Amazing Grace (chapter 4)

Continuing their conversation, Johnny felt more comfortable than he may ordinarily have, due to the fact that he had chosen not to pursue a romantic relationship with Stephanie, and could instead just be himself, as goofy and flustered as that may be.

"So what kind of things do you like to do in your spare time, Stephanie?"

"Anything outdoors…hiking…camping…swimming…I've even been hang gliding and parachuting a few times," came her reply.

Johnny looked at her in disbelief. He had never known any woman who actually enjoyed that kind of outdoorsy stuff, not to mention parachuting and hang gliding. "You like all of that stuff?"

"Yeah, I do. I grew up with five brothers…had no choice. How about you, Johnny? I'm sure that your job keeps you busy, but how do spend your down time?"

Letting out a laugh, Johnny couldn't stop grinning. "Actually, with the exception of the hang gliding and parachuting, I like that kind of stuff too. As a matter of fact, I'm planning a camping trip for some time in the next few weeks."

"Cool. Where do you normally like to go?"

"It depends," Johnny replied as he took another sip of his beer. "If I am desperate to get away, I go camping about an hour away in the mountains. If I have time, sometimes I go further away. My partner Roy and I go fishing in Santa Rosa County once in a while."

"Sounds nice. How's your spaghetti, Johnny?"

"It's good…not as good as Mike Stoker's though."

"Mike Stoker?" Stephanie asked, not knowing who Mike was.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Mike is our engineer. He makes the best spaghetti and meatballs."

Smiling, Stephanie couldn't contain herself. "And how about you, Johnny…how well do you cook?"

Turning a light shade of red, the paramedic had to admit to this young woman that he really wasn't a very good cook at all.

"I could lie and say that I am the second coming of the Galloping Gourmet…or I can be honest and tell you that usually when it's my time to cook at the station, I end up making hamburgers or hot dogs. Let's just say that I won't be volunteering for any cooking groups at your nursing home."

Taking in Johnny's handsome smiling face, a part of Stephanie wished that he had felt more of a spark with her, but for now she was content with just being friends. She also knew that he would be an asset to her volunteering program.

"That's okay…I got that part covered."

Watching as she took another mouthful of her seafood meal, Johnny was glad that he had made the decision to just be friends with Stephanie. He figured that if they had begun a relationship and it didn't work out, that his volunteering days might have to end, which due to his new friendship with Grace, he didn't want to jeopardize.

"How's your seafood dish?"

"Delicious. The shrimp are fantastic. Want to try some?"

Johnny shook his head. "No thanks. I like seafood enough, but my preference is Italian."

"I guess that was my forwardness talking. I was so anxious to go out with you that I automatically assumed that this place would be okay with you."

Putting his left hand on top of hers, Johnny smiled. "It's fine, Stephanie. If I didn't want to come here, I would have told you so…believe me. I have no trouble speaking my mind."

"I'm glad, " Stephanie replied with a chuckle.

In the middle of their exchange, there was a commotion at one of the next tables, causing Johnny to look over. A man who looked to be in his seventies had keeled over the table.

Noticing that this was in fact a medical emergency, Johnny got up, telling Stephanie to call for a paramedic squad.

Without questioning him, Stephanie got up and did as she was asked.

When Johnny got to the fallen man, he immediately checked his pulse, only to find that he had none.

Talking to no one in particular, he said, "He's in cardiac arrest. Someone want to get his legs and help me move him to the floor?"

Without hesitation one of the other men who had been sitting at the table took his friend's legs. Once the man was on the floor, Johnny ripped open his shirt, and started the procedure for CPR.

When Stephanie returned to Johnny, she was with the restaurant's manager.

Noticing the crowd of people starting to form around the area, the manager, a well-dressed middle-aged male, started to encourage everyone to back up.

"Please people…go back to your tables…the paramedics will be here any minute and will need room to work. Please…"

So focused on doing CPR was Johnny that he hadn't noticed that the paramedics had arrived and were setting up their equipment.

"Gage…what do we have?" asked Matt Hogan, one of the paramedics from Squad 39.

"Cardiac arrest, "replied Johnny as he continued his chest compressions.

Quickly hooking up their patient to the heart monitor, the second paramedic, Sean Lanning, prepared the defibrillator.

After two tries, their patient was back into a sinus rhythm.

Calling Rampart, Matt made contact with the base station.

"Rampart…"

Allowing himself to sit back on his heels, Johnny wiped the sweat from his forehead, and exhaled loudly.

Seeing Johnny in action, Stephanie had developed even more respect for him.

A few minutes later, the ambulance arrived, and the attendants were helping to put their patient on the stretcher.

Standing up, Johnny watched as the man was prepared for transport.

"Thanks for your help, Johnny," called out Matt.

"No problem, glad I was here."

After helping to clean up the area, Johnny started to return to his table when he was stopped by the manager.

"Sir, I would like to say thank you for what you just did."

Taking the man's offered hand, Johnny smiled an appreciative smile.

"I had a lot of help, but thank you."

"The bill…is on the house."

Shaking his head, Johnny tried to convince the man not to pay for his and Stephanie's meal. Though he was off-duty he still didn't feel right accepting the "gift."

"That's okay…I was just doing what I was trained to do."

"I will not take no for an answer. Anything you and your lovely lady want…it's on me."

Resigned to the fact that he wouldn't win, Johnny weakly nodded his head, and followed Stephanie back to their table.

Helping her to sit down, Johnny then tiredly sat down himself.

"You must be exhausted, Johnny. I always knew doing CPR was taxing, but I never saw it done right in front of me, before."

Rubbing his eyes, the off-duty paramedic nodded. "Yeah."

"Do you think he'll make it?" Stephanie asked hopefully.

"Well, he had a few things going for him, least of which is that I was right there doing CPR on him within a minute of his collapse. The paramedics got here real quick, and Rampart General Hospital is one of the best around. He'll get great care there. I'd say he has an excellent chance of making it."

"I'm glad. Listen, we don't have to stay. I know after what just happened, you're a bit wired."

Again placing his hand on hers, Johnny gave her a tired smile.

"How about if we get this stuff packed up, and then maybe go for a walk or something?"

Returning Johnny's smile with one of her own, Stephanie nodded in agreement. "I'd like that."

Waving over their waiter, Johnny asked the young man to package their food to go. Having already been briefed by his boss, the waiter never mentioned anything about the check.

Going over to their table when he saw Johnny talking to the waiter, the manager wanted to make sure that everything was okay.

"Things are alright, sir?" The manager inquired, concerned that something was wrong.

"They're fine. I guess I'm just a little tired from all the excitement," Johnny offered.

"It's not surprising. By the way, my name is Ben Mathers. I do hope you and the young lady come back again…and if you do, please ask for me, and I will take care of you."

Knowing enough not to argue at this point, Johnny smiled and nodded his head. "That's very generous of you, Ben…thank you. My name is John Gage. I'm a firefighter/paramedic with the L.A. County Fire Department. By the way, here's the tip for our waiter."

Signaling for Johnny to put the money away, Ben smiled. "I have that taken care of, too. I'll make sure your food gets boxed up. Please have a good evening, folks."

"Thank you, we will," answered Johnny, shaking Ben's hand.

A few minutes later, they got their boxed up food, and with Johnny following behind Stephanie, the two of them made their way outside.

Taking a few deep breaths and exhaling, Johnny wasn't quite sure what to do next. He knew that he had suggested a walk earlier, but now he was just tired, and really not in the mood for one.

Sensing his change in mood, Stephanie put her hand on his shoulder.

"We don't have to go for a walk, Johnny. I kind of sense that the moment has passed."

Johnny gave Stephanie an affectionate look. Even in just a couple short hours, he had started to have feelings for her unfortunately they were not of the romantic variety.

"You're sure you don't mind?"

"Of course not. Will I see you tomorrow?"

"I shall be there. What's on the agenda, another sex discussion?"

Grinning Stephanie shook her head. "No…it's bingo…but I have to tell you, to the residents it's not JUST bingo."

Letting out a soft laugh, Johnny understood what Stephanie meant by the last comment. Older folks could be just as bad as school kids, and he knew just how competitive Chris and Jennifer DeSoto were with each other.

"Don't worry, I'm prepared. Besides, if the ladies are anything like the ones I met today when Grace was giving me a tour, I won't have a problem. They were…they…they were flirting with me a little bit."

Stephanie thought it was kind of cute to see Johnny get a little flustered when talking about the older ladies flirting with him. It was amazing to her, how less than an hour ago he literally had a man's life in his hands, and now he was getting a little tongue tied.

"I'm sure you won't have any problem. Bingo starts at two o'clock…sharp."

"I'll be there, Stephanie. I had a good time tonight."

"I did too." Kissing him on the cheek, Stephanie left Johnny to ponder what he may be missing.

After watching his new friend walk away, Johnny's mind immediately went to the gentleman who had almost died right there on the restaurant floor. He knew that he wouldn't be able to go home until he stopped at Rampart to find out how the man was doing, and whether or not he had made it.

Getting into his car, Johnny put the styrofoam box of food on the passenger seat, and then put his seat belt on.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Arriving at Rampart, Johnny parked the Rover and made his way to the emergency room.

The first person he met was Dr. Early, who wore a smile on his face.

"Johnny…good job on that cardiac case."

The paramedic looked at the doctor with a somewhat surprised expression.

"You mean he made it, doc?"

Nodding his head, the doctor's smile broadened.

"Yes, he sure did. He's upstairs in the ICU. He'll probably need surgery, but for now we are monitoring his condition very closely. He was lucky that you were right there. It's not very often that someone has a heart attack, and a paramedic is that close. Were you there on a date? Or…just grabbing a bite with the guys?"

"It…it was a date."

"And how did it go?" Joe asked curiously, well aware of the young man's track record.

"Fine," replied Johnny nodding his head. "But we decided that it might be better just to be friends."

"Friends?" Joe repeated.

"Yeah. Look, I'm beat. I'll see ya later, doc. Thanks for the good news."

Dr. Early watched with fascination as Johnny walked away from him. He had known Johnny for a number of years, and had never known the younger man to JUST be friends with any woman, except Dixie.