"Huh, way to go Gage….seems the new Captain has your number. Not the golden boy like you think you are." Kelly taunted Johnny, enjoying the fact that he got under the paramedic's skin.
John continued cleaning trying very hard to ignore Kelly like Roy encouraged him to do. He considered Kelly a friend but he did wonder if he considered him a friend. Since finding out about his heritage and where he grew up, Kelly had continually harassed and joked about Native Americans. John had heard these jokes all before but that didn't make them any less hurtful. He tried to not show the hurt by distancing himself from Kelly when he was in a teasing mood but sometimes that was not possible, like now.
"Go and finish your chores Kelly and let me get on with mine." John said through gritted teeth. His neck and shoulders were beginning to ache because he was so tense.
"I'm just having a break, so I thought I'd keep you company Gagee baby. Seeing as you're all here by yourself. Wouldn't want the Captain to think you're unsociable, now would we?"
"Leave me alone and let me concentrate on my job. I want to finish before we get called out."
"I guess this kind of work is novel to you." Kelly continued to taunt.
"What do you mean by that?" John asked wondering what Kelly was insinuating.
Fell for it hook, line and sinker thought Kelly. "Well….I just thought back on the reservation, dirt floors, and no windows and gee you probably just dug a hole for the other. You know having all that outdoor nature and stuff to use." Kelly smirked and thought how clever he was.
John did the only thing he could think of and pushed past Kelly and walked out the front of the station house. He breathed in the fresh, smog filled, air. He needed a break from the cleaning products fumes anyway so distancing himself from Kelly gave him a good excuse. He heard Kelly laughing out loud heading for the day room.
The whole incident did not go unnoticed by Stanley. His door is always open policy allowed him to hear the banter that took place around the station. He noted how John tried to distance himself from Chet when he was obviously annoying him. He thought on Chet's part that it was only friendly stirring but John's reaction made him think that maybe it was just a bit too much stirring. He also thought that the young paramedic was over sensitive and couldn't see that it was just friendly teasing.
Little did he know Chet's stirring had brought some hidden memories to the surface? John didn't want to be reminded of those memories. Living in poverty for so many years meant a lot of things that the lineman and the rest of the crew took for granted were either new or more important to someone like John. He felt trapped and on edge. He decided he needed some help.
"Hello, is Lt Jay Blackcrow there please?...It's John Gage and it's important...Thanks." John looked around and made sure no one was listening in, the room was empty at that moment.
"Yes…no it's not alright, I don't know if I can keep this up...The new Captain seems ok but Kelly had a go at me in front of him and he said nothing which has seemed to given him an invitation to taunt me nonstop. I turn around and there he is. I can't get away from him. I don't want to draw attention to myself by yelling at him. I need to calm down but I don't know how with him around." Johnny sighed into the phone and listened intently. Closing his eyes, he listened to the chanting over the phone and felt his body relax. "Thank you chief...yes and I'm glad I called you...yes I'll be there Saturday straight after shift to help set up. Again thank you, I feel calmer so I think I can cope better with the taunting now...I will, it's just there's not many places to go, to distance myself from him and I don't want the new Captain to think I'm unsociable...that's true, my real friends do know differently. Oh, by the way, Dixie said she asked Dr Brackett and he said yes, so I'll have to be on my best behaviour with my boss there...wanu." John looked around and checked that he was still alone. He sighed and headed back to the bathroom to finish his chores feeling much calmer.
Lt Jay Blackcrow was his chief and mentor. He helped him get through his probation back when he was a boot and has helped him cope with bigotry within the fire department and the community as a whole. Whenever he can, John in turn helps with educating and demonstrating some of his skills to children and their families of Native American heritage that live in LA. A thought came to mind, maybe I could invite Captain Stanley and then after seeing my proud people he'd stop Kelly and his jokes.
John tentatively knocked on the Captain Stanley's doorway, since the door was open. "Aahh, Captain Stanley, sir, may I have a word please."
Captain Stanley looked up and smiled at the shy way his youngest crew member addressed him. "Sure, I was about to have that drill we spoke of earlier."
"Oh, well, this can wait. I'll speak to you later." John turned to leave feeling a bit disappointed.
Stanley quickly replied. "No, we can talk. Do you want to close the door?" He asked not understanding why Johnny suddenly did an about face.
"No, that's ok. I was just wondering….after you asked earlier what I did on my days off….if…..that's if you're not busy or anything….if you would like to….well you don't have to if you don't want to…. But….." Stanley thought get to the point, he's so nervous. "If you would like come to a, what my people call a powwow. The Native Americans who live around LA are getting together on Saturday at the end of the month. There are lots of demonstrations of the old ways and new. I usually do CPR and other general demonstrations and afterwards I entertain some of the children by showing them some horse riding tricks. They'll be things like jewellery and baskets and stuff your wife may be interested in buying. It's totally up to you. I just thought maybe..." John looked down at his feet trying to think of something else to say. He thought to himself maybe this was a bad idea.
Captain Stanley smiled. "I'd love to John, but I'll have to check with my wife first. The kids have so many commitments I just can't keep up with them."
"Ok…ok…good…let me know and I'll give you the details." John nodded and gave a half smile and left.
Captain Stanley called the crew together and started going through the MVA from that morning. Next thing the Klaxons sounded; Squad 51, man down, unknown type rescue, 2432 Olive Street. "Squad 51 KMG365." Stanley replied and promptly handed a piece of paper to Roy who passed it onto John.
Turned out a man had fallen, broken his leg, from a tree he was trimming. Roy went in the ambulance with him. When John arrived, he sought out Dixie and told her about how he had invited his Captain to the powwow. She thought it was a great idea and hoped it would help the Captain understand his young paramedic that little bit better.
They returned to the station and sat in on the end of the drill. Captain Stanley ran over a few things that involved the paramedics. "Any questions?" He asked the crew as he cleaned their blackboard.
"Yes I have one….I just wanted to clear up a problem we had about locating the ambulance." John added.
"Oh I can help you there Gage. It's usually the white vehicle with the red light flashing and has a back entrance and men dressed in white."
"Shut up Kelly! That's not what I was asking." John angrily retorted.
"Well spit it out Gage. We don't want to be here all day and listen to you waffle on and on and on." Kelly rolled his eyes.
John looked around and sighed; he had been trying all morning to keep his temper but had just failed miserably. Kelly knew which buttons to press. "Don't worry about it. It was just a thought." He replied completely deflated and got up to get a drink.
"Hello anyone here!" A very deep and commanding voice echoed through the station.
John jumped up startling everyone. "Chi...ahhh...Lieutenant Blackcrow."
Gage nervously shook his hand. "Hau Johnny." The paramedic nodded and looked down.
Lt Blackcrow looked around and noted the smirk on one of the crew's faces. That must be Kelly he thought to himself. He gave a piercing stare back at Kelly that made his blood run cold. Captain Stanley rose, holding out his hand. "Hi I'm Captain Stanley."
The two men shook hands. "Lt Jay Blackcrow, I'm here to speak with Johnny. Just wanted to have a quick word with him if that's alright?" He said challengingly.
"Yes sure, you can use my office if you like." Stanley replied unaffected by the LT's authoritative stature. He would not allow this person to make him feel intimidated in his own station.
The LT for his part backed off and thanked the Captain but said if it was alright, John could just walk him out to his car and they could talk there.
"Sure, just keep your ears out for the Klaxons John." Stanley simply stated.
"I will Captain, sir." John relied politely and smiled, he then turned to walk out with his mentor.
Roy sat and wondered why the LT was here. He knew that he was John's chief and mentor. Johnny must have been really distressed for him to come out here personally. Roy knew that his partner called him from time to time for advice. He also knew that his partner had called the Lieutenant earlier that morning. Maybe I should speak to the Cap about Kelly he thought to himself. He knew his over sensitive partner was having a hard time dealing with Chet.