Three months of being off work drove Walsh insane. He needed to be on the engine, not stuck around the house. DK and the guys had come over to help him fix the pipes and replace the wallboards.
Lieutenant Johnson had come over and helped with the guys as well. New York winters dictated the fact that you needed to work indoors. So they had his house fixed up nicely. All the rooms had a fresh coat of paint. The bathroom was redone. It looked nice.
"Now I have the perfect place and no one to share it with." He said to himself
He sat in the living room and opened popped open a can of Coke. He finally got to go back to work tomorrow. He was looking forward to it.
When 7 AM rolled around he jumped out of bed and headed for the shower. He got ready. He grabbed his normal breakfast, two pieces of toast and a cup of coffee. He then headed off for work.
He got out of his truck and walked into the house. Lt. Johnson saw him walk by the office door and called out.
"Hey Billy, come here a minute." Lt Johnson said
"Yeah Lieu?" Walsh set his bag down on the floor
"How you feeling?" Lt Johnson asked
"I'm feeling pretty good." Walsh replied
"The guys were all talking about it and we agreed you need to take it easy for a while." Lt. Johnson started, "Tommy suggested that you chauffer us around."
Walsh didn't know what to say. He hadn't driven the rig since the academy, he was more nervous about that than he was to get back out and fight fire.
"I don't know." Walsh said uncomfortable with the idea
"Don't worry, we were planning on taking you out for a while today to get you used to it." Lt. Johnson said
"Okay." Walsh replied still not exactly thrilled with the idea, but it did put him back on the Squad.
He picked his bag back up and walked upstairs to his locker. He put his bad away and then headed back down the stairs to the lounge.
"Hey hey, look what the cat brought in!" DK exclaimed as he stood up to welcome Walsh back
"You still remember how to do this right?" Jimmy teased
"I'll never forget how to be a better firefighter than you." Walsh cracked
"That don't take much." Tommy grinned as he stood up to hug Walsh. "We missed ya buddy."
"Thanks, wish I could say I missed you all too." Walsh smiled, "But Lord knows that there are prettier things in the world to wake up to in a hospital than your ugly mugs."
"Alright ladies." Lt. Johnson came into the lounge. "Let's take a little road trip." He said
They all grabbed their things and headed down the stairs to the truck. They threw their gear in the cab and climbed in. Tommy sat in the back for the first time in years.
"Wow now this is weird." He smiled
"Yeah, I don't know what's scarier- you back here or Walsh up there." DK smiled
They drove around for about an hour, until Walsh was comfortable being behind the wheel. They stopped at a corner market to get some food for the evening meal. It was Tommy's turn to cook and he had planned on making his famous chili. He and DK went inside to do the shopping.
Soon they emerged with two bags of groceries.
"Wow, all that for us?" Jimmy asked
"Hey, there's a lot of food in here." Tommy said
"What are we being treated to tonight?" Lombardo asked
"My special chili." Tommy replied
"Oh, couldn't you have chosen a night Lombardo wasn't working?" Walsh cracked
"Very funny." Lombardo said
"Yeah the bathroom's stopped up for days after your chili." DK adds
They all laughed and headed back for the house. It was 1 in the afternoon and soon the Yankees Opening Day game would be on TV. They grabbed the pretzels and chips and sat in the chairs.
They were enjoying themselves. Lombardo had drifted off to sleep so the guys decided to decorate him with food. They found way too much time the rest of the shift to play practical jokes on each other.
Tommy finally announced that dinner was ready and they all quietly got up and went to the kitchen- leaving Lombardo to sleep in the chair.
"Should we wake him?" DK asks
"What and give up the relative peace and quiet of the bathroom?" Walsh cracks
They laugh quietly. Even Lt. Johnson found humor. Finally, Jimmy had the heart to call out to him.
"Hey Joe!" He called, "Joe, wake up. It's time to eat."
Lombardo stirred in the chair. He finally woke up to discover his new costume.
"I hate you all." He says as he stands up to brush himself off
The guys are all laughing. Lt. Johnson tosses a towel to him.
"You might want to get over here and get some chili before these vultures eat it all." Lt. Johnson adds
"Thanks Lieu, at least someone around here watches out for me." Lombardo says
Walsh hands Lombardo a bowl of chili and they all chow down. It's not long before they have to set their bowls down though.
"Squad 55 Adam 55-3 respond for pedestrian struck 8700 Amsterdam." The alarm calls
"Alright, now you do know where that's at right Walsh?" They tease their new chauffer
"Kiss my ass." He replies as they head for the truck
Soon everyone is on board and they are rolling down the street.
"He don't do so bad drivin' this rig." Tommy says, "Maybe I'll stay back here permanently."
"You know you actually do have to do work back here right?" Jimmy asked
"Hey, driving this thing is a hard task." Tommy grins
"Yeah, the plush life. Soon we'll have fuzzy dice hanging from the mirror." DK cracks
Walsh pulls the Squad onto the scene and they all climb out and set to work. Jimmy pops the hood to disconnect the battery cable. DK shores up the car. Tommy and Lombardo assist doc and Jerry. They back board the patient who struck the windshield of the car.
Sully pulls onto the scene and begins to gather information for his report.
"Wow, now that's a bad day." He says
Lt. Johnson nods his head in agreement. Walsh watches to make sure everything is taken care of. He has a momentary lapse and recalls the accident that sent him to the hospital. He snaps out of it and surveys the scene.
Finally everyone wraps up their tasks.
Lt. Johnson looks at Sully, "Well, we've done all we can do here." He says as he pats Sully on the shoulder.
"Yeah, thanks." Sully says
Lt. Johnson looks at the guys, "Well, let's go home." He smiles as he walks back to the squad.
They head back for the firehouse. Jimmy hops out to help guide Walsh into the bay. Once he puts the rig in park everyone piles out.
"Hey, we made it back in one piece." DK kids
The rest of the guys laugh along.
"Yeah, amazing ain't it?" Walsh laughs as they all head up the stairs to once again relax.