Life Goes On–Part 1
By Nancy F. Thysell (The Nifty Lady)
Author's Note: This is another sequel to my Johnny and Chris stories in 12 parts. If you haven’t read the other stories you might want to read them first as people and events may be referred to in this story. They are, in order, Malibu Nights, En-GAGE-Ment, Treading Water, and Coming Full Circle. Hope you’ve been enjoying the series. I’ve had a lot of fun writing it and appreciate all the great feedback and encouragement I’ve received from the readers out there in FanFiction Land. I just want to say thanks to you all!
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When Johnny and Chris Gage returned from their honeymoon, life just got hectic. They returned from Acapulco on the Tuesday evening after Thanksgiving. Johnny had to be at work Thursday morning so they only had one day to recover from the wedding, the honeymoon, and all the flying they had done. Chris was luckier as she didn’t have to return to work until the following Monday.
Wednesday morning arrived brisk and beautiful. December in Southern California could be quite wonderful--not too hot and not too wet. The stores were all in full seasonal decorations in preparation for Christmas. Different communities of the Los Angeles proper decked out their street lamps with colorful displays of tinsel and various themes of winter. There were plastic snowmen, snowflakes, angels, reindeer, Santa Claus on almost every corner. Christmas lights in variegated colors hung from the roofs of neighborhood houses and snaked around and about the shrubs. Some communities erected gigantic Christmas trees and decorated them to the hilt. Churches set up Nativity mangers on their lawns.
Chris awoke to find Johnny "spooned" against her with his arm across her waist. She smiled contentedly and hated the thought of climbing out of the nice warm bed and her husband’s arms. But Mother Nature had beckoned and she knew she had to answer the call. Gently she moved Johnny’s arm and pulled herself out of the bed. She glanced back down at his sleeping form and sighed. She was going to miss him when he returned to work. She quickly hurried to the bathroom and closed the door.
A moment later, somewhere in the back of Johnny’s brain, it registered that he wasn’t as warm as he had been a few moments earlier. Slowly he opened an eye and realized that Chris wasn’t beside him. He lifted his head slightly and noted the closed door to the bathroom. He stretched out. It was good to be home. And it was fantastic to be here with Chris. He was finding marriage quite agreeable and thought Chris did too. He rolled over to check his supply of condoms in the night stand. The doctors had advised against Chris using birth control pills so they were relying on other means of birth control. He sat up when he discovered that his supply was depleted. He dug around in the drawer just to make sure he hadn’t missed one. "I guess that means a trip to the drug store," he thought ruefully. He wondered if he dared take the chance without it. Just then the door to the bathroom opened. For a moment before she turned off the light, Chris was silhouetted in the doorway. Taking in her form, Johnny was filled with desire and decided they would just have to take their chances. And if Chris got pregnant, well, so be it. They both wanted kids. It really didn’t matter when. She crawled back under the covers.
"Good morning Mr. Gage," she said sweetly. Johnny gazed into her eyes with a look that brooked no doubt in her mind as to what was on his.
"Good morning Mrs. Gage," Johnny responded. His mouth found hers and the passions were stirred, culminating in ardent lovemaking.
Johnny rolled onto his back, relishing in the feeling, panting from the exertion. Chris rolled over and wrapped her arm over his torso.
"Wow," was all she could say. A self-satisfying smile formed on Johnny’s lips and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He kissed the top of her head gently and then sighed happily. They lay that way for a long time, both of them eventually drifting off to sleep again.
When the Gages finally forced themselves out of bed, Chris started breakfast while Johnny tended to the horses. Chris was eager for him to finish as he had promised to take her riding. She’d only had a couple of riding lessons so far but she really enjoyed it even though the height of the horses made her nervous. Getting up on them was the hardest part for her.
They made short order of eating and clearing the breakfast dishes. Then hand in hand they strolled down to the barn. Johnny saddled the horses taking time to explain to Chris what he was doing. She watched intently as she hoped one day she could do this by herself. Johnny’s horses were a black and white, American Paint and a gray quarter horse, named respectively, Stormy and Quick Silver. Since he had started teaching Chris to ride, Johnny had been considering getting a gentler horse for Chris. While he trusted and could handle his steeds, he felt that they would be a bit much for Chris to handle on her own. But for now, as long as they rode together, he knew that he could keep Stormy in check.
They headed down a much used path that led into the neighboring wilderness that backed up to their property. After riding for an hour, they dismounted in a meadow where there were a few isolated shade trees. Chris had packed a couple of sandwiches, fruit and sodas. They sat down on a well-worn blanket beneath the tree and enjoyed their lunch. Chris fed her apple to Stormy.
"You’re going to spoil that animal," Johnny teased her. She finished feeding Stormy the apple and stroked his muzzle. She turned back to Johnny wiping her hands off on her jeans.
"Oh I am, am I? Jealous?" she asked as she flopped down beside him.
"No way!" he chuckled. "Come here, you!" Johnny pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
"I’m really going to miss our having so much time together," Chris sighed plaintively.
"Yeah, I know. Me too. But we can’t afford to retire just yet," Johnny observed. Chris nodded. As much as she hated the thought of Johnny going back to work, she really hated the thought of going back to work herself.
"So what do you plan to do tomorrow?" he asked her. She leaned back in his arms and looked into his eyes.
"Well, I guess I’ll try and see what I need to unpack. We still have to decide where to put the wedding gifts we brought back."
"Yeah, I know. I can’t believe how many we got. You’ll be writing thank you notes for months!"
"Me? What about you? They’re your presents too!"
"Oh sweetie, you don’t want my scrawl on those notes! No one will be able to read them! Besides, they’re mostly from your side of the family," Johnny reasoned, trying to get out of the chore. Chris frowned at him and poked her finger into his chest.
"Oh no you don’t! We’re going to share in this task! I’ll work on them tomorrow while you’re at work and then Friday, we’ll BOTH do it," she informed him sternly. "Who knows? Maybe the rest of them will be here by then."
Chris was referring to the fact that most of the gifts had been sent to her parent's address in Kansas City. And while they had been able to return with four suitcases full of presents, many more had to be shipped. Chris’ parents had promised to see to it that they would be delivered on Thursday or Friday while Chris was still at home to accept delivery. Roy and JoAnne had brought the gifts from the LA contingency back to their house after the ring ceremony on Saturday. JoAnne didn’t like the idea of leaving them in the empty house. She was going to bring them by on Thursday, after Jennifer and Christopher were off to school, while the guys worked.
"Yeah, maybe," Johnny concurred. He looked hard at her for a moment and then asked, "So, what do you want for Christmas?"
Chris was surprised by his question. "Oh! Gee, I hadn’t given it much thought yet. What do you want?"
"Oh, I don’t know." He grinned wickedly. "I think I already have everything I want!"
Chris giggled. "Me too!"
Johnny got that look in his eyes as he pulled her into an embrace. Chris’ eyes grew wide with wonder.
"Here?" she asked doubtfully. Johnny wiggled his eyebrows at her.
"Why not?" he asked as he began to unbutton her blouse.
"But what about...what if someone comes?" Chris hated to admit that the idea of discovery was exciting.
"No one’s going to come. It’s just you, me, the horses and nature," he assured her seductively. His hands felt cool against her skin as she felt her clothing and her inhibitions fall away.
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Chris awoke the next morning to the sound of the shower running. She glanced over at the alarm clock and groaned as she saw it was barely 6:30 a.m. Johnny obviously had been up for a while because she could smell the aroma of coffee coming from downstairs. That meant he’d already been out to take care of the horses. She stretched and slipped out of bed and crossed to the bathroom and opened the door.
"Good morning," she called as she entered. Johnny poked his head out from behind the curtain and grinned.
"Morning! Care to join me?" He asked wolfishly and Chris smiled.
"I thought you’d never ask!" she replied and entered the shower with him.
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The house felt so empty after Johnny left for work. Chris watched from the front door as the Land Rover disappeared down the drive. She turned and surveyed the living room. It wasn’t too bad. A few things needed picking up but it really didn’t need cleaning. She crossed to the kitchen and took care of the breakfast dishes. Afterwards she collected the laundry and got that started. She took out the list of wedding gifts that they had received and a box of Thank You notes. Gradually she began the chore of writing out the notes and addressing the envelopes. By noon she had barely made a dent in the stack. She sealed and stamped the finished ones and walked out to the roadside mailbox to post them.
She had no more than reached the porch when the delivery truck pulled into the yard. She stopped and stepped down and waited for the young driver.
"Morning Miss," he called cheerfully. "I’ve got quite a few packages for you. Where do you want them?"
"Uh... the living room I guess," she replied.
"Okay." He opened the rear door and pulled down a dolly and began to load package after package. Chris had to laugh when he made the third trip. The driver looked to be about her age she thought. He had blond hair and blue eyes and judging from the way he handled the packages, he probably lifted weights. He handed her the clipboard to sign for the parcels.
"You just move in?" he asked out of curiosity.
"You might say that," Chris chuckled. "We just got married last week."
"Oh! Well, congratulations! That means I’ll probably be out here again. Just let me know if there’s anything I can do for you," he told her. Chris looked at the name embroidered on his shirt.
"Thanks...uh... Ted. I can’t think of anything but if I do, I’ll let you know."
"No problem. Now if anything got broke, just call this number and they’ll help you file a claim," Ted advised her as he handed her a business card.
"Thank you. You’ve been most helpful," Chris told him. She watched as he drove away and heard the telephone ringing. Hurrying inside, she ran for the phone.
"Hello?" she answered breathlessly.
"Hey! What have you been doing without me?" Johnny teased.
"Hi Honey. I was outside and had to run for the phone," she explained.
"I see. So what have you been doing?" he was speaking softly and Chris could hear the other guys from the shift in the background.
"Missing you," she cooed. "Plus a bunch of our wedding gifts were just delivered!"
"Cool! Oh, and I miss you too!"
"You’d better. How’s your day been?" she asked and Johnny went on to tell her about the runs that he and Roy had gone on that morning. Reluctantly he had to hang up when lunch is ready. They never knew if they’d get to complete a meal so one did not miss eating.
Chris finished the laundry and put fresh linens on the bed. Then she returned to the Thank You notes until her hand started to cramp from writing. At six o’clock she stopped and fixed a can of soup for her dinner. Afterwards, she put on a jacket and went down to visit the horses for a bit. The light was beginning to fade so she headed back to the house. After checking and locking all the doors, she settled down to watch some t.v., hoping that Johnny would get a chance to call. The wind had picked up a bit and rattled the windows slightly. She hadn’t noticed that before but then Johnny had been there. This was her first night alone in Johnny’s house, well correction, their house, and she was beginning to feel nervous. The shadows began to appear ominous and every noise seemed incredibly loud. She raised the volume on the television set. She nearly jumped out of her skin when the phone rang around nine-thirty.
"Hello?"
"Chris? It’s JoAnne," she heard the friendly voice say. "I’m sorry I didn’t make it over today but we’ll come by sometime tomorrow."
"Oh! JoAnne! I’m so glad you called," she admitted as she tried to calm her nerves.
JoAnne chuckled. "I thought you might need some help getting through this night. I remember my first night alone after Roy and I got married. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah. Everything’s okay except my imagination. It’s kinda scary here by myself."
"I know. But remember, I’m only a phone call away. Don’t let it get to you. Do you have all the necessary emergency numbers handy?" JoAnne asked.
Chris laughed. "Yes, Johnny’s got all the numbers taped next to each phone in the house. No way I can miss them."
"So, do I get to hear all about the honeymoon now?" JoAnne inquired. Again Chris laughed and told JoAnne about the plane coming back to pick them up and how embarrassed she was. Then she told her about Acapulco and all the fun things that she and Johnny did there.
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It was after midnight when Roy and Johnny were finally able to head back to the station. They had just finished dropping off their latest victim at Rampart Emergency. Johnny leaned against the door wearily.
"Man! This has been a long shift!" he complained.
"What’s the matter Junior? You getting too old for this?" Roy teased. Johnny made a face at his partner, which he was sure that in the darkened cab of the squad, his partner hadn’t seen.
"No! We’ve just been on too many runs. That’s all." He rotated his neck trying to get the kinks out of it.
"Well, you haven’t said too much about the honeymoon. How was it?"
Johnny grinned. "It was awesome! And it’s not over yet!"
"That’s good! Keep it going as long as you can," Roy advised. He knew his partner was still riding high. But as an "old" married man, Roy also knew that the "high" wouldn’t last forever but he didn’t want to tell that to Johnny at the moment.
"Yeah. I plan to. I’ve been trying to rack my brains to figure out what to get Chris for Christmas. We’ve gotten so many wedding gifts that I don’t even know what all we have."
"Jewelry always nice," Roy suggested.
"True but Chris isn’t big on wearing jewelry. Besides, after all the wedding and honeymoon expenses, my budget for gifts is a bit tight," Johnny admitted ruefully.
"Well, you can always work overtime shifts," Roy pointed out the obvious.
"Yeah, I can but I hate being away from Chris when I have to work. I never thought I could miss anyone so much. And I hate it when I can’t even get to a phone to call her. Like tonight! I didn’t even get to say goodnight to her," Johnny groused.
"Well, you’ll think of something. You still have, what? Three weeks?"
"I guess. What are you getting JoAnne?" Johnny inquired.
"I bought her a new curling iron. She’s been hinting about it for weeks. Plus I’ve been looking at this necklace over at that new jewelry store at the mall. I may go over tomorrow and put it on lay-away," Roy answered. "We both go shopping for the kids. Say, would you mind if I stashed them over at your place? That way I know they won’t find them before Christmas. And I’d better include JoAnne’s gifts too. I don’t think there’s one place in the house that she wouldn’t check."
"Don’t tell me JoAnne would try to find out what you’re giving her before the big day?" Johnny asked in mocked astonishment.
"You’d better believe it! Sometimes she’s worse than the kids!" Roy had to chuckle. He pulled into the drive in front of the station and backed the squad into the bay.
Johnny was being thoughtful. "When are you going to the mall? Maybe I’ll go with you."
"When does Chris go back to work?" Roy countered.
"Not until Monday. Why?"
"Then let’s wait until you won’t be rushing home after the shift. We can go one day next week while we’re both off," Roy proposed.
Johnny grinned as he prepared to open the door of the squad. "That’s a great idea. Thanks partner."
"Come on, Junior. Let’s try to get some shut eye before the tones go off," Roy suggested, giving the speaker above them a wary glance. Johnny yawned.
"Good idea."
They crossed the apparatus bay to the dorm where the engine crew was already asleep. Quietly they entered the dorm and prepared for bed. Johnny flopped wearily on his bunk and tried to get comfortable. It was incredible to him that after just a few days, he was already missing having Chris beside him. He lay on his back, thinking about her and wishing she were there. Going to sleep without her wasn’t going to be easy. He needed to talk to her--to say good night. Quietly he sat up. Roy was already asleep. He pulled up his turnout pants and silently made his way to the day room. He dialed his home number, hoping he didn’t startle Chris when the phone rang.
It barely rang before she answered.
"Hello?" her voice sounded wary.
"Hi sweetie. It’s me!" he said cheerfully.
"Johnny? Is anything wrong?" she asked worriedly. She’d been watching an old movie on t.v. because she just couldn’t make herself go to bed alone.
"No. No. Nothing’s wrong except that I miss you. I just wanted to hear your voice," he explained.
"I’m glad you called. I’ve missed you too."
"Did I wake you?"
"No. I’ve been watching t.v." Chris admitted. Johnny looked at his watch. It was after one. She should be asleep.
"Hey now. You shouldn’t be up this late," he scolded.
"Me? What about you?" she giggled.
"Well, you’ve got me there. My excuse is that I needed to hear you voice before I went to sleep."
"Can you go to sleep now?" she asked, wondering if she could do the same.
"I’ll try. You need to go to bed too!"
"Okay. I’m turning off the t.v. right now," she promised and clicked it off with the remote.
"Goodnight sweetie."
"G’night honey. I love you."
"I love you more!" he professed and heard her giggle. "Bye-bye."
"Bye," she responded but neither one wanted to hang up.
"Hang up the phone Chris," he ordered playfully.
"No. You hang up first," she teased.
"We could do this all night," Johnny responded.
"I know," she admitted with another giggle. "Say goodnight Gracie!"
Johnny smiled. "Goodnight Gracie. I love you."
"Me too. Night!" she said and forced herself to hang up the receiver. Johnny listened as the line went dead and the dial tone returned. Reluctantly he replaced the handset and made his way back to the dorm. Now he could go to sleep.
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Chris gazed at the phone for a few minutes almost willing it to ring, hoping that Johnny would call her back. She finally resigned herself to the fact that he had indeed gone to bed. Well, he did need his rest. She knew he could get called out at anytime. She just hated being alone in this big house. A few minutes later found her in the kitchen making a cup of herbal tea. She hoped that it would help her to relax so she could fall asleep.
She turned off the kitchen light and carefully made her way across the darkened living room to the stairs. The aroma of Chamomile wafted into her nostrils. She liked its honey-like taste and took a sip. She smiled and climbed the stairs. She had just reached the top step when a wave of dizziness passed over her. Chris steadied herself with her free hand, trying not to drop the cup of hot liquid. The dizzy feeling passed and she tried to shake off the eerie feeling.
"What was that all about?" she asked herself with a frown. She continued into the bedroom and placed the cup on the night stand before sitting on the bed. She sat there for a moment and took in deep breaths. Once she felt calmer, she picked up her tea and took a sip. It had cooled considerably and she was able to drink it down. She replaced the cup on the night stand and crawled under the covers. It felt so lonely without Johnny there. She pulled his pillow against her chest and curled around it and finally sleep came.
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END PART 1--TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 2
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