Marco, and Mike arrived with a neck brace, and a backboard. They all knew that they would at least need those two things. First, Marco put the neck brace on Johnny while Chet held his head perfectly still. Then they knew that they would need to log roll him over onto the backboard. The three men spaced themselves along his body, and prepared to get him on the board so they could move him to a better location. About this time, Engine 110 made their way to help rescue the other victims.
“On my count…1…2…..3,” Chet directed them without missing a beat.
Now that they had him on the backboard, they could carry him out, and contact Rampart. Chet was worried because this entire time, Johnny hadn’t moved, moaned, groaned, or anything then entire time they were with him. He knew that Johnny was alive, but could they keep him that way?
Just when they got to the HT, the firemen saw an ambulance pull up. They were all relieved. It was Roy, and that was even better! They knew that Johnny would be in the best possible hands with Roy looking after him.
“How’s he doin’?” Roy was running toward Johnny.
“He’s alive,” Marco said.
“How’s Cap’s wife?” Mike asked.
“She’s about the same. But when we got to Rampart, Cap collapsed. So now they're both being seen.”
When Roy saw Johnny, he could hardly believe his eyes. He had never seen his partner so pale, and he had seen Johnny in pretty bad shape. When he felt for a carotid pulse, it was so weak that he could hardly feel it. He knew that Johnny must have lost a lot of blood and that he needed to find the source of the blood loss, if at all possible.
“Chet, get on the biophone, and contact Rampart.” Roy was working steadily to remove Johnny’s gear and clothing. He knew that he didn’t have a lot of time due to Johnny’s apparent blood loss. Seeing that Roy was disturbed, Mike and Marco began helping to remove the gear and clothing, treating Johnny like porcelain.
Roy began to attempt to get a BP on Johnny, and it was even lower than he had expected. After getting the BP, Roy did something totally out of character for him, something none of the guys had ever seen him do before. They all became scared for Johnny’s life.
“Damn,” Roy said, and threw the blood pressure cuff down. He then took Johnny’s pulse, and noticed that the guys had gotten all of Johnny’s gear off, and most of his clothing. He did a quick visual on Johnny, and noticed a gash on his forehead. He obviously had some bleeding in his abdomen, which was swollen and rigid. Also, it seemed Johnny had a femur fracture on his right leg. His respiration wasn’t good either, and Roy suspected some broken ribs. Instead of having Chet relay all the information to Rampart, Roy decided that he should take over the biophone.
“Rampart, this is Squad 51. How do you read?”
Brackett had been anxiously awaiting this call, and took the helm at Rampart base.
“51, this is Rampart, go ahead.”
“Rampart, we have a male, 27 years of age. He’d fallen into a crevice, left by a pile of cars on the Freeway. Vitals are: BP 90/40, pulse 128 and thready, respiration 17, and shallow. We are giving patient O2, and he is responding.”
“51, are there any other apparent injuries?”
“10-4, Rampart, patient has a gash above his left eye, on his forehead, apparent broken ribs, his abdomen is swollen and rigid, an apparent femur fracture on his right leg, and patient is unconscious, and unresponsive to painful stimuli. It's Johnny."
“51, start 2 IV’s, one with ringers lactate, increase O2, brace the leg, then put the patient in shock pants. Transport as soon as possible.”
“10-4 Rampart, also pupils are sluggish but equal. We have an ambulance standing by.”
“10-4, 51, keep monitoring those vitals, and get John in here as soon as possible.”
“10-4, Rampart. Squad 51 out.”
As Roy had been on the biophone, Chet, Mike, and Marco had been preparing the supplies that he would need to administer to Johnny before transporting him to the hospital.
“Roy,” Chet had lots of concern on his face, “is Johnny….I mean, will he be….” Chet just couldn’t bring himself to say the rest, but everyone knew what he was thinking, and everyone wanted to know the same thing.
Roy glanced at each of his 3 “partners”, and assured them that Johnny would be okay, and that he had been through worse things than this and survived. Although Roy honestly couldn’t think of Johnny being as sick as he currently was, but he knew that the guys were looking to him for encouragement, and he wasn’t going to let them down.
After getting Johnny the field treatment that he needed, Roy helped load him into the ambulance, and Chet decided that he would drive the squad to Rampart. Mike knew that the engine couldn’t possibly work with a two-man crew, so he drove himself and Marco to the hospital also, where they would await further instructions about their schedule. Mike knew that the chief had already declared 51 unavailable until further notice.
Back at Rampart, Captain Stanley was much improved. His health took a turn for the better when he found out that his wife was going to be just fine. Dr. Early was going to keep him at least one night for observation. He knew that Hank would get some rest at Rampart; but if he had let him go home, it was very doubtful he would have rested at all.
Dixie went quietly into his room, thinking he was asleep. But she quickly found out differently.
“When can I see her?”
Dixie smiled and thought aloud, “You firemen are all tough guys, aren’t you? Let’s get you better, then you can see her. She’s still asleep from the anesthesia, and likely will sleep through the night. Now are you gonna sleep, or am I going to have to get some medication for you?”
Hank absolutely hated the thought of being any more medicated than he already was and said, “Oh, I’ll sleep. I just wanted to make sure that my wife was okay.” With that, he rolled over in the bed and fell asleep quickly.
Dixie began to think about the terrible day that Hank had, and all of the guys, then it hit her; it wasn’t over yet. She had been so busy that she hadn’t even found out if Johnny had been rescued. For all she knew, he could be at the hospital now. If that was the case, she wanted to be by her dear friend’s side. She strolled down the hall looking for Dr. Brackett, because she knew that he would be taking Johnny’s case. Things were quiet, much too quiet. Finally she got to the entrance, and she saw that Kel, and a couple of orderlies were standing at the door. This couldn’t mean good news. They were likely waiting for Johnny to arrive. She decided to go out and join them.
About this time Cap Stanley awakened, and felt an urgent need to get to the lobby. He had never had quite this same feeling before, and he knew that he had to find the energy to get moving. He got out of bed, a bit wobbly at first, then made his way down to the main floor. He could see the doctors and nurses standing in the doorway, as if they were waiting for someone. Then he saw an ambulance drive up, without even seeing anything else, he thought, John! He stumbled to the ambulance bay, and was shocked, once again, when he saw how pale Johnny looked.
“Cap?” Chet couldn’t believe that their beloved captain was out of bed, and Hank didn’t look at all up to being out and about.
“Now what are we gonna do with you?” Dixie asked another nurse to escort Stanley back to his room.
“How is John?”
“You go back and get some rest, and we’ll take good care of Johnny!” Dixie attempted to be both firm and gentle at the same time. She knew that Hank had been through far more than one human should endure in a day, and frankly, she didn’t like the looks of Johnny's condition at all. The captain didn't need to be seeing it.
The gurney was rolled into Curtain 3, and Roy was right beside his partner. He was exhausted, but still on his feet, and willing to help if at all possible. When the doctors got the shock pants off Johnny and examined him, they knew that he had to go to the OR stat, or they were going to lose him. His BP was far too low, and they had to get what was obviously internal bleeding under control.
“Joe, let’s get him to the OR.”
“Sure, Kel, we don’t have a lot of time.”
With those few words, the doctors rolled the gurney down the hall, to the elevator, while Dixie informed the OR that they had a critical patient coming. Roy only then realized how tired he was from the day, but he knew that he couldn’t leave the hospital. They were all off shift now, but none of the remaining firemen could bear the thought of being away from the hospital. Chet checked to make sure that both Hank and his wife were going to be okay. He was informed that Hank’s vitals became unstable when he left his room, but he was stable and resting comfortably now, and that his wife was also stable and resting comfortably.
“It’s up to Johnny now,” Mike’s voice was shaking when he uttered the words. He knew by the look on the doctors' faces that Johnny was very critical, and he knew that Johnny had very bad color, and wasn’t at all stable. Looking over at Roy, he realized that the senior paramedic already looked as if he had lost his best friend. Roy was on the phone calling Joanne to tell her where he was, and that he didn’t know when he would be home. He didn’t say so, but he so wished that she could be there with him. He needed her now more than ever, but so did their children. It would be impossible to get a sitter at this hour, so he went over to his fellow firemen, and they gave each other all the support they could muster.
Marco looked up at the clock. It had been 3 hours since they rolled Johnny back. He wasn’t sure if this was good or bad, but he was sure that he wanted to hear something, anything, from the OR. He began to shuffle in his seat. Marco had seen death many times, and the look that Johnny had when they rolled him out was indeed the look of death. He tried to tell himself differently, but he knew that look when he saw it. They all did.
After the long examination of the bowel, the doctors realized that there was only one tear, but that was enough to make them all feel very uncomfortable. The liver lac wasn’t really a problem to deal with, and the femur fracture wasn’t that bad either. Upon examining the skull x-rays, there were no skull fractures. But they would send Johnny through a CT to make sure there was no bruising of the brain, which they all suspected was the case.
John Gage had come through those hospital doors many times as a patient, but never a patient who was this sick. Everyone, both inside and outside the OR, knew that Johnny would have it no other way; he was doing what he loved to do. Rescuing someone. And every paramedic and fireman accepted the dangers that went along with the job.
Finally after seven hours of surgery, Johnny was ready for the CT scan, and the docs were ready to get some rest. Brackett knew all the guys from 51’s A-Shift would be awaiting word on Johnny, and decided to be the one to give them the news.
“What could be taking so long?” Chet was fretted, and scared at the same time, which did not make a good combination for anyone. But for Chet Kelly, it was horrible.
“Maybe if you sit down and stop pacing, you’ll feel better.” Roy was tired, worried, and in no mood for Chet right then. It was nothing personal at all, but his nerves were wracked, and he wanted Johnny to be okay. He also wanted to go home and hit the shower, and get into bed with his wife.
“Do you guys realize that it’s been seven hours?” Marco was amazed that the time was going by so slowly, and yet he wanted to hear word from the surgical team more than anything else. He also noticed that he was beginning to get hungry.
“Is this normal, Roy?” Mike couldn’t imagine that it was. “I mean, being in surgery for seven hours without a word?”
“Well, they are really busy tonight with that Freeway pile up, and some of the nurses are out sick too, so maybe there isn’t anyone to tell us anything, but I sure would feel better if we could hear something.”
Indeed, Roy would feel better. He was really getting concerned about his partner now. Usually every couple of hours, at least, you will get a call from the OR. If nothing else, the doctors would tell the family and friends waiting that a procedure was going well at that time. Now it had been seven hours, and nothing. He knew that something was wrong, and he feared the worst.
“I thought I’d find all of you in here!” Dr. Brackett’s cheerful voice lifted each man’s spirit.
“Is he gonna be okay, Doc?” Chet couldn’t wait, and why should he? The wait had already been grueling .
“Things look okay for now, guys. You see, when we opened his abdomen, John had a laceration to his liver, which wasn’t the biggest problem we found. He also had a perforated bowel. In all likelihood, he will get an infection, but we have him in ICU, and he’s on IV antibiotics. So now it’s a wait and see thing.”
“Was there very much bacteria, Doc?” Roy knew just how dangerous this could be for his partner, and he wanted all the details that he could get.
“I’m afraid that there was, Roy. We cleaned his abdominal cavity out as best we could, but you know how these infections go. Let’s just wait and see. John’s tough. We almost lost him 3 times, but he’s still with us, and he’s still fighting, so let’s just give his body time to heal and we’ll deal with the infection when it hits.”
“You mean IF it hits, right doc?” Chet wasn’t going to accept the fact that his friend was far from out of the woods yet.
“No, Chet,” Roy could tell the doc was exhausted. ”When it sets in.”
“Now you guys need to go home, and get some rest. You will not be able to see Johnny tonight, and you all look exhausted. Call before coming in tomorrow; we plan to keep him pretty sedated.” With that, Kel headed to the doctors' lounge.
None of the guys had anything to say as they headed out of the hospital. Roy realized that they should be really hungry by now, but he wasn’t at all interested in food. He decided not to mention it to any of the other guys. They all agreed that they would come back tomorrow, visitors allowed or not.
When Roy got home, he found Joanne asleep on the couch. He gently kissed her forehead, and she awakened.
“How is he?”
“So far, so good. He did have a perforation of his bowel, so he will get an infection. But hopefully that will hold off until his body has some time to heal. They say that he’s resting comfortably. I’m gonna hit the shower, then the bed.”
Joanne yawned as she looked at the clock, and realized that it wouldn’t be long before she would need to get the children up for school. So she went into the kitchen, and began to prepare some breakfast, and their lunches. She heard Roy exit the bathroom and enter the bedroom. He has to be more than exhausted.
Chet, and Marco decided to drop by a Waffle House and get some breakfast on the way home. They realized just how hungry they were when the fragrance of the waffles hit their noses. They both sat down to a hearty breakfast, and didn’t say anything. Each knew what the other was thinking. It was too horrible to say out loud, so they separated, and each went to his own place.
Mike got home and was ready to shower, then go to bed. Instead, he sat on the couch and turned on the tv. There was the news about the freeway pile up. He changed the station, and just sat there in a daze. He was too tired to move. Both physically and mentally, he was spent. All in one lousy day, they had to rescue the captain’s wife, then Hank went out on them; and who knew when Johnny’s battle will be over. Times like this made him rethink his chosen profession. He couldn’t imagine himself doing anything else though, so he would just hope for more good days than bad ahead. Mike laid down on the couch and fell asleep.
The next day, the firemen all showed up at the hospital. They wanted to know how Johnny was, and Dixie told them that they had a captain there that really wanted to see them. All were delighted, but Roy knew that something was wrong when Dixie didn’t mention Johnny. He started to ask her, but decided that he would go and see Hank first.
Hank was eating breakfast, and looked wonderful. His color was back, and he was no worse for the wear. He also beamed when he told the guys that his wife would be released within the next week, and that he would be released that very day.
“Well, it’s a good thing that we have the day off!” Chet tried his best to be funny, but he failed, once again.
“So, how’s John? Have you guys seen him yet?”
“No, Cap,” Roy chimed in, “they told us that we could come and see you, so we haven’t had a chance to visit Johnny yet.”
“Well, maybe I can join you guys when you go to see him.”
Mike thought that it was obvious that Hank had not been informed of Johnny’s condition. And none of them were in a position, or mood to inform him. He noticed Hank looking his way, and he just nodded his head.
Roy decided to go and ask Dixie what was up with Johnny. She told him that John had spiked a fever during the night and infection had already set in.
“Can I see him?”
Roy saw Brackett there, and decided that he would take a chance on asking.
“Officially, no,” Brackett hesitated. “But I think it might do him good to see you. Now just remember that he is heavily sedated, and Roy, he needs you now.”
With that Roy entered the ICU, and made his way over to Johnny. He had never seen his partner look so vulnerable. He was pale, lifeless, nothing like the John Gage that he knew, and loved like a brother. He sat down and looked at Johnny for a bit. Then he remembered that even sedated, sometimes people can still hear what you say.
“Hey there, Junior. Guess you’d do about anything to get some attention from these nurses, huh? Well, you went a little far this time, but you wouldn’t be the infamous John Gage if you didn’t, now would you?”
Roy reached up and wiped a tear from his eye, as he took Johnny’s hand.
“Johnny, this is probably the hardest battle you’ve ever had to fight. But, you have to win this one, Partner. I mean, we, I, no, we all need you. The guys don’t know that I’m in here now, or they would be hanging around to see how you are. Johnny, you’re scarin’ me right now. You need to reach deep down inside, and fight with everything that you’ve got. Not just for me, but for everyone. There are so many people who care about you; who look up to you. Heck, Johnny, I’d be lost without you. So reach deep down, and pull with all your might, you can beat this; I know you can.”
Just as Roy was about to leave, he was wiping a tear from his cheek, and suddenly he felt Johnny’s hand grip his. No, it wasn’t the normal strong John Gage grip, but it was something. He then knew that his partner would beat the infection, and come back to the people who loved him so dearly.
He came out of the ICU, and there was 51’s A-Shift looking at him in shock. Roy was smiling, something that none of them expected.
“How’s he doin’?” Marco couldn’t wait for Chet to ask this time.
“He looks terrible, has a high fever, pale, lifeless, but he squeezed my hand!” Roy said with all the enthusiasm of a little boy opening his Christmas packages.
“That’s a very good sign.” Dr. Early knew in the back of his mind that Johnny was going to be okay, but this reaffirmed his thoughts.
Luckily, the crew had a long weekend, and decided that after all the stress they would go to the beach. Hank was able to join them on the second day, and they got the relaxation they all needed before heading back to work.
Mike surfed and Marco gave it a try, but didn’t really enjoy it. So the Hispanic fireman just hung out with Chet, who was working on his tan and checking out the babes. Marco thought his time was much better served this way than attempting to surf.
Joanne had a wonderful picnic set up, and Hank stayed with her and Roy, all the while talking about how excited he was that his wife was coming home soon. Joanne assured him that she would be over to help out. Bill, who usually was the captain for 86's, was going to take on a few extra hours and substitute a couple of days for Hank.
After a wonderful, relaxing day on the beach, the guys and Joanne headed out to Rampart to see how Johnny was doing. When they got there, they were all shocked. Dr. Brackett had Johnny in isolation because of the infection, and none of them could go in to see him. Johnny was once again listed as critical.
“It can’t be,” exclaimed Roy. “Just yesterday he squeezed my hand, and we all know what a good sign that was. Just let me see him for five minutes. That’s all I ask, Doc, please.”
Brackett knew how close Roy and John were. And as long as Roy wore sterile clothing, he didn’t think it would hurt Johnny; maybe it would even help him somehow. The doctors were at the end of their rope, as far as help for John went at this point.
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Roy entered the isolation room, looking more like an astronaut than a fireman. He could tell that his partner was worse just by looking at him. Roy slowly made his way over to the bed, and once again took Johnny’s hand. He talked to him, telling the younger man how important he was to him and all the crew. But this time Johnny didn't squeeze his hand. Finally, just as Roy was on his way out, he heard the faintest sound. It was coming from Johnny’s bed. Roy’s eyes grew larger as he went over to his partner. Johnny was waking up! He was trying to talk, but Roy told him to just wait, and he would go get a doc. But Johnny grabbed his hand, as if to ask him not to leave, so Roy pushed the button to call the nurse.
In a moment, Brackett, Early, Morton, and Dixie were entering the room with their suits on. Johnny began what was his best attempt at a laugh. They all looked so funny to him in those suits. With that, the entire room burst into laughter. Looking at the monitor, they all could see that the crisis was finally over. Johnny’s temp had broken, his vitals were stable, and if he had the energy to laugh, he had to be getting better.
Over the next several weeks, Johnny wasn’t the best patient Rampart had ever taken care of. But he was one of the most entertaining, as always. Finally, after rehab on the leg and time for his internal injuries to heal, he was ready to leave the hospital, and to get back to work. There was only one request the paramedic made to the staff of Rampart.
“Please don’t tell the guys that I’ll be back tomorrow; I want to surprise ‘em!”
Of course everyone agreed! Johnny knew that Roy would be stopping by that evening, and didn’t want to look like he was ready to leave the hospital. Roy stopped by, and wanted to know when he was getting out of that place.
“You know Brackett will keep me off duty as long as he can, just to make sure I'm 100% before he clears me to return to work." Johnny even managed to look depressed about the possibility of more time off.
As soon as Roy left, Dixie popped her head in the room and wanted to know if her favorite patient was ready to go home.
“Are you kiddin’?”
Johnny was up in a flash, and on his way out of the exam room when Dixie came running in and told him to get back on the bed.
“Dix, I didn’t know you felt that way.” Johnny said, as she practically threw him to the exam table.
The next thing Johnny knew, there was Chet, and Marco, coming by for a night visit. They didn’t stay long, but before Johnny got up again, Dixie was going to take a look, and make sure that they weren’t going to have any more company. The coast was clear and Dixie and Johnny made a run for it.
Johnny hadn’t even told Craig Brice, who had been his replacement that he was coming back, and right at 8, when Cap was doing roll call, Johnny snuck into the station and took his place in line. He stood right beside Brice, who almost dropped his rule book when he saw Johnny. Fortunately, Craig was the only one to notice Johnny. Hank continued with roll call.
“Brice”
“Yes, Sir.” Hank could have sworn that he heard two voices. Evidently everyone else did too, because everyone turned and looked toward a red faced Brice rolling his eyes. Right beside Brice was ......
“Johnny!” They all said his name at the same time. Then roll call was totally forgotten and everyone was giving Johnny pats on the back, and handshakes in congratulations. Brice made an exit so quickly that no one noticed him leave.
“Surprise!” Johnny was so happy to be back at Station 51, where he belonged.
“When did you find out that you could come back today?” Roy couldn’t help but be curious, knowing that Johnny could never keep a secret.
“Yesterday,” came out with the famous Gage smile.
“But, even I didn’t know,” Hank was blown away.
“I wanted to surprise you guys; looks like it worked!”
“I don’t know whether to stick you with latrine duty, or kiss ya.” Hank was thrilled to have him back, as was everyone else.
“Well, I just want to get back to work; I’m sure Chet has been gettin’ on everybody’s nerves, and Roy’s been lost without me, and there probably haven’t been any interesting chicks around here since I’ve been out.”
“We’ll never tell!” Marco had to tease him just a bit.
“If we’d have known, we could’ve given you a party, or something!” Mike always wanted to do something when one of the guys had been out and came back, especially when they had been through as much as Johnny had been through.
“How about a cookout at our house this weekend?” Roy and Joanne were famous for their cookouts around the station.
“Perfect,” added Chet, “and I can show Johnny some of my new magic tricks!”
“Okay, sounds great, guys. But Chet, NO magic tricks, I’ve been sick for too long to put up with those.”
Everyone laughed, then the klaxons sounded.
“Station 51, crash with injuries, Pasadena Freeway, ambulance responding, Pasadena Freeway, time out 08:20.”
“Station 51, 10-4, KMG365.”
Hank looked at Roy and Johnny as he went by the squad. They were both practically holding their breath.
“It will be nothing compared to THAT run. It can’t be!”
“Yea, Roy, it can’t be, can it?”
“No, Johnny, not this time. If you noticed, we were the only station called out. It's just an odd coincidence.”
“Yea, too odd.”
They sped away to the scene of a much smaller accident on a fog free day, much to the relief of everyone.
“Ain’t life grand, Roy?”
“It sure is, Junior!”
