which witch 1

Which Witch?

by Nexxie

"Checkmate," Del Nichols informed J.R. impassively as he moved his bishop into position, blocking off the last route of escape for Gage's king.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," J.R. exclaimed, sure this time he hadn't been beaten so easily. "How do you do that!" Five straight games lost in rapid succession were a bit much, even for the easy-going J.R. Gage.

"If you'd keep your mind on the game instead of that little blond honey of yours, you might do better," Kyle "Farms" Farmer advised the young fireman. Farms, a stocky dark-haired man with a chubby, cherub face and a slowly growing paunch, enjoyed teasing J.R.. At twenty-eight, though he appeared more J.R.'s age, Kyle Farmer enjoyed the title "family man", being blessed with a wife and two children. Tormenting C-Shift's only two bachelors about their love lives afforded him a great deal of amusement.

Christopher "Kit" Crawford, the other unattached firefighter, snickered from the kitchen where he wielded a large knife with more enthusiasm than caution. "Thinkin' about her is about all he can do, right Gage? Any more than thinkin' and Little Johnny might get hurt." He punctuated the statement with a heavy thud as the knife chopped a thick carrot neatly in half. Every man in the station winced in sympathy while J.R.'s face flushed beet red.

"Don't call me 'Little Johnny'," Gage retorted, albeit more resigned than angry. Getting mad at these guys never worked anyway. He would be at their mercy until the next guy came along.

"Sorry, Baby," Crawford grinned, his bright blue eyes crinkling at the corners. Crawford never spoke of his own dates, but with his silvery blond hair and tall muscular build, they were probably legion. The Riley twins described 15's junior paramedic as a "major hunk".

"That's okay, old timer," J.R. shot back. He gulped as two pairs of eyes glared at him from the chairs near the television. Captain Riley and Walter Winston both had several years on Crawford, whom they considered young at thirty-two. J.R. shrugged. Silence is golden, he thought, and so is self-preservation.

Del Nichols stood up from behind the chess table and stretched his long arms. Five runs that day, all lengthy and involved, made him long for the comfort of his bed at home and a nice backrub from the lady of the house. "Man, I hope we've seen all the tough ones for today," he said to the room at large. He shrugged as the other five men looked accusingly. "Oh, come on, I didn't jinx us. You guys are just superstitious."

The ringing phone shifted the attention away from the engineer as Kit Crawford wiped his hands on a towel and picked up the receiver. "L.A. County Fire Station 15, Firefighter Crawford speaking. May I help you?" A wide grin split his face, bringing a devilish twinkle into the intense blue eyes. "Firefighter Gage!" he nearly sang, "It's Honey!"

"Give me that!" J.R. made a grab for the phone, irritated, and gritted his teeth as Kit held the receiver just out of reach. "I'll take it in the dormitory," he informed the paramedic and swept out the door to the accompanying laughter of his shiftmates.

"Hi, Sunshine," J.R. said and waited for the click that would indicate Kit had hung up the extension. When he heard it, he continued, "How has your day gone?" A giggle in the background told him she was probably over at Tammy Payne's house.

"Hi, J.R.," Tammy's voice echoed from the background, confirming his hypothesis. The voice subsided once again into giggles as Jennifer shushed her friend.

"Hi, sweetheart," the breathless voice of the only girl in the world nearly bubbled as it landed on his ears. J.R. grinned broadly.

"Tell Tammy hi," he instructed Jennifer, imagining the two girls together sitting on Tammy's bed while Jen talked to him on the phone. With an inward sigh he wished he could trade places with Tammy Payne at the moment.

More giggling. "She says hi back," Jen informed him. "J.R., remember I told you about the Halloween Party at school. Did you check to see if you would be off?"

"As a matter of fact, I am," J.R. reassured her.

"Whew! Okay, so are we going as a couple? I mean dressed as a couple?"

J.R. looked at the phone in perplexity, "Dressed as a couple? We have to go in costume?" Suddenly the party began to lose its appeal.

"Of course, silly, it's a Halloween party," came the exasperated reply.

He winced. "Um...maybe we could go as a firefighter and his rescued victim? I could throw you over my shoulder and carry you around all night." This party began to show promise...

"Not particularly original, J.R.," she informed him. His face fell. "I was thinking more like a sheik and a harem girl." His face lit up as he envisioned Jennifer in a costume like that, then fell again as Tammy said from the background, "Yeah? You think your parents are really going to allow that!"

"Well," Jennifer capitulated, "probably not. We can discuss it tomorrow night at the game, right? You are coming to the game, J.R.?" It was less a question than a demand.

The memory of Jennifer practicing her cheers in the back yard while he watched from the deck with his dad and hers tugged the corners of his mouth back into their good-humor position. "Wouldn't miss it, Sunshine!" That was for sure. The memory of those beautiful long legs beneath that little short skirt brought a flush to his cheeks. And when she did a cartwheel? Oh, man, his heart turned right with her.

"...look for you in the bleachers. You'll cheer too, won't you?" Jennifer's words brought him back from his imaginings. "Uh...yeah," he responded, wondering if that was the right answer.

J.R. jumped as the klaxon sounded. He listened for the pattern of tones and stood as the ones for Station 15 rang out. "Gotta go, Jen. I love you," he said before hanging up the phone.

"STATION 15, TRUCK 127...VEHICLE OFF THE OVERPASS... CORRUTHERS AVENUE AT MASON...APPROACH FROM SOUTH MASON...POLICE ARE AT SCENE...AMBULANCE IS RESPONDING." The familiar voice of Sam Lanier finished the call just as Engine and Squad 15 roared out of the apparatus bay and onto the wide boulevard that fronted their station. People at the convenience store next door craned their necks to see which direction the emergency vehicles headed this time.

************************

"He get called out?" Tammy asked, watching the cloud pass over Jennifer's features.

"Yeah. I guess I'll have to get used to that."

"So, is he coming to the game?"

"Yep. I'm so glad." The sparkle returned to Jen's violet eyes as she anticipated seeing J.R. the next evening.

Tammy bounced off the bed and popped a cassette into the stereo. Over the sound of the music she informed Jennifer indignantly, "I think it stinks the way your parents keep you two separated like this. It's positively medieval!"

"They don't trust us, Tams," Jen said with a sigh. "We blew it for ourselves by getting caught in the hayloft."

"But you didn't DO anything! Did you?"

Jennifer didn't look directly at her friend. "No, we didn't go all the way, but if Uncle Johnny hadn't caught us, we probably would have."

"Whoa! You never told me that before. What did happen that day, anyway?"

"Nothin', we were just making out and got carried away, that's all." Jennifer concentrated on a make-believe flaw in her nail polish.

Tammy gave her a sideways glance. "Are you gonna sneak off at the game tomorrow night? I could cover for you."

Her friend looked up sharply. "My mom and dad will be there watching me. There's no way we could slip away without being seen." Jennifer's eyes filled with doubt as she contemplated the possibility.

Tammy fell silent, watching her friend struggle with what seemed a dramatic, and romantic, situation. Finally she ventured, "Jen, have you thought about, you know, doing it?"

"You won't tell a soul?" Jen began after a lenghty silence.

"Cross my heart." Tammy leaned forward to catch every word of the anticipated confession.

"I think about it all the time. So does he, I think. I mean, I can tell just by the way he looks at me with those soft brown eyes. I think about it all the time, and wonder what it would be like to belong to him completely." Jennifer ran her fingertips over the covers of Tammy's bed and let her imagination roam.

"I think that is so romantic!" Tammy exclaimed. "You two are just like Romeo and Juliet! I mean, forbidden love and all. You should elope!"

"What! Are you out of your mind?" Jennifer shivered to think what her father would do to J.R. "Daddy would kill us."

************************

John Gage set aside the sports section and responded to the hail of "'Phone, Cap!". "Captain Gage speaking."

"Hey, Junior, how's shift going?" Roy DeSoto's voice carried more enthusiasm than Johnny could imagine mid-way through a busy shift. Cap Gage rubbed a tired hand over his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose before answering.

"Hi, Roy. It's been a long shift already. Two rubbish fires, three MVA's, a mother stuck in a tree...oh, and you'll love this, a fire in a swimming pool."

"Okay, how does a swimming pool catch fire?" Roy figured this would be one for the books.

"Remember back when that contractor used the hydrant to wash out his gas lines?"

"The guy who didn't use a clapper valve and had fuel oil backing up into the water lines?" Captain DeSoto shook his head at the memory. "That sure made the paper the next day."

"Yeah," Johnny remarked, "well, I guess some people didn't read the paper. Anyway, this guy was holding a barbecue in his back yard. He thought it would be neat to have the guests pick their own dinner, so he bought live lobster from the market and put them in the kid's wading pool in the back yard. One of the guests lit a cigarette and tossed the match into the pool. I guess the lobsters went every which way; the flames caught the tree on fire and spread across the lawn when the guy turned the hose on to put it out. We found one live lobster still crawling around the yard. That thing must have traveled thirty feet."

Roy chuckled. "Was anybody hurt?"

"Three people were burned pretty bad, one lady got knocked unconscious by a flying lobster."

"Well, that's probably a first. Did you find the source of the fuel leak?"

"Like I said, some people must not read the paper. Different contractor; same refinery...same stupid move."

"Well, I guess they'll read the paper tomorrow," Roy smirked.

"Yeah, Pally, look for my name. 'Captain John Gage, Station 51, says, blah blah blah.' I think the reporter was from the Times."

"So, now that you're famous, are you gonna remember all the little people who helped you up the ladder to success?"

Johnny giggled. The two captains bantered back and forth, remembering rescues and the stupid mistakes people made. From the background, Johnny heard Roy's senior paramedic, Jesse "Pete" Peters call the station to chow.

************************

Captain DeSoto removed his shoes upon entering the house and laid them neatly beside the back door. He groused on occasion about Joanne's fixation with tidiness, but this was one part of that particular quirk that he agreed with. Call it being neat if you want, but taking off those shoes meant that he was home.

"Roy?" The query came from upstairs.

"Yeah," he called back. The captain anticipated the hurried footsteps that meant his wife intended to greet him in the same way she had for nineteen years. He wasn't disappointed.

Joanne DeSoto entered the kitchen and ran straight into her husband's arms. "Welcome home." Okay, sue me. Call me the "little woman". Say I have no life outside these walls. Then watch while I get some action you can only dream about! Joanne recalled the less than kind remarks from some members of the PTA about her being a housewife. Those thoughts were swept away as she concentrated on what Roy's hands were doing to her body. "Mmmmmmmm. You gonna rescue me, Captain, or what?"

With a grin, Roy scooped up his petite mate and carried her back up the stairs. Breakfast could definitely wait.

"Oh, Roy," Joanne said softly some time later as she snuggled beside her husband like a contented cat. "We got a call yesterday from the PTA. They wanted to remind us that we're slated to chaperone the Halloween party."

"Mmmph," came the reply from the happily exhausted man at her side.

"I feel the same way, but Jen is going with J.R., and the way they've been looking at each other lately, I'd feel better if we were there."

Roy opened one sleepy eye. "Looking at each other how?"

"Like we used to look at each other when we were engaged."

No longer drowsy, Roy sat up in bed. "I'll kill him." He looked at the amused smile on his wife's face as she slipped from beneath the covers and began to dress. "Well, if he tries with my daughter what I wanted to do to her mother I'll kill him," he amended.

"Tell you what," Joanne leaned over to kiss Roy on the nose, "if he does to Jennifer before they're married what you just did to me, I'll help you. Okay?"

************************

"Dad! Are you going with me?" J.R. leaned out the back door to get his father's attention.

Johnny paused to look at his watch. The session with the colt had gone well, he could break off now. He scratched the young horse affectionately and removed the lead then headed for the barn. This one is gonna bring in some bucks, he thought. I'm gonna be sorry to see him go, though.

"Wouldja hurry up? We're gonna be late." J.R. stood on the back porch watching his father progress toward the house.

"Relax, we have plenty of time. I'll just get a shower and..."

"Dad!" J.R.'s impatience brought an edge to his voice.

"I'm going, I'm going. Geez! Bossy!" The senior Gage ducked into the house and took the stairs two at a time. His face split into an amused grin at the transparency of his son's emotions. J.R. was so anxious to see Jennifer he couldn't even stand still. Is that what it's like to be in love? Johnny sobered. I'd almost forgotten how it was with Marnie. I wonder if I'll ever find anyone like that again?

As the senior Gage emerged from the shower, still toweling his dark hair, he spotted Mrs. Quilts, the cat, stretched out on his bed. She looked at him and yowled pathetically.

"I know, I know, you want out. But lady we just barely found homes for your last litter, you'd better stick it out in the house this time. I don't know who's worse, you or J.R." He looked at the feline's reproachful eyes. "Well, you have been pretty immoral, you know, runnin' off with any male cat that comes around." He scratched her ears and smiled when the calico feline closed her eyes and began to purr. "Well, at least J.R. is happy with the same girl, and he doesn't keep sticking me with kittens." The grin faded. Johnny sat down on the bed and took the cat into his arms. He buried his face in her soft fur. "I sure hope those two can hold out until she's out of school. I think J.R. has more willpower than either you or me, lady...at least I hope he does."

At the plaintive, "DAD!" that drifted up from the bottom of the stairwell, Johnny drew put down the cat and reached for his clothes. "Keep your pants on!" he called back. "Really, I mean it," the senior Gage muttered as he grabbed his shirt and headed downstairs.

************************

"Hurry Tams, Miss Brody called us five minutes ago!"

"I'm coming, keep your shirt on!" Tammy Payne knelt down to tie her tennis shoes before joining the other cheerleaders on the field. Jennifer DeSoto and Kathy Barrie waited just outside the locker room door.

"Tams, you'd better know the new routine or I'll skin you alive," Jennifer warned her best friend.

"I know it," Tammy puffed, hurrying to keep up. "We practiced the darn thing for two hours last night, remember?"

The other three cheerleaders waited impatiently on the football field, arms crossed, for the latecomers. The game clock on the scoreboard showed a five minute countdown before kick-off; they should already have been out in front of the crowd. Miss Brody, the cheerleader coach, math teacher, and sponsor of the booster club, frowned at the trio as they ran to take their positions. She would talk to them later.

As the two teams poured onto the field, the sound of cheering and stomping feet split the cool clear evening air, setting the tone for the event. The game before homecoming promised to be exciting as the Carson High School Cougars faced a difficult opponent. Things couldn't be going better for the team or their cheerleaders. Morale-wise, enthusiasm ran high.

The sun sets early in October. Soon the field would be illuminated by the strong lights mounted on poles around its perimeter. But at five p.m., there was, as of yet, no need for artificial lighting.

The bleachers, filled with parents, alumni, friends and members of the booster club, teamed with masses of moving color before the game began. Last minute trips to the hot dog stand and people of all ages visiting, standing, or searching for a seat kept the noise level high and added to the feeling of anticipation.

A small group of young people huddled on the bleachers a short distance from the booster club. In this group two young men, one with flaming red hair the other a blond, argued the team's strengths and the right strategy for the game. Two young women, petite brunettes, identical but for the colors of their respective sweaters, tried to look interested. One young man with raven hair focused on the cheerleaders to the exclusion of all else. He didn't see...no wait, there she was.

"Gage, if you would listen, you might learn something about the game." Chris DeSoto gave an exaggerated long-suffering sigh, aware and amused by the fact, that J.R. Gage knew absolutely nothing about football, and could have cared less. His friend's eyes were riveted on Chris' sister, Jennifer.

"Huh?" J.R. absently answered the stockier young man.

Kalie and Karen, the Riley twins, watched the cheerleaders with something like envy. Last year saw them on the field in those same black and tan uniforms. Last year Christopher DeSoto suited up and hit the field with the team. Last year they paid no attention to the tall blond, wide receiver with the clear blue eyes. This year, Kalie found him fascinating.

"That's a new routine," Karen Riley informed J.R. as they watched the cheerleaders. "I haven't seen them do that before."

J.R. must have mumbled something appropriate because Karen launched into a description of the moves and cheers that could be expected. For the young Gage it was the first football game he was able to attend this season. Work or some other impediment always seemed to prevent him from coming to watch Jennifer.

"Hey, Kare, it's kick-off," Dave Konnitsky elbowed the slender dark-haired girl at his side. He didn't mind if she talked to J.R., they were good friends, and J.R. worked for her dad. But she was Dave's girl, everybody knew that.

The teams lined up on the field, black and tan uniforms opposite red and white ones. Coaches, line judges and officials dotted the sidelines while the cheerleaders did their best to rev up crowd support.

The Cougars elected to receive and caught the ball on the 40-yard line. It was a good start.

"Yeah! All right!" One voice rang out clearly above the crowd. The owner didn't have any kids on the team. He'd never played football in high school and he wasn't even a Cougar alumnus. John Gage just plain loved sports. He knew the Carson Cougars from Chris' years on the team, and they all knew 'Uncle Johnny'. He went to the games whenever he could and was the loudest fan not a member of the booster club. Jennifer never failed to blow him a kiss from the field and he never failed to cheer with the rest. She'd practiced the cheers in front of him; he knew them all by heart.

One lady, petite, in her early thirties with long silvery blond hair, glanced in the direction of the man who stood to cheer... then did a double take. The man from the beach, the handsome one with the crooked grin and the grown-up son, the man she'd watched walk away from her with a pang of regret, stood not fifteen feet from her. What was he doing here?

"Mom, did you see him?" Kathy Barrie approached the front of the bleachers where Estelle sat with the rest of the booster club and team parents. The two looked more like sisters than mother and daughter. Most people were astonished to learn of their relationship.

"I saw him, Kathy. I wonder why he's here."

"His son doesn't play for the Cougars," Kathy informed her mother, "I know everybody on the team."

"I wonder if J.R. is here?" Estelle searched the stands behind her for a glimpse of the young man that captivated her daughter's attention the same day his father made such an impression on her.

"Wait! There he is!" Kathy's eyes followed the direction of her mother's gaze and fixed on J.R. Gage.

"He's there talking to some girl," Kathy said angrily as if J.R. had no business conversing with Karen Riley.

"She's not as pretty as you are, honey," Estelle reassured her daughter.

New to Carson High, Kathy Barrie entered that fall with a splash, determined to be popular and quickly succeeding. Tiny and petite with waist-length silvery blond hair and a flawless, creamy complexion, Kathy soon had a steady following of the male persuasion. Her high school admirers, however, soon paled in comparison to the tall, dark-haired young man she met at the beach last summer...the boy who didn't even seem to notice her. This situation must be corrected in short order!

"Kathy, let's go!" Tammy Payne called from a few feet away. "We have to greet the other team."

"Gotta go, Mom," Kathy said over her shoulder, hastening to join the other girls. Estelle watched her leave, then looked speculatively at John Gage. He sat with a sandy-haired man and a petite woman with short auburn hair. They appeared to be conversing while John kept one eye on the field. Estelle quickly looked for an excuse to pass in front of them...directly in front of them. Aha! The booster club popcorn and hot dog concession was open at the other end of the stands.

Pulling two dollars from her purse, Estelle threaded her way through the bleachers heading for the popcorn stand. She passed Gage and the DeSotos unnoticed, blending in with the stream of humanity in the busy aisle at the front. Two dollars was a steep price to pay for popcorn, even for a good cause. This had better work! The butter-drenched snack put forth a tantalizing aroma. Estelle resisted; she didn't need the calories, but then she wasn't going to eat it anyway.

************************

"They could have been nicer," Tammy Payne grumbled to the other cheerleaders on the squad. "We're always polite when we play 'away' games."

Jennifer nodded. The other team, the Hazleton Hawks, showed bad sportsmanship toward the host team's cheerleaders, booing when they arrived, booing during their cheer, and making catcalls when they left. They'd never hosted a ruder team. She hoped the Cougars made mincemeat of 'em.

"Hey, Jen, don't look now, but your personal cheering section is trying to get your attention." Tammy giggled. Painfully shy, J.R. stood in the bleachers, pretending to be watching the game, all the while scanning the field for Jennifer.

Jen smirked and ran toward that section of the stands, her heart beating a little faster at the sight of her boyfriend. J.R. casually ambled down to the railing. "Hi, Sunshine." He drank in her appearance as if he'd not spoken to her in a year instead of a mere twelve hours.

"Hi, Sweetie! I was afraid you wouldn't make it."

"Are you kidding? Miss a chance to see you wearing that outfit? Not me!" He grinned broadly and raised his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

"I think I can get away for a little bit in about ten minutes," Jen whispered, hoping nobody could read lips. Her violet eyes broadcast a message for him alone.

"Where?" J.R.'s question betrayed the eager anticipation he sought to hide from those around.

"Meet me in the parking lot, in the Rover. I can see it from here." Jen was breathless as she looked into those dark brown eyes. They wouldn't have long together, she calculated, but nobody should miss them if the game proved exciting enough.

"I'll sneak away first and wait there," J.R. promised, wishing they could just leave together right now. He fingered the bracelet he'd given her for her seventeenth birthday. Touching the bracelet was a way they could say 'I love you' without anybody catching on.

Jennifer hurried to rejoin her friends, the bracelet jingling merrily as she ran, unaware of two people observing her every move.

J.R. made his way back to his seat, trying not to look like his conversation with Jennifer was more than idle chatter. Fortunately everybody was too engrossed in the game to take note of the silly grin plastered on the younger Gage's face.

"DeSoto, where's the nearest bathroom?" J.R. asked his friend.

"Geez, Gage, you can't leave now! It's third down, seven and 'O' and we have the ball!"

"Ah, that's really great, Chris. Where's the bathroom?"

Karen snickered and took pity, pointing toward the small concession at the other end of the bleachers. "It's behind the hot dog stand, J.R."

J.R. nodded his thanks and hurried toward the stand, waiting until he was out of sight to circle behind the bleachers and head for the parking lot. Estelle Barrie, arms full of popcorn, watched him leave, following him with her eyes until he disappeared. A few moments later, Jennifer DeSoto slipped away, apparently bound for the same destination. Estelle noted that her daughter watched as well. Kathy can handle it. I have bigger fish to fry.

************************

"Aw come on! He was offsides, ref! Are ya blind?" Johnny jumped to his feet, as indignant as any spectator in the stands. He threw his hands in the air in a gesture of disbelief, then sat down beside Joanne DeSoto, thoroughly disgusted. "Did you see that? Did ya see that?"

"Johnny, he might not have been offsides. Give the ref a break." Roy knew arguing to be useless, but it was part and parcel of every game when you sat with Johnny. That's what made it fun.

The stands buzzed angrily at the supposed inattention of the game officials to what appeared an obvious infraction. Johnny, unable to let the issue drop, entertained those around with his own perception of the play, garnering amused looks from some, and angry glares from others.

Hoping to channel the energy of indignant parents in a more positive direction, Miss Brody sent the cheerleaders out in front of the bleachers. Where was Jennifer DeSoto?

"Uh...she had to leave for a minute, Miss Brody," Tam told the coach. "We can do a couple of cheers that don't require six people until she gets back." Crossing her fingers, Tam hoped Jen would make it quick.

Kathy wondered what Miss Brody would say if she knew Jen left the sidelines to meet some boy in the parking lot during a game? She knew exactly what the coach would say...'suspended'. But Kathy waited. This might not be what she suspected, and if it was, there could be a better time.

The girls lined up in front of the stands, hands on hips, pompoms poised, waiting for the booster club's attention.

"READY...OKAY!" yelled Tammy Payne, focusing all attention on the squad.

"What do we want?" the cheerleaders asked in a sing-song voice.

"TOUCHDOWN! TOUCHDOWN!" the booster club and Johnny responded.

"When do we want it?" was the musical question.

"NOW!" came the boisterous reply.

The cheerleaders succeeded in diverting the crowd with this for a few minutes then, went on to a different cheer. Johnny happily joined in at the top of his lungs, although he did notice, as did Roy and Joanne, Jennifer's absence from the squad. I wonder where she is?

Roy glanced toward the place where J.R. had been sitting and noticed he was missing too. This had better be one big coincidence, he thought darkly.

Johnny yelled loudly and clapped in rhythm with the cheerleaders, stomping his feet as well. He hoped Roy didn't notice the disappearance of their offspring. At the first opportunity he would take off on some pretext and herd them back to safety. Johnny didn't condone their actions, but he did understand them. He felt badly enough having to play the heavy the first time the two were caught together at the ranch, especially when he found they'd all jumped to the wrong conclusion.

The game resumed play and Johnny followed the action to the exclusion of all else. He tensed with every yard gained and groaned in despair at each penalty, vocalizing his disappointment in no uncertain terms. He was startled then, to find he had somehow gained a lap full of popcorn.

"I'm so sorry!" a woman exclaimed from just behind him. The voice sounded familiar for some reason. Johnny turned. "Estelle?" He hoped he remembered her name right.

"John Gage! What are you doing here? Does J.R. play for the Cougars?" The diminutive blond put as much surprise into her voice as she could.

"Oh my goodness, how clumsy of me. Here let me help. So how have you been doing? We haven't talked since that day at the beach. Are you still working at the fire station?"

Working at the fire station? That makes Johnny sound like a janitor. Joanne's big sister instinct kicked in. That woman is acting just too surprised. She'd seen Estelle eyeing Johnny earlier like a cat stalking an unsuspecting mouse. This one will bear watching. Roy smiled indulgently as the woman attempted to help scoop the popcorn out of Johnny's lap. Obviously her spouse was going to be of no use. He was falling for the 'clumsy, helpless' ploy hook, line and sinker.

Estelle resembled an excited sparrow, hovering and brushing against Johnny who smiled half-heartedly and gave up any attempt to watch the game. Joanne grew impatient.

"Johnny, for heaven's sake, just stand up. The birds and squirrels will take care of the popcorn that falls under the bleachers, and it will keep the butter stains off your jeans." Joanne shook her head at Johnny, even as she smiled inside.

Gage took Joanne's advice and stood, allowing the popcorn to fall to the ground. Estelle withdrew her hands in disappointment. She shot a sideways glance at Joanne wondering if she'd done that on purpose.

"Uh, excuse me, I'm gonna go see if I can...uh...clean up my hands a little bit." Now Johnny had two reasons to leave the stands.

"Bring one back for me too, Junior," Roy told him.

"Huh? One what?"

"You're going to replace the lady's popcorn and buy yourself a hot dog, right?"

Figuring that was the safest way to accomplish his mission, Johnny nodded. "Uh...sure. Right. Don't go away, Estelle, I'll be right back."

Estelle gave him a melting smile and moved to sit a few feet away from Roy and Joanne. She hoped that when he came back, Johnny would join her instead of the DeSotos. This way he would be forced to choose.

"Do you suppose he'll find J.R. and Jennifer?" Joanne whispered to Roy.

"Most likely. They'll come back pouting after a lecture from Johnny, and I'll have a hot dog. And Johnny's gonna pay for it." Roy beamed.

"Do you know you can be devious?" Joanne looked at her husband with new respect.

"I've known Johnny for twelve years. I knew he would want to be the one to go after those two, and that he wouldn't want us to know that's what he was doing."

"Yeah, but asking for that hot dog was a streak of brilliance. I hope he brings me one. I'm starved."

"If he doesn't, you can have half of mine."

Mrs. DeSoto snuggled up against Mr. DeSoto and turned her eyes back to the game. Sometimes having Johnny around was darned convenient.

************************

J.R.'s circuitous route to the Rover brought him there only moments ahead of Jennifer. It seemed he had no more than opened the door and hopped in before Jen climbed in beside him.

"We don't have much time," she murmured against his lips as she proceeded to waste none, pulling the unprotesting young man down with her out of view.

In the close confines of the back seat, the panting and moaning seemed loud, but was the only sound for several minutes as the couple sought better use of their mouths than conversation.

"I've missed you so much, Jen," J.R. told her finally before lowering his head once more, his lips blazing a path of tiny kisses down the side of her face and neck. His hands caressed her back beneath the cheerleading costume and wandered lower.

Jen was grateful for the timesaving snaps on J.R.'s western cut shirt that allowed quick access to his smooth firm chest. The tanned flesh turned to goose bumps and he shivered as she ran her slender hands over the well-defined muscles. "Mmmm, you feel so good."

"You too, Love," he responded, forgetting about the time and place and the fact that they would soon be missed.

Jennifer slid her hands around to caress his back beneath the shirt and caught his lips in a searing kiss. J.R. thought his heart would pound right out of his chest. Why should we wait another nineteen months? Why should we wait another nineteen days? What if we're careful, use protection? Nobody would have to know...

Jennifer's hands set him on fire as they explored. "I want you so bad, Jen," J.R. whispered hoarsely, his breathing ragged. The answering desire in the violet eyes mirrored his own. Surely just this once...? J.R. shifted position.

A sudden rush of cool air filled the Rover delivering a rude shock to the entangled twosome.

"All right, everybody out of the pool." The flash of anger in Johnny's eyes didn't match the humorous tone of his words. Before he jerked open the door of the Land Rover, he saw enough to know that they'd gone way beyond what was permitted in the agreement. Even from a distance the steamy windows indicated what was happening inside.

Jennifer sat up gasping, her startled violet eyes meeting Johnny's angry brown ones, her cheeks turning a bright pink. Had they blown it for good this time?

"If you listen, you can hear your squad leading cheers without you. I suggest you join them...now!" Johnny averted his eyes as Jennifer adjusted her clothing and smoothed her hair then tore off across the parking lot like a person possessed.

J.R. started to follow, but found a hand in the center of his chest effectively halting him. "Not you."

The younger Gage stared distainfully at the hand, so like his own, that rested now where Jennifer's delicate fingers caressed only moments before. His shirt, untucked and still unbuttoned hung to the sides like a limp curtain. This time Johnny didn't back down.

"At what point in time do you plan to start acting like a man instead of an irresponsible boy?"

Johnny's scathing words added fuel to J.R.'s growing anger. The younger Gage was wrong, and he knew it, but he'd be darned if he'd be scolded like a wayward child.

J.R. refastened the snaps on his shirt and proceeded to tuck in the tails. "Nothing happened. Can't you just trust us?"

"Apparently not! You two gave your word...no being alone together until she's eighteen. Doesn't that mean anything to you? Were you just making promises you had no intention of keeping?" Johnny's face, a mask of pure anger, held no trace of sympathy.

"Of course not! It's just...harder than we thought. We want to be together so bad." J.R. turned away from his father, resting his hands on the hood of the Rover.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. It's harder than you thought." His father's voice, dripping with sarcasm, rose a few decibels. "You'd better start thinking with something above your waist. You're putting everything in jeopardy here, not just your love for Jennifer, but my...our friendship with the DeSoto's and our careers. This is your final warning, J.R..."

"Oh stuff it, Dad!" J.R. spun around angrily to face Johnny. "You think you have all the answers! Well you don't! You don't understand at all what it feels like to want somebody so much, and to be the only one that can't be with his girlfriend..." He trailed off, realizing that he'd just given away someone else's secret.

The senior Gage grabbed his head in frustration then gestured widely. "Dammit, J.R., doesn't anything sink into your stubborn thick skull? She's seventeen! Legally she's still a child."

"She's not a child! She knows what she's doing...and so do I!" J.R., face suffused with red, balled his hands into fists, tensed and ready to strike.

Johnny responded in kind, his clenched fists also at the ready. "She is a child! She's underage!" he yelled. "Jennifer is still in high school, still out there leading cheers, still looking forward to the prom and...and homecoming, and graduation! You can't deprive her of that. I won't let you!" Johnny unclenched his fists and clutched J.R.'s arms in a grip of steel, his fingers bruising as they bit into his son's flesh.

The younger man twisted from his grasp. "You can't stop me." J.R. hissed, past all reason in his anger. "I'm moving out tonight. I'm finished being 'Daddy's boy'. If we have to, Jen and I will...elope."

"You can't mean that," Johnny whispered, aghast. He stared at the determined, defiant set of J.R.'s jaw and the stubborn glint in the young man's eyes. "NO!" Unwilling to do violence to his son, John Gage drove his fist into the door of the Rover, hearing a satisfying BANG! He didn't flinch at the searing pain that exploded in his hand...he welcomed it. Perhaps it would serve to awaken him up from this nightmare. In fury he turned to J.R. and, with a rapid motion, pinned him roughly against the side of the vehicle. "Elope? Are you out of your mind?!!" he roared.

"You don't know what it's like!" J.R. yelled back. "You don't understand the way I feel! You don't know anything!"

"I don't know? I don't understand? Boy, just how in the hell do you think you got here?!! You ain't no Cabbage Patch Kid! Your mama was Jennifer's age when you were born, and so was I. I...know...exactly ...how...it...feels!" Johnny punctuated each word with a finger in the middle of J.R.'s chest, ignoring the pain that radiated from his hand all the way up his arm.

"So what makes you think you're so much better than me, that you can lecture me on my behavior? It doesn't sound like you did any better, Daddy!" Like the last time, J.R. sneeringly threw Johnny's paternity back in his face.

Johnny's eyes narrowed to mere slits and his voice grew deadly quiet. "I made a terrible mistake, ruined a girl's life, hurt a lot of people because I gave in to those same feelings. Is that what you want for Jennifer? Is it? If you're so selfish that you want to alienate her from her parents, throw away her reputation, throw away her decency and self-respect so that you can act on your feelings, then...to hell with it! Go ahead and move out."

The elder Gage walked away from J.R., his shoulders set in anger, teeth clenched, every muscle betraying rage.

J.R.'s eyes widened in fear. Is this it? I didn't think he would actually tell me to leave. Where will I go? Hell, I'm not ready for marriage. Neither is Jen. What do I do now? I told him I was moving out. That was sure smart! I can't provide for Jennifer yet. And I...I don't want to lose my dad. I don't really want to leave home...Home!...the ranch. It is home. Mom! How do I get out of this?

"J.R. Gage, what have you gone and done this time?" Marnie McGuire's words echoed through the young man's brain. "When will you learn to curb that temper and think before you speak?"

"Mom, what am I gonna do now? I've told my father I'm moving out...and I have no place to go. And...I don't want to leave."

"J.R.," he could still hear her voice as if it were yesterday. "John Roderick, first things first. You go apologize for shooting off your mouth. Then you make things right, and don't come home before you do!"

"Yes, Ma'am," he whispered to himself. His feet as heavy as lead weights, J.R. caught a trembling lower lip between his teeth and began to cross the parking lot as if trudging to his own execution. Humble pie, the thought came unbidden to his brain. Now I know what it tastes like.

His father would soon reach the bleachers. "Dad!" J.R. yelled, "wait!"

Johnny stood with his back rigid, facing the field, waiting. The silence between the two men seemed to last forever, the football game and the crowd a million miles away. There remained just father and son and the words that stood between them like a brick wall. After what felt like eternity, Johnny heard the sound of sneakers scuffing on asphalt as J.R. crossed the space that separated them and came to a stop behind his father.

"I'm sorry, Dad," J.R. said in a shaky voice. "I wouldn't really elope with Jennifer. I...I didn't think. I don't want to move out. It just hurts so bad sometimes, wanting to hold her, wanting to... Sometimes it feels like she'll never be eighteen. I love her so much."

Johnny nodded and returned to the car, the immediate crisis over. The Rover swayed as he leaned heavily against the side, running his hands though his hair. This was as close as he'd ever come to hitting his son. He knew it was the closest he'd come to being hit too. J.R. unclenched his fists when Johnny told him to go ahead and move out.

"Hot dog?" Roy asked, approaching the two Gages. In his hands he held a small plastic tray laden with hot dogs, potato chips and soda pop. When Jennifer came back alone, Roy knew something was seriously amiss. He could see from his vantage point in the bleachers the two men exchanging angry words. Not wanting to interrupt or interfere, he purchased the food and waited until the storm blew over. Roy gulped and winced; he hadn't waited long enough to miss the end of J.R.'s apology.

"Thanks, Partner," Johnny said, scooping up the offering, striving for some semblance of normalcy. J.R. hesitated, sure at first it would stick in his throat, then he too took a hot dog.

"They aren't as good as Davey's Dogs, but they'll do in a pinch," Roy commented.

The elder Gage raised his half-eaten hot dog in salute and reached for a soda. "Iwwf goodf," Johnny commented, his mouth full as usual.

"Ywwr wiit, ib iwwf goodf," J.R. confirmed, his usual table manners falling by the wayside as he wiped the mustard from his chin. He looked up to see both men staring at him. "Whub?"

Johnny smirked and continued chewing. He reached up to take another bite. The pain, unnoticed earlier during his confrontation with J.R., now returned with a vengeance. "OW! OHF SHIB!" The senior Gage dropped the remainder of the hot dog and cradled his right hand against his chest.

Roy put down the tray in a hurry. "Let me see, Johnny." Things were truly back to normal.

As Roy went into paramedic mode, examining Johnny's raw and bleeding knuckles, J.R. grabbed the tackle box that served as a First Aid kit from the back of the Rover. He felt guilty, remembering the hasty words that made Johnny smash his fist into the Rover. A slight indentation on the door gave mute testimony to the rage to which his father was driven by J.R.'s selfishness. That should have been his face...but he was glad it wasn't. Johnny took for himself the pain that rightfully belonged to his son...again.

"Well, Junior, you did it this time. You either broke it or sprained it. J.R., you wanna get him to..."

A general outcry from the crowd and a chorus of screams interrupted Roy's sentence. All three men, the food and Johnny's hand forgotten, raced back toward the field. They managed to part the crowd and push their way through. The Cougars' coach, relieved at the sight of the two men he knew to be paramedics, told the rest of the team to return to the bench. Crumpled on the ground, unconscious, a teenage boy rested with his leg and head in an unnatural position.

"Did you send somebody to call for the paramedics and an ambulance?" Johnny asked automatically. At the afirming nod, he began to look for injuries other than the obvious ones while Roy searched for a pulse and checked respirations.

The coach swallowed his rising gorge and managed to squeeze out a few words, "Is he...?"

"He's alive," Roy answered.

"Will he be all right?"

Johnny shook his head. "I don't know; broken right femur, broken clavacle...and it looks like his neck is broken."

"Oh my...oh no, how will I tell his parents?"

"They aren't here?" Roy looked at the coach in surprise.

"They went out to celebrate his sister's birthday. I persuaded him that the game was more important..." The coach knelt beside the young athlete and buried his face in his hands.

"Tom, right now you need to contact this boy's parents." Roy put a hand on the shoulder of the man that coached his son through football and baseball for four years.

Nodding, the coach rose and walked toward the athletic office, skirting the crowd to avoid their anxious questions.

The parents of the other boys ran out to find their sons, needing the reassurance of contact. Estelle reached out for Kathy and hugged her tight. Christopher and Dave Konnitsky loped over to find out first hand what had happened and offer their assistance. Jennifer sought her mother's comforting embrace, but let her eyes wander to the tall young man on the field who stared back at her with sad eyes. The news, then, was not going to be good.

The opposing coach came to offer his support and inform the referee that his team would be leaving. Miss Brody held Tammy Payne and another cheerleader whose parents were not present. It was a tragedy for Carson City High School and one that would leave emotional scars for some time to come.

Squad 99 screamed onto the field followed moments later by an ambulance. Roy met the paramedics as they hurried to gather their equipment and pulled a backboard from the rear compartment before jogging over to join the group huddled around the unfortunate football player.

The senior Gage used the biophone to contact Rampart while the paramedics treated the patient and prepared him for transport. Dr. Brackett would be waiting.

"Burt, I'm going in with you," Johnny told one of 99's medics, who nodded assent.

"Get your hand looked at while you're there, Johnny," Roy reminded him. Burt glanced at the two men, a question in his expression, but remained unenlightened. Johnny merely nodded and assisted one-handed in helping load the gurney into the waiting ambulance.

J.R. watched the emergency vehicles leave Code R with his father and felt bereft. As Roy returned to Joanne, the younger Gage felt a touch on his arm. Jennifer stood before him, tears streaming down her face. She reached for him and, mindful of her parents nearby, he pulled her into his arms for a quick hug.

"What happened to Uncle Johnny's hand?" she asked him.

"I made him mad," J.R. choked out the answer.

Jennifer gasped. "He hit you?" The concept was unthinkable.

"He hit the Rover," J.R. admitted. "He could have hit me. I sure gave him a good reason. I just hope his hand isn't broken."

"J.R., what happened after I left?" Eyes that reminded him of dew-drenched violets stared anxiously up into his. How can I tell her what I threatened to do? "Not now, Jen," he evaded, hoping she would just let it drop. One glance was enough to tell him she wouldn't. Unexpectedly, rescue came from Jennifer's father.

"Let's go home," Roy spoke quietly, shepherding his family toward the parking lot.

"I'll see you later," J.R. informed the group, now grown to include Chris DeSoto, Dave Konnitsky, and the Riley twins. "I've got to stop by the hospital and pick up Dad." The others didn't know about Johnny's hand, and his son was in no mood to enlighten them.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Roy pointedly told J.R. It was a summons, and the younger Gage knew it. He nodded, unable to meet anyone's eyes at the moment, and walked back to the Rover, head down and shoulders slumped.

As Roy and his family reached the station wagon, the field, now nearly deserted, went dark except for a single security light in the parking lot. Solemn students lined up at the pay phone outside the gymnasium to call for an early ride home; some brushed away tears or wept openly. Jennifer knew the evening held nothing good and wisely remained silent on the way home.

************************

Johnny hissed and sucked in his breath as Mike Morton examined his damaged hand already grotesquely swollen. He could tell by Morton's face that any minute now the question would spill out, "Gage, how did you do this? I thought you were off duty."

Well, ya see, doc, he could imagine himself saying, I got so danged mad at hearing my son threaten to elope with my best friend's daughter that I damnear put my fist through the door of my car. Oh yeah. That'll get me out of a lecture.

"Well, John, nothing seems to be broken, but I'm gonna send you to x-ray just to make sure. There could be a hairline fracture. Luckily you won't need stitches; a bandage should be sufficient. But you'll have to take it easy with this hand for a few days." Johnny nodded. "How did this happen, anyway?"

J.R. negotiated the parking lot at the school and turned out onto the highway. Johnny would probably still be in the examining room when he got to Rampart. I wonder how much Mr. D knows? Will Jen tell him what we did? what I almost did? He sniffed to hold back the tears welling up behind stinging eyelids while waiting for a traffic light to change. I can't believe I almost ruined everything. What am I gonna do? We can't be alone together as it is. Now I'll be lucky to ever see her again. I don't think I can take much more. This is so unfair.

The Land Rover pulled up to the back door at Rampart and J.R. exited slowly, reluctantly from behind the wheel. As he expected, his father wasn't in sight when he arrived at the ER's admissions desk. He didn't recognize the nurse standing behind it, quietly giving information to the family of a patient. After a few moments he wandered down to the base station where the more familiar Dixie McCall stood chatting with 99's paramedics. Guiltily J.R. remembered the young football player.

"J.R., how are you doing? Your dad will be down from x-ray in a little bit." Dixie was at a loss to understand the utterly miserable look on the young man's face as he prepared to prop up the wall in her hallway.

With uncertain steps J.R. approached the base station. "Hi, Miss McCall, guys," he nodded to the paramedics. An HT hanging from one of the men's wrist beeped and queried, "Squad 99, what is your status?"

"That's our cue," one of them said. He waved at Dixie, slapped J.R. on the shoulder and took off for the exit, his partner hurrying in his wake.

"Your dad isn't hurt bad, J.R. What's got you looking like you lost your best friend?" Dixie leaned over the desk and raised one eyebrow. Johnny's son obviously struggled to maintain his composure.

The younger Gage considered for a moment pouring out his heart to the head nurse, but decided against it. He settled on, "Dad and I had a disagreement."

"Oh. Sounds pretty serious. Did this disagreement end up with him trying to destroy his right hand?" Johnny's temper does get the best of him at times. J.R. confirmed her hypothesis with a gloomy nod. "And...now you're feeling guilty?" Another nod, but hesitant. Hmm. There's more to this than a simple disagreement. "Wanna talk about it? I'm a good listener, remember?"

"No offense, Miss McCall, but I'd rather not talk about it." J.R. lowered his eyelids and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"This wouldn't involve a certain young lady whose father used to be a paramedic, would it?"

The young man's head snapped up sharply and he stared at the nurse with his mouth slightly open.

He was saved from making a reply when Dr. Brackett approached the desk with a chart and some instructions for the nurse. Johnny, his hand bandaged, joined them a moment later.

"Hey, doc," the elder Gage said when Brackett turned to walk away, "how's the kid?"

"Not good," Kel Brackett replied. "He's on his way to surgery after we get the x-rays back. Luckily he has a consent form on file so we don't have to wait for his parents to get here to begin treatment. Any sign of them yet, Dix?"

"Not yet."

"Is he going to be paralyzed, Dr. Brackett?" J.R. asked.

Kel Brackett looked at the floor before answering the young man. "Probably," he admitted. "Say, Johnny, what did you do to your hand?"

J.R. held his breath waiting for his parent's answer. "I found out that I can't punch my way through solid steel," Johnny joked, watching his son exhale in relief at the evasion. "Ready?" he asked. In response, J.R. held up the keys to the Rover. "Story of my life," Johnny mumbled. "I'll see ya, Dix, doc." On the way out they passed a trio hurrying toward the admitting desk. At a guess it was the football player's family. Johnny breathed a sigh of gratitude that it wasn't his boy laying so still in the treatment room, then put his arm around J.R.'s shoulders. "Let's go, son," he said softly.

ON TO PART TWO