Step Back and Breathe by Min The sunlight hit his face shortly before the alarm rang. Reaching out to turn off the alarm, John Gage sat up, and put his feet on the floor. His two cats wrapped up in the blankets protested with rather loud meows. He smiled. "Sorry about that guys." He got up, padded to the bathroom and began his morning rituals. Then he picked up the phone and began to dial. Across town, in the little house she shared with her mother, Melinda Mulvaney was already up and dressed. She had been up for hours doing little projects. Her current one was in the kitchen. She was pulling freshly baked banana bread out of the oven, when the phone rang. Wiping the flour off her hands and her Maryland Terps sweatshirt, she answered the phone. "Good morning, Dr. Mulvaney," she spoke into the receiver. "Well, good morning, Doc." came the reply. She could hear the smile in his voice, and her face lit up. "Hi, Johnny, how are you this morning?" "Feeling well rested. How are you doing?" "I got up this morning, got showered and dressed, and just pulled some fresh baked banana bread out of the oven. Want to come over and have some? I'll even throw in a nice breakfast." Johnny's stomach rumbled. "I'll be over as soon as I take care of the critters, okay?" "I'll give you and hour and a half, and then start breakfast, okay?" "That sounds great, Doc. See you soon." He hung up the phone and smiled, "Yup, that sounds really great. Better get moving." Melinda hung up the phone and turned around to see her mother Miranda and Dr. Joe Early standing there. Both had gotten up and showered. They were both dressed casually, in tee shirts and jeans. Melinda was not surprised to see Joe there. It was obvious that he and her mother were spending a lot of time together. She had heard them come in the night before, and knew that he was there. She was glad to know that her mother had found someone to make her happy. "Good morning, would you like some freshly baked banana bread?" Miranda looked at her daughter. "Darling, do you know you've got flour on your jeans?" Melinda looked down. Grabbing a towel, she wiped the flour off herself. She smiled at her mother and Joe. "Darling, aren't you going to say something?" "Mama, what do you want me to say?" Looking at Joe, she asked, "Good morning, Joe, want some coffee?" Picking up a mug, she handed it to Joe. Miranda sighed. Sometimes trying to figure out what her child was thinking was a monumental task. She tried another question. "Did we wake you coming in last night?" "No. I was already awake from the barking dog down the street. I heard you come in and then went right off to sleep. Why?" She smirked at her mother. Miranda scowled. "Look, kidlet, I...." "Joe, would you tell my mother I think it's wonderful that you two have each other, and that she can stop being frantic over what I think and feel?" She walked over to her mother and gave her a hug. "I love you, Mom and I want you to be happy. Joe makes you happy, and you know how I feel about him." Joe Early watched the mother and daughter and was amazed at how much they resembled each other. Both had short haircuts, Miranda's was salt and pepper, Melinda's was light auburn. Their blue-gray eyes sparkled and as they looked at Joe, he smiled. "I know how close you were to your father, and I didn't want you to think I was trying to butt in. I love your mother very much and I don't care who knows it." Joe put his arms around Miranda. "Well, I'm glad we got that out of the way." Melinda walked over and gave Joe a hug. "You know, sometimes I can feel my dad's presence with me, and it gives me great joy, but I know he'd want us to be happy and to continue with life. You know that you're one of my most favorite people in the whole world and I am very glad that you're in our lives." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Now, someone help me set the table before Johnny arrives. He'll be here soon." Miranda stared at her daughter. "Why, pray tell, is Mr. Nice Buns coming over? What's going on?" "MOM, stop calling him that! It's embarrassing!" Melinda's face turned red. "You really like him, don't you?" asked Joe. "I know he cares a lot for you." Joe poured three cups of coffee. "Well, I know that a lot of the nurses at the hospital are talking about how he doesn't chase them anymore, and I wonder if you might have something to do with that." Miranda took a sip of her coffee. "Maybe, maybe not. I don't know. I invited him over for breakfast so we could discuss what we're going to do on our days off. We have three day, and we want to spend some time together. I will tell you I care for him. He's my friend. Enough said for now. He'll be here soon. Joe, pour the orange juice, okay?" Johnny finished up his chores in the barn, and was washing up when the phone rang. "Hello?" "Junior, whatcha got planned for today? JoAnne and I were thinking of taking the kids for a picnic, and we wanted to know if you and Melinda wanted to come along." Johnny smiled. Roy was his best friend, and he loved spending time with JoAnne, Chris and Jenny. A picnic sounded like the perfect idea. He answered, and said, "Pally, that sounds great! I'm going over to her place right now to have some breakfast, I'll ask her and get back to you." "Okay, we'll wait to hear from you. Talk to you soon." Johnny hung up the phone. He grabbed his keys and headed for the Rover. Roy hung up the phone and turned to his wife. She came to him and put her arms around him. Surrounding her with both of his arms, he said, "Johnny's gonna check with Melinda and get back to us. He's going over there for breakfast. " JoAnne DeSoto smiled at her husband. "I think that's nice. She's a wonderful person, and she's good for Johnny. She brings out something in him that wasn't there with Sharon. He just seems to be a happier person when she's around." She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "I know I'm a lot happier when you're around." Roy smiled down at his wife. "Me too, love, me too." He kissed her and said, "Want some more coffee?" She nodded her head and sat down at the table while he poured. At the Mulvaney's, the three doctors worked together to prepare breakfast. Miranda made the eggs, Joe made the toast, and Melinda cooked the bacon and sausage. Everything was just about ready when the doorbell rang. "There's Johnny. Mother, BEHAVE." She went to answer the door. "I thought I was behaving." She smiled at the man who was her friend and had just become more. "As a matter of fact, I thought I behaved very well last night. And you were wonderful." Joe blushed. "Are you sorry about last night?" "No, absolutely not. It was wonderful, and you know I love you. It's just that I'm not used to being with someone, and you are so open and honest about things, it just takes me back, a little." He took her hand, and kissed it. As Melinda opened the door, she saw Johnny standing there. He was wearing a western style shirt with blue jeans and had on a black leather belt with a big silver buckle. He wore black leather western boots that matched the belt, and all in all, was looking very handsome when she opened the door. She caught her breath. "Hi, Doc." He smiled at her. She was looking at him like she had never seen him before. "Doc? You okay?" "Hmm? Oh, yes, I'm fine. Joe's joining us for breakfast, and Mom's here, and we'll sit down as soon as you're ready." The words came out in a gush. "Dumb, real dumb. What's the matter with me? You'd think I'd never seen him before, I'm acting silly." Johnny smiled at her obvious nervousness. It pleased him to think that he had that effect on her. She had never shown it before, and he found it intriguing. He followed her out to the kitchen, and was pleasantly surprised to see Joe Early sitting there. "Good mornin, Doctor Early, Doctor Mulvaney. Nice day." Looking at the two of them, Johnny thought, "Hmmm, I wonder what's going on with them?" "Good morning Johnny, want some coffee?" replied Joe. "Coffee sounds great. Thanks" Joe and Miranda were just sitting down as they entered. "Grab a plate, John, everything's hot." ordered Miranda. "Well, what do you have planned for your days off? We're going to go to San Francisco for the weekend," said Joe. Melinda looked at her mother, who nodded her head. Johnny spoke. "Well, this morning Roy called and wanted to know if we'd like to go on a picnic with them. I told him I 'd talk to you and see what you wanted to do." "A picnic would be fun. Are Chris and Jenny coming as well? I hope so, they're great kids." "I'll give him a call, and tell him we're going. Mind if I use your phone?" He got up and dialed Roy's number. "Pally? It's okay with the Doc. We'll be over in an hour or so. Bye." He hung up the phone. Melinda went over and picked it up again. "Hey Flash, you forgot to ask what we're supposed to bring." She hit redial. "Roy? Put your lovely wife on the phone, please. Johnny forgot to ask what we're supposed to bring." Putting her hand over the receiver, she ordered, "Grab a pencil and write this down. Hi, JoAnne, what would you like us to bring? Something to drink, a dish to pass, and whatever we want for dessert? Okay, we'll see you in about an hour. Bye." Hanging up the phone, she asked, "Did you get that?" "Yeah, I got it. Sorry, Doc." He smiled at her. "I'll do better next time. We better hurry up and eat, get these dishes done, and get ready." He sat back down and filled his plate. "Hey, Doc, this banana bread is terrific." Breakfast over, dishes done, and put away, Melinda and Johnny started to prepare their contribution to the picnic. She had baked a peach pie earlier that morning, so dessert was done. Johnny suggested sodas, but agreed that lemonade would hit the spot. He got the lemons out of the fridge, and started to cut them in half for the drink. Melinda made a chef salad with ham, turkey, and two kinds of cheese. She opened a can of black olives, and drained them into the sink. As she turned around to look for the croutons, she caught Johnny swiping a piece of cheese, and a couple of olives. "Hey, didn't I feed you enough breakfast?" He grinned at her. "Yeah, but you know what they say about olives being passion fruit." He wiggled his eyebrows at her. She shook her head. "You're too much." She mixed up the salad dressing but put it a container for everyone to pour their own. Johnny finished cutting up the lemons, put down the knife he was holding and started to watch Melinda. His gaze grew more and more admiring the more he watched her movements. Finally he couldn't take it any longer. He walked over to her, took her hands and led her to the couch. "Melinda we need to talk." Her eyes were on his face. He knelt down on the floor in front of her and put his hand on her cheek. He looked into her gray-blue eyes and thought to himself, "I could spend all my time just looking into those gorgeous eyes." Melinda sat there quietly waiting for Johnny to speak. When he touched her cheek, she closed her eyes. She could feel his warmth and reveled in it. She opened her eyes to see his crooked grin. She smiled. "What?" He grinned again. "We have a situation here. What are we going to do about how we feel about each other?" "Well, I suppose it would help if we decided what it is we feel for each other. You go first." His smile widened. "Chicken". She smiled at him. "Am not." "Are too." "This is childish. You started this, therefore you go first." She sat back and crossed her arms. "Alright, I know that we have a very special relationship. You are one of my best friends. I think, under the right conditions, our friendship could turn into something more. Your turn." "I agree our friendship could turn into something more, but I do not wish to jeopardize that for something that might not work out. Our friendship is too precious to me. YOU are too precious to me. I don't want to lose you." "You're not ever gonna lose me. Don't you see? You mean too much to me. I care very much for you. What we have is so special, it can't be lost. I feel like somehow, you're the other half of me." "Johnny, I feel that way too." "And when it's time to go to the next step, our friendship will hold us together." "So, you agree that we're not ready for the next step?" "Yes. But you will let me know when you're ready? I'll let you know when I'm ready, okay?" "Yes I will, I promise. Friends?" "Friends. Can this friend give that friend a hug?" She leaned forward into his arms, and hugged him. His arms felt so comfortable, she felt like she could stay there forever. She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Hey, want to go on a picnic?" He smiled down at her. "Yeah, let's go." They stood up, and Johnny took her gently in his arms. He leaned his head forward, she tilted her head, and their lips met gently in a kiss. It was filled with promise, and hope for the future. "That was very nice, Mr. Gage." "I'm glad you liked it, Doc. There's more where that came from." He winked at her. She grinned. "You're incorrigible." "Yeah, I can be encouraged to do just about anything." He grinned. She shook her head. "You're too much. Let's go." They went out the door and got into Johnny's Rover. At the DeSoto's, the car was being loaded, and two very excited children were clamoring for attention from their parents. "I get to sit in the front, it's my turn. " No, it's not, Jenny, it's my turn, you sat in front yesterday with Mom." "That doesn't count, Daddy wasn't there." She looked smugly at her brother. "It counts, no matter who's there." countered Chris. "MOM!" "DAD!" "HEY! Knock it off or neither of you will be going. I can get a sitter very quickly. Oh, by the way, Mom is sitting in front for a change." Roy said, settling the argument for now. Two very quiet children got into the back of the car. JoAnne smiled her husband. "Where are Johnny and Melinda? Shouldn't they be here by now?" Just then, the Rover pulled up. Johnny got out, and ran around to the passenger's side. Opening the door, he helped Melinda out. She smiled at him. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. JoAnne and Roy looked at each other and smiled. "Looks like they're getting closer. " He leaned over and kissed his wife on the cheek. Chris and Jenny looked at each other and said "Oooh, gross!" Jenny got out of the car and ran towards her favorite "uncle". "Uncle Johnny! Uncle Johnny! " He stooped and picked up the little girl, and swung her around in a big hug. "Hi, Jenny Bean! Ready for a picnic?" The little girl giggled. She loved being called by her favorite nickname, given to her by Johnny when she was just an infant. "Uncle Johnny, I helped Mommy make a special dessert for today. You get the first piece, okay?" "Okay, sweetheart, I know it will taste really good. I can't wait." He tickled her. She giggled again, and then looked over at Melinda. "Hi, Dr. Lindy! Are you going with us?" She leaned over to give Melinda a hug. "Yes, I am, and we're going to have a lot of fun! I like picnics, don't you, Jenny?" She hugged the little girl back. "Hi, Roy, Jo, ready to get going? Where's Chris? Hi, buddy!" Chris reluctantly said "hi." He got out of the car, and gave Johnny a handshake. Johnny tousled the blond head, and smiled at him. "Hi, sport. How's it going?" "Okay, I guess. Uncle Johnny, why do girls have to come along? They are such pains!" He scowled in his sister's direction. She stuck her tongue out at him. Roy intervened before another battle arose. "Whatdya say we get going?" Everyone got back in their vehicles and headed to the picnic grounds. On the way, Johnny and Melinda were engrossed in conversation. He was describing a procedure that Dr. Brackett had walked them through on a recent rescue, and she was listening intently. Every now and then she would ask a question, and getting a satisfactory answer, would nod and continue to listen. She looked at him from time to time. His eyes never left the road. She looked ahead to the car in front of them. She could see Chris and Jenny's heads in the back seat, and Roy and JoAnne in front. Ahead of them the light turned red. Roy slowed his car down to stop, but the car in front of him continued through the light. Its driver never saw the traffic coming at him. JoAnne gasped. "Roy! He's not stopping!" The car was caught on the driver's side, and crushed by a huge dump truck. The car was spun around in the intersection. Roy pulled his car over to the side of the road. Johnny did the same. Both men were out of their vehicles and ran over to the car. Melinda was right behind them. Johnny left them and went to the dump truck. Its driver sat stunned behind the wheel. "Hey, are you okay?" The driver just sat there. Johnny put his hand on the man's shoulder. "My name is John Gage, I'm a paramedic with the county fire department. Are you hurt at all?" The man finally turned his head. He had tears in his eyes. He looked at Johnny , and said "I saw him go through the light, but I couldn't stop. I couldn't stop! I hit him! Oh my God! I killed him!" He put his hands over his face and started to sob. Over at the other car, Roy was trying to get the door open. He gave it one last hard pull, and it finally opened. Melinda knelt down next to the driver, and felt for a pulse. There was none. She looked at Roy and shook her head. "Probably died on impact." "Maybe before, you never know." answered Roy. Sirens could be heard off in the distance. The other driver's sobs could be heard as Johnny tried to comfort him. "Look, are you hurt?" The man shook his head. "I'm gonna check your neck and back before we move you, okay?" The driver nodded his head. Johnny checked the man over, and then said "We need you to come over here on the side walk and let us check you out." Roy had walked back over to his car and retrieved the bag he kept in the trunk. It contained a first aid kit, and a stethoscope and B/P cuff. He spoke briefly to JoAnne and the kids, and then walked over to Johnny's location. Melinda had walked over to where Johnny was, and found herself wishing she had thought to put her bag in Johnny's car. Roy handed her his bag. "I thought this might come in handy." "I wish I'd brought mine." she lamented. Putting the stethoscope around her neck, she walked up to Johnny. "What do you have?" He was taking the man's pulse and checking respirations, having already checked for any broken bones. "Well, Doc, his pulse is 100, respirations 30. He is upset, but no other apparent injuries." "I'll check his B/P. " She knelt down next to the man, and smiled. "Hi, my name is Doctor Mulvaney. May I check your blood pressure?" The man was surprised. "You're a doctor? You look too young to be a doctor." Melinda smiled. "Well, I am, and these gentlemen will vouch for me. Let's get you checked out. " She proceeded to roll up his sleeve, and took his blood pressure. "140/100. Do you hurt anywhere? Have any pain?" She checked his pupils. "Pupils equal and reactive. How old are you?" "I'm 55. No, I don't hurt anywhere. How is the other guy? Shouldn't someone be working on him?" He looked at their faces. "He's dead isn't he?" Roy spoke. "I am afraid there was nothing we could do for him. You need to take it easy." "But I killed him!" "No, you didn't. He ran the red light, and your vehicle hit him, but you did not kill him. Do you understand? You DID NOT kill him." Johnny repeated what he had said earlier. The man's face was wet with tears. Just then Station 110 pulled up, and Captain Greene got out and started to give orders to his crew. Johnny spoke to the Captain about the code F in the other car. Brice and Bellingham got out of the squad, and as they approached the group, Brice spoke. "Gage, DeSoto, Doctor. What do we have here?" 55 year old man, B/P is 140/100, pulse 100, respirations 30. No apparent injuries, but start an IV D5W,TKO,just in case, and transport." replied Melinda. "Do you mind if I check it out with Rampart?" Brice asked. Both Gage and DeSoto started to speak, but Bellingham beat them to it. "Brice, are you nuts? This is a DOCTOR and she gave us orders, follow them." Melinda put her hand up. "Bob, it's okay. Let him verify my orders with the hospital. I don't mind." Inside she was seething. "I could just scream!" Outwardly, she appeared very calm. Johnny, on the other hand was livid, and didn't care who knew it. "Brice! I don't believe you! Who do you think you are? I oughta..." Roy intervened. "Junior, back off. Come on, we don't need this right now." His quiet voice got Gage's attention. Johnny looked at his partner. He knew that Roy was ticked off too, but he had better control than Johnny. Johnny stalked off. Brice contacted the hospital, received the same orders as Melinda had given, and proceeded to start the IV. "You are excused, we can handle this." He dismissed them and then continued with his work. Bellingham walked over to the group and said, "Doc, I'm really sorry about my partner's behavior. I'm not sure why he acts like he does. I want you to know we don't share the same views. Okay?" Bob looked so pitiful standing there, she had to smile. "Bob, thank you. I don't why he dislikes me so much, but he does, and we need to overcome it if we are going to work together." She took his hand. "Don't worry, it will be okay." She walked away. Bellingham shook his head, turned back towards his partner, and assisted with the transfer to the stretcher. Back at the side of the road, JoAnne and the kids stood waiting for them. Roy opened her door and helped her in. He put the kids in their seats, and made sure everyone was buckled in. In the Rover, Melinda was shaking with fury. Johnny got in beside her and started the car. Before he put it in gear, he took her hand. She took a deep breath, and looked at him. "You know, I'm really hacked at that idiot. Just who does he think he is? I am so mad right now, I could just scream! Aren't you going say anything?" "No, you're doing a good job for the both of us. I really wanna punch his lights out, but I don't feel like being brought up on charges. Look, let's forget Brice. We're going to have a good time in spite of jerks like him. Okay?" He smiled his wonderfully crooked grin at her, and she melted into laughter. "That's better." Johnny pulled in behind the DeSoto's car and followed them to the picnic ground. Once there, the girls got the table set, and the guys played Frisbee with the kids. Joanne had fried chicken, and had made macaroni salad, and had baked a German chocolate layer cake. They set the pitcher of lemonade in the cooler with the ice and the salads. JoAnne and Melinda sat at the table watching Roy and Johnny play with Chris and Jenny. "How's it going?" "What?" "You and Johnny, how's it going?" Melinda looked at her friend, and smiled. "We had a discussion on where our relationship is going this morning." "Oh, really? Well, where is it going?" "We're still just friends. Very good friends, but still just friends." "Oh." Joanne sounded disappointed. Melinda laughed. "You are an incurable romantic, you know that?" "I can't help it, I want you guys to be as happy as Roy and I are. Is that too much to ask?" "No, but we're happy with things the way they are for now, and that's enough." JoAnne looked her friend. "Jo, why are you so surprised? " "Let me see if I've got this right. You admit you care for each other, but you're still just friends. I'm sorry, this just doesn't make any sense." "Jo, we're both coming off bad relationships. You know that. We just want to step back and catch our breath. I know I'm not ready for another intense romantic relationship, and neither is Johnny. This way, we have each other, and we're still very close friends. And we'll wait to take the next step together. Understand?" JoAnne looked into her friend's eyes, and saw the truth there. It was a wise decision. She nodded her head. "Roy and I are pulling for you. We're here if you need us. We love you guys." "We love you guys too. Wanna get into the game?" The ladies got up and ran over, where they were met with hugs from their men. Melinda and Johnny looked into each other's eyes, seeing all the promises of the future wrapped up in the love they saw there. They smiled at each other. Roy and JoAnne looked at their friends. Jo thought. "Maybe you're right. It is a good idea to step back and breathe." The kids ran up with the Frisbee, and they all got involved in the game. the end( for now) Author's notes: Hugs and much love go to my Hunky Guy, who's my number one fan. Nina, who's no. 2 gets a hug and a kiss. Janet, I appreciate your concern and your encouragement. You let an untried author have a go at one of her dreams, and look at what's happened. Thanks. |