Chapter 3

Mid-September, 1981

The day started with the usual routine. As had been the norm for the last two weeks, it was raining – again. Johnny and Chris got up and tended to the stables as Jenny started breakfast. This morning, however, she was feeling somewhat tired and could feel the beginnings of a headache forming.

Johnny stopped to fill his cup with coffee before going on to shower and glanced over at Jenny. She had become a quiet child since the deaths of her parents, but his morning she seemed almost too quiet. "Okay there, Jenny?"

"Sure, Uncle Johnny. Just feeling a little off this morning."

Frowning, he placed the back of his hand to Jenny's forehead. "Well, you are feeling a little warm. Think you should stay home?"

Jenny shook her head. "No, I want to go on to school. Today is library day and I want to check and see if the new book is in."

"Ok, it you're sure. But, if you start to feel worse have the school nurse page me and I'll come get you." Johnny set his coffee cup back down on the counter and pulled the young girl into his arms. "No heroics, ok?" he asked, using Jenny's favorite line.

She snuggled down into his arms. "Ok, Uncle Johnny." She pulled away and left the room to finish getting ready for school.

"Take him to treatment room 1," the nurse directed the paramedics.

John Gage followed the two paramedics behind the patient they had just brought in. Today he was doing a ride along with a new team and checking out their progress. After watching them enter the treatment room, he continued on down the hall toward the base station. He grabbed one of the Styrofoam cups and poured himself a cup of coffee. It had already been a long morning.

Taking a sip, he watched as the medical personnel moved from place to place, whether to assist a patient or to return a chart, as he waited for the paramedics to exit the treatment room.

Finishing his cup, he moved to place it in the trash when he heard some voices around the corner.

"Betty, what do you know about John Gage?"

Johnny paused, then backed up a step, listening.

Betty glanced up at Emily Bishop, then back down at the chart she was updating. "Well, I've known Johnny for over eight years now. What would you like to know?"

"He recently asked me if I wanted to go see the sites of Los Angeles. I just wanted to know if he's a nice guy, that kind of thing." The doctor nervously moved stuff around on the nurses' desk.

"Well, you couldn't ask for a better tour guide. He's very sweet, loves to talk," Betty grinned. "If you're asking if he gets around, the answer is no. Even before his best friend was killed, Johnny was very cautious about dates. I don't think I've heard that he's been with anyone since April." She paused in her work and looked at Emily intently. "If you're interested, I'd say go for it. You couldn't ask for a better tour guide, or friend."

Emily hesitated before asking her next question. "I heard he's got a family now. I mean, how does fit into his life now."

"He's raising Roy and Joanne DeSoto's children," Betty confirmed. "Like I mentioned, Roy was killed in April. Joanne died of cancer last month. Joanne's mother is elderly, and they had no other family, so Johnny is all those kids have now. And he very protective of them."

"But does he really have the time between work and his new duties to take care of these children to take me on a date? It seems like his life is too busy as it is right now…."

Hearing a noise behind her, Emily turned to see Johnny look at her and then walk away toward the Emergency Room exit.

"Oh, no."

What a long day, Jenny thought as she sat down in her usual seat on the bus. Leaning her head against the cool window, she glanced out the window not really seeing the end of school day activities outside the bus or that the rain had begun again.

She felt a presence stop by her seat and looked up to see a girl staring down. "This seat taken?"

Jenny shook her head and scooted closer to the window to give the girl some room. "Hi, my name is Margie Johnson. Name is really Margaret, but I really don't like it. I've noticed you on this bus for the last few weeks. New, huh? I remember being the new kid, but that was a few years ago. I really hope you are doing ok in getting used to the classes. How do you like your teachers? My brother, Andy, was in this class three years ago. Said the teachers were just plain mean, and he wasn't kidding! I'm telling you, if I have to….."

Jenny sat in somewhat shocked silence, listening to the red headed girl go on about their mutual classes and not giving her a chance to reply. After a few minutes she relaxed and decided to just listen to what was apparently a new friend.

Chris boarded the bus and immediately began looking for his sister. He saw a red headed girl sitting next to her and what looked like an attempt to talk Jenny's ear off. Chris smiled to himself and found another place to sit. It was about time she started making new friends. He pulled out his book and decided to get a head start on the next chapter. It was, after all, a long ride back to the ranch.

Soon, students were dropped off at their stops and the bus became emptier. Chris glanced around and saw they were down to just 6 students, including himself. They were generally the last drop off in the afternoons, so he knew they were nearing the end of their route. He started to put his book back in his bag when he looked up out the front window and saw the car in the other lane lose control and crossed in front of the bus. The bus driver had no choice but to swerve to try and avoid the car. With the rain slicked roads, the bus had no chance. The last thing Chris saw was the terrified look on his sister's face before the world went black.

What a long day, Johnny thought as he was slid into the middle of the squad to allow the other paramedic in. He was observing the paramedics out of 116 today. Their newest paramedic, a Jeremy Letterman, was still on probation until Johnny cleared him for full active duty. The ride along today was to fulfill the last requirement and Johnny would be able to sign him off as ready to be certified.

Moments ago the station had received the tones for a MVA involving a school bus. Knowing that there was a possibility that children could be involved, Johnny mentally prepared himself and quietly observed Jeremy to see his reaction.

As Jeremy's partner, Charlie Goodson, made the turn toward the accident scene, Johnny realized where they were heading. Oh, God, no. Don't let it be their bus….

The bus was lying on its side in the ravine next to the road. Charlie pulled the squad up as close to the scene as he could with 116's engine pulling in behind him. Johnny hopped out after Jeremy and looked down at the accident scene. He felt his knees go weak. "Oh, God, no…."

Charlie glanced over at his supervisor. He had known Johnny for years and was therefore shocked to hear Johnny sound distressed. "Johnny?"

Johnny turned his face toward him, shock apparent. "It's Chris and Jenny's bus. They're usually the last ones off. They must still be on there."

Charlie gave him a hard look. "Look, even if they are in there, maybe they're ok and just scared. Ok? You let me take the lead here, Johnny, and let me and Jeremy handle the scene."

The dark headed paramedic nodded his head in agreement. "You run the scene, Charlie, but I'll still assist. You're going to need every hand."

Without another word the three men grabbed equipment and prepared to work down to the bus.

Chris blinked his eyes and began to survey his surroundings. The bus looks funny, he thought. After a moment, he remembered the accident. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and glanced at the mess the bus had become. He crawled the few feet to the front of the bus to check on the driver. Chris came to the conclusion that he didn't need to have medical knowledge to understand that the driver was dead.

He sighed, and headed back to where he had last seen his sister. Jenny was lying on her back, but her left arm was caught between a seat the side of the bus. The red headed girl sat beside her looking lost. "Hey," Chris said.

"Hey," she replied.

"What's your name? Are you hurt?"

She shook her head. "I'm Margie. And no, I'm not hurt. Jenny is though."

Chris scooted closer to his sister and took a better look at her arm. "Ok, we can't move her, not until help arrives. But she has a compound fracture. Do you know what means?"

Margie again shook her head.

"A compound fracture is when a broken bone breaks the skin." Chris nodded toward the trapped arm. "And Jenny has one. It's not bleeding too much, but I think it's because of the pressure from the seat. If she starts to move, see if you can keep her still, ok?" Margie simply nodded her head before Chris moved on to check on the other three students. After checking them over, it appeared they only had some minor cuts and bruises.

After checking again with Margie, Chris moved toward the back of the bus to see if he could open the emergency door.

The paramedics slowly made their way down the ravine toward the bus. They were somewhat surprised when they came up on it to see the emergency door swing down. Johnny ran ahead when saw the person who had opened it.

"Chris? You ok?"

Johnny took a close look at his nephew and made a cursory exam to make sure he was ok. Other than a bump on the head and a slight gash over his right eye, Chris appeared to be ok. "I'm ok, Uncle Johnny. Most of the other kids are, too. However, Jenny's hurt – bad." He paused and finished with, "and the driver is dead."

Johnny and Charlie looked at each other, then crawled into the bus and began to move the three children out to Jeremy. Then they worked over to where Chris had gone back to his sister.

Charlie took one glance at the position of the arm and pulled out his HT. "Engine 116, this is HT 116. We have 6 children, 3 are with Jeremy. One child is trapped under one of the seats. We need a porta power and jacks to get her out."

"10-4, HT 116."

Charlie glanced at Margie and nodded toward the door. "Come on, sweetheart. Let's get you out. We need to make some room so we can work on your friend."

She turned solemn eyes toward him. "You'll get her out?"

"You bet. Come on, let's go." Charlie helped her up and handed her to another fireman waiting at the door. He came back a few minutes later with the porta power and jacks. It was at that moment that Jenny DeSoto decided to return to the land of consciousness.

Johnny gently held Jenny's head between his hands. "Jenny, come on, angel, I need you to look at me. Come on." Jenny's eyes opened and looked up at him.

"Hurts."

He nodded. "I know, angel, we're going to work on getting you out. Unfortunately, we won't be able to give you anything for the pain because you were unconscious. Do you understand?" She slowly blinked her eyes and whispered to him in another language. Johnny smiled and replied to her in kind. Charlie glanced at the two of them and wondered what was said. He turned to Chris and tilted his head back toward the door. "Son, you may want to step out. This isn't going to be easy and you don't really want to watch your sister as we pull her out. It is going to hurt – a lot, and we can't do anything to numb the pain. So, do us a favor, step out and let us work, ok?"

Chris looked over at Johnny and got confirmation. He stepped outside the bus and waited for them to finish. He heard a scream, and then it was over.