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.
"Treasure your relationships, not your possessions." Anthony J D'Angelo.
Chapter 27
Joanne and Roy pulled into the driveway to their house once again; the ride home had been silent.
Once again.
"Jo," he said softly. He wasn't even sure what if he was asking to talk or searching for something from her but he felt a need to try and make some form of contact.
"Don't Roy." She put her hands in her lap and took a deep breath. "It's obvious where this is all headed but right now it's not about us. You need to get back to the hospital and meet Kanda there. I'll get the kids and get them some dinner." She climbed out of the car and slammed the door shut.
Even when they were falling apart she could still read him so well. Deep in his heart he felt that nothing had ever changed, in the way he felt or apparently in the way she felt. For a moment he just sat lost in thought. It hadn't been discussed directly, if she had changed her mind, since she had come back down to LA and being in limbo was avoiding the issue he knew. But after going through so much he knew they were both avoiding the direct issue, just like before. Before he was hurt.
He was startled out of his revere by Jenny banging on the window. He rolled it down and smiled at her. An image flashed through his mind of his life without her but thankfully she broke that train of thought.
"Hey sweetheart."
"Daddy, look what I made for Unkle Johnny. Will you take it to him?" She said with a radiant beam on her face as she passed the brightly colored paper to him.
He looked at it and saw a rendition of Johnny with his uniform and fire hat on with her and Chris standing beside a house with a giant 'C' on it. He knew it was Johnny because the figure had a head full of black curly hair. "That's really nice Jenn. I'll be sure to give it to him okay?" He pointed to the 'C', "What does that mean?"
"Carson daddy. I don't want to ever live anywhere again but here with you and Unkle Johnny." With that she waved bye to him and ran off to play. He looked up to see Joanne standing on the porch, obviously able to hear what their daughter had just said. Without a word she went into the house. He wanted to go to her, to talk to her but he no longer knew what to say. Or if it was worth saying anymore.
He paced the front lobby and kept looking at his watch. She was late. What if she decided to not come?
"You're going to wear a hole in the carpet doing that."
Turning around he saw her smiling at him. "Sorry," he said. "I'm just a little nervous over all this."
"No, I'm sorry I'm running late. I had to chase a horse down and decided I didn't want to smell like a barn if I got to see Johnny today. Wouldn't be a good first impression, you know?" She winked at him.
She had changed into a red and brown stripped skirt with a red shirt both of which further revealed her shapely curves and underlying physique. Her hair was now French braided down her back. She just radiated confidence and spirit, so much like her brother.
"So partner, let's go," she said.
He motioned his hand towards the main hallway, "After you madam."
As they walked down the hallway she started talking, "I wanted to tell you thank you."
"For what?" He asked as he reached for the elevator button.
"For being there for Johnny. I think he's pretty lucky to have such a good friend to watch over him." She looked up at him seeing the worry in his face. "Don't worry. It's going to be okay."
"Worry? Why worry? I'm only doing the one thing that Johnny told me not to do. I just hope he can…" his voice trailed off.
She smiled at this compassionate and caring man, "Trust me Roy. You did the right thing, it was time."
He could only nod as the elevator doors opened and they stepped out. Looking at the sign on the wall he motioned, "Lab's down here."
Roy had already called Brackett and told him they were coming so the paperwork would be ready. He checked her in and they sat and waited. "Has Johnny been happy?" She asked.
It was a simple question but he knew the last few months had been nothing but turmoil for his friend. "Typically yea. The last few months have been hard for him because I had moved away and well, it's a long story."
"But you are back now right?" She could feel a strength in him that was growing, long suppressed but now finding its way forth again.
"Yea, I'm back for good this time."
"I could sense his unrest. Not sure how to explain it but I could tell that something wasn't right." She patted him on the arm. "But now we can help him find some peace."
She seemed so sure, "I hope so." He answered.
They both looked up as the lab tech called her name. Roy stayed seated while she walked towards the back of the lab. When she realized that he wasn't there she turned around with a worried look.
His suppressed a chuckle, "Do you want me to come with you?"
"Well, I'm kind of chicken around needles," she said with a crooked smile. He stood up and walked with her.
"Are you sure you two aren't twins?" He said with a snicker.
They sat in the little room waiting for the tech to come and draw her blood. She eyed the man next to her closely knowing there was a long story underneath him of pain and heartache. She could see it in his eyes. "Are you okay?"
He blinked his eyes, leaving his revere, to refocus on the here and now. "Sure, why?"
She tilted her head and seemed to study him for a moment, "I see pain."
Roy didn't know what she was talking about, he wasn't in any pain. "Nope, no pain."
Before she could comment more the lab tech came in and worked on drawing her blood. When he was done and had put a band aid on her arm they stood up to leave. "Now what?"
He took a deep breath, "Let's go check on Johnny."
"Chet will you quit eating my applesauce." Johnny barked at the man in the wheelchair. "It's not like I get a lot of food around here." He sat up and shifted in the bed, he wanted up so bad he was about to scream. But with IV lines going everywhere it seemed getting out of bed took an act of God.
"You were much better company when you were comatose," Chet grumbled.
"Here, read a magazine for a while." Johnny tossed him one off his bedside table, missing the mark and watched it hit the floor. Now they both sat there and looked at it. Johnny confined to bed and Chet unable to move around because of casts everywhere.
"Well good job Gage, now how do you expect me to get that?" He said pointing at the magazine just out of his reach.
"I know why don't you run down to the station and get an extension pole?" Johnny said sarcastically.
"Why you…"
He was stopped by Dixie coming in the door, "Am I going to have to separate you two?"
She was greeted by a resounding "Please" by both men at the same time which only made her smile. It was just too nice to hear Johnny feeling good enough to banter with Chet who was actually doing a good job of keeping him occupied for a while.
"I came to check on you but apparently you feel pretty good to complain this much," she poked at Johnny.
"I'm not complaining, who said I was complaining?" He said as he ran his fingers through his hair. He knew he was in trouble now.
"Oh, only every nurse in the unit. You need friends around here John Gage. You better start behaving." She picked up the now empty tray of food and headed to the door.
"I am behaving," he said but looked down trodden when she didn't reply back. It wasn't his fault he was bored to tears and Roy had been gone all day. Finally Mike brought Chet to visit and he admitted he had enjoyed the company of the cranky mustache – less man but that just wasn't the same as having his best friend to sit and chat with him.
Roy decided he was more nervous than when he paced the floors waiting for Chris to be born. If he could pace in an elevator he would.
"Would you please relax! You're starting to make me nervous now." She said to him in a half teasing tone.
"Sorry."
She liked Johnny's friend. It was obvious how serious he took his friendship with her brother and there was a warmth and gentleness about him that made her instantly comfortable around him. She felt like she had known him for years.
The doors opened and they stepped out. When they rounded the corner into the waiting room for the ICU Roy was surprised to see Mike sitting there. Mike could have said the same thing when he saw Roy round the corner with a gorgeous woman on his arm.
"Mike, is everything okay?" Roy asked anxiously.
"Yea, he's fine. I brought Chet down to visit. He was going stir crazy at home so it was get him out of the house or I was going to have to kill him." If you didn't know Mike very well you might take his candid statement as fact and be afraid for Chet's life but Roy knew him pretty well and just smiled at the soft spoken engineer. He also noticed Mike's keen eyes checking Kanda out. "Kanda, this is Mike. He works at the fire station with Johnny and me. Mike, this is Johnny's sister."
"Sister? Really?" Mikes eyes lit up, this was a good thing for Johnny. Something he didn't expect.
She got a big grin on her face, "Yep, sister. It's nice to meet you Mike. How's he doing?"
They were interrupted by Dixie pushing Chet's wheelchair out the door with him complaining the whole time, "It wasn't my fault Dix. You can't blame this on me."
She looked up to Mike with pleading eyes, "Take him home. Those two are going to drive me to drink today."
Like a parent Mike with a difficult child he asked, "What did he do now?"
Chet was shaking his hands, "I didn't do anything Mike. Johnny started it."
"I caught these two making obscene balloon animals with rubber gloves," she said while struggling to suppress the laughter that wanted to come out.
Roy did laugh and Kanda joined right in. Chet and Dixie just stared at her; they couldn't believe how much she resembled Johnny. Roy saw them and introduced them to her. Dixie took her hand warmly and held it.
"I'm so glad you are here for him. Thank you for coming." Then she looked over to Roy, "Are you going in to see him now?"
Roy nodded, "Working on it, how's he doing?"
"He's responded well to the dialysis. It seems to be giving his kidneys the rest they need. His lab results really improved on the last check."
She looked at him. "I told you it would be alright. You will learn to trust my gut instinct Roy DeSoto," she said with a hint of mischief in her voice.
"Okay well, let me go talk to him first and then…" he started but she interrupted him by placing her hand on his arm.
"No Roy. I need to see him alone first. It'll be alright. Something is telling me that he is finally ready."
Roy found himself at a loss for words to argue with her. Again she seemed so confident and sure. Without another word she followed Dixie through the ICU doors and towards his room. Before Dixie could reach the room Kanda stopped her and silently asked her to also wait. Dixie understood and simply pointed to the room he was in. She stayed close behind just in case Johnny got upset.
She stood outside the door just out of his sight and listened for a moment. She could hear him moving around in the bed, shifting position as best he could with a casted leg. For a moment she closed her eyes and found a center of peace and reached out to him. Then with a calm determination she walked into his room.