Just a little Fruity

These good fellows don't belong to me but I promise when I'd done to pick um up, dust um off and with a kiss on the cheek return them safely home.

"He who angers you, conquers you."

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Chapter 8

"Man Johnny boy, you look terrible!" Chet just had to point out. Roy couldn't argue the point. His partner looked like he hadn't slept in a month but was surprised when he responded to Chet's chiding with a smile.

"Well Chet, you know how those girl friends are. They can wear ya out." Johnny stood up from tying his shoes, "Oh wait." He put his finger out and pointed at him. "You don't have a girlfriend so you wouldn't know about that."

Marco didn't even try to stifle the laughter as Chet's face turned red. Finding himself momentarily speechless Chet just went out into the bay for roll call. Johnny turned his smile to Roy but found that he was closing his locker and walking out right behind Chet without acknowledging his most excellent ribbing of the mustached man.

"What's with Roy today?" Mike asked, leaning against the edge of the doorframe.

Johnny closed his locker door, "Have a feeling he didn't get enough sleep last night."

Mike just shrugged and headed out into the bay with the others, closely followed by Johnny.

Hank moved down the line of men who were all actually on time this morning. "Alright, who cooks today?"

Mike raised his hand up, "My turn Cap." A little cheer went through the crowd. Hank couldn't help but grin. Mike having cooking rotation for the shift was good news for all of them.

"Marco and Johnny, you have the bay and dorm." He looked up at them and was a little taken back by the young paramedic's appearance. "Gage, you know you're supposed to sleep before coming to work right?"

Johnny stood up straighter, "I did Cap."

Hank just mumbled something under his breath and youngsters and staying out all night. "Roy dayroom, Chet latrine." He made a last notation on his clipboard, "Dismissed."

Roy wanted to sit Johnny down and tell him what happened but now he was realizing that work wasn't the place to do it either. Every fiber of his being knew that Johnny wouldn't take it well. It was obvious that he was happy seeing her and they had gotten very close in a short amount of time. Anything negative he would have to say would not be taken well over those facts and he knew that Johnny would more than likely be angry at him for even bringing it up.

The morning was quiet with the guys getting to enjoy their coffee, make lunch and dinner plans and even get most of their chores done. Johnny and Roy needed some supplies so after lunch they headed out to Rampart. Johnny's jovial mood for the first part of the day was seeming to disappear quickly.

"Roy, I told ya to turn left back there." Johnny was very short tempered at the moment.

"Sorry Junior didn't hear ya. I'll cut through here and get us over there," Roy said trying to assess his friend's demeanor.

"Just never mind now. It's too late. I was trying out a new shortcut but why the hell would you listen to me," Johnny crossed his arms and turned towards the door.

Roy knew not to respond to the irrational comments cause they would not offer anything to help the situation. He knew his friend's headache was back having caught him rubbing his temples earlier.

"You want some aspirin for your headache?" He tried to offer.

"I don't have a headache," Johnny barked back at him.

"Okay, just offering." He was glad that they were working today so he could at least keep his eye on him. "Did Karen say anything about coming to the game?" He fished for some type of reaction.

"No, we just had dinner at her place then I was wiped out and went to bed."

Roy backed the squad up at the ER doors and they hopped out and went in. Dixie saw them coming up the corridor and smiled at her two favorite paramedics. "How's it going fellows?"

"I'd be just fine Dix if someone could quit nagging at me all the time," Johnny said in a highly sarcastic tone letting Roy know he was upset.

Dixie raised her eyebrows at Roy in a 'what's up with him' look. When Johnny moved behind the desk and talked with the supply nurse Roy leaned in towards Dixie.

"Is Dr. Early around?"

Dixie nodded yes to him then wrinkled up her eyebrows to look worried. She nodded to follow her and they walked into room 4 where Joe was discharging a patient. As soon as the patient was gone he looked up.

"Roy? What brings you here?"

"Just getting some supplies doc but I was wondering if I could ask you about something." Roy wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing.

"Sure Roy," Joe said with a gentle smile.

"Well, it's about Johnny. He's still having the headaches; he's tired all the time and has mood swings that would put any hormonal woman to shame. I'm worried about him, something's not right."

Joe sat down on the little stool in the room, "Is he here with you?"

Roy nodded, "Yea, but he's hiding the symptoms now. At least he's trying too. Its subtle doc but I think it's getting worse."

"So you're concerned but he won't consent to being seen I take it."

"That's pretty much it doc."

"Well Roy all I can say is keep trying to get him in here. If you're concerned about his safety or his ability to do his job then get Hank involved to force him in if need be."

Roy nodded again, "Okay doc. Thanks."

They moved out to the nurse's station to find Johnny holding the radio listening to a call coming in, "Where have you been?" he snapped.

"I'm ready, let's go." Roy knew it wouldn't be prudent to tell Johnny they were consulting behind his back. Johnny just shrugged and headed to the Squad. At this point Roy was just hoping to get through the day with his partners bizarre behavior. Dixie watched the pair head down the hall and said a silent prayer that Johnny would let his friend help him before something bad happened.

Johnny spent most of the shift lying down on his bunk. If Roy tried to see how he was doing it only seemed to make him mad so he quickly learned to keep a distant eye one him. Everyone else in the station had learned the same lesson by dinner time as Johnny's mood was as unpredictable as the stock market. He even managed to yell at Mike about the engine not being spotless. Roy thought he would have to hold Mike back from choking him.

They sat around the television watching Adam 12 when Roy realized that Johnny wasn't there anymore. Quietly he got up and walked out to the dorm figuring that was where his partner was again. He found Johnny laying on his back with his arm drapped across his forehead.

"Johnny?"

He lowered his arm to look at his partner. Roy was worried again, he could see it in his eyes. "Sorry about being in such a bad mood today buddy."

Roy sat down on the edge of his own bunk, "I'm worried about ya Junior. Something's wrong."

"I know," Johnny whispered.

"I think you need to see Early again tomorrow," Roy said crossing his fingers that Johnny wouldn't get upset again.

Johnny took a deep breath, "Okay."

A weight was lifted off Roy's shoulders knowing that his best friend had agreed to go back to the doctor. Maybe they could find out what was going on now.

"Station 51……Child trapped…..time out 2032"

Johnny joined Roy in the squad as they got the slip of paper from Hank then pulled out of the station. The engine was right behind them, sirens blaring which did nothing to help Johnny's now raging headache. When his head hurt this much it made him just want to lash out and punch someone. Deep down he knew these thoughts meant something was wrong but he just felt so bad he couldn't make his brain think straight all the time. Looking over to Roy he was thankful to have a friend that would persist to the end to make sure he was alright even when his own brain wasn't working right.

This rescue actually took a little driving as they headed to the edge of their district to a cave that was frequented by spelunkers. It was a stable cave for the area and had been visited by caving groups for years. However, recently the area had experienced numerous tiny earthquakes which always left the possibility of loosening rock walls on the unsuspecting caver.

Roy pulled up to the little gravel parking lot and as they jumped out they could see a crowd had already gathered at the entrance. The group was mostly children with a couple of adults. Roy had a sinking feeling about this rescue and as he glanced over at this partner he only hoped that Johnny would be at full function for this as he once again looked pale and completely exhausted. His endurance was waning as the day passed and he could see his mood darkening again.

"God, where are the police to get these people out of our way?" Johnny growled.

They both headed up the hill with their boxes, ropes, flashlights and safety gear. Getting through the crowd they found the large entrance to the cave and the frantic looking woman waiting on them. Hank and the engine crew were hot on their heels to assist with whatever they needed. "

"She's still in there," the frantic woman said.

Hank stepped forward to get more information, "Okay, calm down Mame. What happened?"

She took a deep breath. We were doing a school outing on spelunking. Gosh, we've been here for several years but the walls started rumbling and then they starting coming down on us. I got everyone out but Beth. She's only 10 and I know she's scared to death. We tried to reach her more rocks started coming down. Now she won't answer me at all.

Hank turned to the two rescue men. "Get geared up. Chet and Mike will follow you in. Figure out what you've got and let me know if we need more help."

The men nodded and gathered ropes, flashlights and their radios. Since they had to find victims first they left the larger medical supplies behind, they could be brought in by Hank and Marco quickly when needed. Roy slung the first aide backpack with some essentials across his shoulders. Entering the cave the daylight quickly disappeared behind them and they flicked on their flashlights. Roy adjusted his helmet strap under his chin as he, Johnny, Mike and Chet made their way through the cavern. The first room they entered was huge and Chet had to resist the urge to yell for an echo effect. It was beautiful with multiple shades of orange, red and brown reflecting off thier lights. They followed the premade paths with the nice little guard rails until they reached the branch described to them by the woman. One path followed the continued preset path complete with low level lights along the way and little signs that told of the natural formations one would find along the way. The other path led down a darkened direction with no more lights or tourist signs to guide them.

"This way," Johnny said as he led the group of men.

The path suddenly got narrower, allowing only one man at a time to get through finally becoming so small they had to get down on their hands and knees. The walls were wet and the air became increasingly musty and thick. The temperature dropped progressively as they moved deeper in to the narrow passage. Roy had the sensation that they were moving downwards also. Johnny held the flashlight in his right hand trying to see as he moved forward but the light moved all over the walls as he crawled making him feel nauseous. The damp air creeped into his clothes and chilled him making the lurching of his stomach stronger.

Just as quickly as the path narrowed it again opened up into a small room. The air was dustier here and the room was much much smaller, maybe the size of Johnny's kitchen, cut in half. He waved the flashlight around and soon could see the other lights scanning the room. What they saw was a small empty cavern with four caves leading out from it.

"Which one?" Mike asked.

Roy shook his head, "She said the one in the middle." He coughed in the dust.

Chet groaned, "How do you pick the middle one out of four?"

Johnny took a deep breath to quiet his stomach some. "I say this one," Johnny said as he pointed the light into the second opening from the right.

Seeing how they were only guessing Roy shrugged and followed his partners lead. Johnny had a knack for finding his way in the dark and Roy trusted it tonight. This direction was even narrower, their sides now rubbing against the damp walls. Their knees were soaking wet with an increasing water level on the floor. After about 200 feet the room once again opened up. Johnny and Roy crawled in different directions along the walls trying to scan the area as quickly as possible.

"Shh…" Roy said thinking he heard something over their own shuffling around. Everyone stopped moving and listened. He worked at separating out his breathing and the others from the noise he was looking for. "Hear that?"

Johnny nodded but realized that no one could actually see him in the dark. He pointed his flashlight, "Over there."

They all followed the moving flashlight with their own until it rested on a small fragile looking arm which was almost completely buried under fallen rock and dirt.