Chapter Two

Thursday Afternoon - 1425 C Shift

Johnny wasn't gonna lie, he was disappointed. He knew the first aid tent was important, but he felt he wasn't making an impact. He sat on a chair and drummed his fingers on his leg. Opening a water bottle, he took a sip before closing it again and setting it on the ground. The speakers attached to a pole outside played the main Brush Fire Command channel, which Johnny listened to with rapt attention. When getting his assignment, he discovered the rest of his crew had been called in hours ago, which he felt conflicted about. "Wish I was with 'em." he thought. Johnny stood and looked through his equipment again. Immediately upon arriving, he needed to organize all the different boxes. John could tell, from their disarrayed state, they were from reserve units and hadn't been used in a while. It had taken him almost an hour alone to look at all expiration dates on the medications. He set up his one man treatment area as best he could, surprised he was the only medic there, there were normally at least two. He had rearranged three cots and two chairs in the crowded tent, trying to maximize space. Thankfully, he had only seen two people so far. They weren't serious and didn't need transport, but what these firefighters had said about conditions was not encouraging. "Engine 51, we copy." The radio said overhead, pulling Johnny out of his thoughts. John squinted, he was pretty sure that was Captain Webb, the B shift Captain. "Jeesh." he said, commiserating for his fellow stationmates. B shift had ended seven hours ago.

"Hey!" a voice hollered from outside. From the vaguely familiar tone, he knew someone needed attention. Johnny stopped pacing and moved the flap covering the entrance. Two men had their arms around a firefighter, supporting his weight. "Gage," the familiar voice said, "Am I glad to see you." Gage blinked, behind the dust, mud, and soot was Chet Kelly.

"What happened?" Johnny asked, taking over for Chet. The guy they were helping looked dead on his feet.

"Working on 'nother break," the other man supporting the downed firefighter slurred, "Tony here fell out." Johnny did a double-take, he didn't look good either. They finally got 'Tony' down on a cot, and Johnny ordered the barely standing man to lay down in the other one.

"You know what?" Johnny said, "Everyone just sit down." he ordered, while adeptly unbuttoning Tony's turnout coat and searching the young man for injuries. He voiced his question, "Any injuries?" Chet shook his head but looked at Joe, who was already almost asleep.

"Not with me," Chet said, "But they've been here longer. Joe?" Chet asked while helping himself to a water bottle he saw sitting on the ground. Joe shook his head.

"How long have you guys been out there?" Johnny asked as he pumped up a blood pressure cuff.

"I got here about 0330, they reported about 1900." Chet replied again, Joe was asleep.

"Jeez." Johnny said again, responding to both the blood pressure and their arrival time. "Chet, can you get his BP?" Johnny asked, utilizing his shiftmate in delegating tasks, he needed to get on the phone to Rampart. He walked across the room to where the biophone sat on a table. Johnny had a feeling he was gonna start two IV's and stand down this crew for a while.

"They're rookies Gage, straight outta academy." Chet said after taking Joe's pressure and handing John a scrap of paper with the low numbers written down. "They didn't have any idea what they were walking into, and somehow, I'm their commander."

Johnny shrugged, "Part of the job Chet." he said. "Klondike First Aid to Rampart."

Johnny was indeed ordered to start IV's and stand down the two younger men. After the IV's were set and running, Johnny ordered Chet, who was hovering nervously, to sit back down. "You get an eval too." John said when Chet rolled his eyes.

"I drank some water, I'm fine."

Johnny rolled his eyes, "That was my water you know." Chet didn't look guilty. When Gage finished his exam and consulted with Rampart, he said, "Well, you don't need an IV."

"Told you I was fine." Chet said smugly.

"You're cleared to go back to work." Johnny said, frowning. "Know where everyone else is?" he asked.

Chet shrugged. "I came in with Marco, but we were split up. Didn't know anyone else was here." Chet said, tossing the empty bottle into the trash can, making the shot, much to Johnny's annoyance.

"Before you get reassigned, eat something." Johnny ordered, which was the closest thing Johnny was going to say to admitting his worry. Chet nodded and stood, knowing what Johnny meant.

"See ya babes." Chet said before walking through the flap, separating the first aid tent from the rest of Brush Command.

Thursday Afternoon - 1530 C Shift

"Beth?" Emily asked, her head in a cabinet, "Have you seen the-"

"Paper bags?" Beth said, holding up a handful. Emily nodded, silently thanking her and taking several. "I just opened a package up."

"Found it!" Joann sang. She closed the door of the canteen truck the three wives of A Shift were occupying. Beth and Emily looked at her, eyebrows raised in a question. Joann blushed, "We were out of peanut butter." she muttered as she went back to her counter. Emily and Beth smirked, but stayed quiet. "I saw a handful of people walking this way, we might have some business."

When Roy, Mike, and Hank had been called in, their wives went into action. Gone were the days of anxiously waiting at home until their exhausted loved ones returned. Between the Red Cross and the Fire Department, they volunteered to make food for those working the fire. Which was why they were currently at Brush Fire Command, in a small fire department canteen truck, making sandwiches.

There was a polite knock at the window, "I've got it." Beth said. She walked up to the serving window where there was a small line of people. "PB&J or turkey?" she asked the man at the window.

"Turkey." the man replied with a cough. Beth nodded and grabbed a paper bag labeled 'Turkey' and passed it through the window. The last person in line surprised her.

"Chet?" she asked, squinting to make sure her eyes didn't deceive her.

Chet looked up, "Mrs. Stoker?" he said, resorting back to formalities in his tired state. He wasn't quite sure if he was hallucinating or not, and even thought about going back to Gage for a moment.

"You know better than that." Beth corrected him. Turning around she said, "Jo, Em, look what the smoke dragged in." Chet heard footsteps from inside the mini kitchen and two more heads joined Beth's at the small window. His eyebrows raised.

"What's a handful of good looking gals doing in a place like this?" Chet said, recovering his wit and waving his arms around the base camp. The three women smirked.

"Making sandwiches." Joann replied. "PB&J, or turkey?" Chet answered and Beth tossed the paper bag to him. While he opened up the bag, Joann asked, "Have you seen any of the guys?"

Chet pulled apart the wax paper wrapping the sandwich and took a bite before responding. "Gage is at the first aid tent, Marco and I were split up this morning, just learned everyone was here." He quickly polished off the rest of the sandwich and moved on to the apple.

"What time did you and Marco get here?" Emily asked, wondering if Hank knew.

"'Bout 0330." Chet said, munching on the apple. Emily raised her eyebrows, it was almost 3:30 in the afternoon now.

"They called Hank, Roy, and Mike in this morning." Emily explained, updating the A shift lineman.

"Took them long enough." Chet said, tossing the apple core back into the bag and taking out the water bottle. Chet refrained from complaining further, considering he was only feet away from Chief Rable's headquarters. Chugging the rest of the bottle he said, "I've gotta get going." He rolled up the paper bag. "It was good seeing you guys." He looked like he was going to say more, then stopped. "Catch you later."

A stagnant pause occupied the canteen before Joann said, "Well then." The three of them didn't really know what to say. Coming across their people was the main reason they volunteered, but now that it had actually happened, they weren't sure if they liked it.

Thursday Afternoon - 1540 C Shift

"Chopper 4, we're four minutes out from the refilling point."

"Copy Chopper 4." Roy replied, dropping the radio he had clipped to his turnout gear. He had been stationed at the top of a hill, where there was a hydrant and space for a helicopter to land. He looked at the pump panel of his engine again, making sure it was set to pull from the hydrant and pump to the copter's tank. He was thankful to Mike, who had quietly given him some tips and reminders. Seeing everything was ready and the only thing missing was the helicopter, he sat on the running board. He took his helmet off and ran his hand through his hair. He allowed himself a moment to muse. "I bet LA knows I worked with helo's in Nam', guess that's why I'm here." he thought. "Where's everyone else?" he asked the empty hilltop. Roy decided that he didn't like getting called in when they weren't working. When it was their shift, it was guaranteed you'd stay with your partner at least. Now, they were all split up, he hadn't seen anyone and didn't know where anyone was. He had his own radio channel so he couldn't listen to the Brush Fire Command channel with as much concentration as he wanted. He didn't even know anyone's call signs, it definitely wasn't Engine and Squad 51. He felt isolated and he hated it. Helicopter blades pulled him from his stupor. "I'll be on a first name basis with the pilots after this." he muttered, putting on his helmet and standing again.