A/N: We are almost done. The last chapter has not been written yet, but I have it fairly clearly outlined in my head, so it shouldn't take took long to get it written up and proofed.

Checks and Balances

Chapter 14

By two o'clock that afternoon all the guys from A shift had arrived at the hospital to see their crew mate. Johnny had, by then, been moved from the ICU to a regular room that allowed visitors and Dr. Brackett found the men hanging out in the doctor's lounge down in the ER. When he pushed the door open to the lounge all the men were on their feet in an instant. The doctor held his hands up in surrender to the chorus of "How's Johnny?" "Is he still awake?" "When can we see him?"

"Now hold on there. Johnny is doing remarkably well given the circumstances."

"What does that mean - given the circumstances?" Chet asked, suspiciously.

Dr. Brackett had to smile. It was good to see that these men all cared very much for the young paramedic. "It means that Johnny has once again beaten the odds. All of his neurological tests have come back with normal results. He doesn't seem to have sustained any brain damage from the lack of oxygen which is a huge step in the right direction. He still has a fever but it's under control, and the infection at the site of his chest tube is beginning to clear nicely."

Captain Stanley spoke before anyone else could form another question. "Well thank goodness for that. We were all pretty worried."

"I'm sure that a visit from all of you will raise his spirits, but he is still pretty weak and tires easily, so I'll ask you to keep it short."

When Roy and the others stepped into Johnny's room he was elevated in bed, but lay there with his eyes closed. His color was so much better than the last time the men had seen him that a collective sigh of relief passed through them all. Roy exchanged glances with his shift mates clearly torn between wanting to talk to his partner, yet hesitant to wake him.

"You all just gonna stand there or come in and say hello?" Johnny asked sleepily from the bed, his eyes open, but only half-lidded.

"How're ya feelin' there, Junior?" Roy asked, as he moved closer allowing the rest of the men to cram into the small room.

"Whipped and sore, but other than that, pretty good I guess." John made to sit up straighter and winced as the chest tube pulled against the bedding.

Chet moved quicker than anyone realized as he stepped in and readjusted the pillows under Johnny's back to support him. "You really know how to scare a guy don't ya Gage?" he complained, but his voice carried a distinct note of relief.

"That was a pretty slick move with the alarm pull at the station, Johnny." Mike chimed in.

"Yes it was and you have officially broken my record, John." Captain Stanley added. "That is the only time in my entire career that an in-house alarm has ever gone off."

"Sorry, Cap." Johnny replied, a little sheepishly.

"Hey, don't be sorry. It was a stroke of brilliance and it saved your life, Pally."

"That and what Roy did." Chet added.

"It wasn't all Roy." Marco said, catching everyones attention. "Johnny, you should have seen Chet. He moved right in there and worked along side Roy as though he were a paramedic too."

Johnny's eyes opened a little wider. "Really?"

Chet began to look a little uncomfortable but Marco continued with his version of the events as they unfolded. "Yeah, we found you passed out on the floor and you weren't breathing. When Dr. Brackett told Roy that he needed to do that needle thing, Chet here moved right in taking over the bio phone and opening up all the instruments so Roy could keep his hands sterile. He was a proper surgical assistant."

The look that Johnny turned on Chet was hard to read, but Roy could see the wheels turning and wondered what the young man was thinking. "It was a team effort. We're just glad you're gonna be okay. Don't ever scare me like that again, Junior. My heart can't take it."

Johnny closed his eyes for a moment and leaned his head back against the pillows. Cap was about to suggest that they leave and let John get some rest when the young man opened his eyes and lifted his head.

"You know I don't get that."

Frowns of confusion graced all the the men's faces, but Roy is the one who asked, "What don't ya get, Johnny?"

"How did I end up with a collapsed lung? The x-ray was clear."

Chet spoke before Cap or Roy could tactfully answer the question. "Oh ya, well they mixed up your x-rays with someone else, then some big wig over here decided to try and blame Roy. You should have seen this inspector they sent over to the station..."

"That'll be all, Chester B!" Cap said in a severe tone, but it was too late.

"What? How can they blame Roy for a mix-up like that? What investigator?" Johnny looked at Roy with an expression that showed concern but was also clearly demanding an explanation.

Roy looked over at Chet wishing the man had never opened his mouth.

"What? He has a right to know, after all." Chet protested.

Johnny looked at each of his shift mates who all looked decidedly uncomfortable. "Okay, will someone please explain what happened? Chet's right, I have a right to know."

Roy began to tell Johnny everything that had transpired from the moment they found him passed out in the apparatus bay while the others chimed in with their own observations from time to time. When Roy got to the part about the 'private' interview with the hospital investigator; Mike, Chet, and Marco hung on his every word, not having been privy to that exchange. By the time Roy finished telling the tale John was a shade or two whiter and he looked exhausted.

"Holy cow! You're in the clear though now, right? I mean no one is still trying to blame you for doing something wrong?"

"Nah, everything's good. You look really tired. Maybe we should head out and let you get some rest." Roy said, to the nods of everyone else.

Johnny did look tired enough to sleep for a week. "Hey thanks for stopping by guys, but yeah I think a nap would be pretty good about now."

Captain Stanley clapped his hands together in his customary way of calling order. "Okay then. You take it easy, John. If you need anything... like some decent food... give a call okay?"

"Thanks, Cap. I'll do that."

Roy hung back as the rest of the men filed out of the room.

"Roy, why do I get the feelin' that you left something out? I can almost hear the gears in that brain of your turning away. Did something else happen that you're not saying?"

Roy moved back over to Johnny's bedside and pulled up a chair, sitting down. "It's not like that, Johnny. It's just that..." Roy stopped and took a deep breath trying to figure out what it was that he needed to say. "I heard the tape of the call and even Dr. Brackett said that the thoracostomy was done correctly, but..."

Johnny frowned up at his partner, "But what?"

"You almost died because of that infection. I really am not qualified to preform a needle thoracostomy, and certainly not on the floor of the apparatus bay. Johnny, the bottom line is you got that infection because of that procedure."

"So what! Seriously, I'm still here because of what you did. I'll take the infection over a pine box any day." Johnny said, his voice low as fatigue began to sap his remaining strength.

"Yeah, I know. I've told myself that about a million times over the past two days."

Johnny closed his eyes but kept on speaking as though he were looking at his partner. "So then what is it? There is something else eating at you, Roy. I know you too well for you to pass it off as nothing, so spill it already will ya?"

Roy sighed , knowing that he really did need to say this. The feeling of culpability was not going away no matter how many times he told himself that it wasn't his fault. "I was with you all day. There were signs that something was wrong, Johnny, plenty of them. I don't care how crazy and busy the day was, it's my job to notice those symptoms. The dry cough, lack of appetite, your cold hands, the loss of concentration, then you admitting how lousy you felt and how slowly you were moving that night. I should have put it together, but instead I sat with the guys watching a movie. Damn it Johnny, I should have realized that you needed to go back to Rampart."

As he spoke Johnny cracked his eyes open and fixed Roy with what looked like an angry stare. "Man I don't believe you."

Roy looked up surprised at Johnny's tone.

"You think you are so perfect, Roy and it really bugs me sometimes. Tell me why you should have put everything together and known what was wrong when I didn't? Do you really think you are that much better of a paramedic than anyone else, that you should be able to divine what the problem is. I'm tellin' ya partner I think maybe you should have gone to med school instead of joining the fire department cause you sometimes have the ego of a doctor!"

Roy sat back stunned by Johnny's rebuke. Of all the things he might have expected Johnny to say that took him completely off guard. He just looked at Johnny not knowing what to say until the young man's lips curved up into his trademark crooked smile.

"You know what partner, I never thought about it like that." Roy replied as he realized that Johnny wasn't actually angry with him.

Johnny's face grew serious and his eyes intense. "None of this was your fault, Roy, so stop trying to take responsibility for it. Sometimes things just happen."

Johnny closed his eyes and laid his head back against the pillows as Roy digested what his partner had to say. After a moment Roy smiled himself and said "You really think I have the ego of a doctor?"

"Get outta here will ya! But bring me back some of Joanne's great cookin' later okay or this hospital food will kill me for sure."

Roy stood up and headed for the door as he said, "You got it partner."

TBC