Just A Little Fruity
These good fellows don't belong to me but I promise when I'm done to pick um, dust um off and with a kiss on the cheek return them safely home.
"To be loved, be lovable." Ovid.
Chapter 1
If there had been one more step to his apartment he would have just laid down right there and slept. Fireman John Gage was beat down after this last shift with a four alarm fire that had kept him and his shift mates up all night long. He leaned against his door as he fit the key in and turned the knob.
"Hey, can you give me a hand?"
The voice was from a woman but it was the call for help that caught his attention the most. Guess he was just always on duty. To his chagrin he turned to see who called for him and saw a large cardboard box in front of him attached to a pair of long beautiful shapely legs. When those legs took a step backwards he moved forward to catch her in a swift heartbeat.
Reaching around the box he managed to get a hold of her arm to catch her. The box continued its plummet down the stairs as a young brunette woman landed right in his lap.
"Oh man, how can I ever thank you?" She blurted out as she tried to regain her footing with as much dignity as possible. Looking down at the dark headed young man she was suddenly embarrassed. "I'm so sorry."
"Its okay, no problem." He stood up and brushed off his jeans. Looking down the stairs he saw the box had landed wrong side up with everything spilling out. "Sorry about your stuff."
She waved it off, "Oh, no big deal. I'd rather it be at the bottom of the stairs instead of me."
He moved down to the box and flipped it the right way up. As he stooped down to pick random items up she moved beside him, "Thanks."
He finished repacking the box and picked it up, "What apartment are you in?"
She stood up and started up the stairs. He followed, willing his legs to go just a little farther. They passed his door and after three more doors she moved through the opening into her apartment. He set the box down in the middle of the living room and was about to head back to his own place when she offered him a beer. It was tempting but he was just too tired.
"I'll take a rain check on that. I just need to get some sleep then I'll feel human again," he said with a crooked smile.
"Oh I understand. My dad worked nights and I remember how exhausting it could be," she smiled softly at the handsome dark headed man who had come to her rescue.
Johnny felt like the walking dead at this point, "Good luck moving in. I'll see ya around." He heard her say goodnight or something to that effect then headed off to his place. Even though he took a shower at the station he still felt like a giant soot stack and turned on the shower. After letting the hot water beat him for a while he managed to find his way to bed with his eyes pretty much closed. He was sure he dried off and dressed before collapsing in the bed, at least he thought he did.
Eight hours later the phone woke him up. "Hello?" he said in a thick groggy voice.
"Johnny? Are you okay?"
He knew the voice, "Yes Kanda, I'm trying to get a nap." His sister still couldn't get his schedule straight.
"Johnny its almost 7:00. You were supposed to be here over an hour ago. I was worried." She could tell he was sleeping and hated to wake him up but it wasn't like him to be late for dinner at her ranch.
He sat up and stretched during which he managed to drop the phone. Tracing down the cord he pulled it back up to his ear, "Sorry sis. I was really beat, we had a rough night."
"It's okay TeeTonka (her Lakota nickname for him). I do understand you know. Go back to sleep and I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Uh hmmm…" he mumbled then somehow managed to reach the phone to its cradle. In a minute he was back to sleep with his hand still holding onto the phone.
When he awoke the next time the sun was up. Rolling over he met a face full of black fur which seemed to have taken up residency around his neck. Pushing off the little fur ball kitten he reached over for his watch. Nine AM. Well at least he couldn't complain about lack of sleep anymore.
Sitting up with a start he suddenly realized he had missed dinner with Kanda. He reached for the phone to call her but remembered that she would be a work right now. He made a mental note to call her later and apologize for making her worry.
Breakfast sounded good so he got up and after getting dressed he headed to the kitchen. He threw some eggs in a pan, made some quick toast, and sat at the table while he sorted through yesterdays paper. A little while later he heard a knock at the door. Making his way through the living room he about tripped over his shoes and pushed them out of the way. When he opened the door he found a woman he vaguely remembered standing there.
"Hello?"
"I'm sorry to bother you again but you left this in my apartment yesterday," she said as she handed him his paramedic name tag.
A flash of flying cardboard box went through his brain and he remember who she was. "Thanks. Cap would kill me if I lost that."
"Cap?"
"Uh, my boss at work." He motioned to his living room. "Would you like to come in? I just made fresh coffee."
"Thanks. I could use a break from unpacking."
He watched her as she moved through the living room to the kitchen. She was about 5-7, soft brown hair with lots of curls and hazel eyes. Johnny knew he was feeling much better because it didn't take him long to notice that her curves were in all the right places.
She pulled up a chair and sat down as he got her a cup and poured some coffee.
"So, just moving in. Where ya from," he asked. To be friendly of course.
"I've been in LA for about three months, originally from Phoenix. I was living with my brother for a while until I found a steady job and could get a place of my own." She pointed to the pin he had set down on the table, "What's a paramedic?"
He leaned back in his chair, "I work for the LA county Fire Department. I'm trained for rescue work and to give advanced first aid at the scene of an accident or if someone is sick." He was proud of what he did and his smile reflected it.
"A fireman huh? That's really interesting. I didn't know firemen did medical care like that." Her voice was warm and friendly.
"It's been running for a few years now. Helps people get the medical care they need started before they reach the hospital. What do you do?"
"Oh nothing exciting like that. I'm a secretary for Mark Chemical Industries. But like I said I just started down there not long ago so we'll see how it goes." He was a little taller than her, dark wavy hair and although he looked lanky she suspected he was all muscle under that t-shirt and blue jeans. She almost smiled at the bare feet and tasseled about hair like he had just crawled out of bed making him look like a little kid.
"What are you smiling at," he asked with a crooked smile.
Oops. "Sorry, I was just afraid I might have woken you up."
"No, I was up and going. We had a hard shift yesterday and it took me a while to sleep it off. But I'm good to go now." His dark eyes sparkled at her.
"Well, maybe one of these days you can show me around LA a little bit. My brother didn't take me anywhere so I still feel lost just going to the grocery store," she said with a little laugh.
Johnny liked her; she was sweet, polite and very pretty. He wasn't seeing anyone right now and having a nice new neighbor might be a good thing. "Why don't we meet back up for lunch? I know a great little diner that's not far away."
She beamed, "That would be great…uh…" she laughed. "I don't even know your name."
"John Gage, Johnny."
"Well Johnny, it's nice to meet you. I'm Karen." They both hesitated for a moment. "I better get back to work or I will be without dishes again tonight." She stood up and pushed the chair back in. "Thanks a lot Johnny."
"I'll see you at lunch Karen," he said.
After walking her to the door and saying another quick goodbye he closed it and grinned from ear to ear. Just let Chet say something about this one!
Mike Stoker watched him with curiosity. His partner Roy DeSoto finished tying his shoes and just leaned back against the wall grinning at the young medic. Johnny looked up to see he was the center of attention.
"What?" He asked with innocence.
"Bouncy, happy, on time…" Roy started.
"Whistling, don't forget the whistling Roy," Mike added.
"Yes and whistling. Okay, tell." Roy knew that really only one thing usually put Johnny in this good of a mood. A new woman in his life.
"What makes you think there's something to tell?" Johnny loved tormenting his friends at work, especially his partner.
Mike shook his head, "Think we're gonna have to beat it out of him."
Chet Kelly came skidding through the locker room, "Roll call in 2 guys and Caps in some type of mood!" He came to a stop when he saw everyone looking at Johnny. "Okay, what's going on in here without me?"
"Nothing Chet, go away." Johnny grumbled.
"Nothing huh. I see." He looked over to Roy and Mike and knew it was far from nothing. This would be a good shift trying to pry it out of his pigeon.
"Roll call NOW," Hank Stanley, Captain bellowed from the bay.
After morning inspection the men moved to the dayroom for some coffee while Hank went back to his office grumbling something about three hundred miles of paperwork.
"Okay, Johnny tell us about her," Roy said as he sat down with his coffee mug.
Johnny leaned back in his chair and folded his arms behind his head, "We'll its nothing all that special. I just helped a new neighbor move in this week."
"Neighbor huh? She hasn't made plans to move out yet after meeting you Gage?" Chet jabbed at him.
"Chet go sit on the highway will ya," Johnny barked back. "No she hasn't and yes she and I have been out every night I've been off."
"That was a busy four days there Junior, no wonder you never called me back." Roy said tapping his fingers on the table.
He wrinkled his brow as he tried to remember why he was supposed to call Roy back then it hit him, "Oh man Roy. I'm sorry. Was Chris mad?"
"No, Chris wasn't mad but he was disappointed," Roy said. Leave it to a girl to make Johnny forget about everything else sometimes.
Johnny crossed his fingers, "Did he make the team?" He had been helping Chris work on his pitching for weeks while he was excited about trying out for the team.
Roy nodded, "Yea. Should have been there partner, he got pitcher."
Johnny slammed down his chair and slapped his hand on the table, "That's great!"
"Okay, okay, can we get back to the chic?" Chet tried to redirect them.
Johnny turned his head sideways, "She's not a chic she's a really nice lady."
"Lady huh? So when do we get to meet her?" Marco chimed in.
Johnny laughed as he stood up and put his cup in the sink, "Are you crazy. I would never bring someone by here to meet you guys this soon. You'd scare her off right off the bat!" They were family but there's just some family that you keep hidden in the closet sometimes. "Besides I'd have to share her cooking and man, you guys just aren't that important."
"She cooks?" Roy said with some amazement. Johnny didn't tend to date girls with long term redeeming qualities for the most part.
"Oh yea, she cooks. She uses these spices and herbs that would make anything melt in your mouth." He paused then winked at them, "And that's only one of her talents." He smiled as he wandered out into the bay leaving four men with their mouths hanging open and on the verge of drooling.