Title: Without Reservation – Pt. 8

By: FanofRandy

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. Emergency! is owned by Universal and Mark VII Productions. I write for pure enjoyment and to stretch my imagination…I do not make any profit from these characters or stories.

Summary: A new policy had Gage worried and Brackett concerned for this young Paramedic. What happens will change their relationship, and other friendships Johnny has forged, forever.

Author's Note: I wondered about John Gage's ancestry for the years I watched Emergency! Since it was not expounded upon…it leaves a lot to our imaginations (what better fodder for Fan Fiction, huh?). I am taking a few liberties and much of my research was done online. Also, plotline for the accident is from another fave show of mine "Rescue 77". The "Wedding" episode had a married couple trapped in a car and one had to be sacrificed to save the other. GREAT show (an Emergency! for the 1990's!).

Flashback:

When Johnny's parents died, there was no other family to claim him, so he was placed in an orphanage in a nearby town. Johnny had to learn quickly how to face the bullies that teased and taunted him. He was a bit small for his age, and skinny, but he could defend himself when needed. And, these days, it was needed a lot. Johnny was beaten at least once a week by the older boys at the orphanage. The Nun's overlooked the abuse most of the time, but there was one, Sister Mary Margaret, who took pity on young John Gage and tried to help him.

Sister Mary Margaret found a foster family just outside Wewoka, to take John in. She had met the mother at Mass several times and thought the family was lovely. Sister M's, as John called her, put Johnny in the seat beside her and drove him to his new home. "It's gonna be nice, John. You will see. There will be other children there, but not like here. You will be with a normal family again. I know you still miss your mom and dad, but these people are nice. You'll see." She tried to comfort the frightened boy. His arm was still in a cast from one of the beatings from the older boys.

Sister M's dropped Johnny off with the Lewis family. He did like them, but was not able to stay long. As soon as they learned of his Indian heritage, they asked that he be placed with another family. They claimed they were not bigoted, but they just did not want their children to face any ridicule at their school when others found out about Johnny. Johnny didn't care anymore…he just began to fade in on himself and give up all hope of ever being happy again.

Johnny heard the noises as the men from his station, and the others who were able to respond before the road was closed, chipped away at the bridge that trapped this car and its occupants. He moved to get a new set of vitals and was surprised when he found that Beth was once again conscious. "Hey, Beth, you went to sleep for a while. How are you feeling now?" He prompted.

She tried to turn her head, and found she couldn't. "What's wrong with my neck?" She cried out.

Johnny reached over to calm her, "Nothing, nothing's wrong. I put a brace around your neck in case you had injured it. It is just a precaution. Kenny has one too. I also put a splint on your arm and you have an IV in this other one. It will help keep you going until they dig us out of here." Johnny spoke in a calm, kind, and reassuring voice. He felt Beth relax and that was his goal.

"What about Kenny? Is he okay?" She pleaded.

"He's stable for now. I put a cervical collar on him, too. And, he had a couple IV's goin'. His legs are trapped under the dash and I can't really see how badly he is hurt. But, they are going to get us out and we will put him in a MAST suit. It stands for 'medical anti-shock trousers'. See, Beth, his legs and pelvis are probably broken and he will probably have a lot of bleeding when we get him out, so we want to prevent him from going into shock. So this is gonna take awhile, okay?" Johnny tried to be as honest as he could. He was not exactly lying…there was a chance that Kenny would live, and that was why they were taking their time cutting and digging them out of the wreckage.

"Is God punishing us?" came her reply.

Johnny was stunned. He was uncertain what to say. He believed in God and had even accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior when he was eight, but he had drifted so far since his parents' died…he was at a loss for words.

"Mr. Gage, are you still there?" Beth asked.

"Yeah, I am. Hey, call me Johnny, will ya? Um, why would you think God is punishing you?"

Beth took a deep breath, and let it out. Johnny heard the bubbling and gurgling sound and winced. "That's not good," he thought to himself.

"Well, you know, a white girl and an Indian getting married. Maybe we shouldn't be together, you know?" Beth sighed again. Johnny could tell she was having trouble breathing. He noticed she was pale and sweating pretty heavily, too. He turned to the oxygen tank on his right and turned it up to 10 liters…as high as it would go.

He thought of what she said, and thought of his own parents and the way they died…he did not think he had any words to comfort her. "Beth, I don't think God punishes people for who they fall in love with. I think He would be happy that you found someone who loves you back and who would care enough about you to want to spend the rest of his life with you…" Johnny stopped as he realized she had again lost consciousness. He was grateful; because he was not sure he believed what he was saying.

Johnny reached over to check on Kenny's vital signs and saw that his eyes were opened. "Had he just heard Beth's question and his reply?" Johnny wondered. "Kenny. Kenny, can you hear me?" Johnny prompted.

"Yeah, I can hear ya. Who are you? Where am I? What's goin' on?" With each question, Kenny got more and more agitated.

"My name is John Gage. I am a Fireman/Paramedic with Los Angeles County. You and Beth were in a car accident and I am here to help you both get out safe and sound, okay. Calm down for me, now, okay?" Johnny soothed.

"Beth! Is Beth okay?"

"Yes, she is okay. She's right here next to you. She was awake just a few moments ago and told me that you two are getting married."

"Yeah. We were on our way to tell her parents. Oh, no, her parents…has anyone called our families'? Do they know where we are?" Kenny was worried only about Beth and their families…Johnny was impressed that the young man had no concern for himself, only others.

"Someone has contacted them, I'm sure. Let's just find out more about you, huh? Where do you hurt right now, Kenny?"

"Um, uh…my head, my chest and…I guess that's it. That's not too bad, huh?" Kenny deduced.

Johnny knew that his legs were crushed and there could be spinal damage, too if he could not feel his legs. "Yeah, that's good. Are you sure you don't hurt anywhere else?" Johnny continued. Kenny denied pain anywhere else and Johnny continued to get updated vital signs.

Marco came to the window to let Johnny know that Brackett wanted an update on his patients. Marco was not surprised that Johnny already had the needed information. Marco asked Johnny if he wanted him to bring the Biophone to him so he could talk to Dr. Brackett. "Yeah, Marco, if you can get me the Biophone that would be great!" Johnny said with some excitement. Marco did just that.

Johnny took the handset, "Rampart, this is Squad 51 calling in an update. Do you read?"

Brackett, Dixie, and Roy were all staring at the radio as if life-giving words were being emitted. "This is Kel, Johnny. What's going on there?" Roy swayed as he took a seat on the stool. He had not eaten or drank anything for several hours and was terribly worried about Johnny and the rest of his crew stuck up there on that canyon road in a torrential downpour.

"Uh, doc, the updated vitals are as follows: Victim #1, 18 year old female..." Johnny read off the vital signs. "She also has wheezing, shortness of breath, pale skin and excessive sweating." Johnny knew this meant that she probably had pulmonary edema. He quickly added, "Victim #2, 19 year old male, lower extremities crushed beneath the dashboard. Vital signs are holding steady for now. There was a moment of consciousness, but he is out now."

Dr. Brackett considered the information Johnny had just provided. He knew that Johnny was aware the girl could die if they did not get her to the hospital quickly. Her lungs were filling with fluid—most-likely blood—and, she would not survive much longer. "Squad 51, we have to get her in here now, dammit. How much longer till the boy's legs are free and they can be extracted?"

Johnny leaned toward the opening…he briefly wondered how in the world he had fit through that small opening. "How much longer, Cap?" He yelled.

Captain Stanley walked over and leaned down to talk to his youngest charge. "John. Pal…it's just a lot to dig through. We are making progress, but with this rain and the debris…probably another couple hours." He shrugged his shoulders as Johnny's head shook in disbelief.

"Uh, it will take another couple hours to dig us out Rampart." Johnny said.

Brackett said what they all knew was true, "She will drown in her own fluids or bleed to death in the next hour, Johnny. Isn't there a faster way to get her out of there?"

Johnny knew that there was a faster way…but, he also knew that it would mean certain death for Kenny. "Doc, I got an idea…I'll get back with you in a few." Johnny had set aside protocol and was just being a man who now had to make a decision on who would live and who would die. Roy, Dixie and Kel all said a silent prayer for their friend.

"Cap." Johnny called. "We HAVE to get her out now, or she is going to die. Is there anything we can do?"

"What did you have in mind, Pal?" his Captain asked.

"Well, maybe if we used chains and ropes and tie the rear axle to the engines…BOTH engines could pull this car out from under this heap…doncha think, Cap.?"

Captain Stanley shook his head… "Well, John, if you think that is our only choice to save her, then I guess we can try that. Let me get the guys to get us all hooked up and then we will get you all out of there."

Johnny's heart sunk. He would be glad to be out the car—he'd been in there for hours now. But, he did not want to face the fact that he was signing Kenny's death warrant by rushing the process of freeing them. "It's okay." Johnny heard a voice squeak as he was covering the two with yellow blankets he got from Marco.

"It's okay if I die and she lives." Johnny heard Kenny say. "I wouldn't want it any other way, sir. She is the best thing that ever happened to me. She was the only one who accepted me for who I was. I am part Indian, you know. And, that can be hard sometimes. But, when I was with her, nothin' mattered but us. I don't think her dad would have let her marry me anyway. But, just gettin' to ask her and seeing the smile on her face when I put that ring on her hand…all that is worth this right here. I told her I would love her till the day I died. I didn't lie, man…I didn't lie." Kenny was crying and could barely get his words out. He asked Johnny to put his hand on Beth's hand so he could be touching her when…when…well…Johnny finished covering the two to protect them from the possible debris and glass shards.

Johnny put Kenny's hand on Beth's and he heard the guys hooking up the chains and ropes to the car's axel. He hoped this would work, and that they would at least be able to save Beth, but even that wasn't certain. With the weather, how were they going to get her to the hospital…no vehicles, even emergency vehicles…had been allowed to come up the canyon road since the slides started.

Johnny heard Kenny's sobs and felt his own eyes getting moist. He wished he was anywhere else in the world except for where he was this very moment. He couldn't believe the past was coming back to haunt him like this…he was in the back seat of the car when his parents died, too. And, then, just like now, there was nothing he could do but wait until help arrived.

Johnny felt totally helpless when he heard the engines race behind him and he heard Kenny's voice say, "Can you tell her and my dad one thing for me man…just one thing…Enka, ce'hecares!" And, then Johnny felt the car moving…

TBC