Johnny's Girl

Johnny's Girl
by Min

Johnny Gage awoke with sunlight streaming in through his bedroom window. His first thought was of her. He closed his eyes, remembering their kiss last night. It was sweet, and short, thanks to Doc Early, but it was different from any of their other kisses. He could not describe it, it just was. He opened his eyes, and glanced at the picture of her on his dresser. He smiled as he looked at the Orioles hat on her head. "I'll make a Dodger fan of you yet." He thought. Sitting on the side of the bed, he picked up the phone, and dialed her number.

She answered on the first ring. "Good morning, Mulvaney residence."

"Hi, Doc. How ya doing this morning?" His voice was soft and gentle.

She liked the way he said "Doc". The way Johnny said it, it sounded absolutely beautiful. "I'm a little tired, but fine. How did you sleep?"

"Okay, it took me a little while to get settled down. Ready for this morning?" he asked with a smile.

"Oh I guess so. It certainly will be interesting. I'm planning to stop in and see Dixie this morning before work; can I tell her anything for you?"

Johnny smiled. Dixie McCall was one of his most favorite people, and he felt a little guilty about teasing her yesterday about her injury. "Yeah, tell her Roy and I will probably be stopping by when we get a chance. And Hon, tell her I'm sorry."

Melinda's heart leaped. "He called me Hon! Why are you sorry, Johnny? What happened?"

"I teased her about her wrist injury just before I picked you up. Then I saw Brackett bend down and kiss her in the elevator. I knew there was something going on with them!" he exulted.

Melinda decided to use her best Dixie imitation on him. "Now John, sweetheart, we don't gossip about hospital staff, that's not a good thing." She waited to hear his reaction.

"Did you just call me sweetheart?" He grinned.

Melinda stood there with the phone in her hand, looking at it. "Yes, are you going to do something about it?" "This is really getting interesting!" she thought.

"I might, you never know. I could sneak up on you at the hospital, or not. I could be just like the Phantom; you'll never know where I turn up." Looking at the clock, he finished his conversation with, "I gotta get going, and so do you. We'll both be late, and in the doghouse. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay, stay safe, hon." She hung up the phone, not hearing Johnny's response.

"I will, love you." The line went dead. He smiled to himself. "I'll just have to tell her in person." He proceeded to get ready.

****************

Melinda pulled her little white station wagon in her spot in Rampart General's employee parking lot. It wasn't the same little car she'd arrived in LA with, after her botched wedding to Geoff, that car had been wrecked in an accident on the 405 after she had gotten pulled over for speeding. Melinda and Officer Vince Howard had both been injured when they and their vehicles had been struck by an out of control truck.

51s had been the station assigned to her rescue, and she smiled as she remembered her first encounter with John Gage and his partner, Roy DeSoto.

Johnny's crooked grin was the first thing she remembered seeing when he introduced himself.   His approach to her care was direct, and gentle. He followed the hospital's instructions with great care and precision. Their friendship started during her recovery, and had grown in the last six months.

Coming back to the present, she got out of the car and headed into the hospital. Another busy day was starting.

In the women's locker room, several voices could be heard as Melinda entered the room, and made her way to her locker. Everyone's backs were to her, so they didn't see her enter the room.

".....Well, I think it was a good interview." stated Carol Williams. "They described everything in such good detail, I felt like I was right there with them. Johnny and JoAnne did a good job with the babies, and so did Dr. Mulvaney and Roy."

"Well, of course YOU would think so, Carol, after all Gage and DeSoto are part of your little fireman clique." Bess Davies, one of the nurses, scoffed. "You guys in Emergency tend to stick together."

Anne, one of the most gossipy nurses Rampart had, chimed in with, "And did you see the way Johnny was hanging on to Dr. Mulvaney? Like he was terrified or something."

Carol looking very disgusted, replied, "You know how Johnny is before cameras, he gets nervous. I thought it was sweet."

"You would, Carol."   Melinda thought it was sweet too. Johnny had confessed that he was a little nervous, but she thought he had handled himself very well. Sitting down on the bench, she removed her street shoes, and put on her duty shoes. The conversation continued.

"Did you see the way he was looking at her?" one of the other nurses asked. "Do you guys think they're...?"

"OF COURSE they are!" Answered Anne. "They've been seeing each other for how long? Six months now? This IS Johnny Gage we're talking about now.   They've probably been sleeping together for a long while."

Melinda's head jerked up sharply. She was a little shocked, and a lot mad. How dare they!

Carol warned Anne, "You'd better watch it. Miss McCall finds out, and you'll be emptying bedpans in the morgue. You know how she feels about gossiping."

Anne ignored her, and said, "Speaking of Miss McCall, guess who's been spending a lot of time in her room since she got hurt. I hear that Dr. Brackett hasn't left her side since the operation."

Carol shook her head, and prepared to leave the room. "Anne, I mean it..."

Anne turned on her. "Carol, if this conversation bothers you so much, why don't you leave?"

"I am leaving, Anne. Just watch what you say about Dr. Mulvaney and Miss McCall. You never know who could be listening." She strode away angrily.

Melinda finished dressing, and had closed her locker quietly. She headed toward the group in the center of the room.

Anne had started in again on Johnny and Melinda. "I just know they've been sleeping together."

"We aren't." Nurses appeared startled, and then started to scatter. "Everyone freeze! Nobody move!"   Anne looked like she had just seen a ghost, and took a step backward. It was a mistake. Melinda followed her, and backed her up against a bank of lockers. Anne's eyes were wide with terror. Melinda's face was a mask of rage.

"Once again, Anne, you have started an unfounded rumor regarding a member of this staff. I am not sleeping, nor have I ever slept with John Gage. We are dating and we are a couple. I happen to care for him very much, and I will not tolerate from you or anyone else for that matter, malicious gossip."

Melinda took a step back, and turned slightly so that she could see the rest of the nurses standing there. "As for Dixie, and Dr. Brackett, that is none of your business. What they do is their concern, not yours."

She took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly. "I have tried very hard to work well with each and every one of you. I like to think that we have a pretty good relationship. But, I will not put up with this gossip. If it doesn't cease immediately, I will place a call to the Director of Nursing. This is my only warning."

Several of the nurses stepped forward and apologized to her, and promised that it would not happen again. They left, and Melinda turned back to Anne. She looked at the woman standing there. "The ball is in your court now." Anne pushed away from the locker.

"Doctor, I don't think you can tell me what to do." She walked away. Melinda sighed. This was not going to be good.

**************************

At Station 51, Johnny and Roy arrived at the same time and were discussing the events of the previous evening. "I called the hospital before I left home, and they said that the Deputy Mayor was doing well, and the babies were great, too."

"How is JoAnne this morning?" inquired Johnny. Roy smiled. His wife had been very tired when they got home last night, and very excited. It had taken a cup of chamomile tea with honey, plus some extra special attention from Roy to calm her down. Then, this morning....   Roy smiled and blushed at the memory.

"Pally? You didn't answer me." Johnny said with a grin. "How is she?"

"Fine, Junior, just fine." answered his partner with a wider grin. "And that's all I am going to say on the matter." They finished dressing, and walked into the apparatus bay for roll call.

Captain Hank Stanley was standing there with Battalion Chief McConnikee as they approached.

"Gentlemen, the Chief has an announcement." Hank stepped back and let McConnikee take his place.

"I have a letter of commendation for John Gage and Roy DeSoto. Chief Houts has asked that I extend to you his congratulations for your actions of last evening, and to also extend his best wishes and thanks to both Mrs. DeSoto and to Dr. Mulvaney for their help and assistance. Our office has received hundreds of phone calls and the Mayor's office would also like to give you both their congratulations as well." He stepped forward and shook their hands. "You men are a credit to the department."

Roy stammered, "thank you, Sir. We just did what was necessary." Johnny nodded in agreement. He was too overwhelmed to speak; he didn't trust his voice at the moment.

The rest of the crew gathered around them to offer their congratulations as well, they were proud of their crewmates.

"Congratulations, guys, I understand you did a great job." stated Mike Stoker.

"John, amigo, they showed a picture of the babies, and they're so tiny. Weren't you afraid to hold them? And so many, I had no idea they could be born like that. I thought you had to be in a hospital to give birth like that." Marco Lopez was in awe.

"Thanks Mike. Marco, it was the most incredible thing, and yeah, I couldn't get over how tiny they were. And then when the last baby took his time coming out, I got a little scared there for a minute, and then when he decided to come out the right way, man ......."

"Yeah, yeah, you did good. How come you were hangin' onto the Doc for dear life, Gage? Scared of a little bitty camera, you coward!" Chet Kelly was starting to get up a full head of steam, and as the Phantom, he had to strike while the iron was hot. It wouldn't do to let his Pigeon get away without some torment, since the Phantom had standards to maintain.

"Shut up, Chet. For your information, the Doc was the one who was scared. She doesn't like public speaking, and asked me to hold her hand." Gage looked at him disgustedly.

"Yeah, likely story, Gage." Chet was reluctant to let go. His pigeon was likely telling the truth, but The Phantom showed no mercy. He went for the jugular. "Well, she probably decided to let you hold her hand and then when she was done, she probably ran out the door screaming."

"Chet, go play in traffic." Johnny's retort was mild.

"Oh, good comeback, Gage, whatsa matter? You babied out?"

"Chet, for your information, Doc and I had a great time during dinner, and after the interview, I took her home, so no she didn't go running away screaming!" Johnny was starting to get annoyed.

"Yeah, well, she certainly looked a little uncomfortable, probably because she was sitting next to you!" Kelly laughed.

Just then the tones rang out.   "Station 51, man trapped, 2112 Hervey Avenue, Two-One-One-Two Hervey Avenue, cross street Maplethorpe, time out 8:45." Sam Lanier's baritone called.

"Station 51, KMG-365." responded Cap.

Rolling up to the call, they found a woman screaming at the top of her lungs, and a man trapped under a pile of metal tubes. Standing at the side, four young boys stood glaring at the woman, the youngest boy stuck his tongue out at her.

"Young hooligans! Look what they did! Harry, are you all right? Harry, can you hear me? Harry, you'd better answer me!" The woman was livid.

Captain Stanley strode up to the group, and the boys shrank back. He smiled at them, and asked them, "Can any of you boys tell me what's going on here?" The woman grabbed his arm, and shouted, "Why are you asking those hoodlums? They're the cause of this whole mess!"

Captain Stanley took the woman's hand off his arm. "Madam, they're kids, what did they do?"

"I'll tell you what they did! They booby-trapped my husband in there, and now he's trapped!"   One of the boys ran up to Cap, and said, "Mister, that lady and her husband were chasing us off our project for school, and he was messing around in there, and now it's fallen on him. We didn't do anything to them! We were trying to build a model of a modern day building, and we had permission from our parents, and the super, and now it's ruined! They wrecked it!"

"We're gonna fail our class now, thanks to them," added the boy who stuck out his tongue.

Cap put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "I don't think that's gonna be a problem. Can you give us some idea of where to start so we can get the guy out?" The boys nodded, and proceeded to show Cap what pieces could be moved safely to extricate the victim.

The man's wife was still shrieking at the boys, when Vince Howard arrived and at Cap's nod, took the hysterical woman in tow, and placed her in his cruiser. She attempted to give him a hard time, but Vince calmly reminded her that interfering with a rescue is a felony, and that she could be spending some time in jail. She decided to comply with his request and sat there muttering.

Upon his escape from the pipes, the man refused care, and refused to sign the EMS refusal form. He threw it back in Johnny's face, and stalked over to Vince. "I demand that you arrest those hoodlums! That piece of junk is a hazard to the neighborhood, and I told their parents someone was going to get hurt!"

Vince not intimidated one iota, stood his ground. Cap came over and stood next to him, and the two of them stared the man down. "Sir, from what I understand, you are the one who caused the structure to come down, and tampered with this project. You are trespassing, and if you don't vacate the premises right now, I'm gonna have to arrest you. These boys are not doing anything wrong, and have permission to have this structure up. You have damaged their property, and they are well within their rights to press charges against both you and your wife. The choice is yours." advised Vince.   The woman got out of Vince's cruiser, and stood with her husband.

Cap stood there glaring at the people, as they left, and the woman turned around and stormed back to him, she pointed her finger, and put it on his chest. "Just you mark my words, they are nothing but trouble, and to think, my taxes pay your salary!"

"Then I want a raise!" muttered Cap. She glared at him, and then stalked off.    Hank just shook his head, and then glanced at his crew trying to maintain some sense of decorum. "Come on, let's go home."

"Cap, we need to go over to Rampart for some supplies." Roy found himself saying. Johnny looked at his partner, then at the Cap. He nodded in agreement.

"Okay, don't take too long, and tell Dix hi for the rest of us." He smiled at his paramedics, and then jumped into Big Red.

"LA, Squad 51, 10-8 to Rampart for supplies." Johnny grinned at his partner.

"Squad 51." responded Sam.

****************************

Meanwhile, at Rampart, Melinda had found time to sneak up to Dixie's room. Reaching the door, she knocked, and was surprised to have it answered by her boss, Kelly Brackett. "Doctor."

"Doctor" She nodded at him, and stepped aside to let him pass. She ducked inside Dixie's room, and found her slightly flushed. "Dix, are you okay?" Dixie smiled, and answered, "Yes, I am." She fixed her young friend with a stare, and then asked, "Just friends, huh?"

Melinda blushed, and then answered her friend. "Not any more. I can't explain what happened, it just seemed to be so right, and so natural, and now we're officially a couple. Dix, I feel like he's the other half of me. He's absolutely wonderful, and so gentle, and so funny. I love him, Dix, I really, really love him."

Dixie looked at her friend, and smiled. "I was wondering when you were going to get around to admitting it to yourself. All the signs were there; you just needed to get to that point. It's about time, too. Does he feel the same way?" She smiled.

"I hope so, or we're off to a rocky start," laughed Melinda.

The phone rang, and Dixie answered it. "Hello? Yes, she's here. Just a moment. She handed the phone to Melinda. She took it, and said, "Hello?" She listened for a moment, and said, "Yes, I'll be right up." She hung up the phone, picked it back up and dialed the nurse's station in Emergency. It rang, and when Carol picked up, she said, "Carol, it's me, I've been summoned to a meeting up in Mr. O'Brien's office. If you need me, you can reach me there, okay? Great. Talk to you soon." She hung up the phone, and turned to her friend on the bed. "I better get going; I'll let you know what happened later, okay?" She leaned over to give Dixie a hug, and then left.

Arriving at O'Brien's office, she smiled at the secretary sitting at the desk. "Hi, I'm Dr. Mulvaney, Mr. O'Brien is expecting me?"

The middle-aged woman sitting behind the desk looked her over her glasses, and picked up the phone. Speaking into it, she said," Sir, Dr. Mulvaney is here to see you. Very good sir." Putting the receiver down, she smiled at the young woman before her, and said "You may go in, Doctor."

Returning her smile, Melinda answered, "Thank you," and knocked on the door.

"Come in, Doctor. Have a seat." After she was seated, he stood up and walked around his desk. Perching on one corner, he leaned forward and asked, "Do you know why I called you here?"

Curious, Melinda answered with, "No sir, I don't. I presume it has something to do with either the quads, or the Deputy Mayor, but as to why I'm here, no, I don't know."

"You gave an interview to Carl Evans last night, and did not clear it with this office first. We had a news conference in the cafeteria, and were giving information to the press."

"Sir, I did not know that. If I had, I would not have given Mr. Evans the interview, but....."

"But, you did, and you made me look bad in the eyes of the press, and the public. We have an image to maintain here, Doctor, and you did not help with your interview."

Melinda swallowed. "Really sir, I am sorry that you feel that way. I thought the interview enhanced Rampart's reputation. After all, the paramedics use this as their base, and with staff from Rampart being favorably mentioned..... I really am sorry sir."

O'Brien stood up. "You should have thought of that before you gave the interview. Until further notice, you will work on-call for emergency. That is in addition to your regular schedule. You are dismissed, Doctor." He turned and went back to his chair.

Melinda stood up, stunned. She went to the door and opened it. The secretary smiled at her, then stopped.

"Doctor, are you all right?"

Melinda looked at her, not really seeing her. "Yes, I will be. Thank you for asking. Good bye." She left the office. Walking blindly down the corridor, she ran into Dr. Mike Morton. He looked at her with concern. "You okay, sis? You look like you've lost your best friend. You and Gage aren't having trouble, are you? If he's hurt you, then he'll have me to deal with."

Melinda smiled at her "big brother." Even after all these years, he still wanted to protect her. "No, Johnny and I are fine. I just came from Mr. O'Brien's office, and he wasn't pleased that we granted Carl Evans the interview and didn't clear it with him. I'm on call until further notice, along with my regular duties."

"He can't do that!"

"Well, apparently he can, and did. Look, bro, keep it to yourself, okay? I mean it! I don't need Mom or Joe to get involved, and I can fight my own battles."

"Okay, but if you get too tired, and your job performance gets affected, your butt's gonna be in a sling, and the last place you want to be is on Brackett's bad side. I worry about you. Just be careful, okay." Hearing his name being paged he got up to leave.

Melinda sat there and finished her coffee, then proceeded to do her rounds. She would get through this, one way or another.

Entering Emergency, Johnny and Roy headed to the desk. Carol was there, with Betty, who was handling Dixie's duties until she came back. Both nurses smiled at the guys. "Good morning, gentlemen, what can we do for you today?"

Roy smiled, and handed Betty the slip of paper with the necessary drugs on it. "Supplies, Betty, and we also came over to see how Dixie's doing."

Johnny was looking around for his favorite doctor, when his not so favorite doctor walked up to him. "Gage, if you're looking for my sister, she's heading this way. She needs some cheering up, and you're the one she needs right now." Morton put his hand on Johnny's shoulder.

Johnny looked concerned. "Is she okay?"

Mike nodded. "Yeah, she just got some unsettling news and she is going to need your support. I don't understand it, but you're good for her, and she cares for you very much."

"Doc, I love her, and I'll do whatever I have to, to make her happy."

Morton smiled. "I figured as much, good luck, Gage." He headed down the corridor.

Melinda was walking down the hallway, her eyes downcast, when she heard, "Hey, Partner." She lifted her head, and saw the handsome face of Roy DeSoto. She smiled, and reached out her hand. Roy took it, and pulled her in for a hug. "You look like you've lost your best friend, which isn't true, cause he's looking for you right now."

Melinda lifted her head and smiled at him. "Sorry, just got some things on my mind. Where is he?"

"I saw him head for the lounge." answered her friend.

"Okay, I'll catch him there." She reached up and gave Roy a kiss on the cheek. He blushed.

"What was that for?"

She smiled, "For the medicinal hug, Doctor DeSoto." Grinning, she headed for the lounge.

Unbeknownst to them, a pair of eyes saw the whole thing. "Isn't that interesting? I wonder how Johnny would feel if he saw his partner hugging and kissing his girlfriend? That would certainly cause some trouble in paradise," thought Anne. "And it would serve her right, too. Who did she think she was, practically attacking me in the locker room? This would really fix her good. Now, how to do it?"

*****************************

Johnny looked up to see the woman he loved walk in, and got up to give her a hug. She hugged him back, and said, "Two hugs in five minutes. I feel special." Reaching up, she gently kissed his lips. He responded with a kiss of his own.   Releasing her, they sat down at the table.

"Who else gave you a hug?"

"Your partner. He gave me a medicinal hug. I needed it too. And I really needed the hug you gave me. What a morning it's been. I got called up to Mr. O'Brien's office and called on the carpet for not clearing the interview through him, and now I have to work on call for Emergency, in addition to my other duties." Her eyes searched his face. "What's wrong?"

"It's my fault. If I hadn't pressured you, you wouldn't be in all this trouble. I'm sorry, sweetheart." He took her hand, and held it.

"Look, Johnny, I had a mouth, and a brain, this is just as much my fault as it is yours. I could have said no. It's no one's fault. We'll get through this."

Listening at the door, Anne and one of the other nurses, Terri, stood with surprised looks on their faces. "See, I told you, and you heard it. And now she's fooling around with his partner. I saw them hugging each other, and she kissed him. He's a married man!" Anne whispered.

"Poor JoAnne! This is awful!" Terri whispered. "And now with her pregnant, let's face it, the woman is a tramp!"

Anne smirked to herself. This was going better than she anticipated. With this rumor started, Dr. Smarty-pants Mulvaney's goose was cooked.   And Anne was off the hook, because Terri was going to spread this rumor, and not even be aware of it. "Revenge is so sweet," she thought.

Back in the lounge, Johnny and Melinda were still discussing the problems with her working her schedule and on call. "My life is going to be a living hell until I can figure out how to get Mr. O'Brien not to be angry anymore."

"Maybe I can talk to him; after all it is my fault. I'm the one who talked you into the interview." Johnny reasoned.

"No, Hon, I don't think that will work. We'll just have to figure out something else." She patted his hand. "Don't worry, it will all work out. We'll just give it a couple of days. Time to get back to work." They stood, and Johnny put his arms around her. Pulling her close, he whispered in her ear, "I love you." She smiled, and leaned her head on his chest.

"I love you too." Reaching up, she gave him a kiss, and then had to leave.

Terri meanwhile was rapidly spreading the rumor that Melinda was pregnant, and Johnny was the father. It made it through most of the Emergency Department, and was spreading through the staff. Whispers were heard, and every time Melinda requested lab reports, she found herself being stared at. "What is going on?" she thought. "I don't have time for this nonsense."

Meanwhile, Johnny and Roy found themselves the objects of hostile scrutiny, and they had no idea why.

"Hey, Partner, what do you suppose is going on?" Roy asked Johnny. "I haven't seen so much hostility since JoAnne and I decided to get married, and her mother threw dishes at us."

"No offense, Pally, but her mother's certifiable."

"None taken, Junior. I wonder what's going on. And is it just us, or is it all the paramedic units here?"

"Roy, I've got an idea! Let's go and ask Dix! If anyone knows, she will!"

"Great minds think alike, partner! Besides, I'll bet she can use the company. Let's go."

Melinda had taken some time to run up to the pediatric ICU to see the quads. She had washed and scrubbed her hands, and had donned a gown to see the four tiny little babies. One of the ICU nurses, Jeannette, a tall willowy blonde, handed her a mask. Giving her a grateful smile, Melinda covered her face. "How are they doing? Have mom and dad been in to see them?"

Jeannette grinned, and nodded her head. "Their dad has been in every hour on the hour. Mom has been in a couple of times, but she's exhausted. Your mom has been in quite a bit."

Melinda nodded. "Yeah, she's been really concerned about these little guys.   Have they been named yet?"

"No, but I heard they were planning on naming them all after the four of you." Jeannette replied, referring to Roy and JoAnne, and Johnny and Melinda.

"Good heavens! I hope they don't name any kids after me. It is an honor, I suppose, but...."

"Well, I suppose you and Johnny will be picking out names soon yourselves."

"WHAT!?!"

"Aren't you and Johnny expecting?" Jeannette was beginning to think she might have made a mistake.

Melinda was horrified. "Where did you hear that? I'm not pregnant! Oh my God! My mother! If she hears this...." She gasped. " Johnny! If he hears this, he'll be so angry. Mr. O'Brien! What if he hears this? My goose will be cooked but good!"

Jeannette was upset to see Melinda so upset. "Doctor, I am so sorry! I didn't know it was a rumor. I knew you and Johnny were close, I was just so happy for you both. I apologize."

Melinda looked at her and smiled. "Jeannette, you didn't know. Johnny and I are close, but not THAT close. Not yet, anyway." She sighed. What a mess. How was she going to fix this?

She looked down at the incubators holding the quads. So little, and so innocent, they slept in peace. She closed her eyes, remembering how proud she was of Johnny and JoAnne. They had done a wonderful job of delivering. Feeling a presence, she opened her eyes. Looking to her right, she looked into the blue-grey eyes of her mother, Miranda.
Miranda was garbed in the same attire as her daughter.   Jeannette glanced at the two women, and was amazed that the two looked almost identical. The only difference was the color of their hair. Melinda's was auburn, Miranda's salt and pepper gray. Both had let their hair grow, and it was now almost to their shoulders.

Jeannette walked over to the two doctors, handing Miranda the babies' chart. "Doctor."

"Hello, Jeannette, how are you? These little guys keeping you ladies busy?" Jeannette couldn't help but think that both doctors sounded alike.

"They're amazing miracles, aren't they?" Melinda stated.

"That they are, and I've been doing this for a lot of years, and I never cease to be amazed at the miracle of birth. Babies are God's way of saying the world should go on, that we should continue."

Miranda sighed. "Jeannette, you're absolutely right. These little guys are four of the most amazing miracles I've ever seen. They are so tiny, yet they are growing, and becoming four individuals. It is truly a miracle. Keep me informed of any changes, okay?"
The nurse nodded and went back to her desk.

Miranda looked at her daughter. "Come with me. I need to talk to you."

"Mom, where are we going?"

"To Joe's office. We have something we'd like to discuss with you and Mike."

The elevator door opened, and the two women stepped on. Jeannette picked up the phone. The least she could do was spread a rumor of her own. "Hi, it's me, guess what I just heard. Dr. Mulvaney is NOT pregnant, and she and her mother are on the warpath. Whoever started that rumor better do some damage control, the DON is going to be getting involved. I gotta go, see you." The next call she made was to her sister, who happened to be the DON.

******************

The elevator doors opened, and two handsome paramedics stepped out. Heading down the corridor, they were not surprised to see Dixie's door open, and Dr. Kelly Brackett step out. He had a smile on his face, and the guys gave him some smiles of their own.

"Hey, Doc, how's it going?"

"Johnny, Roy, it's going good. Dixie's feeling better, are you coming to see her?" At their nods, he said, "She will be glad to see you. I've got to get going, see you later."

Johnny poked Roy. "There's something going on with those two." Roy looked at his partner. "Johnny, that's none of our business. If it is, and they are happy, then we should be happy for them. Come on." He raised his hand to knock on the door.

"Come in." Dixie's voice could be heard through the door. They opened the door and walked in. Dixie was sitting on the bed with her wrist in a cast, and it was cushioned on a couple of pillows. "Hi fellas. Nice to see you."

"Dix, does it hurt much?" asked Roy.

"No, Roy, it doesn't hurt as long as I take the meds. And the nurses here are very good about making sure I get my meds."

"Speaking of nurses, Dix, do you know what's going on? The nurses have been almost rude to us today. Is it just us or is it all the paramedics?"

Dixie looked at her two favorite paramedics. "I don't know, fellas. I haven't heard anything, but I'm not on the floor, so news doesn't always filter into the patient rooms. Sometimes it does, but not in this instance."

In the elevator, Miranda pulled her daughter into her arms for a hug. "I heard what's going on, and I know it's not true. Roy and JoAnne are your friends, and I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt them."

Melinda pulled back from her mother's embrace, questions in her eyes. "Mom, what are you talking about?"

Miranda put her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "The rumor that you and Roy are having an affair."

Melinda's jaw dropped. "WHAT!?! Oh, this is too much! First I'm pregnant, now I'm having an affair? That's it, this is war!"

The elevators doors opened, and the two women got off and walked to Joe's office. Miranda knocked on the door, and hearing Joe's voice say, "Come in.", she opened the door.

Joe Early looked at the two and smiled. He got up and gave Miranda a kiss on the cheek, and then turned to her daughter and gave her a hug. Melinda put her arms around Joe and began to sob. Joe, alarmed, looked at Miranda.

"It's worse than we thought, Joe, there's also a rumor that she's pregnant. Who's the father supposed to be?"

Joe handed Melinda a tissue, and tilted her chin so he could look in her eyes. "Let me guess, Johnny?" She nodded.

"Do you know who is spreading this garbage?"

"I have a pretty good idea, but I can't prove it. I had a confrontation in the women's locker room with Anne this morning, she was telling some of the nurses that she was certain Johnny and I were sleeping together, because "after all, this is John Gage we're talking about," putting her fingers in the air to emphasize the last statement.

"I told her that if she continued along this path, I was going to the DON, and let her deal with it. She got really hostile then, and told me I could not tell her what to do." She looked at her mother, and then at Joe. "Look, you guys know I would never do anything like that, don't you? And, as for the other thing, Roy's like a brother to me, and I consider Jo one of my best friends. I would never do anything to hurt them."

"We know that, now the question is, what do we do about this?" inquired Joe. "We can't let this go."

Mike Morton knocked on the door, and opened it. "You wanted to see me, Joe?" Looking around the room, he saw the other members of his "adopted" family, and immediately knew something serious was going on.

"Okay, what's going on? I've been hearing rumbles, but nothing concrete. Conversation seems to stop the minute I walk into a room. For a while there, I was getting paranoid." He looked at Joe. "Joe? Do I have a reason to be paranoid?"

"No, Mike, you don't, but your sister here does. One of the nurses is out for blood, and she's been spreading some pretty nasty rumors. I think it's time to get the DON involved."

"I agree." Miranda stated. "This is getting way out of hand. Plus, this is the second time this nurse has messed with one of my kids, and I certainly do not appreciate it. You mess with my kids, you mess with me. And I do not forgive, or forget." Her gray-blue eyes flashed with anger.

Joe put his hands on her shoulders. "Miranda, you need to calm down. Getting upset isn't going to solve the problem. We need to do this in an orderly fashion." He picked up the phone, and punched a number. "Hi, Sadie, this is Doctor Early. May I speak with your boss, please?"

Miranda sat down on Joe's couch between her "kids", and whispered, "This is what I fell in love with, in medical school he was always so compassionate, and kind, he hasn't changed much."

Mike looked at her, and grinned, "And I'll just bet you haven't either."

She smiled at him, and nodded. "I was so stupid, I thought I needed more excitement in my life, so I broke up with Joe and married Matthew instead. Your father was a dashing figure; he had every nursing student and female med student madly in love with him. He was an exciting person to be with. I loved him, and we had a good life, but after all these years, I've really missed Joe."

Melinda leaned against her mother, and whispered, "I think he's missed you too."

Joe had finished his conversation with the Director of Nursing, and had hung up the phone. "She's going to investigate, and get back to me. But, we need to counter these rumors, and deal with the fallout. Any ideas?"

Just then, the phone rang, and Joe answered it. "We'll be right there." Hanging up the phone, he said, "We've got to go, there was a pile-up on the freeway, we've got casualties coming in. Let's move."

Up in Dixie's room, the handi-talkie in Roy's hand began to sound. "Squad 51, what's your status?"

"Squad 51, available." answered Roy. "They're playing our song, Junior."

"See ya, Dix." said Johnny.

"Take care, guys." Dixie replied.

The boys got up and left. "Stay safe, boys." Whispered Dixie.

As the guys got to the squad, the radio came to life. "Station 51, Station 110, Station 98, Battalion 14, assist the CHP with multi-vehicle MVA, Exit 45 on the 405. Exit 45 on the 405, enter on off-ramp. Time out: 12:25.

"Squad 51, responding from Rampart Emergency." responded Johnny.

"Engine 51, KMG-365." Cap's voice responded.

Johnny and Roy looked at each other. They had worked together for so many years; they could almost read each other's minds. It was almost uncanny, but everyone had commented at the way they worked, how they had meshed together so well. There couldn't be two more different people than DeSoto and Gage, but they were also more alike than most people realized. They both loved their jobs, saving lives, and fighting fires.

As Roy glanced at his partner, and then back at the road, he commented, "This sounds like a bad one, Junior."

Johnny grinned, "That it does, Pally."

Roy said, "Look, Johnny, you need to be careful out there, okay? Doc wouldn't like it if I brought you in all banged up."

"I'll be careful, Roy, I promise."

As they pulled up to the accident scene, they could see at least 6 cars involved in the accident. Getting out of the squad and grabbing their turnout coats, they headed for the incident commander.

"Squad 51 reporting in, Sir." Battalion Chief McConnikee smiled at them, and pointed down the road. "Boys, we've got a bad one here. There are at least 6 cars that we know of, and possibly more. I've got 110's paramedics setting up a triage area. You can coordinate with them."

Engine 51 arrived on the scene, and Captain Stanley got out of the engine and checked in with McConnikee. "Where do you want us, sir?

McConnikee looked at the man who used to be his engineer, and grinned. "Well, Hank, you and your boys can start down at the west side of the accident; we've got at least 6 cars that we know of, and maybe more. Let me know what you find, okay?"

"Right, Chief. Let's go, boys." Mike, Chet and Marco, equipment in hand, followed their captain.

Johnny and Roy went back to the squad, and grabbed their equipment. Loading everything into a stokes stretcher, they headed for the triage area. Hearing the sound of footsteps, the paramedics on duty there raised their heads.   Pete Jarvis, the senior paramedic on 110's B-shift grinned and said, ""Bout time you guys got here; takin' a coffee break, Roy? Hi, Johnny." Johnny gave him one of his famous crooked grins.

"Hello to you , too Pete. No, we had to check in with the Chief. What's the word? "answered Roy. Jarvis shook his head.

"Man, from what I've been hearing from the Chippies, it looks like a war zone. There are several cars that you can't tell where one car ends, and another begins. Our Cap said to tell you that some of the occupants are Code F."

Roy exchanged looks with his partner. "Well, Junior, we'd better get to work."

All of a sudden the HT came to life. "HT 51, this is Engine 51. We have a woman in labor, need immediate assistance." The normally calm voice of Engineer Mike Stoker was replaced by urgency.

"Sounds serious." Commented Roy. We better get moving."

Calling for directions, they proceeded to the car where the woman was. Marco had run back to the squad for the OB kit, and had retrieved it in record time.

The patient, a young woman in her mid-twenties, was trapped in the back of a station wagon, which was crushed from the front almost to the back seat. As Roy climbed into the car to check her, Johnny could see an arm sticking out of the front seat and could hear Cap talking to the occupant, the young woman's husband.

"I'm gonna die, and Robin's gonna lose the baby! You guys gotta do something! Never mind me, just get her out of here!" The man was inconsolable.

"Listen to me, pal, we're not leaving either of you, my paramedics are here, and they're going to take care of both of you. Understand? Leaving you is NOT an option. We'll get you both out, but you have to calm down." Cap looked the man in the eyes. "Okay?"   The man nodded. "Here's one of them now." Johnny took his place next to Cap. Giving the man a small smile, Cap turned his attention to his crew.

"Well, fellas, here's the situation. The three cars around this one have no occupants. Their passengers were not injured, so they are all at the triage area."

Johnny's eyes widened at that last statement. The three cars looked so bad, he would have thought that there were no survivors. They were so crushed and mangled. He shook his head.   "Miracles still happen, looks like we'll need several before we're through here." He thought.

He turned his attention back to the trapped victim. "Hi, I'm Johnny, and my partner Roy is back with your wife. He's gonna take really good care of her, and the baby, so don't you worry. What's your name?"

"Patrick, it's Patrick Morrissey. Robin's my wife. She started labor an hour ago, and we were on our way to Rampart General. My wife's doctor is on staff there." The man's breathing started to become uneven.

"Hey, just calm down, calm down. What's the doctor's name? You need to settle down, and help me out here, okay? Come on, now, it'll be all right. What's the doctor's name?"

"Um, it's Doctor Louise Sherman. She's a specialist in problem pregnancies. Robin has had 3 miscarriages, if she loses this baby, it will just kill her. You've got to help her!" Patrick hyper-ventilated himself into unconsciousness. As his body relaxed, Johnny grabbed a paper sack, and placed it over his mouth and nose. As he did, he asked Mike to get on the horn to Rampart.

"Rampart Base, this is Rescue 51. How do you read?"

Melinda was by the base station as the call came in. She hit the link. "Loud and clear, 51. This is Doctor Mulvaney."

"Rampart, we are at the scene of a multiple MVA with several injuries, also we have several Code Fs. At present, we have two victims, one male, and one female. The male victim is trapped, and unconscious. The female victim is in active labor at this time, her OB is on staff at Rampart." Mike relayed.
"10-4, 51, do you have the name of the physician?" inquired Melinda.

"That's affirmative, Rampart. Doctor's name is Louise Sherman." Melinda turned around to find Terri standing there. "Terri, please call upstairs, and have Doctor Louise Sherman paged right away. Thanks." Melinda turned back to the radio. "51, are the patients accessible yet?"

"That's negative, Rampart." Mike replied.

"Advise as soon as they're accessible." Melinda hit the link. This could take a while, and if the mother is close to delivery, it could get dangerous, for both mother and child. "At least Johnny and Roy are there, and they're the best." She thought.

As Mike carried on his conversation with Doc at Rampart, Johnny had his hands full. The trapped man had regained consciousness, and was apologizing to Johnny for fainting. Cap and Chet were using the jaws to release Patrick from the tight squeeze he was in. Johnny had gotten the man's pulse, and as he was released, he got the rest of the vitals and gave them to Mike.

"Rampart, this is Rescue 51. We have extricated our male victim, vital signs are Pulse 100, and thready, respirations 22, blood pressure 90/60, both of patient's legs appear to be fractured, we are immobilizing. Patient has also lost approximately 1 pint of blood, wound appears to be on right leg. We have applied pressure bandages." Mike relayed to the hospital.

"51, start an IV of Ringer's immediately, any head injuries?" Mike looked at Johnny, he shook his head.

"Rampart, no apparent head injuries, however patient fainted due to hyperventilation."

"51, administer 10 mg. meperidine, IV, and transport immediately."

"NO! I'm not leaving Robin! You can't make me either!" Patrick was adamant.

"Look, man, you are seriously injured, we're gonna take good care of your wife, my partner's with her, and she's gonna be all right. You have to go to the hospital." Insisted Johnny.

"I know my rights, and I'm not leaving her." Answered Patrick. "And you can't make me." He glared at Johnny.    Johnny sighed, then picked up the receiver of the biophone.

"Rampart base, this is rescue 51. We have a problem."

"Squad 51, what's the nature of your problem?"

"Our male patient refuses to leave his wife, who is in labor. He is becoming agitated."

"51, give me updated vitals, please." Instructed Melinda.

"Rampart, pulse is 90, respirations 15, and B/P is 110/70."

Melinda thought a minute, then hit the link. "51, delay transport of this patient until his wife is ready for transport. Monitor and report any changes in his condition, if he deteriorates, transport immediately, I will accept responsibility."

"10-4, Rampart." Johnny put the receiver down, and leaned in close to Patrick. "Look, man, you behave yourself, and you can stay. Otherwise, we'll send you to the hospital, and you don't want to mess with Doc Mulvaney, the last guy that did is still in the hospital. She's tough, and man, I don't want to see you tangle with her. Okay?" Johnny was having a tough time keeping a straight face. Patrick nodded, eyes wide.

In the rear of the car, Roy had his hands full delivering Robin's baby. The whole front section of the automobile was crushed, but by some miracle, the area where Robin lay was intact. Roy breathed a silent prayer that he would find a live patient. As he pried open the liftgate, she started to cry.

"Hi, I was hoping I'd find you here. My name's Roy DeSoto, I'm a paramedic with the LA County Fire Department. My partner is with your husband."

"He's alive? Oh, thank God! I couldn't hear him, and I thought he was�" sobbed Robin.

"Hey, we're taking really good care of him, and my partner Johnny is on the phone to the hospital, so we're in contact with a doctor." Roy said soothingly.

"My doctor is Louise Sherman, at Rampart General." Panted Robin.

"Is this your first baby?" asked Roy. She shook her head no. Taking a deep breath, she said, "I lost the others." She started to cry. She grabbed Roy's hand. "Please, don't let anything happen to this one."

Turning his head, Roy called to Marco. "Hey, Marco, can you let Johnny know what happening here?" Marco nodded his head, and headed for the front of the crushed vehicle.

Hearing Mike on the biophone, he headed back to Roy. "Amigo, Mike is relaying for Johnny, her husband already gave them her doctor's name. They are trying to reach her at the hospital." Roy nodded, and as he took her vitals, he smiled at her.

"Baby's got a strong heartbeat, there's a lot of activity in there." Robin grimaced with a contraction, then relaxed.

"Baby wants to see the world, oh this hurts!" She panted.

Just then Johnny's head popped into view. "Hi. How's it goin'?"
He grinned at Robin, "Your husband is doing okay, we got permission for you to be transported together, and your doctor is on her way down to the ER to meet you when you come in." Looking at his partner, he asked Roy, "Need any help?"

"Yeah, I might, so hang on, okay?"

At the hospital, Dr. Louise Sherman strode into the Emergency Department and headed for the base station. She nodded to Melinda, and then asked, "What's my patient's status?"

Melinda took a deep breath, and answered, "Doctor, right now she's trapped in the back of a crushed vehicle in the middle of a multiple MVA on the 405. Our paramedics are with her, and are also treating her husband."

Dr. Sherman scowled. "Surely they aren't thinking of delivering in the middle of the road?"

"Doctor, these men have delivered in worse places, believe me, and I am confident they can handle whatever comes up."

"I wish I shared your confidence, Doctor Mulvaney, but my experience with remote control medicine is limited." Her tone was insulting, and Melinda fought to control the anger that was threatening to boil over.

Kel Brackett had come up behind the two doctors, and was about to answer when Melinda came back with, "I am sure if they can handle the birth of quadruplets, they can handle this birth." Louise Sherman blinked, and was about to answer her, when Kel spoke.

"Doctors, everything under control?" Both women turned, and Melinda answered, "Doctor Brackett, do you know Doctor Louise Sherman?"

Kel nodded, "Hello, Louise, nice to see you again." Looking at Melinda, he asked, "What's the situation?"

"Doctor, Squad 51 is at the scene of the multiple MVA on the 405, they have two victims, Doctor Sherman's patient, and her husband. The husband is stable at this time, I gave consent for them to be transported together, otherwise he would have gotten agitated. Roy is handling the birth, and so far, so good."

Kel nodded, he would have made the same decision his younger colleague did.

Back at the accident scene, Cap, Marco and Chet had set up the jaws of life, and were in the process of removing the roof of the station wagon. Johnny had crawled into the wreck and was helping with the delivery.

Mike relayed to the hospital, "Rampart base, rescue 51, delivery is progressing."

Melinda hit the link, "10-4, Mike. Any complications at this time?"

"Standby Rampart." Mike put the receiver down, but left the link open, so everyone at the base station heard what happened next. "Guys, Doc wants to know if there are any complications."

Roy shook his head, concentrating instead on the tiny body making its way into the world.   "Robin, you're doing great, the head is crowning, can you give us one more push?"

"I can't, I'm so tired!" panted the exhausted woman.

"Robin, come on now, just one good push, and you'll have a beautiful baby. Come on, hon, you can do it." Encouraged Johnny.

Robin took a deep breath, and pushed with all her might. "Ahh! Ungh!"

"Okay, little fella, let's see how your lungs are." Roy tapped the baby's foot. A lusty cry filled the base station's speakers.

"Robin, you have a beautiful little boy." Said Johnny.

Mike picked up the biophone. "Rampart, it's a boy." He smiled.

Cap, Marco, and Chet exchanged grins.

"We heard, 51. Good job, you guys. Transport as soon as possible." Melinda turned to Kel and Louise. She had tears in her eyes. "Well, Doctor, what you think of our paramedics now?"

Doctor Sherman smiled, "Not bad for remote control medicine, Doctor. I am very impressed."

Kel grinned. "You think they're good with deliveries, you should see them in natural disasters."

Both women laughed. "I'll take your word for it, Kel." Louise Sherman said.   "Doctor Mulvaney, please accept my apology, I was 5 miles out of line." She reached over to shake Melinda's hand. Melinda shook the other doctor's hand with a smile.

"Of course, Doctor, I must apologize as well. It's just that I have been a recipient of their care, and I can tell you, they are truly professional. Especially the two taking care of your patients."

**********

Back at the accident scene, Roy showed Patrick his baby boy, wrapped in towels. Patrick asked about Robin, "My wife, is she okay?"

"I am more than okay, Daddy." She grabbed his hand and held it, before Johnny and Roy placed her on a stokes stretcher with the baby in her arms.

The ambulance arrived, both patients were loaded into it, and Roy jumped in with them. Johnny thumped the closed doors twice, and the ambulance pulled away.

"Well, Pal, it looks like we got a couple of miracles today, don't you think?" asked Cap.

Johnny grinned, "Yeah, Cap it sure looks that way."

"Go pick up your partner, and get on back here, we're still gonna need you." Cap said, looking at the tangled wrecks of automobiles strewn all over the highway.

"Right Cap. See you soon." Johnny headed for the squad and started the engine.

In the ambulance, the baby nestled securely in her arms, Robin looked up gratefully into the face of Roy DeSoto. "I don't know how to thank you, what you and the others did, was nothing short of miraculous."

DeSoto smiled, "I was just thinking the same thing about you two and this little guy. When we saw the car, and the damage around you, we were afraid this was just going to be a retrieval, not a rescue." Looking at Patrick, he asked the question, "What happened?"

Patrick closed his eyes. Taking a breath, he opened them and answered, "It was bumper to bumper traffic, and a few people got impatient, and started to bump cars in order to move the traffic faster. You saw the result."

Roy shook his head. "I just can't get over how stupid people can be."

He looked out the window. "We're at the hospital. They'll take really good care of you."

The squad pulled in behind the ambulance, and backed into its usual spot by the door. Gage hopped out, and followed his partner through the double doors.

Drs. Sherman and Mulvaney met them in the corridor, with smiles. "Johnny, your patient, room 3, Roy, yours can go in room 5. Nice job, guys." instructed Melinda.

"Thanks, Doc." Answered Roy. "You gonna need us, Doc? It's still a mess out there."

"It's a mess here, Roy, but you're free to go. Be careful out there, okay?" This was said to both of them, but her eyes were on Johnny.

"We'll be careful." Johnny leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

"That's all I ask." She turned and headed into the treatment room.

Meanwhile, several nurses observed them and expressed their opinions. "Nice behavior in the ER, don't you think?"

"Tramp!"    "What does he see in her anyway?" "What does she see in him?"

Carol came up behind them, and asked, "You ladies don't have enough to do? We've got wall to wall patients, and you're standing around talking? GET BACK TO WORK!"   They scattered like mice.

Nathan O'Brien had decided that today was a good day to walk around his hospital and observe his staff. His travels had taken him through pediatrics, ICU, and radiology. He finished up in the ER. He had heard the exchange between the nurses, and decided to follow up on what he had heard.

"Excuse me, nurse, what just happened here?" Carol turned around to see O'Brien standing there.

"Great, just what everyone needs, him poking around." She thought. Gathering herself, she asked, "How can I help you, Mr. O'Brien? We're right in the middle of treating victims of a multiple MVA."

O'Brien glanced around, and then asked, "What exactly were those three nurses talking about? I've been hearing rumors, but�."

"Mr. O'Brien, this hospital is rampant with rumors. We don't have time to listen to every petty rumor that flies around. Especially now, with so many casualties coming in." Carol was fast losing her patience with this man.

Just then the double doors opened, and a gurney rolled in, being pushed by a paramedic and an ambulance attendant. Carol signaled to them, "Here, boys, treatment room four." Turning to O'Brien, she nodded, "You'll have to excuse me sir, I'm needed here." The door to the treatment room closed.

"There's something going on here, and I intend to find out." He strode to the elevator and punched the button. The doors opened, and he stepped in. As the doors closed, he had an idea. He smiled, "I know just who to call now."

Arriving back at his office, he picked up the phone, and dialed a number. "Hello, this is Nathan O'Brien, may I speak with Mrs. Felder?

Thank you. Mrs. Felder? Nathan O'Brien, I have a few questions I'd like to ask you. May I come to your office? Good, I'll be there shortly."

He arose, and left his office, heading directly for the Director of Nursing's office.

Back at the accident scene, Johnny and Roy had their hands full with victims, several of them DOA. Placing yellow blankets over the bodies, they proceeded to the next accident scene.

Carrying their equipment in a stokes stretcher, they walked up to several cars stacked on top of each other like a child's discarded play set.

"Man, is anyone alive in there?" wondered Johnny. Roy shrugged his shoulders. He climbed up on the first car.

"Fire Department! Is anyone in here?" He listened intently, and was rewarded with an answer.

"Thank God! I was beginning to think no one was coming!" Johnny scrambled up next to his partner, and tried to peer into the car.

"Sir? Are you hurt at all?" Roy asked.

"No, young man, I don't think so, just my pride. And ol' Bess here. Looks like my poor car is, as you young people say, totaled." The older man's voice wavered, just a little.

"Sir? What's your name?" asked Johnny.

"Myles Llewellyn McShayne, young man, and who might you be?"

"Mr. McShayne, my name is John Gage, and this is my partner Roy DeSoto, we're paramedics with the Los Angeles County Fire Department."

The older man's voice sounded amused. "Paramedics, huh? Well, I hate to disappoint you, John, but I don't need a paramedic, I just need to get out of this mess."

Roy grinned. "Mr. McShayne, we'll have you out in a jiffy." Raising the HT to his face, he hit the send button. "HT 51 to Engine 51. We need the Port-a-Power, and the jaws. We have a man trapped in a vehicle about a mile south of the bend."

"HT51, we're on our way to you, stand by." Cap's voice came over the HT.

"Boys, whose voice was that?" Mr. McShayne inquired curiously.

"That was our Captain, Hank Stanley, and he and the rest of the crew are on their way to help us out. They are bringing the equipment we need to get you out of there." Explained Roy.

"That is wonderful. I can't wait to meet your captain. He sounds like he has everything under control."

"Yes, sir, he does, and he's a great guy too." Answered Roy. Johnny grinned.

"Yeah, we even named the station dog after him."

"Really? Well, he must be a wonderful person for you boys to do that." Mr. McShayne observed. "Boys, it's a little cramped in here, how much longer?"

The arrival of the crew delayed Roy's answer for a short time. Cap crawled up next to his paramedics. "There's really someone alive in here? That's incredible!"

"Ah, this must be Captain Stanley." At Cap's puzzled look, Roy explained, "Cap, this is Mr. Myles Llewellyn McShayne, and he wanted to know who was on the other end of the HT. Mr.McShayne, this is our Captain, Hank Stanley."

"Well now, Captain, you have a wonderful set of paramedics there, and I am looking forward to meeting the rest of your crew."

Hank grinned, "We'll have you out of there very soon, sir." Climbing down, he motioned to the engine crew, "Let's go, guys, we've got one man trapped, let's get the port-a-power, and set it up near the door here, and Chet, Marco, we'll use the jaws to move this piece of steel here, by the wheel well."

Hank's crew worked like the well-trained professionals they were, and in no time, the elderly man was extricated from his car. Johnny and Roy checked him out, and except for a few scratches, Mr. McShayne was unhurt. After they helped him to his feet, he shook hands with the whole crew, saying, "I have never been so impressed with anything as I am with your crew, Captain Stanley. If I were younger, I'd apply to the Fire Academy." They all laughed at that.

"I am sure you would be a welcome addition, sir. Here comes an officer to help you back to the triage area. They will send you over to the hospital for a further check, and then you'll be free to go." Cap answered.

"Thank you all so much, I hope I get to see you again, but not under these circumstances. Good-bye." He followed the officer to the triage area.

"What a nice old guy." Commented Mike Stoker. Johnny and Roy exchanged grins. For Mike to make that kind of a comment, he must have been very impressed with the elderly gentleman.

"Yeah, Michael, he was a nice old guy. Let's check and see where they want us next." He pulled his HT from his coat pocket. "Battalion 14, Engine 51. Where do you want us next, Chief?"

"Engine 51, Battalion 14, CHP reports there is another wreck about a quarter of a mile from your location. Number of injuries unknown." Chief McConnikee responded.

"10-4, Battalion 14, Engine 51 out." Hank looked at his crew. "Let's go, guys." They headed for the accident.

When they arrived, they found 4 cars, one was on fire, one was overturned, and two looked like accordions. The really amazing thing was, no one appeared to be injured. The occupants of the cars were all milling around, exchanging insurance information.

"Chet, Marco, hit that car with the extinguishers. Excuse me, folks, anyone injured?" asked Cap. They all turned and looked at him, then one man stepped forward.

"No sir, no one here's hurt. It's a miracle that's what it is. A blessed miracle!"

Cap smiled, and raised the HT. "Battalion 14, Engine 51, we are on scene, no injuries to report. One car on fire, under control."

"10-4, 51. Report to Incident Commander."

"Engine 51, 10-4." He looked at his tired crew. "Well, boys, let's go see what's next." They picked up their equipment and trudged to the IC.

Back at Rampart, Nathan O'Brien sat in the Nursing Director's office nursing a cup of strong black coffee. He despised black coffee, but that was all there was available. Joan Felder liked strong, black coffee, it had gotten her through nursing school, the illnesses and deaths of her parents, two miscarriages, a nasty divorce, and most days, her job at Rampart.

Being a straightforward woman, Mrs. Felder leaned forward and asked, "What do you want, Mr. O'Brien?" Her directness startled him.

"Well, I, uh, wanted to know, um, what's going on with the Emergency Department nurses?" He felt his face grow red. Why was he sounding like an errant schoolboy? He was the Administrator, for heaven's sake!

Joan looked over the top of her reading glasses at him and scowled. Like her sister Jeannette in Pediatric ICU, she was tall, willowy and blonde. Unlike Jeannette, she wore her long blonde hair up in a very severe bun.

"What exactly are you talking about?" She knew, having talked to Joe Early, but wanted to hear what he had to say. Privately, she enjoyed making him squirm. After all, he had passed her over as first choice for her current position, offering it instead to Dixie McCall. Dixie, wise woman that she was, turned it down in favor of staying in Emergency where she belonged. O'Brien then called Joan and offered her the job, which she accepted.

Needless to say, Nathan O'Brien was not particularly one of her favorite people.

"Well, I was down in Emergency and heard some of the nurses talking, and they were either talking about one of the nurses, or one of the doctors, and I was wondering if you knew who and why." He took a deep breath.
Joan Felder's green eyes regarded him quietly. When she spoke, her voice was soft. Her words were not.

"Mr. O'Brien, I am not in the habit of gossiping, I do not expect my nursing staff to be gossiping either. If I find that they are being gossips, I will write them up. If it continues, they are put on probation, then after the third offense, they are terminated. I do not tolerate that kind of behavior from anyone. Do I make myself clear?

O'Brien blanched. "Perfectly, Mrs. Felder. I quite agree. And of course that is our policy." He got up to leave. "Thank you for the coffee, it was delicious. Have a pleasant afternoon." He couldn't get out of her office fast enough.

As the door closed, Joan took a sip from her coffee mug, smiled, and said "That felt great." She raised the mug in the air, and took another sip. "Just fantastic." She got up from her chair, and headed for the door. She had a visit to make to Emergency.

As the tired men of station 51 trudged their way to the incident commander, they were heartened to find that most of the wrecks had been cleaned up and towed away. At the triage station, there were only a few people left to be transported to the various area hospitals, and they were being loaded in a van.

As they walked up to Chief McConnikee's car, he glanced up at them.
"Hank, you and your crew are released, you can return to the station. Good work, everyone."

"Thanks, Chief." They chorused.

As they walked toward their vehicles, one of the other firefighters called to Johnny, "Hey Gage, you dog! I hear you got lucky with the doc!"

All six men stopped. Johnny answered, "What are you talking about, Kirby? I got lucky how?"

"Well, the way I hear it, you and the Doc are doing the mattress mambo, and you got her pregnant." Johnny saw red, and started toward Kirby, but was grabbed by Cap and Mike.

"That is a lie! Where did you hear that?" He demanded.

"Hey, it's all over Rampart, and I also hear she's fooling around with your partner as well. She keeps going, she'll go through the whole station." The man sneered.

Roy headed for the man, murder in his eyes, but the quick thinking of Chet and Marco stopped him. They grabbed him, and had to physically restrain him. "Cap, it's not true, it's a lie!" Stanley put his hand on his paramedic's shoulder, and responded to the other firefighter.

"Kirby! Shut up! Or I'll see to it you have latrine duty until you retire!" Ordered Cap. Kirby, not wishing to get into any more trouble, slunk away.

Chief McConnikee heard the commotion, and approached the group. "Alright, what's going on?" He demanded.

"Just a slight misunderstanding, Chief." Answered Hank. McConnikee was unconvinced.

"Really? I am not convinced. Hank, you get your crew back to the station, and I'll join you there as soon as I can."

"Right, Chief." Hank answered forlornly. "Great, now we're in for it." He thought.

"Roy and I are going to Rampart." Stated Johnny.

"No, you're not." Responded his captain. Both paramedics opened their mouths to answer, but were stopped when Hank raised his hands. "Look, John, Roy, you can't go charging over there. We need to have a plan before this gets dealt with. Let's head back to the barn, and wait for the Chief. I promise, if we don't come up with something, then the two of you can head over to the hospital and take care of it in your own way. Deal?" He held his breath.

The two partners looked at each other, then back at Cap and nodded. Hank released the breath he had been holding. "Good, now let's go home." He headed for Big Red, his crew trudging silently behind him.

They all mounted up, the squad pulling out in front of the engine, and as they did, Captain Stanley radioed in, "LA, Station 51 returning to quarters."

Sam Lanier's baritone voice responded, "Station 51, LA, 10-4."

The trip home was quiet, and no one in either vehicle spoke until they arrived back at the station.

Johnny and Roy sat in the squad, looking straight ahead. Cap and the guys climbed down from Big Red, and surrounded the squad. Cap leaned toward Roy's window, and spoke. "Come on, Pal, let's get some coffee." Both paramedics turned their heads.

"Any donuts left?" asked Johnny.   Everyone laughed, Johnny grinned, and the boys got out of the squad. As they walked into the kitchen, Henry raised his head from the couch, yawned, and went back to sleep. His humans were home, and all was right in his world.

Mike made the coffee, and everyone took their seats around the table, waiting for it to brew. Cap shook his head, and glanced around the table. He definitely had the best crew in the department, and he was proud of them. He considered them his second family, and when one of them hurt, they all hurt. This latest incident was threatening to bring more trouble to his crew, and he wanted it nipped in the bud. Who was being so malicious that they wanted to hurt his paramedics, not to mention Doc Mulvaney and JoAnne DeSoto?

Chief McConnikee walked in, carrying a box of donuts. Henry immediately sat up and whined for attention. "Hello, Henry, you handsome devil." He petted the dog's head, earning a vigorous tail wag from the basset.

"He knows who's in charge, Chief." commented Cap. Patrick McConnikee pulled out a chair, and sat down. Mike poured him a cup of coffee, then set the pot on the table.

"Gentlemen, we have a serious problem. This gossip is going through the department, and if Chief Houts finds that there may be some validity to it, there could be some real problems. Gage and DeSoto are looking at charges of misconduct, and it could bring some real trouble here to the station. Not to mention that the altercation�.."

"But Chief, no punches got thrown." Interrupted Johnny. Cap glared at him. Johnny sat back, his face red.

"You and your partner had to be physically restrained, Gage, what do you call it?" demanded the chief.

"Saving our bacon, chief, just like they always do." Grinned Gage. McConikee joined in as his shiftmates tried to control their laughter.

Hank shook his head as the laughter subsided.

"I think this is more serious than that, Gage." The laughter stopped.

"I'm afraid Hank is right, men. DeSoto, you and Gage could be brought up on charges of misconduct, and that's just for starters. You could be relieved of duty. And quite possibly, lose your paramedic certification."

The whole crew looked shocked at that last statement. Cap spoke, "Chief, there is no way I am going to let that happen." The crew nodded their heads in agreement. Henry woofed from the couch, wagging his tail, and everyone laughed.

"I guess Henry isn't going to let that happen either." Laughed the Chief. Getting serious, he said, "I have no intention of things getting that far. Who is spreading these rumors, and why are they targeting you?"

"Chief, we have no idea, but it's got to be someone at Rampart." Answered Roy. He picked up his mug and took a sip. "My wife is being targeted as well, and I don't like it. Whoever's doing this is going to wish they hadn't, my wife is the most precious thing in my life, and I won't let her get hurt." His blue eyes got hard.

"I move we go to Rampart, and find out who's doing this." Johnny offered.

"Chief, are they relieved from duty?" asked Hank. McConnikee shook his head.

"Not as far as I'm concerned. They're on duty until Chief Houts removes them, and my guess is he won't unless he's got good reason to." He answered.

"Cap, we're going to Rampart to pick up supplies." Roy stated. Both paramedics headed for the squad. Johnny picked up the mic. "LA, Squad 51, show us 10-8 to Rampart General for supplies."

"Squad 51. 10-8 to Rampart General. 10-4." Answered Sam Lanier.

***********

At the hospital, Joan Felder stepped off the elevator, and headed for Emergency. Nurses and orderlies cleared the path for her as she strode toward the Emergency Department. An ambulance was pulling up to the double doors as she entered the department. She assisted the nurses, and the paramedic as they lifted the gurney out of the rear of the ambulance. Carol was standing there, with the clipboard, and ordered, "Room 1. Dr. Brackett is waiting." She looked at Mrs. Felder, and said, "Thanks for your help, Ma'am."

"Anytime, Miss Williams. Do you have a moment? I need some things clarified, and I think you may be just the person who has the answers I need." Carol nodded, and turned toward the nurse's lounge.

"Would you like a cup of coffee, Mrs. Felder? We make it pretty strong here."

The Director of Nursing smiled, "I happen to love strong coffee, Miss Williams, it's what got me through nursing school, not to mention a few other important events in my life." She took the proffered mug from Carol, and sipped the hot liquid in it. Her eyes got wide, " And I thought I made strong coffee."

Carol smiled, "It gets plenty strong, especially if Doctor Early has made it." She took a sip from her own mug. "What can I do for you, Mrs. Felder? It's got to be pretty important, especially if the Director of Nursing pays us a visit."

Joan smiled. "I appreciate your directness, Miss Williams. We have a gossip problem, and I am afraid it started here in this department. In Dixie's absence, you and Betty Scott are in charge, and I would like to know if you have any idea how these vicious rumors got started. They are starting to affect our staff, and if it spreads, serious damage can be done to careers. I want to nip it in the bud. Can you help me?"

Carol put her cup down. "If this is about the rumors regarding Doctor Mulvaney and John Gage, I want it stopped as well. They are two of the nicest people I've ever worked with, and what's being said about them is terribly unfair. I have an idea who is responsible, but without proof, I can't do anything."

"Give me a name, and I'll take it from there. If this person is responsible, then we'll deal with it. If not, then we go from there. One way or another, this is going to stop. I won't have gossips on my nursing staff." She took a sip from her coffee.

Carol took a deep breath. "I'll give you two names."

**************************************

Squad 51 pulled into the parking lot of Rampart General Hospital, and backed into its usual parking spot. Its occupants got out of it and walked into the busy Emergency Room. Johnny and Roy looked around for Melinda, and didn't see her. "You don't suppose she went home, do you?" Roy asked his partner.

"No, she couldn't, she's on call until further notice, thanks to Mr. O'Brien." Johnny frowned.

"What? Why?" Roy asked. Johnny took a deep breath, and nodded toward the lounge.

"Let's get some coffee." They walked to the lounge. "Mr. O'Brien got upset, because we gave the interview to Carl Evans, and didn't clear it through him." Going through the door, they stopped, seeing Carol and a woman they didn't know sitting at the table.

"I'm sorry, are we interrupting?" Roy asked. Carol smiled, and said,

"Hi Roy, I'd like you to meet the Director of Nursing for Rampart, Joan Felder. Mrs. Felder, may I present Firefighter/Paramedics Roy DeSoto, and John Gage, Squad 51, A shift."

Joan Felder smiled at the two men, and thought to herself, "no wonder young Doctor Mulvaney is crazy about him, he's adorable! And his partner isn't bad either!" She put her hand in Johnny's outstretched one, and said, "Very nice to meet you, Mr. Gage, and you, Mr. Desoto." She shook Roy's hand as well.

Johnny blushed, and said, "You can call me Johnny, ma'am."

"All right, as long as you let me buy you and your partner a cup of coffee." She got up and poured two more mugs of coffee. Setting their mugs down, she seated herself, and then looked at Carol. Carol nodded, and Joan asked, "You are aware of the rumors going around here?" At their nods, she said, "I want it stopped, gentlemen, and I want the people responsible punished. Careers could be in jeopardy."

Roy spoke up, "We know, it's our careers in jeopardy. Our battalion chief is trying to keep us out of trouble right now, but the rumors are also flying around the department. We could be relieved of duty, and maybe even lose our paramedic certification. Who hates us enough to cause all this trouble?"

"I have a pretty good idea of who started this, thanks to Miss Williams, and will be taking steps to deal with it. Most of the staff will be owing you both, and your ladies, some heavy duty apologies."

Meanwhile, out at the desk, Melinda was trying hard not to lose her temper. Squad 45's paramedics were at the desk, and Jarod Murphy, the junior paramedic was giving her a hard time regarding the bowling tournament.

"So, Doc, what do you think your chances are in the tournament?"

"Better than average, Jarod. Why do you ask?" She knew what was coming, she had heard him talking to Anne and Terri while she on the radio with another squad.

"Well, Doc in your condition, do you think it's safe to be bowling? I heard that a lot of people are thinking of switching their support to Tom Wheeler and his partner. She's not very smart, but she's got b.."

"Jarod, just WHAT condition are talking about? Extreme fatigue? Or lost patience from dealing with boneheads like you all day? Tell me, what condition are you talking about?" Her eyes had turned dark, her normally smiling face was set in a mask of rage, and as she talked, she stepped forward toward Jarod. He backed up, and looked around for help. None was forthcoming, all activity in the Emergency Room had stopped. His partner, senior paramedic, Rick Sanchez, stood with his arms crossed, and a disgusted look on his face.

"W-well, your pregnancy. You have to be careful." He stammered.

"Well, Mister Murphy, for your information, and the enlightenment of the rest of the staff, I AM NOT PREGNANT! NOT NOW, NOT EVER!" Her voice rose with each word. "DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?" She turned around, and looked at Anne, and Terri. Anne looked defiant, Terri looked stricken.

At the sound of Melinda's raised voice, the occupants of the lounge got up and walked into the corridor. Roy started to smirk, and Johnny found himself having a hard time keeping a straight face as well. The sight of five foot four inch Melinda backing six foot five inch Jarod into a wall was funny. She was livid, he looked terrified, and he wasn't getting backup from his partner.

Anne walked over to Anne and Terri, and told them to get back to work. Mrs. Felder took notice of them and made a mental note to speak with each of them at shift end.

Johnny and Roy ambled over to Sanchez. "Hey Rick, you gonna rescue your partner?" asked Johnny. Rick shook his head.

"No, man, he opened his big mouth and stuck his foot in, let him get himself out. I know one thing, last place I'd wanna be is on Doc's bad side. She's got a temper!" The HT in Rick's hand beeped. "Squad 45, what's your status?"

"Squad 45, available. Come on, partner, we've got a run." He headed for the door. Jarod looked at Melinda.

"Get out of here." She ordered. He ran for the door.

"All right people, get back to work." Ordered Joan.

Johnny walked over to Melinda, and stood there silently. She turned to him and he opened his arms. She went to him wordlessly and allowed him to take her to the lounge. As the door closed behind them, Roy looked at Joan. "We've got to put a stop to this, before anything else happens."

"Things will be changing soon, very soon." She walked away, her cryptic words hanging in the air.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Thought Roy, as he headed for the lounge, and his friends. "More trouble's coming I can feel it." As the door closed, Carol had the same feeling.

"Bad things are going to happen, I can feel it." She thought. She headed for the base station, knowing it was only a matter of time.

The End (for now)

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