Title: Rememories – Pt. 4

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. Emergency! is owned by Universal and Mark VII Productions. I make no profit from my imagination—only a personal joy and peace.

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"I know how to fix Uncle Johnny, Daddy." Jenny joyfully crooned to Roy on the phone. Roy was intrigued.

"What do you have in mind, Jenny?" Roy asked.

"Mommy says he has some bad rememories…we just need to get 'im some new ones that are good." The little girl said with a matter-of-fact whimsy.

"You mean memories, Jenny? That Johnny has bad memories." Roy corrected.

The little girl, exasperated, answered. "That's what I said, Daddy…rememories. We just need to get Uncle Johnny some good ones so he isn't sad anymore." Jenny continued.

Roy nodded his adoration for his daughter. She loved her Uncle so much and this past week had been hard on both of the children. Seeing their Uncle in such a state of depression had caused them a lot of worry and pain. It had caused him and JoAnne a lot of worry, too. "Well, Honey, I think you may have something there. When I get home tomorrow, we will have to talk about some new…uh…rememories to make with Johnny, okay?" He encouraged.

After Roy talked with the kids, he asked JoAnne to get Johnny. "Is he awake, Jo?" Roy asked.

"I think so, Honey. I sent him outside to get some fresh air. He didn't eat much for supper again." She updated him. "Did Chris tell you anything about what happened when we were cleaning up?" She asked Roy as she peered through the kitchen curtains to see if Johnny was sleeping or awake.

"Yeah, he told me. And, I told him he had to apologize to you for slamming his door. I explained to him the best I could about how Johnny is feeling…he can't understand it, Jo. He just thinks Johnny should be happy HE is alive, no matter what happened to the other guys. But, I tried to tell him that is not how it goes all the time. He will understand when he gets older. I told 'im we'd go fishin' this weekend, though…with or without Johnny." Roy explained. About the time he finished telling her about her talk with Chris, she heard the sliding glass door open and Johnny stepped in. He offered a slight grin as she turned to him.

"Johnny, it's Roy…he wants to talk with you." She said as she pushed the phone receiver toward him. He accepted the offering and she turned to check on the children.

"Uh, hey Roy. How's the shift going?" He wanted to steer the conversation away from himself.

"It's been fairly quiet. Everyone's been askin' about you. How ya feelin', Junior?" Roy ventured. It had been a while since Roy used his old pet name for Johnny. Since they had become Captains, the men spent less time together on the job, naturally. But, they still got together off duty when they could. Johnny shoved a hand in his pocket and shifted his weight to his uninjured leg. While his injuries were all nearly healed, they still bothered him a bit.

"'M fine, Roy. I keep tellin' everyone 'm fine!" Johnny snapped.

"Yeah…well, maybe if you keep sayin' it enough, you think it will actually come true!" Roy snorted back. "Look, I didn't want to fight with ya, I just wanted to know what time you're meeting with Brackett in the morning. I thought we could go have some breakfast first and then I could drive you over to your appointment." Roy had calmed himself by the end of the sentence.

Johnny was already sorry for getting angry with Roy. He had benefited from Roy's friendship for years and this past week was no exception. "'M sorry, Roy…yeah, breakfast sounds good. I meet with Brackett at 10:30." Johnny handed the phone back to JoAnne who had put the kids to bed and returned for her "goodnight's" with Roy.

"See you in the morning, Jo." Johnny said as he left the kitchen. She waved a hand and her sad eyes followed Johnny as he slowly walked away.

"Honey, he's not getting better, is he?" She asked her husband.

"Jo, the physical wounds are the easiest to deal with. His ribs and leg have healed okay, but the deeper hurt is still festering. Having lost his men like that…" Roy shivered at the thought. "Being the only one to walk away…well, at least for now. Brackett's gonna blow a gasket when he sees Johnny. He's probably lost more weight since the last time he's seen 'im. It's not good, Jo…it's not good." Roy admitted. They said their goodnights and Roy told her of his plans to take Johnny to breakfast in the morning to see if he could get the younger man to open up and share his feelings. She said a silent prayer as she hung up the phone that her husband could get Johnny to open up and begin to heal his broken spirit.

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"Backboard…" "Start an IV…" Johnny could hear the buzz around him as he moved in and out of consciousness. "Put a pressure bandage on that leg wound…" The instructions continued. "Transport as soon as possible." "We got ya', Cap." He heard his Engineer say. That was the last thing Johnny heard as sleep claimed him. He didn't know it, but that would the last peaceful sleep that would be his for some time to come.

The bright lights of the hallway at Rampart were the next things he remembered seeing. He slowly moved his head to see if he could find out what was going on and the first face he found was Roy's. "Hey, Partner." He groaned out. Roy quickly grabbed his hand. "What are you doin' here?" Roy's concern showed.

"Hey, Johnny. They called me when they brought you in. You still have me listed as your medical power of attorney." He looked at his former Partner with sad eyes. "Glad to have you back with us again." Roy replied with a worried scowl. Johnny didn't know what he meant by "again" so he began to ask questions.

"What happened, Roy? The last thing I remember is talking to Greg before the whole damn ceiling came down on us." Johnny searched Roy's face for a tell. Roy dodged the best he could and smiled.

"They got you both out and Greg is in surgery. You have some cracked ribs, smoke inhalation, and that cut in your leg needs a few stitches is all. You are gonna be fine, Johnny." Roy answered. Johnny breathed a sigh of relief in hearing that Greg was still alive. He had remembered promising Greg he would get him out alive…he was glad he did not go back on that promise. The lights above him continued to fly past as he was taken to the suture room. He had forgotten about Jameson and Baker…at least for the time being.

The sedative they gave him for the pain in his leg and ribs had made him groggy, but he fought sleep so he could get updates on Greg's condition. He asked Roy every few minutes if there was any news on his Paramedic. Roy kept checking and returned with little-to-no information each time. Johnny's blood pressure continued to rise as he remembered the deaths of the other two men. Dr. Morton, who was suturing Johnny's leg and bandaging his ribs, finally told Johnny he needed to calm down.

"You don't understand, Doc. These were my men…and, he's the only one I could save. He's gotta be okay. I've gotta know that he's gonna be okay." Johnny pleaded with the young doctor. Morton responded in his typical, infamous fashion.

"Gage, right now, he's not my concern, you are. Just settle down and let me finish here." Morton grumbled. Johnny flashed a pleading glance to Roy who lowered his head in compliance with Morton's wishes. Once Johnny was settled in his room, and Morton was gone, he asked Roy to please check on Greg's condition. He waited anxiously for a report.

Johnny was going over the whole ordeal in his mind…the explosion…moving his men to the safe room…being unable to save Baker and Jameson…and, throwing his own body over Greg's during the collapse. He also remembered that his assessment of Greg revealed a probable broken neck, possible internal injuries and a punctured lung. But, he had made it out alive…that was something. He was startled from his thoughts as the door opened and Roy and Brackett joined him. Their faces bore the harbinger of their news.

"Doc?" Was Johnny's one-word question for which he already knew the answer. Roy walked over and placed an arm on his Friend's shoulder to offer what comfort he could as Brackett shared the sad news.

"I'm sorry, Johnny. The damage is pretty significant. His neck is broken and the internal injuries were pretty severe. Greg has slipped into a coma. We've got 'im on a vent and I just don't know if he's gonna make it. I just came from telling his family." Brackett droned on as Johnny shook his head in disbelief.

"But, he's alive, Doc." Johnny railed. Brackett and Roy shot a look to each other and they both looked back to Johnny.

"Johnny…Greg's injuries, honestly-speaking, were fatal. There is no explanation to how you got 'im out of there alive. He's lost a lot of blood and his neck is snapped nearly in two." Brackett continued his explanation. "Johnny, he may have a machine breathing for him the rest of his life…if he makes it through the night." The doctor looked at his Friend and Patient and was sorry for the bad news he shared. "I will have the nurse come in and give you something to help you sleep. Try to get some rest and we will talk more in the morning."

"Nothin' to talk about, Doc." Johnny moaned as he pulled the sheet up to his chin and slid down the pillow. He closed in on himself and tried to find sleep. Roy kept vigil and watched as his Friend tossed and turned against the nightmares and images that haunted him.

Johnny looked at the clock and saw that it was 03:30. He had not slept more than an hour or two a night since he found out Greg Daniels was in a coma. He blamed himself…no so much for Greg's condition…but, for walking out of that mess when three other Firemen had not. Johnny was indeed suffering from "survivor's guilt"…would he let it envelop him or would he try to find a way to overcome it?

TBC