You Had to Go There Anyway (Missing scene from “To Buy or Not to Buy”) by krh

Disclaimer:  The following is a work of fan fiction based on the television series, Emergency!.  It is in no way intended to infringe on the copyrights of MARK VII LIMITED, Universal Studio or anyone else who may have legal rights to the characters and settings.  I don't own the characters. Only using them for a short time and will return them in relatively the same shape as when borrowed.

As always, any errors or inconsistencies are of my doing and do not in any way reflect on those assisting me.

Author notes:  Possible missing scene from “To Buy or Not to Buy” or an AU to the episode as I have a scene in my head that was not showed on TVLand.   It may be my imagination or something from a story I read, but I seem to remember a scene at the bridge where John thanks Roy after he came down.  

For this piece, no life-threatening injury or anything like that.  I just thought that a certain paramedic needed a little TLC after saving his partner and the victim from possible death.  After all, if you watch the scene, he gets pulled off his feet when they fall.  Also, a little literary license has been taken – Cap called for a snorkel truck, but I wanted a ladder truck, so…  that’s what showed up for this add on piece.

Italicized dialogue is from the actual episode written by Keith A. Walker.  No copyright infringement intended.

Enjoy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Watching as his partner scaled up the post to reach the young man stranded on the span under the bridge, Los Angeles Firefighter/Paramedic Roy DeSoto chewed on his lip.  Chancing a glance toward the obviously agitated young man, Roy had a bad feeling that Johnny would not have an easy time of it.   Making sure the rope was untangled, he wrapped it behind his body to use his body weight for leverage if need be.

Waiting until his partner, John Gage, had tossed the life line around the upper joint, Roy began to again feed out the rope to his partner as he sat himself on the bridge span.

John could hear the anxious panting of the young man as he reached the span.

“Stay away, you’ll make me fall,” the young man named Peter screamed back towards the advancing firefighter

“Pete, just take it easy, okay.  I want you to stay calm,” Johnny said, scooting his body closer to the epileptic teen. 

“I can’t, I’m going to fall; I can’t let go!  You don’t understand! Get away from me,” Roy heard Peter yell back.

“You’re going to be all right, you’re going to be fine,” Johnny soothed, “just take it easy, okay?”

“Stay away! Stay away or I’m going to fall!”  Peter’s agitation escalated close to obvious panic.

Stopping behind Peter, John reached for the second belt clipped to his.  “There we go.  Yeah, see we’re going to get you down real easy.  I’ve got a belt here… Peter calm down,” John’s voice became sterner as he saw the tell-tale jerking of the boy’s body indicating the beginning of an epileptic seizure.  “PETER!” 

Holding his breath, Roy watched John reach around the teen when he heard John’s voice change from calming to alarmed.  “Peter… PETER!  ROY, HE’S GONE INTO A SIEZURE! Peter… Peter!” John tried to calm the young boy

Instinctively Roy wanted to move to help his partner.  Knowing it was more important to anchor him, Roy stood helplessly as he watched John try to contain Peter’s uncontrollable jerking movements.  It was then that he saw John and Peter tumble from the bridge. 

The momentum of their fall threw Roy into the bridge span slamming his shoulder into the concrete buttress.   Fighting through the pain that lashed through his arm, shoulder and back, Roy struggled to hold onto the rope and regain his feet.  

If he didn’t, neither of the people dangling on the other end would survive. 

Before Roy could call out to John to determine if he was injured, he heard the answer to his unspoken question.  

“Yeah, I’m okay, but you’re going to have to drop me.  I can’t hang onto him.  He’s dead weight,” Johnny screamed, his voice echoing off of the bridge above him.

Swallowing hard, Roy fought off the black spots that danced in front of his eyes.  “I can’t bring you up,” he yelled back after a moment. “I’m going to have to let you down.”

“All right.  Just do something.  I can’t hang onto him,” John stressed, his voice tight. 

Sliding the rope through his hands, Roy ignored the screams of protest his shoulder was giving at the dead weight pulling on him.  Not able to chance a break in his concentration by looking down, he could not tell how close to the ground his partner was.  

“HURRY!” Johnny’s voice came up to him.

Gritting his teeth, Roy loosened his grip on the rope to allow it to slide faster across his lower back.  Relief flooded through him when he felt the pull on him ease and finally stop, indicating that Johnny and Peter had reached the safety of the ground.  Chancing a look downward, he raised a hand to his partner who was looking up at him, ensuring he was okay.

‘Yeah, I’m fine, partner,’ Roy mentally said, ‘as long as you are,’ he added, shuddering at the memory of seeing Johnny fall off of the bridge.  Blowing out a loud breath, Roy eased down to his knees, pressing his back to the pillar behind him.  The rescue had left him feeling physically weak and emotionally spent.  Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes, trying to will the pain in his shoulder to ease up.  Forcing his body to take in several deep breaths, he felt the muscles to slowly begin to release their tautness.

“ROY?  YOU OKAY?”

The voice of the station’s engineer, Mike Stoker, reached up to him. 

“Yeah.” It sounded weak even to Roy.  Clearing his throat, he tried again.  “YEAH… JUST NEED A MINUTE,” he called down. 

Leaning his head back again, Roy contemplated the irony of the day.  Here it was, barely mid-morning, and he had already been run through a gamut of emotions as well as banged up his body… again.  It just didn’t seem to be his week.

First, a ceiling collapsed on him and the teenage girl he was trying to rescue from her burning house.  Luckily, he had been able to shield her with his body, and he only had suffered a scrape down his entire shin.   Still, all and all, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.  After all, as Doctor Brackett had told them, without that fire, the teenager probably would have died from diabetic shock. 

Then there was the house.  Ah, yes, the infamous house.   Roy was sorry he ever mentioned that he was thinking it was time for him and the family to move into a bigger place.  That had set Johnny AND Chet into overdrive, trying to be “helpful.”  A twinge of regret passed through Roy as he remembered how angry he had been this morning with Johnny when he realized that John had bought the house he wanted from underneath him. 

Still, the week hadn’t been a total loss.  Helping the young accident victim find his dog was okay.  The boy and the dog had been thrown out of the back of a pickup when his father had tried to avoid another car.  Ironically they both had broken left limbs.  

‘At least he wasn’t worried about his cashmere sweater,’ Roy chuckled to himself remembering another call from the week.  The fender bender involving two student drivers was one for the books.   The victim he was working on was more worried about finding her glasses so she could see if he was cutting her sweater than about the fact that she had been in an accident.  John’s victim hadn’t been any better.  After all, he was ‘just a fireman’ so what did he know about treating a black eye?

The sound of Truck 127 pulling in caught Roy’s attention.  Smiling slightly he could almost hear in his mind Cap apologizing for not getting them cancelled in time.  ‘No harm,’ Roy thought gazing out at the surrounding scenery.  He really was up pretty high and had a good view over the canyon.  As he turned to scan the horizon, his shoulder reminded him why he was sitting there. 

Grimacing, Roy eased himself back around and carefully moved his arm.  It was going to be sore for awhile, there was no doubt about that.

“ROY?”

Looking down, Roy saw Captain Stanley standing beside the Captain of 127.  

“ROY, STAY PUT,” Stanley shouted up.  “WE’LL BE UP TO GET YOU.” 

“I’M OKAY,” Roy yelled back, waving them off.  “I’LL BE THERE IN A MINUTE.” 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Frowning, Stanley moved to the window of the engine and reached up.  In a minute, Roy heard his voice being broadcasted through the truck’s radio system.

“DESOTO, STAY PUT UNTIL GAGE CHECKS YOU OUT!” Stanley ordered again.  Turning to the paramedic advancing on him, he looked over the younger man judging his readiness and fitness to go back up on the bridge.  “John, you sure you’re okay to do this?” 

Johnny nodded, pulling on his gloves.  “I think Roy got the worse end of the deal,” he added as the ladder truck began to whine, announcing the extension of the ladder upward. 

“He took a pretty good hit against the overpass when you went off,” Cap reported, helping John up to the ladder truck.

“Which side?” John asked looking upward at the bridge he was about to tackle for the second time. 

“Left,” Cap said, handing John a coiled rope. 

Slipping the rope over one arm and his head, John nodded before he started to climb.   Reaching the bridge section where Roy was kneeling, John had a moment to quietly assess his partner as he stood up.  Despite the grimace of pain when he moved, John noted he was moving all parts of his body.  “You okay?” he asked, stepping onto the bridge. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Roy acknowledged tiredly, waving away John’s question.  “I’m not the one who fell off a bridge.”   

Grinning, John relaxed.  Roy would not be joking with him if he was seriously injured.  “Oh, so you saw that?” 

“More like felt it,” Roy answered, his voice dry with irony.  “You been putting on weight?”

John nodded toward Roy’s side.  “Cap said you took a pretty good hit.”   His statement served as both an observation and an inquiry as to how much it was damaged.

Glancing dismissively toward his shoulder and left arm, Roy shook his head.  “It’s just bruised.”

Pulling off his gloves, John looked at him with a serious expression.  “So, you won’t fight me if I look at it?” 

“And I suppose if I told you that you don’t need to, you’re going to do it anyway,” Roy sighed, knowing he was going to lose the battle so he might as well concede it and get it over with.  Turning his shoulder toward the younger man, he diverted his attention towards the ground.  “How’s Peter?” 

“Sleeping,” John reported, slowly manipulating Roy’s arm and watching his face for any signs of extreme discomfort.  “Brackett okayed holding the ambulance for you.” 

“I don’t need the ambulance,” Roy hissed, pulling away from the probing fingers as John pressed on the joint.

“Uh huh,” Johnny acknowledged skeptically, stepping back.  “Well, I think Cap’s going to make you go in it whether you want to or not.”  Holding up his hand to stop the objections that were about to tumble out of his partner’s mouth, he continued.  “It’s probably just bruised like you said, but that doesn’t mean Cap’s not going to insist you get it looked at.” 

“What about you?” Roy scanned John’s face.  “You took a pretty good lick too,” he countered, knowing the abrupt stop and resulting pressure from the safety belt on John’s midsection had to have been painful. 

“Maybe,” John replied dryly.  “But, I’m not the one been sitting up here taking a nap.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“GAGE, YOU NEED THE STOKES?” Hank called up watching the movement of his men.  From the looks of Roy now standing unassisted, he doubted it, but it never hurt to make sure.

“NO!”  

Stanley smiled at the sound of both of his men yelling down the answer at the same time, one a little more emphatically than the other. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“You wanna climb or ride?” John asked, starting to take the rope from around his neck.    The deadpan expression he received had him removing his hand from the rope and holding it up to placate Roy.  “Okay… okay, climb.”   Halting his movement toward the ladder, he added, “I’m gonna shadow you, okay?” 

Roy deadpanned another look at the younger paramedic, letting him know he thought Johnny was making way more of this than was necessary.

“Humor me,” John stated, his countenance one of not budging on the issue. 

“Fine,” Roy conceded, “but I really am okay.”  Waiting until John was on the ladder, he stepped onto it, gritting his teeth as his shoulder protested to the movement of his arm upward as he lowered himself.  Pausing he waited for the pain to subside before trying again.

“Hurtin’?” John asked, leaning off the side of the ladder to look at Roy’s face. 

“Little,” Roy grunted, shifting his grip on the rung a little.  “Let’s get this over with,” he finally said, knowing it wasn’t going to get better anytime soon and there was no way he was going to let Johnny lower him down after the fall he had taken.

“Easy,” Johnny soothed.  He could hear the labored breathing indicating Roy’s discomfort as they descended.  Making sure he was close enough to use his body to catch the larger man should he slip, John chanced a glance down.  What he saw was a cluster of anxious firemen waiting for them to descend.

“Looks like you got a greeting party waiting for you,” John offered, putting his hand on Roy’s back in a silent message for him to rest a minute. 

Chancing a look down, Roy swallowed.  “Lucky me,” he breathed, knowing from the looks that there was no way he was going to get out of a trip to Rampart.  

“Ready?” John asked, checking to see if Roy wanted to start again.

“Yeah,” Roy said nodding.   “Better get off of this before Cap sends somebody up after us.” 

Chuckling John agreed.  “Wouldn’t put it past him.  He wasn’t too happy when Mike told him you hadn’t come down yet.” 

“Remind me to thank Mike,” Roy remarked, sarcasm seeping through the tightness in his voice. 

“Easy there,” Hank Stanley called, reaching up to rest a hand on John’s back as he neared the ladder platform to let him know he was close to the bottom.

“I got it, Cap,” John said, stepping off to one side and watching as Hank and Mike helped Roy off the ladder. 

“You okay, pal?” Hank asked, scanning Roy’s features, noting his lips pressed tightly together and his jaw clenched. 

“Yeah.”  Roy tried to muster up a grin to his Captain.  “Just needed a minute to rest,” he offered, trying to ease the obvious concern in his superior’s face.

“Come on,” Stanley replied, his eyes noting that Roy’s smile did not reach his eyes. “Let’s get you down from here… that’s right, nice and easy… one more step… got it,” Hank soothed guiding Roy down to the ground.   “Have a seat here and let John take a look at you.” 

“How’s Peter doing?” John asked, discarding the rope from over his head and unbuckling his safety belt. 

“Still sleeping,” Cap reported.  “Chet’s with him.” 

“Thanks, Marco,” John acknowledged as Lopez set down the drug box and biophone next to him. 

“You okay, Roy?” Marco asked, as Johnny reached for Roy’s wrist to take a pulse.

“Just bruised up my shoulder,” Roy assured his colleague as John wrapped the blood pressure cup around his arm.  “No big deal.  All of this,” he gestured with his chin to all of the men and activity focused on him, “really isn’t necessary.  I’ll be fine.”  

“Vitals are a little high, but normal given the situation,” Gage announced, letting the air out of the blood pressure cup on Roy’s arm.

Sighing, Hank felt the fear in him ease up.   “You’re still going to the hospital for a check up,” he ordered.

“Figured as much,” Roy said, a tinge of dry amusement in his voice.  Catching the smile lurking on Gage’s face as he put the BP back in the drug box, Roy looked up at his Captain.  “Johnny here could use a check up too.  His ribs had to take quite a beating up there.” 

“Now, wait a minute…” John blurted out, coming upright and readying his protest.  His objection was cut short.

“Excellent idea,” Stanley agreed, glaring at Gage to silence him.   “Marco, take the Squad to Rampart.  You two,” the older man pinned Roy and John with his eyes.  “Ambulance.  Now.”     

Helping Roy to his feet, John glared at his partner.  “Thanks a lot,” he complained under this breath.  “I was gonna get out of it.” 

Smiling as he moved toward the waiting vehicle, Roy murmured back taking the drug box from John.  “Hey, look at it this way… you had to go there anyway.” 

“Oh ha, ha,” John snorted.  “Had to go there anyway,” he mimicked back derisively.   “Very funny.” 

Overhearing the bantering between the two men, Hank sent a silent thanks to the heavens.  As quickly as the rescue had gone bad, it was only because of Roy that John was there.  If Roy had lost his grip or been seriously injured when Johnny fell….  Hank forced his mind off of the dire possibility.  Instead he called out.  “Hey, Roy?”

The Captain’s call stopped the progress of the two paramedics.  Turning back, Roy look questioningly as Hank approached.

“Good job up there,” Hank stated, holding out his hand.

Shaking the hand offered to him, Roy blushed.  “Thanks, Cap.” 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

End of scene... back to the station now for the ending <G>

11/08

*Click above to send krh feedback

Guest Dispatchers                  Stories by krh