Chapter 4

The hospital found someone from the university who could be a translator for the French family at Dixie's insistence, because she didn't want Jane to have to deal with the accident victims. Despite Dixie's intervention, Jane dropped by the hospital to see the family on a regular basis, and was very helpful for the little boy in dealing with his mother's long recovery. The grandfather and Jacques were soon discharged and staying in a motel nearby.

Since Jane had been there when the boy was found, a bond had been created, and somehow the grandfather seemed to feel that Jane was responsible for saving the boy's life, whatever else she told him. Jane was happy to translate for the family when she was there, and even began teaching them some rudimentary English phrases so they could function more independently with hospital personnel. It took a while, but finally the mother was able to communicate with her son and father, and she relied on Jane to help her as well.

Dixie thought a lot about her coffee shop conversation with Jane over the next few weeks. When she saw Roy and John she watched carefully to see if she could see any signs that John was feeling about Jane the way she felt about him. But she would not ask any leading questions. Let it happen naturally, if it was going to happen.

Dixie decided to throw one of her famous parties for no particular reason other than she loved having them. She invited her favorite paramedics as well as her friends from Rampart. 'The more, the merrier' was her creed, so she had no problem with people showing up with dates or friends she didn't know well. When John asked Jane if she'd like to go, she was thrilled and nervous that she would be meeting his colleagues socially.

It was a typical Dixie party – lots of music, dancing, laughter and stimulating conversation. Jane didn't really know anyone well other than Johnny, the DeSotos and Dixie, so she tried to stay close to Johnny, but he was all over the room, chatting with everyone. She decided to help out in the kitchen instead of trying to keep up with him. Dixie left her in charge of reloading trays of hors d'œuvres, and she went happily to work.

A man Jane didn't recognize came into the kitchen, looking for another drink. He started chatting her up, and she answered amicably but cautiously, recognizing that he was in an extroverted state of inebriation. Still, she was totally taken aback when he suddenly pinned her against the wall and said, "You're a beautiful woman, y'know," and tried to stroke her hair.

Mike Morton was in the doorway watching with detached interest, but walked over when he saw Jane's reaction to the man's overtures. "Hey Jane, how's it going?" Jane turned toward him with relief, and started to chat nervously. "Oh, hi, Dr Morton. What a lovely home Dixie has! Have you been here before? This is my first time. Did you see Johnny in the other room? I came with him."

Mike replied, "Jane, this is a party. You can call me Mike." He turned to the other man and said, "Hey, I think someone was looking for you in the other room." As soon as he left, Jane thanked Mike gratefully.

Morton, never known for his social astuteness, then asked Jane, "What did you do to bring that on?" Jane was surprised and hurt that he would suggest she had invited the unknown man's advances and looked at him with confusion. "Maybe you should be more careful," Mike continued, leaving Jane speechless. When she regained her voice, she excused herself and left the kitchen.

Jane was devastated by what happened, and especially by what Mike Morton had said. She wondered what it was that she did to cause some men to think about her as if she was inviting their unwanted advances. She wanted to leave the party, and wondered how to tell Johnny. She didn't think she could handle his bouncy insouciance right now, and this was a puzzle that needed solving as soon as possible so that she could make sure it never happened again.

John wandered into the kitchen to get Jane and bring her back into the party, but when he couldn't see her, he went to find Dixie. "Hey, Dix, have you seen Jane? Do you know where she is?"

"I'm sorry, Johnny, I haven't. I thought you were with her."

John blustered his way through some excuse. "Oh, ah, yeah, we just missed, um, you know, I was, uh..." Dixie smiled at him, looked around and then pointed to where Jane sat on a chair by the door, oblivious to what was going on around her because she was thinking so hard. Was it men in general? Was it her? Was it her clothes or something she had said? What did Johnny really think about her? She looked up, and there he was, standing over her. With a sheepish look, he asked her if he could drive her home and she nodded.

When she got into his car, he tried to get her to talk, but she shook her head and was silent on the way back to her place and just looked out the window, pondering. As they turned a corner, she saw a woman step out into the street just as a city bus came around the corner. She called out "John!" as Thunk! the woman smashed into the front of the bus and fell onto the road. The driver slammed on his breaks - but it was too late to stop and in an instant she lay under the bus near the passenger side wheel. Johnny parked his car immediately, deliberately blocking the road, and they ran to see what they could do to help.

Johnny took direct control of the situation, checking for the woman's vital signs, and asking someone to call for help. A teenager, running out of the restaurant with the manager, said, "Paramedics are on the way," and even though Johnny knew that by the time the squad would arrive there would be nothing to be done due to the extent of the woman's injuries, he kept giving the woman CPR. He wanted to shield Jane, but this unknown women needed immediate aid, so he asked her if she could do rescue breathing until the squad arrived, while he worked to try and get the woman's heart beating. Perverse twists of fate, that had him on his night off on the side of a road with a dying stranger, kneeling in the dirt with the woman he was dating...or maybe not dating, since she didn't really seem to want to be with him tonight.

Within minutes the paramedics took over from Johnny, and the police arrived. Jane told them what she had seen, how the woman had stepped directly in front of the bus and there was nothing the driver could have done to avoid the accident. In addition to the woman, the bus driver was taken to the hospital for shock. No one else was injured.

While the police continued to get witness statements from the bus passengers, Johnny asked if he could take Jane home, and they gave him the okay. When they got to her house, he told her unequivocally, "I'm going to come in and make you a hot drink. You really need it," and Jane didn't argue with him. While making her some tea, he talked about the accident, hoping to normalize it for her by explaining what would happen with the woman who died and with the bus driver. She didn't respond, except to say, "Thanks for letting me know." After making sure that she finished her drink, he kissed her good night, but instead of her usual warm response to his touch, she passively accepted the kiss without returning it. When he asked if he would see her soon, she just nodded, and said, "I appreciate all you've done. Thanks again."

Johnny climbed into his Land Rover, and when her front door was closed, he hit the steering wheel with the heel of his hand. "Argh! Why do I always blow it?" When he got home, he debated with himself for a few minutes while pacing around his living room, but then called Roy on the phone. "I know it's prob'ly too late, but can you talk?"

"You and Jane have a fight or somethin'?"

John replied, "I don't think so." He paused, unsure of himself. "I'd know if we had, wouldn't I? I just don't get it." He explained to Roy what had happened since he left Dixie's house. "I can see her being upset about the accident, but what caused her to shut down in the first place?"

"Maybe Dixie knows something – but don't call her tonight. Try and talk to her tomorrow when we're at the hospital."

"I guess so. I just can't figure out women. Man, Roy why d'they have to make everything so...complicated?"

Roy agreed, "Yeah, I know. But I know my wife, and I'd better get off this phone right now, or I'm gonna be in the dog house. Anyway, I'll see you in a few hours, Johnny. Don't think too much about it. I'm sure you'll find out what's going on soon enough. Better get some sleep."

"Yeah. Thanks. Sorry 'bout bugging you so late. And, uh, say sorry to Joanne for me."

"Will do. G'night Johnny."

It was Dr Morton who blurted out what they had all been wondering. While John and Roy were getting supplies after a run, and Dixie was marking things off on her chart, Mike came up to Johnny and asked point blank, "So what are you going to do with that amazing girlfriend of yours? Don't you think that you should ask her to marry you already? You know, if you're not, there are other people who would be interested in her if they knew she was available."

Johnny looked at him in shock. "You mean, like you for instance?"

"No, I don't mean that. But there are other fish in the sea and they are starting to circle."

Dixie looked up at his mixed metaphor. "You mean sharks. Sharks circle."

Johnny became defensive. "Yeah, sharks!"

Dr Early came up to the desk. "What's this about sharks? Someone's going fishing?"

Johnny picked up his supplies. "Ask Dr Morton!" He stomped off towards the squad.

Roy sighed and looked at Dixie. She stood up and walked with him down the hallway. "Roy, is Johnny thinking about making this into a more permanent relationship? Do you know?"

"No, not really. I do know I've never seen him this involved with someone before, and I think he might care for her more than he has admitted to himself, but I can't say more than that. Why do you ask?"

"Because we care about John, and we have come to care about Jane. I really, really, like Jane – she would make him a wonderful wife, and I know she loves him very much."

Roy was surprised. "Did she tell you that?"

Dixie nodded. "She also told me that the scariest thing in her life right now would be to lose him."

Roy whistled. "That's really serious."

Dixie nodded again. "And now you know, too."

Roy touched Dixie's arm. "Thanks for letting me know, although I don't know what I can do with the information."

"See you, Roy."

On their next run to the hospital, Johnny took some time to talk to Dixie about her party. "Say, Dix, d'you know anything about what happened with Jane at your place? She say anything to you?"

"Not a word, Johnny." She thought for a moment, looking in her memories of the previous evening for anything that might give them a clue. "Sorry, I honestly have no idea about anything that might have upset Jane."

Dr Morton came up to her desk to get a chart just then, and caught the last sentence she said. "Are you referring to your party, Dixie?" he asked.

Both Johnny and Dixie turned to stare at him. "Do you know something about Jane, Mike?" Dixie asked.

"Well, yeah, I guess I do. I mean, I was there when Robinson put the moves on her in the kitchen."

"He did what?" exclaimed Johnny.

"He had her pinned up against the counter and was coming on pretty strong, I thought. 'Course he was fairly inebriated at the time."

Johnny and Dixie just gaped at him and then looked at each other. "That would explain a lot, Mike," said Dixie.

Roy arrived from his errand, and told John they had to leave. Johnny shook his head. "No, no, no. One more second, Roy. What did Jane do, Mike? I gotta know."

Mike shrugged. "I talked to her, and then she left."

Johnny's voice boded no good when he asked, "Where is Robinson?" but Dixie just shook her head at him. "Just let it go, Johnny."

"So that's why you talked about fish circling!"

"Yeah, but Dixie's right - I did mean sharks."

Johnny's eyes narrowed and he nodded at Dr Morton. "Sharks." He nodded again. "Circling."

Roy shook his head, rolled his eyes, and grabbed Johnny's arm. "Squad. Leaving. Now."

Roy closed the door to the squad. John looked over at him. "Listen, Roy…" he began, but then stopped.

Roy glanced at him quickly and pulled out of the parking lot. "Yeah?"

Johnny didn't continue for a minute. Roy waited, though; he knew Johnny well enough that something would be forthcoming. "Roy, what Morton said back there…" he trailed off again. Roy made some noncommittal noise in his throat. John sat looking out the window for a minute or two.

"Roy, does Joanne ever talk to you about how she feels about being a fireman's wife?"

"We have talked about it, sometimes. Usually when someone we know, you know…"

"Yeah. And what does she say? What does she think about the whole situation?"

"What situation are you talking about?"

"You know, the dangerousness of our job."

"She knows it's part of who I am, and she loves me, so although she doesn't love my job, she probably is terrified of it actually, she wouldn't want me to do anything else, because then I wouldn't be me, I guess. It's complicated."

"Yeah, complicated." John stared out the window, but Roy thought he probably wasn't seeing anything except what was in his own head.

On their next shift together, Roy was curious about the aftermath of the incident at the party and the conversation with Morton.

"Um, Johnny?"

"Yeah?"

"Things okay with you and Jane?"

"Huh? Yeah, sure, everything's fine. Real peachy. Why do you ask?"

Roy sat in the squad in stunned silence. Why do I ask? He shot his partner a look. Is he serious? After all that drama the other day, it was like the whole thing never happened. He decided to let it go. "No reason, Junior. Glad to hear it."

It was another weekend shift, and a busy Saturday morning, with one call after another. By ten am no one in the station had even had breakfast and they were tired and hungry as they came back from a brush fire down in the canyon. It hadn't been a big one and they had gotten it under control fairly easily, but they were all hot, thirsty, and ready for some real food when the rig and the squad pulled into the station. As usual, Johnny was the first one into the kitchen. He was heading for the coffee pot, when he saw Jane standing at the stove. "What's this?" he asked and put his arms around her waist from behind.

"Breakfast for my men," she answered. "I called the station, because I had this wonderful idea, and even though I got no answer I decided to be bold and make myself at home." She turned to look at him. "I hope you don't mind?"

He laughed and hugged her. "Mind? This is definitely an improvement to my day!"

Roy came into the kitchen. "Hey, no hugging on these premises!"

Jane turned around fully and smiled at him. "Just this once? Special dispensation? I've made you French crepes for breakfast. Does that help?"

Chet followed Roy into the kitchen. "French crepes? Are you kidding? Wow. Now that's breakfast!" The other men came into the room and Jane had them sit at the table. It was obvious she had been cooking for a while because she laid a large platter of crepes in the middle of the table. But when Johnny reached to take one, she scolded him. "Ah, ah! Not yet! I have to explain something to you first."

Chet muttered, "Make it quick! I can't last too long!" and Jane smiled at him.

"Here's how you eat them in Paris. You take some chocolate hazelnut spread and you put it in the center, then you add some sliced bananas on top of that, and then you put on a mound of whipped cream! Or you can sprinkle them with icing sugar on top if you prefer." While she was talking she made one in front of John, and then cut it to give him a bite. One look at his face and they were all digging into the crepes, chocolate, bananas and whipped cream as if they were in a race, with Jane laughing at them all.

After the meal was cleaned up, John sat beside Jane on the couch and put his arm around her. "Why are you so good to me? To us?" He waved his hand to include the rest of the station.

She snuggled into his shoulder. "Because you deserve it." She raised her head and called out at large. "You all deserve it." She continued in a quiet voice that John could barely hear, "And you are my family." She looked into John's eyes and smiled, but he thought he could see tears in hers. She blinked and got up. "I'd better get going. You have your job, and I have my responsibilities too. The Community Center, here I come!" She blew kisses to them all and was gone.

As usual, it was Chet who asked John what his plans were for Jane. "What is this?" he complained. "Why is everyone so concerned about my love life all of a sudden?"

Captain Stanley put his hand on Johnny's shoulder. "This actually isn't about you, John. It's about Jane. We all can see that she cares for you very much..."

"Though we haven't got a clue why!" interrupted Chet.

The captain continued, "…and we care about her. She is a wonderful girl, and she obviously makes you very happy. I guess it's natural to think that this might be heading somewhere more, you know, permanent…"

"Like marriage!" interrupted Marco.

"…So, that's why we're asking. That's all." The captain put his face close to John's and added quietly, "Though if you aren't interested in marriage with Jane and you are thinking of letting her go, I don't have a high opinion of your choice." John was shocked. He didn't know what to say. He looked around at the men in the room – people he'd risked his life for, over and over. He looked at his partner, Roy. They all looked back at him. He turned and walked out of the room without another word or look. Captain Stanley sighed.