Disclaimer; No offense is meant to any person, culture, religion etc..., I just write this stuff cause its fun. If you take offense to it let me know why, but sorry I am not going to rewrite unless its something very small, I will simply do my best to not make the same mistake a second time in this life, cause like I said if there is something offensive here its purely an 'honest mistake' and those things happen.

The characters of Emergency! are not mine, but there are original characters that ARE mine. If you like these Original Characters that I created and wish to use them in your fics, please don't kill them and please give me the credit for their creation.

I love feedback. If you dont know what to say then just say "Hi" or something so I know you were there. If I see people are interested then I am more likely to keep putting this up. I already finished this story so no worries, you will get the whole thing unless my computer goes wonky on me.

NOTE: This is an AU story that takes place sometime after the episode in which Johnny got bit by a rattlesnake. AND after the episode where Roy stayed at Johnny's apartment while Roy's house was being sprayed for bugs.

Summary; Someone at Station 51 is playing some pranks that are just popping up at the worst moments possible. Chet insists that he is NOT the one responsible. But is he? Meanwhile Johnny has company and he's really happy. Mike seems to have fallen in love at first sight, but can he have the girl? And a smug little paper pusher is making poor Hank lose his mind! Everything seems to be just ducky, but is it really? Or is something more happening than the guys are taking notice of? I hope you enjoy this, and love one character as much as I do, and hate another as badly as I do. Enjoy!


JOKESTER

Haze and smoke rose up in a column from the burning building and onlookers pointed and stared. They were both horrified and entertained by the disastor, and some of them were making a social spectacle of themselves. Seven engine companies with two squads worked to sort the chaos back into peace. Mike was working feverishly to keep the water pressure even. Hoses were crossed all over the night slick road, and even he'd lost track of which lines were feeding and which were dousing the blaze. Someone let out a scream. "LOOK OUT!"

Mike turned around in time to see a loose hose coming straight at him.

~)51(~

He gasped as he opened his eyes, and realized he was safe, home, in his own bed. The daylight was seeping through the blinds, making a rectangular white outline of the window. More light now came from a small lamp near the door. He'd woken when it had clicked on.

"Its just me, Mike," Johnny's voice called in friendly calm tones. He sat down on one side of Mike's bed and looked down at him, grinning. "How you feeling?"

"My arm hurts like a mother..."

"I bet by now it does," Johnny nodded and put his stethescope to his ears. "Let me get your vitals."

Mike held still and cooperated with the paramedic. He had been given a choice; go home with pain medication that would not do much, or stay in the hospital and enjoy being doped up. He had not liked either option and had asked if someone like a paramedic might be willing to look after him if he could go home with the good pain medication. Bracket had been willing to go along with this, and had released him when Johnny had gotten off duty two hours later.

Johnny now stared at a wall while he listened to Mike's chest and then very gently touched his left wrist to find the pulse there. It hurt and made Mike whimper helplessly. "Easy, Mike, just relax," Johnny soothed. Mike's arm was badly bruised and some muscles had been yanked. Nothing serious. "Try to move your fingers."

Mike moved his thumb a little and very nearly cried. "It hurts too much! I can't!"

Johnny's hand rested on his undamaged right arm, "Its a good sign though Mike."

"Yeah...but that doesn't mean I have to like it right now."

"You'll feel a lot better once this kicks in." Johnny produced a syringe and uncapped it before Mike's eyes.

He turned his head the other way and made a face of disgust as the needle sank into his right upper arm. Within a minute he was feeling the pain fade. "Oh! Thank you," he grinned his releif. "I mean that. You giving up yer day off to..."

"Oh hush!" Johnny laughed at him. "Who's really getting the benefits here? With you pretty much unconscious, I get to play with that big TV and that VCR and all those movies you got! And on top of that I get to sleep in a waterbed in a very posh guest room. You certainly know how to live! I mean I knew you had a nice place cause Marko said its great, but I didn't know you had a gorgeous hot pad like this! And you keep it so clean I keep thinking you must pay someone to do it."

Mike chuckled at the compliments. He wasn't about to tell Johnny that his mother kept the apartment clean for him.

"Hey, you mind if I have my sister visit?"

Mike lifted his brows. "I didn't know you had a sister!"

"Ah, things that don't come up in everyday conversation, you know." Johnny wasn't looking at him as he said this. "She's coming to bring me some things, but..." Johnny trailed off and looked at him directly, eyes hopefull. "I haven't seen her since Christmas."

Mike knew he was being evasive and didn't press the issue. Johnny probably had a good reason for not mentioning her before. Maybe she was not a pretty woman. Maybe she was an older bossy sister and she was fat and had too many kids. But family was just that, Mike thought, and if he had not seen her since Christmas and it was now May, no doubt he missed her. "Don't be afraid to be hospitable, man. Feed your guest all she wants, all right?"

Johnny patted Mike's good arm. "All right!"

"So what's your sister's name?"

Johnny met his eyes at this question and said a string of syllables that Mike didn't even comprehend. "That was very impressive pronunciation but the whole thing went in one ear and out my..."

"You can call her Nakee." Johnny laughed.

"Knocky." Mike repeated and couldn't help but to smile. It was a cute name and now he was picturing a cute little girl with big brown owl eyes, that squinted like Johnny's in bright light. He guessed that wasn't the case though. Johnny seemed to be a little nervous about something. Maybe it would be better to sleep and pretend he was too tired to come out and meet her. "I hope its all right if I'm not up to being sociable. I don't mean to be unfriendly. I just don't have the energy."

"Its okay, Mike," Johnny smiled and looked releived. "Rest for a little while. I'll be back in an hour to check and you. Maybe by then you could try to eat a little something."

"K," he spoke fuzzily and drifted. As the light clicked off, he felt like someone hit his brain's 'off' button.

~)51(~

Voices. Mike opened one eye partway and saw that the small TV on his dresser was on. The voices did not match the images though, and he realized it was not the televison that he was hearing. Two people were talking somewhere inside his apartment. They were too quiet for him to be able to make out any words, and their noise was not what had woken him. The soup that Johnny had given him to drink was looking for an exit. He squirmed, but wanted to just ignore the discomfort and turn over and go back to sleep. He liked to sleep on his left side though and could not do that with his injury. It was impossible to get comfortable on his right side or his back.

A voice from the other room caught his attention. It was a female voice, and she spoke just loud enough that he made out words that could not be english. Her voice was like music bubbling up out of clear water, rich and mellow. It was so soothing that he could have been lulled to sleep by it. Johnny speaking in turn broke the spell and reminded him the paramedic was here for a reason, and that he was not comfortable. One armed, he threw off the blankets and tried to sit up but the motion sent a jolt of white hot hell through his arm and made him gasp. Eyes wrenched shut, he willed himself to be still and wait for the pain to fade back down to the dull ache. "Hell," he breathed. He really didn't want to interupt if Johnny was having a good conversation with his sister. "JOHNNY?"

"ShA hawsa eya du enu kee, Enakowa." Johnny's voice spoke, and then yelled, "I'm coming, Mike!" He could then hear the distinct sound of bare feet walking over the linoleum of his hallway. As he entered the room, Mike smelled fresh soap and noticed his hair was wet. This made him wonder how long he'd slept. Johnny smiled sheepishly. "I hope we didn't wake you?"

"No." Mike said and really this was true. "I gotta go ..." he glanced at the door not wanting to say 'piss' loud enough for Johnny's company to hear. "I can't get up."

"Okay," Johnny eased him to sit upright and helped him get his feet to the floor. Mike nearly whined at the pain caused by moving. He could not help but to clutch onto Johnny's shirt while he gulped air and waited for the agony to pass. After a moment of just standing and breathing, the pain faded and he felt miraculously good despite the injury. He felt good enough to let go of the paramedic. "Let's get you down the hall." Johnny stayed close enough to catch him, but didn't hang onto him.

~)51(~

Mike straightened up from rinsing his mouth and wiped the shower steam off the mirror to pear at himself. He felt human again. It was no easy task getting cleaned up and half dressed with just one hand but the effort had been worth it. He looked a lot better and the hot water had done his arm a lot of good.

"You all right, Mike?" Johnny questioned from the other side of the unlatched door.

"Yeah, I'm all right." he opened the door and Johnny came in. The scents of fresh coffee and baking cookies and a tiny hint of vanilla and spice came drifting into the bathroom. "That smells really good. I hope I can have some coffee?"

"Sure, soon as I get you wrapped up again," Johnny guided him to sit down on the closed toilet and reached for a box full of gauze. "Hank's on his way here. He'll be glad to see you looking a lot better than you did last night. My sister is still here too." He cleared his throat and betrayed a nervous twitch of his head. "Uh...you wanna say hello to her?"

Mike pictured himself looking at a rather stout woman with Johnny's face. It would probably be polite to go so hello and then pretend he was extremely tired. Besides, he wanted some of cookies he could smell. "Yeah. Sure!" He hoped he didn't sound too disinterested.
.

Mike was zippered into a hooded fleece jacket, arm tucked in securely and then he was sent off to his living room barefooted. According to Johnny he was more likely to be able to maintain balance without footwear. It was odd for him though. He hated to be barefoot, hated slippers, and owned at least four pair of sandles just for walking around the apartment. Down at the end of the long hallway was his living room and the television was on, playing an old program in black and white. Johnny's sister was there on the sofa, only her silhouette was visible against the bright window. He went onward, and prepared himself to see a very homely woman watching his television and thought about how he was going to smile and be nice no matter what. He could hear the laughter of an audience from the old sit-com. No matter how homely and chubby she was, he would be kind and accepting toward her, after all she was Johnny's sister and it would not be polite to make a face of disgust at her. His bare feet crossed over the tiled hall and then onto plush living room carpet. He kept a hand on the wall to keep himself stable.

As he entered the living room, the blinding light from the window made him cast his gaze downward. And he first saw a pair of thin dainty feet hanging off the sofa wearing brown sandals and the toenails were painted orange so the deep honey tones of her skin were emphasized. The calves were slender and smooth and her knees were covered by a flowery white fabric. Her belted midsection was thin and her arms were long and her graceful neck bore a thin necklace of pink beads. She was turned sidewise away from him, watching the television and he saw a mass of shimmering black hair tumbling to her waist almost fluid like. About half of it was sectioned off and braided. The woman laughed at the television and her voice was like a bubbling of orchestrated music. His eyes rested on the side of her face, and he took in the contour of her jaw and a tiny, sparkling silver tear drop earing.

Mike could not breathe, and he only kept moving because his feet were on automatic. Johnny spoke words from the kitchen that Mike just could not comprehend at all, but the woman turned to him and smiled as she got to her feet. She stood before him though and her smile faded and brown eyes sparkled up at him. He knew she had started to say something, but now, her obvious surprise made him wonder how awful he looked. A person in the television's sitcom declared, "Well, aren't you going to say something?" The audience laughed loudly. The girl's head twitched toward it and her eyes blinked. She looked back at Mike and chuckled. "You must be Mike." Her voice as rich and sweet as dark chocolate. "I...I'm...Nakee."

He wanted to speak, but his voice failed him entirely. He could only just stare at the dark eyed beauty before him, and yes she did look like Johnny. She looked 'a lot' like Johnny. But she was so beautiful he was afraid she couldn't possibly be real. All he could do was stare at her sparkling eyes and the high cheekbones and the rosebud lips. She walked forward to him, her delicate sandaled stride was silent and somehow reminded him of the grace of a butterfly, and the strength of a warrior. "Nakee..." He smiled stupidly and offered his hand.

"I...I'm glad to...meet you, Mike." She pushed his hand away and hugged him instead. It hurt his injured arm, and made him stiffen and gasp.

"Oh!" she backed away blushing. "Oh! I'm...sorry!"

"I'm okay, really..." he grinned through the shooting pain. The hug was worth the pain even if it had been far to short of one. He saw she was upset and felt stupid for having cried out like an infant and she was looking down and away from him, her hair slipping off her thin shoulders. She was just so—beautiful. And, she was close enough that he could hug her, with one arm and he couldn't beleive that he was reaching for her. "You can try again if you want, Nakee."

She lifted her head and the whites of her eyes flashed as she gave him a shy grin. She accepted his embrace, and he felt the silk of her hair as he pressed his palm on her back. She smelled like vanilla candy and something spicy that made him think of a candy shop at Halloween. But as soon as she giggled he got nervous and worried about putting his hand somewhere that would upset her—or make her brother angry.

She let go of him, and showed teeth that were crooked and somewhat too large for her mouth. It was somehow very charming though. "Come on, let me help you sit down."

"I'm...all right. I can..."

"Let me help you," she insisted, and half dragged him to the sofa with a firm strength that shocked him. She braced him expertly as she helped him to sit on the sofa, and put a lot of pillows behind him to support his weight.

Mike gaped at her. He couldn't think of anything to say as she tucked all the sofa cushions and throw pillows around him. He did not want her to think he was a geriatric case incapable of keeping his balance. "Ah, Nakee, I think that's enough pillows."

She stopped just as she reached for the cushions on the love seat and turned to look at him. Behind him and on either side were so many pillows that there was no room now for another person on the large sofa. "Oh!" she blushed and stopped in mid-pillow grab. "I...uh...guess you don't need that many."

He stared at her hands as they moved very quickly to put most of the cushions back where they went. Her hands were not dainty, but her fingers were long and they looked so soft and strong that he ached to hold one. What could he say to her? Nothing intelligent or polite came to mind. He wished Johnny would save him. He would rather go dive in a blast furnace than sit wondering what to say to a girl who was so beautiful that she stole his ability to think. She was at last done shoving pillows back where they belonged around his living room, and she sat down next to him, and seemed to be waiting for him to do something or say something. And what was she looking at? He gulped a lump, and hoped he didn't have any toothpaste on his nose or...oh no! What if there was a... He wiped his nose praying nothing gooey would come off on his hand.

The television audience laughed again. The real doorbell rang and Mike startled.

Johnny's voice sounded, and Nakee answered him, then got up and pulled open the door. "Oh! You're Captain Stanley aren't you?"

"Yes, that's me! And you must be, Miss Ga...! OOOOF!" Hank laughed as she hugged him warmly and put his arms around her back to pat her spine once or twice before they let go. He looked at her and now understood the stupid expression on Mike's face. "I had no idea that Johnny had a sister until you answered the phone! I certainly did not know he had a very lovely sister!"

"Thank you, Captain." She laughed beautifully and blushed, "You can call me Nakee."

Smiling, he patted her hand, "Only if you call me Hank, Miss Gage."

"Ok, Captain!"

"Enakowa semeeshee ahaw noo?" Johnny called from the kitchen. As Hank heard the unusual language from Gage his brows shot up.

"It's Captain Stanley," Nakee called back.

Johnny came trotting down the hall, a coffee tray rattling along as he carried it. He set it down on the table. "Cap! Come on in. You're just in time to have some coffee with us." He looked at his sister and motioned her to come and sit by him. She hesitated though. "Well! I guess Nakee already introduced herself?"

"She did!" Hank smiled broadly at the girl. He sat on the sofa next to Mike and grinned at his engineer as he cuffed him gently. "You look a lot better than I thought you would, there Mike. How're you feeling Pal?"

"I feel a lot better being home." He stared and smiled stupidly and watched Nakee smooth out the back of her dress as she sat down gracefully next to Johnny. "Sorry...I think the drugs are...messing me up a little."

Hank knew this response as bull, but pretended to accept it. He knew very well Mike was doped up on the girl's charm and her appetizing perfume more than anything else.

"Cap," Johnny pushed a cup of coffee toward him. Hank poured a good bit of cream in it and just a pinch of sugar and took a sip and exhaled as he groaned with pleasure, "Mmmmm!" he looked at Johnny, and complimented, "This is even better than usual."

"Thanks Captain," Nakee giggled at him.

Hank brow's went up at her. "You made this?"

"She did," Johnny chuckled.

"I did."

"You did?" Mike asked as he drank from his half full cup. "Cap we should hire her."

"You're hired," Hank joked and smiled broadly.

On the television a young teenage boy shouted, "Boy wait till my mom hears about this!" The audience cracked up and applauded.

Johnny picked up the remote control and clicked it off. Hank was impressed. "Remote control, Mike? You got the life, don't ya?"

"I figure I might as well spoil myself," Mike leaned forward to pour a little cream in the half cup of coffee Johnny put before him. He was glad it was only half. It would be easier to manage it in his unsteady state.

"You still kinda shaky there?" Hank sipped his coffee.

Mike shrugged. "I think...just...maybe. I'm out of it. If Johnny hadn't threatened to twist my other arm, I probably wouldn't have taken the effort to get out of bed let alone take a shower."

"Bet you're glad he made you though. I bet you feel a whole lot better."

"Much."

The conversation faded away from Mike after a moment and he stared vacantly at his coffee. It was good. He watched Hank hold out his cup and Nakee poured more for him. There was a lot of conversation between the other three. Sometimes a question was asked of him and he would say yes or no or just shrug, and after a minute he wondered what had been asked of him, and then wondered if someone had asked him a question at all. He saw all three of them laugh but didn't know why or really care.

But then he saw Nakee smile at him and he realized he was laughing and stopped. He suddenly felt like a goofy dope under her sparkling gaze. He looked away and concentrated on not dropping the now empty cup. Nakee was sitting comfortably next to Johnny, hanging on some story that Hank was telling, nodding her head and laughing.

"Right Mike?" Hank asked as he swatted his knee to get his attention.

"Uh..." he looked at them all. "Huh?"

Nakee laughed and Johnny and Hank did as well. Mike now felt himself blushing. He'd been so caught up in his own thoughts that he hadn't been following the conversation. Still he knew he'd done something funny and guessed they were not laughing at his expense.

Hank looked at Johnny, "Is he all right?"

Johnny looked at his watch in response. "Bet his pain medicine is wearing off. And he's probably getting tired."

"I'm all right, Cap." Mike reported and set his coffee cup down, fearing if he tried to hold it anymore he'd drop it. Johnny was right about the pain medication. His arm was really starting to ache. The movement made him cringe.

Hank patted his knee. "I think I should go and let you get some rest."

"You can stay," Mike offered, hoping he would because he feared Johnny would leave him alone and uncomfortably silent with his angelic sister.

"I can't stay, Mike. I gotta get my kids." Hank squeezed his good arm. "I'll call you later?"

"Okay," Mike nodded vacantly.

Hank got to his feet, "Miss Gage, it was nice to meet you."

Nakee rose, and hugged him again. She could not help it. Something about him was just so fatherly and sweet and kind. She just knew he was a big softy who only pretended to be gruff. "It was good to meet you too, Captain."

As she let him go, Johnny accepted a slap to his shoulder. "Later, Cap."

Hank went to the door and just as he was shutting it behind, caught a glimpse of Nakee almost drooling in Mike's direction. He wanted to laugh. They were like a couple of junior high kids too shy to approach one another. "I'll see you at work tomorow John." When the door was shut, he did laugh to himself.

"I better go too," Nakee spoke softly to Johnny.

Johnny's bright expression faded to dissapointment, and he whined, "You just got here!"

Nakee smiled and got to her feet. "Yeah, five hours ago. Aunt Patty probably wants her car back, and I need to think about everything."

"Yeah, I'll bet." He hugged her and accepted the kiss to his cheek and returned one to her forehead.

Nakee looked down at Mike. "I'll see you again I hope, Mike?"

"Sure, anytime," he buzzed sleepily.

Her warm hand rested on his good his shoulder, and then it felt as if a butterfly touched his temple as she planted a kiss there. His heart banged like a drum and his mouth spread into a lopsided goofy smile. It occurred to him that he should ask her out. But he couldn't get his mouth to stop smiling for long enough to allow him to use his voice. Long after she'd gone and Johnny saw him back to bed, he could still sense the remnants of her vanilla perfume and her name lingered on his lips.

More To Come...