Chapter 15
The next thing the paramedic knew several hours had past and the smell of cooking hot dogs filled his nose. Which caused his stomach to growl. He lie there a few moments allowing his body to return to wakefulness. Then pushed up and looked around.
"Hey, Johnny!" Chen called out. "We have some dogs set aside for you!" With a huge yawn he rose up, shook his blanket and quickly folded it then walked over to the grill.
"So, where's Jeff?" he asked as he accepted a hot dog, moving to the condiments.
"Well, Lena and I caught three fish each," he said. "Figured that was enough. Matt caught a couple bass and he's happy enough. Jeff, he's after number six. He's over-the-moon excited."
"That's great!" Gage said and took a large bite. His stomach growled louder and leapt on the food. Lena looked up from her book and chuckled.
"At least we know when you're hungry!" she teased, enjoying the light blush that rose up on his cheekbones. A second hotdog was set down on his plate and a bag of chips were positioned nearby. An orange soda followed it up.
"Didn't bother with breakfast," he muttered around a full mouth. Lena just smiled and turned back to her novel. As he ate Chen kept him company, talking about the fishing back on the islands.
"Never have done any deep sea fishing," Johnny admitted. "Guess I've always done the camping and stream fishing."
"Well, I've never really camped," Chen admitted. "But plenty of sea fishing and cooking on the beach!"
"Mmm, I'll sign up for that," the Californian smiled and took another bite of dog. From down at the lake another happy yell came and soon Matt returned with Jeff and a string of trout. A few more pictures were snapped and then the father and son went off to clean their catch. Johnny grinned.
"I like this kind of fishing! Normally I'm the one cleaning the catch," he sipped at the fizzy soda.
"Lena took care of ours," he said. "They're nicely wrapped on ice."
A half-hour later the fish cleaners returned, all smiles. Matt snagged a soda and sat down by Gage.
"That was aurite!" he said as he popped the top. Jeff had wandered down to the shore, this time to skip rocks. Checking his watch Johnny popped one last bite into his mouth. It was just past three; they'd easily be back to his place before six.
Mentally he checked through his larder. Rice and pasta for the starch, then he had frozen veggies that might suffice. He decided to confer with Lena and soon he was happily turning the cooking duties off to her and Beth. Matt and Chen wanted to grill the fish on the bar-b-cue. All Johnny had to do was sit back and eat.
Definitely his type of meal! The fire was doused, the tackle straightened and the car packed. Soon they joined the traffic on the 5. It was slow, but not unreasonably so.
Lena was in the kitchen poking through cupboards peppering Gage with questions. She lined up various foods and pans and began to prep veggies. Less than thirty minutes later Beth pulled up. Matt was down the stairs helping his buddy into the house. Stephan protested all the way he was just fine, but did not complain when he was seated in a lounge on the back deck with a cold beer.
Leaving the women in the kitchen Johnny went to join the men. Cissy had come out and settled in Stephan's lap showing off her pretty finger and toe nails. Sitting on the end of the deck he joined the conversation.
When Kel Brackett drove up he noted the extra car on the driveway and another pulling up behind him. He climbed out of his car and was soon joined by Hank Stanley.
"Well, Hank, good evening," Kel said with a warm smile.
"Kel, a pleasure," he extended a hand for a shake.
"So what brings you out tonight?" the doctor asked, his sensors on high. "Johnny ok?"
"Just wanted to let him know we're off shift for the rest of the weekend," Hank hedged. Kel raised an eyebrow.
"And?" he prompted.
"And last shift was really rough so I wanted to check on him," Cap grudgingly admitted. He knew Johnny was an adult, but the father in him needed to be sure his youngest was ok.
"Which brings us back to 'is Johnny ok?'" Brackett pushed. "Did we miss him in the ER last shift?"
"He wasn't hurt, but a little girl died in his arms," Hank finally explained. "You know John, he was really affected."
"Yes, I'm sure he was," Kel agreed as he opened the front door. The air was full of wonderful smells and the chatter of people in the kitchen. Tossing his things in his basket the two men continued through the entry to the kitchen.
Johnny was sitting on his counter teasing Lena as she was finishing up the rice. Matt was carrying in a plate of fish with a very pleased son holding the door.
"Hey Cap!" Gage hopped down. "Kel, just in time for dinner if you're interested." When he saw the look on his mentor's face he walked across to Hank and accepted a hug.
"I'm ok, Cap, really," he said quietly.
"Just a little concerned, ya know," Hank said. "That whole father-taking-care thing I do." This elicited a snicker.
"How about something cold to drink?" he offered. "Have some icy brew."
"That sounds good," Stanley agreed. "Pretty darned hot!"
"Doc?" he offered.
"Actually, yes, that does sound good," Kel agreed. "If it's really cold!" With a smirk worthy of Johnny Gage the paramedic opened the cooler that was on the floor and extracted two bottles out of the ice. Caps were popped and soon the icy cold goodness was being enjoyed.
Dinner was plated, Hank gracefully declined, (it was fish for heaven's sake!) saying Emily was expecting him soon. He then gave them the 'bad' news, that they weren't working the following day.
"Seems they scheduled all 'A' shifts an extra day because next week there'll be a four day break," he explained. "Since we'll be over in Hawaii the department figured we needed the extra day to get packed."
"That's great!" Lena said. "I can drag Chen out to Rodeo Drive!"
"Drag is right," Chen grumbled. Johnny had to laugh.
"And here I thought you said she was a tomboy," he teased.
"I reserve the right to mix and match," Lena retorted. "The fun stuff from both gender-specific activities."
"Shopping is not fun!" Chen complained as he reached for a plate.
"Fishing was," she shot right back. "And we're flying out Sunday so we can shop tomorrow!" The conversation calmed down as plates were filled with fresh fish and sides. Hank finished off his beer and made a quick exit. The rest of the adults went in to the dining room and enjoyed their dinner.
Two hours later, dishes in the washer and the kitchen cleaned up, the visiting firemen and family returned to their hotel. Johnny took one more beer out of the ice cooler and plopped on the couch trying to decide if he wanted to watch tv or read the newspaper. For the moment the paper won as he scanned headlines.
"So, Hank said you had a difficult shift," Brackett said as he entered the living room carrying a book and a drink. Without looking up Johnny agreed.
"Need to talk about it?" Kel pressed. Paper rattled.
"Nah, I'm good," his reluctant room mate returned. With a shrug the doctor opened his book.
This was one thing that still surprised Brackett. Gage was a voracious reader, from current news to novels to a wide variety of non fiction subjects. The human dynamo would sit quietly for hours as he poured over his latest interest.
That he did not want to discuss what had happened on shift, that didn't surprise him at all! Hank had been the one to be there for him and knew what had occurred. Johnny saw no reason to discuss it with anyone else. The Cap had his back.
It was a little convoluted, Kel did not know a lot about Johnny's background, but he did know he had trust issues. If something didn't need to be shared, then it wasn't shared. Unless it served to help someone else open up.
Maybe Johnny had a psych degree no one knew about.
"Hey, night Doc," Gage was up and heading down the hall.
"Night," he replied. He took another sip of his bourbon and turned on the TV.
It seemed like he'd blinked and Johnny was back taking the glass from his hand and turning off the TV.
"Get up and go to bed, Kel," a quiet voice woke him.
"Hmmm?" he had fallen asleep in the chair yet again.
"Bed, try sleeping in your bed for awhile," that calm voice. Too calm voice. Why was Johnny awake? He slept like a log, nothing disturbed him, especially not the normal sounds in the house.
Pushing up from the chair he followed Gage into the kitchen and watched him pull milk from the fridge and a sauce pan from the cupboard. Kel settled at the table.
"Make enough for two?" he asked. Johnny hand hesitated over the pan then another generous pour was added. A little vanilla, cinnamon, touch of sugar. Smells from a childhood lost filled the kitchen. Couple of mugs removed from a shelf and when the milk was warmed it was poured and served.
"Bad dream?" Kel prompted. A shrug. A sip.
"Yeah," Johnny said as he cupped the mug. "I can handle bringing them in, but not letting them go." What could Kel say to that? He grunted in commiseration.
They sat in silent contemplation for a while, then the mugs were rinsed out and left in the sink. Brackett simply rubbed Gage's shoulders as the tired man leaned over the sink. After a few minutes and a quite thanks the men returned to their respective rooms for more sleep.
Given that he'd not set the alarm and he'd been running on empty, Johnny slept past nine the next morning. As he surfaced he could smell coffee and heard the quiet movements of someone in the house. Connecting a few sleepy dots he knew it was Kel getting ready for a shift. Since he had an extra day he curled around a pillow and drifted back to sleep.
The next two days were full of laundry, securing the house, double-checking that the neighbor teen would water the yard (mom was also given a schedule for the fridge!) as well as pick up any flyers left on the porch, and the aforementioned fridge cleaned out. Johnny packed judiciously; he'd be gone for three weeks with limited laundry facilities. He had to bring his own uniforms as well.
He managed to make do with one large suitcase and clothing bag to check in on the plane. He had a carry on bag with a couple books, a sketch pad and colored pencils and a deck of cards. He figured he'd be tapped part of the time to 'entertain' and wanted a few things.
Late Sunday afternoon Johnny was leaning on the door jamb heckling Kel Brackett. The doctor didn't seem to understand the concept of 'packing light'.
"Five pairs of dress shoes?" he outright laughed. "Geeze, Doc, black and brown and sneakers should be more than enough!"
"Look, these two I wear at work," Kel said patiently. "They have special inserts when I'm on my feet all day. These," he gestured to two other shoes, "are dress shoes. These are tennis shoes."
"No zories?" Johnny teased. Brackett arched his eyebrow.
"Zories? ME?" he said haughtily. "I think NOT!" Then his face split into a smile. "Anyway, I don't have any so I was gonna swipe a pair of yours."
"Well, I do have 'em in three colors," John considered. "So they'll co-ordinate with my swim suits." Now the good doctor had to laugh.
"Ok, ok, I'll just take my two pairs of work shoes," he said, "and tennis shoes. I'll pick up my own zories in Hawaii."
"Better," Gage approved. "Now let's look at the suits you've packed..." Kel was saved by the phone. He threw a smirk at his 'landlord' and went back to sorting and packing.
"Hello," he said as he picked up the phone. He hadn't quite figured out how to answer the phone since Brackett moved in. Especially since the entire 'couple' debacle Chet had subjected him to the previous month.
Although Joanne had loved the frilly aprons he'd given her. And he wasn't going to admit to anyone he'd changed his dish washing liquid. Kel was bright enough not to ask.
"Hi Johnny, it's Jake!" the teenager greeted him happily.
"Well, good afternoon, Jake," he answered. "What's up?"
"I wanted to know if I could sit next to you on the plane," he asked quickly.
"Sure, I don't think you dad made a seating chart," Gage said, the teasing tone apparent. "Just be aware I'll probably have Chris and Jenny with me for part of the time.
"That's ok," the young man replied. "I just didn't want to get caught sitting with my sister."
"Ah, I see," John replied. "No sister. Got it."
"I'm gonna bring a book and stuff to do," Jake said with more enthusiasm. "I got a pocket Battleship™ game. We can play some."
"Sure, blowing up little plastic boats sounds ok," he said equitably. "I have a couple books, a sketch pad and playing cards. We'll keep entertained. Plus, there might be a movie."
"Cool! I'll see you in the morning," Jake said.
"Bye!" came the reply. Hanging up the phone Gage wandered back down the hall to resume his heckling.
Dixie drove the two men to the airport the next morning. She gave Johnny an affectionate pat on the cheek and a more affectionate kiss to Kel.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," she teased.
"Good grief, you have carte blanche!" Johnny said as he splayed his hand on his chest. The nurse slightly blushed and rolled her eyes.
"Well, alrighty then!" Kel gave her a bright grin. She gave him a playful slap on his posterior.
"Behave, Dr. Brackett!" she said. "You have to maintain the integrity of Rampart, you know." The doctor got a sly look in his eyes.
"Johnny, have I ever told you about the time I had to bail Dixie and Joe out of the drunk tank in Seattle?" he said with all the innocence he could manage. The playful slap turned a bit harder.
"Hey! I have to sit on that for nearly six hours!" he complained as he rubbed the assaulted cheek.
"You just keep those stories to yourself, Kel," she instructed. "Remember Joe and I have a few of our own about you!" Johnny laughed at the standoff.
"I don't think my young, innocent mind could handle those stories, guys," he said with his crooked smile. "Maybe after a couple beers, though..." Having loosened the tension the other two chuckled at the thought Gage having an 'innocent' mind. Another quick kiss and the men sauntered over to the meeting point at Hawaiian Air.
"So, Hank still has your tickets, eh?" he asked as they waved at the captain across the cavernous room.
"Yeah," sighed Johnny. "He has this thing about controlling certain situations. I'm know he's gonna make sure me and Chet are really far apart!" With a grin they shook hands with Hank and Jake. Emily and Ruth garnered a hug from the paramedic.
"Great! You're the first one here, John, so you get first pick," Cap said as he looked over the tickets and seat assignments.
"Well, I told Jake I'd fly by him," Johnny said. Kel was only slightly surprised. He wondered who'd he be saddled with.
"Where are you seated, Kel?" Hank asked. Looking at the seat assignment he sorted through the tickets and selected two. "Here, that'll be one set of three together. You guys can hash out who gets aisle or window or middle." The doctor smiled. As much as he liked the rest of the crew, he knew he'd not be comfortable with Chet or Marco. The other men had families to contend with.
"Which means I should take aisle since I'll be visited by two other travelers," John determined.
"I'll take middle!" Jake declared.
"Hope you're not claustrophobic, Doc," Gage grinned. "We can switch off anyway. It's gonna be a long flight."
The two men put their suitcases with the others. They would be handled separately by Hawaiian Air. Soon the rest of 51's crew and family began to arrive and receive their tickets. When the Desotos came up two somewhat harried adults were chastising two overly-excited children.
"Chris! Jenny! Don't run!" Roy called after them as they streaked to their Uncle Johnny, nearly bowling him down in their haste. For his part the younger paramedic swung the girl up onto a hip while grabbing the boy tight to his side.
"You two aren't causing problems for your dad and mom, are you?" he asked very seriously. "They really don't need any more gray hairs!"
"Oh, no, Uncle Johnny!" Chris insisted.
"Uh-huh," Jenny shook her head emphatically.
"hmmm, they look a little upset," Gage continued.
"We-ell, we couldn't sleep too good," Chris admitted.
"We got up early to get ready," Jenny added.
"Four AM." Roy said as he caught up to them.
"Ouch," Kel said. "At least Johnny waited 'til six." His humor caused the husband and wife to chuckle, relaxing a little.
"Hey," Johnny complained, splaying his fingers on his chest. "I was real quiet and made coffee!"
"Lucky bum," Joanne muttered. She had to make the coffee and deal with two hyper kids while Roy showered.
"Well, you two are just going to have to slow down!" Johnny gently scolded. "You'll have to hold my hand when we walk to the plane." Jenny squealed happily.
"WE GET TO RIDE ON A PLANE!" she yelled down to her brother who also squealed. Johnny shook his head and looked with sympathy at Joanne.
"Since 4am?" he asked.
"Since 4am," she confirmed. Roy collected his tickets and with Hank's help lugged suitcases to the steadily growing pile. An attendant approached with a large hand cart and began setting their cases on it, slipping routing tickets on each.
Marco and Chet arrived next, a small entourage of from the Lopez family trailing behind. Mike arrived last, but on time, with Beth and Becky. The last of the tickets and luggage were taken care of and after an emotional farewell from Momma Lopez the group headed down towards the gates. They had about an hour until their plane left and at least two parents were dreading it.
But somehow Johnny kept the two Desoto children and Becky completely calm and controlled for the waiting period. He sat down on the floor and proceeded to tell stories he knew. Kel and Hank were amused to see his circle of children continued to grow as others joined the group. Other harried parents were nearby enjoying the respite.
When the stewardess called for boarding, Johnny finished up his story and was hugged repeatedly by a lot of children. He looked a bit perplexed having not realized that he'd gained listeners.
"Wow, can we rent him?" one woman asked. Kel frowned and Roy stepped in with a restrained smile.
"Sorry, he's not for rent," he said as reached down and gave his partner a hand up. The younger paramedic returned the smile and allowed his two friends to guide him towards their group and eventually to the gate. Nestled in between the people he trusted most the bad memories that the comment might have dredged up were subdued barely causing any discomfort.
Soon the crew was on the plane, carry-ons were stored and seat belts fastened. Of course the younger set were bouncing around trying out the release button on their seats and pushing the back as far as it would go. Which caused two parents to apologize. Becky was too overwhelmed to get into mischief, preferring to cling to her mom.
Gage noted the flight wasn't completely full, there were some empty seats. If Kel got irritated he could find another place for peace and quiet. As the jet moved down the runway, picking up speed, the surge of the engines shoved them upwards. Several small children alternately squealed or screamed depending on their level of fright.
Roy squeezed his eyes closed, forcing himself not to put his hands over his ears. Both his son and daughter were screamers, excited beyond excited to be on a plane. Joanne had no such restraint, blocking her ears as much as possible from the auditory onslaught.
It was going to be a loooonng flight.
There was excited chatter as the plane achieved cruising altitude. Kel watched out the window with Jake leaning against him to watch as well. Two rows back Chris and Jenny were doing the same thing, although they were much more vocal about the experience. Since he didn't have a clear view, Johnny focussed on the others he could see judging their level of anxiety.
It was a 'wide body' plane with a three- four- three configuration in the area they were in. Kind of like a cattle car he decided. Chet and Marco were in the middle the two rows back and there was an empty seat between them. Roy was on the aisle across from Joanne. The Stokers were just behind him and Cap was across the aisle also in the middle with the rest of his family with an extra seat. Satisfied he knew where everyone was he turned his attention to the pretty stewardess and her partner, a steward, as they began coming down the aisles checking on their passengers.
The captain came on, turning off the seatbelt and non-smoking signs and freeing them to 'move about the cabin'. Not for the first time Hank wished that smoking wouldn't be allowed on planes. He hated the wafting smell, especially since it triggered a need to extinguish the heat source. He supposed pulling a fire extinguisher on another passenger would be frowned upon.
Glancing over at Mike, who was also on the aisle, he smiled realizing that his engineer was thinking the same thing.
"Behave yourself, Stoker!" he growled playfully.
"Yeah, as if you weren't thinking about it, too!" Mike shot back with an answering grin.
"Well, I know where the extinguisher is," Roy leaned forward, "and I'm not afraid to use it!" He grinned.
"Ok, kids," Johnny threw in his two cents worth, "play nice with the other passengers." All four men chuckled. Desoto reflected that it wasn't just his kids that were excited.
Jake pulled out his Battleship™ game and soon had Gage setting up the ships and subs. Kel watched with some interest. It seemed to be a simple strategy game, at least from Jake's side of the board. But it was soon apparent that John's strategy was anything but simple or logical.
Kel joined in with Jake as they tried to find the hidden ships. In the meantime, Gage sent volley after volley hitting and sinking ship after ship. They'd just managed to down his submarine after he'd sunk their cruiser and pt boat. He quickly dispatched their submarine and was seeking out battleship and destroyer.
Brackett was certain that his friend wasn't reporting any hits; how could both he and Jake miss? But just as they'd found his destroyer their battleship went down and their destroyer was barely afloat. With restrained glee Gage wiped out their fleet.
With the game officially over the map was turned around so that they could see his layout. He hadn't cheated but his ships were spread out along edges. With a grumbled Jake decided he'd go challenge Chet to a game.
"At least he's easy to beat!" the teen exclaimed. With a grin Johnny reached down and pulled out the airline's magazine to peruse. He'd settled in on an article about surfing areas on Oahu when he heard the first inklings of sibling distress.
"Je-en!" Chris complained. "Leave me alone!" A few seconds passed. There was a slapping sound.
"Mo-om! Chris hit me!" the girl complained.
"Chris! Don't hit your sister!" Roy hissed.
"But she keeps bugging me!" Chris complained loudly. "I'm reading, see? But she keeps pinching and hitting my book!"
"Jenny, don't bother your brother," Joanne lectured. It was quiet once more. Not for long.
"MOM!" Chris said, exasperated. Slipping the magazine back into the pouch, Johnny stood up and stretched before stepping out into the aisle. He took a couple steps and looked down at a cherubic little girl and a very frustrated brother. And a mother about to tear her hair out. Dad couldn't afford to lose any more hair...
"Jen?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "You wouldn't be bothering your brother, would you?"
"Oh no, Uncle Johnny," Jenny asserted. "I would never bother Chris! I love Chris!" Both Joanne and Chris rolled their eyes. Gage knew Roy was!
"Well, why don't you come with me? We can walk down the aisle a little bit, then maybe draw some, ok?" he asked.
"Yay!" she said, nearly jumping over her mother.
"Thanks, Johnny," came the tired mother's response.
"First mai tai's on me, Junior!" Roy added. With a grin the dark-haired paramedic followed his niece up and down the aisles. They looked into the little bathroom and the stewardess showed them where they stored the lunches and snacks. A nice, friendly smile from the very handsome unmarried paramedic scored the little girl two small bags of crackers and a promise lunch would be coming soon.
As they came back down the opposite aisle Johnny noted Chet actually was losing to Jake. Marco was grinning as his friend went down in a hail of torpedoes. Unable to stay and enjoy the humiliation of the Phantom losing to a teenager, he followed Jenny up towards first class making sure to cross to their aisle and move back to his seat.
"Jenny Desoto," Kel smiled and accepted a hug. "How are you enjoying your first plane ride?"
"I love it!" she bounced happily on the seat between the two men. Johnny was able to block her escape as he pulled down his daypack and pulled out his sketch pad and pencils. Sitting down he pulled up the armrest so that Jenny could lean up against him and draw. Soon they were engaged in creating a castle and princess.
Brackett returned to his book, although he would glance over at the joint venture from time to time. Although Gage was not an artist, he did draw a respectable castle with turrets and flags. Jennifer drew her princess and a knight in shining armor (at least, that was what she said the figure with a soup can head was) and then Johnny provided a horse. With the basic picture completed the little girl began to color the picture.
She was still busily engaged when the steward came up offering lunch. A chicken dish was soon placed in front of the two men while the young lady selected the mac and cheese kid's special. Kel pushed the food around trying to determine if anything was actually edible. Breakfast was long gone so he began dissecting the dried-out, white-sauced poultry into small bites and attempted to eat them with some poor, overcooked carrot rounds.
Johnny tried a couple bites then watched as Jenny happily ate his carrots. He reached back into his backpack and pulled out two large, squarish, foil-wrapped packets.
"Ham and cheese?" he offered one to Kel.
"You packed lunch?" the doctor asked incredulously.
He quickly accepted the sandwich pushing his hardly touched plate aside. Next two apples appeared and a bag of potato chips to share.
"I learned traveling to those conventions you like Roy and me to go to that most of the stuff they serve is inedible," Johnny said as he unwrapped his sandwich. Jenny clapped and took a potato chip dipping it into her cheesy pasta.
"I never thought about packing food," Kel admitted.
"I get really hungry and grumpy," Johnny conceded. "This stuff, even when it is edible, doesn't fill me at all! So I started bringing food to eat. Roy, he loves this stuff. He always eats what I don't."
"He likes airline food?" Brackett asked before he took a healthy bite of sandwich.
"Hey, partner," Roy's voice came from behind them. "You gonna finish your lunch?" Johnny just smirked at his seatmate as he picked up his tray, turned around and passed it back to his pally.
"Guess so," Kel snickered as he pulled a chip from the communal bag. He settled back in his seat enjoying his lunch. When the stewardess came with the drink cart he bought his savior a cold beer and some soda for Jenny. He settled for two minatures of Jack Daniels and glass of ice.
Once lunch was finished Jenny worked a little while longer on her picture. She started yawning and before the stewardess came around with headphones for purchase for the movie she was curled up on her Uncle Johnny fast asleep.
This won additional points and free set of headphones. Johnny accepted them with another blinding smile and reclined his seat slightly. Kel returned to his book while many people on the flight laughed through "Every Which Way But Loose". The few times the doctor looked up at the screen left him a bit confused, Clint Eastwood with an orangutan? With a shake of his head he continued to read.
(almost there!)
