Me and Thee
It had been over a month since Johnny, Roy and their families had been to Bay City. Everyone was glad to put that scary time behind them and they even had the chance to go back and visit their new friends, Starsky and Hutch after it was all over.
Johnny and Roy arrived at the station at the same time. Everyone was glad to see the duo back together. Roy had been on leave since his hospitalization after almost dying of smoke inhalation in Bay City. The C-shift crew welcomed him back as he climbed out of his car.
The partners went into the locker room to change into their uniforms. "I'm glad we had the chance to go back to Bay City before you came back to work, Roy. That was a nice little vacation."
"It sure was better than the first one." Roy said understatedly.
"I'll say."
Roy received welcomes from all his crewmates and even volunteered for latrine duty. Chet, who had been the last to arrive, was very thankful for that.
The 51 crew had a slow morning but as Johnny was finishing up the lunch dishes the tones went off for a multiple alarm fire.
"Here we go!" Johnny said as he boarded the squad and took the address paper from Roy.
The old five story building was heavily involved. Captain Stanley, being the first on scene, began to organize his crew and the arriving crews.
"There are still people inside!" A man yelled to them pointing to a door leading into the burning east side of the building.
"Lopez, Kelly, get two lines in those front doors. Gage, DeSoto, we have people trapped. Sir, tell these two men where you think your people are." Hank picked up his handy talky. "Engine 116, cover the roof. Engine 82, this is Engine 51, cover the rear exposure. Engine 36, cover the east exposure for me. Squad 36, join Squad 51 in the rescue operations."
Both teams of paramedics entered the building after discussing the plan. No one was sure where the trapped men were so it was decided that Johnny and Roy would take the third and fourth floors while Squad 36's men would cover the first and second.
Johnny sprinted up the stairwell to the fourth floor followed closely by Roy. As they entered the fourth floor hallway, they could see heavy smoke down the hall. Johnny glanced back at Roy nervously remembering not that long ago when his partner lay unconscious hooked up to a ventilator. He was on high alert, watching his own air tank gauge closely.
The men began to check each room carefully. The building creaked and groaned as the fire weakened it.
Roy called out to Johnny as they met up again in the middle of the hallway, "We need to make this quick, Johnny."
As Johnny nodded in agreement Roy took a step further down the hall when the floor below him gave way and a large hole opened up. Roy lost his balance and began to fall. Feeling like time had slowed to almost a halt, Johnny lunged forward in an effort to catch his partner but in his panic he miscalculated. As his hand grabbed onto Roy's turnout coat, he realized he had too much forward momentum to be able to stop his descent. They plunged down through the floor together.
~ E ~
Roy opened his eyes slowly. Pain seared through him as he looked around. His mind instantly went to Johnny. He began to call out to him before the dust even began to settle. Once it did, he assessed the situation. He was on his side; a large display case lay on top of his legs. His face mask was cracked so he removed it to see more clearly. It was then that he saw Johnny. He was lying about ten feet away. Roy could not see his face and there was no movement.
"Johnny? Can you hear me?"
Still not seeing anything, Roy began to push at the display that trapped him while he continued to call out to his friend. He still could not move.
Remembering his handy talky, Roy felt around desperately. He couldn't find it.
"Hold on, Johnny. Squad 36 must of heard the crash. Help is on the way." He continued to struggle to get the weight of the display off. At least there is no fire down here…yet, he thought.
It was then he heard a cough come from his partner. "Johnny?" he called out. Johnny stirred then moaned.
"Roy?" He propped himself up on his elbow, a hand going to his head.
"Over here, Junior." Roy said, trying to keep the fear from his voice.
Johnny sat up and turned toward Roy's voice. He pulled his mask from his face. "Roy! You're hurt!"
"I'm just trapped, Johnny. Are you okay? Can you find the handy talky?"
Johnny, put a hand to his head. "Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. Let me see if I can get that off of you." He carefully got up off the floor and made his way to Roy's side.
"Your head is bleeding, Johnny."
Johnny wiped away the blood that trickled into his eye with the back of his glove.
"I'm okay." Johnny said as he leaned over and grabbed hold of the display case. He pulled but it only moved a bit. Johnny stumbled back.
"Johnny, never mind that. Find the handy talky so we can get the guys in here to help."
"Mmkay." Johnny said as he turned and looked around the rubble. After a few minutes of searching, Johnny found the handy talky. Roy let out a sigh of relief only to be disappointed a few minutes later when they both realized it was not working.
Johnny flung the device aside and began to pull the case off of Roy again. Sweat mixed with the blood on his face until he eventually fell into a heap next to Roy.
"I can't do it, Roy. I can't get it off of you and the HT is broken." Johnny wiped away the sweat and blood from his forehead again.
Roy was worried about Johnny. "Can you try again? If you lift it enough for me to turn onto my back, I may then be able to help push it with you.
Johnny, squatted down placing his hands under the top shelf. He pushed with all his might. Roy felt it lift slightly.
"That's it!" Roy said as he was able to turn onto his back. He bit his lip trying not to cry out in pain. "Okay, let it down and take a breather."
Johnny continued to hold the case, "I'm afraid to let it back down, Roy. You're hurt."
"Slowly, Johnny, I'm okay. Put it back down."
Not being able to hold on much longer and afraid he would drop it, Johnny relented and gently placed the case back down on top of his partner. Roy saw a slow trickle of blood coming from Johnny's nose and his heart skipped a beat.
"Are you okay, Roy?" he said reaching out for a pulse.
"Yeah, don't worry about me. Catch your breath. I should be able to help push on this thing now – when you are ready."
"Where do you hurt? Its not your pelvis is it?" Johnny asked, knowing that Roy could quickly bleed to death.
"No, don't worry. My right leg hurts a little but I'm mostly just stuck." Roy reached out and grabbed onto Johnny's wrist. "We are going to get out of here. What is it that Starsky and Hutch said?"
Johnny grinned tiredly. "Me and Thee. Its just Me and Thee, Partner."
"Yeah, that's it. That's who we can count on, right?" Roy smiled as Johnny nodded.
"Okay, I'm ready." Johnny said as he got back on his feet. It was then that he spotted the smoke quietly slipping up the third floor hallway toward them. With a new sense of urgency, he pulled at the case while Roy pushed from below.
"I think I'm free now. Can you hold it, Johnny?"
Johnny tipped his head back, his face contorted in a grimace and nodded.
Roy slid himself free of the case. "Okay, I'm out." And with that Johnny let the case crash back down to the floor. He slumped back with a grunt.
Roy's right leg hurt but he didn't think anything was broken. He crawled over to his partner and put a hand on his shoulder. "You did it."
Johnny breathed heavily. "Nuh uh. We did it." He smiled. "Me and Thee." Johnny laughed.
Roy took a fresh look at their situation and quickly realized there was no way to get out of their predicament. There was a far off sound of the building caving in.
"Now what, partner?"
"I dunno." Johnny responded. "Maybe we need Them and They in addition to Me and Thee?"
Roy leaned back on the case that had once been laying on him. He picked up his air tank and saw that it had run out of air. Johnny pulled his tank towards him.
"I still have a few minutes on mine," he said handing the mask to Roy.
"I'm not taking it, that's yours."
Johnny opened his mouth to respond when they heard a voice.
"Johnny? Roy?"
"Chet!" the two paramedics said simultaneously.
Roy struggled to his feet, "Chet! We are down here." Roy reached out and helped Johnny up.
Chet peered over the edge. "Hey, am I happy to see you two. We'll have you out of there in just a minute." Chet got on the handy talky to request the needed supplies.
Roy looked down at the display case lying on the floor then over to his friend.
"Thanks, Johnny," he said but then reached out seeing the bewildered look on Johnny's face.
"Roy?"
"Yeah, Johnny?"
"I…I can't s-see." Johnny stuttered. Suddenly, his back arched and he fell to the floor. Roy managed to catch him.
"Chet! Get a stokes! Johnny is seizing."
Roy held onto Johnny's shoulders as he watched his friend's eyes roll up into his head. In a moment the seizure passed and Johnny lapsed into unconsciousness.
Roy looked up to see the stokes being lowered. He grabbed out for it and laid it carefully on top of the rubble.
"Hang on, Roy, I'm coming down." Chet said from above.
"Never mind that – we don't have time." Roy said as he lifted Johnny up and onto the stretcher. "Get him out of here fast. Then toss me a line." Roy frantically buckled Johnny safely into the stokes. After what seemed like an eternity, he was up out of the hole and on his way down the stairs. He burst out of the building and spotted Squad 36's men tending to Johnny. He hobbled to them as fast as he could.
Chet reached out and stopped Roy. "Hey they have him, Roy. He's in good hands. Let's take a look at you."
Roy brushed Chet's hands off. "No, I have to do this," he knelt down next to Johnny and picked up the pad of paper with the vital signs. "I've got this Bob."
"Are you sure, Roy?" The paramedic asked but had already slid the biophone to Roy's side. He understood that Roy couldn't stand aside and not help his partner.
"Roy picked up the biophone. "Rampart, this is Squad 51; how do you read?"
Go ahead 51, came Dr. Brackett's reply.
We have a Code I, head injury. Patient is a 29 year old male. Lost consciousness initially for approximately seven minutes. There was a nose bleed and loss of sight. Suffered a seizure and lost consciousness approximately 30 minutes after initial injury. BP is 90/60, pulse is 120, respirations 10." Roy looked up as he watched Bob check Johnny's pupils.
"Left pupil is dilated." Roy grimly transmitted the information to Rampart. Bob put an oxygen mask on Johnny and secured it. Roy was glad to have another paramedic helping him with Johnny.
51, administer an IV of D5W tko. Also administer 5mg Diazepam. Is there any blood in the ears, 51?
This time it was Dr. Early's voice. Although Roy was glad Brackett had called him in, he knew that it meant Johnny was in rough shape.
"Negative blood in the ears, Rampart." Roy replied after Bob shook his head in response and readied the IV for Roy.
Transfer as soon as possible.
"10-4, ambulance is on scene." Roy put the biophone down and pinched his nose between his thumb and forefinger.
"Roy," came the voice behind him.
"I'm fine, Cap. I'm going in with him."
The attendants placed Johnny on the gurney and Roy wearily climbed to his feet.
"How is he?" Hank asked, already knowing the answer by the look on his senior paramedic's face.
"Not good," Roy said as the doors closed.
As Roy began to take another set of vitals there was a groan from Johnny who then suddenly began to dry heave violently. Roy tipped Johnny to the side and grabbed an emesis basin with one hand putting his free hand firmly on his friend's shoulder. He leaned down close to his friend. "I'm here, Johnny," he whispered.
~ E ~
Arriving at the hospital, Roy helped guide Johnny's gurney into the treatment room.
"I want a full skull series and set up for an echoencephlagram."
Roy felt Dixie's hand on his shoulder but he ignored it.
"Roy," she said quietly, "let's get that leg checked out."
Roy shrugged off her hand. "I have to stay here with him," he said never taking his eyes off his partner.
Dixie stepped in Roy's line of vision and placed both hands on his shoulders, forcing him to look at her. When he did, she motioned toward the door. "Joe will take good care of him. We won't be far away. Come on."
Roy reluctantly followed her out of the room but before she could maneuver him into another treatment room he pulled away. "Aubrey! Dix, I have to call her."
"Mike is waiting for you. I'll call her while you get checked out. I'll call Joanne too." Roy let himself be guided into the treatment room once again. Dixie had become friends with Aubrey and he knew letting her make the call was a good move.
By the time Roy was released by Dr. Morton, Aubrey had arrived with Joanne. Dixie was soothing Aubrey and handed her a tissue. Joanne saw Roy and rushed to him. He held onto her tightly, assuring her that he was fine.
Joanne pulled back and looked into his eyes. "Poor Johnny." Roy nodded solemnly.
Just then Dr. Early came out of Johnny's treatment room and Aubrey let go of Dixie to face him.
"There's no easy way to say this. He's slipped into a coma." He reached out and held Aubrey's arm when she sobbed. The group turned to see Johnny being wheeled out into the hall. "He has a bleed on his brain. I'm going to operate immediately to relieve the pressure." With that Dr. Early turned and hurried off to prepare for the surgery.
Roy stepped forward, still holding onto Joanne with one arm and wrapped the other around Aubrey who began to cry into his chest. He looked sadly at Dixie and then guided the two women to the waiting room. He saw Captain Stanley arrive but didn't have to say anything. Hank understood when he saw them.
"Roy, I've called in replacements for both you and John. You have the rest of the shift off." Hank said, putting his hand on Roy's shoulder and the other on Aubrey's.
"Thank you, Captain." Joanne said when all Roy could do was nod.
Hank moved down the hall toward Dixie to get more information. He could see Roy was in no state to go into details right now.
Hours later, Roy still sat in the same chair he had sat down in when Johnny was wheeled into surgery. Joanne dozed on his shoulder while Aubrey paced slowly around the room. Roy's heart broke for her.
Seeing Joe Early approaching, Roy shook Joanne's shoulder to wake her and they both moved to Aubrey's side.
"He survived the surgery. We were able to relieve the pressure." He paused as the trio let out pent up breaths. "Now all we can do is wait. He's in recovery right now. The good news is that he's breathing on his own. Aubrey, you can come with me to see him now." He saw Roy's shoulders slump, knowing that the man wanted and needed to see his friend. "Roy, Joanne, you can see him once he's settled in ICU, in about an hour.
"Thank you," Roy mumbled as he watched Aubrey.
Joanne wrapped her arms around her husband's waist. "I know you need to see him, Roy. But…he has Aubrey now." She bit her lip as she looked up to see Roy's face fall. "You'll see him soon." She took his hand and led him back to the chairs. She sat down, but Roy continued to stand holding her hands in his and staring down the hall.
"But we are still his family." Roy said, the statement almost sounding like a question.
"Yes, of course we are. We always will be." Joanne said blinking back a tear.
Roy finally sat down beside his wife. "When I was in the hospital in Bay City, Johnny stayed in the room with me. He spoke to me while I was unconscious and…"
"And what, Roy?" Joanne asked. Roy had never shared this with her until now.
"I felt his presence. I know it helped pull me through." Joanne buried her face in Roy's neck and cried. "I need to do the same for him, Joanne."
"You will get the chance, Sweetie."
~ E ~
Aubrey came back a while later, her eyes red-rimmed from crying. Joanne had gone home to get the kids from the neighbor's house, leaving Roy alone to console her.
"He's so still, Roy." Aubrey said wiping her tears. She sat down and drew in a ragged breath.
"You didn't go home with Joanne?"
"No, she needed to relieve our neighbor and take the kids home. She said she'd be back in the morning. Are you going home soon, you look exhausted."
"I am going, yes. But you'll need a ride home." She said looking up at him.
"No, I'm all set. The guys were nice enough to drop my car off in the parking lot."
Aubrey looked down at the wadded up tissue in her hands and shook her head. "You really are a family, you know that?" After a few minutes she looked back up. "You need to be with him. Not only for your sake, but for his."
Roy slowly sat down next to Aubrey and put his hand on her back, absently rubbing it slowly in a circle. He closed his eyes to hold back the burning tears. "Thank you for understanding, Aubrey."
She leaned toward him, resting her head on his shoulder. "You will always have an important part in his life, in our lives, Roy." She felt him let out a breath and she sat back up to face him. She smiled a tired but earnest smile. "We'll take care of him together?"
Roy blinked back more tears and could only nod and mouth the word yes.
Just then a nurse came up behind them. "Mr. DeSoto?"
Roy got up quickly, clearing his throat and wiping a tear from the corner of his eye with the back of his hand. "Yes?"
"You can see Mr. Gage now, room 225."
"Thank you." Roy said, taking Aubrey's elbow and lead her down the hall.
"No, you go be with him now, Roy. I'll be back in the morning." Aubrey kissed Roy's cheek and squeezed his hand.
"Are…are you sure?" Roy wanted to see Johnny but felt that he may be infringing on his new wife's time with him.
"I'm sure. The hospital has my number in case..." her voice trailed off.
Roy wrapped his arms around Aubrey and rested his cheek on her head. "You sure make a wonderful sister-in-law."
Aubrey stepped back with a grin on her tear-stained face. "I like the sound of that," she said as she turned and headed to the elevator.
Roy took a deep breath as he made his way to room 225. He stopped outside the door staring in the small window and watched his partner. After a moment, he opened the door slowly and stepped inside. Aubrey was right, he'd never seen Johnny so still. Although the heart monitor beeped quietly, he still found himself looking for the tell tale rise and fall of his friend's chest. Seeing that, he reached out and put his hand on Johnny's forearm. Warm and alive, he thought. He studied the large bandage that covered the right side of Johnny's head.
After a few minutes lost in his own thoughts, Roy took a breath.
"Johnny? I'm here, Johnny." He said softly. "I wanted to be here for you…because…you were there for me when I was in the hospital." Roy glanced out the window into the hall. He was upset that he felt awkward doing this and continued. "You saved me back there today. You ignored your own injuries – again," Roy allowed himself a smile. "I just needed to say thank you for that."
He slid his hand down Johnny's arm and took hold of his hand. "Johnny, you mean a lot to me. I hope you know that. Please…please don't leave me." Roy leaned over and put his head on Johnny's arm. He let the tears flow now.
~ E ~
"Roy?"
Roy stirred and opened his eyes. He was sitting in the chair in Johnny's ICU room and had fallen asleep. It was Dr. Brackett's voice that woke him. He leaned forward and rubbed his eyes.
"Sorry, Doc. I guess I dozed off."
"Well that's understandable. It's the middle of the night, Roy. You had a rough day and you were injured. You need to go home and rest."
Roy looked down at his leg realizing that although it still hurt, he had forgotten all about it. He looked back up at Dr. Brackett.
"What are you doing here yourself, Doc?"
Kel Brackett shuffled uncomfortably and held Johnny's chart up. "I just needed to see how he was doing." He smirked self-consciously.
Roy stood up and stretched his kinked back. He looked down at Johnny. "He hasn't moved at all," he said sadly. Roy took a deep breath. "Doc, right before he started convulsing, he told me he couldn't see."
Brackett nodded grimly. "I know, Roy. And you're wondering if he will be able to see when he wakes up." Roy nodded. "Well this is Joe's line of expertise but I'm sure he would say there is no way to know. Hopefully, it was just a side effect of the growing pressure on his brain and his sight will return. I wish I could give you more hope," he said looking up at the weary paramedic.
"You really need to go home and get some sleep, Roy." Roy nodded slightly. "You can't…"
"I can't do him any good if I'm a wreck myself, right Doc?" Roy interrupted.
Bracket smiled solemnly, "Something like that."
After a minute of silence, Roy roused himself to head home. "Joanne must be worried about me." It seemed like just an excuse to him but he needed a reason to get himself to leave the room.
"I'm heading home too, Roy. Goodnight." Brackett said as he placed the chart back at the foot of the bed and left the room.
Roy briefly grabbed onto Johnny's hand again. "Goodnight, Partner. I'll see you in the morning." Roy waited, expecting to hear Johnny's 'goodnight Pally' but after a moment he slipped out into the hallway. He looked through the window and prayed Johnny would still be here when he returned. With a heavy heart, he made his way out of the hospital and home.
~ E ~
The next day, Roy and Joanne dropped the kids at school and headed back to Rampart. As they approached Johnny's room they saw Aubrey step out into the hall.
"No change," she said sadly, anticipating their question. His vitals are okay, he just isn't waking up." Her voice caught in her throat. Joanne reached out and rubbed her arm. "I'm okay. I'm just going to use the rest room. You go ahead in."
Roy guided Joanne into the small room. He heard her catch her breath at the sight of her little brother in the hospital bed. She took his hand in hers and kissed it then reached to tuck a stray lock of hair behind his left ear.
"Come back to us, Johnny. We are all waiting for you." Roy came to her side and placed his hand on hers as she held Johnny's. Aubrey slipped back into the room and took Johnny's other hand. They all stood quietly, willing him to open his eyes and be his old self.
~ E ~
"Morning, Cap." Roy said as he entered the station kitchen. Somehow he could not pronounce any morning as good while his partner and friend still lay in a coma.
"Good morning, Roy. Any word on Johnny?"
Roy poured himself a cup of coffee as the rest of the crew and Roy's temporary partner, Bill Dickenson, filed into the room. "No, he's the same. Its been three days now," he said looking down into his coffee and watching the steam swirl over the cup. "The longer he stays in the coma…" he couldn't finish the thought but everyone knew.
Hank came up beside Roy and put his hand on his shoulder in support. Mike did the same briefly as he headed to the coffee pot. Eventually all the men followed suit. Billy was the last to come up to Roy. He admired the camaraderie of this group of men and hoped that he could be a partner that someone cared this much about but he did not want it to be because John Gage never returned to work. Roy looked up at Billy and seemed to sense what he was thinking. He nodded at him and smiled a sad smile.
Later that day, Roy and Billy were at Rampart delivering a patient. Billy handed Roy the handy talky. "Go check him on Roy. I'll wait down here for you."
Roy believed he had been too quick to judge this new paramedic. Although he still had some things to learn in the field, Roy realized he was a good man. Nodding his thanks, he headed to the stairwell and up to the second floor.
Outside of room 225, Roy watched through the window as a nurse changed Johnny's dressing. Aubrey must have stepped out and he didn't see her in the waiting room. As the nurse peeled back the dressing, Roy winced at the incision. He thought about what Johnny would say about having half of his beloved hair shaved away and tried to imagine the conversation. Aw nuts, Roy, why did they have to go and do a thing like that? He prayed he'd have the chance to hear Johnny whine about it.
Thankfully, the HT stayed silent until the nurse left the room. Roy didn't want to keep Billy waiting too long but needed to take a moment to tell Johnny that he was still there, waiting.
"Hey there, Partner." He tried to sound light like he would at the start of a shift. "I can't stay long, just wanted to say hi. How ya doing?" he said as he put his hand on Johnny's. After seeing no reaction, Roy looked up at the ceiling and rubbed Johnny's arm. Come on Junior, please wake up."
After a minute Roy turned toward the door. "I've got to go. Billy's waiting for me. Didn't I tell you I didn't want to be partnered with anyone else, huh?" Glancing back one more time, Roy left the room and hurried back down to the emergency room.
Less than 24 hours later, Roy was back in Johnny's room. Joanne was home with the kids. Aubrey sat in the room's only chair, holding Johnny's hand unconsciously making circles on his forearm with her free hand, her head resting on the side of the mattress.
"I have to go back to work tomorrow, Roy," she said without looking up.
"I know," was all Roy could manage.
"I feel like I'm giving up on him. They are moving him to a regular room later today. It seems like everyone is giving up." A single tear slid down her cheek.
Roy stepped closer. "Nobody is giving up on him, Aubrey," he said, although his words sounded hollow even to himself.
Roy squatted down to face her. "We are all still here for him. And for you." Roy reached for a tissue from the bedside table and handed it to Aubrey. She took it and mouthed thank you although he knew it was for more than the tissue.
Roy stood back up and looked at Johnny. He drew in a sharp breath. Aubrey looked up at him and then over to her husband. Johnny's eyes were open slightly. Aubrey gasped and reached out to stroke Johnny's hair. Roy looked up at the monitors but saw no change. He was frozen in the spot, afraid to move, feeling that doing so would wake him out of a dream.
After assuring himself it was not a dream, he quickly stepped into the hall to get a nurse's attention. "Please page Dr. Early immediately," he said and re-entered the room to find Aubrey talking softly to Johnny.
"Hey G-Man, are you waking up for me?" She said brushing the tears from her face. She looked to Roy.
"Hey, Partner. Good morning." Roy leaned closer but Johnny's eyes remained unmoving, his lids still half closed.
Dr. Early walked into the room.
"Look, Dr. Early. His eyes are opening." Aubrey said optimistically.
"I see, well this is a good sign." Dr. Early said removing a penlight from his pocket and shining it into Johnny's eyes. He reached to give a sternal rub. Although he made no sound, Johnny's eyes closed momentarily and then slid back open.
Roy held his breath as Aubrey asked, "Is he waking up?"
"He is becoming alert – it can be a slow process but this is a very good sign."
Roy let out the held breath as Aubrey threw her arms around his neck. "Oh thank God." She said into his shoulder.
I am going to change his orders to keep him here in ICU one more day so we can monitor him closely.
Aubrey returned to Johnny's side and Roy stepped out into the hall with Dr. Early. "Doc, do you think he has a chance of full recovery?"
"There's always a chance, Roy, and knowing Johnny he will be back in the squad before you know it." Roy hung his head in relief but knew he would be there for his friend no matter how far he came back. "Relax, Roy. Hey, I'm going to get you another chair for that room. I have a feeling neither one of you is going to leave his side for a while."
Roy smiled, "Thanks, Doc. I'm going to call the guys and Joanne and tell them the news."
~ E ~
An hour later, Johnny's eyes had closed but the doctors assured them he would open them again and hopefully become more alert.
"Aubrey, go get something to eat. I'll stay with him now."
Aubrey stretched and rubbed her stiff lower back. "Are you sure, Roy. I would like to stretch my legs."
"Of course, go. When you get back, I'll do the same."
"Okay," Aubrey said smiling and headed out of the door and down the hall.
Roy paced at the end of Johnny's bed. The room was much too small for his liking. After a minute, he looked over at Johnny to find his eyes once again open.
"Hey, you're back, Johnny." He moved closer to the bed. Was it wishful thinking or were Johnny's eyes opened a little wider this time? Roy took his hand and gave it a squeeze. Can you squeeze my hand back, Johnny?" He waited. "Come on, Johnny. Squeeze my hand." Roy let go and walked to the other side of the bed, taking Johnny's other hand. "How about this one? Can you squeeze this hand?" Roy felt his voice was a little too loud. Johnny wasn't deaf after all. The thought made his stomach flip flop. Anything was possible after a head injury.
He sat back down in the chair, temporarily defeated.
Aubrey returned not long after and was excited to see Johnny's eyes open again. She agreed that they were indeed open wider this time and it gave Roy hope. She told him that she had called her boss with the news that Johnny may be coming out of the coma and he told her not to return to work the next day. Roy also had that day off.
Doctors and nurses came and went regularly and Johnny's eyes eventually closed again. A nurse brought in two small foot rests and blankets for Roy and Aubrey. They both thanked her profusely.
Roy headed to the cafeteria after calling Joanne. She was happy that Johnny had again opened his eyes. She remained upbeat when Roy told her he could not get him to squeeze his hand. She told him to stay at the hospital as long as he needed to. She sent her love to Aubrey and they hung up.
Roy and Aubrey slept here and there in the uncomfortable chairs. They took turns walking the halls to work out the kinks while the other kept a vigil over Johnny.
After getting a drink of water, Roy quietly slipped back into room 225. The lights were low but he saw Aubrey standing next to Johnny. His eyes were open again and she was talking to him. Roy sat down and threw the blanket over his legs and leaned his head back. He listened to Aubrey retell Johnny the stories from their honeymoon and smiled. When she paused he said quietly, "Should I leave the room again so you can go into details I probably don't want to hear?" He smiled when he heard her giggle. But the sound he heard next had him out of his chair in a shot, the blanket falling at his feet.
Johnny had made a sound.
He looked at his friend and then to Aubrey whose hand was over her mouth. "You heard it too?" he asked. She nodded. "It almost sounded like a laugh."
"I thought the same thing!" Aubrey said, reaching to take back Johnny's hand. Roy reached for the other.
"Come on, Johnny, we know you were listening to us. Squeeze my hand, Partner." Roy waited a moment and then opened his mouth to ask it again when both he and Aubrey jumped at the same time.
"He did it!" they both exclaimed a little too loudly.
A nurse poked her head into the room. "Please keep it down or I will have to ask you to leave," she said sternly.
Roy could not contain his excitement and ignored her tone. "He made a sound and he squeezed our hands."
The nurse's mood changed seeing the excited family members. "That's wonderful." She stepped into the room. "I'm going to note this on his chart. Keep up the good work but remember he has to rest a lot."
As if he heard the nurse, Johnny's eyes slid closed. Aubrey kissed him gently and let go of his hand. Roy did the same. He stepped back feeling like he could now run a marathon. He could see Aubrey felt the same way.
"Forget sleeping tonight, huh?" he said, beaming.
"Well maybe after the rush subsides." Aubrey said flopping back down onto the chair laughing.
"I wish it wasn't the middle of the night, I want to tell Joanne." Roy said sitting down. "I know the sound of the phone would scare her to death, though."
"It would." Aubrey agreed.
The two friends became quiet and eventually they each drifted off to sleep.
In the morning, Aubrey woke up first. She checked on Johnny who now looked like he was simply sleeping. She kissed his cheek and held his hand for a minute. She whispered she would be right back and left the room.
Roy stirred at the sound of the door closing. He folded the blanket and put it down on the foot rest. He groaned slightly as he stretched his back.
"Ro?"
"Johnny?" Roy rushed to Johnny's side.
"Okay?"
Roy's chest heaved, he was so overcome with emotion hearing Johnny speak. He glanced out the window into the hall, hoping Aubrey would come back soon.
"Yes you are going to be okay…"
"No, you."
"Me? You're asking if I'm okay?" Johnny nodded slightly. "Well of course I'm okay, Junior. Remember, you got me out from under that display case?"
Aubrey rushed into the room when she saw Roy talking to Johnny.
"He spoke. He asked me if I was okay." Roy laughed as he told her.
"Oh, G-Man, there you are."
"Bree." Johnny said and smiled tiredly. "Love"
"I love you too, Johnny." Aubrey kissed his cheek repeatedly as he looked back at Roy.
"Mm?"
"What's that?" Roy asked.
Johnny reached out his hand and Roy took it.
"Me an The."
"Me and Thee." Roy said, finally understanding. His knees felt weak as he realized that Johnny's memory was intact.
With the two most important people in his life there with him, Johnny closed his eyes and slept.
The End