"Semi Conscious"

Chapter Six

Roy and the boy—and their unwilling burden—finally reached the top of the treacherous slope.

James Mason, one of Station 16's Captains, was waiting there on the onramp, to greet them. "Good goin', guys!" the fire officer commended.

"Thanks, Cap!" 51's paramedics responded, speaking in perfect unison.

The trio passed through the hole in the guardrail.

Mason followed along, as DeSoto steered Gage over to the rear of their rescue truck and then sat him down on the Squad's back bumper. "Will your partner, here, be needing an ambulance?"

Gage's bruised body stiffened and his helmeted head immediately swung in DeSoto's direction.

Roy could feel his partner's imploring, penetrating gaze. "I kin just take him on over to Rampart, an' the docs can check him out."

Mason flashed the senior paramedic's young assistant a warm smile. "What about your 'helper', here?"

"He definitely needs to go in and get checked out," DeSoto promptly determined.

Mason raised his handheld radio to his lips and thumbed its send button. "LA, Engine 16. Cancel additional ambulance…"

"10-4, Engine 16…"

The fire officer's full attention returned to Squad 51's crew. "You guys need anything?"

"No," Roy assured him. "We're just waitin' for somebody to bring up our gear."

"I'll get a couple a' guys right on it," Mason promised.

"Thanks, Cap!" 51's paramedics responded, again speaking in perfect unison.

The Captain grinned and promptly took his leave.

Speaking of the senior paramedic's young assistant...

Roy suddenly realized that he didn't even know the boy's name. "I'm Roy DeSoto, by the way," he introduced and extended a hand in the teen's direction.

The kid took it and shook it. "Anthony Larkin. But everybody just calls me Tony."

Roy beamed the boy a broad, grateful grin. "I tell yah, Tony, I really appreciated your help down there." The paramedic suddenly recalled the one-sided conversation he'd overheard, and placed a reassuring hand on the troubled teen's left shoulder. "You helped save my partner's life."

Tony's dark eyes moistened. "I'm just glad I could be of some help."

Speaking of being of some help…

Gage exchanged a knowing glance with his partner and then cleared his throat. "Yah know, Tony…sometimes it helps to 'talk things out'..."

The teen's eyes suddenly moistened even more. "That's exactly what Bruce said…right before we came around that curve—" the kid's voice cracked with emotion and he turned away from the firemen, obviously embarrassed to have them see him…crying.

Johnny blinked his own blurring vision clear. Then he reached out and latched onto Tony's left wrist. "Bruce was a smart man," he said, and pulled the kid down beside him on their squad's bumper. "So…'talk'," he encouraged, and bumped shoulders with the boy.

"My grandparents got me this really cool, remote-control airplane for my fifteenth birthday. I fueled it up out in the garage. I wanted to make sure it was going to run—before I walked all the way down to the park with it. So I started it up.

I had forgotten to replace the cover on the fuel can.

There must a' been fumes…down near the garage floor, because as soon as I spun the propeller, there was an explosion. I jumped back and my foot knocked the fuel can over.

The next thing I knew, the whole place was on fire.

I called the Fire Department right away, and then sprayed the fire with the garden hose until the firemen got there.

It seemed to burn forever.

Finally, they managed to get it out.

They were able to save the building.

But the fire destroyed everything that was in the garage—including my Dad's '67 Ford Mustang Convertible."

"Accidents happen all the time," Roy reassured the guilt-ridden boy. "Right, Johnny?"

"Right! If you were to tell your parents how sorry you are, I'm sure they'll—"

"—You don't know how much my Dad loves—loved that car," Tony suddenly interrupted, sounding on the very verge of tears, once more.

Johnny realized that teenagers were sometimes prone to 'low self-esteem', but it broke his heart to hear that Tony could actually think that his father would love a car more than he would love him. "Sounds like your Dad is really gonna miss his car. But, you wanna know somethin'? He'll get over it. He's never gonna get over losin' you," Gage guaranteed and bumped shoulders with the boy again.

Tony picked his hanging head up and then looked to Roy, for further reassurance.

"It's true," Roy told him. "I'm a dad, myself. So I should know."

The boy's head swung back in Johnny's direction and his glistening eyes brightened. "Think they'll let me call my folks from the hospital? It's a local call…"

"I'm sure they will! There's a nice nurse there, named Dixie. Just tell her you're a friend of ours, and she'll see to it that you get 'special' treatment. Say," Gage exclaimed, with a snap of his fingers, "I got tickets to the Monster Truck Show next weekend. If you ain't 'grounded', you wanna go?"

Tony's whole face lit up. "Are you serious?!"

Gage grinned and nodded.

"A-all ri-ight!" the teen exclaimed.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'. Just call the fire station, and let me know if you kin go. If I ain't there, leave your number, or a message, and I'll get back to you. Okay?"

"Okay."

DeSoto was more than a little dumbfounded. "I don't get it. I would a' thought the two of you would a' had your fill of 'trucks', for awhile."

Gage gave his buddy an 'Are you for real?' look. "Ro-oy, there's no such thing as having your fill of 'trucks'. Right, Tony?"

"Right," Tony readily replied, but then thoughtfully added, "as long as you're lookin' at 'em from the outside."

The two firemen glanced at one another and grinned.

"He's a smart kid," Gage re-affirmed and bumped shoulders with the boy for the third time in as many minutes. "See? I knew you were smart."

The 'smart kid' suppressed a bashful grin and then hung his head again.

The first ambulance that had been summoned to the scene finally arrived and pulled up beside the Squad. Its siren grew silent and its back doors popped open.

Roy escorted the boy over to the emergency vehicle and then helped him up into the back of it. "Take care, Tony. Maybe Johnny and I'll see you again, over at the hospital."

"Okay, Roy. You guys take care, too."

"Always."

"See yah next weekend!" Johnny called out, just before the rig's doors closed. "Hopefully," he added, speaking just beneath his breath.

The ambulance drove off—non Code R.

Two members of 16's crew came staggering up to the rear of the rescue truck, carrying 51's retrieved equipment cases.

"Where would you like these?" one of them breathlessly wondered.

"Thanks. You can just set 'em down right there," Roy replied, and then said, in an aside to his partner, "I could get used to this."

TBC