Chapter 20

The chemical plant fire was all it was reported to be. The First thing Captain Stanley did when they arrived was call in another full battalion. John and Roy set up the triage station and were prepared to accept the several chemical plant workers reported to be coming their way when an explosion rocked the area so violently that not a single person was left standing on their feet.

John and Roy were ordered into the building to pull the victims out. Back and forth they ran carrying the victims along with three others until they had removed 19 casualties. John's air tank had ran out and been replaced twice but finally he was delivering the last victim to the triage blanket, one victim had been a code F. When he asked where he could be of help John was stripped of his turn outs and hosed down, both to rid himself of the cleaning chemicals he has been drenched with but also to cool him down after being in intense heat for so long.

Roy had already been sent in with two other patients both to care for the patients and to have a possible chemical rash on his neck treated. John it was determined was mildly dehydrated so he was sent to the canteen for some rest and electrolytes. John sat on the bumper of the trailer parked in the shade of a tree and sipped on his drink, he had emptied the first glass in one gulp and was now just a little sick to his stomach, he knew he needed to take the next glass a little slower.

"Hey Gage," a call came from a fellow paramedic he seldom saw by the name of Jason Mitchell, "there's a rumor going around that you're getting ready to take the plunge. Is there any truth to it?"

"I'm not planning on jumping into anything," John answered with a scoff.

"So you're not getting married then," Jason continued the conversation as he moved toward John.

John reached up and tugged at the man's sleeve pulling him into a seated position on the bumper next to him. "All ready did, got married four days ago," John showed off his ring finger.

"Well I'll be," Jason showed his surprise he was well in control of the paper cup in his hands though, "Nice of you to send an announcement to your fellow medics."

"There were no announcements for anybody," John leaned back and pulled his knees up so that he could rest his arms on them. "Just a quiet little marriage ceremony by the justice of the peace; Just had Cap and his wife there as witnesses not even the rest of my crew."

"Is she nine months pregnant or something?" his counterpart questioned. It was a question John was getting tired of hearing, how was it so hard for anyone to believe he could find happiness in marriage without having to get the girl pregnant first.

"No, she's not pregnant," John answered with enough disgust in his voice Jason didn't dare ask for any more details.

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At the hospital Rachel and the four children were in Elise's room entertaining each other and telling about all the stuff that happened at the station. Cody was telling the story about the pretend fire dog with no spots when Elise managed to give her sister a serious look, "Okay what aren't you telling me?"

It was clear by the tone of her voice that she expected an answer and only the truth.

"John's station was called out on a fire at a chemical factory just as the children left. When they were finished with the children in ER it was announced that several firemen were injured by an explosion at the fire. JoAnne is down stairs waiting for more information and to find out for sure if John and her husband are alright."

Elise looked at her sister with a look of clear annoyance on her face. She then closed her eyes and shook her head, "Was that so hard to tell me? You don't expect me to fall apart and start planning his funeral just because someone said firemen had been hurt, Especially before I find out if John is one of them." "I am not some paper butterfly that is going to get shredded in the breeze; I knew what I was getting into when I married John, I've done his kind of work before, I can handle it."

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Down in the emergency room JoAnne was standing at the window in the door leading to the emergency room watching to see who was coming in. When she saw Roy running alongside a gurney holding an IV high and was sure the patient on the gurney wasn't Johnny she let out a sigh of relief. When she saw her husband being led out of the treatment room by one of the doctor's, who had been pulled from other areas of the hospital to help out with the influx of patients, she got a little nervous again. When Roy was directed to sit on a gurney parked along the wall JoAnne slipped through the door and to his side.

"Roy! Are you alright?" JoAnne called in a panicked voice.

"I'm fine," Roy held one hand out to his wife while he used the other to continue to unbutton his uniform shirt. "Just have a little itching and burning on the back of my neck and they need to make sure it's not a reaction to the chemicals we're working with."

The doctor pulled Roy's shirt away from the rash on his back and took a good look, "Yeah it's a chemical reaction, nothing a little hydrocortisone won't take care of though. Nurse put some hydrocortisone on this rash and then he can go back to the fire if that's where he's needed. Let him take the tube with him so he can reapply it after he takes a shower."

JoAnne sighed in relief again then turned sheepish eyes at her husband, "I guess I got all worried for nothing,"

"Pretty much," Roy smiled back at her while he waited for the nurse to get the cream and return to apply it. "How are Cody and Tobes, they did get seen before all this hit didn't they?"

"Yes they were just finishing up when the Dr was told to prepare for the incoming victims."Jo told her husband, "Cody has ear infections Tobes just has pressure build up in his ears, probably a combination of some hay fever and all the altitude changes they've made in the last few days. Johnny's alright isn't he?"

"Yeah, Johnny was fine when I left, he's either at the triage station or on stand down at the canteen after all the work we did pulling those guys out after the explosion." Roy stopped talking to turn in order to make it easier for the nurse to apply the cream to his neck.

"Elise isn't worried about Johnny is she?"

"We didn't tell her," JoAnne admitted.

"Well good because there's nothing to worry about." Roy made sure his wife understood and he rebuttoned his shirt and slid the tube of cream in his pocket. "I need to run, I'll call you tonight." Roy said with a quick kiss for his wife and then was on his way out the door to climb back in an ambulance to be taken back to the fire.

When Roy arrived back on the fire scene he was sent to the canteen to get his vitals checked and rehydrate himself. Following orders he walked over to the wagon but took on the work going on around him. The chemical plant has basically been divided with firefighting crews between the tanks that were on fire and the tanks that weren't. Roy could tell that a lot of progress had been made toward getting the fire out since he left with his patients but he could also see several hours of work ahead of them.

Roy accepted his cup of juice and turned to see who else was on stand down when he saw his partner fighting with three of the canteen workers.

"I just fine let me up," John argued, "I just got a little light headed from getting up too fast."

"Mr. Gage, you have all the symptoms of heat exhaustion," one of the workers talked as she and two others continued to hold him in a prone position placing some instant ice packs on his neck and trying to get a few in his arm pits. "You're warm to the touch and still sweating profusely, our guide lines state that you have to be evaluated by a medic."

Roy picked up his HT, "Squad 51 to engine 51 do you read?"

"This is Engine 51 go ahead." Captain Stanley's voice came over the radio.

"Cap we have a bit of a situation at the Canteen, could YOU possible step over here and give us a hand."

Roy's request had the desired effect as John was ordered to undergo the required evaluation which ended up including an IV and a trip to the hospital.

As John was wheeled into a treatment room where cool compresses and another IV were waiting for him his only request was, "please no one tell my wife I'm in here."

"Anyone who agrees to that request will be on my bad list," a female voice was heard from the door and John turned to see his wife walking in with a nurse at her side. "As for you; husband of mine let me make something perfectly clear. I'm grateful that you've been here to take care of me but when I agreed to marry you we both agreed to take care of each other, this will not be a one way marriage. Now if I hear you make a similar request ever again," her voice sounded angry but there was a twinkle in her eye and the corner's of her mouth were turned up. "There will be no desert for a month."

"No desert!" Johnny teased back with Elise, "No chocolate pudding?"

"Nope," Elise stuck to her guns and managed to keep a stern face but just barely.

"No rhubarb crunch?"

"Nope,"

"No Cactus berry jelly drops?"

"Nope,"

"For a whole month, a whole long month?" Johnny leaned up in his verbal jousting with his wife.

"Yep," Elise held her ground, refusing to give him the peck on the lips he was coaxing for.

"But you forget; I'll be at the station part of that time." Johnny smiled and the medical crew in the room snickered as they continued to evaluate their patient while his wife distracted him.

"Yeah, but I know your Captain and he's on my side; He's already told me he needs all the help he can get to keep you out of trouble." Elise actually stuck her tongue out at John this time.

"He told you what?" "When?" John finally succumbed to the pressure on his shoulder pushing him back against the gurney when he decided she better know where he stood too. "I have the right to decide to keep information from you if I feel it will hurt your recovery."

"Now come on John," Elise sighed, "I'm a nurse don't you think I've already figured out that your simply suffering from too much time in the heat. I'd say there's a 50/50 chance they're going to send you back to work. Now did you lose consciousness?" Elise asked as if she were the doctor.

"No I didn't lose consciousness," John defended himself with the most annoyed tone his voice could manufacture, as Elise continued to stand next to him wearing her hospital issued house robe and one size fits all hospital gown along with a simple pair of hospital issued slippers.

"I heard part of the structure collapse and jumped up to see if anyone was hurt, I was just a little dizzy for a moment and then three canteen workers jumped me and held me to the ground. Then Worry Wart Roy here called the Captain over to order me to get looked at."

"Did you get that bump on your head when they tackled ya?" Elise continued to question and Dr. Brackett noticed her take a hold of his hand while placing a finger on the pulse point in his wrist.

The tone on John's face changed instantly as he turned to look at his partner then lay back on the bed in defeat.

"Tom was at the station when I got there this morning." John admitted. "He came early and the previous shift let him in to wait for me because they didn't know any better." John started to talk as he took hold of Elise's hand and with his other hand took a good hold of her forearm for more security. "When Cap told me he was there I showed him the papers and told him to call the police. When they got there I decided to try and see what he was up to before they hauled him out. As soon as he saw me he pulled out some papers for me to sign and when I wouldn't sign them and tried to read them he tried to take them away from me and pushed me into the door frame in the process."

Elise started chewing on her tongue and shifting the position of her head as she could be seen fighting back tears. John started rubbing her arm and pulling her closer to him. "It's all right now, he's in jail. I pressed charges so he'll stay there for a while."

Elise blew out a deep breath then looked at John, "Just what was on these papers he wanted you to sign without reading?"

John looked down then back into Elise's eyes. "I don't know what it said, I kept getting interrupted when I tried to read them and what I did read didn't make a lot of sense to me but I never made it past the first half page before I was ordered to come in and get looked over. While I was here I decided to leave the papers with Dr. Brackett to give to his father." John moved a hand to Elise's waist, "I thought it might help him stop whatever it is that your brother-in-law is trying to do now."

Elise let out another deep breath and nod her head, "Good thinking, Tom's getting desperate enough to do just about anything, We found out that he, or rather some associate of his has been renting out some of the houses that I own here in the valley. Seems at least one of them was being used to make and sell drugs and was burned down to hide what was going on in there."

Elise looked around the room trying to keep her eyes dry but failing. "Guess I better find our lawyer and see what we're up against now."

"Mr. Brackett is in Dr. Brackett's office waiting to talk with the two of you when you're done here." Nurse Ann said then turning to Dr. Brackett, "He assured me that you wouldn't mind and Miss McCall said to let him in."

"That's fine Ann, go get him and bring him here." Dr. Brackett instructed before turning to Roy and giving him instructions, "Get her a chair will you, I have a hunch it's going to be best that she's sitting down for this one."