Flash Forward – Chapter 2
The next morning, Dixie finished getting dressed and then walked back into her bedroom. She smiled as she looked at Roy, who was still asleep in her bed. For some reason, she thought it was very satisfying to watch a fireman sleep. She didn't know why. Maybe it was because they worked so hard at saving people's lives and property, that they really deserved a rest. But she also knew that wasn't the whole reason why this particular fireman was so much fun to watch. They had been pretty busy last night, and it had nothing to do with rescuing anyone. Except that maybe they were rescuing each other from loneliness.
She decided that maybe it was time to wake him up before the whole morning was gone. He stirred a bit as she sat down on the bed next to him. Then she leaned over and kissed him on the lips. He opened his eyes.
"Hi," he said sleepily.
"Good morning," she answered. He reached his hand up to caress her face.
"You're already dressed. What time is it?"
"It's about 9:30. I didn't want to wake you too early."
"I'm usually a pretty light sleeper, but someone kept me up all night." He pulled her down to him in a warm snuggly embrace. "Not that I'm complaining." They kissed for a bit.
"How about if I make some breakfast for us? Are you hungry?"
"Sure, that sounds good. Mind if I use your shower?"
"Go ahead. I'll have breakfast ready in a few minutes."
"Thanks." They kissed a couple more times, and then Dixie got up and went to the kitchen. Roy sat up and looked around for his clothes. Dixie had picked them up, folded them, and hung them over a chair. He got out of bed, grabbed his clothes, and walked into the bathroom to start getting ready for the day.
After he was showered and dressed, Roy looked at himself in the mirror. He really needed a shave, but of course he didn't have any of his shaving things with him. He was also wearing the same clothes he had on yesterday. Maybe he could dash over to his place to shave and change after breakfast? He really didn't want to take Dixie to his place. His bachelor housekeeping skills were pretty lacking.
He walked into the kitchen where Dixie greeted him with a smile and a cup of coffee. They both sat down at the small dinette table, as she placed a plate of French toast and fresh fruit in front of him.
"Wow, this is pretty nice. Looks delicious," he said.
"Well, it's the least I could do, since you took care of dinner last night."
Roy took a bite of the French toast. "Mmmm. This is very good." He looked at her and smiled. "Beautiful and can cook."
"Thank you," she acknowledged. "You know, I think we're doing pretty well."
"We are?" Roy didn't quite get her meaning.
"The whole awkward morning-after thing."
"Oh, that." Roy nodded and swallowed. "Well, actually, I'd feel better if I had my toothbrush with me."
"Uh huh." Dixie smiled.
"Maybe a razor. Fresh change of clothes…."
"You want to go back to your place?"
"Just for minute. Then I'll come get you." They smiled at each other. "What would you like to do today?"
"Well, I was thinking maybe we could ….." Dixie stopped as they were interrupted by Roy's cell phone.
"That would be Jenny. Sounds like she's sending me a text. Excuse me." He pulled his phone out of his pocket, and took a quick glance at it. His face immediately went from amused to concern.
"Uh oh." He said. "Looks like she's been injured again."
"Oh? Hope it's not serious." Dixie said, worried.
"She's okay, but she's in the hospital," Roy said. "We have a text code that we figured out for each other. Take a look here." He showed her his phone display, which showed a short text message: C I OK Sam
"Translation?" asked Dixie.
"C I is for Code I, or injured firefighter, right?" Roy explained. "OK means she's not seriously injured. Sam means she's at Good Samaritan Hospital in LA."
"Clever." Dixie nodded, impressed.
"Mind if we take a little detour over there for a while?"
"Of course not. Let's go."
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"So, tell me more about Jennifer these days. I haven't seen her since she was in grade school." Dixie asked while Roy drove them across town.
"She's been with LAFD for about fifteen years now, I guess. Stationed over in San Pedro. She's pretty happy with it. Not interested in moving up the ladder though. She could have made captain by now, but she doesn't want that. She's single, and seems happy with that too. She's pretty outdoorsy, likes to camp and fish. Spends a LOT of time with her Uncle Johnny! In fact, they bought a boat together."
"No kidding? That's wonderful," Dixie said.
"Yep. They've taken us all out waterskiing several times. You should come with us next time!"
Soon they were walking into the Emergency lobby of Good Samaritan. The guard at reception told Roy which room Jenny was in, and issued each of them a visitor badge.
As they approached the room, Dixie said she'd wait outside in the hall first. Roy went inside, where two of Jenny's male crewmates were sitting next to her bed. They both stood up at spotting Roy.
"Chief." They both acknowledged him. Roy put up a hand, motioning that it was okay for them to sit, but they said they'd wait outside.
Jenny had her mother's dark hair, cut short, but with some streaks of reddish brown. The rest of her was all Roy—sparkling blue eyes, fair skin, freckles and prominent cheekbones. She was lying on the top of the covers, still in her uniform, but her pant leg had been cut away to get at the injury. Her leg was bandaged at the thigh. Jenny smiled at Roy.
"Hi Dad. Thanks for coming."
"Hi Sweetheart." He bent down and gave her a kiss and hug. "What happened?"
Jenny seemed more annoyed and frustrated than in pain. "Oh, some crates fell on me at a warehouse fire. I'll be okay, in a week or so." She shook her head. "I won't be able to water-ski this time, dammit. But I'm still going!"
"You contact Johnny yet?"
"Yeah, but he hasn't responded. He's working today, I think."
"How about your mother?"
"I'm not gonna bother her with this. She'll just get upset. It's not worth it." She noticed Roy's appearance for the first time. "You need a shave, Dad! Just get off duty?"
Roy blushed a little bit, then rubbed his hand on his scruffy face. "No…."
Suddenly, Jenny just knew. "You had a date!" She sat up straighter with a big smile. "You haven't been home yet!"
"Now how could you possibly know that? Maybe I just got lazy this morning." Darned female intuition!
"Because you blushed! So who is it? Anyone I know?"
"Yeah, actually." He admitted, a little irked at his seemingly clairvoyant offspring. "Do you remember Dixie McCall, the nurse from Rampart?"
"Yes, I remember her. She was very nice." Jenny beamed. "That's terrific, Dad!"
"Good. I think so too. We just ran into each other a couple of days ago. Not sure what's going to happen yet. She's in the hall right now."
"Well, bring her in here! I want to see her!"
"All right, calm down…." Roy smiled at his daughter. "Don't embarrass me." He pointed at her with mock sternness.
"I'll be cool, I promise." she winked. Roy leaned out into the hall, and saw that Dixie was talking to Jenny's two partners.
"Dixie? Come on in."
Dixie followed Roy into the room, and was greeted by a lovely woman who looked so much like her dad. Dixie was completely charmed by her big toothy smile that looked so familiar and sweet.
"Hello Dixie!" Jenny said.
"Hello Jennifer!" They gave each other a short hug. "Well, I'm glad you remember me! It's been a very long time. Sorry about your injury."
The three of them enjoyed a short visit, and Jenny invited Dixie to join the family on their next water-ski trip coming up the next weekend.
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"Roy, you devil!"
"Jenny told you, didn't she?"
"Yes, Jenny told me! How come you didn't tell me? This is a major thing, you know."
"Well, I'm telling you now! That's why I'm calling."
"Well…. Okay, then. How's she doing? Jenny said she looks terrific."
"Dixie is…. just fantastic. I think she looks exactly the same, but maybe I have stars in my eyes. I wish I still looked as good as she does."
"You? You look fine. So how did you guys get together?"
"Ran into her at Rampart. I was there with my crew after a fire, and she was there meeting friends for lunch. She saw me in the lobby."
"Wow. Sounds like fate to me, Pally. When do I get to see her?"
"I'm bringing her on the water-ski trip. She really wants to see you too."
"Oh man, this is going to be great! I can hardly wait. So, how's Jenny looking? I haven't been over to see her yet."
"She's okay. She's got a big gash in her leg, but it'll heal. They'll probably release her tomorrow. You should call her before you go over there, in case they send her home. "
"She told me she's upset that she won't be able to ski. She probably should stay out of the water all together, but she still wants to come along. Lousy timing."
"That's how it goes sometimes. Look, Junior, I've got a lady waiting for me so I'm gonna let you go."
"Okay. Hey, Roy?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm really happy for you."
"Thanks, Johnny."
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