Chapter Seven

Friday Morning - 0950 D Shift

Johnny watched as the Coast Guard helicopter took off and flew away. A lot of changes had been made overnight, changes for the better. Though Brackett left in the first medevac helicopter, Dixie stayed. She easily bossed around the Army medics who were stationed at the first aid tent. Johnny noted, with a smile, they called her 'Major McCall.' Even Roy had slipped back into Army lingo, something he never did. Dixie smirked the first time Roy called her Major, but let it go without comment.

Now, Major McCall was in the helicopter Johnny was watching fly away, providing care to the three patients inside. The first aid area now had real stretchers, provided by the Army. The number of firefighter collapses had drastically decreased with the arrival of the Army Reserves and mutual aid firefighters. It was early D shift, so McConnikie, now Brush Fire Chief, sent home all B and C shift personnel, regardless of whether they were originally dispatched or had been called in. In addition to all of B and C shift, McConnikie sent home any personnel who had been there longer than 24 hours. Which now included Roy, Captain Stanley, and Mike. This meant that, despite being an eleven-year veteran of the department, Johnny barely recognized anyone. Nearly all the LA County employees had to be sent home, or were in the hospital. Those still wearing LA blue, like Johnny himself, were far and few in between. Making his way back to the first aid tent with three empty fold up stretchers, he wondered what made the tables turn. He knew McConnikie was now Brush Fire Chief, but he wondered what the final straw was that made him take over. "Took McConnikie long enough." he thought bitterly. He hoped that he and Roy wouldn't receive a reprimand. He vaguely recalled getting praised by McConnikie, but they had called for help before he had officially taken over. "Maybe that was the straw…" he thought. Dropping off the three stretchers, and letting the army medic know where he was going, he strutted to the canteen truck, deep in thought. Volunteers had staffed it through the night, but it looked friendlier in the daytime. The smell of breakfast and coffee filled the surrounding area. When he thought about it, he couldn't really remember the last time he had eaten. He knocked at the empty window and shoved his hand back in his pocket. To his surprise, Joann's head greeted him.

"Johnny Gage." she said with a frown. "I told you to stop here yesterday, you're a whole day late." Johnny blinked.

"Jo?" he said, mentally calculating. She had come to the first aid tent yesterday, but she couldn't have stayed overnight.

"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" she chastised.

Johnny felt like Chris when the young boy was scolded. "I was busy." he came up with. "Have you been here all night?" he asked.

Joann took pity on the tired man. "I just got here." she said, handing him an egg sandwich and styrofoam cup of steaming liquid. "Roy got home maybe a half hour before I left, which was a pleasant surprise." she leaned on her elbows, but only managed to hit her head in the process. "This is ridiculous, hold on a minute." she said, retracting her head from the window. There were footsteps in the canteen, then the door opened. "John," she said seriously. "Do you have a second?" He looked back towards the first aid tent and nodded. She rested her hand on his arm, and he grew concerned. "Chet and Marco were brought into Rampart last night."

Johnny sighed, "I knew about Marco, but not Chet." he sighed, putting his hands on his hips, his food forgotten on the counter. "Shit." He didn't bother covering the curse word, something he normally did. He was pissed. "How are they?" he asked, trading his anger for worry.

"Mama Lopez is with them, they're doing fine, but…" she trailed off.

"It should never have happened in the first place." John curtly finished. She nodded.

"Has, has it changed?" she asked.

"They finally called for relief, so yeah." He took another bite. "How's Roy?" he asked, changing the subject, shoving down the anger he felt at Rable.

"Sleeping, you should be too." concern on her face.

He swallowed the involuntary yawn at the mention of sleep and took a sip of coffee. "Well, if the new guidelines hold, I'll be sent home," he paused and looked at his watch, "In three hours." Joann was glad. She had seen both of them after a long shift, but she hadn't seen them this tired, stressed, or angry in a long time. He saw the worry on her face, "I'm fine, it is what it is." he shrugged, he had no more advice to offer.

"I know, but still. The news said at least a dozen firefighters had been transported to the hospital, it's just, such a high number." Johnny again held in his thoughts, it was at least nineteen. Between him and Roy, the only medics at the first aid tent, they had seen ninety percent of them.

"Yeah it is." he balled up the foil the sandwich was wrapped in, "It's a mess." He sighed, then attempted to chuck the ball of foil into the trash can. He missed, "Figures." he huffed sourly. Joann smiled, she walked over to the missed foil and tossed it, it went in. He shook his head in disbelief.

"You're missing the mother-reflexes." Joann said with a smirk. "Plus, you gotta flick the wrist." she added, motioning with her wrist.

Johnny had stopped paying attention, an engine had driven in and hadn't parked with the other engines. When it stopped in front of the first aid tent, he said "Gotta go." gave her his unfinished coffee and ran over without another word.

"Oh." she breathed. She hadn't noticed the engine pull up and was impressed John was that aware of his surroundings while being so tired. "Be safe!" she shouted at his retreating back. She frowned and looked at the full cup, he sounded angry.

Friday Morning - 1020 D Shift

"Klondike First Aid to Rampart." their end of the biophone called. Brackett looked up at Dix, who had just flown back from Brush Command.

"Shouldn't he be home by now?" Kel asked, immediately recognizing Johnny's voice. He had spoken to McConnikie and strongly suggested that firefighters be sent home. She shrugged and answered the radio.

"We have a 35 year-old-male, be advised, he's a Code-I." Johnny let go of the talk button, and static hissed. Dix and Brackett nodded, both willing him to continue. "He's unconscious after suffering a laceration from the wrist to the elbow. Patient was bleeding copiously in the field, it was controlled with a canvas bag. Bag has not been removed for fear of further bleeding. I believe it's arterial based off on-scene observations. Vitals are as follows…" Dix dutifully wrote them down while Brackett picked up the phone and called the vascular surgeon on standby, letting Dixie handle the radio.

"These guys can't catch a break." Kel said under his breath as the phone rang. They were up to twenty Code-I's now. "I want a line with lactated ringers TKO, and transport." he told Dix, who stayed on the radio and repeated the order to Johnny.

"Copy, IV and lactated ringers TKO." Johnny echoed. "We'll transport as soon as the coast guard copter returns."

"Probably." Dix said to Kel with a yawn. Kel raised an eyebrow, still on hold on the phone. "You asked if he should be home by now. Probably." She pushed herself off the counter's edge, "I'll go set up a room." she walked away, her shoes clicking in the hallway, hair still in a military bun and sleeves rolled up. Kel suppressed his own yawn. He had worked the night shift and was still there, but he wasn't going to dare complain. He personally knew firefighters who were guests in his ER because they had worked over 24 hours, only stopping because their bodies gave up. He could handle a sixteen hour shift in a controlled environment.

Friday Morning - 1040 D Shift

Johnny really wished to be on a bus, heading back to his Rover, where he'd take a long nap before going to work tomorrow. But, that was not the case. He was in an orange and white Coast Guard helicopter flying towards Rampart. Again. The firefighter the engine brought in was one of the few LA firefighters left. He was cutting a chain link fence, when his glove slipped off. The man hadn't noticed immediately, or cared, between exhaustion and blisters. The man did notice, when he went to grab the fence and the sharp wire fence fought back. The rest of the engine crew were firefighters from a nearby county. Johnny was thankful they were quick on their feet, recognizing the squirting pattern as an arterial bleed. They weren't quick enough to stop him from passing out, but he was alive.

"We're about to bank." a voice said in Johnny's ear. He clamped the large headphones closer to his ears. The pilot noticed his confusion and repeated. "We're about to turn, only a couple minutes out now." Johnny threw the pilot thumbs up with one hand, the other grasped the handle.

He patted the firefighter on the shoulder, who had just woken up a few minutes ago. He held two fingers up and pointed at his watch, hoping the man would understand the crude sign. It must have made sense, because the man gave Johnny a thumbs up with the good hand. Johnny smiled, this was the first conscious patient he'd had in a while.

Friday Morning - 1050 D Shift

The helicopter landed and Johnny climbed into the ambulance waiting for them at the helipad. The ambulance attendant grabbed Johnny's gear and climbed in behind him. Johnny nodded his thanks. "Almost there now." he said to his patient on the stretcher. The man nodded and closed his eyes. The ambulance jerked slightly as it reversed to park. The attendant in the back hopped out and opened the doors. "Thanks." Johnny said tiredly. He held the IV as the two in white pulled the stretcher out and carried Johnny's drugbox. "Let's see where we're going." he said conversationally.

"Room three boys." Dix ordered, walking alongside. "Any changes?" she asked the tired medic. He shook his head. "Go sit, there's a coffee for you at my desk." Johnny nodded and passed the quickly depleting IV to Dixie. He patted the firefighter's shoulder before walking away. Sitting in Dixie's seat, he grabbed the mug and let the steam envelope his face. He sighed deeply, trying not to think of all the firefighters he had treated, and how preventable it all was. He leaned back against the cabinets and closed his eyes.

"Johnny?" an older feminine voice called. Johnny's eyes shot open.

"Mama Lopez." he said, quickly recognizing the woman's voice.

"I saw you come in." She reached across the desk for his hand, he obliged.

Immediately, he felt guilty. He had unintentionally forgotten Chet and Marco were there, it had been a long 22 hours. "How are they?" he asked, standing, but not breaking contact with Mama Lopez, who seemed to need it.

"Bueno, they are taking a long siesta." She looked at him critically, "How's everyone else?" she asked.

Johnny smiled tiredly. "I'm okay. Roy, Mike, and Cap got sent home."

"No tù?" She let go of his hand and leaned up against the desk.

It took Johnny a second before he mentally translated the 'Not you'. "I was the last to get called in," he explained. "I don't reach the 24 hour mark for," he stopped to look at his watch, "Another hour or two."

"Qué?" she asked, confused.

"Right, sorry." Johnny said, finally losing the fight with his yawn. She waited patiently. "Chief's sending everyone home who's been on for 24 hours." She nodded, now understanding. "Where are they?" he asked.

She pointed up, "'Bomberos ward'." she said, using the Spanish word for firefighter. She sighed and reached for his hand again. Johnny let her take it, but inwardly he fumed.

"I wanna see 'em, but I have to get back." he said sorrowfully. "There's a helicopter outside waiting for me." he swirled the last swigs of coffee around in his cup.

"I'll watch for you." she said, squeezing and patting his hand.

"Thanks Mama Lopez." he said with a smile. He tossed the cup into the trash can, and made it, much to his surprise.