"So you bought it….just like that." Roy DeSoto looked at his paramedic partner in disbelief.
"I told you if I ever bought a house it would be there….remember when we filled in at 86. It's beautiful country…Vince put me onto the house….It needs a lot of fixing up but it's perfect Roy…It's…" Roy could see that Johnny was about to give him a very detailed description of the house. He raised his hands to stop his partner from talking.
"Johnny….I honestly don't think I have time to hear about the house. We have roll call in five minutes and we still need to do the morning check on the squad."
Johnny continued to get changed in silence, his conversations with Roy ended more often than not abruptly these days. He was so excited this morning, wanting to tell his friends about his house, and now he felt let down. Roy's lack of interest made him feel despondent and reminded him of his absence of family, whom you would normally share this news with.
Johnny ran into Vince later in the shift. "So you bought it...That's great...We'll be neighbours. Are you going to transfer to 86?"
"Thinking about it Vince. The paramedics aren't on 24hr shifts like us. They work 12 hour shifts, 4days on 4 days off. I'd have to wait for an opening." Johnny had been thinking about transferring for some time. His interest in the area had developed into a goal and he had been saving as much as he could for a deposit on a house.
In the evening, while everyone was watching TV, Johnny sat at the kitchen table and started to write a list. He started off with things he wanted in his ideal home. He then listed each room in his house and worked out how he would change it, taking into account his wants list. He knew he was going to be working on the house for a long time if he was going to make it his ideal home.
Cap called lights out and as Johnny lay in his bunk a satisfied feeling came over him. He had made the right decision in buying the house; it would fill the empty voids that had been developing in his life over the past year.
Roy never did get around to seeing or discussing Johnny's house before he signed the contracts. Johnny turned to other friends in the fire department for advice and acceptance. It was a growing trend as the two friends grew apart.
"This is great Johnny. I can see many a get together for a BBQ here. Decking has to be one of the first projects." Johnny felt a pang in his heart when he thought about the many BBQ's station 51 had when Captain Stanley first took over. They had become a thing of the past as the crew members did their own thing on their days off. It wasn't just he and Roy; the whole crew had really grown apart over the last year.
"I need to replace the roof first then the decking Ted." Johnny shook his head.
"Yeah Ted...last thing Johnny needs is to wake up floating in his bed first storm." Kurt winked at Johnny. "It's going to take a lot of work, but I can see this being something really good. You've done well...it's a real find...a little gem."
"My piece of heaven." Johnny slapped Kurt on the back.
"It is real pretty up here." Ted indicated as he admired the view from the back of the house. After the signing of the contracts it was friends like Kurt and Ted who helped him move in.
Johnny sat in the kitchen of his house and went over his finances. He had enough left over to not only replace the roof but to also purchase the materials needed for the decking. If he could get his friends to help with the roof, he would have more money available for other projects, such as, painting. Over the next few weeks working bees took place and soon the major projects were completed.
A contented Johnny sat on his deck and drank his coffee. He was tired. The last 48 hour shift had been a nightmare. On the first day they had to contend with a horrific pile up on the 405. Fire from an exploding tanker had engulfed many cars and their trapped occupants. A lot of citizens had died and many more had been badly injured and burned.
That night they had been called out to a major structure fire. Five stations including station 51 had been involved from the beginning to the end, including clean up. They had not made it to bed until 2am the next morning. They had all jumped into their cars and headed for home as soon as it was time to leave.
He sat and took in the view of the mountains. They radiated peace and tranquillity, soothing his soul. He thought about station 86, the somewhat quieter station appealed to him. 'Maybe it's time to make that move.' Hethought, the last 48 hours endorsing those thoughts. He was happy that he had his house to come home to and relax.
The phone rang waking the dozing paramedic. He had nodded off whilst relaxing on his deck. Johnny stepped through the sliding glass doors and grabbed the phone extension in the kitchen. "Hello." He was half expecting Roy to be on the other end; neither had had a chance to talk after the shift, not that they talked that much these days, but the shift had been a bad one. Although both men were still good friends at work, outside of work was a different story. Socially they moved in different circles which meant they didn't spend that much time outside of their jobs together anymore.
Roy had recently reconnected with some of his army friends on one of their anniversaries. Since then Roy and his family had been enjoying mixing with his army friends and their families. Johnny found himself spending more time with other paramedics. Roy still hadn't seen or visited his house because he was always too busy.
"Mr John Gage?" A female voice said his name asking for verification.
"Yes this is John Gage."
"Excuse me Mr Gage but I need to check that I have the correct Mr John Gage. Was your mother's name, Elizabeth Williams?"
"Yes but she's no longer with us."
"Your mother had a brother named Jay Williams and he had a daughter named Hachi?"
"Yes but I haven't seen or spoken to them since my mom died."
"I'm sorry to tell you this Mr Gage but your Uncle and cousin died two months ago in a motor vehicle accident."
John was stunned by the news. They were his only living blood relatives. His mother only had one brother and his father had a sister who never married. She had died a couple of years ago. They were all gone.
"Mr Gage I'm sorry to be blunt but I need to know if you are aware of any other blood relatives on your mother's side?"
"Ahh….no….there's no one else. I have no other blood relatives."
"That's where you're wrong Mr Gage. There is another blood relative. Wayna Williams, Hachi's son….My name is Judith Ross and I am the social worker in charge of your cousin's case. There is no record of his father; the boy could only tell us that his mother told him that he was a soldier and had died in Vietnam and that he had no living relatives. Hachi's close friends verified the story. That brings us back to you being Wayna's only relative. At the moment he is being cared for by a family who live on the property next to your Uncle's, but it is only temporary. They are the ones who told us about you."
"That would be the Rogers. I remember them." Johnny had not liked Mr Rogers because he drank too much. He didn't like the idea of Wayna staying with them.
"Yes that's right. Now since you are Wayna's only known relative….some decisions have to be made. As I said his stay with the Rogers is only temporary." The woman sighed into the phone. She was going to have to spell it out for this man. "Are you willing to take custody of Wayna Mr Gage?"
"Custody? Ummm….How old is he? Are you sure there is no one else? I'm not married." Johnny had all sorts of thoughts running through his mind. He had room for Wayna but his job would mean that he would have to stay with someone else overnight. Some of his friends would help out but this was a lot of responsibility.
"Wayna is ten Mr Gage. He needs his family." Johnny sighed into the phone. He understood what Ms Ross was implying, having lost his mother and father at a young age. He would just have to make it work for Wayna's sake.
"Yes of course. I guess I better come get him." Johnny had no idea how he was going to make it work but he knew Wayna needed him. When his parents had died he was lucky an Aunt had taken him in and looked after him until he graduated high school. He would need to do the same for Wayna. They were family.
"Thank you Mr Gage. There will be some forms to fill out so could you call into my office first before picking up Wayna. Now when can we expect you?" Johnny couldn't help but think that this woman was all business, nothing else.
"Well….I'll have to call HQ and make arrangements for time off. If they agree to me taking time off, then I guess I could leave first thing tomorrow and be there in two days, making it Thursday. Does Wayna know about me?"
"He's aware he has a cousin who lives in Los Angeles. His mother told him about you. He knows that you are his only living relative."
"Ok well I guess I'll see you Thursday." Johnny got Miss Ross's phone number and office address. He then called HQ and arranged for leave; it was approved when Johnny explained the circumstances. He then called Cap to let him know what was happening. He had tried Roy first but there had been no answer.
"This is a lot of responsibility John. How will you cope?"
"I'll have to get help from my friends until I can organise something more permanent." Cap thought Johnny was underestimating the responsibility but he knew he had a lot of friends who would help out. His paramedic didn't have much choice since there was no one else to take in the boy. After speaking to his Cap, Johnny called Craig Brice.
Johnny and Craig had become good friends, despite their rocky start. Johnny had been helping out at the local youth centre for some time and when Craig turned up to also help out they quickly became friends. Bob Bellingham, Craig's paramedic partner, had suggested that Craig help out at the youth centre hoping to mellow his up-tight partner. It worked.
Johnny soon learned once you got past the regulations Craig Brice, that there was a very caring and somewhat lonely man. They both learnt that they had a lot in common, including no family. Like Ted and Kurt, Craig filled one of the empty voids in Johnny's life by becoming a very close friend.
After explaining everything to Craig, it was Craig who suggested that he and Kurt set up Johnny's spare room for a ten year old boy. Johnny left some money for his friends, but they were certain that they would be able to obtain the furniture for free from other fire-fighters. Johnny left it in his friend's capable hands. Little did he know that a working bee had been organised and was ready to get Wayna's room organised before he arrived at his new home.
Johnny left the next morning as a single man, and would return as a single guardian of a ten year old boy. He was soon going to find that the empty voids in his life were about to become very busy.