The License by Betty Stull The chattering in the locker room ceased the moment Johnny pushed the door open. He stood there and glanced around the room, taking in each of his co-workers faces before stepping inside. No one said a word as he walked toward his locker, but each man had his eyes trained on the paramedic. Placing a hand on the handle of his locker door, Johnny paused, and then looked over at Chet who suddenly seemed to be totally oblivious to Johnny being in the room. Still wary of the phantom from the previous shift, he chuckled, removed his hand from the handle, turned and rubbed his chin. "So, Chet. What's gonna happen when I open my locker this morning?" A crooked smile appeared on Johnny's face. Chet planted a hurt look on his face. "Me!" he mocked. "I wouldn't be that callous, Johnny baby. I wouldn't strike a guy when he's down." Although a bit unsure of his co-worker, Johnny turned back to his locker and returned to his task of getting his uniform from his locker. He glanced over at his partner, who remained quiet the entire time. Roy shrugged and went back to buttoning up his shirt. Taking a deep breath, Johnny closed his eyes and cringed before opening the door to his locker. To his amazement no little surprises jumped out to greet him when he opened the door. Cracking his eyes open, he began to laugh. "Thanks Chet," he snorted. "It's real nice of you not to have rigged my locker this morning." "What can I say, Johnny, after the tongue lashing you got from Cap last shift, I figured you needed a bit of time before the phantom reappeared," Chet replied. Finishing with the final touches to his uniform, Chet walked toward the exit, but not before he gave Johnny a friendly slap on the back. "Oh, I almost forgot. Gage, that bit of time the phantom is giving you...the clock is ticking." Chet began to roar with laughter, and then he walked away from his co-workers and out of the room. Johnny's eyes widened. Glancing around, the remainder of his shift mates quickly completed readying themselves, and then they too left the room without a word, leaving Johnny alone. Suddenly Johnny heard Captain Stanley calling everyone for roll call. He swiftly pulled on his uniform pants, slipped on his boots, tucked his shirt in, then ran out of the locker room zipping himself up as he joined the others beside the engine. Stanley glanced over at his arriving paramedic. Pursing his lip, he spoke, "Nice of you to join us this morning, John. I trust you have everything you need for this shift." Johnny's face flushed. "Yes," he whispered sheepishly trying hard to avert his eyes away from his crew mates who, to him, seemed to be staring at him. "Okay then," Stanley began, "let's get down to business. First I need to tell you all about a fund raiser the department is having." Everyone began to groan. "Excuse me, guys, but do you think you could hold off on the groaning until I fill you in on what's happening." Stanley stated with annoyance. Placing a hand on his hip, he glanced from one man to another. Once the grumbling died down in the bay, he continued. "Good. Now how about we act like the civilized firefighters that we are supposed to be?" When Stanley got nods from everyone he finished telling his crew about the fund-raiser. "At the suggestion of a group of fifth grade students, the department is going to participate in a ladder sitting to raise money for kids who have the misfortune of gracing the burn wards in the various hospitals around L.A. County." Again, Stanley paused, and then glanced at his men. When he received absolutely no complaints, he knew he touched some nerves in each of them. It was hard enough for any firefighter to deal with an adult with burns, but it was quite another to deal with kids. "Station 127 is going to use their Snorkel for the event and the department needs a volunteer from each station to participate." Stanley braced his clipboard against his midsection then looked at his men and smiled. "So, who wants to volunteer from this shift?" Suddenly Johnny felt everyone's gaze settle on him. Jumping back, he splayed his hand over his chest and his eyes widened. "Me! Why does everyone always look to me to volunteer for these things?" Observing the looks on everyone's faces, Johnny tossed his arms into the air in defeat. "Fine," he grumbled, "I'll do it." Stanley smiled wickedly. Oh the powers of being Captain, he thought. "Okay, now with that taken care of, John, you can see me later today and I will fill you in on what's expected of you." Once Stanley got an affirmative nod from his paramedic, he continued with the station's business. "Last shift was kinda busy. We have lots of hose to scrub and hang. Marco, you and Mike can handle that. Roy, you take the dorm. Chet..." Stanley smiled from the disdain that suddenly appeared on the prankster's face, "The kitchen is yours today, pal." Chet's face quickly changed to enthusiasm when he realized that he escaped the dreaded latrine duty for the shift. Everyone then let their eyes settle on the last man remaining without an assigned duty. "Oh man," Johnny groaned realizing he was going to be in charge of the latrine for the day. Man, I hope Chet has improved his aim and I hope Marco didn't have any five alarm meals on his days off. I wonder if maintenance came around sometime over the last couple days to fix the toilet so it doesn't overflow every third flush, Johnny thought. "And, yes, John, the latrine is all yours, Pal," Stanley stated with a grin, watching the peevish look that appeared on Johnny's face. "I guess that about wraps things up for this morning," Stanley added. Once the men dispersed to attend to their assigned duties, Stanley returned to the confines of his office to tackle the ever-growing pile of paperwork. Johnny grumbled under his breath and tossed a scowl at each of his co-workers as they walked away snickering at his expense. Deciding he really wanted to get his duty behind him, Johnny walked over to the storage closet. Before he could open the door, Roy spoke, "Johnny, we do have our morning calibrations to attend to first, before we can start." Roy cut his words short when Johnny pulled the door open and was greeted with a mop-head in his face. Roy tried hard not to laugh at his partners' misfortune, but he couldn't contain himself while he watched his friend spit the stings away from his mouth. Johnny turned and glowered at his partner. "Thanks a lot, Roy." Turning his attention back to the closet, Johnny tried to put the mop back in its place only to have the remainder of the mops and the brooms topple over onto him, knocking him onto the floor and creating a loud crashing sound. The clatter was enough to bring the rest of the crew into the bay to see what happened. It wasn't long before everyone began to laugh when they saw Johnny sprawled out on the floor with mops and brooms scattered over top of him. Taking pity on the fallen man, Roy made the first move to aid his friend. The others quickly pitched in when they caught the objectionable look that appeared on Stanley's face. "You okay, Pal?" Stanley asked, extending his hand to Johnny, helping him to his feet. Brushing off his uniform, Johnny nodded, "Yeah. I'm fine." "That's good. I wouldn't want to have to call in a replacement," Stanley smiled. "Yeah, Gage. Two shifts in a row would be too much," Chet balked. Suddenly the entire crew was laughing again, each remembering the pervious shift. Johnny on the other hand frowned at his co-workers. It had been embarrassing enough, the crew discovering his misfortune, but that wasn't good enough. Oh no, thanks to Dwyer, his replacement, the entire station got wind of it. For all Johnny knew the entire department was now aware of what he had forgotten to do. "Seriously, Gage, how could anyone forget to do something like get his...?" "Chet," Stanley snapped. "That will be enough. I do believe you have a kitchen to clean and some meals to plan. As for the rest of you, it's time to get to work. The theatrics are over for today." Once his men had dispersed, Stanley glanced back at Johnny who had just finished stowing the last mop and closed the closet door. "John, you help Roy with the squad and then you can get to work on your duty." Johnny nodded then joined his partner. Stanley walked back to his office. Stopping before he disappeared inside, he glanced over at his two paramedics. Now looking back, the situation was kind of funny, but he could never admit it to any of his men. At the time, he was totally displeased with the junior half of his paramedic team and being the captain, he knew he had to keep his composure and not give in to laughter like the others had. Smiling, he walked into his office and closed the door. Dropping into his chair, Stanley picked up the report he had been working on, glanced at it, then put it back on the desk. Leaning back in his chair, he interlocked his fingers behind his head and smiled as he replayed the tail end of the response both the engine and squad had been on just prior to Johnny's unexpected run in with the police. ********** "Do you have everything, John?" Stanley asked as he helped load the last of the equipment into the compartments of the squad. Johnny gave a quick glance around. "Yeah. Looks like I got everything. Thanks for the help," he replied. Johnny waved at his captain and then jumped in behind the wheel of the squad. Roy had left only moments before, with the victim in the ambulance- non-code R-. It had been a bazaar response. No one liked unknown type rescues. Each of them knew it could be anything from non-serious to life threatening. Thankfully, this rescue turned out to be non-life threatening, but had the potential of becoming serious for the victim. A woman defrosting her refrigerator managed to get her chin stuck to the ice that accumulated around the edge of the icebox portion of the fridge. Thanks to her neighbor dropping by, a call was placed to the fire department. Using heated water, Roy and Johnny managed to free the woman. As a precaution, Rampart requested to see her to be sure there would be no lingering effects -- possible frostbite. Roy opted to take the woman in, while Johnny remained and packed away their supplies. Thanks to the others helping, the task was completed quickly. Before Johnny pulled away from the curb, the engine was called out to a dumpster fire only a block from their current address. Turning the engine over, Johnny glanced around before pulling away from the curb. He leisurely drove toward Rampart taking in the beauty of the neighborhood. Just before an upcoming stop sign, Johnny noticed a rather attractive lady out front of her house, tending her flowers. She stopped what she was doing and gazed at the rescue vehicle. Johnny smiled and waved in her direction. When she returned his wave, he chuckled, totally missing the stop sign, driving right through. Seconds later the sound of a siren could be heard in the quiet neighborhood. Johnny glanced in his mirror and groaned. He realized what he had done. Pulling the squad over next to the curb, he waited till the officer came to him. He hoped it would be someone he knew, hoping to avoid further embarrassment on his part. "Hey, Johnny," Charlie said. "You on your way to a fire?" "No, Charlie, I'm not on my way to a fire," Johnny playfully mocked. "You do realize that emergency vehicles have to have lights and sirens going in order to just go through a stop sign or lights, don't you?" "Yes, Charlie, I do." Charlie nodded. "Okay, let's have your license then." "Excuse me, Charlie. Can't you just tell me to be more careful and not do it again? I really have to get to Rampart to pick up Roy," Johnny said with mild annoyance sounding in his voice. "No can do, Johnny," Charlie replied. "If I recall, it wasn't that long ago I pulled you over for chasing fire department vehicles that were on their way to a rescue. I just can't let this slide," Charlie stated. Part of him was cracking up inside, but he had to maintain his professional guise. "Oh, okay then, but do you think you could make this quick? I really have to get Roy picked up so we can make ourselves available," Johnny answered, pulling his wallet out of his pants. Johnny then handed the police officer his license. He sat back in the squad annoyed about his current predicament. Of all the cops in this city and it had to be Charlie that pulled me over, Johnny thought. Why couldn't it have been Vince or Scottie? "Johnny," Charlie said for a second time trying to grab the paramedic's attention. "What?" Johnny answered displeased. "Your license. It's expired." Johnny's eyes widened and he sat up straight. Grabbing the card back out of Charlie's hand, Johnny looked at it in disbelief. "Oh, man," he voiced. "That's about it, too, Johnny. I'm afraid Roy is gonna be waiting a bit longer for someone to pick him up, cause you certainly won't be driving over to Rampart." Johnny groaned and slumped in his seat. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the mic and proceeded to call the engine. "Engine 51. This is Squad 51, how do you read?" He said with displeasure. "Go ahead Squad 51," came Stanley's voice. Suddenly Johnny's mouth became dry at the sounds of his captain's voice. He stumbled over the words trying to figure out what to say. "Engine 51, I...ah... need some assistance at corner of Wilmington & Carson." "Ten-four, Squad 51," Stanley answered somewhat puzzled. Flipping on the siren, Mike checked his mirrors then sped up, hurrying to Johnny's destination only a couple blocks from where they were. Rounding the corner, Stanley stared out the windshield of the rig in total disbelief. Johnny had the squad pulled over next to the curb. He was sitting on the passenger's side with his feet braced on the ground, his elbows resting on his legs and his head leaning into his hands. A police cruiser, with lights still flashing was parked behind the squad. When Johnny heard the siren, he glanced up and saw the rig driving toward him. He groaned then rested his head back into his hands. 'Man, how am I gonna explain this one to Cap,' he thought giving his head a little shake. Mike killed the siren when he discovered there was no real emergency. He slowed the rig and pulled up behind the police car. Stanley hopped down from the rig. He stopped and eyed Chet, who jumped down from his position on the engine. "Kelly, you and others stay here, until I find out what's going on," Stanley ordered. "Aw, Cap!" Chet complained. He was curious to know what his favorite pigeon had gotten himself into. "Kelly, that wasn't a request!" Stanley barked. Reluctantly, Chet remained with the rig. He and the others engaged in a whispered conversation with Gage being the current topic. Noticing the engine's arrival, Charlie stepped out of his cruiser, greeting Stanley as the captain jogged toward Johnny. "Hi, Hank." "Hi, Charlie," Stanley replied. "What's up?" "Hank, I really hate to do this, but I'm afraid Johnny's not going to be able to drive," "Why?" Stanley asked with a quizzical look on his face. "Has he been hurt?" "No, Hank, he hasn't been hurt. He's driving without a license," Charlie answered only slightly amused, knowing he had to remain professional. He also knew that once this fire captain discovered the reason Johnny was driving without his license, he was certain there would be hell to pay. "Driving without a license?" Stanley questioned furrowing his brow. He then closed the distance between him and Johnny. Charlie followed close behind. "John," Stanley said, "you mind telling me, what's going on?" Taking a deep breath, Johnny raised his head and lock gazes with his captain. "I...ah...guess I forgot...my license...it's expired." "Say what?" Stanley shouted, a little more loudly than he intended. He glanced around to be sure there were no by-standers within earshot. He did notice his crew suddenly become alert. "How in the world does anyone forget to renew their license? Do you want to explain it? No wait, I think I'm gonna need a bit of time before you explain this one to me. I need to be able to focus and I don't think airing our dirty laundry out here on the public streets is quite where I want to do it." Stanley turned to face Charlie. "So now what, Charlie?" "I hated having to do this, Hank, but I had to write him up for this and he can't drive the squad anywhere." Hank nodded, and then glanced in the direction of his engine crew. Why me? He thought. Why does all this stuff have to happen to me and on my shift? Stanley knew he'd have to call in a replacement for John and he'd have to do up a report for headquarters explaining why he had to send his man home. He figured he would spare Johnny some aggravation and get Marco to drive the squad to Rampart for Roy and then back to the station. He hoped by then he would be able to talk with Johnny with a clear mind. "Marco!" Stanley yelled. Marco quickly jogged over to where his captain stood with Charlie and Johnny. "Yeah Cap?" "Marco, I need you to take the squad and head over to Rampart to pick up Roy." Although a bit surprised about the request, Marco acknowledged the order without question. He jogged over and hopped in behind the wheel. Johnny glanced at Stanley, flashing him a thankful look with his eyes. He then hopped into the passenger's side of the squad. Seconds later, they pulled away from the curb on route to Rampart. ********** Roy and the others stood in the bay and listened to the turbulent conversation going on in the office. "I'm sorry, Cap. I never meant to let my license expire. I got too busy with working and doing overtime over the last couple weeks and I completely forgot about it." "I can understand that, John, really I can, but you know headquarters. They are not as receptive as I am about these things. They don't like fire department personal driving their equipment when they aren't properly licensed. Just like they prefer to have all the blanks filled in on the paper work that's sent to them. And God forbid if I or anyone else should be neglectful and file incomplete reports," Stanley stated. Taking a breath, he looked at his paramedic. He could see that Johnny was deeply sorry about this little mishap and he knew Johnny didn't do it on purpose, but he had to do his job. "I'm afraid I have to send you home for the rest of this shift, John. There's nothing I can do about that. And before you can return to work, you need to pay your ticket and get your license renewed. I know that may take a few days, so I want you to call me, here or at home to let me know as soon as you've got your license back." "What about headquarters, sir?" Johnny asked. "I'll call the Chief and speak to him. I'll let you know." Johnny nodded. "You're dismissed, John." Johnny stood and left the office. He almost tripped over Chet on his way out. "Chet," Johnny growled. "Do you mind?" Chet couldn't keep it in any longer. He began to snicker. "Way to go, Gage. What are you gonna do next, not renew you paramedic license?" Roy noticed the concerned look that spread over Johnny's face. "Chet, why don't you go hang some hose or something?" Chet's laughter died down when he found Marco and Mike had already disappeared. He glanced at Roy and realized he had better make himself scarce, too. He figured he'd have lots of time to pick on his pigeon later. Once Chet walked away, Johnny quickly walked toward the locker room. Roy followed close on his partner's heels. "Everything will be okay, Johnny. Once you get your license renewed, you'll be back," Roy said hoping to avert any fears his friend had. Johnny turned and faced Roy. He opened his mouth and then closed it. He took a deep breath then placed his hands on his hips. "What if?" "What if, what?" Roy asked. "What if I can't be a paramedic any more?" Roy couldn't help himself, he had to chuckle. He knew Johnny could get worked up about the smallest of details, but this was absolutely ridiculous. "Johnny, no one is going to take your paramedic license away from you just because you forgot to renew your driver's license." "How do you know, Roy?" "How do I know? 'Cause you, my friend, haven't been the first person to forget such a detail and I'm certain you won't be the last to forget either." "Who, Roy? Who do you know that forgot to renew his driver's license?" "One of the engineers up at 89s. Last year he was going through a difficult time with his wife and the birth of their premature baby and he forgot to..." Johnny looked at Roy with a skeptical look on his face. "You got to be kidding me, Roy. An engineer, that's not the same thing, Roy. He's not a paramedic. He doesn't treat people, like we do. I don't want to go back to riding an engine, Roy." Johnny stated plopping down onto the bench exasperated. Overhearing the last of Johnny and Roy's conversation, Stanley stepped into the locker room. "John, headquarters isn't going to take your paramedic license away from you." Johnny looked at his captain. "How do you know that, Cap?" "Because I just finished talking with the Chief and he said so. That's how I know." "I guess the Chief is a bit upset, huh?" "Well, let's just say he's not happy, but he was understanding. We're going to write this up as a sick day, John, and I'm telling ya' for you own good, you better bust your butt over the next couple days straightening this thing out. Understand?" A smile flickered over Johnny's face. He jumped up from the bench. "Yes, Sir," he said raising his voice a bit more than he had meant to do. Stanley gave Roy a wink then left the room. "See, didn't I tell ya'? Things would be okay." "Like I've always said, Roy, when you're right, you're right." Exactly where that little comment came from, Roy didn't know. He was just pleased that his partner was in a better mood. He waited till Johnny changed his clothes then followed his friend out into the bay. Johnny started walking toward the back door. "Johnny, where are you going?" Roy asked. "I'm gonna go so I can pay my ticket and see about getting my drivers license renewed." "I figured that, my friend, but how do you think you're gonna get there?" "I was gonna take the Rover." Johnny suddenly began to laugh at his own stupidity. Turning around, he faced his friend. "I don't have a license to drive." Roy began to laugh too. "No you don't, Johnny." "Then I guess it will be the bus and when I get my license back, I'll be back to get my Rover," he stated walking toward the front of the station. *********** Stanley chuckled as he sat up in his chair. He pulled his wallet out of his pants, opened it up and checked the expiration date on his own license. "Still have a couple months. Good," he whispered. Stanley jumped up when the tones sounded. Shoving his wallet back in his pants pocket, he headed out into the bay to the radio. He quickly jotted down the address and acknowledged the call. After handing a slip of paper to Roy, he jogged around the front of the squad toward the engine. He stopped momentary and glanced at his junior paramedic. He chuckled and shook his head seeing all the licenses dangling from Johnny's helmet in front of his face, compliments of the phantom he was certain. Swiftly, he ran the rest of the way and jumped into his spot on the rig. God I love these guys, Stanley thought. I have the best crew any captain could hope to have. Author's Note: This story was formally posted on Kindred Spirits for their first Anniversary. I would like to thank Janet for giving this story a new home. Although it was a day or two ago and she might not remember, Janet proofed this story for me and her suggestions helped enhance the entire story. Thanks Janet. ©2001 |