Turning Tables--Part 2
With special thanks to Chris Umscheid
"Yes sir, but let me tell him. I know that Kelly made a huge mistake, but he is suffering because of it. He is going to need some help to get through this one." Captain Stanley hung up the phone and looked out the window. It was hard to believe that it had only been a little over twelve hours since the accident. He got up from his desk and went to find Chet. He hated to be the one to tell him, but maybe it would be easier coming from a friend. The Battalion Chief had arrived not long after the accident to gather facts for the report. For the time being, Chet was being suspended. The paramedics from C shift had taken over the rest of Roy and Johnny's shift. The department had sent over a replacement for Kelly, who had been unable to respond after the accident. The Captain found Chet sitting at the kitchen table, staring at a long cold cup of coffee.
"Chet, I need to see you in my office." Hank spoke gently. Now was not the time for authoritative voices.
Chet got up without saying a word and followed the Captain into his office. He sat down in the chair that was offered to him.
"Chet." Hank didn't know where to begin.
"Roy, he's dead, isn't he?" Chet spoke so softly he could hardly be heard.
"No, the last word is that Roy is doing better." Hank sighed heavily. "This isn't about Roy, it's about you. Because of the circumstances surrounding the accident, I have to inform you that the department is placing you on suspension pending the outcome of the investigation. On a personal note, I'm here for you if you need to talk. I think that you need to get some help on this one, pal. I know that you didn't mean for Roy to get hurt, it was an accident. I just want you to know that just because you're on suspension, doesn't mean that we aren't friends. You know where you can find me, or the rest of the guys."
"I'll get the stuff out of my locker." Chet left the office and headed for the locker room. When the Captain went into the kitchen, Marco and Mike went into the locker room to see if he was all right, but Chet was already gone.
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Johnny slowly pushed open the door to Roy's room. It had been hours since he had left the hospital. He returned to the station and picked up his Land Rover, but he didn't go inside. John knew that his partner needed him, and that he should be at the hospital, but instead he just drove around. He stood outside the doors to ICU for twenty minutes before he could bring himself to go inside.
"JoAnne, how is he doing?" Johnny spoke in a whisper.
"He is still sleeping. Dr. Burgwyn, the thoracic surgeon, was in and said that his heart is stabilized. Now its just a matter of time." JoAnne reached her hand out to Johnny. She needed him so badly right now. Aside from his family, Johnny was the most important person in Roy's life. "I need to go home and check on the kids. My parents are coming in tonight to stay with them. Our neighbor's daughter, Jessie, has been staying with them but she has to go to work in a couple of hours. Would you drive me?"
"Listen, JoAnne. Why don't I go over and stay with the kids until your parents get in. That way you can be here when Roy wakes up." Johnny wasn't sure what to do with the kids, but he didn't want to be here either. "Are they flying or driving?"
"They're driving. I talked to them a little earlier, they said they should be at the house by ten tonight. Are you sure that you want to stay with Chris and Jennifer?" JoAnne asked. Johnny had always had a great relationship with the kids, but babysitting?
"Yeah, it'll be great. I'll order a pizza or something. Besides, Roy doesn't want my face to be the one he sees when he wakes up. We get more than enough of that at the station." Johnny tried to crack his trademark grin, but found it too much of a task.
"Okay, I'll call Jessie and let her know that you are taking over. I'll call you when he wakes up." JoAnne smiled; she appreciated the fact that she wouldn't have to leave.
"I'll see you later. I'll have your parents call when they get in." Johnny let go of her hand and slipped quickly from the room.
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Johnny had barely rung the doorbell before he heard Jennifer's voice screaming "Uncle Johnny."
"Hi, you must be John. I'm Jessie. Thanks for coming so quickly, I hate to dash off but I have to get ready for work." Jessie made room for him to step inside. He was barely inside the door before Jennifer tackled him in a bear hug.
"Hi honey, how's my best girl today?" Johnny swung her up in his arms.
"Have you been to see Daddy? Is he going to be okay?" Jennifer knew she could depend on Uncle Johnny to answer all of her questions.
"Why don't you go find Chris and meet me in the kitchen. We can raid the cookie jar and talk about it over milk." Johnny put her down and pointed her to the kitchen.
Johnny saw Jessie to the door and headed for the kitchen. He hesitated; he just didn't know what to tell them. JoAnne and Roy had always been very protective of how much information they gave the children in other situations. Still, they had never really been in such a desperate situation with so many frightening possibilities. He forced himself to smile, taking a deep breath before entering the kitchen.
"Jennifer, what kind of cookies did you find?" Johnny forced himself to be upbeat.
"Oatmeal raisin, they are Daddy's favorite. Uncle Johnny, when is my Daddy coming home?" Jennifer asked around a mouthful of cookie.
"Mom didn't tell us anything except that Dad was hurt in an accident at the station. Dad's going to be okay, isn't he? Can you tell us what happened?" Chris tried not to show how worried he was. He knew that it must be very bad because nobody was saying anything.
"Your Dad was in an accident yesterday morning." Johnny pulled Jennifer up onto his lap. "He's been hurt pretty bad, but he is going to be okay. Your mom is with him right now and the doctors are taking real good care of him. There's nothing for you guys to worry about, he's going to be fine."
"Promise, Uncle Johnny." Jennifer smiled up at him.
"I promise." Johnny stared at the cookie crumbs floating on the top of his milk glass. He just couldn't bring himself to look her in the eyes. "Please God, don't let me be wrong." Johnny whispered to himself.
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Johnny closed the door quietly behind him and stepped into the warm night air. It was late and he was exhausted. JoAnne's parents arrived late and missed all of the pandemonium. Johnny could understand why Roy would only let them have one soda with pizza. He had broken that rule and as a result he thought the kids were never going to go to sleep. He had spoken to JoAnne at the hospital a couple of hours ago. Roy was still holding his own, but just barely. He told her that he explained to the kids that everything was okay. Now all he wanted was sleep. He promised her that he would come over to the hospital first thing in the morning and sit with Roy while she went home. He had to get some sleep.
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"G'morning, how is he?" Johnny slipped quietly into Roy's room.
"Better, I think. He's still sleeping. I won't be long, I just want to see the kids and clean up a little bit." JoAnne said gathering her things. "Captain Stanley called. The guys from the station want to come up this afternoon if Dr. Brackett says it's okay. I just wish he would wake up."
"He's probably better off unconscious. His body needs a chance to heal a little bit." Johnny just couldn't bring himself to look at Roy; it was too much.
"Did the kids behave themselves for you?" JoAnne asked as she pulled on her jacket.
"Yeah, they were great. Of course, now I know why Roy is stingy with the soda pop." Johnny grinned.
"Uh oh, they wouldn't go to sleep, would they?" JoAnne forgot to remind Johnny about limiting the soda. She smiled; he must have had a rough time getting them to settle down.
"Oh well, by the time your parents got in they were sound asleep." Johnny gave her shoulder a quick squeeze as she headed towards the door. "I'll call you if he wakes up."
"Thanks, I shouldn't be long." JoAnne forced a smile as she slipped out of the room.
Johnny was at a loss for what to do now. He paced around the room keeping his back to his partner. The fact that he just couldn't seem to look at Roy was driving him crazy. He had seen Roy injured before, just never this badly. "Of course, the other times Roy had been injured weren't my fault." Johnny mused to himself. Johnny turned to face the mangle of tubes and plaster that was his partner. He had to say something.
"Roy, I don't know if you can hear me or not. You gotta hang in there. Everybody is pulling for you. I promised Chris and Jennifer that you were going to be okay. Don't make a liar out of me, Pally." Johnny moved closer to the bed and steadied his shaking hands against the railing. "As for what happened, I'm sorry. Shit, I am so sorry. I don't know how it happened or what to say. I have been running it over and over in my mind. I haven't told JoAnne or the kids that I was standing there, right fucking there, when it happened." Johnny couldn't say anything more. He just turned back to the window, staring out but seeing nothing. He leaned his head against the cool glass and felt the hot tears slide down his cheeks.
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Johnny rolled over in his bed and threw his arm across his eyes. He had been tossing and turning ever since he got home. JoAnne had relieved him in less than two hours. He knew that she wanted him to stay, but he just couldn't. He begged exhaustion and promised he'd be back after a couple hours of sleep. When he first arrived home he grabbed a quick shower and slipped into bed. The hot water coursing down his back had helped to relieve some of his tension. He knew that he had to get some sleep or he would be useless when he returned to work in the morning. He stared at the numbers on the clock; five thirty two in the afternoon. The phone beside the bed rang and he reached over to pick it up.
"Hello." Johnny said around a yawn.
"It's JoAnne, did I wake you?" The sound of her voice caused Johnny to sit up, it was obvious that she had been crying.
"No, what's wrong?" Johnny asked, his brow furrowed with concern as he sat up in bed.
"I wanted to let you know, he's awake. He wants to see you. The doctors think he is going to be okay. They're taking out his breathing tube right now." JoAnne began to cry softly, thankfully they were tears of joy.
"Yeah, be right there." Johnny breathed a sigh of relief and hung up the phone. He grabbed fresh clothes out of the closet and dressed quickly. He wondered what he was going to say to Roy when he arrived at the hospital.
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Johnny knocked softly on the door to Roy's room. He wasn't ready for this. By now Roy would have explained to JoAnne exactly how the accident happened. JoAnne would know that Johnny was to blame for all of this.
"Hi, Johnny." JoAnne said as she opened the door. "I'm going to slip down to the cafeteria and get something to eat."
"Hey, you look better than the last time I saw you." Johnny tried to sound upbeat, but it wasn't working.
"I still feel like I was hit by a truck." Roy laughed weakly, but somehow it wasn't funny. "I can't thank you enough for being there for JoAnne and the kids. She told me that you even did a little baby-sitting."
"Yeah, well, it's the least I could do." Johnny shifted uncomfortably in the chair beside Roy's bed.
"I've got one question for you." Roy tried to smile. "What in the hell happened?"
"Don't you remember?" Johnny stared at the floor. It seemed that even Roy didn't have the answers to the accident.
"I had come out of the locker room door just before as I saw the truck back in. I was surprised because I didn't hear the horn signal that it was backing up. I walked toward the front of the rig. The last thing I remember was wondering what the fuck Stoker was doing. I shouted at him, but he didn't hear me. That's it." Roy looked to his partner to fill in the rest of the details.
"Roy, Mike wasn't driving, Chet was." Johnny looked up, expecting to see realization and blame in Roy's eyes; all he saw was confusion.
"Chet! What? How did Chet end up behind the wheel?" Roy couldn't read the expression on Johnny's face; he was hiding something.
"That's not really important right now. The important thing is that you are going to be okay." Johnny was avoiding the subject and Roy knew it. He could see it in Roy's face. Johnny felt like he was suffocating, he had to leave. "Listen, you need your rest and I have to go back to work tomorrow. I'll tell everyone that you said 'hi' and that you are feeling better." Johnny was backing towards the door.
"Okay, well thanks again for all of your help. You'll stop by if you get a chance tomorrow, right?" Roy was concerned about his friend's sudden departure.
"Yeah, sure. See ya later." Johnny said casually as he left the room.
Roy took a deep breath, at least as deep as he could. Shit, his left side hurt. He had gotten no real answers from Johnny. The fact that Chet was driving only left him with more questions than he had to start with.
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Johnny pulled his Land Rover in to its usual place at the station and rushed inside. He was late this morning and he didn't want to end up on latrine duty. He rushed into the locker room and changed his clothes in record time. He made it in front of the squad just in time for roll call.
"Nice of you to join us Gage." Captain Stanley smiled. "I hear that Roy is doing much better."
"Yeah, Cap. Brackett took his ET tube out yesterday and they're letting him eat liquids." Johnny tried to sound casual.
"Okay, we've got two replacements today. Bob Richards from station 10 is going to be covering for Kelly. Gage, I need to see you in my office about your replacement. First order of the day is to check over the air packs. You guys get started with that, Gage, you come with me." Captain Stanley turned around and headed for his office while the others started on the detail.
Once inside the office Hank shut the door and motioned for Johnny to have a seat. This was going to be a long one.
"Gage, you are out of service until your partner arrives. His name is Becker, and he's fresh out of training. In fact, this will be his first regular assignment as a paramedic." Captain Stanley leaned forward as he spoke.
"Shit, Cap. You've got to be kidding me. Couldn't they get one of the other guys to fill in for Roy? I'm not in the mood to play baby-sitter for a boot paramedic." Johnny ran his fingers through his hair; this is not what he wanted for a partner.
"Sorry pal, everyone else is working. I also need to let you know that the Battalion Chief is coming over today to talk to you about the accident. Kelly has already been suspended and if this department weren't so damn short of paramedics, you'd be suspended too." Captain Stanley was trying to keep his patience. He knew Gage had some involvement in the accident, but nothing more. "Kelly was too screwed up to tell me anything. What in the hell happened out there?"
"Shit, Cap, I don't know. Kelly was saying something about the engine being parked crooked, and that he was gonna straighten it out. I was giving him a ration of shit about it. Telling him that they were never going to let him drive, you know that sort of stuff. The next thing I knew Chet had hit something. I went around back to check the damage and that's when I found Roy, pinned against the door frame." Johnny had gotten up and was staring out the window.
"Was Roy able to tell you anything at the hospital yesterday?" Hank knew that this was eating Johnny up inside, but he needed to know what happened.
"The only thing that Roy remembers is coming out of the locker room door and moving toward the front door. He didn't even know that Chet was driving. By the time he realized that the engine was going to hit the wall, it was too late. The ladder caught him square in the head and he passed out. It's probably a good thing too, after what Dr. Brackett said about the abrasions on his back, the pain would have been excruciating." Johnny thought back to the accident and how he had pushed Chet away. He felt guilty; it was no more Chet's fault than it was his. "How is Chet doing, anyway?"
"I don't know. I haven't heard from him since the afternoon of the accident." Hank turned in his chair toward the phone. "I was just about to give him a call."
"Do you mind if I stay. I'd ah, I'd like to talk to him. I was kinda rough on him, ya know." Johnny looked at a small scuff on his shoe and wiped at it absent- mindedly.
"Sure, pal." Hank dialed Chet's number and they both waited for an answer on the other end. He let the phone ring for a full minute before he hung it up. "I wonder where he would be. It's still pretty early. I hope that he's okay."
"If I get the chance today I'll swing by with the squad and check on him. Did he say anything when he left?" Johnny's voice showed concern.
"That's part of the reason that I am so concerned. He didn't say anything to anybody. For about an hour after the accident we couldn't even get him out of the bathroom, he was so upset." Hank was wondering if he should have let Chet leave. "I'll talk to the boys, maybe one of them has seen him. It's just not like Chet to completely withdraw."
The conversation was interrupted by a knock on the office door. Johnny opened the door and saw his temporary partner. At first Johnny was too stunned to speak. "This kid couldn't be more than nineteen years old." Johnny mused to himself. "Has to be at least twenty-one to be in the Paramedic program, but he sure doesn't look it."
"Hi, I'm Phillip Becker. I'm going to be replacing ah...ah..." the young man with the thick southern accent glanced at the piece of paper he was holding. "Roy DeSoto."
Hank Stanley was also too stunned to speak. Where had the department found this kid? He was at least a good six inches shorter than Gage, but weighed probably fifty pounds more. He wasn't really fat, just stocky. It was obvious that he was young, but the blond high and tight hair cut combined with his full cheeks made him look more like a twelve year old boy.
"I'm sorry, sir, was I interrupting something? I can come back later." The young paramedic said as he began backing toward the door.
It was Johnny who recovered first. "No, not at all, Phillip. My name is Johnny Gage; I'll be your partner. This is Captain Stanley."
"Hi, Becker. Welcome to station 51." Hank cast a grateful look in Johnny's direction. "Let me know if I can do anything to help you get settled. Johnny, why don't you get him a locker and show him the squad."
"Sure, Cap." Johnny moved toward the door. "Come on, Phil. The sooner we get you settled, the sooner we're back in service." Johnny crossed the bay to the locker room door. He sure hoped that this would be a very temporary partnership. "Here's an empty locker for you. Once you've changed why don'tcha come on out to the squad and I'll show you around."
"Okay, thanks, Johnny." Phil smiled at him, grateful for the older man's willingness to help him out.
Johnny crossed to the squad and began opening up the compartment doors and pulling out equipment. "Shit, this kid is greener than the grass." He thought to himself. Gage had just gotten most of the equipment pulled when his new partner walked up to the squad.
"So the Cap tells me that this is your first real assignment." Johnny said trying to make conversation.
"Yeah, I just finished my infield training last week." He smiled. "I guess I got kind of lucky getting an assignment so soon." Phil realized he had said the wrong thing when he saw the scowl that crossed Gage's face. "I'm real sorry about your partner though. I hear that he is going to be all right. You know, in training, you guys are practically legends."
"Legends, huh?" Gage smirked and reached for the drug box. "This is the drug box. Look through it and make sure that you know where to find things."
Gage spent the next thirty minutes explaining everything in the squad to Becker. Once they finished with squad orientation the Captain called dispatch to let them know that Squad 51 was back in service. It didn't take long for them to get their first call.
"Squad 51, chest pain, 3145 Clark Street, 3145 Clark Street, cross street Greenwood. Time out 1137."
Johnny ran for the squad and jumped in while Captain Stanley acknowledged the call. It only took Johnny a few seconds to realize that he had made a mistake. Out of habit he had jumped into the squad on the passenger side. Both his new partner and Captain Stanley were looking at him like he had lost his mind.
"Ah, sir, aren't you supposed to drive?" Phil stuttered through the window.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, force of habit." Johnny flushed as he slid over into the driver's seat and took the piece of paper that the Captain offered him. Gage started the engine and hesitated only a moment before moving the squad into traffic. He looked over at his new partner. "Do me a favor, don't call me sir. You're making me feel old. Just call me Johnny."
"Yes sir." He stuttered. "I mean Johnny. Back in Inman, South Carolina...traffic's clear on the right...we call just about everybody sir."
"Well, I'm too damn young to be a sir." Johnny grumbled. "There it is," Johnny said angling his neck toward a sunshine yellow ranch style home. "Okay, you grab the drug box and the datascope. Vince and I will get the rest."
Johnny pulled up behind Vince's squad car and cut the engine. He ran around to the side compartments and grabbed the oxygen and the defibrillator, just in case. Vince grabbed the Biophone and they headed for the door.
"Fire department." Johnny called knocking on the door. An attractive woman in her mid forties opened the door and showed them in.
"He's in the back yard. He was mowing the grass. I told him it was too hot for that, but he insisted. I went out to take him a glass of lemonade and found him leaning against the bird house."
"Is he awake?" Becker asked.
"Yes, he says his chest hurts, so I called you." The woman answered.
"What is his name?" Becker drawled out another question.
"Mr. Abel, Frank Abel." She said and gestured to an overweight man in his early fifties. Johnny and Phil hurried over to him. Phil opened the drug box and reached for the BP cuff and stethoscope while Johnny started asking questions.
"Mr. Abel. My name is Johnny, this is my partner...Phil" Johnny caught himself just before he said "Roy." "Your wife says that you are having chest pain. Can you tell me where it hurts?"
"Right here." The man pointed to the region around his heart. "Hard to breathe. Feels like someone sitting on me."
"Johnny, BP is 140/96, pulse 120 and weak, respiration 16 and labored." Phil relayed his findings and began setting up the phone for Rampart.
"Sir, has anything like this ever happened before?" Johnny spoke while he was hooking up the leads to the EKG.
"No, never." He panted; it was getting harder to breathe.
"Are you allergic to any medicine, or taking any medicine?" Johnny asked glancing toward the EKG that was now operational.
Unable to answer the man simply shook his head.
"Rampart, this is Squad 51. How do you read?" Phil began the call in to the hospital while Johnny started getting an IV ready.
"Go ahead 51." Dr. Brackett acknowledged and Dix began to take notes.
"Rampart, we have a male approximately 51 years of age. He is experiencing chest pain while mowing the lawn. BP is 140/96, pulse 120 and weak, respiration is 16 and labored his skin is ashen and he is diaphoretic. We have him on 15 liters of O2 by non-re-breather. We are prepared to transmit EKG, this will be in lead two." Phil took a deep breath and looked at Johnny. He had only done a few radio calls; he hoped he wasn't screwing up.
"51, We confirm sinus tach. Continue O2, start IV of D5W, TKO and transport as soon as possible. Is the patient in a lot of pain, 51?"
"That's affirmative, Rampart." Phil confirmed.
"51, administer 3 mg MS slow IV push." Dr. Brackett responded.
"10-4, Rampart. Confirming; IV D5W, TKO; Morphine Sulfate, 3 mg slow IV push." Phil was looking at Johnny to make sure that he knew what the hospital was saying.
"Affirmative 51. Send us another strip just before you transport." Dr. Brackett smiled at Dix. "Sounds like Johnny's new partner is doing fine."
"Are you going to ride in with him, or do you want to take the squad in?" Johnny asked. "The kid had handled himself pretty well back there," he thought."
"I can ride along. I'll have the ambulance driver stop if I run into any problems." Phil hoped he was giving Johnny the right answer.
"I'll see you at Rampart then." Without another word Johnny turned toward the squad. "So far, so good." He thought to himself. " Looks like this guy might be all right after all, even if he is green."
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"Hey, Dix!" Johnny gave her a crooked smile as he sauntered up to the nurses' station. "Can I buy you a cup of coffee?"
"Sure, John." Despite his smile, she could tell something wasn't quite right. "Where's your new partner?"
"He's still in the treatment room. I told him I owed you a cup of coffee and that I would be back in a minute." Johnny opened the door to the lounge and led her inside. Dixie sat down while Johnny poured two cups of coffee. He placed one in front of her and took the seat opposite of her. There was a very long pause of silence before Dixie finally spoke.
"Anything special that you want to talk about?" She leaned back slightly in her chair and looked him in the eyes.
"Not really, I just wanted to buy you a cup of coffee." He squirmed in his chair.
"I know you better than that Johnny. If you had wanted coffee you would have poured yourself a cup at the nurses' station." Dixie knew that something wasn't right. Johnny had only been to the hospital a couple of times to see Roy and those visits only lasted a short time. "You want to talk about something, and I'll bet I know what it is."
"Yeah, well, what's that?" Johnny was staring into his coffee. He didn't know why he was having so much trouble talking about it.
"Roy's doing a lot better. He has been asking about you. Dr. Cunningham started working on cleaning up his back this morning. The good news is he probably won't need any skin grafts. Still, all of the scrubbing and debridement has been painful." Dixie was watching Johnny sink lower into his chair. "I think Roy's beginning to wonder where you have been. He won't admit it, but I think he is scared and in quite a bit of pain. He's afraid to make things harder on JoAnne, so he puts on a happy face for her. He needs his partner, some one he can be honest with."
"You just don't understand, Dix." Johnny stood up; he couldn't face her. "I'm the one responsible for his pain. How am I supposed to explain that to him? I was messing around with Chet, teasing him about passing the engineer's exam. To show me what a good engineer he would be, he decided to re-park the engine in the bay. I yelled some stupid comment about being too close to the wall. When I did, Chet turned around to return the favor. That must have been when he hit Roy, because just a few seconds later he hit the locker room doorframe. If I had just left Kelly alone and kept my fucking mouth shut. But I just couldn't do that because I'm Johnny Gage. It's my job to ride Kelly and make all of the smart-ass immature comments that I want. How in the hell can I be there for him when I'M the one who put him there!" Johnny was starting to sob softly and he leaned his head against the cool window.
"You know what I think?" Dixie got up and went to the window. "I think that there are three people at fault here. You, for hassling Chet and Chet for getting behind the wheel of that engine. Roy, on the other hand, has been blaming himself entirely. He told me this morning that if he had just walked back into the locker room, none of this would have happened. He is up there right now in that bed kicking himself because he knows better than to be so close to an engine that is backing up. He knew he was in the blind spot and he kept going. All three of you are being completely selfish."
"Selfish! What in the hell do you mean by that?" Johnny turned to face her; a flabbergasted look on his face.
"Each one of you is making it all about himself. You won't go see your partner because of YOUR guilt. Captain Stanley called today because nobody can find Chet. He is so consumed with his guilt that he's disappeared. Roy has decided that the accident is all HIS fault and won't hear anything different." Dix was trying to be gentle, but she was losing her patience. "I think you brought me in here for privacy, but I'm not the one you should be talking to. You need to go up and see your partner. I think that once you guys talk this thing out, you will see that this was an ACCIDENT. Yes it was senseless and stupid, but it was still an accident. When all is said and done I think that you will all learn a valuable lesson from this."
"Let me think about it. I, I'll try to come over in the morning after my shift." Johnny began moving toward the door. He had come in for a little sympathy but he felt like he was getting the riot act.
"Better yet. Let's walk up there right now, together. I think that Roy will be thrilled to see you." Dixie grabbed him by the hand and led him to the elevator. Johnny wasn't really ready for this, but he knew that Dix was right. After all the times that Roy was there for him, he felt like a real ass not being there for Roy.
"You're right, Dix." Johnny sighed and resigned himself to tell his partner everything.
To Be Continued
Author's Notes: I would like to take this opportunity to thank Chris "Lucky" Umscheid for all of the inspiration and perspiration he put into this story. I couldn't have done it without you. I would also like to thank Tangee for all of her valuable input. I hope that you all enjoy this and stick around for the conclusion.
"Turning Tables" ©1999 Barbara Black. "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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