Chapter Five

Johnny woke up to the morning klaxons. He was disoriented for a moment, then remembered he was at 8. He rolled out of bed, groaning as he did so. His night had been quieter, since he was on the engine, but working two days in a row always messed with his sleep schedule. Now, his non-existent sleep schedule. He walked over to the extra empty lockers they had and pulled out the uniform shirt he hung there before going to bed. He slid down the pole into the main bay, mainly since 51 didn't have one. He thought he might as well enjoy it while he could. Then he followed his nose to the smell of coffee. The medics on the squad were sitting at the table reading the newspaper. "Didn't go back to sleep after that last one?" he asked in sympathy.

"Nah, wasn't worth it by the time we got back. Coffee's fresh."

"Thanks," Johnny replied, pouring himself a cup. He grabbed the discarded section of newspaper on the table, looking at the comics. Captain Stone chose that moment to walk in. He laughed at Johnny, the experienced firefighter, rescue man, and paramedic, reading the comics. Johnny looked up at his laughing friend. He decided to have some fun. "Laugh all you want Stoney, I won't tell the crew what book's in your locker right now." He held the newspaper in front of his face smugly. He had no idea what book was in his friend's locker, or even if there was one, but hopefully the other people in the room would fall for the bluff. Station 8's medics heads shot up in curiosity, Johnny grinned broadly.

Stone frowned, "Very funny Gage." he said, not angry at all at his friend and fellow medic, who clearly had no idea the only books in his locker were the department's general orders and the protocols. "Feel free to look." he said to the room, adding a last joke. No one in the station would have the guts to look in The Captain's locker, no matter the curiosity. Johnny frowned at being one upped, but let it go as he drank his coffee. Stone felt Gage's annoyance leaking from behind the newspaper, "Can't win them all my friend." he said smugly pouring his own cup of coffee. The two medics rolled their eyes, realizing they had been had.

"I hope C shift gets here soon, I've got a load of stuff to do today." Johnny complained. Stone raised his eyes in question. "Everything was pushed back a day since I'm here."

"Ahh," Stone said, "Sorry, we've all been there." Johnny nodded, glancing at his watch. It read 0640.

"Pretty sure my dry cleaner opens at 7." Johnny muttered under his breath. Stone smirked at the man, reading the comics and discussing his dry cleaners' hours.

C shift shortly arrived. Johnny cleared his gear off the engine and packed up the empty locker. His first stop was home. He showered quickly and made a small breakfast, his fridge still empty. When he was done, he threw all his dirty uniform shirts and pants into a bag. "Do they do shoes?" he asked himself. "Pretty sure they don't." he answered. He shrugged, putting the still damp shoes on the window sill in the sun. He then jotted down a quick grocery list. "Joann would be proud." he thought. Before Joann's 'lesson', he just randomly shopped. Now, he made a list every trip. He got more out of his food and saved money. Thinking of Joann led him to think about her kids, "Shit!" he cursed. Chris had a game today. "What time did Roy say?" he asked out loud. Try as he might, he couldn't remember. He glanced at his watch. 0813, "Maybe it's a 10 am game. Could be 9." He looked at his grocery list written on yellow paper. "The yellow pages!" he exclaimed, jumping up from the table. He looked up the Boys and Girls club game days and hours. The yellow pages said, 'All baseball game times are at 9:30 am on Saturdays'. "Just about an hour." he muttered. He finished the rest of his meager breakfast and headed out the door.

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Jane sat at a table. She was surrounded by her fellow coworkers from school also attending the conference. She was taking actual notes this time and paying attention and was rather proud of it. At the end of that presentation, she walked over to the presenter. She knew he was a local, as all of his statistics were from LA County. She introduced herself and asked if she happened to know where station 51 was. "Oh sure, that's the newer station up in Carson. I used to be the guidance counselor at the school nearby." Jane thanked him and wrote 'Carson' on her post it note.

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Roy sat in the bleachers, the game was about to start. Chris was standing watching the pitcher warm up, his hands clutching the fence. Roy saw him and waved, excited to actually be there to watch a game. He glanced around nervously, looking for his partner, hoping the man was okay. The umpire called out "Play ball!" Roy ripped his gaze from the parking lot to home plate. Chris stood in the on-deck circle, his eyes squinted in concentration. Roy clapped and yelled the team name. "Strike three!" the umpire yelled after a few moments. Roy clapped and yelled his son's name encouragingly when he stepped into the batter's box. Roy suddenly felt a presence sitting down next to him.

"What did I miss?" a gravely, yet familiar voice asked. Relief poured over Roy at the sound of his partner's voice. His relief quickly turned to worry at the sight of his friend.

The man looked tired and haggard, there were bags under his eyes. "What happened to you?" Roy asked, looking him over for injuries.

"Nothing. I was called to cover 8's lineman yesterday. What'd I miss?" Johnny repeated. He clapped and yelled Chris' name while he waited for his partner's answer.

"Not much, the first kid struck out." Johnny nodded and focused on the game. Roy asked, "Everyone okay on Stoney's shift?"

He answered without looking away, "Yeah, his lineman got heat exhaustion and Morton wouldn't release him." Roy nodded, relieved that no one was seriously injured.

"Hey Johnny," Roy ventured between innings, "Want to come to dinner? Pretty sure we're grilling."

"Jenny jealous?" Johnny asked with a hint of a smile on his face.

"Green as a Grinch." Roy deadpanned, then copied the smile. They clapped and cheered when Chris ran out of the dugout and took his place at shortstop. Chris saw them and waved excitedly.

"I've got some stuff to do before, but I'll make it over for dinner." Roy smiled in response. Over the course of the next hour, they cheered on the younger DeSoto.