DETOUR

by ardavenport

- - - part 6

It was late. Night. Well past dinner time. Sparse traffic. They took the usual route from Rampart back to the fire station. Other than Gage calling into dispatch that they were available, they rode in silence. The squad traveled down dark streets, artificially brightened by street lights, signs, parking lots and lit buildings.

Roy drove, his thoughts only half on the road ahead. They were used to life threatening situations. Fires, collapsed buildings, high rises. Why did this one feel so different? But it hadn't really been a run. Not an assignment from the dispatcher at all. But that wasn't the only difference. There was something else.

It felt like . . . . . like . . . . . like . . . . . like . . . . . like a run where they lost a victim. Not one where they found someone dead in their car from a traffic accident. But one where the victim died and they couldn't stop it. It didn't happen often. Not often at all. But when it did, the memory stayed with them.

Exhaling, Roy felt a little relief just from pinning down what was making him uneasy.

"Johnny."

His partner looked at him from his side of the squad, the shadows on his face continuously moving from the streetlights they passed.

"Did you think about what would happen if, well, if Jack had been holding the gun instead of Larry?"

He gave a long-faced shrug. "Not much to say. We wouldn't be here to say anything about it if he did. But not any different than if we got killed in a fire, I guess."

"No." He looked toward Johnny briefly. "It would be different. That's not the kind of stuff we do. I mean, maybe. . . . Vince was right. That when it comes to cops and robbers, we're just civilians. I mean, that's not what I signed up for."

Johnny slouched on the seat. "Me either. But, not much we can do about it now."

"Yeah, I guess not."

"But you know what?" Johnny gave him a sad, crooked smile. "I sure am glad it was Larry who was holding that gun."

Roy nodded and smiled back. "Yeah."

He slowed the squad down; they were approaching the station. The apparatus bay door was open, the engine gone.

"Looks like you're in luck. You can wash your hair before the guys get back."

Roy had the squad backed up in the driveway when Johnny bolted upright.

"Roy! I don't have any shampoo!"

Weren't they just talking about life and death just a second ago?

"I've got some in my locker you can borrow that."

%%##%%##%%

"Squad's back, Cap." Mike Stoker stated with a big grin what they could all see as he slowed down to back the engine into the station.

Lopez and Stoker were in the seats closest to the dayroom, but Stanley and Kelly ran around the big red fire engine quick enough so they all got to the door at the same time.

Gage and DeSoto were sitting at the kitchen table facing them. They had found the food left warming in the oven and there were plates of mostly eaten food and glasses of milk in front of them.

"Hey look who's here!"

"Where you been?!"

"Finally! Glad you could make it back!"

The four firemen crowded around the returned paramedics. Stanley could not stop grinning. Gage and DeSoto never looked so good. He patted Gage on the back and then noticed his damp head.

"Hey what's with the hair, John?"

Roy swallowed a bite before answering. "They tied him up and taped his mouth shut. They got some of it in his hair, so we had to wash it out."

"Wow." Chet Kelly put a hand on his chest, his eyes lighting up. "Taping Gage's mouth shut. Why didn't I ever think of that?"

Everyone laughed, even Johnny who muttered a 'shut up, Chet' around a mouthful. They all settled down in the other chairs. Stanley pointed a thumb at the fridge.

"There's cake in there, too, for dessert."

"Thanks, Cap. I'm starved." Johnny washed down another mouthful with his milk.

Sitting at the table, looking at his men, Stanley leaned forward on his arms. "Well, I'm not afraid to say that we were really worried about you two. I mean the calls we got from headquarters made it sound worse all the time."

Roy put his fork down. "I'll tell you, Cap. It did keep getting worse all the time."

Johnny nodded, putting his glass down. "Those guys were scary."

"Scarier than a brush fire?"

"Scarier than a brush fire, Marco."

"Scarier than a three alarm fire?"

"Scarier than a three alarm fire, Mike."

"Scarier than a gas explosion?"

"Not even close, Chet. These guys were a whole new level of scary."

"You know." Roy looked around at his fellow firefighters. "Vince told us at the scene that we were just civilians for that kind of thing. I didn't want to admit it at the time. But I think he was right. I mean, I don't know how he deals with people like that. The ones who might be shooting at him, trying to kill him."

"Me either." Johnny took another bite of macaroni.

Stanley looked around at his men, smiled and rested his chin on his hand. "Well, I'm sure he says the same thing about what we do."

%%##%%##%% END %%##%%##%%

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Mark VII Productions, Inc., Universal Studios and whoever else owns the 1970's TV show Emergency!; I am just playing in their sandbox.