Goodbye and Hello

These good fellows don't belong to me but I promise when I'm done to pick um up, dust um off and with a kiss on the cheek return them safely home.

"Friendship between humans can reach out farther than anyone can imagine. To find the one that needs them in the most unexpected places at the most unexpected times."

Chapter 17

Let's step back in time just a little and see how the DeSoto's are doing shall we….

Joanne pressed her legs against Roy's just enough to try and make her point which didn't seem to work as they were propped up on the coffee table and she was being ignored. She was trying to vacuum and he was like another piece of furniture sitting around the house.

"Do you mind?" She said curtly.

He didn't even look up, simply put his feet down and continued to stare at the television. She was frustrated beyond belief.

"Why don't you run pick up the kids from school for me while I finish this up?" Anything to get him up and off the couch for a change.

"Okay," he said devoid of emotion.

"Roy?"

He turned back to her but didn't say anything.

"I love you baby," she said.

"I love you too," he answered in the same tone then turned and left the house.

She sighed deeply. This was not going according to plan. All she wanted was her family together again, everyone happy, everyone safe. She sat down on the couch and began to cry when the phone started ringing.

She slammed down the phone. They kept calling, all of them. Didn't they get it that they were trying to start a new life? Why did they keep trying to track him down? Couldn't they just leave him alone? She pushed her shoulders back, he belonged to her and they weren't going to get him.

Roy pulled up into the pickup lane of the school and turned off the engine. He smiled as he saw Jenny running down the sidewalk until he realized she was crying. She jumped into the front seat with big crocodile tears running down her face. He was instantly leaning over to her.

"Jenn, what's wrong sweetie? What happened?" This wasn't the first time he had picked her up crying so he knew what was coming.

"Mrs. Kelly hates me daddy," she sobbed.

"Jenny, I'm sure she doesn't hate you honey. Maybe she was just having a bad day. Tell me what happened." He spoke softly to her even though everything inside of him wanted to scream.

"Just like last time daddy, that stupid Mike talked to me and she yelled at me. I wasn't even talking to him. But Mike talks all the time."

Roy just smiled with an fond inside memory. "I'll talk to her again okay?"

"No daddy, no. Don't." Jenny shook her head fervently. "Then she's just even more mad at me." She started crying again.

"Shh, Jenn. I won't this time, okay. But I will if things don't get better."

She wiped away her tears just as Chris climbed into the backseat.

"Hey there Chris how did your day….." He paused as he saw the shiner that Chris sported on his left eye. "Well, guess that answers my question huh?"

"Sorry dad but it wasn't my fault," Chris started right off.

"Of course not," Roy said. It was always something now. "Tell me what happened."

Jenny jumped up and looked in the back seat, "That's from where that bully took his lunch money."

Roy whipped around, "What?"

"Shut up Jenn," Chris barked.

Being yelled at Jenny lunged into Roy's arms, crying hard again. "I wanna go home. I miss my friends and I miss Unkle Johnny, Daddy. Please take us home."

Roy felt deeply for his broken hearted little princess but he couldn't tell them how he also felt.

"Dad, can we? Can you take us home?" Chris sounded so hopeful.

"Mommy won't let us, I know she won't," Jenny said between the heaves of her sobs.

"Shut up Jenn. Dads the boss of our house, not mom!"

"Both of you settle down right now. Yelling at each other isn't going to help anything okay? Let's get this straightened out before we get home." Last thing he wanted was another fight with Joanne over the kids, the apartment, the town, or their jobs.

It took another twenty minutes in the car for Roy to get the gist of what was going on at school and try to form a plan on making it better. You'd think that after six months here things would settle down but it had done anything but.

Dinner was quiet as Joanne brooded over what had happened at school, mostly over the fact that he was staying silent about most of it. The silence, she hated it. He never expressed anger, he agreed with everything she wanted, and stayed close to home. But on the other hand but he also expressed little emotion at all, never bantered with her over what he preferred, and worst of all…he wouldn't leave the house. He had made no new friends, not even one and he just sat around all day and night. Especially at night…nothing else happened anymore.

While he sat like a bump on a log watching the TV she decided to stay in the kitchen and clean it up. The phone rang. She lunged for it quickly, like she usually did, before Roy would hunt for the phone on more rings. She quickly glanced into the living room.

"He's not here…yes I will give him the message…bye," she spoke quietly then hung up the phone to finish cleaning the kitchen. Afterwards she came into the living room and sat down to watch TV with him.

He looked over to her with eyes full of anger. "So, have any plans on telling me who the hell called?"

She was taken aback by his sudden flash of anger, "What …"

"Don't what me, who called?" He was on his feet now feeling enraged at her.

"Roy what are you so upset about," she said. She had wanted him to react to something for months now but not like this.

He paced the floor then turned to her, "We have some things to talk about, and right now."

Back to the present….

The structure was fully involved when 110 arrived unloaded, and geared up. Robinson grabbed his assigned partner for this call.

"Ready Clark?" he said sarcastically then laughed.

Clark smiled, "Let's go."

Mike pulled the engine up to the scene and they saw that they were part of the third alarm with other engines and squads already here. Mike jumped out to drop the line then pulled forward to the engines position. Everyone jumped out, pulled on tanks and masks and waited for position placements by their Captain. Johnny moved over by Chet, who he usually pulled hoses with now while Marco would work with Hank.

Hank pulled out his HT and announced their arrival to the Battalion Chief and waited for orders where to move into the scene.

"Kelly, Gage, take the south side entrance 4rd floor. Me and Lopez will head towards the north end. Mike," he called backwards. "Charge those lines." The four men then headed off into the building.

Climbing up to the 3th floor Hank and Marco joined the men from 86 putting out hot spots. The roof and 5th floor were now fully involved and there fire teams fighting from all fronts, inside and out. Chet and Johnny moved to the 4rd floor and positioned themselves just down the corridor from the men from 110 in fighting the beast. There was more active burning on this floor and the heat was intense. The kind of heat that made you think the mask on your face would melt right off. Then add to that the black thick smoke making their way difficult. Chet manned the front of the hose; Johnny was close at this back with one hand on his shoulder, the other holding the hose as they inched their way forward.

Down below them Marco and Hank had to keep dodging the falling pieces of wall and ceiling as the structure continued to be weakened by the flames. Marco worked his way forward, Hank at this back when suddenly his foot fell through the floor. He fell into knee level when Hank grabbed the back of his coat and pulled him back up to his feet.

"Thanks Cap," he called thickly through his mask.

"You okay?" He called back to Marco.

Marco put his weight on his ankle and fell forward, "Think I did my ankle in Cap."

Hank nodded, "I think this floor is about to go." He knew the hot lumber falling from above meant that the internal floors weren't going to last much longer. Picking up his HT he called in his report.

Above them Johnny and Chet were coming to the same conclusions when their HT called for the evacuation of the building. Chet turned back, "Let's get out of here."

Johnny nodded and looked up to see the group of men from 110 moving towards them, three were hose jockeys, one with a helmet indicating he was a medic. He waved to them to indicate they were heading out. One motioned back feverntly and was yelling something but he couldn't anything he was saying.

They waved and yelled back indicating they were heading out. As they got closer Johnny and Chet could see they were all yelling frantically now. Johnny and Chet were heading towards the stairs coming from one direction and 110 from the other. The 110 men were now running, Johnny wasn't sure why but he could feel their sense of urgency and he and Chet started running too.

Chet heard the roar behind them and with trepidation he looked backwards at what was pursuing them and started screaming at Johnny, "RUN!!!"

Johnny didn't even look back to see but he knew it was coming faster than his own running. The floor was rumbling under his feet. He heard Chet yell one more time and in the same second he glance back only to see that Chet had disappeared through the floor. In the same instant Johnny felt the floor go out underneath him. The last thing he heard was his name being yelled as he plummeted to the floor below.

Dover, Clark and Robinson from 110 knelt next to the edge of the hole and looked down, watching in horror as they continued to fall. "Johnny!" One of them cried out knowing he couldn't catch him.

Hank looked up when he heard the cracking and breaking of the ceiling far ahead of him. The rumbling was clear but when followed by the loud crash they knew something had given way. He continued to move as fast as he could with Marco leaning against him, limping on one foot They could hear the ceiling coming down behind them.

The men from 110 had tried to warn the men in front of them only to then watch their bodies disappear into the cavern. But with horror they watched them impact on the 3nd floor only for it to give way for them to plummet down the 2nd floor. They looked down to see the crumpled and unmoving bodies of the two men.

Hank and Marco worked their way out of the building and around to the front.

Mike ran up to them, "What happened?" He knew he had only that only two of his shift mates had come out of the building so far and Marco was hurt. He reached out an arm to help Hank move him over to the squad where Dwyer and Brice were running 51 today. They gently lowered Marco down for the medics to take care of him.

Suddenly Hank's HT squawked, "Men down! We have two men down, south side, 2nd floor!"

He picked his up, "51 to Gage, Kelly." He got no response. He repeated it, "51 to Gage and Kelly, do you read?"

Hank glanced back at Mike and they both started running to the front door where Chet and Johnny had entered only to be stopped by the Chief.

"Whoa there Hank, 110's got men inside already to work the rescue. We can't risk anyone else right now." He could see Hank didn't like the decision.

"Chief, do we know who's down yet?" Marco asked anxiously.

He shook his head, "Not yet. We should hear soon." He got back on the HT calling for an all stations head count.

110 ran through Hanks mind. His men and 110 were the only ones on that side "Oh God," he whispered his heart pounding in his chest.