Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from station 51 but I fell in love with them and it is sure fun to invite them out to play. I often wonder what the actors that brought these characters to life for us would think if they read what was on this web sight.
Authors note. This is the requested Sequel to 'From Where Peace Comes', although I didn't think it was my best work I have to agree that it wasn't finished when I ended it. If you have not read 'From Where Peace Comes' I would recommend it before delving into this one because this one will make much more sense if you do.
Out of the Blue
Chapter 1
"Roll Call! Everyone line up," Captain Hank Stanley called out as he stepped between the trucks with his clip board in hand. Mike Stoker was the first one in line simply standing up from his seat on the running board of his prized fire engine where he was reading the letter he found taped to the door of his locker when he arrived for work that morning. As the rest of the crew filed in from the day room and locker room Mike kept his eyes glued to the multi page letter in his hand until he heard his captain clear his throat to get his attention. At which point he placed his thumb over the line he was reading at the time and place the pages behind his back as he turned his attention at least temporarily to his Captain.
Hank made frequent glances at his engineer between announcements and noticed something different about his appearance but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. Assignments were handed out and the crew dismissed as Mike didn't say a word just pulled his letter from behind his back and moved toward his assigned dorm duties reading as he walked.
"Hey Mikey, who's the letter from?" Chet chided following the engineer who simply gave the pesky lineman a sideways glance and a smile before turning back to his letter and continuing on.
Marco joined Chet in sneaking into the dorm to watch Mike finish his letter only to find him pulling the sheets and pillow cases from the beds in preparation of putting fresh linens on and getting the used ones out for the laundry pick up. It was clear by the smell of smoke on the sheets he was removing that the last shift had had a busy night and he was glad that he didn't have to sleep on their smoke filled sheets. He was just scooping up the soiled linens and stuffing them in the laundry bag when their first alarm of the day came in.
A motor vehicle accident with injuries. Mike led the way to the engine where he pulled his coat and hat on and climbed behind the wheel and waited for his captain to take his seat in the shotgun position before he pulled out behind the squad as they made their way to the address that was given.
There were three cars involved at speeds that had flipped one car on its top breaking off the fire hydrant that was now shooting water into the air and another one on its side. The third car was still on all four wheels. All three of the cars were leaking gas with two of the cars having three people each in them and the third only having two.
Captain Stanley's first act was to call for another station to assist and for four ambulances. Lopez and Kelly were quick to pull hose as Mike quickly hooked them up to the engine and charged the lines so that they could wash down the gas leaks. Once the water was running and the hose pressure steady Mike grabbed as much hose as he could shoulder and ran for the hydrant on the next corner. His engine would soon run out of water if he didn't hook up to a hydrant. Once he had the hydrant feeding into the engine three patients with minor injuries were guided to the running board of the engine for Mike to keep an eye on while the paramedics worried about those more seriously injured.
While keeping an eye on the gages out of the corner of his eye Mike kept busy splinting a broken arm and placing a dislocated shoulder in a sling before bandaging what had first appeared to be a minor scalp laceration. Before he was finished with the scalp laceration Mike noticed his dislocated shoulder patient slumping against the engine and quickly moved next to him checking a pulse.
With out really counting he noticed the rate was fast and weak. Mike quickly looked for the paramedics but found Roy franticly starting his second IV on one patient with a bystander holding pressure on a bleeder on another patient that also had two IV's running. Johnny had three patients that all looked serious and Cap and Kelly were working the Jaws to get them out of the car. Mike was on his own with this one at least until the second Squad arrived.
Mike carefully pulled the man into his shoulder and eased him onto the ground being careful not to cause any further injury to his shoulder. Once he had his patient laying flat he picked up his legs and rested them on the running board.
"I'm really getting dizzy here," Mike's head injury began to complain; "I think I'm going to throw up."
She did throw up, all down the front of Mike and it was all he could do to keep from throwing up all over her in return. Mike was helping her to the ground and to lay on her side as Marco shut off his hose to offer Roy a hand with his patients and the pressure on the gages started climbing to dangerous levels. Being quick on his feet Mike jumped to the pump levers and shut them down then returned to his patients where he managed to get vital signs taken and recorded, for his patient with the dislocated shoulder he wrote the information on the triangular bandage on his head injury patient he inked the information on her forearm. They were both going into shock.
Running to the squad to pull out some blankets Mike quickly covered his patients and made them as comfortable as he could before looking up to the welcomed sight of the second Squad arriving on scene from one direction while the first of the ambulances arrived from the other direction. As the newly arrived paramedics started running with their supplies toward the wrecked cars Mike waved one of them over to him as Roy moved his two patients into the first ambulance as the next two pulled into view.
In just a few minutes four ambulances were loaded with patients and headed for Rampart and the tow trucks were pulling in to their vacated positions. Chet was assigned to drive the squad to the hospital and before Mike helped Marco load the hose back on the truck he asked Marco to hose him down. Hank was startled by his engineer's request but it only took one good look to understand why and gave his lineman the go ahead nod.
Mike was starting to fasten up his turn out coat when he noticed that the vomit had managed to go down the front of his turn out and was also covering the front of his uniform. After the first pass with the hose Mike opened up his turn out and then caught sight of the papers sticking out of his front pocket and held his hand up to Marco.
"Cap, would you please take care of this for me." Mike requested as he reached in with two fingers and carefully pulled the letter from his pocket and handed it to his captain before letting Marco wash off his uniform. The time spent draining and reloading the hose was not sufficient to dry out Mike's uniform and as he got into the cab of the engine he was still a little green around the gills.
"Are you okay Mike?" Cap asked when he climbed in beside him.
"Yeah, nothing a shower and a clean uniform won't cure," Mike answered as he checked his mirrors and started the engine back to the station.
Glancing at the letter he was still holding for Mike and noticing the return address Hank chose to attempt to distract his engineer with it. "So how's Laura doing these days?"
Mike glanced to his captain and the letter he was waving at him and realized that he was just as much a friend as he was. "She's been released by her psychiatrists and has passed her psyche evaluation and been cleared to return to work. That organization she works for gave her twenty minutes to catch a plane to Nicaragua."
"I've heard of getting back in the saddle but that's ridiculous." Hank responded with the same feelings Mike had when he read the letter. "So how long will she be in Nicaragua?"
"She told them not so fast, that she had other plans." Mike finished with a hint of a smile as he glanced to his captain. "She's going to be in LA for a couple of days, she said she'd stop in and say hi."
"So when's she coming?"
"She said in the letter she didn't know for sure. She said she'd just have to surprise us."
"Well if she doesn't come in to the station be sure to tell her hi from all of us," Hank added and watched Mike blush at his remark.
Mike pulled up in front of the station and waited for Marco and Cap to get out of the engine and stop traffic so that Mike could back the engine into the bay and get it ready to go again.
Mike was backing the Engine across two lanes of stopped traffic when he was distracted by a loud engine sound over head. Looking toward the sound Mike saw a single engine airplane coming down over the top of him. He barely had enough time to duck his head in the cab of the engine as the plane came over the top of him. Glancing out the door window Mike noticed his crew mates were down on their knees watching as the plane touched down on the road about a hundred feet beyond the engine on the road that was now cleared of traffic behind the engine. As the plane started screeching to a stop, smoke coming from its tires, it was moving to fast to be able to stop before it reached the intersection and more traffic moving through the light. As Mike watched with horror the plane moving toward an unavoidable accident the door on the other side of the engine opened and the Captain climbed in, "Marco's in, lets move it."
Mike shifted the engine into forward and flipped the sirens and lights on as Captain Stanley picked up the Microphone from the Dash. "LA engine 51 we have an airplane making an emergency landing south bound on the street in front of the station. Dispatch another engine and a paramedic unit."
"10-4 51"
"Squad 51 responding to engine 51's accident ETA four minutes," Johnny's voice was heard over the radio as Mike cringed in anticipation of the imminent accident that was about to happen before his eyes. Mike blasted the air horn hoping the intersection traffic ahead would hear and stop allowing room for the plane to get through. Some of the cars listened and pulled to a stop but still others tried to hurry through before the engine got there.
As everyone in the engine held their breath the plane sped up and lifted off the ground once again, clipping the traffic light and skimming the top of a couple of cars crossing its path. As three firefighters took in a deep breath the plane cleared the intersection and set down again continuing to skid in an attempt to come to a stop. As Mike was maneuvering his engine through the cross traffic they all noticed that one of the tires on the landing gear burst from all the pressure and the plane was slowing. It would make it to a stop before the next intersection.
Cap and Marco bailed out of the engine and started running toward the downed plane as Mike pulled the engine on an angle and parked so that he cut off all oncoming traffic before joining the rest of the short handed crew.
By the time Mike had arrived at the plane Marco and Cap had pulled the doors open and Cap was talking to the person in the right hand seat.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Ask me that question in about fifteen minutes." The women in the seat replied in a winded voice as she smoothed a few strands of hair back on her head. She was wearing an official uniform that looked to be Air force from the back and on her shoulders were Major's clusters. Her hair was pulled back tight in a bun. Mike watched as she reached over and took hold of the other person's wrist and counted a pulse before touching her fingers to the temple of his head. "I need the first aid kit from the back seat." The woman called.
"I'll get it," Mike volunteered and quickly pulled the back hatch open and reached in. As he scanned for the first aid kit he first saw the suit case with a familiar looking teddy bear strapped to the side of it. The teddy bear was wearing a name tag identifying it as Camp Staff with the name of Mike.
"It's under the seat behind me." The woman directed as she was looking back, she then turned around again quickly, "Captain Stanley, we're carrying donor organs to be transplanted. Do you think you can get a couple of patrol cars to deliver them to Harbor Valley and St Anne hospitals for me?"
"On it," Captain Stanley stepped back and pulled the handy talkie from his belt as Mike stepped up with the first aid kit.
There he stood, still soaked from his fire hose shower, still covered with traces of puke, Hair out of place and uncombed and sitting in the cock pit in front of him was the person he had been excited to see since he received her letter, the very attractive, very impressive, Laura Elmer.
