"Hello." The sleepy Paramedic was woken up by his phone. It was the first day of a four day break. Johnny was leaving in the afternoon to go camping for a couple of days. He needed to get away from the city to unwind from a hectic couple of weeks.
"It's Chief Houts Johnny…I really need a favour." He didn't wait for Johnny to respond. "I need an experienced paramedic to step in at 127s for the next forty-eight hours. You would be partnered with a new paramedic. You're my last hope Johnny, I've tried several of the experienced paramedics but with Anderson getting married up state, a lot are not available."
"Yeah, Roy's going to that wedding. Ok Chief. I'll just need to shower; I should be there in a couple of hours." Johnny felt very disappointed. He really needed a break, it would have to wait.
"Thanks Johnny...Badger is the Captain...just like old times hey Johnny." Chief Houts tried to make the OT more pleasant sounding to his friend.
"Badger….. Captain…long way from lineman, hey Chief?" Johnny thought back to his rescue days.
"The same could be said about you Johnny." The Chief said with pride for his once boot back in his engineer days.
Johnny dragged himself out of bed into the shower. It did the trick and woke him up. He grabbed some late breakfast, packed a couple of uniforms and headed out. He called into station 51 to grab his turnout gear and boots.
It was a long drive, not in distance, but in traffic to 127s station. This was one of the older stations, in an older part of town. He pulled up and parked in the only available spot in the parking lot. Johnny was looking forward to seeing Captain Badger; he hadn't seen him for over a year.
He made his way into the station and quickly found the Captain's office. Johnny tapped on the door and heard the gravelly voice of his old friend call out 'Come in'. Johnny opened the door and had a big smile on his face as he entered.
"Johnny...well, look at you...so you're my experienced paramedic replacement." He stood to shake Johnny's outstretched hand.
"Cap….it's good to see you." Johnny said with affection. His first station had taken him under their wing and looked after him when he was a wet behind the ears boot. It was the now Chief Houts who had encouraged Johnny to go into rescue, after he had finished his probation period.
They talked for a while and then Badger stood to take Johnny around the station to introduce him to everyone. When Johnny met the paramedic, he knew why Chief Houts had asked him to be the replacement. He was only a year or two younger than Johnny, but as far as maturity was concerned he seemed very young.
"What happened to your partner?" Johnny asked Tim Woodruff.
"He got caught in a ceiling collapse while rescuing the owner of a home that was on fire last shift." Tim was very nervous; to him John Gage was a legend. The team of Roy DeSoto and John Gage was known for their innovative skills and for bringing the paramedic program to the established public accepted program it was today. It was well known that the program lacked acceptance in the beginning but it was paramedics like Gage and DeSoto who through perseverance made it a successful program.
"How long have you been partners?" Johnny asked with a calm friendly voice. He was trying to put the young paramedic at ease.
"Two months. Jason is really good…..he's helped me settle in really well." Tim was beginning to relax. Johnny's friendly persona was putting him at ease.
"Who was your training team?"
"Stone and Jackson." Replied Tim.
"I trained with Stoney; we're both out of the first class at Rampart….Good man….that's good." Johnny closed up the drug box and told Tim he should do the calibrations. He explained that the young man should take charge of certain duties since it was his station.
After finishing their morning duties Tim introduced Johnny to the rest of the crew. It was a mixture of old and new. One of the linemen, Bobby Cipps, made Johnny feel uneasy when he shook his hand. He seemed to really give Johnny the once over with his eyes and the handshake wasn't a firm grip but more feminine. The paramedic shook off the uneasy feeling and helped Tim with his chores.
It was in the afternoon that Johnny felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He turned around and found Bobby leaning against the wall watching him. He tried to smile but felt very uneasy with the way the lineman was looking at him.
"Married John?" Bobby asked casually. He continued to stare at the paramedic.
"No." said Johnny. He kept his back to the questioning man. Johnny felt very uncomfortable with this line of questioning.
"Got a girlfriend?" Bobby was a bit pushy with his questions Johnny thought.
"Not at the moment...between girlfriends...you know what I mean?" Johnny shrugged his shoulders and wondered if Bobby did know what he meant.
"Yeah...You're a good looking guy, must have a lot of girls out there wanting to go out with you." Bobby pressed on; ignoring the uncomfortable atmosphere he was creating. Johnny's back allowed him to look over the paramedic intensely.
Johnny was feeling very uneasy and was wishing for the klaxons to sound but of course they didn't. "Um...a few." Johnny said vaguely. He was beginning to think this guy must have a sister that he kept an eye out for a potential boyfriend.
Tim came into the room and scowled at Bobby, "Johnny, the guys are going to have a game of basketball, want to join in?"
Johnny pushed himself off the counter he was leaning on. "You bet….I'm up for a game." He just wanted to get out of the room and conversation with Bobby.
They went outside and started playing. It was very hot and soon the guys were shedding their shirts. Bobby didn't play, just watched. Johnny took his shirt off and heard a gasp. He looked around thinking someone had hurt themselves but couldn't tell where it came from. He shrugged and continued taking off his shirt.
Bobby licked his lips and took in the sight of a bare chested Johnny Gage. He tingled all over. No one had ever made him feel this way. His breaths quickened and his heart pounded.
The men continued playing oblivious to Bobby's façade. They stopped for drinks. One of the crew brought out a pitcher of ice tea. The ice tea spilt and trickled down Johnny's chin onto his chest as he drunk it greedily. Bobby approached Johnny; he was close to the edge as his eyes followed the paths of the ice tea down the paramedic's chest. "You're well built for a paramedic." He stated trying very hard to keep his voice calm. Inside he was far from calm.
"I'm also a fireman and besides rescue keeps me fit." Johnny, feeling uneasy under Bobby's gaze, replied. 'What is it with this guy?' he thought.
"Johnny, we're ready." Tim called and waved his hand in the direction of the basketball hoop. The paramedic noticed Tim give Bobby a dirty look as he jogged towards the group of men.
Soon the game was back in full swing. The paramedics only had two calls in the afternoon. It was definitely a much quieter station. He was relieved it was not too busy, but at the same time, wished they were away from the station more. It seemed everywhere he turned Bobby was watching him, with a creepy smile plastered on his face. It was more like a smile a young nurse would give him if she wanted him to ask her out. He shivered when he thought about it, 'Nahhh… I'm getting paranoid,' he thought.
The klaxons sounded just after dinner and they were called out to a structure fire. There were no victims so Tim and Johnny helped fight the fire. As per usual the paramedics were teamed up with the linemen. Johnny was teamed up with Bobby. Tim half smiled as if in sympathy.
He took the lead. Bobby placed his hand on the paramedic's shoulder to support him, but, then that hand slid down his back to his hip. Johnny adjusted his stance to move his hip away from Bobby so that the hand had to move back up to his shoulder. He felt the hand rub over his shoulder and then move up and down his back. He was glad he was wearing his turnout coat. He was feeling very uneasy. Bobby tapped him on the shoulder to change over. He was relieved to change positions.
Johnny kept some distance between them and placed his hand firmly on Bobby's shoulder but didn't move it. The lineman stepped back into Johnny a couple of times and turned his head and almost touched the paramedic's face with his. He said, "Sorry didn't mean to step into you." Johnny wondered if he meant it. The whole situation made the paramedic feel tense.
Johnny was glad when the fire was out and helped with clean up but stayed close to the other crew. He didn't want to find himself alone with Bobby. It was hard sweaty work but Johnny enjoyed it. It took him back to his early fireman days. He loved being a paramedic but he loved being a fireman also. He was lifting a piece of wood to check underneath when he slipped on something greasy. Bobby grabbed him around the waist to stop him from falling. The lineman's hand made its way under the paramedic's turncoat, and with all his hard work his shirt was untucked. This gave Bobby the opportunity to slip his hand under the shirt. Touching Johnny's skin sent electrifying feelings through his body. He kept his hand there for as long as he could. Normally Johnny wouldn't have thought anything of it, but when he looked to say thanks to whoever caught him, he froze when he saw it was the lineman.
"Aahh…. thanks for the save." Johnny straightened up and moved away from Bobby. He felt a cold shiver run through him and wanted nothing more but to wash away the feeling of the lineman's touch.
Bobby put his other hand on Johnny's hip and said, "Steady there, you ok?"
Johnny stepped away further and half smiled. "Yeah I'm ok, thanks." He quickly moved away and stepped between Tim and Jack, another lineman, and continued the clean-up. Tim looked at Johnny and frowned; he noticed the older paramedic looked a bit upset. He looked in the direction Johnny came from and saw Bobby smiling as he continued with clean up. Tim shook his head and thought 'Bobby had a new obsession.'