Walking a Long, Hard Road
Chapter One: The Letter
Maria Lopez folded the letter she was reading and dropped into a chair. "After all these months, she's finally coming home," she thought to herself. "I better let Marco know. How will he take the news? Even though he's been to visit, will he be happy she's coming back? Thank God Consuela was supportive. I should tell her, too."
The Latino woman got to her feet and reached for the telephone. She dialed a number and waited for someone to answer.
"Hello?"
"Consuela, it's Mama. I just heard from your sister."
"How's she doing?" the girl asked. "I've been meaning to write, but between work and my classes, I haven't had the time."
"She's coming home," Maria replied. "I'm supposed to pick her up at the train station a week from this coming Friday."
"That's terrific!" Consuela exclaimed. "Have you told Marco yet?"
"No, but he's coming over in a little while," answered her mother. "I'll tell him then."
"How do you think he'll react?" the girl asked.
Maria sighed heavily. "I'm not sure. I know he has gone to visit a few times, but other than that, I don't think they've had much contact." She looked up when Marco himself came into the room. "I have to go, sweetheart. I'll talk to you soon."
"Alright, Mama," said Consuela. "I'll try to stop by the house on my way home from work. Bye."
Maria hung up and turned to her son. "I'm glad you're here," she said. "I have something to tell you."
"If it's about Louisa coming home, I already know," he answered, holding up an envelope. "She sent me a letter last week. You look surprised."
"No. Well, maybe just a little. I knew you had been to visit, but wasn't aware the two of you were writing to each other."
Marco shrugged. "She heard about what happened at that warehouse fire right before Halloween a couple years back and wrote to make sure everyone was okay. Then, a week or two later, she sent me a card, with the message, "Did you even think to duck, hose jockey? Or didn't they teach you that at the Academy?' If anyone else had sent that, I would have been upset, but Lou always did have a twisted sense of humor."
Maria chuckled. "No doubt about that." She paused for a moment. "How do you feel about her coming home?"
"Honestly? I'm thrilled, but worried she might have trouble adjusting. A lot has changed since she went away. I'll do whatever I can to help, but it still won't be easy for her."
The Latino woman mirrored his smile. "I'm glad," she answered quietly. "Louisa has a long, hard road ahead of her. She will need all the support she can get."
The Next Evening
Marco drained the last of his beer, then signaled the waitress to bring him another. "Could we get some more pretzels, too?" he asked. "These are a little stale."
"Sure thing, honey," the girl smiled. "The rest of you need anything?"
"No, we're good," answered Mike.
John elbowed Chet and cut his eyes towards Marco. "Ask him," he whispered.
"Okay, okay," muttered Kelly. "Hey, pal, you wanna tell us why you asked us to meet you here?"
Lopez swallowed nervously and glanced around the table. "She's coming home," he said quietly.
The men nodded, knowing exactly who their friend meant. Johnny's eyes clouded as he remembered the call that had led Marco to reveal the painful truth regarding his absent sister's whereabouts..
Two Years Ago
"Station 51 unknown type rescue, 194 Victoria Street, 1-9-4 Victoria, time out 09:43. Ambulance is responding."
As the engine and squad pulled up in front of the house, a woman came running out. "It's my daughter! Please hurry!"
Roy and John grabbed their equipment and followed the woman inside, with Marco behind them, carrying the O2, and Cap bringing up the rear.
The frantic mother led them into a back bedroom. A teenage girl lay unresponsive on the bed, her lips tinged blue. A blackened spoon, matches, empty bottle caps, and a syringe lay scattered across the night stand.
"Can you tell us what happened?" asked Roy, while Johnny started taking vitals.
"I don't know," answered the mother. "She said she wasn't feeling well, so I kept her home from school. I came to check on her and she was passed out or something."
DeSoto nodded. "How old is she? Any recent illnesses?"
"Seventeen. Lori had a cold a couple weeks ago, but she's over it now."
"Rampart, this is Squad 51. How do you read?"
"Squad 51, we read you loud and clear." Dixie's voice was calm and pleasant.
"Rampart, we have a female, age seventeen, found unresponsive. Vitals are…"
"Johnny, full arrest!" shouted Roy. "Marco, give me a hand getting her off this bed!. Cap, oxygen!"
Lopez stepped forward and helped Roy lay the girl on the floor. He saw the objects on the night stand and tapped the paramedic's arm. Roy turned to look and exhaled sharply. "Ma'am, what's she on?"
The woman's eyes narrowed. "I don't know what you're talking about. My daughter doesn't use drugs."
Marco ignored the woman and pointed to the inside of the girl's arm. "She's got a fresh needle mark, Roy," he whispered, his normally-tan features ashen. "I think she's been using heroin."
"How dare you!" the girl's mother snapped. "What do you know? You're just a dumb fireman!"
Lopez's eyes flashed at the insult and he opened his mouth to retort. Before he could get the words out, Hank spoke up. "Why don't you go out and wait for the ambulance, pal?" he said, his voice soft but firm.
The Latino fireman took a deep breath and nodded curtly. "Right, Cap," he replied, shooting the mother a disgusted look on his way out.
"Well, what is it?" asked Chet when his friend reached the engine.
"Heroin OD and a mother with her head up her ass," Marco growled. "'My daughter doesn't use drugs,'" he mocked. "The evidence was right there in plain sight and she didn't see it, or refused to."
Mike fought the urge to laugh as the usually soft-spoken lineman launched into a very Gage-like rant about ignorant parents who didn't have a clue what their kids were doing right under their noses. His amusement abruptly turned to surprise when Marco's angry words dissolved into an enraged cry and he slammed his fist into the side of the squad. Stoker climbed own from the engine and, with Kelly's help, guided him to the running board. "Take it easy, buddy. Roy and Johnny will do everything they can. The girl'll be okay."
Chet squatted down and carefully checked Lopez's hand. "Yeah, Gage and DeSoto are the best paramedics in the county," he murmured. "Good thing, cuz I think you busted a couple of fingers."
Marco's head shot up. "That girl's seventeen years old; seventeen, just like my sister when she…," he whispered. "Looks a lot like her, too. Díos, it could be her."
"But it's not," soothed the Irishman. "You hear me? It's not. Come on, pal; hold still so I can wrap this up. Man, Cap's gonna have a bird."
"Cap? What about Charlie?" said Mike. "When he sees the dent in the squad, he's gonna freak!"
Rampart General
Chet parked the squad near the ER entrance and climbed out. After a moment, Marco slid out of the passenger seat and the two firemen walked into the hospital. The first person they encountered was Rampart's Head Nurse, Dixie McCall.
"Well, what do we have here?" she asked, her eyes trained on Marco's bandaged hand.
"Well, uh, you see…" Lopez muttered.
"Yeeeesss?"
"Oh for cryin' out loud; just tell her already," grumbled Chet.
"I, uh, I kinda lost my temper and punched the side of the squad," Marco whispered, his gaze fixed on the tile floor.
Dixie shook her head. "Alright, let's take a look," she answered, leading him into a treatment room. "I'll go see who's available." She returned a few moments later with Dr. Morton in tow.
After a brief exam and a visit to x-ray and the casting room, Marco was given a prescription for pain meds and released. He and Chet headed to the Doctor's Lounge to wait for Johnny and Roy. As soon as the door shut behind them, Chet started talking.
"What are you gonna tell Cap? I mean, once he's done screaming at you?" he grinned.
"The truth, what else?" Lopez shrugged. "It was bound to come out sooner or later."
"What was bound to come out sooner or later?" asked Roy from the doorway. "And what happened to your hand?"
"Never mind," Marco answered. "How's the girl?"
DeSoto's face seemed to age ten years. "She didn't make it. Are you guys ready to go? We should get back before Cap sends out a search party."
Station 51, Fifteen Minutes Later
A very irate Captain Stanley greeted them when they returned to the station. "Lopez, get changed then haul your sorry butt into my office!" he growled. "You better have a damn good explanation for that stunt you pulled!"
Marco swallowed nervously. "I do, but it's a family matter, and not something I feel comfortable talking about here at the station," he murmured softly.
The captain's face reddened angrily. Before he could reply, Chet stepped forward and put his hand on Marco's shoulder. "Cap, he's right. Now really isn't the time or the place to get into it."
Hank frowned and stared hard at the Irishman through narrowed eyes, taking note of the haunted look in his blue eyes. "You know what this is all about, don't you?" he said quietly.
Kelly nodded miserably. "Yeah."
"I think you all should know," whispered Marco. "I really don't want to tell the story more than once, though. Can we get together someplace we won't be interrupted?"
"If you want, we can meet out at my place," offered Johnny. "Is Saturday good for everyone? Around one o'clock?"
Lopez turned to smile at his friend. "Thanks, John. That's fine with me."
Gage flashed his trademark crooked grin. "It'll give me a chance to show off my new digs."
"And put us to work helping you fix it up," quipped Roy with a smile.
Captain Stanley reached out and patted Marco's shoulder. "Until Saturday then. Better get out of here before Charlie shows up, pal," he said kindly.
The lineman grinned sheepishly. "Good idea. I'd rather not be around when he sees what I did to the squad."