Title: Brother's Keeper – Pt. 21
By: FanofRandy
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. Emergency! is owned by Universal and Mark VII Productions. I make no profit from my imagination—only a personal joy and peace.
Summary: Gage is dealing with some personal issues. He also helps a young boy recover from a traumatic event. Will he accept help from those around him? (set after season 5) May benefit from reading my story "Without Reservation" as there are some inferences…however, this is a stand-alone.
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The men of Station 51's A-shift arrived on duty the next morning and the all were thinking about their brother firefighter, John Gage. Gil Robinson was filling in for Johnny, and Roy was grateful. He worked well with most of his fellow paramedics, but cringed when he had to work with the "world's perfect paramedic", Craig Brice. He had Brice as his partner when Johnny got hit by a car – WOW, Roy thought, Johnny had only been back to work for six months after that accident and now this. He had almost lost Johnny then…
The men busied themselves with their chores, cleaning the Engine and Squad and doing other mundane activities they did when not on a call. JoAnne DeSoto had called her husband when she arrived at the hospital. Johnny was already in pre-op when she arrived so she did not get to see him. But, the men were glad to get an update anyway. Roy thanked his wife and she could hear the worry in his voice. "Roy, you know Johnny…he's been through a lot. He is strong and he has all of you to come home to. He's gonna be okay." She hoped she was right.
"I know, honey. But, with the snakebite, the virus he had, the explosion, the car accident earlier this year…I'm just afraid that maybe Johnny's luck is runnin' out." Roy confessed.
"Roy, if it was only luck, Johnny wouldn't still be here. Johnny has a guardian angel working overtime and Johnny has God's favor. With all the people who are praying for him, Johnny can't be anything but okay." JoAnne said she would call with updates and they ended the call with their usual "I love you's."
Roy thought about what his wife had said…God watching out for Johnny. "Maybe she's right." He thought aloud.
A few minutes later, the claxons sounded…"Station 51, Structure Fire, 1332 Ridge Drive, 1-3-3-2 Ridge Drive, Time out 11:17."
Johnny had been in surgery several hours and they were on their way to the first call of the day. Roy hoped that they would keep busy so they would not have to think about what might happen to Johnny. They arrived at the scene and the seemingly abandoned building was well-involved. Cap jumped out of the Engine to make his assessment. Chet and Marco started running lines as Cap commanded and Stoker fed the lines and monitored the gauges on the Engine.
"Roy, Gil…" Cap called. "Grab an inch and a half and go around to the east side. I'm gonna call out another response to help us with this mess."
"Got it, Cap." Roy and Gil did as they were told and began to fight the "beast." The building was abandoned and fully involved. There were many buildings around Los Angeles just like it. Sometimes they thought that it was best the buildings burn up so that no one would seek shelter inside them since they were pretty unsafe anyway. But, buildings like this were more dangerous when they were on fire—they risked collapse, backdrafts, flashovers and explosions. The crew of Station 51's A-shift worked as a well-oiled machine—Marco and Chet working a hose; Gil and Roy with another hose; Cap calling out orders to his men and other arriving stations; and, Mike ensuring all the gauges were working properly and the hoses had the right amount of pressure.
All four linemen, Roy, Gil, Marco and Chet, were inside the building when they heard what every fireman dreads—the creaking and cracking of wood and steel. Roy and Gil looked at one another and then across toward Chet and Marco. All four men knew what the sounds meant and they knew their next move should be to vacate the building. As they all nodded to one another, they began to make their way out of the building. Outside, Cap heard the same sound and he and Mike looked at one another. They cringed as they heard and saw the fourth floor begin to collapse. Mike and Cap, ignoring protocol ran toward the doors where their men had entered and called out to them.
They heard the third floor give way as Cap called for more support on that side of the building. He had to get his men out of there. Mike had left Cap's side and gotten his SCBA on and, before he knew it, Cap saw Mike rush into the building. Cap did not stop him…he should have, he knew. But, he also knew that he would have done the same thing if he had his breathing gear on as well. "Damned awful time to be a Captain!" Cap thought aloud. He got on his HT and radioed for more help where he was. He had to get his men out of that building before the last floors gave out…he had to be sure they ALL got out. And, he allowed his thoughts to drift to Johnny's last request of them…"take care of one another…"
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Back at Rampart the surgery on Johnny was going as planned. They had located the tumor and were beginning to extract it. Moments after the first bits of the tumor were plucked out, Johnny's blood pressure dipped dramatically low and they had to slow their progress to allow him to recover. Dr. Early had been in surgery with Johnny before—less than a year ago he had been hit by a car and he and Dr. Morton had to take out Johnny's spleen. He knew that Johnny could react negatively to sedation and watched the monitors closely.
Once he was stable again, they continued extracting the tumor in very minute pieces until there were no traces remaining. Dr. Black cleared the field and as they withdrew their surgical instruments, he announced to everyone, "The easy part is over, now we have to see how he comes out of this. We are not out of the woods yet."
Dr. Early was impressed with the younger doctor's work and was happy to have assisted on such a new procedure. He was old enough now that he was certain that it would be the younger doctors like Dr. Black who would pioneer this new field in neurosurgery. But, Dr. Early was glad he was able to help his friend, John Gage. He hoped that the surgery would be a total success and his friend would be returning to the work he loved so much.
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Captain Hank Stanley was not typically a religious man, but he prayed now as it suddenly came to his mind that, right now, ALL of the men in his charge—five in the building before him and one at Rampart Hospital—were all in dire straits at this very moment. There was little he could do about it except pray to God that his men were safe—ALL of his men. He felt impotent and hopeless as he prayed to a God he was not sure existed. Captain Stone came up on his side and patted his shoulder, "They'll be okay, Hank." The former paramedic-turned Captain said to his friend.
Cap looked to his co-laborer and tried to smile. He turned back toward the door and that is when he saw the most amazing thing. He saw ALL five men emerging from the smoke of the would-be tomb, they were arm-in-arm and they were all safe. Cap yelled out to them as they exited—exhausted, hot, weary and thankful. They all walked up to their Captain and, protocol be-damned, they all embraced him and he returned the gesture. Captain Stone backed away as he allowed the men the few moments to realize what could have been and what really was. Then, they were all snapped back to reality…a fire to extinguish.
The men grabbed their hoses and as the last floors collapsed, they glanced at each other and continued to fight the beast that had not claimed a single life that day…they had kept their promise to their brother, John Gage, and kept each other safe. That was good enough, and that was what they thought about as they put the fire out, cleaned up, and returned to their quarters. Each of the men was thinking of their brother, John Gage, and how he was doing. They hoped that someone had been watching his back that day…just as they had been watching over each other.
TBC