concerning-squad51

[concerning-squad51]

Make-up

After a long night at an awards ceremony held for the fire department, wherein all of the LA County Fire Department and their ‘plus one’s attended, Captain Hank Stanley flops down on his and his wife’s bed.

He is exhausted.

The awards ceremony had, of course, followed the A-shift of Station 51 working no less than three traffic accidents and a near drowning the day prior, all brought about by the torrential rain.

He heaves a sigh as he bends over to remove his spotlessly polished black dress shoes.

After managing that, he sits up straight, just in time to see Emily walk by and into their bedroom. He watches her as she stops in front of the bathroom vanity and as she looks into the mirror.

She picks up the cold cream container and opens it, smearing it on her face to remove her make-up then wiping it off with a damp washcloth. Once she has taken all of it off, she rinses the washcloth, rubs soap on her face, and starts scrubbing.

He shakes his head, watching it all.

Seems like a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Em. Why do you even put that stuff on to begin with?

“What stuff?”

Hank jumps, startled, and realizes that his wife is looking at him.

“What?” he questions, confused.

“You asked why I put that stuff on…” she replies, now equally confused. “I asked what you meant.”

… So he had spoken his thoughts. Well, since it’s out there now…

“Make-up. Why do you even wear it?”

Not much more clear on his question or the cause of it, she leans on the vanity, giving him one of those looks.

“Why do most women wear make-up, Hank?”

He nearly rolls his eyes but refrains.

“Em. I mean that I don’t understand why you wear it. You don’t need it.”

“I’m not exactly twenty anymore.”

“What has that got to do with anything?”

“Oh, Hank,” Emily snorts, shaking her head and returning to make-up removal.

“What?” he replies, his eyebrows furrowing as a frown finds its way onto his face. “You think I’m joking.”

“No. Just being the sweetheart you’ve always been.”

Silence meets her reply.

She finds that odd because Hank rarely gives up on any argument so quickly as that.

Shrugging it off, she turns away from the door to set down the used washcloth, and by the time she turns back, her husband of eighteen years is leaning against the vanity, rather intently staring at her.

That her normally bull-in-a-china-shop husband had managed to actually get up from the bed, cross their bedroom, and enter their bathroom to sit on the vanity without her noticing is enough to leave her a little surprised.

“What—”

“You want to know what I see? Right now? Without that gunk covering that gorgeous face of yours?”

She smiles a little shyly and blushes.

“Hank, you—”

“I see a dust trail following a beat up green pick-up truck. Days with blue skies and wide open fields, when we’d cruise around until I had to give that old pick-up a rest. Let’s see… What else?” he questions, thinking aloud as he watches her.

“I see a hundred year old tree in the middle of nowhere with some initials carved into the trunk. And there’s a t-shirt hanging off one of the branches. My t-shirt… That had to be put up there after a certain mischievous woman pushed me into the river… and then jumped in after me.”

His eyebrow raises but his expression is soft as he gazes at her, that boyish grin spreading across his face.

She can’t help but smile a little herself at the memories and quietly asks, “You see all that, do you?”

With that same grin on his face, he stands and pulls her to him, his hand cupping her cheek as he looks down to meet her upturned gaze.

“Emily. You don’t look a day over ridin’ around with the windows down and watching sunsets on a riverbank…”

He then leans down, bridging the remaining distance, and kisses her.

[concerning-squad51]

Prompt #24: Fear

Captain Stanley watches as the ambulance pulls away from the scene and starts down the road, its destination being Rampart General Hospital.

He rests his hands on his hips in a pose that had earned him the nickname Superman when he had been a young firefighter, which in turn had followed him into his days as an engineer.  In this manner, he watches until the ambulance is out of sight and then he sighs.

Poor Mike.

And the rescue had been going so well, too!

There had been a few complications, of course, as usual. 

The terrain had been too rocky to drive the engine far enough down to be of use and they had been forced to manually anchor. 

Being the tallest of four, he and Mike acted as the anchors while Marco and Chet stood lead, respectively.

Roy and John then rappelled down the cliff face to the victims who had been doing who knows what and tumbled over the edge.

Everything was going perfectly according to plan, almost textbook even.  They got the victims up and then the crew was holding the lines for Roy and John to climb back up to them.

He should have known it was too good to be true. 

As the two paramedics climbed, the captain and the engine crew remained stationary, bracing as best they could. 

Because Hank and Marco were a little more solidly built, the two of them held the rope for Roy, while Johnny climbed the rope that Mike and Chet held.

Everything was going great.

And then suddenly, several things happened in fast succession.

Below them, John lost his footing and slid.  The momentum jerked the rope, making Chet lose his footing, leaving Mike to hold most of the weight.

The normally soft-spoken engineer screamed in pain as a sickening pop sounded, and he immediately dropped to sitting to try to hold the weight until help could arrive.

Cap had watched, unable to do anything, but thankfully, two deputies on the scene ran forward to help.  While one grabbed the rope to take the weight off of Mike, the other helped Chet back to his feet. 

True to Mike’s character, the man was steadfast and forced himself to his feet, tenaciously holding to the rope and gritting his teeth until John had managed to climb up to safety.

Most of the weight was off of him during that time, but the damage was done.

Once both paramedics were on level ground, Mike stepped away, holding his right shoulder, and the expression on his face said everything.

Cap knew that his engineer’s shoulder had to at least be dislocated.

Of course, John had gone to Mike as soon as he found out what happened and had examined his shoulder—much to Mike’s dismay—and came to the same conclusion.

Dislocated.

Since Roy was riding in the ambulance with the two victims, Cap sent Mike along with John in the Squad to get checked out at Rampart.

Which is exactly what brings them to the current circumstances.

“Uhh… Cap?  How do we get back to the station?” asks Chet from somewhere behind him as they are walking back to the engine.

The Captain turns to the curly-haired lineman.

“What do you mean, how do we get back to the station?  In the engine, of course! What else?”

“Well, yeah… But Mike left with Gage and Mike always drives the engine…”

“What’s your point?  Did you forget that I used to be a driver?”

He glances over his shoulder to see Chet sigh and turn around to Marco to mumble, “I was tryin’ to…”

At this, Captain Stanley stops walking and pridefully squares his shoulders back, draws himself up to his full height, and turns to look at Chet.

“What was that, Kelly?” Hank scowls, affronted.

“What?” Chet replies, turning back to face his captain with an innocent expression. “Oh, nothin’, Cap. Just hard t’see ya as anything but my captain, y’know?”

He crosses his arms, not buying that bull for a second, but rather than waste more time, he simply sighs.

“Just… get in the engine.  Both of you.”

The two comply, albeit much more slowly than he would have liked.

While they clamber into the engine as instructed, he almost reverently lays a hand on the driver’s side door.

“Been a while since I’ve done this, Red.  Go easy on me, will ya?” he says, an almost boyish grin spreading across his face.

That said, he opens the door and steps up into the driver’s seat.

Noting the nervous glances that Chet and Marco are sending each other, a mischievous idea takes root in their captain’s mind.

“Now…  Let’s see…” Captain Stanley begins, seeming to focus intently on the various read-outs, controls, gears, shifts, and so on. “Where is that gear again?”

Complete silence falls for a little under two minutes before he hears it, a barely audible sound.

“Padre nuestro, que estás en el cielo...”

So quoth Marco.

"Okay, Pal. Are you trying to give God the wrong idea about my driving ability?"

A quick glance at Chet shows Cap that the lineman has a death grip on whatever he can reach.

“Oh, come on, guys!” he exclaims at last in exasperation.  “I was only joking!”

He is again met with silence and turns forward, starting the engine and placing his hands on the steering wheel. 

"Alright. Let's show 'em, Red."

Putting the engine in gear, he begins the journey back to the station.  

He’s missed it, the former engineer realizes as he skillfully navigates through the traffic.  He doesn't miss it enough to want a demotion, but enough that driving an engine again keeps a smile on his face the entire way back to the station, despite the way in which the trip had begun.   

It isn’t until halfway there that Chet and Marco seem to realize that their captain does still know what he’s doing and they relax… and maybe even feel a little ashamed that they had doubted him in the first place.  After all, he is the captain.

Once they reach the station, Hank backs into the bay without trouble—perfectly in line between the sides—puts it in park, cuts the engine, and then turns to look at his crew with a broad grin.

“That wasn’t so bad, now was it?”

He gives them a look and then gets out, an obvious bounce in his step as he walks into the kitchen quietly singing.

 “The wheels on the truck go round and round…”

[concerning-squad51]

Prompt #65: Roses

When Emily wakes up, the first thing she sees is a red that completely obscures anything else from her vision. 

Sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she blinks for several moments before looking back down at the other side of the bed. That’s when she sets eyes on what she had seen when she first woke up.

A single red rose. With a smile, she reaches down and picks it up, her mind at last remembering today’s date.

April 23rd. Not a birthday. Not their wedding anniversary. In fact, she doesn’t know what it is.

Hank had always been a hopeless romantic in his own way, and for whatever reason, every year on this exact date, he treats it almost like their wedding anniversary. She’s never been quite sure as to why this is and, to be honest, she’s always wondered but she’d never asked in case she had forgotten something important and might hurt his feelings.

Standing, she stretches and walks over to her dresser. No sooner than she pulls the top drawer open, she spots another red rose. She lifts the rose out, taking the time to carefully place it beside the other before getting her clothes and dressing for the day.

After she is dressed, she leaves their bedroom with the two roses and walks into the kitchen to locate a vase. Once she reaches the cabinet she opens it, finding not only the vase but another rose placed carefully inside the vase.

Over the course of the morning she finds a total of twenty-two roses, yet she’s not any more aware of the cause than she was at the start of the morning. It isn’t until around two o’clock when there is any chance of having the mystery solved.

At two-fifteen, her husband walks through the door with several bags that he carries straight into the kitchen. She tries not to immediately bombard him with questions, but only a few moments pass before she finds herself walking toward the kitchen and sitting down at the table.

“So…” she begins, feeling again as though she’s that girl in high school who always had to ask her older boyfriend about how he spent his day.

“Where have you been today?”

“Oh, here. There. Mostly there,” he replies as he starts putting groceries away in the refrigerator.

Despite his best efforts, however, she doesn’t miss that mischievous, ‘I know something you don’t’ grin.

“Where’s ‘there’?” she asks, finding herself smiling.

“Well, let’s see,” Hank begins as he closes the refrigerator door and leans against the table, looking at her and crossing his arms in thought. “I drove your car to the gas station, filled up the tank, and brought it back. Then I took my pickup truck to the water, gas, electric and phone companies to pay the bills. After that I went to the grocery store and did all the shopping.”

She blinks, more than a little surprised.

Hank has always been good about taking care of business if she asked, but usually she would run the errands while he was at work so that he could relax on his days off. She hadn't been able to this week because the girls needed help with getting costumes ready for a school play, but she had been planning to take care of it tomorrow while Hank would be at work.

“You’ve been awfully busy today then.”

“That I have,” he smiles.

“Why?”

“Just wanted to take care of some things. What about you? How has your day been?”

“Boring. Not much going on with you gone all day,” she says, looking out the window to hide a smirk.

“Oh?” he questions, a slightly nervous tension entering his voice. “Nothing out of the ordinary?”

“Well… Now that you mention it…” she turns to him again, deciding to let him off the hook, “I have been finding some lovely red roses all around the house.”

He smiles brightly, relief clearly visible in his features. “Have you now?”

She stands from the chair, walks over to him and kisses him.

“I have. Twenty-two of them.”

“You found them all then. Good! I was hoping that you would.”

Seeing how happy he is, she hesitates again--as she has every year--but this time, Emily knows she has to ask.

“Hank… I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a while but I haven’t because I didn’t want to hurt your feelings…” she begins, carefully watching him. “But what is so special about today? It’s not our anniversary or a birthday or anything else…”

Rather than looking upset or disheartened as she had feared, he smiles softly.

“I’ve always wondered if you knew why April 23rd is important, but it’s the anniversary of one of the best days of my life,” he explains, taking her hand. “Twenty-two years ago, April 23rd, is the day I met you, Emily.”

“Hank… I… That’s so…” feeling herself tear up, she struggles with words until she simply kisses him. “You are the most hopeless romantic.”

He smiles as he holds her close.

“Maybe so. Em, maybe so.”

“I know so, but I also know that you’re my hopeless romantic.”

He chuckles and presses a kiss to her forehead. “At least someone will claim me.”

Rolling her eyes and smiling, she pulls away from him.

“And now that we’ve got that established, get out some plates so that I can make us some lunch.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

With a wide grin, he salutes and then starts getting out the plates. Emily just shakes her head as she prepares lunch.

Yes, he’s her hopeless romantic and she couldn’t ask for any better than that.

[concerning-squad51]

I’m curious: Why do people seem to assume that Captain Stanley burned Chief McConnike’s hat because McConnike was being a jerk? I read one version where he was trying to force fish on Stanley when Stanley couldn’t stomach fish and another version where he was being a tyrant.

Honestly, I think Captain Stanley is as paranoid as the scripts indicate he is and that Chief McConnike is a genuinely nice guy. My version of why the hat got burned goes something like this: Hank was going on TV for an interview and demonstration, like Roy and Johnny did, only Hank got so rattled that he didn’t remember to bring anything to burn in the demonstration. So he burned McConnike’s hat, the only nearby object, out of sheer desperation.

Maybe McConnike was mad at first, but by the time of season 6 I think he finds it a joke and truly has no idea how distressed Hank still is about it.

[concerning-squad51]

Being uninsured and being hospitalized in America is like like agreeing to pay the full mortgage on your physician’s house if he agrees to treat you.

[concerning-squad51]

Prompt #17: Dream

Roy has a dream. It's quite simple really. Nothing elaborate or demanding. In fact, he had never even realized he had such a dream until he and his family were watching White Christmas, starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera Ellen. They hadn't even reached the midway point of the movie when he heard it. 

 He heard his dream. 

It had been two separate statements, but he instantly knew. Both sets of lines were spoken by Danny Kaye's character. "My dear partner, when what's left of you gets around to what's left to be gotten, what's left to be gotten won't be worth getting, whatever it is you've got left." 

How familiar--if not oddly stated--was that? How many times had Roy told his rather excitable and high-spirited partner that very thing? Just recently in fact, he had told him again: 'Now, Junior. One of these days, all the playing around is gonna come back to bite you on the ass. And when it does, you'll realize just how much you've lost and what little is left. Settle down before it's too late.'

Yes, he perfectly understands the statement, though perceiving it in a different way than Danny Kaye may have originally meant it. He has his own understanding of what it means to him. That had been only one line, though, and the second one he uses on Johnny the very next chance he gets... 

"Roy! This girl was just too.... too... You know! I had to break up with her!" his partner stammers, trying to defend the latest break up with the latest in a never-ending string of women. 

 "Sure you did. This one was too 'you know' and the one before was too clingy and the one before that was too nice. Junior, when are you going to figure this out?" 

 "Well if I'm not happy in a relationship, what am I supposed to do?" 

 "Why not try to find the right girl to begin with instead of all the quick fixes, hm?" 

 "Well, I... and... I'm trying! What do you want from me?!" 

 "I want you to find the right girl," he begins before launching into his discovered lines. "I want you to get married. I want you to have nine children. And if you only spend five minutes a day with each kid, that's forty-five minutes, and I'd at least have time to go out and get a massage or something." 

For a long moment, Johnny just blinks at him then bursts into laughter. "

You got that from White Christmas!" 

 Even as Johnny succumbs to a giggle fit, Roy sighs and gets up to refill his coffee cup. Yes, he has a dream. A dream of his partner happily married and him with forty-five minutes all to himself.

[concerning-squad51]

13. Dark (Pt. 1), 14. Despair (Pt. 2), and 15. Doors (Pt. 3)

13. Dark (Part One)

It is dark, damp, and cold.

The crew of Station 51 had been sent out to an old, condemned building where it was reported some mischievous kids may have been trapped in a partial collapse.

Upon their arrival, Captain Hank Stanley had sent Kelly and Lopez to check one section of the building while he Gage and DeSoto went through the other, leaving Mike outside with an HT.

The building really had looked unstable and Cap couldn’t for the life of him determine what would possess any being with even the smallest amount of common sense and self-preservation to venture into the structure.

Yet, there he was, having to send his men in to fix other people’s stupidity.

And from there, it had all very quickly gone to hell in a handbasket.

Just as he, Roy, and John had heard faint shouts for help from a basement and they had climbed down a ladder to reach them, everything had shifted and collapsed again.

Somewhere in the chaos that followed, they had thrown themselves over the two young children, which led to the current predicament:

Johnny had been rendered unconscious—likely due to debris striking his head—and Roy’s shoulder was likely broken from all appearances.

Looking around now he realizes that, miraculously, the rubble had mostly avoided them, but he isn’t putting much faith in the dilapidated building.  Whatever is preventing it from coming down on top of them could give out at any time with even the slightest provocation.

They need a way out and they need it fast.

He shines his flashlight up at the ceiling and sees that one beam is holding it all aloft.

“Dear God,” he quietly prays, “please don’t let that fall on us.”

As worried as he is, he focuses on his job, assisting Roy in administering what unadvised aid they can to the original victims as well as Johnny.

He’s not sure how much time passes before they hear a low rumble.  Immediately, he and Roy exchange knowing glances.

So this is it then…

Regardless of the fear setting in, Roy throws himself over the children and Cap does the same for Johnny, just as everything comes down and their world goes dark…

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

14. Despair (Part Two)

“Chet!  Marco!  Get back!” shouts Mike from his place at the engine.  “The building’s shifting again! It’s gonna go!”

“But Cap and Gage and Roy!” Chet exclaims.

“Come on, amigo…” Marco urges, pulling the curly-haired fireman away even as his own stare is locked on the building.

‘There’s nothing we can do...’ the engineer thinks in despair as he watches the two-story building collapse. ‘Cap… John… Roy… They’re…’

He hangs his head as another of the responding station’s captain clasps his shoulder.

“You boys did everything you could… Another unit just arrived… Why don’t you three head back to your station for now?”

He wants to go back.  To get away from this place and not look back.  To lock himself away from people… from reality…  But he knows he can’t abandon them.  He’d never live with himself.

Looking up, a defiant gleam in his eyes, he shakes his head—his gaze locked on what is left of the building.

“No.  Ask Lopez and Kelly, but I’m not leaving.”

“Son… There’s no way that they… The whole building…  It probably won’t be a pretty sight, even if we do find them today…”

“I don’t care.  I’m helping.”

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

“Hey, I found somethin’!” Chet shouts after hours of grueling work.

Stoker is the first to react, rushing over as Chet lifts a beam. 

“What is it, Chet?!”

“This,” he answers, pointing down to the floor.

Directing his gaze downward, Stoker gasps.  He knows that the chance are slim but he dares to hope because if anyone could…

“Chet.  Get Marco.”

“Got it!”

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

15. Doors (Part Three)

They immediately set to work trying to completely uncover what Chet had discovered, and a door is beginning to reveal itself.

Although, perhaps ‘door’ is a little misleading.  It’s really more like a hatch as it’s in the floor.

It is not long, however, before it is cleared.

“I’ll go down,” volunteers the tall engineer before anyone else has a chance.

“Me too,” Chet quickly adds.

“Now boys,” begins the other captain—not Cap—as he steps over to them. “Know that this may still be a loss.  It looks like this section had a major collapse, too.  There’s not even a guarantee that they’re down there at all…”

“We gotta know, though,” the normally humorous lineman replies with a frown.

Not a moment later, Chet lifts the hatch and Mike goes down, quickly reaching the floor of the basement and stepping away from the ladder.  Holding his breath, Mike reaches for his flashlight, pulls it out, and turns it on.

“Wouldya get that outta my eyes, Mike!” exclaims a voice that he thought he might never hear again.

“Cap!” Mike yells before looking back up the ladder.  “They’re down here!”

He then rushes over to the group who—against all odds—had remained relatively unscathed even in the second collapse.

“Johnny’s been in and out of consciousness, but I think he’ll be alright,” Roy volunteers.  “The two kids are mostly okay, minor injuries.  Cap says he’s okay.  I think my shoulder’s broken.”

“Well, let’s get you guys outta here then,” smiles Stoker.

After getting the two children, Johnny, and Roy to the ground level, Stoker comes back down to find his captain staring into the room.

“Cap, you ready?”

“Mike.  Look at that beam.”

“Which one?”

“The one above where we were when you found us…”

He looks and, while something seems odd, he doesn’t understand what has so amazed his captain.

“What about it?”

At last turning his stare from the beam to his engineer, he speaks.

“What’s holding it up?”

Doing a double take, Mike realizes that Cap is right; nothing supports the beam, but the beam is supporting the ceiling…

“I…”

Smiling with just the merest hint of tears in his eyes, the captain turns.

“Let’s get out of here, Mike.”

Stoker nods, tearing his eyes away from the beam and then climbing up the ladder after Cap.

It is not until both he and Cap are out and away that the third shift happens, that section of the building collapsing into the basement level.

“Cap…  That beam… How did…?”

“There, but for the grace of God, go I…” is the only reply the young man receives.

[concerning-squad51]

Inspired by Worthington Libraries: Blind Date with a Book!

We started with ~40 books. Two hours later, all but four had found homes with library patrons (sorry, Flush, Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Persepolis, and The Things They Carried, they don’t know what they’re missing).

Now, to send forth a new fleet of exciting books into student arms. Whew!

[concerning-squad51]

Prompt #7: Bond

She and her partner—a friend of hers—arrive on the scene of another bad fire.

Thankfully, this time she has no reason to run into the building as the fire department is already on the scene.  Still… Looking around as she steps out of her car, she notices the number on the big engine and the squad.

51.

And there is Stoker standing beside the controls of the engine. 

51 A-shift then…

She knows that it’s part of their job description—fire department, duh—but she can’t stop a frown form appearing on her face.

Over the past several months, she had run into the A-shift of Station 51 on multiple occasions.  Rescues, shootings, fires, just about anything and everything.  It seems like they were all on a first name basis with each other in no time at all.  Sometimes, she even stops by the station when they are on duty to bring them good coffee (not whatever that is that Cap and Johnny make) or to bring them breakfast (Johnny is always getting in a jab about cops and doughnuts) or sometimes even a good dinner (though that is usually reserved for when Johnny or Roy inform her that Chet is on another health kick).

To be perfectly honest, she already considers them to be her closest friends, not just in LA County but overall.

The crew and she understand each other in a lot of ways that people who don’t work their jobs can never hope to understand.  They understand the danger of each other’s jobs, but they also understand the why.

The crew understands why she’s willing to run into a gunfight, putting her life on the line, to save a bystander caught in the crossfire.  Likewise, she understands why they’re all willing to run into a burning building, putting their lives on the line, to rescue trapped workers or residents.

Between the firefighters and the police officer is a sort of bond.  They all are willing to lay down their lives so that other people can live, and they majority do it, not for the adrenaline or the occasional chance at fame and glory, but for the simple joy of helping people, of making a difference, no matter how small.

Still, it always worries her a little when she rolls up on an inferno as bad as this one is and she sees ‘51’ emblazoned on the big red engine and the smaller Squad.  She knows firsthand how dangerous a burning building can be and the idea that her friends are inside always sets her on edge, almost holding her breath until she knows for sure that all of them have safely gotten out of the building.

The first two out this time are Chet and Marco. 

While she and her partner keep the few onlookers back and under control, she continues to glance at the building.

‘Where are Cap, Johnny, and Roy?’

The more seconds that slip by, the more anxious she becomes, noting that Chet, Marco, and Stoker seem no more at ease than she.

Thankfully, three shapes soon appear through the smoke billowing from the door and then they are out of the building.

She knows immediately that something is wrong.

Two of the figures walk, pulling the third between them, an arm over each man’s shoulders.

Squinting, she observes what she can from this distance, quickly realizing that the one being partly dragged must be Captain Hank Stanley.  Her conclusion is positively verified moments later when the two lay down the injured man and remove their masks, revealing Johnny and Roy.

She watches a little fearfully as they kneel on either side of their captain and remove his hard hat, mask, and air tank.

Though it has only been a little over a year, she thinks very highly of Captain Stanley.

Since the first time she had gone to thank the A-shift of Station 51for rescuing her from a burning building, he and his wife Emily had reached out to her, especially after they discovered that she had only recently moved to LA County from New York City.  The couple had told her about the good and bad sections of the county as well as places that she would find useful such as groceries, markets, restaurants, dry cleaners and so on.

The Captain—or Cap as he is called—and his wife Emily had gone so far as to invite her over for dinner with their family on several occasions, even on Thanksgiving and Christmas when they found out that she had nowhere else to go.  It is another bond that she cannot quite explain, but they make her feel like part of their family, and family is something she hasn’t had for some time.

She and her much older sister have never quite gotten along and their father had died several years ago.  And their mother…  All of the circumstances therein leave her quite effectively alone.

Cap and Emily had stepped into that void, with or without their knowledge.  While they would never replace her father—the only parent she really ever thinks of—there are times when she can barely stop herself from calling them mom and dad.  She is closer even to their two teenage girls Lori and Susan than she is to her own sister!

So when the man who is very much a father figure to her does not move as Roy and Johnny start working, she watches in anxious tension.

“Hey, partner!”

She begrudgingly turns her attention form the activity near the Squad to her partner who stands not far from her, a tall man with an athletic build. 

“Yeah, Johnston?”

The man smiles.

“I got this here.  See if the medics need anything.”

Knowing he understands her worry—she had spoken often of the captain and his family—she gratefully nods to him and then jogs to the Squad.

“Roy.  Johnny.  What is it?” she questions, kneeling a little behind them to allow them to work.

Never missing a beat, Johnny replies, “Cap pushed us out of the way and took a nasty hit from some falling debris…”

“We think it hit his upper back and his head,” adds Roy.

“How bad?”

They exchange glances—speaking to each other without a word—before Roy shakes his head with a shrug as he pulls out the bio-phone to contact Rampart.  “Won’t know until we can get him to Rampart.”

Though he continues to work, Johnny discreetly moves over enough that the young woman can come a little closer. 

Gathering vitals, he repeats them to Roy.  While his partner relays the information to Dr. Brackett on the other end of the line, Johnny starts to pull out everything that they’ll need.

As he does so, he glances to Aly.

“Anything I can do?” she inquires, noticing his gaze.

“Well, you can talk to him.  Let ‘im know you’re here. Always helps me when Roy does that and I’m out of it.”

“You think it might help?” Aly questions, puzzled as to why it would.

The young paramedic’s affirmative nod is immediate.

“If Cap can hear anything, he’ll hear you.”

“Whad’ya mean by that, Johnny??”

“I mean,” Johnny begins, rolling his eyes as he preps an IV, “that in case you haven’t figured it out, Cap thinks of you as a third daughter.”

“Really?” she asks, absently gripping the captain’s hand.

“Yeah. ‘course.  He’s always talkin’ about his four girls: his wife, Lori and Susan, and you.  Groups ya in just like one of his own.  And let me tell you,” the dark-haired man begins as he starts the IV, dropping his voice conspiratorially, “that time Kelly played the prank on you, the one with the water balloons and everything, Cap gave ‘im latrine duty for two months.”

She blinks a moment before she gives Johnny a slight smile.

“Thanks for tellin’ me, Johnny.”

“Not a problem,” he replies, returning the smile.

“Hey, Aly” Roy says, getting her attention, “You wanna ride along?”

“I…” she looks over to her partner who—knowing the question without having to hear it—gives her a thumbs up.

“I’ll drive the car to the hospital!” Johnston shouts.

Once again she gives her partner an appreciative smile then looks to the two paramedics.

“Yeah, if it won’t be any trouble.”

“None at all,” Roy answers.

“Besides,” says Johnny, “I don’t know if we can get you loose.”

For a split second, she’s confused but only until she notices the return pressure from the hand she finds herself holding.

“Alright.  We’re gonna load him up in the ambulance,” starts the older paramedic.  “Johnny, you bring in the Squad.”

“Gotcha, Roy,” the younger responds, packing up everything.

When the ambulance arrives, Roy and the ambulance attendants load the captain into the back of the vehicle—Aly pulling her hand free from his grasp only the time it takes for them to get him in and for her to follow behind.

Once Roy gets in and the ambulance is on its way, Aly realizes she is already praying.  Mentally, out loud, she’s not entirely sure only that it’s been awhile since she prayed this hard for anything.  Not since her actual father was diagnosed with cancer.  She only hopes these prayers are met with better results.

Halfway through the trip, Roy looks to her.

“I think he’ll be okay, Aly.  He seems to be responding to stimuli and that’s a good sign.”

His words are reinforced when slightly bleary brown eyes open not long after to look around at two very familiar faces.

“Roy? … Aly?”

“Don’t you worry, Cap,” starts Roy, immediately reassuring him as he starts to recheck vitals.  “You took a hit to your head and upper back, but I’m thinking the helmet did its job and your shoulders took most of the impact.”

“Shoulders and upper back,” Captain Stanley answers, wincing as Roy shines a light in his eyes.

“Hope you don’t mind, Cap, but I tagged along.  Y’know how much I love ambulance rides,” Aly teases, hoping to distract the man as much as possible from the pain he’s likely experiencing.  Brackett had said no pain killers until he knew more about the head trauma.

The captain gives her hand a light squeeze as he smiles.

“Now why… in blazes would I mind… you coming along?  At least one of us… can enjoy the ride.”

She and Roy chuckle, knowing that he’ll be just fine.

As she continues to talk to Cap, she sends another quick prayer up to God, a thank you that her father, not by blood but by bond, would be okay.

[concerning-squad51]

Prompt #8: Books and Prompt #9: Coffee

8. Book (Part One)

The day he returns to work from his head and shoulder injury, Captain Stanley enters the rec room to find that Johnny, the youngest of his crew, is sitting on the couch, reading a book…

As if that isn’t odd enough—John Gage isn’t really one for reading—the usually exuberant young man is silent.

Glancing to the kitchen table, he sees that he isn’t the only one who is surprised.

“Roy.  Mike,” he says, greeting them. “John.”

Two of the men nod with a happy, if not a little distracted ‘Cap’, before returning their gazes to the young man on the sofa who has yet to acknowledge his captain’s presence.

Sighing, Captain Stanley walks over to the coffee pot and reaches out… then hesitates at the last moment, turning to look at the two men at the table.

“Who made the coffee today?” he pleasantly questions, hoping the feeling of dread hadn’t carried into his tone.

“Johnny did,” replies Roy, never looking away from his partner.  “At least he said he did.”

With a resigned sigh—for some reason, he knows he’ll need his coffee to get through today—he pours the dubious liquid into his coffee cup and then takes a seat at the table, placing his cup in front of him.

He looks once more to Johnny who still seems to be focusing intently on what he is reading. 

The captain has always wondered if Johnny has a mild case of dyslexia.  Nothing severe, of course, as he likely would never have passed the medical knowledge exams what with all the gobbledy-gook that passes for medicine names, but enough so that the paramedic finds reading to be a chore.  Or maybe it’s some type of ADHD bringing about a short attention span and that makes reading difficult… But either way, John always seems to have to really force himself to focus when he is reading, an intense look of concentration always present.

Hank shakes his head and takes the newspaper from the table, trying to get his mind off of wondering what might so interest John that he would actually take the time to read.

As he finds himself re-reading the same paragraph of the same article for the sixth or seventh time, however, he knows it’s far too late.  Thus, putting the newspaper down, almost taking a sip of his coffee and then deciding against it, he turns to the man beside him.

“Mike?” he says quietly, getting his engineer’s attention.

“Yes, Cap?”

Casting another glance at John, he lowers his voice to nearly a whisper.

“What’s he reading?”

The engineer shrugs.  “We don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“He’s just been sitting there reading since Roy and I arrived.”

“You mean, he was early today?” questions the now alarmed captain.

Mike nods.  “C-shift was still clearing out when Roy and I got here.  They said he had been here a good twenty or thirty minutes, and this is how we found him.  In uniform and reading.”

“I’m getting’ kinda concerned, Cap,” Roy adds quietly, still watching his partner.  Early and reading and quiet?  And then there is the other matter….

“That seems… odd.”

“But that’s not all, Cap,” Mike states, pausing as the captain turns tired yet anxious eyes to him.

“Dear God, do I need to go look for my hat?”

Chuckling, Roy answers, “I don’t think he’s had a lighter, Cap, so your hat should be okay.”

“Good,” he sighs before looking serious once more.  “Then what’s the other shoe?  You going to drop it or not?”

The two crew members exchange glances.

“Do you want to tell him or should I?” asks the paramedic.

“The kid’s your partner,” replies Mike, standing and leaving the kitchen with his coffee.

Now even more worried, Captain Stanley looks to Roy.  “Well?”

“Try your coffee, Cap.”

9. Coffee (Part Two)

“Try my… What do you mean ‘try your coffee’?” Hank questions, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“Try your coffee,” repeats Roy as though it’s the simplest explanation in the world.

Turning almost fearful eyes to his coffee cup, he warily raises it to his lips, takes a tentative sip and then blinks.

“…”

“I know, Cap.  That’s what Mike and I said.”

“The coffee… It’s…”

“I know,” the senior paramedic nods his understanding.  “Now you know why I said what I did.”

“… And John Gage made this?” he ask, completely in disbelief.

“If what he says is true he did.”

“But… It doesn’t taste like dishwater… It actually tastes…”

“I know.  We were as shocked as you,” the paramedic nods again, leaning back in his chair and looking once more to his still unmoved partner.  “And I asked the last person from C-shift.  They corroborated what Johnny said.  Told me Johnny made them coffee, too.”

“He did?”

This is all too much.  Early, reading, quiet, and now this?  The extraordinarily healthy captain isn’t sure that even his heart can handle this sort of excitement and intrigue.

Roy nods yet again, looking to him.

“And all of them were carrying some with them in Styrofoam cups when they left.”

“Then, we haven’t just become desensitized? It actually is good coffee?”

“So it would seem.”

The two turn their gazes once more to Johnny who remains unaware of their attention.

After several moments pass, the captain can’t stand it anymore.

“John.”

No response.

“JOHN,” he repeats a little louder.

Nothing.

“JOHN RODERICH GAGE.”

“Whaa-huh?” is the first statement from the young man before he realizes who had called him and a bright smile appears on his face.  “Well, hey, Cap.  Good to see ya back.  Why didn’t ya say something when you came in?”

“I did,” the captain replies warily.  “John.”

“Yeah?” the one addressed answers, confused by the older man’s tone.  He seems serious, like the ‘did you just do the last fifteen feet of a climb without your harness’ kind of serious…

“Did you make this coffee?”

Johnny blinks.  “Well, uh, yeah… Is… something wrong with it?”

“Wrong with it?” Roy repeats.  “It’s the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had and Joanne makes some good coffee.”

At this, the dark-eyed paramedic beams.

“You really like it?”

“Of course we do!”  Hanks exclaims with a nod.  “Where have you been hiding this talent?  The coffee you normally make tastes like soapy water…”

As a blush appears on the young man’s face, the captains notes with curiosity that John closes his book, setting it between him and the arm of the couch as he answers, “Well, uh, you see…”

Suddenly the SCU sounds, announcing an accident inside a training gym, man unconscious.

Without another thought, Roy and John are on their feet and out the door, while he follows them, writing the details and passing the information to Roy.

Waiting until he sees the Squad exit the station, siren blaring, the captain then walks back to the sofa, and picks up the book John had been reading.  He looks around briefly before turning his attention to the book cover.

Unable to stop himself, he laughs, replaces the book as he had found it, and leaves the room, chuckling and muttering,

“Coffee-brewing for Dummies! Ha!”

[concerning-squad51]

Prompt #6: Blood

Roy blinks as his younger partner explains the most recent scheme. And, yes, scheme, is the correct word.

Ever since they had become partners, their relationship had worked like this:

Johnny is the schemer and the dreamer while he, Roy, is the anchor, reigning his imaginative partner in when necessary.

If he’s honest, it’s necessary a lot. Whether it’s the latest get rich quick, foolproof plan, or the newest girl he’d managed to get a date with, or the infamous Gage Tirades that happen nearly everyday, Roy is the one who has to pull Johnny back into orbit so that he isn’t floating out in the galaxy somewhere.

That’s not to say that something is wrong with Johnny–and it’s certainly not a reflection of his work as a paramedic…. Only sometimes Roy just has to wonder what kinda nut he signed on with…

All kidding aside, however, Johnny is his best friend–crazy eccentricities and all–and he doesn’t really mind the craziness….. usually. In fact, he kinda thinks of Johnny as a kid brother.

His eyes widen slightly at the realization, drawing a curious look from his partner who had still been speaking to him. Roy only shakes his head, signaling that it’s nothing and the dark-haired paramedic happily continues rambling along, allowing Roy to return to his thoughts.

Johnny and he hadn’t been friends for too terribly long, but he already knows that they have a friendship most people would envy.

Neither has to say a word to know what the other is thinking or plotting or planning; sometimes they even say the same thing at the same time. They support each other even if they don’t necessarily always agree. And all of that is off-duty.

On-duty, they are just as at ease putting complete trust in one another as they make a rescue or run into a burning building to fight fires or work on a victim. They each know what the other will need without so much as a word passed between them. Cap and the guys had always pointed out how well they work together, and other paramedic teams have always been in shock of the pair’s ability to operate so seamlessly.

There really is no reason for it. The two are as different as day and night, black and white, oil and water.

And yet, somehow it just works.

Maybe his thought is right. Johnny and he are brothers not by blood of course, but then again, the blood really isn’t what’s important, is it?

Seeing that Johnny has finished his spiel–something about getting revenge on ‘The Phantom’–Roy simply shakes his head and walks past him with a chuckled, “You’re nuts. Absolutely nuts.”

Fin.

[concerning-squad51]

Prompt #5: Breathe

They had been inside too long. 

His boys had been evacuating the building and fighting the fires but they had been inside far  too long.  In fact, he had already ordered them out, but…

‘Breathe, Hank.  No reason to get all worked up. Just… breathe.’

But DeSoto and Gage are still inside the blazing building.  Why? He has no idea and they haven’t answered their HT since they said there was another section of the building to check.

‘Why, oh, why didn’t I order them out anyway?!  By now they could be… Breathe. Roy and Johnny always make it out despite the odds…’

And yet flames are shooting from everywhere, and the structure of the building looks as though it could go at any moment.  If they don’t get out soon, the whole building might…

‘Breathe, dammit, Hank! You know there’s no sense in panicking like this… Please, you two… Just come out of the building! I can’t lose both of you… Can’t break the news to Joanne and her kids that Roy and Uncle Johnny aren’t coming home… Just come out!’

As if by magic, the two emerge from the building, almost in slow motion, each carrying a victim.

The two men approach their oxygen masks on those they rescued.

“Ah, sorry, Cap,” begins the younger of the pair with a cough as he lays his victim down by the Squad, “there was a partial collapse and we had to extricate the victims.”

“Well, why didn’t you contact us on the HT?!” the captain finds himself exclaiming.

“You see,” DeSoto replies, setting down his own victim and starting to work, “our HT was damaged in the collapse.  We could hear you, but we couldn’t answer.”

‘Breathe, Hank.  Your boys are all safe and alright.’

“Just…” he sighs. “Be more careful next time, alright?  And when I tell you to get out, get out.”

The two paramedics briefly exchange glances as they carry out their jobs, though, this doesn’t stop Johnny from looking to Captain Stanley.

“We’re alright, Cap,” Johnny says, a grin appearing on his face.  “Breathe or we may have to put you on O2.”

Fin.

[concerning-squad51]

“Crap… seems Cap is on a roll… wanting us to clean the squad with our toothbrushes” ~ Roy “Just use his” ~ Johnny

[concerning-squad51]

“Guess what?” ~ Roy “What?” ~ Johnny “I made engineer, and your new partner is Brice..” ~ Roy “Not funny Roy” ~ Johnny

[concerning-squad51]

Prompt #33: Green

L. A. County Firefighter-Paramedic John Gage has just finished up his shift.  Furthermore, he has just finished his very long shift.  Every disaster imaginable aside from mudslides and earthquakes and floods had occurred.

Thus, after changing into his civilian clothes, he runs from the locker room—almost sliding out into a wall as he does so—says goodbye to his partner Roy and then promptly exits the building, jumping into his jeep.

For once, he has nothing planned for his days off. No errands, no dates, no anything.  Although he does, however, have every intention of spending some quality time with an elusive little thing called Sleep.  He might even watch some TV for once!

In higher than average spirits after a long shift, he puts the keys in the ignition and soon departs from the lot.

Not long after leaving the station, he decides to turn on the radio and listen to some music.  He hears Phil Collins, Hall and Oates, Billy Joel, quite a few of the classic 70s/80s hits that he loves and then…

As soon as the first few notes play, he groans.

“Now, not this garbage again! Music these days…”

He could turn the radio off, but then he might miss a good song after this one was over… so he left the radio on.

It begins… with his pointer fingers.

Of their own accord, they just start tapping on the steering wheel.

Then his head starts bobbing to the bright and bubbly tempo.

Next he actually starts smiling.

And then…

“Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but here’s my number, so call me maybe! It’s hard to look right, atcha baby, but here’s my number, so call me maybe!

“Before you came into my life I missed you so bad! I missed you so bad… I missed you so, so bad!

Even as he stops at a red light, he continues to belt the song out.

“It’s hard to look right, at you baby, but here’s my number, so call me maybe! Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but here’s my number, so call me m…..”

It is then, as he looks to his left, that the word dies in his throat.

Stopped beside him is a biker—leather jacket, American flag bandana, biker boots, the works—on a vintage Harley.

And he’s staring at him. His stare of haughty disapproval clearly speaks the question ‘What is wrong with you?’

Grin falling away and shoulders slumping, Johnny slinks down into his seat as his face enters into competition with the color of the fire engines back at the station.  Gaze locked straight ahead at the light, he reaches out and turns off the radio, hoping the light will change to green soon…

((I know this is a modern song, but I’ll say this is AU modern day. It was just too good to pass up.))

[concerning-squad51]

Captain Stanley: How are you and Brice getting along?

Roy: Fine. Fine, we're getting along just fine.

Captain Stanley: Thought for a while there might be a little... personality problem.

Roy: I can work with just about anybody. I can get along with just about anybody!

Captain Stanley: Glad to hear that.

Roy: Just might have to.... bust him in the mouth to do it.

[concerning-squad51]

The boat or....?

Johnny: Hey Charlie, what are you doing?

Charlie: Oh, my wife changed her mind. I don't have to sell the boat! Hey, you guys been foolin' around with her?

Johnny: .... What, with your boat or your wi- *Captain Stanley smacks him in the shoulder*

Captain Stanley: Charlie, we haven't touched her -- uh, it -- er, boat! *to Johnny* What's the matter with you?!