The Let Down

Chapter 10

By GCS

Roy pushed open the door to treatment room 5 and looked into the dimly lit space beyond. The bright lights from the hall spread enough illumination to see the deep bruising on his partner's back. Knowing that Johnny always slept on his back, yet he now lay on his side, served as testament to the severity of the bruises. SCBA tanks pummeled with debris could do that. Not wishing to disturb his partner, Roy slipped back into the hall and slowly let the door close. He stared at the floor tiles as he made his way to the lounge to wait.

Dwyer came into the lounge with a thud of his newly casted arm banging against the door. "Damn that hurt," he spoke to his arm before realizing there was another person in the room. "Oh, sorry Roy, I didn't know you were in here." He stopped and looked over at Roy. "Earth to Roy." Dwyer reached for a coffee mug, but stopped before filling it to glance over at the still silent man. He watched as the paramedic stared into his empty mug. "More coffee?" Dwyer asked as pulled the mug from Roy's grasp.

The moving of the cup was the only thing that got Roy's attention. "Wha…? Oh, yeah."

"More coffee it is." Dwyer filled Roy's cup, slid it back across the table and sat in the chair opposite. "So, how's Gage?"

Roy slid the now full coffee mug over, turned it and hooked his finger into the crook taking time to think of an acceptable answer. "Haven't seen him yet."

That simple statement set off alarms in Dwyer's head. Everyone in the department knew of the closeness between those two. The things that he had witnessed today screamed of trouble between best friends. "Listen, I know it's none of my business, but what's going on between you and Johnny?"

Roy picked up his mug, slowly raising it to his lips and taking a quick sip. It was still too hot to drink. He sat the mug back on the table and looked over at Dwyer. He thought about denying that there was a problem, but decided against it. Truthfully, he wasn't sure he had an answer. He huffed a laugh that didn't quite come out as one, "I'm not really sure myself." Dwyer leaned back in the chair raising it up on two legs much like Johnny would do. A smile made its way across Roy's face. "One of these days you're going to fall over backwards."

"Nah, never happen." Dwyer laughed, but he lowered the chair. His balance was a little off with the newly casted arm. The last thing he needed was to break the carefully set bones again. He took a few drinks from his now warm coffee before sliding back from the table and rising. "Well, I think my ride should be here by now. Tell Gage to take it easy, and if there's anything…" He stopped before finishing the sentence and sort of waved his good hand. "Well, you know. See ya."

Roy watched Dwyer exit the lounge. Then he downed his own cup of coffee. Slid his chair back and put both cups in the sink. It was time to talk to his partner.

Back in the dimly lit treatment room, Johnny lay on his side starring at the wall. He knew people had been in and out of the room to check on him. They tried their best to be quiet and not disturb him. They thought he was sleeping. The muscle relaxer Brackett had given him to alleviate the tension in his neck and back should have knocked him out, but he was too wound up for it to have that effect. No stranger to bouts of insomnia, he hadn't slept well in over a week, ever since Roy had passed the engineer's exam. It wasn't so much that Roy had passed the test and would be moving on. Something just didn't seem right. Roy didn't seem to be happy about the transition. Not really.

Outside the door Dr. Brackett, Dixie and Dr. Early were discussing that very thing. "He looks like hell." Brackett said as he glanced at the closed door.

"He said he hasn't been sleeping well."

"I know that, Joe, but he's lost weight too."

"He has." Joe crossed his arms. "But then that is normal when something is weighing on him. You know that."

"Doctors," Dixie put a hand on the arm of each man. "The object of Johnny's worries is headed this way. Maybe he can shed some light on what is going on between them."

Kel looked at Dixie with his eyebrow raised, "What makes you think Johnny's problems are about Roy?"

Dixie sighed, "Because he's leaving."

Joe uncrossed his arms. "Is Johnny mad at Roy for his promotion?"

Dixie nodded her head and muttered under her breath, "Men!" She put her hands on her hips. "No, he's not mad. He's second guessing, and Roy is taking his uncertainty out on his best friend; probably Joanne and the kids too."

The two doctors looked at Dixie with open mouths and simultaneously they spoke, "What?"

Dixie smiled, "Just tell Roy what's going on with Johnny, and see what his reaction is." She turned her attention to the paramedic as he neared. "How're you feeling mister?"

Roy smiled, "I'm okay, Dix."

"Good." She patted his arm as she slipped away. "That's good."

"Hey doc, how's Johnny doin'?" Roy looked to Dr. Brackett.

Kel exchanged looks with Joe, "Well, that is what I would like to talk to you about."

"What's wrong? Was he hurt worse than I thought?"

"No… no, you were right about your assessment today. But there's something going on with him. He said he hasn't been sleeping."

Roy scratched the back of his head. "Well, he has had insomnia before." Roy got a sinking feeling in his gut. He knew that Johnny's insomnia usually revolved around something that was bothering him. Once whatever was bothering him was settled, Johnny could sleep like a baby.

"He's exhausted and he's lost weight." Joe added. "It has us a little concerned about his ability to work. He's vulnerable."

Roy's eyes widened. "It's that bad?"

"Not yet, but it could quickly reach that point." Kel gripped Roy's shoulder. "Do you have any idea about what might be going on? Is he in some financial trouble?"

"No," Roy shot off a rapid response. "Doc, you know Johnny better than that. Johnny is great with money. We practically have to pry it out of his hands to pay for meals at the station."

"Okay, then what?" Kel crossed his arms. "There has to be something going on. I just thought maybe he'd had some trouble."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout." Roy looked at his shoes. "I don't know what's going on with him. We haven't exactly been talking. But, that's why I came down here. I wanted to talk to him before I left. Is he going to be admitted?"

"No." The response came from behind the three men who spun around to face the direction it came from. "He's not being admitted."

"What are you doing up?" Brackett reached for Johnny's arm. The man should be knocked out from that dose of medication.

Johnny stepped out of Brackett's reach. "You yourself said it was just deep bruising. I've had enough oxygen to clear my lungs, and I don't have an IV or a fever. There is no reason for you to admit me. Is there?"

Kel looked to Joe who chose to answer, "No, Johnny, there is no reason to admit you, but you've had a significant does of muscle relaxers."

"And I will go home and relax." He spun on his heel and reached for his turnout pants. "I'll just get a ride."

"Joanne and I can take you." Roy chimed in. Kel shot him an annoyed look. Roy shrugged. "He has to have a ride."

Johnny grabbed his turnout coat and slipped it on over his bare chest leaving it open; grabbed his shirt and undershirt wadding them with his fist. "Okay, where's Joanne?" He sounded angry. He was more than ready to go. When he heard voices outside his treatment room, he had gotten up and moved closer to hear what they had been discussing. When he realized it was him and with Roy, rage gripped his emotions. If the muscle relaxer hadn't slowed his reaction time he might have pulled the door from its hinges. Riding with Roy and Joanne only served to make him angrier, but at the moment it was his only option.

Roy took a step backwards. He hadn't seen Johnny this upset in a long time, probably since before the Paramedic bill passed.

"Joanne is right here." Not knowing what was going on she unknowingly stopped the explosion that was about to happen. "Are my boys ready to go?" She hugged Roy before stepping over to give Johnny a peck on the cheek.

Johnny shot a glance at Roy and without words let him know this was just a ride. He was still glad Roy was okay; they did need to talk, but Roy acting like he didn't know what was going on between them had tipped the scales back to the side of anger, and Johnny was boiling.