Many folks don't believe in déjà vu. Roy and John absolutely do believe. And one particular rescue just proves it to them. A sequel of sorts to my story "Christmas Shift."

~51~

Carson, CA

August

When one had been a paramedic as long as John had, especially since he was the one who usually played navigator, addresses of previous responses tended to stick with him. And the address Cap handed to him looked familiar. He looked it up as Roy rushed them out of the station. Sure enough, it was a house they had responded to about eight months previously.

John sighed, not looking forward to what they might find. The call had only been for a "man down" rescue. He glanced over at Roy wondering if he had remembered their last visit yet. "Hey, Roy… you remember this place? Carl and Rhoda Jenkins… last Christmas Eve?" *

Roy groaned. "I knew it sounded familiar. Damn. I wonder what's going on. I hope she hasn't actually killed him."

John chuckled half-heartedly as they pulled up in front of the house. "Maybe he just tripped over an extension cord."

Roy smirked. "Wanna bet on that?"

Johnny reached for his helmet and opened his door. "No way, Pally. No way!"

They grabbed their gear, and headed for the small house, where all seemed ominously quiet. A sense of déjà vu' set in. Roy knocked and Rhoda Jenkins called, "Come on in!"

Almost an identical scene from eight months before met them, with Carl Jenkins stretched out unconscious on the floor. The main differences were that Rhoda Jenkins was dressed in a pretty sundress instead of a negligee and it was midafternoon instead of after midnight. Rhoda was seated comfortably on the sofa, and seemed agitated, but not unduly upset. Immediately, the paramedics turned their attention to Carl, with Roy checking over their patient and John setting up the base station. As they worked, John talked to Rhoda.

"Rhoda, you wanna tell me what happened here?"

"Sure. Just like last time, the little weasel brought in on himself." She snorted in derision.

John had to interrupt her story to pass on Carl's vitals and condition, which included a number of bruises, a black eye, and a bloody lip. He wasn't surprised to see Vince step into the room. Apparently Sam Lanier had remembered the Jenkins as well and had sent reinforcements.

John then turned his attention back to Rhoda. "Are you saying you beat your husband up, Rhoda?"

Now her calm façade began to crumble, and tears began to trickle down her cheeks. "I sure hadn't intended to, fellas. But he humiliated me! Made me so mad, I just kind of… I don't know. I guess I just lost it."

Roy looked over at John. "He's got mostly superficial cuts and bruises, but he's pretty banged up. Doc want to check him out?"

John nodded. "They wanna check his ribs. Make sure they aren't broken or anything." The unspoken thought was that it would give Rhoda a couple of hours to cool off and Carl some time to decide if he wanted to press charges.

Roy spoke gently to Rhoda despite the fact he was seething inside. Domestic Violence cases always made him angry. And this one looked no different. The woman was not much more than a bully, although last time even he'd felt she'd been somewhat justified. "Why did you get mad enough to hit Carl?"

"Because of what's in that little wooden box right there on the coffee table. Another one of Carl's ideas of a gift."

Roy saw the intricately carved box she indicated and for the first time saw the two suitcases tossed into the corner nearest the front door. He put two and two together. "Carl just got back from another trip, didn't he?"

John flinched, remembering the results of Carl's last brilliant gift to Rhoda. "Uh-oh," he mumbled under his breath.

Johnny's curiosity got the better of him. He stared at the open box, and the whitish powder scattered all over the table. "What is it?"

"Powdered rhinoceros horn. I assume you gentlemen know what it's used for?" After assessing the bemused looks on her audience's faces, Rhoda continued her story. "Carl knows I am an advocate for endangered species like the rhino. He showed me the box, told me what was in it, and as I said before, I let him have it. I smacked the box out of his hand and then," she shrugged… "well… there he is."

Vince knelt down by the coffee table and dipped a finger into the powder, wanting to assure himself that at least Carl wasn't dealing drugs or something worse. If it was powdered rhino horn, he was in big trouble for importing an illegal (and ineffective) aphrodisiac, but at least he wouldn't face a drug charge. He sighed as he stood up and faced Rhoda and the paramedics. He tasted the powder.

They all heard the wail of the approaching ambulance as Vince addressed the wife. "Mrs. Jenkins, has your husband ever imported this type of substance before?"

Rhoda shook her head. "No, I don't think so. He said he just discovered it. This was his first trip to the far East."

"Did he tell you how much he paid for it?"

"Yes. That was part of the reason I was so angry. He told me he paid a big game hunter $5000. for two ounces of that stuff! Some poor rhino had to lose its horn and bleed to death for that vile stuff just to make my stupid husband feel like a man!"

All conversation stopped as the ambulance arrived, and John elected to ride with the patient. He would find out the results of the conversation from Roy later.

Vince held up his hand. "Mrs. Jenkins, I understand how you feel, and it is a terrible problem they have with poachers, but in this case, no rhino died. I'd bet your husband hadn't looked inside the box before he gave it to you?"

Rhoda had wiped her tears gratefully after Roy had handed her the tissue box off the side table. "He unsealed it and told me what it was. I hit it out of his hand just after that. Why?"

Vince indicated the mess on the table. "Because you're looking at the most expensive powdered drywall I have ever seen in my life."

Rhoda's eyes grew wide with realization. She was silent for a moment. "Are you going to arrest me for beating up Carl, officer?"

Vince considered the matter. The assault on Carl Jenkins hadn't resulted in any life threatening injuries that he could see. The paramedics had attested to that fact as well. In his private opinion, Jenkins was a first class jerk. While that could not be a deciding factor, it was still a consideration.

He looked at the lady seated on the couch. Real anguish bathed her eyes. His actions would depend on her answer to his next question. "If I don't take you in, what are you going to do?"

Rhoda sighed. "I'm going to call my mother and see if I can come and stay with her for now. Carl and I… well, we aren't a good fit right now. We love each other, but we don't talk. We fight. I don't want to do something really bad. So, we need to put some space between us for a while. Dr. Early at the hospital advised counseling, but I didn't want to go before. Neither did Carl. Maybe we should. So, I guess, that's what I'm gonna do. I'm not sure whether Carl will agree to go. I'm not really sure I care right now. Maybe later on I will."

Vince nodded, satisfied. "Okay then. That sounds like a good plan. I wish you the best of luck."

"So, you're not gonna arrest me?"

"Nope. Not unless I have to show up here again, or the paramedics do because one of you has hit the other."

Hope lit Rhoda's eyes, the dullness fading. "You won't, I promise. Thank you!"

Roy could tell she meant it, and a little of the heaviness from the beginning of the call dropped away from him. After she had assured them she'd be okay, the two men left and went their separate ways.

As he drove towards Rampart, Roy reflected on the idiocy that was leading to the extinction of a species because of a stupid myth about sex. He could only pray that someday they'd find a way to protect the rhinos from the lunacy. ** He also made a mental note to take Jo and the kids to the zoo on his next weekend off. He really wanted to spend some quality rhino time with his family.

~The End~

A/N: * This story refers back to the paramedic's first visit in my story "Christmas Shift." ** They have since developed a humane method of dyeing a rhino's horn to make it less valuable to poachers. It has helped some. Unfortunately, there are a large variety of species of rhino and other animals that are no longer able to survive outside of captivity. Many others are going extinct every single day.