It was a long time before a team of very tired doctors made an appearance in the doctor's lounge. Roy, Dixie, Mike and Captain Stanley stood in unison as the doctors walked through the door. The waiting friends mirrored the same expressions, anticipating good news but the doctor's downcast faces said it all.
"Johnny made it through surgery but he's critical." Dr Brackett told his friends sadly.
Alana stood in her kitchen, rolling out pastry. "Tell me again!" She snapped. Her two brothers shuffled their feet and chewed their lips. They wondered why their sister was angry, not understanding that they had gone too far with their delivery of her message.
Her oldest sibling spoke, "He got a bang on the head and the knife only nicked his leg. Honest Sis!" They both nodded their heads like obedient pets.
Alana sighed, "I thought I made it clear to only scare him, not damage." She had spoken to Chet and he had told her that John Gage was in surgery with a fractured skull. Her plans had fallen apart and her mindless brothers had made things worse. "Stay here out of sight. I'm meeting Chet at the hospital and I'm telling you, John Gage better live!"
"Anything to eat Sis?" The younger sibling asked.
"Food's in the fridge." Alana grabbed her purse and keys. She turned around, "What did you do with the car?"
"Left it near the park. Peter followed in our car. Nobody saw me." The younger sibling said proudly.
Alana tutted and left the house. She couldn't believe how stupid her brothers could be, leaving the car near the same park.
Johnny partially opened his right eye. Everything was blurry but he could make out the face of his partner leaning over him. He wanted to ask him what had happened but nothing but groans escaped his lips. His head felt like someone was chiselling in it. The pressure on the left side of his face was so intense he thought his head might explode. He tried to move his head but it caused such intense pain that he threw up on himself. A cool cloth was quickly rubbed over his face and he felt a towel on his shoulder cleaning away the vomit. He was embarrassed for not having any control over his functions.
Roy looked into Johnny's right eye that was half open, "We're here for you Johnny. You're going to be ok. Just rest, don't try to talk or move." Dixie quickly wiped it away the vomit while Roy ran a cool cloth over his face. Whimpers escaped Johnny's mouth and a tear ran down his cheek. Roy could see the embarrassment in Johnny's eye as the tear escaped. He leant over and whispered in his partner's ear. "It's alright Junior. Just rest."
Johnny slowly closed his eye and allowed sleep to take over. He felt a cold sensation in his left arm and knew that pain relief had been administered.
Roy watched his partner succumb to a drug induced sleep. "It's the best thing for him right now Roy. He needs to lie very still and he needs to be kept quiet while his brain heals." Dr Brackett told him as he watched the deep steady breathing of Johnny.
They left the room and joined the rest of station 51 waiting in the ICU waiting area. All eyes were on Roy as he stepped up to join them. "He was awake for a short time but he couldn't talk. He was in a lot of pain." Roy told his friends.
"He's going to be ok isn't he Roy?" Chet asked showing true concern for his friend. Alana put her arm in his, showing her support for him.
"He should recover but we have to keep an eye on him for complications. We'll know more in a couple of days. I suggest you all go home; Johnny will be asleep for at least the next twelve hours. When he wakes up it will only be for a few minutes before we sedate him again. He needs to be kept quiet and still." Dr Brackett told the group of friends.
They all nodded and headed for the stairs. Mike and Captain Stanley walked either side of Roy. They could see how upset he was and wanted to make sure he got to his car without any problems. "You sure you're ok to drive Roy?" Mike asked him.
"I'll be fine Mike...What am I going to tell Johnny if he asks about Ellen?" Roy felt helpless. Lt Crockett had told them that Ellen had disappeared without a trace. His only lead so far, was a note he found in her car, telling her to meet at the park. He had found a similar note in Johnny's apartment. It was obvious to everyone that the couple had been set up but no one knew why or where Ellen could be.
"I don't know Roy...but we have to keep hoping that she'll be found...and that she's ok." Mike told his friend, but he had his doubts. His wife was devastated when he told her that Ellen was missing.
Over the next few days Johnny made a slow recovery. He was awake for only short periods and was unable to speak. Roy could see him searching the room for someone and knew he was looking for Ellen. He felt awful when Johnny's questioning eyes looked at him. Dr Brackett had instructed him to keep the news of Ellen's disappearance from him; that Johnny couldn't take such alarming news in his current condition.
Terry White had had enough of the agitated and irrational moods of Alana. He simply told her 'It's been fun, but Goodbye, I've had enough.' He had thought it fun to play along with her dating him and Chet at the same time but now with her changes in her behaviour he no longer wanted to be a part of her games. He contemplated telling Chet the truth but decided it was up to him to find out.
Chet had noticed a change in Alana but thought it was because he was so worried about Johnny. She no longer invited him to her house and found her to be very nervous when he talked about Johnny's missing girlfriend. Chet had his own theories and would run them by whoever would listen. He blamed everything on Johnny's girlfriend and believed she had disappeared because she had arranged for Johnny to be assaulted. Roy almost came to blows with Chet, Mike having to hold him back.
"Don't talk about things you know nothing about Kelly!" Mike shouted at Chet as he held Roy back. Chet was taken aback by Roy's and Mike's reactions and stopped talking about it at the station. Instead he babbled on about his growing relationship with Alana and how supportive she was.
Alana and Chet were sitting on the couch enjoying coffee and one of her peach pies when Chet ran another theory past her. Alana was tired of listening to his theories. "Someone probably took pity on her and for all we know she's probably in some other country having plastic surgery to remove that hideous birthmark."
Chet froze and looked at Alana. "What birthmark?" Alana realised her mistake and thought quickly.
"Roy's wife mentioned something about her having a birthmark on her face...That's why you never met her...He was too embarrassed to be with her amongst his friends." She told Chet hoping that he would accept her explanation for knowing more about Ellen than she should.
Chet's mind was churning. He let it slide, for now and tried to act normally but found himself listening intently to everything Alana said for the rest of the evening. She noticed a change in Chet's behaviour and knew that she needed to do something to put him off and convince him that she was telling the truth.
"How about I bring in lunch for everyone tomorrow to help them get their minds off Johnny for a while?" Alana asked Chet.
Chet smiled and remembered when she brought lunch in last time. "That would be good babe." He told her relaxing and enjoying her company for the rest of the night.
Roy was exhausted when he turned up for shift, having spent a lot of his day off at the hospital talking to Johnny. C Shift paramedics asked about Johnny and told Roy to pass on their hellos and that they're thinking about him. Roy nodded mechanically and sat down to get changed. He heard another conversation in the bay area.
"I'm just warning you...she's playing you Chet...I should know...I was going out with her at the same time. She's crazy!"
Roy straightened up and processed the words and put a face to the voice. He frowned, they had been right. Alana had been dating Terry as well as Chet. He shook his head; he didn't want to deal with this right now. Worrying about Johnny and Ellen was all he could handle at the moment. Marco would have to be the consoling friend; Roy quickly changed and made his way to the day room wanting to avoid Chet at all costs.
Roy felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into Mike's concerned face. "Any news?" Roy knew Mike was referring to Ellen. He just shook his head. He had intended to call Lt Crockett later that day. Roy poured himself a cup of coffee and sighed.
"Did you hear Terry and Chet?" He asked Mike quietly.
"Yes. Bit hard not to." Mike claimed, shaking his head. "I guess you had the same suspicions?"
"Yes...So did Johnny." The mere mention of his partner's name made Roy's heart beat a little harder. Chet chose that moment to enter the day room.
"You boys are in for another treat!" Chet rubbed his hands together with a look of delight on his face. "Alana's bringing lunch to cheer everyone up." He told them.
Roy turned his back on Chet and frowned. Mike just shook his head in disgust.
Chet sat down on the couch and started to read not wanting to enter into a discussion with Roy and Mike. He could see by their reactions that they had heard Terry, but he had chosen to ignore it. So what, if she was two timing him, she was gorgeous and she could cook. He didn't care it wasn't as if he was going to marry her or anything. No he would enjoy it while it lasted. He had no idea that his relationship with this woman would be the cause of devastating heartbreak for his friends and in particular Johnny.