The Boot

Chapter Twenty Six

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.

Several months passed and things began to settle into a normal routine for Johnny, except his finances. Being sick with pneumonia had left him behind on his rent and utilities which had finally caught up with him. With the missed shifts his paychecks had not been what he had hoped for. He had tried to pay Scotty and Captain Jones back for replacing the tire on his bike, but they wouldn't accept the money. Even with that he was still late paying his electric bill. The power had been turned off two days ago. Thankfully he had to work that day, but he had yet to get paid again, and had to spend the night in his apartment with no power, and nothing to eat.

He broke down and went to the shelter where he used to go when he was on the streets to get something to eat. Firefighting was tough business, and his high metabolism seemed to be running even higher since he joined the department. He'd been surprised to run into some of his shift mates and his new friend Nurse Dixie McCall there donating their time on Thanksgiving to feed the hungry. He suspected that she knew why he had shown up at the shelter, but being the wonderful woman he was finding her to be, she had not let on that she knew. She did however make him stay the rest of the day and "help" with the evening meal as well. Then she had insisted that she give him a ride back to his apartment, but asked him to help her unload her car at her place of the containers she had taken cookies and other baked goodies in to the shelter before taking him home.

"Just have a seat over there Johnny; I'm going to put on something a little more comfortable." Dixie disappeared down the hallway. Johnny stood in the middle of the nicely decorated room. Not moving. He felt completely out of place in his old sweats. He could hear drawers open and close, running water and a host of other noises coming from the other room. He nervously waited for her to return and take him home. Dixie came back down the hall in a pretty pink jogging suit humming a soft tune. She stopped at the end of the hall and smiled up at the nervous young man. "You can sit on the sofa Johnny," she chided.

"Oh…um…I'm okay. Are you ready to go?" He blushed and looked at the door…the escape.

"It's a bit chilly don't you think, how about some hot chocolate or tea?" She breezed past and into the kitchen. "Won't take but a minute."

"Tea would be nice." Johnny said softly and followed her into the kitchen. "But you don't half to go to any trouble."

"Tea…really? I thought you would be a hot chocolate kind of guy." She glanced over her shoulder as she filled the tea kettle at the sink.

"I'm allergic to chocolate."

"Oh." She stopped on her way to the stove and looked at him for a second. "I love chocolate. You must hate that." He shrugged in answer. She turned to the appliance, set the temperature on the eye and placed the kettle on the heat source. "Are you hungry?"

Johnny chuckled. "No ma'am I ate plenty at the shelter." He patted his flat belly.

Dixie giggled. "Yes, I guess you did. So what kind of sweets does a guy who is allergic to chocolate like to eat?" She hooked her arm in his and steered him to the sofa in the other room.

"I like vanilla shakes."

"Well thanks to your friend Jimbo I already knew that. What else?" She sat next to him and curled her legs on the cushion.

He thought for a minute as they settled on the sofa. "I like fruit. It's really sweet when it's fresh. Pie…I like apple pie with ice cream on it, vanilla ice cream." He grinned.

Dixie giggled again, "I could have guessed the flavor of the ice cream." She rose from the sofa to get the whistling tea kettle. "Stay put, I'll be right back."

They had enjoyed hot tea together and then Dixie made an excuse to get something in her bedroom. Johnny leaned back and closed his eyes. He had to be on shift the next morning. The warmth of the tea combined with the restless cold sleep from the night before and the warm heat in her home left him drowsy. He dreaded the thought of going back to his cold apartment. Before he knew it he was sound asleep.

He slowly opened his eyes and stretched beneath the warm blanket. Blinking several times brought the strange room into focus. He knew it was early. He always woke up early. He didn't always get up and often fell back to sleep, but the years he'd spent on the reservation had taught him to wake up just before dawn. He shifted on the sofa and untangled his legs from the blanket to put his feet on the floor. Someone had taken his shoes off. He rubbed his face with his hands trying to clear the last of the sleepy fog from his brain.

"Good morning!" Dixie called from the kitchen.

The smell of coffee drifted into the room. Johnny realized he was still at Dixie's and it was morning. He got up and walked to the kitchen doorway. "I'm sorry, Dixie, I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"Don't worry about that. I can take you by your apartment this morning if you need to before I drop you at your station." She poured him some coffee. "How do you take your coffee?"

He reached for the cup. "This is fine. Thank you." He'd finally gotten used to the taste of coffee. Just like Scotty had told him months ago…you can't be in the fire business and not need lots of caffeine; coffee was a great source of caffeine. He sipped carefully so as not to burn his lip. "You can drop me at my place. I can get my bike."

"No sir, Mr. Gage. It's raining cats and dogs out there. I'll drop you off. Then if you need a ride when you get off shift, you can just call me." He could tell there would be no arguments about it. She had a plan and nothing he could say or do would change her mind.

"Okay, but you can just take me to the station. Everything I need is already there in my locker." He looked sheepishly into the dark liquid in his cup. "I'm sorry to be so much trouble."

"John Gage, you are not any trouble. Your fire station is just a couple of streets over from the way I normally go to the hospital. I am the one that asked you to help me yesterday, so stop apologizing." She swatted at his arm as she passed. "It will just take me a minute to get into my uniform. Do you want some breakfast before we leave?"

"The coffee is fine."

"Coffee is not a well balanced breakfast. Why don't we swing by Jimbo's on the way."

"Jimbo's isn't on the way from here. It's all the way out by my apartment." He corrected her.

"Well, in that case if you need something from your apartment before I drop you at the station, it won't be any trouble to stop and get it. Besides, I'd like to see my old friend again. I haven't seen him since you were released from Rampart a couple of months ago. I'll be right out." She left Johnny standing in the hallway with his mouth agape. Dixie McCall had a way about her that seemed to keep everyone in line. Johnny was no exception.

In what seemed like a blink of the eye the two friends were pulling into a parking space beside Jimbo's. Johnny jumped out of the car and ran around to the driver's door to open it before Dixie even had time to think. The rain had let up a bit, but he lifted her umbrella over her head anyway. She smiled up at him as she slid from behind the wheel. "Why thank you Johnny." She hooked her arm in his and together they walked to the door and inside. Johnny shook the umbrella outside the door and dropped it in the umbrella stand just inside. They found a booth by the front window.

"Well hello there sunshine." Margie, the pretty blonde haired gum smacking waitress Johnny had met when he came in on his way to Rampart when he was sick, sidled up beside their booth. "Haven't seen you in a while. What can I get ya?" She smacked her gum popping a bubble between her teeth, her eyes never leaving Johnny as she held up her pen and order pad ready to write.

"I'll have some orange juice, toast and an egg over easy," Dixie replied.

Margie shot her a sideways glance and scribbled on her pad. "This your mother?" She asked Johnny snidely.

Johnny turned a deep shade of red and looked down at the table. "No."

Margie's eyes grew big. "Oh."

If it was possible Johnny's blush grew even deeper. Jimbo came up just at that moment, "Dixie!" he bent down and kissed her fondly on the cheek. "It's great to see you!"

"Hi Jimbo." She smiled sweetly. "I was giving Johnny a ride to work and thought it would be nice to stop by and see one of my favorite people."

"Yeah? That's great, just great. Hey Johnny! Margie, why don't you get their drinks, and I'll get the rest of their order."

"What are you drinking today sweetie? Water again?"

"He'll have two glasses of milk and an orange juice." Jimbo answered for Johnny who looked up at him and wrinkled his forehead in question. "Vitamin C…we can't have you getting sick again can we?" He grabbed Johnny's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Now will it be pancakes or French toast?"

"Pancakes." Johnny said softly. He was still having trouble with all the care everyone seemed to want to give him.

"Pancakes it is, and bacon and eggs." Jimbo turned and headed back to the kitchen before Johnny could protest at the amount of food Jimbo was preparing him.

Dixie smiled too. Phoning ahead to get Jimbo's help in making sure Johnny ate a good meal before reporting to work had been a stroke of genius. "He sure is a nice man."

"Yep, that's Jimbo all right. Nice guy." Johnny grinned broadly. "A good friend too." It felt good to finally relax enough to allow himself to trust someone a satisfactory amount to call them a good friend. "I really appreciate all you've done for me too Ms. McCall."

"It's not a problem Johnny. I hope you think of me as a friend too." She patted his hand. "Now while we wait on our food, why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself?"

"Not much to tell." His happy demeanor dissipated quickly. Dixie could see the immediate change in posture. He shifted uncomfortably in the booth. "I grew up on a ranch up north until my folks died. Then I spent a few years in the foster program; listened to a bunch of fighting between the couples that kept me; got tossed around from place to place until I ended up here with my aunt and uncle until he died. She couldn't afford for me to stick around, so after high school I left, and that's about it. Now I'm a fireman."

Dixie's heart broke at the detached way he described his childhood. Not wanting to stir up sad memories she quickly changed the subject. "And a darn good one I've been told."

"Really? You heard I was good?" He seemed surprised that anyone would say that.

"Well of course I've heard."

Right about then Margie returned with their drinks followed shortly by Jimbo with their food. "Eat up." He smiled. "I can't have our newest fireman lacking energy to haul his hose now can I?" He teased Johnny who in turn blushed again before digging into his breakfast.

After they finished the hearty breakfast Dixie insisted on taking Johnny by his apartment to pick up the things he would need for his shift. They pulled up in front of the dingy old apartment building. Johnny climbed out promising to hurry. He walked a few steps away from Dixie's car…stopped…looked around…turned and walked around the front of her car. Dixie rolled down her window. "Uh…this is not a very good neighborhood. Lock your doors." He stood up and looked around again. "Don't open them for anyone. Leave if you have to." He then hurried to the stairs and bounded up the two flights taking two steps at a time.

Dixie kept her doors locked and her eyes on the derelict building Johnny lived in. Sadness gripped her heart that such a kind and caring young man had to live there. She vowed to herself to encourage him to move to a nicer complex as soon as he was able. Suddenly she heard the handle on the passenger side click. She jumped at the noise. Johnny was back. She unlocked the door relieved that he was back and they could be on their way. "That was quick."

"Didn't want you out her alone for very long." He shifted in the seat and glanced back at his complex. "I've never had any trouble, but then I'm not an attractive lady in a car by myself." He turned back to the front.

"Why thank you Johnny."

He looked over at her, "For what?"

"You called me attractive. Thank you." She teased.

When they pulled up in front of Station 10 Johnny hesitated before climbing out of the car. "Um…Dixie, I uh…I want…Th…thank you." As he normally did when he was nervous Johnny stumbled over the words and blushed deeply.

Dixie reached over and gripped his hand. "No thanks necessary. Friends help friends. I want to be your friend."

"Yes ma'am." Johnny nodded before he turned to get out of the car. He opened the door and then softly said, "I'd like that."

Strolling into the front of the station Johnny was met with several cat calls. "Hey Gage! Got a new girl friend?" "Hey Johnny! Since when do beautiful ladies haul you around." "Wow Johnny! She's a doll." Etc. Which of course caused the young man to turn several shades of crimson. He hurried across the bay and into the locker room as fast as he could.

After roll call the station was called out to an MVA, and then a structure fire. After lunch the rain had stopped and the crew hoped for a slow afternoon, but no one said that out loud. Every fireman worth a grain of salt knew that you never mention how the day is going. If you do then the tones won't sleep. Scotty found Johnny dribbling the basketball out back. "Want some company Boot?"

Johnny tossed the ball to Scotty. Then he took up a blocking stance. "Show me what you've got, Old Man."

"Old man? I'll show you an old man." He dribbled around Johnny, spun around from behind him and tossed the ball against the backboard and watched it drop through the net with a swoosh. Johnny smiled at Scotty's antics. The two men had grown very fond of each other in the last several months. Boot had become Scotty's nick name for Johnny. Even though there were three boots at the station right now. He called the others by their name and Johnny, he called Boot. Oh he liked the other guys all right, but Scotty saw such potential in Johnny and admired the young man for achieving so much in his young life and apparently with no one's help. Scotty admired that. He admired Johnny's strength and courage.

Calling Scotty "Old Man" that day in the back lot of Station 10 marked the beginning of a tradition between the two friends that would continue for many years. Johnny grabbed the ball and dribbled past the engineer. Without much fanfare he turned and tossed the ball into the air and watched as it bounced once on the rim and then slipped through the net.

"What's on your mind today Boot?" Scotty caught the ball and turned to Johnny waiting for his answer.

"Just thinking about stuff." Johnny shrugged. In truth talking to Dixie had brought back the ugly memories of his time in foster care when he found many spaces his small body could hide in while the adults yelled at one another. He shuddered at the memories. Then looked over at Scotty with a half smile he tried to hide his emotions.

"That stuff got you upset?" Scotty had learned to be very perceptive with Johnny.

"No…not really. Just not the best things, but it's all in the past. It was a long time ago." Johnny moved around between Scotty and the goal. "You gonna shoot or what?"

Just as Scotty started to move toward the goal the tones echoed across the lot. "Well Boot, they're playing our song." The two men jogged into the station and up to Engine One. In a matter of seconds the Vehicles poured from the bay in another parade of red racing to the scene.

As the crews pulled hoses and began to battle the flames a woman ran from the house and collapsed in the front yard. Tony and Joe raced over and moved her away from the house. An ambulance had arrived and the attendants met them with a gurney. Joe climbed into the ambulance with the woman. He was strapping the oxygen mask over her face as the attendant closed the doors and slapped the back before running around and climbing in the front.

A woman ran up to Captain Jones and explained that a middle aged couple lived in the home with a foster child. Before the fire started they could be heard yelling at each other. She thought they had been fighting about the boy. She suggested that they had possibly been cooking and forgot.

"Okay, Gage you assist Tony with the search. The neighbors report a man and a small boy still inside. Cody you back up Bill in Gage's place." Captain Jones directed.

Johnny pulled on his SCBA and moved over next to Tony. "What do we do?"

Tony smiled at him, "We Rescue, Johnny." He was bouncing on his feet ready to go in. "Come on, let's go find them." Johnny jogged behind Tony across the yard and into the front door of the burning structure. Tony stopped just inside the door and motioned to Johnny the direction they would start. Johnny nodded his understanding and followed.

Johnny could feel the exhilaration running in his veins. Fighting the fire was exciting, but this was different. Now he felt a heightened sense of purpose. There were people who needed his help, and he was perfectly willing to give it. This was more than saving a building…this was saving the people who lived in the building too. They crossed the living room and into the kitchen where they found the man. He'd been trying to put out the fire. It looked like it had started there. Tony grabbed the man by the shoulders and Johnny grabbed his feet. They carried him out of the house and over to the squad where they laid him on a yellow blanket. Tony began draping the man with sterile sheets and pouring liquid over the burns on his legs.

Johnny turned back to the house. Other stations had arrived to help protect the surrounding homes. Men Johnny didn't know pulled hoses into the front door where they had just exited. "What about the boy?" He asked.

Tony looked back at the burning house. "It's no use it's too hot. Cap would never let us back in now."

"But he's just a kid!" Johnny couldn't believe that Cap would just let a kid burn. Maybe this Rescue stuff wasn't that great after all if they couldn't save a little kid. "We can't just leave him in there!"

"Gage, you need to take a break, and then I need you on a line." Captain Jones directed.

Johnny went over beside Engine One and watched the flames shoot from the rafters and up into the evening sky. 'Just a kid.'He thought. 'We can't just leave him in there.' He knew Cap wasn't really going to not try to save the kid. He knew in his heart that his superior was only trying to protect his men; when they had things move under control they would search again. Over the past several months his shift mates had learned that Johnny had a soft spot when it came to kids. The young man had a way with them that helped them stay calm in bad situations. They knew if the missing boy died in this fire. Johnny would be the one most saddened by it. But what they didn't know is how far he would go to try to save the boy.

Johnny didn't feel right about taking a break when a child might be trapped in the fire. He replaced his air mask and jogged back to the house.

He moved past the lineman at the front door and into the black haze. The fire raged hot. Soot and heated ash particles filled the air. Even with a steady flow of water against them the flames still crept up the walls and tickled the ceiling.

Even in the intense heat a chill ran up his spine at the similarity between this situation and his own childhood. This was another lost boy like himself, and Johnny wouldn't leave until he was found.

Finding his way slowly into the family room he swiftly checked the first secret place he remembered from long ago when he used to hide while his foster parents argued. He pulled the charred sofa away from the wall and shone the flashlight into the space behind it. It was a tight squeeze, but a boy smaller than normal for his age could easily have been there where no one would think to look for him. If he stayed quiet and kept his breathing shallow he could stay there for hours, safe when things got scary between his parents, but that is not where the child was found. Not on this day when it would have been better if he had been there in the recess against the wall. He moved to the next safe hiding place.

Outside the burning structure Captain Jones asked Tony about his helper. "Have you seen Johnny?"

Tony looked up with alarm written all over his face. "Didn't he come out?"

"Relax Tony," Cap placed a calming hand on Tony's shoulder. "He came out with you a little while ago. I told him to take a break. I thought he would be helping you." Tony looked over his shoulder at the burning house. "I ordered him to help on a line, not back inside Tony." Tony looked back at his superior with an unsure gaze. "You don't think he would have gone back in against orders?"

Tony closed his eyes. "With a missing child, Cap." It was more a statement than a question. "I would have."

"If he…" Jones hesitated. "When he gets out of there I'm going to kill him." He lifted the HT to his mouth. "HT-10 to Battalion."

"Battalion to HT-10"

"Gage is checking the structure again for the boy. Keep that door clear."

The Chief's orders could be heard across the many HT's carried by each crew. Chet Kelly looked over his shoulder at his fellow lineman. "Come on Marco we gotta keep an exit for whichever crazy fireman came back in here to look." The two men moved back into position in the front room near the door.

"I don't know who that guy is, but he's loco to be coming back in here. This place is about to go." Marco Lopez yelled to his friend. He pulled the heavy hose along as they went further into the deteriorating structure.

Johnny hunkered low and moved into the kitchen. The fire was hottest in that room where it had started. He managed to get partway through the doorway and realized it was just too hot. If the boy had gone in there to hide…it was too late. Not wanting to waste any time. Johnny thought about the other places a traumatized young boy might look for a hole to disappear into.

He moved back down the hallway. The smoke was so thick he could barely see two feet in front of his face. 'Where are you?' He felt the door to the storage beneath the staircase before he saw it. He pulled it open and flashed his light inside. The closet was packed with boxes. The light scanned across the black marker that told of the contents of each carton; Christmas decorations, Halloween witch, Mom's china. The boy couldn't have gotten in there even if he was small. Johnny pushed the door closed and moved on toward the base of the staircase.

'I know you're here somewhere, but where? I already looked in the obvious places down here. Upstairs maybe? In a chest?' Johnny turned and bound up the stairs two at a time. He had a knack for remembering directions. Once he saw a floor plan it stuck in his head. He knew exactly which way to go to find the bathroom. There was a vanity cabinet. 'That has to be it.' He hurried down the hall.

He could feel the weakened floor give a little with each step. They didn't have much time.

The men on the hose couldn't believe their eyes when they saw Johnny go up the stairs. The railing was already half gone and the edges of the steps at the base had burnt away. They turned the hose on the flames the danced up the wall and trailed the length of the post at the bottom of the single flight. Battalion had ordered everyone out of the upstairs rooms a long time ago, before they knew the boy was missing.

He stopped at the door to the small room and stared open mouthed at the X on the door. 'They already checked in here for you, but they wouldn't think about you not wanting to be found.' He pushed open the door and dropped to his knees, opened the cabinet, flashed his light inside and revealed a small boy at the back behind the elbow of the drain beneath the sink; in a space too small for anyone to have suspected he would be. Johnny pulled his glove off and quickly grabbed the boy's wrist clumsily checking for a pulse. 'Thank God.'

He carefully slid the tiny body out around the pipes and into his arms, pulled off his face mask and slipped it over the boy's face. Then he unbuckled the clasps of his turnout coat and pulled it around the boy at the same time he rose up from the floor. The tiles beneath his feet seemed to sway with his shifting weight. He practically ran for the stairs and stumbled down them with the awkward way he carried the child. The smoke burned his throat, but he kept the clean air flowing from his mask on the boy's face.

Chet saw him coming down the stairs with the precious bundle and smiled. Marco said silent prayers that the boy was alive and would stay that way. They turned the spray to a mist to protect the rescuer and his victim. Steam rose off the heat of his protective gear.

Johnny glanced at the men on the hose as he hurried by giving them a nod of thanks just before he burst through the front door to safety. He didn't know who they were, but he was glad for the cooling spray they directed his way.

"Do we have an understanding Gage?" Captain Jones glared at his Boot.

"Yes sir." Johnny coughed out. He knew he was in deep trouble. He had directly disobeyed his Captain's orders, but he had to. He was the only one who could find that kid. And he had found him. He had found him in one of the places he knew to look. No one else could possibly have known the secret places like he knew. And he did know, because he heard the parents had been arguing, accusing each other. He knew the boy had to be hiding. Captain Jones had told him to take a break and then man a hose. He'd been in there too long, but he knew where to look for the boy. He just knew.

Tony pushed the oxygen mask back over Johnny's mouth and nose. "Keep that on Johnny."

Johnny closed his eyes. He knew he could be washed out if Cap was angry enough, but it was worth it. He'd found the boy.