"Summer, you headed out soon?" Dr. Brackett stopped by the lounge on his way out the door. He hadn't done a 24 hour shift in a quite some time and was feeling the physical effects. He had stopped when he saw his intern slumped at the table staring at her empty coffee cup.
"Yeah, I think. John's pickin' me up for breakfast after shift," Summer paused dropping her head slightly, "At least he was supposed to."
"I'm sure he'll be here soon. You want me to find out if the squads on a run," Dr. Brackett sat down and looked at his intern; head down, shoulders slumped forward; it had been a rough night for her.
Summer just shook her head no, she was too tired to even raise her eyes to meet his. Dr. Brackett put his hand over hers; she lifted her eyes, but not her head. Neither of them noticed when Dixie walked in. "You did good, enjoy breakfast, and then go home and get some rest." Dr. Brackett stood up.
"Better yet, go home with that handsome paramedic and uh, snuggle," Dixie said with a wink.
Summer gave a weak smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I'm thinkin' I should just go home and hide under the covers until I feel human again."
"That could be fun too," Dixie laughed.
Just then the door swung open and Johnny leaned his shoulder against the door frame, "Ready?"
Summer let out a deep sigh and pushed herself into a standing position, "Yeh."
Dr. Brackett looked back and forth between John and Summer, as the door swung closed he looked at Dixie, "Doesn't look like the beginnin' of a fun breakfast." Dixie just raised her eyebrows and gave a shrug.
Neither John or Summer spoke on the drive over to The Breakfast Club. Summer looked out the passenger window as the scenery passed in a blur. Meanwhile, Joanne watched her husband park his Porsche in a spot next to her station wagon. She watched from the window as he got out of the vehicle, "Bad shift," she whispered out loud. He looked like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Roy entered the building and looked around spotting Joanne in a booth in the back. He made his way back and forced himself to give her a smile and a quick kiss on the cheek. Joanne reached over and gave her husband's shoulder a squeeze. It felt like concrete under her petite hand. She turned her husband slightly so she could get her hands on both his shoulders rubbing at the tension. She leaned forward kissing the side of his neck, reaching up to nibble on his earlobe just for a second. She was about to ask him about his shift when she saw John and Summer walk in. They both looked like they barely had the energy to walk back to the booth.
John took in the scene, Joanne was rubbing Roy's shoulders, his head down giving her access to rub right were John could feel the tension building at the juncture of his neck and shoulders. Joanne nibbled on his ear and Johnny thought how nice it would feel to have Summer giving him some personal attention to help him forget about the last 24 hours. Summer took in the scene as well, thinking Johnny would probably like her to rub his shoulders as Joanne was doing to Roy. Her next thought though was who was going to rub her shoulders; her day was just as bad as his.
The waitress followed John and Summer with a pot of coffee. As the couple got situated the waitress asked each one if they would like coffee by simply making eye contact and raising the pot. Each one nodded and she filled their cups. John brought the cup to his lips taking a sip of the hot liquid as Summer blew on hers feeling the heat push against her face and the warmth of the cup seep into her cold hands.
Joanne rubbed Roy's shoulder slightly looking at her three dining companions, "Rough shift?"
Roy looked over at his wife, "Yeh, guess so."
"How come you don't ask me how my shift was?" Johnny looked at Summer, irritation in his voice. He was sitting there watching his partner's wife rub his shoulders and snuggle up close to him in the booth and was upset by the fact that Summer seemed to be sitting as far from him as she absolutely could leaning against the wall.
Summer looked at him like he had lost his mind, "Are ya serious? I don't need to ask how your day was, 'cause I finished what you started. Or have ya forgot who amputated that girl's leg last night?" Summer set the coffee cup back on the table, hot coffee splashing over the edge from the force.
"Oh my," Joanne removed her hand from Roy's arm and adjusted in her seat so she could see all three of her dining companions.
Roy shot Summer and irritated look, "Summer," he warned.
"Sorry, Roy," Summer looked away from Johnny to his partner. "I know ya try to protect Jo from the horrors of the job."
"Protect me," Joanne looked offended. "Why cause ya think I am too fragile?"
"Jo," Roy started.
"I haven't forgotten what happened last night," Johnny interrupted. "I 'member ya tellin' us we weren't gettin' the job done jus' fine."
Summer turned her attention to Johnny, "Not getting the job done?" Summer looked confused by Johnny's statement.
"Now look," Roy tried to diffuse the argument he saw brewing. His partner's dark eyes were burning holes into his girlfriend and his face was already red. "This is not the place for this discussion." Roy tried to lower his voice as he leaned slightly forward.
"Your blamin' me for havin' to come out to the accident scene and," Summer looked at Joanne and dropped her voice slightly, "do what had to be done?"
Johnny pushed away his coffee cup, but didn't say anything.
"Lemme out," Summer looked at Johnny.
"What?"
"Lemme out, I wanna go." Summer pushed at him slightly.
"So ya jus wanna leave, before we eat. What if I'm hungry?" Johnny snapped.
"Who asked ya to come?" Summer sounded snotty even to her own ears, but she couldn't seem to stop herself.
Johnny slid out of the booth and watched as Summer climbed out, "Ya do remember I drove, right?"
"I'm a big girl Gage, I can call a cab." Summer tried to move past him, but Johnny blocked her path.
"So, I can be the big jerk that left his girlfriend to get herself home when she was mad," Johnny ran a hand through is thick hair and pushed out a deep breath trying to calm himself.
"That," Summer emphasized, "is not why you're a jerk." Summer pushed passed him and headed to the door.
Summer ran into Sara as she exited the restaurant, Mike just a step behind her. "Do you have your car here?" Summer grabbed Sara's arm.
"No, I rode with Mike," Sara looked at her friend. "What's wrong?"
Summer just shook her head, "I gotta go."
Summer skirted around her friend toward the parking lot. Mike caught her arm, stopping her in her tracks. He pulled the keys from his pocket and handed them to Sara. "Gimme a minute, I wanna stop inside, but I'll drive ya home in jus' a sec," Mike looked Summer in the eye.
Summer rested her hand briefly on Mike's, "Thanks."
Summer and Sara moved toward Mike's vehicle as he headed into the diner. He nearly collided with John as he stepped in the door. "Whoa," Mike said stopping the young paramedic.
"Watch out, Mike. Summer just left and...,"
Mike interrupted John, "I know, I've got her. I'm gonna take her home. I was just comin' in to make sure ya knew I had her."
"No, she's my problem, I'll take her." Johnny said shaking his head.
"Hey, man. Givin' the fact ya just called her a problem, I'm thinkin' you'd better let me take her."
John looked down at his feet, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Maybe that isn't sucha bad idea."
Mike turned around and walked back to the parking lot. Sara had put Summer in the passenger seat and had taken the back seat behind the driver. When Mike got in the car she let her eyes meet his in the rearview mirror. She shook her head slightly.
Summer sat slumped in the seat her head down. Mike had driven a few minutes in completely silence when Summer finally spoke up. "Did I make you feel like you weren't doin' your job?"
"What?" Mike asked.
"This mornin', at the accident, did ya feel like I was sayin' you weren't doin' your job?" Summer asked again looking over at Mike.
Mike exhaled knowing he needed to choose his words carefully. "We know you were just doin' what you had to do for the patient. But, it does sting, like we failed ya know."
Summer dropped her head, "Probably feels even worse to Johnny," she whispered.
"It was a rough night for all of us. Give John some time. He's very passionate, that makes days like this tough." Mike said pulling up to Summer's apartment.
Summer looked over at Mike and back at Sara, "Thanks."
"Summer," Sara stopped her before her friend got out of the car. "What would you want after a day like you've had?"
Summer looked at her hands for a moment and then up and back at her friend. "I guess I want someone who can understand. Where I can say, I had to go out to an accident scene and they would know what that meant. If I said, I lost a patient, they'd understand the emotions that go with it, ya know."
"Then, what would ya want 'em to do?" Sara asked.
"Hold me, let me talk if I needed, or not, if I don't wanna."
"And you don't think Johnny can do that?" Mike asked.
"No, I mean, yeah, I guess he can. But, today, we both had the bad day ya know." Summer thought back to Joanne comforting Roy. She shook her head, "Maybe I coulda made a better effort."
Mike got out of the car opening Sara's door and then walking over the passenger seat and opening Summer's door. He offered her his hand and helped her out. Sara wrapped her in a hug. Summer felt the tears stinging the back of her eyes, but also a deep sadness wrap around her heart. The arms she wanted around her were Johnny's.
Summer drew back from the hug and walked slowly toward her apartment. A nice long bath, she thought to herself. Maybe an egg and a piece a toast, and then a nice long bath and she could think better.
Johnny slammed the door on his range rover and took the stairs two at a time to his apartment. What a crappy day, he thought. The breakfast he had forced himself to eat with Roy and Joanne sat like a lump in his stomach. A hot shower and a nap he thought to himself as he entered the apartment.
He looked at his phone thinking about Summer. She was never going to be for him what Joanne was for Roy. Summer would never be his escape from a rough shift because he brought her his day; that was her job. Maybe they weren't a good pairing.
Johnny walked away from the phone and headed toward his bedroom stripping off his shirt as he walked down the hallway. A hot shower, a nap, and then he could think better.
Summer took a deep breath, raised her hand to knock, dropped her hand and took a couple of steps away from the door. Taking a deep breathe she shook her head, stepped back to the door and knocked quickly three times. She bit her bottom lip, running through the scenario in her mind again, what she was going to do in the next few minutes. She was just about to give up and walk away from the door when Johnny opened it. He was standing there in sweatpants and a white t-shirt.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," Summer said feeling her determination waiver. Maybe this was a huge mistake.
"I wasn't sleepin', more like tossin' and turnin'," Johnny said just staring at her. He wasn't sure if he was happy to see her, or still angry over her behavior at the accident site.
Summer took a deep breath, walked into the apartment closing the door behind her. She snagged Johnny's left wrist as she walked past him and started walking down the hallway toward his bedroom.
"Whatcha doin'?"
Summer walked into his bedroom, released Johnny's wrist and walked to the far side of the bed. Johnny stood there looking at her, completely bewildered.
Summer slipped her shoes off and then reached behind her back unzipping her sundress; she let it drop at her feet. Johnny stared at his beautiful girlfriend standing next to his bed in pink satin bra and panty set. His mouth dropped open at the same time his hands went to his hips.
Summer swallowed hard feeling the fear rising up in her throat, she could tell Johnny was shocked, but he also looked mad. She climbed into bed looking up at him.
"What are ya doin', Summer?" Did she really think she could just come over, get in his bed and he would forget their fight this morning?
Summer almost chickened out and ran out of the house. Instead she began the speech she had been practicing in her head all the way over. "It was a horrible shift yesterday," her voice trembled slightly as she started talking. "I lost a heart attack patient at the very beginning of the shift, but it was the ending that was the worst. One of the squad's responded to an accident on the 405; a young woman was trapped in her car. I know they tried so hard to get her out, but the artery in her leg was knicked; she was losin' a lotta blood. I knew from the vitals they were reporting that no matter how hard they tried, it wasn't gonna be enough," Summer took her first breath, starting to feel the tears stinging her eyes.
"When I got there," she paused the memory flashing in her head. "You could smell the burnt rubber; the firemen were working so hard, you could hear the metal pulling as they struggled to free her. But, there just wasn't any more time," Summer looked up as Johnny, his hands had dropped from his hips and were hanging by his side.
"I was short with them, almost rude to the poor paramedic that had worked so hard inside that car with the girl. I ordered him out," Summer stopped, tears starting to roll down her cheeks.
"I'm so sorry, Johnny. When I got there, the scene, the smells, knowin' what I'd come to do, it all jus' hit me. I wanted so badly to hand off that bone saw to Brackett, or you, or Roy, or anyone that could spare me from what I had to do. And that made me mad, it was my job, it was the first time I thought all those people who said a woman can't be a doctor might be right," Summer's voice cracked as she spoke her deepest fear.
Johnny pulled off his t-shirt and dropped his sweatpants. He crawled into the bed wearing just his boxers and wrapped Summer in his arms. She snuggled against his chest and started to sob. He stroked her hair, holding her close and whispering softly in her ear, "Ssshhh, baby, it's okay. You did a great job, that young woman was lucky you were there. I love you, it's gonna be okay."
Summer took a few deep, shaky breaths. She ran her hand over Johnny's chest and looked up into his eyes; she felt so much better being wrapped in his arms. She saw the love in his eyes, but she still saw the stress of his day. She ran a finger over his eyebrown and down his cheek. "Tell me about your shift."
"What?" Johnny leaned back slightly.
"I can see it in your eyes. You've had a rough shift. I want you to tell me all about it." She pushed him back so he was lying flat on his back. She sat up and moved down on the bed near his legs. She began to massage his right leg, working on his thigh and very slowly down toward his calf. "I want ya to tell me what happened. I know Joanne gets to be Roy's escape and I can't be that for you, but you can talk 'bout the details of the day with me. "
"Mmm, that feels good," Johnny closed his eyes as her hands ran smoothly down his thigh and massaged his knee. He thought about it briefly and realized she was right, they needed to do things differently than Roy and Joanne, but maybe that didn't mean they couldn't make it work.
"The day was brutal; we brought in a heart attack patient that didn't make it, two bad burn victims, and a little girl in a coma. I really was hopin' for a quiet night. Then, we get this accident on the 405. This young girl pinned in 'er car, she was losin' a lot of blood. I knew from the vitals the situation was bad, but I was hopin' we could free her in time. We worked like crazy, but in the end the doc had ta come out. You can't help but feel like you failed the patient ya know. Then the doc orders me outta the car, no good job, no I know ya tried. It was, uh, a blow to the ego." Summer was massaging his foot as he finished speaking.
Summer looked up meeting Johnny's eyes, he dropped them breaking eye contact. Summer slowly crawled up resting her body on top of Johnny's. She dipped her head to re-establish eye contact, "You did an amazing job. That young woman owes you her life. I don't know how you do it, Johnny. I know I get the patients you bring in and I deal with the medical issues you see, but bein' on scene. I don't know how you do it, I couldn't handle it." Summer dipped her head to kiss Johnny, running her hands through his hair.
"You really are an amazing, smart, talented, strong man, John Gage. The citizens of LA are very lucky to have you in the job you do. And I am the luckiest of all," Summer winked at him, "'cause I'm in your bed."
Johnny pulled her down for a kiss and then flipped her over so he was on top of her. "You look like your feelin' less stressed," she teased.
"I'm feelin' a different kinda tension now," Johnny said huskily.
"Well, ya know, as a doctor, I take makin' sure my patients feel totally better very seriously. " Summer pulled Johnny into a deep passionate kiss.
"Are ya sure?" Johnny asked hopefully searching her eyes for any doubt.
"Make love to me, John Roderick Gage," Summer slipped her hand behind his neck and wrapped her fingers into his hair pulling him in for another amazing kiss.