GUARDIANS by Alexandra pt. 1 She sat in her house, alone as always, just staring at the floor, eyes unseeing. She had received a phone call from her boss at midnight saying she was fired. This came after seven months work and she had just come off of working 26 days in a row; she'd had a tension migraine for a week and thought she had an ulcer starting in her stomach. Now she had no job. She had given everything she had to them; it was her last chance for sanity. She was just starting to feel like she was going to get back on her feet and onto firm ground before her support was once again kicked out from under her.She knew her family would take good care of her beloved animals and they could sell her house and everything to pay off her bills. She put the finishing touches on the letter and picked up the knife. Ro was worried, really worried, all her phone calls were unanswered. She knew how mentally fragile her friend was; between the physical collapse that had forced her to leave her government job, to how her ex-boyfriend had treated her, to this. Ro briefly considered her options, but decided the best one was to call the fire department. The men of Station 51 were asleep, as it was around two in the morning, but all six awoke when the dorm lights flashed on and the klaxon rang. -STATION 51 UNKNOWN TYPE RESCUE. 572 EAST THIRD ST. 5-7-2 EAST THIRD CROSS STREET MONROE. TIME OUT 0215 It was a cute little house; tan with dark green trim, set back from what could be a very busy street. Paramedics John Gage and Roy DeSoto quickly grabbed their equipment and led the way up the overgrown walkway to the front door. Roy, who was in the lead, looked into the dimly lit house. Despite the curtain on the door, he could still see through the small window in the door. "Cap we've got a suicide!" Roy called when he saw the young woman lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Hank tried the door and found it locked. "Ok Kelly, break the glass," he said. Once inside, past the glass on the floor, Roy knelt down and pressed two fingers against the young woman's throat and was relieved to feel a weak fluttering under his fingertips. "She's alive," he called. "Cap, we'll need the trauma and IV boxes. Marco, start the oxygen on six liters." "You got it." Hank got on the HT and asked Engineer Mike Stoker to bring in the extra gear, then he stepped back and watched his men work, knowing he would only be in the way. "Cap, can you man the biophone?" Johnny asked, digging in the trauma box Mike had just placed next to him. "Sure pal." Hank set up the biophone. "Rampart this is Squad 51. " 51 this is Rampart, go ahead the calm, deep voice of Dr. Kel Brackett came over the line. Hank absently petted the small gray and white cat that was rubbing against his legs. "Rampart, we have a female suicide victim, age mid-20s, wrists slit," Hank said. "We have her on six liters of O2." 51, what are the vitals? While Hank was on the biophone and the others working, Mike looked around and noticed what looked like a letter lying on the sofa. He picked it up and read it. For now I must decide what the answer shall be, for I have nothing left to give. II know my animals have a place with my parents where they shall be loved. There is no good reason for me to remain any longer. I shall regret only that I must hurt my parents but even they are not enough reason for me to continue along this empty and lonely path I have been forced to walk; alone and un-headed. As no one seems to care for me any longer I shall not say farewell for there is no one to hear me. Hank looked over and saw his normally unshakable engineer with tears glistening in the eyes. "You ok pal?" he asked, surprised. "I found a note," Mike replied, handing the paper over to his Captain. "How is she Roy?" "She'll be a lot better once she's at Rampart," Roy replied. "Does that note say why she did this?" "Not in so many words," Mike said, wiping his face. "Hey Cap," Marco called. "Ambulance just arrived." The emergency department at Rampart was jumping when Johnny followed the gurney into the hall. Dixie and Dr. Brackett were waiting just outside treatment four. "How is she, Johnny?" Brackett asked as they hurried into the room. "Vitals are starting to stabilize," Johnny replied. "But Doc, those cuts are pretty deep and she used a serrated blade." "Any idea who she is?" Dixie asked. Johnny pushed his bangs out of his eyes. "All we know is her first name," He sighed. "She had several diplomas hanging on the wall by some dog crates. Alexandra, it's a nice name." For the rest of the night and into the next morning, Mike Stoker was lost in thought; he couldn't get Alexandra off his mind. The sad words of that letter kept floating through his mind; all the blood that had been on the floor around her thin frame haunted him. And there was that strange dream of a large silver lizard with glowing purple eyes studying him from a rock of some kind. "Hey Mike." Johnny's soft voice penetrated the fog in his mind, startling him and almost causing both of them to take a coffee shower. "Well that answers that question." Johnny smiled as he sat down at the kitchen table. "What question, Johnny?" Mike asked, shaking his head slightly as if to clear it. "If you're all right," he replied. "You've been sitting here for over an hour just staring off into space. And your coffee's probably stone cold." "Thanks," Mike sighed. He stood slowly and walked over to the stove to pour a new cup. "I just keep thinking about last night." "Yeah I know, I do too," Johnny commented. "I was gonna swing by Rampart when we got off shift; you wanna join me?" "Junior," Mike said, using Roy's nickname for his partner. "Just try to keep me away. Dixie glanced up when she caught sight of a familiar figure. "Hey Johnny," she said with a smile. "What's up, oh hi Mike." "Is Brackett around?" Johnny asked. "We're wondering how our victim from last night is doing." "Why Johnny, are you breaking rule number one?" Dixie asked. He put his left hand flat on his chest. "Me Dix?" he asked in reply. "A seasoned paramedic like me knows better that that, I'm just curious." "Uh huh, Kel's in his office," Dixie said. She watched the two men walk off. "Softy," she muttered with a smile as she went back to her paperwork. "She's still unconscious," Brackett sighed. He took the cup of coffee Johnny had brought along. "But she's stable and that's important. Joe and I stitched her up but we don't think she'll ever be able to use her left hand again." "Could we see her for a minute?" Johnny asked. Kel leaned back in his chair and studied the men in front of him for a moment. "Normally no," he sighed. "But we still don't really know who she is so we haven't been able to contact any relatives. I saw a copy of that note and it sounded like she felt totally abandoned. You guys can have ten minutes each; she needs to know someone cares for her. Johnny said he needed to get something from his Rover, so Mike rode up alone in the elevator to the room Brackett told them Alexandra was in. When he opened the door, he saw she was alone in the stark hospital room. He walked over and sat down in the chair next to her bed. He began to feel as if he was being watched, like in his dream, and Mike almost looked around to see if he was really alone. Brackett had said she would be able to hear them even if she didn't respond so he cleared his throat and hoped he wouldn't sound like too much of an idiot. "Hi Alexandra," he said softly. "Or do you like Alex, I wonder? I'm Mike Stoker, an engineer with the county fire department. I know you don't know who I am or why I'm here but I'd really like to be your friend. My station rescued you last night and brought you to the hospital." He broke off and reached into his pocket. "I normally keep this in my shaving kit as a good luck charm," he continued just as softly. Mike slipped the diamond ring onto her right hand. "It belonged to my grandmother and sometimes I think her strength went into the ring. I think you need the luck more than I do right now. Don't worry if I don't get it back; as much as it means to me, I really think Gramma would want me to give it to you." The feeling of being watched increased and this time Mike did look around the hospital room, but there was no one there. It wasn't unusual for the A-shift crew to gather in the day room once all their chores were done. It wasn't unusual for Mike to be reading something. And it really wasn't unusual for Chet to be tormenting Johnny. "Gage that is so lame," Chet said. "A dream catcher, now what exactly is she supposed to do with that?" "You wouldn't understand," Johnny replied, trying without much success to read the newspaper. "Dream catchers are very helpful for those who believe in them." Chet, seeing that Johnny was still calm decided to try a new angle. "So you planning to ask her out?" Johnny sighed. "No Kelly, I am not going to ask her out," he replied. "Now please, I'm trying to read the paper." "Yeah, that's all you'll ever be able to do," Chet commented. "Try to read the paper, let me know if you ever succeed." He left Johnny sputtering at the table and walked over to where Mike was sitting on sofa, using Henry as a book prop. "What about you, Stoker, what trinket did you give her?" "That's none of your business," Mike replied, turning the page. "Chet, why don't you find something constructive to do with this spare time we have?" "Yeah, like playing in traffic," Johnny muttered from the table. Hank picked that moment to walk into the kitchen. "If you guys are bored," he said, pulling out the milk," I'm sure the latrine could use some more cleaning." "Everything's cool Cap," Mike said quietly. He looked up from his book. "Just the same old thing." Chet, noticing Mike's distraction, grabbed the book he'd had his nose buried in every spare moment he had. "After Suicide?" Chet exclaimed. "How stupid is that, why in the world would you want to read something like this?" Mike flushed red and tried to grab his book, but Chet was on a roll and stayed out of reach. So Mike, rather than sit there and listen, pushed Henry off his lap and retreated to the engine bay. From the day room he could hear Hank yelling at Chet and assigning him to three months of latrine duty. Mike shook his head, that's what always happened and Chet never seemed to learn his lesson. "Hey Mike," Johnny said softly. He sat down on the engine next to the engineer. "Just ignore Chet, he's just in one of his moods, it'll pass." "I just can't stop thinking about Alex," Mike replied. "I've heard you and Roy say its bad to get hung up on a patient but I can't help it, I feel like I'm being drawn to her." "That's why you've been reading about suicide," Johnny said. Mike knew Johnny had a serious side but he'd never seen it before. "Yeah, I'd like to be able to help her as much as possible," he said. "If I even can, that book said a certain percent of attempted suicides will try again and again until they manage to kill themselves." "There's something else isn't there?" Johnny asked. "Something about a dream." "How did you know?" Mike gasped. "Its something my grandfather taught me," Johnny said with a smile. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, dreams are important but personal." Mike looked down at his hands. "There's not much to tell," he whispered. "I'm just being watched by this large silver lizard." "How big is it?" Johnny asked. -Station 51 Possible heart attack. 19280 Tigre Street. Cross street Howard. Time out 1545- Late that night, Mike jerked awake, the dream of the silver lizard still fresh in his mind. He slipped into his bunker pants and walked as quietly as he could to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of milk. With a small sigh, he sat down at the table and rested his head in his hands. "Mike?" Johnny asked from the doorway. "The exact same dream," Mike replied. "Why am I having the same dream?" Johnny perched on the kitchen table. Mike was surprised to see Gage was in his uniform pants. "Well, there's two possibilities," Johnny said. "The first one is that your mind is trying to tell you something and the lizard is a symbol for that." "What's the other option?" Mike asked. "Michael, how much do you know about the dream realm?" Shocked at the use of his full name, Mike swallowed hard. "Apparently not that much." Johnny leaned back on his hands. "The dream realm is a place we go when we sleep," he started. "If the mind is trained for it, you can receive messages and find answers to important questions." "John, do you think this is all because I've been thinking about Alexandra so much?" "Its possible but I'd like to find out more about this creature that's watching you," he said. "But I can't do it here because we might get a run." "When we get off shift in the morning?" "Sure, but lets stop by Rampart first and see how Alex is doing," Johnny said. "C'mon, let's try to get some sleep." Mike finished his milk and put the glass in the sink before the friends walked back to the dorm and to their respective bunks. Mike fell back into a restless slumber, not aware that Johnny sat awake the rest of the night, watching Mike as he slept. When Johnny and Mike walked into the emergency department, Dr. Joe Early stopped them. "You guys here to see our young suicide?" he asked. "Her name is Alexandra," Mike stated. "We've had to put her off limits," Joe continued, rubbing his left hand with his right. "She's been sedated, every time she's awake and anyone goes near her, she starts screaming. She's ripped out her stitches twice already." "Doc, just let Stoker here in to see her for a second," Johnny said. "Please trust me." "John, it's not that easy," Dr. Early sighed. "We're trying to keep her calm not excite her more." The normally quiet, stoic engineer was ready to scream by the time Johnny finally prevailed, but in truth Joe Early was a total tender heart who really hoped someone or something would be able to reach the troubled young woman. Both Johnny and Mike walked into the room but Johnny stayed back by the door while Mike went right up next to the bed and sat down in the chair. "Hey Alexandra," Mike said softly. "The doctor's say you've been having some problems, is there anything I can do to help?" The young woman on the bed stirred and her eyes fluttered open. John and Mike braced themselves for screams that never came. Mike froze when he finally saw her eyes; they were the exact color of the eyes of the lizard from his dream. "You gave me this," she said in a whisper as she moved her right hand slightly. "Normally I would ask what you wanted from me, but AnChi has been watching you and says your heart is true and your soul is pure. I can trust you." She turned her strange eyes of Johnny. "You gifted me with the dream catcher," she said only slightly louder. "You understand." Johnny nodded and smiled his crooked grin. "You're guarded by a dragon aren't you?" "A small family," she replied. "The father is my guide, but I can also see the two small sons. " "AnChi must be one of them." "The elder," she said. Alexandra turned to Mike. "He has chosen you." "I don't understand," he said, looking between Alex and Johnny. "He will explain," Alex said, indicating Johnny. "When may I leave?" Mike picked up her right hand and held it gently. He was happy to see she didn't flinch or pull away. "Not for a while, the doctors are really worried about you, especially since you've been freaking out whenever anyone comes around." "There is no one else I can trust," Alexandra said, turning away from Mike. "No one cares." Both men heard the despair in her voice and cringed. Mike knew somehow that she would try to kill herself again. He squeezed her hand. "Alexandra, who has hurt you so badly?" Johnny reacted a split second faster than Mike and pulled the quiet engineer away from the bed just as two holes were punched in the sheet where his arm had been. "LinChi stop!" Alexandra cried. "They don't know any better!" She sighed and leaned back against her pillows. "My apologies, he overreacted to my emotions," she said. "Why did you bring me back? Why was I not allowed to leave?" Dr. Early chose that moment to burst into the room. He picked up a syringe and moved towards the bed. Alexandra saw him and started screaming and thrashing about on the bed. Mike was knocked back by one of Alex's leg as she kicked out and was helpless as the doctor sedated the young woman again. "You two should leave," he sighed. "I think she's gonna have to go to psychiatric soon. There's not much more I can do for her." "Doc, Mike and I are going to stay," Johnny stated. "We were just making some progress when you knocked her out again. Doc, she's a very deep person and in the depths of that mind are things none of us can understand. You need to quit with the drugs and let Mike talk to her because she seems to trust him." "It's against my better judgment but okay," Joe said. "But anymore outbreaks like that and she's changing floors." The friends sat on the other bed and watched the mysterious and troubled young woman sleep. "Johnny, you want to clear some things up for me?" "The dragons," Johnny sighed. "Somehow I think that'll take more time that we have." "Well, how about telling me how she knew what we gave her?" Mike asked. Johnny looked over at Mike. "That goes back to the dragons," he said. "All right Mike, I'll try to summarize as best I can. Alex is protected by a guardian spirit; she's completed a dream walk. While I've never heard of anyone finding a family on their dream walk, she seems to. I had my suspicions when you told me you've had the same dream night after night, that you were being watched by a spirit guardian. Now, if I'm understanding her correctly, the dragon who has showed up in your dreams is the eldest son of her spirit guardian and he's chosen to bond to you." Mike looked even more lost. "But I haven't taken this dream walk," he said. "How can I have a, a spirit guardian?" Because you have been chosen. "Johnny, did you say something?" Mike asked, looking around. He froze when he saw the lizard, dragon from his dream curled up on the bed next to him, its head resting on his arm. He will not hear me. My name is AnChi, son of LinChi, guardian of one you have met. You are the only one who can heal her. The only one she will totally trust. But be warned if that trust is ever violated, she will die and my father with her. "But I'm only a fireman," Mike protested. "How can I help her?" You cared enough to come visit a complete stranger when she was completely alone. The voices in the ring have spoken to her. She knows. She has lost all faith in man because of what was done to her. Never ask about her past. I will tell you what you must know. "Ok, that seems easy when you say it, but how do you know she will trust me?" Mike asked. "And what about my friend Johnny?" "Mike, I may not be able to help much anymore," Johnny commented. "It may just be up to you from this point on. Trust your instincts and the guardians; they'll help you the most at this point." 2 months later No one but Captain Stanley knew exactly why Mike had taken two weeks off. He was flying north with Alexandra so she could spend some time with her parents and also collect her animals from them. As they got to know each other they found they actually had a lot in common; they were both bookworms and both loved quiet time, as well as sharing a love of the beach. It became a habit of theirs to walk along the beach every night while she was healing and Mike wasn't on shift. Mike couldn't believe some of the things that had been done to Alexandra. AnChi shared most of them, but as she started trusting him more and more, Alex told him some as well. What shocked him the most was that they had been done by people Alexandra trusted the most outside her family; teachers and an ex-boyfriend. Mike wasn't a violent man by nature, but he would've loved nothing more than to introduce her "ex" to the business end of a fire hose and a brick wall. But the biggest challenge was still months away, and that was to get Alexandra back into society and around other people. Mike had found out about a close friend named Ro, who had called them the night Alexandra had tried to kill herself, and after a couple of phone calls, learned Ro was really worried and wanted to help. But Mike still had the feeling that Alexandra would bolt if confronted with anyone other than her parents or Mike. He didn't know how he'd been so lucky to be gifted with such a special friend, but he knew exactly what a treasure he had in his life and he went out of his way to tell her every chance he got. -The end- feedback for Alexandra return to main menu