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Chapter 1
Johnny was whistling as he walked across the parking lot heading for the back door of the station. He had his uniforms slung over his shoulder and his duffle bag under his arm. He saw C shift, Mike and Chet sitting at the table having a coffee.
“Good morning, good morning, good morning and a fine day it is too!” Gage said to the room in general.
“Ah, so the pigeon has returned from his migratory annual flight to southern pastures and has decided to come back and roost here for the summer months I take it?” said Chet.
“Aww, did ya miss me, Chet?” Johnny said as he ruffled Chet’s hair. With a laugh he proceeded onto the locker room to get changed for his first shift back after two weeks away visiting his cousin on his ranch in sunny Florida.
“Welcome back, partner” Roy said as he stood up from tying his shoes. Johnny gave Roy a couple of pats on his back.
“It’s good to be back pally.”
A short while later the men all stood to attention while Cap updated them on several news items from HQ. “Volunteers are needed for helping out at the Disabled Children’s Fundraiser event this year. As you know the Fire Service has always participated and this year we are looking again at volunteers for stalls or anything else you can think of. Before you say anything Kelly, be very careful about volunteering to be a clown. The Chiefs’ wife is still getting over that water prank you pulled.”
The men in line were trying to muffle their laughter as they remembered the incident. Kelly went to say something but given the stern look in Caps’ eyes he thought better of it.
Duties were given out and the men disbanded to the day room to have a coffee and a catch up before setting off to do their assigned tasks. Johnny was talking to Cap about seeing if there was a field attached to the Disabled Fundraiser event this year. He had an idea after something that he had read in the paper. Johnny explained his idea and Cap thinking it was good said he would get onto HQ and get back to him.
In short order the men were doing their tasks. Johnny and Roy made their way out to the hose tower where they had the pleasure of taking down the clean hoses and then cleaning and hanging over 300 feet of dirty hoses. They had just got the last of the clean hoses down and folded before they were on the way to a child trapped call. Returning to the station after releasing the boys hand from the sump drain of the empty swimming pool they headed out to restart their task. They were washing the dirty hoses down with yard brooms and Johnny was regaling Roy with highlights from his holiday.
“It was one of the best holidays I’ve ever had. Man, Saska sure knows how to survive in the wilds. If you thought I was good, he’s even better.” Johnny then went on to expound on his cousins innate ability to stalk his prey and survive with nothing more than bow and arrows, a tomahawk, twine and a flint.
“We ate like Kings, slept like princes, and smelt like paupers. There’s not a lot of water in the backwaters of the rez believe it or not.”
Roy gave his partner a disbelieving look.
“What, would I lie to you?” Hand against his chest, Johnny stood, his broom still in his hand, and gave Roy one of his earnest looks. Seeing that he wasn’t fooling Roy any, he confessed that it had been a good trip but he was glad to get home and sleep in his own bed all the same.
The day proved to be uneventful. The chores plus more were done. The engine had only one call out the whole shift and it was to a small dumpster fire that saw them back at the barn within an hour. Chet was reminding Johnny of their planned trip the next day. Roy had opted out of the invite. Somehow being high in the sky with only a hot air balloon keeping you up and a wicker basket between you and a few thousand feet drop to earth didn’t really appeal to him.
“Don’t worry Chester B. Kelly, I’ve already got my camera and canteen packed and ready to go.” Johnny replied. He was really looking forward to it and was hoping for a quiet night as they were leaving straight after work to go to Gorman’s Hot Air Balloon Park. Cap sauntered out of his office and made his way up to Johnny's tall lanky frame and told him that his idea was given a green light. The owner of the grounds being used for the planned event was only too happy to agree to open up a small paddock next door. He had a disabled daughter and had heard about what Johnny was proposing and thought it was a great idea.
“Wotcha doing, Gage?” Chet asked in his nosy fashion.
“I’m gonna do horse rides for the disabled and abled bodied kids. My paint horse Red Cloud has a very placid temperament and can tolerate kids being on him all day. Just ask Roy about Chris and Jenny riding him.” Gage was waiting for a smart remark but instead Chet patted Johnny on the shoulder and agreed it was a great idea. He left the room but not before Johnny and the guys noted he had tears in his eyes.
“What just happened here?” Johnny asked no one in particular.
The other men just shrugged their shoulders as they had no idea either. Johnny got up and went looking for Chet. He found him outside sitting on the picnic table, staring up into the late afternoon sky. “You OK Chet? I couldn’t help but notice the tears.” Johnny said as he sat next to Chet on the table, also looking up to the sky to avoid embarrassing his friend.
“Yeah, I guess. What I’m about to tell ya, I don’t want you to repeat outside of here OK?”
“Sure Chet, I promise.”
Chet then told Johnny about his older brother Ryan. Johnny had never heard Chet mention this brother before. Then he found out why.
“He was twelve when he died. He always had a thing for horses. Was mad on ‘em. He dreamed of being a jockey one day. Heck, he was short enough. Even I was taller than him, an’ I was four years younger. Only thing was it was part of his condition ya see, his being short that is. He was disabled and needed crutches and leg braces to get around on. He would never be a jockey; it was just his dream, that’s all. He would’ve loved a ride on ya horse. I still think of him. He would’ve been 32 last month. Been 20 years since I last saw his smiling face and heard his infectious laugh. I really miss him.” Chet said simply and quietly.
Neither man said anything for a long time. Finally Johnny gave Chet a brotherly hug and to break the solemnity around them. He dared Chet to a game of one on one basketball.
Before long the other men had gravitated out hearing the laughter and friendly bantering between the two men and the ball hitting the asphalt and occasionally the back of the wall. Cap called it a tie and that it was time for dinner, his clam chowder was making an appearance for dinner and his wife had made homemade bread rolls to have with it. Just the thought had his mouth watering.
Chapter 2
The next morning saw six well rested men rise when the klaxons went off with the wake up tones. Chet and Johnny were eager for the B shift to get in. They were gonna be floating over LA in less than two hours. Roy said he’d be looking up for them but didn’t think they would be flying over his way. His house wasn’t on the flight path so to speak.
The men were high above Bear Canyon with the Pacific Ocean stretched out to the horizon, Johnny was taking photos galore and trying to avoid Chet poking his ribs exclaiming to look at this and look at that. He would have several bruises by days end. The scenery was fantastic and made everything look so small and clear cut. Farmers’ fields were neatly ploughed and crops in other fields were waving in the gentle breezes. Main roads cut through the panorama like grey slithering snakes. They stretched ahead for miles cutting the tableau into grey framed pictures beneath them. It was simply breathtaking.
The occasional roar of the burner heating up the air and the resultant upswing of the balloon as it gracefully glided its’ way across the sky was an experience neither man wanted to end. However end it did with a bump or two before it finally came to a stop and the helpers from the chase car helped to stabilize it while everyone inside got out one by one. Johnny had taken two rolls of film plus what was still in his camera. Chet had also taken a roll of film and both couldn’t wait to get them developed. They were several miles away from the nearest 24 hour chemist that could do photos. So they decided to head over, drop off the films and have a bite to eat while waiting for them to be developed.
There was a bucking bronco at the restaurant cum bar and after ordering their meals both men had a go on the mechanical bull. Chet come off almost straight away but Johnny managed to stay on and set a new in house record which entitled him to a free meal and drinks for two and his name displayed over the bar as the current champion. He decided not to redeem the prize that night but another time as he would bring a girlfriend here for dinner as it was a pretty nice place. Failing that he would give it to Roy to surprise Joanne with. It had been a glorious day and Chet actually turned out to be good company albeit for bony sharp elbows and a lousy sense of balance that had Johnny doubled over with laughter and Chet lying on the mat by the bull. Johnny got back to his ranch quite late and found his horses had been tended to by his neighbor and his cat sitting on the porch waiting for his return.
Chapter 3
The next day saw them all back for another 24 hour shift. Johnny and Chet were showing the guys their photos from yesterday. Roy wished he had gone, seeing the guys raving about how smoothly everything went and the beauty captured in the photos. This shift turned out to be busier than their last one and they had made several trips into Rampart. Johnny had shown Dixie, Joe and Kel his photos. Dixie said she would never get into a hot air balloon but Joe was all for it and was getting details from Johnny about booking a flight. Kel hemmed and hawed but agreed to go on one condition – that Joe shout them all, Dixie included, dinner at his favorite seafood restaurant down at the pier. Dixie seconded it and Joe seeing he was outnumbered agreed as long as Kel brought the wine and Dixie came up in the balloon too. It was a done deal.
It was 10.30 PM before the paramedics made it back to the station after a cancelled run. The rest of the guys were getting ready for bed. Marco was telling Johnny and Roy how the Kojak episode had finished since they were called out half way through.
“Ya know it’s kinda hard to believe that Kojak and Det. Stavros are real life brothers.” Roy stated around washing his face.
“No, they’re not. Stavros’s last name is Demosthenes or something like that. Where ya get that crazy idea from?” Johnny said around a mouthful of toothpaste that he was spraying everywhere when he spoke.
Roy wiped off a couple of spots of toothpaste from his face and replied, “The TV Guide. They know everything according to Joanne.”
“Well, I’ll be. I never knew that. Ya right Roy; they sure don’t look like brothers. Huh who would’ve thought it?” Johnny then rinsed out his mouth and the guys all made their way into the dorm.
“Lights out in five gentlemen.” Cap said before setting up his turnout gear beside his bunk.
The station was called out to a structure fire through the night and the squad got another call out an hour after returning to see to a man trapped. Upon arrival the hapless man legs were the first thing to greet them. The rest of his body was stuck inside his neighbor's bathroom. The man was quite inebriated and had mistakenly thought he was at his own place but couldn’t get his key to work in the front door. So he went round the back to get in through ‘his’ bathroom window. Hearing someone trying to break into her apartment and freaking out, the sole female occupant came in brandishing a fry pan. Not recognizing her neighbor from the back of the head, she promptly hit him on it knocking him out. They eventually got the guy out with the help of Vince who had been called to the scene. They wrapped up the gash on the back of his head escorted him into hospital and handed him over to Mike Morton who was doing nightshift.
In the morning the departing A shift headed off for their three day weekend. All of them having their days off pre-planned. Cap and Mike had a honey-do list care of their wives. Roy and Johnny were going rock climbing. Chet and Marco were going to paint Mamma Lopez’s front porch while she fed them endless supplies of hot spicy food. They also planned on seeing the latest movie sometime over the next three days.
Chapter 4
Half way up the rock face was a pretty decent ledge that afforded great views. It was from here that two sets of legs dangled over the edge and Johnny and Roy were having a bite to eat. It had taken three hours to get to the ledge and they still had a good climb ahead of them to get to the summit. Johnny took out his camera and took photos of an eagle soaring on the thermal currents up above.
“Ya know I would love to be able to do that.” Johnny said as he took a few more shots and then of the overall scenery before putting his camera away.
“What? Fly!” Roy said. Then after a moments pause as he watched the eagle swoop and rise added, “Yeah, it sure would be great I s’pose. Still if God wanted us to fly we would’ve been born with wings. C’mon, times’ a’wastin’.”
Picking up their rubbish and putting it in their backpacks, both men got up and started the second half of their climb. They reached the summit at 2PM. The sun’s brilliance was shining off the rock’s surface making them squint while taking in the scenery around them. Johnny offered Roy his canteen. Although the water was now warm it tasted good in his parched mouth. It didn’t take them long to get down and a short hike saw them back at their respective cars. Roy wished Johnny a good couple of days camping while he headed home to see his family. Tonight he was taking them out to a movie and pizza. Tomorrow he would start his honey-do list, there was no escaping it. Sometimes he envied his single unencumbered friend.
Johnny drove to one of his favorite campsites about ten miles away. He went to the Rangers office and filled out the papers and his camping plans. He then drove along a single dirt track until it opened up into a wide lush green expanse with a stream running down one side and woods on the other. He pulled his jeep over and pitched his single tent and made a campfire in a fire pit already there. There was one other tent up and a couple sitting around a fire cooking dinner. After having a light meal over his fire Johnny saw the couple just relaxing and drinking beer. Johnny took a six pack and went over and introduced himself.
Angela and Sam where holidaying from Northern California. They had been here a week and were leaving in the morning as they both had work to get back to he was a systems analyst and she a PA to some corporate bigwig from what Johnny could gather. They shared a couple of beers together before Johnny begged off saying he had had a long day and it was stating to catch up with him. It wasn’t far off the truth. Within ten minutes of getting into bed Johnny was asleep. The crickets chirping, occasional birdsong and sound of running water went unnoticed as Johnny snored into his sleeping bag till the next morning.
The light coming through his red tent fabric made everything take on a rosy glow. It was a warm morning and Johnny got out, stretched and ambled to the stream to collect water for his morning coffee. He set about rekindling his fire and did his morning routines while waiting for the water to boil. He finally took notice of the sounds of nature. Whoever said that nature was quiet must have been deaf. However the sound of running water over stones and boulders had quite a calming quality to it; even if it did make him want to pee every five minutes.
Angela was first out of the other tent and then Sam about two minutes later. He waved them a good morning and watched as they started to take their belongings out of the tent and load up their car. The tent was left up while they made breakfast and washed up and then took a swim in their bathing suits in the stream, washing their hair and bodies before getting out. Johnny wished them a safe journey and made his way into the woods to start a hike on one of the various trails. He returned several hours later limping slightly on his left leg. He had taken a slight tumble off the trail and knocked his shin against an unrelenting rock. It had taken some skin off but the wound wasn’t bleeding anymore by the time he got back to camp. He noticed the couple had gone and apart from a small square patch of flattened yellow grass you wouldn’t know anyone had been there.
Washing his wound in the left over boiled water and applying antiseptic ointment and a band aid over the worst of the wound Johnny set about catching some fish for dinner.
Having caught two fish in good time he set them aside after gutting and went in search of some wild herbs to stuff them with. He found some beside a swimming hole and not being able to resist went skinny dipping in the cool clear water. He went back to the camp carrying his clothes and herbs. He peeked through the trees to see he was still alone. Seeing that he was, he walked up to his campsite naked as the day he was born and got his towel and dried himself off.
After dinner and a couple of beers Johnny settled under the night sky taking in the beauty of the stars and the serenity of the place. He saw the occasional bird take flight and go after something in the darkening hours. Johnny fell asleep that night outside in the balmy warmth of a Californian night. He awoke feeling cold and stiff sometime later. He quickly climbed into his tent, snuggled down into his bedding and fell back asleep. He slept through the morning chorus of the birds and insects and even the sun shining in the tent didn’t wake him until gone past ten in the morning. By the time he had packed everything and had brunch and coffee it was getting on to midday. He took a short hike along another trail then he was back in time to take down his now dried out tent from the morning dew. He stowed everything into the back of the jeep and sat for a couple of hours to catch some fish to take home with him. Mission accomplished he put the four fish into the cooler and headed back to his ranch.
He gave Roy a call when he got in as arranged and then cooked his fish and with a simple salad had one of the best meals in a long time. He put away his camping gear and did a few chores around the place. He went to tend to his two horses Red Cloud and Pretty Owl and feed his cat Sotkazi. He watched a bit of TV, which wasn’t helping his slight headache so he downed a few aspirin before setting his alarm and heading to bed.
Chapter 5
The morning came all too soon Johnny thought pushing the blankets aside; he got up and saw to his animals and then started getting ready for work. He was the last one to arrive and so had the dubious honor of latrines. He really didn’t mind. They weren’t that hard to do, heck hoses were worse. After lunch Gage was on the phone making inquiries about hang gliding. He had come across the idea when watching the birds the night before and the eagle when he and Roy were rock climbing. He found a place that taught it and wasn’t too dear. He booked it for his next day off as it was cheaper to do it during the week than weekend. Roy thought he was mad and had a death wish. The rest of the guys tended to agree.
Roy however said he would come and take photos of one John R Gage trying to be a bird. In all honesty he was going along with his first aid kit and a prayer that it wouldn’t be needed. The men taking the course probably didn’t know too much first aid and wouldn’t be able to get to Johnny quickly enough if something happened Roy surmised. Johnny not knowing the full reason behind Roy’s offer gladly accepted. He then went and got his camera out of the car to show Roy how to use it and which lenses to put on and why. Roy mentally sighed and prepared himself for Johnny’s teaching session to run on for some time. He prayed for the tones to go calling them out to anything; anything at all, right now! Twenty minutes later and Johnny was still teaching Roy the benefits of this lens for long distance shots and how by attaching this other lens on top you had a sharper focus and were able to widen the view and get a more panoramic view, and …..
Roy had mentally clicked off and just heard a continuous monotone sound that was making him tired. Johnny could get a job as a hypnotist Roy thought as he finally got up to get a cup of coffee. Johnny followed him to the bench and not stopping in his monologue got two cups out of the cupboard then took his coffee back to the table and picked up another lens to explain when Roy should use that one.The big fireman in the sky must’ve heard Roy’s prayer as the tones went off calling the station out to a warehouse fire. Johnny quickly stopped what he was saying, downed the remainder of his coffee and ran to the squad. Roy handed him the call out sheet and putting his helmet on Johnny started to direct Roy towards the fire.
All the workers were out and the foreman and few other workers were coughing loudly with soot on their faces. Roy and Johnny were directed over to assess the men. Seems a couple of them needed to be rescued and some of the guys had got them out but had gotten a slight case of smoke inhalation for their heroics. Johnny got on the phone to Rampart and relayed the vitals of the coughing four men. Each was ordered oxygen and to bring them in Non Code R. Since no IVs were ordered the paramedics didn’t need to go with them. The men were loaded up into one ambulance and sent to Rampart.
Roy and Johnny were ordered onto a line and took up their place beside the men from 51 and 112. A second alarm was called and as the fire continued to get away on them a third alarm was issued. Loud explosions rocked the building and seeing that they were on a losing end of this battle a surround and drown was ordered. All the men had been pulled out long ago. As the sky started to darken it made the flames brighter and more ominous. Finally at 9 PM the beast was out, the warehouse resembled a warped skeletonised shell and the men were doing clean up. Not that there was much to clean up. The few remaining walls were pulled down and any hot spots put out with an available hose.
At 10 PM six weary men got back to the station. Cap took the second shower. He had to phone dispatch and stand the station down for at least an hour so the men could get clean and have dinner. He then ordered pizza with everyone putting in money and requests for their favorite topping. Cap made sure the anchovies only went on half the pizzas. Fed and watered, the men went to go to bed. Each man placed their turnout gear beside their bed. All of the men hoping they wouldn’t need them through the night.
The squad was called out once to a hypochondriac thinking she was having a heart attack. The EKG read sinus rhythm but just to be on the safe side an IV was ordered, saline started and transported to Rampart on 6 liters of oxygen. Roy handed the patient over to Dr Morton and left to replenish supplies before heading out with Johnny back to the squad. Both men were chuckling out loud as they recalled the last time they had taken that particular patient to ER. She had tied the doctors up for several hours with all her illnesses. Both men were still laughing with the thought of Morton having to deal with her. Sometimes karma came in the most surprising ways. There were no more call outs for either the engine or squad for the rest of the night. So in the morning all but two of the men were refreshed; Roy and Johnny less so due to their broken sleep with the call out.
Chapter 6
Johnny and Roy turned up at the hang gliding school in Roy’s car. Johnny signed waivers and papers galore before he got shown the basics. He and his instructor along with Roy with the camera headed out to the run off point. It was a small rise off a not too large hill and then the earth dipped away into a steeper slope. On Johnny’s third attempt he managed to get up in the air. His whoop of delight could be heard down below. Roy took out the camera and took as many photos of Johnny as he could with various lenses attached. He could actually see the difference they made through the viewfinder. All too soon Johnny was down. It wasn’t the most graceful of landings but he was so hyped up that landing nose first and face planting into the soft earth didn’t register. Having righted himself, he got out of the rigging and was all eager to go up again.
Roy couldn’t help but feel excited for Johnny. He was even tempted to have a go as well. It looked pretty safe and if Johnny could do it so could he if he didn’t look down that is. His fear of heights won out and stopped him from signing up. He would just watch Johnny fly like a bird instead. Johnny went up another two times. He managed to stay up for 45 minutes with his last glide and traveled some distance when the instructor motioned that they should return back to base.
All the way back to Roy’s house Johnny went over the experience again and again. To say he was as high as a kite would be an understatement. It looked like his adrenaline was still pumping through his body. Joanne met them at the back door. She gave Johnny a peck on the cheek before lavishing Roy with a more passionate kiss.
“So I see you survived your experience. Planning on doing it again Johnny? Or is that a silly question?” She asked as they sat down to have coffee and cake.
“Jo, it was amazing, absolutely amazing! You have no idea! I plan on going again as soon as my finances allow it. Maybe if I get really good at it I could buy a hang glider. Em, maybe I will. Wonder how much they are?” Johnny mused to himself before taking another bite of cake.
“You sure have been doing a lot of things lately. You’re like the ever ready battery. You just keep going and going and going,” Roy quipped. “You’re my little dynamo partner, you make me tired just hearing about what you do.”
“Life is for living Roy. You’re a long time dead. ‘Sides, ya have to do these things while ya young. I don’t wanna look back and say ‘I wish I had done this or that’.” Johnny said before finishing his cake and looking at Jo with a puppy dog look in his face.
Laughing, Jo cut him another slice and wished she had his metabolism. One slice was her quota for the day. Roy sadly agreed and then cut himself another slice anyway. “Got to live for the day.” He told Jo before she could scold him.
Johnny volunteered to collect the kids from school, giving Roy and Joanne some alone time. He felt he had monopolized a lot of Roy’s time lately. Remembering about his free dinner prize he vowed to give it to Roy and Joanne tonight before he left.
“Uncle Johnny, Uncle Johnny,” Jenny screamed when she saw him standing at the gates to the school. She ran up and with Johnny crouching down, she threw herself into his arms for a big hug. She kissed him wetly on his face and screamed into his ear how happy she was to see him. There were times that Johnny envied his married with children partner.
Chris’s welcome was no different although he didn’t kiss Uncle Johnny but his hug was just as fierce. He got the kids buckled into the back and took them home. He was staying for dinner so he helped the kids with their homework before they had a quick game of ball out the back.
Before he left to go home he handed Roy the voucher explaining about the free meal and drinks for two. He offered to babysit the kids at his place anytime so they could go out for a romantic night, just the two of them. Joanne gave Johnny a big hug and kiss and wiped away a stray tear from her face. She and Roy hadn’t been out, just the two of them for a few years now. They hadn’t had a night alone since the babies were born. Roy didn’t know what to say. He shook Johnny’s hand and then took him into a hug. Not something that Roy did very often to men.
Johnny finally got home and set his alarm. They had work tomorrow and he was feeling slightly bushed. Maybe he had been overdoing it lately. He felt tired enough which was unusual given the time of the evening. He saw to his horses and cat. Then he saw to himself and not being able to keep his eyes open anymore he went to bed. He was hoping that his slight headache and back would feel better after a good nights’ sleep. He took a couple of aspirin to help ease the pain before getting into bed. Johnny was asleep by 8 PM.
Chapter 7
Johnny woke up with the sound of the radio playing the latest number one. He groaned and hit the snooze button. Another five minutes and he’d get up then. A different song was playing when it went off. Groaning even more Johnny reluctantly got out of bed. He had a 36 hour shift ahead of him. There were days that he wished he worked a nine to five job. Sometimes their days off were fewer than their days on. This particular run was a case in point.
Johnny had to stop every once in a while and stretch out his back while doing the latrine. It was still feeling sore and achy. He was starting to get the headache back again as well. After retrieving some aspirin from his locker, he went back to finish off the latrine. Roy came in a short while later surprised to find Johnny no where near finished. The other men had completed their chores and were all up for a game of basketball out back. Roy had been sent in search of his missing partner.
“You go ahead and play, Roy. I’ve still got a bit to do in here. I’ll be out when I’m done.” Johnny got back to cleaning the basins.
“Are you alright Johnny? You look slightly pale.” Roy could see Johnny’s reflection in the mirror and he didn’t look that great.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit tired and achy is all. I think I’ve been overdoing it lately and now it’s all caught up with me.”
Roy could believe that. His dynamo partners’ battery was finally running flat and needed time to recharge. “OK, I’ll see you out there later.” Roy left and went to shoot some hoops with the guys.
Johnny finally made it outside an hour later. He was drinking a cup of coffee and declined to join in. He still wasn’t feeling that great and everything required more effort and took longer to accomplish. He looked at his watch. Only another 32 hours to go. It was going to be a long shift if he didn’t get his mojo back. Roy could see Johnny wasn’t his usual bubbly energetic self. His alarm bells started to go off. He excused himself from the game and went over to check out his best friend.
“You want to tell me what’s really going on or do I need Cap to order me to take you to Rampart?” Roy asked. Within the last hour Roy thought Johnny had become paler. He appeared to be dragging his feet and was continuously rubbing his lower back.
“Maybe it’s the hang gliding catching up with me. Ya know when I face planted on landing. Must’ve jolted my back and I’m only starting to feel it now.”
It sounded plausible enough and Johnny wasn’t hiding anything from him that he could tell so Roy relaxed and went along with it. “OK, but if anything changes you tell me alright?” Roy gently nudged Johnny’s arm and smiling went and got himself a coffee and a refill for Johnny.
The squad was called out to a couple of nuisance runs that really didn’t amount to anything but more paperwork for them when they got back. Johnny was eternally grateful as he was not functioning at 100%. Lunch was in the fridge when they got back. Roy went and got the sandwich fixings out of the fridge, while Johnny poured them a glass of milk each. Johnny made a sandwich but after one bite realized he wasn’t really hungry. He pushed his plate away and just drank his milk; even that was a struggle. Johnny got up took his plate to the sink after binning his sandwich. He then went into his locker and took a couple more aspirin with the last of his milk before returning to the day room. While he was out the other guys asked Roy what was up with Johnny. They had all noticed his quiet demeanor and lack of energy. Roy explained about Johnny’s exploits the day before and how he and Johnny thought that was at the root of how Johnny was feeling today.
“Well, somehow I’m not surprised,” voiced Chet. “Heck, he’s done hot air ballooning, mechanical bull riding, rock climbing, camping, hiking, hang gliding and not to mention all the call outs and that three alarmer the other day. Gosh, I’m still recovering from that and I ain't done half the stuff Johnny’s done!”
Everybody had to agree. Johnny had definitely been burning the candle at both ends. On that note Johnny re-entered the day room and sat down heavily on the couch. He stretched his legs out in front of him and Henry left Chet’s lap to go hop on Gage’s. Johnny idly stroked Henry’s back and scratched him under the jaw and round the ears. Gradually the strokes became slower and more spaced out until they stopped altogether. Johnny was gently snoring with his head fully extended, resting on the back of the couch exposing his long and slender neck. His adam’s apple looking more pronounced.
“Don’t even think about it Chet!” Cap warned.
“I wasn’t gonna do anything, I swear. Even I can see that this pigeon has flown to high to the sun and has crash landed” Chet said indignantly.
“I think you’ll find it was Icarus and not a pigeon,” Mike put into the conversation before resuming his reading.
“You think he’s OK to be working? Do I need to get a replacement for him?” Cap asked Roy.
“I think he’s just tired. He promised me if anything changes he’d let me know.” Roy said.
This comment generated a snort from several of the crew. “Yeah, I know. Johnny could have his arm cut off and be bleeding to death and try to hide it and say he was fine all at the same time.” Roy said with a weary sigh. His partner had put him through a lot over the years and Roy was well versed with Johnny’s diversionary tactics. Nodding his head in agreement, Cap ordered Roy to pull rank if he thought Johnny was hiding anything from him and to do whatever he saw fit. Cap then left to go back to his office and do more paperwork.
Chapter 8
The klaxons sounded for the squad. Johnny awoke with a start. Recognizing the tones he got to his feet and made his way slowly out to the squad. The woman down call was a simple faint and she declined any treatment when she came to. She signed the waiver and thanking the nice kind paramedics left to finish off her shopping. Roy decided to go to Rampart. He was hoping that the doctors there would see how pale and lethargic Johnny was and maybe give him a quick going over. He simply told Johnny that they needed to top up on a few things and hoped Johnny wouldn’t see through the lie.
Dixie was the first to greet them. She noticed Johnny’s pallor straight away and put her hand to his forehead. Johnny balked at this and stepped away.
“Don’t even think about escaping from me Johnny. You don’t look well and as your adopted big sister I want to make sure you’re OK!” Dixie told Johnny in no uncertain terms.
Dr Brackett came out of treatment room two and saw Dixie going to feel Johnny’s forehead. He saw how pale and tired Johnny looked and became concerned that he was unwell. “Well, Dixie, does he pass muster?” Kel asked once she removed her hand.
“He doesn’t feel warm but he doesn’t look well either. Has he been OK today Roy?” Dixie asked.
“Hello, Johnny here. I AM capable of answering any questions about myself you know!”
“Yes, Johnny. But we want the truth, not some half disguised truth down played and or completely deemed as irrelevant, therefore not told to us.” Dixie said as she smiled and lead Johnny into treatment room three with Dr Brackett in tow.
“Hey, now wait a minute, wait a minute. What are you implying Dix? Whoa, hold on what are we doing inside a treatment room? I’m fine. Just a little bit tired is all.” Johnny was saying as Dixie patted the exam table for Johnny to get up on. She then pushed him down so he was sitting on it when he refused to budge. Dr Brackett ordered vitals to be taken but Dixie was already on it. She had a thermometer in Johnny’s mouth before he could complain again. She set about taking his blood pressure and pulse. Roy was counting resps.
“BP 110/70, pulse 65.”
“Resps 18” Roy told Dr Brackett.
“Et tu Roy!!!” Johnny managed to get out around the thermometer.
“Temp 99.8” Dixie said as she shook the thermometer down.
“Do you feel sore or have pain anywhere?” Dr Brackett asked.
“I’ve a headache, an’ a sore back and achy joints if you must know. Also not feeling that hungry. Oh, and I’m tired, lethargic like.”
Dr Brackett looked at Roy to see if this was all true and if Johnny had missed anything out. Johnny saw this and got instantly angry.
“You know that’s really insulting Doc. If you don’t believe me and hav’ta keep looking at my partner for confirmation then I might as well go and you can ask him everything about me while I sit in the squad!” Johnny got up before anyone could say or do anything and left the room; opening and closing the door with more force than was needed.
“He’s right, I shouldn’t have done that. I’ll go get him back.” Dr Brackett said quietly to the other two occupants in the room before he left in search of Johnny.
He had just found Johnny brewing a nice head of steam in the squad and went to apologize when Roy came out saying they had a run. The squad left to a man down call. Brackett hoped that they would need to bring the patient in so he could properly apologize and maybe do a proper exam on Johnny. However the man down was a drunk that just needed to sleep it off. He refused to go to Rampart and signed a waiver.
“We better be heading back to the station.” Was all Johnny said as Roy drove the squad back. Johnny jumped out of the squad and slammed the door before heading to the dorm to lie down. He was furious at Dr Brackett and at Roy’s duplicity. He had realized on the way back that Roy made no attempt to get supplies. If his brain was working on full power he would have known that they didn’t need anything before they left.
Cap came out of his office after hearing the door slam. "What was that in aid of?” He asked Roy.
Roy told Cap all that had transpired. Cap wanted to know if he should order Johnny back to Rampart to be properly checked out but Roy didn’t think it was a good idea at this time. Besides Johnny’s vitals were all normal. So far all the symptoms could be put down to just overdoing things or at worse a simple cold or flu coming on. Johnny was left in peace. He fell into a light doze a short time later. He awoke feeling cold and shivery. He couldn’t stop shaking. He went to the bathroom to relieve himself and caught a glimpse of his reflection. The pallor that everybody had been commenting on earlier was now replaced with the bright flush of fever. Yet he felt so cold. He made his way into his locker and took three aspirin. He had been living on them since yesterday. He looked through his locker for a thermometer. He knew he had one somewhere.
Finally he found it, and sitting in the toilet so no one could see what he was doing, he took his temperature. 103.5. Think Gage, what are ya gonna do? Tell Roy, yeah right. He’ll take you straight to Rampart where Dr Brackett and Dixie will ask HIM all the questions about me, in front of me. No, not gonna let that happen again. I’ll just go back and lie down. No wait. I’ll tell Cap to get a replacement for me and go home. Yes, that’s it.
He was on his way to do just that when he realized that Cap would send him in to Rampart. Turning back he went to lie on his bed again. He would wait for the aspirin to kick in. The guys would never need to know. He stopped in his tracks, he realized he was validating their statements. Maybe they had a point. With his head hanging down he went to see Cap to ask for a replacement and that he might need to go to Rampart as he wasn’t doing very well. Cap could see that Johnny was feverish and shaking uncontrollably. Johnny's arms were hugging his chest tightly. Cap called Roy into the office. When Roy entered he was surprised to see Johnny there. He was even more alarmed to see the sheen of fever covering his friend’s features while his shaking rocked the chair. Cap contacted HQ and requested a replacement for Johnny. He also stood the squad down by calling a still alarm for a code I.
“Ya better check him out and if warranted take him to Rampart.” Cap told Roy.
Roy helped Johnny up and back to the dorm. He stopped on the way to get the biophone and trauma box. Johnny’s temp was now 104.2 and Dr Brackett ordered an IV and a stat bag of fluid. Johnny had broken out in a heavy sweat and not only was he drenched but the bedding underneath him was also. While waiting for the ambulance the chills wracked Johnny’s body. His teeth started chattering with the cold. Johnny was begging for blankets as he was feeling chilled to the bone. Roy however told Johnny he was burning up and that blankets wouldn’t help him right now. Even though he knew Roy was right he still gave Roy a dirty look. He was still slightly miffed at Roy's earlier behavior with Kel in the treatment room.
Chapter 9
Johnny arrived in ED feeling miserable and very cold. His back ached with every chill that coursed through his body. Sweat poured out of him and pooled at the base of his neck, and in his ears. He could barely keep his eyes open. He was so very tired and everything felt heavy as if he was swimming in molasses. He decided to just keep his eyes closed and let them do whatever they wanted. He would answer Dr Bracketts’ questions but that was it. He was past caring at this point. Dr Brackett was there to receive him. The change in Johnny in the three hours since he had sat on the table in this exam room was marked. Whatever was going on with Johnny was serious.
“I want everybody in here to go get gowned, gloved and masks on. Including you Roy. Until I know what’s going on with Johnny I’m treating it as contagious!” Dr Brackett said as he pulled out sterile gowns from a cupboard in the room. He also put the ambulance attendants who had just moved Johnny on to the gurney into another room, with strict orders that they weren’t to leave. They had better notify their office and let them know. He told Roy to contact the station and have Captain Stanley let HQ know that they were in quarantine until further notice.
Bloods and blood cultures were taken. Another line set up and more fluids started. When Dr Brackett palpated Johnny’s abdomen, Johnny couldn’t help but groan. Brackett noticed Johnny’s liver was enlarged. His lymph nodes were up in his neck, armpits and groin. Dixie got Kels’ attention after inserting the Foley.
“Kel, it was an atraumatic insertion but he’s got hematuria. His testes also seem to be swollen.” Dixie had catheterized Johnny on several occasions but this time it didn’t seem right down there.
“Get me a mid-stream urine, do a dipstick and then send it away for culture and sensitivities Dix.” Brackett then came down to palpate Johnny’s testes. Johnny let out a whimper as Dr Brackett examined him. “What’s going on with you, my friend? Everywhere I look something is abnormal.” Brackett was nonplussed.
Then he rolled him onto his side remembering his complaint of a headache before and set about to do a lumbar puncture. His low groan as Brackett pushed on Johnny’s spine rang more alarm bells. Johnny had complained of a sore back. The CSF was clear but that too went to the lab. The only thing that wasn’t sounding bad was Johnny’s lungs. Still he ordered xrays to rule out atypical pneumonia.
Johnny wanted this day to end. He had had enough of being poked and prodded. He heard Dr Brackett talk about quarantine. Did he have the monkey virus again? Had he relapsed? He couldn’t quite remember all the symptoms from that as he had lapsed into a coma quite quickly. This time round he was wide awake or just sleeping normally. The xrays came back clear, just as Brackett suspected they would. The blood results showed his liver function was only mildly deranged. His white cell count and CRP were elevated showing he had an infection somewhere. His urine dipstick showed heavy blood and nothing else. He called in Joe Early to compare these results with the monkey virus. Were they similar?
Joe studied the findings so far. Apart from the fevers and chills not much else was in common. “I don’t think it’s a relapse of the Koki virus. Having said that I’ve no idea what it could be. Let’s hope the blood cultures show us something or a definitive symptom presents itself to aid the diagnosis. In the meantime, I think you’re right to keep him quarantined to try to limit the spread until we know what we are dealing with.” Joe said as he looked down at Johnny who was moaning every so often and more so when he was moved.
“Well that doesn’t help me enough to know what this is, but it does help me to know what it isn’t. I’ll start him on a broad spectrum antibiotic and see how we go.” Brackett said to Dr Early, who nodded in agreement.
Sweat was running off him. His back was killing him. His head was ready to explode. His abdomen ached as did his genitals. His neck felt swollen and it hurt to swallow. He could feel his groin and armpits; that in itself was odd. His joints were starting to hurt and he couldn’t find a position to ease the ache. He was still feeling freezing cold and they had COOLING BLANKETS on him for heaven's sake. Didn’t they know he was already a popsicle. On that thought, Johnny fell into a fitful sleep. He woke up several hours later. The cooling blankets were off him and he didn’t feel cold or hot, just wiped out. All his other symptoms were still there but the fever had broken. He was on the road to recovery. Thank the Great Spirit. He didn’t like feeling sick at the best of times.
“So you’ve decided to wake up?” said Dixie as she was tucking in the last of the new clean sheets. “You gave us quite a scare there, have you quit gone scaring us young man?”
Johnny could only nod. “Could, hmmm, could I have a drink of water, please Dix.” Johnny croaked. His voice was scratchy as if he hadn’t spoken for days. Had he been unconscious for longer than he thought?
“What’s the time? Is it still Wednesday?”
“It’s just after 7 PM, and yes it’s still Wednesday. Your fever broke about an hour ago and you’ve been sleeping ever since.”
“Why are you still here? Shouldn’t you have finished before now?”
“I’m here because I wanna be. Now hush and rest that throat of yours it sounds pretty sore. Does it hurt?” Dixie asked as she went to give Johnny another drink.
Johnny declined the drink by turning his head away. Why did everyone say rest your voice and then ask you questions. Johnny would never understand that. He went to turn over onto his side but the pain in his back sent daggers up his spine. Johnny cried out in agony and grabbed Dixie’s arm until he rode the pain out.
“Shhh, easy there tiger, you’re gonna be OK. I’ll get you some pain relief.”
He watched Dixie remove her gown, gloves and mask. It was only when he saw her take them off that he realized she had them on. Why was she gowned up? Oh, that’s right he was in quarantine. Johnny started to sniff as his nose was running slightly. Dixie came back in all gowned up again. She went to give Johnny his pain relief when she saw it.
“Johnny, have you had nosebleeds before today?”
“No, why do you ask?”
“Cos your nose is bleeding now, Johnny.”
Johnny put a hand up to his nose and rubbed it, when he looked at it, it was smeared in blood. Dixie gave him the pain relief and then applied pressure to his nose.
After five minutes his nose stopped bleeding. He had swallowed a good amount of blood which didn’t help his nausea at all. The morphine Dixie gave him made him feel dopey and took the edge off the pain but he still hurt everywhere. He gingerly went to turn and found the pain bearable if he did it slowly. His joints were stiff, and achy. Then an unpleasant thought came to him.
“Roy, Jo, the kids, guys at the station, have they got it too?”
“No, Johnny, so far you’re the only one.” Dixie said as she put a pillow behind Johnny’s back to help take the strain off his aching bones and muscles.
“Not from hang gliding then?”
Dixie laughed and brushed Johnny’s sweat wet hair away from his face. “No. Roy told me what you both thought it was initially and that’s one thing we can rule out.”
Dr Brackett walked into the room and seeing Johnny awake looked at Dixie and asked for a moment alone. Dixie left the room with a promise to be back later. Kel Brackett came up to Johnny’s bedside and looking him in the eye apologized for his earlier behavior. Johnny accepted the apology and the two men went to shake hands but it proved to be a bit awkward with Johnny on his side so Kel just gave his shoulder a gentle shake as one does in friendship.
Chapter 10
Kel asked Johnny if he was up to answering some questions. Johnny nodded and Kel proceeded to find out what Johnny had been doing recently. Kels ears perked up when Johnny related about his swimming in the stream with an open wound. Kel immediately went and had a look at the scabbed over wound. It wasn’t infected or hot and red. It was healing quite nicely.
The Public Health Department hadn’t put out any notices about contaminants in the waterways where Johnny had been camping and Johnny had cooked the fish thoroughly.
One by one all of Johnny’s activities in the last week to ten days were ruled out. There hadn’t been any crop dusting or pesticide spraying anywhere near Gage’s ranch. Johnny had had no contact with any stray animals in the last week or so. His horses and cat were all fit and well and not displaying any illnesses. Kel was no further ahead. Johnny was just as lost as Kel.
Roy phoned to check up on Johnny and was put through to his room. Dixie was there to take the call and held the phone up to Johnny’s ear. Johnny’s joints in his arms had started to ache like those in his legs. Johnny was given another dose of morphine before the nights end and he fell into an exhausted sleep. Dixie sat in the chair for a while to make sure Johnny was settled. Then she went to her room next door. She also was quarantined.
Roy was quarantined with his family at home. The kids thought it was great as they didn’t have to go to school. They didn’t understand that their Uncle Johnny was very ill.
The men of station 51 were also on home detention as Chet liked to call it. Quarantine sounded too scary. The single men decided to bunk out at Johnny’s place. It had the most bedrooms and they could tend to the animals. They could also keep an eye on each other for any symptoms. Johnny had said it was OK when Marco had phoned and asked him earlier while they were still at the station.
Chapter 11
Johnny woke up several times through the night. He was drenched in sweat but didn’t feel hot. His bedclothes and sheets were wet and sticking to him. He rung his bell and his nurse came in. She saw the state he was in and set about cleaning him up. He was washed and dried and bedding changed, vitals taken and resettled with some morphine and pillows placed under his knees. His stomach was hurting a little bit more each time he woke and his back down his right side was agony. He rung his bell after waking up for the third time. He had tried to gut it out but after waiting for an eternity he realized it wasn’t going to go away. The nurse entered his room and saw the amount of pain he was in and immediately went and got him pain relief. She took his vital signs and apart from a lowish bp he was stable with only a low grade fever. She resettled him on his other side and placed more pillows to help decrease the pain in his limbs and back.
Brackett reviewed Johnny’s chart and then went to see the patient. He was lying once again on his back. He looked miserable. Ice packs were placed on his groin and heat packs under his back. So far he had remained afebrile since yesterday afternoon. The night sweats though was a new symptom and something of a concern. More bloods were taken and the possibility of doing a bone marrow aspiration loomed in the horizon. Johnny had had another nose bleed this morning. It was a bit more severe and lasted a lot longer. His gums had also started to bleed. He wasn’t hungry and was declining food stating he had been dining on his own brand of black pudding. However even that joke made him feel sick and he quickly dropped it.
Dixie came in mid morning and took over some of Johnny’s cares. He was a very undemanding patient Dixie observed. Each time he had been in he only rung the bell when he really had to and more often than not he had put it off for as long as possible. When he was well that was a different story. Then he was flirting and chasing up the nurses. Dixie was praying for him to start flirting with the young nurses on the floor very soon. Johnny stirred in his sleep, groaned and clutched his belly with a death grip. He went to roll over and once again was met with joint pain and agony along his back. His muscles screamed in protest all over his body with the movement. The heat packs had long since lost their heat and the ice pack was just warm water. Dixie removed them as gently as she could and asked the nurse for some more packs and pain relief if it was due. She then went about getting his vital signs and plotted them on his chart. She hung up his next bag of fluid and noted he was still passing hematuria. Only now it was bloodier.
Lunch came and Johnny refused it. Dixie tried to get him to eat but two spoons of jello seemed to be his quota. Johnny just laid there in abject misery, feeling decidedly unwell.
Johnny’s nose started to bleed again. Nose packs were inserted in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Blood dripped down the back of Johnny’s throat and he was swallowing it. Now he was feeling nauseated, and clutching the emesis bowl threw up clotted blood and the little bit of jello. His abdominal muscles were cramping with the pain. Tears were leaking out of his eyes. Dixie went to wash his face when she saw little purple dots over his skin. She picked up the phone and dialed Dr Brackett’s office and told him to come up to Johnny’s room.
“Well, it’s definitely purpura. He may have a form of Idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura. That would explain the abdo pain and nosebleeds, bleeding gums and hematuria but it doesn’t explain all the other signs and symptoms. Unless he has a secondary infection,” Brackett said.
The blood smear came back inconclusive for ITP. Johnny had consumed a lot of aspirin in the days preceding the sample. His platelets were low as they would be for ITP and high aspirin use. Johnny was now scheduled for a bone marrow biopsy and aspiration. He was masked and wheeled into the OR. Brackett was concerned Johnny may have a blood cancer or some other drastic blood disorder with a possible secondary infection. Johnny’s splenectomy wasn’t helping; in fact it was hindering the diagnosis. The samples were rushed to the lab but it would be a day at least before they had anything, if there was anything, to go on.
Chapter 11
Johnny was back in his room by 2.30 PM. His hip was now throbbing away with the rest of his body. He was starting to feel slightly warm and restless. By 3 PM Johnny was in the throes of a full out episode of the chills with shivers, goosebumps and chattering teeth. He was clammy to the touch and slowly getting more flushed in the face.
He couldn’t find a warm spot anywhere in the bed. The air trapped under the blankets with him felt cold and gave his goosebumps, goosebumps. Eventually he curled in on himself head under the covers trying to get warm. His body shaking viciously while sweat poured off him. Brackett came in to see how Johnny was doing post biopsy. He was dismayed to find him soaked through, flushed and delirious with fever. His temp was 105.1. Brackett ordered Johnny to have cold baths with ice. He was going to cook his brain if his temperature continued to rise so quickly. Dixie heard the commotion from her room. She came in wearing isolation gear and immediately she had icicles of fear clenching tightly around her heart with every beat when she saw Johnny convulsing on the bed. Brackett and two ward nurses were holding him down with little effect. Brackett's mask had come off in the struggle.
“Get me 10 mg diazepam IV stat” ordered Dr Brackett.
Quickly injecting it into Johnny’s IV port his convulsion slowly subsided. Icy wet towels were laid over his body and ice packs put in his armpits and groin. His temperature was taken rectally and read 106.3
When the ice bath was ready Johnny was transferred into it and several nurses continuously moved the water around and over him. An orderly stood outside in case Johnny had another seizure again and they had to get him out of the bath quickly in case he aspirated the water or drowned. Johnny did neither but his temp wasn’t coming down either. More ice was added. Some of the water was let out and it was topped again. Johnny was that hot he was heating the water up!
“God, Dixie, I wish I knew what was going on with him. So far I’m barely managing to treat the symptoms let alone find a diagnosis and cure!” Dr Brackett said dejectedly. His brows were furrowed and his lip was twitching. “Every time I think I know what it is, tests show it’s not. I’m praying that the blood cultures and bone marrow biopsy and aspirate will tell me something. We might get a break tomorrow, if we’re lucky.” Dr Brackett said.
“Yeah, let’s hope Johnny’s still alive that long.” Dixie said with a hitch in her voice.
“C’mon I’ll walk ya back to your room.” Kel took Dixie’s arm and lead her back to her room where he gave her a soft kiss on her forehead before leaving to chase up any lab results that might be in. He had to do something. The CDC had no idea either. Their last idea was some new strain of Hemorrhagic Fever. However no other cases had come to light and for that Kel was eternally grateful; there was no cure for some of those diseases. Kel sat in his office and Joe walked in carrying his old medical books.
"Let's hit the books Kel and see what we can find. You do modern and I’ll do old. I’ve even got tropical and Sub Sahara illnesses. Lets’ hope it’s none of those. Have you thought of Hemorrhagic Dengue Fever?” Joe Early quietly asked his friend, as he sat himself down opposite Kel and spread the books out on the desk.
“It’s on my list but not all the symptoms fit, Joe”. Kel said. “If you can find an illness that presents with part Hemorrhagic Fever and possible Auto Immune Disease with epididymo-orchitis, anorexia, night sweats and hepatomegaly then I will be forever in your debt.”
“Cripes, is there a condition that he doesn’t have?” asked Joe.
“Yeah, morning sickness!”
Both men laughed but the seriousness of Johnny unknown illness was causing them great concern. Each man was scared that they would lose him.
Chapter 12
Johnny was in the bowels of a delirium. His fever was down to 104 and when he wasn’t thrashing and moaning in the bed he was sleeping the sleep of the deathly ill. He not only looked ghastly but looked like he was knocking on Death’s door. Dixie had gone back to be with Johnny. She was very upset at what she saw. His chart reflected a slow decrease in his fever.
“You stay away from that door; do you hear me John Gage? You run as far as you can away from that door. Don’t you go a knockin’ on it!” Dixie picked up the phone and dialed a number she knew by heart.
“Hello.”
“Roy, it’s Dixie, I think you better come in. Johnny’s not doing so well.”
Roy arrived in record time. He was lucky he didn’t get pulled over. He made his way over to the isolation ward and proceeded to get geared up. Dixie was waiting for him outside Johnny’s room.
“How is he, is he…” Roy couldn’t say it. All the way to the hospital he was praying that his little brother would still be alive. He prayed to a God he hadn’t spoken to in a long time to give his friend strength, to not desert him in his hour of need. He begged God not to take him as he was loved by so many people. Roy was a selfish man, he admitted to God, and wanted to hold onto those that he loved for a very long time to come.
“He’s still alive but he’s poorly. He's deteriorated quite rapidly and even with all that we are doing he's not responding."
The two friends entered the room. Roy got a shock as he hadn’t seen Johnny since he had been admitted and his deterioration was plain to see. He had lost weight and looked gaunt. His cheekbones stuck out as did his collar bones and ribs.
“Johnny, Johnny can you hear me?” Roy asked as he approached the bed and held his friends hot sweaty hand in his. There was no response.
“He’s had a rough time of it. I have to admit I’m worried for him Roy. Kel’s also concerned. He’s been holed up in his office and Johnny’s room while he's been in quarantine.”
Dixie and Roy sat either side of Johnny’s bed. They watched Johnny sleep. They continuously wiped the sweat off his face. The cooling blankets once again on Johnny’s bed. Soon Johnny’s temp was 103 and dropping. Within an hour he was hovering on 100.1 but his body was pouring out the sweat making his muscles cramp again and again. Johnny grimaced and grunted with pain as his muscles, bones and joints joined in a pain filled symphony with every cramp.
“It’s ok, Johnny this will pass, just like it did yesterday. C’mon Tiger, breathe through it. You can do it.” Dixie cooed into his ear.
Dr Brackett had walked in and overheard Dixie coaching Johnny through his latest crisis. He checked his chart and noted the temperature drop. “How’s he doing, Dix?” a tired and beaten Dr Brackett asked.
“We took his cooling blankets off a short while ago. He will sleep for a while now then wake up again later tonight. If we are lucky he’ll get through the night without having a bout of night sweats.” Dixie came back with clean sheets and gown from the supply in the corner of the room.
Roy had a bowl of warm soapy water and wash cloths. They then stripped the top sheet and gown off and placed dry towels over his body. Removing them only when washing that part of his body.
Dixie then continued with her observations. “Then if it follows the same pattern it will start all over again tomorrow afternoon. Don’t worry sweetie we’ll be here to get you through each step of the undulating waves of fever and chills.” Dixie said to the exhausted and ill Johnny as he slept on; oblivious to what his friends were doing. She washed his face gently with the cloth.
“What did you say? Repeat it word for word!” Kel was grabbing her arm tightly and spun her around to face him. He looked like a crazed man on the verge of seeing his invention come to life.
So Dixie repeated everything she said while looking at Kel. She recognized the moment the light went on in his head. A smile broadened Kels face. He looked self-assured again. The change in Dr Brackett's mood instantly lifted.
“Yes, yes YES!!! Dixie, you Beauty!!” Kel swung her up into the air and twirled her around. He then realized what he had done and blushed a brighter red than Johnny had managed over the last 2 days.
“No, wait he hasn’t been near any wild animals or foreign countries…. FLORIDA! Roy, tell me about Florida? What did Johnny do there? It’s important I need to know everything he told you.”
Roy related what he remembered. Johnny hadn’t said too much. “His cousin is a great hunter and they ate wild pig, rabbit and fish. They drank milk from a stray nanny goat which they had caught but because it was in milk they didn’t kill it. They ate wild berries and edible plants. They didn’t wash much as they were in the backwaters of the Rez. Wasn’t a thing that his cousin couldn’t do. Apparently; he is better at tracking and hunting than Johnny. They slept under the stars and apart from one night when it rained, they had a pretty great time.”
Brackett rushed over to the phone. He punched in some numbers and spoke to someone on the other end. He wanted some woman’s plate tested? That didn’t sound right to Roy, but he was too amazed at the sudden animation that had befallen his Boss in a few short minutes.
“Oh, no!” Dixie said on the edge of her breath. “Surely not?” Then she thought about it, her hands stilling on Johnny’s chest. It all fitted, every last single symptom, the history, the incubation period, it was all there all along.
“Dix, Dix, ya scaring me here. Will someone please tell me what’s wrong with Johnny?” Roy demanded.
Brackett put the phone down. “Roy I need the name and number of Johnny’s cousin. His wellbeing and that of his family may be at risk.”
“It’s at home in our emergency phone number book, Johnny gave it to me before he went on vacation, I’ll phone Joanne from here and get it, but not before I find out what’s wrong with Johnny!”
“Brucellosis, Roy, otherwise known as ‘Undulant Fever’. It came to me as Dixie pointed out Johnny’s cycle of undulating waves of fever. It could be one of two types by what you said earlier. Infected meat possibly the pig, or unpasteurized goats milk. I’m waiting for the lab to phone me back. They are doing a certain definitive test for it now. Now you know why I need Johnny’s cousin’s phone number.” Kel finished.
“Is it curable?” Roy was looking between Dr Brackett and Dixie.
“Yes, if we get onto the right treatment and act swiftly Johnny has a very good chance of coming out of this relatively unscathed.” Kel said.
“Relatively? What aren’t you telling me?” Roy demanded.
“I’m going to book Johnny in for a scan if the condition is confirmed. Depending on the strain, Johnny may have abscesses in his organs which may need surgical removal. There is also the very slim, and I mean extremely, as in less than 1% chance of it becoming a chronic condition with relapses. However, I doubt that happening here. We have got onto this very quickly and with treatment started within the first month. That’s all very favorable.” Brackett said.
“This less than 1% chance of it becoming chronic with relapses. What does that mean for Johnny?” Roy asked fearing it could lead to him dying.
“Johnny could end up chronically fatigued and out of the fire service. Let's see what the lab says and the scans I want Johnny to have tonight if the test comes back positive. The best outcome is that Johnny needs an antibiotic combo for up to six weeks. I need that cousin’s number Roy, just in case.”
“Ah, yeah, yeah. I’ll go phone Joanne.” Roy said.
“Roy, if I’m right about this, it’s not contagious in a way that you guys need to worry about. But I do want to do blood tests on you all in case any of you got Johnny’s blood on an open wound you might have had since he came back from his vacation. Everyone can come out of quarantine.” Kel said.
Roy commented that Johnny hadn’t received any injuries that he was aware of, from any rescues since his return before leaving the room to phone Jo. Kel acknowledged the good news then called the lab to see if they had completed the quick test he requested. Roy returned with Johnny’s cousin‘s phone number and received the news about Johnny’s positive result. Brackett and Dixie had stripped their protective clothing off. Dixie had just finished washing Johnny and put the clean gown on when Roy returned. He helped Dixie to roll Johnny. She washed his back and then put a clean sheet underneath him. Roy rolled Johnny the other way and pulled the sheet through and tucked it in. Johnny just groaned and stirred slightly then fell asleep again.
Brackett left to organize Johnny’s full body CT scan. He wanted to make sure everything was covered and any infection treated promptly, with surgery if needed.
The scan came back clear. Johnny was given a good prognosis. It was hoped that he would be well enough to return to work in two months if all went well.
Chapter 13
Johnny had woken briefly after the scan. He was surprised to find Roy, Dixie and Dr Brackett in his room not looking like aliens when they were all donned in isolation clothing.
“What’s going on? Why is Roy here? Is it Joanne and the kids? Are they alright?” Johnny was working himself into a right frenzy and trying to sit up but his protesting muscles and joints soon put a stop to that.
Gasping Johnny fell back onto his bed. Roy came up and smiling at Johnny reassured him that everybody, including Johnny, were fine. Brackett then gave Johnny the news and the results of the CT scan. Johnny noticed for the first time that he had IV antibiotics piggybacked into his line.
“I’ve got to let the CDC know Johnny. They will be contacting your cousin as well. We will need to get your cousin and his family to a doctor and see if they have it too. We are lucky with you. We caught it very quickly and there should be no long term effects.” Brackett stated as he stood by Johnny’s bed.
“So I’m gonna be OK. It was the hunting trip in Florida that caused this.” Johnny suddenly felt so relieved it was like a heavy weight being lifted from his shoulders. Johnny was getting quite upset as he couldn’t remember his cousin’s phone number. Roy told Johnny he had already seen to it and Johnny relaxed once more.
“I see no reason for you to not make a full recovery. You won’t be over this so quickly but it will pass. Unfortunately it will be a while before the antibiotics stop the illness so you can expect a few more days of fevers and chills and prolonged sleepiness I’m afraid.” Brackett said. After answering a few more questions he excused himself. He was exhausted and was looking forward to his own bed. But first he had to make a few phone calls and discharge Dixie from the hospital.
Roy and Dixie stayed and visited with Johnny until his eyelids started drooping and Johnny slipped back into a deep sleep.
“I’ll stay with him through the night.” Dixie said “His nights get bad with ferocious night sweats and he must lose his body weight in fluids.”
Roy stayed for a bit longer but he too had to leave as he had a few phone calls to make, namely to his Captain and crewmates.
Johnny had a bad night, the night sweats drenched the bedding three times over. True to her word Dixie was there to help wipe him down and help change the bedding with his night nurse. The next day the men from station 51 all turned up. They were dismayed at what they saw. Their little brother had lost weight and his bone structure was prominently displayed. He was very pale, making the purple spots of the purpura stand out more. He had two bags of IVF in progress, one fast and one slow, to replace all he had lost through the night.
Cap was the first to inquire how Johnny was feeling. Johnny as usual said he was fine and would, if all went to plan, be fit enough to be able to do his rides for the disabled at the fundraiser in 2 months’ time. The men noticed the fruit basket. He still wasn’t eating and his fruit basket they had sent in when they were confined sat untouched on his bedside cabinet along with several get well cards. Chet made a beeline to the fruit basket and helped himself to a peach.
“What?” He asked as Marco jabbed him in the ribs.
“It’s not your food to take like that.” Marco said.
“Well, he’s not eating it. It will only go to waste.” Chet defended his actions.
“Chet’s right. Please everybody, help yourselves before it spoils, and thank you for the basket it was a lovely thought. I just wish I felt hungry enough to eat some.” Johnny complained.
Peach juice was dribbling down Chet’s chin as he devoured the fruit and was busy eyeing up a nectarine as his next conquest. “So, pig boy, I take it that this is all due to you.” Chet said as he thrust out his arm showing the little band aid in the crook of his elbow. All the men were sporting one.
“For your information it wasn’t the pig but the goats’ milk.” Johnny replied.
His cousins’ family had been contacted and his cousin also was sick and thanks to Johnny being diagnosed so quickly it helped his cousin in getting similarly diagnosed and treated. The rest of his family were well and tested negative for the disease. They had all consumed the pig meat but the goats’ milk was only Johnny and the cousin when they were out camping.
Johnny gave a quiet chuckle and then looking at Roy and his friends around the bed explained why he was laughing.
“The one time I did something boring and dull,” Johnny made little quotation marks in the air, “and it comes back to bite me in the bum! The hot air ballooning, rock climbing, camping, hiking, even the hang gliding. None of them put my life in danger. Drink a little bit of goats’ milk and it just about kills me! I never thought that would happen!” Johnny said as he watched Chet start in on the nectarine.
“Ya know, I’ve heard it’s found in unwashed fruit too!” Johnny said as he watched Chet choke on his bite of fruit and make a quick dash to the bathroom to bring up everything in his stomach.
“You’re evil, you know that!” Roy told Johnny as he started to laugh.
“Score one for the pigeon.” Johnny replied before all the men broke out laughing.
The End