Chapter 13
The following morning a somewhat tired crew changed to civvies. Many of them would be heading over to Atlantis Park for a picnic (and a nap!) that their spouses had pulled together.
"We agreed to a picnic?" Roy groaned as he zipped up his jeans.
"That's all Becky could talk about last night on the phone," Mike grunted as he bent to tie shoe laces. "Beth said she was getting all her princess thing together."
"Can't disappoint the lady," Johnny said as he finished stuffing dirty uniforms into his duffle. These would be dropped off at the cleaners. "I'll see you at the park!"
Gage was surprised to see Brackett's car still on the driveway when he pulled up. He carried in his dry cleaning putting it away before walking down into the kitchen. There he found his room mate reading the paper and sipping coffee, the remnants of breakfast beside him.
"Running late?" he asked as he poured out some hot brew and put bread into the toaster.
"No, I'm doing a 10 to 10," Kel said as he turned a page and shook out the folds. He continued to read and John nosed through cupboard snagging his favorite peanut butter. In comfortable silence he settled down to the sports section.
As 9:30 neared the table was cleared and Gage headed out for the hotel to pick up Stephan, Matt and his family.
"Didn't you say it was a potluck?" Brackett asked as he also walked out to his car.
"I'm the potluck," Johnny shrugged. "Roy and Joanne figure if I play with the kids then they'll take care of the food." The doctor thought about it a moment.
"Ok, I can see that," Kel said. "But you seem to get the short end of the stick!" They shared a laugh before taking off for their destinations.
Driving down to Orange County Johnny chatted with Matt, Stephan and Beth. The kids were happily engaged with their toys. The outside of the park was inauspicious, with high hedges and fences to make people enter at a guarded gate. The entrance fee was a quarter per adult, ten cents for children under 16.
Matt and Beth wondered about that, a park that charged entrance fees. But Roy had really impressed them that it was well worth it. Upon entering they could see a cemented area with a dozen or so picnic tables with several bar-b-q grills along one wall. Everything was clean and tidy. The path in front of them led down past a grassy knoll. Following Gage they came around a corner and saw a pirate's ship rising out of a sandy beach. There was a dock with a long guy wire out to the mast. Hanging from a handlebars, zipping along, was Jake Stanley.
Jeff was immediately drawn to the ship, running ahead of his parents. The Stanleys had set up their picnic a little further beyond where two picnic benches had been pulled together. A large blanket had been spread on the ground, staked down at the corners. Ruthie was settled at one corner reading a book. Cissy shyly moved towards the older girl.
"Hey guys!" Hank waved. "You're the first group to arrive!" They settled their bags at one end of the table full of chips and some whole fresh fruit. Johnny tossed his own baja blanket down next to Ruthie, giving her a quick hug. Then he went to help "organize" the food, swiping an apple from the sack.
Kicking back on the grass Johnny munched happily as he talked with Emily. He already knew the park backwards and forwards and left it up to his Cap to show the other adults around.
"Uncle Johnny!" Jennifer Desoto's voice carried all the way from the path as the young girl raced towards them. The paramedic had just enough time to brace himself for the onslaught.
The rest of the Desotos, followed by the Itoras and the Hawaiian crew came to the tables putting down food, coolers and the general assortment of things one used at a picnic.
"I thought you were going to explore Belmont Shore," Johnny said to Maddie.
"We are," the engineer replied. "But then Sammy pointed out we could eat first then go. Lena agreed so here we are!"
"Anyway," Chen added, "after hearing all about this dragon slide we had to see it." He pointed looked around. "So, where is it?"
"HEY! JAKE!" Gage called out. "LET'S GO DRAGONING!"
The teenager swung off the ship taking Jeff with him. Chris followed behind eager to ride down the slide. The girls also got up to join the group. Picking up his camera, the lean paramedic sauntered over the grass and around a small hillock.
At first Chen and his wife were disappointed. They saw a traditional metal slide encased in a dragon-like facade. All this hoopla for that? Then to the left they noticed a large, ok, GIANT, dragon's head lying on the sand. The long, sinuous body curved UP a hill and disappeared into thick shrubs.
The kids started up a path to the left of the hill.
"Hey, why don't you go on up and I'll play catcher," Gage offered. With a shrug the rest of the adults followed the path up, up, up to a cleared area with a huge dragon's tail twisted into a loop. The slide started there, a hollow channel went down the backbone of the creature, quickly dropping out of sight into the greenery that grew along side the slide.
"Jeff, you can go down with me!" Jake offered. "Think you could take Cissy, sis?"
"Sure can!" Ruthie enthused. "This is gonna be so much fun!" Of course the Hawaiian teens had been a bit reluctant to go on such a childish excursion as a play park, but the dragon did look interesting.
Jake directed the sliders, making sure they waited a count of ten before the next one went down. The delighted squeals and screams drifting back up let them know they sliders were having fun. Before Chen went down the first of the kids were already back up the path waiting impatiently for another turn.
Feeling foolish, Chen climbed into the smooth channel. He looked up at his wife, blushing.
"Uh..." he tried to think of something adultish or at least manly to say, when Lena grinned and shoved him down the chute. Very quickly his body was plummeting downwards, around wide turns that slowed his descent somewhat. Then he was on the final drop and came flying off the bottom of the slide being caught by Mike Stoker just before launching onto his butt.
He was giggling! Without a word he was running back up the hill to ride the dragon again. Mike looked over at Johnny, who was taking pictures of all the riders.
"Looks like we've got another happy customer," the engineer grinned.
"Yups!" Gage agreed as he focused on the next person, Lena this time. His shutter quickly reeled off three frames. He loved his camera! The power winder made it much easier to get a great shot.
Of course the bill for the prints got a bit pricey, but he generally worked from proof sheets for most of his work and only printed the shots he wanted. Today's shots would all be printed and people could pick out what they wanted.
After getting shots of all the sliders, John and Mike headed up for their own turns. By this point Jeff was riding down solo, but Cissy and Becky wanted the support of an older person.
As the excitement died down the kids and adults wandered off to other areas. The girls were soon riding on an elaborate teeter-totter that were shaped like sea horses. The ocean theme continued with a whale-shaped slide (concrete, like the dragon although not as elaborate), swings that were strung from octopi legs and a jungle gym that looked like a coral and seaweed reef.
The boys headed back to the pirate ship. Chris Desoto had brought cutlasses and striped neckerchiefs. Jake had brought his and his sister's pirate hats from Disneyland.
This allowed the adults to congregate around the tables, and the food, to munch and talk. Lunch was al fresco, with a cooler full of sandwiches, one with two different salads and some ribbon jello, a cooler full of soft drinks and a basket full of brownies and cookies. Chips and dips were available on the table as well as the fresh fruit.
As they became hungry the kids would wander over for fueling up. About two Chen, Lena, Sammy, Stephan, Maddie and Chrissy said their goodbyes and were off to more adult pursuits at Belmont Shore. They had a map and Johnny's descriptions of Panama Joe's and Legends to check out. Emily added a list of little boutiques the women would like. In retaliation Hank had added a couple shops the men would enjoy.
Then Uncle Johnny was called upon for his part of the potluck. He spent the next two hours playing frisbee, chasing various kids and generally being the game instigator. By four the younger kids were starting to get a bit whiny. The teenagers were not interested in playing anymore and congregated on the blanket.
Johnny was certainly ready for a rest! The adults packed up and soon they were all heading home.
The one thing Roy decided as he dragged gear into the house for the forth trip was he would not go fishing on Friday! He was too tired, especially given he had to go on a 48 the next morning. Add to that just how grumpy his kids were he knew that going out fishing would not be a good idea.
Now he just had to find a way to tell Matt.
The Stanleys arrived home. Two extremely moody teenagers whined as they were 'forced' to help carry in all the stuff they'd brought to the park. Being overly-tired himself did not help the situation. Emily tried her best to referee between father and children, but two slammed doors showed just how miserably she failed.
"Hank," she turned on her spouse. "You are being a little too... harsh."
"They help John Gage just fine!" he snapped back. "They're my kids and they won't do... squat!" Emily looked her husband over. Tight shoulders, strained facial muscles, if looks could kill the houseplants would wilt!
"Hank," she said softly, reaching out to touch his stiff chin. "Hank, you are tired. You've been on the go for the past week! You need some down time!"
"I don't have that luxury!" he growled. "I have a 48 starting tomorrow morning!"
"Sweetie," she said gently, although her eyes were flint. "You are NOT going fishing Friday." Hank glared at her.
"Jeffie wants to fish! We promised him we'd fish!" he stressed.
"No, Matt said Jeff wants to fish," she said. "There are plenty of people to take him fishing. You," she ran her hand over his chest, rather seductively at that, "need to rest. You'll be over in a potentially hostile situation next week. You need to be at the top of your game! You need to rest." Now she fluttered her eyelashes. "I can help you... rest." Stanley felt his mouth curve up in a smile.
"I think I need to rest... now..." his eyes glinted.
"The kids won't be out for awhile!" she returned his smirk.
And led him down the hallway.
The same scene played out at the hotel with Frank Itora and his wife.
Johnny didn't have a person to bounce off of. He entered his home, tossed stuff in his basket, and proceeded to pour out a measure of Makers Mark over ice before he headed down for a cool shower followed by a soak in the tub. This was followed by a quick round of 'wash the laundry' and searching the fridge for dinner. He was in bed by nine.
Wednesday morning came around with a mostly refreshed 51s crew. Everyone save perhaps Mike who was still battling with his inner conscious. He'd gone along with the idea of fishing Friday, but he'd had his plans nixed by a very upset wife. A wife who DID NOT want him to go fishing. Period.
A wife who'd contacted the other wives and they all agreed they needed family time. The only person upset was Jeff. Matt and Beth spoke at length about the idea of going fishing. Beth didn't want to go and her husband understood completely. But that still didn't solve the problem of Jeff's desire.
They finally decided that the 'boys' would go fishing and the girls would go ahead and get manicures in the hotel then have a nice lunch and window shop. Cissy was pleased; she could dress up like a princess and be with her mommy. Jeff was ecstatic! He really wanted to fish.
John Gage arrived at work with plenty of time for a cup of coffee and a piece of coffee cake provided by Maddie. He was fairly well rested and was even half-packed. Surfboards were sent over to the 16s for safe keeping. He relaxed and watched his shiftmates wander in one by one.
Hank strode in and indicated it was time for roll call. His men lined up and listened to various notices from headquarters.
"Finally, we all fly out on Monday morning at 10:30, LAX," he said. "I'll have all tickets and I expect you at the airport by 9am!"
"What about Dr. Brackett?" Roy asked.
"He's on the same flight, but he already has his tickets," Stanley explained.
"Station 51, Engine 36," dispatch broke into their meeting. "Structure fire with injuries, 3493 Hill Court. Cross street, Imperial Blvd. Time out, 7:48"
"Station 51 KMG 365," Hank responded as he ripped paper off the pad. As usual, Mike and Johnny were tracing the route to the location on the large map. Soon the squad led the way, lights flashing. Entering a housing tract, they quickly arrived at a condo complex that had smoke pouring out of the south end.
The hoses were quickly laid out, connected to hydrant and engine. The 36s came in next. Maddie noted that his linesman, Samuel, hopped out of the cab and was assigned to a hose.
Roy stayed by the squad getting a triage set up while Stephan and Johnny began the search for victims. Two people were unaccounted for, an older couple in a downstairs unit under and beside the fire. The paramedics entered the smoke-filled condo.
As Stephan moved he heard the wood straining above him. The ceiling was not going to be intact much longer! He followed the sound of Gage yelling and soon located his partner with two frightened people.
Johnny lifted the woman carefully over his shoulder and indicated that he should help the man out. As they were making their way out the ceiling decided it was no longer viable and began to fall. The last thing the Hawaiian paramedic remembered was a sharp hit on the back of his helmet and darkness.
Gage watched helplessly as Stephan went down. He had to grabbed the older man by the hand and pull him out of the building quickly moving towards triage. Hank and Mike met him, relieving him of his burden.
"Stephan's down, Cap!" he said as he turned to reenter the building. With a quick transfer, Stanley ran to follow his youngest crew member in.
The fire was starting in on the walls creating an inferno. Hank could just make out Johnny who was bent over his downed colleague tossing debris off of him. As quickly as he could the older man joined in and soon they'd excavated their friend. He was lifted carefully between them and then brought out to the triage.
Johnny and Hank were worried about how badly burned Stephan would be. Getting to the squad they set him down on the tarp Mike had spread out. Together they stripped off scba, helmet and turnouts. Underneath they found an unconscious paramedic who was surprisingly free of burns.
Gage began his assessment and as he was inflating the bp cuff his patient began to come around.
"Easy there, pally," he said as he finished his reading. "Just keep still."
"What happened?" Stephan groaned.
"Why don't you tell us?" Roy called over. His two patients were fine, just some smoke inhalation, and were resting.
"Uhm, we were going in to rescue a couple of people," eyes squinched closed as he concentrated. "I could hear the roof groaning. Then I think it came down on me."
"Yups, that's it," Johnny said. "You have a very nice goose egg on the back of your head."
"mmm, thought I might," he replied, "given the headache."
"I'll just call it in and we'll see what the doctor orders," Johnny said as he reached for the biophone. After relaying vitals Stephan was sporting his very own bag of normal saline as per Dr. Morton and a cervical collar just in case.
"All this theatrics just 'cause I'm buss up a little," he complained as he was loaded into the ambulance.
"Well, you may be a little 'buss up,' but that includes a possible concussion!" Johnny said. "You're lucky I'm going in with ya. Roy's a real bear about concussions." Roy laughed.
"I don't know about that!" he responded. "Morton took the call. Morton REALLY is a bear. We both could tell you tales..." Stephan moaned.
"Oh, great," he grumbled. Soon he was hurtling towards the ER.
Maddie was very worried about his friend. He'd helped with the gauges and hoses with the rest of the crew. With the extra two hands, Samuel was there, they could pull an extra hose and knock the fire down more quickly. But now the the situation was under control and in clean up he had too much time on his hand. Finally he sought out Cap.
"Uh, Cap?" he hedged. Stanley turned away from the 36s' captain and gave the engineer a comforting smile.
"Stephan hit his head," he quickly explained. "No burns, no other apparent injuries. Johnny seemed to think it might be a mild concussion since he was conscious and oriented. Roy might know more."
"Thanks," the Hawaiian gave a relieved smile and jogged over to the paramedic, helping him clean up the triage area. The two other patients had signed releases and were now with their adult children.
"Hey, Maddie," Roy smiled as the other man began picking up bits of trash.
"Hey," he smiled. "Heard Stephan's head got bussed up."
"Yeah, ceiling fell in," Roy said. "Something heavy got him, gave him a goose egg. But the gear protected him; no burns."
"That's good to hear!" Maddie heard. "I hate to see anyone hurt, but..."
"But it's worse when it's a friend," Roy finished. "Tell you what, ride in with me to Rampart. I can guarantee he'll be kept over night since Morton took the call."
"I'll check with the Cap," he said as he finished tossing away the trash.
Stephan had an up close and personal with the infamous Dr. Morton. And it was not fun! Oh, he was efficient, thorough... and a bit condescending. It seemed that since Gage had been involved he was suddenly grouped into the 51's stunt group. At least Johnny had stoically stood by him during the entire exam until the x-ray came in.
When the technician was done Gage returned and kept up a pleasant chatter about the better experiences he'd had at Rampart. Dixie appeared and her calm, blue eyes and gentle manner also helped him. Then the film was back and Morton's less-than-pleasant bedside manner was buffered further by the staff neurologist, Dr. Early.
"Well, Stephan," the pleasant man began, "you have quite a lump but no damage to the skull. I bet you have a headache!"
"Yups," he managed, "bamboocha!" The two doctors looked at one another.
"Big one," Johnny translated. Early grinned as Morton rolled his eyes.
"Big one is right," he chuckled. "We'll give you something for that. The bad news is you get to be our guest here at Hotel Rampart." Now Stephan rolled his eyes.
"It's just a little bump," he complained, causing Johnny and Joe to snicker and Mike to growl.
"What is it with you big macho paramedics?" he grumped. "Always fine even when you've broken limbs!" Then he had to wait for the laughter to die off.
"Well, given how often you order iv's for hang nails," Joe managed to get out. He received a major glare and more laughter from Gage.
"I'll have the nurse arrange for a room for you," Morton said as he stomped out of the room.
"Man, I'm gonna pay for this," Johnny said, "but it was sooo worth it."
"Why are you going to pay?" Stephan asked. "Dr. Early was the one who zinged him!" Joe patted the mobile paramedic.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you," he teased.
"Thanks," Johnny grin widened. "Hey, I better get on the phone and let Maddie know you're ok. I bet he's worried."
"I'll do you one better," Dixie said as she finished opening the door. "I'll let Stephan tell Maddie he's ok." The engineer entered the room and walked quickly to his friend.
The 51s paramedics watched as the Hawaiians ascertained everything was ok. Then they shepherded Maddie out while Dixie brought Stephan up to his room. They promised they'd stop by when they came in to the ER.
will we ever get to Hawaii? heh heh heh...
