Warning: strong language
Hank's Haunting – 10
Mike rolled over in his bunk, the squeaking sound pulling him from his slumber. He was momentarily mesmerized by his whereabouts until he realized he was in the dorm and that he had actually slept all night; there had been no tone out for the station. He tried to roll over on his belly in search of those last few precious moments of sleep but his bladder protested his efforts. As much as he hated to, he knew he had to go ahead and relieve himself from the building pressure. He sat up swinging his legs over the side of the narrow bed and standing up with a slow stretch of his arms over his sandy bedhead hair. As he took a step towards the locker room door, his mouth widened in an unflattering yawn as his watery gaze fell on the empty bunk of his captain and he snickered silently, ascertaining the older man's bladder had awoken him as well.
As soon as he'd taken care of business in the latrine, he quietly returned to his bedside, stepping into his bunkers and pulling the suspenders over his shoulders, then headed to the kitchen. He'd seen no sign of Hank and since his bunker pants were not at his bedside, he assumed the older man had awakened early and was probably making coffee for the rest of the crew. Mike decided to join him thinking that perhaps they'd have a few uninterrupted minutes to talk privately before the rest of the crew were aroused by wake up tones.
E!
Rebecca Stanley awoke with a start unsure if the sound she'd heard was in her home or in her dream. She curled back beneath the covers and listened intently but the only sound she heard was silence. She rolled over in the queen sized bed she had shared with her husband for so many years and looked at the spot where he normally slept. They had shared so many years of joy and happiness in this very place. She thought of all the nights they'd spent holding each other, his tender caresses and their passionate love-making. Their union had brought two wonderful daughters into the world and she gently wiped away a tear from her still bruised cheek. Would she ever know the gentle side of her husband again? Would they ever enjoy a fulfilling physical relationship as they had for so long and would he ever just hold her in his strong arms while she slept peacefully? The emptiness in her heart matched the barrenness of the pillow beside her and finally, unable to withstand staring at the scene any longer, she turned her back on the cold empty side of the bed and silently wept for all that now seemed lost forever.
E!
Mike pushed through the doorway entering the station kitchen and gasped at what he saw.
"Cap?" He questioned rushing to his superior and shaking the sleeping man's shoulders. "Cap, you ok?"
Hank's resistance to sleep had finally failed him. At some point during the night, he had sat down at the kitchen table and rested his head on his crossed arms. "Mungh," he groaned; an unsightly string of saliva clinging to the corner of his mouth and pooling on the table top. "Son'bitch," he drawled out half asleep yet bolting upright at the feeling of hands on his shoulders shaking away the last remnants of sleep.
"Easy, Cap. It's just me…what're you doing out here?"
"Damn," he continued to curse as reality and wakefulness fought for control of his senses. He looked over at the concerned face of his engineer. "Resting…couldn't sleep…what's it look like I'm doing?"
"Sleeping," Mike offered with a hint of sarcasm. "How long you been out here?"
Hank narrowed his eyes at Mike. "Why the third degree? I guess I finally nodded off. No big deal." The groggy fire captain flattened his palms down on the kitchen table pushing himself into a standing position. "Gotta get some coffee going."
Mike knew that if he was going to ask the important question, now was his best opportunity. "Is this about Roy and Marco?"
"No," Hank began, pulling the coffee canister near the coffee pot and measuring out the rich smelling grains. "It's about caffeine."
Mike was not amused by his captain's diversion tactic. "I mean the reason you can't sleep. Is it because of what we talked about yesterday…Marco and Roy?" Mike wasn't going to give up easily. He watched Hank continue with the preparations for the coffee and decided to push a little more. "I'm on your side, Cap. You know that, right?" Mike's gut was beginning to tighten unable to determine if he'd just told his captain an outright lie.
"Want some breakfast, Michael?"
The sound of his formal name instead of the casual 'Mike' meant that Hank was finished with being questioned and his engineer knew it. "No thanks, Cap. I think I'll wait until I get home," he further stated knowing that as soon as he got home, he would be calling the two men on his team who seemed to have some insight into their captain's odd behavior and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.
E!
The ringing telephone jerked Chet from his happy slumber and left him slapping around on his nightstand trying to find the receiver. Finally, his hand landed on its target and pulled the black handset to his ear. "'ello?"
"Hey, Chet…how ya feelin'?"
A very sleepy Chet screwed his face up in confusion and ran a hand through his dark curly hair as he listened to the chipper voice of his shiftmate on the other end. "J-Johnny?"
"Yea…you ok?" Johnny was suddenly concerned about the slurring speech of his friend.
"Yea, man. Just wakin' up…slept in. What's goin' on, Gage?" Chet asked getting right to the point.
Johnny looked over his shoulder making sure no one else was in the dorm listening to his conversation. "Listen, I, uh…I need to talk to ya 'bout somethin' and I was wonderin' if maybe you could meet me for breakfast?"
"No-ope," Chet yawned then continued before his nemesis could protest his refusal. "But you could buy my breakfast and bring it by my place."
Johnny rolled his eyes; he could almost hear the smile on the other end of the line. Truthfully, it was great to know that Chet was beginning to behave like his old self again but at the moment, there was another concern that had been nagging the dark haired paramedic all shift.
"Fine, Kelly. I'll be there in half an hour. You want the usual?"
"Yep, thanks man. I always wanted to be served breakfast in bed," Chet snickered. Yesterday had been wonderful as he babysat for Caroline and tonight the beautiful young mother was cooking him dinner. Nothing John Gage could say was going to ruin this day for him.
"If you're still in bed when I get there you'll be consuming your morning meal backwards 'cause I'm gonna shove it….,"
"See you soon, Gagey-Baby," he chuckled slamming down the phone before Johnny could finish his threat.
E!
Roy looked over his shoulder at the sound of a loud whistle. Turning around, he saw Marco walking quickly across the rear parking lot closing the distance between them. "Want to get some breakfast, DeSoto?"
"Just the two of us?" He asked looking over Marco's shoulder at the figure exiting the rear bay door.
Marco didn't look around, fear of their superior's wrath still heavy on his shoulders. "Yea, I guess." Johnny's rover was already gone.
Roy nodded at the slender man walking up behind them. "Mike, wanna join us for breakfast?"
"Um, yea," he began slinging his jacket over his shoulder. "I was gonna call you fellas anyway. Where's Gage?" He asked realizing they were short a man.
"I don't know. He shot outta here like a bat outta hell a few minutes ago. We, ah, we don't seem to be seeing eye to eye at the moment," Roy explained.
"Well, Mullins is pulling a double and," Mike cast a quick glance over his shoulder. "And Cap's…well, maybe we should go get some food and talk about it."
E!
Johnny paid for the omelettes and hashbrowns then picked up the bag and the drink holder with the two cups of coffee. "Keep the change, Amy," he nodded at the waitress, backing out of the doorway with his arms full of food.
"Thanks, Sweetie," she said wiping her hands on her apron and pulling her pencil from behind her ear as she prepared to take the order of the two truck drivers who had been eyeing her since they sat down.
Johnny pulled out of the parking lot and headed for Chet's apartment complex. He never even saw the Porsche of his best friend turning in a few car lengths behind him. Roy noticed the familiar rover speeding down the highway in a direction other than Johnny's apartment and wondered where his partner was headed so early in the morning. Truthfully, Johnny was usually an open book but the two hadn't had much time to talk during the last shift and the few words they had spoken had been strained.
He stepped out of his car and headed for the pay phone. "Lemme call Joann," he explained waving to Mike and Marco as the two men entered the diner and found a table.
The two firemen took a seat at a corner table just as Amy walked up with a handful of coffee cups and a pitcher of coffee. "Well, half the station has been in now," she grinned pouring two cups of coffee.
"Uh, Roy's talking on the phone. You might want to pour him a cup too," Mike said with a smile.
"Ok, well…Chet and Hank coming by too? Johnny just left," she piped up.
Mike and Marco exchanged questioning stares. "No, just the three of us today," Marco answered just as Roy pulled out a chair.
"I'll bring another coffee cup right out, Roy."
"Thanks, Amy," Roy answered taking a seat.
"She said Gage had just been by here," Mike offered as more of a question than a statement.
"Yea, well…he's a big boy…he can do what he wants," Roy responded flipping the menu over as if he were pondering his meal. He always ordered the same thing so he really didn't know why Amy even bothered with menus. He missed the weary glance the other two shared at his icy comment about his partner.
"Here ya go, sweetie," Amy said setting the empty cup down on the table and filling it full of steaming brew. "Now, one southwestern omelette, one order of hotcakes with bacon and one scrambled egg plate with extra bacon and toast with grape jelly," she wrote down retrieving the menus without the men saying a word. "Or did you fellas want to try something new today?"
"I'd say you know us well," Roy responded looking at the other two men and snickering.
"Hey, I like my men happy and well-fed," she said with a flirtatious wink before walking away. "Be back with your food in a minute."
"So what's up, Mike?" Roy asked stirring a spoonful of sugar into his black coffee.
Mike worked his eyes between the two friends sitting on either side of him then steepled his hands in front of his steaming cup of coffee. "Ahem, well, I thought I would ask you guys the same question."
E!
Johnny rapped his knuckles on the door for the second time, expertly balancing the two cups of coffee and the bag of food along his narrow hip. "C'mon, Chet. Don't make me drop the food, man!"
Chet chuckled from behind the closed door. He slowly creaked it open and saw his lanky friend, eyes hidden behind aviator style sunglasses but with an obvious scowl on his face. "Gage, come on in. So nice of you to drop by and bring me breakfast."
"Cut the shit, Kelly. This is important," he said rushing past the shorter man and into the darkened room. He pushed the coffee into Chet's waiting hands then removed his sunglasses so he could look at his lineman.
"Somethin' wrong at the station or is this about a chick?" Chet asked plopping his sweatpant-clad bottom into a chair at his small dinette.
"Station," Johnny answered pulling the food out of the bag and setting it between them.
"Yea, well whatever it is I didn't do it, man. I wasn't even there so don't come in here blamin' it on me…or the phantom 'cause he's kinda been outta commission too, ya know?" Chet spoke around a mouthful of eggs, ham and peppers. "Mmm, Gage this is delicious."
"Yea, well…you're welcome and…and it isn't you…it's Roy and Marco."
Suddenly, Chet stopped chewing and tried to swallow the large amount of food in his mouth. The effort was obviously painful as his watery eyes confirmed but Johnny didn't even notice as he continued to inhale his omelette. "G, Gage did…did something happen to them?"
Johnny recognized the near panic in his friend's eyes and quickly swatted his hand in dismissal. "No, no nothing like that it's just…I don't know, Roy said something to me that…that I just can't believe." He took another bite of hashbrowns drenched in ketchup. "At least," he gulped, reaching for his coffee. "I don't wanna believe it."
E!
A/N: thank you to everyone who is continuing to read this story. I appreciate the support, kudos, and comments. It really helps me know what works and what doesn't.