Through Rose Colored Glasses

by KillJoyHK

DISCLAIMER: Emergency!, and all of the characters involved are property of Mark VII Productions... except for the crew of Squad 5. They're mine! :)

No profit is realized from this work of fiction, nor is any expected. Any similarity to any persons, living or dead, is strictly coincidental.

For those of you who are as interested or involved in the fire service as I am, all of the call signs, unit identification, and locations are/were actual LA County locations, with two exceptions. You can PM me for info on my sources.


"Hey, hurry up Roy, you're gonna miss it!"

"Calm down, Junior… I'm here, I'm here."

"Guys, shhh! It's time for the countdown! Turn it up, Marco!"

"10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…Happy New Year!"

The men from Station 51 began to cheer and clap each other on the shoulder, welcoming the new year, and the bicentennial, 1976. From the apparatus bay, Sam Lanier's professional voice crackled over the loudspeaker, announcing the beginning of a new year for the LA County Fire Department.

"Time now is zero hours, January 1, 1976. Happy New Year. LA Clear, KMA 941."

Captain Stanley stood up and clapped his hands together. "Alright men, I think it's time we turned in and got some shuteye. Roy, if you're calling Joanne, you can use the phone in my office."

"Ah, thanks Cap, but I already handled it. I wanted Chris and Jenny to go to bed, so we pretended it was midnight at around 11:00," Roy explained.

"That's dumb, Roy. Don't your kids know how to look at a clock?" wheedled Chet.

"Sure they do, Chet. They even understand that it wasn't really midnight. They just know that when they wake up it will be 1976, and they got to start it an hour earlier," explained Roy.

"I dunno, Roy. That still sounds kinda dumb," Chet insisted to the chagrin of his shiftmates who were giving him disapproving frowns.

"Well, even if it is dumb as you insist, if you had that extra hour, you'd still be late for work and scrubbing the latrines," Roy countered , to the stifled guffaws of Marco and Johnny.

"All right, that's enough. Let's hit the sack, boys. Mike, you get the lights and check the doors, ok pal?" Cap called out as he headed out of the rec room towards the dorm.

"Ok, Cap," said Mike as he headed towards the office door. Just as he went to open the door to the office, it swung open, and Mike jumped back a bit, startled at this occurrence. Standing in the doorway was Chief McConnike.

"Sorry there, Stoker. Didn't mean to scare you. Happy New Year. Is Captain Stanley still awake?"

"Sure is, Chief. He's just getting in to the dorm. Come on back," invited Mike.

As the two men crossed the apparatus bay, a scuffle was heard coming from the dorm, and a shout rang out.

"OW! Beat it, Henry!"

Mike and the Chief trotted over to the dorm room door as it swung open, admitting Henry the beagle into the apparatus bay.

"Happy New Year, Henry! Guess you got couch duty tonight," joked McConnike, as he pushed the door open and entered the dorm.

Captain Stanley jumped to his feet as he recognized the silhouette of his superior officer entering the room.

"Chief! What brings you here at this time of day..err…night? Oh, Happy New Year!"

"At ease, Hank. Happy New Year, men. I have a present for you, that many of you will enjoy."

The men stopped their preparations for bed in various states of undress as they looked towards their Chief.

"You men are being relocated to Station 82 in La Canada Flintridge for the next 24 hours, effective immediately. I have selected you for a special assignment."

A collective groan went up from the men of 51. "Chief, 82's almost across the whole county! We have to go through the city to get there!" whined Chet.

"Well, if you don't want to go to the Rose Bowl…" the chief let his statement fade away as he saw the smiles of the men begin to form.

"The Rose Bowl! Madre de Dios! Wait until I call Mama and let her know!" crowed Marco.

"Will we be on TV, Chief?" asked Chet.

"Wow," was all that Roy could manage.

Johnny just smiled.

"There's a department bus waiting outside. Gather your turnouts and a uniform or two and be on board in 15 minutes. Don't worry about who's covering here. We have a group of call firefighters coming in to man the station. I'm sure you will be glad to see Captain Robertson again," McConnike explained.

"Robertson? Bob Robertson? With call firefighters? Chief, is that fair?" asked Johnny.

McConnike sighed. "Gage, you know that Bob Robertson is one of our best men. He's going to be fine. Besides, 36's and 45's are going to be covering your area, so he won't have any paramedics to supervise."

Johnny and Roy looked at each other and smiled. They had already had their run-in with the veteran smoke-eater, and had proven themselves useful to him.

"Alright men, let's hit it." McConnike turned to Captain Stanley. "Hank, good luck up north. We're counting on you to do the South Division proud."

"We'll do our best, Chief," Cap replied. "I wouldn't expect any less from you, Hank. Oh, it can get cold up there… best to pack an extra hat." With that, the Chief turned and left the dorm room, heading for his car.

Mike began to laugh.

"Stoker-r-r-… don't get started," growled Hank as he stomped into his turnout boots and pulled up his pants.

"Sorry, Cap. I was just-"

"Well, don't! You'll get them started, you twit!"

In short order, the men were packed and getting ready to hand over the station to the crew of volunteers when the back door opened and in walked Captain Bob Robertson.

"Hank, I'm here to relieve you. Men, it's good to see you all again. Gage, DeSoto, a pleasure." Captain Robertson offered his hand to each of the men in turn as he greeted them.

"Good to see you, Bob. Take care of the barn, will ya?" asked Hank.

"Not a problem. We can handle it, right men?"

"Sure can, Cap." "Yeah, Cap." "You got it, Cap." "Yup."

Satisfied that his station was being left in good hands, Hank corralled his men onto the bus for the trip North to Pasadena.


Please read and review! I have a few more chapters in the wings, and your responses will time their release!

If you want to see a picture of the vehicle I based the rescue on, please PM me and I will send you the link.