Johnny jumped out of the squad before Roy had even come to a complete stop. Mike and Ainsley were leaning against a squad car, he had his arm around her shoulders. Johnny ran over to her, grabbing her and pulling her into his arms, pressing her tightly against him. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Ainsley said, her head still pressed against his chest, as he stroked her hair. Johnny briefly closed his eyes, letting out a deep sigh, just trying to get himself to relax.
Mike looked over at Roy, who was scanning the front yard. "She's in the house, with the kids," Mike said, nodding toward the house.
Roy jogged over to the front porch taking the three stairs up to the door in one leap. He entered the living room and saw Joanne sitting on the couch, one arm around Jennifer and the other around Chris. Roy dropped down on the floor in front of them, wrapping his arms around the three of them and pulling them close. He dropped a kiss on each of their heads, saying a silent prayer of thanks that they were safe. "Everyone okay?"
His eyes met Joanne's, hating the fear her saw there. Chris also looked scared, but Jenny looked more confused and frightened by the fear of the others.
Johnny finally lifted his head, looking over at Mike. He shifted so he could keep Ainsley pressed tightly against him, but still reach over and shake Mike's hand. "Thanks, pal," Johnny said, looking at his friend.
"That's what you wanted me here for," Mike shrugged.
"I wish we hadn't needed you," Johnny said.
"Me too," Mike looked over at the writing on the drive.
"Come on, let's get inside," Johnny kept his arm around Ainsley's waist, as he led them toward the house.
"Forget it, Roy," Joanne was saying as they entered the house.
Roy was pacing. He ran a hand through his hair. "Why are you doing this?" He asked Joanne, turning to face her.
Johnny took one look at Roy's face and knew this was serious. "Chris, Jenny, why don't you go up to your parent's room and climb into bed. Try to go back to sleep," Johnny moved over and hugged both kids, needing to know they were safe too. He watched them walk up the stairs together.
"He attacked our home, with the kids in it. This is where I take a stand. I'm not letting this maniac chase me out of my house," Joanne said, standing up to face Roy.
"Now is not the time to play Mama Bear," Roy argued. "Now, is the time to let me take care of you and the kids."
"You're not staying home. You keep going to work. This has been going on for months and you haven't changed what you do. I won't go to my mothers," Joanne crossed her arms over her chest.
Roy blew out a breath, trying desperately not to raise his voice. "Joanne, this is not open for discussion; you and the kids are not staying here."
"I am not leaving, "Joanne said slowly, emphasizing each word. "And neither is Ainsley."
"Now wait a minute, Joanne," Johnny said, putting out his hand and pointing at her. "I'm not letting Ainsley stay here and risk her life and the life of our baby. She's going to her parents too."
Ainsley looked over at Johnny, then Joanne and Roy. "No," she said quietly.
"What?" Johnny said looking over at her.
"I promised you before, no more running," Ainsley said.
"Ainsley, this is not running. This is staying safe."
Ainsley looked at Joanne again. She crossed her arms, mimicking Joanne's stance. "No."
Roy and Johnny exchanged looks.
"I'm not kidding about this, Joanne. You're going," Roy said, his hands on his hips.
"I'm not," Joanne argued. "Listen to me, Roy. I've spent over a decade watching you. You never back down from a fight, and you know I don't either. This maniac attacked our home. I'm not going to back down. If I go running to my mothers, how do we know he doesn't follow me. He wins, if we let fear stop us from living our lives. I'm NOT going to my mothers. We ARE having a Super Bowl party on January 1st. We WILL go about life as usual. We'll watch our surroundings, we'll let the police do their jobs, but we are NOT leaving."
Johnny looked over at Roy. It was very rare for Joanne to actually outright tell Roy she wasn't going to do something he felt strongly about. He looked over at Ainsley, who was obviously taking her cue from Joanne. He moved to slide his arms around her waist. "Ainsley, sweetheart, I don't want to worry about you when I'm on shift. Please go stay with your parents," Johnny said looking into Ainsley's blue eyes. He lifted a finger brushing a piece of blonde hair off of her forehead, giving her his best devastating smile.
She smiled at him, searching his brown eyes. She ran a finger over his cheekbone. "I'd knew you'd try to use that against me at some point," Ainsley let her finger trace his lower lip. "No, Johnny, I won't go," she said softly, but with the same conviction as Joanne.
"Ainsley," Johnny looked confused.
"Joanne's right. We can't let this guy win."
Mike had been standing off to the side, reluctant to get in the middle. "I agree with Joanne and Ainsley," he finally said.
"What?" Roy and Johnny both looked at him.
"Let the police decide what to do to help keep everyone safe; but don't let this guy control your day-to-day lives."
Roy ran his hands over his face. "Jo," his eyes pleaded with her.
She walked over wrapping her arms around his waist. She looked into his blue eyes, his look almost making her change her mind. She ran her hand through his hair. "I'm not leaving you," she whispered. "I'll go, but only if you go with me."
"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" Roy asked, stroking her cheek.
"It's one of the reasons you married me," Joanne smiled up at him.
"51, what's your status?" A voice came over the Handi-Talkie that Roy had left sitting on the living room floor when he first walked in.
Joanne stood on her tip toes and placed a light kiss on Roy's lips, squeezing his waist. "You're available. Mike's here, the police will still be here for a while, we're safe."
Roy searched her eyes, just for a brief moment. He slowly bent over and picked up the H-T. He keyed the radio, "Squad 51, available."
"Squad 51, heart attack victim. 983 Whitmore, cross street Bayview. Time out, 23:36."
"10-4, KMG 365," Roy responded, looking at Joanne.
Out of the corner of his eye he could see Johnny writing down the address on his pad. Johnny slid the pad and pen back into the pocket of his shirt. He pulled Ainsley close with one hand, dropping a kiss on her mouth. "Stay safe," they said to each other simultaneously.
"I love you, Jo," Roy said, reaching out, he placed his hand behind her head and pulled her into a kiss.
"Go," Joanne said softly.
Johnny and Roy ran out of the house. Ainsley and Joanne moved to the front door and watched as the squad pulled away from the house. Mike moved and put a hand on each of their shoulders. "Come on, Ladies. I'll make you some hot cocoa, with little marshmallows, if you have any," Mike said leading them away from the door.
E
Johnny knocked on the door, and briefly rubbed his eyes. He had debated not doing this today; between the incident at Roy's and all the runs last night, he doubted he had a combined total of two hours sleep. The door was opened by a woman probably in her mid-40's. She looked as tired Johnny felt. "Mr. Gage, I presume," she said.
"Yes, ma'am. Is your husband home?"
"Come in. I told him to expect you. I'll be honest with you, he's not very happy about doing school business while still on break," she said allowing Johnny into the house.
"I understand that, ma'am. But, as I explained on the phone, unfortunately, this won't wait," Johnny followed her down the hall to a small den. Principal Haggerty sat behind his desk. Johnny figured he had intentionally chosen this spot to allow him to look more official.
Johnny decided to take charge right off the bat. He walked across the room, putting out his hand. "Principal Haggerty, my name is John Gage. I'm Ainsley Matthews' fiancée."
Principal Haggerty stood up and shook Johnny's hand. Johnny forced himself not to grimace. The man had one of those weak handshakes, with clammy palms. Principal Haggerty indicated for John to sit in the chair in front of the desk. His wife closed the door as she left the room.
"I wasn't aware Miss Matthews had a boyfriend, let alone was engaged," Principal Haggerty sat down eyeing the young man in front of him.
"She does," was all Johnny said.
"So what was so important that it couldn't wait a few more days for school to be back in session?"
Johnny eyed the man and decided not to beat around the bush. "Ainsley's pregnant, about 5 months. Over the break she has really started to show. We're going to be married in February, but I don't want her having problems at work," Johnny said, meeting the man's gaze.
"So you came to my house, over a school break, to try to convince me to keep a woman on staff that is setting a terrible example for her young students," Principal Haggerty said with disdain.
"A terrible example?" Johnny questioned, raising an eyebrow. "By spending free time tutoring her students, serving on the parent-teacher organization, finding projects to help keep boy and girl students interested in math and science? Is that what you mean by a terrible example?"
"You know what I mean by a terrible example, that's why you're at my house to have this conversation rather than just assuming it would be status quo when she returned to work next week."
"I'm aware that certain attitudes still exist about pregnancy outside of marriage," Johnny said. "Ainsley can still probably hide things from the kids, at least for the time being. But, adults are probably going to at least be suspicious. We've set the wedding date for February 17th. We'll be married before people are certain she's pregnant."
"There's no way I can let her keep working at my school," Principal Haggerty said.
Johnny stood to his feet. "Your school? Last time I checked, the schools belonged to the community, the parents and students. Do you really think the parents of Ainsley's students are going to let you fire her without a fight? Even her fellow teachers? If you think this goes away without a fight, your mistaken," Johnny pointed a finger at the man's chest.
The men went back and forth for several minutes. Roy was right, Principal Haggerty had probably been the school bully, but he didn't do well when confronted. Johnny kept pushing back.
Principal Haggerty took a deep breath. "She does her best to hide her pregnancy. You get married as soon as possible; and she starts going by Mrs. Gage, no more Miss Joy, or even Mrs. Joy."
"Agreed," Johnny said.
Principal Haggerty stood and stretched out his hand. Johnny forced himself to take the man's hand. He had accomplished what he set out to do. Now he just wanted to pick Ainsley up from the DeSoto's, tell her the good news and get some much needed sleep.
E
"I was worried about you; where were you?" Ainsley came out of the house and met him in the driveway. "Roy's been home almost an hour."
"I had an errand to run," Johnny said, slipping his arm around her shoulders. "You about ready to go? I'm exhausted."
"I have everything ready to go. I could've met you at the apartment; I have my own car here."
"I feel better following you home," Johnny said with a yawn.
"Are you okay to drive?"
"I'll be fine. Do you need to say good-bye?" Johnny asked jerking his head toward the house.
"No. Roy already went upstairs to go to sleep. I've just been waiting for you," Ainsley searched his eyes. "Are you sure you're okay to drive? We can leave the Rover here and pick it up later?"
"I'm sure, sweetheart," Johnny dropped a quick kiss on her lips.
Ainsley slipped behind the wheel of her Camaro, while Johnny got back in the Ranger following her home. He made her wait outside while he checked out the apartment. Definitely a house with a big dog, Johnny thought as he went to bring her inside.
"Can I get you something to eat?" Ainsley said looking up at him. He looked like he was ready to drop and sleep right there on the floor.
"No, I need a few hours shut eye first," Johnny took her hand leading her toward the bedroom. "I talked to Principal Haggerty this morning."
"Seriously?"
"Your job is secure. But, I hope you like the sound of Mrs. Gage, because you've agreed to use that instead of Miss, or Mrs. Joy."
"Are you serious? My job is really okay? Principal Haggerty isn't going to fire me? Are you sure?"
"I'm sure, Ainsley. Everything is taken care of," Johnny pulled her close, kissing her temple.
Ainsley smiled. "I love the sound of Mrs. Gage. After you've had some sleep, I'll thank you properly."
Johnny let his eyes sweep over her body. "I'm not that tired," he grinned at her.
Ainsley laughed. "You're going to sleep. I'll still be here when you wake up. Why don't you get comfortable and I'll rub your back a little bit," Ainsley said, starting to unbutton his shirt.
Johnny watched her hands. "I don't think this is gonna help me sleep."
"Handsome, I can't believe you're still standing. Trust me, as soon as you lay down, I'll have you unconscious in a matter of minutes," Ainsley slid his shirt off.
Johnny stripped down to his boxers and laid on the bed face down. Ainsley moved to kneel on the bed next to him. She began rubbing his shoulders, and massaging her thumb in small circles along his spine. Johnny sighed as he started to feel his body relax and sink into the bed. After just a couple of minutes she heard Johnny's breathing change to a light snore. She lay down next to him for just a couple of minutes, enjoying the sight of him sleeping. Then she slowly got up and quietly closed the door so he could rest uninterrupted.
E
"We'll swing by the hotel and pick up mom and then get dad from the airport. I need to be at Joanne's early enough to make my dip before everyone else shows up. Do you think we're okay for time?" Johnny sat and watched as Ainsley moved back and forth between the bedroom and kitchen.
He stood up and caught her as she tried to walk by again. "Why are you nervous?"
Ainsley took a deep breath. "I'm not," she said.
Johnny just laughed. "Fine. I haven't watched a football game since the Rose Bowl with Todd," she turned her head to the side so she wasn't facing him.
Johnny turned her head to face him, he slowly lowered his lips to hers, gently kissing her at first, but then letting himself deepen their kiss as she responded to his touch. He broke the kiss reluctantly. "I promise you, Ains. You're gonna have so much fun; the last person you'll be thinking about is Todd."
Aina was waiting for them when they pulled up to the hotel and her dad was waiting at passenger pick-up at the airport. Ainsley pulled Johnny's arm over so she could look at his watch. They were doing great on time.
"So how are wedding plans coming," Ainsley's dad asked, on the drive over to the DeSoto's.
"We have everything all set," Aina said. "Ainsley found her dress, we have the location, flowers, a photographer."
"We're just going to have the reception right at the park where we're getting married. I found a caterer and a DJ. It's going to be a very small, easy-going affair," Ainsley said.
"But very romantic," Aina added. "The park overlooks the ocean. They'll say their vows as the sun is setting, it is supposed to be a full moon, so they'll have the moon and stars and little white Christmas lights strung up."
Ainsley looked over at Johnny. She lifted her hand and gently brushed his hair from his forehead. Johnny caught her hand and gave it a quick kiss, her diamond catching the light.
Ainsley and Aina moved into the kitchen to start making Ainsley's dip for the party as soon as they reached the DeSoto's. Johnny took a moment to introduce Jackson to Roy.
Johnny and Jackson helped Roy set up additional chairs in the living room, so everyone could watch the game. It wasn't long until the house was filled with members of Station 51. Even Captain Stanley and his wife made it. He had just been released from the hospital the day before, but was determined not to miss the party.
Ainsley sat on the arm of the couch, her fingers running through Johnny's hair as they watched the game. They group cheered as USC scored the first touchdown. Johnny stood up and grabbed Ainsley, spinning her around and planting a kiss on her lips. She laughed, as he sat back down to watch the replay. Johnny decided to make spinning her around and kissing her his game tradition for every time USC scores a touchdown. USC won the game, 17 – 10 against Michigan. The men started piling plates with more food rehashing the bad call in the second quarter.
The women were moving toward the kitchen. Johnny took Ainsley's arm and pulled her slightly down the hallway, away from everyone. "Did you have a good time? Johnny asked.
Ainsley beamed at him. "I'm having a wonderful time. I love the way you celebrate touchdowns for your team. I think I may need to talk my dad into getting season tickets again."
"No thinking about Todd?"
"Who?" Ainsley asked.
She slid her arms around Johnny's neck. "The only thing I'm thinking, is if we want to have a Super Bowl party, or if I want you all to myself during that game. I can think of a few interesting ways to celebrate touchdowns," Ainsley said suggestively.
Johnny pulled her into a kiss. "Let's watch it privately," Johnny winked at her. Ainsley blushed.
"Go eat. I'm gonna go in the kitchen and run over wedding plans with mom and Joanne one last time; make sure we're not missing anything."
"I can't wait to marry you," Johnny said.
"I love you, Johnny Gage."
E
"Lieutenant Crockett?" Kate knocked on the edge to the open door.
"Come in, Kate," Lieutenant Crockett put down the file he was looking at.
Kate entered the office and closed the door behind her. She made her way across the office and sat down in the chair across from her boss.
"I want back on the Station 51 arsonist case," Kate said.
"No way."
"Lieutenant, with the most recent attack, it is highly unlikely Ainsley is the arsonist. Johnny and I aren't dating anymore. You know I'm great at research and we're back at square one with suspects."
"We haven't removed Ainsley from the list of potential suspects, Kate,"
"Not officially. But, you and I both know, you never really got behind that idea. I can hypothesize that Ainsley hired someone to throw the Molotov cocktail at the DeSoto house while she was there, to help divert suspicion, but it isn't likely. I can help. This has been going on too long and the attacks are starting to become very directed and personal. We need to find whoever is behind this," Kate looked at her boss.
"I have to admit this case is driving everyone batty. To be back at square one after three months is incredibly frustrating. Start doing some research, but you keep me updated every step of the way. I don't want you making any moves without consulting me first," Lieutenant Crockett looked at his detective.
"Yes, sir," Kate smiled as she stood.
She walked into the conference room where Jeff and Eric had several files opened. "I'm back!" Kate walked in raising her arms over her head.
"Thank God," Jeff said.
"Yeah, that's your pile," Eric said pointing to a stack of files on the edge of the table. "And the newbie on the case buys dinner."
Kate looked over the files on the table. "Let's try something new," she said. "Let's go back a bit further. We have a couple of names on the suspect list. Let's pull the service records for all the men at Station 51, and see if any of the names on our suspect list crossed their paths at any point."
"You're talking about having to go back more than 7 years on six different guys," Jeff said.
"For the Captain, I'm guessing close to 10 years," Kate nodded.
"You better not order pizza for dinner," Eric said standing up. "I want something good for this."
Kate smiled and began to make a list of things they would need to have pulled from Fire Station Headquarters.
E
The next couple of weeks went by without another incident. The men were on shift when a man walked in wearing a Fire Department maintenance uniform. "Who are you?" Captain Stanley asked.
"Max Wayne," the young man said. "I'm the new maintenance man. You requested someone look at the speaker in the dorm?" Max held up a clipboard with a work order.
"What happened to Jake Baker?" Roy asked.
"I heard he got accepted to a fire academy in Arizona. He left a couple of weeks ago."
The guys exchanged looks.
"Can I take a look at your speaker?" Max asked.
"Yeah, yeah, sure, go ahead," Captain Stanley said. He stood up as Max exited the kitchen. "I'm going to call Lieutenant Crockett. Does anyone here think it's a coincidence we haven't had an arson fire in two weeks and Jake Baker moved out of the state two weeks ago?"
The men shook their heads.
Max Wayne had just left when Eric, Jeff and Kate walked into the station. "Kate," Johnny looked up surprised. "I thought you were off this case?"
"Can I talk to you for a minute? In the bay?" Kate asked.
Johnny exchanged looks with Roy, but he slid back his chair and walked into the bay with Kate following.
"I asked to get back on the case. They haven't taken Ainsley off the suspect list, but she's definitely near the bottom. I really think I can help Johnny," Kate said looking at him.
"Kate, I don't want you trying to dig up more ammunition to use against Ainsley because of our history," Johnny said.
"I watched you at the station when they were questioning Ainsley for the Christmas party bombing. I'm not gonna lie, I'm a bit jealous. Not about you choosing Ainsley, but about what the two of you have together. I've never loved someone so much, that I was willing to risk everything to be with them. You and I didn't have that; but you have that with her. I wondering if I'll ever have that," Kate said leaning back against the squad.
"Sure you will," Johnny said, leaning against the engine. "You are a great woman, Kate. I always meant it when I said you were really special."
"Thanks. I want to help solve this case, Johnny. Mrs. Hurley's already lost her life due to the actions of whomever is doing this. I don't want to lose anyone else. I think I can be useful," Kate said looking at him.
Johnny looked down at the bay floor. He really did think Kate was a good cop, outside of her belief that Ainsley was an arsonist. "Alright, Kate. We have some news for your team. Jake Baker was accepted into a fire academy in Arizona; he left two weeks ago. That may be why we haven't had an incident in the last two weeks."
"We've had long breaks before," Kate said.
Johnny gave her a look of disappointment.
"Now don't look at me like that. We'll look into it. But, I think we may have something a bit more tangible. Come on, Captain Stanley needs to be in on this conversation," Kate moved back toward the dorm room.
"Did Johnny tell you about Jake Baker?" Marco asked as Johnny and Kate came back into the dorm room.
"What about Jake Baker?" Eric asked.
"He was accepted to a fire academy in Arizona, two weeks ago," Chet said.
"Interesting," Jeff said, making a note in his notebook.
"We have another lead we're following up on. We just need to ask Captain Stanley a few questions," Kate said taking a seat at the table over near the Captain.
"Me, okay," Captain Stanley said.
"Eight years ago, you were working with Engine 29?" Kate asked, looking at her notebook to make sure she had the right engine number.
"Yeah, that's right," Captain Stanley said, mentally counting years.
"You probably don't even remember it, but Engine 29 was called out to a multi-vehicle accident. One of the drivers was a young woman named Regina Sikes. According to the accident report, you checked on her condition. She was awake and alert; with what appeared to be a minor bump on her head. Two other drivers were seriously injured in the crash. The Engine crew worked on getting them out of the vehicles and into ambulances. By the time you got back to Regina, she had lost consciousness. You got her out of the car and performed CPR, but she was declared dead on arrival at the hospital. The autopsy declared she had received a closed-head injury."
Captain Stanley looked down at his hand. "She died of a brain aneurysm. Yeah, I remember the accident. We forget the ones we save; the ones we lose never leave us," he said quietly.
"Regina Sikes had a brother who was furious about her death. He blamed the fire department and particularly you for the death of his sister," Kate said.
"You think the brother may be behind these arson fires? That was 8 years ago," Johnny said, knowing where Kate was going.
"The brother, is Rich Neal," Eric said.
"Are you kidding me?" Chet asked, standing up. "Didn't I tell you it was Rich Neal!"
"We don't know that yet, Chet," Kate said. "Our goal today was just to check the accuracy of the story. After this, we'll do some digging into Rich Neal's life now and eventually try to get a search warrant for his home."
"So this isn't going to end tomorrow?" Roy asked, thinking about his family.
"Sorry, Roy. But, we'll keep the extra patrols in the area of your homes."
"Thanks," Roy nodded.
"We won't delay you guys anymore. We'll keep you posted on our investigation," Kate headed out to the car with Eric and Jeff.
"Gage okay with you working this case?" Eric asked.
"I think we made peace," Kate said with a smile.