Helping Hand
Thanks to Janet!
A/N: Revised due to advice from a review. Thanks, smithcrafter!
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Halfway through 51s shift - Ten Minutes Ago:
When the call to a multiple care pileup on a two-lane road came in, it was turning out to be a hot day in L.A., Cap acknowledged the tones with his usual statement of, "Station 51, 10-4, KMG 365."
As soon as the words left his Captain's mouth, Johnny Gage, paramedic, quickly looked up the location on the wall map then jumped into the passenger side of the Squad. Roy Desoto, the senior partner, jumped into the driver's side. They pulled out of the station with siren and lights on full blast.
Engine 51 was slightly slower than the Squad and was trailing it at quite a distance after slowing for traffic stops and lights. But this didn't worry Johnny or Roy. They knew that their crewmates were just being careful with the big rig and would be at the scene to help with the accident as soon as they could get there.
On the way, the heat of the day caused Johnny to roll down his window to circulate air into the cab of the truck. He could feel sweat trickling down his face and chest. He took off his helmet and fanning himself with it. When it got too heavy, he laid it on the seat beside him.
"Man, Roy, it is hot today."
Roy just grunted a reply, concentrating on the directions to the scene of the accident that Johnny called out periodically.
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Halfway through 51s shift - Two Minutes Ago:
When they got to the scene, it was a massacre. Thirteen cars were smashed together in a conglomeration of blood, metal and tears. Roy immediately got out, helmet already on, and opened up his side of the truck for his share of the medical supplies. He jogged to the shoulder of the road to confer with another squad member from 16s and some of the police officers that were directing traffic around the scene.
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Halfway through 51s shift - One Minute Ago:
Johnny was still at the truck getting the rest of the supplies when he remembered his helmet. He carefully laid his equipment on the ground and opened the passenger side door to pick up the helmet when he heard the sound of squealing tires. He barely had a chance to look up when a green truck crossed the police line around the accident and slammed head-on into the front of the Squad. The accident happened so fast that Johnny couldn't respond quickly enough to get out of the way.
The Squad was pushed back forcefully, causing the door to open wide and bounce back toward Johnny. The door slammed shut just as Johnny was pulling his hand and helmet out. Johnny was spun around by his trapped hand and hit his forehead against the top of the doorframe hard enough to ring his bell
Roy DeSoto, his senior partner, could only watch in horror as his friend was trapped by their own emergency vehicle.
For a moment, Roy froze as he watched Johnny convulsively clutch at the door that trapped his bleeding hand. Then some reason came back to Roy and he dropped everything he was carrying on the side of the road and ran to his partner. When Roy got there, Johnny's left hand was trapped between the doorframe and the door, his helmet wedged down near the bottom. The helmet was the only thing that saved Johnny's hand from being severed from his wrist at the moment of impact.
Johnny's pain was clearly visible on his face. Reluctant tears were welling up in his eyes and falling down his cheeks. He held onto the door with his right hand to keep from falling to his knees from the shock and agony of the accident. His vision was graying out and the scenery around him was wavering in and out.
Trapped, Johnny did the only thing he knew to do. He called frantically for Roy.
"Roy!"
Roy cringed at the anguish in the voice of his friend. He quickly stood beside Johnny and put a hand on Johnny's free right arm for support in standing. Roy quickly took Johnny's vitals as best he could and relayed them to 16s and asked them to call for another squad for help. He let 16s take care of the driver of the green truck.
As far as Roy was concerned, Squad 51 went out of service the moment Johnny became trapped.
Roy could distantly hear their Engine 51 pulling in, but all of his attention was focused on Johnny.
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Halfway through 51s shift - Now
Seconds after the Engine pulled in, Johnny's breathing became erratic as the pain increased in his hand and fingers. Swelling was beginning to cramp his joints and skin, making them push against the metal of the truck. Blood was trickling down the doorframe of the red truck, almost matching the colors together. He could almost feel the individual pieces of his metacarpal bones and phalanges.
Johnny felt faint and he staggered and fell against the door, putting more pressure on his hand. He gave a little whimper of pain and tried to pull himself back up but his strength seemed to be gone from his lean muscles. "Roy!" he whispered.
Roy mentally kicked himself for not steadying his partner in time, moved behind Johnny, and leaned on the body of the truck.
"Lean back against me, Junior. I've got you. We'll get you out. You'll be fine in no time." Roy tried to believe everything he was saying, but it was possible that this might be a career ending injury. Paramedics needed their hands for the procedures that they performed in the field.
Roy pulled Johnny back until his back was resting against Roy's chest. He wrapped an arm around Johnny's waist and put the other one on his left should to stabilize the arm.
He tried not to think about Johnny's hand or his career or give a hint to it to Johnny.
"Roy," was all Johnny could get through clenched teeth. Every few breaths he was whispering his partner's name.
"I've got you," was Roy's constant mantra in response to his name. "I've got you, Junior. Just try to relax and lean on me." Roy's hands tightened on Johnny. He looked up to see Chet and Marco being directed toward them as Cap and Mike started on the accident scene.
Chet was getting out the Ajax and the K-12 after glancing their way at the Squad.
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Squad 16 and Squad 45 were left to deal with the pile-up on the road and the driver of the green truck that slammed into Johnny. Squad 11 was called to handle Johnny's case.
Squad 11 showed up with lights flashing and sirens blaring. The two men of that Squad knew Johnny, heard about the horrific accident and were anxious to see his condition for themselves.
Roy was holding Johnny up with rapidly waning strength. Johnny may not look big or heavy, but he was starting to wear down Roy's reserves. Roy refused to let his friend go, even if his own legs and arms were starting to tremble from the strain.
Roy saw his Captain and Mike milling around the accident and glancing their way every once in a while, concern on their faces. Chet and Marco were headed their way.
"Won't be long, now, Johnny. Chet and Marco will get you out of here and to the hospital."
Johnny stopped his continuous 'Roy's' and only whimpered, not able to talk past the pain in his hand. His eyes stayed glued on the door and his mangled hand.
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Squad 11 was quiet when they approached the truck with Johnny. They made sure to speak quietly to Roy.
"How's he doing?" whispered Samson as he laid out all of his medical equipment.
Roy shook his head. "Not good. Pulse is rapid and weak. His breathing is quick and erratic. And about two minutes ago I touched his face and his skin was becoming moist and cool."
Samson nodded, "Shock from the trauma."
Roy only nodded as Johnny began to slide down the door again. Roy pulled him back up before Johnny could pull on his trapped hand. Roy lifted until he got a better hold of his friend.
Samson was talking softly to Rampart to keep Johnny from becoming agitated.
Collins, Samson's paramedic partner, stood by Johnny with an IV pack in his hand. He was waiting for orders from the hospital to get started. At his feet was the 100 oxygen tank.
Collins whispered to Roy, "You should let one of your crew take over. You look beat."
Roy shook his head. "No. I've got him."
"Did he hit his head," called Samson from his place a small distance away with the biophone.
"I don't know. Johnny, did you hit your head?"
At first, Roy didn't think he would get an answer. Slowly Johnny's eyes focused and he slurred out a sentence. "Yeah . . . on the top . . . of the door . . . ," he let his head drop forward. "The pain is bad, Roy . . . real bad."
Roy knew what a possible concussion meant. No painkiller for Johnny until after he was received at the hospital and examined by a doctor.
Damn.
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Johnny was finding it difficult to concentrate on the world around him. The only focus he had was the pain radiating from his left hand. It was his complete and total universe. He could vaguely hear Roy's voice and feel his body heat as Roy held him up, but he didn't wonder or think on it. They were partners. That's what partners did for each other.
He did get a little shock when the prick of an IV was felt on his right arm. He swept his eyes away from his left hand to see the needle in his right arm. He always hated needles. He felt a mask go over his face and felt the blast of pure oxygen going into his lungs. Johnny made a feeble attempt to push the thing away only to be thwarted by Roy's hand.
Johnny suddenly looked up and wondered at the beautiful colors of the cars involved in the accident. There was a green one and a blue one and a yellow one and a . . . His thoughts trailed off.
It really was a beautiful, but hot, day. The pain seemed to fade away and the beautiful colors turned dark.
Johnny's head dropped forward, his eyes completely closed and his breathing slowed slightly.
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"Hey, watch out," said Collins. He reached out to give Roy a hand as Johnny finally passed out from a combination of pain, shock and blood loss.
Chet and Marco, their fellow station mates, came up bristling with tools from the Engine.
"What we got, Roy?" asked Chet. He placed the Ajax and the K-12 on the ground and looked over the doorframe to the Squad.
Roy took his attention from Johnny to look at Chet. "Hand caught in the door. You're going to have to be careful how you pop this door open. It could rip off his fingers."
Chet reached out, put a hand on Johnny's head, and then turned to the problem at hand. "Maybe we can just cut the frame around the hand. That might work better than popping the whole door."
Roy agreed. That would be better. "Do what you can, Chet. He needs to get out of here as soon as possible."
"Man, it would have to be Gage. Again! He'll have a whale of an excuse to talk to the nurses at Rampart now. Probably get them all to sign his cast afterwards."
Roy gave a small grin. "Yep." The grin was part amusement at the truth of Chet's statement and relief that help was finally there.
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The procedure that Chet and Marco performed was delicate. They carefully cut around the trapped and bloodied hand of their friend.
Chet did the cutting with a K-12 with a metal cutting blade, while Marco put one hand on Johnny's arm just about his hand to steady it for the course of action. Marco's other hand was steadying Chet as he worked.
Every once in a while, Marco or Chet would stop and murmur an encouragement to the unconscious paramedic and Roy.
It took them almost ten minutes to complete their mission. The metal of the widow frame dropped to the ground and Johnny's trapped hand swung free. And once it did, Johnny slid down again and Roy gripped him in a bear hug to keep him from hitting the ground face first. He then slowly lowered Johnny to the ground with the help of Marco, careful of Johnny's hand and his head.
Exhausted, Roy sank down to the ground next to the younger man. He gulped in huge breaths of air to cool himself and regain his strength. He let Samson and Collins take care of his friend as he watched from the ground.
Samson and Collins immediately swarmed all over Johnny, taking vitals and checking for shock and concussion. Bandages were being used to try to stop the blood now flowing freely from the busted hand.
The men from 11s were just finishing up with the orders from the hospital when the ambulance pulled up.
"Roy, you want to ride in with him?" asked Samson.
Roy looked over at the torn squad truck. The only other ride he would have would be the Engine or go with Collins in Squad 11.
"Yeah, I want to go with him. He might wake up on the way and I want to be there when he does."
Samson nodded. He knew that these two paramedics were really close. There were stories all over the county of their tight friendship and partnership. Samson knew the answer to the question before he even asked.
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Johnny didn't wake up in the ambulance and Samson looked over at Roy. Even though being unconscious was keeping Johnny from feeling any pain, it wasn't a good sign.
Samson checked the fluid in the IV and pulled up the bandages slightly to check on the bleeding from the hand. He quickly put on new bandages over the old to soak up more of the blood. It gave Roy a front row seat to see the damage to his friend's hand.
Roy just breathed in deeply and put a hand on his partner's shoulder. The hand was now swollen and discolored, looking like a black, blue and red beach ball.
Roy looked at it and prayed.
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The hospital was a whirlwind as Johnny was transferred from the ambulance to an examination room with Dixie and Dr. Brackett. Roy was stopped at the door and told to go to the waiting room. Samson went in to help with the vitals.
Even with the swelling and the possible concussion, Johnny was rushed to surgery with one of the best orthopedic doctors that Rampart had to offer, Dr. Simmons.
Samson came out and gave Roy a thumps up. Roy tipped his head in acknowledgement as Collins picked Samson up and they left on their next call.
Roy asked to use the nurses' phone and called his wife to tell her about Johnny's surgery. He promised to keep her updated on his condition. They both decided to keep Johnny's accident a secret from the children until Roy found out more information.
His wife made a kissing sound over the phone, "I love you, Roy. And tell Johnny that I love him too and hope he gets better soon." Roy went back to the waiting room alone with a glow in his heart from talking to his wife. They still had it after all these years of marriage.
He wasn't worried about being alone for the moment. As soon as the accident scene was cleaned up, Cap and the crew would be here to wait with him for word on Johnny.
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Hoses were charged and ready for a wash down for gasoline on the road at the accident.
But Captain Stanley was not a happy man. His junior paramedic was in the hospital undergoing who-knows-what and the scene of the accident was taking forever to clean up. The paramedics had done their job and all the hurt or dead were gone from the scene. The only things left were the crushed vehicles and gasoline and oil puddles.
Mike Stoker was on the gauges as Chet and Marco washed down the cars and the road for gasoline and other flammable materials.
Meanwhile, Cap was over at the torn Squad, trying his best to convince the driver of the wrecker truck to take the Squad for service first instead of the mangled cars on the road. He wasn't having much luck.
As he watched the overweight man work his trade, Cap's thoughts wandered to his junior paramedic. He hoped to God that the doctors of Rampant knew what they were doing when it came to delicate operations like the one Johnny needed on his hand.
Cap would miss the clumsy, funny, frenetic, first-rate paramedic if he were forced to quit the crew at Station 51.
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It was almost an hour before the crew of Engine 51 trouped into the waiting room to be with Roy. Each man greeted Roy gently as they passed by to get a seat.
Dixie had already been twice to see Roy with updates on the surgery. So far, it was going very well. Better than expected.
Roy relayed this information to the men and sighs of relief were heard in little explosions of breaths around the waiting room.
Roy just hoped it was true. He knew he could live without Johnny as his partner and that Johnny would live without being a paramedic. But he didn't know if they would be able to get on with their lives.
How would that work? Would Johnny still be the friend that he was now? Would they drift apart if they didn't see each other at work for their shifts? Would they still be as close if they weren't partners?
Roy hoped he wouldn't find out today.
Not like this.
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Marco and Chet sat together in the waiting room and watched Roy out of the corners of their eyes.
"He's not taking this too good," remarked Chet in a whisper.
"No, my friend, I don't think he is. He's worried about Johnny's career and his friendship."
"What do you mean?" asked Chet. "Johnny will be back on his feet in no time and back to work. You can't keep that little snot down."
Marco shook his head sadly. "But it is his hand, my friend. Firemen and paramedics need their hands for their work. He may not have full use of it after this."
Chet demeanor got very quiet. "But he never stays down. He always bounces right back," he mused almost to himself. "He'll be back."
"I hope so, Chet. We all hope so."
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Cap sat down between Roy and Mike in the room. He looked over his senior paramedic and knew what he was thinking. Every man in the waiting room was thinking the same thing.
What if Johnny never recovered from this?
"He'll be fine, Roy. Just wait and see. Before you know it, he'll be back to work ranting on his current subject and driving you crazy." Cap patted Roy on the knee.
Roy nodded absently. "Sure, before I know it."
Mike leaned forward to look around his captain. "You did good out there, Roy. He'll be fine."
Roy shook his head. "No, Collins and Samson did their jobs. I just froze up and stood there like an idiot."
Cap sighed. Every time one of the team of paramedics got hurt, the other took the blame. "Listen, Roy. Someone had to help him stand. If he put any more pressure on that hand, it could have caused more damage. You did your part."
Roy's answer was interrupted by Dixie's arrival. "He's finished. The doctor sent him down to Recovery and he'll be there about an hour or so. Everything looks good. In fact, he's doing very well. Some healing time and some physical therapy and he'll be back to harassing you fellows in no time."
Chet yipped from his chair and Marco thanked God. Cap just nodded and Mike gave a small smile. Roy just felt his body go lax with relief.
"Can I see him?"
"I don't see why not. When he comes out of Recovery, he'll be put in room 616. You can wait there, I'm sure he won't wake up until then. Now, the doctor hasn't had a chance to talk to him yet, so he might be upset about his hand. Tell him that everything will be fine."
Roy was so happy he almost hugged Dixie. "Dix, could you call my wife and tell her the good news? I'll go find that room and wait for Johnny."
Joy couldn't begin to describe what Roy was feeling at that moment.
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The room was still when Johnny was wheeled in. Roy wasn't used to any room that his partner was in to be that still and quiet.
Roy was sitting in a chair and watched the transfer of his partner from the gurney to the bed. Johnny's eyes were cracked open, but nobody was home yet. Roy sighed and started the long wait for his friend to wake up.
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After two hours, Roy was studying the floor for something to do when he heard a small sound to his right. He looked up to see Johnny glaring at his left hand with a glint of tears in his eyes.
"It's going to be fine, Johnny. You'll be fine. The doctor did a good job on your hand. He's been by a few times, but you were still out of it."
Johnny turned to look at his partner of three years. Roy was good at what he did. He knew all the ins and outs of being a paramedic. If Roy said everything was going to be all right, then it was.
"All right, Roy," he whispered, his voice hoarse from the surgery. "When can I work?"
Roy laughed. "Not for a while, Junior. You have to have time to heal and then take some physical therapy to regain your range of motion." Roy got up and helped Johnny into a better position in the bed. Johnny looked a little groggy, but aware of his surroundings. The old Gage recuperative powers were kicking in.
Roy sat back down. Yeah, Johnny looked a little woozy, but basically coherent.
"Sorry."
Roy's eyebrows pulled together. "Sorry for what?"
"You'll be stuck with replacements for months."
Roy shrugged his shoulder. "That's all right. As long as you come back, that's fine with me. It wasn't your fault some guy had to look at the accident and ran the police line."
Johnny nodded. "Thanks for helping back at the accident."
Roy cleared his throat. Men didn't usually talk about their feelings and Johnny was getting dangerously close to cracking his carefully built shell. And then he thought about his phone call with his wife.
"I called my wife and . . . . Oh, I love you."
Johnny looked suspicious, his eyes at half-mast from the last bit of anesthesia. "You love me, Roy? Am I dreaming?"
"That's not what I meant," he swatted the air near Johnny's head. "I was on the phone with my wife and she told me to tell you she loved you. I just remembered."
Johnny's face lit up. "Really? Well, I love her, too. She's great. You tell her for me, O.K.?" Then Johnny got a sly look. "And I love you too, Roy."
More emotional stuff. This was almost Roy's quota for the day.
"O.K., Johnny. I'll tell her. And you keep your hands to yourself from now on in the locker room."
Johnny laughed softly and Roy was glad to hear it. It meant that Johnny was going to be all right, emotionally and physically.
"So I've got therapy, huh?"
Roy leaned back in the chair. "Yeah."
"Isn't that Miss Johnson?"
Roy rolled his eyes. Miss Johnson was a single, redheaded knock out of a woman. Johnny had been trying to get a date with her since she joined the hospital staff as a physical therapist.
"Yes, I believe so."
Johnny's face really got radiant and a crooked grin came to his face. "Oh, so I have physical therapy sessions with Miss Johnson. That's not too bad. Maybe something good will happen."
"The only good that's going to come of it is your hand getting better and you going back to work. She's not going to give you the time of day, let alone a date."
"Oh, Roy. You have such little faith in me and my charms. I'll have her eating out of my hand in no time."
Roy shook his head. It was no use to argue with Johnny when it came to the women of Rampart Hospital. Johnny just naturally assumed that every one of them was ready to go out on a date with him.
He let Johnny rant on about Miss Johnson for a while longer and then looked at his watch. It was time to go home.
"Look, Johnny, I'll be back tomorrow after my shift to see you. You behave yourself with the nurses . . . and Miss Johnson."
The crooked grin was back. "Oh, I will. I will."
Roy was to the door when Johnny called to him. Roy turned back.
"Thanks for the helping hand, Roy. I really appreciate it."
Roy smiled. "That's what partners do, Johnny."
The End