"Are you sure you feel fine, Junior?" Roy DeSoto glanced in his side mirrors as he backed the squad into Station 51's apparatus bay.
"Roy, how many times are you gonna ask?" Roy's dark-haired partner threw his hands up in frustration. "Yes, I feel fine. Quit buggin' yourself out."
Throwing the squad in park and cutting the engine, Roy sighed heavily. "You weren't wearing your air mask at a chemical fire, Johnny. In case you slept through that part of your training, it's not good when you inhale solvent fumes!"
"I'm telling you," Johnny was exasperated, "I am fine! Sheesh, you'd think that you're my mother or somethin'!" He shoved the passenger door open and slid out, eager to get away from
his nagging partner, took two steps and stood face to face with Chet Kelly's mustached face. "What do you want, Chet?"
"Ah!" Chet's eyebrows shot up. "He can still speak! Good thing, don't think girls would go for a fry with brain damage from toxic fumes!"
Johnny's eyes narrowed. "Sit on it, Kelly," he snapped before he pushed past his insufferable crewmate and stomped into the kitchen.
"Who shoved a stick up his butt?" Chet innocently shoved his hands in his pockets.
Roy met Chet's eyes over the top of the squad. "He says he didn't hear Cap's order for air masks, claims he was far enough away from the smoke that he's fine. Morton couldn't find anything on him." Roy shrugged, "We'll see,"
"What a spaz," Chet shook his head. "Hey, Mike's making beef stroganoff for lunch, you comin'?"
"I'm gonna brief Cap first,"
Chet nodded as he mosied into the kitchen where Mike's famous stroganoff was stewing. The scent of the sauce wafted from the pot on the stove, causing Roy's mouth to water. Mike Stoker had a hidden talent for cooking, that's for sure. Roy poked his head into Cap's office. "Cap?"
The lanky captain leaned back in his swirly chair. "Come in, Roy. I heard Gage out there, so Doc gave him a clean bill of health?"
"Yeah," Roy drew out the word as he leaned on Cap's desk. "He says that he feels fine but since we left the hospital he's been kinda irritable. You know how it is, all that adrenaline when you're out on a call. I'm thinking that maybe when he just relaxes he'll realize he doesn't feel as good as he thought. Just figured that I'd keep an eye on him."
"Okay, I called dispatch and they have a replacement ready to come in if need be,"
A feminine voice interrupted both men. "Hello?" A young lady stood at the door, holding a handkerchief to her forehead while blood trickled down her temple and the bridge of her nose.
Paramedic instincts kicking in, Roy jumped to his feet. "Are you hurt?"
The young lady blushed a little and shook her free hand, "Just a cut. A cat ran out in front of my car and I slammed on the breaks. Busted my head on the steering wheel and sideswiped a telephone pole. Nothing serious." Her hair was in a disheveled yet charming updo and some of the loose strands that framed her face had gotten stuck in the drying blood.
Roy offered her a chair, "Why don't you sit down? Did you black out at all? Any dizziness or nausea?"
"No, nothing like that." A few droplets of blood dribbled from her jawbone and soaked into the white fabric of her airy white blouse. "Oh, sugar!" The woman exclaimed.
Like vultures swarming over a fresh carcass, four firefighter faces appeared at the doorway, undoubtedly attracted by the sound of a woman's voice.
Roy gently pulled the handkerchief away from the injury to inspect it. As she had said, it was just a minor laceration above her left eyebrow. "Go get me the trauma box," He called out, knowing somebody would respond.
"Oh," The woman exclaimed, "I guess I didn't introduce myself. I'm Jessica," She offered Roy her hand. Roy, still holding her bloody handkerchief, looked around awkwardly until she giggled and put her hand down. "Sorry,"
Cap was peering out the front door and asked, "Is that your car in the driveway?"
"Yes! It's probably blocking the way, sorry! I could just barely get it out of the road. It was making such an awful noise!"
"Don't worry Jessica, we'll call a tow truck for your car!" Chet piped up from the doorway.
Jessica, still facing Roy and Cap, gasped in surprise. "Oh, I didn't realize they were back there!" She swiveled her chair around so she could greet the other men as Roy uncomfortably tried to keep pressure on the head wound. "Hi, fellas." She smiled at the three.
Roy could almost visibly see their egos inflate. Any foxy chic seemed to have that effect and this girl was certainly a looker. He may be married, but Roy wasn't blind.
Johnny came trotting back, trauma box in one hand and biophone in the other, but was obstructed from continuing by Chet's blocking the doorway. He slammed the front of the trauma box into the back of Chet's knees. "Get outta my way, Kelly." He growled.
Mumbling a quiet expletive directed at Gage, Chet backed out of the doorway to allow Johnny to pass. Johnny set the biophone and the trauma box down on the floor in front of Jessica's chair.
Johnny glanced up at the girl's face to see the injury Roy was dealing with. Suddenly, his eyes went wide and he jumped to his feet, his mouth moving like he was trying to get words out.
"Gage? Are you-" Cap asked.
Johnny stumbled backwards until he fell with his back against the wall, holding a hand to his head where he stood for a second before lurching forwards to retch into the nearby trash can.
"Woah, woah, Gage?" Cap jumped up and tried to steady his younger paramedic.
Roy could feel panic start to rise in his throat but his attention was brought back when he felt Jessica gasp. She was white as a sheet and he could see by the rapid rising and falling of her chest that she was quickly on the way to hyperventilation. Did the reality of her accident finally sink in? Did she have internal injuries? Was she one of those people who was queasy about throwing up?
"Somebody set up the biophone!" Roy felt his normally calm attitude begin to unravel. "Cap, can you roll an ambulance? Marco, come hold pressure on this head wound."
Johnny violently puked into the trashcan again. Roy was trying to get Jessica's respirations and pulse but Johnny's harsh hurling was disconcerting. "Mike, take him outside on the lawn and get some oxygen on him if you can. He's gotta get those toxins out of his system!" Then turning his attention to the biophone, he picked up the receiver and said, "Rampart, this is Squad 51," He watched closely as Mike practically dragged the dry heaving paramedic out the door and into the apparatus bay out of sight.
"Go ahead, 51"
"I have 2 victims, victim 1 is female, approximately 20 years old. She was just involved in a car accident outside the station. She has a laceration on her forehead and just began presenting symptoms of shock. No other injuries apparent. Victim 2 is John Gage. He had a sudden onset of dizziness, nausea, and apparent confusion. Currently on 6 liters of O2."
Jessica's glassed over eyes began to come back into focus and she looked around the room wildly, "Where…"
Roy dropped the receiver and grabbed the girl's hand to calm her. "Jessica, you were just in a car accident. You are at fire station 51, okay?"
"I know!" Jessica shook Roy's hand away. "Where's Johnny? Where did he go?"
"What?" Roy studied the girl's face in confusion. Suddenly he heard Johnny's voice from outside. It sounded stronger than he expected.
"Let me go, Mike!"
Roy could hear that Mike was struggling to hold Johnny down.
"Gage, lay down! You're not well! Roy," Mike yelled, "He's gone nuts!"
Roy sighed as he listened to the engineer struggle to keep Johnny on the ground. "Rampart, victim two is now suffering from confusion,"
Johnny appeared at the doorway, disheveled and out of breath with Mike hot on his heels. "I'm not confused, Roy," He panted as he braced himself with both arms on the doorframe.
Jessica gasped a little and lifted her hands to her mouth. "Ai," she breathed softly, "Apeq!"
"Nammi?" Johnny exclaimed and took a step forward.
Jessica jumped to her feet. "Ha'a, babi!" She lunged at Johnny and he caught her in his arms, lifting her off the ground as easily as the wind picks up a single feather.
"Hey, you could have serious internal injuries, Jessica! You need to sit down!" Roy also leapt to his feet but the two kept babbling away in gibberish.
Marco, Chet and Mike looked stunned. Roy tried to pry Johnny's arms off of his patient but it was as if nothing else in the world existed to the two.
"What on earth is going on?" Marco shook his head.
Ambulance sirens wailed as it turned the corner to pull in front of the station, much to Roy's relief. "Johnny!" Roy all but forced his way in between the two. "The ambulance is here, we are going to take you both to the hospital," He spoke loudly and clearly to his friend.
Johnny glanced at him like he was crazy. "I don't need to go to the hospital. Roy, this is Jessica!"
The sandy haired paramedic stared at Johnny for a second before he and the other firemen exchanged bewildered looks.
"No, you don't understand, she was dead! But now she's not!" Johnny beamed from ear to ear. Jessica looked equally as confused as she was joyous and pulled his head down as she hugged his neck tightly like it was a lifeline. Johnny rambled more in a strange tongue before his brow furrowed. He quickly set the girl down and lurched for the trashcan to throw up some more of his breakfast.
"Those fumes must've done more damage than we thought." Chet remarked as he and Cap, standing in the doorway again, made way for the attendants and their stretcher.
"No, no! He's not crazy!" Jessica's amber eyes flashed with frustration. "He's my brother! I thought he was dead for the last ten years!"
Roy felt like his head was about to explode. Maybe he should've gone on that fishing trip he had been thinking about after all. "Johnny?" He pivoted to look at his partner, who was still hunched over the trash can.
Johnny nodded, wiped his mouth and slowly stood up. "I'm not sick, Roy. I swear. I thought she died. She's my twin sister. I ain't gonna let you take me to the hospital."
Yup, definitely should've gone fishing today. Roy threw up his hands in frustration and picked up the biophone's receiver again. "Rampart, this is Squad 51. We are ready to transport victim 1. Vitals are regular, no signs of internal bleeding. Victim 2 has...recovered. He is insisting that he's fine and is refusing care.."
"Affirmative, 51. Please transport both victims just in case."
"10-4, Rampart."
Jessica's plump pink lips pouted a little. "No, I really don't need any doctors! It's just a cut," She clung to Johnny's shirt like a shy toddler clings to his mother's skirts.
"It's just a precaution. You should be checked for a concussion." Roy packed up the biophone and closed the trauma box. As the attendants helped Jessica onto the stretcher, Roy pulled Cap out of the office. "Can you spare a man to get the squad to the hospital?"
"Sure. Dwyer's on the way already and the engine needs topped off so we'll meet you there and swap men."
"Thanks, Cap." As the orderlies rolled Jessica's stretcher out the door and into the bay, Roy caught Johnny's arm. "Maybe you should lay down or something?"
Johnny shook Roy off, completely ignoring his senior partner. "Jess, Jess," Johnny grabbed his sister's hand. "Hey, wait a minute guys!" He called to the orderlies who looked to Roy for direction.
Roy shrugged his shoulders and the two men slowed the stretcher to a stop as Johnny knelt down beside it. His brown eyes were serious and his eyebrows were pulled low.
"Jess, appe ma'ai pii?"
Jessica's tanned features frowned in confusion. "What about them? They believe you to be dead!"
Roy could visibly see the color drain from Johnny's face again so he stepped forward before Johnny could pass out on the floor and grabbed him by the arms, lifting him back to a standing position. "Johnny, you're gonna go in to Rampart. That's the end of it."
"They're alive," Astonished, Johnny's voice was monotone. "God Almighty, Roy," Johnny's eyes began to glass over as he met Roy's blue ones. "I thought they were all dead...for thirteen years…thirteen years…"
E!
Johnny could feel the tears stinging the back of his eyelids. He tried to hold it back but it was no use. It all felt so surreal; he could feel himself sobbing like a baby in Roy's arms, but at the same time he felt a million miles away. He knew what just happened but part of him felt...numb, shellshocked. Yes, part of his heart was joyous and singing but the other part was tremendously broken. All the past grief and mourning he had endured hadn't had to be. The past thirteen years of his life were lies, thirteen years he had lost with the people he loved. It was all just too much for him to process.
He felt Roy's arms around his shoulders as his friend pulled him closer for a hug and held him. "Johnny, it's gonna be okay."
Johnny could sense that the other firefighters were uncomfortable as they shifted nervously from one foot to the other and looked anywhere but him.
"No, Roy!" Johnny was a bit surprised at the ferocity in his voice. "You don't understand! They're alive, Roy! I've thought they were all dead for thirteen years! Over a decade that I can't get back! How did this even happen?!" Something in him was immensely aggrieved. He met his sister's gaze. "How did this happen?" He whispered.
Jessica shook her head in confusion, pearly tears slithered down her rosy cheeks and her indented chin quivered.
Putting a hand on Johnny's back, Roy led him to the ambulance as the orderlies loaded Jessica's stretcher in the back. The ride to the hospital was a quiet one other than intermittent sniffles from the long lost siblings.
E!
Roy felt as though he was intruding on a very private moment. Johnny's forearms were resting on his sister's leg, her dainty hand gripped in his big ones, as his head was dropped between his shoulders that sporadically seized as Johnny tried to calm his blubbering. Jessica's free hand shifted between rubbing her brother's back and running her fingers through his dark hair.
Still trying to process all this information himself, Roy turned his body away from the two and gazed out the window at the passing LA scenery. Johnny never shared much about his childhood but from what Roy had pieced together from over the years they spent working together, Johnny's family had perished in a house fire when John was 10, after which, he had moved to LA with an aunt.
Somebody's sure gonna have a lot of explaining to do, Roy thought grimly. What happens now?
Rampart staff decided it was best to keep Jessica overnight just to make sure there were no underlying effects of the accident, and once again, Johnny was given a clean bill of physical health. Mentally, Roy wasn't so sure. He had seen his partner go through gloomy lows and soaring highs, but this was different. He couldn't decide if he was watching his partner walk through a shadowy valley or climbing the tallest mountain or somewhere inbetween.
As he stood outside Jessica's hospital room, HT in hand, waiting for his replacement partner to show up, he heard the elevator 'ding' down the hall and the doors whirr open. Out tumbled four baby blue uniforms, two mustached and two clean faced. Roy sighed with relief to see familiar faces.
"How's he doing?" Cap asked as they approached.
Roy shrugged. "Physically fine. All that nausea and dizziness was a result of shock I guess. I just worry about what's going through his mind right now."
The room door creaked open and Johnny stuck his head out. "She wants to see you guys,"
Roy saw how tired Johnny's eyes were. He looked exhausted.
The single men basically pushed and shoved each other to be first through the door. Roy and Cap gave each other knowing glances. Anything in a skirt attracted these boys like honey entices flies.
Jessica's tawny complexion glowed against the sterile white hospital sheets and her golden eyes smiled at the all-to-eager firefighters. "I just wanted you boys to know that I really appreciate everything you've done for me. It's been one heck of a day."
"You don't worry about a thing...Mrs?" Marco not so subtly probed to see if the new interest was attached to anybody already.
Jessica smiled knowingly. "Miss. Not so lucky in the love department as of late I'm afraid,"
Roy noticed she made bold direct eye contact with poor, shy Mike standing in the back. Oh boy, Roy thought, Here we go.
"Squad 51, are you available?" The HT in Roy's hand crackled.
"Squad 51, Affirmative," Roy responded. Knowing that duty was about to call, he said, "Well if these guys have anything to say about it, you won't be for long. I'll catch you later,"
E!
"You can sleep in my bedroom and I'll crash on the couch," Johnny Gage shoved his long leg through the front door of his apartment to wedge it open as his sister carried her bags through.
"Are you sure? I'm sure I could stay with Debbie." Jessica dropped her suitcase on the floor.
"Didn't you say that you're in LA to help her move?" When Jess nodded, Johnny shook his head. "No, I want you to stay here. Wouldn't be helping your friend much if you were living with her while she was trying to unpack all her stuff."
Hearing somebody grunting at the door, Johnny swung it open again.
"Where do you want this?" Mike Stoker held a precariously balanced stack of more luggage.
"Over there in the bedroom is fine," Johnny pointed Mike in the right direction and the engineer went stumbling away.
Jessica watched him go. "He's pretty great, Johnny, offering to help me get all my stuff here. I kinda dig him," She confessed
Johnny gave her a side-long look. "Yeahhh," He drawled as he closed the front door again and turned the lock. "He's a good guy," he acknowledged as Mike reemerged from the bedroom.
"There's still a few more bags out in the car," He mumbled shyly and slipped out the door again.
Johnny looked at his sister incredulously. "I thought you said you were in town for a visit, not packing up shop and moving here!"
Jessica's smile dimpled her cheeks. "Staying for about a month, that's all." When Mike had deposited the rest of the bags and prepared to leave, Jessica thanked him generously. "Thanks for all your help, Mike. You're alright, ya' know?" She laid her hand on his arm.
Mike's cheeks blushed and he shuffled nervously, "Thanks, Jessica. I'd better keep truckin'. Seeya next shift, Johnny." With the short farewell, he hastily let himself out the door.
While his sister settled in, Johnny cooked supper, hot dogs and mac 'n cheese from a box, and the two sat down at the table for a serious talk.
"So, you thought I was dead?" Johnny shoved the bits of cheese covered hot dog around on his plate. "What did they think happened?"
"Drowned," Jessica's voice was somber as she studied her brother's face. "Daddy found your shoes and shirt washed up on the creek bank down by the bridge. They never did find a body though. Just chalked it up to that toyatukkupittseh, the cougar, they'd been seein' stalking around."
Johnny felt gutted. He could only imagine the pain that his poor mother went through! "I asked Mama if I could go fishing that day." The memory of that day wasn't as clear as he hoped. "She told me no 'cuz the creek was high and fast 'cuz of all the rain earlier that week. So I snuck out," He chuckled half-heartedly. "Kids, right?"
Jessica tilted her head to the side and looked at Johnny curiously. "How did you end up here in LA?"
"Auntie Rita, I guess." Johnny dropped the fork and rubbed both temples. "The last thing I remember was sneaking out of the house. Next thing I can remember I was in a big city with Auntie Rita. She told me…" His voice caught in his throat for a minute. "...told me that the house caught fire and I was the only one that…" He inhaled deeply, "made it out alive."
Jessica's eyes were wide. "Oh my goodness,"
"I remember having a nasty bump on the back of my head. She told me that I got hit on the head when I was crawling out of the fire. I always accounted those missing couple of days to a concussion and retrograde amnesia." Johnny was quickly realizing that it was time for a long talk with his Auntie Rita. "Jess, Do mom and dad know? About me?"
Jess shook her head slowly almost like she was embarrassed. "No, I haven't called them yet."
"Well why not?!" Johnny felt a flash of anger course through his veins. It had been two days and his parents deserved to know that their son was still alive!
"Johnny," Jess heard the anger in her brother's voice and laid a hand on his forearm. "Mama has a de'oi, a sickness. I don't remember the name of it but it's a serious heart condition and she's not supposed to get too excited. I'm just afraid of what the news might do to her."
"Enee!" Johnny exclaimed and rubbed both palms over his face again. Tomorrow he would face his Auntie Rita, he decided.