Tiger

Johnny walked into the grocery store and grabbed a cart. He had come home from his shift that morning and was surprised that he didn't have much at all in his refrigerator. Well, he wasn't that surprised. He headed straight for the cookie aisle, whistling as he went. When he reached the end of the aisle, he saw Dixie standing there. She had a small basket in her hand filled with fruits and vegetables and she was wearing a grin.

"Well, hello handsome."

"Hi Dix. Fancy meeting you here," Johnny said with a smile of his own.

"I thought that sounded like your whistling and of course I find you in the junk food aisle." She looked into Johnny's cart now sporting two packages of his favorite cookies.

Johnny gave her a one shoulder shrug. "Well, you know how it is."

"I do," Dixie said, suppressing a chuckle. "Don't forget to hit the produce area too." Johnny took a right out of the aisle. She tapped him on the shoulder. When he looked back at her she pointed a thumb over her shoulder. "It's that way, Johnny."

Looking sheepish, Johnny replied, "Oh, yeah." He turned his cart around and smacked into the hip of a pretty young woman in a pink sundress. "Oh, I'm sorry, Miss."

"That's okay," the girl replied with a shy smile.

Johnny turned his cart to follow her. Dixie shook her head and continued on her way.

~ E ~

"Johnny. Johnny, I need you to wake up. That's it. Can you open your eyes?"

Johnny slowly became aware of someone calling his name. He also was becoming more aware of pain. A lot of it. He tried to slip back into the comfortable darkness but the ache of knuckles on his sternum pushed away the darkness and he slowly opened his eyes.

"Hey, Tiger. Are you back with me?" Dixie's voice came from above him. Johnny looked up but the movement caused his stomach to lurch. He gagged. "Oh no." Dixie gently pushed him onto his side. A sharp pain shot up from his leg and he cried out.

"My leg, Dixie!" Johnny's eyes and mouth watered as he tried to keep from vomiting.

"I know, honey. I'm sorry. But we can't have you aspirating, can we?" Dixie stroked his hair and Johnny relaxed. His stomach stopped rebelling and he swallowed hard.

"I…I think I'm okay now." He felt himself laid flat again. His head pounded in rhythm with his heart. He reached up and held his head with his hands. "What…what happened?" Johnny pulled his hands down from his eyes and looked around. The light was dim but he could make out crumbled rubble all around him. "Dix? Where are we?"

"We were in the grocery store, remember?"

"I…I think so. Yeah, you told me to buy vegetables." Johnny answered but his tone showed he wasn't quite sure.

"Yes, that's right. Something happened right after that. I'm not sure what."

Johnny's eyes flew open. "An earthquake?"

"No, I don't think so. It was so sudden."

Johnny tried to push himself up on his elbows but Dixie firmly held him down. "Don't move, John. You may have a spinal injury. You have a pretty bad gash on your forehead from what I can tell. And your left leg is trapped under part of a wall or ceiling."

Johnny let himself be pushed back down as his head continued to throb and any movement made him feel like he would up-chuck. He closed his eyes for a moment and took stock of his body and how he felt. "Dix, I don't think my neck or back is hurt. My head hurts like a son of a…gun." He looked up and saw Dixie smile. "My leg too. I think its broken." Without moving too much, Johnny looked around slowly. "I see light. Is there a way out?"

"Not that I can see. The light is coming from an overhead fixture that is now behind me and somehow is still working."

Johnny looked to his right and saw the bright pink dress of the woman he had been talking to before everything went black. "There she is, Dix." He tried to get up again but fell back in exhaustion.

"John. There is nothing you can do for her." Dixie's voice was solemn.

He looked up at her again and saw the sadness on her face. "Oh, no. Oh, Dixie." Johnny covered his face again. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, there's no doubt."

Johnny rubbed his face with his hands then slowly lowered them. "How long was I out?"

"Maybe fifteen minutes. You scared me, Tiger."

Johnny reached out and took her hand. "Are you okay?"

"Hey, don't worry about me."

Johnny's expression was serious. "Don't play that game with me, McCall. I invented that game."

"Look, I think I may have cracked a rib or two. I'm fine. Let's worry about you."

"What? Is your breathing okay? Oh, man, I wish I had my gear here."

Dixie shushed him and began to run her hand over his hair again. "I know how I feel and, yes, my breathing is fine."

"I need to get you out of here. We need to see if anyone else is hurt. I need to get my leg free!" Johnny grimaced at the pain as he moved around.

Dixie placed her hands on either side of Johnny's head and stared down at him in the dim light. "Look, we aren't going anywhere. We are trapped here – for now. I looked around while you were unconscious. We are trapped, do you here me?" Johnny nodded slightly. "But they will be looking for us. They will find us. We just have to hang in there…and relax. Do you understand me?"

Johnny swallowed and said, "Yes, ma'am."

"That's more like it." Dixie relaxed and let go of Johnny's head. She reached behind her and pulled out some packages of hamburger buns. "Well, we won't starve." She smirked at Johnny and piled them nearby until she had a nice cushion. Moving carefully, she shifted around so that she was leaning on the pile of bread. She carefully lifted Johnny's head and placed it on her lap.

Johnny saw her wince. "Ribs hurt, huh?"

"Like a son-of-a-bitch." Dixie laughed at Johnny's shocked expression then winced again. "Hey, I'm an ex-army nurse, don't forget. I've heard and said worse."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You do come across pretty scary sometimes."

"Who, me?"

"Yeah, you." Johnny started to laugh but stopped abruptly. He swallowed hard again.

"Let me know if you are going to vomit, I'll help you turn."

"Aw, Dix, I don't want to puke on you," Johnny whined.

"It won't be the first time."

"You mean, it won't be the first time someone has puked on you…right?"

Dixie shook her head slowly.

"You don't mean…you don't mean I did that to you before…do you?"

"I'm sorry, Johnny. I didn't realize you didn't remember. Forget I said anything."

Johnny pulled a face. "How can I forget that? When was it?"

Dixie sighed. "It was when you had the monkey virus."

Johnny thought about the time he had come in contact with a monkey that carried a deadly virus. He had never been so sick and some people didn't make it through. "I'm sorry."

Dixie went back to stroking his hair. "You couldn't help it."

Johnny's eyelids drooped as she smoothed his hair from his forehead. "For someone so scary, you sure do have a nice bedside manner."

"Thanks, Tiger." Dixie watched as Johnny's eyes slid closed. "Hey. Wake up. I don't want you going out on me again."

Johnny opened his eyes slowly. "I'm tired."

"I know you are but can you stay awake for me, huh?" Dixie smiled down at him.

"I'll…I'll try."

"Let's talk about something to keep us occupied. You first."

Johnny looked up at the friend he had come to love. He smiled sleepily. "I like it when you call me 'Tiger.'"

"You do, huh?" Dixie said sweetly.

"I know you probably call the other guys that too, but I like it."

"John Gage, have you ever heard me call any of the other guys 'Tiger?' Have you?"

Johnny slowly shook his head then closed his eyes as the room spun. "No."

"That's because I don't."

"Just me, huh?"

"Well, yes."

"Oh, so there is someone else," Johnny teased.

"No…not anymore." Dixie looked up at the crumbled ceiling. Johnny studied her but couldn't see her eyes.

"Who was it, Dix?" He felt her sigh.

"It's a long story." Dixie blinked and wiped the back of her hand across her eyes.

"I've got the time."

After a moment, Dixie sighed again. "My son. I called my son 'Tiger.'"

Johnny didn't move. He wished he could sit up and look Dixie in the eye but instead he just laid there and processed what she'd said. He waited until he could feel Dixie's breathing settle down. He knew she was fighting tears.

"Tell me about him?"

Dixie reached down and ran a hand over Johnny's head. She smiled a very sad smile. "His name was Joe. He was long and lanky with brown curly hair and dark brown eyes." Dixie leaned back and stared into the darkness in front of her. She took a deep breath. "I was still in high school. We were stupid." She paused and shook her head. "He took off. I never heard from him again." Johnny wasn't sure if he should speak. He wanted to reach and take her hand but he resisted.

"Anyway, my parents were livid, of course. They took me out of school. Joe was born about the time I would have graduated." Dixie looked back down and smiled. "He was the best thing that ever happened to me." Dixie traced her finger along Johnny's jaw as her eyes misted over. Johnny shuddered bringing her back to the present. "Are you cold?"

"No, I'm okay. Really."

"You always reminded me of him. Well, what I believed he would look like now."

"What happened?" Johnny asked quietly.

Dixie's eyes closed but a tear escaped. She quickly wiped it away. "I took him to town. He insisted on taking his baseball, the one my father gave him for his fourth birthday." She chuckled through her tears. "Who gives a four year old a regulation baseball, huh?"

"A proud grandfather," Johnny whispered. Dixie choked back a sob and covered it with a laugh.

"Yeah, you got that right." She paused. "The ball rolled out into the street. Joey let go of my hand…"

Johnny reached up and took hold of Dixie's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Shaking her head, Dixie waved him away. "It was a long time ago." Sighing, she laid her arm across Johnny's chest to try to warm him. "After that, I decided to join the Army. I needed a change. I got my high school equivalent and joined. You know the rest."

Dixie looked away as she heard sounds in the distance. "I hear them. They are coming. We'll be out soon. Are you still okay?"

Johnny nodded. "I'm sorry I remind you of him."

Dixie looked down and cupped Johnny's cheek in her hand. "Don't say that, Johnny. It is why you are so special to me." Johnny smiled up at her. "I only hope he would have been as special as you if he had the chance to grow up."

Johnny reached and took hold of the hand that she held him with. He gave it a squeeze. "Thank you for telling me about him. I won't say anything. It's our secret."

Dixie squeezed his hand back. "It felt good sharing it. Maybe I need to talk about him more." Her voice hitched with emotion.

"When you are ready, I'll be there for you."

"Thank you, Tiger." Dixie smiled and her eyes gleamed.

Hello? Is anyone there? A voice came through the wreckage around them.

"Here!" Dixie called out then clutched her ribs.

"We are in here!" Johnny yelled. He squeezed his eyes shut as it made his head feel like it was going to explode. "How about we try it together, okay?" Dixie nodded. "On three. One, two, three."

They each called out "We are here!" together.

We'll have you out soon, the voice called back and both Dixie and Johnny sighed in relief.

"We made it," Dixie said, giving Johnny's hand another squeeze.

"Thank you for taking care of me."

"Hey, I didn't do anything but give you a soft pillow for your head."

"You did a lot more than that." Johnny smiled up at her and settled in to wait for their rescue.

The End