The tones went off at the beginning of the next shift, dispatch calling out the rescue squad, and the two paramedics immediately jumped up. Johnny lightly tapped Sam on the shoulder.

"That's our cue, probie." He told her. "You're still riding along, right?"

"Right." Sam quickly finished what was left of her coffee before jumping up and trotting after them.

Adam stepped aside long enough to allow Sam to take the middle as Captain DeSoto handed off an address slip to Johnny. He studied it briefly before handing it off to Adam as if Sam wasn't there.

"Seems a little out of our territory, doesn't it?" Johnny asked.

"Maybe Thirty-Seven's tied up." Adam answered. "Right at the light."

"A thousand paramedics in this county and they can't find a squad that's closer?" Johnny grumbled as he swung hard into the turn. "Unbelievable. It's almost a twenty-five-minute drive."

"Not if I was driving." Adam countered. "I'd get us there in fifteen."

Johnny merely rolled his eyes before turning to acknowledge Sam for the first time. "Adam's a lead foot. There's a reason he doesn't drive."

"Only when Daddy here is suffering from sleep deprivation." Adam replied with a smile.

Johnny shot Adam a scathing look. "You're never gonna let me forget that, are you?"

"Almost crashing a brand-new squad? Absolutely not."

Sam's curiosity was definitely piqued, but before she could ask, they arrived on scene, and she followed Adam out of the passenger side of the squad.

"Now, you just observe." Adam told her. "If we need something, we'll have you go after it. You remember where everything is?"

"Yes." Sam nodded.

Adam lightly touched her on the shoulder. "Good. Let's go."

Adam and Johnny had already grabbed the drug box, the bio-phone, the oxygen tank, and the IV box. Sam couldn't imagine what else they could possibly need. She felt very much like a tagalong, but followed the two men into the apartment building, where Johnny knocked on the unit's door. "Fire department." He called out.

The door flew open, revealing a harried young man. "Thank God. Right through here."

He led them to a bedroom, where another man was sitting on the edge of the bed, gasping for breath and coughing. "Stu? The paramedics are here. They'll fix you right up."

"Can you tell us what happened?" Adam asked as Johnny started taking vital signs.

"He started sniffling the other day. Just thought it was a cold, you know? And Stu, he never gets sick, so that alone was unusual. He was fine when I went to work last night, and when I came home this morning I found him like this."

Adam seemed to take in the information with a nod, grabbing something from one of the boxes. "Sir, we need to get your temp. Open up."

"That's not usually where…ow." The other man rubbed his arm where Stu had smacked him. "Sorry. Just trying for a little humor."

Adam took the thermometer out of Stu's mouth, ignoring the other man. "One-oh-four, Johnny."

"BP one-ten over twenty, pulse rate one hundred, respiration rapid and shallow." Johnny responded, scribbling on a memo pad and handing it to Sam. "Sam, call that in, would ya?"

Sam set up the bio-phone. She'd only done this once before and hoped she didn't screw it up like she had last time. "Rampart, this is County Fifty-One, do you read?"

There was a pause before the voice came back over the speaker. "County Fifty-One, go ahead."

Sam took a deep breath, glancing over at the two paramedics that were working on Stu. "Rampart, we have a male, age…forty? Temp is one-oh-four, BP is one-ten over twenty, respirations…rapid and shallow."

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to see Johnny gesturing for the receiver. Sam handed it off and crossed to where Adam was talking to the young man.

"Adam, two liters of oxygen and start an IV of Ringers." Johnny called over before returning to the bio-phone. "Ambulance just showed up. ETA ten to twelve minutes."

The ambulance attendants entered the room, and soon the patient was loaded up, with the oxygen tank resting between the man's legs while Adam held on to the IV bag. "We're heading for Rampart if you want to follow us." Adam told the young man.

The young man looked worried but nodded. "He's going to be okay, right?"

"I'm sure he will." Adam reassured him on his way out of the room.

Johnny immediately began cleaning up and putting away equipment. "You'll ride in with me. We'd better hurry so we can catch up with the ambulance."

Sam helped gather the rest of the equipment and followed Johnny down to the squad, no small job given that Johnny's strides were easily twice that of Sam's. But she managed, and soon climbed into the squad just as the ambulance took off.

"One of us always has to ride in the ambulance." Johnny explained on the way. "The county contracts with area ambulance companies to provide transport. Seems like it'd be a hell of a lot more efficient for us to do it ourselves, but the county still needs us to provide rescue operations. Not the best system, if you ask me. Better than nothing, but we can do better. And now they want to add on advanced life support? They keep that up and they'll want us to have full MDs before we can touch someone."

"You sure seem to have a lot of complaints." Sam commented.

Johnny glanced at her before letting out a short laugh. "Sure, everyone does, I guess. Still rather be doing this than riding an engine. Best job in the department, if you ask me. But I might be a little biased."

"Is this you trying to sell me on paramedic training?"

"Maybe." Johnny shrugged. "Truth be told, we can always use more. As you can see, some days we get stretched a little thin."

"Captain DeSoto told me I should sign up for training." Sam answered. "He told me I might be good at it."

"Cap tells everyone that." Johnny replied. "Not that you wouldn't be. That's not what I'm saying. He's like…one of those religious nuts you see on TV, but for the paramedic program. Always has been. He's the one who convinced me to apply. And that was before the law governing us even went into effect."

"Maybe I will." Sam responded. "Once I'm through probation."

Johnny smiled a little and nodded as he backed into a spot next to the ambulance. "Hey, the more the merrier."

They climbed down from the squad, and Sam followed them into the emergency room. The woman at the desk directed Adam and the ambulance attendants into a treatment room just before Johnny and Sam arrived at the desk.

"Hello, beautiful." Johnny greeted the woman at the desk. That seemed like an odd way to greet someone, Sam thought.

The woman looked up, greeting Johnny with a wide smile. "Hello, handsome."

Johnny beamed at the greeting before turning to Sam. "Sam, this is my lovely wife, Diane. Diane, this is Sam. She's our newest probie, and Cap had her ride along with us for the day."

Oh, that explained it. "It's very nice to meet you, Diane."

"Nice to meet you too, Sam." Diane replied. "I hope these two aren't driving you too crazy."

"It's only our first run of the day." Johnny commented as he filled out a form. "Can you load me up, babe?"

Diane gave Sam a knowing look. "Don't worry, you're in good hands. They're one of the best teams we have. And I'd say that even if I wasn't married to one half of the team."

"Flattery will get you everywhere." Johnny broke in cheerfully. "Where's Dix?"

"Didn't I tell you?" Dianne responded as she took the form and refilled the supply box. "She and Wilkinson are having a little getaway. They'll be back in a couple days."

"Ohhh." Johnny nodded as he took the box back and checked it over. "You suppose he's finally gonna pop the question?"

"Not a chance." Adam had returned from the treatment room to join them at the desk. "You know Dix doesn't want to get married."

"I don't know about that." Johnny countered. "I bet she would if he asked."

The walkie-talkie crackled, and Adam unclipped it to respond. "County Rescue Fifty-One available."

The dispatcher sent them out on another call, and Johnny let out a brief sigh before leaning over the desk to give Dianne a kiss. "Guess we're off. See you in a while."

They went almost non-stop all morning and into the afternoon before they were finally able to return to the station. "Man, that's got to be some kind of record." Johnny commented as he backed the squad into the bay. "How many runs did we have?"

Adam flipped through his memo book. "Eight? No, nine."

"Jesus." Johnny huffed.

"Still the best job in the department?" Sam asked, unable to keep herself from teasing him.

"Without a doubt."

"What about you, Adam?"

Adam looked up, apparently unaware Sam had said anything. "What about me?"

"Sam needs a little extra…convincing to sign up for paramedic training." Johnny told him. "I told her it was the best job in the department."

Adam regarded Johnny skeptically. "Well, I would tend to agree, only because I don't really have anything to compare it to. I did rescue in Marin County before I became a paramedic, so I never rode an engine. Moved down here a few years later and been here ever since."

Sam looked from one man to the other. "And you two have worked together all that time?"

"Sure have." Johnny's voice had a note of pride. "One of the best damn partners I've ever had."

Adam merely shook his head. "You've only ever had two."

Johnny waved a hand dismissively. "Beside the point. Anyway, Sam, you must be starving. Let's see what's left from lunch."

They all climbed down from the squad and went into the day room, where the other members of the crew were cleaning up, save for Marco, who was still deep in his studies.

Johnny clapped him on the shoulder as he passed by. "Marco, if you don't know your stuff by now, you're in trouble."

"I'm just reviewing." Marco answered patiently. "And don't you have an exam of your own to start studying for?"

That produced a scowl from Johnny. "I am. Just tough to find the time, that's all."

Chet set the broom aside and started toward the stove, lighting the burner underneath a pot. "B shift left us some beef stroganoff. I'll get it heated up. Shouldn't take long."

"It's probably still warm." Mike commented. "We just ate ourselves not that long ago."

Chet looked a little embarrassed but covered it with a shrug. "Guess you guys can dish up, then."

"Thanks, babycakes." Adam replied as he got down bowls for the three of them. "Some of your best work yet."

"Very funny." Chet replied scornfully, and the two of them were at it again. This was already becoming a familiar routine to Sam, and she was just glad to not be involved.

Sam followed the general conversation as she ate, listening as Johnny and Adam reviewed their runs from the day. It had been quite an education, riding along with them, not just on the runs themselves, but at the interaction between the two men. When on a call, they were all business, handling things so efficiently that Sam sometimes felt as if she were in the way. But once the call was over, they reverted to what seemed to be their usual pattern of casual conversation and inside jokes.

She finished her meal and made her way to the sink to start cleaning up, only to be joined by Chet, who peered into the pot. "Last call before I toss it." He called out.

After a murmur of what sounded like negative responses, Chet emptied the remains into the large garbage can before returning to the sink and setting it down. "You don't mind if I help out, do you?"

"Not at all." Sam answered as she started running water in the sink.

They worked in silence for a moment until Chet broke it. "Those two didn't drive you too crazy, did they?"

Sam glanced over her shoulder, where Johnny and Adam were still deep in conversation. "No, it was…good. I learned a lot. I got to meet Johnny's wife, too."

"Diane?" Chet's face lit in a smile. "Yeah, she's a great lady. No idea why she went for someone like Johnny."

Sam wasn't entirely sure whether to take Chet's comment seriously until he gave her a quick wink. She couldn't help being somewhat amused at the move. "So what about you? How have managed to escape such a horrible fate?"

Chet merely shrugged, the smile fading ever so slightly as he let the water drain out of the sink. "I don't know. Just haven't met the right one yet, I guess. What about you?"

Sam thought back to how her parents had sheltered her, right up until she had gone to college, and even after she had graduated and returned to work for her parents. How upset her parents had been when she had met and started dating a firefighter. Of course, that had fallen apart in the time it took Sam to take him up on his bet that she couldn't hack it at the fire academy. Sam was still more than a little hurt over that. "Same as you. Haven't met the right one. Not that I've had time or…"

Sam checked the rest of her thought. Chet didn't need to know her whole life story.

Chet's eyebrows shot straight up. "I'm a little surprised. Seems like you've got an awful lot to offer."

Sam let out a short laugh and shook her head as she drained the sink and wiped it out. "You don't know me well enough to say that." She glanced over at him. "And I already know what you're going to say."

Chet paused before nodding. "I won't say it. But I'm thinking it."

"Jesus, Chet." Johnny suddenly appeared at the stove to fill his coffee cup. "Leave her alone. She already told you she's not interested."

Chet huffed irritably and left Sam at the sink. While she appreciated Johnny sticking up for her, she wasn't entirely sure it was necessary.

And she wasn't entirely sure that she wasn't interested in Chet. At least, she was a little more curious about him now. But that wasn't the same thing, was it?

Johnny nudged her lightly, causing her to turn toward him. "Don't worry, he'll give up eventually."

Suddenly Sam wasn't so sure that she wanted Chet to do so.