The Fire Talks

Chapter Nine

by GCS and Hotshow

DISCLAIMER: "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction. This story is only written for entertainment. No financial gain is being realized from it.

The story, itself, is the property of the author.

Johnny headed back to his apartment with his goodie bag from the diner. He felt better after a good meal and coffee. Hopefully the water would be back on before tomorrow morning. The A-shift was back on shift, and he wanted to shower before going to work. As he approached his apartment he could hear the phone ringing inside. Fumbling for his door key and not managing to get the door open in time the ringing stopped. As he stepped inside Johnny could hear Roy leaving a message on his machine. Johnny thought it was just like his best friend to check on him on their day off. He took his snack into the kitchen and grabbed the phone on the wall to call Roy back. "Hey Pally I just got your message. I was on my way in and didn't get to the phone in time."

"Hey Johnny I was just going to make sure you had your water back on, and if not invite you to dinner."

"Oh thanks, but I just ate with Vince at the diner. The water's still off, but I'm doin' okay. I even got coffee and apple pie for later." Johnny smiled as he thought about his snack.

"Apple pie sounds good. Well the kids will be disappointed. Listen if you need anything or they don't get the water back on you know you are welcome to stay here tonight."

"Thanks Roy, but I'll be fine. See you at the station in the morning Pally."

"Do you need a ride?"

"No thanks, Chet and Marco brought the Rover over earlier today. I'm good. Goodnight Roy."

"Goodnight Junior."

After hanging up the phone Johnny realized he was still feeling a little stiff. Thinking he might just lounge around the apartment for the evening he turned on the TV to find something to watch and made himself comfortable in his recliner. In a few minutes he was sound asleep.

In the wee hours of the morning Johnny woke up to static on the TV. Glancing at his watch by holding it at an angle towards the snowy TV screen he could see that it was around 4 o'clock. He couldn't believe that he had fallen asleep and slept that long. Since he had to be up in a couple of hours Johnny decided to shower and get ready. Stopping by the kitchen to make coffee he was disappointed to find that the water was still not working. He remembered the coffee and pie from the diner and decided he would heat that up and head to the station early enough to shower there, but he would have to wait until after the current shift wake up tones had sounded. That gave him at least an hour to wait. It was cool outside, but Johnny decided to gather his things and take an early morning run at the nearby school track. He loved the way running made him feel and it helped to keep him in shape for his job.

Arriving at the station just after he knew the tones would have sounded Johnny stopped by the kitchen hoping they had coffee. "Morning, morning, morning."

"Wow Gage aren't you just a little early?" Charlie Dwyer looked up from his own coffee cup.

"Yeah Charlie, I was running at the track this morning and decided to just come here to shower."

"Running? Kind of early for you isn't it?" Charlie teased.

"Well I woke up at 4." Johnny didn't give any other explanation. He looked at the men sitting around the table and noticed that there were several copies of "The Fire Talks" in front of the men. "You guys reading that book too? What do you think about it?"

"I think everyone in the department is reading it John. It's really well written. The action scenes are vivid; the mystery of the arsonist is slowly unfolding, and really keeps you wanting to read more. Whoever wrote this definitely has a talent for writing. Has anyone figured out who the author is yet?" Captain Smith asked.

Johnny shrugged his shoulders as he sipped his coffee. "I ran into Vince yesterday, and he said most of the police department is reading it too." He turned to refill his coffee cup.

"You look a little rough Johnny? Are you feeling all right?" Charlie's paramedic eye kicked in.

"Yeah, I think I might be getting a cold or something."

"What's wrong with your arm?" Charlie asked seeing the gauze wrapped around Johnny's arm from the cat.

"Just a bad scratch from last shift, it's no big deal. You guys have a good day off. I'm going to get that shower." Johnny turned and left the kitchen with coffee in hand.

The rest of the A-shift had arrived while Johnny took a long hot shower. By the time he came out of the shower Roy had gotten him some more coffee and sat waiting on the bench beside their lockers. "Guess your water is still off."

"Yeah. I went for a run this morning. Showering here was easier anyway." Johnny toweled his hair while walking over to the bench. He reached for the coffee allowing Roy to see the reddened scratch on his arm.

"That cat scratch looks like it may be a little infected Johnny. You better let me put some antibiotic cream on it for you. It might be a good idea to let one of the doc's look at it when we're at Rampart."

"Aw Roy it's just a scratch. It's probably just red from the hot water. I don't need a doctor to look at it." He moved his arm out of Roy's concerned view. "I'll wrap it."

Roy got up from the bench and went out into the bay to get the things he would need to treat Johnny's arm. A few minutes later he was back and stood beside Johnny waiting to do just that. Johnny's shoulders slumped and he outstretched his arm to Roy. "It's getting infected Johnny. You know that."

"Okay Roy just put the cream on it. I'm sure it will be fine. You know cat scratches and bites usually always have a lot of bacteria in them."

"I know Johnny, but I also know you can get really sick from them if you are not careful. Have you had any other symptoms?" Johnny didn't want Roy to worry about him, but he hated lies. He decided to tell Roy about not feeling that good.

"I have been extra tired, but that could just be from the last shift. I was exhausted when Cap took me home. I haven't had water for two days. That can wear on a guy you know. I slept on the couch most of yesterday and then fell asleep in my recliner last night. I woke up at 4 am a little stiff. I'm not sick Roy. I'm just a little sore. Running helped loosen me up though." He looked up at his best friend hoping his explanation would suffice. Before he could get any response from Roy the tones sounded.

Shift change had not officially taken place, but they would volunteer to take the run so the other shift could head home. They ran to the bay to take the run. It would be an easy run, just an elderly woman who had slipped on the curb and twisted her ankle. She refused treatment and agreed to see her personal physician. It was an easy start to the shift, but being called out before roll call was always a sign of a busy day.