Chapter 32
Finishing his 24 with the 14s Johnny gave Miho Tanaka one final lecture on reigning in her impulsiveness and reminded Captain Lopez that it was perfectly fine to give latrine duty a month at a time.
Heaven knows he'd earned it in the past!
He met up with his crew mates at headquarters and soon they were heading to the hotel. Chet was gossiping about his latest 'trainee' while the others rolled their eyes.
"You were at 5, right?" John asked.
"Yeah, they had three paramedics," Chet said. "The b-shift lost one and he's due back the next shift. His nose wasn't actually broken but I hear he's got raccoon eyes!"
"Wow! Jerry sure is lucky! He really got thwacked by that one patient," John relayed the disastrous water rescue as Mike eased the car into the hotel garage. As they walked in both Roy and Hank confirmed their 'babysitter' for the afternoon.
"Just drop them off at my room," the younger paramedic grinned. "I'll have lunch brought up for us then we'll decide what we're going to do." They separated and went to their rooms.
Waving to his room mate Gage went into the bedroom and gratefully changed into shorts and a t-shirt. Zorries were slipped on and uniform hung up.
"Coffee?" Kel offered as Johnny entered the living room.
"Sounds good," the lop-sided grin caused the doctor to smile in return. Then mock-growled as the paramedic swiped a piece of toast. They sat, discussing the past shift and basically relaxing.
"So, you're the designated baby sitter, eh?" Kel pushed the remainder of his breakfast over to John.
"Yep," he replied. "Saves me from the dangers of hanging around you!"
"Dangers? Hah!" Kel retorted. "At least with me you get competent medical attention."
"Hmmm, competent?" Gage raised an eyebrow.
"Your so funny I forgot to laugh," Brackett growled. "Anyway, you know I'm going off on a date, what are you going to do with the kids?" Johnny pulled a handbill out from a pocket tossing it to the doctor.
"Hanauma Bay?" he read the title aloud.
"It's suppose to be a good place to snorkel. One of the linesmen at the station, Ben Koga, showed me how to waterproof those disposable cameras," the paramedic explained. "We made five of 'em so each kid, and me, can take underwater pictures."
"Waterproof? How did you do that?" Brackett asked curiously. His room mate stood and walked across the room to his ever-present back pack. He reached in and pulled out a small camera sealed in a plastic sandwich bag. Kel looked over the contraption, noting that there was some give over the ratchet to advance the film.
"Now that is clever," he said approvingly as he handed it back to Gage.
"Yeah, I thought so, too. Even if the pictures are a little blurry the kids will still be happy with 'em," Johnny stowed the yellow package away. "I checked with the desk and reserved flippers and masks for snorkeling."
"The kids will have a blast!" Kel smiled. "Maybe Karina and I will join you for a little while. She said we could laze around on a beach before dinner."
"Sure, she probably knows the place, I'll be leaving around one, after we eat lunch," Gage easily agreed. It would be nice to see the friendly head nurse again. Kel moved off to make a phone call leaving Johnny to settle back on the couch for a nap.
At 12:30 promptly the DeSoto's children and Stanley's knocked at the door. Roy happily waved and disappeared immediately. True to his word lunch was prepared and waiting: sandwiches, chips and juice. They settled down to eat.
"What are we gonna do, Uncle Johnny?" Jenny wasted no time in asking. The paramedic smiled as he chewed and finally swallowed.
"How about snorkeling?" he asked. The teenagers perked up; they'd heard about that from other teens they'd met at the pool and on the beach.
"Snorkeling? Like a snorkel truck?" Chris asked, somewhat confused.
"Kind of like scuba diving, but no air tanks," Johnny explained. "There are fins and masks being held for us; we'll drive out to Hananuma Bay. There's suppose to be lots of stuff to see there."
"Cool!" Jake enthused. "Me and Ruth talked with a couple other kids that'd been there." They finished up eating then cleaned up. Johnny pulled out the cameras and explained how to use them. All the kids were even more excited. The paramedic cautioned them about spinning the advance dial.
The drive took all of 15 minutes. They parked the car in the lot on the bluff and caught a tram down to the bay. There were plenty of lifeguards and plenty of signs warning about a variety of dangers from coral reef to rip tides. Johnny took this very seriously and marched the group to the nearest station to question the guard on duty.
It was a light beach day and the life guard was very genial. He explained the sweep of the reef, the heavy steel cable that would guide them back if they went beyond the reef itself. Warned them about how sharp the coral was and the need for medical treatment if they got cut. After stressing the varied dangers he turned his suntanned smile to Johnny.
"Surf and tide are very calm today, Mr. Gage," he said. "The younger duo will find plenty to keep them occupied on this side of the reef. The older two, as long as they're good swimmers, will do fine beyond."
"How do you know he's Mr. Gage?" Chris asked quickly. The guard smiled.
"Saw him surfing last Friday," he replied. "Now, if any of you get into trouble, tread water and wave towards the life guard stand nearest you. We'll be watching over you!" He wished them a good time and returned to his stand. His partner was scanning the water with binoculars but put them down to wave good bye.
"You went surfing Friday?" Ruth asked, amused by the slight blush the rose on the older man's cheeks.
"Yeah, me and Mike Stoker," he allowed, but offered nothing else. She smirked and followed him to a large empty spot where they set up their towels. Flippers were pulled on; straps adjusted, then removed. Cameras doled out. They ventured into the bay.
It was a perfect afternoon. The water was calm and full of things to see. Johnny gathered all four kids and took a few underwater snaps of the group before allowing the older two to venture off on their own. He remained standing guard over the other two. He was pleased that Chris didn't complain about being with the 'baby' group.
The three of them poked and prodded around the bay, taking pictures of various fish. Jenny was thrilled to find a small puffer-like fish capturing its image. Chris discovered a ray skating along the sandy bottom. The two children kept Johnny on his toes.
After over an hour the two were ready to stop. All their pictures had been taken. They went back to their towels, demasked, definned and drank some juice Johnny'd packed. Then they grabbed their buckets and shovels to build a sand castle.
Gage stood near them shading his eyes and looking over the reef. He tried to spot his other two charges.
"Mr. Gage?" a voice called down to him.
"Johnny," he said.
"Johnny," the life guard grinned. "They're just to the left of the reef cable." Gage followed the hand and saw the two teens. As he stood staring a hand perched on his shoulder. Turning he found Karina's laughing eyes.
"Hey, there, surfer boy," she teased as she moved back to Brackett's side.
"John, how's it going?" Kel asked.
"Good, these two are done with the whole snorkeling experience," he reported. "The older two are just beyond the reef."
"They know about the cable?" Karina asked.
"Yep. We spoke with the life guard before we went out," he explained. "We know all about cables, coral cuts and rip tides."
"Great! I've seen a few coral cuts come through the ER; not pretty!" she grimaced, wrinkling her nose.
"Hey, if you're interested I have a dozen shots left on my camera," Gage offered. He walked them back to the nest of towels and snagged a plastic-covered yellow box.
"That's really clever!" Karina admired the packaging.
"Not my idea, one of the local firemen taught me yesterday," he admitted. He figured Kel would rat him out anyway! With a smile she accepted the camera and helped her date with his mask and flippers. Soon they were out on the bay doing their own exploring.
As the afternoon wore on the teens came back in all smiles. They shared some juice and chips while regaling Johnny with their adventures. The paramedic was very pleased that they all were having fun.
"I told you Kel!" Johnny turned and saw the two adults stumble out of the water. There was blood on the doctor's calf. Karina was chastising him. The paramedic was on his feet and supporting his friend back to the towel.
"I'm fine! It's just a scratch!" Brackett protested. The life guard was by their side with a first aid kit. Karina looked up.
"He got cut on some coral," she reported. Kel flinched as the young man gently checked out his leg. He reached for some saline but the doctor started to protest. Johnny waded in and sat firmly behind his friend, pulling him slightly backwards giving the guard a better chance.
"Look, Kel, relax, I'm sure..." he looked at the other man.
"Brett," he supplied.
"I'm sure Brett has done hundreds of coral cleanings," he said. "Maybe if you're good you won't have to go to the ER with Karina." Kel glared at his captor. Knowing he couldn't get away he settled against the sun-warmed shoulder and chest of his friend.
Ruth nudged Jake. Soon two cameras were pulled out of plastic sacks and the last of the pictures were taken. A quick high-5 and the used cameras were stowed back in the back pack. The life guard and ER nurse had the cut cleaned and butterflied after a brief discussion about stitches. Some anti-bacterial ointment was added then the entire four inch cut was covered and taped. Brett cautioned them to keep it dry and to change the dressings with the added lecture on going to proper medical facilities for treatment if needed.
Kel grudgingly thanked the young man. He growled at his 'pillow' to let him sit up. Johnny ruffled his hair and gave him a big pretend smooch on the head.
"Such a gooood boy!" he teased the huffy man. Karina smiled at the interplay.
"He's such a good boy I'll take him home and nurse him back to health," she promised with a wolfish grin. Gage laughed as he first uprighted his friend then stood up to pull him to his feet. Karina gathered their things and soon the duo was off to the shuttle back up the bluffs.
"Well guys, what da you think? Ready to head back?" he asked. He knew Jenny and Chris were tired and he was pretty sure the teens were as well. He received a chorus of agreement and they began packing up making sure to bus all their trash. Noting he had a couple shots left on his camera, Johnny had Brett take some group pictures with the bay in the background.
"We can get these developed back at the hotel," he told his charges. They managed to get to their car with no difficulty. On the ride back Gage was amused by four sleeping passengers. Maybe he should get a bell hop to carry them all in!
As it happened, he did pull up to the bell hop to drop off the swimming equipment and beach towels they'd borrowed. With that job taken care of it was a simple thing to gather up Jenny and put Ruth in charge of dragging Chris and Jake into the hotel.
Jenny then Chris rinsed off in the shower first. Jake jumped in next claiming his sister would hog all the hot water. With a chuckle Johnny waved him on ahead and somehow convinced the youngest two to 'read' quietly. Both were asleep before pages had been turned.
As the quiet descended, Ruth pulled out a deck of cards and the three played Spades.
