Chapter Six

Jane walked out of the conference building, she waved to her coworkers as they shared a taxi back to the hotel. She flagged another taxi, gulping nervously as she did so. Once the yellow car pulled up, she opened the door and sat down. Buckling her seat belt, she instructed the driver to Station 51, Carson. Jane twiddled a pen in her hand, hoping to dissipate the nerves. "It's normal to want to thank your rescuers, right?" She thought. "I must be crazy." she muttered under her breath.

"What's that lady?" the driver asked.

"Nothing, can you wait for me outside?"

"Sure can." the driver replied enthusiastically, looking forward to the wage.

The taxi pulled into the visitor parking spot in front of the station. She walked up to the door, and rang the doorbell. An older looking man walked out of the front office and greeted her, while another man emerged from behind the squad. The second man stood to the back, in case he was needed. "What can I do for you ma'am?" the older man politely said.

"I'm looking for Paramedic John Gage." she timidly said.

"Are you now?" he said with a smile, he turned around and shook his head, indicating he didn't need the other man. "Gage isn't in today, his shift'll be back on Monday. Want to leave a message for him?"

Jane nodded her head, "Uh, thanks." she said. The man opened the door, letting her inside the building. He led her a few steps to the small office and handed her a piece of scrap paper and a pen. She jotted a note down. "Thanks Mr..." she trailed off

"Captain, Captain Dennis. I'll make sure Gage gets this." He led her out of the office waving to the waiting taxi. "Have a good day ma'am." He closed the door after her, holding the note.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Captain Dennis wasn't sure what to think. He wasn't all that familiar with A shift, as he was always between them on C, but he thought that lady looked an awful lot like Gage himself. Normal practice was to tape any note to that person's locker, but Dennis decided against it for some reason, he had a feeling it might need a bit more discretion. He placed the note in an envelope, sealed it, and put it in the top drawer of the desk. On the desk, he left a note for Captain Stanley.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

After a nap, Johnny finally finished his chores that had been pushed back a day. His clean uniform was hanging in his closet, the other clothes washed and put away. His pantry and fridge were full again. His shoes dry and polished, shining and ready for Monday. He locked his apartment door and made his way to the DeSoto household, hoping that Roy would not discuss her. He had decided to keep her locked away in the corner of his mind until tomorrow. Tomorrow, he was going to do some research. He shuddered while he sat at a red light. He did not want to revisit that chapter in his life.

Before he knew it, he had pulled up in front of the two-story cape cod that belonged to his partner. He sighed and again shoved those thoughts in the corner, where he hoped they would stay all night. He got out of the car and knocked on the door. There was no answer and it was locked. Pulling his key to their house out, he let himself inside. "Hello?" he called out, surprised at the silence. "They must be out back." He thought. He locked the front door behind him and walked through the house. Off the kitchen, he opened the sliding door to the patio. Roy's face turned at the noise and broke into a smile. Joann greeted him from a chair, sipping on a lemonade.

"Uncle Johnny!" two voices exclaimed in excitement. Two children came barreling at him. He scooped up Jenny in a swoop and tossed her into the air as she giggled. Chris attempted to be more mature, but couldn't help but laugh when Johnny ruffled his hair.

"Hey guys." he said to everyone. He sat on a deck chair and put Jenny on his knee. Chris obediently let Jenny talk first, as instructed by Joann.

"Guess what I did today Uncle Johnny?" Jenny asked. She didn't wait for a response as she retold every detail from her trip. Johnny smirked and shared a side glance with Roy, who returned it while flipping a burger. Jenny slid off from Johnny's knee, pulling him towards the corner of the concrete patio. He followed the insistent five year old. "Look what I drew for you." she said pointing at a red squiggle.

"It's very nice Jenny bean." Johnny said while quickly trying to figure out what it was.

He looked at Joann for help, but she just laughed at him, "You're on your own" she mouthed. He looked back down. Jenny was pointing out orange circles inside the big red squiggle.

"It's a very nice firetruck." Johnny said, hoping to all the gods he was right.

"I thought so too." Jenny said matter of factly. She sat back down and went to draw again. Johnny looked smugly at the parents and gave them a fist pump. He sat down next to Jenny and pulled a piece of green chalk from the tub.

"What should I draw?" he asked the girl who was concentrating on a blue square.

"Don't use green, use purple." Jenny corrected him. She handed him a purple chalk and told him to draw a flower. Johnny obliged.

Burgers were soon consumed and children in bed. Out on the patio, Joann had a glass of wine and Roy and Johnny were nursing a couple beers. "I think I'm going to build a deck, what do you think hun?" Roy asked, looking out at the patio.

Joann nodded her head, "I think that would be great." She looked over at the three stairs leading up to the back door of the house, "Then we don't have to worry about the kids falling on the concrete."

"Exactly." Roy nodded, taking a sip. "Feel like building a deck Johnny?"

"Not this very minute," he quipped, "Drawing with your daughter has sucked all artistic abilities out of me for a week." His remark made the two parents laugh.

"She is a critic." Joann said. She finished her glass of wine, "Anyone want refills?" They both shook their heads. "Then I think I'm going to turn in, thanks for coming over." She said to Johnny standing up to kiss him on the cheek, "The kids adore you."

Johnny ducked his head, "Thanks for inviting me, the food was great, as usual." She smiled and bid them goodnight, quietly closing the door behind her. Johnny bit his lip, he knew what was coming. He was sure Roy and Joann had planned this.

Roy didn't waste any time, "How are you? I know that lady's been bothering you." Roy looked at him and waited patiently. Johnny sighed, took a swig and sighed again. Postponing the answer as long as possible.

"She threw me off that's for sure." Johnny stared off at the cement covered in chalk flowers. "When I was a kid, I," he stopped, then started again. "I never talk about my childhood." He paused, Roy nodded his head encouragingly. "For good reason, it wasn't great." Johnny fiddled with his bottle, finding the right words. He finally decided on, "Life on the rez isn't all what TV makes it out to be. Especially for me, my father wasn't the nicest of people you could say. Life was really rough, some people left. I vaguely remember someone close to us leaving the rez, at the worst possible time too 'cause it was shortly after my mother died." Roy tucked that information away but didn't interrupt. "My father was furious and I was jealous. But I honestly don't remember who that person was. That's how messed up my family is. I've never seen this lady before in my life Roy. We've got to be related though, there's no way we're not." Roy sat in silence, letting his partner vent, soaking up every detail. Johnny talked all the time but never about himself. "I've got to find out," Johnny continued, "One way or another. And who knows how long she's in town. She could be gone and I would never know if I have family who are alive, who are decent."

Roy shuddered, "My father was furious, I was jealous. Who are decent." he repeated in his head. He always wondered what kind of childhood his friend had. Now he was getting confirmation of what he feared. Johnny had stopped talking and silence came over the two like a heavy blanket. "You always know we're always here for you, whatever you need, the guys are too." Roy finally said, breaking the fragile silence. Johnny nodded and took the last sip from his bottle.

"I should get going, thanks for having me over." Johnny said, timid again.

"You're welcome anytime, you know that." After silently recycling their empty bottles, they made it to the front door.

"See you Monday Roy. "Johnny said, turning to leave. Roy grabbed him and gave him a hug.

"See you Monday." he repeated. He watched to make sure he safely left his street, then closed and locked the door, sighing.