Crosstrainers 10

Sorry for the long time between postings and the brevity of this chapter. Let's say MRSA is lots of fun and leave it at that.

The following morning Johnny and Roy went to breakfast. This time Dr. Stewart joined them. They discussed the runs they'd gone on, including the two after midnight. Dissected the treatments that had been given. Pursued the emotionally-charged atmosphere some of the calls had engendered.

Most of Stewart's problems with the paramedic program had been completely assuaged. Now his problems concerned the completeness of the training program and an appropriate hands-on accompaniment. He found it hard to accept that five years ago Roy and Johnny had been turned loose with a bio-phone and drugs with no practical experience. Well, they had run with a nurse for a few days, but still, not enough to satisfy him.

Now there was a six week ride-along program for each newly minted paramedic. They came right out of the classroom and were assigned to an established team. This team eased the transition from academic to performing.

Hawaii's paramedics program would follow the same route; the current paramedics were running with a nurse. But after August 1st the 10 teams in place would be able to administer advanced first aid in the field. With only two days with Johnny or Roy. Not an ideal situation.

But he had to agree the program's merits vastly outweighed this hitch. He was actually looking forward to getting back to his hospital and sitting down with each team. Brackett had said getting to know the people in the field was the best way to guarantee the optimum medical benefit. Five teams worked out of his hospital, three at Castle and the other two out of the Hawaii Medical Center.

He would bet that his cohort at Hawaii Med had already had several meetings with his two teams. He was equally willing to bet Hu had not, nor would she ever, meet with them.

He needed to talk with his colleagues at all the area ERs and see if they could help him support Castle's paramedics through the rest of the staff there.

"Thank the Akua I'm back at 51!" Matt sighed happily as his Cap drove them to work. Itora snorted.

"Hey, the 10s were fine!" Itora retorted.

"Yeah, if you're in to yogurt and veggies!" the paramedic grumbled.

"I found it... refreshing," his Cap said.

"Yeah, tofu and egg souffle," came the sour retort. "Yummy."

"They were trying to show they could cook healthy," Itora pointed out as he swung into a parking spot.

"Since when does Hawaiian equate with healthy?" Matt snipped. "They don't know about our plate lunches!"

"Now there's yummy," Cap smiled happily. "Rice, potato salad, kalua pork...."

"Hey! don't make me drool!" seat belt snapped off as the younger man prepared to eject from the rental.

"Maybe we should cook," Itora said. "Show 'em real cooking!"

"These guys'll eat anything," stated Matt, "well, except Chet's cooking."

"We could do teriyaki for dinner with vegetable saimin," he suggested. "Sandwiches for lunch."

"I'm up for it; ask Capt. Stanley if that's ok," the paramedic agreed as he swung his duffle on his shoulder. They entered the station and headed for their respective areas.

"Welcome back, Matt!" Johnny sung out. Roy grunted his greetings as he tied his shoes.

"Good morning!" he grinned. "How were your ride-alongs?" Both paramedics glowered.

"Stewart was great," Johnny stated.

"Hu sucked," Roy growled.

"Language!" Chet called from the doorway.

"She was awful!" Roy amended, glaring at the linesman as he approached his locker.

"We got cookies," Marco pointed out as he tucked in his shirt.

"So? We had to ride with her!" Roy groused. Johnny rolled his eyes.

"Had, past tense," he said. "Just let it go, pally, I don't want ta deal with a grumpy partner this shift!"

"Let it go? Let it go?" Desoto began to rant. "How can you just let it go?" He continued to complain as he followed Gage in to get some coffee.

"Those two have been together way too long!" Chet commented as he put on his pins.

"Yeah," Marco agreed. "And Roy sounded just like Johnny does on a tear!"

"Was Dr. Hu really that bad?" Matt asked innocently.

"She was horrible!" Chet exclaimed. "Kept putting 'em down as some sort of trained seal act."

"The worst was calling Johnny a idiot when he did a rope rescue," Marco commented. "It was difficult but they got the guy down. She was on them like flypaper criticizing every move."

"Glad I missed it," Matt said. "I guess we'll get that when we go back home."

"Probably, at first," Marco agreed. "But most of the ERs will see the benefits of the program. You'll be fine!"

The men joined the rest of the crew in the kitchen. Coffee was poured and a box of donuts attacked. Roy had calmed down and was snickering at some story his partner was telling him.

"Roll call, gentlemen," Stanley called out. Soon the crew was assembled and ready. Jobs were assigned and soon Johnny and Roy were out hanging hoses in the too warm summer morning.

As the morning progressed, with a couple of runs for heat exhaustion and one bar-b-cue gone amuck, they seem to settle into a comfortable summer doze, soaking up the cool air in the kitchen/tv room.

Itora cornered Gage and Desoto and they began going over the training the team would provide to their Hawaiian crews. They found the captain to be very detailed-oriented. He was quite pleased they were just as careful in their planning as he could want. Their outline would be sent over to Chief Kimura of HFD for his review as well as the various medical personnel that had helped train the newly minted paramedics.

Lunch was welcome, with the cold fruit and sandwiches. They sipped iced tea and discussed the upcoming Dodger game that evening.

"Station 51, man down, Hollywood Park Race track. 1050 S. Prairie. Cross street, 90th. Enter at gate 7, stable area, on 90th. Time out, 13:25," the dispatch called out.

"Hollywood Park?" Johnny said. "That's weird, they have their own medical staff and doctor on call at all times."

"Don't know," Roy shrugged. Soon the little squad was zipping along, Big Red in its wake. Gage easily directed them to the back gate. They were waved in by various security persons and directed back into the main stable. A very flustered trainer waved them over to an exercise area.

"Boy, I am glad to see you!" he started as the paramedics jumped out and began gathering supplies.

"Doc Michaels took another guy to Rampart on an emergency run and left his assistant behind," he said quickly as he grabbed the drug box and started for an open barn door.

"What's happened?" Cap Stanley came up with his counterpart and linesmen in tow.

"Well, Jimmy, that's Doc Michael's assistant, was patching up a bite on one of the exercise boys," the man explained. "Two-to-One was the beast that tore a chunk out." He stopped in front of a closed run, there was a man down with a very frightened younger man crouched next to him.

And one very angry horse snapping and pawing the ground.

"Anyway, Jimmy was putting on some bandages when Two-to decided he wasn't finished and barreled back into the run and knocked him down. We can't get to either guy 'cause the horse is real upset." The firemen looked at the large animal, the whites of his eyes flashing.

"Not good, Cap," Johnny assessed. "That horse is beyond angry."

"Well, I'm up for any good ideas," Hank admitted.

"You try roping him?" Johnny asked. He received a negative shake of the head.

"Nope, didn't. That beast is way too angry!" he declared. Now everyone's eyes swiveled to Gage. He watched the horse for a long moment then went to find a rope. Then he began directing the crew.

"Marco, Chet, circle around to the other side of the pen," he said. "Roy, you and Matt go over to the right. Cap, and Cap, you think you can anchor the rope for me?" With dual nods they moved closer to him. The four others moved carefully around to their designated positions. Once everyone was in place the rope was secured on a post and the rest in gloved hands. Gage carefully moved to the fence and climbed between the rails.

"Ok, Two-to, time for a little bonding," he said quietly. The horse wasn't sure about the man or the rope and his hooves flashed out. Johnny easily dodged them.

"Hey there! Sshht!" he tried. "Calm down, it'll be ok!" The horse nervously pranced out of reach, but Johnny stood still giving him time to size him up. When Two-to-One came back within range, Gage carefully tossed the loop over his head and settled it on his neck.

Although unhappy with the rope, the horse decided it was in his best interest not to struggle too much. He pulled back a little, just to size up the strength, then shook himself. Eyes calmed down and he looked curiously at the man in the blue shirt. Oooh, there was a shiny thing was on him and needed to be sniffed! Rolling his eyes the paramedic allowed the beast to slobber on him as it nudged his badge. Reaching up he carefully took hold of the halter.

"Ok, Two-to, time to go-go to your stall-stall," The horse danced along at his side easily going into the open door of his paddock. Removing the rope from around his neck, Gage backed out and closed the door securely.

Matt and Roy had already moved across to the downed man, checking out a large contusion on his shoulder and side of his head. Jimmy was actually awake, playing possum, until the horse had been secured.

"Thanks, man! That was amazing!" the downed man said as he looked up at Johnny.

"No problem," he said as he flipped open the biophone and called in to the ER. Soon an IV was established and the downed veterinarian assistant and he was loaded into the ambulance along with the exercise boy. Roy rode in with them.

Of course, there was the Phantom's razing to contend with once they all returned to the station. Between the 'ye-haas' and the strategically placed ropes around the station Gage was getting a bit annoyed.

Fortunately the squad toned out on a child down and they zipped away from the taunting. They ended up at a neighborhood rec center helping a boy who'd broken an arm on some climbing equipment. They easily finished up and sent him off to the hospital with Johnny.

This left Roy and Matt to give an impromptu show and tell with the rest of the kids. Hats were passed around, hearts listened to and the air horn honked a few times. After ten minutes they left to pick up their fellow paramedic.

"That was fun!" Matt grinned as they pulled away.

"Yeah, I love to work with kids," Roy agreed. "Johnny, too. He's a natural."

"Kind of figured that," he said. "Hey, how's he gonna handle Chet? I mean, that guy isn't going to let up on him."

"Well, he'll ignore Chet as long as possible," Roy said, "that's his first line of defense. Then if it keeps escalating, Cap'll step in."

"Or you," Matt suggested.

"Or me," he agreed. "Just depends what happens."

"He kind of reminds me of a bully," the Hawaiian paramedic hedged. Roy's mouth was set firmly.

"Yeah, he can be. And Johnny is his favorite 'pigeon' since he doesn't hold a grudge like the rest of us," Roy stated. They rode in silence the rest of the way to the hospital.

They found Johnny working on some rolled bandages as he talked with Dixie and Kel. Both Roy and Matt looked at the tight braided lengths that had been laid out on the counter. The nurse was holding one end as the paramedic finished up a fifth length of gauzy braiding.

"Hi guys!" Brackett smiled at them. "Hear you've had a couple interesting runs."

"Yups," Matt agreed. "I'm learning a lot! The last call was great!"

"Except for the broken arm," Roy amended.

"Yeah, except for that!," he grinned sheepishly. "I loved talkin' with the kids." This elicited several smiles.

"Uh, Pally? What's with the gauze?" Roy had to ask. He received a sly, crooked smile.

"Nothing, just getting my kit together," he said smoothly.

"He's promised he wouldn't cause any additional work for us," Dixie added.

"uh, O - K," Roy said slowly, not quite understanding. Johnny gathered up the lengths, that looked kind of like rope, and gestured with his head.

"Better call us in available," he said. "Bye Dix, Doc!" The other two paramedics scrambled to keep up with the sauntering man.

Since they'd been gone nearly an hour Chet had plenty of time to set up a few more jokes, including stringing rope around his pigeon's locker and bed. Gage undid all the mess and coiled the rope stowing most of it back in the cupboard.

Most of it. He chose one shorter hank and carried it into the kitchen, settling down at the table. Mike had poured out iced tea and set a glass by his friend.

"Well, lookee at cowboy Gage!" Chet teased as he came into the room. No comment, not even an acknowledgement he'd heard, the seated man continued to work at knotting the rope.

"Hey-ya cowboy, gonna rope yourself a steer?" the mustached linesman continued as nosed through the fridge. He didn't see the rope play out and twirl over the paramedic's head.

Of course, the rest of the crew, captains included, watched as Johnny stood up and clucked at his crew mate. Looking over his shoulder Chet smirked in delight.

"Oooh! Ride 'em cowboy!" he crowed. No smile, no comment. The rope twirled faster. Chet laughed.

"You have thirty seconds, Chet," Gage said evenly.

"What? Thirty seconds 'til what?' he retorted.

"Twenty seconds," came the response.

"Guess I should mosey on out," he said a little nervously.

"Ten," Gage turned his steely eyes on his prey. Chet started for the door as the rope twirled faster. Quick as a snake it struck, encircling the man around his arms and waist, pulled back and he found himself struggling on the floor.

Johnny kept the rope taut, came up to the trapped man and deftly rolled him onto his stomach, whipped out one of his gauze braids and hogtied him neatly.

"Yee-haa," Johnny said as he took the rope turned lariat off his struggling buddy.

"Ok Gage, you got me," Chet grumbled. "Let me up." Johnny picked up his iced tea and sauntered out of the room.

"GUYS!" Chet wailed. "Untie me!"

"You know, Frank, I want to check those incident reports one last time," Hank said to his colleague. With a nod they went back into the office.

"Marco? Mike?" Chet called. "Come on guys, enough's enough!"

"Want to see what's on tv?" the engineer asked his friend.

"Yeah, maybe there's something interesting on," Marco replied.

"ROY! Come on, help a friend," the trussed up man begged.

"Sorry, Chet," Roy tipped his head. "Won't get between a cowboy and and his steer."

"STEER! STEER!" the shouting continued.

"More like a jack ass," Matt commented as he watched the struggling man. After five more minutes of aggravated complaining Marco stood up, walked over and tugged on the rope. The bonds fell off Chet and he grumpily got to his feet shooting daggers at his crew mates.

"Get along little doggie," the swarthy linesman said giving him a slap on the butt. With muttered promises of retaliation Chet stomped off. Johnny passed by him as he reentered the kitchen.

"Hmm, seems like someone felt a sorry for ya," he commented.

"Naw, he was making too much noise, I could hear the TV," Marco said as he walked back to the couch.

"You just wait Gage," Chet snarled. Hank stuck his head out the office door.

"He'd better wait a long time, Kelly," came the thinly veiled command.