It was some time before Dr Brackett and Dr Early emerged from the treatment room. They were surprised to see the overflowing waiting area. Brackett opened the treatment room door and called Dixie. "Look." He pointed to the waiting area. Dixie was overcome with emotion; she knew from that moment on, deep in her heart, that John Gage would never, in his life, be alone again. "Is it ok to update everyone on John's condition?" He asked Dixie.
"Of course, this is John's family." She turned and re-entered the treatment room.
Dr Brackett and Dr Early walked over to the waiting area and stood in front of the expectant faces. There were old and young, traditional and modern, white and dark. No barriers existed between these people; they were all here as one body, to hear how a family member was. Dr Brackett cleared his throat, "John is going to be alright. He has a severe concussion and his arm is deeply bruised but not broken. He regained consciousness briefly. His vision is blurred and as you can imagine he has a severe headache. We are going to keep his head very still for the next few hours and keep an eye out for intracranial bleeding or swelling."
"It will be some time before he can have visitors, but he is not alone. Dixie, his Captain and his partner Roy De Soto are with him at the moment," added Dr Early.
"He knows Lt Blackcrow died. He didn't take the news well and that's why he won't be left alone. I suggest you all go home get some sleep and call the hospital in the morning. We should have more news then." Dr Brackett assured the group.
An older man in traditional dress stepped forward. "We need to make preparations for Jay Blackcrow's burial, John is part of that. If he does not get any worse will he be able to take his place in the ceremony?"
Dr Brackett's mouth twitched, he understood how important this was and that it would be important for John to take part. "I'll do my best to make that happen, but you'll need to give him at least a couple of days to recover."
"We understand." He shook the doctor's hand and turned around to address the waiting friends. "We must go back to the park and pack up as John would have done. We must then make preparations…..Lean Bear you must leave first thing in the morning to purchase the horse….Snowbird the blanket needs to be made….I will prepare the coffin in place of John." All the Native Americans rose and said goodbye to the remaining friends. The smaller remaining group said their goodbyes and headed home.
Inside the treatment room, Dixie continued to monitor Johnny's vitals while Hank and Roy stood either side of his bed. The doctor's re-entered the room. "Any changes Dix?" Dr Brackett asked as he approached his patient.
"Blood pressure is higher….his pulse is now 110..." Dixie supplied.
"Hmm...Still too high...I would have expected his pulse to have come down more by now..." Dr Brackett said to Dr Early.
"He's suffered a head trauma and an emotional trauma. I'd give it a couple of hours Kel, before we start worrying." Calmly replied Dr Early.
"Guys I'll stay with Johnny, why don't you go home, have something to eat, get some rest and then one of you come back and relieve me around midnight. I have some work I can catch up on while I sit with John." Dixie smiled but her no nonsense tone convinced Hank and Roy to leave.
"Call us if there are any changes." Roy insisted.
"No problem. Now scat..." Dixie commanded.
Roy drove Cap home and told him he would relieve Dixie. He said he would take over at six. He would call the Chief and organise replacements for both of them. Cap looked over to his neighbour's house. Two police cars were parked outside.
"I just don't understand what got into Matt...why did he attack John?" Hank shook his head feeling very guilty. "If I hadn't of asked John to come home for breakfast, none of this would have happened." He sighed and put his hands in his pocket.
"I don't know about that Cap...seems to me there's more to this than just a racial issue. The robbery is the key..." Roy told his superior.
Hank sighed again. "Your right about that...it all seems..." He was searching for the correct word.
"Fishy." Roy added helpfully.
"Yeah….fishy." Hank agreed with his paramedic.
Later that evening the police knocked on Hank's door and informed him of their findings. "Turns out your neighbour had a gambling problem, owed some people a lot of money. He confessed to making up the robbery. Thought he could claim it on his insurance and then pay his debts. " The policeman went on, "When he realised Mr Gage was no longer under suspicion, and that his insurance claim was going to be delayed due to the investigation, he decided to kidnap Mr Gage and bring him to his house….call us….and say that he caught Mr Gage robbing his house." The officer shook his head sadly. "When Mr Gage tried to fight him off, Lt Blackcrow walked in on him and tried to stop your neighbour from hurting Mr Gage further. The Lieutenant apparently threw himself between Mr Gage and your neighbour, who was about to stab Mr Gage, and took the hit instead." The officer sighed sadly. "We lost a good man….he was well respected in the community. He will be sorely missed." The officer said his goodbyes and left.
Cap called Roy and filled him in. "A gambling debt...a good man dead, another traumatised….over a gambling debt….of a man that neither of them even knew...I can't believe it ...this seems so incredible." Roy stated, knowing that's what his best friend would say.
"I know I can hardly believe it myself. I feel so guilty Roy and somehow a little responsible." Cap admitted.
"Don't go there Cap...we can't change what happened...we need to concentrate on getting Johnny through this..." Roy reasoned but knowing he would feel exactly the same way as his Cap if the roles were reversed.
"You're right, I'll let you sleep and I'll see you in the morning. By the way C shift Paramedics will work a double shift to cover you and John and the Chief is filling in for me. Should be interesting for the boys."
"Aarh...yeah...did you tell them?"
"I let Mike know and he'll tell Marco and Chet. Bye Roy." Hank hung up the phone. He felt drained and despite Roy's words, guilty.
Dr Brackett remained at the hospital. Dr Early would return at midnight to take over. Since Brackett had left his car at the hospital the day before, he would drop Dixie home. They kept up the neuro checks and monitored John's vitals closely. The experienced emergency doctor was concerned about the elevated pulse rate. "He needs to calm down Dix...I don't like his pulse being that elevated." He said with concern.
Dixie put down her pen and brushed her hand lightly over Johnny's forehead. She started to hum to the sleeping man. His head turned towards Dixie. She smiled. "This used to work when I first met Johnny. He was so thin Kel, and so angry with the world."
"He's come a long way...although he still has some anger in him, which surfaces, from time to time." Dr Brackett said smiling, knowingly.
"Well, the trouble is, you two are too alike." The head nurse claimed, and then she resumed her humming. John's pulse dropped over the next hour and he seemed to be resting more peacefully.
Roy took over at midnight. To maintain Johnny in a more peaceful state he spoke softly about his children and the things they loved doing with their Uncle Johnny. He talked about his daughter wanting her Uncle to teach her to ride and talked about some of their funnier rescues. His partner's pulse remained its normal rate which allowed him to sleep more restfully. Before Roy knew it Hank was standing in the doorway ready to take over the vigil.
About an hour after Cap took over Johnny started to wake up on his own. His eyes fluttered open. He blinked several times trying to clear his vision. "How are you John?" The strong, calm voice took Johnny by surprise. He tried to focus on his Captain. His face swam into focus.
"My head hurts," he whispered, and then the previous day's events started whirling into his mind. His breathing increased and he started to blink, to hold back the tears.
Hank placed his hand on his paramedic's chest. "Let them fall John...no need to hold back in front of me...we're only human and sometimes even men need to cry. You've suffered a great loss and you need to grieve...but know this….you are not alone...last night the waiting room was overflowing with all your family, waiting to hear how you were." Cap waited for Johnny to digest the information.
Cap continued, "I was with Lt Blackcrow when he died...he told me how proud he was of you and that you have an inner strength beyond your years. He loved you John, that's why he jumped between you and Matt. He wanted you to survive and go on to do great things. Me, Roy, Dixie and Dr Brackett will help you through this, every step of the way, because we care about you...and...Because...you're family John." Hank picked up John's hand and squeezed it.
"I don't know what I'll do without him in my life." John despaired.
"You'll do what he asked me to make sure you did…You'll go on and live a good life and make us all proud to have called you a friend." Hank stated firmly and then he smiled. "You'll get through this John….just remember you're not alone."
John half smiled. "You know Cap I think he knew that something was going to happen. My people believe if you hear an owl or the cry of a coyote it means death or something really bad will happen. I think chief had that warning. He seemed anxious and sad at the same time. When I asked him about it he said he was fine but told me to be careful when I was about to ride...I think he knew his life in this world was coming to an end. I just wish it wasn't because of me." John's voice broke and the tears flowed freely.
Cap chose his words carefully. "He wanted to save you John….it gave him more comfort...he truly cared for you John...so saving you and sacrificing his own life for you gave more meaning to his life. He made me promise that I would take his place and help guide you." He looked John in the eye and made sure he was listening. "I won't break that promise John."