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A Time To Every Purpose Under Heaven

Part 3

An Emergency Story by

Mypiot
 

Links to Part 1. 2. 3.

Chapter Sixteen

 

Friday July first, signaled the beginning of a long holiday weekend for many of the residents of Los Angeles County. But for Hank Stanley and Mike Stoker it meant an end to all the hours spent studying for their upcoming exams, Mike for Captain, and Hank for Chief.

This would be the day when they would find out if all of their efforts had paid off.

 

The exams were given promptly at nine in the morning down at headquarters. They had completed their exams in good time and since there was only Hank and Mike taking the tests, they had been told that someone would call by the day’s end to let them know how they had fared, so Cap had invited Mike over to his place for a beer, and a chance to talk shop, while they waited.

Both men were fairly confident that they had done well. They had been more than ready for it. But the proof was in the pudding, or so the saying went, and it was still a relief when the Chief called late that afternoon to inform them that they had both passed with flying colors.

 

Of course the word was quickly spread to the rest of the original A shift crew, including Roy and Johnny, who immediately declared that the occasion called for a celebration. Johnny and Roy insisted that they would take everyone out to dinner at their expense. Since the A shift was off the next day and would not be on shift again until the third, the dinner quickly moved over to Cap’s house where the crew sat up until the wee hours of the morning, laughing and reminiscing about the past almost seven years and their time together at Station 51.

 

ec1021As dawn broke on the morning of the second, Hank looked around at the five men sleeping in various spots around his basement rec room…Mike had fallen asleep in the recliner, while Roy and Marco had succumbed to Hypnos on either end of the leather couch. Johnny was lying sound asleep stretched out on the carpeting with one of the sofa pillows underneath his head, his arm thrown up over his eyes in his usual fashion. Chet had flagged out in his daughters oversized beanbag chair in the far corner of the room.

 

Hank sat watching the men … his men sleep. He was proud of them all, and felt a pang of regret at the fact that they were all moving on. Of course he had always known it would be inevitable that most, if not all of them, would eventually move up in rank. He himself was excited about his own move up in the rank and file.

 

But it was because of Roy and Johnny that he had found himself filled with sadness. They were, after all, moving half way across the continent. His biggest fear was that they would drift away and over time lose contact with them. He made himself a mental promise to make sure he didn’t let that happen. He vowed that he would phone them once a month, and at least once a year he and Emily would try and get up to visit them in Vermont.

 

He was happy not only for Mike’s sake, but for Marco and Chet’s as well, that at least his engine crew would still have each other at least for another year, until Marco took the engineers test. Hank wasn’t certain about Chet’s plans for the future. After his abysmal showing the last time he had tried for engineer, he wasn’t sure if Chet would ever screw up the courage to try again.

 

Hank decided to leave his men where they lay. He tossed a blanket over Johnny who was laying on the cool floor… somehow John just brought out that instinct in him.  He wanted to make sure Johnny was warm enough. With his tendency toward pneumonia, and having no spleen, he worried about the young man as if he was his own son. It was a thought that made him smile…He’d be proud as hell, to have a son like John. “Damn I’m gonna miss that kid…I’ll miss them both,” he said to himself. He smiled sadly as he switched off the lights in the room and made his way up the stairs to the kitchen to make himself a mug of coffee, so he could sit on his front porch and watch the sunrise.

 

 

The morning of the fourth dawned sunny and bright without a cloud in sight. It also held the promise of being a very hot and sticky day. The sun already had pushed the temperatures into the mid eighties and it was only seven in the morning. The A shift was just preparing to leave the station…for now.

 

Although Captain Stanley had told Johnny and Roy that he would be hosting the mid day BBQ at his place, that wasn’t actually the case…not anymore. The fact of the matter had been that the location had been secretly changed.

 

Back in the first week of April when Johnny and Roy had informed everyone of their plans to move to Vermont, and that they had decided not to leave until the fifth of July so that the gang could have one final fourth of July picnic together, Hank had quickly volunteered…no he’d insisted, that he be the one allowed to do this for his boys.

 

The trouble had been, that when he had looked ahead to the scheduling, it turned out that the A shift was actually on duty on the fourth. Since it was only the first week of April, Hank had met up with the B and C shifts and explained the dilemma, asking them to keep the news of the impending A shift shake up under their hats for now until announcements had been officially made.

 

As luck would have it, the A shift had both Memorial Day and Easter off, with B and C shifts respectively working them; so Hank had put forth the suggestion that A shift would work either of those dates if either shift was willing to switch for the fourth of July.

 

C shift was made up entirely of family men, who were quick to announce that they were more than willing to switch if it meant that they could spend Easter with their children. Unfortunately when the Captains phoned headquarters and told them about their agreement, he had lost control of the party plans.

 

The other shifts had all wanted to ‘buy in’ on the fourth of July-goodbye party. After all, they reasoned, John and Roy were their friends too. Then the Chief thought it might be appropriate if he made an appearance with some kind of plaque for the boys, and so it had grown exponentially, and Hank knew neither Johnny or Roy would be over the moon about the big fuss this party was shaping up to be.

 

The list of guests had grown daily. The staff of Rampart was coming, as well as some of the folks from Vermont; there was a doctor named Byron Fellowes coming down as well as George Wellington Danforth III himself, not to mention both the Battalion Chief and the Fire Chief, …even assemblyman Wolski was going to be making an appearance. Vince had said he would be there, plus there would be many other firefighters and paramedics from other stations in attendance. It was going to be a big affair peppered with lots of speeches, photos, and gifts.

 

Hank was more than a bit worried because he knew that Roy, and particularly Johnny had been avoiding the station like the plague … especially Johnny.

 

It was no secret that Johnny was both relieved and excited about his new future, especially because it meant that it would allow him to continue on with his paramedic career, as well as get a promotion to Captain, which was something that due to some stupid regulations on how the system was run, would never have been possible in California. But he also knew that somewhere deep inside, Johnny was deeply mourning the loss of his firefighting career, and the fact that it hadn’t been his choice to have to leave Station 51 and his crew mates behind. He’d had no control of the situation, and Johnny did not do well with loss of control in his world.

 

The day Johnny and Roy had cleaned out their lockers, Johnny had said his goodbyes to his Station 51 years, and was now trying to emotionally come to some semblance of closure.

 

John knew that to come back to the station anymore would be like peeling the scab off a current wound … and it was a wound he was anxious to heal. And as much as Johnny was anxious for the wound to heal…Roy was that much more concerned about it. Roy’s protective nature where Johnny was concerned was legendary and heaven help the poor fool that even hinted that they might give Roy a reason to have to protect his little brother.

 

It was a mutual admiration society and the depth of caring and protectiveness went both ways between the brothers, with Johnny being just as fiercely protective of anyone bearing the last name of DeSoto. But Roy was always the more levelheaded one when it came to certain issues.

 

Johnny had lived through a hellish childhood, and carried with him the scars and vulnerability that made him more susceptible to being emotionally hurt by people. He felt things deeply, and could shut down emotionally on a dime.

 

Anyone who found themselves being the cause of Johnny’s hurt would quickly discover that the usually quiet, even-tempered Roy DeSoto could also quickly transform in to a fierce and protective pit bull where his young brother was concerned, and would literally take the head off of anyone who crossed over the line where Johnny was concerned.

 

Roy and Hank had talked of this privately one day, when Roy had explained why he and Johnny had wanted to just quietly leave the day they cleaned out their gear and had not returned to visit with the guys in that setting.

 

The station seemed to be a sad reminder to Johnny, and Hank was worried about how John would handle having the farewell party being held at the Station, and he was equally worried about how Roy would handle Johnny’s upset.

 

In order to keep the boys from doing a ‘bunk’ and sneaking away to Vermont early, just to avoid the whole ruckus, Hank had told everyone that it was now going to be a surprise party, and to keep it hush-hush so Johnny and Roy wouldn’t find out about it before hand.

 

He knew it was the cowards’ way out, but he would take any lifeline he could grab hold of for now.

 

 As luck would have it, Johnny had left his Land Rover up in Vermont when he had returned to Los Angeles in June. He had driven it up with his horses, and had just flown back to L.A. with Joanne, in order to help her with the kids en route. Roy and Joanne had given him free use of their vehicles whenever he needed to get someplace. It was usually the station wagon, unless Johnny dropped Roy off at Rampart for his class…but since the paramedic class had ended a week after Johnny’s return from Vermont and the kids were out of school now, the group usually traveled as a unit these days anyway.

 

The day before had seen the moving van come a cart of most of the DeSoto’s possessions, leaving only a couple suitcases, with enough clothing for two days, and some toiletries.

They had decided to just order in pizzas and eat their breakfasts in restaurants, for their final two days in L.A….besides they would have plenty of food at the BBQ, which was sure to have leftovers.

 

Apparently money was no object to this Mr. Danforth he had heard so much about, but had yet to meet, and he had had someone actually come down and take both of Roy’s vehicles on up to Vermont the day before, so that Johnny, the DeSoto clan as well as Joe Early and Dixie McCall could all fly up together in the Danforth private jet. Therefore it had been arranged that it was going to be Hank and Chet that would be picking up Johnny, Roy and Jo, plus the kids and bringing them to the BBQ.

 

His main problem was going to be dealing with the fallout from the fact that both Gage and DeSoto were under the purposely misguided belief that they would be going to the Stanley residence.

 

There would be all the proverbial weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, especially from Gage, when they realized the ruse. However he knew both men would have put on a good front by the time they got out of their respective vehicles.

 

Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing that there would be half a continent between them for those first few days, ...payback would be hard from thousands of miles away.

 

Over at the DeSoto household things were surprisingly quiet. It had been a fairly frenzied two weeks since the paramedic class had graduated.

 

Johnny’s presence had been a Godsend, and between he and Joanne, they had managed to fairly efficiently organize and pack up most of the DeSoto’s possessions, which meant there had been very little for Roy to worry about. By the time he had finished his last day at Rampart, there had been very little left to do apart from all the last minute little jobs that couldn’t be done until the final few days before the moving van arrived to take their furniture up to Vermont.

 

Since it was now coming down to their final days in Los Angeles, they had all decided to make sure they took some time to visit all of their favourite places one last time. This meant that the last week or so had been filled with trips to Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm and Venice Beach.

Johnny had gone camping in the mountains one last time. He also returned to his old ranch to see how they were making out and to say goodbye to his old neighbors.

 

 

Joanne had spent a day at the Farmers Market and the Grove, while Roy and Johnny had taken in not one, but two Dodgers games.

 

Of course there were the times spent with Joanne’s family during the last few weeks.

Joanne’s sister Elaine and her husband David had come over twice for dinner and Elaine and Joanne had gone shopping or out to lunch several times as well.

 

Then there was Joanne’s mother,  …the bane of Roy’s existence. She had visited twice in the last month. She had come down from Redding to visit her daughter and her grandchildren.

 

The first visit she did nothing but make snide remarks about Roy and Johnny, and spent the rest of the time giving them disdainful looks.

 

Her second and last visit had been the main reason Johnny and Roy had gone to the second Dodgers game.

 

It had been Joanne’s way of making up for her mother’s rude behavior plus it allowed the boys to get away from the old shrew.

 

It was with mixed emotions that Johnny and Roy got ready for their goodbye party. The fact that they had been referring to it as the Fourth of July barbeque had fooled no one. They were all completely aware that in actual fact, it was a farewell party for Roy and John.

 

It had been a strange time for Johnny in particular. Unlike Roy, he enjoyed being a hose jockey,  not that he was an adrenaline junkie per say, but he did feel a certain exhilaration … that heightened sense of anticipation each time they were called out to the scene of a fire. 

 

He liked being able to take a proactive role in taming the beast they called fire … almost as much as he enjoyed rescue work and the satisfaction of making a difference in peoples lives in those life and death battles he waged daily in his role as a paramedic … almost.

 

Being a paramedic would always be his first love as far as his vocation went. But being a firefighter came in at a close second.

 

He still felt a certain sense of loss and resentment over the fact that his body had betrayed him, and he was being forced to leave the LACFD and his job as a hose jockey behind; not to mention a lot of good friends at 51’s.

 

He was proud of all he had accomplished since he had run away from Montana to Los Angeles. He had come a long way from those first days as a homeless sixteen year old orphan, living on the streets. The fact that it was being ripped away from him against his will still hurt.

 

But at the same time, the idea of being promoted to Captain and being in on the ground floor of what he hoped would be the proto type for rural paramedic service was exciting. To be the first in on what he hoped would turn out to be a nation wide trend, filled him with a sense pride and elation… it fueled his passion for the job, in the same way it had seven years earlier when Assemblyman Wolski’s Bill PM-11-307 was on the brink of passing legislation, allowing the birth of the paramedics in the first place.

 

He was proud that he and Roy had been the very first practicing paramedics in the field once the bill had officially passed into law. In fact it was Johnny that had been the very first paramedic to use the defibrillator in the field as a fully functioning paramedic. He had been chomping at the bit back then and he was chomping at the bit right now. He couldn’t wait for the construction of the medical clinic and paramedic station to be completed.

 

It was these continually conflicting emotions and the ongoing battle between those highs and lows that had left him vacillating between moments of unbridled excitement, and periods when he was overcome with feeling maudlin and regret.

 

For Roy, the feelings were much less intense; the fact that he was leaving Cap and the rest of the guys behind had been the only down side to this whole situation for him. As far as he was concerned everything else was great.

 

All the pros certainly outweighed the one con of leaving behind some of his friends.

 

The way he figured it, the promotions of Cap and Mike would have been inevitable anyway.

He knew eventually, the A shift would have broken up … and probably sooner than later.

 

It was no secret that Mike was seriously considering trying for Captain that coming September anyway, and Marco had already made it known that he would most likely be trying for Engineer the following year himself.

 

Hell, even Roy and Johnny would have soon tried for Captain … probably in another year when Marco took his exam.

 

Roy’s family was growing up, and there were going to be braces to pay for, and sports uniforms to buy, and the station wagon wouldn’t last much more than a year or so either. All of those things would have made it necessary for Roy to need the raise in pay that came with the promotion to Captain. And Johnny had made it abundantly clear that he had no intention of accepting any other partner other than Roy… That feeling had been mutual, and it was when the birth of their ‘pact’ had come about.

 

That would have meant not only the end of their partnership, but the end of the paramedics entirely, and Roy and Johnny both loved their jobs as paramedics.

 

As odd as it seemed to say, Johnny’s medical issues regarding smoke inhalation from fire scenes, and the resulting ‘forced retirement,’ had in some ways been a blessing in disguise.

 

The way Roy seen it, this was a win-win situation here.

 

Cad EMS gold        EMS Capt     EMS      EMS Capt      Cad EMS gold

 

Both Roy and John got their promotions in rank to Captain, along with the raise in pay that accompanied it. And because they already had the knowledge and experience as seasoned paramedics, it didn’t require that they take any exams. They simply had to attend a couple seminars on learning how to handle the role of leadership. They would still be working as paramedics, and be able to remain doing the job they loved so well. It just meant more paper work and decision making on their part, but that was something neither man minded. In fact the added challenge excited them both. Combine that with the fact that he and Johnny got to remain partners, and he was a happy man.

Joanne was happy because now he and Johnny would no longer be running into infernos and running the risk of dying from smoke inhalation or being burnt to death which had always been her biggest fear. And as he had already explained to Dr. Brackett, he had always been far more interested in the paramedic end of his job anyway.

 

There were other factors to consider as well. He was not only getting his kids out of the growing crime scene in Los Angeles, he was getting Johnny away from all the smog and pollution that was so prevalent in L.A.

 

Another huge benefit for Roy was the fact that he was leaving his mother-in-law behind in California. And the more states he could put between her and himself, the happier he’d be.

 

All things considered, Roy was a pretty happy man right now.

 

Roy had just come out of his bedroom when he heard the doorbell ring. He was surprised when he opened it, to find Chet and Hank standing there.

 

It was only eleven o’clock and the A shift had been on duty the previous day and night. They had only been off duty for a couple of hours and he figured they would have all gone home to catch a nap. Roy certainly hadn’t expected them until closer to one o’clock.

 

The only answer he could come up with was that they had obviously had a quiet night with no runs, so they had decided to make the most of their final day together as the complete A shift team.

Smiling, Roy stepped aside and ushered his two friends inside the house.

 

Hank and Chet stepped into the empty living room and shifted their feet back and forth nervously. The crew had discussed the party over breakfast and it had been decided that they didn’t want to mar Johnny and Roy’s last day in L.A. by catching them off guard with this event.

 

The last thing in the world they wanted was for John’s last memories of his days at 51 to be one of being upset because he’d been blindsided, and Roy being angry because they’d upset Johnny.

 

So Hank and Chet were now standing here two hours early in order to give the two men a heads up so they could take a couple of hours to prepare themselves for the party.

 

“Hey Cap, you guys are a lot earlier than we expected. Joanne and the kids aren’t here right now. She and her sister Elaine took the kids out for breakfast with their best friends from school, just one last time…they won’t be home until around noon. We had a late breakfast because we didn’t figure we’d be eating until two or three.”

 

By the time Roy had finished speaking Johnny had come into the room.  “Wow, you guys are sure early. We thought you weren’t coming until one. Did we get the time wrong?” Johnny asked.

 

Cap continued to fidget as he cleared his throat to speak. “Well, actually guys, there’s something we kinda need to warn you about,” he said nervously

 

Johnny’s immediately began to feel apprehensive and his voice took on an accusing tone. “Just exactly do you need to warn us about?” he inquired warily.

 

Hank took a deep breath and related the whole tale to Roy and Johnny about how the party had gotten away from him, and that it was now going to be attended by almost seventy-five people and that it was going to be held at the Station.

 

Roy face froze in utter shock, and then he quickly turned to look at Johnny.

 

Johnny’s face went through a myriad of emotions in less than sixty seconds. The first expression was one of wide-eyed terror, which greatly resembled a deer in the headlights. Then it was if someone had walked over to him, and pulled a plug from somewhere in his body that caused all the blood to drain from out of his body, as his face went as white as a sheet.

 

Then almost as quickly as it registered panic, it transfigured, and right before their very eyes, it was as if some unseen stagehand had lowered the curtain at the end of a play.

Johnny’s face instantly transformed into a stone mask and his eyes were frozen in a cold impassive yet vacant stare, as unreachable as those statues that stood outside the State Capital buildings.

 

Johnny had perfected the defense mechanism over the years …and he’d had plenty of reasons to have to, as he had struggled to survive his tumultuous childhood.

 

Unfortunately all that practice had made him an expert at it. And that is what the three men beside him had just witnessed. He had adopted his protective shield…trying to turn himself into a chameleon in the hopes he could blend in with the background and just make himself disappear…to be entirely camouflaged from his surroundings.

 

Roy quickly grabbed Johnny by the arms and steered him out onto the back deck. “Excuse us guys,” he called over his shoulder. “Johnny and I just need a moment alone please.”

 

And without waiting for an answer he opened up the sliders, gently pushed Johnny out onto the deck and closed the doors behind him leaving Cap and Chet starring at each other in dismay.

 

The moment he was outside alone with Roy, Johnny dropped the stoic façade, and began to wildly pace back and forth across the deck, his hands running nervously through his hair.

 

“This was supposed to be a small quiet affair with just us guys and our families Roy!” He said as he began to work himself up into a full-fledged Gage rant.

 

 “Oh man Roy, what are we gonna do now? What are we supposed to say to the Chief huh? Do they want us to make some kind of a speech? Because I wouldn’t know what to say…and what if they have a T.V. camera there huh Roy? You know I freeze up the second I even see one of those things,” he exclaimed…his agitation was increasing to the point where Roy really figured he was in danger of hyperventilating.

 

Roy walked over and put his arm out to stop Johnny’s frantic pacing. “Would you just calm down Junior…it won’t be that bad okay?”

 

“Roy’s right pal,” said Cap from the now open doorway. “And there’s not going to be any television crews there, I can promise you that. It’s just going to be some of the big wigs from HQ, who will make some kind of presentation, and couple of speeches. You’ll shake a few hands stand by for a few pictures and then we can all just sit around and eat and visit with our friends for a few hours…once it’s all over we’ll head on over to my place with our families. We’ll have a few beers and then watch the fireworks.”

 

“But I hope you understand guys, that even though this wasn’t part of our original plans, it was done because these guys like and respect you both. They all consider themselves friends and they just wanted a chance to show you that and to say goodbye. They just want to find their own sense of closure to your leaving us…they need to do this…they want to do this, so how about you let them okay?”

 

Finally after several minutes of cajoling, they finally managed to get Johnny calmed down. He even began to feel a bit honored that so many people thought enough of him and Roy that they would go out of their way to plan such a lavish party for them.

 

 

Chapter Seventeen

 

By the time they had arrived at the Station, Johnny and Roy had both come to terms with the situation and had managed to regain their composure… they were even beginning to get a bit excited about it.

 

As they pulled up to the Station they were surprised to see both the squad and the engine pulled out into the front driveway leaving the bay completely empty. They could also see that the parking out back was completely free of vehicles as well.

 

“Where did everyone park?” asked Johnny.

 

“We got permission from the refinery across the way to let us use part of their parking lot for the day. HQ has stood down the Station until later on tonight, so they would be free to set up and take down everything without getting toned out. Besides the Chief didn’t want the klaxons to go off while everyone was giving their speeches.” Hank answered.

 

The moment they stepped out of their vehicles, they were met by Chief McConnike, who greeted them both warmly.

 

“Ah, gentlemen, I’m glad you’re here. Everyone else has arrived and we’re all ready to begin. We’ve got a table set up near the front just for the A shift, he said as he led them all through the parking lot to a small podium set up inside the bay where the trucks would normally be parked.

 

Once they entered the bay and their eyes had adjusted to the change in light, Johnny looked around.  Sitting up at the front he saw both the Fire Chief and the Battalion Chief. Just off to the right of the Chiefs sat Assemblyman Wolski at one of the tables near the front.

 

He turned his head around so he could look out over the crowd of people who were sitting around the many tables than had been set up inside the back of the bay, and on out into the parking lot behind the station. He couldn’t believe how many people had shown up. All three shifts from Station 51 were there, as were several of his old crewmates from his days at Station ten. 

 

He saw a lot of the other paramedic teams gathered. Vince was there, as were all three doctors from Rampart as well as Dixie and a few of the other nurses. But the biggest shock Johnny got was when he looked over and seen Esther and Samuel Mills sitting at one of the tables with Lucas and Natalie. Johnny hadn’t seen them in over six months. The last time he had seen them was when they had come for a visit over the Christmas holidays. He looked over at them and their faces lit up into big smiles as Johnny waved to the kids and grinned.

 

They had no sooner taken their places at the head table than the Fire Chief stood up and made his way over to the microphone that was set up at the podium. The crowd quieted down as everyone turned their attention toward the Chief as he began to speak.

 

“ I’d like to thank everyone for being here today, as we gather together to pay homage and bid a fond farewell to two of Los Angeles County Fire Department’s best and brightest…. Firefighter-Paramedics John Gage and Roy DeSoto.

Let me begin by saying that is has been a privilege to have had the opportunity to have these two fine young men serve in the Los Angeles County Fire Department…first as firefighters and then later on in their capacity as paramedics.

 

“Several years ago, a small group of individuals from around our nation had a vision for a better way….and a dream was hatched: an idea that if it could be brought to fruition, would pave the way for a new brand of firefighters, a group of specialized first responders that would be trained and able to render critical medical assistance right on the scene to the injured victims that we so often encounter as we carry out our duty every day.

 

“This cause was met with a lot of opposition at its inception, and we all knew that it was going to be a battle to gain the acceptance and approval that we sought. But we also recognized that the cause was much bigger than all of us, and that it was going to be worth the fight if it meant we could get the system up and running.  Thankfully we had the backing and support of a few great men such as Assemblyman Wolski.”

 

The Chief paused and pointed over to where Wolski was seated at one of the front tables.

 

“Despite the opposition, the feeling of optimism ran high, and so even though there were no guarantees the legislative assembly would pass the proposed paramedic bill, …we forged on ahead and began to train men anyway, so that if and when the bill did pass, we would be ready for it. It was during the very first training session out of Harbor General Hospital that the proposed paramedic program gained one of its most ardent supporters, and a vital champion for our cause…Roy DeSoto. Roy worked tirelessly, recruiting young talent from our ranks to join us in our fight to make the paramedic program a reality. And it was on that first recruitment drive that Roy here managed to drag a young John Gage on board, even though I understand he was a bit of a hard sell in the beginning. But Roy here persisted and he managed to win him over, and so when the first class out of Rampart Hospital commenced, John Gage was there to graduate at the top of the class. It was also the beginning of a close friendship, partnership, and a top-flight paramedic team.”

 

 “When the two of these young men teamed up, they were indeed a force to be reckoned with. They soon became the first members of a newly built Station that had been constructed in Carson… this building we are sitting in today…Station 51.”

 

“These two young men with their passion and their energy continued to forge ahead, and eventually it was through these two young men’s seemless teamwork and dedication and their singular devotion to saving human lives that they eventually won over the support of one of the top doctors in the nation, Dr. Kelly Brackett.”

Once again the Chief paused to indicate the table where Dr. Brackett was seated.

 

“They have over the years continued to keep alive that passion and devotion not only to the program but to each other. They have time and time again gone above and beyond the call of duty in the service to the citizens of Los Angeles.  So now everyday when you get up in the morning, you can thank God that as you go about on your daily business, … should the unthinkable happen, you can rest assured that there will be men like Gage and DeSoto, who will show up for the sole purpose of doing their utmost to save your life and ensure you get the definitive care you’ll need as quickly as possible. And so it is at this time I would like to express our thanks and gratitude for your years of faithful service, for your diligence and for always representing the Los Angeles County Fire Department with honor as dedicated, skilled and outstanding members of the firefighting and paramedic programs. And it is also at this time I would like to ask John Roderick Gage and Roy DeSoto to please come forward, so that Battalion Chief McConnike and I can present a memorial plague to these two men.”

 

Johnny and Roy stood up and made their way up to the front of the podium to the sound of applause from the crowd. They were met by both of the Chiefs who each extended their hands in turn to Roy and Johnny. By the time the handshakes were dispensed with, the crowd had quieted down once more.

 

Both the Fire Chief and Chief McConnike stood with a very large plaque in their hands. Both plaques were identical and on the front of each was their official departmental photographs, as well as the LACFD insignia and the paramedic insignia. Underneath on a bronze plate were written out these words …

 

This plaque is to commemorate and pay tribute to Roy William DeSoto and John Roderick Gage. The first paramedic team in the State of California to function and to render aid as fully licensed paramedics in the field out of Los Angeles County Fire Department Station 51.

Presented in thanks and gratitude for their years of faithful and dedicated service to the City of Los Angeles and its citizens.

 

Fire Chief W. Hautes July 4th 1977

 

Both John and Roy were handed a plaque as the Chief stepped up once again to the microphone as he read off the inscription to the crowd. He then spoke into the microphone once more.

 

“There were three of these plaques made. One each for Gage and DeSoto, and a third that will be mounted on the wall of this station, which will remain there in perpetuity, as a tribute to these two fine men.” He then turned back and shook the two men’s hands once more before returning to the mic.

 

“John, Roy, We at the department would like to take the time now to wish you well on all of your future endeavors; and as you move ahead with your lives, it is my hope that you will always carry with you fond memories of your time spent in service with the Los Angeles County Fire Department. I think I speak for everyone here when I say that your presence will be sorely missed. And now I believe that Captain Stanley wishes to say a few words and that he has a presentation of his own to make.”

 

Johnny and Roy stood by, not knowing quite what to say, as they watched both Chiefs return to their seats on the podium while Cap made his way forward. In his hands were two beautifully wrapped boxes.

 

Like the Fire Chief before him, Hank made his way over to the microphone and began to speak.

 

“I promise I won’t keep you long, but I would have been remiss if I had not taken this opportunity to come up here and acknowledge these two men beside me” Hank turned to face his men. “John, Roy, I just wanted to say, that I consider knowing the two of you as being one of the highlights of my career. I have always been impressed with your depth of knowledge, skill and dedication to the profession. Time and time again, I have had the honour of witnessing first hand that exceptional skill and courage as you both willingly, and without a thought for yourselves, put your lives on the line over and over again, in order to save someone’s life, or render medical aid to someone in need. The city of Los Angeles is indeed indebted to both of you. Your self sacrifice and courage and at times, your amazing resourcefulness have never ceased to amaze me.

 

“Our time together is sadly coming to an end, but it is one that I will treasure for the rest of my life. As you move forward to the new ventures that lay before you, I wish you nothing but the very best. Vermont is gaining one hell of a paramedic team and I think we can all agree that Vermont’s gain is Los Angeles’s loss.

 

“Finally I’d like to thank you both, not only for the honor and privilege of being your Captain here at Station 51,and being able to work side by side with you all these years, but for being able to count you both as very close and dear friends. And I am going to miss that friendship…more than you know. And now on behalf of Station 51’s A shift, B shift and C shift, I would like to present you both with these tokens of our friendship and thanks.”

 

Hank then handed each man a box. Both men looked dumbstruck as they began to tear away the wrapping paper. There mouths dropped open as they each pulled out of their boxes a perfect die cast model of squad 51. It was about 10 inches in length and about 5 inches high. The chrome trim was made of Sterling Silver and the lettering on the doors was embossed in 24 Karat gold.

 

 

The crowd began to applaud and yell out … “Speech, Speech…” while both men stood, their mouths agape with a look of astonishment plastered on the features.

 

Finally Chief McConnike stood up and with a grin, put his hand on Johnny’s back and gently pushed him forward to where the microphone sat on the podium.

 

For a split second both Hank and Roy were afraid Johnny might pass out. But thankfully as Johnny looked out over the crowd and into the faces of his friends and peers, he began to smile as he composed himself and slowly leaned forward into the microphone. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat before he began to speak.

 

“I feel like these accolades actually belong to Roy here, more than they do to me, largely because, I became a paramedic because of Roy.”

 

“I’m really glad that I was smart enough to have listened to what he was saying to me that morning when he was trying to get me to join the program. He was with me all through my training, always there giving me encouragement, and advice. He certainly was the driving force that kept me going, during those first days when I wondered if we were even going to be allowed to do the job we were being trained to for. But Roy never let me get too discouraged. He never let me throw in the towel…for some reason he seen something inside of me that was worth all his time and effort, even when I couldn’t always see it myself. He just never gave up on me, and he never let me give up on myself, no matter how frustrated I got with the system in those first days … and so I became a paramedic.

“Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on which day you ask him, at the end of the training session, Roy asked me, this young twenty year old kid, who could be pretty darn stubborn and willful at times, to be his partner. And that’s how it came about that I was lucky enough… no…” he corrected. “I was blessed enough, to have found myself paired up with Roy DeSoto as my paramedic partner…a man who would not only become my best friend and brother….but my family.”

 

 

Roy felt a sudden urge, but he didn’t know if it was to laugh or to cry.

 

Johnny paused and reached up to wipe the moisture that he found pooling in the corners of his eyes.

 

“Now somewhere along the way in this lifetime I must have done something that the good Lord decided I had a reward coming my way, because not only did I find a family in Roy, Joanne, Chris and Jenny… but I also was given the honor of working with the best damn crew anywhere…my brothers in arms…this amazing group of men known as the A shift of Station 51. Mike Stoker the world’s best engineer bar none…Chet Kelly and Marco Lopez…they’re the best at what they do, and there is nobody else I’d want watching my back when Roy and I were running into a burning building to find victims. And all of us were kept in line and lead into the fray each day by our fearless leader; Captain Hank Stanley…I hope that I’m able to do half as good a job as a Captain as he did. But I can tell you this; that in his capacity as a Captain, Hank Stanley raised that bar about as far as it can go, and I’ve certainly got my work cut out for me trying to live up to the standards he set each and every day he showed up for work.  I am going to miss these men…more than I think any of them realize. I just wish I could find the appropriate words to express how much they mean to me, and how deeply they will be missed.”

 

Johnny smiled over at his friends sitting in the front row. His gaze then shifted over to the area where all of his friends from Rampart were seated.

 

“It also afforded me the opportunity to be introduced to another extraordinary group of people on a more personal level…people that I am so proud and honoured to be able to call friends.  those dedicated and talented people that are the life blood at Rampart General Hospital. These folks, whose skill have given it the reputation of being the best medical facility in L.A.…  Drs. Kelly Brackett, Joe Early, and  Mike Morton…and I would be remiss if I didn’t include the people who are responsible for making sure those Dr.s can do the job they’re trained for…the heart of Rampart General; those amazing angels in white, … the nurses.  Nurses who go by  names like Betty, Carol, Sharon, and a host of others…all of them watched over and managed skillfully by the head angel, one who I am proud to call my big sister, the queen of compassion and efficiency…Dixie McCall.

 

“Over the past almost seven years, both as part of my job and in my private life, I have found myself in some pretty messy and dangerous places and in some very perilous situations.”  Johnny paused and glanced over to where the Mills’ children were sitting… “some of them defy imagination.”

 

There was not a person there that missed the inference or the surreptitious glance Johnny had made towards Lucas and Natalie Mills. Just the thought of that event was enough to send shivers up the spine of those who were closest to Johnny.

 

Johnny paused and composed himself before he continued on.

 

“This profession demands that I never abandon hope, and yet I have also learned over the years that not every rescue or every situation will have a happy or satisfactory outcome. That no matter how fast we get there, no matter what life saving interventions we administer…and no matter how quickly we are able to get our victims into the skilled hands of the doctors and nurses at Rampart, and no matter how excellent the care they receive once they get there…that not all those we try to save, will survive. I’ve learned that there comes a point that you have to accept the fact that when God takes your victim by the right hand…it’s time for the rest of us to let go of their left. It’s at those moments when it is imperative that we remember the many, many more lives that we do save…those people that are alive because paramedics exist…because we got there in time to make that critical difference, and because of that difference, a parent gets to see their child walk down the aisle on their wedding day, or someone else gets to experience the joys of being a parent, Another gets to reach their retirement or another birthday or one more Christmas with the ones they love…That is the reward that really matters…that is what makes what we do worth all the mess, gore and miserable conditions we wade through over and over again on an almost daily basis.  And I just want to take the time now to say thank you to God, my family and the best damn group of people walking on the face of this earth…and I am most thankful, that I got to be a part of it… and that I got to share in all of your lives….”  

 

Johnny looked around self consciously and then lowered his eyes back down to look at the plaque in his hand.

 

 In a voice barely above a whisper, he quietly said, “Thank-you.”

 

Roy stood beside Johnny, barely able to control his emotions as he leaned into the microphone and simply said to both the crowd before him and his partner beside him…

 

“Damn Junior…you’ve kind of left me in a bind here. There’s really not anything more to say…and if there was I don’t think I could do it as eloquently as you just did. But there is one thing that I do want to say before we step down. I just want everyone here to know, that it is actually me who is the lucky one in this partnership. I was the one who was blessed to have this man, John Roderick Gage, my best friend and brother, as my partner for the last seven years.

 

“If I am good, then it’s largely because of him. It’s Johnny who brings out the best in me. He brings the passion, the heart and the soul to not only this partnership, but to the entire station. His intelligence, skill, tenacity, courage and natural instinct, has saved my life on more than one occasion. He has added to the lives of not only me, but to my wife, and my and my children, and it’s because of that, that I have to acknowledge that it is me who considers myself to be one of the luckiest guys around. And you better believe that when I give thanks for all the blessings I have received in my life; I promise you all, that my wonderful, gorgeous and longsuffering wife Joanne, my two beautiful children and my little brother John are at the top of that list.”

 

Roy looked around at those he was closest to and smiled, the love and pride in his family clearly displayed on his face for all to see. He leaned back into the microphone and spoke once more.

 

“Having said that, I guess there really isn’t much left for me to say, other than to say that I’d like to add my thanks to Johnny’s, to each and every one of you. You really are the best and the brightest there is, and it’s been a pleasure and a joy serving with each and every one of you…Thank-you.”

Roy stepped away from the microphone, and turned to face Johnny. Both men had tears in their eyes as Roy reached over and pulled Johnny into a warm hug.

 

 “I love you little brother,” he said quietly.

“I love you too Roy,” Johnny softly replied as he returned the hug.

 

The crowd erupted into a thunderous round of applause and gave the two men a standing ovation that lasted for several minutes. Then Johnny, Roy and the two Chiefs were taken aside by the official photographer for the fire department so he could get them to pose for some photographs.

 

Hank, Mike, Chet and Marco made their way over and sat down at the table where Dixie and the doctors from Rampart were sitting with Assemblyman Wolski, while they waited for Roy and Johnny to join them. 

“Hope you folks don’t mind if we join you, but it looks like our boys are going to be tied up for a few minutes.”

 

“Well it’s no less than my boys deserve.” beamed Dixie proudly.

 

“Well, I may be a bit biased, but I have to agree with you on that one,” Brackett said. “Even though we all know, you’ve always been their biggest supporter Dix…even when I wasn’t sold on the idea of paramedics ...you were right there, daring me or anyone else to say anything bad about those two boys.” He teased. “But then, they’ve always been your favorites.” he kidded.

 

“Hey, Dixie, how come that is?” Chet coaxed.

 

“We’ve just always been close,” she replied. “Not to mention the fact that those two young men over there risked it all to save my life. They literally saved my life without any regard for what it could cost them.”

 

The rest of the A shift crew raised their eyebrows…this was news to them. They certainly hadn’t heard about any rescue where the Roy and Johnny had saved Dixie… and what did her statement, ‘risk it all’ mean anyway?  It kind of sounded like John and Roy may have had a good reason for keeping the details quiet. They all listened intently as Dixie went on to tell everyone there about the incident that had happened before the paramedic bill had passed, when Johnny and Roy deliberately disregarded orders to treat not only her injuries but the injuries of the other two victims as well, saving all three of them from either certain death or permanent injury.

 

brackettinsistentclose“I’ll admit this now, but don’t any of you dare ever tell Johnny and Roy this,” said Dr. Brackett.

“When Johnny picked up that biophone and said me, to hell with the orders, as much as I wanted to wring his scrawny neck, In one sense I was also relieved, because I knew that all those victims needed immediate treatment. And yes, I also have to admit that I admired his moxy.

 

“I also realized right then that both those men up there were the real deal. They really impressed me that day. Their passion and a dedication to saving the lives of those three people were more important to them than their jobs. They weren’t afraid to put their butts on the line, if it meant saving a life. That was the turning point for me…it was Johnny and Roy who single handedly changed my mind about the entire paramedic program. I never would have testified before the legislative committee if it wasn’t for those two.”

 

“Well I can tell you this for certain,” added Assemblyman Wolski. “Without Kelly Brackett’s support, it’s doubtful that the bill would have passed. So I guess in a way, you can say that your star paramedic team over there is probably responsible for the whole program as it exists today.”

 

The rest of the A shift looked duly impressed. Just then the call went out from the Chief that they wanted to get the rest of the A shift up front so they could take a photo of the entire group together.

 

“Well, I guess that’s our cue boys…excuse us folks,” said Hank as he and his crew slid back there chairs and stood up.

 

After the last of the pictures had been taken, the announcement went out that the food was ready and it was time to eat.

 

Slowly the crowd dispersed and began to break off into smaller groups that gathered around the various tables that had been set up around the open bay and the back parking lot of Station 51.

 

At first the A shift sat with the both the fire chief and the battalion chief…but after a while as people got up to get seconds, they all began to wander around to visit friends and co-workers at the other various tables.

 

Finally at about three o’clock Roy found himself standing alone leaning against the wall of the Station sipping on a can of Coke while he looked around at the crowd of people who had all gathered here to say goodbye to him and Johnny.

 

It gave him a warm feeling to see just exactly how much all of these people thought of them.

 

Roy looked over and smiled as he watched Johnny helping Jenny carry another plate of food over to the smaller children’s table that had been set up. Chris, Lucas, Natalie and Mike Stoker Jr. along with Cap’s two teenage daughters, were still sitting around it eating seconds...or was it thirds, of hotdogs and hamburgers.

 

He was still engrossed in watching Johnny as he playfully interacted with the kids when Chet walked over and stood beside him.

 

“You know, now that you’re leaving Los Angeles, I guess it’s safe for me to admit, how much I’ve envied you Roy.” Chet said

 

Roy looked over, slightly confused. “Envied me? In what way?”

 

“Aw come on Roy, it’s not a huge secret that I’ve always considered the pigeon over there to be my friend. It’s always made me kinda jealous how close you two guys are… I used to watch the two of you hanging out in the bay talking, going over your gear or working on the squad together, or the fun you two got from rebuilding that old engine.”

 

“And then there were those rescues where all the rest of us could do was wait, watch and hold the lines while the two of you guys hauled some victim out of some mess they’d gotten themselves into. And man, some of those folks could really get themselves into some of the damnedest places. It used to make me shake my head to watch Gage slide into some spot that was too small for a cat to fit, while he did some of the most death defying moves I’ve ever seen. The guy could moonlight as a contortionist in the circus.” Chet shook his head with more than a hint of admiration and pride for Johnny’s skill.

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“The way you two guys work, man it’s like watching ballet or something…it’s artistic ya know? With the other paramedic teams we’ve seen in action, well… it’s efficient…but it’s not magical like it is with you two guys… and everybody knows it too, you know.”

 

Roy shrugged his shoulders and looked down self deprecatingly, but didn’t speak, so Chet went on.

“But you know the times that made me most jealous, were those times the rest of us were sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee and you and Johnny would be outside after a difficult run. You know the ones where Johnny retreated up to the top of that damn hose tower to try and hide how upset he was? … and even though heights aren’t your favourite thing, you never once hesitated to climb on up after him to make sure he was okay.

 

The rest of us would watch you two talking, baring your souls to each other, just being there for each other, and I gotta be honest with you Roy, I’ve always wished that I had that kind of close friendship with him too.

 

“Gage has always been kind of a lone wolf, and a tough nut to crack, especially those moments where he completely transforms. Almost instantly he pulls away and shuts down emotionally. He just shuts the rest of the world out until he’s completely unreachable… but not to you. There’s never been a place that he has gone that you couldn’t follow. You can always get into that place. You’re always able to slice through that barrier and break through his fortress.”

 

Roy looked over at Chet… “That’s because he allows me to Chet.” He said quietly.

 

“Yeah,” persisted Chet, “but the point is, you got him to allow you inside those walls in the first place…when no one else could. How did you do it, man?”

 

The two men were so involved in the seriousness of their conversation that neither of them had noticed that Johnny had left the childrens table and had made his way over to where they were, and was now standing behind them. Both men were startled when they heard Johnny speak.

“Our bond isn’t chosen Chet. It’s a gift…it literally is lightning in a bottle. It wasn’t something we consciously did or set out to do. We’ve never had to try to make it work. We’re brothers, plain and simple, and not because of some genetic happening. It’s not because we share some mitochondrial DNA… this bond is a lot more solid. It’s spiritual…it’s magical…it just is. I guess the best way I can describe it is like this…”

 

Johnny reached over and grabbed a can of Coke and tossed it over to Chet. Chet reflexively brought his hands up and caught the can in mid air.

 

“It’s like that Chet…you didn’t have to stop and think about catching that can of pop did you? Your brain’s impulses and every part of your body all worked instantaneously and in sync to allow you to catch that can before it could hit the ground and burst open.

 

“That’s how it is when I’m with Roy…it’s just as if I were deciding I was going to reach out and pick up that can of Coke… I don’t have to think about it or concentrate on it … I know all I have to do is just reach out and do it, and I know it’s going to happen… I know it’s going to work and everything will function exactly like it’s supposed to.

 

“It’s like something bigger than us is intervening in our lives…it’s always been bigger than us. We stopped trying to dissect it a long time ago. We understand that that’s what it is and so we just accept it for what it is… a gift. And it’s a gift we’re grateful and honoured to have had bestowed upon us.

 

“I used to wonder Why me…but the truth is… I don’t know Chet. Maybe it’s because so much was taken from me at such a young age. They say whenever God closes a door he opens a window, Well maybe Roy’s my window Chet. All I know is that he understands and knows me…better than I know myself sometimes.

“You know Chet, the job of being a paramedic can come with a lot of self recrimination on those rescues when things don’t go the way we want them too, and it’s then that we give each other a perspective on a level no one else can.” He said smiling over at his Roy.

 

Chet looked over at Roy who by now had tears on his face… but he was smiling too. Just then Joanne came over and put her arm around Roy’s waist. “Here you are. Chris needs to use the little boys room and I was kind of hoping you’d escort him, just to make sure he doesn’t get into any mischief along the way. You know how infatuated he is with the fire engine and the squad. He’s liable to decide to climb up on them if he thinks no one is looking.”

 

Roy excused himself and followed Joanne over to where an obviously impatient Chris was standing near the station’s back door, leaving Chet and Johnny alone.

 

Chet looked thoughtful for a few moments, and then he looked at Johnny.

 

“I’m not too good at all this spiritual stuff you know. I mean I was raised Catholic and I guess I do believe in God and all...” his voice trailed off. “So you believe you and Roy were meant to be?”

 

Johnny looked over to see if Chet was baiting him, but one look into his face revealed that Chet was asking the question in earnest.

 

“Do you mean do I really believe in Divine providence Chet?’

 

“Providence?” Chet asked in confusion.

 

“Divine intervention, then” he clarified. “Yes, Chet, I do. I’ve seen it happen too many times to ignore it…and not just on the job, in all aspects of my life. In fact I have had things happen to me…survived things, that could only have happened through God’s grace…and I don’t say that lightly Chet…I really do believe that with all my heart.”

 

Both men sat in silence for a while before Johnny began to speak once more.

 

“So Chet, I know Marco says he wants to try for engineer next year…how about you? Are you gonna try for it too?” Johnny asked

 

 

Chet looked embarrassed as he stared at some imaginary object in his empty hands.

 

“Shit John, you know what happened last time I tried out for engineer…I was practically last on the list, and I studied hard for that test too. All those numbers and equations and shit, just get all mixed up inside my head. I guess I just don’t have the brains to be anything more than a hose jockey. I know as far as rank in the department is concerned, that this is as high as I’ll ever go. But that’s okay, you know, because I’m a damn good linesman even if I do say so myself.”

 

Johnny stared at Chet and shook his head. Sometimes it seemed Chet was even more insecure than he was.

 

“Don’t sell yourself short Chet. I never would have made it as an engineer either…mostly because I’ve never wanted it bad enough. The desire just isn’t there for me.

 

“Let’s face it…guys like you and I, we need the rush, ...we need to be in on the action. We’d be bored to tears standing outside by the engine while everyone else was rushing inside. All that technical mumbo jumbo that deals with the gauges and pressure and all that shit that just isn’t our bag ya know.

 

“Besides you’ve got great natural instincts, and that’s not something you can learn from any manual or write down on a test paper. That stuff can’t be taught, or even learned. You either got it or ya don’t.

 

“It’s like the Craig Brice’s of this world … they may have minds like a dictionary that spout off every rule and regulation ever written from time immemorial… They can discuss all the scientific fundamentals and mechanics of how things work by rote, like some freakish robot, but they don’t have the natural feeling for it. It doesn’t matter if they can memorize facts, because if they can’t put those facts into effective practice and use it  at crunch time…then what they hell good is all that knowledge? Just because they can do a job, doesn’t mean they’re good at it.

 

“Ya know Chet, I’ve heard it said that there are two kinds of intelligence…manufactured and natural. It’s like where you have one guy who tries to tell you where all the pot holes on a road are because he’s studied the books and maps and so he determines that’s that where the pot holes should be…and then there’s the old guy who sits on the fence post, who’s never learned to read or write his own name, but he can tell you where the pot holes are really located, because he’s been down that road enough times to know where they all are.

 

 

“Sure the Craig Brice’s of this world are out there, but I gotta tell ya something Chet. If I’m going to be heading into a burning building that could fall down around my ears at any given second, I’d rather have a Chet Kelly watching my ass, … a guy who has great natural instincts and guts, watching over me, than a Craig Brice any day. I don’t want someone who has to stop and make sure that what he’s about to do is in the ‘rule book’ I want someone who can think on his feet and just do what the situation calls for without even needing to think about it. And that’s what you do.”

 

Johnny paused and looked into Chet’s face, his eyes full of sincerity.

 

“Don’t confuse knowledge with wisdom and intelligence Chet. Those other types, they have to stop and think, but you don’t, you just naturally know by instinct. And that’s the kind of wisdom that really counts in life my friend.”

 

It was just at this time when Cap walked over to Johnny and grabbed him by the arm.

 

“Sorry to intrude Chet, but Johnny’s presence is required up front now… the both of the Chiefs are getting ready to leave and they want to say goodbye and wish these guys Godspeed one last time.”   Hank then tugged on Johnny’s arm, pulling him reluctantly over to where the crowd of dignitaries stood gathered near the entrance of the Station.

 

It didn’t take long after that, for the crowds to begin to disperse and dwindle down to where it was just The A shift, their families, and the C shift who were still on duty, even though it wasn’t any secret that they had been stood down from active duty until later on in the evening…they were just basically there to set up and take down the tables and clean up the remnants from the party.

 

Johnny and Roy along with the rest of the A shift made sure they shook hands and thanked everyone who had been in attendance that day. By the time it was all over, it was past six o’clock and they were all more than ready to head over to Hanks to just sit and enjoy a few beers alone with their families, before it was time to go watch the fireworks.

 

It was a pleasant evening over at the Stanley residence, and everyone was sitting around enjoying the atmosphere, when Cap stood up and cleared his throat. Once he had everyone’s attention he turned to face Johnny and Roy.

 

“John, Roy,” he began. “The guys and I each got you a personal goodbye gift…we didn’t want to hand them out in front of everyone else today at the party. We figured you were kind of embarrassed enough about all the gifts you were getting this afternoon as it was.”

 

Hank motioned over to Emily, who walked into the room with a box filled with presents.

 

“Anyway guys, these are for you… I guess we’ll start with Chet and Marco’s gifts,” he said and he motioned for his two linemen to come up and get there gifts out of the box to hand over to a very surprised Johnny and Roy.

 

Chet walked over and pulled two small neatly wrapped packages from the box and brought them over and handed them to each of the men.

 

“I hope these are okay guys,” he said nervously as stood back to watch his friends open their gifts.

 

They tore away the wrapping paper to reveal two silver belt buckles… on the front of each of them was the exact likeness of their squad, right down to the 51 etched into the side of the door.

 

 

“Chet these are beautiful man…I’m speechless. Thank-you.” Johnny stammered out.

“He’s right Chet, these are beautiful…we’ll treasure them forever, Thank-you added Roy.

 

Next Marco came forward and handed each man a small black velvet box. When they were opened they revealed a thick 14-karat gold chain. On the end of each chain hung a small Maltese cross medallion with St. Florian’s image on the front. “I figured I’d cover all my basis and combine St. Florian and St. John together…I hope it’s okay.” Said Marco.

 

 

“Okay? Marco this is perfect. I absolutely love it!’ exclaimed Johnny and he immediately put the chain around his neck where it joined the necklace that John’s father had made for his mother year’s ago.

 

“Johnny’s right Marco, this is perfect” said Roy as he too slipped his chain over his head, and smiled over at his friend. “Thanks”

 

Next came Mike’s gifts. Inside Roy’s was a beautiful solid brass doorknocker with a fire engine embossed on the front of it. Inside Johnny’s was a solid brass weather vane with the image of an old fashioned fire engine being pulled by a horse on the top of it.

 

 

“I wanted to get you guys something for a house warming gift…something that would make you think of us guys back here in L.A. whenever you seen it.” He said almost shyly.

 

“Wow, Mike. This is great. And it’s perfect for my new place. I’m going to put mine on my house the moment I get there tomorrow. I promise I’ll take a picture of it and send it back to you.” Johnny said

 

“You can bet mine will be up before the end of the day tomorrow too,” added Roy  “And I promise, I’ll make Johnny come over and take a picture of it to send back to you too, and you better believe we’ll think of you all…often. This is all too much guys. Thanks…thanks a lot.”

 

Finally after everyone had had a chance to admire each of the wonderful gifts, Cap stood up.

 

“John, Roy, I thought good and hard about what it was I wanted to get for you guys. I wanted it to be just right, because you two fellas deserve nothing but the best. In all my life I have never met two people who are closer. I know you have heard this many times, especially today, but in all honesty, it’s true that you two guys really are the best at what you do. It’s been my honour to be your Captain, but it’s been even more of an honour to consider you my friends. I want you to both know that you are going to be sorely missed by many, many folks, not the least of which are sitting here in this room tonight.

 

“The city of Los Angeles is losing two of its best and brightest talents and the loss will be keenly felt. There are a hell of a lot of people walking around this city that owe their lives to the both of you. And so I wanted to get you something extra special to commemorate all of your service to this city, to my station and to all of us here sitting in this room.”

 

After he had said his piece Hank stood up and went into this den. When he returned he held in his hands two regulation sized fire axes. He handed one each to Johnny and Roy.

Johnny stood there speechless; he had no words to say to Hank…sometimes though, words just weren’t good enough.

 

The axe had a solid bronze head with the Maltese cross carved into it. The handle was sturdy and solid made of hickory. On the side of the handle there was a small bronze plaque that read.                                                                    

 

                                                                  

Presented to Firefighter-Paramedic John Roderick Gage

In recognition for his outstanding service to the City of Los Angeles and it’s citizens

It’s been both an honour and a privilege to have you under my command.

 

Captain Henry (Hank) Stanley Los Angeles County Station 51 - July 1977

 

Johnny stood there just staring down at the inscription, while the tears slowly began to make their way down his cheeks. Everything and everyone else in the room became invisible to him, as he stood there lost in his own thoughts.

 

“I think someone really likes his gift,” said Emily to her husband.

 

Everyone else in the room just stood silently and watched Johnny. It wasn’t long before they too began to wipe the moisture out of their own eyes as they looked on with awe at the sight of their youngest crewmember as he stood in front of Captain Stanley, starring down at the fire axe in hand. Everyone could tell he was lost in his own world, and that he was clearly overcome by some very deep emotions.

 

It was Hank himself that brought Johnny back to the present, when he gently reached over and touched Johnny on the arm.

 

Johnny looked up, the tears still running down his cheeks. He stared into Hanks eyes for a moment and then he stepped forward and embraced his Captain in a tight hug.

 

“Thanks Captain… it’s beautiful,” he whispered into Hanks ear.

 

“You’re welcome son… every word of that is true.” Hank replied, his own voice cracking with emotion as he returned the hug, patting the young man on the back.

 

They stood there for a long time not breaking away from the hug…Hank wanted to give Johnny enough time to compose himself before he pulled away.

 

Finally after several long moments, Roy spoke up. “Hey there Junior, quit hogging the Cap, I’ve got a hug of my own to give him you know.”

 

Thankfully that broke the tension and Johnny pulled back as he laughed through his tears.

 

Eventually the crew made there way outside and sat around as Chet and Marco lit off a large package of fireworks in the back yard of the Stanley home, while Mike stood close by with the garden hose, just in case it was needed.

 

 

 

None of the men wanted the evening to end and it was well past midnight when Roy and Joanne finally gathered up their sleeping children and put them in the back of Marco’s car. Roy and Joanne stood beside Marco’s car, while Johnny made his way over to Chet’s.

 

Roy looked over to where Johnny stood. He knew that Johnny was having a hard time with all of this goodbye stuff…He just couldn’t handle farewells. But when you considered that all of Johnny’s past farewell’s had been fraught with tragedy, whether it was saying goodbye to his murdered parents or to Drew Burke, it was understandable that he was struggling to deal with it now.

 

By the time they finally arrived back at the DeSoto home, everyone was exhausted. It wasn’t surprising to anyone that they were all asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows. Tomorrow was going to be a big day. By six am the next morning, the mood in the soon to be ex-DeSoto house was an odd mixture of emotions. At times there was an air of excitement that literally vibrated and bounced off of the empty walls. Conversely, there were moments when the feeling of finality hung like a pall in the air. Perhaps it was because their voices did seem to echo and bounce off of walls and fill the room with an empty, hollow feeling, that it made it seem as if the home was almost in a moribund state.

 

Each of the adults began to roll up their sleeping bags and make sure all their clothes had been packed in their suitcases and duffle bags. The electricity and phone had been disconnected the previous day, and so it had been arranged to gather up their meager belongings that had remained behind with them, and just go out for breakfast.

 

One final check in closets and cupboards was completed; just to make sure nothing had been inadvertently forgotten or overlooked. All three of the adults; as they walked from room to room in the painfully empty house, were lost in some memory of happy times that had been spent inside these walls.

 

Each room called up memories of happy events that had occurred in the house, beginning from the first day Roy and Joanne had crossed its threshold, when Joanne had been seven months pregnant with Chris. Shortly thereafter had come birth of their firstborn, and their first year of living together as a family.

 

Three years later came Jenny’s birth, and that very first time Johnny had been invited over. That was when he had been introduced to what would turn out to be his new family.

 

There had been the celebratory dinner they had held, after their first official rescue. Johnny had been so jazzed that he had been the first paramedic in the program to officially use the defibrillator in the field, and that a life had been saved because of it….that had been a great night.

 

There were birthdays, Christmases, anniversaries, barbeques, bouts with chicken pox, colds, flu, tonsillectomies, the first day of school for both kids, recoveries from injuries sustained on the job, by both Roy and Johnny, and the list went on and on…it was the end of an era, and the beginning of a new one. And the mixed emotions that it brought on, was almost overwhelming.

 

It was almost a relief when the doorbell rang just after seven o’clock. They had arranged it so that the real estate agent would arrive at seven to pick up the house keys, to give to the new owners who officially took possession of the house at nine that morning. They had also arranged that two cabs were to arrive at seven fifteen to take them to the small airport to meet up with Joe, and Dixie. The plan was to have breakfast at the small café that was located at the terminal, while they waited for the Danforth jet to arrive sometime around ten.

 

They were more than a little surprised to see not only the broker standing at their front door, but Hank and Emily Stanley as well.

 

“Cap! What are you doing here?” Roy asked in confusion. “Not that were not pleased to see you,” he added quickly. “It’s just we didn’t expect to see you. We were expecting the broker here,” he said, indicating the man in the suit that was standing on the front porch.  “Or maybe our cabs…but not you”

 

Hank stood grinning like the Cheshire cat. “Yeah, well, about those cabs….I kind of phoned and cancelled them. We figured there was no need for you to pay for a cab, when there are more than enough of us to get you all to the airport. Emily is going to take Joanne and the kids in the Edsel and I thought you and Roy could come with me. I borrowed my neighbor's station wagon, so there would be loads of room in the back for your gear.”

Not quite knowing what to say, Roy and Joanne took the broker inside and took care of the necessary and final transaction, of officially handing over their home, while Johnny, Chris and Jenny began to load the sleeping bags and luggage into the back of the station wagon.

 

Finally with everything ready, and with one final look around to say goodbye to the structure that had been home to all four of them for so long, they climbed into the vehicles and pulled out of the driveway for the final time.

 

When they reached the airport, Dixie and Joe, who had been taxied to the airport by Dr. Brackett, met them. The group made their way into the tiny café, and pulled three tables close together, while they had one final breakfast together in Los Angeles.

 

It was just after nine when the Danforth jet arrived and was refueled for the journey back to Vermont.  Simon, the pilot, was introduced to Kel, and the Stanley’s. The others were now used to the man, having been a guest on the jet several times already.

 

Joanne, Chris and Jenny, gave the Stanley’s and Kelly Brackett a final hug good-bye, and then she and Simon took their luggage and the two children to get settled on the jet, leaving Roy and Johnny to say their final goodbye to their friends in private.

 

The small group stood on the tarmac, just looking at each other…no one spoke. Each person there just wanting to stretch the moment out for as long as they could, not wanting to leave… not wanting to say goodbye for that final time.

 

It was an intensely emotional moment for everyone. Their time in Los Angeles was coming to an end, and it was impossible to hold back the tears.

 

Finally Johnny looked around and sighed…then in a voice that was heavy with emotion he spoke. “Well, Cap, Doc…I guess we’ve come full circle huh? I mean when I think back about everything that has happened to us since the inception of the whole paramedic program. We were here to witness its birth …we were the ones who helped it take it first breath. We shared the occasion, and felt that first magic and excitement, and now here we are, on the threshold of a new idea again.

 

“This rural paramedic situation, and the fact we are the proto type. We’re back in on the ground floor of what will hopefully be a new trend to see all rural areas have access to immediate medical help. I just wish it didn’t mean we had to say goodbye to all of you.” Johnny’s voice trailed off, as he began to lose his tenuous hold on his emotions.

 

Kel came forward and pulled them all into a hug.

 

“Well, Vermont is getting the best paramedics to ever come out of the program, bar none, and I know with you guys at the helm, it won’t be long before that dream becomes a reality. And I’m damn proud to be able to call you both friends.  I’ll see you all in a couple months when I move up to Baltimore.” He said.

 

Finally Cap came forward. “Hey, now…this isn’t goodbye here? This is just ...see you later. We aren’t cutting ties with anyone. You had all better come back to L.A. and visit, and don’t be surprised if you don’t see us show up on your doorstep from time to time.”

 

Roy stepped over and gave Hank a hug. “Yeah, well you better Cap…and so had the other guys,” he said as he pulled away with a final pat on the back.

 

Cap turned and stood in front of Johnny and looked him in the eye for a long moment. “This is the tough part pal,” he said. Finally he pulled the young man into a tight hug and said quietly in his ear, “You take care John, and I meant what I said, you had better make sure you haul your scrawny ass back here and visit me. You are an incredible fireman, paramedic and friend…but more than that, you’re family, and a damn important part of it too…don’t you ever forget that. I’m really going to miss you son. You take care of yourself, you hear me? Or I’ll personally come all the way up to Vermont and kick your ass.”

 

That last statement finally made Johnny laugh through the tears that were now cascading down his face. He pulled apart, and smiled at his former boss… “I promise Cap…I will.”

 

 

Finally the moment arrived when the group boarded the jet, and the doors were closed. The jet slowly began to taxi down the runway, and then gently lifted off, up into the skies.

 

The only sounds that could be heard on board the jet, where the sniffles and the blowing of noses, as each person looked out the window and watched as L.A. grew smaller and smaller on the horizon, while their jet made it’s way towards Vermont and their future, leaving L.A. and their past behind them for good.  

 

                                                              

Chapter Eighteen

 

As Johnny gradually began to surface from that state of mind that falls somewhere between deep sleep and full awareness, he became instantly cognizant to the fact that he wasn’t alone in his bedroom. Even though he had yet to open his eyes, some innate sense just told him that he was being watched.

 

 

He was just about to pry open his eyes, when he heard Roy’s voice hiss out in an angry whisper from the doorway, “Jennifer Lynn DeSoto! What did we tell you about trying to wake up Uncle Johnny? You get out of there right this minute!”

 Johnny lay with his eyes closed. He heard a small rustling noise beside his bed, and the sound of small feet padding quietly out of his room. The moment Jenny entered the hallway; Johnny could hear Joanne, start in on the little girl. “You know better than to go into Uncle Johnny’s private space. You know by rights, we ought to make you stay at home today young lady…” Johnny could still here the lecture as it faded off down the stairs; the angry parental scolding was interspersed with the sniffling of the small child. 

Johnny had thought about calling out to Joanne and Roy, to tell them that it was all right, and ask them not to scold the youngster, but in the end, he knew it wouldn’t be right for him to interfere. Jenny was their daughter, and she had to learn to abide by the rules her parents had laid down for her. And it was a good rule.  But Johnny knew that Jenny hadn’t broken it, to be bad, nor was she in his room to snoop.

He knew that this was the day that they had all planned to spend out on the lake on Byron Fellowes’ boat.  They had been in Vermont for five days now, and had pretty well everything settled around. Dixie had moved in to the guesthouse, and was just taking a week or so to relax before she began to house hunt. Roy and Joanne’s belongings were in storage on Johnny’s property until they took possession of their new home at the end of the month. The DeSoto’s had in the meantime, been settled in at Johnny’s place.

 Johnny’s master bedroom was located at one end of the long hallway on the second floor, while Joanne and Roy were sleeping in one of the large spare bedrooms at the other end of the house. Chris and Jenny were sleeping in a set of bunk beds that had been temporarily set up in the other spare bedroom across from Roy and Joanne. Since things had begun to settle in after those first few frantic days, they had decided to take a few days to just sit back and relax.

Byron had told them that they could borrow his boat to take the family out water skiing on the lake, so the plan had been, that today would be the day they would be borrowing the boat. He knew that Jenny had probably been told that they wouldn’t be leaving until Johnny had gotten up and had a chance to eat some breakfast.

Unfortunately for poor Jenny, Johnny had been up until almost three in the morning working out in his barn, and so he had slept in late this morning.

His horses were going to be arriving in just two days, and he was making some modifications to the stalls. He wanted to make sure that with two breeding mares and one healthy Stallion, that there would be no unscheduled procreating on his ranch. Plus he still had his young filly Raven to consider. He wanted to be able to keep her close to her mother.  

 All of these things meant he needed to do some modifications to the stalls, and how they were situated in the stable, and he only had a few days in which to do it in. The task had kept him working steadily for the last three days, and since he had promised to come out on the water skiing excursion with the rest of the family today, it meant he had to get the job completed before last night.

 He had been able to accomplish his goal, but it had meant he had had to stay up well into the night to complete the stalls to suit his needs, and it was three in the morning before he had finally made it into bed, … which is why he had not risen at his usual ‘crack of dawn” hour today. 

He rolled over in bed and looked at his alarm clock through bleary eyes… it took a minute or two before he was able to coax his eyes into focus well enough so that he could read the bright red numbers on the front of his clock… It was just after ten in the morning. He rolled over onto his back with a tired groan, his muscles still stiff from all of the work he had forced them to do over the last few days.

He wasn’t aware that Roy was still in the doorway until he heard him speak. “Sorry, about that Junior. We’ll make sure we have another serious talk with her this morning.” He said apologetically. 

“Hey Roy,” he said sleepily. “I guess I overslept.” 

“Well, I know you were up till all hours, getting your stalls finished. If you need some more sleep, it’s no problem. It’s not even noon yet, and we have all afternoon to enjoy the boat. Don’t get up yet, if you]re not ready.” Roy said.

 Johnny shook his head and sat up, tossing his duvet aside and struggled  as he tried to untangle himself from the bed sheets. After several frustrated kicks he managed to swing his legs over the side of the bed. “You’re not really going to make her miss out on today are you Roy? She’s just anxious to get going…she is only seven after all.” 

Roy grinned, “Naw, we’ll probably end up letting her off with a stern warning this time…but she has to learn to obey the rules Jo and I set down for her. And she needs to learn about respecting other’s private space.” 

Johnny stretched and looked up at his partner with a smirk. “Tsk, tsk, tsk….the bull soon forgets it was ever a calf,” he teased. Before Roy could admonish him, Johnny held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I know, I know, and I do agree with you. I just would hate to see her have to miss out on today, because she was acting like a normal seven year old. Don’t you remember how hard it was to be patient when you were seven?” 

Roy sighed and rolled his eyes. “You know, you’re worse than the kids sometimes?” He grinned at Johnny, as he watched the disheveled younger man rub his eyes, while giving a face splitting yawn. Roy turned around and began to head down the hall. “If you’re getting up now, I’ll go get some fresh coffee started while you grab a hot shower, to see if you can’t loosen up some of those stiff muscles.” He called back over his shoulder as made his way down the hall. Johnny sat on the edge of his bed for another minute or two, and then slowly walked into the ensuite to take his shower. 

By the time he had made it down to the kitchen, there was a plate of bacon and eggs and toast waiting for him, to go along with a steaming hot mug of fresh coffee.  Johnny was just about to apologize for holding everyone up when a very contrite Jenny sidled up next to his chair; her eyes red-rimmed from her recent tears.

 

“I’m sorry I went into your room without permission Uncle Johnny, and I’m sorry I woke you up.” She said. There was still a quiver in her voice, and her eyes were moist.

 

Johnny couldn’t stand to see anyone in the DeSoto home in tears, and it took every ounce of reserve he had, not to pull the child into a comforting hug, and tell her not to cry. “Well, Jenny. It’s okay this time, as long as you promise to never go against mommy and daddy’s rules again alright?”

 

“I promise,” the child answered meekly.

 

“Okay then, how about you give me a good morning hug and kiss and will call it square.”

 

Jenny’s face broke into a huge grin, and she jumped onto his lap and threw her arms around his neck and planted a big wet kiss on his cheek.

 

“I love you Uncle Johnny … and I really am sorry.” She said as she slid off his lap.

 

“I love you too kiddo, and I know you are.” He leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.

 

Smiling happily, she turned and skipped out of the kitchen.

 

Johnny looked up at Roy and Joanne and shrugged his shoulders. It was the best he was able to do at discipline as far as Jenny was concerned, and he hoped it would be enough of an admonishment in Joanne and Roy’s eyes. He wanted to make sure he backed them up, but he wasn’t good at telling either of Roy and Jo’s kids no…not unless what they wanted to do was something dangerous.”

 

Joanne came over and set the plate of food in front of Johnny and scruffed the back of his head…. “Sheesh, there warden, don’t ya think you were a little too hard on her?” she said sarcastically.

“Hey, what do you want from me… You know I’m not good at that kind of stuff with your kids…and I did make her promise not to go against your rules didn’t I?”

 

Joanne leaned over and set his coffee down in front of him, and gave him a peck on the cheek… “You’re a soft touch Uncle Johnny.” She teased.

 

By the time he finished eating and getting himself dressed and ready for the day, it was almost noon hour.

 

Johnny, The DeSoto clan and Dixie finally arrived down at the marina in Swanton where Byron kept his boat docked for the summer months, just before one in the afternoon. The doctor was already there to meet them when they arrived so he could hand over the keys to the boat.

 

“Joe says to extend his apologies, but he’s expecting his new leather sofa to be delivered to his new condo sometime this afternoon, so he’s not going to be able to join us, I’m afraid.” He explained.

 

They were just heading out onto the pier when they heard a familiar voice calling out to them.

 

Turning around they saw George Danforth III coming across the parking lot, with his son, seventeen year old, George Danforth IV and a small group of teenagers.

 

Johnny, Roy and company stopped and walked back to where the other group was standing behind a large maroon van.

 

George stepped over and greeted them warmly.

 

“Hey folks, I hope you’ve been settling in alright.” He then turned to the group of young people beside him.

 

“You remember my son George, …and this lovely young lady beside him is his girlfriend Melissa Cooper. She’s the Police Chief’s daughter. This other strapping young lad beside him is Derrick Greene, the local high school football team’s quarterback and his beautiful date Courtney Jones. And last but certainly not least are Melissa’s little sister Lydia, and her friend Valerie along with Valerie’s cousin Stephanie.” He said pointing to three smaller girls who appeared to be about eleven or twelve years old.

 

“Guys…these are our two new paramedics. This is Roy DeSoto and his family Joanne, Chris and Jennifer.” He said as he pointed to the DeSoto’s.  “And this gentlemen here,” he said pointing at Johnny, “Is his partner John Gage, and you already know Dr. Fellowes here and this other vision of beauty is our new head nurse who will be in charge of the clinic when it opens, Ms. Dixie McCall.”

 

Each of the young people exchanged a polite greeting.

 

George looked over and explained the kids’ presence to the group. “The kids just caught a ride with me in the van down to the pier…it’s where most of the local kids like to go swimming. The town has dredged out a safe area off the end of the far pier for the kids to go diving.”

 

He watched for a moment as the kids excused themselves and headed over to the last dock. It was at the very end of the pier and it was also the one that jutted out the furthest into the lake.

 

George turned and spoke to Joanne and the kids. “I hope you don’t mind if I borrow John, Roy and Dixie for a moment do you Ms. DeSoto? You should see this too Doc,” he said to Byron.

Joanne looked over and smiled… “Not at all, and please call me Joanne. I’ll just take the kids and our gear and get them settled on Byron’s boat.”  She picked up their picnic basket while Chris and Jenny grabbed their life vests and they headed down to the pier to the dock where Byron’s boat was moored.

 

George turned and opened up the back doors of the van.

 

“I thought you guys might like to take a gander at some of your new supplies. They just arrived this morning. Your vehicle isn’t here yet, so I’m just taking all of this stuff over to the Burlington hospital for storage until we’re ready for it. It’s looking like the clinic should be open by the middle to end of August, and the search and rescue Station should be ready to be up and running around Labour Day Weekend.” George continued talking while he rummaged around in the back of the van while he searched for the cases he was looking for.

 

“We’ve got some perspective paramedics who have sent in applications. We’ve got a total of eight men who meet our qualifications. Six of them are newly graduated and the other two have been together now for about a year and a half. I’m going to let you two check them out and decide which ones you’d like to have working with you, and which ones you feel would fit in best with your personalities. We’ve decided to have it set up similar to the system in L.A. with an A, B, and C shift…so you’ll be choosing two more pairs of paramedics… the interviews are set up for the end of this month.”

 

Finally he pulled out two cases out from the back of the van; one was marked trauma and the other was clearly marked as the drug box. They were exact replicas of the ones they had been using in Los Angeles.

 

John and Roy opened up the trauma box first and looked it over. They were pleased to see it held everything they had put on their list several weeks earlier. They shut the lid nodding in approval to both Byron and George.

 

Then they reached for the drug box, and opened up the lid to view its contents. Dixie looked over at Byron and George and smirked, as both men immediately began rearranging the entire drug box to suit their way of operating. They did it without exchanging a single word. Neither man needed to verbalize what it was they wanted nor what the other one was going to do next. It was as if they were just reading each other’s minds, and both Byron and George were impressed.

 

Byron also watched curiously as he studied their system. Once again he was extremely impressed by the logic behind their methodology, and he made a mental note to discuss this system of organization with his own paramedic teams that ran out of Burlington hospital.

 

As soon as they had everything situated to their satisfaction, Johnny and Roy once again gave the equipment their stamp of approval.

 

“Everything looks great… it looks like you’ve got everything covered here.” Johnny said as he stood up.

 

“Yeah,” agreed Roy. “I can’t see anything that’s missing. I can’t wait until we’re up and running.”

 

George and Byron both looked pleased at the positive reaction they had gotten from Johnny and Roy.

 

“We can’t wait either. The building itself should be constructed by the end of the month, and then the interior’s got to be readied for use. Your vehicle should be here sometime in mid August, and we’ll get it all stocked up for you. The only real equipment we’re waiting on now is your OB kit and the biophone.”

 

George bent over and picked up the cases. He slid them both into the back of the van and closed the doors, and then turned to face the others.

 

 “Well, gentlemen, …and miss,” he said glancing over at Dixie. “I don’t want to intrude on your day anymore, and I really do have to get going. There was some sort of mix up on one of the cargo manifests, and I need to get it all straightened out.  I’ll be leaving for New York until tomorrow afternoon, just as soon as I drop these cases off at the hospital for safekeeping. I’ll just head over and say goodbye to my son, and then I’ll be off.”

 

“Well, I’m on duty at three this afternoon, so I’ll just hand these over to you,” said Byron as he handed the keys to the boat over to Roy, “then I’ll be on my way, so I can run home and grab a quick bite and a shower first.” Giving a small wave, Dr. Fellowes began to walk back across the parking lot to his car.

 

The rest of the group returned the wave and began to walk towards the pier that lined the lake.

 

 George Danforth was heading to the north end of the docks, where the group of kids had now spread out their beach towels.

 

Derrick, George Junior, and one of the smaller girls were taking turns diving into the water, while the other girls where sitting on the edge of the dock, with their feet dangling over the edge, laughing at the others antics.

 

Roy, Johnny and Dixie headed south to where Joanne and the kids where waiting for them beside Byron’s speedboat.

 

They had only gone about halfway across the parking lot, when they suddenly heard a man at the end of the south pier shout out… “Oh my God…that idiot’s not going to get stopped in time…he’s going to hit those kids!”

 

 

Johnny and Roy turned around quickly to see what the man was shouting about, and to their horror they seen a small speed boat careening out of control. It was heading straight for the dock where the young people were sitting.

 

The teenagers themselves were so engrossed in their fun, that none of them had noticed the boat that was quickly bearing down on them.

 

George Danforth senior ran toward the dock where his son and Derrick now were sitting, rubbing suntan oil on their girlfriend’s backs and shoulders. He was waving his arms wildly and shouting at the top of his lungs… “Look out son…get out of the way.”

 

At the sound of his father’s shouts, George Junior looked up. He immediately saw the boat that was fast approaching the pier. He stood up quickly trying to drag Melissa up with him. He had barely managed to pull her to her feet, when the boat, made contact.

 

The first initial impact, sent the bow of the boat slicing through the wooden dock, like a knife through butter.

 

The momentum from it’s speed, forced the boat further into the pier, cutting though the wood, splintering it into a thousand pieces, and causing the dock to collapse in on itself, taking the group of young people who had been sitting on top of it only moments before, down with it.

 

 Finally the small speedboat hit one of the solid pilings that held the dock up, which brought it to an abrupt stop. It was all over in just a few short seconds, but the boat had done its lethal work.

 

For a split second everything was silent, as shocked on lookers stared at the scene before them in disbelief.

 

But Johnny and Roy had already started running toward the carnage, calling back over their shoulder for Dixie to get back to the van and grab the trauma and drug boxes and bring them to the pier.

 

George Danforth senior was by now standing at the edge of the accident scene, screaming out for his son. The dock had been obliterated and John and Roy could hear the sound of someone crying, beneath the wreckage ... trapped amongst the shattered dock and damaged pilings.

 

 

Normally being first on the scene meant that Johnny and Roy would be the ones to determine the best plan of action to find the safest way to execute the rescue; but the very real danger of the victims drowning while trapped in the water, left no time to stop and ponder the situation for too long.

 

Thankfully the news wasn’t all bad. The force of the boat hitting the dock had sent both Derrick and Melissa over the side of the collapsing lumber and into the water away from the damage.

 

Twelve year old Stephanie had just finished her dive and was still in the water at the time of impact. Luckily she had not been in the boats path when it came speeding through the water.

 

By the time Johnny and Roy reached the site of the accident, Derrick was helping both girls out of the water. Although badly shaken, they appeared to have escaped unscathed physically.

 

“Are you alright?” Roy called out as he rushed over to them, while Johnny began to pull away the top layer of boards that covered up the other victims.

 

Derrick nodded his head, as he stood open mouthed and gaped in shock at the site before his eyes.

 

Roy gave the three of them a quick once over and gently nudged them over to the edge of the parking lot.

 

“Okay, you’re name was Derrick wasn’t it?” he asked the boy.

 

Derrick just nodded again. By this time Melissa Cooper was in hysterics….

 

“Oh my God, where’s George… where’s my little sister? …  LYDIA!” she screamed out. “Someone has to get my little sister.

 

Roy reached over and took her by the shoulder and gave her a gentle shake.

 

“Okay I want you three to just sit down here and wait alright? We’ll check all of you out as soon as we can, just to be on the safe side, but right now Johnny and I have to help your friends okay?  I promise we’re going to do everything we can to get your little sister out of there, but you need to calm down, so I can go over and help my partner do that.” He said firmly.

 

By this time Joanne had reached the scene and she took over comforting the distraught teenager, so Roy could go over and help Johnny.

 

Out in the parking lot, Dixie had made her way over to George Danforth’s van, where Byron met her. The good doctor already had the van doors open and had pulled out the necessary cases of equipment. He had also brought along his own black bag from the trunk of his car.

 

“I seen the whole thing from the parking lot” he said… “I’ve already sent someone to phone both the local fire department and the hospital in Burlington. I told them to tell them that Dr. Byron Fellowes wants the life flight helicopter dispatched to this location.”

 

Dixie grabbed the trauma box, and headed back toward the pier, with Dr. Fellowes following close behind, with the drug box.

 

Back at the pier, Johnny had already removed the first layer of boards, which exposed a large hole in the dock. He could see one of the younger girls about four feet below him. She was sitting there on top of a broken piling with a slightly glazed look on her face, and she had a large gash on her right temple. Just off to her right, he could see the other young girl who appeared to be trapped in the wreckage, but was being kept afloat by a large pile of debris. It was the second girl that he had heard crying.

 

Johnny got down on his stomach. He leaned over the edge of the hole, and spoke gently to the first child.

 

“Hey there sweetheart, what’s your name?” he called out to the first girl. “Can you tell me where you’re hurt?”

 

The dazed girl, continued to sit staring as if she hadn’t heard his question.

 

“That’s Valerie” sniffed the other girl. “And I’m Melissa’s sister Lydia Cooper.”

 

“Okay Lydia,” said Johnny soothingly. “Can you tell me where you hurt?”

 

“It’s just my wrist, and my side, but I can’t get out because my foot is stuck under some of these boards.” She whimpered.

 

“Okay sweetie, my partner and I are going to get you out okay, you just hang on for a few more minutes…can you tell me how old you are?”

 

 

“I’m eleven, and Val, just turned twelve last week,” she replied.

 

“How about your foot that’s caught… does it hurt you at all?” he asked

 

“No, it’s stuck, but it doesn’t hurt,” came the tearful reply

 

“Okay kiddo,” said Johnny. “You just hang on a second while my partner and I get ready to come and get you both out of there.” Johnny continued to talk to the child, while he looked around trying to see any signs of life from the others. He took another quick look around and then returned his attention back to Lydia. “I’ll be right back honey…. I promise.” He gave the girl his best smile and straightened himself up again.

 

By this time Roy had joined him on the dock.

 

“What do ya got?” Roy asked.

 

“Well, the other two little girls are right below in this hole here. They’re both alive. The first girl, Valerie, has a head injury, but I’m not sure if she’s hurt anywhere else, because she’s really dazed and non-verbal at this time. The other little girl, Lydia, is complaining of pain in her right wrist and side. Her foot appears to be trapped beneath some of the lumber. I haven’t had a chance to check either one of them over yet to see if there are any other hidden injuries.

 

Johnny lowered his voice and continued on. “I couldn’t see the others, and there are no sounds or other signs of life, from anyone else underneath all of this wreckage … we gotta hurry and get under there and find them before they drown.” He paused and then looked at Roy. “It looks like there is a smaller gap down lower near the water…it’s kind of small but I think I can squeeze inside…Do you think you can handle these two if I go down and see what I can find?”

Roy hated the thoughts of Johnny going down alone, but he also knew they had no choice … not if there was any hope of rescuing the others. Time just wasn’t on their side right now.

 

Reluctantly he nodded his head yes. “Just be careful down there partner… if there’s nothing you can do, you come right back out okay?”

 

By the time Roy had finished speaking Johnny was already on his way down the hole. He squeezed in down beside Valerie who was still dazed and not speaking. He took her by the wrist and began to check her pulse and respirations. She was definitely in shock. In the dim light and with no penlight, he had no way to check her pupils.

 

He turned his attention to Lydia, who was just out of his reach. He gave the child an encouraging smile and said, “My partner Roy is right behind me on his way down here okay? He’s going to take real good care of you both, while I go down that hole over here,” he pointed to the small opening located to his left. “I’m going to go down and try to help the others okay? So you just sit tight and Roy will be here in just a second sweetheart. I promise.”

 

Johnny eased himself down into the opening. It was an extremely tight fit, but by carefully contorting his body, he was able slide his thin frame down into the small space.

 

He immediately found himself submerged up to his waist in the cold, dark murky water. He would have sunk down completely into the deep water if it hadn’t been for the fact that his feet had come to rest on the top of one of the sheared off pilings that had supported the heavy dock. It had been pushed over horizontally so that it provided a fairly safe beam for Johnny to walk on.

 

He carefully inched his way, feeling his way along the broken piling with his feet, while he slowly went into the rubble a little further.

 

All of the upheaval from the accident had stirred up the sand and silt from the bottom of the lake, making anything beneath the surface impossible to see.

 

He didn’t have to go in very far before he found himself up against the bow of the boat. One look at the boats driver was all it took to see that the man was dead. As he looked around he could see that the inside of the crumpled vessel was littered with empty and broken beer bottles.

 

Another senseless tragedy caused by a drunk driver, he thought angrily. He slowly maneuvered his body around the twisted metal and wood, and it was then that he found Courtney Jones. Once again, it only took a quick glance for him to see she was far beyond the help of any medical intervention. It was plain to see that she had obviously been sitting directly at the point of impact. There was little doubt her death had been instantaneous.

 

He sighed sadly as turned to look for his last victim. He couldn’t see any sign of George Danforth Junior from where he was, so he slid himself further along underneath the mass of shattered pilings and bits of broken dock.

 

He had gone about another six feet when he stumbled across George’s body. He was laying face up, and the bottom half of his body was laying on a pile of floating debris. His left arm and shoulder was pinned beneath a piece of sheared off underpinning, but it was also keeping his head well above the water.

 

Johnny carefully reached over and felt for a pulse…he let out a large sigh of relief when he managed to find one. He gently moved his hands along George’s body and was actually surprised to find that except for his shoulder and arm, and a probably severe concussion, the rest of George’s body seemed to be okay.

His pulse was actually not too bad. He was a little shocky, but considering a speedboat had just hit him, and his left arm and shoulder were in a pretty bad way, he was a lot more stable than Johnny had expected.

 

Seeing that George Junior was in no immediate danger of drowning, Johnny began to slide back towards the opening he had initially slid through, so he could confer with Roy, and get a plan of action going on how to extricate the injured man.

 

Back on the shore, George Senior was frantically pacing back and forth. It had only been a year and a half since this lake had taken the life of his twenty year old daughter Michelle. He prayed to God that it wasn’t about to claim his son’s life as well. He desperately clung on to the hope that the two paramedics he had just hired would be able to keep that from happening this time.

 

His hope was further fueled by the fact that there was both a doctor and nurse right on the scene, as was the necessary equipment they would need to render care. In some ways, this was the acid test to see if all of his hard work and efforts to bring these paramedics to the rural area was going to work.

 

He had just never… not in a million years, thought that it would be his own son, who would be the first victim in need of their skills. The feeling of déjà vu made him nauseas… “Please God Please”…he silently begged, “not again…not this time.”

 

Ted Cooper, the local police Chief and father to both Melissa and Lydia had joined him. Together the two fathers’ could only watch helplessly from the edge of the water.

 

Dixie and Byron had now arrived and were checking over, Derrick, Melissa, and Stephanie.

 

Finding the youngsters frightened and in shock, but otherwise fine, they turned their focus towards Johnny and Roy.

 

“Dixie, I’ve got life flight on the way, so let’s just get as close to Roy and John as we can and setup our triage area.”

 

 

Dixie nodded. She picked up the drug case and began to make her way over to the part of the dock that was still standing solid. It was back far enough to be safe, but with in talking distance of Roy and Johnny.

 

Byron picked up the trauma box and followed right behind.

 

Roy was now inside the first opening of the shattered dock and was doing his best to assess both the victims and the situation. He made his way over to Lydia and gently ran his hands over her body feeling for breaks. When he got to her right side, he discovered that the child had most likely broken one, possibly two of her ribs, and that her right wrist and forearm were broken.

 

He tried unsuccessfully to free her foot and ankle from the rubble, but soon realized that it would take the K-12 to cut away some of the heavier timber.

 

The whole time he was examining her, he kept talking to the child in an effort to keep her calm, and her mind off of her pain.

 

“Hey Lydia, my name’s Roy and I’m just going to take a quick look at you, and then we’ll see about getting you out of here.”

 

Lydia just nodded and continued to quietly cry.

 

Trying to draw her out a little Roy keep talking to her, “Hey, listen, you don’t have to worry, your sister Melissa is just fine; she landed in the water and didn’t even get a scratch on her. In fact she and your dad are both waiting up top for you.”  Roy patted her leg comfortingly.

 

He slowly made his way back over to Valerie and began to assess her more thoroughly. He couldn’t find anything else wrong with her other than her head injury. Everything else seemed to be fine, but the head injury was indeed worrisome … if she had a fractured skull, then she would need to get to a hospital ASAP.

 

Just then Johnny reappeared out of the smaller opening. Roy met Johnny’s eyes with his own, asking the unspoken question. Johnny slowly shook his head and replied.

“Two code F’s… George Jr. is alive and stable for now, but he’s unconscious, and his left shoulder and armed are pretty messed up. He’s really wedged in tight in between two pieces of sheered off pilings.” Johnny looked over and smiled at Lydia Cooper, before turning back to Roy.

 

“I’ll go up top and let the doc and Dixie know what we’re dealing with.”

 

“Okay,” Roy agreed. “Since Valerie isn’t trapped and only appears to have this head injury, we’ll get her up and out of the way first… If she does have a skull fracture, she’ll need to get to the hospital right away. You might want to see if they can get a hold of Dr. Early… if she does have a brain bleed, he’s the one they’ll need to contact.”

 

Johnny nodded and stood up and began to make his way back up onto the top of the dock.

 

Ted Cooper was hovering protectively next to his sixteen year old daughter. He had been very relieved to discover she was uninjured, but his heart was in his throat as he looked at the carnage before him. His eleven year old daughter was still nowhere to be seen.

At this moment, he wasn’t thinking like the Chief of police…right now he was a frantic parent.

 

He was sick with worry when he found out that his youngest child was still trapped somewhere in that mess…he didn’t even know if she was still alive.

 

Ted had been told how the accident had occurred by several of the onlookers. He had also been told that the driver of the boat had been seen by several different people, drinking heavily since early in the morning.

 

As he went over the facts, as he understood them in his mind, he put his hand down on his holster. If his little girl was dead, somebody had better take his gun away from him, because if the bastard who did this to his babies wasn’t dead already…he would be soon enough if Ted got a hold of him. 

 

 

The fire department had now arrived on the scene. Some of the volunteer firefighters, along with the local police constable, had ushered the crowds off of the pier and out into the parking area. The crowd had been told that they needed to clear their cars out of the parking lot, in order to make room for the approaching life flight helicopter. Since Swanton did not yet, have a landing pad, they would need to use the marina parking area for that purpose.

 

Joanne, Chris and Jenny, who were still standing next to Derrick, Stephanie, and both Ted and Melissa Cooper, had their eyes glued to the dock, and the large hole that Roy and Johnny had disappeared into almost five minutes earlier.

 

They were starting to get worried when Johnny’s head poked up out of the gaping hole in the dock. His sudden appearance back out on top of the dock brought everyone’s focus back to the action that was now beginning to happen on the pier. Both George Danforth and Ted Cooper ran over to where the dark haired paramedic had now extricated himself from the hole and was walking toward the triage area.

 

Johnny made his way over to where Dr. Fellowes and Dixie were waiting.

 

“Hey doc, Dix…We’ve got five victims in total. Two code F’s and three victims in need of immediate medical care,” he stated

 

The two fathers visibly paled when they heard Johnny’s report. Seeing their reaction, Johnny quickly clarified who the victims were. “The two code F’s are the driver of the speedboat and the girl called Courtney. Both Lydia and George Jr. are alive…but they are injured,” he told them.

 

Both men relaxed slightly. On one hand they were relieved to find out their children were alive, but the fact that Johnny had said they were injured, was still a huge worry to both parents.

 

Johnny felt he had now done as much as he could to quell the fears of the two men standing on the dock, so he got right back to business with Byron and Dixie.

 

“Victim one is a twelve year old female with a possible skull fracture. She’s conscious but not oriented…in fact she is non-verbal, and appears to be either dazed or in a catatonic state. Her pulse and respirations are both shocky, but due to the fact that we didn’t have a BP cuff or pen light we were unable to get her blood pressure or check her pupils.”

 

“Victim two is the eleven year old female, Lydia,” he said for clarification for her father’s sake. “Her pulse and respirations are fairly stable at the moment. She is conscious and oriented with no apparent head injuries. She does have some probable broken ribs on the upper right lateral area. She also has a fractured right wrist and forearm. She is currently pinned in the wreckage by her right foot and ankle. At this time she says that she isn’t experiencing any pain in her foot, but until we can get her free, we won’t be able to tell for sure.”

 

“Victim three is George Danforth Jr.,” he said dispensing with the official parlance. “He is currently unconscious and has a probable concussion. Again we were unable to get either a BP or check his pupils…his pulse and respirations seem remarkably stable at present, although his left shoulder and arm are pinned in the rubble and both the shoulder and arm appear to have suffered significant trauma.”

 

“Because victim one is free of the wreckage and does not appear to have any other physical injuries other than her head injury, we will be bringing her out right away.”

 

He stood up quickly and returned back over to where Roy was now standing in the opening of the hole in the dock. He had Valerie carefully cradled in his arms. Johnny squatted down while Valerie was quickly transferred into Johnny’s arms. Standing up Johnny quickly carried the injured child over to the triage area and gently set her down.

 

Byron did a quick assessment of the girl taking her BP and checking her pupils with his penlight. He found Johnny and Roy’s diagnosis to be correct.  He quickly removed an IV set up and a bag of D5W, and some atropine to treat the child. He then handed over the rest of the drug box and an extra BP cuff and pen light to Johnny.

 

“If Lydia’s vital signs are stable and her pupils are normal, start her on an IV D5W TKO and give her 5 mg MS IV for pain. I’ll be waiting for her here as soon as you can get her out…and I want a complete set of vitals on George Danforth as soon as you can get them for me.”

 

Johnny nodded and gathered up both the drug box and the trauma box. He motioned for one of the fireman who was standing by.

 

“We’re going to need you and the K-12 over there with us right away…and if you have an extra stokes on your engine, we’ll need it too.” He picked up one of the pre wrapped blankets and turned to leave again.

 

Johnny then quickly made his way back to Roy and slipped back into the hole. He handed over the BP cuff and the pen light to Roy.

 

“Doc says if her vitals are stable and her pupils are normal and reactive, then you’re to go ahead and start an IV D5W TKO and administer 5 mg MS IV. I’ve got the K-12 coming.”

 

Roy quickly got to work gathering a set of vitals on the child and checking her pupils. As soon as he confirmed that she was indeed stable, he went straight to work on the IV and the MS. By the time he was finished the firefighter had returned with the K-12 and another protective blanket.

 

Seeing that everything was under control here, Johnny grabbed the BP cuff and the penlight and slipped back down into the tiny hole, so he could get back to George. He had already left him for almost five minutes and he wasn’t happy about the situation. Before he disappeared into the dark hole under the dock, he reached over to the fireman, and grabbed hold of his HT.

 

“Can you get one of your guys to hand another HT to the Doc and maybe one for my partner here as well, please?”

 

The fireman nodded and motioned for one of his crewmates to come forward. In the meantime Johnny disappeared down into the dark abyss once more. As his feet found the piling again, he once again inched his way carefully past the crumpled wreckage of the boat.

 

 

Chapter Nineteen

 

Johnny sighed sadly as he passed Courtney’s body. In just a matter of a few short seconds a promising young life had been snuffed out forever. And all because some idiot decided it was his right to operate a speedboat while under the influence. Courtney and Derrick had been sitting side by side on the dock. Less than a dozen inches had separated them. But it had been a crucial foot, which had made the difference between life and death.

Johnny shook off his morose feelings as he once again slowly made his way through the mass of shattered pilings and bits of the broken pier. When he came up beside George once more he found him beginning to return to consciousness.

 

Johnny quickly went to work gathering another set of vitals. He realized that there would be no way he could begin to treat George until he was freed from his wooden prison. Johnny noted that his vitals were beginning to worsen as he began to show more and more signs of waking up.

 

Johnny knew that with the return to consciousness, George would also begin to feel the pain he would undoubtedly be in. Johnny radioed in the new set of vitals over his HT. He also explained the lay out of the small wooden area where he and George were located.  He could hear the sounds of the K-12 as it worked to free Lydia Cooper.

 

 

Johnny was relieved when the muffled sound of the K-12 stopped, and he heard Roy’s voice in the distance shout out, “Okay, she’s out.”

 

He knew with both girls safely out of the way, they could now fully focus on extricating George.

 

It was only a few moments later when the HT came to life again, and he was told that their plan was to come at it from above. Johnny radioed back, that he was more than ready for them to begin. He pulled out the plastic yellow blanket that he had shoved down the front of his shirt before he had slipped back into the tiny hole amongst all the carnage. He quickly opened it up and spread it out over he and George in order to protect them from the falling sawdust and debris that would happen once they started to saw away the timbers above their heads.

 

George was now closer to being fully aware and he began to moan in pain. Johnny slowly maneuvered himself so that he was behind George’s head. He steadied his right foot on a piece of the broken piling and the other he braced against the outer shell of the twisted boat. He then slipped his body fully behind George, so that he was helping to support George’s head and his good shoulder with his own upper body, thus relieving some of the weight off of George’s trapped shoulder. It also allowed Johnny to be in a position so that he was able to speak quietly into George’s ear.

 

However it also meant that Johnny was now lower down in the water. Instead of the cold water being up to his waist, it was now chest high on Johnny. The cold lake water soaked his shirt and it clung to his chest and back making him shiver. But it also made sure than the top half of George’s body was well out of danger from submersion; which is what would happen the moment the piling had been cut away.

 

The fact that he was wedged tightly between the broken ends of that piling was the only thing that was keeping him above the water line. Landing in that position had clearly broken his left shoulder and shattered his arm, but it had also prevented him from drowning before help could arrive.

 

“George?” he said quietly into the semi-conscious boys’ ear.

 

“It’s Johnny Gage here. I know you’re in a lot of pain right now, but you’re kind of trapped here for now. We’re working on getting you out, as soon as we can, and then we’ll get you to the hospital, so they can fix you right up. I’m right here with you and I promise I’m not going to leave you. I won’t be going anywhere until we get you out.”

 

George moaned again, and nodded weakly, although Johnny wasn’t too convinced as to how much of what he had just said the teenager had truly understood. But sometimes it was more the tone of your voice than what you said anyway.

 

Johnny heard the K-12 start up, and from underneath the edge of the blanket he could see the small particles of sawdust falling down into the water that surrounded them like fine snow from the sky.

 

 

Back up on top Roy and one of the fireman now carried the stokes that held Lydia Cooper over to the triage area. The IV and the MS Roy had given her earlier had done its job, and the child was now quite calm and drowsy. She was also stable and in no immediate danger. Dr. Fellowes let the girl’s father and sister sees her briefly before he gave her another good once over.

 

The helicopter had landed several minutes earlier in the parking lot of the nearly empty marina parking lot. Byron had already sent Dixie to phone in and ask that Joe Early be called, when he had heard there was a probable skull fracture on one of the victims.

The helicopter pilot had informed Byron, that Dr. Early would be waiting at the Burlington hospital.

 

Valerie’s condition was beginning to deteriorate and she had lost consciousness several minutes earlier, so the decision had been made to airlift both young girls to the hospital right away. Normally Byron would have stayed with the child, but he needed to be on the scene so he could authorize the paramedics to treat George should the need arise to give him something while he was still down amongst the twisted and broken pier.

 

Luckily it was less than ten minutes by air to Burlington, so it was decided that Dixie would accompany both girls in the helicopter. It was also agreed upon, that Ted Cooper, Derrick, Melissa and Stephanie would go in as well. Derrick climbed in front with the pilot while Ted, Dixie and the four girls, were in the back.  Lydia and Valerie were each in a stokes with Dixie sitting in between them.

 

It would be a quick trip to the hospital. The pilot was simply going to drop them off and return to the scene of the accident, so he could bring in George. Hopefully he would be extricated by the time the chopper had returned.

 

Once everyone was loaded in, and the chopper had taken off, Roy went back to the scene of the rescue. As soon as they had widened the space that held Johnny, George and the two dead bodies, he would lower himself down so he could help his partner with the extrication, so they could begin treating George, and get him packaged up for the trip over to the triage area.. He had brought back another stokes that he had gotten off of the helicopter. They would need it for George as soon as they were able to free him.

 

Down below, Johnny kept up his litany of comforting words in George’s ear, while he listened to the K-12, as it slowly began to cut away the heavy pilings and bits of lumber that had held he and George captive. He wished they would hurry up, as each successive check on George’s vitals had shown that he was starting to go downhill quickly.

 

As Roy and the firefighters began to peel away the layers of the shattered pier that surrounded Johnny and George, the wood around them began to creak and groan. The stress load on the damaged and weakened pilings was increasing as the currents and small waves that all the motion was creating in the water began to shift the wreckage.  They had been working away for almost ten minutes now and Johnny could tell that they were getting closer to finally breaking through.

 

Suddenly Johnny then heard the telltale grinding sound of shifting timber. And before he even had a chance to lift up his HT and call out, the mass of shattered pilings beneath his feet moved.

 

The broken piece of piling that Johnny’s right foot was standing on began to roll, and Johnny was suddenly plunged underneath the debris littered water. The sudden shift also caused the errant piling to slam up against the submerged part of the speedboat trapping the lower half of Johnny’s right leg and foot in between them. With a sickening crunch Johnny could feel the bones in his right leg, ankle and foot snap like twigs under the sheer weight of the wood. The instant sensation of intense pain caused him to involuntarily gasp and he took in a lung full of the murky water.

 

Fortunately the buoyancy of the water meant the broken piece of piling continued to shift and roll, so as quickly as Johnny’s leg had been pinned down by the piling, underneath the water, it was just as quickly released from its clutches and his head broke the surface of the water once again. Luckily he hadn’t lost his grip on the BP cuff or his HT…although the HT was now waterlogged and he doubted if the thing would even work. 

 

He immediately tried to gasp for a lungful of fresh air, but all he did for the first few seconds was cough and choke and expel all the water he had taken in. All of his gasping, coughing and his cry of pain had been lost in the roar of the K-12.

 

Johnny quickly shook his mind free of the pain and collected his wits about him once again. He made his way back over to George, using his one good leg, and the natural buoyancy of the water. He pushed himself up onto the edge of the overturned boat. Although he was no longer behind George, he was still able to easily reach him.

 

Even though the shifting wood had caused the piling under Johnny’s foot to shift, the piling pining George’s shoulder and arm, still held fast.

 

 

Suddenly the K-12 stopped and the final piece of the heavy dock was lifted away. The bright July sun shone down onto George and Johnny, making Johnny squint his eyes from the sudden change from dark to bright light.

The rescue team up top had now created a space big enough for at least two more men to fit inside.

 

In less than a minute, both Roy and the firefighter who held the K-12 dropped down from above him.

 

The second Roy seen Johnny, he knew something had happened to his partner. He was drenched, pale and his face was pinched in pain. Roy was torn between focusing on George and grilling his partner for information about what had put him in his current state.

 

Johnny solved the problem, by relaying to Roy the latest set of vitals he had taken on George, before he had taken his unexpected ‘bath’ in the water.

 

Roy reached over and took the BP cuff out of Johnny’s hands and the stethoscope from around his neck, while he re-checked George’s vital signs again. The teenager had once again lost consciousness.

 

“You wanna tell me why you look like a drowned rat and how come you are in such obvious pain Junior?” he asked while he worked. He tried to keep the question light, but his voice was laced with worry.

 

“I’m okay Roy,” Johnny lied. “The timber shifted a couple of minutes ago and I lost my footing and went under. I smacked my leg up against the side of the boat a bit too hard.”

 

“Define smacked up a bit too hard…and while you’re at it, define what you mean by, I’m okay… and don’t give me any of your standard bullshit either.”

 

Johnny sighed heavily.

 

 “Fine,” he muttered. “The pilings shifted and pulled me under. In the process my right leg got momentarily smashed between the side of the boat and the piling. Luckily it shifted quickly and I was able to get away.”

 

“So what’s the damage and I want the complete truth.” Roy ordered.

 

All the while they were ‘discussing’ what was wrong with his partner, he and Johnny were busy keeping George covered up, while the fireman worked on cutting away the piece of lumber that was pinning his arm and shoulder.

“Well,” said Johnny slowly. “I don’t think there’s any doubt about the fact that my right leg is broken, and I may have swallowed a tiny bit of water as well. But it’s not so bad that I can’t help you get George up and onto dry land again… How are the girls?” Johnny asked, trying desperately to change the subject.

 

Roy rolled his eyes at the obvious diversionary tactics of his partner.

 

“The girls are on their way to the hospital via the life flight. Lydia will be laid up for a while with her broken bones, but she’s stable. Valerie isn’t so lucky. She was beginning to go sour, so Byron sent her in to Joe Early right away. The life flight should be back by the time we get the two of you out of here.” He stated with a strong emphasis on the words, “two of you”.

 

Johnny sighed and just nodded. It was at this point in their conversation that the firefighter announced he had managed to cut away the top section of the piling that was holding George trapped.

 

Removing the blanket, Johnny explained George’s precarious position, and that before they lifted away the piling, someone would have to get behind George to prevent him from sinking underneath the water, the moment they freed his shoulder and arm.

 

There was only room for the three of them in this space, and it was going to take a group effort to get George out without exacerbating his condition. Roy wished he could get Johnny out of there now and get another firefighter in here in his place, but the local firefighters only had basic first aid training and it was going to take more than one trained paramedic to treat George.

 

Johnny’s voice brought him back to the present.

 

“Look Roy, I’ll get myself back around behind George and support his head, shoulder and arm in that position, while you and…” he looked questioningly at the firefighter beside Roy.

 

“Larry,” the man supplied.

 

“While you and Larry lift up the top section of the piling.” He finished

 

Roy shook his head negatively.

 

“Johnny, you’ve got a broken leg….and who knows what else.” He said accusingly at his young partner. “I don’t like the idea of you moving around.”

 

Johnny had not missed Roy’s inference that he knew Johnny hadn’t been entirely forthright with him regarding how badly he was injured.

 

Johnny’s impatience was thinly disguised as he shook his head in defiance.

 

“Look, Roy, it’s not that bad and George here is running out of time…and options.”

“Now I can use my good leg to support myself on that bit of debris behind George’s head, it looks pretty solid and stable. Then once I get anchored there, I can use my upper body and arms to support his shoulder and arm. Honestly Roy …it’s not that bad,” he lied again.

 

Roy wasn’t happy about it, but he also know Johnny was right…they didn’t have any other options. He knew that this time, he was going to have to acquiesce.

 

 “Fine, we’ll do it your way, but you will be letting me help you get settled in behind George. I don’t want you moving that leg any more than you have to until I can get a look at it.”

 

Roy then reached over around the debris, and slid his arm around Johnny waist to support him, while Johnny used his arms to reach over and pull himself onto a new piece of broken piling. It was infinitely smaller than the first one, but it was solid enough and large enough to suit Johnny’s purpose.

 

 Johnny was able to shift his weight onto his good left foot; thankfully there was still some of the vertical timber that had not been knocked over, which allowed Johnny to lean into it for further support. His useless right leg was floating freely in the water.

 

He then gently slipped his arms into position, keeping George’s shattered bones in place, so that they wouldn’t shift when Roy and Larry lifted off the broken piece of piling that had pinned him down.

 

Before they shifted the piling, Roy called over his HT for a second stokes, more manpower and some immobilizing splints to be on hand. Roy also informed Byron that they now had an additional victim, which caused Johnny to heave a frustrated sigh.

 

The badly weakened timbers were beginning to strain under the stress, and the air was filled with the constant creaking and groaning of wood as it threatened to collapse even further. There would be no time to treat any injuries down here other than to immobilize, this was going to have to be a wrap and run…for both of his victims. 

 

Roy looked up through the opening, and was surprised to see Byron himself appear at the edge, with the splints and the extra stokes. He could also see that George Danforth senior had followed him out and was looking down anxiously over his shoulder.

 

He looked down into the opening and he saw Johnny at the head of George supporting his upper torso, while Roy and a firefighter were getting into position to lift the broken piece of piling.

 

As soon as Roy gave the nod, the two men lifted the timber clear. The second it was removed, Johnny and Roy transformed, from two individuals, into one functioning single unit. Roy reached up and asked for the splints and the shoulder immobilizer, while Johnny directed the firefighter to bring down the stokes.

 

Byron, George and several firemen watched in awe as Johnny and Roy went into action.

The two men were moving as quickly as possible, while at the same time keeping out of each others way. Johnny and Roy worked with amazing skill and efficiency at getting George ready to be transferred into the stokes.

 

Byron couldn’t help but think that watching the two paramedics work, was like watching an intricate dance. Their choreography perfected by some innate sense of knowing exactly what the other man was thinking… knowing exactly what the other was going to do next. They were now in high gear, dancing around each other effortlessly in the semi darkness, grabbing whatever was needed …sliding and gliding around each others hands and arms, adjusting their weight, and gently, but skillfully tending to George’s injuries, until before anyone else even realized it, George Danforth was carefully and neatly packaged up inside the stokes and they were calling for him to be lifted up topside.

 

The moment, George was lifted out of the hole, two firemen grabbed hold of his stokes and began to follow Dr. Fellowes back down the dock.

 

Back underground Roy was just about to insist that Johnny get into the stokes when an ominous creaking and groaning began to fill the small space. As soon as they had removed that last bit of piling, they had weakened the rest of the timbers beyond their breaking point…the rest of the pier was about to collapse. It was at that moment that the three men left in the hole, knew that there was no longer any time for body retrieval or time to package up Johnny into the stokes.

 

Larry reached up and tossed the empty stokes back out the hole and hoisted himself up through the opening. Once he was out he turned around and extended his arms down so he could grab hold of Johnny. 

 

For their part, Johnny and Roy wasted no time. Johnny grabbed hold of the arm Roy had extended to him, and he gritted his teeth against the pain as Roy pulled him across the water.

 

Roy put one had on Johnny’s butt and his other on his good leg and pushed him upward towards Larry’s waiting hands.

 

The moment Roy seen that Larry and another firefighter had Johnny and were pulling him up, he himself stood up and grabbed hold of another set of nameless hands that had appeared and grabbed hold as they pulled him up through the opening behind Johnny.

 

They had no more made it up onto the solid section of the dock, when the last of the weakened structure in the hole collapsed in on itself, sending a spray of water, sawdust and slivers of wood up through the opening.

 

Roy sat on the deck for a moment, panting hard trying to catch his breath, until he happened to look over and see his partner laying on his side on the dock not far from him. Johnny too was panting, but the reason for his panting was not from adrenaline… Johnny’s panting was born of extreme pain.

 

Roy immediately went into high alert as he rushed to Johnny’s side. He carefully examined Johnny’s injured limb and grimaced.  It only took a cursory look to see that Johnny not only had a tib/fib fracture but judging by the swelling around Johnny’s tennis shoe, that both his ankle and his foot were obviously broken as well…in fact unless Roy missed his guess, that ankle was going to need some surgery to correct it.

 

“It’s not too bad huh, Junior?” he said wryly. 

 

Johnny just lay there trying to get his breathing under control.

 

Looking up the dock Roy could see that Byron was crouched down beside George Jr.’s stokes and was in the process of examining his shoulder and arm, while the police constable guided George Sr. over to where Joanne was waiting by the car. Chris and Jenny were sitting quietly in the back seat of the vehicle.

 

Johnny finally got his pain and his breathing under control and rolled over onto his back, pulling Roy’s attention back to his injured partner. He motioned for Larry to come over, as he pulled the second stokes over beside Johnny.

 

As soon as he saw what was happening, Johnny pulled himself up into a sitting position.

 

“No way Junior,” said Roy as he gently shoved him back down. “You lay back down and let Larry and I get you into this stokes and over to the doc.”

 

Larry and Roy lifted Johnny inside the basket as gently as they could and then picked up the stokes and carried it over to where Byron was working on getting a fresh set of vitals on his patient.

 

The doctor looked up, and was more than a little surprised to see that the new victim was none other than John Gage. After all hadn’t he just seen him treating George?

 

“What happened to John?” he asked Roy,

 

At that point Johnny sat himself back up, ignoring the frustrated glare Roy was throwing in his direction, and he answered the doctor himself.

 

“Um…I was standing on a piling supporting George’s head and shoulders above the water, when the timbers shifted and the piling slammed my right leg, ankle and foot up against the hull of the speedboat. Thankfully it shifted again and I was able to get free.”

 

It was at this point Roy interjected.

 

“You kind of forgot to mention that it also pulled you underneath the surface, and that you may have swallowed a little water as well.”  This time there was no missing the frustration in Roy’s voice, as he carefully began to cut away the pant leg away from Johnny’s injured limb.

 

Johnny just grinned sheepishly… “I may have,” he said in an equally sarcastic tone.

 

Once again, Johnny, who was the King of deflection, changed the subject.

 

“How’s George doing?” he asked the doctor.

 

“He’s in shock, I’m just going to check out his pupils and then I’ll get an IV going.”

 

Johnny reached over and began instinctively grabbing the IV tubing out of the drug box.

 

“What do you think you’re doing there Junior?” Roy asked as he began to cut away the shoe that was still on Johnny’s injured and very swollen foot.

 

Johnny looked over at Roy as if he suddenly sprouted a second head.

 

“My job, Roy…  In case you haven’t noticed, Dixie’s not here, so I’m just helping out the doc here.” Johnny replied. He then grimaced and hissed in pain as Roy gently removed the last of his shoe.

 

Johnny took a second to compose himself, and then he proceeded to reach into the drug box to where the bags of IV were stored, and held up a bag of ringers in one hand. “I take it this is what you want doc?” he asked Byron.

 

The doctor nodded as he continued to palpate the area around George Juniors shoulder.  Johnny moved to begin prepping George’s arm for the IV.

Out of nowhere Roy’s hand reached out and snatched the paraphernalia out of his hands and took over, with a sigh of exasperation.

 

As soon as George had his IV in place, Byron motioned for the firemen to get him loaded on the helicopter that had once more landed in the marina parking lot.  George Danforth Senior followed his son’s stokes, inside the waiting chopper.

 

Byron then turned back to Johnny. Once again Roy had him lying down in the stokes and was getting a set of vitals on him.

 

The doctor watched silently as the two men before him bickered back and forth.

 

“I’m surprised you didn’t start an IV on yourself, while the doc and I were working on George Jr.,” Roy teased

 

“Hey it wouldn’t have been the first time,” Johnny sniggered.

 

Byron dropped down on one knee and began to examine Johnny’s leg, ankle and foot, which elicited a small cry of pain from the prone man in front of them. Johnny laid his head back and closed his eyes tight in an effort to deal with the pain.

 

Byron cast a concerned glance surreptitiously in Roy’s direction.

 

“Okay John, we’re going to start an IV on you and give you something for the pain before we splint this up, and then we’ll get on our way to the hospital.”

 

In an effort to get Johnny’s mind off of his pain, Byron winked over at Roy and said… “Unless you want to start your own IV, and show Roy and I how a professional does it.” He joked.

 

Johnny opened up his eyes and grinned in amusement. “Naw, you better let Roy do it doc… sticking me with a needle is his only compensation for having to put up with me on a daily basis. I wouldn’t want to deprive him of his revenge,” he giggled.

 

Roy worked deftly to start the IV on Johnny, while Byron prepared the syringe of MS. Once Johnny had his pain meds on board he soon began to fade away into a pleasant stupor.

 

The two men quickly splinted Johnny’s injured limb and stood up. One of the firemen returned and he and Byron carried Johnny’s stokes over to the helicopter, while Roy gathered up the drug box and other supplies and followed close behind.

 

Roy looked over to where Joanne was standing and indicated with his hands that he was going to accompany Johnny into the hospital.  Joanne nodded giving him the okay signal followed by a thumbs up.

 

Roy felt badly because he knew that it had been a fireman and not himself that had told her about Johnny’s injury. But he also knew that his wife understood, and he was grateful that she was the kind of woman who knew how to handle these kinds of situations without falling apart at the seams.

 

Roy turned and gave Joanne and the kids a final wave, and then slipped on board of the chopper and slid the door shut behind him. The helicopter rose up into the air carrying the last of the survivors with it.

 

Back on the scene, the police constable finished up taking pictures of the scene and then he walked over to the firemen, giving them the okay to begin the body retrieval stage of the operation, while he went ahead and called for the county coroner to come and transport the bodies to the morgue in Burlington.

 

 

Chapter Twenty

 

Somebody was standing over him, shining a flashlight directly into his eyes. He tried to reach out and knock the offending item out of their hands, but when he made a grab for it, the flashlight dissolved into thin air.

 

ec1021He brought his hands back and rubbed his eyes as he tried to figure out what was happening. Gradually the mists of heavy sleep lifted and the foggy residue of what he now recognized as a medication hangover began to recede. 

 

Slowly Johnny began to realize that the bright lights weren’t coming from a flashlight, but from the morning sunlight that was streaming through his bedroom window and shining directly into his eyes.

 

He tried to sit up and stretch out the kinks in his back. It was a task that was made difficult because he had a million pounds of plaster attached to the lower half of his right leg. All right maybe it’s not a million pounds…but it sure feels like it sometimes. He thought grumpily.

 

As he lay there in his bed, feeling decidedly grumpy and straight jacketed, he became aware that he was being watched. He looked over at his open doorway and saw Jenny sitting on the floor in the hallway across from his bedroom door. Her back was up against the wall with her knees drawn up, and she was just sitting there with her chin resting on her knees, starring at him.

 

Johnny looked over at her and smiled. “Hey there doodlebug, how come you’re sitting out there on the floor?”

 

“Because,” she answered. “I’m not supposed to wake you up or come into your private space without permission, remember?”

 

Johnny chuckled softly and held out his hand for her to come inside his room.

 

Smiling the child stood up and came over to the side of his bed.

 

“So, kiddo, what’s up?” he asked her.

 

“Nothing… I was just waiting to see how you are feeling today. I thought maybe if you were feeling better, I could come in and read to you out of my new fairy tale book.”

 

“Sure, sweetie, I’d love that, but maybe we could wait until I’ve had a chance to get up and get something to eat okay?” he said as he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

 

“Not, so fast there Junior. You heard the doc. You’re not supposed to be out of bed for any other reason but to get to the little boy’s room, for at least another week yet. Don’t forget this is only your second day home from the hospital.” Roy admonished.

 

“Yeah, Yeah, Yeah,” Johnny groused. “Well this little boy would like to avail himself of the facilities right now, so could you please hand me my crutches? Where’s Jo, this morning, out shopping for paint and paper?” Johnny teased.

 

“No, actually she and Dixie went into Swanton, to check out the real estate market. So far Dixie hasn’t seen anything that’s suits her yet. Everything she’s seen is just a bit too big for her tastes. By the way, Cap called last night to see how you’re coming along, but you were already asleep. He forgot about the three hour time difference between here and Los Angeles. I told him you’d call him back this morning sometime.”

 

Johnny nodded his head as he struggled to get out of bed.

 

Roy walked over and gently swung Johnny’s casted leg over the edge of the bed, and then he steadied the crutches while Johnny grabbed hold of them and pulled himself upright. As he stood up straight he was racked with a severe coughing fit that caused him to drop back down onto the side of his bed.

 

Roy quickly rushed into the bathroom and returned with a glass of water. “As soon as you’re done in the bathroom, I’ll bring in your meds and something to eat. Doctor Early says if that cough gets any worse or your fever starts to spike he wants you back in the hospital ASAP.”

 

Johnny finished his water and gave Roy a withering look. He reached over and snatched his crutches and pulled himself up.

 

“It’s just a cough Roy, and I’m taking my antibiotics faithfully. It’s not pneumonia remember? It’s just a nasty upper respiratory infection. And if it gets any worse, I’ll be the first one to seek help. I do know what’s at stake and that I have to be vigilant you know.” He grumbled.

 

Roy’s demeanor softened as he walked over and opened the door to the ensuite bathroom.

 

“I know you do Junior, but that’s the cost of being part of a family… we worry about you.” He said quietly.

 

Johnny immediately felt bad for snapping at him. “I’m sorry Roy, I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful, it’s just that I’m not cut out for the sedentary life…all this laying around makes me a tad grumpy sometimes.”

 

Roy reached over and scruffed Johnny on the head. “Yeah, I know it’s tough on you. Now how about you go and do whatever it is that you need to do in the bathroom, and when you come out, we’ll get you all settled back in bed, and nurse Jenny and I will get your breakfast and your meds and bring them into you.”

 

“Good deal” said Johnny as he hobbled into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

 

Roy sat down on the end of the bed and waited for his little brother to come out. It had been a long ten days, and Roy was just grateful that he had Johnny back home where he belonged.

 

Just as Roy had suspected the break in Johnny’s ankle and his foot had been a bad one, and he had required surgery to insert a pin in his foot and two screws in his ankle to hold the bones in place while they healed.

 

 

Johnny had then been in traction in a soft cast for the first four days, while the swelling went down, and to make sure that there was no infection at the site of the incisions on his foot and ankle. It was also during that time that Johnny’s body decided that he wasn’t going to get away scot-free from his little dunking in the murky water. By his second day in the hospital he had come down with a nasty upper respiratory infection, that was proving to be very stubborn, and it was taking it’s time in responding to the antibiotics Johnny had been put on.

 

On day five they had put Johnny into a hard plaster cast, and on day eight he was allowed to come home. But he had been warned that he wasn’t to try and do any walking or weight bearing on his foot or ankle for the first few weeks. Not to mention he was supposed to stay in bed until his lungs were completely clear of any signs of infection.

 

It was just good fortune that Roy and Joanne were already staying at Johnny’s place anyway, and would be for another week at least. It was also fortunate, that the former head nurse of Rampart General and the new head nurse of the soon to be opened clinic just happened to be living on the property as well.

 

With so many sets of eyes watching him, the doctor’s were more than convinced that Johnny would be well supervised and taken care of once he was released.

 

As for the other victims of the boating accident, Valerie MacDonald didn’t have a skull fracture but she did suffer from some minor swelling in her brain, but thankfully it was resolved with medications and required no surgery, she would be in the hospital until the end of this week at least before she would be allowed to go home with her parents.

 

Lydia Cooper’s broken wrist and arm were both clean breaks and two of her ribs were cracked, but not broken and she had been released two days after the accident.

 

George Danforth IV had a concussion, a broken shoulder and a severe compound fracture of his left arm that had already required one surgery and would most likely require a second surgery in the future. He was however, expected to make a full recovery with no permanent effects, but it was going to be a very long recovery period.

 

Courtney Jones’ funeral had been held on the Wednesday after the accident. Everyone from Swanton was in attendance and it had been a heart wrenching service as the tiny town mourned the death of one of their younger citizens.

 

The man, who had been responsible for the carnage in the first place, was a tourist from Upstate New York who had just bought the boat the day before. He hadn’t had any previous experience with operating any kind of boat before that day. That, in combination with his having been over the legal limit as far as alcohol consumption was concerned, had been a recipe for disaster.

 

The one good thing that had happened was that the people of Swanton had gotten a firsthand look at the difference having trained medical personnel on the scene had been, in saving lives.

 

 

If there had only been the fire department on the scene when the accident had happened, there was a very good chance both Valerie and George would have died. Because Johnny and Roy had been right there, Valerie’s condition had been recognized and caught early. If they hadn’t gotten her to the hospital and on the medication that countered her brain swelling within the first hour, her outcome would certainly have been bleak. And if it hadn’t been for the fact that Johnny had been skinny enough to slither down inside the wreckage and locate George, there was a good chance that he wouldn’t have been found before the dock had collapsed that second time.

 

In the last few weeks the get well cards and cards of thanks had been pouring in for both Johnny and Roy.  Roy and Joanne and Dixie couldn’t walk down the streets of Swanton without someone stopping them and shaking their hands and asking them how Johnny was doing.

 

 The Police Chief, Ted Cooper, could be overheard lauding Johnny and Roy with praises in every coffee shop in Franklin County.  Joe Early had said that the Burlington hospital had been abuzz with tales of the amazing rescue that had taken place at the Swanton marina, and how people were telling him fortunate they all were to have a doctor with his skills working in the area.

 

And when word got around yesterday that Johnny was now at home and resting in bed, within an hour, casseroles, cakes and pies had started to mysteriously appear on his doorstep.

 

 

But perhaps the most grateful person of all was George Danforth III. He had visited Johnny in the hospital every single day he was a patient there, even when his own son had been transferred to the top orthopedic hospital in New York. He always made sure he stopped in to see Johnny on his way home from his daily flight to and from New York to visit his son.

 

Johnny had downplayed his and Roy’s role and reminded George that it was he himself that was responsible for the rescue, as it had been him that had brought the paramedic program into Franklin County in the first place.

 

By the time the end of August rolled around life had pretty well settled down for the newcomers from Los Angeles.

 

By the end of July, Johnny had been officially declared recovered from his respiratory infection, and Roy and Joanne had settled into their new home.

 

Johnny was due to have his cast removed the day after his birthday. It had already been changed to a walking cast three weeks before, and he was more than ready to be rid of the hateful thing.

 

Dixie had spent over a month trying to find a home that she was happy with to no avail. It wasn’t until she finally admitted that she had fallen in love with Johnny’s guesthouse and she had been trying to find its twin, and was having no luck, that things finally got resolved.

 

Johnny had simply asked her why she hadn’t told him that sooner, and that she was more than welcome to stay on permanently in the little “cottage by the lake”.

 

Dixie wouldn’t hear of it, unless Johnny allowed her to pay a fair rent on the place. Although Johnny tried over and over again to convince her he didn’t need her rent money, she wouldn’t budge. Finally Johnny gave in and agreed to her terms.

 

As the summer progressed the group watched with growing excitement as both the clinic and the new search and rescue station that were located side by side on the same piece of land, began to take shape. It was the third week of August when the new rescue squad-ambulance arrived. And just this week they had poured the concrete for the new landing pad that had been added for the life flight helicopter.

 

As was promised Johnny and Roy had met with the eight prospective paramedics and in the end they had chosen two other teams that seemed to have the same work ethic and dedication that they themselves had.

 

The first team they had chosen had been two men from New York City who had been together for almost two years. They had been looking for a chance to get out of the big city and come and work in a place where they felt they were really needed and where they could make a difference in the lives of the people of that area. The first man Jason Doyle was two years older than Johnny. His partner Tim Blake was a month younger than Roy. Like Johnny and Roy, Tim had been a hose jockey for three years before he left to become a paramedic. Jason had no fire fighting experience. He had actually been an ambulance driver before he decided to take the course.

 

The second set of paramedics were fresh out of training .The first man, Stephen Gibbons or “Gibby”, was a year older than Johnny and like Jason, he had been an ambulance driver for four years before he decided to take the paramedic course. His partner Colin Blackwell was just two months older than Johnny, and he had actually been working as an orderly in a VA hospital before he had signed up.

 

But the one thing they all had in common was a genuine love for the job and a desire to help those in need of their services.

 

Johnny and Roy had also attended their seminar, and passed the training course during the first week of August and had been officially presented with their Captains bars and new dress uniforms.

 

 

The day of Johnny’s birthday had been a big affair. It was not only a birthday party for Johnny, but it was also doubling as the officially opening party for the Michelle Danforth Memorial Clinic, and the Franklin County Search and Rescue Station #1.

 

George Danforth III and George Danforth IV were there, even though George Jr. was still sporting a large cast on his left arm.  Johnny himself was relieved, as he himself would be free of the cast on his right leg, the next day.

 

Joe Early, Byron Fellowes and the other doctor, Nick Sutherland, who would be alternating shifts with Joe, were in attendance. Nick was an easygoing man, and fit it with the group like a glove. Dixie was there along with the other three nurses who would be working in alternate shifts at the new clinic. There were also the three ambulance attendants who would ride along in their modified ambulance, as well as the life flight helicopter pilot.

 

Derrick Greene, Valerie MacDonald and her family including her cousin Stephanie as well as the entire Cooper family had come… not to mention the rest of the entire population of Swanton.

 

Even the fire department had dropped by the new clinic and rescue station for a few minutes to wish them well.

 

But the biggest shock of all was when both Hank Stanley and Kelly Brackett showed up. Hank had taken two weeks holidays before he officially took over his position as Battalion Chief on the first of September. And Kelly Brackett had already made the move to Baltimore, so it really wasn’t that long of a commute for him. Just a short flight and he was in Vermont.

 

All in all it had been a great day for everyone concerned and it was the absolute perfect way to end the summer that had started off so tragically.

 

The Sunday of Labor Day weekend marked eight weeks to the day since the tragic accident at the pier. It was also the day that Joe Early had declared Johnny totally healed of his injuries and fit for duty.

 

The official first day of operations for the newly constructed clinic and the Franklin County Search and Rescue Station #1, went ahead as planned on the Tuesday after Labor Day, with Captains John Roderick Gage and Roy William DeSoto slated to take the first twenty four hour shift.

 

By the time that day rolled around, Johnny was more than ready to get back in the saddle again. He usually was, after being off on medical leave.

 

However this time things were vastly different. He hadn’t actually been on medical leave, since the station wasn’t up and running yet.

 

This was however; day one in what he hoped would be the first of many rural paramedic stations in the near future.

 

Franklin County Search and Rescue Station #1 was basically a prototype, and if this one worked… and it had already shown it had eight weeks ago, then many more of these rural paramedic stations would hopefully be built in small communities all over the state… better yet, the entire country.

 

It would also be the first time he and Roy would be working as functioning paramedics without Cap, Mike, Chet, and Marco there to back them up.

 

It certainly wasn’t where he had seen himself a year ago… but then again, nothing that had taken place in the past eighteen months had been in his master plan period.

 

Johnny sat in his new parking spot and looked out the window of his Land Rover at the entrance to his new Station. He took a deep breath and stepped out of his vehicle and began to slowly make his way across the parking lot.

 

He squared his shoulders with a fresh determination … so this hadn’t been in his master plan, …so what? It was where he was now, and when you looked at what he had in his life now, it was a pretty damn good place to be.

 

All the things he and Roy had thought were only pipe dreams just a few short months ago back in L.A. were now a reality. They were both promoted to Captain without having to give up their partnership or their jobs as paramedics. He had an even bigger ranch than before and he was surrounded by a family that constantly showed him how much they loved him.

 

In retrospect it didn’t matter that life hadn’t turned out like he had originally planned. Besides he knew from personal experience that no matter how hard one tried to plan for the future, …it still came with no guarantees … especially in this business.

 

The future was, and always had been, a flighty and vague thing … elusive and intangible. You could try to plan for it, but then life would step in and pull you in an entirely different and unexpected direction.

 

His years in Los Angeles, and subsequently his time at Station 51, had been the best years of his life up to this point … after all they had given him his family, and his career. But just because that chapter in his life was through, didn’t mean his life’s story was over … far from it in fact.

 

He was only in his twenties and the rest of his life lay stretched out before him, full of hope and promise.

 

As Johnny stood outside the doors of his new ‘home,’ dressed in his uniform, the gold Captains bars displayed proudly on the collar of his uniform shirt, he couldn’t help but smile.

 

Today would begin a fresh new leaf in the book that was “the story of his life.’

The book lay open, the pages that represented the future of his life’s story, were as yet blank.

 

The surface of the parchment was still pure and unwritten, but full of hope and promise. His future lay before him.

 

It would be interesting to look ahead and see how the rest of his story would unfold, and how it would read in sixty years time.

 

Just what did the coming years hold for John Roderick Gage and his little family … the people who made up his Tiyospaye? …the people that he held so dear to his heart.

 

He hoped that whatever struggles, bumps and twists of fate life’s road took them on; that in the end, the length of their days would be long, healthy and joyous ones; filled with copious amounts of love and laughter.

 

That it would be a life that when people looked back upon it, they would say that it had been both rich and fulfilled.

 

Johnny raised his eyes up toward heaven and whispered a heartfelt plea to the Almighty.

 

Please God Please,” he asked. “Let my story end with the words … and they all lived happily ever after.”

 

With a silent Amen, Johnny reached forward and opened the station house door and stepped through, knowing in his heart, that he was fully prepared to start the first day of the rest of his life.

 

 

 

The End

 

Links to Part 1. 2. 3.

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