an Emergency/Doctor Who crossover story
Disclaimer: Emergency! and its characters are property of Universal Studios and Mark VII. Doctor Who and its characters are property of the BBC. No copyright infringement is intended. This is just for fun. Enjoy!
Part One
A whirring, grinding, moaning sound permeated the peaceful early morning air. A portion of the long, tall hedge which surrounded the back part of Lakeview Park shimmered and vibrated slightly as an object suddenly materialized among its branches, the bright light on top of it flashing urgently. When the groaning, wheezing sound stopped with a final thunk, one could see, if one were looking, a large blue wooden box with two doors in the front, and the words "Police Call Box" written in peeling, faded white letters across the top of the box just visible beyond the foliage. The door opened, and a young woman stepped out of it, pushing aside the branches, and holding them back for her companion, an older gentleman, who emerged slowly, and seemingly in some distress.
"Over here, Professor," the girl lead the man over to a tree close enough so he wouldn't have to go far, but still far enough away so that the blue box wouldn't be seen by anyone else. "Sit down here."
She helped him sit under the tree in the shade, and knelt before him looking concerned. The man tried to reassure her.
"Really, Ace, I'm fine," he insisted. But he wasn't, really, and he knew it. He'd felt off for some time, and now his chest was tight and his left arm hurt. He was sweating, and having trouble breathing. The thought of a heart attack occurred to this man, known throughout the Universe only as the Doctor, but since he wasn't that kind of doctor, he couldn't be sure. Besides, Time Lords didn't have heart attacks. Did they? The tightness increased suddenly, and the Doctor grimaced in pain, sucking in a breath.
"Stay here, Professor, I'm going to get help!" The Doctor's travelling companion jumped up, and was gone before he could stop her. He sighed heavily as the pain eased slightly. He looked around and noted more trees and green grass, as well as rickety wooden picnic tables, a large wooden gazebo, and brightly coloured metal playground equipment. He realized they'd landed the TARDIS in a public park. It was still quite early; the light was pale, and the grass was still dewy. Few people were around to notice their sudden arrival, which was perfectly fine with the Doctor, however, he knew the place would be bustling soon with kids, families, and joggers. He hoped Ace would be able to get help to him soon, and not just because he was in considerable pain, and becoming weaker, but because he was still vulnerable to attack by his arch enemy and fellow Time Lord, the Master. There was no way he was strong enough to battle his nemesis now, nor could Ace possibly fight the Master by herself. She might be a strong, resourceful young woman, and she may have grown up considerably in the past couple of years, but she was still basically a child. At least that's how the Doctor saw her. Of course, when you're a 950-year-old Time Lord, anyone under 400 is basically an infant! The Doctor could once again feel the darkness tugging at him, and the pressure in his chest threatened to suffocate him. He fought to stay awake, but felt himself sinking further and further into the abyss.
Firefighter/Paramedic John Gage finished tying the laces of his right shoe, whistling a tune he made up as he went along. He straightened up, took his foot off the low bench, and turned to give the Smokey the Bear poster hanging inside his locker door a quick tap, tap of his fingers before closing the door. He smiled to himself remembering the fun time he'd had with that new nurse, Sharon, last night. His partner, Roy DeSoto stood a few feet away, buttoning his shirt watching John go through his daily routine.
"Have a good time with Susan last night, Johnny?" he asked, blue eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"It was Sharon," Johnny corrected, looking at himself in the mirror, combing his thick, dark hair with his fingers, "and, yeah, I did!"
Johnny smiled slyly and resumed whistling, sauntering out of the locker room towards the kitchen. Roy shook his head. Susan. Sharon. Whatever. He couldn't keep up with his partner's romantic life these days. He finished dressing, and headed to the kitchen himself for some coffee. Johnny was there, holding a steaming cup of coffee in one hand, and putting the coffee pot down on the stove with the other. Roy moved swiftly while his partner was distracted by someone - probably his nemesis, Chet, Roy guessed - and deftly snatched the coffee mug out of John's hand.
"Why, thank you, Junior," he said, grinning at his partner's obvious displeasure; not only at losing his cup of coffee, but at Roy's use of the nickname, "Junior", which annoyed him.
Without missing a step Johnny simultaneously glared at Roy, yelled something disparaging at Chet, and grabbed another coffee mug and began to fill it. He had just set the pot down again when "A" shift's Captain, Hank Stanley, entered the room, and purposefully headed over to John. Wise to the likelihood that his second cup of coffee might be stolen out from under him, Johnny quickly brought the mug to his lips and drank deep. The hot liquid burned his lips and tongue, and brought tears to his eyes, but he was undeterred.
"Ha," he said as Captain Stanley stopped in his tracks, disappointment obvious on his face. "I already drank out of this one! Damn! That hurt!"
"Ha, ha!" laughed Chet Kelly from his perch on the sofa across the room. "Serves you right, Gage!" "Wadda ya mean, 'serves me ri . . .'?" John demanded, but was interrupted by the sound of the alarm.
"Squad 51, possible heart attack . . ."
He set his mug down on the table without a second thought for it or Chet, and ran out to the engine bay, around the back of the bright red squad, and hopped in the passenger side.
" . . . north side of Lakeview Park
Roy got in behind the wheel, and they both put on their helmets. John began scribbling down notes, and, bringing up a mental map of the area, he decided on the quickest route to the park. Roy started the engine, and watched as the bay door opened with agonizing slowness.
"Squad 51, KMG 365," Captain Stanley confirmed the call, and handed Roy a piece of paper with the location of the incident; he passed it on to John, who jotted more notes. Before the bay doors were even completely up, the squad took off, lights flashing and sirens blaring, to the park where the first victim of the day waited.
Ace heard the sirens, and turned to see a bright red truck with flashing lights entering the park. She looked worriedly at the Doctor, who was now barely conscious, then went to meet the approaching Rescue Unit. The Doctor had heard the sirens, too, filtering in through the increasingly thick darkness, but long before his companion had. As a Time Lord, the Doctor had many gifts, superior hearing among them. He worried briefly about being examined by Earth medics, but his fears were quickly squelched by the increasing pressure and intense pain in his chest. His condition was not yet life-threatening enough for the regeneration process to kick in, and he really had no desire to wait around for that to happen. He needed help. He needed to trust someone. He needed immediate medical attention, and he was a very long way from home.
At the sound of approaching voices, the Doctor tried to open his eyes. He recognized Ace - admittedly more by the sound of her voice than her blurry appearance - and saw two men in blue shirts carrying several boxes walking on either side of her. When they reached him, the thinner, dark-haired man began speaking, and, pulling something out of his pocket, shined a light in the Doctor's eyes. The man looked at him expectantly, and The Doctor realized he'd been speaking to him.
"Sir?" he repeated, "Sir, can you hear me?"
The Doctor tried to speak, but all that came out a wheeze.
"Okay, okay," the dark-haired man said, "you're gonna be alright. My name is John Gage, and this is my partner, Roy DeSoto. We're paramedics, and we're gonna help you, here." He turned to Ace. "What's his name, Miss, ah . . ."
"Ace," she answered. "My name is Ace, and he's the Doctor."
"Okay." He grabbed the Doctor's wrist with two fingers, pressing slightly, and cocked his other arm up to look at his wristwatch for a few moments. "Okay, sir, just rela . . ." He stopped and looked confused. "Ah, Roy," John Gage said to his fair-haired companion who was busy wrapping a thick cuff on the Doctor's upper arm, "This is weird. I can't get a good pulse here."
"Well, try to get a carotid," the man named Roy DeSoto replied, pumping up the cuff. The Doctor felt a pressure on the side of his neck, and saw John again looking at his wrist watch.
"That won't wor . . ." The Doctor tried to tell the paramedics, but the one named John Gage just shushed him. "Now just relax, Doc, and let us take care of you," he said. He turned to Ace and began asking her questions about the Doctor's medical history.
The Doctor was in no condition to argue or help himself in any way, and allowed the paramedics to work on him. He was tired, so tired. Despite the possibly dangerous situation he was in, the Doctor finally allowed himself to slip into the black abyss of unconsciousness.
Ace hung back giving the paramedics room to work answering questions whenever she was asked, unsure of how much she should tell them. It bugged her, though, not being able to help more, and soon she was pacing back and forth in front of them. They'd laid the Doctor out on his back, as soon as he'd lost consciousness, and were using their equipment to take readings on his vitals. It soon became apparent they were having trouble deciphering the pulse and blood pressure. After trying to get a good reading from the wrist and carotid artery, John Gage turned to her, while Roy DeSoto, having given up on getting a decent BP reading, opened the Doctor's shirt and began applying white sensor pads to his chest.
"Ah, does he have any history of heart trouble? Has he been ill lately?" John asked.
Ace's mind raced. The Doctor was an alien, a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, with a somewhat different physiological makeup than a human, although by all outward appearances, he was a man. He was not a young man, however. Ace wasn't sure of his exact age, but guessed him to be at least 950 in Earth years. Not unusual for a Time Lord, but still . . .
"Miss?" John looked expectantly at her. She shook her head to clear it. She knelt down beside John.
"No, no history that I know of." "Hey, John," Roy interrupted, "look at this EKG reading I'm getting." John turned away from Ace to stare at a small screen. Roy had two metal disks placed on the doctor's chest, one on the upper right side, and the other on the left side of the doctor's torso. Ace leaned in closer so she, too, could see the screen. An even, steady beeping followed a line rhythmically bouncing its way across the screen. The two paramedics looked at each other, obviously confused.
"This man's not having a heart attack!" Roy exclaimed. "He' in perfect sinus rhythm!"
"Well, there's definitely something wrong with him, " John said. He turned back to Ace, who was desperately trying to figure out what to do. By now a small crowd of people - joggers, elderly ladies out for a morning stroll, and mothers with small children - had gathered behind them, curiously anticipating a major drama. Ace leaned down close to John so only he and his partner could hear.
"It might not that heart having the attack," she whispered, "it could be the other one."
John pulled back. "The WHAT?" he exclaimed.
"Shhh!" Ace pleaded, grabbing his shirt sleeve and pulling him closer to her again. "Look, he's got two hearts. Alright?"
John turned to stare at Roy, who just stared back at him. He turned back to Ace.
"What the hell . . ."
"It . . . it's a birth defect," Ace said quickly, improvising.
"A birth defect," the paramedic repeated incredulously.
"Yes," Ace insisted. "Just move those sensors down a bit, here, and the other one, there," she guided Roy's hands, still holding onto the metal paddles, to where he would be able to get a reading on the Doctor's other heart. Suddenly the reading on the screen changed, and the steady, normal rhythm, was replaced by a quick uneven zigzagging line across the screen accompanied by a more frantic tone.
"He's in V-fib!" Roy shouted. John reached across the Doctor's prone body and flicked a switch on the machine. A steady tone emitted from it, then began to beep while John started counting.
"One . . . two . . ."
"Johnny!" Roy hissed, "do I hit him like this?" He nodded to the odd way the sensors were placed on the Doctor's chest.
"I guess so," John answered, just as confused as Roy was. On the one hand, it was the wrong procedure completely, but on the other hand, they had a very sick man who would die without treatment, two hearts or no. John continued to tick off the counts. " . . .three . . .four . . . hit him!"
Roy didn't hesitate to yell, "Clear!", and pressed the buttons on the paddles sending an electrical shock through the Doctor's body. The Doctor stiffened and jerked a little before falling still again.
"Nothin', hit him again," John said after a brief glance a the screen.
The men repeated the procedure and then Ace heard the steady beep, beep, beep, sound and saw the steady, even rhythm on the screen. John grabbed a red box, opened it, affixed the antenna, picked up the telephone style receiver, and spoke into it: "Rampart, this is Squad 51, how do you read?"
"Go ahead, 51," a female voice came through the speaker.
Ace leaned back on her heels, exhaled, and took in the scene. John Gage was explaining the situation to the woman on the phone, while his partner, Roy DeSoto, took new readings on the Doctor as best he could, relaying them to John who passed on the information. She noticed suddenly the crude, almost primitive equipment the men were using. She looked around scanning the growing crowd of lookie-loos and the rest of the park. By the manner of dress and the style of automobiles parked nearby, Ace figured they were somewhere in the early- to mid-1970's. They were definitely not in England, however, and Ace guessed they were in America by John's and Roy's accents. She relaxed a little more. Being able to get back to Earth when the Doctor suddenly took ill was a relief in itself, but landing in a friendly country with fairly advanced medical practices - for the time, anyway - was like icing on the cake.
The paramedics continued their work on the Doctor, following instructions from a now-male voice on the other end of the phone. Ace heard another siren approaching. She looked up to see an ambulance pulling up behind the bright red squad.
Ace felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to find John Gage talking to her.
"Ace?"
"Hmm?"
"I said, did you want to ride in with him? In the ambulance?" John asked.
"Oh, yes, sorry," Ace answered, mentally kicking herself for not paying better attention. She waited as John, Roy and the ambulance attendants bundled the doctor onto the gurney, and followed them to the ambulance. She climbed into the passenger side of the ambulance while the Doctor was loaded into the back. John climbed in the back with the Doctor, one attendant, and all the equipment, and Roy closed the door, smacking the back of it, indicating they could go. Ace felt a flood of relief rush through her. They were going to a hospital. The Doctor would be alright, she'd been assured by both the paramedics. Now, if they were really lucky, the Master wouldn't discover where they were. Ace crossed her fingers and said a small prayer.
In all the excitement and commotion in the park, no one noticed the sudden appearance of a dingy grey, ivy covered Grecian pillar just behind a tree not ten yards away from where a man lay fighting for his life, while two paramedics worked quickly and efficiently to save him. The crowd began to dissipate as the ambulance sped away followed closely by the squad.
"Oh, that poor man!" exclaimed a large, middle-aged woman in a bright floral muumuu.
"Yes, it's a pity," agreed her friend, dressed in an equally gaudy polyester jumpsuit. "But, I heard them say they're taking him to Rampart General Hospital, so he should be fine. That's where my husband, Richard, went for his heart attack, and they took such good care of him!"
The two women moved away, still gossiping, but the man who'd been standing behind them, listening intently, no longer cared. He'd heard all he needed to. He knew where the Doctor was now. The Master smiled evilly, plotting his next move.
Johnny tried out take his patient's pulse again before remembering it was useless. The reading on the scope gave him all the information he needed to know the man was still stable anyway. Well, stable for him, anyway, 'Johnny thought. He leaned back looking at the man he and Roy had worked on. This man who, according to his young companion, had two hearts. Two hearts! Johnny barely believed it, and wouldn't have at all, had he not seen it with his own eyes: two completely different sets of EKG readings coming from two completely different parts of the man's chest. Two separate heart beats. Two separate hearts. He'd heard them both. Roy'd heard them both. It was true. Still. Two hearts! Birth defect or no, this was really weird. John shook his head in an attempt to clear it. It was just way too early in the morning, and he'd had way too little coffee to try to make sense of this.
He looked up and saw the girl looking back through the window at him. When their eyes met, she held his gaze steadily. She looked worried. Johnny tried to give her a reassuring smile, which she attempted to return before turning back to stare out the passenger side window. Now, she was different, John thought. Pretty enough with her long, straight dark blonde hair, but a real tough girl: black jacket loaded with various badges and patches, short black skirt over black tights, black knapsack, black combat boots. She was very calm and seemingly in full command of the situation when she'd first met them at the park, but, became quite frightened when she saw her friend (Father? Uncle? Lover? Johnny didn't know.) in such distress. She started off all brusque and full of bravado, and now seemed small, lost, and alone. Johnny was about to wonder again what her relationship with the man might be when they turned into Rampart Emergency.
Ace jumped out of the passenger side of the ambulance before it came to a complete stop. Adrenaline surged through her again as she realized that although the Doctor was about to get "the best medical care in the county, maybe even the state," according to John Gage, she knew there would be questions she wasn't looking forward to answering.
She watched as John and the ambulance attendants wheeled the Doctor into Exam room 3, as directed by a pretty blonde haired nurse, who refused to allow Ace inside. Soon an intense, dark-haired man wearing a white lab coat rushed down the hall, and entered the room, too. Ace had nothing to do again, and soon began to pace. John's partner arrived moments later, and approached her.
"He's in there, and they won't let me see him!"
"Yeah," Roy said, "that's standard procedure." He went to peek in the window and saw Dr. Brackett surrounded by Dixie, John and the ambulance attendants all working calmly and efficiently on the Doctor.
"He's got Dr. Brackett in with him now. Your friend's in good hands," he said smiling pleasantly. "Why don't we go in here and get some coffee?"
He was so calm and assured, and seemed nice enough, so Ace relented, and allowed herself to be escorted into a lounge area, and seated at a table. Roy grabbed a couple mugs and filled them with a hot, dark liquid, setting one down in front of her, then taking a seat opposite her. They sat silently pondering their coffee for a time, until Roy said, "Forgive me for being nosey, but, what sort of birth defect does your friend have, anyway? Two hearts . . . it's, ah, it's nothing I've ever heard of!"
Ace had gotten pretty good at reading people even before travelling the Universe with the Doctor, and she felt she could really trust this man. She decided to tell him the truth, at least a little of it, just to see how he reacted. If he freaked out, she'd stop and just make something up from there. If he didn't . . . Before she could begin, however, the door opened, and John came in. He grabbed some coffee and joined them at the table.
Ace tensed up, a dozen questions sat on the tip of her tongue, but she was unsure which one to ask first. John held his hand up to silence her before she could speak. He took a big swig of coffee, set the mug down, and said, "He's going to be fine. They're taking him up to surgery now. He's got a blocked artery in his heart, uh, the, ah, lower one, that is, and, they're going to perform a bypass. Don't worry," he held his hand up again to stop Ace from interjecting, "I told them about his birth defect, and although it's definitely a new one around here, the doctors here know what they're doing, and can deal with anything that comes up. So, don't worry, okay?"
Ace was relieved, but still concerned. These doctors may be good, but they've probably never operated on a Time Lord before. Probably never even heard of a Time Lord before.
"Thank you, guys." She smiled at them. She felt more relaxed and comfortable than she had in a long time. They were safe on Earth, the Doctor was in good hands, and she was suddenly very, very tired.
"Well, Junior, " Roy said to John, "we'd better get back to work." He was disappointed he wouldn't get to hear about this mysterious birth defect, but they really couldn't just hang around here all day. "Good luck, Ace!" He grabbed the Handi-Talk off the table, and he and John turned to leave.
"Wait," Ace said, suddenly remembering the Master was still on their tail. "Would it be possible for you guys to drop me back at the park? We left the TAR . . . the Professor's car back there, and I'd feel better having it close by." 'Just in case we need to get out of here fast,' she thought, but kept that to herself.
John and Roy looked at each other. It was really against the rules, but they could still call in to dispatch as available, the park was basically on their way back to the station anyway, and besides, what could possibly happen?
The Master returned to his TARDIS to contemplate what he had heard, and plan his next move. The Master's present body, stolen from a Trakkan man several years earlier, was weakened by the many failed attempts to capture the Doctor, and he could feel it wasting away. He needed a new body, and fast. He wanted the Doctor's Time Lord body badly, but his last attempt had failed miserably, and left him weaker than ever. Now the Doctor's body, too, was weakened by disease, and for the first time in his long life, the Master feared he may face death.
The Master shook his head to dislodge the black thoughts, and reviewed what he had learned: The Doctor was at an Earth hospital being treated for his heart problem, an problem, which if dealt with soon enough, was completely curable, even on this primitive planet, and would likely not require the Doctor to regenerate again. The Master hoped he would recover quickly, than chuckled at the turn of events. It was not often the Master hoped the Doctor would live. The Master's mood brightened. This could easily work towards his advantage, he thought. The Doctor would be in one place, and quite vulnerable for a while. Being a Time Lord, however, he would heal quicker than a human patient, and the Master could easily snatch the Doctor out of the hospital not too long after his surgery. Soon, the Doctor's body would be strong enough to perform the transfer, and the Master would be saved, and his arch enemy would be vanquished. Yes, it would work! It was perfect! The Master grinned evilly into the dreary darkness inside his own TARDIS' control center.
"Soon, Doctor," he sneered, "soon your body and its remaining regenerations will be mine, and then I will live forever!"
His menacing laughter echoed off the dingy TARDIS walls. As it died down, the Master began his newest plan of attack.
Roy pulled out of Rampart still curious about the Doctor's bizarre birth defect, but kept his mouth shut. Ace had offered up no more information, and he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable by pressing the issue. His partner, however, had no such hang-ups.
"So, what's this birth defect your ah, ah, friend has?" Johnny asked bluntly. "How'd that happen?"
Ace hesitated momentarily. She'd been ready to spill her guts to Roy, but now she was unsure.
"Er," she began, "Well, you see . . .er, the Professor is, um, well, not from around here, and . . ."
"Well, we figured that," Johnny interrupted.
"What?"
"Well, the way you talk, for one thing. You've got an accent, you know? Where're you from, anyway?"
"I'm from England. Perivale, to be exact, and, I don't have an accent, John Gage,you lot do!" Ace grinned at him, relieved to have a change of topic.
"Oh, yeah?" Suddenly, and without even realizing it, Johnny turned on the infamous Gage charm. He smiled back, his lopsided grin spreading slowly across his face, brown eyes sparkling merrily.
"Yeah! Have you ever been?"
"To England? No, no, never made it over there. Yet, that is! But, you never know, I might! Yeah, I might just go over to England sometime. Hey, maybe we could get together . . ."
Roy shook his head, snickering to himself. He turned his attention to the street ahead of him, ignoring the now flirty couple.
Well, I guess we'll never know why that guy had two hearts. Roy thought. Of course, Dr. Brackett or Dixie might find out. I could always find out from them. Heck, we'll probably be seeing them later on today anyhow . . .'
"Hey, Roy, check that out," Johnny said suddenly, pointing across the cab to a small white painted brick building coming up on the left hand side of the street. Smoke poured out of the front windows and door, and people were running out of what appeared to be a small restaurant.
"I see it," Roy said, once again alert. Flicking on the lights and siren, he made a careful U-turn in the middle of the road, and came to park in front of the burning building. Johnny called the fire into dispatch, and requested assistance. Then he turned to Ace.
"Sorry, Ace, but we're gonna have to take this," he said already grabbing his helmet, and jumping out of the squad. "Ah, the park's not much farther, just down there about a block and hang a right. You can't miss it."
Without saying good-bye, or even looking back, he and Roy grabbed their turnout coats, air tanks and masks, and other equipment from the compartments on the side of the truck. Bedecked in their firefighter gear, the two men and ran over to the group of sooty, frightened people. Just what they thought they could do by themselves with no water or hoses or anything was beyond Ace. She got out of the truck, but instead of heading towards the park and the TARDIS, she stayed to watch.
"Is everyone okay here?" Johnny shouted to be heard above the panicked voices of the crowd, and the roar of the fire. The building, once a small diner called The Country Kitchen Cafe was now fully involved. Flames shot out the front windows, and thick black smoke emanated from the front and rear of the small building. A frantic woman ran up to Johnny, grabbing his coat, and pulling him towards the cafe.
"My daughter! My daughter is still in there!" she screamed, pointing to the front door.
"Okay, now just calm down, ma'am, calm down," Johnny grabbed the woman by both arms, and looked straight into her eyes in an attempt to get her full attention. "Where exactly is your daughter?"
"She went to the ladies room," the woman said, "It's in the back by the kitchen! Please get her out! Please!"
Johnny saw Ace standing nearby, and took the woman over to her. "Okay," he said to the woman, "You just stand right here, and relax. Everything's going to be alright." He looked at Ace, but said nothing. Ace understood the silent signal, and wrapped her arms around the distraught woman, letting her cry on her shoulder. Johnny and Roy put on their oxygen masks while walking towards the front door, covered their heads with their helmets, and disappeared into the smoke.
Ace stood there, stunned. They weren't even going to wait for another fire truck to show up! The woman was sobbing violently on her shoulder. Ace pulled to out to arms length.
"You're daughter is going to be alright!" She told the woman. "These guys are the best! Believe me! If anyone can get your daughter out, they can!"
Suddenly, sirens were all around them as first one engine, than another pulled up to the scene. Ace saw the first one to arrive had a 51 on it; the same number as John and Roy's truck. She took the woman over to stand with the other restaurant patrons, and headed over to the engine. She noticed a tall fireman who was alternately yelling orders to the other men, and giving directions into a walkie-talkie to the other approaching fire engine.
"Hey! Hey!" she yelled to him. "Are you with Roy and Johnny?"
"Yeah," the man yelled back, "I'm Captain Stanley."
"Captain, Roy and Johnny have both gone inside looking for a girl."
"When?"
"About five minutes ago!"
"Alright, thank you, Miss, now just stand back out of the way please," Captain Stanley moved Ace back toward the engine. "Chet! Marco! Get a line inside that place! Johnny and Roy are in there looking for a victim!"
"Okay, Cap!" the firemen yelled back. They grabbed a hose and headed for the door, shooting water into the entrance before advancing. Other firemen with more hoses started dousing the flames coming out of the front window, while others started heading around the back of the building.
Ace stood back as instructed, staring in awe at the blazing fire and flurry of activity before her. Was that truly a building standing there? She wondered. Flames shot out of every possible exit now, and some even came out of the roof, all accompanied by thick, black smoke, and a thunderous roar. She could not imagine anyone being alive in that.
As she stood there, she recalled the fire she'd started back in her home town of Perivale, and her love of explosives, particularly her home-made concoction, nitro-9, that had gotten her into so much trouble in her youth. It was messing around with the volatile liquid that had gotten her blown up in a time storm to the planet Svartos, where she slaved as a waitress in Iceworld before meeting the Doctor and travelling the Universe with him. The Doctor disapproved of her use of explosives to get out of various situations, but Ace had always been stubborn, even, she admitted now, a bit bratty, and would often disobey, doing whatever she wanted regardless of the consequences. But, that was a long time ago - a lifetime ago, it seemed - and she was a very different woman now. Standing there watching the blaze, Ace felt a twinge of guilt for all her past destructive behaviour, as well as an intense admiration for Johnny and Roy and the other men valiantly fighting a fire they had no chance in hell of defeating. The two paramedics had not hesitated to throw themselves into the burning building on the off chance that the woman's daughter might still be alive. Had they though about their own lives for even a second?
Just as it occurred to her they'd been in there an awfully long time, a fireman emerged from the building, covered in black soot, and carrying an equally dirty child. He - was it Johnny or Roy, or one of the other men? Ace couldn't tell - rushed over towards the engine, and gently laid the girl down on the sidewalk. Just then, the building moaned and groaned, and a section of the roof collapsed. Some men rushed out of the building, shouting, but quickly enough took up the hoses again, and headed back inside once the collapse was over. The girl's mother ran over screaming, but Captain Stanley held her back, spoke to her firmly, and seemed to calm her down some. She approached more slowly, and knelt down on the sidewalk a little ways behind her daughter's prone body, still weeping, and calling her daughter's name. The fireman removed his helmet and air mask, and Ace saw then that it was Roy. He directed a couple men to get additional equipment out of the squad, and immediately began checking over the girl: taking her pulse and checking her breathing. He grabbed the oxygen tank as soon as it was placed beside him, and put the small mask over the girl's mouth and nose. Ace looked around, but didn't see the other paramedic. She ran up to Roy.
"Where's Johnny?" she shouted.
Roy looked up at her, then back towards the restaurant. "I dunno," he answered. "He was right behind me in there. Hey, Cap! I think Johnny's still in there!"
The Captain nodded his acknowledgment, and headed off shouting instructions to the men. Roy continued working on the girl, seemingly unaffected by the fact that his partner was still inside the building. Ace hated just standing around. She hated not being able to help, not being able to do something. She wanted to run into that building herself to look for Johnny herself, but knew that would be stupid. These men knew what they were doing, and would bring him out, if he was unable to do so himself. She began pacing again to release her pent up energy, and eventually started wandering around the area behind Roy, the little girl and her mother, behind the men with their hoses blasting gallons of water on the stubborn flames, and down a little alley on the opposite side of the restaurant. There was only one small window on that side, towards the back of the building. It was closed and still intact, so only a little smoke was leaking out. Suddenly, the window shattered, sending broken glass flying out onto the pavement. Ace ran up to it just as a fireman was cleaning broken glass from the windowsill. His helmet, air mask and tank were gone, and Ace could see it was Johnny. He hoisted himself up and out of the window head first, and Ace ran to help him down. He dropped to the ground, coughing, and sucking in as much clean air as he could. Ace helped him get up, and half dragged him around to the front of the building.
The ambulance had arrived, as had a second Squad, who's paramedics were checking some of the other restaurant patrons, most of whom had just inhaled a little smoke, and had mostly been frightened. The girl was being loaded into the back of the ambulance, and her mother had just climbed in the passenger side when Ace and Johnny reached them.
"Well, nice of you to join us, Gage," Captain Stanley joked, then added more seriously, "You okay?"
"Yeah," Johnny said. "That roof caved in right in front of me, and I couldn't get to the front door. My air ran out, so I just abandoned the tank, and I ended up breaking out a window on the other side and climbing out. Ace helped me."
"Oh, she did, did she?" The Captain shot her a withering glare, and she cringed.
"Ah, here, Johnny," Roy had come over with another oxygen tank, and handed the mask to Johnny, who put it up to his face, and took several deep breaths. "Thanks, Pally," he said grinning.
"No problem, Junior," Roy said returning the smile. "I'm going in with this girl and her mother . . ."
"Hey, is she okay?" Johnny asked suddenly.
"Oh, yeah. She inhaled a lot of smoke - kind-a like it looks like you did - and was unconscious for a bit, but she came around. She'll be just fine, I'm sure. No other injuries."
"Oh, that's great news!" Johnny said smiling.
"Maybe you ought to come in with us," Roy suggested.
"No, I'll just follow you in the squad. I can have one of the docs check me out when I get there, but I'm fine, really."
"Alright, see ya there." Roy hopped into the ambulance. Johnny closed the doors, checked them, and slapped the door twice to signal the driver he could go. Then he headed over to the squad; Ace followed him.
"You guys are bloody amazing!" she exclaimed. "I mean, you just ran in there, into a burning building, like it was nothing! For someone you don't even know is dead or alive! For someone you don't even know!"
"Yeah, well, that's our job," Johnny said simply as he put the equipment away. "Hey, ah, I can still go ahead and drop you off at the park, if you like. I can head off to Rampart from there. It's not that far out of the way."
Ace looked warily over to where the Captain and the other men were still working. "I don't want you to get into any trouble."
"It's no trouble," Johnny smiled at her, his teeth a stark white against his dark, soot smudged face. This was a smile, Ace realized, that few women could resist. She decided not to try. Instead, she smiled back at him, and accepted the ride.
"So, where's your car?" Johnny asked as he pulled up to the park.
"Oh, it's over there somewhere," Ace waved her hand noncommittally. "This is fine, right here, really."
Johnny pulled into a parking space and shut off the engine.
"Stay here," he instructed, and lept out of the squad, running around to open the door for Ace. He bowed and extended his arm with a flourish. Ace giggled, liking this lean, dark-haired man more and more. "What are you doing?"
"I'm just being a proper gentleman," Johnny said, straightening up. "Aren't all the guys in England proper and polite, and open doors for pretty young ladies?"
"Not often!" Ace said as she got out of the cab, and walked around behind Johnny.
Johnny turned to face her, and draped his arm through the open window. "Really? I'd always heard those guys were real poli . . . "
He stopped suddenly as something behind Ace caught his eye; something that hadn't been there before.
"Huh! What do you suppose that thing is?" he pointed towards the area where they'd been treating the Doctor. Partially sticking out from behind a tree, a large, greyish column could be seen.
"What? Where?" Ace turned around.
"There, right there, behind that tree," Johnny pointed again. Ace followed the line of his arm and finger. She choked down a gasp. It was the Master's TARDIS!
"It looks like a Roman or Greek pillar thing, or something, doesn't it?" Johnny said. "Huh, funny I never noticed that before. Must be here for a carnival, or fair, or something. So, anyway . . ." He turned his attention back to Ace, who was much more interesting than some weird thing in the park. She, however, was still staring at the column, and suddenly seemed upset.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked.
"Oh, nothing," Ace lied. She turned to him and smiled half-heartedly, but he could see she'd gone pale and seemed frightened by something. "Er, thanks for the ride, Johnny. I'd love to hang out and chat, but I've got to run!" She tried to turned and walk away, but Johnny stopped her, turning her around to face him.
"Now, wait a minute, I can tell something's wrong. Are you feeling alright?" He was suddenly in Paramedic mode again.
"Really, Johnny, I'm fine!" Ace insisted. She tried to resist the urge to turn and look at the Master's TARDIS again, but lost. John followed her line of sight. "Is it something to do with that thing? Do you know what that is?"
Ace was so tired, and strangely enough she was afraid. With the Doctor seriously ill, and the Master on their tail, she suddenly didn't feel strong enough, mentally or physically, to deal with any of this on her own. At the same time, she knew she couldn't involve Johnny Gage in this battle, either, and tried to assure the paramedic she was fine so he would leave. He wasn't buying it. Johnny carefully guided her back to the squad, and sat her down on the running board. He even started taking her pulse.
"Please, I don't need your help," Ace insisted.
"Now, just hold on there," Johnny said in that all-too-calm, somewhat patronizing voice he used when dealing with difficult patients. Ace started to get annoyed. Annoyed with herself for being so weak, and annoyed with Johnny for suddenly going all paramedic on her. "Really," she said between clenched teeth, "I'm fine!"
She pushed Johnny out of the way and stood up. She didn't know if it was all the crazy things that had happened since she'd been blown up to Svartos, or if it was what was happening to the Doctor right now, or if it was just that she couldn't remember the last time she ate, but Ace suddenly felt quite dizzy, and despite her best efforts to stay conscious, she fainted. Johnny caught her and lowered her gently to the ground.
Squad 51, what is your status?" the radio squaked.
Johnny jumped up and grabbed the mike, "Squad 51 responding to a still alarm at Lakeview park. No assistance required at this time."
10-4, 51. Squad 36 in place of Squad 51 . . ."
Johnny threw the mike back in the cab, and started grabbing the O2 and drug box out of the squad. It appeared that Ace had just fainted, but he wasn't taking any chances considering the stress she'd been under this morning. He checked her vitals and found them to be normal (and discovered that she only had the one heart, much to his relief), except for her pulse and B/P which were elevated slightly. After the morning she'd had, however, he didn't think that was unusual. He grabbed the smelling salts, broke open the package, and waved it under Ace's nose. She jerked awake suddenly, coughing and trying to push the offending object away.
"What happened?" she sputtered.
"You fainted. Are you alright? Are you still feeling lightheaded? Are you feeling sick at all?"
Ace sat up waving off the paramedic's assistance.
"I'm fine," she said. "I guess, I don't know. All the stress of the day catching up with me, and I can't remember when I last ate something."
Johnny looked at her intently for a moment, considering his options.
"Ah, look, I'm not too comfortable letting you drive, so, maybe we should just leave your friend's car here, for now, and I'll take you to back to Rampart myself. You can get something to eat there, and check on your friend, and maybe even get checked out yourself."
"Drive?" Ace had completely forgotten why they'd come there.
"Yeah, your friend's car? Remember? You were going to pick it up and go back to the Hospital?"
"Oh, yes, yes, the car, the car, that's right. Sorry, got a bit spacey there!" Ace tried to laugh it off, but Johnny still looked serious. She realized she wasn't going to get him off her back, and looking around the park, quickly devised a new plan to ditch him and get to the TARDIS.
"I guess you're right. Look, I really need to use the loo, first, though, okay?" she pointed to a small brick building by the playground area. "Just wait here, and I'll be right back."
She took off before Johnny could grab her this time, and headed for the rest rooms. Once inside, she figured she could climb out the back window, and make her way around the park to the TARDIS. By the time Johnny Gage figured out something was wrong, she'd be gone.
Johnny draped his arm through the squad door's open window again, and watched her go. There was something definitely very weird about this girl, but Johnny couldn't quite put his finger on it. She seemed like a pretty tough, strong, independent young woman, but the sight of some weird column thing in the park had freaked her out. He looked over to where the thing was. He was sure it hadn't been there when they were there earlier working on the girl's equally weird friend. Surely he would've noticed something so obvious, even though he was working on a victim. He turned and took off his turnout coat, draping it over the back of the squad, and bent down to close up the drug box. He put it and the oxygen away, shut the compartment doors, then looked over towards the rest rooms to see if Ace was on her way back, yet. She wasn't. Women! he thought shaking his head. They can spend hours in the bathroom fixing their hair and make-up, and come out looking exactly the same as when they went in! He went to turn his attention once again to the strange object, only to find it was gone! He blinked, rubbed his smoke-sore eyes, and looked again. Sure enough, the grey Roman-looking column thing was gone. His curiosity got the better of him, and Johnny headed over to the tree to investigate.
Ace was grateful to find the ladies room empty when she arrived, and headed straight for the high, narrow window in the back. It was partially opened and she shoved the pane back completely, and jumped up, hoisting herself headfirst out the window. The sharp, metal corner of the window frame caught Ace's skirt, tearing it a bit, as she made her way through the window. She cursed under her breath, ripped the fabric free, and continued out through the window. She peeked around the corner of the building to see Johnny standing by the squad, his arm draped through the open passenger door window.
"Good boy, Johnny," she mumbled to herself, "you just stay right there."
She took off running towards a tree directly behind the restrooms, reached it, and peered around from behind it back towards Johnny again. This time, however, the paramedic wasn't standing by the squad, he was headed off towards the Master's TARDIS! But, when Ace looked to where the Master's time and space machine should be, she saw that it was gone.
Bloody hell!
Once again, she took off running.
Johnny reached the spot where the mysterious column had once been. He looked around but didn't see any way it could've been removed without him noticing. Looking down, he saw a large, round indentation in the grass where the thing - or something - had obviously been. Well, at least I didn't imagine it, he thought, somewhat relieved. He knelt down and ran his hand over the crushed grass blades, and noted the ground there was warm, even though it was in the shade. "Well, now that's strange," he said aloud. The grass was already starting to spring back up, so the item hadn't been there long enough to do any permanent damage, but if it had only just been removed while he was standing not that far away, where had it gone?
Johnny stood up and looked around. There was nothing to be seen but trees, grass, the rest rooms Ace had disappeared into, the playground which was now bustling with children playing on the equipment and grown-ups supervising, and the large hedge that ran along the back side of the park. Maybe it had been taken behind there, he mused, and loaded on a truck or something. He headed towards the hedge, intent on seeing if he could get to the other side and possibly find the column. As he approached, he saw Ace running towards the hedge as well.
"Why that little . . ." he started, but stopped that train of thought, and shouted towards her instead, "Ace! Hey, where're you going?"
He headed after her, and neared the space in the hedge about the same time she did; in time to see her run up against a blue . . . was that a door? In the hedge? It was! A blue door, for which she apparently had a key, since she seemed to be fiddling with a lock and finally opened the door. Johnny reached it soon after she disappeared behind the door, fighting the branches of the hedge as they clawed at his face and arms, ripping his shirt sleeve. He managed to get his foot inside before she could close the door completely, and with a slight shove, he forced his way inside.