Roy was dumbfounded, who would be smoking in here? His train of thought was interrupted when the charge nurse he recognized from the previous day entered the room to check on John.

 "Mr. DeSoto, I know you were told yesterday that it was okay to stay with Mr. Gage. Today is a new day, and you really can't be sneaking in here without permission," she scolded him trying not to sound upset. It was becoming very difficult half way through this trying double shift.
 

"Um, I'm sorry," he looked down at the floor uncomfortably. "How is he doing today?"

"You just missed Dr. Morton."

"Why do they still have him listed as critical?"

"I'm sure you're well aware of doctor patient confidentiality."

"Cut the crap!" Roy was a little startled by the tone of his own voice, but he wasn't up to taking the standard, tell him something, but tell him nothing response. "I'm sure if you took the time to check his records you'd see that I am the person listed as next of kin."

"Well, Mr. DeSoto," she snapped, "I'm sure then, that you can call the doctors, and get an update on his condition. After all, doctors are the only ones who can give you an update." She turned to check on her patient, "You'll have to leave the room, visiting hours isn’t for another hour." She was tired of being screamed at the last 16 hours by frantic family members wanting information that only doctors were suppose to provide. It was almost time to go home and she wasn't going to take it from anyone else, specially a firefighter. It was obvious to Roy that he had ticked off this nurse. He had to calm himself down. He took a deep breath to calm his already sensitive nerves. She began checking John's leg and noticed the cigarette butt in the bed. The nurse whirled around and glared at Roy.

 "Mr. DeSoto! How dare you smoke a cigarette in here! Being a firefighter, of all things. You should know better than to smoke in a room with oxygen. I suggest you get out. I will be reporting you to Dr. Brackett!" She grabbed his arm, but he managed to take a step back.
"Now, wait a minute. I don't smoke! I have never smoked! And I never will smoke! I want to know what’s so important that you can't keep an eye on a seriously ill patient!" He took a deep breath. "I will be talking to Dr. Brackett about your attitude! How dare you!" Roy stormed out of Johnny’s room. He was so angry that he couldn’t see straight. The fury radiated from him like heat waves. As he left the ICU room, he ran into Dixie and Dr. Brackett, who were doing rounds. Dixie had only seen that look in his eyes one other time and it had been concerning his children. She grabbed Roy’s arm, effectively stopping his progress down the hallway.

"Roy! What’s wrong? What happened?" She asked. He took a calming breath and retold his story to the two people that he knew could do something about ‘that person’. Dr. Brackett was alarmed by Roy's story. He burst through the door into Johnny's room, anticipating a verbal fight. The nurse was busy checking Johnny's vitals and was startled by the sudden noise.

 "Look, Mr. DeSoto!" she snapped before turning to see who had entered the room. Her anger flared again. She was tired of this ‘paramedic’ telling her what hospital policy was. She needed to finish her rounds before Dr. Brackett showed up, and she was in no mood to deal with a ‘firefighter’. She was exhausted, stressed about her other patients, and she had five others to get vitals on before she could leave for three days.

"Nurse Bradley," he barked, shocked at her attitude. He watched as her back stiffened. She turned to face the dark haired Doctor.

"Oh, Dr. Brackett, I'm so sorry," she began, "I’ve had a confrontation with his partner," she explained, nodding her head towards the man on the bed.

 "You have no right to upset any one the way you’ve upset his partner," Brackett instructed.

 She tried to explain, "Dr. Brackett, you don't understand. That man was smoking in here. I found cigarette butt in Mr. Gage's bed."

"I seriously doubt that, Nurse Bradley." Dr. Brackett responded. "In fact, it appears to me that the nurses on this shift didn't monitor their patients carefully enough. I'd like to see you in my office after your shift is over."

"Yes sir." she responded. She lowered her head as she passed him. At that moment, John began to stir in his bed. He moaned, raising his hand to his head.

 "Johnny?" asked Doctor Brackett. "Can you hear e?" He took his penlight from his pocket and flashed a light in both of John's eyes. John feebly tried to swat Brackett's hand away.

 "What?" he said as he opened his eyes.

"Johnny, look at me," commanded Brackett. Johnny focused on his doctor.

 "What happened?" He licked his lips as he peered at the people gathered around his bedside. "Where am I?"

"You're at Rampart," replied Brackett. "I need to ask you a couple of questions. What's your name?" John looked curiously at the doctor.

 "John Gage."

"What’s your job?" asked Brackett.

"I'm a paramedic/firefighter," Johnny rubbed his eyes. "C'mon Doc, you've known me for years."

"Can you tell me what day his is?" asked Brackett, who by now, was smiling.

"Wednesday, I think. At least, last I remember it was Wednesday."

"It was Wednesday when we went on that run. It's now Thursday morning," Roy responded.

"Thursday?" croaked John. "What happened?"

"You got an electrical shock from a defibrillator," replied Doctor Brackett. "You took quite a jolt."

 Once outside of the room, she hurried down the hall and turned the corner. She stopped in front of a door marked storage. Digging in her pocket, she pulled out a set of keys and fumbled with them until she found the one she needed. She looked around warily, making sure she wasn't noticed by anyone, and hurriedly opened the door. She went in, locking it behind her. She looked at the two people who were gagged and bound together, back to back, in the corner.

 "So sorry, Miss Bradley," she said, to the woman, as she pulled the latex mask over her own head. "Don't worry, Chief, I won't hurt either one of you...it's only those two paramedics that I want!"

 Mary Jo laughed at the ignorance of the hospital staff. No one knew her past background with the theater troupe. She was a master of disguises. These silly fools would never find her... not until she carried out her plan. She heard a knock on the supply closet door. Cautiously, she opened the door. "It's about time," she said to the large man at the door. "Did you bring the van?"

"Yeah Ma. And I got here as soon as I could," said Bud. He was dressed in the hospital whites of an orderly. She stepped into the hallway, and motioned him to grab an available gurney. They pushed it to Johnny's door. Removing a needle from her uniform, she stepped up to his bed and injected a sedative into the paramedic's IV line. They waited a moment and then quickly moved him onto the gurney. Covering him completely with a white sheet, they wheeled him onto the elevator, and at street level, they transferred him into their van, speeding away.

Dr. Brackett sat in his office, talking to Dixie and Roy. "I don't like it. I think we should call hospital security. She should have been here by now. Do you really think someone is trying to kill Johnny?"

 "I personally, think it’s the Chiefs’ friend," Roy responded.

"I have my doubts," Dixie replied.

 "Doubt all you want, Dix, you didn’t see the look in her eye in the parking lot." Roy explained. Dr. Brackett picked up the phone contacting the security office. When he had finished arranging for Johnny’s protection, they made their way back to the ICU, looking for Nurse Bradley. When they entered the room and found it empty, Brackett turned to his nurse.

 Any chance Mike or Joe ordered some test I don't know about?" She shook her head no. She heard the door open and watched as Roy stepped into the hallway. As he turned the corner, he ran into Officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed.

 "Am I glad to see you guys."

"Hey, where's the fire?" Pete joked. One look at Roy and he knew this wasn't a time to be joking.

"I think John's been kidnapped!"

"Kidnapped, what are you talking about?" Roy quickly explained the events of the last day and his encounter with victim's wife.

 "All I know is that John was in his room sound asleep not more than 20 minutes ago and now he's gone." Jim looked at Pete,

 "This is way out of our league. Let me call headquarters and get Friday and Gannon over here." Jim went to make the call and Pete followed Roy back into John's room. Roy immediately went to the bed and started carefully searching the blanket.

 "It was here, right here." he said in explanation.

"What was here?" Malloy asked calmly. Roy was too distraught; he had to make him focus.

"Here it is!" He bent over to retrieve something. The cigarette had fallen to the floor.

"That's evidence." Malloy said, taking the butt from Roy’s hand. He frowned at the small thing.

 "It proves she was here!" he stated.

 "A cigarette butt and a burnt sheet aren't much to go on," replied Pete. "You’ve seen her smoke?" Roy sighed and rubbed his head.

 "Yeah. At the house, there was an ashtray full of butts, exactly like those on her coffee table. And I saw her in the parking lot puffing away."

"You said this woman was a friend of your Chief's, right?" probed Pete. "Have you spoken with him lately? Maybe he'll know where she may have taken Johnny," Roy nodded.

 "I heard he was on the way over here to pick her up. I don’t know if he ever made it." Jim walked into the hospital room. He beckoned to Pete. He spoke in a hushed tone.

 "Friday and Gannon are on their way. One of the nurses flagged me down. She found two people tied up in the linen closet. One was the Chief, and the other was a nurse. The charge nurse also said that some narcotic medications were missing from the lock box."

"Roy," said Malloy, "I think we found your Chief." Jim led the way out of the hospital room.

Meanwhile....

"We're here, Mama," the burly young man said over his shoulder. Mama sat up and stretched, yawning widely.

"Thank you, sweety, for letting mama sleep the last couple of hours. You did real good." The young man smiled with pleasure. He'd made his mama very happy. He didn't quite understand why everyone always got upset with her. She seemed okay to him. She didn't need those stupid doctors and their dumb ol' medicine anyway. He pulled the van onto an obscure dirt road. If you weren't looking for it, you wouldn't even see it. The weeds and branches could be heard brushing the side of the van.

"Mama, are the sticks gonna hurt the paint on the van?"

"I'm not worried about the sticks, honey. You get us to the cabin in one piece and I'll see to it that the van is re-painted when we're finished."
 

"Good. I like this van. It's better than the last one. That one stunk, like something died in it." Mama's hand slapped the back of his head so hard that it stung. "OWE!" he yelled rubbing his head. "What was that for?"

"NEVER, EVER say that again!" she glared at him in the rear-view mirror

"Okay mama, I'm sorry." He didn't want to get slapped again. The van pulled into a clearing. A dilapidated old cabin sat in among the trees, looking like it was about to fall over. He pulled up to the rickety old porch, parked the van, and shut off the engine. He rubbed his head again, and opened the door. Rounding the back of the van he opened the back and looked at the man lying on the floor. "He don't look so good, mama."

"That's okay, sweety. Mama's going to make him feel so much better," she told her son, as she joined him at the back of the van. She reached up and brushed Johnny's hair off of his forehead.

"Like you did the last guy?"

"Just like the last guy." She nodded, not taking her eyes off of the stricken paramedic. She let her hand linger on his unshaven cheek. "Just like the last guy," she quietly repeated. "Let's get him into the cabin, sweety. We've got to get back to the hospital."

"Are we going to get a doctor?"

"I think the person that will help us is his partner. He'll be waiting for us at the Emergency Ambulance entrance."

"Okay," he sat the sickly paramedic up and slung him over his shoulder. "My, he's a heavy one, isn't he mama?" He said with a grunt. "He didn't feel this heavy at the hospital."

"You're probably tired from driving. Let's get him inside." She opened the door holding it for him. The young man went over to the soiled mattress and lay Johnny back on it.

"Shouldn't we put sheets on the bed?"

"No, he likes his mattresses like this."

"Paramedics are weird."

"This is true," she commented turning towards the door. "Let's go get his partner. I think that he will feel better when his partner gets here."
 

"What about him?" He stood up straight, pointing at the man on the mattress.

"He'll be okay 'til we get back. Don't worry about him. Let's go." She went out and got into the van.

 Back at the police station...

"Hey, Pete, whatcha got?"

"It's a weird one, Starsky, you don't even want to know."

"I love weird ones, let's hear it." Hutch stepped up behind Starsky and nodded hello at Pete Malloy.

"I've got an LA County Firefighter/Paramedic missing from Rampart General. The Chief and a nurse were tied up in the closet," he explained.

"Sounds like something that Friday and Gannon would be looking into."

"They are. Hey, maybe you guys have some info for us. This woman seems like she's a pro, do you have any current suspects with her M-O?"

"I don't know, can you give us a description?" Hutch asked.

"You could talk to his partner, Roy DeSoto, he's still at Rampart. I'm sure that he could help you out with a description. We do have a cigarette butt with her DNA on it. But we have to wait for the lab results."

"We'll swing over and have a talk with DeSoto, and see if anything clicks with any of our current flunkies," Starsky said.

"Maybe, contact Huggy, too. See if he's heard anything on the street." They headed for their vehicle.

"Thanks, guys. I need to go talk to Joe and Frank. See you later." Pete responded to their departing backs.

 Meanwhile:

Officers’ Baker and Poncherello were parked along side of the freeway, writing out a speeding ticket. "Please sign here sir," Jon requested, handing the impatient businessman a pen.

 "Oh, okay...but I'll fight this, you won't get away with this! I was NOT speeding!" the man yelled.

"Hey partner," Ponch nudged Jon, "isn't that the stolen van we got the description on, a little while ago?" he asked, motioning toward the passing, silver van.

"You know, I think you're right. We’d better move!" Jon quickly handed the businessman his copy of the ticket and the two CHP officers got on their motorcycles and sped off after the van.

"Mama...the policemen are after us! What should I do?" Trying to think fast, the woman told her son,

 "It's okay, Bud, pull over." Bud pulled the van over onto the side of the freeway.

Jon made the call in to dispatch and the two patrolmen walked, cautiously, over to the van. As soon as they were away from their motorcycles, Bud backed the van up over the bikes and then peeled out, flying down the highway at top speed.

"Did I do good mama? Like you said to?"

 "Yes, sweety, you did just perfect!"

 The red Torino with the white stripe squealed into the parking lot of Rampart General.

"Hi ya, schweethart," the dark haired detective said, as he walked over and leaned against the nurses station, giving the nurse his most charming smile.
 

"Don't you schweethart me!" Dixie replied, sternly. She looked up at the detective and smiled. She noticed his blue eyes twinkling with mischief. "I think of all the detectives on the LA police department, you two are my favorites."

 "Thank you, Dixie," Dave winked. "I’ll bet you say that to all LA police detectives." She shook her head, and continued with her paperwork.

"Dix, we were looking for Roy DeSoto, we need to ask him a few questions," the blonde detective informed her.

"Roy? He just left, not five minutes ago," the nurse replied, "he went out the emergency exit, over there… maybe you can catch him if you hurry."
 

"Okay, thanks Dix! Come on Starsk," Hutch called to his partner, as he hurried toward the exit.

 Meanwhile: FBI Headquarters, Washington, DC.

"Agent Mulder, Agent Scully, sit down," the man said, inhaling his cigarette deeply. "I have an assignment for you." The man pulled out a photograph, handing it to Mulder.
"This is Mary Jo Menthol and her son Buddy. They both recently escaped from a mental institution and disappeared, along with Mr. Menthol, Mary Jo's husband. The son, while seeming of low intelligence is really a brilliant scientific savant. He was working on a time/space continuum theory; we have been monitoring him closely for several years. Your assignment is to find them, before they hurt anyone. The only clue we have to go on, is that they are both addicted to 1960's and 1970's television dramas. As of recently all of these dramas and anything to do with them have also disappeared from existence."
 
 

Mulder and Scully looked at each other, curiously, then back at the man behind the desk.

 "That's not very much to go on, sir," Scully remarked.

"I realize that Agent Scully," the man admitted, blowing smoke in the direction of the two agents.

"Where do you suggest we start, sir?" asked Mulder, coughing and fanning the cloud of smoke that had enveloped him.

"Los Angeles, California," the man replied.

 Hutch hurried out the automatic doors with Starsky close behind. He wanted to catch DeSoto before he headed for home. He looked around for the paramedic. Starsky tugged his shirt, and pointed towards a street light. There under the street light, looking lost, stood the paramedic with his hands thrust deeply into his pockets. The two officers stepped off the sidewalk onto the pavement and began walking towards the forlorn man.

A silver van sped up to him. A huge man jumped out, grabbed the paramedic firmly around the middle, pinning his arms tightly to his sides, and hoisted him up over his shoulder. The side door of the van swung open and he threw Roy inside, climbing in behind. Starsky and Hutch both drew their guns and proceeded, carefully, towards the van. As they approached the van it spun its tires and squealed away.

In the van;

"Mama don't hurt him," he said.

"Bud, trust Mama." She told him shoving the cloth deeply into Roy's mouth. "I'm not gonna hurt him!" She gave the cloth one last little shove. Bud began wrapping Roy's wrists and ankles with duct tape.

"Mama's good, don't let her worry you." He tried to comfort the frightened paramedic. It didn't help. Mama had climbed into the driver seat glancing at the mirrors on either side of the van.

 "We got company, hld on, sweety." She put the van in gear and stepped on the gas, causing the tires to squeal.

Hoping this would be his leap home, Dr. Sam Beckett found himself...in the body of a large dopey looking fellow driving a van at a high speed. The police were chasing him. A woman dressed in nurses uniform was holding a gun on a hostage... who looked like a fireman. "Uh-oh," Sam said...praying Al would come tell him what it was he was here to do!

"There it goes!" said Starsky as they peeled out of the lot after the van. He looked in the rearview mirror to see the flashing lights from Ponch and Jon's bikes. "Looks like we've got some help." He radioed the hot pursuit to dispatch. A roadblock was set up three blocks to the north. Officer's Reed, Malloy, Vince Howard, and Lieutenant Crockett waited for the van to arrive. The van slammed on its brakes as it approached the blockade of police cars.

Inside the van was pure pandemonium. Sam looked up and saw the roadblock, coming up to meet them. "Look out!" He gasped to the woman driving the vehicle, as it came to a sudden stop. She began screeching maniacally as the police closed in on the van, guns drawn.

"Come out of the van, hands raised!" yelled one of the many officers surrounding the vehicle. Sam raised his hands, praying Al would show up and tell him what the hell was going on. In front of him, the obviously deranged woman grabbed the fireman, pulling him to the front of the van. In plain view of the police, she held the gun to the man's head.

"Just back away and let us go or you're gonna have one dead paramedic on your hands!" Sam looked at the man who glanced at him, fear evident in his eyes.

"And I guarantee you'll never find that worthless partner of his in time either." Partner? There were two men's lives at stake?

"You'll never get away with this lady!" yelled another officer. They were at a standoff.
Sam knew he had to do something. Her hand relaxed slightly, the gun moving fractionally away from the bound man's head. Knowing the man's, and probably his own, life depended on it; Sam grabbed the end of the muzzle and shoved upward. The gun discharged, the bullet ricocheting off the rim of the windshield. She turned and glared at him.

 "Mama knows what she's doing!" For a moment, the car was still. She then put the van in reverse, running into something behind her with a loud ‘thunk’. As they drove away, Sam/Buddy looked out the back window. A CHP officer was sprawled on the ground beneath a motorcycle, everyone rushing to his aid.

"You hit that man!" Sam horrified.

"That's right! I told you to trust Mama. Now no one is following us!" The obviously deranged woman cackled with glee as the van accelerated, throwing Sam against the bound fireman. He couldn't help himself. He took the cloth out of the prisoner's mouth.

 "It's okay," Sam started to reassure him. He leaned down into Roy’s ear, "I don't have a lot of time to make you believe me but I'm not really who I seem to be. If you give me a chance I might be able to help you find your partner." The fireman looked up at him with fear-filled eyes.

 "Where are you taking me? Is Johnny there? Is he all right?"

The sable and white collie ran up the hill ahead of her master. Cautiously, she approached the dilapidated cabin, sniffing the air for signs of what was happening. Bad people had been here. She walked up to the door sniffing. Someone was inside this run down shack, someone sick. She turned and ran part way down the hill, meeting her young master. She barked several times then started back up the hill.

"What is it Lassie?" the young boy asked as he hurried after. "Did you find something?" He followed the dog to the cabin, pushing open the door and slowly stepping inside. Lassie pushed past him, running to the single bedroom and over to the man lying on the dirty mattress. The boy followed. "Oh my," the boy exclaimed. With some hesitation he reached out and shook the man's shoulder. "Hey mister, are you okay?" The only answer was a moan. The boy looked at the dog. "Lassie, I've got to go tell Ma and Pa about this. They'll know what to do. You stay here and take care of him, okay?" The collie barked her affirmative as her young master rushed from the cabin. She turned back to the bunk, gently nuzzling the sick paramedic's hand. Getting only a groan in response, Lassie carefully climbed onto the bunk, stretching out next to Johnny, and laying her head protectively across his chest.

After a long, bumpy and terrifying ride, the van suddenly came to a halt. The woman turned off the engine and got out. The back doors opened and Sam found himself staring into two very deranged looking eyes. He glanced at the paramedic whose face no longer was showing fear, but instead rage. The woman pulled Roy from the van.

 "Come on Buddy, help mama get this one in the cabin." Sam crawled out, and took the paramedic by the arm, inconspicuously whispering,

 "Don't worry," into the man's ear. Mama opened the door of the cabin and was greeted by the threatening growls. The dog stood in front of Johnny, warning them to stay away from the unconscious man lying on the mattress.

Meanwhile...

Scully and Mulder had just got into their rental car at the LA airport. "Now what?" asked Scully.

"I heard the Lakers were playing at home tonight, I say we look there first," Mulder answered, cracking a small smile.

The dog distracted mama. Sam/Bud heard a noise in the trees. He turned and walked over to the edge of the porch, listening. Roy followed. He figured he was safer with Bud than with Mama, anyway. The two men scanned the trees. Sam/Bud saw a flash of red between two trees. He focused on that area. Roy saw a flash of blue opposite of where Bud was watching. What's going on? Sam/Bud wondered. Where's Al when I need him?

Sam/Bud called out. "AL!" Nothing. "Is that you?" Still, nothing. There came a loud command from somewhere in the trees.

"Phazers on stun, FIRE!" Sam/Bud and Roy dove for the protection of the cabin door. This wasn't good. "Everyone in the cabin. We come in the name of peace. I'm James T. Kirk Captain of the USS Enterprise." Enterprise? Sam/Bud wondered. That's a nuclear ocean vessel? Why would her Captain be in a forest in California? He shook his head and looked at Roy.

"You okay?" He asked.

"I think so," he responded. The growling of the dog interrupted Roy's train of thought. He looked towards the sound and saw a large collie, it's teeth showing, cornering Mama against the wall. Sam/Bud spoke out loud.

"Thank god, it's you Al, what’s going on?" Roy didn't see anyone; maybe Bud was talking to the dog. Roy looked over into a side room and saw Johnny lying on a nasty looking mattress. Roy sat up.

"Hey, Bud could you possibly undo my hands so that I can help my partner?" He held up his wrists. Bud/Sam nodded and took the tape off.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized. Roy got up and ran to his partner.

Meanwhile, back at the scene of the failed roadblock, all the officers hurried over to the two CHP officers who had been in the van's direct line of fire. Ponch was struggling to get up from where he had landed when he jumped out of the way. Starsky and Hutch grabbed him and helped him up the rest of the way. As Ponch tried to regain his bearings, he remembered his partner.

 "Jon?" he called to his partner. Ponch looked over at Starsky, "Is my partner alright?" As he took his first tentative step, he glanced down at the mangled wreckage. There he saw Jon lying in a pool of blood. "JON!" Ponch screamed, trying desperately to get his partner to respond. Jon lay still. Officers’ Reed and Malloy were struggling to pull the motorcycle of the fallen officer. Once, it was off, they could tell the situation was not improving.
 

Jon was struggling to breathe. His leg was lying at an odd angle, and he had a large cut on his head, which was bleeding profusely. Vince immediately leaned down by the officer and began to apply pressure to the head wound. Lieutenant Crockett called for an ambulance and the paramedics.

Starsky and Hutch tried to hold on to Ponch. "Let me go!" he demanded, "that's my partner! I have to help him." The men refused. The CHP officer was too emotional. At that moment, Vince looked up at the other officers;

 "He's stopped breathing!" Ponch was frantic; he broke loose of the men holding him and ran to Jon. He knelt over him and looked up Reed, who was standing the closest to him.
"Get some help! Someone here must have a radio!" with that, Ponch began CPR. As Vince ran to his vehicle, Starsky turned to Hutch.

 "Did you see where that van went?" His partner shook his head no.

Meanwhile…

"Easy, Johnny, I'm here now." Roy looked around desperately. Now that he knew where his partner was, there must be some way to resist. Al was about to speak, when Sam noticed the fireman tending to the wounded man.

 "Hang on, Al, I've got to help..." Roy leaned over Johnny protectively as Buddy approached. This man had helped him so far, but there was no telling where this situation may lead.

 "Stay away!" he warned the stranger. At that moment, a dog's yelp startled them both. Mama watched the collie she had kicked run away, then brandished the gun at Roy.
"You. Help Buddy get him in the van. We're leaving."

 "Mama," asked Sam, "where are we going now?"

"We're gonna take these two and pay them back for everything they've done for us," Mary Jo said, as she pushed a loose hair back from her face. "Your dear father won't rest until I do."

"Mama," said Sam, frantically trying to make sense of the jumbled thoughts he could barely make out in Junior's mind. "I thought you were gonna make 'em suffer for a couple of days, first! Especially him!" He pointed to Johnny, who lay on the mattress. Perspiration beaded on Johnny's forehead. He moaned as he turned his head. He peeled open an eye and tried to focus on the voices above him.

"You're right," said Mary Jo. She brightened somewhat. "You're Mama didn't raise an idiot, no matter what those dumb doctors said. But, we need to get something to eat. I want you to take him," she pointed to Roy, "and go to the general store and get some Spaghetti-O’s or something, and some milk." She pointed the gun at Johnny. "Any funny business, and I'll finish off this one.

 Outside the cabin:

The science officer looked up from his tri-corder. "Captain, tri-corder readings indicate four humans, three male, one female, and a canine." Dr. McCoy stepped up beside the science officer.

"Jim, one of the males’ life readings are very weak. I need to get in there to help."

"Bones, we don't know how much firepower they have. You saw them carry the one man into the cabin in bondage. That isn't a good sign."

"Kiptin," Checov called from over by the cabin. He was kneeling down in the tree line, staring into a broken window. "The vone female has a veapon. Looks like vone my grandfather owned."

"What about the bigger man?" his Captain asked.

"I see no veapon, unless it is in his clothing. It looks as if he is trying to help."

"Captain, there seems to be some sort of power emanating from one of the men. Some type of aura. I am also reading some form of holographic signature."

"This is getting stranger by the minute," Jim Kirk stated.

"You said a mouth full," Dr. McCoy responded back.

"Dr. McCoy, his mouth is not full." The Vulcan did not understand humans. There was a pained squeal from inside the cabin, and the collie ran crying out the front door.

"She kicked the dog," Checov whispered, loud enough for the away team to hear.

 "Captain, we have exactly 3 hours 12 minutes and 32 seconds to find the Pacific Ocean and the Humpback whales we need to avoid the destruction of the Earth," stated Spock.

"Damn it Scotty, I need those engines working NOW!" Kirk shouted into his transmitter.

"Sir...I'm giving it all I got! It will take at least 5 hours to get them back online!"

"Scotty we haven't got that much time...have them fixed in 1 hour or you're fired! Kirk out! Bones...can't you do something about the dog?" Captain Kirk asked.

"Damn it Jim, I'm a doctor, not a veterinarian!" declared Dr. McCoy.

Meanwhile, in the cabin....

"Okay mama, we'll be right back! Please don't hurt the man, uh...before I get back!" said Sam, trying to think of anything to save the poor paramedic.

 Meanwhile, back at the accident;

 Ponch wiped his brow as he continued chest compressions on Jon. "Come on, get back here!" he hissed into his partner's ear.

"Step back everybody!" ordered Malloy, "We found a doctor!" He stepped aside to usher through two men. The first was a distinguished looking, middle-aged man with graying hair. A younger Asian man, with dark hair followed him. The older man carried a medical bag. "Here you go, Doctor Quincy."

Doctor Quincy knelt beside Jon and looked at Ponch. "Stop compressions," he ordered. Ponch rested back on his heels as he watched Doctor Quincy palpate Baker's neck.
"Trachea's deviated," Quincy said to his companion. "Resume compressions," he ordered Ponch. Quincy opened his medical bag and foraged inside.

 "Probably a tension pneumothorax, or a hemothorax, " said his companion, "considering the chest trauma."

"Here's the thing for it," said Quincy as he pulled a large needle from his bag. He quickly readied the needle. "Stop compressions," he ordered Ponch.

"What are you gonna do with that?" asked Ponch. His eyes grew wide.

"Watch," replied Doctor Quincy. He quickly inserted the needle in the side of Jon's chest, releasing trapped air, and some blood.
"I feel a pulse," said Sam, as he palpated Baker's neck. "He's breathing, rapid and shallow."

The guys pulled up in front of an old cabin. Ralph looked out the window; "Hey Rich...Look at that cabin. It's perfect for the Halloween party." Potsie shook his head,

"I don't know...it looks pretty scary..." Ralph sighed disgustedly,

 "It's supposed to be scary. Then the chicks get nervous, and you comfort them...You're such a Potsy!" Richie Cunningham looked at his two friends.

 "I don't know, guys… I mean, this is trespassing..."

"Oh come on Rich. Look at this place!" said Ralph. "No one's been here in years. Let's check it out!" Richie reluctantly climbed out of his parents' DeSoto. He followed his friends to the front door of the cabin. Ralph threw open the door and the three burst in. They saw two men picking up a third, obviously very sick man. In the clearing beyond the house, they could see men in red, blue, and gold shirts. One with pointy ears… they looked like they were dressed for Halloween. But the scariest sight was the crazed woman pointing a gun at them.
 

"Uh… we got lost, but obviously we're interrupting something," Richie rambled. "Sorry, got to be going."

"Get in here, Opie," said Mama, "and bring your friends with you."

"I think I hear my mom calling," said Ralph. He and Potsie tried to leave at the same time, getting stuck in the door. Mama yanked them into the room, motioning them over to the other side of the room.

"What'll we do now Rich?" asked Potsie. Richie shook his head. The door flew open again, knocking Mama to the ground. The gun flew from her hand, under the bed. Someone put his foot on Mama's back. She twisted around to find a young man with a ducktail, wearing a leather jacket.

"Heeeeeeey", he said.

 In the trees....

 Spock looked down at his tri-corder. "Captain, there are two alien ships converging on our location. They are on a direct collision course with the cabin."

"Can you tell what alien specie?"

"The one has the Melmacian signature. The other has an Orkan signature. I won't be able to give you more information until I actually witness the vehicles in question."

"Very good, Mr. Spock."

"Estimated time of impact, 10 Earth minutes." Kirk lifted his communicator off of his belt. "Mr. Scott, beam up the away team. We've got to get out of here." This time is way too weird for even our show, he thought, as all members of his away team assembled beside and behind him.

"Aye, Captain," came the Scottish response from the speaker. He could feel the effects of the transporter as it removed him from the earth.

 "Welcome back, Poncherello," said Lieutenant Crockett. "How's Baker?" The police officers were gathered in a conference room at LAPD headquarters.

"The Doctors at Rampart said that he should make a full recovery," said the relieved patrolman. "I'm just glad that doctor came along. He saved Baker's life. What's the plan?" he asked as he looked at a map of the Angeles National Forest that was placed on the table.

"We received an anonymous call. They said that Gage and DeSoto could be found at a cabin located in the National Forest," said the Lieutenant. He pointed to a spot on the map. "We traced the call. It came from a pay phone located at a general store here." He pointed at a spot on the map. "It sounds legit. The mother is armed, and dangerous. She's very unbalanced, and there's no telling what she'll do. We'll surround the cabin. Reed, Malloy, you'll go in the back. Sergeant Friday, you and Officer Gannon, Ponch and I will take the front. Vince, you, and your partner will watch the sides. The S.W.A.T team has been dispatched and they’re on their way now. We don't have time to wait for the FBI agents. The informant said that the mother was deteriorating mentally...and that Gage was deteriorating physically." Crockett looked at the assembled men. "Any questions?" No one responded.

 "Check your weapons, and let's roll."

 Somewhere in space over California:

The two ships hurtling towards earth converged on the same spot. Only their shields prevented a catastrophe as one angled off in the direction of Colorado and the other in a completely different direction.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...Oops, I mean cabin:

Fonzie looked at the woman screeching on the ground, then over at the other two struggling with the third, obviously ill man. He turned to his friends.

"Cunningham, Ralph, Potsie... You don't want to have your party here. Somehow, you guys drove out of the comedies and into a drama."

"I think you're right Fonz... Okay guys, I know where we can look next." After the younger men left Fonzie turned back to the group in the cabin and flashed them his thumbs. "AAYYYYYYY!" And he was gone.

 "Lassie!" a young boy called from outside the cabin. "C'mon girl. Ma says it's time for dinner and Pa says he doesn't want us up here anymore." The beautiful collie ran down the hill towards her young master. Roy glanced over at Sam/Bud with a perplexed look on his face.

 At the general store, Ponch paced restlessly, while the other law enforcement personnel went about their duties. He waited until Malloy walked by, and grabbed him by the arm.

"What have you found out? How much longer is it going to be?" he asked urgently.
Malloy looked sympathetic. He knew what the CHP officer was going through.

"We've got to make sure of their location. We've determined that it is them." Ponch released his hold on the beat cops arm.

 "It better be. I have some unfinished business with that woman."
Meanwhile...outside of the cabin:

"Street, Deac, you take that side...Luca, T.J. we'll take that side. Let's move!" The Lt. said.

Inside: There was a loud crash, something flew through the window and smoke filled the cabin. Everyone began coughing.

"Come on Johnny, hurry!" Roy said, pulling his partner up off the dirty mattress.

"Mama," cough, "Help, I can't see!" Bud cried. Unable to see or breathe because of the tear gas, Roy dragged Johnny out the door of the cabin.
 

"Freeze!" he heard someone shout. "Get down on the ground!" Roy instantly fell to the ground, dragging Johnny down beside him. He could hear his partner coughing, even with the frenzied activity around them. He felt himself being searched, then hauled up to his feet. He saw Johnny being helped away too.

"Are you all right?" asked Ponch, as the two firefighters were led past a line of police cars.

"Let me see Johnny!" commanded DeSoto, going over to his partner. Ponch waved off the other police officers, which stepped away from the ailing man. "I don't know what they gave him, but he's been raving about outer space, Lassie, Fonzie, and FBI agents too." Roy said. And then there was that thing with Bud . . . Roy gave himself a mental shake and set about examining his partner. There was no telling what the drugs might have done to Johnny in his weakened state. He looked up at Ponch. "Can you get a hold of Rampart?" he asked him.

Suddenly, shots rang out, and the two closest police officers crumpled to the ground. Ponch found himself staring down the barrel of a gun, held by the woman who had run down his partner. Ponch flinched as he heard a loud bang from somewhere in front of him. He watched the woman's eyes glaze over as she fell into his arms. Her gun fell to the ground. Ponch lowered the woman to the dirt and checked her pulse. There wasn’t one.
Lieutenant Crockett picked the gun up off of the ground.

 "She's dead, Lieutenant," said Ponch.

"Good shot, Malloy," the Lieutenant said, as he knelt by the side of the first fallen officer. "He's alive." The second officer moaned as Crockett moved over to check his pulse. Roy placed his hand on Johnny's forehead. Gage was burning up. His respiration’s were becoming more rapid and shallow. Roy watched as his partner shuddered involuntarily from the fever, and new beads of sweat broke out on Johnny's forehead. The bandages covering Johnny's burns had been ripped off sometime when he had been gone with Bud. Roy grimaced as he saw the dirt and grime that had become embedded in the wounds, as well as fresh cuts and bruises on Johnny's face and torso. He looked up as Craig Brice knelt beside him.

"How is he?" asked Brice. Roy shook his head. "Not good. He feels like he has a fever, and his breathing has become rapid and shallow." Roy looked at the dead woman in disgust.

"Jen, honey wake up..." Johnny's voice filtered through the haze of sleep.

"Uncle Johnny?" She asked, rubbing her eyes. She opened them widely and looked into his chocolate brown eyes.

"Yeah, honey, who did you think it was?" She threw her arms around his neck and squeezed it tightly. "What's wrong, Jen? Bad dream?"

"Oh, Uncle Johnny I was so scared. You got hurt and this lady stole you and daddy. She was going to hurt you both." He could feel the tears on his neck.

"Oh sweety, you can see I'm okay. I'm taking you over to Rampart to meet with mommy and daddy now. That's why you have to get up." She leaned back and looked into his eyes.

"Why are mommy and daddy at Rampart?"

"Boy, you must have slept really hard. Chris got his tonsils out last night. They stayed with him and you stayed with me. Remember?"

"Oh, now I remember. We were watching TV. We had some popcorn and soda, and you let me ride Champ. He has the prettiest colors. I love him."

"I'm sure Champ loves you, too. He lets you ride him. There aren't many people that he lets get on."

"Can we go see daddy and mommy, now?"

"I've got your bath water all ready you go jump in and I'll make you some of my grampa's famous eggs."

"Okay, Thank you, Uncle Johnny. I'm glad you're not hurt."

An hour later...

"Daddy!" Jenny squealed and ran into his open arms. They hugged and kissed. "I missed you daddy."

"I missed you, peanut. Were you good for Johnny and Champ?"

"Oh, yes daddy. I was very good." A woman stepped up behind Johnny and touched his arm.

"Mrs. Stewart. How's your husband?"

"He's doing fantastic, thanks to you two." Jen began screaming. She looked like the woman in her dreams.

"Jennifer DeSoto, you stop that right now!" Roy demanded.

"But daddy, she wants to kidnap you, and hurt Johnny!" The tears began streaming down her face. Everyone's eyebrows rose. Joanne's mouth dropped open.

"Me, sweety?" The lady stepped over to Jen in her fathers’ arms and lay her hand on her back. Jen shrunk away from her touch. "I wouldn't hurt your daddy and his partner for the world. They saved my husband's life." Johnny cleared his throat.

"I may have corrupted her little mind."

"What did you do, John Gage?" Joanne stepped in front of him.

We were watching a lot of TV last night. Soda and popcorn were on the menu, and she had a really bad dream." Roy hugged his daughter tight. He reached up and dried her eyes.

"It was only a bad dream honey. She won't hurt me or Uncle Johnny, okay?"

"Okay," she sniffled. "Can I go see Chris now?" Keeping a wary eye on the woman.

"Sure honey, you go on in. Mom you want to take her?" Roy said, placing the little girl on her feet. He handed Jen off to her mother and the two girls went on into Chris' room. "That must have been some dream she had." Roy commented, as the door closed on his two favorite women.

"She woke up in a panic. I'm glad I could calm her down before I brought her here. I think my grampa's eggs did the trick." Roy's eyebrows raised.

"Your grampa lays eggs?" Roy's smile spread across his face.

"I was going to ask that question too, Roy." The nice lady said.

"You're not funny, Roy!" Johnny stepped up to Chris' door. "I've heard better comebacks from Chet." He pushed on the door and went in to see his partner's son.
 
 

"After Shock" ©1999 Two Chickies Interactive Story. "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions. All rights reserved. No infringement on 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.