Author's Note. Sorry this update took so long! I burned my fingertips a couple weeks ago and had to wait for them to heal before I could type again. I would also like to thank my friend Shirley Jean for encouraging me to keep going with this story. Enjoy!
The crew of Station 51 got only minor calls for the rest of the shift. Cap had called lights out two hours ago, but Roy was still up. He had so many different emotions going through him that he wasn't even sure of all of them. No matter how many times he told Johnny to tell him when he was hurt, he never listened. But this time, it was different.
Cap started him out of his thoughts, "Worried about Johnny?"
"Yeah Cap, how did you know?" Roy asked.
"Well every time one of you is hurt, I can't sleep either. I keep playing back the scene in my head, wondering if there was something I could've done to prevent it. But the one thing I know about Johnny is that he doesn't give up easily. There were times when I thought we would lose him, but he always pulled through. And this is going to be no different."
**Cap has a point,** Roy thought. Before he could say anything else, the phone. Knowing that only the hospital would call at midnight, Roy dashed over to the phone. He used the same greeting that fireman always used, however, in case it wasn't the hospital, "Fire station 51, Fireman Roy Desoto speaking."
It was Dixie who had called, "Hey Roy, hope we didn't wake you. Johnny is out of surgery now."
Before Roy would let himself get to optimistic, he asked, "How bad Dix?"
"Well Roy, it was better than we thought. None of the major veins or arteries were hit. What caused the bruising and the bleeding were a laceration of the liver. The bullet had lodged in it, but Dr. Brackett was able to repair it without any problem. Johnny is in recovery now, and should be ready for visitors in the morning."
The rest of the crew hadn't really been sleeping either, and had heard the phone call. All of them were now gathered around the phone, waiting for news on Johnny. Roy said goodbye to Dixie and hung up the phone. Roy then gave the news to the guys, "Johnny is going to be okay!"
After the little celebration the guys had, five firemen realized just how tired they were. They filed into the dorm, and fell asleep almost as soon as they hit their pillows.
The next morning, after the B-shift came and replaced them, the guys piled into their cars and drove to Rampart. Dixie was just leaving from her shift when they pulled up. As she passed by, she gave them Johnny's room number, room 210.
Dr. Brackett was in the room examining Johnny when the guys arrived. The look on Johnny's face said it all, he wasn't happy with whatever Dr. Brackett was doing. After the good doctor left, the guys chitchatted about nothing in particular, sports, girls, (which Hank and Roy had to roll their eyes at) the nurses that were on the floor.
Soon, everyone had to leave, satisfied that Johnny was really okay. Roy was the only one the stayed, wanting to talk to Johnny about what happened. "Johnny…" he started, not really sure where to start.
"I guess you want to know what I was thinking," Johnny read Roy's mind.
"You guess Johnny!? What were doing, not telling me there was a gun or that you were shot. I get to Rampart looking for you and they tell me that you had been shot. Do you have any idea how worried I was?"
Johnny let Roy rant, knowing that he needed to get things off his chest. When Roy was done he spoke, "Honestly Roy, I wasn't trying to make you worry. I saw the glint of the gun in the sunlight and the only thing I could think of was the you have a family to go home to and that I don't. I was so focused on the accident plus all the adrenaline pumping through my body made me not feel a thing until I was at Rampart. And then I collapsed. Pretty stupid now that I think about it. Sorry Roy."
With that said all of Roy's anger melted away. "It's okay Johnny. We will just keep this as a lesson for next time. I will bring something edible then next time I come and visit. Get some sleep now. See you later Junior.
"Bye Pally," was all Johnny said.
The high from shooting the fireman was started to wear off for Charlie. Knowing that he wouldn't be happy until another one was shot, he started to plan. He would get revenge for his dead family.