Milking it

After the guys had visited with Johnny briefly they each exited to go home and rest. They'd had an active night being called out twice and now only Roy remained.

"Hey, partner, do you need anything?" Roy asked.

"Naw, I'm still a little groggy but I'm good. Thanks Roy." John's voice held a hint of sarcasm which Roy knew was a good sign that he was on the road to recovery.

"Thanks for what?"

"For not discussing the milking incident," he said stifling a snicker.

"Oh yea, I had forgotten all about that one. Guess Chet did too."

"Yea, maybe" Johnny replied but his eyes were already closed. He wasn't asleep because Roy could still see the smile on his face. He was thinking about a certain mischievous school boy and a very large female St. Benard.

-x-

John and Roy had been called out on a very unusual run. The call was for an elderly man trapped in a chair. They had no idea what they'd find when they entered the residence but what they saw was absolutely comical – well except for the fact that one old man was extremely angry.

They'd arrived to find a boy of about 8 years sulking on the front porch. He told them that his grandpa was stuck in his chair in the living room. Roy and Johnny walked in, closely followed by the kid, and stopped in their tracks. The elderly man was sitting in a lift chair – half way up. He couldn't make the chair go back down and he couldn't make the chair go the rest of the way up. He also didn't have the let strength to get himself out of the chair. Roy and John each took hold of one of the old man's arms and gently pulled him to a standing position; then walked with him over to another chair. Roy began taking the man's vitals while Johnny looked for a way to make the chair go back to its original position. What he saw confused him until he caught a glimpse of the boy standing in the doorway with a devilish grin on his face. The chair had been unplugged in mid-rise – and Johnny knew who the culprit was because he was standing right there in front of him.

"Did you do this?" Johnny asked looking angrily at the boy.

"So what if I did?" came the smart mouthed response.

Roy gave Johnny a curt look that said 'take it up with the kid away from the old man' so John grabbed the child by the back of his shirt collar and walked into the next room to begin his chastising. He was a bit surprised to find a plastic kiddie pool in the bedroom; he was even more surprised when he saw the contents. The unmistakable sound of newborn puppies filled the room there in the pool lay a mother St. Benard and her young litter. The boy knelt down beside the pool; obviously using it as a distraction from the chewing out he knew was coming. Johnny flew into him then berating him for the harm he could have caused his grandfather. Halfway through his tirade he heard the boy giggling. He looked down at the kid and absolute rage flashed through Johnny's eyes. The boy was attempting to milk the poor dog! Not only was he trying to milk her but he was trying to squirt the milk at Johnny. Not wanting to be heard by the boy's grandfather, Johnny again grabbed the child by the back of the shirt collar and whispered through gritted teeth.

"Boy, if you squirt dog milk on me so help me God I won't be held responsible for what I do to you!"

The boy stumbled backwards wide-eyed with fear. Johnny released his grip on the child and stood up to find Roy grinning in the bedroom doorway.

"Oh, uh, how's the old man, Roy?"

"Oh he's fine, pulse and respirations have returned to normal. Brackett says there's no need to bring him in." He was still grinning; almost laughing.

"Not funny, Roy." Snorted Johnny. "And Chet better not hear about it either."

Roy just raised his hands in mock surrender as they carried their gear back to the squad.