A REAL SURPRISE By SQ51 Storywriter Johnny and Roy were in the squad returning to the station after a run to Rampart. "She's the same age as Chris," Roy said. "Look Roy, she's going to be fine. Her mother found her in time. We got her out of that abandoned refrigerator and Doctor Early said that she was going to be o.k." "I know, it's just that…" "Yeah, it's always hard when we have a run where there is a child involved," Johnny interrupted. Roy was still deep in thought about the girl. Johnny attempted to get Roy's mind off of the call. "Speaking of Chris, he's going to have a birthday in a couple of weeks. Gee I hope that the guys didn't go to a lot of trouble for my birthday today. I don't want them making a fuss, it's just another day," Johnny said with a big smile as he glanced at Roy. "Roy?" Roy was still in a daze. "Are you all right?" Johnny asked with a concerned look. As Roy backed the squad into the bay he said, "Huh, did you say something?" "I asked if you're all right?" "Yeah, fine Johnny. I sure hope Marco has lunch ready," Roy commented. "I do too. He's having hamburgers. That's one of my favorites," Johnny said, with a grin. They washed up and found Marco and the guys were nearly finished eating. "Hurry up guys, it's almost gone," Cap said. Marco got up to get Johnny and Roy's plates for them and then sat back down. Johnny got himself and Roy each a glass of milk and then they both sat down to eat. Johnny said, "Hey Chet, pass me the ketchup." Chet accidentally squirted the ketchup bottle in Johnny's direction as he attempted to hand it to him. He chuckled as the red gooey ketchup squirted on Johnny's chin and shirt collar. Everyone laughed. "MAN CHET! CAN'T YOU BE MORE CAREFUL?" Johnny shouted. "Sorry pal. It was an accident." "Yeah, well, all right." Johnny left to go change and tried to get the ketchup out before it stained. "He's a might touchy today," Chet said. "Yeah, well, we had a girl trapped in an abandoned refrigerator," Roy said. "I know that it upset me. I'm sure it got to Johnny too." "She's going to be all right isn't she?" Marco asked. "Yeah, I guess so," Roy said. "It's just…" "Yeah, it always gets to you when it's a child," Mike interrupted. "Well, at least she's o.k.," Cap said as Johnny came back into the room. Everyone hushed as he entered. Johnny smiled, thinking that they had stopped talking so abruptly because they had been discussing his birthday cake and were going to surprise him with it now that he returned. Captain Stanley pushed himself away from the table and so did Marco. They took their dishes to the sink. Chet got up and took his dishes to the sink and said, "Gage, your turn for dishes, pal." Mike drank the last of his milk and then picked his dishes up and placed them into the sink. "Yeah, in a minute," Johnny said with his mouth full of food. "No hurry," Chet said. "They aren't going anywhere pal." He chuckled. "What's for uh…dessert anyway?" Johnny asked thinking that they surely would bring the cake in now. "There's some peanut butter cookies in the jar," Marco said. "There is a piece of pie left in the fridge from C-Shift," Roy said. "I noticed it this morning." "Uh, no…that's o.k.," Johnny said. He was bewildered. He thought that it was unusual that they didn't have a cake for him and that not one of them had wished him happy birthday yet. The claxon sounded. "Squad 51, man injured in a fall at 27282 West Alameda Avenue, Cross street 117th. Two seven two eight two West Alameda. Time out 12:32." "Squad 51, 10-4" was Captain Stanley's reply. He handed Roy the paper. Roy passed it to Johnny who reached for his green pen. He dropped his pen on the floorboard of the squad. After donning his helmet, he rummaged around trying to locate the pen. He finally found it as they pulled up in front of the house. Part 2 "HURRY! HE'S IN THE GARAGE!" the woman shouted. "I called an ambulance." "Yes ma'am," Roy said as he and Johnny got the equipment. "THIS WAY!" She shouted as she quickly led them to a detached garage in the back yard. "Harvey was getting me a vase off of the shelf and fell. He called to me but I couldn't hear him. He's been lying there for nearly twenty minutes, I'd guess," the woman said as she led them back to Harvey. "Arlene, is that you?" Harvey asked. He groaned. "Yes, Harvey, and I brought help." Johnny and Roy saw a ladder turned over on its side and a man lying on his back. "Where do you hurt?" Roy asked. "Well, it's my back and my head. I hit my head pretty hard," Harvey said. "I have a headache." Johnny got on one side of him and Roy on the other. "Were you knocked unconscious?" Roy asked, as Johnny got Harvey's pulse and respiration rates. Johnny checked his pupils and then put the blood pressure cuff on his arm. "No, not unconscious, I don't think so anyway. My head and back sure hurt though," Harvey said as Roy examined him. "Well, we're going to get you checked out here and take you to Rampart Hospital," Roy said. "Is that necessary?" Arlene asked. "Yes ma'am. I'd feel better if a doctor had a look at his back and head," Roy said. Johnny gave Dr. Morton the vitals as Roy got the backboard. "10-4. Is the ambulance there yet?" Dr. Morton asked. "Negative Rampart," Johnny replied. "Transport on a backboard as soon as the ambulance arrives 51." Dr. Morton said. "10-4 Rampart," Johnny said. "IS HE GOING TO BE ALRIGHT?" Arlene shouted. "I'm sure he is," Johnny said as he stood up and faced her. "Just calm down now. You can ride with him in the front of the ambulance if you'd like. Do you have a neighbor who can meet you at the hospital and sit with you?" "Our daughter is on her way over here. I called her," Arlene said. "Good," Johnny said as the ambulance pulled into the drive. They finally got Harvey secured and ready to go. As soon as they got Harvey loaded into the ambulance, the woman's daughter pulled up in front of the house. Arlene looked at Johnny and said, "Oh young man, would you please get that vase down from that top shelf for us before you leave? And lock the garage door." Johnny was amazed that she was thinking about the vase, but realized that people did some strange things under stress. "Go ahead partner," Roy said. "I'll go in with him." He handed Johnny his helmet. Johnny put the helmets in the squad as he mumbled to himself. He went back into the garage and picked the ladder up and climbed it to get the vase. As he reached for the vase, he accidentally moved some canning jars that contained paint to the edge of the shelf. He climbed down and as he started to fold up the ladder, a canning jar fell off of the shelf and broke as it hit the ladder. Paint poured out and a piece of glass stuck into Johnny's hand. "JUST GREAT!" Johnny shouted to himself as he set the vase on a bench. He went to the squad and got a bandage and did the best he could to put it around his hand. Johnny managed to get the door locked and get into the squad and drive to Rampart. Part 3 He entered the doors of Rampart just as Roy was coming out of Harvey's treatment room. "WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO YOU?" Roy shouted, when he saw the bandage and red color on Johnny's hand. "A jar broke and I got cut. There was red paint in the jar and I can't tell what's paint and what's not right now," Johnny said as he held his left hand up with his right. Roy opened the door to treatment room four and found it empty. "In here Johnny." Roy helped Johnny onto the exam table. "I'll go get a doctor. I saw Morton at the Nurses' station." "Wait Roy, not Morton, not on my birth…" Johnny said, as Roy left the room. Man, Doctor Morton. Why Morton? He's going to come in here and give me a hard time. He doesn't have any bedside manner. I don't need this on my birthday of all days, Johnny thought while he waited. The door opened and Doctor Morton and Roy entered. "Well, what have you done Johnny?" Dr. Morton asked. Johnny frowned and gave Roy a harsh look. "Uh…I just cut my hand is all doc." "If you'd be more careful Johnny, you wouldn't be sitting there and I wouldn't be standing here." Johnny scowled. "It's not like I did it on purpose doc." "Nonetheless Johnny, it's going to need some stitches and we're going to have to clean that hand up remove that piece of glass," Dr. Morton said. "I'll get you to x-ray to make sure that the glass didn't cause any nerve damage. Looks like it's stuck in there pretty deep," Dr. Morton said as he began to get vitals on Johnny. "I'll let dispatch know and call Cap," Roy said. "Roy, you aren't going to leave me here with…I mean…" "You'll be fine partner. I'll be back in a minute." "Some birthday," Johnny mumbled softly as Roy left. "Today your birthday Gage?" Dr. Morton asked. "Yeah, it is doc," Johnny said. "Well then, Happy Birthday Johnny. Guess the guys got you a cake at the station." "Uh…I'm sure they will," Johnny said, although he was beginning to have his doubts. Dr. Morton didn't pay attention to what Johnny had said. He was busy calling the x-ray department. Johnny came back from x-ray and Roy was waiting in the treatment room. He said, "The engine must be on a run. I didn't get any answer at the station. Dispatch will notify them. Are you in much pain?" "No, Roy, I just have a piece of glass sticking out of my hand, I have paint all over me, I'm going to have to have my hand numbed and stitched up. I feel pretty good right now," Johnny said sarcastically as he became a bit agitated about the whole ordeal. Roy shook his head. "Maybe I'd better get out of here and wait in the cafeteria." "Yeah, fine, go eat a piece of cake or something," Johnny said. Roy couldn't figure out what was bothering Johnny. He wasn't usually like this. Roy stopped at the nurses' station to ask about the child who they had rescued from the refrigerator. "She checked out fine went home a few minutes ago," Dixie said. "That's good," Roy said. "I feel better now." "Where's Johnny?" Dixie asked. "He cut his hand and Doctor Morton is with him." "How bad did he cut it?" Dixie asked. "He has a piece of glass imbedded in it." "Ouch!" Dixie exclaimed. Dr. Morton came up to the Nurses' Station. "How is he?" Roy asked. "Mentally or physically?" Dr. Morton asked. "Uh, both I guess," Roy said. "Physically he'll be o.k. I guess, but mentally I don't know. Something's bothering him." "Yeah, I noticed that earlier," Roy said. "Dr. Brackett is cleaning him up, removing the glass, and stitching his hand. Shouldn't be long and he'll be ready to go. It's actually not as bad as it looked. There was a lot of paint on his hand. By the way Roy, what did you guys do for his birthday?" Doctor Morton asked. "Birthday?" Roy asked. BIRTHDAY! TODAY IS AUGUST 28!" "Yeah, he mentioned it was his birth…" Dr. Morton didn't get a chance to finish what he was saying before Roy took off down the hall. Roy called the station. This time Cap answered. "Cap, it's Johnny's birthday. It slipped my mind. We have to do something for him." "You're right Roy. I had forgotten about it too. We should do something, but it's too late to plan anything now. How's he doing?" Cap asked. "His hand will be fine, but his feelings are hurt. And I guess they should be Cap. I think he's been dropping hints all day about it being his birthday and we've ignored him." "Well, I'm sorry Roy, but I don't think there is time to…" The claxon sounded in the background. "Got to go Roy." As Roy hung up the phone, he thought about what Cap said. He looked at his watch and thought maybe there is still time to do something. He just didn't know what. He thought that perhaps he'd get with the others and decide at the station. Finally Doctor Brackett came into the lounge and found Roy. "Roy, Johnny's looking for you. He's ready to go. After all that he only needed eight stitches." "Alright doc. I'll go get him." Roy headed toward treatment room 4. Do I dare say Happy Birthday now or wait and do it when we are all at the station? Roy thought. As he walked into the room Johnny just looked at him. "Ready partner?" Roy asked. "Yeah, I'm ready Roy. Some day this has turned out to be!" "Yeah, I know what you mean partner," Roy said sympathetically. "No you don't Roy, you just don't have any idea," Johnny said, as they left the hospital. Part 4 Johnny and Roy returned to the station and walked into the kitchen area. "Can I get you something Johnny?" Roy asked. "No, nothing Roy. I have to go change my uniform. You know Roy when I said something about you guys not making a big fuss over…" Johnny stopped. "Fuss over what?" Roy asked, feeling a bit sad that he hadn't realized that it was Johnny's birthday. "Nothing Roy, just forget it. Have you seen the paper?" Johnny asked. "What paper?" Roy asked not knowing exactly what Johnny meant. "THE NEWSPAPER ROY, THE AUGUST 28th EDITION OF THE NEWSPAPER." Johnny said loudly. "Oh, that paper?" Roy said. "No, I haven't seen it. It probably got thrown away Johnny," Roy said. "It figures," Johnny said, as the engine was backing into the bay. Johnny started to head for his locker to change when Marco came in with his turnout coat on holding some heart shaped balloons. Some were light blue and some were white. Mike came in holding a present wrapped in plain white paper. Cap and Chet came in with a three tier white frosted cake that took both of them to carry it. Roy and Johnny's eyes were wide with surprise. SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHNNY! Cap, Marco, Chet, and Mike yelled all at the same time. Johnny had a huge grin on his face. "You really shouldn't have." Chet mumbled to himself. "We really didn't." After Cap and Chet set the cake down, Roy walked over beside Cap. He looked at Roy and said, "Don't ask. The bride to be started a fire in the wedding chapel. She set the carpet on fire when she threw a lit candle at the groom. There wasn't much damage other than smoke and a burned area on the carpet. Some of the guests had put the fire out by the time we got there. Needless to say, the wedding was called off. Apparently she got mad when he showed up in a suit instead of a tuxedo." "What's in the present Cap?" Roy asked. "Darn if I know Roy. I just picked it up off the floor when the bride threw it toward the groom and hit my foot with it. She yelled for me to keep it. I figure it was her gift to the groom," Cap said. "Probably something nice and expensive is my guess." "This could prove to be an interesting gift then," Roy said with a smile. "I can't wait to see what it is." Cap grinned. "A surprise to us all you might say. We didn't have much time and we were desperate. The groom told us to eat the cake and throw the balloons away at the reception hall across the street. Well, I thought this would be a perfect solution to our problem. It kind of just fell into our laps. So we removed the bride and groom ornament and here it is." Roy shook his head and looked toward Johnny as he was unwrapping the gift. Everyone was anticipating what the gift box contained. It was going to be a real surprise to everybody. Johnny opened the box. It was three books. Roy strained to see the titles. "Read the titles out loud Johnny," Chet said. "Beginning Gourmet Cooking in Ten Easy lessons, uh…Basic First Aid for the Outdoorsman, and Rope tying 101 for Beginners." Johnny said with a puzzled look. "Gee, uh… I don't know quite what to say." Everyone was laughing and started clapping. Cap grinned and whispered to Roy. "I don't quite know what to say either." Roy whispered to Cap. "No wonder the wedding was called off. Some wedding gifts those were. He was probably lucky that she got mad at him." Cap nodded in agreement. "I'll cut the cake for you Johnny," Marco said. "How's the hand pal?" Cap asked. "A bit sore Cap, but I'll manage." Chet got some plates ready and said, "Some people will do anything to get out of doing dishes." He laughed. "Yeah, Chet, that's exactly why I did it. Nice of you to volunteer to do them for me," Johnny said. "I didn't volunteer Gage," Chet said with a smirk. "You did now pal. I'm giving that job to you Kelly until Gage's hand is better," Cap said. Mike was pouring coffee for everyone. "But Cap…" Chet whined but quickly hushed as Cap gave him a stern look. "Right Cap. I'd love to do the dishes for Gage. He turned and looked at Johnny. "Just consider it my personal birthday present to you Johnny," Chet said. Johnny smiled. "Why thanks Chet. That's real nice of you," Johnny replied as he patted Chet on the back. Marco put slices of cake on the plates. Everyone had a good time laughing and talking. After they had finished eating Johnny put his plate and cup in the sink as Roy walked up beside him. "Happy Birthday Junior." "Thanks. I thought you guys had forgotten my birthday. I tell you this sure was a real surprise to me," Johnny said with a smile. "How could we ever forget your birthday Johnny, you sure dropped enough hints." "I did? Well, you didn't have to go to all this much trouble. It's just another day to me Roy. I have to admit that the gag gift was funny though. But Roy, there is just one thing I want to know. Is it my imagination, or did that look a lot like a wedding cake to you?" Roy laughed. "Probably just your imagination Johnny." Johnny shook his head. "Yeah, guess your right. But I tell you Roy, this sure has been a real strange birthday!" Johnny exclaimed as he walked to the locker room to change his uniform. "You said it partner!" Roy exclaimed. The End! |