The Lighter Side…of Getting Hurt

Chapter 1…Mike

Mike Stoker had been in a traffic accident while driving home from his brother Marty's house. While his pickup truck didn't fare so well, he amazingly had escaped with only moderate injuries. A dislocated left shoulder, four broken ribs, and a concussion, along with various bruises and cuts were what he was lucky to only end up with.

With 51's A-shift in the midst of a four day stretch of being off, most of the guys had been out of town, with the exception of Marco Lopez and John Gage. The accident having happened earlier in the day, it was now some time after six in the evening, and Mike was resting as comfortably as could be expected under the circumstances. He had just received a visit from his doctor, Dr. Pringle, when Marco and Johnny entered the room.

"Mike, how are you doing, buddy?" Johnny asked with concerned as he casted a wary eye over his friend's appearance.

"I'm alright, Johnny…a bit banged up, but Dr. Pringle assured me that I'll be okay. I'll be missing a few shifts, but I'll be good as new in a couple weeks. Have a seat. How are you guys doing?"

Marco shook his head wearing a look of disbelief on his face. "We're fine, Mike…YOU'RE the one who was in an accident."

"It's no big deal, Marco. I made out a lot better than my truck did."

Scrunching up his nose a bit, Johnny sighed softly. "Not so good, huh?"

Mike shook his head, before grimacing in pain. "Nope…a total loss. It'll be okay, though. My brother Marty has a spare car that he can lend me until I get another set of wheels."

"That's good. What exactly happened?" Johnny asked interestedly, as he leaned forward in his seat.

Licking his dry lips, Mike closed his eyes for a moment as a small wave of pain and dizziness washed over him. Sensing that the engineer was not doing well, Johnny was immediately up.

Laughing softly, Mike held up his good right arm. "Can't take the paramedic out of you, can we, Johnny? I'm alright. It passes quickly. So…you guys wanna know what happened. Well, I was coming home from Marty's house. I had been helping him with some projects around his house yesterday, and decided to stay over. On my way home this morning, I was going through an intersection when some moron decided to go through a red light…I was broadsided on the driver's side."

"What station was on scene?"

"Station 110, Marco. And don't worry, Johnny…Hogan and Fuhrman took good care of me."

Smiling, Johnny shrugged his shoulders. "I don't doubt that…of course they aren't as good as me and Roy…"

Interrupting their visit was an older nurse who was apparently from the old school of nursing…very no nonsense.

"Visit is over, gentlemen. It is time for Mr. Stoker's enema," said the nurse in a 'don't argue with me' kind of tone.

Pushing both Johnny and Marco out of the way, she started to push the curtain around Mike's bed.

"Wait a minute…just wait a minute…" Mike started to protest.

Looking behind her as she started to get the preparations done for the procedure that she was about to do, the nurse, whose name was Hilde, looked behind her at the two men who were still in the room, and as surprised as Mike himself was. "Out…" she bellowed.

Standing their ground the two firefighters weren't quite sure what to do, but Johnny had an idea that something wasn't quite right about all of this.

Yanking the curtain back, Mike tried to catch Hilde's attention before she started something that he knew he was not going to appreciate.

"Wait…Dr. Pringle was just here…he didn't say anything about an enema."

"What can I say, sweetheart?" she replied as she jerked the curtain back into place. "Over…" came the stern order.

Mike's head was spinning. Like anyone who'd been or was currently a firefighter, he'd been injured and in the hospital before, but he never had to be subjected to anything like this.

Johnny and Marco were still in the room, a look of shock and confusion still registering on their faces.

As Hilde was about to push Mike over onto his side and start the procedure, a younger nurse came running into the room.

"Stop…stop…Hilde. That enema isn't for Mike Stoker…you have the wrong patient."

Peeking from around the curtain, Hilde gave her younger counterpart an irritated look. "What are you talking about, Katy? The doctor's orders said Mike Stoker…"

Shaking her head animatedly, Katy continued on. "The orders are for Mike Stokler…room 2205…this is Mike Stoker…room 2204."

Looking down at Mike, Hilde gave him a small smile. "Sorry, sweet cheeks…maybe next time."

Gathering her supplies, Hilde followed Katy out the door, leaving Marco and Johnny laughing hysterically.

Pulling the curtain back, Mike peered over at his two friends, a not very amused expression on his face.

"Are you guys finished, yet?" He asked in a deadpan voice.

Holding up his hand, Johnny tried to talk, but instead ended up gasping for air.

Stopping long enough to talk was Marco. "You are so lucky Chet wasn't here."

Pointing his right index finger over at the two men, he waved them over. "You guys say anything about this to Kelly…I'll make your lives a living hell."

Mike would go on to spend another two days in the hospital, and after a few weeks of recuperation, would recover to rejoin his friends at 51's. As promised, Johnny and Marco never mentioned a word about the embarrassing mix up, to anyone. While Mike appeared to be quiet and reserved on the outside, they both knew that he was perfectly capable of being "revengeful" if necessary. Remembering the old saying "don't cross the engineer" the two men never spoke about it again.

THE END