After the Exam
By JoAnn Stuart
This story is a continuation of the events in "The Exam," which originally aired on Saturday, November 13, 1976.
Rated T for language.
"After The Exam" ©1999 JoAnn Stuart. "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. The settings and characters are fictitious, even when a real name may be used. Any similarity to actual persons, living or deceased, or to actual events is purely coincidental and is not intended to suggest that the events described actually occurred.
My deepest and most sincere gratitude goes to my editor, Brenda, for all the time, hard work, and hand-holding she gave to me and the story. Thank you also to those busy medical and firefighting professionals who so generously shared their expertise. My thanks also go to CJ Smith for all the work involved in publishing and hosting this story. Originally published on Station 51.
Saturday, November 13:
Station 51
"Aw, man, I cannot, just cannot believe it!" Johnny slammed the cover of the book closed and shoved his chair back from the table.
"Believe it, Junior. Believe it." Roy glanced up from the manual he was reading and watched Johnny stalk over to the coffeepot. "Hey, bring me a cup, will ya?"
"I mean, how could a computer eat the exam?" Johnny banged the cups on the counter. "Computers are always screwing everything up. Remember that mess with my credit card? Why don't they just give us a field test or something?" Johnny banged the coffeepot back onto the burner. "I really hate paper exams, filling out all those little dots, writing all those essays. That kind of test doesn't really show what you can do or what you know anyway." Johnny returned to the table with two cups of coffee, one of which he set down before Roy none too carefully.
"Hey! Watch it! You're getting coffee all over my books!" Irritation flashed over Roy as he dashed over to the sink to grab a towel.
"Sorry," Johnny offered insincerely as he resumed his seat at the table, brushing ineffectively at the spilled coffee. "I was going to go camping during these next two days off. Now I'm going to be stuck indoors reviewing all this stuff again."
"Just leave it, you're making it worse." Roy snapped, slapping at Johnny's hand with the towel. Sometimes his partner could be really juvenile. Right now he was on a roll, as far as Roy was concerned.
"Well, excuse me!" Johnny made a face into his coffee cup.
Cap had been reading the paper on the opposite side of the table until the minor altercation arose between Roy and Johnny. "Hey John, why don't you just take the manuals with you? There's no reason why you couldn't study up in the mountains. In fact, it might even do you some good. They say you learn better when you're more relaxed." Cap peered over the top of the paper at Johnny to see how the suggestion would be taken.
Johnny slapped his hand on his chest. "You think I'm tense? Me!" he exclaimed in a mock-injured tone.
Cap's only reply was a raised eyebrow.
The dark-haired paramedic stared at his coffee cup for a moment, pondering the idea. His face brightening, he looked up. "Yeah, why not? That's a great idea! Thanks, Cap!" Turning to Roy he enthusiastically invited, "Hey Roy, you want to come, too?"
"No, I don't think so. I promised Joanne I'd do some things around the house and we've already made plans for a family outing tomorrow. I'll be able to get in enough study time before Tuesday." 'Besides, you're driving me nuts right now, Junior.' Roy smiled indulgently both at his partner and at his private joke.
Johnny had renewed his efforts to persuade Roy just as the tones sounded: "Squad 51. Possible heart attack. 422 East Harper, Apt. 15B. 4-2-2 East Harper, Apt. 1-5-B. Cross-street Lexington. Time out 15:56."