Chapter 20
Roy DeSoto pulled into his driveway for the second time that day, accompanied by the sheeting rain that appeared intent on flooding the city. He carefully navigated the truck into the narrow space next to his Porsche, centering it so that he could get out but could also crawl into the driver's side of the little sports car.
He looked down at the sleeping dog, her leonine head pressed against his thigh and four twitching paws hanging over the edge of the bench seat as she dreamed of hopefully good things. He stroked the fur on her head and ruffled one of the large upright ears. "Come on Grace, let's go play with the kids before they go to bed."
The shepherd immediately scrambled awkwardly to all four feet, her tail hitting the passenger side window in a frantic rhythm. He grinned at her enthusiasm and together they left the vehicle and went into the garage. Here he divested both of them of all the yellow raingear, hanging the coats on nails and hooking the hats above them. The boots went below on a metal cooking pan that his thoughtful wife must have placed there earlier.
When he opened the door into the kitchen, he wasn't sure who was more excited, his son or the dog. He left them in a tangle of fur and pajamas on the floor and stepped into the living room. JoAnne and Lisa were curled up on the couch, an orange and brown crocheted afghan draped around them and warding off the dampness that was permeating the house. Both of his ladies looked up as he rounded the couch and dropped down onto the cushion next to them.
"Hi Honey," JoAnne said, covering a yawn with her hand and blinking at him sleepily. Lisa held up her arms, the small board book clutched in her pudgy fingers; Roy leaned over and scooped her sideways into his lap.
"You reading to your Mom?" He asked, tickling her stomach gently. She giggled and nodded, a finger going into her mouth as she looked up at him. He snuggled her in closer and shot a questioning glance at his wife.
"She's better," she responded with a smile. "How's your partner?"
He regarded her over the top of his daughter's head but there was no sarcasm or surliness in her question, only sincerity and concern. "He's better too. Oh, and all the single guys are plus one for the barbecue."
"Is Captain Hammer bringing his children?"
"Well, he is, but they're in their early twenties or late teens if I remember correctly." He paused to bestow a kiss on the top of Lisa's tousled hair. "So, no little kids for these munchkins to play with."
As if on cue, Chris and Grace came tumbling into the living room. The boy jumped onto the couch and the dog followed, saliva and fur flying as she tried to burrow into the tiny space between Roy and his son.
"Down Grace!" Roy commanded sternly; the dog regarded him a second with a sorrowful expression but then obeyed.
"Ahhhhh Dad..." Christopher whined but ceased his complaint upon the equally stern look his father directed at him.
Roy reached out his free arm and pulled his son into his side. "Let's make sure we teach Graceland to stay on the floor, and not on the furniture, okay?"
Chris buried his head into his side and Roy felt his head move up and down in a rather reluctant but agreeing gesture. He tousled his hair and directed a wide grin at Jo, who promptly returned the gesture along with a wink. Using her foot, she nudged the large upholstered footstool towards him and then slid closer so that they were thigh to thigh; pressing his shoulder lightly against his wife's, Roy stretched out his legs and settled them on the cushioned surface with a relieved sigh. The moment Chris had started crawling, their glass and chrome coffee table had been replaced by the soft edges of the footstool. It served a dual purpose as both children had used it to pull themselves upwards when they had started walking.
Surrounded by his family, hearing the now comforting (after all, he wasn't out in it anymore) sound of rain pattering a steady tattoo on their roof, Roy settled into the cushion and let his body and mind completely relax. He closed his eyes and reluctantly cracked them open when Ann nudged him gently.
"Um, Roy?"
"Yes?" He didn't like the hesitation in her voice or the way her hand was suddenly clutching his knee.
"Mother called…"
His eyes flew all the way open and he turned his head to look at her. She was worrying her lip with her teeth which pretty much told him the news was going to be bad. Of course, anything involving his mother-in-law was going to be terrible because it usually involved him one way or another.
"And?" He prompted trying to keep the dread out of his voice.
"Dad is dropping her off this weekend to spend a couple of days with us." The words came out fast and clipped but Roy caught them easily and this time let the groan escape.
"This weekend, when everybody is going to be here for the barbecue?"
"Yes, I know, I'm so sorry but what was I supposed to say? You know how she gets if I try to put her off."
"Yeah I do, and we'd be suffering the aftereffects for months, if not years," he grudgingly agreed, recalling his brother-in-law's wedding last week. * The repercussions from that event had yet to be felt, but he knew from past experience that the old bat's revenge was excruciatingly slow. He tipped his head back and gazed up at the white ceiling, absently patting his son's head as he squirmed next to him. "Although she's already steamed at me, so maybe we should just tell her she can't stay?"
"Daddy…" Chris's plaintive wail roused him from his unpleasant musings and cut off whatever JoAnne had been about to say. "Gotta go potty and I can't get up."
"Oh, sorry, son, go ahead," Roy shifted his weight and Christopher shot off the couch butt first, slid off the dog's back, and bolted for the bathroom. JoAnne giggled and Roy shot her a dismayed look. "I think I was smashing him into the couch I was patting his head so hard."
"Venting your frustration out on your poor son?" She was laughing now; Lisa reached out her chubby arms trying to grasp the infectious melody.
Roy handed her to his wife, grinning and shaking his head as he did so. "You didn't answer my question though, did you?"
"Seriously Roy, do you want me to tell Mother that she can't stay here because you know she's already working on her "how to torment my son-in-law plans"? Even I wouldn't face off with my mother with that, uh, excuse…" Jo tipped her head away from Lisa, who was trying to grasp her mouth. "I do know when to pick my battles."
"That's for sure," Roy answered, thinking of JoAnne's verbal altercation with Brackett at Johnny's birthday party. She had defended him rather fiercely, especially when she knew that Brackett could very well be his boss if the paramedic program pushed through. "I would hate to be the person that ever got between you and one of the kids."
"Mmmm, you're comparing me to a mama bear, I rather like that." She outstretched her hand, curling her fingers into claws, and playfully swiped at his arm.
Roy snatched the human paw and kissed her thankfully fur free palm. "I suppose we'll manage, as long as Ruth doesn't start bossing around Captain Hammer," he conceded grouchily.
"Well, maybe, but you do know that Mother can be very subtle sometimes in her manipulations," Jo said slowly, her laughter subsiding into a hiccup as she leaned once more into her husband.
"Oh, sh…shoot, that's right!" DeSoto blurted out, catching himself as he looked down into the very alert eyes of his daughter. "And aside from Johnny, she hasn't met any of the other guys yet…Joanne, this might just turn into a massacre! Firefighters splattered all over our backyard and throughout the house!"
"Nonsense, don't be so dramatic. I guess we'll have to figure out a way to lessen the damage, maybe have her take the kids somewhere and not tell her about the barbeque?" She suggested hopefully.
"No way, because of all the setup that has to be done before we start it; she'll know something is up. Nope, just going to have to keep a leash on her and tug on it whenever she gets too close to one of the crew." Especially Johnny, he thought to himself, recalling their previous and very memorable first encounter. He still wasn't sure if the swing to his partner's face and the resulting fat lip had been intentional or accidental. "We'd better add wine to our shopping list."
"Trying to get Mother loosened up?" She pulled back and studied him.
He smiled innocently. "No actually, I was thinking about you, but if you think that might help or would even work, I'll start it off by spiking her orange juice…"
JoAnne cut him off with a playful slap to the arm. "Oh you!"
~eeeEEEeee~
Captain Dick Hammer pulled into the parking lot of his younger paramedic's apartment complex, recognizing Gage's white Volkswagen bus and also the blue Chevy pickup of his engineer. He circled around the small area, finally snagging an open space closer to the road then to the building. He flipped up the hood of his windbreaker and jogged through the cold, sharp pellets of rain, wondering if the library had plans of the ark available.
Huddling under the small overhang that sheltered the entrance, he pushed the intercom button and waited a long moment before hearing the voice of Mike Stoker saying hello.
"Dick Hammer here..."
Mike cut him off. "Captain, Stoker here, meet me at the back of the building at the pool gate, child in pool."
Hammer dropped the bag he was carrying next to the door and shot to his left, following the sidewalk that was lit by old fashioned black light poles, three lights on the top of each casting a warm if muted glow into the darkening evening. He could feel water splashing up, over, and into the boots he was wearing as his feet pounded into low spots of the cement; he slid several times as he lost traction when the hard surface gave in to the expanding mud.
Catching himself once again as he slid, he caught sight of the pool fence. He darted around a woman standing at the intersection of where the sidewalks met, giving her swaying form and slack face a puzzled glance as he flew by. The child's mother, possibly? He didn't have the time to ponder it as he saw the lanky form of Stoker up ahead, head bent towards something he was doing with his hands.
As he reached his engineer, he shot a glance over the pool fence. He could see, at the far corner, a hunched over adult he presumed to be John climbing out of the water with a small form clutched in his arms. He followed Mike through the now unlocked pool gate and they sprinted towards Gage, leaping over and veering around chaise lounges and chairs, as well as several tables with drooping, water logged umbrellas.
Johnny had the child on her side; by the time they reached him, he had just gently rolled her to her back and was performing CPR. Mike dropped down and took over the breaths while Gage focused on compressions.
"Stop!" Johnny commanded a moment later. "She's breathing, we need to roll her again so she doesn't aspirate…watch her neck…easy…."
They carefully rolled her again and the toddler began to vomit. The paramedic tenderly pulled her hair back and laid fingers against her neck. He nodded at Mike and then smiled as she began to cry, great hiccupping sobs. He awkwardly patted her shaking shoulder and together they moved her, away from the mess and onto a beach towel Captain Hammer had found abandoned.
"She going to be okay?" Stoker asked anxiously as Gage struggled to comfort her but also to keep her still.
"Think so," he replied tersely, throwing up a despairing hand as she thwarted his attempts and threw her arms around his middle, sobbing into his drenched t-shirt. Mike snickered in both relief and amusement when a tiny voice, muffled but clearly audible above her crying, whimpered "daddy, daddy". Johnny threw him a dirty look but continued his clumsy efforts at comfort.
"We'll take it from here," a voice said brusquely and they looked up from their uncomfortable position on the cement decking to see an unfamiliar County paramedic glaring down at them, rain glancing off his helmet emblazoned with the number "16".
"Hey," John began softly, his eyes narrowing in anger at the attitude rolling off the older man. He felt the child's fingers clutch at his skin in fear and snapped his mouth closed. He rubbed her back, curled his lip up in scorn at the now crouching man, and with Mike's help gently disengaged the girl's arms.
"Her pulse is…"
"I said we'll take care of it," the paramedic snapped, shouldering his way between her and Johnny.
Mike, already on his feet, grabbed his crewmate as he lost his balance, rocked backwards on his heels, and came perilously close to falling head first into the pool. He helped Gage to his feet, his face now mirroring Johnny's as they stepped back and away from the obnoxious medic. His partner, a young black man only a year or so older then Gage, walked up with his hands full of equipment and noted their expressions.
"Sorry," he mouthed, jerking his shoulder towards his 16's counterpart. He set down the boxes and knelt, handing a child size collar to his partner who was barking out orders over the screaming of the child.
It was Johnny who pulled Stoker away, his jerky movements and fierce grip betraying his emotions. They moved towards the gate, hunched against the rain that continued its piercing onslaught against their bare heads and arms. Johnny stumbled against an overturned chair, lurched towards the ornamental foliage lining the fence, and then went to his knees with a look of surprise on his face.
"Oh man," he groaned, clutching his stomach and shooting an embarrassed look over at Mike before violently discharging the contents of his stomach over a bushy plant.
Stoker grimaced at the harsh, painful sounds but a hand on his arm stopped him before he could step forward and help.
"I've got it," Hammer said quietly, pulling something from his pocket. "Vince Howard needs a statement from you, and of course Gage, when's he ready."
"Okay Cap," he replied, looking over the fence to see Howard standing there in his yellow slicker; another deputy held the arm of the bedraggled woman Mike had almost knocked down earlier on his run to the pool gate.
He looked down at the scene in front of him and as he watched Dick Hammer's movements and heard the low, murmured words, he wondered if down the road when he became a captain, he would have even half of the compassion and understanding that their leader was displaying. Although, he didn't think he would use quite the words that their leader was using as it sounded like Dick was calming a frightened horse.
"Easy, Johnny, easy…." The captain paused, and his tone, while still quiet, sharpened in easily read concern. "John, why is your vomitus orange? Are you…?"
Mike couldn't help his grin as Johnny's hastily gasped reply. "Jell-O, Cap, Jell-O, drank a whole damn thermos of it..."
Hearing the clanking of wheels, Stoker spun on his heel and saw that the toddler was strapped down on the gurney and the ambulance attendants were now pushing her towards the gate, one of them holding the child's hand that was peeking out of the blanket as he steered with the other.
16s older, abrasive paramedic was at least ten feet behind his victim, carrying nothing while his partner struggled behind him with three boxes. Mike's observant gaze noted the lack of the defibrillator as well as the oxygen tank, and his anger crawled another notch upwards. He also didn't miss the sneering look being directed towards them, and the deliberately loud voice that followed.
"Some paramedic!"
"Gary!" The horrified voice of his partner came equally loud and Mike lurched forward; a hand snagged his arm once again as Dick stopped him.
"I'll take care of it," he stated simply and strolled swiftly towards the firefighters. Stoker unclenched his fists and turned back to Johnny, who was standing now and holding the captain's bandanna to his face. His eyes met Mike's and the engineer wished he could read what was in them.
Johnny moved forward, dropping the red square of cloth to his side; together they walked slowly towards the three men who had stopped at the gate as the ambulance attendants continued on.
"One of you riding in with the child?" Hammer asked in a reasonable tone, his erect posture daring them to be insolent.
Gary stared at him and lowered his eyes. "No sir, St. Francis cleared us."
A muffled noise escaped Johnny and Mike knew without looking what was going on in his mind. Apparently, their knowledgeable captain did too, for he turned to the other medic and motioned at him.
"You ride along with the little girl, and make sure there's no repercussions. If the hospital gives you grief, tell them to contact me. Leave the box that has the gauze supplies and antibiotic cream with your partner…"
A nod of acknowledgment and the younger man took off, handing off the trauma box to Gary as he trotted by him. Dick turned back to Gary and studied him a moment before gesturing towards the building behind him. "One of my men needs medical attention. Let's get out of the rain."
The four men retraced their steps down the concrete path, Johnny and Hammer bringing up the rear. Mike, a few steps ahead, couldn't hear their conversation only the low murmur of their voices. He did, however, hear Hammer's stern rebuke of "John!", and fought the urge to turn around or slow down so he could hear, after a lengthy pause, the soft reply to the warning. He was pretty certain that Gage was trying to get out of Gary looking him over and didn't blame him one bit.
Vince Howard, waiting further up the walk, joined him and asked questions as they quickly walked, heads bowed against the wet onslaught flowing from the skies. Mike was glad when they reached the sanctuary of the foyer in John's building; his hands were so cold it took him two tries to get the key in the door.
Hammer looked at his two men, the thoroughly soaked Johnny shaking noticeably and the bare headed, short sleeved Mike not much better. He waved towards the elevator.
"Up to your apartment?"
"No!" Gage's reply was vehement as he sloshed across the carpet and dropped into a red chair. He shook his head as if to get his point across and leaned back into the plush fabric, extending his arms out in front of him like a sacrifice. "Right here…please."
It took Hammer only a second to understand. He held out his hand to his engineer. "I'll go up and get some towels, blankets, if you'll let me have the key, Stoker."
"It's all in the hall closet," John said wearily, wincing as Gary grabbed one of his arms and turned it, examining the scratches that came courtesy of the rose bushes he had climbed over. Mike echoed the wince, edging closer to view the damage.
Gage's arms and hands were marked, blood streaking towards his fingers from several of the deeper cuts. Whereas the 16s paramedic had started out rough, he had now slowed down and was cleaning the scratches thoroughly but gently. He applied antibiotic cream, bandaged the worst of the scratches, and turned his attention to the other appendage.
"What's this?" Gary asked, staring down at the needle marks and line of bruises decorating the inside of Gage's right arm.
"None of your business," Johnny replied sharply, trying to pull back but failing as the grip on his wrist had tightened. If it had been anyone else, he would have made a joke about the young nurse with the nervous hands; this guy didn't deserve an explanation. And the one person in the room he cared about enough to give a reason to already knew; Stoker had noted the marks and bruises earlier upstairs and they had discussed, somewhat laughingly, the downsides to being a firefighter where dehydration was always waiting to pounce.
A rude noise of disbelief came from Gary's mouth but he released his tight hold and began doing his job, bumping his elbow into Stoker's leg, who was hovering right next to him. He glared up at the tall man, not bothering to hide his annoyance.
Mike calmly stared right back at him, lips twitching in a knowing smile. He had run into a lot of guys like that both in the Navy and the fire service, all self-absorbed bullies. He hadn't tolerated their behavior then, and he wasn't about to start now.
The elevator chimed to announce its arrival and Stoker stood down, wondering briefly how far he would have gone. He stepped back as Captain Hammer approached them, arms laden. He caught the towel thrown to him and ran it over his head, watching as another towel was draped over Johnny's still dripping hair.
"How're you doing Gage?" Hammer asked, his eyes meeting Mike's briefly before settling back on his paramedic.
"I'm okay," Johnny stuttered out between chattering teeth and again their captain looked at Mike, who realized that their leader had easily picked up on the tension radiating from all of them and had also noted his reluctant step back. He finished drying his hair, wiped off excess water from his arms and face, and watched curiously as Gary efficiently took Gage's blood pressure and the other vitals, then listened to his lungs. If Gary would improve on his bedside manner and keep his comments to himself, he might make a good paramedic.
Dick nodded. "I think we're all going to feel a lot better once we're warm and dry. Hope you don't mind, John, but I pulled out a couple of t-shirts from your dresser for you and Stoker."
He handed off a green one to Mike and held a grey one between his fingers, waiting for the on-duty paramedic to finish. When Mike finished switching shirts, Hammer handed him a blanket and the engineer gratefully wrapped it around his shoulders.
"Mr. Stoker? If you read over this statement and sign, it'll save you from coming down to the station." Vince Howard called from the other side of the foyer, standing up from the chair directly across from Johnny's.
Mike nodded and clutching his blanket, met him in front of the elevator. The deputy handed him the metal clipboard. After reading the form, Mike signed and dated it.
"How did that child get into the pool area?" He asked, raising his voice so that everyone could hear.
"The rain washed away a small area, a very small area, of landscaping, leaving just enough of a hollow under the fence for that child to wiggle through. Just like you thought, she saw that beach ball and went after it."
"And the mother?" Gage asked this question in a hoarse voice as he approached them, pulling down the dry t-shirt as he walked and ignoring Gary's sharp exhale of breath when he caught a glimpse of the bruising running down his side. The squelching of wet shoes accompanied him across the faded carpet.
"High as a kite, just out for a leisurely stroll on a beautiful night with her child," Howard replied sarcastically. "Feel up to telling me what happened?"
"Yeah, sure, just a minute." Gage pointed upwards with his thumb and then jerked his head towards the 16's medic who was picking up his discarded wrappings and muttering. Hammer was watching him with an inscrutable expression, arms crossed, and standing next to the pile of wet towels and shirts.
Vince nodded in understanding, his perusal of the room having begun the moment they had walked through the door. He'd had several dealings with the grumbling man, Gary Jones, and was fighting hard to keep his dislike of him under wraps. Jones did not seem to have the patience or the caring needed to be a paramedic and the deputy wondered how he handled his firefighting duties. Captain Hammer and his crew he knew slightly better, and admired their professionalism as well as their apparent dedication and obvious enjoyment of their job.
Jones picked up the turnout coat he had flung down earlier and yanked it on, his mouth still moving soundlessly. Bending down to grab his helmet, he finally realized all the men in the room were silent and watching him; he straightened up and snapped his lips together.
"You need anything else, Captain? I need to pick my partner up."
"No, that's it, Jones, thanks. Tell your captain if he has any questions to give me a call later at home." Hammer dropped his arms and walked with Jones to the exit door; the younger man dropped back a step and shot John an accusing glare behind Dick's back before slipping out into the rain.
Johnny smiled and shook his head. "I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm some kind of drug addict, although I am curious as to what he thinks the bruises running down the whole side of my body are from."
Both comments required explanations – their captain as to why Jones thought Johnny was an addict, and Vince the reason behind that assumption and the cause of the bruises. John took care of this with a minimum of words as they headed for the comfort of his apartment.
Once inside, Gage disappeared into his bedroom for dry pants and socks, while Mike slung the wet items over the shower rod in the bathroom. Dick and Vince both hung up their outerwear; Howard took a seat in the living room while the captain busied himself in the kitchen with the contents of the bag he had brought with him from home.
Ten minutes later Vince had finished the report and left, declining the offer of a hot beverage. Mike finished his hot tea laced with honey and also departed, anxious to partake of a warm shower and curl up with his usually very toasty wife, not necessarily in that order.
Johnny was semi-reclining in the convertible chair, his second mug of tea beside him. He had tossed on a long sleeve, brown cotton shirt with sleeves partly rolled up, and was twisting Hammer's red bandanna between his long fingers. As Dick watched over the rim of his own steaming liquid, John lifted the tightly wound band and knotted it deftly around his head in a well-practiced move.
Hammer lifted his brows in surprise, his feeling of having met Gage years ago surfacing once again. The red headband had triggered the memory but he couldn't quite put his finger on the elusive wisp of recollection that easily evaded his grasp. Frowning, he carefully lowered his cup and set it down.
"If you want to take a hot shower, I'll get going," he offered.
Johnny started visibly, apparently lost in thought. He started to run his hand through his still wet hair, felt the band and pulled it off, unknotting it and smoothing it out. "Sorry, old habit from when my hair was longer."
He smiled sheepishly and shook his head slightly. "No, that's all right, I've had my fill of water for the next day or so. In fact, if it doesn't stop with the rain, I'm gonna hole up in here until next shift."
Hammer grinned back. "Then I guess you're stuck here, the weather forecast calls for rain all the way to Tuesday, and possible beyond to Wednesday."
A heartfelt groan met his statement. "Man, this is just crazy…hey, thanks for the tea, Cap."
"No problem, although I didn't make it out the door with my beverage of choice."
"What was that?"
"Well, I figured with that cough I heard early this morning when you were in the locker room, and again downstairs, you could use something to help with the congestion." Johnny ducked his head contritely but signaled his agreement with a little wave of his hand and Hammer continued. "So, I had my sure-fire remedy ready to go until my wife intercepted it – a bottle of whiskey and some brown sugar."
"Huh, whiskey mixed with brown sugar and you do what with it, mix a poultice and put it on your chest?"
"Hell no, you warm the booze up a bit and dissolve the sugar in it and drink it!" Dick exclaimed, laughing. "And it will help you sleep too!"
John joined in the laughter, thinking that it sounded good, but his queasy stomach would have probably sent it back up. The sweetened tea he was sipping was helping both with the nausea and the tightness in his chest; he was glad Mrs. Hammer had caught her well meaning husband and switched the remedies out.
The captain stood up, stretching and yawning. "Well, regardless of whether you decide to take a hot shower or not, I'm ready to call it a night. You got everything you need?"
Johnny stood up also. "Sure, thanks, I think I'm gonna crawl into bed and sleep the night away."
"Sounds like an excellent plan, there's regular tea bags on the counter as well as some herbal ones my wife threw in in case you want to brew up some more." Hammer paused as he reached for his jacket. "You did a good job out there, son, and don't you forget it."
Johnny felt a slow burn of heat rising in his neck; he swallowed hard but held his leader's steady gaze. "Thank you, sir."
"Oh, and John, just to let you know that I make it a habit to spend time with each one of my men when I move to a new station, just to get to know them better, that sort of thing. An activity off duty...I hear you like to hike?" He pulled on his coat and zipped it up, waiting patiently for an answer.
"Um yeah, I do."
"Good, very good. When you're one hundred percent again, we'll decide on a trail and spend a morning together. I'm an avid hiker myself, so we should be able to agree on a moderate to strenuous outing. Get some rest, Gage, and I'll see you next shift."
Johnny could only nod in agreement as he followed him to the door. He was startled at the invitation, well, almost a summons really, but that it involved something he really liked to do was a big surprise. Hammer had apparently done some research on his crew and was making a huge effort to get to know them better.
Locking the door, he rested his forehead against the cool grain of the wood, hearing the ping of the elevator as it reached his floor and the rattle of the old box as it closed and started its downward descent. He mentally traced the path of his captain out of the elevator and to the lobby doors, then followed him outside into the rain and chill air. Knowing how fast their boss could move, he allowed him only a minute to dodge the puddles and run through the parking lot to wherever his vehicle was parked. Another thirty seconds to fit the key into the lock and open the door, and he could envision the man out of the rain and sitting within the safety of his car. Only then did Johnny lift his head from the door and staring blankly at the dark varnished wood, contemplated the rescue. He wondered if the toddler really was okay.
He rubbed his arms briskly, still feeling the chilling shock of the pool water as he had hit it. Hours of rain had lowered the temperature of the previously sun kissed water; he hadn't been kidding when he told the captain he didn't want to go anywhere near water for a while, even a warm shower. Thankfully, he had located the child quickly, although it had taken him longer then he liked to get her out of the pool – the steps had been off to the side.
He smiled as he recalled her first gasping breath, and his strong feeling of relief as she began to cry. While he could have done without the kid's daddy fixation, those words had given him some assurance that she had not been without oxygen too long. It was just that all that moving around had him worried about the possibility of a neck or spinal injury; it was pretty sad that he couldn't keep a thirty-pound kid still. And though he knew that the obnoxious Gary Jones had been way out of line with his words and his actions, a small part of him was nodding maliciously and agreeing with that simple insult of "some paramedic".
The smile dissolved and he bumped his forehead against the door, once, twice, before abruptly stepping back and cursing himself and the 16's medic. He unclenched his hands and took a deep breath, slowly letting it out. Captain Hammer was right, he had done a good job. No more second guessing, at least for tonight. He desperately craved some deep sleep without bad dreams and the positive thinking needed to start now to keep the slithering tentacles of doubts from invading his rest.
The shrill ring of his phone startled him from his internal pep talk and he glanced at his watch. Phone calls this late at night usually heralded the arrival of bad news or an overtime request. He regarded the instrument warily but resolutely picked up the receiver.
When he heard the voice on the other end, a grin split his face. He grabbed the base from the window sill and dragged it back to the milk crate as he listened; he threw his whole body onto the loveseat and propped his feet up on the opposite arm. His voice, when he finally replied, was pitched an octave higher in strong emotion.
"Jimmy! How are you, ciyewaye ki?"
~TBC~
*Chapter 2 "E is For Embarrassing"
A/N – Once again, I thank all of you for reading! Your comments, your "follows", and the "faves" absolutely light a fire under my creative thinking, and goad my fingers into a typing frenzy. I have so many ideas, many of which I am trying to introduce in this story, as plots in future stories. See if you can figure out what some of them are!
