A/N – Just a little holiday bonus, enjoy the weekend.

An Act of Friendship

Chapter 5

When he opened the door, Joanne looked at him and smiled. She now had a fresh, white cast on her left arm. "Boy, this thing's heavy." She slurred as she waved it up and down. "You better be sure you're on your best behavior."

Roy chuckled as he walked over and kissed her forehead. "I'll keep that in mind."

"You better. Cause now I have a loaded weapon, just like you." She grinned suggestively.

Roy reddened.

Joanne ran her casted arm up Roy's chest and tried to finger walk to his buttons. "C'mere and give your wife a kissey poo, Mister." She tried to sit up, but Roy gently pushed her down.

Roy heard Joe's snicker as he tried to disentangle Joanne's hand from his shirt. As a paramedic he was more than aware of the effects different drugs had on people, but did it have to be his wife who reacted this way. He ran a hand through his hair. "I see your feeling pretty good."

"Yeah, I feel wunnerful." Joanne slurred with a dopey smile on her face. Her eyes started to droop. Roy put her casted arm down by her side and kissed both of her eyelids then told her to sleep.

Joe had an amused grin on his face as he walked over. "As you can see, I just gave her a little more MS for the transfer."

"I hadn't noticed." Roy deadpanned.

Joe chuckled, "We'll be moving her up to a room shortly. Why don't you go and grab something to eat Roy?"

Roy shook his head, "That's okay, I'm really not hungry."

Joe came closer and put his hand on Roy's shoulder. "When was the last time you ate?" he asked as he cocked a brow.

"Breakfast," he replied as two orderlies entered with a gurney.

"Roy, what time do you think it is?"

Roy frowned and scratched his temple. "I honestly don't know," he admitted.

"Well, I'll tell you. It's almost 3 o'clock. Now, do I have to give you the 'you need to keep up your strength' speech?"

Roy was about to counter when the door opened and his captain, face sooty and smelling of smoke, strode in.

Before anyone could say anything, Joanne half slurred and half purred, "Ohh…I smell smoke. C'mon Mister Fireman, bring over that hose and put out this fire."

Roy was mortified as Joe and Cap roared with laughter.

Finally containing himself, Cap patted Roy on the arm, "Don't worry Roy, my wife has said the same thing…or similar," Cap said smirking as he shrugged.

Roy was not sure who to be more shocked at, Joanne or Cap. He stood there slack-jawed trying to figure out what to say.

Attempting to get the conversation back on track, Joe said, "Captain Stanley, I was just telling Roy that he should go and get something to eat while Joanne is transferred up to her room."

"That's a great idea Dr. Early. C'mon Roy, let's go," Cap said as he put his hand on Roy's back and steered him toward the door.

Roy knew he was outnumbered. He frowned at Joe as he said, "Dirty pool, Doc."

Joe shrugged, "Whatever it takes my friend. Whatever it takes," he said kindly. "Oh and don't worry, we'll be easing up on the morphine."

"Thanks Doc." Roy sarcastically replied. He gave Joanne a quick kiss then grudgingly let his captain guide him out the door.

As they walked down the hall, Cap said, "Haven't had a chance to eat, so I sent the guys down to grab a table. I figured you hadn't eaten," he trailed off looking over, assessing Roy.

"Not really hungry, Cap," Roy admitted.

"I know, but you still need to eat. It's already been a long day and I can't see it ending anytime soon." Cap said sympathetically. "Besides you can bring us up to speed on Johnny."

They found the guys in the far corner of the cafeteria. As soon as Roy sat, they started peppering him with questions about Joanne and Johnny. While he relayed the information from Brackett, he ate mechanically. The food tasted like sawdust and felt like a lead balloon in his stomach. When done, they all sat lost in their own thoughts.

A while later Cap picked up his tray and stated, "Roy, we're going to head up to the waiting room. If we hear anything, we'll come find you."

As chairs squeaked and half-eaten trays were picked up Roy said, "Yeah, I want to get back to Joanne. She should be settled in her room now."

Squeezing Roy's shoulder Mike said, "Tell her we're thinking about her." The other guys nodded their agreement.

Roy got off at the second floor, giving a brief nod to Cap and the guys. He quietly entered Joanne's room to find her sound asleep. He hesitated before gently leaning down and kissing her forehead. When she didn't stir, he sat down in one of the uncomfortable chairs and gently held her hand. His eyes roamed over her beautiful face. She looked a little pale and he saw the beginnings of a bruise forming on her temple. It extended like tentacles from under the bandage on her head.

Roy cringed thinking how much worse it could have been. If not for Johnny, she could have drowned. His vision blurred as he recalled how limp she was when he took her from Johnny's arms. Other images of the accident started replaying through his mind. Trying to dispel them, he slowly stroked Joanne's arm pleased by how much warmer she now felt.

As he sat there, his thoughts drifted to his young partner. He knew the affection that Johnny held for Joanne, heck, for all his family. On several occasions Johnny had commented that Joanne was what he pictured a sister as being. Johnny didn't talk about his past much, but Roy knew that he didn't have any siblings and from what they had talked about, Roy had surmised that Johnny's childhood was troubled. Roy couldn't imagine what went through his mind when he realized they were trapped under water. The strength and resolve he employed to free them made Roy's gut clench.

He didn't know how long he sat before a nurse came in to do a neuro check. "Is it okay if I wake her?" Roy questioned the nurse. At her nod, he stood up and gently shook Joanne's shoulder, "Joanne. Joanne." Her eyes fluttered then opened slowly.

"Mmm…" Her eyes closed again.

"C'mon honey you have to wake up now," Roy said gently but firmly. She reopened her eyes, blinking slowly as she tried to wake up. "What's your name?" he questioned as the nurse started taking Joanne's vitals.

Joanne cocked one brow questioningly.

When she didn't immediately respond, Roy became concerned. Maybe her head injury was worse than they thought. "What's your name?" he repeated as his stomach started churning.

Joanne's head hurt and she was tired. She couldn't understand why Roy wouldn't know her name. She knew he hadn't been in the accident and he looked okay, maybe something had happened while she slept.

Roy was just getting ready to ask the nurse to page Dr. Early when Joanne asked, "Roy, are you alright?" Roy breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah babe, I'm just doing a neuro check and need to know your name."

"Oh thank goodness, I thought something happened to you." Joanne said as she relaxed. She smiled at Roy, who was looking at her expectantly. "Oh…my name is Joanne DeSoto, we're at Rampart and its Friday," she replied.

A relieved smile crossed Roy's face as the nurse stepped closer and asked, "Mrs. DeSoto, how are you feeling?"

Joanne thought for a moment then said, "My head hurts and my arm aches some, but not too much."

"It's not time for your meds but if the pain becomes too unbearable, just ring the bell," the nurse replied kindly then left.

Roy leaned closer and laid his hand gently on her head, softly stroking her hair.

Joanne looked up into sky blue eyes that were slightly pinched with worry. If there was one thing Joanne DeSoto knew, it was her husband. "Roy what's wrong?" she questioned.

He didn't want to worry her, she needed her rest. "Just worried about you is all," he said as he gazed into her eyes. "For a moment there you really had me scared. I thought we missed something," he said as he smiled softly.

"Roy, I'm fine. A little battered and bruised but nothing a few days rest won't cure," she replied. She knew Roy was worried about her, but she could tell that was not all that was bothering him. She probed further, "How's Johnny?"

"He's up in surgery," Roy replied, stiffening slightly. Trying not to divulge too much he stated, "Brackett will come see us when he's done. Why don't you go back to sleep for awhile?"

Joanne knew that Roy was hiding something. Ignoring his attempt to redirect she questioned, "How bad is he?" as she leveled him with a stare. If he thought he was going to get away that easy, he had another thing coming.

Roy knew his number was up. He never could keep anything from her. He sighed, "He's pretty bad Jo. After we got to you two, he drowned. Brackett thinks he has a collapsed lung..."

Joanne's eyes widened, "Is he going to…"

"No!" Roy interrupted, he couldn't even think that way.

Joanne sighed deeply closing her eyes. She couldn't imagine the hole Johnny's loss would create in their lives. He was such an integral part of their family that they would never be the same. Shaking off the dark thoughts, she questioned, "So Brackett thinks he'll be okay?"

"He thought the lung would be pretty straightforward, but he was concerned that Johnny did some serious damage to his leg."

"Is he going to be able to go back to work?" She asked knowing how much Johnny identified himself with his job.

Roy nodded, "Brackett seems to think so but he's going to need a lot of rehabilitation."

Hearing this, Joanne visibly relaxed. "Well, I guess we'll have our houseguest a little longer than anticipated. The kids will love it…" She sat up quickly, "oh my gosh…Roy… the kids!" She looked fearfully at Roy and winced as her ribs protested the sudden movement and her head swam.

Roy eased her back down. "Don't worry honey, Mrs. Harrison picked Chris up from school and I called Eileen. She'll pick them up and they can stay with her for a few days," he reassured his wife. Roy could see she was tiring. He rubbed her cheek softly, "Why don't you try to get some sleep? It's going to be awhile before Brackett's done. Cap and the guys are up in the waiting room, they'll come get me if they need to," he said soothingly.

Joanne slowly nodded her head as her eyelids grew heavier. Roy's hand felt so good she just wanted to melt into it. Before she did, she had one point she wanted to make clear. "Roy, promise me that once I'm asleep you'll go be with the guys. I won't even know you're gone and you need to be with them."

It never ceased to amaze Roy how well his wife knew him. He thought about arguing with her, but knew he wouldn't win plus Joanne needed to rest, not get upset. "I promise," he said affection coloring his voice; "You rest now." He kissed her softly on the lips. As she drifted off to sleep, Roy mused on what a lucky man he was to have such an understanding wife.

Once he was assured that she was sleeping soundly, he quietly left the room. He stopped at the nurses' station to tell them where he would be then headed to the waiting room.