The Waiting Game
Engine 51 backed into the bay followed closely by the squad. Mike slowly climbed out of the cab as Captain Stanley joined him from the passenger side of the engine. Chet wearily slid down from his jump seat. The three men waited for the squad to come to a stop. Marco killed the engine, got out of the squad and shut the door. He joined his crewmates as they stood between the two vehicles in silence.
Mike was the first to move; he closed the bay door and headed toward the day room mumbling something about needing coffee. Captain Stanley quietly entered his office and shut the door leaving Marco and Chet alone in the bay.
"I can't believe they are both not here, Marco," Chet said reaching out and resting his hand on the door of the squad.
"I know," was all Marco could answer. He had driven the squad many times, following Roy and Johnny as they assisted a gravely ill patient in an ambulance. But he had never come back to the station like this. With both their friends left behind in the hospital, fighting for their lives.
Chet put his arm around Marco. "Come on, I'll buy you a cup of coffee."
Mike saw the two come into the kitchen and took two more mugs from the cabinet as he waited for the coffee to finish percolating. By the time it did, Hank had slipped into a seat at the table but waved Mike's offer of a cup away.
"No thanks, Mike. I won't be sleeping much as it is," he said running his hands through his dark hair. "I called in for replacement medics. Someone should be here soon."
"Who's coming in, Cap?" Chet asked, making conversation but not really caring what paramedics would come to fill in for Johnny and Roy.
"I'm not sure. The Chief said he'd take care of it for me," Hank muttered. "Its late, you all should have something to eat. That fire was hell and then we were at the hospital all afternoon," he trailed off.
The others just nodded in agreement but no one had the energy to get up and start cooking.
"Who was cooking tonight?" Hank asked. He had made the assignment himself just this morning but now that seemed like a lifetime ago.
"It was Roy's turn to cook." Mike said glancing up from his coffee.
Hank pinched his eyes shut, "Oh yeah."
"What I wouldn't give for some of Roy's lousy cooking right now." Chet said. The others managed a smirk and nodded sadly.
No one was sure how long they had sat there lost in their thoughts before they heard Tom Dwyer slip quietly into the room from the parking lot. He was carrying three pizza boxes.
"Hi Tom," Hank said barely looking up. "Thanks for coming in."
"No problem, Cap," Tom said as he put the pizzas on the table. "I thought you'd need something to eat so I stopped and picked these up." He pulled out a few plates and fished in a drawer for utensils.
Shaking himself out of his reverie, Hank looked at the pizzas. "Tom, that was mighty nice of you to do that." There was a murmur of thanks from the others as Tom placed the plates on the table.
Chet pulled a piece of pizza from the box and took a bite. He wasn't hungry but didn't want the gesture Tom had made to appear to be unappreciated. He dropped the slice onto a plate and went back to watching the swirls in his now cold cup of coffee.
Tom looked toward the door to the bay as he heard movement. "That must be Brice," he said heading out of the room. He went to intercept the man before he came into the kitchen. He wanted to leave the crew with some peace and quiet. Shutting down the apparatus bay lights, he went into the dorm.
Hank cleared his throat. "Hey, look guys. We've been here before. There have been times when both Roy and Johnny have been out at the same time."
Marco sighed. "Yeah but that's when one of them was hurt and the other stayed with him." The group nodded.
"Man, remember when Johnny got bit by the rattler? Roy wasn't with him and he still beats himself up over that." Chet said shaking his head at the memory.
"That was rough on him. But hey, Chet, you made a great medic-in-training that day." Hank said with a slight grin.
"Thanks, Cap." Chet said as he poked at the pizza slice in front of him.
Marco reached and plucked a slice of pepperoni off the nearby pie. "That was one of the few times one wasn't there for the other. When Johnny got hit by the car at that dive bar, Roy was right there with him."
The group nodded remembering Roy's concern for his friend and partner.
"They do watch out for each other but I remember once when Roy was completely oblivious that something had even happened to Johnny," Mike said as he stood to see what the third pizza was. He took a slice of the green pepper and olive and took a bite before heading back to reheat the coffee.
"When do you mean, Mike?" Chet asked, finishing his pizza slice and taking one more. He slid the box toward Hank with a gesture showing he wanted his Captain to eat." Hank smiled and took a piece.
"When they had that firefighter from England visiting, remember? Jason…"
"Channing. Jason Channing." Hank said swallowing a bite.
"Oh yeah, I remember now," Chet said. "Gage fell at the rock quarry and Jason grabbed him in the nick of time. I thought he wasn't going to be able to pull him up, but he did."
"Roy told me later that Johnny picked up the dinner tab when Jason scooped that orthopedic nurse out from under him. He was that thankful." Mike explained.
"I remember that guy who had a live grenade inside him. Johnny and Roy stayed and helped Brackett and Morton perform surgery. I was never so scared," Marco said, his eyes wide. "All they had to protect them were those flak vests! I don't think I could have done it."
"They are dedicated, I give them that." Hank said.
"I thought we had lost them both at the Harvest Hills fire." Chet said as he dumped his coffee and poured a fresh cup.
Hank let out a breath. "No kidding. That was a rough day. So many men were hurt. I think Deke was one of the worst that day." He sat up and tried to rally his crew. "Deke survived that, so will Johnny and Roy."
Everyone tried to brighten in support of their captain but the reality of what could happen lay on their hearts like a blanket.
Mike looked at the wall clock. "Its getting late. Maybe we should call?"
"No need, Mike. Brackett promised he'd call no matter what the time…no matter what the news." Hank said. He rested his forehead on the heels of his palms. He was tired but he also wanted to hide the fear he knew must be showing on his face.
"Hey, hey guys. Remember when Johnny and Roy bought the old Dennis from that junkyard?" Chet said smiling. When Hank looked up, he continued on. "Yeah, what a piece of sh…junk."
Marco snickered. "It sure was ugly. But they put their heart and souls into that old rig. Turned out pretty nice." Everyone nodded.
"Boy, they sure looked silly in those old-time uniforms, didn't they?" Hank chuckled.
"And when the truck was wrecked, I felt so bad for them." Mike said.
"Me too." Chet said, shaking his head. "What about when they traded vehicles for what, about two days?"
"Well you didn't help that situation much, you twit." Hank said swatting towards Chet. "You were trying to convince Johnny he got the raw end of that deal."
Chet leaned back and grinned. He did love to get Johnny riled up. He hoped he would get that chance again.
They watched as Hank got up and walked slowly over to the table in the corner near the television. Hank looked down at the piece of sculpture there. It had been given to them by a local artist that had been trapped inside his 'work of art.'
Running his finger over a spring of the device, Hank sobered. "Johnny loves this thing. It really helped cheer him up back then when he lost his good friend Drew."
Chet rubbed his eyes with his knuckles as they stung with tears. His heart went out to Johnny back then.
Marco noticed Chet. He gathered up the pizza boxes and walked toward the refrigerator. "I saw his wife, Pam, just the other day."
"Really? How is she?" Mike asked turning toward Marco.
"She remarried. She has a new baby. She seems happy."
Hank had sat down on the couch and began to pat Henry absently. "That's great to hear." He said but his voice was somber.
"I gotta tell you, I was amazed when Roy passed up that promotion to Engineer," Chet said looking up at Mike. "I know he loves being a paramedic but I have a feeling he didn't want to leave Johnny behind."
"I bet you're right," Mike said knowingly. He didn't tell them that Roy had shared his feelings with him about the situation.
The room got quiet again as each man was lost in their own thoughts.
Chet finally cleared his throat. "I have a confession to make."
A chorus of "what is it?" prompted him to continue.
"I go to John Gage for dating advice." He winced as he waited for the rebuff from his crewmates.
There was a pause then Mike said, "I do too."
Chet's eyes widened. "You do? He really does know what he's talking about, doesn't he?" he leaned back, relieved and smiling.
"I'll have to try talking to him. The blind dates my mother's friends set me up on have not been going well." Marco said and the men laughed but then jumped as the phone rang.
Everyone froze except Hank who darted towards his office to get the call.
Marco sat back down at the table to wait. Everyone's hearts beat loudly in their chests. Tom Dwyer came into the room to join them, the phone having woken him up. Craig Brice was not far behind and stood near the stove.
As they heard Hank's footsteps returning, the Station 51 crew stood up from their chairs feeling that they may just jump out of their skins.
"That was Brackett," Hank said as he rounded the corner into the room. No one could read the expression on his face and all breathing stopped. "They pulled through. They are both going to be okay."
Chet slowly sunk back into his chair and rested his head in his hands.
"Praise God." Marco said quietly and Mike nodded his concurrence.
"Amen!" Tom said slapping Brice on the back happily. Brice just raised his eyebrows at the gesture but remained quiet.
Hank clapped his hands together. "Now let's get some shut eye so we can get over there and see them in the morning, shall we?"
He ushered the men through the doorway, giving each a warm smile as they passed.
He turned to take one more look at the sculpture in the corner of the room before shutting off the lights and heading toward the dorm. The crew of Station 51's A-shift would be whole once more.
The End