An Act of Friendship
Chapter 17
The sound of birds chirping drifted into her consciousness. Joanne opened her eyes then blinked a couple of times, waking slowly. She heard the sound of the coffee maker as it burbled away and inhaled deeply. The rich, dark smell wafted through the room and she sighed in contentment. She lay there, going over her plans for the day and a sense of excitement started to fill her. Finally, she would get to see Johnny. Even though it had only been a few days, it had felt like forever. Until she saw him, she wouldn't be at ease. Arching her back, she cataloged how she felt. There was a slight pull on her ribs, but not nearly as bad as yesterday and for the first time since the accident, she'd woken without a headache. Satisfied, she smiled to herself. She heard drawers opening and closing as the kids got ready for school. Throwing the covers back, she rose from the bed and grabbed her robe. She walked into Jenny's room and found her almost completely dressed. Giggling, she had to convince her daughter that it was not appropriate to wear her bathing suit top with a skirt to school. Next she checked on Chris. He was trying to wear a pair of red shorts with a lime green T-shirt. Shaking her head she walked downstairs as she thought it was a good thing she'd gotten up when she did. "Morning love," she said with a big grin as she walked over to Roy, who was reading the paper.
He looked up, "Morning sweetheart," he raised one brow, "Don't we look happy," he replied teasingly before pulling her in for a quick kiss.
She kissed him back then pulled away to go get some coffee. "Alright Mister, you know exactly why I'm so happy today," she teased back.
Roy chuckled. "Yeah…I do," he replied then went back to reading the paper.
Taking a sip of her coffee, Joanne leaned against the counter and enjoyed the soothing warmth and richness of the flavorful brew. Before she knew it, the kids had come downstairs and she got busy with breakfast preparations. The children chattered happily as they ate their breakfast. They each brought down several pictures they had made for Uncle Johnny and made their parents promise to deliver them to him. After brushing teeth and picking up backpacks, they gave Joanne a kiss goodbye. She stood at the door and waved to them as Roy walked them to school. Turning, she headed back to the kitchen to clean up the breakfast dishes.
By the time Roy returned everything was washed, dried, and put away and Joanne was anxious to go. It was a beautiful day and Joanne felt a sense of relief and contentment as they drove along the busy roads. Not wishing to make the same mistake twice, Roy made sure to take an alternate route to Rampart. As they drove, Roy prepared Joanne to see Johnny. Joanne thought he was being overly cautious, but didn't say anything.
They walked into the bustling ER, and approached Dixie's desk. She looked up from the chart she was working on as they approached. The smile on her face was genuine as she said, "Hey there, you look like you're doing pretty well, Joanne."
"Thanks Dixie, I'm feeling a lot better today," Joanne happily replied.
"I'm glad to hear that. And I could be wrong, but I think a lot of it has to do with who you're here to see," she teased with a raised brow.
"Guilty as charged," Joanne replied sheepishly. "How is Johnny doing?"
Dixie's smile faded slightly as she looked at Roy and said, "He's hanging in there. Now don't be alarmed but Kel wanted to see you when you came in…"
"Dix, what's wrong?" Roy interrupted.
"Roy…" Dixie began but then saw Kel exiting a treatment room. "Kel," she called as Roy and Joanne turned around.
Kel heard his name and looked over. Seeing Roy and Joanne standing in stunned silence, he hurried over. "Roy, Joanne, I wanted to give you an update on Johnny. Why don't we go to my office," he suggested as he gestured down the hall. Roy put his arm on Joanne's back and gently guided her to Kel's office. Kel questioned Joanne on how she was feeling and she assured him she was feeling much better.
They quietly entered Kel's office and sat down as Kel perched on the corner of his desk. "I just wanted to update you on Johnny's condition and treatment plan," he said kindly. "I think we're finally heading in the right direction." His mouth quirked into a small smile at the relieved looks on both of their faces. "His temperature is hovering right around 103.5, which is an improvement from before. I think we've finally found the right combination of antibiotics. His kidney functions have improved. They're still on the low side, but I don't foresee any problems there. Likewise, his liver functions are all normal. I did have to start him on a low dose of Dopamine to bring his pressure up, but we should be able to discontinue that in another day or so. Doctor Lewis checked his leg today. The sutures are healing nicely and he said he'll probably cast the leg in two days." At Roy's nod, he continued, "His lungs are still very congested but as long as his fever doesn't spike again, I'd like to start easing up on the sedation tomorrow. The goal being to take him off the vent the day after tomorrow."
Roy gave a small smile and reached over and grabbed Joanne's hand. He glanced at Joanne then back to Brackett. "Let me tell you Doc, you really had us scared for a while." Joanne nodded in agreement.
"I'm sorry, Roy – that wasn't my intent. I just wanted to keep you posted and I also wanted to see if there would be any way for you to be here tomorrow late afternoon. I know Johnny and he usually does better if you're here when he wakes up."
"Not a problem, Doc. Wild horses couldn't keep me away." Roy said with a big grin.
Joanne chipped in earnestly, "Make that two of us, Dr. Brackett."
Kel stood up smiling. "Now that that's settled, let me walk you up," he said as herded them out of his office.
XXXXXXX
As they stood outside Johnny's room, Joanne nervously shifted from foot to foot. The mask on her face was uncomfortable and made her feel slightly claustrophobic. She was excited to see Johnny, but apprehensive too. On the way up, Dr. Brackett had also prepared her for what she would find. She knew everyone was trying to be helpful, but it was having the opposite effect. She felt like a bundle of nerves and if she could've seen herself, she probably would've teased that she was channeling Johnny as she bounced from foot to foot.
Roy finished tying his face mask on then asked, "Ready?"
She gave a brief nod and took a deep, calming breath. 'Remember, you're a fireman's wife. You can do this,' she repeated to herself in her head. She walked with leaden feet into the room and straight to Johnny as Mike stood up and walked over to Roy. They started talking, but she tuned them out. Her concentration was solely on Johnny. He looked awful. No wonder everyone kept trying to prepare her. It was hard to reconcile that the pale, lifeless form on the bed was her normally vibrant, larger than life friend. Visions of Johnny flickered through her mind…chasing the kids through the backyard…rolling around like playful puppies as they tickled and laughed…hoisting himself on his horse and riding away…and so many more passed before her eyes. Her throat tightened and tears pooled in her eyes as she bent down and kissed him on the forehead. She blinked back the tears as she cringed at the heat coming off him. "Oh Johnny look what you've done to yourself, baby," she whispered as she stroked his hair. She turned her head when she felt a warm hand stroking her back.
"You okay?" Roy asked his bright blue eyes filled with concern.
"Yeah – it's just a shock," she replied hoarsely as she battled her emotions.
Roy kissed her on the cheek and replied, "I know." He reached down and placed his hand on top of Johnny's and gave a gentle squeeze. "Hey Junior, I told you I'd be back," he said warmly.
They stood like that for a long time before Joanne convinced Roy that he should take Mike down to the cafeteria for some lunch. Roy gave her a quick kiss and checked to make sure she'd be okay before following Mike.
Once they were gone, Joanne bent closer to Johnny and began to talk. "Johnny, I just want you to know how sorry I am that all this happened. I know there was no way to know that the shoulder of the road was so soft and would crumble like that, but I still feel guilty. I know you would never want me to feel that way and I'll do my best to let it go. It may just take a while. I also wanted to thank you for saving my life. When you woke me up in the car, I was so scared. But you know what…I knew that no matter what, you would do everything in your power to save us and that's exactly what you did. And now, unfortunately, you're paying the price. You just had a couple more weeks to go until you could go back to work and now you're back to square one or worse. But you know we'll be there for you every step of the way. No matter how long it takes. As soon as you're cleared, you'll be coming home with us. You're a wonderful extension of our family and we wouldn't have it any other way. We love you, Johnny. I know Roy has told me that you think of me as the big sister you never had. I'm honored that you feel that way and I feel the same way too. So you just rest and get better, little brother." She wiped a tear from her face and lapsed into silence feeling a sense of peace and acceptance settle over her.
She was still silently stroking Johnny's hair when Roy and Mike returned. Roy walked over and put his arm around her shoulder. "Better now?" he asked intently. She nodded her head. They visited for a while longer until Cap came in for his turn. Roy went over everything that Brackett had told him. Cap assured Roy that he'd find a replacement so he could be at the hospital tomorrow. Right before they left, Joanne remembered the pictures the kids had made that were in her purse. She pulled them out and they tacked them up to the bulletin board on the one wall. They spoke for a few more minutes before taking their leave.