DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Mark VII and NBC Universal. I do own the character of Julianna and all the situations the characters find themselves.
The remaining week passed quickly for both Julianna and Johnny. Julianna spent the time she could with Johnny, applauding the strides he made in his recovery.
Ten days after the accident, Julianna was watching the therapist massage the muscles in his leg.
"You're getting out of here this afternoon," Julianna said.
"Great. I'm not going to last another second in this place," Johnny said.
"You just don't like being a patient. So, I'll take you home and get you settled. I'm working tomorrow, so Roy is going to come to the house," Julianna said.
"Why can't I stay by myself," Johnny pouted.
"Because, no matter how much you want to deny it, you're going to need help. Now, my mom can always come by and hang out with you," Julianna said.
Johnny rolled his eyes. "Thought you'd see it my way," Julianna said.
She kissed him and settled on the edge of the bed with him.
Dixie came in with his discharge papers and reminded Johnny of his therapy appointments. "You have to come everyday and I'll be there so don't try to get out of it," she said to the young paramedic.
"Last thing I need is to have you AND my wife angry at me for not doing therapy. Don't worry, I want to get out of this chair and get back to work," Johnny said.
Joanne came by as Johnny was getting discharged. She had been terribly worried about her 'little brother' and wanted to make sure he was going to be OK. She knew he was in good hands with his wife, but Joanne still worried.
She greeted him with a hug and a kiss on the cheek before helping Julianna.
Julianna helped Johnny into his wheelchair and wheeled him down the hallway. Joanne walked beside the wheelchair, carrying Johnny's belongings.
"Roy will be by in the morning before Juli goes to work and will bring you to your therapy appointment," Joanne said.
"And I'll get off at 4 and I'll bring you back home," Julianna said.
Johnny groaned and the women exchanged smiles. They knew Johnny hated being a patient and they also knew that Johnny hated having anyone take care of him.
Nine weeks after Johnny's accident, he parked his Rover in the parking lot of Station 51 and stepped out onto the parking lot. He was relieved to be back at work, although he didn't mind Julianna taking care of him. 'Seems to happen to us a lot,' he thought to himself as he headed toward the locker room.
He wasn't surprised to find a 'Welcome Back' banner on his locker and smiled. He opened the locker and was immediately hit with a coffee can of confetti. "CHET," Johnny yelled down the hall. He wasn't surprised to find the culprit and the rest of his station mates come into the locker room smiling.
"What, you think nine weeks off keeps you from getting hit," Chet asked.
"It's nice to be back, Chet. I was starting to miss this place," Johnny said.
The rest of the guys welcomed him back and shook hands. Cap came into the dorm.
"Gage! Good to have you back. I need to see you and Roy when you get finished," Cap said.
The guys nodded their heads and Johnny quickly changed into his uniform.
He and Roy headed into the Cap's office, wondering what was wrong.
"Sit down guys," Cap said.
Roy and Johnny took seats and Cap immediately told them the problem.
"This isn't about you, I just wanted you to know that Bellingham is leaving the county," Cap said.
Johnny was shocked. Julianna hadn't said anything and Johnny believed, because of his accident, Julianna might not know.
"Where's he going," Johnny asked.
"San Francisco. He's been offered a paramedic only position there and, from what I gather, Beth is pushing for him to take that kind of job," Cap said.
"I heard her talking to Joanne about worrying when he went out on a fire call right after Chrissy was born. Guess he decided to listen to her and get out of it," Roy said.
"Juli had mentioned that Beth was really worried while she was pregnant that something would happen to Bob before the baby was born," Johnny said.
"Well, his last day is next Friday. I'm asking if you guys are interested in pulling some OT until HQ assigns us a new paramedic. The new class graduates in a few weeks and we'll get Gil as our replacement once the grads are out in the field," Cap said.
"That's great! At least we're getting another experienced paramedic," Roy said.
Johnny nodded. He hadn't seen his friend since he and Julianna had reunited. Gil been working at a station in the county that operated out of Harbor View and they rarely crossed paths. He wondered if Gil even knew that he and Julianna had gotten back together and married.
"Just wanted to see if you guys could work some OT for the next few weeks," Cap said.
Both men nodded. They knew they'd have less time with their families, but it was temporary. Johnny figured he'd pull what shifts Roy didn't need, since it was just him and Juli.
"I knew I could count on you guys. Don't think you have to pull them all. Bryce is available to fill in for those shifts that you guys can't. Their shift captain will leave the schedule for you guys next shift," Cap said.
The guys nodded and headed out of the office and into the day room. Johnny poured coffee for himself and Roy and sat at the table.
"Did you know," Roy asked.
Johnny drank his coffee and shook his head. "I had no idea. I wonder if Juli knows. I'll have to ask her when we go to Rampart," Johnny said.
The partners finished their coffee and went about cleaning the station. B-shift had stocked the Squad before the end of their shift, so they went about helping with the Engine.
The tones sounded and Roy and Johnny jumped in the Squad and headed toward the call.
Twenty minutes later, they parked at Rampart. "What do you figure? We get all the way out there and they cancel," Johnny said.
"Happens. At least you can talk to Juli," Roy said.
They got out of the Squad and headed into the hospital.
"Morning fellas! How is your morning," Dixie asked.
"First call and they cancel us when we turn onto the street," Johnny said, grabbing coffee for himself and Roy. "Have you seen Julianna," Johnny asked.
"She went upstairs. She wanted to check on a patient. She should be back in a few minutes. Want to wait for her," Dixie asked.
Johnny looked at his partner. "I don't mind. Guess we could grab something to eat in the cafeteria," Roy said.
"Will you tell her we're in the cafeteria," Johnny asked Dixie.
"Sure. Bring me back some coffee," Dixie asked.
"Anything for you," Johnny said, following Roy down the hall.
Dixie smiled to herself. Johnny had always been sweet, but seeing him since he'd married Julianna was always a joy. He was always smiling and seemed to love his wife more and more everyday. Julianna was the same way about him. Her face lit up when she saw him come into the hospital. They were the perfect match for each other.
Johnny and Roy were toned out just as they reached the cafeteria. They rushed out the side entrance and into the Squad and joined the Engine at a structure fire.
When Johnny's shift ended, he was exhausted. He hadn't spoken to Julianna since he'd left for work the previous day. She was also working a 24 and he couldn't wait to get home to see her.
He parked in the driveway, but didn't see his wife. He wondered if she had been delayed with a patient. He slipped into the house and called the hospital.
"ER, Nurse Reilly," said a nurse that Johnny had met the previous day.
"Diane, it's Johnny, Dr. Gage's husband. Is she still there," he asked.
"Oh, Dr. Gage finally left about ten minutes ago," she said.
"Thanks. I'll see her at home," Johnny said, hanging up the phone. He headed upstairs to shower and change and wait for his wife before he went to sleep.
Julianna pulled into the driveway fifteen minutes after Johnny had come home. She was exhausted and wanted nothing more than a hot shower and to curl up in bed with her husband. She was seriously debating skipping the shower in favor of the sleep she craved. She unlocked the kitchen door and set her bag on the small kitchen table. She locked the door behind her and climbed the stairs to the bedroom.
"Jules, that you," Johnny called from the bathroom.
"Better be," she said, slipping into the steamy bathroom.
She stepped into the shower with her husband and the weariness quickly left her body.
Johnny could tell she was tired and they finished their shower and were soon crawling into bed.
They shared a quick kiss, I love yous and Julianna put her head on her husbands chest and fell asleep.
Julianna awoke around three that afternoon. She was still tired and wanted to go back to sleep, but the fact that she had a lot of work to do to prepare for Mike's wedding the next day, convinced her to get up out of bed. She and Johnny were hosting the reception at their house. The success of Bob and Beth's and then Julianna and Johnny's own reception had made their house the place to party. Julianna didn't mind. She was glad she and Johnny could provide a great place for their friends. Julianna was excited that her brother was getting married and couldn't wait for it to happen.
She finished making up the little bags of bird seed for the guests to toss at Mike and Barb when they left the reception. She looked at the clock and realized she'd better get Johnny up so they could go to the rehearsal dinner.
She crawled into the bed and whispered in his ear. "Johnny, wake up," she said to him.
Johnny swatted at her nose and rolled over to face her. He cocked open an eye and looked at her.
"What," he asked, annoyed that she had disturbed his much needed rest.
"I know you want to sleep, but we have to head to the chapel for Mike and Barb's rehearsal," she said, sitting on the bed.
Johnny rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom.
Julianna took out a simple sundress and took Johnny's jeans and a button up shirt out of the closet.
Johnny emerged from the bathroom, a white towel wrapped around his waist. Julianna could do nothing but stare at her husband. He looked at her as he walked to his dresser.
"What," he asked as he pulled out his boxers from his drawer.
"Nothing. Can't I look at you," she asked going into the bathroom.
"Guess it's only fair, since I stare at you all the time," Johnny said, changing into his clothes.
Julianna took her dress into the bathroom and, a few seconds later, came out of the bathroom. "Can you," she asked.
Johnny came over and zipped up the back of Julianna dress. He placed a kiss on her shoulder and she turned around and smiled at him.
"Ready to go," she asked.
"Yes," he replied.
They went out the bedroom door and headed out to the car. They headed toward the chapel for the rehearsal.
The rehearsal and the dinner were finished by 10 that evening.
On the drive home, Johnny asked his wife. "Think you'll be able to handle your brother getting married tomorrow?"
"Of course. I might cry, but Barb is a great woman. I hope the two of them are as happy as we are," she said, reaching over to squeeze his hand on the steering wheel.
Johnny smiled. "They will, babe."
When the alarm went off the next morning, exhaustion pulled at both of them. They had arrived home at 10:30, but had not gone to sleep until much later. They went to bed, but they didn't sleep.
Julianna went downstairs to make coffee. She knew her husband would need coffee to prepare for the long day they had ahead of them. Johnny would drop Julianna off at Mike's house and he would head to the church to join Mike and the rest of the groomsmen.
The smell of coffee woke Johnny. He reached over and found Julianna's side of the bed empty. He looked at the clock and, right there on the table, was a cup of coffee. Smiling, he sat up and took a drink of the coffee.
He went downstairs to the kitchen. "Morning," he said, setting his coffee on the table and wrapping his arms around his wife's waist.
"Morning. Sorry it's so early. Big day," she said, kissing his cheek.
"I know. I get to wear another suit," he said, stealing a piece of bacon from the plate.
Johnny sat down at the table. "Did Bob tell you he was leaving LA," Johnny asked.
Julianna turned around and looked at her husband. "No he didn't. What happened," she asked.
"He took a job in San Francisco," Johnny said.
"He asked me for a reference for a job, but I didn't know they'd offered him a job. I guess he was serious when he said he was going to look for something that let him do the paramedic thing, but not firefighting. I know he loves it, but I know he loves Beth enough to give it up, at least until Chrissy is older," Julianna said.
"I'm surprised he didn't tell you," Johnny said, taking a bite of the eggs his wife put on his plate.
"He stopped by the other day, but I was tied up in the OR with that car accident victim you guys brought in and never got to talk to him. I tried calling, but never got an answer. I figured it wasn't that important, so he would tell me what it was later," Julianna said, sitting down with her husband.
"I haven't talked to him either. I'm happy for them. I just never thought he'd give up being a firefighter," Johnny said.
"I guess Beth's worrying got to him and he decided to do what she wanted because he loves her and doesn't want to worry her," Julianna said, drinking her coffee.
Johnny put down his fork and looked at his wife. He took a deep breath.
"Do you want me to give up being a fireman," he asked.
Julianna looked at her husband, her eyes wide in shock. "No," she said.
"It's never crossed your mind to ask me to give it up," he asked.
"Of course. But the one time I wanted you to give it up, you were coming from a call as a paramedic. You're in a job that has you doing dangerous things to save lives. You're good at what you do and you enjoy it. That's part of why I love you. You're happy helping other people. Asking you to give it up to save me from worrying about what might happen isn't going to make either of us happy," Julianna said.
"What do you mean? If I'm not doing the dangerous stuff, then why wouldn't you be happy," he asked.
"Because, try as you might, you would resent me. Doing something that you don't enjoy just to make me happy when I know you aren't going to be happy, isn't going to be good for our marriage," Julianna said.
"But I don't want you to be unhappy and worry all the time," he said.
"Johnny, I got hit by a car coming home from the Station. Want me to quit driving a car? I don't worry all the time. I only worry when I hear there's a big scene happening. I know you and Roy are going to do everything you can to make sure you both get to come back to your families. All of you have each others backs and will fight like hell to make sure everyone is accounted for when you leave a scene. Besides, I love that you're my husband and I love to tell everyone that you're a firefighter AND a paramedic," she said.
"You do? Well, I hope you know I'm proud that I get to call you my wife AND tell everyone that you're a doctor," Johnny said.
They shared a kiss before Julianna ushered her husband upstairs.