The Nicknames By SQ51 Storywriter Johnny, Roy, Chet, Marco, Mike, and Cap were sitting around the table drinking a cup of coffee. "It sure is quiet today," Mike said. "I hope it stays that way. We've only had three runs so far since the shift began," said Marco, as he picked up a pencil that was on the table and tapped it. "And the first one was a false alarm," Mike said, as he sipped his coffee. "We've had only four runs since…," Johnny said. The claxon sounded and interrupted Johnny. "Station 51 a shed on fire at 2829 West Alameda Avenue, two eight two nine West Alameda Avenue, cross street Lincoln, time out 18:02." Roy and Johnny headed for the squad and the rest of the crew put on their turncoats and donned their helmets and headed for the engine. Cap keyed the mic. "KMG 365," he said. He handed the address to Roy who passed it to Johnny. Johnny took the green pen from his pocket, looked at his watch, and wrote the time down on the slip of paper that Roy had handed him. Captain Stanley grabbed his turncoat and helmet and quickly got into the cab of the engine. Johnny and Roy donned their helmets.(redundant) Roy drove the squad out of the station with the lights flashing and the siren blasting. Mike blew the horn on the fire engine as he made a right hand turn into the street. He followed behind the squad with red lights flashing and the siren screaming. They turned onto West Alameda and drove a short distance. "Over there!" Johnny said, as he pointed to an older lady flagging them down. Part 2 The squad pulled up to the curb in front of the house. The engine parked behind the squad. Captain Stanley got out of the engine. "Get an inch and a half on that fire Chet. Marco, you can help him," Cap said. There was a small storage shed in the back yard that was burning. It was close to an alley. Johnny and Roy took the equipment from the squad's compartment and walked over to the lady and set it on the ground. "Ma'am are you alright?" Johnny asked. He saw some soot on her face. "Huh? Speak up I'm a bit hard of hearing," she said. "Ma'am, I just want to make sure that you're not hurt," Roy said loudly. "I'm just fine young man," she said. Roy saw a lawn chair and brought it over to the woman. "Well, ma'am if you'll just sit down here, we can check you out and make sure," Roy said. "Huh? She asked. Roy got closer to the woman and said, "Just sit down here and we'll take a look at you." I said that I was fine didn't I?" she remarked. "Yes ma'am you did," Roy said, as he helped her into the chair. "What's your name ma'am?" Johnny asked loudly. "Mrs. Andrea Grayling. I'm 87 and I'm fine. I was burning my trash in that can and I guess a spark started the shed on fire. Isn't anything in it anyway except a rake and a shovel," she said. "Mrs. Grayling, my name is Roy DeSoto and this is my partner Johnny Gage, we're paramedics," Roy said softly. "Huh, what did you say?" Mrs. Grayling asked. "We're paramedics and we'd just like to see how you are doing. We just want to check your pulse, respiration, and blood pressure. That's all. Would that be alright?" Roy asked loudly. "I guess so. If you have to, then just go ahead and do it and get it over with young man. But I'm telling you that I'm just fine. I'm a little hard of hearing though, in case you haven't noticed," Mrs. Grayling said. Johnny looked at Roy and gave a slight grin and said, "That's o.k. Mrs. Grayling, we'll speak up a bit." "Huh? You'll have to speak up a bit," Mrs. Grayling said. Roy and Johnny grinned. "O.K. we will," Roy said loudly. Chet came up as Roy placed the blood pressure cuff around Mrs.Grayling's arm. Roy put the ear pieces of the stethoscope in his ears and the diaphragm of the stethoscope on her arm. "I found this in the alley, and I wondered if it was hers," Chet said, as he showed Roy a woman's purse. Johnny took Mrs. Grayling's wrist so that he could get her pulse rate. "One thing at a time. You can wait until he finishes getting my blood pressure before you take a hold of my wrist. I don't like people fussing over me," Mrs. Grayling said to Johnny. "Yes ma'am," Johnny said, as he let go of her wrist. Roy finished getting her blood pressure and dropped the stethoscope around his neck. "Where did you say you found the purse?" Roy asked Chet. "Alley." Chet said loudly. The woman looked at Roy. "So your name is Pally. I like that name. It gives you character young man," Mrs. Grayling said. Johnny grinned as he looked at Roy. He shook his head as he reached for Mrs. Grayling's wrist to take her pulse. Johnny got her pulse and then let go of her wrist and got her respiration. Roy looked at Chet and took the purse from him. "Thanks Chet," Roy said. "Ma'am, is this your purse?" Roy asked loudly. "Why yes it is? Where in the world did you get it?" Mrs. Grayling asked, as she saw puncture marks on it. "Chet found it laying over there," Roy said loudly, as he pointed to the alley. "Oh dear, I've been out here doing some yard work. I gave a child some money for a candy bar he was selling for school and I set the purse down on the steps. I noticed a dog playing around here. I suppose he took off with it. Thank you so much for finding it," Mrs. Grayling said. "Yes ma'am," Roy said. "Johnny, how's her pulse and respiration?" "Both are normal," Johnny said. "So is her blood pressure," Roy said. "Ma'am, can we call some one for you?" Roy asked. Just then a car pulled into the driveway. A young man got out of the car and came around to the back yard. "Grandma, are you alright?" He asked. "She's fine," Johnny said. "She's my great grandmother. She lives alone and I come by and check on her everyday," the man said, as he looked at Johnny. Johnny looked at the man. "Paul?" Johnny questioned. "J. R., is that you?" Paul asked loudly. "Paul, I haven't seen you since high school. How are you?" Johnny asked loudly. "So Junior, you and my great grandson went to high school together did you?" Mrs. Grayling asked. "Yes ma'am we did. Paul and I were on the track team together," Johnny said. "Good to see you again, J. R.," Paul said. Johnny turned and looked toward Roy. "Paul, this is my partner Roy," Johnny said. "Nice to meet you," Paul said as he shook Roy's hand. "I see you are still carrying that green pen that you had in high school, J. R.," Paul said. "Of course I am. You know that it's my lucky pen Paul. Don't you remember?" Johnny asked. "Yeah, I know it is. But only because the Homecoming Queen borrowed it and gave it back to you. Then you made a one hundred on your English essay that you wrote that day using that same green pen. You sure liked her a lot didn't you Johnny?" Paul asked, as he grinned. Johnny smiled and said, "Yeah, I did. I just wish that I could have thought of a way and asked her to go out with me though. I always meant to do that. You do have to admit Paul, she was the prettiest girl in school." "Oh, I agree with that!" Paul said. "I wonder what ever happened to Cindy? I just might ask her out if I ever see her again and she's not dating anyone," Johnny said. Paul laughed and said, "She's not dating anyone right now." "She's not? Then you've seen her lately?" Johnny asked. "Sure, I've seen her. She's married," Paul said. "No way! Before I had a chance to ask her out?" Johnny said. "It's true," Paul said. "Who'd she marry? Was it anyone I know?" Johnny asked. "You aren't going to believe this, but she married me just last year," Paul said. Johnny's face got a bit red. "I'm sorry Paul. I mean, I'm not sorry that you married her that is…uh I'm sorry about well…you know. I had no idea… that is uh, no idea that you married, uh…I mean married her that is," Johnny stammered. "That's o.k. J. R., Why don't you come over for dinner some night, I'm sure she'd love to see you," Paul said. "I'd like that," Johnny said, as Captain Stanley walked up to him. "The fire's out now. Are you going to transport or are you about ready to rap it up here?" Cap asked. "No, we aren't going to transport Cap, she's fine," Johnny said. "She's in pretty good shape, Cap," Roy said, as he picked up the black box and biophone to return it to the squad. Paul reached into Johnny's pocket and took the green pen. "Mind if I use your lucky pen to write down our address for you?" Paul asked. "No, go ahead," Johnny said. Paul wrote down the address and handed it to Johnny along with his pen. "I'll be sure and call you, J. R. Thanks fellows," he said, as he took his great grandmother's hand. "Bye Pally, Bye Junior," Mrs. Grayling said. "I'm sorry fellows. She's a bit hard of hearing," Paul said. "That's all right. We understand," Johnny said, as he grinned. Mike, Cap, Chet, and Marco got into the engine. Roy and Johnny got into the squad. Johnny picked up the microphone. "Squad 51 returning to quarters," Johnny said. Roy laughed and said, "Well, Junior, that was quite a conversation you had there with Paul." "Yeah, Pally, it sure was," Johnny said, as he grinned. Part 3 Roy backed the squad into the bay and Mike backed the engine in beside it. Roy and Johnny got out of the squad and Roy went directly to the coffeepot and poured a cup of coffee for him and Johnny. "I could use a cup too," Chet said, as he limped up to the counter. "Chet, what's wrong? Why are you limping?" Johnny asked. "It's nothing," Chet said. "It doesn't look like nothing to me," Roy said. "Sit down and let us take a look at it," Johnny said. "I'm all right. I just need a shower and a cup of coffee that's all!" Chet said. Captain Stanley came into the kitchen. What's wrong Chet?" He asked. "Awe nothing Cap. A piece of wood hit my ankle and foot at that shed fire is all, and I stepped wrong or something after that," Chet said. "Well then, let Johnny and Roy take a look pal. You should have said something sooner." "Oh, Cap, I'm all right, really," Chet said. "Let them look at it and that's an order Kelly!" Cap said. "All right then, since you put it that way Cap," Chet said. He took his shoe off gently and winced. Johnny and Roy looked at his ankle and foot. "It's swollen and bruised. It could be broken," Roy said. "Or just sprained," Johnny said. "Come on guys, which is it?" Chet asked. "Chet, we can't tell. I doubt it is broken since you've been walking on it. But, you really need an x-ray to be sure," Roy said. Chet picked his shoe up and started to put it back on his foot. "I don't think it's going to go back on your foot Chet, as swollen as it is," Roy said. Johnny went to the refrigerator to get an ice pack. "Here Chet, hold this on your foot," he said, as he handed Chet the ice pack. "Well, Johnny we need supplies at Rampart, anyway, what do you think, should we take him with us?" Roy asked. "Sure, why not Roy," Johnny said. "Is it all right Cap if we take Chet in the squad to Rampart and have one of the doctor's look at his ankle and foot?" "That's a good idea. Go ahead, just stay available and take the HT," Cap said. Johnny and Roy helped Chet get into the squad. They went to Rampart while Chet held the ice pack on his foot and ankle. Part 4 They helped Chet inside the door of Rampart Emergency. Johnny saw Dr. Early and Dr. Brackett and said, "We have a patient here." "Who, you Johnny?" Dr. Joe Early asked. "No, not this time. It's Chet, Doc," Johnny said. "What seems to be the problem?" Dr. Kel Brackett asked. "It's nothing," Chet said. "It's his foot and ankle Doc. A piece of wood fell on it and he twisted it or something. He's been limping on it," Johnny said. "Come into treatment 4 and we'll take a look at it, and get an x-ray," Kel said. "Both of you?" Chet asked with concern. "It's a slow day Chet, we need something to do to keep us busy," Joe said. Johnny and Roy helped Chet into the treatment room. Kel and Joe followed them. "Chet, Johnny and I are going up to get some supplies. We'll check on you later," Roy said. "Sure, just leave me here, don't worry, I'll be fine, I'll be lucky if I'm able to walk at all when these two get done with me," Chet said. Johnny and Roy shook their heads and walked up the hall to the nurses' station and saw Doctor Mike Morton there. "Hi Dr. Morton," Roy said. "Hello fellows, how's it going?" Mike asked. "Oh all right, I can't complain," Roy said. "You might check Chet in Treatment 4 Doc," Johnny said with a grin. "What's wrong with him?" Mike asked. "He injured his foot and ankle," Johnny said. "Alright Johnny, I'll go take a look then," Mike said. Mike left and walked quickly to the treatment room. "Now, Junior, Chet doesn't like having one doctor looking at his foot, let alone three," Roy said with a grin. He was writing down the supplies that they needed and he looked up briefly. "I know Pally, but it'll be o.k. You just wait and see," Johnny said. Dixie came off of the elevator walked over to the desk and said, "Well fellows, what brings you here?" "Hello Dixie, Chet hurt his ankle and foot," Johnny said. "Hi Dixie, we also need some supplies," Roy said. He handed the supply list to Dixie. She got the supplies and handed the form to Roy for his signature. He signed it and looked at Johnny and then handed him the box of supplies. "Here you go Junior," he said, as he laughed. "Thanks Pally," Johnny said with a grin. "Pally? Junior? Dixie questioned with a puzzled look on her face. "Yeah, there was a lady at a fire that was a bit hard of hearing. Chet told us that he found a purse in an alley and she thought that he was calling me Pally," Roy said. "Yeah, and an old friend of mine, who is her great grandson came over to her house. He called me J. R. like he did when we were in high school and she must have thought he was calling me Junior instead of my initials J. R. She called Roy Pally and me Junior," Johnny said. "Well, I guess that's better than some names that she could have called you?" Dixie said, as she grinned. "Why did he call you J. R. in high school instead of Johnny?" Roy asked. "Well, because there were two Johnny's in our class. There was me and a fellow named Johnny Gatston, who didn't have a middle name. So they naturally called him Johnny and they called me J. R. Of course that is short for Johnny Roderick. They couldn't have used J. G. because those were his initials also. It avoided confusion. We were both on the track team," Johnny said. Just then Kel, Mike, and Joe walked up to the desk. Chet followed on crutches. "Is he going to live?" Dixie asked. "He sure will," Kel said. "Just a slight sprain," Joe said. "It was hard convincing him that he needed those crutches," Mike said. "How long do I need these things anyway?" Chet questioned. "Until your foot is healed," Mike said. "Well, how long will that be?" Chet asked. "Probably a couple of days if you stay off of it and get some rest. It's not a very bad sprain," Mike said. "I told them there wasn't anything wrong with it," Chet said, as he looked at Roy and Johnny. "I didn't say that there wasn't anything wrong with it," Mike said. "It is injured Chet, and you could have done further injury to it had you kept using it," Joe said. "It's always best to come in and get checked out to be sure," Kel said. "Let's get out of here and go back to the station," Chet said. "We're right behind you Chet." Johnny then turned and looked at the three doctors. "I'll see you guys later on a run more than likely," Johnny said. "Bye everyone," Roy said. "Thanks," Chet said. "See Chet, you did need to be seen after all," Johnny said. "I know, I know you and Roy were right Johnny. I think I'll go home and rest like Dr. Morton suggested. I'll have to tell Cap to get me a replacement if he can," Chet said. "That shouldn't be too hard to do Chet," Johnny said. "Yeah, but where are we going to find someone with Chet's disposition?" Roy asked. Johnny grinned and said, "You are right Roy, it may be a lot harder finding a replacement for Chet that we thought after all. There is only one person with a disposition like Chet's, and that's Chet Kelly." "Come on guys, leave me alone, can't you see that I'm injured, we should have come sooner than we did," Chet said. "Chet, just get into the squad will you," Johnny said. Part 5 Chet, Johnny and Roy got back to the station. "Well, how is he?" Cap asked. "It's sprained is all. I need to stay off of it and rest," Chet said. "We'll get you a replacement pal," Cap said. They see a cake on the table. "Who brought that?" Johnny asked. "Mrs. Grayling and her great grandson," Cap said. "We've been waiting for you to get back to cut it," Mike said. "Yeah, it's for you two mostly. Read the card," Marco said. Johnny and Roy read the card. It read: To: Pally, Junior, and the crew. Enjoy! Mrs. Grayling. Beneath the names Pally and Junior it read: aka: Johnny and Roy. Thanks for the help guys. Paul The End |