the pain he was experiencing got more manageable, and the pain-killers were decreased. However, lying in bed day after day was causing the beginnings of bedsores, despite the fact that the nurses were diligent about making sure he turned from side to side at regular intervals. He still had several weeks before he would be able to get up and out of bed, but he was becoming more and more restless. The only exercise he got was when the physical therapist visited him daily to manipulate his limbs.

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

Wesley Adams was growing sick of hearing about John Gage, and even sicker of Roy DeSoto’s ‘fawning’ over him. Way back before Gage had gotten the peritonitis infection, Wesley and Doreen had invited the DeSotos over for dinner to get to know them better. Of course, that engagement had been cancelled when the crisis with John had happened. To his utter disgust, DeSoto had cancelled on him again the next weekend, after Gage contracted pneumonia. He never let on that he was irritated, instead continuing to play the part of a deeply concerned friend. He learned to wait patiently each time Roy went to visit Johnny during their runs to Rampart, taking advantage of the time to get to know Dixie McCall, and charm her, as Gage obviously had. He was determined to be better, to win over their friendships in a more complete way that John Gage ever dreamed of. Why, after they got to know him and he showed them what a great guy he was, there would be no comparison to Gage. He did have Gage’s reputation as a paramedic to compete with, and so he was extremely careful not to make any mistakes. DeSoto did appear to be impressed with him, so he was glad for that. It was one small victory.

After Johnny appeared to be on the mend, Adams tried again, this time having his wife, Doreen, contact Joanne DeSoto and invite them over. She accepted graciously, and arranged for a babysitter so that they could get together on the next Saturday night.  The evening with the Adams’ had been a pleasant one, and Joanne clicked well with Doreen. When one had children of similar ages, the subjects for discussion never ran out. The two women spent the evening laughing over the antics of both their children and their husbands, comparing notes and recipes, and getting to know one another. It was times like this that Doreen’s old personality came to life, and it pleased her husband to see her getting along so well with DeSoto’s wife. It could only serve to strengthen the friendship he was building with Roy. They parted that night with a reciprocated invitation for the Adam’s to enjoy dinner at the DeSoto house, with the promise of many more occasions to get together.

Wesley liked Roy – a lot. He reminded him so much of Gordon, his partner so many years ago. By now, he and Roy had worked together for several weeks, and had gotten to know each other quite well for that amount of time. DeSoto was easy to get along with, not too bossy, and Wes found he had quite a bit in common with him. Both had been married nearly the same amount of time; and while Roy had two children, Wesley had three; his two youngest nearly the same ages as Roy’s kids. His oldest was just starting high school.

Roy liked Wesley too. He found him to be a competent paramedic, who seemed eager to please. It was uncanny how much they had in common, unlike his regular partner, who was as opposite from him as night and day. When Roy mentioned his hobby of clay sculpting, Wesley immediately mentioned that he, too, took an interest in art, and asked Roy to teach him more about it. It seemed that every one of Roy’s favorite movies, books, TV shows, and even foods and restaurants, were also Wesley’s favorites. Roy thought it was uncanny.

Wesley’s wife Doreen began making a frequent visitor of herself, each time bringing delicious plates of cookies or cakes for the men at the station. She soon became a welcome distraction, seemingly bestowing unlimited adoration upon her husband and his new friends. The fact that she treated the men so well certainly didn’t hurt Wesley’s popularity at the station. The guys got excited every time they saw her car pull into the lot, knowing she was bringing some tasty homemade treat for them. Chet was the only one who seemed a little skeptical of her good deeds, saying he thought it was a little weird how often she stopped by. He made the insinuation that maybe she was checking up on her husband, or maybe he was the one who needed to know her whereabouts every minute. Of course, those comments were never made around Wesley Adams.

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

Roy and Wesley strode down the corridor toward Johnny’s room. It had become a routine now, stopping in to see Gage whenever their first run necessitated a trip to Rampart. Wesley walked on past Roy as he stooped to get a drink out of the hall fountain, anxious to get the visit over with.

He reached John’s room first, and stopped from entering as he reached the door and heard noises from inside. He heard soft groans coming from within, and they didn’t sound like groans of pain. Curious, he cautiously peered into the room, saw that Heather was giving Johnny a back rub. Their backs were to the door, so they didn’t see him. Quickly, he backed out, feeling jealous and uncomfortable. He turned back to see Roy coming toward him, and an idea formed in his head.

When Roy reached the room, Adams stopped the senior paramedic with a hand to his chest, and a finger to his mouth. Gently, he escorted Roy a few steps away from the entrance to the room, and said, with a sheepish grin on his face, “Ah, I don’t think it’s a good time to go in right now.”

Roy stared at him. “Why not?” Then he smiled. “Oh, are they giving him a bath or something?”

Wesley looked down. “Ah, something.”

Roy looked up at him questioningly. “What?”

Wesley glanced at Roy with a wry smile. “Ah, his girlfriend’s in there with him. And they’re…well, in kind of a compromising position, you might say.”

Roy’s eyes grew wide in disbelief as he comprehended what Adams was hinting at. “What?!” He took a step toward the room, not believing that Johnny and Heather could be doing what Wesley was insinuating – in the hospital!

Wesley grabbed his arm and stopped him. “Listen,” he whispered.

They stood motionless outside the door trying to hear inside. Sure enough, Roy heard some low moans coming from Johnny, then heard Heather speak softly, but couldn’t make out what she said. Then, more clearly, they heard Johnny say, “Mmm, yeah….right there, honey…ah that feels good…”

Roy’s eyes nearly popped from his sockets when he heard Heather say, “Boy, you are really stiff…”

Adams grabbed Roy’s arm and pulled him away. Pretending to be embarrassed, he said, “We shouldn’t be listening to that. C’mon, let’s let ‘em have their privacy. You don’t want to embarrass him, do you?”

Roy stared at Wesley a moment, his face growing hot, trying to convince himself that what he’d heard had been misinterpreted, but Wesley had seen inside the room, hadn’t he? He couldn’t believe Johnny and Heather would be fooling around in his hospital room, when anyone could just come walking in. Besides, it would be impossible for Johnny to be doing that – with a broken pelvis! He looked away in nervous embarrassment, wondering exactly what they were doing, knowing it must be something more innocent than Wesley had led him to believe, but too embarrassed to ask. Snorting a soft laugh, he said, “No…uh, let’s go.”

Together, they turned and left. Wesley could barely stifle the smirk that was threatening to spread across his face as he congratulated himself for canceling their daily visit.

Ironically, the exact same scene played itself out the next day. Roy and Wesley were pulling a double shift, a result of a mistake in the scheduling. Needing the extra cash, neither had complained, especially since the compensation was an extra day off the following week. It had been almost the exact same time of day, and Roy had once again stopped at the drinking fountain to quench his thirst; it was a habit he had gotten into whenever he strolled down this particular hallway.

Wesley reached the room first, and Roy looked mortified when he saw Wesley back out of the doorway, a knowing smirk across his face. He was shaking his head, and putting his hand on Roy’s shoulder, stopped him from advancing. “They’re at it again,” he joked lightly.

Roy wasn’t quite sure what to say. He wasn’t sure he believed Wes, and steeling a glance over the other man’s shoulder, considered passing him and walking on in to the room, embarrassed or not. He looked at his temporary partner’s face, trying to read his expression, after which Wesley averted his eyes in mock embarrassment. He decided to ask instead. “Ah, Wesley, what exactly are they doing?”

Wesley’s eyes grew wide in mortification. “You…really want to know?”

Roy considered this, and from the look on Adam’s face, decided he didn’t. “Uh…no. C’mon; let’s go.” He turned, rather disgusted, and Wesley tagged behind. Roy didn’t see the fist he shook upward in jubilation of being successful at thwarting another visit.

Later, Johnny couldn’t understand why Roy hadn’t been by to visit him in three days.

One day the following week, Roy and Chet had made plans to visit Johnny together, and rode into the hospital with one another. As they approached the doorway of Johnny’s room, Roy once again heard the telltale signs that Johnny and Heather might be doing something private. Johnny’s moan was barely audible, but Roy reached out and grabbed Chet by the arm to keep him from entering anyway. Nonplussed at Roy’s behavior, Chet looked at him. “What?” he asked.

“Ah, maybe now’s not a good time,” Roy said in a low voice.

Chet stared at him, scrunching up his nose at his friend as if he was crazy. “What do you mean, ‘now’s not a good time’? We came here to visit Johnny, didn’t we? C’mon.”

Before Roy could stop him, Chet waltzed into the room, and Roy heard him greet John and Heather.

“Hey, guys,” Chet said amicably as he walked toward the bed. Roy heard John and Heather’s return greeting.

No one sounded embarrassed. Roy listened at the door a moment longer, growing confused.

“Well, Johnny,” Chet said, “looks like you’re getting the royal treatment here. Right, Roy?” Chet turned and saw that Roy was missing. He looked toward the door. “Roy?” Chet walked back to the door and saw Roy standing outside. “What are you doing?” he asked slightly irritated. Roy stood there looking uncomfortable. “C’mon, would ya? Johnny wants to see ya.” He pulled Roy into the room.

Johnny was on his other side this time, facing them as they walked in, and Heather was positioned behind him, her face set in concentration while she massaged Johnny’s shoulders. She looked up upon Roy’s entry and smiled. “Hi, Roy.”

Johnny looked up as well and greeted his friend with a smile and a hello. Roy relaxed, relieved they weren’t doing what he thought they were doing, and finally greeted them. “Hey, Johnny, Heather.” He walked over and stood awkwardly by the bed, not knowing what to say.

Chet gestured to John in the bed. Jokingly, he said, “Man, must be the life. Gage, you’ve sure got it easy, lying around in bed all day, getting’ massages, people waitin’ on you hand and foot.”

Johnny grimaced. “Yeah, right. How about if we trade places, Chet.”

Chet’s eyes grew wide. “Would’ja? Can I be next?”

Johnny glanced up at Chet in mock annoyance. “Sorry, Kelly, but I’m her only customer.” Johnny looked at both his friends and grinned. “I’ve been getting massages every day.”

“Must be nice,” Chet said dreamily.

Roy nodded slowly in agreement; the realization of what Johnny and Heather had really been doing the last two days suddenly dawning on him. Lost in thought, he remained quiet while he tried to figure out whether Wesley had really seen some hanky panky going on in Johnny’s room the last two days, or if he’d only thought he had. A groan from Johnny pulled him from his reverie, and he realized it was the same sound he’d heard yesterday as they’d stood in the doorway to his room. Recalling the conversation they’d overheard, it now made perfect sense, and he felt ashamed of what’s he’d thought.

Johnny closed his eyes a moment, letting out a soft “ahh”, as Heather rubbed a particularly sensitive spot. A second later, he winced, as her fingers pulled in the wrong spot. “Ow!” He looked back at her. “Careful,” he warned.

“Sorry, honey,” she apologized, “but you know you need this. You’ve got to get your blood moving, or you’re gonna get more bedsores.”

“Yeah, but you’re pullin’ on my leash.” Johnny was referring to his central line that was still embedded under his collar bone.

“Leash?!” Chet inquired.

“This thing,” Johnny pointed to the IV taped to his upper chest. He looked at Roy, wondering why he was being so quiet. “Between this and the garden hose comin’ out my abdomen, I feel like a dog chained up in his yard,” he said dejectedly.

“When is the doc gonna pull the plugs on all that stuff?” Chet asked.

“I don’t know, about another week I guess. If I pass my next test, the catheter comes out first, then if I don’t get any more infections, they’ll take this line out,” he explained. He unconsciously fingered the large IV embedded under his collarbone, wincing to himself as he touched the sore and sensitive area.

“Man, another week, huh?” Chet commiserated.

“Yeah,” Johnny looked up at Roy. He looked better than he had a week ago, not so tired; and the bags under his eyes were gone. But it seemed like something was wrong. Roy was so quiet today. “So, uh…what’s going on with you today, Roy? Joanne got a list of things for you to do?” he tried to make conversation.

Roy seemed to snap out of his funk, and brightened up a little. “Yeah, she’s got a few things for me.”

“Oh, yeah? Anything interesting?”

“Nah, just the usual stuff, you know, yard work and stuff.” It was Roy’s turn to scrutinize Johnny now. For the first time since he’d entered the room, he looked hard at his friend. The fever was gone now, and he appeared fairly relaxed and pain-free, which was good. But his face was pale, and his normally vibrant and lithe friend looked rather frail and weak lying there. His arms were terribly bruised from all the ABG’s and IV’s he’d endured, and Roy could tell he’d lost weight from his ordeal. His face looked thinner, and his eyes seemed to be set deeper. More than any other time Johnny had been injured, this time had really taken its toll. It occurred to Roy that it really was going to take him a long time to recover from this, and it would probably be months before Johnny would ride in the squad with him again. The thought of it made him feel a little down, but at least he had a partner he could work well with until then. That was some consolation. For some reason, subconsciously he felt nervous about when the time would come for Wesley to leave, sensing that it wouldn’t be easy for the man to go. Oh well; he wouldn’t have to worry about that for quite some time. His thoughts returned quickly to Johnny. “How bad are your bedsores?” he asked concernedly.

“Oh, not bad, really,” Johnny said.

Heather interrupted before he could continue. “Well, he’s got the early stages of one on his right hip, and you should see how red his – ”

“Heather!” Johnny cut her off, his face turning crimson. “I don’t think the guys want to know the details on my bedsores.” He looked at his friends who were both trying to suppress a smile. “Let’s just say if I can ever get out of this bed and get out of here, things will be much better.”

“What?” Chet interjected, “And give up all this?” he made a sweeping motion with his hands.

That caused everyone to laugh, including Roy. “How much longer is it going to be, Johnny?” Roy asked.

“I dunno,” he answered glumly. “Probably a couple more weeks I suppose. They won’t let me go home until all this stuff is gone, and I can walk and get around. They gotta make sure all my plumbing works too.”

“Well,” Roy commiserated, “you’ll be home before you know it.” Roy knew two weeks in a hospital would seem like an eternity, much less six or seven, but he was just trying to think of some-thing positive to say.

Chet and Roy stayed a while longer, then left in pursuit of their own personal agenda for the day.

Johnny had been in the hospital nearly six weeks, and he was beginning to climb the walls. His visitors had thinned out, and many days he spent the day alone. Heather tried to be there most every day, but there were still just some times when she had other commitments to fulfill. On those days, she always called him on the telephone to try to ease his boredom.

Roy had stopped coming as often as he had as well. On Roy’s day’s off, he sometimes found it hard to break away from the family responsibilities to come visit Johnny. He knew his friend was restless, but wasn’t aware of how lonely he got sometimes. Roy always tried to make at least one visit during the workday when they made runs to Rampart; since he was already there, it was convenient. Sometimes he brought Wesley with him. Johnny couldn’t help but notice the friendship that seemed to be building between Roy and Wesley, and occasionally felt twinges of jealousy. He probably wouldn’t have felt that way if this other man hadn’t been his replacement. But Adams now had his spot in the squad next to Roy, was doing his job, and slept in his bed at the station, and it sometimes appeared as if he had taken his place as Roy’s best friend. Not only that, but both Wesley and Roy seemed to be very comfortable in this new situation. Johnny couldn’t deny that it was rather uncomfortable to see Adams and Roy so chummy together.

Johnny’s friends still dropped by now and then, and Chet visited at least twice a week, but there were still a lot of hours of the day unaccounted for. It would have been nice if he could have gotten up and gone for a walk, or taken a ride in the wheelchair, but with his pelvic injuries, the catheter, and the central line, it was necessary to stay as immobile as possible while his injuries healed. So, he watched television and read magazines, and slept most of the time. He had finished Chet’s book a week ago. He did get a surprise visit from Meredith Macklin, his friend he had gotten to know from Sunnybrook Estates, which was quite enjoyable. Meredith had seen the reports about his gunshot injury on the news, and had even stopped by to visit several times, but each time she had come to the hospital, he was in ICU and wasn’t allowed any visitors other than ‘family’. After that, she kept abreast of his recovery, then decided to wait until he was on the mend before she tried to visit again. She filled him in on how her father, Ben, was doing, and how things were improving at the nursing home. She had even gone to visit his aunt for him, knowing he was laid up in the hospital. He really appreciated that, since his Aunt Rose had no other family, and was thankful for the good friend he had in Meredith. He hadn’t wanted to call his aunt and worry the woman about his injury, knowing she probably wouldn’t remember what happened anyway. It set Johnny’s mind at ease to know that his aunt had had at least had one visitor several times in the last few weeks. 

Johnny was ecstatic when the results from the IV Pylogram came back good, and shortly thereafter, they removed the suprapubic catheter from his abdomen, satisfied that his bladder had healed well. A few days later, after it seemed he would remain infection-free, the central line was removed as well. It was heavenly to finally be rid of all the tubes and IV’s at last.

It was nearing the time he would go home, but first, he would need to build some strength up. The first time John attempted to actually sit on the edge of the bed and begin to stand, even with assistance, he passed out. Fortunately, the physical therapist anticipated this possibility and was ready. Johnny came around just seconds later, totally embarrassed that he had been weak enough to ‘faint’. He was just thankful that no one else had been around when it had happened. After that, it was necessary to take things extremely slow. He was further disappointed when, after he managed to finally get both feet planted firmly on the floor without being dizzy, he found he wasn’t able to stand up. His knees collapsed into jello, and he had to be held up by the therapist, who was, fortunately, a large and strong man named Joe. Joe was good at his job, and was able to convince Johnny not to be too disappointed in his abilities, and that what he was experiencing was normal for someone who had spent as much time confined to the bed as he had. By the end of the next day, Joe had Johnny standing on two legs without assistance. His first steps, taken with a walker, were celebrated loudly with cheers and whistles from Joe and Amy, the floor nurse who had been taking care of Johnny. Johnny had blushed in embarrassment at their making such a big deal about him taking one step. He felt like a little baby who had just learned to walk.

The next day, as he was shuffling down the hallway with the walker next to Joe, once again wearing the silk pajamas and robe that Heather had given him, he felt mortified when he looked up to see Roy and Wesley walking down the hallway toward him. It was his first time out of the room on his own two feet, and the ordeal was proving to be a major struggle, much more difficult than he’d ever thought it would be. He had been concentrating so hard on just putting one foot in front of the other, that he hadn’t noticed them approaching. As soon as he saw them, he wanted to turn and hide, but there was no escaping. He saw a broad smile build on Roy’s face as he neared and observed Johnny walking.

It wouldn’t have been so bad had Wesley not been with him. For some reason, the man made Johnny feel vulnerable. He didn’t know why; it was irrational; after all, the man had been nothing but pleasant to him. Now, he merely felt inadequate and ashamed when he saw the two of them approaching, walking confidently and briskly toward him with no problem, while he stood shakily hunched over his walker like an old man, barely stand on two feet without falling down.

“Hey, Johnny! You’re walking! That’s great!” Roy greeted him, obviously genuinely pleased and happy to see this new development.

Humiliated, Johnny tensed, but was somewhat pleased that Roy was having such a positive reaction to him being on his feet again. Still, he wished he could just melt into the floor tiles, unseen, embarrassed at his obvious lack of abilities. Of all the times they had to see him, now wasn’t the moment he would have picked. Not when he was feeling so discouraged and frustrated at his own limitations. Not now, when he didn’t have the energy to put up a barrier to hide his real emotions, but was forced to in front of a stranger.

He felt Wesley’s eyes on him, staring, but when he glanced in his direction, the man’s eyes appeared friendly. Determined not to let them see any weakness, he commented lightly, “Yeah. How about that.” With a strained smile, he added, “I’m trainin’ for the Fireman’s Olympics; might be ready by around the year 2000.” His smile dissipated as he struggled to take another shaky step.

Wesley laughed and Roy chuckled, trying to keep the smile on his face for Johnny’s sake, but instantly becoming aware of Johnny’s distress, knowing his friend was joking to cover his discomfort. It occurred to him what a blow it must be for Johnny, someone so full of energy and vitality, to now be reduced to having to merely hobble along with a walker. Johnny was a man whose love of life was fulfilled by action and adventure, not only on the job but in his personal life as well; a man who enjoyed climbing and hiking, rappelling, almost anything thrilling. If he were robbed of those abilities, it would likely strip away the very soul of who he was. That’s why Roy knew it was imperative to make Johnny understand that this small advancement was so important. It was the first step toward regaining his life and career, the first of many steps he would have to climb in the long road ahead. A lot of positive reinforcement and encouragement would be needed to ease the many difficult days of recuperation he would be facing. Roy had little doubt that Johnny would regain his life, for he knew his partner’s strong will would eventually triumph over his physical impairments. It always had in the past. Now he just had to make sure that Johnny understood that, and didn’t give up. He also knew it was easy for him to say, but maybe not so easy for Johnny to believe right at this moment. Now, as Roy saw the embarrassment and humiliation in his friend’s averted eyes as he struggled shakily to move one foot in front of the other without falling, his heart went out to the man in front of him.

The three walked alongside Johnny as he very slowly made his way back to his room. He introduced the other two paramedics to Joe, who then asked if they would like to accompany Johnny back to his room. Their session was over, and he figured Gage would probably rather have his two friends help him than him. Since they were nearly at the door, Roy jumped at the chance.

Johnny was exhausted by the time he had maneuvered himself into his room, and lost his balance and nearly fell as he was ready to climb back into bed. He would have fallen had Roy not grabbed his arm. Roy helped him off with his robe once he was on the bed, and Johnny lay back against the pillow, trying not to show how breathless he was.

Johnny wished now that they would leave. He was really tired, and his pelvis was hurting, and he was terribly dismayed at how such a short walk could cause so much pain and exhaustion. At one time, climbing to the top of a really steep and high cliff wouldn’t have been such a big deal; now just being able to pee normally or take a stroll down the hospital corridor seemed as great an accomplishment as he could muster. It was really frustrating and disappointing; it made him realize how right Dr. Early was when he’d told him he was in for a long recovery.

John knew Roy was trying his hardest to lift his spirits and encourage him by the enthusiastic comments he kept making during this visit, but right now they just sounded like platitudes. Realizing how much he couldn’t do felt overwhelming, and achieving his health and strength again seemed so daunting that it felt almost unreachable. Seeing Roy and Wesley standing there normally, ready to go out and conquer the world just depressed him.

Fortunately, Joe was good at instilling positive feelings. It seemed easier to talk with him about his insecurities, knowing that Joe would understand more clearly than his friends what he was going through, and Joe convinced him that every small achievement was actually much bigger than it seemed. Deep down, Johnny knew the man was right, and was almost certain that he would be able to pull himself out of this and recover. Although he had the slightest twinges of doubt sometimes, by nature he generally possessed a positive attitude. It was something he had inherited from his parents, an aspect of their personalities he remembered before they had died and his family life had fallen apart.

As Johnny lay back in bed wishing Roy and Wesley would leave, his morning brought another surprise. At first he’d brightened when Heather poked her head in the door, wishing him a cheerful good morning, until she waltzed into the room announcing she’d brought Johnny a surprise. He’d cringed inwardly, wondering what elaborate gift she was bringing him now.

After her usual welcome kiss, planted unabashedly on Johnny’s lips, she said excitedly, “Guess who’s here to see you today?”

He thought it might be her father, which would have pleased him, since he liked visiting with Art. He liked the fact that Art was always upbeat, and never seemed to scrutinize how he was doing, instead always projecting in his attitude that there was no doubt that Johnny would get better. But somehow, he didn’t think it was him, since her attitude was making it seem like it was someone unusual. And it was. He shrugged his shoulders and played along. “I don’t know. Who?” he answered. He really didn’t feel like another visitor, so he faked being enthusiastic.

She turned toward the door and gestured for her guest to enter, and the blond-haired man waltzed flamboyantly into the room. A dazzling white smile lit up the man’s face as he walked toward the bed, his hand extended. “Bonjour!” he greeted.

Johnny’s mouth dropped open and he shook the man’s hand. “Paul-Michael?”

“At your service, mon ami,” he smiled.

Roy and Wesley stood motionless, wondering who the visitor was. Roy figured it was a friend of Heather’s. He was stylishly dressed in purple trousers and a black shirt, open at the collar John Travolta style. Several gold chains decorated his neck. He held a bag in his hand that he set on the nightstand.

“John, it wasn’t easy to do, but I managed to pull Paul-Michael away from his studio for a short while. He’s brought all his things with him to cut your hair!”

Johnny’s mouth remained open, and he forced the one side of his mouth upward in an attempted smile. “Cut my…hair?” he squeaked out.

“Oh, John,” she ran her fingers through his locks while she said, “your hair has just grown wild since you’ve been here. I thought it would make you feel better to have a little trim. You know, shape things up a bit. There’s nothing like a good haircut to brighten up your day!”

Johnny didn’t say anything, keeping the half-hearted smile glued to his face as he forced himself not to look at Roy and Wesley’s faces. Roy could see this was turning into an uncomfortable situation, and took that as his cue to leave.

“Uh, listen Johnny, ah, we’ve got to go now.”

Now John didn’t want them to leave. He thought if they stayed, it would save him from having to have his hair cut. “Oh! B-but you just got here.”

Roy looked at his watch. “Well, Cap’s got something he wants to go over with us at eleven, and, ah, we don’t want to be late.” He started to back out of the room. “We’ll see you, Johnny.” Roy felt guilty about leaving; Johnny’s expression called to mind a fly tangled in a spider’s web, struggling to free itself.

“Yeah, bye,” Wesley called, and the two disappeared, leaving Johnny to face the spider, or more accurately, the scissors.

Heather got her way that morning, and despite the fact that Johnny was neither in the mood, nor wanted to get his hair cut, it happened anyway. Refusing Paul-Michael’s generosity in making a special trip to the hospital to cut his hair would have been rude, and it would have hurt Heather’s feelings. So, he went along with it, as he had before, and let the man shape and style his hair, reminding him several times not to cut too much, as he had done the first time.

Amy raised her brows in surprise when she entered John’s room to take blood, and saw the man blow-drying Johnny’s hair. With lifted eyebrow, she commented, “Getting ready for a hot date tonight, are we?”

“Ha-ha,” Johnny responded. “My nurse is a comedian on the side.”

Amy just laughed, then commented, “Your hair does look good, John.” She stood and watched as Paul-Michael put the dryer back into his bag, and carefully combed Johnny’s hair into place. When he pulled out the hair spray, both Johnny and Amy held up their hands to stop him.

“Uh, thanks, but I’ll pass,” Johnny said.

“And I’m afraid John shouldn’t be breathing in that stuff anyway.”

Looking a little disappointed, Paul-Michael put the can back in his bag, and stood back to inspect his work.

Amy was impressed, and began asking questions to the man about hairstyles. Johnny sat sulking while Heather, Amy, and Paul-Michael all stood around him discussing hair, oblivious to his ire. After a minute or so, Paul-Michael had gained a new customer; Amy was going to call and schedule an appointment with him.

Heather stayed the afternoon, and Johnny found it hard to be pleasant to her. He was tired, his pelvis hurt from the exercise that morning, and he was angry that she had taken it upon herself to arrange for his hair cut without even asking him. This wasn’t the first time she had put him in an uncomfortable position in order to gain something she wanted, and he resented the fact that she was so anxious to change the way he looked that she couldn’t even wait until he was out of the hospital to do it.

He knew she meant well, and probably didn’t realize how much it bothered him, but he was getting tired of her subtle suggestions of ways to “improve” him. He thought his hair was just fine the way it was; it had almost grown back to the way he had it before it was cut the first time. He didn’t mind getting his hair cut once in a while, heaven knew that headquarters were always getting on his case to cut it anyway; it was just that he wanted to decide for himself when and who would cut it. Now that he was a little better, he was beginning to notice that things were returning to the way they had been before the accident, and it dawned on Johnny that he might want to make some changes in their relationship. He just didn’t know how.

He already had so much on his plate to think about; a confrontation with Heather was the last thing he needed. In true Scarlett O’Hara style, he decided he wouldn’t think about it now, he would think about it tomorrow. After Paul-Michael left, he shut his eyes, pretending to be asleep. It wasn’t long before he really was asleep, and Heather left after a couple of hours, bored of watching him with his eyes closed.

Five days later, Johnny was doing much better at getting around. Although slow, he was able to walk with a cane, and late that afternoon, Dr. Early paid him a visit in his room. Johnny was sitting in a chair by the window, shifting his gaze from watching the rain as it streamed down the glass, to focusing on the large drops as they hit the puddles on the ground. He felt glum and bored, and looked up when Dr. Early entered, hopeful for a stimulating conversation with a visitor.

“Hey, Doc,” he greeted.

Dr. Early walked around and sat on the edge of the bed across from Johnny. He had a clipboard in his hands. “Hi, Johnny.”

“What’s the word?”

Joe Early smiled and looked at his patient, anxious to deliver the good news. “The word is, I’ve been reviewing the notes from the physical therapist whose been working with you. He says you’re doing quite well.”

“Things are coming along okay,” Johnny conceded.

“How would you like to check out of our hotel tomorrow?”

Johnny was stunned. He knew he would be going home soon, but he hadn’t expected it to be tomorrow. His mouth dropped open. “Tomorrow?” he asked incredulously. “I – that’d be great! Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.” Dr. Early’s smile grew wider at the reaction he was getting. After delivering so much bad news to this patient, and his friend, it was nice to finally be able to offer something good for a change. He was enjoying the smile he brought to the young paramedic’s face. “I’ve got a schedule here for physical therapy that I want you to follow here at the hospital, and at home. We’ll still be seeing a lot of you over the next few months, but I think your stay with us is finally over.”

Johnny’s face split into a wide grin. He was ecstatic. “Doc! I wish you were a girl so I could hug you!”

Joe laughed. “How about a handshake instead?”

“You got it!” Unsteadily, Johnny stood up, and took the doctor’s hand. His smile lessened, and as he released his grip on the doctor’s hand, he grew more serious. “Doc, I…I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me – again,” he chagrinned. “I…probably wouldn’t be standing here right now if it wasn’t for you.”

“I had a little help,” Joe said wryly.

“Yeah,” John said thoughtfully. “I never got a chance to thank Dr. Prescott, or Dr. Simms; and Dr. Brackett too. Could you do that for me when you talk to them?”

“Sure, Johnny. But I wasn’t referring to just them.”

John looked at him in puzzlement.

“You had a lot to do with your own recovery, you know.”

Johnny let out a small puff of air and regarded the doctor. “Maybe.”

“There’s no maybes about it, John. You know, you’ve become something of a phenomenon around here. You’re already famous at Rampart; I’ve been thinking maybe I ought to contact the Book of World Records about you. You’d be under the category, ‘Man surviving the most life-threatening accidents’.”

Johnny snorted. “Just what I need. I’m afraid I’d rather not have that ubiquitous honor. As a matter of fact, I’d like to try to dispel that reputation I’ve managed to attain.”

Joe Early laughed. “I don’t blame you, Johnny.” He stood up. “Just try to stay out of trouble, okay.”

“You won’t have any arguments from me on that, Doc.”

“I’ll have your release papers ready for you to sign in the morning, so you can go ahead and arrange a ride home.”

Home. It sounded so wonderful. He smiled. “Thanks again, Doc.”

Joe Early waved and stepped out of the room.

Johnny felt euphoric. He lunged for the phone and began to dial, then stopped himself, groaned, and set the receiver back in the cradle. Damn! He thought. He was going to call Heather to ask her to come pick him up in the morning, but then he remembered that she would be tied up all the next morning in a meeting with the Art Director at the gallery. He hesitated, knowing she would cancel her appointment to pick him up, but knew how important this meeting was to her. She had been talking about it for weeks, and he didn’t want to spoil it for her.

What to do? After thinking about it a minute, he decided he would ask Roy to drive him home, and surprise Heather by being at the house that afternoon. He came up with a plan to call her and ask her to bring him something from home for the next day. Then, when she stopped by his house, she would find him there. It would be a nice surprise.

He reached for the phone again, and dialed the station, knowing Roy was working that afternoon. Excitedly, he announced his release from the hospital to Roy, who was more than happy to offer to pick him up first thing in the morning. He would come get him right after he left work; Johnny was sure the release papers would be finalized by then. Hanging up the telephone, his depression vanished, and was replaced by an excitement that almost made him feel giddy. He was going home. Finally. How good it would feel to sleep in his own bed again, to have privacy again, to eat normal food again, to start life again. It didn’t seem quite so daunting now. He would do all the physical therapy the doctor ordered, and more, until he had his life back again.

Roy was equally enthusiastic about Johnny’s homecoming. Captain Stanley had called Roy to the phone, saying it was Johnny, and when Roy heard the news of Johnny’s release, he had practically shouted, “All right!” into the phone.

Everyone had listened in on the conversation, pleased for their friend, that he was finally getting out of the hospital. Roy happily relayed all the information to his shift-mates after hanging up from the call, announcing the fact that he would be picking up Johnny himself in the morning.

Wesley had to force himself to smile and act pleased, despite the fact that he and Roy had planned to go out to breakfast that morning, and now it seemed that Roy had obviously forgotten about that. Actually, he was wrong; Roy did remember, and a little while later apologetically asked Wes for a rain check, sure that he would understand that Johnny needed a ride home, and that it was an important day for him. All Wesley could think about was that his time at Station 51 would soon be drawing to an end, and he felt bitter. He knew it was irrational, but he felt as if John Gage were stealing his job from him. Even though it would still be months before Johnny could return to work, the thought of having to leave now that he had carved out such a comfortable place for himself seemed so unfair. It would be just like before, when Gordon died.

He felt a desperate urge to do something, come up with some plan, to allow him to stay at Station 51 permanently. But he had no idea what he could do to cause that to happen. Gage was here first; it was his assignment, and short of his death, there really wasn’t anything Wesley could think of to prevent him from coming back. His mind raced trying to think. Talking to headquarters wouldn’t work. Talking to Gage wouldn’t work; he’d never willingly give up his position here. Even talking with Roy wouldn’t help. What could he do, ask Gage not to come back? Wesley snorted to himself. That would never happen in a million years, unless for some reason Gage and DeSoto’s friendship went into the toilet. Hmm, there was an idea; but how could he cause that to happen? He’d have to give that some serious consideration. With that thought, he began setting his mind on ways to sabotage the famous Gage/DeSoto partnership and friendship. Maybe, with any luck, DeSoto would come to realize that he’d much rather be partnered with Wesley Adams than with John Gage. Anyway, he had months to work on it.

Later that evening, Roy got a call from Joanne, and he told her the good news about Johnny’s release. She was very happy, but had called to ask Roy if he would pick up some cold medicine for Jenny on his way home the next morning. She had come down with something that afternoon, and was sent home from school sick. The medicine they had was almost gone, and they would be needing more the following day. Roy said that he would stop at the store as soon as he dropped Johnny off at his home. Joanne assured him they had enough to get them through the morning, and told her husband to give Johnny her best wishes.

Johnny signed the release papers with a flourish, and after Amy had left, set about getting dressed. Heather had supplied him with a “going home outfit” a week or so ago, and had hung it in the closet. It had been another unexpected gift to brighten his spirits and remind him that he would be leaving soon.

Johnny pulled on the designer jeans gingerly, careful of his still-tender pelvis and abdomen, then reached for the new eggplant-colored Geoffrey Beene shirt. As he slipped his arm through the sleeve, he noted the bruises were nearly faded. Looking up, he examined himself in the mirror, noting with dismay how skinny he looked. Black and blue marks from the central line were still there, but fading to shades of yellow and green now. After buttoning up the shirt, he ran his fingers through his now slightly shorter hair, feeling satisfied that Paul-Michael hadn’t cut too much. If anything, he mused, he at least wouldn’t have to comb it as much; it just seemed to sort of fall into place.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he slipped his feet into the Sebago hand-sewn leather tasseled slip-ons that Heather had brought, thankful that he didn’t have to bend down to tie any laces. Sighing in anticipation, he reached for the phone to call Roy to tell him that he was ready to go. He had left a message for Heather the night before, asking her to stop by his house and bring him a book. He smiled to himself now, thinking about how surprised she would be when she stepped into his home and found him there. He looked at his watch; it was nearly eight o’clock.

Chet stood at the bathroom sink shaving. Steam rose out of the shower, and Chet called out to Roy, who was behind the glass doors, rinsing shampoo out of his hair. “Hey, Roy; what time are you picking up Johnny?”

Roy swiped some water out of his eyes and answered. “Probably as soon as I leave here. He should have his release papers by then.”

“Bet he’s glad to be getting out of there, huh?”

“Oh, yeah. One more day, and I think he actually would have climbed the walls of his hospital room.”

Chet laughed. “I was thinking I might stop by at his place later. You know, see how he’s doing.”

“Yeah, I think Johnny would like that, Chet. I was thinking about seeing if he felt up to going out to lunch. You’re welcome to join us.”

“Sounds good, Roy.”

Roy shut off the water, dried off a bit, then wrapped the towel around his waist before he stepped out of the shower.

Wesley was alone in the day room sulking about the fact that Roy had cancelled their breakfast when the telephone rang. After two rings, no one answered, then, realizing who it might be, Adams quickly picked it up. “Station 51,” he answered crisply.

Johnny hesitated a second, not placing the voice right away. At first, he thought it might be one of the guys from B shift answering, and asked, “Gary?”

“No, this is Wes Adams. Are you looking for Gary?”

Johnny didn’t know why, but he felt a sudden distaste. “Ah, hi Wesley. This is John Gage. Is, uh, Roy there?”

Wesley’s brain was whirling, trying to think quick. “Uh, yeah, but uh, he’s….indisposed at the moment.”

Johnny nodded. “Oh. Well, could you just give him a message for me?”

“Sure,” Adams said amicably.

“Would you tell Roy that I’ve signed all the release papers, and I’m ready to go? He can come by any time.”

Wesley tried to sound friendly. “That’s great news, John! Congratulations! I bet you’re glad to be getting out of there.”

Johnny smiled, thinking, maybe he’s not such a bad guy after all. “Man, don’t you know it,” he answered.

At that point, Wesley peeked around the doorway, and seeing no one around, said, “Uh, hey, I’ll be glad to give Roy your message, but, uh, he might be….a little late picking you up.”

Johnny’s smile faded. “Oh? Why’s that?”

Wesley peeked around the corner again. “Well, his wife called and asked him to pick up some medicine for his daughter on the way home; she’s sick. He seemed pretty anxious to get it and go home.”

Johnny sat up straighter on the edge of the bed. “Jenny’s sick?” his voice went up a notch. “What’s wrong? Is it serious?”

“Um, I’m not completely sure; but Roy sure looked worried about it,” he exaggerated. “Sounded like the flu, or, or maybe it’s tonsillitis or something. Said her throat was really sore.” Wesley hesitated a second, then added, “I’d better go give him your message before he leaves. I think he was in a hurry. Hang on.”

“Uh, wait!” Johnny called, his mind racing. “Don – don’t go get Roy yet. Listen, um….” He hesitated a moment while he tried to think. “Listen, Wesley, ah, would you tell Roy not to come pick me up?”

Wesley smiled at how successful his spur-of-the-moment plan was working. He acted taken aback. “What? Are you sure?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure. Do me a favor and just tell Roy to go home and take care of Jenny. Tell him I’ll get another ride home, okay?”

“Sure….well, sure. Uh, will you be able to get a ride?”

“Yeah, no problem. Uhh…is Chet around, Wes?”

Wesley smiled to himself. “Oh, I’m sorry, but he’s already left,” he lied.

Damn!  Johnny cursed and looked at his watch. Man, not even five minutes until eight and Kelly’s already gone. Guess B shift must be there already.

Wesley heard him sigh into the phone. Gambling that Gage would never take him up on his offer, he asked, “Hey, I could come pick you up if you want,” cringing at the thought of it.

Gage reacted the way he thought he would. “No, no, that’s fine, really, but thanks for the offer. I – I’ll….I’ll get my girlfriend to pick me up. No problem. You just give Roy that message, okay? Tell him I hope Jenny’s okay, and….” He wanted to have Wesley tell Roy to give Jenny a kiss from her Uncle Johnny, but felt uncomfortable telling Wesley that. “Tell him…I’ll talk to him later.”

“Will do,” Adams said happily. Then he said a mutual good-bye and hung up the phone. Ha! He thought to himself. I handled that brilliantly! Well, DeSoto might have cancelled our breakfast, but now he won’t be seeing Gage either.

Jauntily, he walked out of the day room, through the engine bay, and into the dorm, passing Chet on his way out.

Roy was just getting dressed, after taking a shower. After the fire they’d been at last night, he wanted to wash away the smokiness before he went to pick up Johnny. Wesley walked over to him, but before he could say anything, Roy inquired, “I thought I heard the phone. Do you know who it was?” Roy had been expecting Johnny’s call.

Wesley pulled his locker door open nonchalantly. “Yeah. It was John Gage. He had a message for you.”

“Oh? What’d he say?”

“Well, he said he didn’t want you to pick him up. He’s getting another ride.”

Roy dropped his sock, and crinkled his face up in confusion. Staring at Wesley a moment, he asked, “What? Why? I thought he wanted me to pick him up? He was supposed to be calling to let me know when he got his release papers.”

Wesley shrugged. “I don’t know; that’s just what he said.” Then, he added, “Maybe it’s a good thing he cancelled on ya, so now you can get that cold medicine for Jennifer.”

Roy nodded slowly, not really hearing Wesley’s comment. “Yeah,” he said softly. He picked up his sock, feeling a combination of confusion and irritation at Johnny’s message. Who the hell would he have gotten another ride with? Heather was busy this morning, and besides, it seemed like he really wanted me to pick him up. He felt disappointed; he’d actually been looking forward to seeing his best friend this morning, and getting him home from the hospital. For once, Johnny was relying on him to help him, instead of Heather, and he’d really wanted to enjoy a little quality time with Johnny. It had been a long time since they’d spent any time together outside of the hospital. Roy was even thinking he might offer to take Johnny out to lunch if he was feeling up to it. He looked up at Wesley, who was changing his clothes. “Uh, Wes, did Johnny say who was driving him home?”

Adams looked up, as if trying to remember. “Ah, I think he said his girlfriend.”

Now Roy felt angry. Figures. She must have cancelled her plans to come get him. Must have thought I wasn’t good enough. Or maybe Johnny just prefers her company to mine now. Roy knew his reaction was irrational, but he couldn’t help but feel slighted. Grabbing his bag, he slung his jacket over his arm, and walked toward the door. “Thanks for letting me know. Bye, Wes.”

Wesley had an inspiration. What would it hurt to try, he reasoned. “Hey, Roy? Uh, now that you’re not picking up Gage, you, ah…wanna go have breakfast?”

Roy held his eyes a moment, rather surprised at the suggestion. “No, thanks. Maybe another time. Besides, like you said, I’d better go get that medicine for Jenny.”

“Well,” Wesley continued with an obvious knowing expression on his face, as if he realized that Gage had hurt Roy’s feelings and wanted Roy to know that he knew and that he commiserated, “why don’t we go after you get Jenny’s medicine? I know you were kind of looking forward to getting together with Gage and all…I mean, I’m not John, but at least I won’t blow you off.”

Roy stared at the man for several seconds, thinking, then said, “How about lunch instead? I want to get home first and see how Jenny’s doing.” He knew he had let down the man in canceling the breakfast, and that Wesley had been very gracious in brushing off his disappointment.

Wesley smiled, feeling triumphant. “Sounds good. I’ll meet you later.”

Roy bade him good-bye, and turned to leave.

Johnny dropped the receiver down onto the telephone disappointedly. His shoulders slumped as he sat quietly, thinking about what to do. Man, I hope Jenny’s okay. I’m sure if it were something serious, Roy would have called me. He started having second thoughts.  Maybe I shouldn’t have told him to not pick me up. He thought about his decision a minute, then shook his head minutely. Nah, if Jenny’s sick, then she needs her medicine. If Roy picked me up, that could delay him at least an hour, maybe longer. He needs to be home with his family.

He thought of two other guys he could call and tried them both. One wasn’t home, and the other already had another commitment. He considered calling Heather’s father, but tossed that idea aside quickly, thinking that a man as important as him couldn’t just drop what he was doing and leave work to pick up his daughter’s boyfriend. He tried one more person before deciding to call Acme Cab Co. for his ride. He knew the hospital staff would never let him go if they found out he didn’t have someone to help him home, so when Amy arrived with a wheelchair, he lied, assuring her that Roy would be there at the door to pick him up, and that he’d just like to wait there. Not having any reason not to believe him, she took him down to the first floor, through the lobby, and left him waiting by the exit. Then she left, but not before telling him to have the receptionist page her if there was any problem, saying she would come get him if there was.

The cab showed up twenty minutes later, and pushing himself up out of his wheelchair, he made his way through the revolving doors and outside, reveling in the sense of freedom that overtook him. Trying not to feel let down that no one was with him to share this important moment, he climbed into the cab, and gave the man his address. They pulled away from the curb in a rush.

Roy walked through the engine bay and into the dayroom, greeting the guys from B shift as he headed for the phone. He decided he would call Johnny, just to make sure Wesley hadn’t misunderstood and been mistaken for some reason. Dialing Johnny’s room directly, he got a busy signal. He tried once more a minute later, then decided to grab a cup of coffee and wait for the line to free up. Roy chatted with the other men for about ten minutes, then tried Johnny’s room again. Cursing when there was no answer, he sighed resignedly, and left for the day.

Johnny was lost in thought when the cab pulled up in front of his house. The cabby’s, “That’ll be twenty-two fifty,” jolted him into reality, and he quickly fished in his pocket for his wallet to pay the man.

“Here ya go,” he said, and climbed out. Just as he slammed the door and turned around, he realized he’d made a mistake, and frantically tried to get the driver’s attention before he pulled away from the curb. His waving arms and lunge for the door handle weren’t fast enough, and the driver left in a hurry, leaving Johnny standing on the sidewalk in front of his house in a cloud of exhaust fumes. Johnny turned around and cursed. Aw, shit.

Lifting his gaze, he cursed again as he looked upward to his house way up on that hill, and estimated there were about forty steps he would have to climb. Oh man! What an idiot I am. Why didn’t I tell the guy to pull up the driveway? How’m I gonna get up all these stairs? He sighed, then thought, Just take it one at a time, that’s how.

And so determined, he picked up his bag and his cane in one hand, and grasped the first section of the railing with the other and slowly pulled himself up three steps. It might have been easier had the steps not been so steep and uneven, but they were laid in stone years ago before any building codes dictated how high the rise on a step could be.

By the eighth step, he was out of breath, and he began to hurt. Muscles and bones he hadn’t used in weeks began to scream their protest. Johnny had been given some physical therapy in the hospital, but he’d only gotten to the point of being able to walk. They hadn’t started any strength training yet, and he started getting nervous that he wouldn’t be able to get up all the stairs. Stopping to rest, he winced as he bent to set his bag down when pain shot through his pelvic area. After a minute or two, leaning heavily on his cane, he lifted both legs one at a time gingerly, in a test, then decided to go on, determined not to let the steps get the best of him.

He came to a section where there was no railing, and it became much harder. It took John nearly ten minutes to make it up another five steps and then he nearly collapsed. His cane slipped from his shaky grasp and made a wooden clanking noise as it bounced down the steps all the way to the bottom. Losing the cane threw him off balance, and he teetered on trembling legs as he tried desperately to steady himself. No one heard him cry out in pain as he fell forward, catching himself with his outstretched hands on the step in front of him. Too exhausted to go on, he sunk the rest of the way down to sit on the step. Closing his eyes, his hand went to his hip, while he leaned backward on the elbow of the other arm. He cursed again.

Fifteen minutes went by, and most any move Johnny made was painful. Now angry and disheartened, he decided that he had to make it the rest of the way, and so he tried to pull himself up into a standing position. With the cane gone and no railing, he had nothing to use as leverage, and as he struggled to stand, he began to lose his balance. His foot caught on the edge of the step as he lifted it to climb, and slipped off, and he went down with a thud, hitting his side on the edge of the step, while his hands flailed to catch himself. Pain rippled through his pelvic area in sharps waves when his hip hit the step, and he sat crumpled up in mute agony for several long seconds before it dissipated enough for him to take a breath. His heart hammering in his chest, he looked downward and realized that he’d nearly fallen down a whole flight of steps, and he shivered thinking of what could have happened to him if he had. After that, he came to the depressing conclusion that he couldn’t make it. Anger built inside of him and didn’t care who heard him when he shouted out another obscenity, while kicking at some loose dirt next to the step beside him. The wrenching of his leg sent another bolt of agony through him, and he squinted, waiting for it to pass. Groaning in dismay and pain, he tried to maneuver himself into a comfortable position, so that he could wait for Heather to come home and rescue him. He hoped he’d get lucky enough that a neighbor would come out of their house, and he could call to them for help instead.

He had no such luck. He sat on the step for over an hour, and then rain broke loose from the grey sky. Johnny groped into his bag for something to hold over his head to keep dry, but the only thing he could come up with was a well-worn Wheels and Gears magazine. Opening it up, he held it over his head, and sat there in misery, growing more and more humiliated at the thought of Heather finding him this way.

Not too long afterward, he looked up, both relieved and apprehensive, when he heard a car coming up his driveway. His eyes widened in surprise when he realized it was Chet’s van, and watched as Chet pulled to the top and parked. Chet had seen him sitting on the step, and walked toward the wet paramedic now, his mouth partially open, an incredulous look on his face.

Johnny looked up at Chet like he was his savior and said, “Man, am I glad to see you.”

“What the hell are you doing out here, Gage?”

“I’m stuck.”
            “Stuck?”

“Yeah. It’s a long story. Could’ja just help me up?”

Shaking his head, Chet quickly went to John’s side, and reached a hand down to pull him up. The sudden change in position from sitting to standing caused a sharp pain to knife through Johnny, and he gasped as he stood. The cold rain hadn’t done anything to help matters. Chet kept his quiet as he realized he was going to have to practically carry Johnny up the rest of the way, and wrapping one arm around John’s waist, he threw Gage’s arm around his neck, and guided him the next sixteen steps to his front door. They were both breathless as they made it to the top, then Johnny shakily fished his keys out of his pocket, and opened the door.

Limping pronouncedly, he trudged in, and made his way into his living room. The first thing he did was to sink down onto the sofa. Chet followed him in with his bag. “You mind explaining why you were sitting there in the rain out on your front steps?”

“I will. But would you do me one more favor?”

“What’s that?”

“Go get my cane. It fell all the way to the bottom of the steps out there.”

Chet stared at him a minute, then, shaking his head, when out to retrieve the cane. By the time he returned, Johnny was lying back on the sofa, his eyes closed, the back of his hand resting on his forehead. He had kicked his shoes off. He was soaking wet.

Chet sat down in the chair opposite him. “Welcome home,” he said unenthusiastically.

Johnny opened his eyes a crack. “Thanks.” He pushed himself up slightly. “And thanks for helping me out. I really appreciate that.”

“So you gonna tell me what you were doing out there?”

“Yeah. When I got home, the driver dropped me off down there. I wasn’t thinking straight or something; I forgot to tell him to pull up the driveway.”

“Well, that’s nothing new, Gage. You never have thought straight.”

“Ha ha.”

It suddenly dawned on Chet that Johnny had said, ‘the driver’. “Wait a minute; what driver? Where’s Roy?”

Johnny hesitated a moment, then said, “Ah, I took a cab home.”

“A cab?! I thought Roy was taking you home.”

“He was. I told him not to.”

Chet was totally confused. “Why not?”

Johnny sighed. “Because. Jenny was sick and he needed to get home to take her some medicine. I didn’t want to delay that.”

“Oh.” Chet thought a moment, thinking things didn’t quite add up. “So, Roy…cancelled on you?”

“No, I cancelled on him.”

Chet didn’t get it. He’d just seen Roy in the shower that morning and they had just talked about him coming to the hospital to pick Johnny up. “Why did you do that?”

“I told you – ”

“Yeah, I know what you said, because Jenny was sick. But she’s not that sick. She’s just got a little cold.”

Johnny stared at Chet a moment, trying to figure it out himself. Maybe he had overreacted, but it sure sounded like Roy was anxious to get home. “Well…it sure sounded like she was pretty sick; I got the impression that Roy was real anxious to get home, and I figured I’d be able to get another ride. Unfortunately, no one was around this morning, and I didn’t feel like waiting at the hospital for Heather.”

“Well, why didn’t you ask me?”

“Because you were already gone when I called the station.”

“I was?” Chet sat, trying to remember when he left, sure it wasn’t before eight o’clock.

“Yes, you were.”

Chet wasn’t ready to let it go. “Well, when did you call?”

“I don’t know,” Johnny said irritably. He wasn’t feeling well, and didn’t feel like arguing with Chet. “What difference does it make? I’m here now; I made it home.”

Chet decided to let it go for now. “Barely.”

Johnny looked over at Chet. “Hey, Chet?”

“What?”

“Listen, don’t say anything to Roy about this, okay?”

“Why not? He should have brought you home. You could have – ”

Johnny held up his hand. “Just don’t say anything. You know how Roy is, the king of guilt complexes. Besides, he’ll be mother henning me to death if he finds out about this.”

“Whatever you say.” Chet was irked at Roy. He’d heard the phone conversation; Jenny wasn’t that sick, and he could have sworn he’d heard Roy confirm to Joanne that she had enough medicine left for the morning. So, why did Roy cop out on the ride? He couldn’t figure it out; it didn’t make any sense. Then he remembered something, a conversation that Roy and Wesley had had the day before, where he’d overheard the two making plans to go to breakfast this morning. But that was before they knew that Gage was coming home today. Would Roy have blown off Johnny to go to breakfast with Wes? Chet couldn’t believe that he would, but Roy and Wesley did seem to be getting pretty chummy together. Chet knew that they had been spending quite a bit of time together off shift, maybe even more than Roy used to spend with Johnny. Well, yes, he was certain that it was more time than Roy was spending with Johnny, at least ever since Gage had met that chick, Heather. Chet decided to drop the subject, not wanting John to find out that his ‘best friend’ had probably blown him off to go have breakfast with his replacement.

The house was quiet as a tomb, and rather cold. He noticed Johnny shiver, and decided that his friend should get out of his wet clothes. Chet stood up and reached a hand out to Johnny. “C’mon.”

“What?”

“You need to get out of those wet clothes before you catch pneumonia again.”

Johnny groaned, not wanting to get up off the couch. “Uhn, I can’t get up. Just grab me that blanket over there, will ya?”

“You’re gonna ruin that fancy new couch you bought.”

“I don’t care; I don’t like it anyway.” Heather had picked it out.

Chet shook his head again. “Okay, have it your way.” He went off in pursuit of Johnny’s bedroom. When he found it, he searched around for some clothes, and found a pair of sweat pants and sweat shirt at the bottom of a drawer, and some clean socks, and brought them out for Johnny to wear. He even included a clean pair of underwear. “Here,” he said, holding them out to Johnny.

Gage looked up in surprise, then realized what Kelly had in his hands. He took the clothes gratefully and tried to push himself up off the couch. When Chet saw how much trouble he was having, he offered a hand once more and pulled him into a sitting position. Johnny wasn’t shy about pulling his clothes off in front of Chet; the guys had been undressing in front of each other for years at the station. Just the same, Chet walked over into the kitchen and rummaged around for the makings of coffee as Johnny changed. By the time the pot was full and Chet had poured two cups, Johnny had managed to pull the sweats on, leaving the clothes Heather had bought him on the carpeted floor.

Chet handed him a cup of steaming coffee, then reached for the afghan draped over one of the chairs.

“You’ll make a great mother some day, Kelly.”

For once Chet didn’t have a come back; he merely ‘hmphed’ as he laid the afghan over Johnny, then asked, “So who’s gonna take care of you now that you’re home?” Chet settled himself down into one of the new chairs across from Johnny.

Johnny’s face scrunched up in irritation. “I don’t need anyone to ‘take care of me’. I’ll be just fine.”

Chet nodded toward the stairway. “Yeah, as long as you don’t plan on climbing any more of those.”

“Ah, not today, anyway.  I’ve got a bedroom down here I can sleep in. I just need a little more physical therapy, is all.”

“A little?”

“Well, a lot I guess.”

Chet was quiet a moment. “How long will it be?”

“How long will it be for what?”

“Till you come back?”

Johnny averted his gaze and thought a moment. Heather had been dropping subtle hints about him quitting more than once, but he hadn’t seriously considered it. “I don’t know, Chet. I guess it’ll probably be at least three or four months.”

“Months!” Chet rubbed at his chin, then looked back up at Johnny. “That long, huh?”

Johnny grinned, and in a mock baby talk said, “You miss me?”

Chet looked indignant. “Hell, no. But you are a lot more fun to play jokes on than Adams.”

“Oh really? Why is that?”

“Because I can’t get any reaction out of him. I’ve dumped water on him at least six times now, and all he does is look like he’s gonna cry whenever I do it. Then he sics Roy on me. He never even tries to get me back. I tell ya, Johnny, the man is humorless.”

“Hm. Oh well, maybe he’ll cure you; or maybe the Phantom is just losing his touch.”

“Never, Gage. Just wait till you see what I have planned for you when you get back.”

“Don’t get too cocky, Chester. I’ve got plenty of time here to think of some good ones to pull on you too.”

“No one can out do the Phantom.”

“Don’t be too sure of yourself.”

Chet smiled. This is what he missed. “Anyway,” he sighed. “I’ll be glad when the guy is gone. He kinda creeps me out.”

Johnny turned serious. “Oh yeah? Why?”

Chet rubbed at his mustache. “I don’t know. I can’t put my finger on it.”

John scrutinized Chet, trying to figure out what he was getting at; a prickle of worry tugged at him and he wondered if what Chet was trying to say was that the man was a danger. If that was the case, and Roy was his partner…“Chet, is he…in your opinion…is he a good fireman? I, I mean, does he have enough experience to know what he’s doing?”

Chet shrugged. “He’s got at least ten years under his belt. He worked several different stations in Nevada before he moved here. That’s all I know. To answer your question, I haven’t seen him make any mistakes; he seems like an all right firefighter. And Roy seems to think he’s a pretty competent paramedic.”

Johnny nodded, a bit relieved. “You say he worked several different stations; why so many?”

“I have no idea,” Chet answered.

“So what gives you the creeps about him?”

“I don’t know. Just a feeling I can’t explain.” He thought a moment longer. “He seems sort of…obsessed with Roy.”

“Obsessed?” Johnny looked concerned.

“Yeah, for lack of a better word. He’s just…constantly hanging around him; calls him all the time. Roy can hardly go to the can without Wesley following him.” Chet stopped a moment to think, then continued. “It’s weird, whenever Roy’s on the phone, I can see Adams listening in. And, when they’re off shift, it seems like…I don’t know…they’re always doing something together. And his wife’s the same way. Roy says she calls Joanne almost every day. I guess they’re getting to be pretty good friends. She stops by the station like, almost every shift, bringing cookies and stuff…” He stopped suddenly, realizing that it might sound to Johnny like Wesley had replaced him, and while guys didn’t usually get jealous of their friends being friends with others like women often did, he saw a look of uncertainty cross John’s face and decided not to say more. Johnny looked down, and Chet was a little surprised his friend didn’t ask him to elaborate further on what he’d just said.

Even though the whole conversation had instilled an uneasiness in him, Johnny was too tired to analyze it. After all, his position of best friend with Roy was as secure as it had ever been, at least that’s how it appeared to him. And Roy had proven his loyalty while he had been so sick in the hospital, hadn’t he? It didn’t matter anyway, in a few months he’d have his position back in the squad, and Wesley Adams would be placed somewhere else. If Roy still wanted to remain friends with the guy, then why should he care? He sighed, and decided to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. After a long silence, he answered softly, “Maybe the guy’s just lonely. After all, he’s new in town, probably doesn’t know anybody….”

Chet was impressed by John’s ability to overlook what he thought had been an obvious slight on Roy’s part that morning, but decided not to pursue his misgivings any further. Johnny didn’t need to be worrying about it anyway, and now Chet wished he hadn’t mentioned any of it. Hoping to end the conversation, he merely agreed, saying, “Yeah, you’re right. I’m sure that’s it.”

A short time later, Chet decided it was time to leave and let his friend rest. Johnny was obviously tired and not feeling well, and before he left, Chet retrieved some pain medication from Johnny’s bag and made sure he took it. Johnny was soon asleep on the couch, and after having picked up the wet clothing off the floor to set in the bathroom, Chet left.

Johnny managed to phone Roy a little later when he awoke to find out how Jenny was doing. After enthusiastically bestowing her best wishes upon him for being home, Joanne informed him that Jennifer was doing just fine, and that she just had the sniffles. When Johnny asked where Roy was, she casually mentioned that he had gone to lunch with Wesley, and that she would have him call later. He hung up, unsure of what to think, but not liking what his instincts were telling him.

Heather was indeed surprised and pleased to find Johnny home when she stopped by his house that afternoon, although she was disappointed that she hadn’t been able to be a part of the homecoming herself. When she pressed for the details of how he arrived home, Johnny was unable to keep the fact that he’d called a cab a secret, not wanting to lie. He explained that he thought Roy was going to bring him home, until he found out that Jennifer was sick, and so he cancelled, and that he hadn’t wanted her to cancel her appointment, since it was important to her. After hearing that, she decided she couldn’t be upset with him for simply trying to be considerate of her, even though she still wished he would have called her. Although Johnny didn’t fill her in on the details of his mishap with the steps, she couldn’t help but feel a little angry at Roy for letting John down, especially after she found out that Jennifer wasn’t all that sick, according to what Chet had later told John. Though he tried not to show it, she could see the disappointment in John’s eyes. He did point out to her that Chet had stopped by for a short visit, and that her worrying about him being alone was for naught. When Roy called, she refused to disturb John, saying that he was resting and not feeling very well. Roy was at a loss to understand her cool tone.

The next day, Chet entered the dorm to find Roy and Mike dressing for their shift. He greeted them both, and began to change into his own uniform. Chet was still a little annoyed at Roy; he couldn’t figure out why Roy would have hinted to Johnny that Jennifer was sick, and therefore get out of picking him up at the hospital. Chet found it hard to believe that Roy would rather have gone out to lunch with Wesley than to see John home. So, he decided to do a little fishing to find out why, because it just didn’t add up for him. Very casually, he asked Roy how Jennifer was doing.

Roy looked up in surprise, unaware even that Chet knew anything about her being sick. “Uh, she’s fine, Chet; thanks for asking.”

“So, it’s nothing serious?”

“No, just a little cold, that’s all.”

“Oh.” Chet hesitated a moment, then said, “Well, that’s good. For some reason I was under the impression that she was really sick.”

“Nah, it’s nothing serious. As a matter of fact, she was feeling much better last night.”

“Good.” Chet decided to switch gears. “Hey, I saw Johnny yesterday after he got home.”

Roy perked up at this comment. “Yeah? Uh, how’s he doing?”

            “Um, okay I guess; glad to be home.”

            Roy nodded, and remained silent.

“I was surprised to hear you didn’t pick him up yesterday.”

Roy sounded a little defensive. “Well, I was planning on it, but he called yesterday morning and left me a message telling me not to bother.” Chet detected just a hint of ire in DeSoto’s voice.

“Left you a message?” Chet asked in surprise. “Didn’t you talk to him?”

“No; I was in the shower. Wesley gave me the message.”

Chet’s eyes opened wider, as the gears in his mind began turning, putting the puzzle together. “Did Johnny, uh, say why he didn’t want you to come get him?”

“Like I said, I didn’t talk to him, and when I tried to call later, he was gone. He just told Wesley that he was getting a ride from Heather.”

“Oh.” Chet finished dressing, and sat to put his shoes on. Lost in thought, he didn’t notice that Roy had walked out, rather in a huff.

Chet remained seated, tying his shoes, trying to figure things out. In laying out the facts, he remembered how excited Roy was about picking Johnny up and taking him to lunch, and now he sounded downright irritated that Johnny had made other plans.

He also now knew that Johnny had been given the impression that Jennifer was very sick, which had caused him to not want to impose on his best friend, and that’s why he had cancelled the pick-up plans. To Chet, it looked as if someone had set this up to put a wedge between John and Roy, and Chet now thought he knew who that someone was.

Chet grabbed his badge, and hurried out the door to follow Roy. He passed Wesley in the engine bay, just as he had done the previous morning. The two said a quick hello as they passed, then Chet nearly stopped in his tracks as he remembered something. Chet remembered Johnny saying that when he had called the station yesterday, John had asked Wesley if Chet was there, and had been told he’d already left. Chet suddenly realized that Wesley knew he was there, because they’d passed in the engine bay, after Gage had called. So why didn’t Wesley tell him that Johnny had asked to speak to him? Chet concluded that Wesley had lied to Johnny about him being there, probably so that he wouldn’t be available to drive John home. What he couldn’t figure out as he walked into the dayroom was, why? It didn’t make any sense.

Chet headed into the kitchen, and saw Roy pouring himself a cup of coffee. He walked over to the senior paramedic, and reached for a cup himself. “Roy?”

            Roy took a sip of coffee and glanced at Chet. “Yeah?”

            Chet turned around to make sure Wesley wasn’t in the room. “Ah, I think you should know that the reason Johnny told you not to pick him up yesterday was that he thought Jennifer was really sick, and he thought it was more important for you to get home.”

            Roy turned and looked thoughtfully at Chet. “Where would he have gotten that idea?”

            Chet looked toward the doorway, then softly said, “Wesley.”

            Chet saw Roy’s mind was working. “You’re saying Wes told Johnny that Jenny was really sick so that Johnny wouldn’t want me to come pick him up?”

            “Yes.”

            Roy scowled. “Chet, that’s ridiculous. Why would he do that?”

            “I don’t know, Roy. You tell me.”

            Roy didn’t like the fact that Chet’s tone seemed a tad bit accusatory, and turned away, thinking. “You know what I think?”

            “What?”

            “I think you’re letting your imagination run away with you.”

            Chet’s mouth dropped open in an incredulous stare as Roy walked away. He was dying to tell Roy that Heather hadn’t picked Johnny up at all, and in fact Johnny had collapsed on his front steps waiting for someone to come by and rescue him after taking a cab home, but his lips were sealed, due to the fact that he’d promised Gage not to say anything to Roy.

Sighing, he tried to convince himself that maybe he was overreacting, and that maybe the whole thing was just a big misunderstanding. After all, he hadn’t heard the conversation between Gage and Adams, and Johnny did tend to blow things out of proportion sometimes, so maybe that was it. Chet shook his head to himself, almost feeling certain that wasn’t the case. No, there was something going on with Wesley Adams. Chet felt certain that the man had done this on purpose. The problem was, there wasn’t any way to prove it.

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

Johnny began his convalescence at home, slowly trying to do a little more each day. He slept a lot the first week; it seemed like any little activity exhausted him. Heather made sure he got to physical therapy though, and encouraged him to do his exercises at home as well. She had practically moved into his house, staying there with him almost constantly, and had seemingly taken over the running of his household.

Not one for cooking herself, she had borrowed one of her parent’s chefs to prepare meals for Johnny, and hired a maid as well to clean and do laundry. Johnny wasn’t entirely pleased with her forwardness; after all, they weren’t married, and she was acting as if they were. He didn’t have the energy to argue with her though, instead he put all his concentration into getting well. He had to admit it was kind of nice to have all those things done for him, but he just couldn’t get used to having strangers wandering about his house all day rummaging through his things and disturbing his privacy. He would have rather Heather cook a few meals for him, and was a little disappointed when she never offered. He got the feeling that she considered cooking beneath her, and felt a twinge of longing for the wonderful goodies his mother used to bake before she died. He’d always hoped that some day he’d marry a woman who could cook; maybe that was considered old fashioned these days, but it was still an attribute in a woman that he’d desired.

Roy was lucky. Joanne was always making wonderful meals and baked the most delicious pies and cookies. She always made birthday cakes for the kids, decorating them herself. She attended every dance recital and little league game that her children were involved in, helped with homework, and between her and Roy, managed to instill a good sense of right and wrong in her children. And she was intelligent and very pretty too; she seemed to be the perfect wife and mother. That was the kind of woman Johnny wanted; he guessed deep down, he was just an old-fashioned kind of guy. But that was the kind of relationship his parents had, and it had seemed to work, and they had seemed happy, at least, until his brother David died, and then they had died themselves. 

But Heather wasn’t that kind of woman. Not at all. If they married, she wouldn’t spend the day cleaning the house, cooking dinners, or going to PTA meetings. She was too much of a jet-setter. She would be off mingling with art dealers, playing tennis, and sailing. They would travel the world, and their kids would probably be spoiled rotten. At least she wanted to have children; that much she’d made known, which was good, because Johnny knew that some day he wanted to be a father, even though he’d never admit it to his friends right now.

He wondered if he’d be happy living that kind of life. Would he be happy married to Heather? She certainly had hinted around enough times that those were her plans, to be married to him and have a family. If someone had told him that he’d be marrying a woman like her, he’d have never believed it, saying she wasn’t his type. But Heather was beautiful, sexy, exciting, fun, and smart. What more could he want? He was crazy about her; she intrigued him, beguiled him, and bewitched him. But his thoughts darkened when he wondered what it was about him that seemed to hold her interest. She didn’t seem to be attracted to any of the things that interested him. She never asked about his work, never wanted to participate in any of his hobbies, and didn’t seem to want to spend all that much time with his friends. True, he’d never heard her criticize any of them, but just the same, he got the impression that they bored her.  Why was she so crazy about him, he wondered? It certainly couldn’t be his money, and it seemed like she was always trying to change him, instead of accepting him the way he was.

The latest attempt came the second week he was home. The doorbell rang, and when he got up to answer it, three men were standing on his front porch waiting to deliver a truck full of exercise equipment. When Johnny said he didn’t know anything about it, they showed him the receipt from a ‘Heather Banks’, who had purchased the stuff. Before he knew it, they had barged into the house and were bringing in boxes. The maid directed them to set everything up in an empty room that was to be used for a den, per Heather’s instructions. It was one room that Johnny hadn’t purchased any furniture for yet.

Heather hadn’t expected his less than enthusiastic response to her newest indulgence; she thought he should be grateful for her thoughtfulness in providing a room full of exercise equipment to help him get back into shape. After all, she’d hinted gently, after being in the hospital for almost two months, he needed to build his physique back up. While he knew himself that he wasn’t in the best of shape, and had lost weight, it certainly didn’t help his self-esteem any to hear her tell him that his body wasn’t quite up to par. He had every intention of building his body back to its previous state; apparently she had plans to turn him into Arnold Schwarzenegger. Her reasoning was simply to make it easier for him to do the physical therapy. He could do more at home, and therefore, would be back to his old self faster. She also thought it would be something they could do together, and while Johnny had to admit that he didn’t mind watching Heather work out one bit, he wasn’t all that comfortable having her watch him struggle with the weights when he was so weak. Maybe after he had gotten stronger and completed his physical therapy sessions at the hospital, he would enjoy it with her, but at the moment, he would have rather just worked with Joe by himself. Relentless, she cajoled him until he was exercising every day, whether he liked it or not.

The final straw came a week later one day when Johnny was searching through his drawers for his favorite pair of old blue jeans. He was mortified to learn later that Heather had thrown out a bunch of his clothes because they looked either ‘tacky’ or ‘too worn’, and had bought him new jeans to replace them. That had caused an explosion of similar proportions to a volcanic eruption, after which a heated argument had ensued, followed by Heather’s storming from his house with a loud slam of the door. Johnny had fumed for hours afterward, her gigantic indiscretion so severe in his opinion that he had actually considered breaking things off with her. She had taken it one step too far. After five days of no communication between them, (Johnny managed to get rides to the hospital from friends), she finally showed up at his door one afternoon holding and waving a little white flag in her hand. She was so remorseful that he didn’t have it in his heart to be mad at her any longer, convincing himself that it was just a bunch of stupid clothes, and he forgave her.

It turned out that their making up was well worth the fight. He had missed her much more in those five days than he realized, and as soon as she had verbalized her apology, he’d drawn her into his arms and began kissing her passionately. Months of built-up discontent seemed to vanish as they made their way to the bedroom, frantically kissing and leaving a trail of clothing on the floor as they walked. They’d made love all afternoon, the first time since before Johnny had been shot. Conscientious of his healing, Heather had been extremely gentle, but gave Johnny one of the most memorable afternoons of his life. Maybe it was just because he hadn’t had sex in such a long time, but that day she brought him to such heights of pleasure he’d thought his heart would stop.

The weeks flew by. Johnny faithfully attended his physical therapy sessions at Rampart, and did as much exercise at home as he could. He still had some pain, but it was less constant, and manageable with analgesics. By the end of the second month, Johnny had gained back all his weight plus a few pounds; both his strength and endurance increased in proportion to his growing muscles. It would still be a while before he would be able to do anything as strenuous as running, but he was well on his way to recovery. Heather was pleased with his newly toned build, and didn’t hesitate to show Johnny how attracted she was to him, which he didn’t mind one bit.

Johnny rarely saw Roy or his friends during that time. His house was a good twenty-five minutes from the station, and an even farther drive from Roy’s house, making it inconvenient to just stop by, especially when there was any rush hour traffic to navigate. They did utilize the telephone, however, and Johnny made it a point to call Roy every few days to catch up. The odd thing was, it seemed like every time he called the station, he had a hard time getting a hold of Roy, especially if Wesley answered. It seemed as if he’d always get some reason why Roy couldn’t come to the phone, and a couple of times when he’d called and was told Roy would be right there, no one ever picked up the phone, so Johnny had to hang up.

After being allowed to drive again, Johnny made two trips to the station, only to find it empty. The first trip, he’d spent the time walking around thinking, the only sound being the echo of his shoes on the concrete floor against the silence in the engine bay, and he yearned to be back. He went into the dorm, opened his locker to see what was inside, then went over and sat down on his bunk for a while, an uncomfortable feeling coming over him as he imagined Wesley Adams sleeping in his spot next to Roy. After that, he’d gotten up, sat at the kitchen table, and drank two cups of coffee before he decided not to wait any longer.

The second time he arrived to find they were once again out on a run, and he’d done exactly the same thing, only when he sat down on his bunk, he decided to lay back and rest a minute, almost savoring in the familiarity of it. Before he knew it, he was asleep. He was in so deep that he didn’t hear the engine pull back into the bay, but finally awoke when he suddenly heard a voice over him calling, “Hey, guys! Look what the cat dragged in!” Johnny’s eyes had popped open in embarrassment to see Chet standing over him smiling. As the other guys came into the dorm, Chet joked, “Well, well, if it isn’t Goldilocks, and it looks like she found the bed that was ‘just right’!” He said it in a voice like a parent would use in telling a child a story, and everyone laughed as John’s face turned red. After that, Chet had milked the story for all it was worth by pointing out the three coffee cups on the kitchen table, pointing to the one that Johnny had drank from, asking him if the temperature of the coffee was just right in that one. He’d had a good visit though, even though the squad was out on a run the entire time. He never saw Roy, but enjoyed sitting around with the other guys. He couldn’t wait to get back.

Joanne DeSoto managed to coax Johnny and Heather over for dinner one night; actually Johnny didn’t need to be coaxed; he never hesitated a moment to enjoy one of Joanne’s home-cooked meals. The kids were happy to see Johnny, but the dark-haired paramedic was somewhat shocked when they started talking about their ‘Uncle Wesley’. In a matter of less than four months, Roy’s kids were already referring to their dad’s temporary partner as ‘uncle’, and furthermore, had a whole barrage of toys and games to show Johnny that their ‘uncle’ had given them. Secretly, Roy frowned upon Wesley’s indulgences somewhat, and made clear that some of the things they had been given were hand-me-downs that had belonged to Wesley’s kids. The conversation had led to Joanne mentioning how great their children got along together, and how nice both Wesley and Doreen had been to them. Roy gushed about how lucky he was not to have Brice subbing for Johnny this time, then joked that Johnny better watch out, because he might just keep Wesley for a permanent partner. He made it obvious that he was joking, but Johnny found it hard to laugh at his ‘joke’.

Johnny produced a laugh that obviously didn’t have his heart in it, then, quietly, he’d asked, “So, you really like this Wesley guy, huh?”

Roy had shrugged and said, “Yeah. He’s an okay guy. He’s a good fireman and a competent paramedic.” Roy’s brows creased slightly as he thought, and he added, “I’d say his only fault is that he…tries a little too hard sometimes, but other than that I can’t find any fault with him.”

Johnny’s only comment had been “Uh huh.” What Chet had said about him was still in the back of his mind.

Roy saw the slight twinge of insecurity on Johnny’s face and then regretfully realized what he’d done. Sometimes he forgot how sensitive Johnny was. He reached over and playfully patted Gage on the arm once, saying, “Don’t worry, Junior; I wouldn’t trade ya for him.”

Feeling a little better, Johnny chagrinned, “Gee thanks.”

Roy turned more serious then added, “It’ll be good to have you back, Johnny.” Actually, Roy was more anxious to have Johnny back than he let on. Wesley was a nice guy, but was beginning to get a little too clingy. Roy sensed that he was a bit insecure, but after privately finding out from the Cap that Wesley’s partner at his old station had died, cut him some slack, figuring he was in need of a friend.

Johnny smiled shyly and answered with a quiet, “Thanks.” He didn’t notice the somber look on Heather’s face, but Joanne did.

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

Tired of being housebound, Johnny was itching to get out and go somewhere, and mentioned to Heather that it would be nice if the four of them, meaning Roy, Joanne, and themselves, went somewhere together. It seemed like Roy and Joanne were always inviting them to come over, and they never invited them back. Johnny still felt indebted to pay back Roy’s constant presence and support while he was in the hospital, and wanted to do something nice for him. Remembering a conversation about restaurants they’d had the last time they’d visited the DeSoto’s, Heather suggested they treat the couple to dinner at her favorite French restaurant. It was a place the two of them had frequented before Johnny’s accident. She remembered Joanne mentioning that she and Roy hadn’t been out to a really nice restaurant in ages. They had gone out on their anniversary, but it hadn’t been anything fancy. Johnny was a little hesitant to suggest it, given Roy’s reluctance to let Johnny spend any money on him, but the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to do it.

He finally decided to call Roy at the station to ask him. Luckily, Marco answered the phone, and got Roy on the line. Hesitant at first to let Johnny pay, he was finally convinced, knowing that Joanne would be thrilled, and hung up happily looking forward to Friday night.

Wesley had heard the whole conversation, and was possessed by the idea of foiling Gage’s plans. As soon as Roy got off the phone, he dashed into the dorm and made a quick call to Doreen, instructing her to call Joanne DeSoto and make plans for the four of them for Friday night. No one heard the call, and as luck had it, the tones went off before Roy had a chance to call Joanne and tell her about the plans he’d just made with Johnny.

The crew returned from the run late, and the men were all hungry when they finally trudged into the day room after a grueling fire. Roy waited until after dinner, then went into the dorm to call Joanne privately. To his disappointment, Joanne informed him that Doreen Adams had called that afternoon, and that they’d already made plans for Friday night. Joanne urged Roy to reschedule the plans he had made with Johnny, since Doreen seemed so happy to be getting together with them. Part of the truth was that while Joanne preferred Johnny to Wesley, she also preferred Doreen to Heather. They just had more in common. And she felt that since Doreen had asked first, it was only fair to accept her invitation. As they neared the end of their conversation, she sensed Roy’s disappointment, and suggested that maybe they should all go out together. Roy balked at the idea, wishing instead that Joanne could reschedule with Doreen, but not wanting to argue. He hung up with a sigh, then reached for the telephone once again, to call Johnny about it and see what he wanted to do.

Johnny tried not to convey his disappointment when Roy called to tell him of their dilemma, but tried to think of a way not to postpone their plans. After wavering a moment, he suggested, “Look, why don’t we all go out together? It’ll be easy to change the reservation from four to six. After all, the more the merrier, right?” While Johnny would have preferred to spend the evening with Roy and Joanne alone, he was also curious about the relationship that Roy and Wesley had developed, and thought this would be a good opportunity to observe it for himself, and see if what Chet had said had any merit.

Roy agreed enthusiastically, pleased that Johnny didn’t mind the Adam’s joining them, then mentioned that he certainly didn’t expect Johnny to pay for all their dinners. The payment was insignificant to Johnny, who by now, rarely worried about how much he spent when he went out, and he merely brushed off Roy’s statement.

Part 7