Johnny's eyes flashed full of anger and hatred.

Roy felt the heat of the stare and stood there.

"WILL IT'S ABOUT TIME EVERYONE FOUND OUT ABOUT THE REAL WORLD'S GREATEST PARAMEDIC!" Gage's words spilled.

Dixie hearing the rant quickly made her way over to Roy and John. Kel was in the kitchen, quickly came over and was on the other side of the drunken paramedic.

"Johnny, please," Dix tried to calm Gage down.

Ignoring his host, the dark haired paramedic focused on his once former friend.

"YOU KNOW WHAT THE GREAT ROY DESOTO TOLD ME," Johnny's words slurred together. "HE FELT SORRY FOR ME AND CHOSE ME AS A PARTNER." Gage laughed. "ME WHO FINISHED TOP IN MY PARAMEDIC CLASS EVEN BEATING OUT THE WORLD'S BEST."

By now the party was a quiet as a library.

"Please," Dixie hissed taking a hold of the drunken man.

"YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE. HE WAS JUST BEING NICE TO ME. HE DIDN'T THINK I HAD ANY FRIENDS. ME," pointing to himself, "WELL I HAVE LOTS OF FRIENDS ROY DESOTO DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT."

"Roy," Joanne looked into her husband's pained eyes. "What is this about?" Her voice was a mere whisper.

Johnny was swaying but he continued. He know saw four of his former friend but he didn't care.

"YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE? THE WORLD'S GEATEST PARAMEDIC TOLD ME?"

Johnny finally heard the quiet but continued; now he had everyone's attention.

"HE THOUGHT I ONLY GAVE A DAMN ABOUT ME! NOT THE VICTIMS OR PATIENTS WHO'S LIFE WE HAVE IN OUR HANDS!" Johnny's eyes were burning now.

"Please Johnny," Dixie pleaded with Johnny knowing he was making a terrible mistake.

"NO, Dix about time everyone learned about the real Roy DeSoto," John spat with pure hatred and swayed a few more times.

"THE GREAT ROY DESOTO THINKS …." Johnny felt his stomach rumble and could feel it working up his throat. "I think I'm going to be sick," the drunken paramedic ran towards the bathroom.

"I'll look after him," Kel looked at Dixie with his 'told you so' look.

"Roy I'm so sorry," Dixie pleaded.

"I think it's time we go," Roy's voice barely carried to McCall as the DeSoto's quickly vanished.

"Well leave it to Gage to mess up his own birthday party," Chet said for everyone to hear and taking some pleasure in it.

"I think the party's over," Hank looked at his stricken hostess. "Shall we?" Stanley looked at his crew and their dates.

"Yeah, I think you're right Cap," Mike felt sorry for Johnny and the fact Roy had shown up.

Saying their goodbyes and thank you's Dixie was alone in five minutes. Heading back to her bathroom, she found Kel standing next to Johnny who was leaning over the toilet.

"How is he?" She was concerned for her friend.

"Passed out," Brackett crossed his arms, "happy now?"

"Kel I never expected this to happen. Johnny getting drunk. Kel I swear I've never seen Johnny drunk!" Dixie was exasperated and her hopes dashed. She wanted something special for her friend and gave him something worse.

"All I can say Dix you shouldn't have gotten involved between Johnny and Roy. Now what?" Kel expressed his displeasure on the party and inviting Roy.

"Put him to bed and…"

"No he deserves the couch for what he did. C'mon help me with him," Kel looked at the pale faced, passed out paramedic.

Kel took his left arm, Dix took his right arm and they carried him to her living room. They deposited Gage on the couch and covered him with a blanket. After a long kiss, Dix and Kel cleaned up her apartment. After saying goodbye to her lover, Dix checked on her drunken friend. Touching his forehead she found it warm to the touch, more than likely the effects of the alcohol. The clock stuck ten and the nurse was exhausted.

****

Johnny's head pounded and he couldn't breathe. Opening his eyes, he moved his legs from the couch to the floor. He found himself fully clothed and wondered how he got on the couch. Rubbing his hands over his face, he looked at the floor and smelled coffee. Gage finally realized he wasn't home.

"Coffee?" Dixie looked at her houseguest. She had gotten up earlier and had watched Johnny sleep.

The dark haired man shuffled over to the kitchen sink, took a cloth, wet it with cold water and put it on his neck. He didn't feel any better.

"C'mon Johnny sit down before you fall down," the nurse asked him gently.

Sitting next to Dixie, Johnny rubbed at his bloodshot eyes and coughed hard.

"You know Dixie," Gage's black hair was every which way and he was very nasally.

"What Johnny?" Dixie waited and held tight to her coffee cup.

"I had the weirdest dream. I dreamed Roy DeSoto came to my party and I told him off," Johnny shook his head and then looked at the nurse. She frowned.

"It wasn't a dream Johnny," McCall shrugged sorry for the pain she had caused to both Roy and John.

"Oh man. Oh man. Oh man," Johnny coughed, making his chest and head hurt.

"Here have some coffee," Dixie poured a cup and shoved a plate of toast to him. "You don't sound too good Johnny."

"I don't feel too good either," Gage sniffed his nose, took a paper napkin and blew into it. He spotted a trash can a few feet away and tossed it in. "Two points."

Dixie laughed. Men were all the same. Overgrown boys.

Eating a piece of toast and drinking his coffee the paramedic didn't feel so bad. In between sneezing and coughing he finished his meal and stood up.

"Well Dixie I think I should head home," Dix gently pushed him back into his chair.

"Not so fast handsome," the silver haired nurse glared at him. "You are not leaving until you tell me what happened between you and Roy."

"Seriously Dix it isn't any of your business," John again tried to stand only to be pushed down.

"It became my business with I threw a birthday party for you in my house and you told Roy off. Understand," Dix said in her no nonsense tone.

"Yeah Dix I understand. Before we get started I'm going to need more coffee and toast," Johnny sighed knowing it would be painful for both but somewhat happy to unload his problem on someone else. He had kept his fight from Roy for over a year and it was getting awfully hard not to say anything, now he was working with his former friend.

Dixie gladly poured the dark haired man more coffee and gave him toast with jam and butter.

Eagerly waiting for the distraction, Johnny ate his toast slowly and stared into his coffee cup; surprised the pain was still there as if it was yesterday and not over a year ago.

"Okay Johnny quit stalling. Please tell me," the nurse said using her best calming voice.

Clearing his throat and coughing, the paramedic found his voice and tried not to sound mournful. Looking into the dark coffee he began his story." It's just between us. Right?"

He didn't want this to become public knowledge.

"Yes Johnny just between you and me," Dixie felt bad now since Johnny felt he had to guard a secret.

"You know Dix, I was the last to know about Roy's promotion," Johnny stated flatly.

"But I thought..." the nurse's blue eye's flared.

"What like I'd be the third person at least? I knew something was up. I came in one morning for shift and the guys were patting him on the back and congratulating him. But Roy didn't say a damn thing to me. I bet you knew before I did," Johnny remembered because as soon as he came into the locker room the crew scattered and so did Roy.

"Roy told us right after he accepted the promotion," Dixie remembered Roy all smiles; he had come straight from the academy. She sighed.

"Well Roy told me at the station. Can you believe it? Do you know how many times I was at their place? He told me at the station," Johnny coughed, shook his head and drank more coffee.

"I guess he told the Cap he was going to tell me. Everyone in the day room split and it was just Roy and me. I took a coffee cup, filled it with coffee and sat at one end of the table, Roy at the other. After he told me I pretended I was happy for him. But it didn't last long," Johnny looked up. "Wait Dix it gets better. I shot myself in the head," Gage pantomimed putting a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. "Maybe Roy was right in telling me so late. I got angry, jealous and a whole bunch of emotions I can't name."

"Johnny," Dix squeezed his forearm.

"Well if you want something to mess up just give it to Johnny Gage. For Roy's last two weeks, I needled him. OH, Roy has his soft spots and I knew where to go. Now I didn't just go for the artery, Dix. No, I had to go for the jugular. Every single shift and all the time. Even in front of the guys. God what they must have thought of me? No wonder they won't talk to me," Johnny had an 'ah ha' moment. "See Dix I'm dense as a post."

"Johnny," Dix tried to comfort her friend, hearing his voice crack and his voice waver.

"Like I said Dix it gets better," Gage coughed again. "Damn feels like I smoked a whole burning warehouse." Taking sips of coffee he twirled the spoon in his hands.

"So on our last shift," Johnny looked into Dix's blue eyes. "Roy blew up on me. Oh and the really good part, being Roy of course, everything was true. Yep, Roy hit my jugular and man, get this, I got angry! Angry, like the last two weeks of what I did to him didn't matter. Typical self absorbed, shallow, egotistical John Gage." Gage coughed harder now, with his nose and eyes watery and his breathing more difficult.

"You're being too hard on yourself Johnny," Dixie could see how much her favorite paramedic was in pain.

"No, Dixie. Roy changed me. See all my life I've been looking for a purpose and I found it being a paramedic," John's mouth quirked into a half grin, "Thank God for Roy. Who knows if I'd still be a fireman," Johnny laughed. "So I took everything he said to heart and concentrated on being a better paramedic and person."

"At the cost of Johnny Gage?" Dixie asked seeing the change of her former fun loving, crazy friend.

"Oh no Dix that Johnny Gage no longer exists." Cough. Cough. "I'm the new and improved version." Cough. Cough. He took a much needed sip of now cold coffee.

"Really Dix I need to get home and get to sleep. I have work tomorrow," standing up Gage's nose ran more and he was forced again to blow his nose. "Thanks for the party, much as it was. I'd kiss you but then I'd get you sick." Johnny found his jacket on the couch and went to the front door.

"I'm sorry," Dix sighed.

"For what?" Johnny was confused

"For you and Roy."

"Don't be Dix, it would' a happened sooner or later. Glad it was sooner. See ya later."

Gage wasn't sure how he made it home. Along with his head pounding, it seemed he was coughing with every breath. All the stress, pain and exhaustion from working with Roy took its toll. Striping down to underwear, Johnny took two aspirin; made sure his alarm was set and crawled into bed.

By the time he woke up it was five till 8, the next morning.

"Crap," Johnny said hoarsely and attempted to get out of bed. The room swayed and he knew he had the flu. Picking up the phone he dialed the stations number praying Roy didn't pick up the phone.

"Station 51, Captain Stanley. How may I help you?" Cap's comforting voice answered.

"Cap," Johnny coughed.

"Who is this?" Hank could tell the caller was really sick.

"It's me Johnny," Gage coughed again, wishing he could crawl into bed and die.

"You sound horrible," Cap frowned.

"I'm sorry Cap. I think. Cough. I. Cough. Got. Cough. Cough. Cough. The flu," Johnny tried to draw a breath.

"All right pal. You stay home and get better. I mean it, no heroics and if you don't feel better tomorrow go to Rampart," Hank warned him sternly.

"Sure. Cough. Cap. Bye," Gage hung up the phone and went back to an exhausted sleep.