Captain Hank Stanley walked out of his office to begin roll call. He was delighted if somewhat surprised to find all five men of A-shift, even Gage, already lined up and ready for inspection. "Good morning gentlemen."
"Morning. Morning Cap. Good morning." came the chorus of replies.
Stanley nodded, his men looked exceptionally fine today. "Mike, Marco, Chet, I see you got your badge pinned on right today. Good job."
"Thank you sir."
'Hmm, no smart remarks from Gage.' "Roy, John, you got your hair trimmed. What brought that on?"
"Uh, well," Gage squirmed slightly. "It just seemed like the right thing to do."
"Well, it looks good." And it did, still on the long side but within regulations for a change. Again there were no comments from the peanut gallery. Hank was beginning to wonder if this was his real crew or if they had all been replaced by pod people like hed seen in one of those science fiction movies. He decided when Kelly accepted latrine duty without grumbling that he could really get used to working with pod people. "Mike, youve got kitchen detail. Anything good planned?"
"I got a recipe from Lynn I wanted to try out." His engineer responded, then looked a bit uneasy. "There's just one problem."
"What's that?"
"It calls for fish." Stoker answered. "Shrimp and scallops."
Hanks nose wrinkled in disgust. Apparently even pod people werent perfect. "Just make sure you cook a hamburger or something for me."
Mike smiled. "Okay."
"That's it men. Lets get to work." Secure in the knowledge his crew would perform their duties, Captain Stanley returned to his office and the seemingly unending stack of paperwork that awaited him.
* ~ *
As soon as the door to Stanley's office closed the remainder of 51s A-shift gathered around Johnny.
"Okay," Chet demanded. "What's the real reason you got your hair cut?"
Johnny glanced at Roy who shrugged. "You might as well tell them."
"Tell us what?" Marco questioned.
Johnny sighed. "Remember that last run Roy and I got Tuesday?"
The three members of the engine crew nodded their heads. "Right before we got off shift." Marco recalled.
"Yeah, you guys didnt get back until after we left." Chet added. "So, what happened?"
"It was these two little boys," Roy started.
"Do you want to tell this story?" Johnny interrupted, somewhat perturbed.
Roy decided giving in would lead to a much more peaceful day. "No, no, by all means go ahead."
"Alright then." Johnny turned back to the others. "It was these two little boys," Luckily for Roy Johnny was looking away. Even luckier the other guys were able to control their laughter at his reaction. Johnny continued none the wiser. "The one kid somehow managed to get his arm stuck in the mouth of that drive up clown at the hamburger place on Alameda."
You mean BoJo? Chet asked.
Yeah, thats the one. We got him out easy enough, nothing but a few minor scratches.
"That still doesnt explain your hair." Marco pointed out.
"I'm gettin' to it." Johnny insisted. "Just hold your horses. Well, at one point I leaned over to loosen one of the bolts on BoJo's head when the kid's friend comes up behind me. Hes got this huge wad of bubble gum in his mouth and.."
'Oh no,' Mike grimaced. 'He didnt.'
Roy, no longer able to control his amusement, answered laughing. "He did. Tripped and fell right into Johnny."
By now they were all laughing. Even Johnny couldnt keep the smile from his face despite having been the victim. "Not only did the kid lose his bubble gum in my hair, he tried to get it out again and just managed to spread it around more."
"I wish I could have seen that!" Chet howled.
"I'm glad you didn't." Johnny replied. "Anyway, I figured I had to cut the gum out so I might as well get it all cut even."
"Only you Gage." Chet razzed, fighting to catch his breath from laughing so hard. "Only you."
The sound of the Captain clearing his throat quickly brought the men back to attention. "I'm glad you could all get your morning off to such a pleasant start. Now, do you think you might actually be able to get some work done around here? Hmm?" He scolded gently.
"Yes Cap." The men answered practically in unison. Hank watched as they made their ways to their various assigned tasks before allowing himself a chuckle at the story of Gages little mishap. He turned back to his office once more secure in the basic insanity of his crew.
* ~ *
It was a busy day for the men of Station 51, very busy. The squad, the engine or both were out on runs the entire day. It was as if the people of Los Angeles County had stored away their accidents and mishaps, solely to be brought out on this particular day. The main event proved to be a huge warehouse fire that kept the men of 51 and several other companies, occupied from shortly after lunch until well after dinner. Stoker's new recipe was put on hold in favor of take-out burgers from BoJo's. Johnny purposely faced the opposite direction as Roy placed the order to the plastic clowns head.
The good citizens of LA County were kind enough to call a temporary halt to their onslaught of problems, giving the guys a chance to gulp down their food without interruption. Stoker promised to take cooking duty their next shift, anxious to try out Lynn's recipe. The evening turned out to be the exact opposite of the day--peaceful. Following dinner, the men gathered in front of the television. After several minutes of channel changing and arguing, Cap called a halt and produced a coin from his pocket. In the end, Chet was declared winner and they all settled in to watch 'Creature From the Black Lagoon.' The movie, coupled with the greasy after effects of the fast food burgers, made for more than one mans interesting dreams that night.
It was just after 4:00am that the call came in; MVA on North Peterson Way. Captain Stanley acknowledged the call as his men pulled on their turnouts and rushed to their vehicles. The squad preceeded the engine through the darkened streets of LA County.
Peterson Way was near the edge of their territory, out in the boonies as some would say. Arriving on the scene they found two vehicles, a large panel truck had run part way up an embankment and sat at an almost 45 degree angle. A small sports car was rammed perpendicularly into its side. The driver of the truck was out of her vehicle, sitting on the cabs running board and holding a cloth to her head. The driver of the car was still in his vehicle.
"Roy," Stanley ordered, "Go take a look at the truck's driver. Gage; let's check out the guy in the car. Lopez, Kelly, pull the ignition wires and hose off this gas."
The men acknowledged their orders and went to work. Stoker watched the activity, keeping an eye on the gauges for the hose, while ready to assist in the rescue if needed. About this time Vince arrived in his squad car. After getting a quick assessment of the situation from Captain Stanley the officer joined Roy and the driver of the truck.
"What happened here?" Roy asked as he gently removed the cloth from a large, bloody knot on the young womans forehead.
"That idiot!" the woman hissed as Roys fingers cautiously probed her injury. "He was swerving all over the road. I tried to evade him, practically ran myself off the road, and he STILL hit me." Her anger was evident. "I'm supposed to have this load to market by 6:00. I'll NEVER make it now!"
"Feel up to making a formal statement?" Vince asked taking out his notebook.
* ~ *
At the car, Johnny reached through the broken drivers side window to check on his patient. The stench of alcohol was nearly overwhelming. His fingers found the mans neck and felt for a pulse.
"How is he?" Cap asked from close behind as he loosened the chinstrap on his helmet.
"Pulse is strong." Johnny quickly looked the man over. No visible signs of injury. Backing out of the car Johnny turned to face Stanley, disgust evident in his expression. "I can't really find anything wrong with him, except he's passed out drunk and stuck."
Hank shook his head, equally disgusted. "We still have to get him out of there. What do you need?"
"This door's jammed pretty good. What about the other side?"
Stanley motioned Chet and Marco over to the opposite side of the car. " What's it look like on that side? Can we get this guy out that way?"
Together the men tried the door, only to find it wouldnt budge. "No go Cap." Chet told him. "This side's not gonna move. Its really jammed under this truck."
"Okay," Johnny answered. "We'll have to use the porta power over here."
"I'll get it." Marco volunteered. He returned quickly with the equipment then, at Stanleys suggestion, went to see if Roy needed help.
Pulling the protective goggles over his eyes, Johnny went to work on the door. He was engrossed in what he was doing, and he never noticed the groan of metal from over his head. Cap did, and so did Chet.
Together they turned to look at the truck, quickly taking in the growing bulge along the seam between two of the panels. "Load musta shifted!" Chet managed to get out just before the bulge screeched open to a six foot split. Both Hank and Chet dove for cover, Cap pushing the unaware Gage down along with him. From out of the truck poured several hundred pounds of frozen boxes of broccoli.
"Cap! Johnny! Chet!" Mike yelled hurrying over from the engine. All he could see was a mound of boxes, no sign of his fellow firefighters.
"What happened?" Roy demanded as he, Marco and Vince joined the engineer.
"The load must have shifted and the weight split the seam between the panels. Cap and Johnny are on the driver's side. Chet's on the other side."
Another loud groan of metal caught their attention. "The whole truck's gonna come over! "Marco shouted.
Without thinking twice, Mike ran around and jumped into the cab of the engine. Cranking up the motor, he drove it towards the truck, carefully butting up against the truck frame and pushing it back away from his comrades. The screech of metal against metal filled the night, but Mike ignored it until he was sure the truck was safely supported. Before jumping off, he radioed dispatch with the situation ,requesting another squad, engine and ambulance. He quickly joined Roy, Marco and Vince as they started digging through the broccoli.
Marco and Vince, having moved to the passenger side of the car, quickly uncovered a shaken Chet. Roy joined them, quickly checking on Kelly and finding nothing serious. Most of the frozen load had fallen on the driver's side.
As Vince led Chet away Roy knelt down and looked under the car to see if he could learn anything that way. Waves of relief washed over him as he spotted his partner lying half under the car. Johnny seemed to be in some pain but was awake and alert. "You okay?" Roy asked.
"My leg," Johnny grimaced. "I twisted it when Cap pushed me down. He's lying on top of it but..." Johnny bit his lip as another stab of pain shot through his knee. "He's not moving Roy."
"Hang in there Junior. We'll have you out soon."
"Not goin' anywhere." Johnny managed with a pained smile.
On the other side of the car Stoker was tossing aside frozen bricks of broccoli like a man possessed. He had heard the exchange between Roy and Johnny making him even more determined to reach his captain. Mike ignored the pain of his own now half-frozen fingers, never looking up as Roy, Marco, Vince and the somewhat-recovered Chet joined him at the task. In the distance, the sound of approaching sirens could be heard.
With all three men working in tandem, they had uncovered the captain and Johnny by the time the first ambulance arrived. Mike and Marco carefully carried Stanley away from the wreckage as Roy turned to check on his partner.
"I'm fine Roy." Johnny insisted shivering slightly. "Go take care of Cap."
Roy nodded and was gone. Vince and Chet, much more recovered, offered a hand up to Johnny and helped him hobble after the others.
Marco and Mike lay Stanley next to 51's squad. Roy quickly dropped to his knees beside the captain and began to assess his condition. He was unconscious, 'out cold' ,Roy thought grimacing at his unintentional mental pun.
A trail of blood seeped down the side of Cap's face where his head had been hit by the frozen boxes. "Johnny's not the only one who needs to learn to keep his helmet tightened." Roy muttered to himself. By this time Vince, Chet and Johnny had reached the group, Vince and Chet easing the injured Paramedic down beside his partner.
Mike surveyed the scene before him then looked back at the wreckage from the accident. "Roy, can Johnny take over for you here? We still have to get the driver of the car out."
DeSoto glanced at his partner uncertainly. Johnny was not seriously injured but was obviously in quite a bit of pain. Noting Roy's hesitation, Johnny answered for himself. "I can handle Cap. You guys go ahead."
"Alright." Mike responded. With Stanley out of the picture it was up to him to take charge. "Roy and Marco, let's get the guy in the car. Chet, you stay here and help Johnny." They headed back toward the wreckage, Vince joining them.
Before doing anything else ,Mike checked to make sure the bulk of the trucks load was already dispersed. It wouldn't do them any good to set off another avalanche of produce. Once he determined it was safe, Roy moved in to check on the patient while he, Marco and Vince searched for the porta power. Marco located it not far from the spot Johnny had been uncovered. After that things proceeded quickly, the door was popped open and Roy moved in to prepare the victim for transport. It was then that the man began to emerge from his alcohol-induced stupor.
"Hey!" the man complained loudly. "Whore ya an whaddar ya doin ta me?"
"I'm a Paramedic." Roy explained calmly. "You've been in an accident and we're going to take you to the hospital to get checked out."
"I aint goin ta no friggin hopsital!" the man shouted. trying to push his way out of the car. It was then he noticed, really noticed his car. "Wha the hell ya do to my car! Ths a classic man! Now look atttid. Youre gonna pay fer ths I guarantee!"
Vince decided now would be a good time to make his presence known. "Hold it right there mister. These men are trying to help you." He held up his hand to quiet the man's protest. "Now, you can either quiet down and let them do their job, or you can refuse treatment and Ill haul you in and let you spend the night in the drunk tank. What'll it be?"
"Which hospital?" the man asked, much more subdued.
"Rampart General", Roy answered' suppressing his grin.
More sirens could be heard as the second responding units arrived. Seeing the situation with the driver was under control, Mike went to greet the incoming captain. Roger Hendricks, captain for 14s A-shift, shook his head as he took in the scene. He glanced up at 51s engineer. "What's the situation Stoker?"
Mike quickly filled Hendricks in on all that had happened, eliciting more head shaking from the man. "One civilian and two, possibly three, firefighters injured because one fool can't remember not to drink and drive. How is Hank?"
"I was just going to check." Mike answered.
"Go ahead." Hendricks replied. "I can take over here."
* ~ *
With Chet's assistance, Johnny was able to get Stanley's vitals with a minimum of discomfort to himself. Rampart ordered a standard precautionary IV with no pain medications because of the head injury. Gage frowned as he prepared the IV needle. Cap's vitals were good, but he wasnt showing any signs of regaining consciousness. He looked up as Mike jogged over, knowing he had no real answers to give.
"How's Cap?" Mike asked.
"Hes-" Johnny started when a groan from the subject of their attention halted further discussion.
* ~ *
Hank first became aware of being cold. Being buried under several hundred pounds of frozen food had given him quite a chill. It was only when he tried to move his arms to wrap around himself that Cap became aware of a host of other aches and pains; especially his head. What had happened? In his semi conscious state Hanks mind began jumbling all his most recent memories into a confused drama involving greasy burgers, broccoli and monsters from the sea. Opening his eyes at the sound of somewhat familiar voices Cap stared momentarily at the concerned face of his engineer and let out a horrified scream. "NO! I wont let you take me you green...green..monster you! And you can't make me eat your disgusting fish either!"
Mikes mouth dropped open and he stared in complete shock. Johnny, already expecting a bit of initial disorientation, was not as surprised. He set the IV aside and tried to calm his agitated captain. "Everything's alright Cap. Nobodys gonna take you anywhere and you dont have to eat anything you don' t want to." He struggled to keep Stanley in a prone position.
Chet helped by holding Hank's feet. Mike hesitated to lend a hand for fear his presence would upset Cap even more. He backed away slightly, which was precisely when Stanley decided to make a break for it. He pushed himself off the ground; unfortunately using Gage's injured knee as a handhold. Johnny cried out in pain, clutching his leg, as Cap ran straight into Brice and Bellingham from 14s. "You've got to help me!" he gasped to the two Paramedics. "The Stoker monsters gonna get me." With that Hank promptly passed out, Bellingham catching the captain before he hit the pavement.
"What happened?" Roy asked as he and Marco led the sports car driver to the squad. Cap was unconscious, but not where he had been before. Bellingham was busy getting a new set of vitals. Johnny was where he had been but was now moaning softly and clutching his knee, Chet looking on with concern as Brice tried rather unsuccessfully to examine the injury. Stoker looked at Roy, the strangest expression on his face, and asked "A green Stoker monster?"
Roy said nothing, having no idea what had happened or if he really even wanted to know. With Marco's help, he guided the victim to the back bumper of the squad. He turned to Brice, whose frustration with Johnny was becoming evident. "Craig, why don't we trade?"
"Gladly." Brice concurred, glaring at Gage as he stood. "Maybe you can make some headway with that rock-headed partner of yours."
'I wish,' Roy thought to himself. "I couldn't find anything wrong with this guy except too much indulging." He explained.
Brice's nose wrinkled as he caught a strong whiff of alcohol. "I see."
"But, he was unconscious for awhile, so you'd better double check." Knowing Brice didn't need his help, Roy glanced over to where Bellingham was starting the previously ordered IV on the captain. A frown of worry darkening his expression, he turned his attention to Johnny. "Okay Junior, lets take a look at that leg."
Knowing the Paramedics had the situation under control, and hesitant to be around if Stanley should wake again, Stoker made his way back over to where 14's were cleaning up the accident scene. Seeing the engineer approach Captain Hendricks met him part way. "We've got the worst of it out of the way." Hendricks told Mike. "But, it'll be a bit before we get the truck secured enough for you to move the engine." Mike felt his cheeks flush slightly as he looked at the damaged vehicle and recalled his earlier rash action. "Just tell me one thing". The captain prompted. "What made you do it?"
Stoker hesitated. It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. After the fact there was time to wonder if there had been other options. "The side split and dumped the load on the guys." He began. "Then the truck started slipping. We didn't have the manpower or the time to secure it properly so I just..." Stoker's voice trailed off and he resorted to mutely indicating what he had done.
Hendricks smiled at the younger man's discomfort. Headquarters would, of course, demand an explanation for the damage to a valuable piece of equipment. Somehow the captain thought they would accept Stoker's reasoning. "I wouldn't worry about it Mike." He said, clapping the engineer on the shoulder. "You might have very well saved Hanks, Gages and Kellys lives by what you did, not to mention the guy in the car. And thats exactly what I intend to say in my report."
* ~ *
TWO DAYS LATER
The men of 51's A-shift were back at work and finally sitting down to Mike's mysterious recipe. Beyond mentioning it came from Lynn and was made with shrimp and scallops, he had divulged nothing about it. Captain Brevin from 36's was filling in for Stanley, who the doctors had diagnosed with a concussion and told to skip a shift. Dwyer, as usual, was pulling Gage's duty for the next few shifts that Johnny would miss with a badly sprained knee. All in all, a minor price to pay considering how it could have turned out. As the men took their seats awaiting Stoker's creation' the kitchen door swung open. Captain Stanley walked in, followed by Johnny, who was having only minor difficulties with his crutches.
"Cap, Johnny!" came the greeting from everyone. "What brings you two here?" Marco asked as Roy pulled out a chair for his partner, who accepted it thankfully.
Stanley answered. "I just picked up John at Rampart, and we thought we'd drop in for a minute to say hi."
"Besides," Johnny added. "We wanted to see this creation Mike kept talking about."
"Well, you're just in time." Chet informed them. With that, Stoker pulled a covered casserole dish from the oven and set it on the table.
"Smells good," Hank admitted. "Even with your disgusting fish, you Stoker monster." Even Mike got a chuckle from the reference to the incident the previous shift. "Good enough I might even try some."
"How about you Johnny? Want to try?" Stoker asked.
Before Gage could answer Roy cut in. "Mike, you had to ask? When have you ever known Johnny to refuse food?" The group got another laugh as Johnny settled for glaring at his partner.
Everyone gathered close as Mike reached for the cover of the dish. With the flourish of a magician revealing his latest magical act, Stoker pulled away the lid. With great enthusiasm, the men began to dig in--all but two. Both Hank and Johnny stared at the dish with growing horror. "What is THAT." Gage demanded pointing to a lump of green.
"Mike, dont tell me that's, that's," Cap could not even bring himself to say the word.
Trying to hide his grin as the other men laughed, Mike confirmed their fears. "It's one of the main ingredients, broccoli."
THE END
NOTE: The contest started me thinking, a discussion in the chat room brought in the monster angle, but my thanks go to my friend Doris' husband John whose culinary experiment encouraged my own, slightly altered broccoli/seafood casserole that became the main focus for this story. I include it below in case anyone cares to try it for themselves. -- KC
KC's (OR Stoker's) Broccoli/Seafood Casserole
1 cup uncooked rice cooked (I think it comes
out to about 2 cups)
8-oz shrimp (cooked)
8-oz Bay (small) scallops (use your favorite shell fish if you
don't want these)
1 8-10-oz package broccoli (cooked)
1 can Cream of Broccoli soup (fat-free optional)
1 8-oz jar/can mushrooms (or fresh cooked)
3 med. Tomatoes cubed (optional)
8-oz shredded cheese (I used cheddar/jack combo)
Mix all ingredients except cheese together in a covered casserole dish. Top with cheese and cover. Bake in a 350 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and slightly browned.
"Broccoli On Ice" ©1999 Kathleen 'KC' Corrigan. "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction, and any similarity to actual persons or events is purely coincidental.
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