Chapter One
Joann DeSoto was a strong woman. She's a firefighter's wife and a mother of two. Everything about her yelled independent, strong, skilled, smart, and brave. Nothing about her seemed at all timid, shy, or scared. Yet that's what Joann looked like at the moment. She sat on a kitchen chair, in the dayroom of her husband's station, by herself. The station appeared abandoned. The only sign of inhabitants were the recognizable cars in the parking lot and Henry's snores from the couch.
She had decided to head over to the station earlier that afternoon. She knew they were busy. Roy always called, if he could, after the kids got home from school, regardless of whether the kids were going to be home or not. It happened they weren't that day. Joann had the rare chance of a day to herself. She was looking forward to it, until she noticed the silence. It was too quiet. The time Roy always called had come and gone. He hadn't called. She sat with her book next to the phone. When she realized she kept rereading the same sentence, waiting for the phone to ring, she decided to take things into her own hands. She dialed the familiar number and a voice answered.
"LA County Fire Department Station 51, Firefighter Lopez speaking."
"Hey Marco, it's Joann. Is Roy there?" she asked hopefully.
"No, they're on a call. Want to talk to Cap?"
"No, no. Has it been busy?" she asked, not realizing how much she was missing noise.
"They have only been in the station for an hour. We even swapped chores. Roy was supposed to cook, see?" Before Joann could respond, she heard the klaxon blare what sounded like a hundred tones. "Gotta go, sounds big."
"Be safe." she managed to get out before the line disconnected.
That gave her a plan. "I'll just go over and cook for them." she decided. After stopping at the grocery store, she arrived at the deserted station, weirded out at the emptiness. After struggling to remember the code to the door, she finally got in. Familiarizing herself in the unfamiliar kitchen, she got to work right away. She smiled as she pictured Roy milling about, knowing exactly where everything was. She chuckled at a memory. Roy had come home from a double, he went to wash his hands in their kitchen sink. As he was drying his hands, he reached directly underneath for a towel. A towel that was non-existent in that spot. He felt around without looking for nearly a full minute before realization dawned on him. Sheepishly, he moved the three steps over to the oven, where the towel was hanging from it's handle.
His excuse, "That's where it is at the station." He wasn't lying, she noticed. The towel hung from a hook on the counter, directly under the sink.
Her lasagna was soon in the oven and garlic bread waiting to be cooked. She decided to tour the station, still alone. "I'll just see what needs to be done." She said to herself. She found the bunks all unmade with haphazardly folded sheets on top. She took the initiative and made them, making sure not to short sheet any of them. She didn't know where Chet slept and did not want to get on the phantom's bad side. It felt eerie being in the fire station by herself. It was normally a boisterous place, but currently felt devoid of life. She returned to the table, waiting for the food to be ready, or someone to return, whichever came first. She got herself a glass of water.
A door opened to the station causing her to jump, spilling her water. She stood up to get a towel to clean it when an unfamiliar man in uniform walked in. "Hello?" he said.
"Hi," Joann said timidly. "You're probably wondering who I am." The uniformed man nodded. "I'm Roy DeSoto's wife, he's a paramedic here. I heard he was supposed to cook tonight, so here I am."
The man nodded his head, taking her word for it. "Roy's a lucky guy, I'm Charlie, the Department's mechanic. Smells good in here."
Joann smiled at the compliment. "Thanks." she said. "Did anything happen?"
"Some damage to the engine, that's all I know." Joann frowned.
Over the radio, the two heard Captain Stanley's voice. "Engine 51 and Squad 51 are unavailable from Rampart." They heard the dispatcher copy it, then silence.
"I'll get some coffee going." Charlie said. Joann was grateful, she didn't know how to work the industrial coffee machine.
A timer beeped, causing Charlie to jump. Joann smirked, used to the noise of her timer from home, but made no comment other than "The lasagnas done." She got to work pulling them out of the oven and popping the garlic bread in. She then went to the fridge, pulled out an undressed salad and began dressing it.
"Looks like a feast Mrs. DeSoto." Charlie complimented again.
"Joann, please."
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
The bay door rattled open and two vehicles could be heard backing in. Joann turned her head from a chair at the table, a smile on her face. Charlie jumped up, curious to see what kind of damage the engine had suffered. Joann stayed, well aware that she was in Roy's zone. She assumed she would hear joking and talking coming from the bay. The only words she heard exchanged were stressed tones coming from Hank. "That's not good." she thought, her smile disappeared. She began to set the table when she heard someone come through the door.
"Jo?" a scratchy voice asked. She turned around. Roy stood in the doorway. His face was covered in soot, save his cheek where there were two stitches.
"Roy?" she asked, tentative in his environment. They walked towards each other. Joann stopped, gently touching his uninjured cheek. "You okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, just had an argument with Big Red." he said smiling. "Why are you here?" he asked, "Not that I'm complaining." he quickly added after taking a sniff.
Joann smirked at his rapid backpedaling. "I called the station right before the engine got a call. Marco said you hadn't been here for longer than an hour and said you were cooking, so I brought dinner." She looked up at him, worried she overstepped a boundary. "I hope that's okay." she whispered.
Roy beamed at her, "It smells amazing. The guys will surely appreciate it." Captain Stanley walked through the door looking tense. His face brightened slightly at the smell.
"If this is your lasagna Joann, I can't wait to eat it." he said, sniffing the air.
"HANK!" Charlie called from the bay.
"Marco's getting a shower rotation set up, Roy. You and Johnny are first." Stanley said before leaving. Joann wondered why Mike, who she knew was second in charge, wasn't handling the task.
Roy just nodded and said to her "I'll be right back hon'." kissing her on the cheek.
"Actually, I think I'll go, I don't want to bother you at work."
Roy stopped and turned around, "You sure? You're a sight for sore eyes Jo." He sighed, "At least see Johnny before you go, he could probably use some 'mother henning', and not from me." He rolled his eyes and huffed.
Joann dissected that comment. "He must be injured, but not bad enough to be kept overnight, or enough for Roy to worry." "I'll stay for a bit." she said aloud. Roy grinned as he ran for the locker rooms.
She continued setting the table, this time adding a spot for her. She was in the midst of pouring water into glasses when someone else walked through the door. "Hi." an even scratchier voice then Roy's greeted her. She turned, unable to identify it. Mike was sitting in the chair she recently vacated. He was dirtier than Roy and had more stitches and bruising. She picked up the full cup of water she just poured and brought it over to the firefighter, still wearing his coat.
"Let's get this off of you." she said, working to get his arms out of the sleeves, wondering why he still had it on. Clearly, he had been seen at Rampart, and she was sure they had taken the coat off before examining him.
"It's cold." he argued weakly, wincing occasionally. She poured him a cup of coffee and gave it to him at the table. Coatless, he held the warm mug. She spotted more bruising on his arms. She looked around the dayroom, hoping to find a blanket of some sort. Failing to find any home comforts in the communal space, she draped the surprisingly heavy coat back on him. The timer beeped again. Joann jumped at the noise this time, not liking this kind of quiet. Mike didn't react at all. She ran over to the oven and took out the garlic bread, placing it on the table. She also moved the two lasagnas, they joined the bread at the table.
Johnny walked in. He was freshly showered and curiously bandage and bruise free. He smiled warmly at her. "Hey Joann, thanks for bringing dinner." He shoved his hands in his pockets, "Roy told me, before you ask." Joann nodded, not surprised. "Stokes, if you're up for one, the showers yours." he said, taking a glass from 'his' spot at the table. Mike only shrugged his coat off in response. It fell to the floor in a heap.
"He hasn't said a word other than 'Hi,' and 'It's cold'." She whispered to Johnny. "Should he be working?" she asked. Not that she didn't trust the doctor's at Rampart, she just felt her mother senses tingling.
"He's not." he assured, putting his glass down and squatting next to the engineer. "Mike, ya still with me buddy?" he asked. Mike just held onto the mug for dear life. "Get Cap in here for me will ya?" he told Joann in a calm, practiced voice. She nodded and walked out of the kitchen, not thinking anything of Johnny asking for Hank, as opposed to the other medic in the station.
Out in the bay, she felt vulnerable, this was her husband's environment, not hers, and she was trespassing. Walking to where she knew the office was, she heard Hank's voice, but not from inside. He was standing next to the engine, a stack of papers under his arm, a pen behind his ear. Joann gasped when she saw the engine. The driver's side had scorch marks scarring the red paint, along with various sized dents. On the pump panel, a lever was bent, now inoperable. One of the compartment doors was so dented, you could see inside the compartment. Swallowing her initial shock, "Hank," she said, getting the Captain's attention. They hadn't heard her gasp. "Johnny wants you in the dayroom." she said when Stanley was looking at her.
"I'll be right there." he said with an air of command about him. She nodded her head and returned.