The Boot

Chapter Thirty Five

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.

The holiday snuck up on everyone at Station 10. There was a scramble to get all of the different shift changes worked out so everyone with children or out of town visitors could have some time on Christmas day with their loved ones…even if it meant a short visit at the station. Johnny didn't have either of those worries. His aunt didn't celebrate, and she was traveling anyway. She had gone back east for the winter to be with family. Not that Johnny saw her often anyway. Somehow they had drifted apart since he moved out. The last time he saw her was before he signed up at the academy. He talked to her on the phone a few times, but she always seemed to be busy.

Johnny's regular shift was on duty Christmas Eve and scheduled to change shift at 8 am. Several of the oncoming crew had agreed to come in a few hours early to relieve their counterparts to allow them to get home to have "Santa" with their kids. The others prayed they wouldn't get toned out at the last minute.

The crews had decorated the Station's dayroom with a tree and all week long Christmas cookies and treats had shown up from appreciative people around the county or were sent in by family members of the firemen. The men from the A-Shift had pitched in and gotten Captain Jones a gift as had the members of the other crews for their respective Captains.

Just before he left Scotty stopped to talk to Johnny. "Hey Boot, I wanted to wish you Merry Christmas."

"Thanks." Johnny answered softly. He suddenly wished he hadn't signed up for the overtime shift. He was tired. Christmas Eve had been busy with runs. Why people left their tree lights plugged up when they left home was a mystery. And then there were the traffic calls for lonely people who drank their way into merriment.

Scotty noticed the tired look on Johnny's face. "Listen I've worked a few doubles in my time. The secret is to lay low. Grab a little shut eye whenever you can. It's Christmas day so Captain Curtis won't give too many chores anyway, just the basics…dorms, hose, latrines. There probably won't be any kitchen detail. There's plenty of stuff in the fridge from well wishers anyway besides the fact that families will be stopping by all day to bring more food to the guys on shift. Just take it easy when ya can. You'll manage." He gripped Johnny's shoulder and mussed his hair. "I'll see you in a few days."

Roll Call Christmas morning was a little like a grand opening of a new Station. There were men from each of the three shifts at Station 10 as well as many from around the county volunteering to work the holiday. Johnny was assigned to Engine One as he would have been on his regular shift; for that he was thankful. Since this was his first overtime shift he felt a bit uncomfortable among these men he didn't know. He noticed the Engineer assigned to Engine One was not from their station. He looked familiar though Johnny couldn't remember where he'd seen him.

After roll call most of the men moved to their assigned places to store their turnout gear. Johnny went to his regular seat on Engine One.

"Hey you're that guy from the house fire a couple of weeks ago."

Johnny looked across the engine from his jump seat at the source of the words. "You were there?"

"Yeah…Mike Stoker." He stepped up into the engine and extended his hand between the seats. "That was a brave thing you did going into that building without any gear."

Johnny shook his hand. "Maybe not so smart though." The two men smiled in agreement.

"Maybe… but that woman and child must have been glad to see you." Mike turned and stepped back down and closed the door. Johnny finished stowing his gear and stepped down from the engine. When he looked up Mike was standing beside him. "Are you training for rescue?"

"What?" Johnny's mouth fell open. "Um… no… why? Why would you think that?"

Mike shrugged. "Just looked like you knew what you were doing. The way you tied the sheets to make a rescue sling for the baby… Impressive."

Johnny didn't know what to say in response to that. He could feel the heat on his neck and knew he was blushing with embarrassment. He lowered his gaze to the floor and closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them again Mike Stoker was gone. He quickly turned around and back again looking for the tall thin man, but he seemed to have disappeared in thin air leaving behind a very confused lineman.

It seemed that everyone thought he should consider training for Rescue. The Dwyer brothers talked about it every time they went bowling; even Drew and Pam in the short time he had known them had been talking non-stop about his rescue of that baby and its mother. Drew had recalled some of the runs he'd been on when Johnny was on shift. Neither of the two had realized how closely their careers had paralleled. Drew had been training as a rookie when Johnny had crawled into that crushed car to check on the victim. He'd been there at the college dorms and again when he and Johnny had been first on the scene at that house fire.

After getting to know him and becoming his friend Drew could see the desire to help people in Johnny's nature, and encouraged him at every turn to think about training for Rescue. Johnny had yet to tell anyone about his conversation with Scotty and Captain Jones. He hadn't even told Scotty that he had told Cap he would think about it.

Thinking about it was all he seemed to do lately.

But he'd trained to be a lineman, and he was good at it. Why would he want to start over again?

The tones echoed through the station calling them to yet another Christmas tree fire. Only Engine One and the Rescue Squad were toned out leaving the rest of the crew to tend to the daily chores.

Johnny turned in his seat to look at Mike Stoker as he maneuvered the Engine through traffic. Since graduating the academy he had not been on an engine with any Engineer other than Scotty. Mike seemed relaxed behind the big wheel and steered it with an air of confidence. It was as if he was one with the rig, and together they moved in graceful harmony. Mike had a smile in his eyes that Johnny hadn't noticed before. He clearly loved his job.

Johnny turned to face the hose bed. Seeing first hand Mike Stoker's love for driving the engine gave him a lot to think about. He'd seen the same look in Scotty's eyes, and he always smiled as he drove.

Johnny liked being a lineman, but did he love it?

They pulled up in front of a stately home with Christmas lights lining the eaves and a plastic Santa and candlesticks lighting the front walk with a yellow glow which seemed kind of hokey in such a nice neighborhood. People lined the sidewalk watching as smoke seeped out of the open front window. The fire appeared to be out, but the engine crew would make sure of that before leaving. A small boy stood next to a petite woman in the front yard crying into his mother's side. She kept telling him his new toys were all safely tucked away in his bedroom and that daddy had put out the fire.

The daddy in question stepped out of the front door and waved to the firemen. "It's out." Then he hunched over and coughed a few times.

"Get that man some oxygen." Captain Curtis called to Tim Duntley and Charlie Wilson the Rescue team who had already come over to lead the man to the squad. "Gage, get a line in here. Let's make sure this thing is out." He called as he moved into the smoke filled room, unceremoniously grabbed the charred remains of a once beautifully decorated Christmas tree and dragged it into the front yard; tossing it in the grass beside the smiling plastic Santa.

Johnny passed him as he pulled the hose into the living room and sprayed a light mist in the area where the tree once stood and over the still smoking curtains. He reached up and pulled them down from the rod and piled them into the floor in a blackened heap. The fire was out as the homeowner had said and in place of the brightly lit tree remained a stark reminder of just how important safety precautions during the holiday season were.

Kirk, the other lineman had come in and scooped up the remains of the curtains taking them out in the lawn with the tree. Johnny repositioned the box fan the homeowner had already turned on to blow smoke out the open window.

As he walked out of the smoky haze into the bright sunlight, Johnny couldn't help but remember the many calls they had been on in the last few shifts: men hanging from their rooftops with strands of twinkling lights wrapped around their feet and legs, one man who tried to staple his lights along the roof line only to hit the already plugged in cord sending him sprawling into the yard after a jolt of electricity ran through the stapler to his hand, and no telling how many trees had gone up in smoke in LA County alone. He had to wonder if all this hoopla to celebrate a holiday was worth the heartache. He tiredly drug the hose back to the engine, curled it up and returned to his seat to wait for the ride back to the station. He could hear the Captain telling the homeowners about tree safety even though it wouldn't help them this year…maybe next year.

While he sat staring out the side window of the engine it occurred to him that many of the runs they'd been on involved some sort of rescue work. The squad was there on all the calls. Half of the time Tony and Joe had to work the hoses. If there wasn't a victim they worked the fires just like he did. He shifted in his seat. His thoughts raced from call to call trying to calculate how many times they had manned a hose. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he decided to train for Rescue. Johnny simply didn't know what to do. He pulled off his helmet, leaned back in his seat and rested his head against the window.

When they got back to the station they could hear laughter and cheering coming from the dayroom. Once inside the room they saw the reason for the joviality. Little Becky Burke stood in the middle of the kitchen table performing her part in the Christmas play at daycare. She had just finished singing Jingle Bells and being so little could barely say the words much less carry the tune, but the men loved it.

"Hey Gage, you have a visitor." One of the men called from across the room. "She's a little young for you, and I gotta warn you her dad's a cop!" Everyone laughed.

"Yeah, yeah…I know him." Johnny walked over to the table and held out his arms to Becky who practically leapt into them. "Come here sweet pea before these guys corrupt you." He pulled her into a hug and tickled her making her giggle.

"Mewee Chrissmess." Becky said just before planting a kiss on Johnny's cheek with a loud smacking noise. Then she flung her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. Johnny turned bright red as cat calls echoed through the room.

"Hey Johnny!" Drew came over and put his arm around Johnny's shoulders. "We stopped by to wish you happy holidays. Pam, Becky and I are going to be out of town for a couple of days visiting with her family. Pam insisted that we bring you and these other hooligans some cookies."

Pam walked over and kissed Johnny on the other cheek bringing about another round of whistles and cat calls. Johnny's face turned another darker shade of red. "Don't pay any mind to them." Pam smiled at her friend. She handed him a small brightly decorated tin of cookies. "These are just for you to take home." Johnny took the proffered tin. "And don't forget if you aren't working we are having dinner New Years day at five. Merry Christmas, Johnny."

"Thanks." He answered softly. "Thanks for the cookies." He held up the tin with one hand and hugged Becky again with the other. "You guys drive careful. I'll…uh…I'll let ya know about New Years."

"Okay, come on Becky." Drew pulled his daughter from her stronghold around Johnny's neck which sent her into tears. Johnny bent down and kissed her on the cheek. Drew shot a menacing policeman's glare around the room daring anyone to make fun of Johnny's care for his daughter. No one made a sound. A couple of the guys smiled with approval. "We are still on for that bowling rematch next week, right?"

"I'll be there." Johnny patted his stomach. "I could use another steak." He grinned broadly and bent to kiss Pam's cheek. "Merry Christmas." She hugged him and the family of three made their exit.

Johnny slipped into the locker room to stow his cookie tin in his locker. He opened it, slipped the tin on the shelf and pushed it to the back. Turning around he perched in the front of the locker and propped his feet on the bench. He sat like that for he didn't know how long thinking things over.

"Man, you must really have something on your mind."

Johnny looked up to see one of the rescue men leaning against another locker. "Nah, just thinking."

"Yeah, you look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders." He pushed off the locker and stretched out his hand. "Tim Duntley."

Johnny shook his hand. "John Gage. My friends call me Johnny."

"Nice to meet you, Johnny." Tim returned to his spot leaning against the lockers. "So my fiancé thinks I'm a good listener."

Johnny shifted in the locker. He wasn't comfortable talking about himself with strangers. "It's just that my Captain thinks I would be good at rescue."

"So?" Tim held out his hand in a so do it stance and raised his eyebrows. "What's stopping you?"

Johnny looked up at Tim with a bewildered look on his face. "I… I never thought about it before. I mean I planned on being a fireman."

"Rescue guys are firemen."

"No that's not what I mean." Johnny stood and started pacing. He ran his hand through his hair, stopped and faced Tim again. "Why did you train for rescue?"

Tim shrugged. "I wanted to help people. Get them back to their families."

"Weren't you doing that as a lineman?"

"Well yes, but then I started helping the rescue guys and one thing led to another. I found out that I liked it. I'm good at it. I'm not afraid to run into the fire. I know I'm not invincible, but I've outrun many a dragon to get people out. I guess I'm just a natural. My Cap says so anyway." He chuckled. "Why did you become a lineman?"

"I can read a fire. It's hard to explain. It's like I can feel it. I know that sounds crazy." Johnny huffed a laugh. "It does sound crazy doesn't it?"

"No… I've heard of people who are able to do that. But I gotta tell you Johnny, a skill like that would make for a great rescue man. Look at it this way… you get to use those instincts to make sure fathers get to see their kids again and mothers to hold their babies. That's what's special about being a rescue man… I get to see the family's eyes light up when they see me coming out with their loved one; there's no other gratitude needed. Just that look in their eyes. That's all I need."

Before Johnny had time to consider Tim's words the tones called the whole station to a warehouse fire.

Ironically enough when the equipment pulled into position in front of the burning building a large sign donned the front of the building, "Little B's Toys"; a toy warehouse burning out of control on Christmas day.

A security guard ran over to Captain Curtis waving his arms and pointing to the smoking structure. His partner apparently remained somewhere in the deteriorating structure. Tim and Charlie immediately geared up and ran for the entrance. Johnny and Kirk followed closely behind with a hose. Johnny glanced over his shoulder and gave Engineer Mike Stoker the signal to charge the line.

The ladder truck extended over the hottest part of the structure and began pouring water over the roof.

Johnny and Kirk moved through the offices and into an area lined with metal shelves stacked high with boxed toys of all kinds and stuffed animals of all sizes. The crackling roar of the fire made communication difficult which made maintaining eye contact with each of the members of their crew that much more important. Johnny motioned to Kirk that they were moving forward to the last area he'd seen Tim and Charlie. The smoke from burning plastics and fake animal fur grew thicker. They needed to find the missing guard; they needed to find him fast.