Chapter 10
Before the paramedics drove over to Rampart to restock, Roy had to get his wallet out of his locker. While he was gone Mike grabbed a hold of John's arm and whispered. "Look, things were really ugly last night, I'm sure he still has a boat load of garbage to get off his chest so just give him some slack and really listen to him till he can get it all off his chest okay."
"Sure Mike, I kinda figured that already but thanks for the heads up."
When Roy and John returned three hours later Roy was feeling a little better, and found that his latrine had been cleaned for him. No one confessed to doing it but Chet let slip to John that it was Mike.
JoAnne called the station to talk to Roy and during their conversation she admitted to asking Laura how to deal with her mother before the party and that she was grateful for what Laura had said that night. Since JoAnne's sister and her husband were on the best terms with their mother it was agreed that she would go with them until they worked out the drug interaction she was dealing with. But the most important part was that JoAnne wasn't mad at him any more and that the mother-in-law was leaving.
Still Mike kept his distance through out the day and did his own fuming, it was just before dinner was to be served that Roy found him sitting in the cab of his truck thinking and timidly tapped on the door to get his attention.
"I'm sorry I said the things I did, both this morning and earlier," Roy started out quickly hoping Mike wouldn't send him away, If he yelled at him, well he deserved that but at least he could make it so that Mike didn't have to hide out, if there needed to be a separation Roy was about to volunteer to hang out in the dorm or cab of the squad so Mike could enjoy the camaraderie of the rest of their shift mates.
"It's alright, sorry I wasn't a better listener," Mike responded, "My wife was really just trying to help your wife fix things at home, I know JoAnne was hoping that Laura was going to be able to take care of everything but JoAnne's got to be the one to step up."
"I've known that for a long time," Roy hung his head, "but I also understand that it's hard to take control of your own mother." "I also feel embarrassed that I didn't pick up on my own mother-in-laws electrolyte imbalance or all the drugs from the different doctors."
"You know Laura didn't pick up on anything either," Mike turned to Roy in understanding. "She was grasping at straws and just suggested she be taken to the hospital in hopes of keeping her out of Jail and upsetting everyone more than they already were. After the ambulance left she actually called Dr. Early and told him to find some reason to admit her even if he had to make one up."
Roy was stunned and stayed quiet for a moment to soak in what he had been told, "Will you please tell your wife thank you for everything she did next time you talk to her."
"I'll do that," Mike opened his truck door and turned in his seat to look at Roy, "Did your mother in law ever tell you why she keeps a rock in her purse?"
"It's a brick, she only carries it when she's visiting us, it's to protect her from the muggers that infest this area that I force her daughter to live in."
"I hope you're not offended if we don't invite your family over again when she's here for one of her visits?" Mike was honest and forth right.
"Believe me, I understand, no offence will be taken," Roy sighed with relief that Mike had accepted his apology. "Maybe you could loan me your tree house so I don't have to sleep on the sofa."
"Only if Laura and I aren't using it," Mike responded with a serious smile on his face, "we could probably let you sleep in one of the rooms in the basement for a night or two."
"I'll take it," Roy smiled and Mike shook the hand he extended to ward him before Roy pulled him from the car and in the direction of the kitchen.
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It was two nights before they were to fly to Seattle when the phone rang at the station at two a.m., thinking it was official business, because some calls do come in over the phone when the situation requires it, Captain Stanley rolled out of bed and grabbed the phone, "Station 51 Captain Stanley speaking." "Laura!"
That was all that was needed to have Mike at his side in full panic, "Okay Laura I understand, I'm going to have to call their captain so he can do the paperwork, I also think they may respond to him better." "Sure I'll give him your address." "You're welcome Laura, I'm glad you called, do you need someone else over there before hand?" "Are you sure," "Mike needs to talk to you," "Okay I understand, I'll explain to him." "I'll make the calls but if you need us call again."
The call was ended and Hank returned to his bunk to pull his bunker pants on, "Cap what's going on?" one of his men questioned from their half asleep state.
"Nothing that involves you, go back to sleep," Hank ordered then headed for the office grabbing Mike's arm just long enough to get the silent message across that he was to follow him.
In the office Hank pulled out a master phone list and started drawing his finger down the list until he found what he was looking for and picked up the phone at the same time motioning for Mike to have a seat.
"Hey, Frank, sorry for the middle of the night call but I've been alerted to some problems concerning some of your men." "Yeah, your two paramedics, Brice and Bellingham and your engineer, Hawker, just showed up at the home of my Engineer. They seem to be having some serious issues with a bad call you had last shift." "I was sure you would know which one," "Yeah, Laura Stoker is trying to deal with them but she needs some help, two of them are a bit under the influence and they're all basket cases according to Laura." "Yeah, I think you need to get over there, do you want me to call the crisis councilor?" "I'll do that, keep me in touch. Do you know where the Stoker's live?"
Hank hung up and started to dial the night number for Headquarters to get someone from their crisis center headed out to his second in command's house. As the phone rang Hank looked up at Mike, "you heard what's going on, you're wife's alright she just needs some help. Frank just said something about a bad call where the whole family plus guests ended up code f, including a couple of babies. They had turned on a new furnace and there was a gas leak. They got the wrong address at first and had to call in for a correction after they arrived at the wrong place, took them over twenty minutes to get to the right address and by then it was too late, It's hit his men hard, none of them have been able to sleep with out help, Apparently a couple of the men started drinking and then talking about how they couldn't go on any more so Brice drug them to Laura in hopes that she could understand how to help them better than the people at the hospital."
"So you're telling me that my wife is home alone with three drunken firemen but you don't want me to worry?" Mike looked at his captain as if he had lost his mind.
"I'm getting help over there." Hank turned to the phone, "Yeah, I need a crisis councilor ASAP," Hank informed the person who answered the phone, then he turned back to Mike, "Yeah your right If I was in your shoes I'd be ordering a silent alarm and heading over there myself."
"Laura probably can help them in ways that few others can," Mike recognized the situation, "But not if they're drunk, they need to sleep it off first then the hospital will call her in. Well she would have learned about them when she was on shift," Mike Slumped into his chair, "Maybe."
When Hank had finished giving the needed information to the still half asleep councilor that he was connected to through dispatch, he hung up and turned back to his friend.
"I'm sure she'll be alright and Captain Gardner should be there any second." "Laura said she couldn't talk to you right then because of the situation."
"I understand. It's not the first time someone's come by needed her to pull them together. Marco and Johnny have come over a couple of times after some bad runs, Roy too. Of course she pulls me through every time; it's just the first time that it's happened in the middle of the night when I'm not home."
"It's all those books she's written," Hank reasoned. He had been aware of John talking to Laura, but this was the first he was aware of the others.
"NO, it's because she knows what she's talking about in all those books she's written, She's been there, seen what hell really is, and learned how to pull herself and her team back together so they can go back and do it all gain. The doctors at the hospital take the approach of knocking them out and hope the problem goes away when they wake up."
"Which is what the men were trying to do with Alcohol," Hank filled in; he was trained to watch his men for such problems and to work with them some. But once they were off duty his influence was limited at best. This was the first he had known that his men were going to Laura, and although he was upset with himself for not noticing their need he was glad they had found such a capable councilor. He was also grateful for Mike's willingness to share his wife.
The two men talked the rest of the night, and Mike revealed that Laura had been working with several paramedics, that were suffering some sort of burn out, at the hospital but this was the first he knew of them coming to the house other than Johnny, Marco and Roy. When the wake up tones sounded, they were just headed to make sure everyone else was awake and get dressed when they heard the sound of a car coming up the drive at the side of the building. Mike recognized the loose muffler of his wife's car and literally ran for the back door and out to the parking lot. Hank followed as far as the door and watched as the two made contact then retuned to his responsibilities.
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The day they flew to Seattle, for the convention and Laura's speaking assignment, Laura was so exhausted that she snuggled onto Mike's shoulder and slept the entire flight.
Someone had been sent to pick them up and get them to their hotel room where Laura was now rested enough to make good use of the bed and Mike's undivided attention.
After a quick shower they were both getting dressed for dinner. Carlos was expected to pick them up on the way home from work to have dinner with his family, and Mike was somewhat curious how young Jessica was going to respond to him since this was the first time she'd seen them after the wedding. In his own apprehension Mike began to notice that Laura wasn't quite herself.
"Something wrong?" Mike asked as Laura struggled to zip up her dress.
'No nothing," Laura claimed and Mike stepped up behind her and zipped her dress for her.
"You forget I know you better than that," Mike commented as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back into his chest and rest his cheek to the side of her head as they looked at each other using the mirror. "Are you uptight about the conference tomorrow?"
Laura looked at Mike's reflection in the mirror then turned to look at him in the face. "NO, not the conference and not tomorrow," Laura admitted, she looked down and moved from Mike's arms and sat on the bench that was placed at the foot of the bed.
Mike knelt in front of her and took a hold of her hand; it was then that he could see the tears welling up in her eyes.
She looked at her loving husband and let the tears fall as she placed her hand at the side of his face. Then she chewed on her lips and took a deep breath, "When I put Jessica up for adoption, , , I knew I was doing what was best for her. I was glad to give Carlos and Melinda a child that they couldn't have on their own. But I never dreamed they would end up being the closest thing I had left for family on this earth. I didn't think I would be seeing them so often. It never once occurred to me that Jessica would grow up looking so much like me."
With pleading eyes Laura looked at Mike, "She's going to find out Mike, it's just a matter of time before she figures out that I'm the one who gave her away," "What am I going to tell her when she asks me why? What am I going to say to her when yells at me saying that I just got rid of her because she didn't fit in with my lifestyle?"