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.

"The more love and care you send out toward a person or issue, the more you come into alignment with your spirit, and the more your intuition comes on-line." Doc Childre.

Chapter 11

Johnny had asked Roy to pick him up and go with him to his appointment with Early. After getting Kanda settled down they sat and had breakfast together. Roy tried to focus on small talk to distract her from what he knew was really bothering her. The same thing that bothered him. Roy knew the confrontation with Johnny wasn't going to go well, he could feel it in his gut. Maybe when Johnny was at his best, his healthiest he could handle a discussion of this magnitude but not now.

Roy gathered up the dishes while Kanda put the food up. He realized she was standing with the refrigerator door open and not moving. Without asking he knew she was crying. It killed him to see her so upset like this. Karen had brought up one of her worst fears, that she might lose Johnny again. He moved up behind her and reaching around he closed the door. Turning to him, the tears running down her face, she simply leaned against his chest and cried as he held her.

Karen paced the floor while he slept. When there was a knock on the door she about jumped out of her skin. Hurriedly she went to answer it before whoever it was woke him up. She was actually shocked to see Kanda staring her in the face.

"What do you want?" Karen said in a hushed tone.

The real surprise came when Roy stepped up behind Kanda looking none too intimidated by her presence in his apartment. "Johnny has a doctor's appointment and we're here to take him," Roy said as he pushed his way past her. "Where is he?" He glanced around the room looking for his friend.

"You can't just barge in here like that. Just who do you think you are?" Karen was feeling unsettled by Roy's dominating presence. Kanda went towards the kitchen to also try and find him.

Karen felt a moment of panic. They weren't supposed to be here! Knowing Johnny was asleep she rushed to Roy and lashed out to hit him as hard as she could. She hated this man as much as she did Johnny. Roy grabbed her arm and held her.

"I said where is he?" Roy demanded.

They all looked up when he came down the hallway, "I'm right here and I suggest you get your hands off of her right now."

Damn, Roy thought. Not a good way to start this. Johnny looked furious, his hands clinched into fists. Roy let go of her and she, of course, ran straight into Johnny's arms.

"I'm sorry babe, they just pushed their way in and I couldn't stop them. Then he grabbed me." She rubbed her arm in feigned pain.

Johnny pulled her close and watched Kanda moved close to Roy. How nice, he thought. "I don't know what you want but neither one of you are welcome here anymore."

Roy watched the smile come across Karen's face. He was quickly losing all control here. "Johnny, we're only here to help you. You have a doctor's appointment, remember? You asked me to take you this morning when we got off work. That's why I'm here. I'm not here to cause any trouble Junior." He held his hands out in a gesture of friendship and he hoped peace. Johnny stepped back a couple of steps away from him. "We're your family, remember? We're only here to help."

"Family? Family?" Johnny took those steps back forward towards Roy and seeing his hands clenched Roy stepped back. "Family doesn't do what you did. How dare you call yourself my family." He looked at Roy with a look that made his heart skip a beat. This was not the Johnny he knew.

Things were going downhill fast here. Kanda stepped forward, "We love you TeeTonka. You don't feel well do you? You're having headaches all the time, you feel tired and sleep more than you want to." Kanda saw him pause.

Yes, he felt horrible now. Every day he felt worse and he didn't know why. "It's just the flu or something. I don't need a doctor for it."

Roy tried to take advantage of his hesitation. "You have an appointment with Early. Karen can take you. If she really cares about you she'll want you to be well."

He saw a narrowing of Karen's eyes saying she had no intention of doing any such thing and suddenly he felt a cold hard fear grip his heart.

Kanda looked at Roy and saw him go from frustration to anger, then to a look of fear that sent a chill through her body. Something was desperately wrong now.

Now Roy knew he couldn't back down because now he felt Johnny's life was at stake. He didn't know why or how but he knew it for a fact. He watched her move closer to Johnny and the look on Johnny's face that told him he would defend her no matter what. His clenched fists told he was ready to fight for her. Roy's mind spun trying to think about how to get through to his friend.

But Johnny beat him to it, "Get out of my place!" Then he reached down and picked up a glass off the coffee table and threw it. Kanda and Roy side stepped the flying object as it hit the front window, shattering. He spoke through a tightened down jaw in a low voice, "Go now before something happens that we will all regret Roy."

Roy wasn't giving up, too much was at stake. "Johnny I don't know what she's told you but it's all lies. You know that Kanda and I wouldn't do anything to hurt you." He watched Johnny's shackles go up but he pressed on. "Why are you so angry at us? Tell me." Roy had his own short fuse right now.

"Karen told me what you did to her, how you touched her. You never did anything but give me a hard time when I had a girlfriend. And now that I've found someone I really care about you can't stand it can you?" Johnny was shaking with anger.

Roy couldn't believe what he was hearing. What the hell was he talking about? Touched her? "Johnny I've never done anything to her." He glared at Karen, "She's lying to you Johnny. She's not who you think she is. Can't you see that?"

"I know what I see and I don't like it. Now, get out."

Attacking Karen wasn't what he wanted to do and he knew his mistake. He quickly decided to go back to where they started all this. "You know you're sick, something is wrong. Go to see Joe. Kanda and I will go home but please go see Joe for your appointment."

Johnny's head was pounding worse than ever before and he just wanted everyone to go away. Roy's words were confusing him. He should be his friend but what Karen said and then he saw Roy holding her arm like that. He shook his head, "NO! Get out both of you. I can't think straight. Get away from me." He lunged at Roy full force with a strength that surprised both of them.

Roy tried to grab his arms, he didn't want to hurt him but he also knew he couldn't drag him kicking and screaming to Rampart. Johnny looked like he would have killed him if possible and managed to back Roy up against the wall when they both stopped at the loud pounding at the door.

"GO AWAY!" Johnny screamed.

"POLICE! Open up right now!"

Kanda reached to open the door to find two police officers standing there having been called by a neighbor who was upset over all the commotion. She was speechless but Johnny jumped at it.

"Get these two out of my place they forced their way into my place and refuse to leave," Johnny shouted in almost a state of frenzy.

Roy looked at the two men and knew both of them from accident scenes. Maybe that would be to his advantage.

The officer looked at him, "Roy? What's going on here?" Mike Satter knew the paramedics and couldn't believe what he was witnessing.

"Mike, Johnny's been real sick and I came to take him to his appointment with Joe Early."

Johnny jumped in, "You can't make me go anywhere I don't want to go. Get them out of here."

"Will you two step outside for me please," Mike said knowing he needed to get the story from Roy who seemed to be the calm one of the pair right now. They moved out into the hallway while the other officer stayed inside with Johnny and Karen. "What the hell's going on Roy?"

"Mike we've got to get Johnny away from her. I don't know what she's doing to him but he's sick and getting worse." He looked over to Kanda knowing this would really upset her. "His new girlfriend is Karen. I think she's doing something to him to make him sick."

Mike furrowed his brow. He knew Johnny was a damn good paramedic and these two men had worked together for a long time. "Making him sick? What are you insinuating, that she's poisoning him?"

Kanda felt nauseated, her knees were weak and she reached out to the handrail. Roy had already been keeping an eye on her and took her arm to help her steady herself. "God Roy, no." How had she missed this?

Mike shook his head, "Roy this is his property and he's alert and oriented. You know I can't force him to go to an appointment. Do you have any proof of criminal intent?"

Roy was pacing in the little area now, "No but I'm sure she's doing something to him."

He felt for the worried man in front of him, "You know I can't do anything with just a 'feeling' Roy. If you can come up with anything we can use I'll get her out of here."

But Roy knew he didn't have a thing and his gut instinct didn't count. He started working on an alternate plan. He had to get to Johnny when Karen wasn't around. He thought about calling Hank and getting him to force Johnny but he knew that off duty Hank had no authority to force Johnny to get medical care.

Work. They were on shift tomorrow.

"We work tomorrow," he said to no one in particular. Then he turned to Kanda, "I'll call Hank and he can force him to the ER once we're on shift. We'll tell Joe to do a tox screen on him and figure out what she's doing to him."

"Tomorrow? That's too long," Kanda said.

The other officer came out of the apartment, "Mike."

Moving up to the group Mike addressed him back, "Bobby, what's he got to say?"

"He's willing to not press charges if they will leave. The young lady said Roy here grabbed her and she wants to press assault charges."

Roy was dumbfounded, "What?"

Bobby hated doing this but it was his job, "Roy, did you grab her arm?"

Kanda jumped in, "She attacked him. I saw it. He was only defending himself. He did nothing to hurt her he only stopped her from hitting him."

"Is that what happened Roy?" Mike asked. He would do anything to keep from having to take Roy to jail right now.

Roy's heart was pounding out of his chest. How did it come to this mess?

One word, Karen.

"Yea Mike. We came to pick up Johnny for his doctor's appointment and she wouldn't tell us where he was. I started walking towards the bedroom and she lunged at me to attack me. All I did was grab her arm to stop her from hitting me."

Mike nodded, "Okay. I believe ya Roy. Let me go talk to her." He turned and went back into the apartment.

Bobby leaned against the railing, "Roy, what's wrong with Johnny. This isn't like him at all. I've never seen him act like this."

Roy just shook his head, "I don't know but somehow I have to get him away from her."

Bobby saw the desperation in the man's eyes. After a few minutes Mike reemerged from the apartment. "I told her she would have to come down to the station with us and file the paperwork which pretty much stopped her in her tracks. So, no charges. I agree Roy, something is wrong. Johnny looks like crap but as an officer I have to tell you that you have to leave the premises and don't come back today. I think your best bet is like you said at work tomorrow."

Roy nodded knowing that he had to leave his best friend and brother in the hands of someone who he now was sure had only malevolent intent for him. Taking Kanda by the arm he about had to drag her away from the apartment and down the stairs to get her to leave her brother behind.

Johnny was shaking he was so upset and now his stomach was churning. Running to the bathroom he grabbed the toilet and heaved until he almost couldn't breathe. Behind him Karen held his head and put a cold washcloth to his head.

"It's alright now babe. Their gone. Everything will be right now." She looked at the pale, washed out sick man in front of her and smiled. It was going right according to plan. Those two almost messed it up today but their own insistence in being here was their own undoing.