The Boot

Chapter Fifteen

By GCS

DISCLAIMER: "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction. This story is only written for entertainment. No financial gain is being realized from it. The story, itself, is the property of the author.

When Johnny opened his eyes again he was being moved. He could feel hands sliding under his back and shoulders; the motion made him nauseas. He moaned and swallowed trying to keep everything in place.

"Shh, it's all right. We're just taking you upstairs to a room." Dixie soothed.

He felt air on his back just before he felt the cool sheet when he was once again lowered. A blanket was swiftly pulled up to his neck. The room seemed to spin from the jostling. Johnny squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath, willing the motion sickness to subside.

"Hey," Dixie could see that he was struggling. "Are you okay?"

Johnny let out the breath he was holding and swallowed several times. When he opened his eyes Dixie was gone. He struggled, trying to turn on his side before he lost the contents of his stomach. He just didn't seem to have the energy. The hands he felt earlier returned and helped him roll onto his side and somehow Dixie reappeared with a funny looking, curved orange plastic bowl that seemed to fit perfectly against his cheek. She held his head as he retched. When he was finished she washed his face and pulled the blanket snuggly around him. Just in case he was sick again on the trip upstairs they left Johnny on his side. He already had enough congestion in his lungs. The last thing he needed was to aspirate.

In the lobby Dr. Early explained to the men from Station 10 and Jimbo that Johnny had probably developed full blown pneumonia. "I was hoping we could fight this with oral antibiotics, but…" He sighed. "His earlier upset didn't help matters. His temperature is elevated and his oxygen levels are too low. We'll be moving him upstairs to a room shortly. Once he's settled he will be allowed visitors, but I want him to get as much rest as he can. He is a very sick young man."

"Thank you Dr. Early." Captain Jones spoke for his men. "How long do you think he'll need to be here?"

"Well that depends on how he responds to the antibiotics. Why don't you check back with me tomorrow? I should have a better idea of where we stand. Captain Jones, the man that Johnny pulled out of the water may need to be checked again. That water may have had some contaminants in it that the antibiotics we gave him aren't strong enough to handle. If he is at all susceptible, he may develop some complications as well."

"I'll give him a call and have him here as soon as possible."

"Tell him to have me paged when he arrives. Now if you will excuse me." Joe turned and walked back down the corridor and into another treatment room.

Just as Joe disappeared into a room the door to the room where Johnny was opened and his gurney was pushed into the hall. All eyes turned toward the movement in the hall.

Johnny heard the swish of the door and felt the jarring when the gurney knocked against the doorframe. The sudden jolt made his stomach flip again. 'Oh No…not again.' He chanced a glance as he felt the gurney moving into the hall. Bright lights flashed above him as he was wheeled along, the effect was dizzying. He quickly closed his eyes again and buried his face against the cool sheet.

Jimbo walked to the other side of the hall so he could be on the side of the gurney Johnny faced. The gurney stopped moving. The orderly punched the elevator button. Jimbo looked over his friend. He lay on his side curled tightly in several blankets. If it was possible he looked paler than he had earlier. Beads of sweat gathered along his hairline, and his eyes were squeezed shut. "Hey kid."

Johnny squinted up at his friend.

"I'm gonna head on back to the diner. I'll be back later to check on you." He patted Johnny's shoulder.

"I's okay. Ya don' hav'ta. 'm tired." Johnny whispered as he closed his eyes again and snuggled deeper into the blankets.

"Well I'll come back tomorrow then. If they decide to let you out before I get here, wait on me. I'll drive you home." Jimbo looked to Johnny for his agreement. He didn't get a response. "John?"

"O..okay…don' wanna be t..trouble." Johnny quietly said without looking at Jimbo who patted his shoulder again as the orderly began moving the gurney into the elevator. Johnny's back was to his station mates, so he never knew they were all there in support of him.

"Take it easy Johnny. I'll see you tomorrow." Jimbo stood and watched the elevator doors slide shut. He turned back to the men from Station 10. "That's one sick man." He nodded his head from side to side. "Listen Ben, I have to get back to the diner. Will you call me if you hear anything…if there are any changes in his condition…please?" He held out his hand to Captain Jones. "It was good to see you. Come on down to the diner soon."

"I'll do that. It may be sooner than you think now that I know you know my new man." Captain Ben Jones smiled at his old friend.

"Man, Gage looked like hell." Jeff said to no one in particular. A response of nods and "yeahs" came from his crew mates.

"I guess someone should call Cody. Doctor Early said he needed to get checked again." Scotty commented to Captain Jones. "You want me to do it?"

"No Dale, you guys get out of here. I'll call Cody. I'm going to check on Gage once they get him settled."

"Well Cap, I guess I'll be staying here with you then. Remember we rode together." Scotty chuckled.

"Don't worry about it Dale. I'll get a ride."

"Why don't I leave you my truck? I'll catch a ride with Tony and pick it up from your place later." He suggested to his captain.

"Okay, thanks."

Scotty handed his keys to Captain Jones and turned to the group, "Well guys I think we have just enough time to get over to McGill's and meet Jim. Whattaya say we head that way. Tony, can I bum a ride with you? Cap's gonna use my truck."

"Sure Scotty, but I'm driving." Tony good humouredly teased the engineer as he slung his arm across his shoulder.

Scotty ducked away and laughed. "Okay, okay, you can drive…this time."

Captain Jones chuckled at his men before turning toward the bank of payphones.

Jim paced around the living room to his apartment. Dinner had long been ready, but Cody was still asleep. He had finally given up and eaten his, leaving Cody's in the oven keeping warm. Glancing at his watch for the hundredth time he walked down the hallway and tapped lightly on the door to Cody's room before opening it. "Hey Bro you up?"

"Hmmm?" Cody mumbled from the bed.

"I'm goin' out for a while; if you're hungry dinners in the oven." He waited for a response.

"Thanks." Cody raised his head and looked over his shoulder at his brother.

"Are you feeling better?" Jimbo stepped into the room and up to the end of the bed.

"A little."

"Can I get you anything, some aspirin, something to drink before I go?"

"Nah, I'll get up in a little while and eat. Go on. Meet the guys."

"Cody…I"

"Don't Jim, just go." Cody turned back to the wall and pulled the covers back up effectively ending the conversation.

Jim sighed deeply and turned to leave. He stopped at the door and looked back at his brother.

Cody feigned returning to sleep and waited until he heard the front door shut and the deadbolt lock click into place before pushing the covers back, turning and putting his bare feet on the floor. He absently rubbed his hand on his chest. Standing up slowly he felt achy and stiff. 'Man I don't need to drink alone ever again. I feel terrible.'

Cody moved very slowly down the hallway to the kitchen. The smell of his dinner warming in the oven almost made him turn around and go back to bed. It wasn't an unpleasant odor…at least it wouldn't be if he didn't feel so bad. There seemed to be a band warming up for their next set inside his head, the drums taking precedence over the other instruments. 'Oh man, I hope we have something for a headache. I don't remember having this bad of a hangover from a few beers before.' His head hurt so bad he almost didn't hear the phone ringing on the wall across the room. "Hullo." He answered hoarsely, rubbing his palm over his forehead once the incessant ringing stopped.

"Hello, this is Captain Jones."

Cody didn't wait for his Captain to finish speaking. "Uh hi Cap, Jim's not here. He already left to meet the guys. Can I give him a message?"

"I called to talk to you Cody."

Suddenly alert and worried about why Captain Jones would be calling him, Cody stood straighter, "Yes sir? You did sir?"

"I'm at Rampart."

"At Rampart Sir, is everything all right? Are you all right? Can I do something for you sir?" Cody interrupted again and rattled off several questions.

"I'm fine Cody, thanks for asking, but I came down to see about Gage."

"Gage?"

"Yes, it seems he's developed pneumonia."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that Cap, but what's that got to do with me?" Cody rubbed at his chest. He coughed a couple of times.

"Dr. Early thinks you need to come in for another listen to your lungs. You were in the water too. He thinks there may have been contaminants."

"I was there. I was in the hospital. They said I could go home. If there was a problem wouldn't they have seen it then?" The last thing Cody wanted to do on his day off was to be tied up at Rampart. "I'm okay Cap. There's no need for me to come over there."

"That wasn't a request Cody."

"Excuse me, sir?"

"I'll expect you within the hour." Captain Jones looked down at his watch.

"Yes sir." Cody hung up the phone without even saying goodbye. 'Dang it Gage, you're getting me in trouble again.' He walked over and shut off the warm oven. 'Why did you have to get assigned to my station? Why couldn't you just show off somewhere else? I think you enjoy making the rest of us look like we didn't learn anything at the academy. Natural instincts they said. I've got natural instincts. Firefighting runs in my family. I don't see what is so special about you anyway. So what if you climb well, aren't afraid of heights, are so dang skinny you can fit into tight spaces better 'n anybody else. I could be as fast as you on those hose and hydrant drills if I practiced more. I bet you practice all the time when you're off. I mean what else does a guy like you have to do anyway. You probably don't have any friends to do anything with, and now, thanks to you, I probably don't have any either. Everybody's down on me because of you.' He ran his fingers through his hair, slipped his bare feet into his topsiders, grabbed his keys from the kitchen counter and stalked across the living room to the door, jerking open the deadbolt and flinging the door wide; then slamming it shut.

By the time the orderly got Johnny up to his floor and into his room he felt like he was gasping for air. His chest hurt and his eyes burned from the strangled coughs that overtook him in the elevator.

Somehow Nurse McCall had gotten there ahead of them, and she quickly pulled the oxygen mask over his face even before they transferred him from the gurney to the bed. Fresh, cool, pure oxygen filtered in and his breathing eased a little. Then suddenly the warmth of the blankets was replaced with cold air when the orderly threw them back out of the way. Then Johnny realized there was another man in the room and hands slid beneath him as he was once again shifted from one surface to another.

Everything was happening so fast. One moment he was being wheeled down the hallway and the next he lay on a softer surface feeling somewhat exposed. As fast as the thought of being exposed went through his muddled brain, the security of a fresh warm blanket covered him. And before he had time to assimilate the situation, pillows were strategically placed behind his head, elevating him enough to ease his breathing, but not too high to be uncomfortable. A cool folded cloth was draped across his overheated forehead. He felt a thermometer slide beneath his arm and gentle pressure on the arm to hold it against his body. Then he heard the soft comforting voice of his new friend Nurse Dixie McCall as she thanked the orderlies and dismissed them from his room. That was all he knew. He drifted into an exhausted sleep before anything else could be said or done.

Dixie smiled down at the young man in the bed. She reached up with her free hand and smoothed his bangs back away from the damp cloth. 'There's nothing like a fever or an injury to turn you strong brave men back into little boys again, but you Johnny are different. Even this sick, you are thinking of everyone else. Well it's time to think about you. It's time for you to concentrate on John Gage and getting better.' Dixie couldn't help herself. From the first time she saw him, just the other day, she had already developed a fondness for the dark haired young fireman. There was just something about this man, a hidden vulnerability that made her want to cuddle and care for him. One thing for sure, he had inner strength, that she was certain of; something in his past had made him that way. Something had forced him at a young age to fend for himself, and he didn't want anyone's pity or charity. She'd seen it before during her time as nurse in the military, many good strong men who didn't know how to accept help for fear they would appear weak or that they would break down and show everyone just how human they were.