Johnny's house was a welcomed sight as the weary paramedic drove up the driveway. Wayna had fallen asleep soon after they had stopped for supper. He had pushed himself to make it home that night, not wanting to spend another night on the road.
He unlocked the front door, switched on lights and quickly made his way down to the spare room his friends had set up for his cousin. He smiled as his eyes wondered around the room. "Wow…this is incredible. Man I owe my friends big time." He pulled back the covers of the bed.
Wayna never stirred as Johnny lifted him from the truck, undressed him and placed him under the covers of his bed. He felt the urge to kiss him on the forehead to say goodnight but faltered, not sure if he should. Although they seemed to be getting along he was still unsure about the relationship.
He set up Feather in his new bed in the laundry. A bowl and a bag of dog food were on the kitchen table. Johnny read the note that had been left next to the bowl.
Johnny,
Bret suggested you keep the dog in the laundry for the first few nights til he gets used to his new home. We've checked the fences and 'dog proofed' them but Bret said to be aware terriers are jumpers.
Give me a call when you get back.
Kurt
Johnny checked his watch. It was just after eleven. He knew Kurt was working the next day so he held off calling. He unloaded the truck, settling everything in the front room. He peeked inside Wayna's boxes. First thing that caught his eye was the blanket. He remembered it from his childhood. It belonged to Wayna's mom. He took it out, carefully unfolded it and placed it over Wayna's bed. 'Something familiar to wake up to,' he thought.
He placed Wayna's drum on top of the chest of drawers. He ran his fingers over the surface of the drum and felt a shiver run through him. All his people's items were very spiritual, his grandfather having taught him that. This drum would have been made with such care and pride by the maker that a little of his spirit was left in the drum. He checked his cousin one last time and left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar.
The paramedic put some coffee on and sorted through his clothes. He put his clothes for washing in the laundry and noticed Feather was awake. "What's up fella? Miss your master?" Johnny scratched behind the dog's ear, his tail wagged in pleasure.
As the paramedic straightened up his knees cracked. Being confined in the truck for nearly five days had left him very stiff. He turned around and was surprised to see Wayna standing in the doorway.
"What are you doing out of bed?" Johnny slowed his breathing, his cousin had startled him, not being used to someone else in the house.
"I woke up and didn't know where you were." Johnny smiled at his cousin. His sleepy eyes made him look so much younger.
"I was just settling Feather."
"He has his own bed." Wayna knelt down and stroked his dog's head.
"One of the fire-fighters breeds dogs. I suspect he left it for Feather…..Come on its late, back to bed." Johnny guided Wayna back to his room. He switched on the light and watched his cousin inspect the room. All the neatly stacked books in the bookcase caught his eyes.
"Wow! Can I read these books?" He ran his fingers over their spines.
"Sure can….I don't know how the guys knew but yeah these books are yours to read whenever you want."
"Can I read one now?" Wayna pleaded with his eyes.
Johnny had to control the urge to instantly say yes. He cleared his throat. "It's late, you really should go back to sleep."
"But I'm wide awake now." Again the big brown eyes pulled at his heart strings.
"Ok you can read while I make you some hot chocolate. That'll help you sleep." Wayna smiled and happily chose a book to read.
Johnny left his cousin's room shaking his head. "I'm so doomed."
The next morning Johnny found his cousin in the kitchen reading. He noticed that Feather had been fed. He was sitting contently under Wayna's chair.
"Good morning." Wayna looked up at his cousin. "Did you sleep well?"
"Good morning…yes I did…I really like my room."
"I'm glad. You can thank my friends when they come over later today. You know you don't have to read all the books this weekend."
Wayna looked at his cousin, unsure whether he was mad at him, but his fears were unnecessary. His cousin had only been teasing because he was smiling with a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. He smiled back. Right on cue his stomach growled.
"I guess I better feed that hungry stomach of yours. How about some scrambled eggs and toast?"
"Yes please…Can I help?"
"Sh…sh…sure." Johnny thought about what his young cousin could do that was safe. "How about…you make the toast, while I make the eggs." He placed the toaster on the table, connected an extension cord, and showed Wayna how to use it. He explained where it got hot and told him the golden rule about toasters. "Never put a knife in the toaster if the bread gets stuck." Wayna carefully put the bread in the top of the toaster and pushed it down.
"This is a lot easier. We toasted our bread in front of the fire in the stove at home."
"Yeah, that's how we did it at our place too. This is much better…can't burn the toast."
Johnny quickly whisked the eggs and put them into the frypan. Soon the two cousins were munching away at their breakfast. Wayna continued to read his book while Johnny read the paper. It was as if they had been doing this all their life. The two cousins ate in comfortable silence contented with each other's company.
After breakfast, Johnny called Kurt and Craig and asked them over for a BBQ. He wanted them to meet Wayna. He then called Rampart and asked for Dr Brackett, luckily he was on duty. The paramedic explained about his young cousin and arranged to bring him in for a check-up.
Rampart was the biggest hospital Wayna had ever seen, in fact, some of the buildings they drove by were the biggest he had ever seen. His eyes went wide when Johnny pulled into the parking lot.
"This is Rampart Hospital. This is the hospital I work out of. The doctor you're about to meet is Dr Brackett. Don't worry we're all friends here. Everyone is really nice." Johnny could see that his cousin was a little overwhelmed, so he tried to reassure him.
They entered through the emergency entrance. Johnny spotted Dixie sitting by her counter. "Hi Dix. I'd like you to meet my cousin Wayna. Wayna this lovely lady is Miss McCall."
"Hello Miss McCall." Wayna held out his hand.
Dixie stood and walked to the front of her counter and shook Wayna's hand. She smiled. "Hello Wayna. It's nice to meet you. How long are you staying in LA?"
"Ah Dix….Wayna is going to live with me. I'm his guardian."
"Oh really….well you're in good hands Wayna." Dixie brushed a stray hair off the boy's forehead in a motherly way. Johnny looked on smiling.
"We're here to see Dr Brackett."
"I'll have him paged." Dixie went over to the phone to make the call.
Two paramedics walked up to the nurse's desk. "Johnny."
"Oh hey Roy…Roy I'd like you to meet my cousin Wayna. Wayna this is my partner Mr DeSoto."
"Hello Mr DeSoto." Wayna held out his hand. Roy shook it looking the boy over.
"I'm sure Cap told you about Wayna and that he will be living with me."
"Yeah he mentioned it. What's the story?" Johnny was surprised with Roy's insensitive query in front of Wayna. He looked down at his young cousin and smiled.
"You could say we were meant to be together. Hey champ."
Wayna smiled up at his cousin. "Johnny…Dr Brackett will see you in two."
"Thanks Dix…later Roy. This way Wayna." Johnny was relieved to end his partner's scrutiny.
"Bye Miss McCall…Mr DeSoto." The two cousins walked away.
"He's adorable Roy. Those beautiful eyes…." Dix stood next to the senior paramedic watching Johnny and Wayna enter treatment room two.
"Yeah well, give it time. A few weeks with my partner and he'll be begging to live somewhere else….somewhere normal. What is Johnny going to do when he's on shift?" Roy's remarks, as they did with Johnny earlier, surprised her. His tone was unkind.
"He'll work something out….he has a lot of friends who will help…he'll make sure his cousin is looked after. They'll be fine….besides I think it will be good for Johnny to have Wayna to look after."
"Yeah but will it be good for Wayna?" Roy picked up the HT and turned to leave. "See ya Dix."
Dixie watched Roy and his temporary partner leave. She shook her head, 'When did Roy become so unsupportive?'
Fifteen minutes later Johnny, Wayna and Dr Brackett exited the treatment room. Dr Brackett ruffled Wayna's hair. "It was nice meeting you Wayna. You keep an eye on that cousin of yours…make sure he behaves himself."
"Why whatever do you mean Doc?" Johnny placed his hand on his chest over his heart.
"Get out of here hose jockey." Dr Brackett slapped Johnny on his back and headed towards his office. "I'll let you know when I receive his records." He called over his shoulder.
"Thanks Doc …See you."
"Bye Dr Brackett."
Dr Brackett turned around and waved at the cousins. "Bye."
"All done?"
"Yeah, it was just a quick check up. Doc's going to organise getting Wayna's records from the clinic on the reservation." Johnny squeezed Wayna's shoulder. "We better get going Dix…Craig and Kurt are coming over this afternoon. We need to buy some supplies."
"Well don't let me hold you boys up. Nice meeting you Wayna. Johnny, if you need any help with anything, just call."
"Thanks Dix. That's good to know. Bye."
"Bye Miss McCall."
"Bye." Dixie waved.
As they walked away Wayna looked up at his cousin. "What does hose jockey mean?"
"Oh that's just a nick name Doc calls all us firemen."
"Everyone was really nice. Not like the clinic on the reservation."
"No I guess not. You'll find a lot of things are different here…some good…some not so good….but you'll get used to it. I did."
"I hope I make nice friends like you." Johnny smiled at his cousin's thoughtfulness.
"Thanks Wayna. I'm sure you will. You've already made two friends. Dr Brackett and Miss McCall….Oh and of course Mr DeSoto." Johnny almost forgot about Roy; their chance meeting had not been entirely pleasant. Roy, as usual, had seemed disapproving of Johnny's current situation. Their growing strained relationship made conversations more forced than relaxed these days.
