After staring down the street until the squad had disappeared out of sight, Cap sighed as he turned and slowly walked back into the station, slapping the button to close the roller doors as he walked past it. He didn't know just what had caused the heated, although muffled, argument in the locker room at the end of a long and stressful twenty-four-hour shift between John and Roy and he wasn't sure if anyone really did know. Despite his attempts to find out just what had happened, Johnny refused to talk about it and Roy continued to insist that it was all just a misunderstanding.

He sighed again as he headed towards the day room, whatever the argument had been about, it had not only torn both John and Roy's partnership and friendship apart but had also ended with John requesting an immediate transfer from Station 51. A request that no matter how hard he had tried, he had not been able to change Johnny's mind or even find out what the argument had been about or even the reasons why John had suddenly wanted to get as fast and as far away from Roy as he could.

So, he had left with no other choice but to put in the request which broke up the best paramedic team in the department. John's transfer to Station 8 was processed during their four days off and when he and the rest of A Shift returned for their next shift, Johnny was gone, and Allen was their new replacement.

Hell, he hadn't even known just how serious the rift between them had become until until just a few minutes ago when Roberts had told him that Johnny had removed Roy as his designated Next-of-Kin. He had been shocked at the surprising revelation that he had not even thought to ask just who Johnny had now listed. He had hoped what ever had happened between the two of them that they could sort it out but now … now he wasn't so sure.

He paused as he reached the day room door and took a deep breath to help steel himself to break the news about the apartment fire and what had happened to Johnny to Mike, Chet, and Marco. Reluctantly, he opened the door and asked the guys to all take a seat around the table.

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Gripping the steering wheel tighter as Roy stepped a little heavier on the accelerator, ignoring both the angry blast of the horn from the car he had just cut off and Allen's small, terrified gasp as the younger man grabbed for the dashboard as he swung the squad into the lane that turned into the entrance of Rampart Hospital. Parking the squad into one of the emergency parking spaces outside the doors leading into Rampart Emergency, Roy sat staring out of the windshield, his hands still curled tightly around the steering wheel as he replayed the conversation, he had just had with Cap only minutes before over in his head.

"I just received a phone call from Roberts from Station 8, he thought that I … you … would want to know-" Cap had begun after calling him into the office.

"Johnny?" He had managed to ask; he could still feel the way his heart missed several beats as he waited for Cap to confirm his worst fears.

"He was involved in some sort of a rescue at an apartment building fire earlier this morning. Roberts told me that the roof collapsed while Johnny was still inside. It took them a few minutes to find him and then to get him out-"

"How … how bad?"

"Bad, Pal, his partner managed to stabilize him enough to get him to Rampart, but Roberts said it … it doesn't look good."

"Why didn't Roberts or Rampart contact me directly? I'm listed as Johnny's next-of-kin."

"Not anymore, Roy, Johnny must have changed who was listed as his next-of-kin when he transferred across to Station 8. He made it pretty clear when he left that any friendship between the two of you was over, remember?"

"It was just the anger talking, we both said some things to each other in the heat of the moment, things that neither of us really meant."

"Are you sure about that, Roy?" Cap's final question screamed over and over in his head.

He suddenly found himself back in the locker room the last time that he and Johnny had ever spoken to each other. The fateful night when he had not only ended their partnership but also their friendship with a few angry words that he never meant. He could still hear his own angry, accusing voice echo in his head. "I thought I could trust you Johnny, but Boy, was I wrong! So wrong! I'm starting to wonder just what I ever saw in you and just why the hell I even requested you as my partner! Hell, I am wondering just why we are even friends!" He had yanked off his blue jacket, balling it up and throwing into the bottom of his locker before spinning back to face John. "Damn it, John, just how the Hell do you even expect me to ever trust you again! Because I just don't!"

He had regretted the words the very instant that they had left his mouth. They weren't true. He knew that he did and always would trust Johnny with his life, but he was so angry at that moment that although he never meant what he said, he got a momentary sense of satisfaction when he saw the devastated look on his partner's face before Johnny suddenly turned and silently walked out of the room. As fast as the fleeting feeling of satisfaction had come, it had disappeared, and he knew he should apologize, not should, he needed to apologize. What had happened had not entirely been Johnny's fault. It was the last time he had seen Johnny at Station 51. By the time he had washed his face and calmed down enough to face the world before leaving the locker room a few minutes later, Johnny had already left.

It was the last time he had even spoken to or even seen Johnny, except the very few times their paths had crossed on the job. Johnny had been avoiding him, ignoring his phone calls and Roy suspected Johnny had not answered the door the five or six times when he had gone around to John's apartment to apologize. Even when Station 51 and Station 8 were assigned together, Johnny always seemed to somehow manage to avoid him not that he could blame him.

He swallowed down the lump forming in his throat that was threatening to choke him as his vision cleared and he found himself staring out of the windshield. He prayed that he would get the chance to tell Johnny that he was sorry and to try and mend the friendship with his best friend that he had destroyed in a moment of unjust anger.

"Roy? Is everything okay?"

Allen's almost timid question made him jump and he turned to find the young paramedic watching him warily. He felt a deep hot anger rise from the pit of his stomach as he stared at the younger man. It wasn't Allen's fault that Johnny had transferred across to Station 8, it was his, but the younger man had become a constant reminder of what he had done. "Everything's fine!" he snapped, inwardly cringing as he heard the anger in his voice. Taking a deep breath, he shook his head and sighed before he looked back at Allen and apologized, "Sorry, didn't mean to snap. It's just that…" He paused and sighed again. "It's just been a bit of a rough morning. Look, when we go inside, why don't you grab us a coffee while I get the supplies." He suggested, forcing a small smile as he added silently to himself, "And I find out about Johnny."

Allen nodded, unable to shake the feeling that the coffee was just Roy's excuse to get rid of the kid, so the adults could talk. Biting his bottom lip, he nodded his agreement before he turned and climbed out of the squad. Walking towards the automatic doors he began to wonder if he should talk to Dixie and find out if there was any way that he could either swap partners or drop out of the paramedic program all together.