Chapter 9

Johnny arrives at Rampart and parks the Rover in an end of the row spot. Johnny takes the picture of him and Petey and places it in the card holder, carefully hiding it in the flowers behind the card. Grabbing the second small box from the bakery earlier and the vase of flowers, Johnny heads through the ER doors. Not seeing anyone he knows closely, he boards the elevator and heads to the third floor. Exiting the elevator, Johnny makes quick work of the long corridor with a spring in his step and arrived at room 320. The door was ajar, but Johnny did not want to just walk in on her, so he knocks on the door jam.

A tired and scratchy "come in" answer comes from the room's occupant.

Johnny walks in and is surprised to see Tory looking worse than she did the night before.

She perks up at the sight of him, but Johnny isn't convinced that everything is fine.

"Hey, it's my favorite fireman! Hi Johnny, how's your cheek?" She asks, smiling up at him.

"I'm fine; you shouldn't be worrying about me. You should be worrying about getting better." He smiles and sets the box in front of her.

"I know from experience the food here is a little tough to take, so I got you a couple of these to give you something to eat that you'll enjoy," Johnny explains. "Go ahead and open it."

She closes her eyes and breathes in the aroma coming from the box. "Mmm, smells like apple." She opens the box and finds four delicious looking apple turnovers. "My favorite, how did you know?"

"I didn't, but they're my favorite, as well," Johnny admits.

"Good, then you can have one with me; I hate eating alone." She offers him one and then takes one for herself.

"What are you hiding behind your back?" She asks with a curious smile.

"Ah, well I thought these might brighten your day." He presents the flowers to her, setting them on the table in front of her.

"Oh, Johnny, these are beautiful. No one has ever bought flowers for me before," she admits shyly.

That comment puzzles Johnny, but he chooses not to address it.

She takes the card from the holder and opens it, not yet seeing the picture. "Aw, you even signed it from you and Petey, how is ..." Her breathe catches as she looks back at the flowers and sees the picture of Johnny and Petey. She immediately starts to cry.

"Tory, what's wrong?" Johnny asks in shock.

"Come here," she requests of Johnny and he moves in close so she can hug him, her tears staining his shirt.

"You have no Idea how happy you have made me," she sniffs, trying to get control of herself.

"I didn't mean to make you cry, again," Johnny soothes.

"It's okay; these are tears of joy," she smiles, grabbing a tissue from the table and trying to wipe them away.

"I figured I could tell you he was okay, but you would still have some doubts, but as they say, a picture paints a thousand words!" Johnny grins back at her.

She hugs him again, allowing her lips to gently kiss his bruised cheek. "I can't thank you enough. I know you must be pretty busy with your own life so to do this for me, it's just too much to ask," she sniffs gratefully.

Johnny looks her in the eye and says, "You didn't ask me to do it; I wanted to do it. You deserve something good after all you've been through, and despite whatever you've heard about firemen, my off duty time is pretty dull. So, if you don't mind spendin' some time entertainin' this lonely fireman, I'd appreciate it." He smiles his trademark grin.

Tory smiles back sheepishly at him, slightly embarrassed by the handsome fireman's attention. She changes the subject. "How's your partner? Roy, is it?"

"He's doin' a'right. I stopped at his house on my way here to help him redress his stitches," Johnny explains.

"That's good. He was very kind to me in the ambulance. I hope I get the chance to thank him for that,"

"I'm sure you'll get the chance to see him again,"

"Dan stopped by this morning," she states.

"Dan?" Johnny questions, panicking inwardly that this was a boyfriend.

"Yeah, the guy that was driving the horse trailer," she explains, realizing that Johnny may not know who he is.

Johnny breathes a quiet sigh of relief.

"He said the guy that hit us had suffered a heart attack and died at the scene."

"I kinda thought that's what had happened. He was already gone when I went to treat him," Johnny admits sadly.

"The insurance company says that he is he's pretty much covered. Dan will have to pay his deductible, but then he'll get enough back to fix the truck and put a nice down payment on a new trailer. He said he was going to pick up his filly at the clinic tomorrow," Tory continues.

"Well, sounds like thinks things are startin' to get better already," Johnny says trying to cheer Tory up.

"Yeah, I guess. It's just hard, I'm used to being up at 4:30 feeding and taking care of the horses and right now I can't even take care of myself," she grumbles.

"Don't worry; it'll all work out. I'll help you. I'm sure you have friends at the track who'll help you. It's only gonna be a couple of months and you'll be back to your normal active self," Johnny soothes.

A nurse comes in and announces, "Vicki, it's time for your physical therapy."

Johnny sees Tory wince at the name Vicki. "Tina, is it?" He asks the nurse.

"Yes?" She answers curtly.

"This is Tory not Vicki, okay?" Johnny corrects her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just assumed, well anyway, if you'll excuse us, we have to go." The nurse brushes Johnny off.

Johnny sighs, "Okay, Tory, I'll be by to see you later." He leans in and kisses her forehead.

"Johnny, I can't thank you enough." She holds his hand warmly and then lets it go. Tory looks back at him, her expression sad to see him go.

He takes one last look in her eyes and leaves to give her some privacy as she gets moved to the wheel chair, knowing all too well how embarrassing those hospital gowns can be.