Sliding the drug box back into its spot in the compartment, Allen sighed as he slowly closed the compartment door, he had been excited when he was first offered the position to be DeSoto's new partner but now he wondered if he had made the right choice when he had said yes. Although Roy was willing to teach him everything he knew, and they both worked together well as partners out in the field, he felt like he was walking on eggshells constantly around the older man. He never truly felt like he was Roy's partner.

He had known that DeSoto and Gage had been considered the best paramedic team since they had teamed up just over a year before, but he also knew that they had also been best friends. He wasn't sure just what had happened between them and he didn't think anyone, even the rest of the guys at 51 really knew, but if the other guys did know, they were being extremely tight-lipped about what had happened. All that he, and it seemed anyone else he had spoken to in the department or at Rampart, knew for certain was that the two of them were no longer friends.

Allen shook his head as he turned and headed towards the dayroom to grab a cup of coffee, again regretting his decision to transfer to Station 51 to replace Gage as Roy's partner after Gage had requested and received the transfer to Station 8, six weeks ago. No matter how hard he had tried since becoming Roy's partner, he couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that in Roy's eyes their new partnership was just a temporary one, that he was just holding down Gage's position until the younger paramedic decided to transfer back to Station 51.

Reaching the dayroom door, he turned back and frowned in confusion as he heard Roy snap at him that they needed to go to Rampart for supplies. He opened his mouth to tell Roy that they were fully stocked but quickly closed it again when he saw Cap, standing beside the engine, unseen by Roy, nod at him. Forcing a small smile, he trotted across to the squad and climbed into the passenger seat, barely having time enough to close the door before Roy hit the accelerator and they sped out of the bay, barely stopping as they rolled to the edge of the driveway and Roy checked for oncoming traffic. Glancing in the side mirror, he could see Cap standing in the bay watching them as they turned left and headed towards Rampart Hospital.

o.o.o.o.o

Dixie snuggled a little deeper under the bed covers, enjoying the rare pleasure of staying in bed a little bit longer just because she could. She had done all her shopping after getting off work the day before, so she could reward herself with her rostered day off doing nothing but relax and do as little as possible. Sighing with contentment, she pulled the covers over her head, blocking out the sunlight that was beginning to peep through her bedroom window, and closed her eyes, determined to enjoy her long-anticipated sleep in.

"Damn it!" she growled as the phone beside her bed began to ring. Pulling the covers down just far enough to glare at the offensive instrument, she contemplated ignoring it for a moment before she sighed and reluctantly sat up as she reached for the phone and answered it. "Dixie McCall's residence, may I help you?"

Her heart sunk just a little when she heard Carol's slightly out of breath voice on the other end of the line, "Hi Dix, it's Carol, I'm sorry to be disturbing you on your day off but..."

Dixie sighed again, "Carol if Kel wants me to come into work, you can tell him from me that …"

"No, Dix, that's not what I am calling you about." Dix heard Carol pause and her hand gripped the phone a little closer to her ear as Carol said softly, "I'm afraid it's John Gage, Dix, his medical chart and the fire department have you marked as Johnny's Next-of-Kin instead of Roy DeSoto."

Dixie felt her heart freeze in her chest as she forced herself to answer, "That's right, …umm… Johnny changed his Next-of-Kin from Roy to me after he transferred from Station 51. What's happened?"

"Station 8 were fighting an apartment building fire, Dix, and Johnny was caught in the building when it collapsed as he was searching for two missing residents."

"How … how serious?" Dixie managed to whisper through her tightening throat as she pushed the covers off and rose to her feet, the phone held tightly between her ear and her shoulder as she stepped across and opened her closest, reaching for the closest dress that she could grab.

"He's critical, Dix," Coral's voice dropped, and she could hear the tremor in her friend's voice as Carol continued. "Doctor Brackett and Doctor Early have just rushed him into surgery. It…it doesn't look good."

"I'm on my way," Dixie reassured her friend as she began to change out of her nightie and into her dress.

"Dix, what about Roy?" Carol asked hurriedly, "I mean, he and Johnny are…I mean were…best friends… Should I- "

Dixie paused as she remembered the conversation that she and Johnny had had after she had agreed to be listed as Johnny's Next-Of-Kin about whether Roy should be contacted if anything ever happened to him. Johnny had become quite upset and had been insistent that Roy had made it abundantly clear that they were no longer friends. He believed that Roy would probably not even want to know or be contacted if anything ever happened to him and she had not been able to convince him that no matter what had happened between them, Roy would want to know. Biting her bottom lip, she sighed softly, "Ah no, Carol, I'll contact Roy when I get to Rampart."