This story takes place several weeks after the events in New Beginnings, parts 1
& 2.
Love, War, and The Flu by Min John Gage was tired, dog-tired. The last two days had been nothing but a steady stream of calls, from the lady with shortness of breath who thought she heard footsteps in her attic, which turned out to be a mother cat and seven kittens, to the call where the roof had collapsed on a construction site, killing three men. All he wanted to do was sleep, and just as his tired head hit the pillow, the klaxons sounded. "Station 51, Station 110, Battalion 14, structure fire, 49444 Sepulveda, cross street Nicholas, 49444 Sepulveda, cross street Nicholas, time out 19:10" came the baritone voice of Sam Lanier. "Station 51, KMG-365" Captain Hank Stanley responded. He jumped into Big Red and the engine pulled behind the squad. "Roy, I don't know how much more of this I can take." Johnny looked into the equally tired face of his paramedic partner, Roy DeSoto. Roy sighed. "I know, Junior, but with everyone and their brother out with the flu, we've got to hold the fort. The hospital is in the same shape we are, they're working 16 on, 8 off, and we keep bringing them business." Johnny studied the road ahead. "Next turn, on the right Roy." Chief Patrick McConikee was already in position. "Station, 110, take the west side and ventilate, Engine 51, take the east side, Squad 51, make a sweep of the first floor, we have a report of two people missing." Captain Stanley, Marco Lopez, and Chet Kelly grabbed a couple of hoses off the engine and made the connections to the hydrant, Mike Stoker checked the gauges for the correct amount of water pressure, and then charged the hoses. Marco and Chet's bodies swayed with the added pressure and as Cap stood between them, hands on their shoulders, he thought "This one's gonna get rough if we don't get control right away." Johnny and Roy grabbed their SCBAs and put them on, then ran towards the building. As they entered the inferno, they could hear the cries for help from the rear of the first floor. They moved as fast as they could, trying to feel their way through the smoke and flames. They reached the rear of the building, and found the door where the victims were, pried it open and found two women on the floor nearly unconscious. They picked them up and carried them out of the building. By the time they reached the squad, Vince Howard had gotten their equipment out and was in the process of setting it up. Another deputy was controlling traffic. Roy got the oxygen on the younger of the two women, and Johnny grabbed the O2 off the engine and was in the process of putting the mask on the other woman when their supervisor ran up. "Hey you guys, there's another guy in the building!" Squad 110 had arrived, and they took over care of the women. Johnny grabbed the HT, "Battalion 14, Squad 51, we have another person in the building. We're going back in." "51,10-4, Captain Stanley, do you copy?" "10-4, Battalion 14." "Back up your paramedics, they're going to make another sweep of the building." "10-4, Battalion 14. Roy, John, make it quick. I'm not sure how much longer we can hold this beast back." "10-4, Cap." As they went back into the building, they heard McConikee call for a second alarm response. They swept the area where they were before, and found a man behind a stack of boxes. Johnny picked the man up in a fireman's carry, and headed back the way they came, Cap, Roy, Marco and Chet covering his back. Just as they reached the door, the building exploded into a huge fireball, knocking all of them to the ground. They picked themselves up, grabbed the hose, and returned to fighting the fire. Johnny carried the man over the squad, and administered oxygen. The man moaned in pain as he placed him on the ground. "I'll get Rampart on the horn." said Roy. He opened the biophone, set up the antenna, and turned on the receiver. "Rampart base, this is County 51, how do you read? Rampart, this is County 51, how do you read?" "Rampart receiving loud and clear, 51, this is Doctor Mulvaney." Melinda's tired voice came over the receiver. "Rampart, we have 3 victims from a fire, 110s is transporting two women with smoke inhalation. We have the third victim, a male approximately mid 30s with smoke inhalation; we have him on 3 liters of O2 via nasal cannula. Please hold for vitals." "Roy, pulse is 100, and thready, respirations 10 and labored, B/P is 100/60. He appears to have tenderness in the left lower quadrant." "Rampart, vitals are: Pulse 100, and thready, respirations 10 and labored, B/P 100/60. Victim appears to have tenderness in left lower quadrant." "County 51, continue oxygen at 3 liters per minute, start an IV with Ringer's. Is there any evidence of head trauma?" Johnny shook his head. Roy responded, "Negative, Rampart." "51, 10mg MS IV for pain, continue to monitor vital signs and transport." "10-4 Rampart." Roy looked at his partner. "She sounds like I feel." "Yeah, I'll bet they're all as tired as we are. I'll start the IV, you can ride in with the victim." He gave out a huge yawn. Roy looked at Johnny with some concern. "You gonna be okay to drive the squad? That was some yawn." Johnny ignored his partner's question while he started the IV, then as they got the patient loaded in the ambulance, he said, "I'll be okay, I just need some sleep, that's all, mother." Roy gave him a look that spoke volumes, then got into the ambulance. "Take it easy coming over, I mean it, Johnny." "Okay, okay, what a grouch." Captain Stanley had heard this last exchange between his two paramedics and tapped Johnny on the shoulder. "Pal, what DeSoto said goes double for me. Take it easy on your way over to the hospital. We need you with us, not on the disabled list, okay?" Johnny sighed. "Okay Cap, I'll take it easy." Chet and Marco were putting away the hose, and Chet couldn't resist one last shot in Johnny's direction. "Nice job, Gage, we do all the heavy work, and you just skate along to the hospital, ya bum." "Shut up, Kelly. You think this job's so easy, why don't you sign up for the paramedic course? Next one's in 3 weeks, or don't you think they'd take knotheads like you?" Cap sighed. Sometimes he felt like a preschool teacher, other times like a referee, and most of the time he just let them go, but this was not one of those times. "Guys, I have some latrines that are going to need cleaning for the next two shifts if you'd like to continue this." "Uh, Cap, I was just leaving." "Me, too, Cap." Chet returned to helping Marco put the hose on the rig. "Thanks, Pal, you didn't help me out there with Gage at all." "Chet, I'm too tired to fight with you or Johnny at the moment. I just want to get this done and get back to my nice soft bunk." The handsome Hispanic man kept working. "Great, that's all we need right now is a visit from the Phantom, Cap will kill him if he pulls something now, everyone's too tired. One of these days, Chet's going to go too far, and one of his pranks is going to blow up in his face." Marco thought. At the hospital, preparations were being made for the incoming patient. Dr. Melinda Mulvaney and Dr. Joe Early were heading for Room 5 from the base station, when they were stopped by Firefighter/Paramedics Craig Brice and Bob Bellingham. "Hey Doc, how're those two ladies doing?" asked Bob. "They were treated for smoke inhalation and are in observation now. We'll keep them overnight and probably release them in the morning." answered Joe. "Brice, you're awfully quiet tonight." "He's too tired to talk." "I am not, I'm just wondering why you're allowing someone who is not up to peak performance to work here in the ER." Joe looked at Brice like he'd lost his mind. "Just who are you referring to?" Brice nodded towards Melinda, who was still wearing a brace on her injured right ankle and was walking with a cane. She had been released to work light duty but in light of this recent crisis, was working just as much as everyone else. Her eyes grew wide at the impertinence of his question, and before she got up a full head of steam to let him have it, Joe intervened. "First of all, Brice, we need all the help we can get right now, second of all, Dr. Mulvaney was cleared to work, and third..." "Third, Mr. Brice, I think Dr. Brackett and Dr. Early are the best judges of my performance. I seem to be holding my own, for the moment." Melinda was livid, but having had other episodes with the walking rule book, thought it best to hold her temper in check."Impertinent little toad." She thought to herself. "No wonder the guys have such a hard time with him. If you will excuse me, I have a patient on his way in." She sidestepped them, and limped into Room 5. Joe just looked at Brice, shook his head, and walked away. Just then, the HT in Brice's hand came to life, and they were out the door to respond to another run. In Room 5, Melinda arrived to find the room was in shambles from the last emergency, and the extremely busy nursing staff had not had the time to clean it up. She sighed, and started to set the room in order. The door opened, and Dixie walked in. "I'm sorry, we hadn't had anyone free to clean it up, Doctor." she apologized. She started to help with the work. Melinda grinned, "That's okay, Dixie, I needed to work off some excess energy. I ran into Brice and Bellingham, and Brice was his usual charming self. I was good though; I restrained myself from punching his lights out. No wonder everyone has such a hard time with him, he's totally unreasonable. You wouldn't see Roy or Johnny giving me a hard time because I'm "physically not up to peak performance". What a bunch of crap. Do you believe that?" Dixie smiled. Her young friend was starting off on a full-scaled rant. "Do you know you sounded just like Johnny then? He gets going, and he doesn't stop, just like you were about to. Brice is one of his favorite rants. If I didn't know better, I'd swear you were spending way too much time with our friend Johnny Gage." Melinda turned red. The last few weeks she had indeed been spending lots of time with Johnny. He had been at the hospital almost every day when she had been recuperating from the accident, he had participated in her physical therapy, coaching and encouraging when she got discouraged, bribing with vanilla ice cream when necessary, and just listening when she needed to talk. She smiled and looked at Dixie. "Well, I guess you could say that. We have been spending time together, but not that much." Dixie's eyebrows went up, "Uh huh, right, Doctor, anything you say." "Dix, I mean it, I haven't seen Johnny in a couple of days." "Only a couple, hmm?" She smiled. "I'm glad that the two of you are spending time together, I think it's been good for the both of you." Her head turned, "It sounds like they're here." "Let's go, Dix." They headed out the door. At the entrance, Joe met Roy and the patient. "Roy, what's his status?" "Doc, he appears to be stable for now." "Good, let's get him into Room 5." Dixie and Melinda met them, and as they transferred him to the table, Dixie started to get the man's vital signs. Melinda checked the man's pupils, while Roy transferred the O2 line to the room's oxygen supply. Joe checked the patient's extremities. No signs of burns or trauma were evident but the patient was still moaning in pain. "Your call, Doctor." said Joe. "We're going to need a CBC,BUN, electrolytes, chest and abdominal x-rays, anything else, Doctor?" She looked at Joe. He shook his head. "I don't think so, Roy, do you or Johnny have any idea what he was doing when the fire started? Any family here? The tall blond paramedic shook his head. "Doc, I'm not sure. Maybe Johnny will have more information when he gets here." Joe instructed Dixie, "Let's get these tests going, and see what else awaits us. Keep an eye on his vitals, Dix, and let's start another IV of Ringers." "Right, Joe." The two doctors and the paramedic left the room. In the corridor, Joe asked Roy, "How bad was the fire?" "Pretty bad, Doc, he had inhaled quite a bit of smoke by the time we got to him. Johnny and I had to make a second sweep of the building. We got two other people out, and then went back in after him. By the way, how are the women doing? Brice and Bellingham brought them in, right?" At the mention of Brice, Melinda made a face, and said, "I'll see what else we've got. Talk to you soon, Roy." She limped away. "See ya, Doc. Doctor Early, what's going on? Did she have a run-in with Brice?" Joe looked fondly in Melinda's direction, and then at the young man. "You could say that, Roy, he took umbrage at the fact that we are allowing her to work, with the brace on her ankle, even though she's walking with the cane, and she's pulling her own weight around here. According to Brice, she's not at 'peak performance'. He's just lucky she restrained herself. She's got her mother's temper, and it's not a very pretty sight, if she were to let it fly." "What's not a pretty sight?" Johnny had managed to get the squad to the hospital in one piece, and he was still yawning. Roy looked at his partner. "Doc Mulvaney, in a bad mood. Dr.Early says that Brice was lucky , she was too busy to deck him." Johnny made a face, and answered, "Yeah, well Brice is enough to put anyone in a bad mood. The guy's a pain in the butt. As for the doc, she's a terrific lady, and she's worked hard these last several weeks. She's earned the right to be here." Just then Melinda came around the corner. Her face lit up when she saw Johnny, and her smile was huge. "Ah, three of my favorite people, all in one spot. How lucky can a girl get?" She gave Johnny and Roy a smile, and then looked at Joe. "Any word on our patient?" "None, yet, I'll check on him, we'll get his tests back, then get him admitted." He looked at her, and said, "Why don't you take a break, and get some coffee, and let these guys have some too, my treat. See you later, boys." He walked away. Melinda looked at his retreating back, and grinned. "Fellas, there goes the last of the big-time spenders." She laughed, and then looked at Roy. Her eyes grew serious as spoke to him. "Roy, I really want to apologize for sounding short with you earlier. No excuse for my bad manners, not even Brice." She made a face. Roy looked at her, then glanced at Johnny. He was looking at her with a half-grin on his face. His eyes were full of adoration. Roy put his arm around her shoulders, and started to direct her to the doctor's lounge. "No problem, Doc. How about some coffee? Coming, Junior?" Johnny scowled his partner. "Yeah, I'm coming." He followed them into the lounge. Just then, the HT in his hand came to life. "Squad 51, what's your status?" "Squad 51, available." "Squad 51, stand by for response." The tones sounded, and Sam's voice could be heard with the next run. " Station 51, Truck 210, Copter 14, unknown type rescue, at the water tower, 5510 Montgomery Road, 5510 Montgomery Road, cross street Water. Time out 20:30." Johnny responded, "Squad 51 responding from Rampart Emergency. Rain check on the coffee, Doc?" "Absolutely, Johnny. Guys, be careful, okay?" She said it to both of them, but her eyes were on Johnny. His eyes were locked on her face, the look spoke more than his voice ever would. Roy grabbed Johnny by the arm, "Let's go, Junior, our public awaits. See ya, Doc." He ushered him out the door. Melinda stood watching the door close. "Please, God, keep him safe, Roy too. And the rest of the guys as well. They have been so good to me, and they are truly some of the best friends I have. Please watch over them. Thanks." She started to pour herself a cup of coffee, when Dr. Kelly Brackett walked in. "Hey, pour me one too, willya?" He sat down at the table, taking it out of her hand. "Thanks. How's the ankle?" "Hurts like the dickens, but I'm managing. And you, Doctor? How are you doing? And have we got anyone else out with the flu?" She took a sip of her coffee. "Man, is that strong! Whew!" She took another sip, "Tastes like Mike's been making the coffee, again." Kel smiled. He liked the younger doctor, and had been present when she had been brought in as a result of an accident on the 405. He had been there during her recovery process, and given her the job in Emergency that she was on her way to interview for, when the accident occurred. Kel also knew, and it was no secret around the hospital, that John Gage had been spending time with the young woman. He wasn't surprised at her outburst. "No, as far as we know, there's been no new cases of flu reported. So probably after this shift, you, Joe and Miranda will be cut loose. "He took a sip, "What's in this, arsenic? Blah!" At the sound of her mother's name, Melinda seemed surprised. They had been so busy in Emergency, that she hadn't had time to check on her mother in Pediatrics. With the head of Pediatrics out with the flu, Miranda had been extremely busy, and most of the other department heads and assistants out with the same complaint, the other departments, except for a few, had been running orders and staffing requests through Emergency, which meant that Kel and Dixie had their hands full. Miranda had kept her appointment with Nathan O'Brien, and was given the job open in that department. She had been welcomed with open arms in Peds, and loved the people and the patients. She had been keeping basically the same schedule as her daughter, and was still working this evening. The staff in Peds had also been decimated by the flu epidemic, and they were struggling to keep up with the patient load. She and Joe Early had been keeping company for several weeks, and were the subject of several conversations among the more gossipy nurses at Rampart. "You know, Kel, I forgot all about Mom, we've been so busy here, that it just slipped my mind. As a matter of fact, I need to sign the orders for the last patient Johnny and Roy brought in. I'll see you later. Just as she got to the door, Dixie appeared with a clipboard. "Doctor Mulvaney, you didn't sign these orders. Oh, by the way the lab's backed up for at least an hour on bloodwork, but the x-rays are back." "Good, find Joe for me will you?" "He said he was going up to Peds for a moment." She smiled. "Miranda called and said she needed a consult." Melinda nodded her head. "Yes, speaking of spending a lot of time together, Joe and Mom have been doing just that. When he gets back, could you send him to 5? Dr. Brackett, would you like to check this guy's films? Who's with him now?" "Sally Jenkins is with him." "Good, we'll get in there. Anything else, Dix?" asked Brackett. "No, it's been quiet for some time. I probably just jinxed us." "51's on a rescue right now, so more than likely we'll be hearing from them." said Melinda. Station 51 arrived at the scene of the rescue, and found Vince Howard and a young boy at the base of the water tower. Big Red arrived first on the scene, Cap's door swinging open just as the rig pulled to a stop. Vince and the young boy walked over to them. "Hey, Vince you've sure made the rounds tonight. What's the story?" Vince put his arm around the young boy's shoulder. "Hi, Hank, I could say the same thing about you guys. This is Dylan Walter. He tells me his sister and her boyfriend are up on the tower, and now they can't get down." Hank shook his head. In his view, teenage girls should be locked up until they were 21, or until they showed some small amount of common sense. He raised his HT to his face. "LA, Engine 51, continue Squad 51's response and return other units." "10-4, Engine 51." Hank bent down to Dylan's level and asked, "How did they get up there?" The little boy started to cry. "I can't tell you, I promised Ashley and Pete that I wouldn't tell. I don't want them to think I'm a fibber." Hank picked the boy up and took his helmet off. Placing it on Dylan's head, he said, "I'm the captain that means I'm in charge, right?" The helmeted head nodded. "If my men and I are to help them, I need to know so I can tell my men what to do and where to go. Under the circumstances, I don't think your sister would mind if you told me, okay?" "Okay, if it will help, I'll tell. They climbed up the stairway over on the backside. They fixed the chain so no one would find out. Now they're going to get into trouble, and it's my fault." He started to cry again. Cap yelled to Mike, Marco, and Chet, "Get the ropes, and belts. When Gage and DeSoto get here, we'll send them up." The two firemen in question were just pulling up as he finished his instructions. They got out of the squad as Hank walked up to them, with Dylan still in his arms. "Hey, Cap, who's your friend?" Johnny asked. "Boys, this is Dylan, and his sister Ashley and her boyfriend Pete are up there." Cap pointed straight up at the tower. "We're going to have to get them down. Any suggestions?" Roy said, "We could bring 'em down in a stokes, or in a belt. We'll let you know when we get up there, Cap." Captain Stanley looked at his two paramedics. "Right, just get them, and yourselves down in one piece. Let us know what you need and we'll send it up." Johnny and Roy walked back to the squad. "Man, look at how high that tower is! I wonder what we'll find up top? Roy just shook his head, grabbed his belt and walked back toward the tower. "You never know what kids are going to do, they are capable of just about anything, as evidenced by our current problem." He looked up. "Well, are you ready, Junior?" "Right beside you, Pally." Johnny picked up the coiled rope, and slung it over his shoulder. Chet and Marco followed with the Stokes. "Mister, you'll get them down okay, won't you? My mom is really gonna be mad if you don't." Roy grinned at the little boy in Cap's helmet, and answered," We're gonna try, and I've got a feeling you'll be seeing your sister sooner than you think. Let's go, Johnny." They started their climb up the small circular stairway, and after several minutes, began to find articles of clothing on the steps. Johnny looked at Roy, a puzzled expression on his face. "Roy, you don't suppose they're....." Roy returned his partner's puzzled look. "Stranger things have happened, and in stranger places. Let's keep going." Johnny picked up the pieces of clothing, and put them in the backpack he was wearing. "Just in case they need them." said with his trademark crooked grin. As they approached the top, they found two half-naked teenagers, one with his leg caught in the metal railing. Taking off the backpack, Johnny gave it to Ashley. "Here, your clothes are in there." Roy raised the HT and spoke into it. "Engine 51, HT 51, we're going to need a hacksaw, and the porta-power. The boy has his leg caught in the metal railing, and the girl appears to be okay. Can you send up the Stokes?" "10-4, HT 51. Engine 51, this is Cap, Mike, did you copy that last transmission?" The quiet voice of Mike Stoker answered. "Ten- four Cap, equipment's on the way." Marco and Chet loaded the hacksaw and the porta-power into the stokes and sent it up the line that had been dropped. As the equipment lifted off, Chet nudged Marco, "Hey, I wonder what they found up there?" Marco scowled at the Phantom's alter-ego. "Weren't you listening? They've got two kids up there and one's stuck." "No, man, I mean what kind of shape they were in." "Chet, what are you getting at?" "Well, when I was younger, we used to climb up these things and make out with chicks." The Irishman's face had a big smirk on it. "Are you out of your mind? Couldn't you find someplace else?" Marco was amazed. Kelly kept on. "No man, chicks love adventure, danger, which sort of thing, you know, they think it's romantic." Mike, quietly listening to all of this, said "If Cap hears you, you'll find out how romantic cleaning the latrines will be." "Stuff it, Stoker. You wouldn't know romantic if it came up and bit you in the butt." "We'll see, Kelly. We'll see." Marco looked at the two of them. It sounded seriously like a challenge. He made a mental note to stay out of their way the next couple of shifts. "You really got to watch out for the quiet ones. If Chet messes with Mike, the Phantom won't know what hit him." He thought, then spoke up. "My money's on Mike." Meanwhile, up on the tower, a fully dressed Ashley asked Johnny, "Can you get him out of there? Look, he's shivering!" Johnny had asked the young man's age, and found him to be 18, which meant they could treat him without parental permission. Johnny handed her Pete's sweatshirt. "Can you help him put it on? We're going to have to cut his pantsleg to see what damage he's done." He started to cut the jeans leg, but Pete stopped him. "Don't do that, my mom will kill me." "Look, man, she's probably gonna kill you when she finds out what's going on here. Cut pants are the least of your worries." Pete looked at Ashley. "I'm sorry, Ash, this was a really stupid idea, and I'm really sorry I talked you into it." She smiled at Pete, "it's okay, let's just get you down from here, and taken care of. I've been thinking, it's better to wait 'til we're older, or married or something. It was a romantic thought, though. Wasn't it?" Roy finished extricating the hapless young man from the railing, and he and Johnny placed him into the stokes. Cap, and the guys were waiting to lower him down, and his trip down was uneventful. Johnny, Roy and Ashley walked back down. Dylan saw his sister, and ran into her arms. Mike had set the equipment up, and was ready for them when they finally got down. "Thanks, Mike." said Roy. "No problem, Roy." Mike walked back to the engine. Johnny picked up the biophone. "I'll get Rampart." Roy proceeded to get the vitals. "Rampart base, this is County 51, how do you read?" "County 51, this is Rampart. We read you loud and clear. "Dixie's voice came over the link. "Rampart, we have a male victim, 18 years old, approximately 130 pounds. He had been trapped in a metal railing. His right leg appears to be injured, we have it splinted." "Stand by, 51." Melinda and Joe approached the base station, deep in conversation. "Joe, I think we need to draw a theophylline level on him, and then go from there. The O2 and the epinephrine seem to be helping for now." "Sounds good, we'll get him admitted, and I'll go talk to his parents." He walked toward the waiting room. Melinda wrote the orders for the blood draw and admittance, then handed the chart to Dixie. "What do you got, Dix?" "51,they have a victim." "Squad 51, this is Rampart. Do you have vital signs on your victim?" "Rampart, that's affirmative. Vital signs are: Pulse,90 and regular. Respirations 20, B/P 128/60. Victim appears to be in some pain." "51, any evidence of trauma?" "Negative, Rampart." "51, transport non-code R." "10-4, Rampart." "Dixie, that young boy that was brought in with the asthma symptoms, we're going to draw a theophylline level, and admit. Joe's talking to the parents right now." She looked at the head nurse, and smiled. "You look like I feel. Have you been able to take a break?" Dixie smiled, "Yes, I got to take a break, and you, Doctor?" Melinda sighed. "Yes, I've gotten to take a couple of 5 minute breaks, and that's helped, but none of us can keep going like this." "So, are you working the next 2 days?" "Kel said something about cutting Joe, Mom and I loose at the end of the shift, but he didn't have time to go into details." Joe walked back, with the parents of the little boy they admitted. "Nurse McCall will take you up to Pediatrics, and you can see your son then, okay?" They expressed their gratitude to Joe and Melinda and then left with Dixie. "Joe, 51 is bringing in a young man, non-code R. It's a leg injury, but I didn't authorize any pain meds, I wanted to wait until we saw the kid first." Joe nodded his head. "Call me when they get here, I'll be up in Peds." Melinda smiled. "Yes, Doctor." Back at the water tower, the ambulance had arrived. Johnny and Roy helped Pete into it, then Roy got in with him. Vince was taking Ashley and Dylan home. Cap and the rest of A-shift finished loading up the ropes and belts. Johnny was getting ready to drive the squad in. He yawned long and loud. "Pal, you gonna be okay to drive? I can always have Marco or Chet drive the squad." "Nah, Cap. I'll be alright, besides they're just as tired as I am." "Okay, but be careful." In the ambulance, on the way to Rampart, Firefighter/Paramedic Roy DeSoto listened, as the young man tried to explain why they went up to the top of the water tower. Then,as the ambulance turned into the Emergency entrance, he spoke. "You know, if I were your parents, I'd be pretty angry right now. And with good reason. You could have been killed, as it is, you've got an injury to your leg. Not to mention the danger you put your girlfriend in." The young man hung his head. "Man, I should never have listened to the guys. They all said that girls like the excitement, danger and stuff like that. They think it's romantic." Roy answered, "I don't know where your friends got their information, but it was wrong. Women like dinners out, the movies, and just spending time together. At least that's what my wife enjoys. And women need respect. You did not show any respect for your girlfriend by dragging her up there. You need to apologize to your girlfriend for endangering her life, and for not respecting her." "Yes sir. I will. And Mr. DeSoto, thanks." The young man was wheeled in a treatment room, and Roy walked to the desk, where Dixie was working on the schedule for the next several days. "Hey, Dix, how's it going?" "Roy, didn't I just see you here an hour ago? Don't you guys ever sleep?" The head nurse was incredulous. "Yeah, when they let us." replied the very tired paramedic. "Johnny's so tired, he's at the point where it's not safe for him to drive the squad. And I'm fast approaching that point myself. We've been going like this for the last 2 days, and we're gonna need relief soon. Here comes my partner, see ya Dix." The dead on his feet personage of John Gage waved at the nurse, then turned and followed Roy out the door. Dixie returned to her schedule, then looked at the clock. Almost midnight. Just seven more hours to go. The guys walked out the door and got into the squad. Johnny had no sooner made them available when they heard the tones, and Sam's voice once again. "Engine 51, Squad 51, woman injured, Frankie's Bar and Grill, 9014 Lanyard Street, 9-0-1-4 Lanyard Street, cross street Titus. Time out: 24:00. "Squad 51 responding from Rampart Hospital." "Engine 51, KMG-365." came Cap's tired voice. As the two vehicles met at the bar, they heard the sound of glass breaking, women screaming, and furniture being tossed. As the guys got out of their vehicles, a bar stool came flying through the front window, followed by a burly biker. He landed at Chet's feet, and rolled over unconscious. Cap picked up the mic, "LA, Station 51 at scene, please respond police and ambulances. We have an unknown number of people injured." John and Roy checked out the biker, and got on the phone to Rampart. They were advised to sent him non-code R. Mike and Marco were assigned to keep watch over him, and everyone else entered the bar, followed by Vince Howard, and his partner Dave Simpson. In the bar, a woman dressed in leather was writhing on the floor in pain. Her boyfriend, a large man whose name was Mountain, was kneeling beside her, holding her hand. Roy, knelt down next to the woman. "I'm Roy DeSoto, a paramedic with the county fire department. Can you tell me your name, and what's wrong?" "My name is Ramona Jacobs, this is my old man Mountain. We were just sitting here having a beer, and all of a sudden, a huge fight breaks out, and we're right in the middle of it. Some guy pulled a knife, and I got stabbed here in the stomach." Johnny set up the biophone, and contacted Rampart. Melinda and Mike were standing by the base station when the call came in. "Rampart base, this is County 51. How do you read?" Johnny's voice came over the line. "51, this is Rampart. We read you." Mike answered. "Rampart, we have a woman, approximate age--" "She's 29."said Mountain. "I'm 33,honey." stated Ramona. She looked at Roy, and smiled. "He's always trying to put me younger, isn't that sweet?" Roy glanced at the "human mountain", and smiled at Ramona. "He must love you a lot to do that." Johnny continued, "correction, victim is 33, approximately 125 pounds, with a stab wound in the abdomen, lower right quadrant. We have applied a pressure dressing. Vitals are: pulse 96, and weak, respirations 5, and labored, B/P is 90/40." "51, start an IV with Ringer's, and monitor vital signs. Keep us informed and transport immediately." "10-4, Rampart." They prepared her for transport. Mountain looked at them with tears in his eyes. "Where are you taking her?" Johnny stood up. As tall as he was, this guy was at least a foot or more taller. He was bigger than Roy, Johnny, and the rest of the crew put together. Johnny gulped, and answered. "We're going to take her to Rampart. They'll take good care of her there. Want to ride in the ambulance with her? You'll have to ride up front." The taller man shook his head, "No, man, I'll ride the bike over. I'll meet you there." He bent down and kissed Ramona on the forehead. "Now don't you worry, honey, they'll take good care of you. Cause if they don't they'll answer to me." He glared at Cap and the crew. "You'll take REAL good care of her, RIGHT?" "Absolutely, you can count on it." Cap assured him. He looked at Roy and Johnny. "Listen, our lives are in your hands. Don't let anything happen to her, okay?" Johnny grinned. "Right, Cap, we'll take real good care of her." He followed the gurney out the door. Chet looked at Marco and Mike. "Yup, and once again we get to pick up the pieces while they just waltz out the door." Mike, who usually didn't say much, replied with "Shut up, Chet." Before Chet could respond, a chair crashed into the wall behind him. Another chair hit the mirror over the bar. A body went flying over the bar after it. A big, mean-looking biker grabbed Cap and sent him over a table. He landed in a crumpled heap in the corner. Mike grabbed his HT, "LA, this is Engine 51, request another squad and ambulance to our location, plus more police. We have a full-scale riot on our hands." "10-4, 51." The tones sounded, and Mike ducked as another body flew over the bar. Marco was grabbed by two very large guys and hung up on a coat hook by the loop under the collar of his turnout coat. He hung there helplessly watching as the crew, and the police were outnumbered by the bar patrons. Chet was in the middle of a group of women, and they were all taking their best shots. He had both arms over his head and face, and was trying to get away, his nose and face were bloody. Evidently someone had gotten in a good punch. Mike ran over to Cap and began to check him for injuries. He moaned as he tried to sit up, but found himself restrained by his engineer's hand. "Don't move, Cap. I'm not sure how bad your injuries are." He raised the HT. "LA, Engine 51. What's the ETA on additional squad and ambulance? We have a Code I times 2." The HT was silent, then Sam Lanier's voice was heard. "Engine 51, ETA of Squad 110 is 5 minutes. ETA of police and ambulance is 7 minutes." "10-4, LA." Mike looked at Hank. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was shallow. "Cap, where do you hurt?" "Everywhere, but mostly in my shoulder, and my ribs. Getting harder to breathe." Just then, Squad 110 pulled up, and Brice and Bellingham got out. Mike groaned inwardly when he saw who it was. He bent down and said to Hank, "Cap, squad's here." Hank smiled weakly, "Who?" "110's, Brice and the Animal. Sorry, Cap." "Mike, at this point I don't care who it is." Over in the corner, Chet was trying to defend himself. "Look, lady, if you don't back off, I'm gonna have to hurt you." The tall red-haired woman dressed in black leather grinned at him, and said, "You and what army, Fuzzy? You know, you're kind of cute. You wanna go out sometime?" She advanced on Chet, and he backed away. "Playin' hard to get, huh? Well, we'll see about that." She lunged for him, and he sidestepped her. She landed on top of 2 officers, who promptly grabbed her and cuffed her. "Hey, Fuzzy, next time, okay?" They led her away. Poor Marco was just hanging around, watching the events around him. He saw Cap fly over the table, and wanted to go to him, but saw Mike there, and knew he was in good hands. He watched as Chet got his nose broken, and saw the redhead make a move on him. He started to chuckle. This was perfect, the Phantom was finally getting payback for all the pranks he'd pulled lately. As Brice and Bellingham walked into the bar, Brice saw Marco hanging up on the hook. "Bellingham, can you get him down? I'll check on Captain Stanley." The Animal sauntered over to where Marco was, and asked with a smile on his face," Hey, Lopez, need a lift?" "Bob, that's not funny, get me down!" Marco started swearing in Spanish. Bob looked shocked. "Ya know, your mama would wash your mouth out if she heard what you said." Bob lifted Marco up off the hook, and gently placed him down. Marco grinned, and said, "Gracias, amigo." "Day nada, buddy" Marco winced at the mutilation of his native language. He walked over to Chet. His face was covered with red, some of it blood, some of it bright red lipstick from the redhead. "Amigo, are you okay? I saw that woman. She looked like some really bad news. Why was she after you?" "Man, Marco, first she slugs me, then she 'wants to kiss it and make it better'. She kept calling me 'Fuzzy', and said that I looked like her fourth husband. Apparently that was the one she liked. She wouldn't leave me alone, and I couldn't get to Cap. Do you know how he is?" Both men looked over to the corner, where Brice and Bellingham were working on Hank, with Mike watching them like a hawk. Bellingham was on the bio-phone, giving the hospital Hank's vital signs, and getting permission for an IV. Brice had gotten out the IV supplies, and was waiting for permission to start the IV. He looked up as Chet and Marco approached, and his eyes widened with surprise at Chet's appearance. "What happened to you?" "What do you think happened, Brice? I got slugged, and my nose is busted. How's the Cap? Is he gonna be all right?" "Captain Stanley will be making a trip to Rampart as soon as we get an IV started. Bellingham, when you are finished, check Kelly out." Bob, listening to both the hospital and Brice, nodded. "Brice, Brackett says to start D5W TKO, 10 mg MS IV slow push, immobilize and transport. C'mere Chet, what's the other guy look like?" He checked Kelly's face. "Yep, nose is busted, you're gonna have two of the prettiest black eyes I've ever seen. Brice, we'll transport Kelly with Cap'n Stanley." Mike raised the HT to his face."LA, Engine 51, notify Battalion 14, we're 10-8 to Rampart Hospital with our code Is." "10-4,51." Mike looked at Marco. "We'd better get going." Marco said to Chet, "We'll see you over there." The two left. The injured firefighters were placed in an ambulance and transported to Rampart. At Rampart, the double doors opened to the ambulance carrying Johnny, and his patient Ramona. Roy met them and helped roll the gurney into the ER. They turned at the sound of a roaring engine, and a big Harley-Davidson rolled up to the entrance. Mountain got off the bike, and followed them in. Mike and Melinda met them at the door to Room 2, the gurney was wheeled in, and Mountain started to follow them in. Mike put his hand on the big man's chest, and shook his head no. Mountain responded by picking him up and shaking him. Melinda intervened. "Put him down! Now!" Mountain looked toward the authoritative voice. He looked down at her. She had her arms crossed and was scowling at him. "Look, pal, we can't help your lady if you're gonna beat up on the staff. Every minute you delay, she goes further into danger. You've got to wait out in the waiting room. Put him down. Please?" Mountain looked at her, then smiled. "Ya know, Little Doc, you're kinda cute when you get mad. Okay, I'll wait outside. Take care of her Doc." Johnny and Roy were finishing with transferring the equipment to the room, and were getting ready to leave. Mike stopped them with, "Boys, you might want to hang around, 110's is bringing in some of your crew. That's all I know." With that, he turned around and began barking orders to the assembled staff in the room. Melinda had ordered x-rays, bloodwork, two units of O negative blood and had hung a bottle of Ringer's. "We've got to get this bleeding stopped. Sally, set up a lap tray, and find an anesthesiologist." Nurse Sally Jenkins nodded her head at Melinda. "Right away, Doctor." She went to the phone and paged for the staff anesthesiologist. Mike started to check the wound, Ramona grabbed his hand, and said "Look Doc, if I don't make it, tell Mountain he's the only man I've loved." Mike smiled at her, and said, "You're gonna make it, our lives depend on it. Your boyfriend isn't one to take bad news in stride. Just relax, and we'll fix you up as good as new." She sank back on the gurney, and closed her eyes. "All right, folks let's get her prepped. Sally, where's our gas passer?" "Dr. Mathews will be right down, Doctor. Dr. Mulvaney, did you want to use 3-0 or 4-0 silk?" "Mike, Sally, I think 4-0, and we can use 3-0 on the inner areas, okay?" "As you wish, Doctor." Mike looked at Melinda. "Your call, Doctor." "Whatever you say, Doctor, you're the boss. Nice of you to join us, Dr. Mathews, on such short notice. Thanks for coming." She smiled at the latest occupant in the room. "Let's get this show on the road." Out in the waiting room, Mountain was pacing back and forth, his eyes on the floor. As Johnny and Roy approached, he looked up. "Any news? " They shook their heads, and Roy answered. "They just got started, they were waiting for the anesthesiologist. Don't worry, she's in good hands. Both of the doctors are very good at what they do, and you couldn't have any two better." Mountain's shoulders shook, and the tears started to fall. "Man, have you ever loved someone, but didn't have the nerve to tell them how much, now when they might be taken away, you realized how much they really meant to you.? I might lose her, and she'll never know how much I love her." Roy put his hand on the big man's shoulder. " I think she knows how much you care. But you need to let her know, don't wait too long, you might never get the chance again." In the treatment room, the doctors worked feverishly to save Ramona's life. "Doctor, her pressure is dropping." informed Sally. "Sally, increase the drip on her Ringer's and start a unit of whole blood." instructed Melinda. "Sis, tie off that bleeder" bossed Mike. "Hey bro, I've only got two hands and they both occupied with this other bleeder. Wait..there, where is it?" She grabbed a clamp and placed it on the bleeding vessel. Finishing her first task, she then applied herself to the other. Moving the clamp up on the blood vessel, she sutured it closed, and then removed the clamp. "Blood pressure is 100/80." Sally smiled. Watching these two work was amazing. One complimented the other, and as they worked in concert, it seemed like their hands had a life of their own. Soon their patient was stable. As they closed, they were pleased to find that all vital signs were returning to normal. "Nice piece of work, Doctors", said Dr. Mathews. "Thank you Doctor, replied Mike. Looking at his "sister", he said, "I'll flip you for the chance to give her boyfriend the good news. Heads you go, tails you go." Melinda laughed. "Okay you coward, I'll go, but you're gonna owe me big." "I can't help it if he likes you better." "Oh yeah, big time." She finished washing her hands, and walked out of the room. "Sally, let's get this lady to recovery." "Right away, Dr. Morton." As Melinda walked to the waiting room, she was surprised to see Station 51's crew there, not having heard Mike's last statement to Roy and Johnny. "What's going on, guys?" "Doc, the engine crew was involved in a riot at the same place where we brought your last patient from." explained Roy. Mountain lumbered up to the group. "Little Doc, how's my woman?" Melinda smiled. "She came through the surgery very well, and she's being moved to Recovery. As soon as she's in a room, you'll be able to see her." Tears came into the big man's eyes. He reached out to shake her hand. "Thank you, Doc, for giving her back to me. You know, I was going to ask her to marry me tonight before everything happened. I've got the ring and everything." He pulled a small box out of his pocket, opened it up and shoed her. Inside was a small gold band with a diamond. "Do you think she'll like it?" "It's lovely and I'm sure she'll love it. Congratulations, Mountain." "Little Doc, you can call me Wendell." He smiled and walked away. "Well, Doc, it looks like you made quite an impression on him." observed Marco. "Yeah, I guess so. Who was injured?" Johnny answered. "Cap and Chet. Cap got the worst of it, but Chester B.'s got a busted nose." He smirked. "It couldn't have happened to a nicer fella." Roy shot his partner a disgusted look. "Knock it off, Junior." "Well, he'd go after me." Mike spoke up, "No, he wouldn't, and even if he did, he didn't deserve to get beat up by a girl." Johnny started to laugh. "A girl? A girl broke his nose? HA HA HA!" Melinda smiled, and turned to go. "Where ya goin', Doc?" "I'm going to see where Cap'n Hank is, and look in on him. I'll let you guys know his condition, okay?" She walked to the desk, and spoke to the nurse there. Having gotten the information she needed, she turned to go into Room 6. Opening the door, she found Joe and Kel working on Hank. "Hey, how's the prettiest doctor at Rampart?" She leaned down. "I don't know, I haven't seen Doctor Morton in the last five minutes." She smiled, and winked at Joe. "Cute, really cute." Hank winced, and asked Kel, "Well, Doc, am I going to live?" "Yeah, Hank I think so, but you've got a fractured shoulder, and ribs, so I think we'll be keeping you for a while." "Not my idea of time off." groused Hank. "I'd much rather be on the beach with Grace." "Keep your shirt on, Hank, you'll be on the beach sooner than you think." Dr. Early advised. "How long am I going to have to be here?" asked Cap. Kel rubbed his chin. "Well, at least a couple of days, then we'll see about sending you home." Melinda spoke up. "The guys are outside waiting to hear what's going on." "I'll go and talk to them. Who's taking care of Chet?" "He's next door, I was going there after this." said Joe. "Need a hand?" asked Melinda. "We're pretty well caught up, as far as I know." "Yeah, give me a hand, Chet will require some delicate handling." As they walked out the door, 4 anxious faces greeted them. Joe smiled and said, "Kel's coming, we're on our way to see Chet now." Johnny grabbed Melinda's hand. "Doc?" She smiled and put her hand on his cheek. "Kel will tell you about Hank, I'm needed with Joe. See you later." Johnny smiled dazedly, and put his hand where hers had been. He could still feel her warmth. "So, you'll never wash your face again?" He turned to look at his partner. Roy had a smile on his face. "Why don't you two just come right out and let each other know how you really feel?" "Roy, we're just friends, that's all." "Yeah, right. And we're the Three Musketeers." said Mike. "Amigo, you need to tell her." chimed in Marco. Roy just shook his head. "Junior, she's crazy about you, you can see it all over her face. She lights up like a Christmas tree when you're around. TELL HER HOW YOU REALLY FEEL!" "Man, you guys just don't understand." said Johnny. He turned and walked away. Marco and Mike looked at each other and Roy. "He's nuts." said Mike. "Loco is the word for it, amigo." "What are we supposed to do, drag them kicking and screaming to each other?" asked Roy. In the treatment room, Chet Kelly was not a happy person. The nurse had mentioned something about shaving his mustache off, and he wasn't having any. When Joe and Melinda walked in, the first words out of his mouth were, "I don't care, you guys are not shaving my moustache off, NO WAY!" " Must be a concussion, he's delirious." observed Melinda. "Why would we want to shave off your mustache?" asked Joe. "Let me take a look at that nose." Chet shook his head. "No way, man. I know it's busted, and you are not, repeat, NOT going to shave it off! That nurse said you would! You're not gonna! I won't let you!" "Chester B., what is your problem? No one wants to shave to shave off your mustache! Will you please calm down?" She put her hand on his shoulder. He tried to pull away, but couldn't due to the gurney being locked in place. Joe had gotten a syringe and some liquid Lorazepam out of the med cabinet, and was in the process of drawing up a small dose when Chet spotted him. "What's that? You're not knocking me out! NO WAY!" Melinda kept trying to distract him, and Joe managed to get the shot in Chet's arm. "No fair, you guys, two on one, just not fair..." His body slumped. Joe looked at his younger associate. "Kiddo, find out who told him we were going to cut his mustache off. Then report her to Dix. There was no excuse for this." "You got it, Boss." She left the room. The guys were still waiting, and when they saw her, they all started talking at once. "How is he?" "What's going on?" "Any news, Doc?" Roy's was the last voice. "Dr. Mulvaney, how is he doing?" Melinda smiled. She had heard about the camaraderie among this group from Joanne DeSoto, an obvious authority. She knew they were concerned. She held up her hand. "First, he's okay, you know the nose is broken." They nodded. "Well, he's got two black eyes, and is very upset. We had to sedate him. Joe is with him now. I need to find Dix. Excuse me." With that she walked away. They just stood there and looked at her, then all sat back down. Melinda walked up to the desk, and asked Dixie, "Dix, who was in the room with Chet Kelly? Joe and I just had a beast of a time getting him calmed down. Apparently the nurse with him told him we were going to cut his mustache off, and he got upset. We had to sedate him. I want her, Dix, who was it?" "Anne was with him." Dixie shook her head with disgust. "You can have her after I'm done with her. If there's anything left, that is." She stalked off. Johnny ambled up to the desk. "Doc?" She turned and smiled at the tall, handsome paramedic. His soft brown eyes looked deeply into her gray-blue ones, and she momentarily lost her train of thought. "Oh my, I could get lost in there." She thought to herself. Catching her breath, she asked, "What can I do for you, sir?" "Doc, I was wondering if you had time for that raincheck on our coffee." He smiled at her with that wonderfully crooked grin of his. She put her hand on his arm. "Yes, I do, Johnny, anyone else joining us?" "They better not,..."He caught himself. "No, they want to wait for news on Chet. Ready?" They walked by the lounge, and hearing voices, decided to head to the cafeteria. Getting themselves two hot, steaming cups of coffee, they sat down at an empty table. "You've been busy tonight. I know we've brought you a lot of business." Remarked Johnny. "Yes, we have, and do me a favor will you? Don't bring us anymore." This said with a smile. She looked at her tablemate. Dark circles under his eyes spoke of just how busy they had really been. Fatigue lined his handsome face. She was just as tired as he was, dark circles were under her eyes as well, and her right ankle was throbbing from being on it for so long. The two drank their coffee in companionable silence, glancing at each other and smiling. To Melinda, it felt like she could sit there all night with Johnny, but she knew she had to get back to ER. Finally, she knew she couldn't delay any longer. "Ready to go back?" He smiled, shook his head, and said, "Not really. I'd much rather be someplace else with you." She was surprised. "Really?" "Yeah, really, Doc." They stood up and faced each other. Looking deeply into each other's eyes, they smiled tired smiles. "I guess we'd better get back." Johnny sighed."Yeah, I guess so. Doc, when this is over, and we've had a chance to rest, we really need to talk. Okay?" She took his hand. "Okay." She nodded her head toward Emergency, and hand in hand they walked back through the double doors and back into the rest of the night's work. the end Author's notes: Thank yous go out to all the usual people, and much love. Janet, love and prayers to you. |