The Party

By

Jane Royce

*How the hell did I end up here* wondered Chet Kelly as he came to, only mildly being aware that he was now in his warm soft bed at home, or on the cot in the station.

The vague memories cleared a path to the reality of his situation though, as he carefully turned his head to gauge his surroundings.

"Johnny!", "Hey Johnny, man what happened to us, come on, talk to me!"

Johnny too was feeling a little out of sorts, and tried in vain to clear his head of the crazy thoughts that ran thorough him.

"Johnny, I think we've been in an accident, you gotta wake up now, we need help!" Chet panicked

Johnny was fighting a thick fog that threatened to overtake him, but something about Chet's voice told him he had to stay and fight. He shook his head, to try and fight off the waves of thick fog that threatened to put him into a deep sleep.

"Ch, Chet man, what the hell happened?"

"I think we rolled over Johnny, we were on the road going to Roy's one minute, and the next minute we are here. I don't remember much more than that."

"OK, OK, don't panic, lets just get out of here" declared Johnny until a white hot pain in his ribs took his breath away with a sharp gasp.

"What is it Johnny, what is it, you're hurt, where?" Chet asked excitedly.

"M My ribs, I think I have some broken ribs and my head isn't too good either, I have a concussion. I can't sleep, I gotta stay awake. What about you, are you hurt?" Johnny asked.

"Nah, just some bumps and bruises, nothing major." Chet replied, knowing he was lying but aware that if he let on that he was more injured that Johnny, then Johnny would want to help, which he could not.

"K, we gotta get outta here. We hafta find a way to get help." Johnny calmly stated.

"It looks like we are in the middle of nowhere right now, the road seems empty and it's dark."

"Where are we Chet, can you remember the road we took to get here? Johnny asked.

"We took route 10, and got off, what street this is I don't know." Chet answered.

"OK, we will figure it out, someone will come by."

~~~~~~~~~~

It was two hours since Chet and Johnny were supposed to be here, and Roy was worried. He knew that Johnny didn't want to be the one to pick up Chet for Chet's own surprise party, but Johnny did live the closest to Chet and everyone else had their wives , dates or food to bring. Johnny was the logical choice.

Two hours was far too late though, even for Johnny, and Chet would have been harassing Johnny en route, so if anything, the trip would have been a short one!

Roy and the guys were worried, but none wanted to openly say anything, but the time to say something and do something, was rapidly approaching.

"Roy Pal, I think it's time we called it in, there is not much to be in the way of those two arriving, something may have happened." Cap suggested.

An audible gasp could be heard from the members of the team and their families who had gathered earlier for a surprise party for Chet.

"I agree Cap, lets start a search party of our own and get the police to start as well. How about we divide into teams in our cars. Joanne, if we call the police, can you make sure you bring them up to date on what's happening? Roy asked.

"Of course, you guys go out and find these two, I am sure Chet is gnawing on Johnny's ear about something annoying!" Joanne softly laughed while others joined in, desperate for a relief or an outlet.

"OK men, lets get started. One car for each direction, if they were headed here, lets hope they are not too far from here." Cap ordered.

With that, Marco, Stoker, Roy and Cap drove off in different directions, promising to call Roy's house to let Joanne liaise between the men.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Johnny, man, wake up. You said you couldn't sleep." Chet urged.

"I know I know, but just a few minutes"

"NO!! You get up right now. I want to get out of this truck to make a call for help and I need your help!" Chet shouted.

"Why, just open the door and go you idiot!" Johnny fought back.

"I would if I could, but my knee is stuck underneath the dashboard and I think I have broken my knee!" Chet wailed.

This brought Johnny to attention as he knew this could be serious.

"Al all right Chet, just calm down, we'll get out of here." Johnny whispered, "it's gonna be all right"

Chet was trying to remain calm, but he could feel his knee swelling and his jeans were unforgiving in their desire to stretch further, so the pain was becoming intense.

~~~~~~~~~~

After ten minutes of driving, Roy was happy to report that no vehicles seemed to be in danger, but there was no sign of Johnny's truck either. It was time to call in to Joanne and see if there was any word, he knew that the nearby corner store had a payphone, so he steered his car toward it to call home.

"No word yet honey, all the guys have called in and no one has seen a thing." Joanne stated to Roy's call.

"OK honey, I am going to try to go what I think the logical route would be for Johnny to take, along Canyon road. I'll call you when I can, but let the guys know where I am so we don't search the same area twice."

"OK honey, please be careful, it's dark out there and Canyon road is a tricky road to be on during daylight!"

"I will be careful honey, try not to worry." Roy affirmed.

Five minutes later, almost all of the rest of the crew had called in and all agreed that to follow the most likely path is best, so all made their way to Canyon road to help Roy, perhaps something was propelling them to go there, maybe it was a sign.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Johnny, I hear something, it's a car" Chet announced.

"Lets shout at it and see if it stops" suggested Johnny.

"Both men yelled as loud as they could, but Johnny's efforts were short-lived. His effort exhausted him and sent pain thorough his body like a knife. He lapsed into unconsciousness and slumped over the steering wheel which he had been pinned against, all this time.

"Johnny, don't go out on me now, please!" Yelled Chet, to no avail. "I don't wanna be alone"

~~~~~~~~~~

The car that had passed contained a elderly couple who were arguing over who should drive next time and who could read a map better. Both were oblivious to the truck that was on it's side on the side of the road. Perhaps it was too dark for them to notice.

~~~~~~~~~~

Roy traveled slowly along Canyon road, adjusting his high beams off when another car came close to him. He needed more light and knew that the night was the worst time to be looking for someone.

He hadn't traveled long and he noticed what appeared to be a vehicle along the side of the road, he raced a bit faster to get near. His high beams really told the tale, and it was a take he wished he did not have to encounter.

"Oh god, it's Johnny's truck, and I need help!"

Logic told him to turn around and go and call Joanne, but his emotions told him to check out the condition of the passengers. He quickly stopped the car, let the engine run and kept the high beams trained on the truck.

"Johnny, Chet, are you two all right?" asked a panicked Roy as he peered into the drivers side of the car, which was the only door to access given the position of the truck.

"Oh man Roy, get me outta here! My knee is wedged underneath the dashboard here, and Johnny' said his ribs hurt bad before he went out again."

"You mean he's been out before?" Roy asked as he reached in and felt a strong carotid pulse.

"Yeah, he and I were both out for a bit I guess. One minute the sun was up and the next minute it wasn't."

Roy surmised that they both may have been unconscious for an hour, this was vital information.

"How did this happen Chet, can you remember?" Roy asked.

"Roy, I don't remember a thing. We got in the truck at my apartment, and started driving to your house. Johnny wouldn't tell me why, but said it had something to do with some hot chicks."

Roy laughed a bit at that last line, he knew that Chet wasn't delirious, he could picture his partner trying to suggest anything possible to get Chet out of the apartment and into his truck.

"OK Chet, I have to go and call for help. Can you sit tight here for a few minutes while I go? I have to get help here, I can't do this alone."

Chet understood what was happening and why, but didn't like it all the same. He could only respond in silence to Roy.

~~~~~~~~~~

Mike had been driving along this canyon road for most of his life, and when he turned the bend, he was overwhelmed with a sense that one of his brothers was in trouble. Somehow, he just knew, and off in the distance, he saw Roy's car with it's lights shining on the battered remains of Johnny's truck. "Oh God' he muttered and sped up a bit.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Mike! Thank god you're here! I have to get help, can you go in and use the payphone down the road at the coffee shop? I need a squad and two ambulances.

Mike nodded his head, he understood time was important and did not bother to bombard Roy with questions at this time. There would be time enough for that later.

"Chet, Mike's here, he went for help. Sit tight, I am gonna try to get in through the back door here and get to you. I just want to stabilize Johnny's neck here first. Is that okay with you?"

"Sure Roy, and I don't suppose you have a blanket huh? It's getting kinds cold."

"Sorry Chet, but a squad will hopefully be on it's way soon."

Roy quickly located a towel in the back seat of Johnny's truck once he effortlessly climbed in the back. He fashioned a roll out of it to offer support to Johnny's neck and pulled off his own belt to help hold it in place. He was pleased at the angle that Johnny's head wrested upon and moved down further into the truck to tend to Chet.

"OK Chet, lets look at you. Are you bleeding anywhere?" Roy asked.

"Not that I know of Roy, my knee's wedged in here pretty good and I am sure it's broken. To move it even a little bit is too much pain for me!" Chet explained.

"OK Chet, this is what I am gonna do. I have another towel here and I am gonna lean over and put this towel under your knee for support. Then I am gonna use your belt here to secure it, OK? This way, you can relax it a bit. We need an engine here to help pull the dashboard off you with the jaws.

*Where is help when I really need it* Roy thought to himself.

~~~~~~~~~~

At the De Soto household, all of the women waited anxiously for word. They dreaded moments like these, but knew that it came with the territory. Joanne shakily picked up the phone.

"Hello"

"Joanne, it's Mike, we found Chet and Johnny." I do not know what their condition is, but Roy is with them now. I left to call for an engine and squad, which is en route. It won't be long now and someone will call you from Rampart"

"Ok Mike, thank you for letting me know., Be careful now, it's late!" Joanne instructed.

"Will do, pass the word along will you?"

"You got it Mike, this is news I am happy to pass along!"

With that, the conversation stopped and the phone was replaced back to it's receiver.

Joanne turned to the ladies in her livingroom, she had a plan and she needed their help.

~~~~~~~~~~

Sirens could be heard off in the distance and this was a welcome sound to Roy. He knew that Chet was stable, but Johnny was still unconscious. He said a quiet thank you to Mike.

With the arrival of the engine and squad that Mike must have called, came Mike, Marco and Cap as well, all followed the engine, somehow knowing that this was leading to their friends. It was amazing ho the brotherhood stretched to off-duty hours.

"Cap" shouted Roy when his familiar truck pulled up "I need some help over here. Johnny is unconscious with unknown injuries. Chet is complaining of a broken knee, which I have stabilized. We need to get this dashboard off him to get them both out. Thank god they were both wearing seatbelts!

"OK Roy, lets get to work opening these doors. A company is coming, we'll have to let them do their work." Cap commanded.

"I know Cap, it will be kinds hard to sit back and watch them work when we can help!"

"Yeah, I know it will pal, but we have to give them room. These are our friends and they are just as able to help as we are, and will take extra care of these two, because they are part of the brotherhood."

"You're right Cap, it's not who gets them out that is important, it's how fast!"

"Right pal" stated Cap as he lightly slapped Roy on the shoulder as a sign of support.

After what seemed like hours, Captain Simms and his crew from station 10 disembarked from their rig and approached Captain Stanley and the rest of 51's crew.

"What have you got Stan?" Asked the familiar Captain Simms.

"We have a car accident, Johnny and Chet were en route to De Soto's house, we have not determined the nature of this accident. Johnny is unconscious and unresponsive. Chet is conscious and complaining of a broken knee. Roy has splinted as best he could, with what he could. Both men are wedged in tight with the dashboard, you're gonna need the jaws I think." Captain Stanley instructed.

Captain Simms began to shout out orders for all that he needed and approached the truck with paramedics Carson and Walters. Immediately, the paramedics sprang into action. Both took note of the excellent job with the splints Roy did and set about to establish their own splints and assessments using the proper tools at hand. Rampart was notified of the two victims and instructed to stand by for further information upon extrication.

~~~~~~~~~~

The whine of the jaws made Johnny's pleasant state of calm disappear.

"Uuuhn, oh man! STOP" he shouted

Everyone heard his screams and stopped, anxiously awaiting the moment when Johnny would speak again. Roy approached, knowing that the sound of a familiar voice may help here.

"Johnny, you are all right, you have had a car accident and are being extricated. You are going to be all right once we get you out of here. Can you tell me where you hurt? " Roy asked.

"Uuhn, Roy, is Chet all right" painful memories came flooding back.

"Yes, he is fine. He hurt his knee but he is conscious and stable." Roy explained.

"Good" whispered Johnny as he faded back into unconsciousness.

"Lets get them out of here FAST!!" shouted Roy, his anxiety levels reaching new heights.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Well I don't know about you ladies, but it's been too long since the guys checked in" stated a normally calm Joanne. "I am going to call Rampart and see if Dixie is working and can tell me anything.

"Good idea" chimed in Beth Stoker, Marianne Stanley, and Zory, Marco's new girlfriend.

"Dixie, I am glad that you are on duty, I am calling to see if you can help me," Joanne continued to explain their situation and waited to see if Dixie could impart any information for them.

"Joanne, you know that what happens here is confidential, but I can tell you that a station has been called to a location to an incident that was called in by an off-duty officer. They have called in but the victims have not been extricated yet." Dixie stated.

"OK Dix, you gave me exactly what I needed. We're coming in to wait." Joanne firmly stated.

"You don't want to wait until you hear from one of the guys again?" Dixie asked.

"No way, we know it in our hearts that this is the call and we want to be there. We will not be in your way at all, my kids are next door now anyway." Joanne informed.

"OK Jo, see you soon, please drive carefully.

With that, Joanne turned on her heels and shouted "it's time girls, lets get going to Rampart!"

~~~~~~~~~~

The extrication process was a difficult one, due to the fact that Chet had ideas about where the chains should be placed and he felt far superior in his experience than anyone at station 10. The men worked in silence however, knowing that if it were them, they would likely be just as verbose.

Once the truck had better access though, Johnny and Chet were swiftly removed.

On the ground, aside one another, the paramedics flew into action. Chet's main concern was for Johnny, who was unconscious. "Guys, forget about me, help Johnny, he's in bad shape!"

"He's not in as bad shape as you think Chet, just relax and let us look at you too. There is plenty of help here for both of you" Carson instructed.

"Rampart, this is squad 10, how do you read?" Walters asked.

'Squad 10, this is Rampart, we read you loud and clear." Dr. Brackett stated.

"Rampart, we have two victims. Both male, both approximately 30 years old, both involved in a car accident of an unknown nature. Both had sustained trauma." Walters continued.

"Victim 1 is John Gage, he is unconscious and unresponsive to verbal stimuli, but responds to sternal rub. His blood pressure is 120/80, pulse is 60 and his respirations are 20 with crepitus. The patient clearly has bruising on the right side of his ribs, consistent with a steering wheel injury. He also has bruising on his left shoulder region continuing across his chest and abdomen, consistent with a seat belt pattern."

"Victim 1 is Chet Kelly, his chief complaint is of his left knee, which was lodged beneath the dashboard of the truck. He is complaining of no other injuries at this time Rampart."

"Did he lose consciousness at all Squad 10?" Brackett asked.

Chet shook his head 'no' and further went on to describe the root of the accident, apparently Johnny swerved to miss hitting an animal in the road and hit an embankment which caused the truck to flip on it's side.

"Rampart, victim 2 reports no loss of consciousness, and just described the accident to us."

"10-4 Squad 10, immobilize both patients, begin IV's of D5W TKO, and administer 10 milligrams of morphine for victim 2. Transport immediately." Dr. Brackett ordered.

"10-4 Rampart, two IV's D5W, TKO, 10 milligrams of morphine for victim 2 and transport immediately." Walters repeated.

Within minutes, the patients were ready for transport, Chet was feeling no pain at all.

~~~~~~~~~~

The arrival of this car accident was different from the rest, because accompanying them was the entire crew of station 51 and station 10. Dixie put her foot down and said nothing but offered them only one gesture - a finger pointed toward the doctors lounge as she mouthed the word 'coffee.' The men knew not to argue with her, she was after all, the boss.

As the weary men entered the lounge, many were shocked to see that the party that began at the De Soto's seemed to have moved to Rampart. Roy had never been to happy to see his wife, nor so proud of her for being such a comfort to the other ladies. She was quite a woman and he'd have to thank her privately later.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Chet Chet Chet, what are we going to do with you?" asked Dr. Early jokingly. "Let me take a look at this knee, we'll need x-rays to start."

"Carol, would you get him up to x-ray and get some films of this knee for me?"

"Yes doctor." Carol replied.

"Doc I am more worried about Johnny" Chet asserted.

"I know Chet, but you need some attention too. While you are in x-ray, I'll go and take a look for myself and let you know. Okay?"

"Thanks doc, I'd appreciate that."

And with that, Chet was wheeled upstairs to x-ray.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Johnny, open your eyes and look at me" instructed Dr. Brackett just as Dr. Early entered the room

"What have you got Kel" Dr. Early Asked.

"I don't know yet Joe, he's out, but his blood pressure is good. His pupils are equal and reactive. His chest and abdomen are bruised but I think we are only looking at broken ribs here. No pneumothrax, which is a good thing for him. I am going to get him to x-ray to learn more and then go from there." Dr. Brackett described.

"I just sent Chet upstairs for x-ray too. I don't think his knee is broken, but may be dislocated. The x-ray will tell."

"Dixie, lets get Johnny upstairs and get me a full skull series, chest, abdomen and hip films to rule out any fractures from the seat belt."

"Will do Kel, anything else?" Dixie asked.

"Get a full blood panel too please." Dr. Brackett added.

Quickly, Johnny was taken to x-ray by a pair of orderlies. All that could be done now, was to wait.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The doctors lounge was full of fireman all anxiously awaiting word on their friends. All were pleased to see Dr. Brackett and Dr. Early entering the room with smiles on their faces.

"Ok guys, good news all around. Both are going to be just fine. No major injuries. Chet has a dislocated patella, which the orthopedic team is putting back in place now. He will require a splint and will be off work for two weeks. He will stay the night just for observation but can go home tomorrow. Johnny is the proud owner of two broken ribs and large bruises across his chest and abdomen. He has a mild concussion as well and is starting to respond to questions."

The audible sigh in the room was unmistakable, but no one noticed Joanne huddled in the corner with the girls silently planning and softly giggling.

~~~~~~~~~~

Chet wrestled uncomfortable with the bed linens and wondered if his bed had been short changed by the nursing staff as a prank. *I'll have to remember this for the station* he thought evilly.

"Chet, would you please stop wriggling around, I am trying to get some sleep." Johnny groused.

"Sleep? Sleep? Are you nuts? With the nurses doing that neuro check every hour, why are you even bothering to sleep?" Johnny hated to admit it, but Chet did have a good point.

A welcome knock on the door brought Johnny out of his funk, as he craned his neck to see who it was.

"SURPRISE" shouted the rest of 51's crew, their spouses and partners, Dr. Brackett, Dr. Early and Dixie. "Happy birthday Chet!"

"You didn't forget?" Asked an incredulous Chet.

"Forget? Why do you think I'd be driving you anywhere you fool? The day of the accident I came out to get you to take you to a surprise party at Roy and Joanne's house!" Johnny explained.

Both men were grateful for the diversion and gladly dug into Beth Stokers famous cake, Joanne's delicious chips and dip and Zory's tostadas.

With full stomachs and please to have pulled one over on Chet, the master prank planner, all settled to enjoy the afternoon among friends.

"A party is not where it is held, it is how it is held, and this just might top the pile in my book!" shouted Joanne.

Everyone agreed, and Chet was touched the most by this moving gesture. He really felt like part of the family.

The End

The End.