The Boot

Chapter Thirty Three

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.

Johnny felt exhausted by the time he slid the chain around his motorcycle securing it to the post. He hadn't slept well at the station, and then Scotty had mentioned him training for Rescue. The rest of the shift he had stayed to himself mostly on the hose tower thinking about the things Scotty had said. Now he just wanted to make it upstairs to his apartment and take a nap. He had promised to meet Drew at three o'clock at the bowling alley. A smile spread across his face as he thought about how much fun it would be to out bowl his new friend.

After slipping out of his jacket and hanging it on the hook by the door he sat down on the couch toed off his tennis shoes; leaned back against the cushions and thought about the end of his shift…

Johnny knocked softly on Captain Jones' door.

"Come."

Johnny slowly opened the door. "Excuse me Cap."

"What can I do for you Gage?" He closed the log book and leaned back in his chair hoping Johnny was there to tell him he had thought about joining Rescue and what he had to do to make that happen.

Johnny entered the office and slowly shut the door. He turned and stood in the small space beside the desk. "Um…I…can…" Johnny took a deep breath and blew it out again. "You see…I…"

"Take your time John."

"I know I'm still new, but I could really use the money. I mean, if it's allowed." Johnny looked at Captain Jones and then down at his feet.

"Why don't you sit down, and we'll talk about whatever it is that has you so nervous." Captain Jones waved at a chair.

"That's…um, no thank you, sir. I was wondering if I am eligible to put in for overtime." Johnny finally got the words out; then looked up to see the disappointment on his Captain's face.

"Oh…well, yes you are." Captain Jones turned to face his desk. He didn't want Johnny to know he had thought he was there about something else. "When were you interested in working? I'll have to see if there are any openings."

"I thought maybe someone would want to be off for the holidays." Johnny explained.

"Don't you have plans with your family?"

"No sir. I need to get a car. I mean I like my bike, but in the rain…" Johnny ran his hand through his hair. "I just thought someone with kids or something." He shrugged.

"That's very honorable Gage. I tell you what. I know there are a couple of guys on B shift that might like part of the day off. I'll call their Captain and let him know you are available. They might even want you to work half a shift for one of them to have the morning off and then finish off for the other guy, so he can make it home in time for dinner. I should have it worked out by next shift."

"Thank you Cap. I really appreciate it." Johnny turned to leave, but hesitated. "Um Cap…"

Captain Jones looked at his young crew man and waited for him to continue.

"Scotty told me that Joe will be leaving real soon."

"Yes he will."

"He said you thought maybe I could, uh…might want to train for Rescue. Thank you for your confidence in me. How long do I have to think about it?"

Captain Jones' face lit up. "I'll need to know by the end of next week."

"Okay, thanks. I'll let you know." Johnny slipped out the door and walked quickly through the bay to his bike.

The telephone rang and brought him back from his thoughts. "Hello."

"Johnny, this is Dixie. I hope this is a good time. I'm working on my list of volunteers for dinner at the shelter on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I already talked to several of the guys from your shift and since you're not on duty I'm sure I can put you down for both."

"I can't." Johnny whispered softly.

Dixie thought she heard him say he couldn't. "What? You can't? But Johnny your friends will be there."

Johnny could hear the regret in her voice. He hated to let her down. She had become such an important friend to him. "I'm covering for someone that day."

"Covering? But why? It's Christmas. Why would you want to work Christmas?"

"I told Cap that I wanted some overtime." Johnny didn't give a long explanation. He felt bad that he hadn't thought about Dixie counting on him to help at the shelter before volunteering to work. "I'm sorry."

"John Gage, you do not have anything to be sorry about. If you have to work then you have to work. I'm working myself that evening after we finish serving. Don't you worry about it, but I will expect to see you for dinner one day that week. Okay?" The disappointment he had heard before had disappeared and she resumed her no nonsense tone.

"Yes Ma'am. I'll see what my schedule is and let you know. If you're working I can come have dinner with you at Rampart." He felt a little better about working now.

"You'll do no such of a thing. If I am working on your day off I will take a dinner break, and we will go eat at Jimbo's."

"Good deal." Johnny wanted to see Jimbo during the holidays anyway. He hadn't seen him in a while. "Thanks Dixie. Bye."

"Bye Sweetie. You take care of yourself."

"Yes Ma'am." He hung up the phone and leaned back again. A soft rain had started to fall outside and the tap, tap, tap on the window lulled him to sleep.

Drew decided to swing by Johnny's place and pick him up for their bowling match. The rain had been relentless all morning and at 2:00 it was still coming down. Drew remembered, from the gang hits at the police department and fire department with nails in motorcycle tires, that Johnny road a bike. He looked in the phone directory and found the Gages listed, J. R. Gage had to be him. He pulled out the phone number Johnny had given him and checked to make sure they matched.

He turned into the parking lot and was surprised to see how run down the buildings were. 'Man Johnny, why are you living in a dump like this?' He didn't have to look far to find Johnny's building. It had to be the one with a motorcycle chained to the post. The phone directory had said apartment 210, so he guessed it was on the second floor. As Drew made his way to the stairs he noticed that it was a quiet complex. With his schedule and the need to sleep some during the day, it made sense that Johnny might live here, but Drew knew it was not a good area. 'I'll have to talk to you about where you're living. Surely, we can find you a safer neighborhood.' He thought as he climbed the two flights stopping at the top to see which way to go.

Coming to stand outside Johnny's door he listened for a TV or some other noise that might indicate the resident was in fact home. He didn't hear anything except the occasional cough from behind the door. Drew stepped over to the window and peeked in through the crack between the drapes. No light lit the interior, but the bright sun outside left a thin line of illumination across the sofa. He could see that Johnny lay stretched out with his arm across his eyes. 'What are you doing asleep when we're supposed to be bowling in thirty minutes?' He chuckled as he went back to knock on the door. "Hey Johnny, it's me, Drew." He knocked again hoping to wake up his new friend.

Johnny heard the knocking and sat up slowly rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Okay! I'm coming!" He got up and crossed to the door swinging it open. His hand immediately went up to his eyes to block out the light. He squinted up to see a smiling Drew Burke. "I thought we were meeting at the bowling alley." He croaked out.

"We were, but I decided to give you a ride since it's been raining all day." Drew smiled.

Johnny leaned out the door and looked over the railing. "It's not raining now."

"Yeah well it stopped a few minutes ago, so sue a guy for trying to be nice. Aren't you gonna invite me in?"

Johnny stepped aside and waved him in. "Sure." He turned and walked toward the kitchen. His throat was dry and he wanted something to drink. "You want something to drink?"

"No thanks, I'm good. We can get something at the bowling alley. Come on let's get going before all the lanes are gone." Drew still stood just inside the door.

Johnny came back into the room with a glass of tap water. "Give me five minutes." He turned and walked down the short hall. He wanted a quick shower to help him wake up.

Drew looked around for a TV or something to do while he waited. He was surprised to see that Johnny didn't have one. He noticed the book on the coffee table. 'He must like to read. Guess I would too if I didn't have a TV set. How can anyone not have a TV? Who have I gotten mixed up with here?' He sunk down on the sofa and reached for the book and flipped a few pages.

Before he had a chance to read anything Johnny poked his head into the hall. "Hey man, you know how to make coffee?"

"What? Yeah, everybody knows how to make coffee. Why?"

"Cause I want some and it would save time if you made it." Johnny said as he disappeared again.

"Sure." Drew placed the book back on the table and rose from the couch. "Where is it?"

"Where's what?"

"The coffee? Where's the coffee?" Drew walked into the tiny kitchen. The only thing on the counter top was a small cheap Poly Perk type electric coffee maker, and beside it was a canister.

After he got the coffee started, Drew searched the cabinets for some cups. He smiled at the typical bachelor fare. Johnny had a few plates and cereal bowls…all mismatched; that was about it in the way of dishes. He took two cups down and sat them on the counter.

"Is it ready yet?" Johnny stood in the doorway rubbing a towel through his damp hair.

"Almost." Drew moved toward the fridge. "You got any cream?"

Johnny chuckled. "Cream? There's milk, but no cream."

"Cream…Milk…what's the difference?" Drew grabbed the carton and poured some in his cup; then looked at Johnny to see if he wanted any.

"Nope." He tossed the towel over the back of a chair.

"How do you drink it like that?"

"Didn't drink it at all before I joined the department." Johnny shrugged. "Is it ready yet?"

"Yeah…I think it is." He lifted the lid and pulled out the basket placing it in the sink. Then he replaced the lid and poured the two cups.

Johnny came up beside him and grabbed the darker of the two, turned and walked back to the living room and plopped down on the sofa. He blew on the cup and took a sip. "Not bad for a cop." He said teasingly as he raised the cup to his mouth again.

"Not bad for a….I'll have you know I've been making coffee since I was ten."

"So for a couple of years then?" Johnny teased.

Drew laughed loudly. "Yeah for a couple of years. Hurry up and drink up. The lanes will all be taken."

"Nah, we got plenty of time."

"How do you figure that?"

"Because, Joey said he would reserve one for me." Johnny grinned.

"Joey, huh? How'd you get him to do that?" Drew was impressed.

"I called him yesterday; told him I needed to beat the pants off a rookie cop. He wanted to see that…so…he reserved me a lane." Johnny got up and took his empty cup back to the kitchen, unplugged the coffee maker and tossed the grounds from the basket into the trash. "You finished?" He held his hand out for Drew's cup, quickly washed everything and left it in the sink to dry.

A short time later they were lacing up their bowling shoes. The crack of bowling balls slamming against pins echoed throughout the large open room. The place was packed. People were lined up at the desk trying to get dibs on the next available lane.

Johnny grabbed the ball he had found after trying out a few and placed it on the ball return. Drew unzipped his bag and pulled out a bright blue colored ball with LAPD emblazoned on one side. He smiled at Johnny's open mouth glare. "What…we won the league last spring. I joined the team before I finished at the academy."

Johnny ran his hand through his hair. He deemed himself good, but if Drew played on the winning team maybe he would be buying the steaks after all. He looked at the desk and Joey flashed him a thumbs up. He smiled and waved at him. "Well let's get this show on the road." He grabbed his ball and stepped up to the line. He lined up and swung the ball back and glided it down the lane directly at the center pin gaining a strike. He turned and sauntered back behind the table where Drew marked his score on the tally sheet.

Drew then slid the chair back, grabbed his trophy ball, stepped up into position and tossed his ball down the lane with more force than Johnny had used. His too rolled straight for the center pin and the ten pins flew in every direction putting the men in a tie. "Yes!" He said happily as he turned to smile at Johnny. "It's on buddy… it… is… on!"

They bowled a couple of games with each winning one. Then in the final game the two men bowled several flawless frames until finally Drew missed and left two pins standing. It was in the fourth frame with six to go, but he never got his groove back. Johnny faltered a few frames later. The end result was Johnny's victory with a two pin lead. By the time they finished their final game they had quite an audience. Cheers went up for the fireman who beat the cop.

Everyone called for a rematch, but the two should be pro-bowlers were tired and hungry. "Man I can't wait to sink my teeth into a juicy steak." Johnny teased.

"Well I have to confess. I bought the steaks yesterday. Pam has them marinating at home waiting for us to throw them on the grill. She also has some potatoes and salad, and best of all she was baking a chocolate cake." Drew rubbed his belly in anticipation.

"Uh that all sounds great, but I'll have to pass on the cake."

"Whatsa matter Gage, watching your girlish figure?" Drew nudge Johnny's shoulder.

"No…I'm allergic to chocolate." He nervously scuffed the toe of his tennis shoe on the carpet. He didn't want to mess things up with Drew's wife. "Let's go…I'm starved."

"Hey man, I'm sorry. I've never heard of anyone being allergic to chocolate. I should have asked. It never even crossed my mind. You sure are different." Drew teased.

Johnny winced at the comment. He had always been different, but he didn't think it mattered to Drew.

When he looked over at Johnny to see if he had gotten him with his last barb, Drew noticed the amusement he had expected to see was not there. "Hey relax, I was just kidding you. I'm sure there are other people out there allergic to chocolate." He slapped Johnny on the shoulder. "Come on. Pam always has sweet stuff around. She probably made some pie too. Our daughter loves apple pie."

Johnny turned to see the sincerity in Drew's eyes. "I love apple pie! Hey Drew, what's your daughter's name?"

"Rebecca." Drew smiled when he said her name.

"That's a nice name." Johnny walked around to the passenger side of the car and hesitated before getting in. "I hope she likes me."

"She will." Drew chuckled as he slammed the trunk after stowing his bowling bag; soon they were headed toward his home.

A few blocks down the road Johnny sat up straighter in his seat and rolled the partly open window down the rest of the way. He leaned out and sniffed the air. Then he shifted in his seat and scanned the skyline. "There!" He pointed at what appeared to be smoke rising into the sky.

Drew turned down the next street and they saw the two story house with smoke coming out from one of the downstairs windows…probably the kitchen.

"Pull over!" Johnny yelled as he gripped the door handle. He jumped out of the car before Drew could get it into park. He stopped and scanned the front of the house, first the lower floor windows and then the upstairs. "There's someone up there!" He pulled his shirt off as he ran toward the house leaving his white undershirt on. "Call the fire department!" He stopped at the spigot on the wall beside the front porch, turned it on and soaked his shirt. He splashed some water on his hair and down his clean white undershirt. He lifted the wet shirt to his face, kicked in the front screen door and disappeared into the smoke filled opening.

eHH