A/N: This is the third installment in the House Divided series. It takes place a few weeks after A House Divided - Hank's Haunting ends. I hope you enjoy it.
Warning: Adult themes and language throughout this story. In order to keep this one at the 'T' rating for this site, it will be edited. It you like the naughty details, then you'll find those in the longer chapters on AO3 and WWOMB. However, no such details in chapter one.
DeSoto's Dilemma – 1
Roy scraped his chair on the station floor as he stood up from the kitchen table. He had only consumed half a cup of coffee, but the verbal sparring between Chet and Johnny was giving him a headache.
"C'mon, Gage. Put your money where your mouth is, buddy."
"Oh shut up, Chet." Johnny watched as his down-trodden partner pushed away from the table, emptying his coffee cup in the sink.
"All I'm sayin' is that if you think the Dodgers will win, then put up a twenty and let's shake hands." Chet didn't have any more money to lose than his pigeon, but he knew Johnny would never take the bet. That left the lineman enjoying the misery he was inflicting on the paramedic.
"Twenty bucks is a lot o' money!" Johnny countered animatedly. "If the ump develops a case of far sightedness, I don't wanna lose my dough," he argued, tapping the table with his index finger while he watched his partner disappear through the kitchen door.
Chet stroked his mustache smugly. "Oohh, I get it. Chicken, huh?"
"Aww, go play on the freeway," Johnny retorted, getting up and following after Roy.
"What the hell's his problem?" The Irishman asked, craning his neck in the direction of the exiting paramedics.
"He doesn't want to take your bet, that's all."
"No, Mike. DeSoto… What's up with Roy?" Chet questioned, standing up to refresh his coffee just as the linemen and paramedics from C-shift traipsed through the swinging door.
Mike didn't have a chance to answer before the on-coming engineer walked in. Swiftly, the conversation switched from baseball bets and Roy's sour mood to rehashing the events of the previous shift.
E!
Roy pulled his blue uniform shirt over his head, forcefully cramming it into his duffle bag. He pulled on a red and white striped button-up shirt, then sat down on the bench to unlace his boots. He heard Johnny push open the door, but didn't feel like talking at the moment, so he continued silently changing into his street clothes. He was more than ready to go home, although he didn't particularly care for what awaited him there.
Johnny walked in, unsure of what to say to his friend. The only times he had ever seen Roy like this was when Harriet was visiting, or when he and Joanne had had an argument before Roy came on shift. He quickly began to disrobe, thankful that their C-shift counterparts usually arrived dressed for their shift. He tossed his uniform shirt and undershirt into his locker, then quickly sat down on the bench beside his partner. He waited for Roy to speak, but when he didn't, Johnny decided to open up the conversation.
"Wanna talk about it?"
"About what?" Roy asked curtly, standing up and exchanging his navy blue uniform pants for a pair of jeans.
"Whatever's been eatin' ya up this shift? Is Harriett visiting, or is it Joanne's job?"
Roy wanted to answer him with something sarcastic, but deep inside he knew that his partner was asking out of concern for him.
Johnny stood up, unbuckling his belt then shimmying out of his uniform pants and into his faded Levi's. He stood in the locker room, barefoot and bare chested, watching his partner for any indication that he was about to speak. When he saw Roy prop a foot onto the bench to tie his sneakers, he knew his friend was in trouble.
"C'mon, talk to me, Roy."
"I'm fine, John."
"Yea, 'bout as fine as a corpse," Johnny shot back, pulling his boots out of his locker and slamming the door shut. Roy's foul mood had been going on for several shifts now and was beginning to wear on the younger man's nerves.
"Everything alright in here?" Captain Shepherd asked, his head sticking in the slightly parted locker room door. He had heard the locker door slamming and decided to check it out.
"Fine," Roy grumbled, continuing to tie his laces.
"Yea," Johnny responded, glaring at his partner for the lie he had just told their shift captain.
Captain Shepherd looked at the faces of his temporary paramedics and completely misunderstood what he saw. He assumed they were worried about their regular shift captain. He slipped his thin frame just inside the door, making sure that it closed completely before he began, hoping to offer some encouragement to the pair.
"Listen, men. I've really enjoyed working with you fellas," he said, nodding his head toward the kitchen where the rest of the men were congregated. "All of you, even Kelly, and I just wanted to say that... Well, Hank Stanley is a very lucky man to have you fellas for a crew. He and I go way back to the Academy and..." He shuffled his feet, staring down at the gray floor. "I can't help but worry about him. I've watched too many good men leave us because of a bad run and..."
Roy and Johnny exchanged worried looks. They still weren't sure if Captain Stanley would be returning to them or not, and they certainly didn't know that anyone outside of their tight-knit group knew the truth about Captain Stanley's recent absences.
"And, I just want to ask you men, especially you two, to keep a close eye on him when he first gets back… Make sure all's well with him."
Johnny gulped audibly. "Um, I-uh, I mean we, we ah," he stuttered shaking his shaggy hair into his eyes as he darted his head back and forth between his sullen partner and their replacement captain.
Captain Shepherd raised his hand to stop the younger man. "It's alright, Gage. At ease, son. I know the real reason I've been covering for him. No one else does and I'd like to keep it that way. His reaction to some medication was a good one, but... Hank and I have been friends for a long time, and he trusted me with the truth. He personally requested that I take over his shifts these last few weeks."
"Y-you make it sound like he's comin' back?"
"He is," the older man said, offering a smile to the younger paramedic who still stood half naked in the locker room. "He wanted it to be a surprise, so please act that way. It's a sort of trial run, if you will. This is my last shift with you fellas. He'll be back in two days. I think he's going to work a few shifts before he makes a final decision about his future with the department."
"We'll a'right!" Johnny said, slapping his partner on the back. "Uh, I mean, nothin' against you, Cap'n Shep, but it's just that, uh, well, you know how close we can get with our captain and, um, how..."
"Johnny?" Roy finally chimed in with a grimace; the Johnny rant had to stop to ease the pounding in his head.
"Wha..?"
"Shut up," Roy tried to smile as he extended a hand to the substitute captain. "It's been a pleasure, sir."
"Oh, yea, yea... Absolutely," Johnny joined in, his cheeks tinted pink with embarrassment.
"Indeed it has, men." Captain Shepherd shook both proffered hands and wished the paramedics well during their time off. "Perhaps our paths will cross again someday," he mentioned, prophetically. "Under different circumstances," he clarified.
"Yea, I'd like that," Johnny said with a grin, hoping to leave the departing captain with fond memories of his time at Station 51.
E!
Johnny followed his long-faced partner out the open rear bay door, both heading to their respective vehicles. He wanted to reach out to his hurting partner, but he wasn't sure what to say or do. As a bachelor, he didn't exactly know what it was like to have a spouse, certainly not a working spouse. One thing he did know, every man needed food, especially after the long shift they had just finished. Both men were exhausted; being called out every two hours was not conducive to sleep. If Joanne wasn't at home to cook Roy's breakfast, he would probably grab a couple of pop tarts and hit the sack, too tired to cook himself a decent meal.
"Ah, say Roy?"
Roy turned sideways to look at his approaching partner. "Yea?"
"Why don't we grab some breakfast before we go home? Man, I'm starvin'." Johnny hoped his friend would agree to the diversion.
Roy considered his options. He was beyond tired and knew he would sleep better on a full stomach. He needed protein, not sugar, and his family had been eating cold cereal every morning for the last couple of weeks. He certainly didn't feel like cooking, but he did feel like eating. "Why not; I'll meet you there."
"The usual place?" Johnny asked, just as a clap of thunder boomed overhead.
Roy cut his eyes upwards, silently cursing the weather gods for matching the weather to his mood. "Yea."
E!
Gretchen McDowell looked down at her new gray uniform, grateful the dingy white apron covered the coffee stains incurred from her earlier mishap with a tray of dirty dishes. The once neatly ironed dress now appeared wrinkled and disheveled hanging on her thin frame. She was bone weary, having worked a split shift for one of the other waitresses and then her own midnight shift. The Pour House was an all-night diner, rarely packed to capacity, but enjoyed a steady flow of traffic at all hours. She saw the only other waitress on duty at the moment staring at her.
"Do I look that bad?"
"You just look tired, honey. Why don't you head on home, I'll cover your tables." Amy was a veteran Pour House waitress and had a motherly sense about her that the younger waitresses appreciated. Gretchen had only been on the job a week, but the hours she had been working would have worn out even an experienced waitress.
"I can't," Gretchen replied, looking back down at her apron, long tendrils of ash-blonde hair falling from her loose pony tail and clinging to her face. "I need the money, Amy. I'll be fine." She sprayed disinfectant on the table, wiping it down and making it ready for the next customer. She flinched as the unexpected thunder further stressed her frayed nerves. 'Great, walking home in the rain,' she thought to herself.
She looked up as the bell jingled on the door. A couple of young men walked in and made their way to a vacant table in Amy's section. She continued cleaning the table as she watched the friendly banter going on between the two men and their waitress. Amy obviously knew them and knew what they were going to order; she jotted down a couple of notes then walked over to the coffee pot and began filling two white cups with the steaming brew. Gretchen replaced the place mats and silverware on the clean table then headed back behind the counter. There was something about the red-haired man that registered with her brain, but she quickly dismissed it, noticing that his left hand was adorned with a gold band.
Amy set the coffee cups down in front of the men, smiling and chatting with them as if she had known them for years. She patted the red-haired man on the shoulder as she walked away, locking eyes with the new waitress.
"Nice fellas, those two," Amy said, slipping behind the counter beside her co-worker. "Dark haired one's named John Gage and the other one is Roy DeSoto. They're paramedics from Station 51, just down the street here," she said, pointing a brightly polished thumbnail behind her right shoulder. "Sometimes, the whole crew comes in after a tough shift."
"They're firemen, you mean?" Gretchen had never heard the word paramedic until now.
"Well, yea," Amy said, clipping the order to the metal spinning wheel for the cook. "But they also take care of hurt and sick folks, too. They treat them and get them as stable as they can before sending them to the hospital. It's a fairly new program here, only been around a few years, but from what I hear, they've saved a lot of lives."
"Hmmm," the younger woman mused, too tired to fully comprehend what she was hearing.
Minutes later, two breakfast specials were perched on the counter along with a ringing bell. Amy grabbed them both before heading in the direction of the firemen.
"If you work here very long, you'll meet them all. They're real life heroes, every last one of them from that station, heck from all the stations - Jeezus!" Amy exclaimed, barely able to prevent the profanity that nearly slipped from her lips when another clap of thunder rumbled overhead. She quickly set the plates down before the hungry men and returned to the conversation with Gretchen.
"Honey, I know you need to finish out your shift, but you only got 30 more minutes. It isn't worth getting caught in this weather. Go ahead and clock out. I'll cover for you. I don't want you to get wet running to the bus stop."
Gretchen looked out the windows again. The dark clouds were gathering and the wind was beginning to blow dust across the empty spaces in the parking lot. She knew Amy was right. She reached around behind her, swiftly untying the apron and stowing it away for the next shift. She made a quick stop by the ladies' room before slipping her sweater over her shoulders and reaching beneath the counter for her purse.
"See you tomorrow, and, uh, I appreciate you covering for me," she said, looping her black macramé hobo-style purse across her chest and heading to the time clock.
As she neared the table where the two paramedics were engrossed in serious conversation, she unknowingly slowed her stride and was startled when both men looked up, greeting her with a brief smile and a polite nod.
"I hope you enjoy your meal," she said softly, then quickly pulled open the door. Taking a right turn, she used her hand to shield her face from the dust and debris being blown in small circles around her by the approaching storm. She briefly considered taking the bus home which would allow her to seek shelter in the enclosed bus stop at the next corner, but her financial situation made her quickly change her mind. She needed every penny these days so her aching feet were going to have to traverse the uneven sidewalk that would carry her to her final destination, eleven city blocks away.
E!
Johnny shoveled the last forkful of scrambled eggs into his mouth, watching with concern as his partner's appetite seemingly diminished after eating barely half the food on his plate. 'Half a hot meal is better than cold pop tarts,' he mused.
"Sausage is really good. Don't let it get cold," Johnny suggested, hopefully prodding his friend into eating another few bites.
Tired blue eyes looked up from the plate. "You want mine?"
"No, you should eat it. You haven't eaten much."
"Guess I wasn't as hungry as I thought," Roy said, forcing himself to chew a large forkful of hash browns to appease his partner.
They both looked up as a new waitress ended her shift and walked towards the door. Both smiled, nodding at her as she exited, then returned to their meal.
"She must be new; never seen her here before."
Roy gave his partner an exaggerated eye roll. "Only you would keep up with every new female employee in every business you frequent."
"Hey," Johnny grins, leaning back in his seat. "Gotta keep my options open."
"Uh-huh," Roy smirked, downing the rest of his milk and reaching for his coffee.
Johnny wiped his mouth with his napkin, giving Roy a knowing wink when he saw Amy pick up the coffee pot and head in their direction.
"Need a warmer?"
"That'd be great, but, uh... I'd really like to know who the new girl is?"
"You're terrible, Junior."
Roy picked up a packet of sugar as Johnny tilted his chair back on two legs and smiled charmingly at their waitress. It was mean, but he knew Amy couldn't resist his lopsided grin.
Amy finished pouring the fresh coffee into both cups then stood with one hand on her hip. "You leave her alone, John Gage. She's a nice girl."
Roy snickered, thankful he hadn't yet lifted his cup to his lips. He stirred the sugar in his coffee, pretending not to listen to the motherly warning Amy was giving his partner.
"What's that s'posed to mean? I'm a nice guy."
"Then put all four chair legs on the floor," she admonished, unable to hide her smile. "Gretchen has had a rough go of it lately. She's trying really hard to get back on her feet."
Roy couldn't stop himself. "Meaning, she doesn't want you trying to get her on her back."
"Roy DeSoto!" Amy blushed, slapping the paramedic on the back with the cloth she had draped on her shoulder. "I doubt Joanne would appreciate such a comment," she began, turning her back on the two men. She then tossed her final comment over her shoulder. "But you're exactly right. Leave her alone, Johnny."
John looked at his partner who, for the first time in the last couple of shifts, seemed very close to smiling. He decided he would allow the barbs to be thrown at himself as long as it made his friend feel better. "That really hurt, ya know," he said, jokingly.
"Hey, if I'm not getting any, then you aren't gonna get any either," the older man said, setting his coffee cup back down, wishing he could take back the words he had just allowed to escape from his mouth.
Johnny placed both elbows on the table and leaned in closer to his partner. He allowed only a brief moment of silence between them, realizing that Roy was uncomfortable. "So... It is something between you and Joanne then, isn't it?"
The tapping of sand being blown against the glass window beside them interrupted the conversation.
Roy stood up, fishing his wallet out of his back pocket and dropped a couple of bills on the table. "I've gotta run. I don't like driving the Porsche in this weather; it likes to hydroplane."
Johnny stared down at their cluttered table. He then followed his partner pulling his wallet out and making sure to leave a generous tip for Amy, in spite of her good-natured ribbing. "Take it easy, and, uh, call me if ya, I don't know... If ya wanna get together or somethin'."
Roy looked longingly at his friend. He knew what Johnny really meant. Roy had said more than he had intended to, but he knew his problems would never be repeated by John Gage. The man could be trusted with his life - on shift and off. He was a good friend, and right now, Roy needed that friendship. He just wished he had the guts to tell his partner how difficult things really were at home.
E!
A/N: Just a short introductory chapter; more details with drama and angst in the rest of the story. Thanks for reading.