A/N: This story is a short piece dedicated to my writing partner Xavionite for her birthday. It is also a nod to her very first fanfiction story "Johnny Gage and the Great Big Book of Fanfiction." That is one of the stories where we first connected and one which remains dear to my heart to this day. I love you Xav, and I hope you like your birthday story this year. Btw, Xav is notorious for having me beat up Roy for her birthday… lol!
~51~
Station 51
Johnny was sound asleep in his bunk when his eyes flew wide open. At first he thought it was due to the klaxon going off, but he realized that wasn't the case. The station was quiet, and the other men on A shift were sawing logs. He looked at his watch. Just past midnight. Puzzled as to what had awakened him, John stretched and decided to go into the kitchen for a glass of milk.
As he wandered around the kitchen, sipping his favorite beverage, his eyes fell on the calendar, and it hit him. Today was That Day Again. Dread made him shiver all over. It wasn't so much worry for himself, as it was for his partner. Every year on this particular day, some disaster inevitably befell Roy. Every. Single. Year. Last year he had fallen down a well. Another time… well, he shuddered and refused to relive that time. And all because it was that sadist's birthday!
Johnny thought back to the first introduction to Her, followed by his introduction to Her Partner in Crime. But SHE was the worst. She was relentless! Even now she was putting him (and his family!) through hell. Oh, she was a piece of work, that one. And her partner was always even worse because on her birthday, she got to work beating up Roy as a-a a birthday present! How was that even LEGAL!
Johnny paced the room, trying to figure a way to put a stop to the whole nefarious practice, but as often as he'd tried, he'd never come up with a solution to the problem. Plus, he really didn't want either one of his tormentors showing up at the station as SHE had done more than once. That was just too nerve-wracking. He finished his milk and decided his best course of action was just to keep a close eye on his partner and pray that HER partner would show a bit of mercy and simply be nice to Roy this year. He smirked. As if.
He washed and rinsed his glass and put it in the drainer. Maybe he could wake Roy up and convince him to simply go home in the next few minutes. Then he'd be safe. He dismissed the idea immediately. She'd follow him home. Not the first time she'd done that.
Defeated, he headed back to the dorm and climbed into bed. He tossed and turned for a few minutes until sleep blessedly claimed him. Just as he was drifting off, he swore he heard a soft but evil chuckle. He sighed. They were doomed.
~The End~