Graphic by Wendlar

DOG DAZE OF SUMMER

By gwen doucet

PART 2

The bright orange flames scratching the night sky were visible for blocks away, an irresistible siren call for gawkers. The growing crowd kept Officers Vince Howard and Mike Delaney so busy trying to keep people out of harm's way and trying to clear a pathway for the fire vehicles, that they hadn't had time yet to determine if anyone was in the burning house.

The chaos was, unfortunately, a familiar site for Captain Stanley and his crew as they stepped down from the truck. Engine 10 roared up beside them and the sound of Engine 14's siren signaled that it wasn't far behind. Stanley wasted no time in directing men to cover the burning house, the garage and the flaming trees in the backyard that bordered onto the neighboring property, hoping to contain the spread of the fire. He also made sure that arriving police officers were sent to evacuate the houses in the immediate area.

Johnny and Roy, oxygen tanks on and masks dangling over their shoulders, jogged to join the fire fighters stationing themselves along the back of the house. Others where being deployed along the front.

Johnny turned, casting a quick look around the backyard. "I don't see either of the Chilibeck's, Roy."

"Look out!" Marco shouted, jumping back from the house, the others quickly following suit, as broken glass and a chair rained down on them.

Everyone looked up to the third story window where Sam Chilibeck appeared briefly, coughing and waving to get their attention.

"Hey! Hey! Hang on, Sam!" Johnny shouted up to the man. "We're gonna come up and get you!"

Waving weakly, the man disappeared from sight.

Roy pulled out his Handy Talkie. "Cap, this is Roy. We've got victims trapped on the third floor."

"10-4, Roy. You guys try getting in from the back. I'll send some guys in through the front."

"Okay, Cap. We're going to come get the ladder."

"10-4."

Stanley turned to find 14's Captain Carroll at his elbow. "Hank, what do you need?"

"Frank." Stanley nodded at the older man. "It's a mess. The wind's spreading the flames around and we've got some people trapped on the third floor. Can you send a couple of your guys through the front to see if they can get in that way? We're going to try from the back too. The fire's got a good hold, we've got to move fast."

At Carroll's nod, Stanley hurried off to help check out on the rest of the men, at the same time calling in for another Squad and an ambulance.

Carroll turned to his men who were just getting their gear on. He paused briefly as he looked at Paul Chilibeck, who stood staring at the burning house. He could only imagine what the young fire fighter was going through.

"Volden, Bianci. We've got a report of people on the third floor. See if you can access them from the front. We don't know how many there are inside."

"Three." Chili pulled his eyes away from the fire to look at his Captain. "There should be three people inside. My niece Jacqueline was staying over with my parents tonight." Sudden horror as realization struck. "Oh god. They're still in there."

The dark haired fire fighter started forward, but Carroll caught his arm, pulling him back. A quick nod of his head sent Volden and Bianci off on their mission.

"Cap! I've got to… let me go!"

"No, Chili." Carroll swung the young man around, forcing the fire fighter to look at him. "I can't afford to send you in there right now. You're too close to this. You'll make a mistake and get yourself and probably someone else killed."

"Don't do this to me, Cap," Chili said, blue eyes flashing. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. "Look, I can handle this. Hell, I risk my life everyday for other people, please…this is my family."

Captain Carroll stared into the determined eyes for a long moment, assessing.

"Hey, Chili!" Johnny called out, as he and Roy passed by with the ladder. "We could use a hand back here. You up for it?"

Chili looked back at his Captain. Carroll hesitated for a brief moment, then with a sigh, dropped his hand and stepped back. "Don't make me regret this, son."

"Come on, Chili," Roy urged, and the three hurried to the back of the house.

In short order, the ladder was placed against the house, stretched until it reached the third floor window where Sam had been seen. The fire fighters concentrated their water on the area. No further activity had been seen from the third floor window.

Johnny was first up the ladder. Then Chili moved into place. Roy hesitated for a moment, debating whether to keep him on the ground but realized that there was no way, short of tying him down, that they would be able to. Besides, Chili knew the layout of the upstairs rooms better than anyone. He stood back and waited to start his own climb.

Johnny carefully made his way in through the window, clearing away broken shards with his arm, which was protected by the thick material of the turnout coat. The smoke swirled heavily in the room. Dropping down to the floor, he took a moment to orient himself. He had been up in this part of the house a few times during visits to the Chilibeck's. Feeling Chili climbing in behind him, he began sweeping his arms along the floor as he moved forward. The smoke was so thick he could barely see in front of his face.

He was nearly at the door when he felt something under his hand. A body.

"Chili!" Johnny called out, his voice muffled by his gear. "Over here."

Chili quickly made his way over and between the two of them, they began working backward toward the window dragging the unconscious body between them.

By this time, Roy had made it to the window and was getting ready to step in. Realizing that Johnny and Chili were coming back with a victim, Roy stepped back down a rung.

"I'll take him," he yelled to the two fire fighters.

Working in sync, Johnny and Chili quickly positioned Sam Chilibeck in a fireman's hold across Roy's back. Chili paused for a moment, torn as he watched Roy start down the ladder with his father. He didn't even know if the man was alive. He jumped when Johnny tapped him on the arm.

"Come on."

Dropping again to the floor, they made their way across the room and out into the hallway. Johnny turned to his friend, putting his facemask up against Chili's as he talked, trying to be heard over the roar of the fire. "Which way? Where would they be?"

Chili hesitated for a moment. They were fast running out of time. His parents' bedroom was at one end of the hall, the room his niece most likely would be in was at the other end. They would only have time to make one go at it and with conditions the way they were, there was no way they could split up. He looked from one end of the passageway to the other, not able to see a thing, before quickly pointing to their far left, where his niece's room was. His mother would have tried to get to her granddaughter, if there was any way she could. As he crawled after Johnny, he sent up a silent prayer that he had chosen correctly. The air grew thicker, leaving them completely blind as they felt along the wall.

Suddenly, the very air seemed to explode around them as windows began popping inside the rooms they were passing, flames shooting across the hall, over their head. They dropped helplessly to the carpet.

As Roy was nearing the ground, he almost stumbled off the ladder when a couple of windows popped, sending glass showering around him. The fire fighters on the ground quickly aimed their hoses into the now open windows, fighting what was fast looking like a losing battle.

Marco and Chet dropped their hose and hurried to help Roy, relieving him of his burden. Moving quickly, they carried the unconscious man to a clear patch in the yard. Marco headed over to the Squad to get the equipment he knew Roy would need while Chet knelt beside the man ready to help Roy out as he began checking Sam over.

"He's alive," Roy announced, gesturing for Chet to place his own oxygen mask over Sam's face leaving the paramedic free to continue checking the man out.

Sam began to come around as Roy was getting his vitals. He weakly pushed away the mask, struggling to sit up, coughing.

"Take it easy, Sam. You swallowed a lot of smoke. You need to breathe in some of that oxygen."

Reluctantly, the man took a couple more whiffs from the masks before setting it aside again. He coughed as he tried to get his words out. "My wife? Granddaughter? Did you get them? I tried but the smoke… It was so bad. I fell asleep downstairs and I tried to get them but I couldn't see and…."

"Easy, Sam. Thanks, Marco." Roy grabbed the oxygen tank from Marco and placed the smaller mask over Sam's mouth and nose. "Breathe nice and steady."

Sam's eyes pleaded with him, the burly policeman now just another scared victim.

The paramedic gave him a reassuring look as he busied himself setting up the bio-phone. "Johnny and Chili will get them out. Now please lie back. Chet, give him a hand okay?"

Picking up the hand piece, Roy cast a worried look behind him at the flaming house. He knew how hard the search would be for the two fire fighters in such a place. He had been there too many times himself. And because of that, he knew that there wasn't much time left before the whole building started collapsing in on itself. Resolutely, he keyed the phone. "Rampart, this is Squad 51. How do you read?"

Captain Stanley was pleased to see that the fire fighters had succeeded in dowsing the garage fire quickly, thus sparing the house on the adjoining property. He reassigned those men to help with the inferno consuming the Chilibeck house. He headed back to the Engine, eyeing the growing crowd, and the various television news crews filming the scene.

He motioned Officer Mike Delaney over. "See if you can get people to move back some more. There's a chance we could have some flying glass here or even an explosion."

"You've got it, Hank."

The Captain then cast a worried glance at the house. The men who had tried getting in through the front of the building had been driven back before they had even reached the second floor. That left Johnny and Chili still in the building. Heaving a heavy sigh, he headed over to review strategies with Captain Carroll.

Johnny found himself coughing as he made his way down the corridor. Even with the oxygen mask strapped firmly to his face, the smoke was so dense that it was creeping under his mask. He was keenly aware that both he and Chili were pushing the limit staying in the house, but he knew there was no way that his friend was leaving without the two people they were looking for. And neither was he.

He stopped moving when he felt a tug on his leg. Turning, he brought his face right up next to his friend, their facemasks touching. It was the only way to communicate.

"Here!" Chili shouted, indicating the door beside them.

Johnny took off his gloves and ran a hand over the door, checking for fire in the room. The door was relatively cool. Slipping his gloves back on, he grabbed the doorknob and turned it, pushing at the same time. The door refused to budge. Going to his knees to give himself better leverage, he pushed again at the door. Still no movement. Something seemed to be blocking it. In a flash, Chili was up beside him and the two men put their shoulders into the door. It finally gave, the men falling onto the floor inside the room.

Motioning with his hand, Johnny indicated he would search the left side of the room. Chili nodded, and turning to his right, began making his way around the door, sweeping his hands along the floor in front of him. As he moved around the doorframe, he brushed up against the thing that had been blocking the door. Grabbing it, he held it up to his mask, straining to see. A wet towel. Spurred on by the find, he increased his pace, searching his part of the room quickly, crawling in and out of the bathroom, then along the wall to the window. Nothing. Damn! He began working his way backward frantically. They had to be here somewhere. They had to be. He had to have guessed right. Listening to the fire roaring down the hallway, he knew there was no way they would be able to double back to check the other rooms.

He rounded the corner of the bed and stopped, bumping against something.

"Johnny! Over here!" Chili shouted, not sure if his friend could hear him or not. He quickly ran his hands over the little form in front of him. His niece Jacqueline. He was surprised to find a wet towel wrapped around her face. And lying beside her, also with a wet towel covering her head, was his mother. He didn't have time to feel relieved. He didn't know the condition they were in and they still needed to get out of there…now! He looked at his niece and his mother, trying to figure out how to move them both.

And then Johnny was there. He tapped Chili on the arm as he moved himself into position next to Mama Chili. Relieved, Chili picked up his niece and began moving towards the window, trusting that his friend would be right behind him.

Not surprisingly, Sam Chilibeck had refused to be transported to the hospital, so Roy had escorted him to the ambulance, making sure he kept the oxygen mask on. Some of the man's sons and daughters had shown up and Roy had allowed them to sit with their father, figuring it might help keep Sam quiet. Without having to worry about him for the moment, he hurried back to check on what was happening with Chili and Johnny. His step faltered as he realized the window that they had gone in was now completely engulfed in flames. They wouldn't be making it back out that way. Not giving himself a chance to even think about the fact that they might not be making it out at all, he motioned Marco over.

"Let's move the ladder down the wall. They're going to have to come out one of the windows down there," pointing to where the last few windows still stood intact. Marco nodded in agreement and together they muscled the ladder to the farthest window. Now, it was a case of waiting. He stood there, tense, at the ready, scanning the windows.

"Hey! There!" Marco called out as he spotted Chili at the second last window.

The fire fighters reacted immediately, shoving the ladder over. Roy made his way up quickly, taking the little girl from Chili's arms. He took a moment to look into the room, searching for his partner but the smoke was too thick. Tucking the little girl securely over his shoulder, he started back down the ladder.

Chet noticed that Chili didn't follow Roy down, but instead had turned away from the window. Seeing the flames shooting out from the room below the one the men were in, he headed up the ladder to give them a hand.

Johnny was coughing continuously now, his air totally contaminated but with single-minded determination, continued dragging Mama Chili towards the window. He was startled when he felt Chili move up beside him. Together, they moved the woman to the window, into Chet's waiting arms.

Once Chet was halfway down the ladder, Chili climbed out the window and started his own descent, moving as quickly as he could.

Then it was Johnny's turn. He climbed out of the window, one leg still in the room, waiting till Chili was further down the ladder. Suddenly, the floor beneath his feet gave way, throwing him off balance. Scrambling, he grabbed the window frame, and launched himself out of the window onto the ladder, moving so fast, he almost skimmed the ladder rails, barely touching them. Chili hadn't quite made it off the ladder before Johnny was on top of him. The two men fell the last few feet to the ground, in a heap.

"Hey, you guys okay?" Marco asked, reaching over to help them to their feet.

"Yeah"

Both were coughing as they ripped off their air masks, and began sucking in great lung fulls of air.

Then they turned to where Mama Chili and Jacqueline were being tended by Roy and Squad 14's paramedics, Dwayne Duthie and Gino "Aggie" Agnello. Breathing in the fresh oxygen from the tanks Volden handed them, Chili and Johnny, like everyone else, could only watch and wait.

Behind them the house began to fold in on itself, the fire fighters losing the valiant battle. Now it was simply a matter of containment. It didn't matter to any of the Chilibeck clan. They ignored it, their attention and concern focused solely on their rescued family members.

Around them, the lights from the emergency vehicles, the flare of the fire, bathed the scene, creating a surreal stage.

Even the crowd was silent as they watched the drama unfold before them.

###

Five hours later, Calvert Street was quiet, a stark contrast to the scene earlier. Johnny pulled up across from 142 Calvert, and stared at the still smoldering ruins that was all that was left of the three story house that only hours earlier, had stood there. Spotting the person he was looking for, he hesitated a brief moment before stepping out of his Rover and making his way across the street.

Chili stood just inside the yellow tape marking off the area near the ruins of the garage. Hands stuck deep inside his pockets, he surveyed the scene, without really seeing it.

"Hey," Johnny said quietly, his voice still husky from the smoke he had inhaled earlier.

"Hey."

"Thought I'd find you here."

Chili didn't answer him as he continued his contemplation of the remains of the garage. Finally, he sighed. "You know, you'd think being in the business we're in that you'd get used to this kind of thing."

Johnny shrugged helplessly. There was nothing he could say. "Everybody's okay, right?"

"Yeah. Doc Brackett said they're all going to be fine. Mild smoke inhalation but they're okay. My parents are staying at Laura's for now."

"Good. Good." Johnny rubbed a hand over his face. "I'll tell ya, for a while there, I didn't know if we would find them in time."

Chili nodded slowly. "You know what I was thinking?"

Obviously a rhetorical question, but still Johnny shook his head.

Chili gave a half-hearted laugh. "I was just thinking that my mom really was listening when I used to go on about what I was learning at the academy. You know, all that stuff about how people can make their house safer and what to do if you're caught in a fire. I mean, if she hadn't remembered about using wet towels to protect yourself…"

Chili's voice trailed away, unwilling to finish the thought. Johnny looked down at his feet, kicking at the dirt. In the distance, a dog barked.

Chili glanced toward the sound, distracted for a moment. His face hardened as he focused back on the scene in front of him. "The press is going to have to give him a new name now."

Johnny frowned at the seemingly non sequitur. "Huh? Who?"

"Well, they can't call him the "Garage Arsonist" anymore, right? I mean, he's upped the game." Chili waved a hand at the scene in front of them. "The investigator said he started the fire in the garage, his usual MO but guess that was getting a little boring, wasn't giving him enough excitement. This time he poured a line of gasoline from the garage to the house. The wind did the rest. It moved like a son of a bitch."

"I know this'll sound patronizing but," Johnny gestured around the yard helplessly, "the important thing is that no one was hurt and your parents can rebuild."

"You're right." Chili turned to glare at him, blue eyes dark with fatigue and anger. "It does sound patronizing. I know that's the important thing here. You think I don't know that?!"

"Hey, easy." Johnny held up his hands. "I'm not the one you're mad at."

"Yeah, but you're the one who's here." Chili dropped down to sit on the sidewalk, arms resting on his knees.

"Guess I'm kind of convenient, huh?"

"Sorry."

"S'okay." Johnny dropped down beside him. "Hell, if it makes you feel any better, I want to punch someone's lights out too. Preferably the bastard who did this."

Chili glanced at his friend, a hint of a smile on his face. "Kind of tag team him, huh?"

"Yeah, that's it exactly!" Johnny joked. "Or hey, we could just send Kamikazie after him. Wouldn't stand a chance against the mountain."

Chili chuckled at the thought, then grew serious again as he stared at the scorched grass around him.

They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes. Finally, Johnny stirred, standing up. He wiped the dirt from his pants. "Come on. Breakfast is on me."

"On you?" Chili gave his friend a wide-eyed look as he got up. "You're buying? John 'my wallet has a chastity key' Gage? Maybe I should call the newspapers. Or better yet, the National Enquirer. I can see the headlines now."

Laughing, Chili ducked as Johnny took a playful swing at him. The two men continued to feint and spar as they headed for their vehicles. Behind them, a dusting of ash and soot swirled through the air.

####

Johnny made his way out of the locker room, skirting around Marco and Mike who were working on polishing the Engine. Captain Stanley, standing at his office door, called out to the young man. "Hey, John."

"Yeah, Cap. Something wrong?"

"No, not at all." Stanley was quick to reassure him. "I was just wondering how the Chilibeck's are doing."

"Oh," Johnny flashed him a smile. "Good. They're doing good."

"Glad to hear that," Marco piped up. "That hit a little too close to home."

"Yeah, it did," Johnny agreed. "They're going to rebuild in the same spot and hope to be back home before Christmas."

"Well, you be sure and tell them if they need any help, just ask," Stanley said.

"Yeah," agreed Mike. "They're good people."

Johnny nodded as he looked at his co-workers. "Thanks, guys. I'll tell them."

"You know," Marco laughed quietly. "I didn't realize that Chili had so many brothers and sisters. I thought I came from a big family. What are there, like 6 of 'em or something?"

"Nope." Johnny grinned. "Chili's got 8 brothers and sisters. I think his dad wanted his own baseball team!"

"Nine kids!" Stanley mock shuddered. "Better him than me!"

"I hear that," Johnny echoed as Mike and Marco quickly added their own agreement.

Still laughing, Johnny made his way to the kitchen door, then hesitated as he looked around for Boot. Relieved to see the mutt wasn't around, he continued into the room. Chet watched him curiously.

"Don't ask," Johnny said, waving away the question he could see in the man's eyes. Plopping down onto a chair, Johnny quirked a questioning eyebrow towards where Roy was finishing up on a phone call. "Who's Roy talking to?"

"Some old service buddy of his, who's in town for a couple of weeks," Chet answered as he turned back to his magazine.

"Oh yeah? What are they talking about?"

"Whaddya asking me for? I don't go around listening to private conversations."

Johnny just stared at him.

Chet managed to hold out for a moment before giving in. "Okay, so I might of happened to overhear a little bit of it. Seems the guy on the phone and Roy flew together, you know, cargo planes. And, this guy has one that he's using for a charter business…"

Behind Johnny, Roy, who was now off the phone, was waving his arms at Chet, trying to get him to stop talking. Chet didn't notice.

"…and he just offered to let Roy use the plane next week if he wants to do some flying."

Johnny shot up in his seat. "What??"

Roy rolled his eyes and moved to join the duo at the table.

"Calm down, Johnny," Roy said dryly. "I haven't decided if I'm going to do it yet. There's still the cost of fuelling the plane and Clyde can only lend it to me next Friday and I'm working then…"

"Details, man, details! Chili and I'll chip in for fuel. We've been over this. And we both know guys looking for overtime. No problem. Wow! This is like fate, you know. Meant to be."

"What's meant to be?" asked Captain Stanley as he strolled into the room.

"Cap, you'll never believe this. Chili and I were talking with Roy about renting a plane so we could get more jumps in and now out of the blue, this buddy of his offers to let him use his private plane."

The Captain stuck his hands in his pockets as he looked over at Roy. "So, you going to do it?"

"Nah, I don't think so."

"What?" Johnny exclaimed in disbelief. "Ah, come on Roy. You can't pass this up. It's like a sign or something."

"Maybe in the Gage universe," Chet smirked.

"You're not helping here, Chet." Johnny turned back to Roy, leaning across the table towards him. "Come on, you've been wanting to fly too. What are you worried about?"

Stanley let out a laugh. "Probably you, Gage. You're a disaster magnet."

Johnny made a face. "What can happen? Roy's the one that'll be flying the plane!"

Chet smirked. "Well, d'uh, Gage. Roy drives the Squad, it figures he flies the plane."

"Hold it here, guys," Roy broke in. "It was really nice of Clyde to make the offer but I'm just not sure I want to do this, okay? It's a big responsibility. A plane's not a toy, you know…."

Once again, a conversation was interrupted by the tones.

STATION 51, STATION 14, TRAFFIC ACCIDENT. STRANTON BLVD. CROSS STREET WEAMS. STRANTON BLVD. AND WEAMS. TIME OUT 8:30.

###

Roy maneuvered the Squad past the last of the rush hour traffic, finally stopping on the shoulder of the road, the Engine pulling up beside them.

Captain Stanley swung down off the Engine, surveying the small overturned cube van and 3 cars littered across the road. Gas and oil flowed across the pavement, towards the dried grass along the road. "Marco, Chet, let's get two 2 and a 1/2s on that. One spark and we'll have a hell of a mess. Roy, you check the people in the cars, Johnny, you check out the van."

As the men hurried to comply, Station 14 pulled up on the scene. Captain Carroll quickly dispatched his crew to help out.

Roy leaned down to check through the window of the white Toyota. The roof was dented, the windshield cracked. A middle-aged man stared back at him, a dazed look on his face. "Sir, are you okay?"

"Huh?" The man blinked. "Ah, yeah. I'm okay." He grimaced as he shifted in his seat.

"Easy there," Roy admonished, reaching in a hand to keep the man in place. "Let me check you out first. Does anything hurt?"

"My shoulder a little." The man plucked at the seat belt holding him in place. "Think it's from this stupid seat belt. My wife is always nagging at me to wear it."

"Well," Roy smiled as he straightened. "A good thing she did. It saved you from going through the windshield."

The man looked at the cracked glass in front of him and groaned. "Boy, she's never going to let me live that down."

"What's that?"

"That she was right."

Roy laughed. "All right, you seem to be okay. Just take it easy for a minute. I'll have one of the fire fighters get you out. I'm going to go check on the people in the other cars, okay?"

"Sure. No problem." Roy turned away, waving 14's Volden over.

The man sitting in the car pulled out a package of cigarettes, sighing, "Well, maybe now I can finally have my cigarette. Just hope this damn lighter works this time."

"What?" Roy whirled back in time to see the man pull out the heated lighter from the dash. "Stop!"

"Huh?" The man froze, the lighter half way to the cigarette dangling from his mouth.

Roy plucked the lighter from his hand. "Sir, there's oil and gas everywhere. One spark and this whole place could go."

The man, paling, lowered his head against the car's steering wheel. "Oh God."

"Everything okay, here?" asked Volden, moving up to stand beside Roy.

"Yeah, Pete. I'm going to go check on the other people. He's okay; just need a little muscle to get his door open."

Volden grinned, his brown eyes twinkling as he flexed his shoulders. "Now I see why you called me over!"

Laughing, Roy headed over to check out the next car, glancing over briefly to see his partner gingerly making his way down the slight embankment.

Johnny dropped down beside the young man sitting up against the front wheel of the van. The man, about 25 or so, was shaken, blood running down from a gash across his forehead. He flinched as Johnny reached out to check the cut.

"Whoa. Easy there. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm a paramedic. I just want to make sure you're okay."

The young man stared at him suspiciously for a moment, before finally nodding.

Johnny pulled out his penlight and checked the man's eyes. "Can you tell me your name?"

The man didn't answer, tensing as he noticed the police officers on the scene.

"Sir, can you tell me your name?"

A brief hesitation. "Miguel."

"Okay, Miguel. Are you hurt anywhere else?"

Miguel shook his head slowly. "No. Just my…head."

"Do you know what happened here?" asked the paramedic, as he ran quick hands over the young man's arms and legs.

"I… I don't know. I was driving and then that car over there," he pointed to the white Toyota, "The driver…he bent over, like he dropped something and his car swerved and then….It wasn't my fault! You have to tell the cops that, man. It wasn't my fault."

"Okay, take it easy. No one said it was your fault. I'm sure the police'll figure it out."

The young man shook his head bitterly. "They'll blame me. It's always easier to blame the foreigner."

Johnny frowned at him but before he could say anything, he heard a faint thumping sound from the back of the van. He glanced over at it. "Is there someone in back there?"

"Oh man." Miguel dropped his head into his hands, groaning. "He's gonna kill me."

"Hey, Johnny, need a hand here?"

Johnny looked up to see Chili standing there. "Uh, not sure yet, Chili." He turned back to the young man he was tending. "What's going on, Miguel? Is there someone back there?"

"Yeah. I was driving some…workers around for my uncle."

"Damn!" Johnny stood up and hurried over to the back of the van, Chili following closely behind.

"What's going on?"

"There's people trapped back here," Johnny answered him as he tugged at the dented door handle.

"Hang on. I'll get an axe to pop that," Chili said, heading back to the Engine.

Johnny rapped a hand against the door. "Hello? If you can hear me, stay calm. We're gonna get you out of there. Just hang on okay?"

No answer. Johnny turned to Miguel, intent on asking him the name of the person or persons trapped, but the young man was sprinting away across the meridian. "Hey!" he shouted, but Miguel just kept running.

Up on the road, Officer Mike Delaney glanced up from interviewing some  witnesses to the accident and quickly assessing the situation, took off running after the young man.

"What the hell's that all about?" asked Chili, as he returned with the axe.

Johnny shrugged as he stood back to let his friend work on the door. "I don't know. Maybe the heat's getting to him."

Chili cocked an eyebrow at him as he wrestled with the door. "Thought you didn't buy into all this heat stuff?"

"Yeah, well, something's going on. How else do you explain the dog thing and Chet singing at the drop of a hat?"

Chili snickered, not answering. With a grunt, he managed to pop the door open. "Woo, boy!"

"What?" Johnny peered around him and gaped. The small enclosure was packed with people. Johnny turned to where Roy and the two Paramedics from 14, Dwayne and Aggie were working. "Hey, guys. We need help down here."

As Chili held the door open, men and women of various ages began jumping and crawling out of the interior. Johnny and Chili tried to slow down their movements, worried that they could be aggravating injuries.

"Easy. Take it easy. Is anyone hurt?"

"Maria. She no move." An old woman, her hair covered by a black net, clutched at Johnny's arm, begging in broken English. "You help?"

"Don't worry. I'll help her." Johnny reassured her before passing the woman over to Roy to deal with. He moved back to the van's rear door and stepped into the dark interior. The air was foul, stale, obviously a combination of the enclosed space, no clean air, the number of people packed into the area, the heat of sun and something else he couldn't identify. Taking a shallow breath, he felt along the van's walls. "Hello. Maria?"

He felt something wet drop onto his neck but before he could react, he heard a moan in front of him. Dropping to his knees, his hands quickly found the young woman. "Maria?"

"Si." Came a faint voice. A hand reached up to touch Johnny's arm as the woman moved to sit up.

"Hey. Take it easy, miss. Don't want you to hurt yourself."

"Out. Out." The woman insisted, pushing to stand up.

"Johnny?" Roy stood in the doorway, peering into the dark interior. "What do you have?"

"Not sure yet," Johnny called out to his partner as he made his way toward the doorway, supporting the young woman with an arm around her waist. "She's okay to walk though so I don't think she's too bad."

"Here, let me take her." Roy stepped back, and reached up to help the woman to the ground. Sitting her down, he began to quickly check her over. Around him, the rest of the paramedics and fire fighters were checking the others out.

Johnny stepped out of the van, taking a moment to inhale a lung full of clean air, trying to get rid of the van's fetid smell. Even his skin seemed to crawl. Shrugging, he tried to shake off the sensation.

"Need a hand, here, Roy?"

Roy concentrating on cleaning the cut on Maria's arm, answered without looking up. "Looks like minor injuries for the most part, Johnny. Everyone was pretty lucky."

"Why the devil were they crammed into that van for anyway?" Johnny asked.

"I think maybe that's why the driver ran …," Chili started to answer, then stopped as he looked over at Johnny. "Um, Johnny..."

"What?" Johnny stared at the fire fighter, puzzled by the look on his face.

The other men working around them looked up at the exchange. Stanley stared at Johnny, quickly rubbing a hand over his face. "Er, Gage…"

"What? What?" Johnny demanded, looking at everyone staring at him.

Stanley could only gesture in the vague direction of Johnny's shirt. Beside him Chet began to snicker.

At that moment, Johnny felt something sliding down the inside of his shirt. Reaching up to brush it away, he felt more wet slimy things on his shirt. He jumped, hands flapping at his shirt, frantically batting away at the things. Worms!!!! His shirt was covered in worms! Oh my god, what was that on his neck!

"Argh!!"

Hopping about, Johnny scrabbled at his buttons, frantic to get his shirt off. Around him, his friends and co-workers were laughing themselves silly. Roy stood, half-heartedly offering to help but even he couldn't help laughing.

Finally, Johnny managed to rip his shirt off. With a disgusted look at the laughing group around him, he charged up the hill, stopping in front of Marco, who was still washing away some of the oil on the road. Flinging his arms open wide, he shouted, "Marco, hose me off!"

Marco, unaware of what had happened down behind the embankment, looked at Johnny in disbelief, but after a moment, shrugged. What the hell? He turned the hose on the dark haired paramedic, blasting him with a shot of cold water. Johnny stood under the torrent, brushing hands through his hair and over his chest and back continuously.

Stanley, fighting down his own laughter, gestured to Chet and Roy. "Better go calm him down before he does a strip tease for the morning rush hour crowd."

It took a few minutes but they managed to convince Johnny that there were no more creepy crawleys on him. Settled on the back of the Squad's running board, Johnny finished wiping himself off with the blanket that Roy had given him. He glared up at his partner.

"Where the hell did those things come from?"

Roy looked over to where Officer Delaney was still interviewing the young truck driver, Miguel. "Seems like the truck was filled with worm pickers."

"Worm pickers?" Johnny stared up at Roy, his jaw dropping.

"There's a big market with fisherman for dew worms. The pickers go out early in the morning, just as the sun's coming up. Seems that's when the worms like to come to the surface."

"I don't get it. Why were those people packed in there like that?"

Marco, who had been standing alongside the Squad, shook his head at the question. His voice was bitter. "They're illegals, Johnny. Who are they going to complain to? The person running the operation just wants to get as much money as he can with the least amount of hassle, so cram the pickers into 1 van instead of 3. Saves time and money."

The men fell silent for a moment, watching as the people who had been trapped in the back of the truck were being interviewed by police officers. None had been hurt enough to warrant a trip to the hospital, but unfortunately for them, that was the only good news in their day.

Johnny sighed as he rubbed a hand through his hair, yet again.

Chet smirked at him; literally bouncing on his toes as his eyes gleamed. "Still feel like your skin is crawling?"

"Don't even bother, Chet."

"Who, me?" Chet asked, innocence personified.

"Look, not even you can find a song for this."

"Is that a challenge, Gage?"

Johnny let out a heavy sigh, looking up as other fire fighters made their way over. "All right. Let's get it over with, Kelly. Hit me with your best shot."

Chet blinked a couple of times for effect, before letting a big smile take over. 'Well, let's see. I just need to change the words a bit to reflect the situation here… Ahem…." Clearing his throat, he began singing an old campfire song, "Nobody likes you, everybody hates you, you're gonna eat some wormmmmms, big fat juicy ones, slim slimmy skinny ones, you're gonna eat some wormmmss…."

Johnny groaned, dropping his head in his hands.

"First you bite the heads off, then you suck the guts out, mmmm, how they wiggle and squirmmmm…."

###

Johnny, in full 'bug Roy till he cracks' mode, was dogging his partner down the hospital corridor, going for the big guns now. "Come on, Roy. I thought we were friends."

"We are," Roy answered patiently, neatly side stepping Nurse Ashley as she emerged from Treatment Room One.

Johnny's head swiveled as he smiled at the pretty young nurse, momentarily forgetting Roy. "Hiiii, Ashley."

Roy, grateful for the reprieve, continued over to the Nurse's station. He helped himself to coffee, nodding at Dixie, who was on the phone. All too soon, he heard the sound of his partner's footsteps coming towards him.

"I don't get it, Roy," Johnny picked up the conversation as though there had been no interruption. "Clyde's not even charging you so we don't have to pay a rental fee. I mean, how perfect is that?"

Roy took a drink of his coffee, taking a moment before answering. "Look, Johnny. I'm just not sure I feel comfortable imposing on Clyde this way. Lending a plane's not like lending someone your car, you know?"

"What's the matter? Think you forgot how to fly the thing? Hell, flying's like riding a bicycle. Once you learn, you never forget."

"Uh huh. And how many hours have you logged, 'Space Cadet' Gage?"

Johnny had to bite his tongue not to retaliate at the dig, since he didn't want to antagonize Roy while he was trying to soften him up. However, he was beginning to think that it actually just might be hopeless.

"Hey, guys," Dixie put down the phone and flashed a smile at her two favorite paramedics. "And what has you so grumpy, Johnny?"

Johnny waved a hand towards Roy. "Him. He won't even talk about this flying thing."

"Oh, oh. That's still going on." Dixie tried to look serious. "You guys keep this up and we'll have to sign you up for marriage counseling."

"Hey, I'm not the one with the problem," Johnny jumped in defensively. "It's Roy that's being stubborn."

"Guess I've picked up a few pointers hanging around you the past couple of years," Roy observed mildly.

Johnny simply stared at his partner and suddenly, he shrugged, shoulders slumping. He finally accepted the fact that all his arguments and pleading were not going to get him anywhere this time.

"Okay, I get it." Johnny threw his hands up. "You don't want to do this."

"Finally," Roy let out a sigh of relief, hiding the smile threatening to tug at his lips.

Johnny rubbed a hand along the Nurse's desk, keeping his eyes down. "That's fine. It's just, you know, Chili and I are always doing stuff, and I just thought that this was something the three of us could kind of do together." Heaving a sigh, he turned and headed down the corridor, the very picture of dejection.

Roy placed his coffee cup carefully on the counter and watched his partner exit the hospital doors.

Beside him, Dixie cleared her throat. "Damn, he's good."

"Yeah. Yeah, that he is."

###

Roy had been watching his partner unobtrusively once they returned to the station. Johnny's demeanor wasn't one of anger or even sulking at not getting his way, but rather sadness. Roy shook his head. Okay, enough was enough. He headed for the phone.

Calls completed, he then motioned Johnny over to join him in the kitchen.

"Yeah?" Johnny asked quietly as he leaned against the kitchen table.

"Okay," Roy said simply.

"Huh?"

Roy just stared at him, not saying another word. Johnny frowned, trying to figure it out. Suddenly, he lit up like a skyrocket. "Wait! Are you kidding me???"

Roy laughed. "No. Yes. I mean, what the hell, right?"

Marco and Stanley, sitting at the kitchen table, exchanged glances.

"Do you know what they're talking about?" Marco asked, scratching his head.

"Beats me," Stanley shrugged. "Those two are getting more like a married couple every day."

Ignoring the men behind him, Johnny punched a triumphant fist in the air. "All right!!!" He suddenly looked at Roy suspiciously. "Wait a minute. Why now? You kept saying no."

"Yeah, well," Roy rocked a bit on his heels. "I figured Chili could use the distraction after what happened, you know. And I really think it would be fun for the three of us to do something together."

"Yes! I knew that you wouldn't be able to resist that one," Johnny crowed, then froze as he glanced at Roy.

Roy finally let out the laugh that he had been holding in. "Don't worry, Johnny. I knew what you were up to. Just thought I'd make you sweat it out this time before I caved to the 'bug Roy till he cracks' ploy of yours."

Johnny flushed guiltily. "Oh, hey Roy…"

Roy waved off the words. "Relax, Johnny. It's okay. Besides, it's more fun flying when you have others with you. So, I've set everything up with Clyde and I talked to Dwyer and Charlie. They'll cover our shift. I'm sure Chili won't have a problem getting his covered with all the overtime he puts in."

"Wow! That's great! Wait till I tell Chili…" Johnny raced out of the room, heading for the privacy of Stanley's office to make the call. Suddenly, he popped his head back around the corner. "Thanks, man. We're going to have a blast. Trust me!"

Stanley watched in amusement as Johnny disappeared from sight again. Shaking his head, he turned to Roy. "I sure hope you know what you're doing."

"Don't worry, Cap," Roy grinned. "I'll bring a first aid kit."

"With those two?" Cap snorted. "I'd be bringing a whole triage station."

###

Roy rubbed a weary hand over his face as he surveyed the seemingly endless group of high school kids scattered around the convention centre. The local school board had set up a career information day for all the schools in the district and Station 51 had been elected to attend. Due to the large venue the event was being held, they had managed to actually bring the Squad and Engine into the building itself, which had attracted quite a bit of attention.

Unfortunately.

Take the young ladies. Most of them had been more interesting in flirting with the fire fighters than in asking work-related questions. Okay, Roy amended silently. Not all of them. A few had been quite interested, undaunted by the fact that there were virtually no female fire fighters yet. But for the most part, Johnny, Marco, Chet and Mike had been busy fending off raging hormones. Thank God, his own wedding ring had kept most of them away, which left him and Stanley to deal with the young men.

In most cases, the boys weren't much of an improvement, attitude wise. They just wanted to hear all the macho stuff about being a fire fighter, weren't at all interested in the true spirit of the profession.

Roy sighed. Give him a good fire any day. Standing around answering questions all afternoon was much more tiring. Stanley strolled up, glancing at his watch.

"Thank God," he groaned quietly. "Only another 5 minutes to go."

The two men exchanged understanding glances.

A group of boys stopped in front of them. "So, like, how much does a fireman make, anyway?" asked a skinny red haired kid.

On hearing the answer, the group burst into laughter.

"What?" The red head gave them a pitying look. "Man, professional baseball players make more in one year than you do in 5."

"More like 10," muttered Roy. At Cap's censoring look, Roy just shrugged.

Just then a loud bell rang through the convention hall. 'Ah, saved by the bell, even away from the station,' Roy grinned to himself.

It didn't take long for the kids to clear the area. Even though it wasn't a classroom, it had still been a school event and everyone knew it wasn't cool to hang around after the bell

Stanley looked over his dispirited men. "Tell you what, guys. How about we grab something to eat on the way home?"

"Great idea, Cap!" Chet rubbed his hands in anticipation. "The Burger Shack is just down the street."

"The Burger Shack it is, then," decided Stanley.

Roy looked up from the paperwork he was finishing off for the school board trustees. "We'll meet you there in about 10, Cap."

"Okay, we'll order for you. In this heat, you won't have to worry about it going cold. The usual?"

"Yeah."

Johnny, having finally disentangled himself from a persistent admirer, jogged over to join his partner. "Same here, Cap. Better make mine a double order."

"Worked up an appetite, did you?" teased Roy.

Johnny looked back to where a group of girls were still eyeing him with undisguised interest. Gulping, he turned away and began to quickly gather up the paraphernalia that had been on display back into the Squad's compartments.

###

Johnny rubbed his hands in anticipation as Roy wheeled the Squad into Burger Shack's parking lot. The place had the best burgers in the city.

"Hey," Johnny nudged Roy, pointing out the window. "Engine 14's here too."

"I think the fire department keeps this place in business," Roy observed, shifting into park and shutting off the motor. "I'm surprised you haven't tried talking everyone into buying it."

"Nope, no way," declared Johnny, making his way out of the Squad. "Not after last time. Don't want this one going up in smoke too."

Laughing Roy fell into step beside his partner and headed over to the two picnic tables that 51 and 14's crew were occupying.

"Yo," Chili waved a fry at Johnny as he moved over to make room at his table. He looked at the rest of 51's men. "So, guess it was Johnny's turn to cook to night, huh? You're here for self-preservation?"

"Ha, ha." Johnny eagerly opened the food wrappers in front of him and took a big bite of his burger. "What's your excuse?"

"Man, it's way too hot to cook tonight."

"Not you too! Geeze, you'll all be complaining in a week when the weather turns," Johnny predicted, speaking around a mouth full of food.

"Could be sooner than that," Stanley tossed, munching on an onion ring. "They're predicting rain on the weekend. And the forest around here needs it, that's for sure."

"Oh man," Chili groaned. "As long as it doesn't rain on Friday."

"Friday?" Captain Carroll frowned for a moment, before his brow cleared. "Right. You three are going up skydiving. So, what's the matter with you guys? Don't get enough excitement in your job, you've got to go jumping out of planes?"

The men around them laughed, Roy most of all. "Exactly what I keep telling them, sir."

"You're just going to be piloting them, DeSoto?" asked the older man.

"Yup! It'll be great." Chili jumped in. He flashed Roy a smile. "Have I said thanks lately?"

Roy waved away Chili's thanks. "I'm looking forward to it too."

"What do you have planned?"

"I'll take them up for a few jumps first. We're using one of the smaller airstrip that a lot of jumpers use. They have spotters on the ground all set up. Then, after they're done their flying like a bird thing, we'll do some sight seeing over the mountains and canyon area."

"Well, except for the jumping out of the plane part, sounds like fun," quipped Bianci as he doused his fries in ketchup.

Chili leaned over to Johnny, whispering sotto voice, "So speaks OUR resident Chet Kelly."

Johnny almost choked on his burger. Roy reached over to pound him on the back. Gasping, Johnny waved him off, as he caught his breath.

Chet didn't notice the exchange, his attention drawn to a little mutt begging for scraps around his side of the table. He grinned, looking up at Johnny. "Hey, Johhny. I think I figured out why pooches hate you. It's a species thing."

Johnny, downing his coke, glared at the stocky fire fighter. "Huh?"

"Well, you know dogs and cats hate each other, right?"

"Right…" Johnny nodded, rolling his eyes at the others. "But there's one thing wrong with your theory. I'm not a cat."

"Oh, I don't know about that Gage. Everyone says you have nine lives like one, so obviously the dogs are picking up on your karma."

"Karma? Chet Kelly is talking about karma!?" Johnny sputtered.

The two tables shook as the men pounded on them, hooting. Stanley and Carroll, who had opted to move to another table to chat, shook their heads at the antics behind them. Of course, both were fighting smiles of their own.

Ignoring them, Johnny stuffed another fry in his mouth. He froze suddenly as he noticed the dog come around his corner of the table.

"Hey! That's the mutt from the fire a couple of weeks ago!" Johnny sputtered, staring at the creature. "He's the one that started this whole stupid thing."

"I think you're right," Chili said, looking down at the dog. "Hey, maybe if you feed the thing he'll tell the other dogs you're not such a bad guy after all," he suggested, tongue firmly planted in cheek.

Johnny though, took him seriously. "Hey, that might work."

Breaking his burger into pieces, he reached out a hand to the dog, trying to coax it closer. "Come on, poochie. Nice, yummy food. That's it. Come on."

The mutt moved cautiously towards Johnny but then stopped, unwilling to come closer. Sighing in frustration, Johnny took his ripped apart burger and tossed it over to the animal, who quickly devoured it.

"Hungry little guy, isn't he?" observed Marco, giving it the once over. "Hmm, he does have a collar, so guess he has all his shots."

Johnny watched the little guy run off, without so much as a 'thank you' bark. He turned back to his dinner companions. "Here's hoping that worked."

Roy just rubbed a hand over his eyes, shaking his head. Only his partner…

"Hey, Chili. Isn't that your dad?" asked Volden, pointing over to where an Official Police Department car was pulling into the lot.

Chili nodded, getting up. "Oh, man. This can't be good. Hey, Dad!"

"Paully. Men." Sam Chilibeck nodded to the group.

"Something wrong?" Chili asked worriedly.

"No. No. Relax, son. I just wanted to share some news with you that I knew you and your co-workers would want to hear about. Your dispatcher said you were taking your dinner break here." He glanced around at the table littered with the debris from their fast food take out. "By the way, better not let your mother catch you eating this kind of stuff."

"Don't worry," Chili shuddered at the thought. "What's the news?"

Sam nodded at Stanley and Carroll who were making their way over to join him. "We arrested the arsonist this morning."

"What?" Chili exclaimed.

"How?"

"When?"

"Why'd he do it?"

"Whoa!" laughed Sam, holding up a hand to fend off all the questions. "Give me a chance to explain here. The task force noticed that at most fires there were television cameras, so we asked to see any of their tapes where they shot the crowds watching. One of our men recognized someone we've busted for a few B & E's, nothing too serious. But we brought him in for questioning and turns out the kid couldn't wait to brag about what he'd gotten away with."

"Has he said why he did it?" asked Captain Carroll.

"That's for the courts to figure out. Looks like a classic cry for attention," Sam told him. "He's undergoing a 72 hour psyche exam now. But whatever their findings, he's off the streets and people can sleep a bit easier now."

"That's great news," Stanley said. "Just wish they would have found the guy before he got your place."

"Makes two of us, Hank."

"So, have you decided on a builder yet?" asked Carroll.

"Actually, I'm thinking that we'll build it ourselves. Hell, we built the first one by hand." Pausing to squeeze Chili's shoulder, Sam followed the two captains over to their table.

Johnny was staring at Chili, concerned by the young man's silence. "Chili, you okay?"

Chili turned back to look at his friend. "That's it? It's over? Just like that?"

"Looks like it. You okay?"

"Yeah, I guess. I don't know. It's just weird."

Marco began gathering up his wrappers from the table. "I don't know about you guys, but now every time we go out on a fire call, I'll be looking at the people watching, wondering if one of them set it."

The other men nodded their agreement as they finished their meals. Johnny suddenly looked worried as he glanced from Sam, then back over at Chili. He frowned.

"Um, Chili, you don't think your dad's gonna tell your mom that we were eating here, do you?"

####

Johnny, Roy and Chili walked into Station 51 to pick up some supplies just as everyone headed into the kitchen after roll call, except for Charlie and Dwyer who were checking out the squad. Chet made it to the coffeepot first, elbowing Johnny out of the way as he quickly began pouring himself a cup.

Mike reaching into the cupboard for a cup, handed two over to Johnny. "What are you guys doing here? Aren't you suppose to be on a plane already?"

"Nah, the worry wart wanted to stop off for a first aid kit," Johnny answered, then with a grin, reached out to snag the cup that Chet had just filled. "Thanks, Chet. Here, fill one for Roy, would cha?" He held out the cup Mike had given him, and grabbed yet another one for Chili. Chet reluctantly filled them, his face mirroring his displeasure.

"Thanks, Kelly," Chili smiled at the disgruntled fire fighter. He quickly stepped back out of range of any hijinks. Hey, he knew what a station could be like in the morning.

"Just a first aid kit, huh?" Captain Stanley teased as Roy came back into the room, at the same time holding his own cup under the coffee pot. "Thanks, Kelly." Pretending not to notice the rolling eyes Chet shot his way, he turned back to Roy. "So, you're all set?"

"Yeah, weather looks great, so it's a go." Roy answered, sipping his coffee. "Mmm, that hits the spot."

Marco walked past Chet, snagging the coffeepot and pouring himself a cup. He handed the now empty pot back to Chet. Chet opened his mouth to protest, but closed it abruptly. Giving a disgusted snort, he turned back to the sink to make a new pot.

Johnny frowned suddenly as he realized that Chet had yet to say anything that morning. "Hey, Chet, cat got your tongue?"

"You're the one with animal problems, Johnny, not me," croaked the stocky man.

"Whoa!" Roy turned a concerned glance at Chet. "What happened to your voice?"

Chet blushed furiously. "Nothing. Just a sore throat."

"Oh yeah?" Johnny pulled out his ever-present flash light pen from his shirt pocket. "Maybe I should have a look. Sounds rough. Could be strep or something like that."

Chet batted Johnny's hand away. "I'm fine."

"Chet!" Stanley glared at the man. "If you've got a bug of some kind, we don't need you spreading it around here, or you getting sick on a call."

"My throat's just sore, Cap, but not from anything that you need to worry about. Honest."

"Uh huh," Stanley crossed his arms, continuing to stare at the man, waiting.

Chet eyes darted around the room, looking for an out, but he was stuck. A blush crept across his face as he spoke in a rush, "iwenttothekareokebarlastnightandsangtoomuch."

Stanley rubbed the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. "Come again."

"Fine. All right." Chet threw his hands up in the air, his voice a hoarse whisper. "I was singing karaoke last night and I guess I sang too much cause when I woke up this morning my voice was like this."

"What?" the group around him cracked up, hooting.

"Only you," snickered Chili. "Hmmm, wonder if we can get Bianci interested in karaoke?"

Stanley, struggling to control the smile threatening on his face, turned to Roy and Johnny. "So, working should be no problem for him, right?"

Roy finally managed to stop laughing. "Yeah, he just needs to give his voice a rest but he's fine."

"Told you," grumped the man in question.

"You heard Roy," Stanley admonished. "No talking."

"All right!" Johnny crowed. "That means no more singing!"

Chet opened his mouth, ready to fire back, but Johnny waggled a finger at him. "Ah, ah. Remember, no talking either."

Chet closed his mouth with a snap, and leveling Johnny with a pretty good imitation of the evil eye, stomped from the room.

The dark haired paramedic frowned as he finished his coffee. Great. Finally, a shift without Chet Kelly yapping, and he had to miss it!!!

Roy tapped him on the arm, startling him out of his thoughts. "Come on, time to hit the road, guys."

####

He was floating through space, the air cool, crisp, clean, rushing past him. The sheer exhilaration of the moment made him laugh out loud. He could feel the tension and stress from the past couple of weeks slipping away.

Glancing over at Chili, Johnny shot him a thumbs up which was returned with a big smile. Then, as he pulled his ripcord, Chili disappeared from Johnny's sight. Waiting for another 3 count, Johnny pulled his own cord, the drag of air on the chute dragging him up and away. Below him the earth unfolded in majestic beauty. He inhaled deeply, savoring the moment.

He floated gently back to earth. And reality.

####

Chili settled back into the jump seat behind Johnny and Roy.

"Who hoo!" he enthused. "I think I'm still flying from that last jump. You don't know what you're missing, DeSoto."

Roy grinned at him as he banked the plane and headed out over the fields surrounding the airport. "I'll take your word for it, Chili."

Johnny glanced up at the sky from the cockpit window. "Hmm, looks like the clouds are rolling in now. Guess we're gonna get the rain a little earlier than they predicted. Good thing we got our jumps in first, huh?"

"Yeah. Man, I can't thank you enough for taking us up today, Roy."

"Oh, sure you can, Chili," Roy assured him, eyes crinkling as he checked the instrument panel in front of him. "Drinks are on you guys tonight."

Chili could only shake his head. He'd walked right into that one.

Johnny peered at the instruments intently. "Hey, Roy. How about letting me have a shot at flying this thing?"

"Forget it, Johnny. You're not flying this plane."

"Oh come on." Johnny pleaded. "What can happen? You'll be right here."

Roy spared him a dry glance. "Do I look like I've lost my mind? It's you who keeps getting knocked on the head, not me."

"Great," grumbled Johnny. "Chet loses his voice and you decide to get his sense of humor."

"Ouch," Chili laughed as he glanced out the cockpit's side window. "Did you know that a lot of airline pilots are actually afraid of heights?"

"What? No way," snorted Johnny. He ducked slightly to look under the dash, checking the pedals and other gear.

"No, really. They say that being up in the air doesn't bother them, but having to sit on the runway and look out the cockpit drives them crazy. Nuts, huh?"

Roy adjusted his course as he spoke. "Where do you two get all this weird info you keep spouting off?"

Before either man could answer, they were startled by a sudden sparking from the panels under the dash and a slight break in the engine's rhythm. Roy quickly adjusted the controls as he swept an eye over the instruments.

Chili gaped at Johnny. "What the hell did you do?"

"Nothing! I was just looking. Honest."

"Chili, get the extinguisher in case we need it," Roy barked out. "Johnny, get on the radio. Raise the tower."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it!" Roy bent over to check under the panel.

"Ah, Control Tower. This is Zebra Charlie 265. Do you copy?"

It happened so fast that none of them had time to do anything to prevent it. The whole system went haywire, the instrument panel flaring, throwing off electrical sparks. Roy reared back, cursing, hands going to cover his face.

Chili quickly sprayed foam on the panel, but it stubbornly continued emitting sparks and smoke. "You okay, Roy?"

"Mayday. Mayday." Johnny was calling frantically, at the same time trying to check his partner out.

The engine seemed to skip a beat or two again, causing them to bounce around the cockpit.

"Chili," Roy panted, one hand still covering his face, the other fighting with the wheel. "How's the engine look?"

Chili, in the middle of spraying a wide arc of foam, quickly checked out the window. "Oh shit! There's flames shooting out of it."

"Mayday. Control Tower. Do you copy? Damn it. The radio's dead." Johnny threw down the mic and reached out to touch Roy's shoulder. "Let me see."

Roy turned to look at his friend, blinking. Some of his hair and eyebrows were singed and the area around his eyes was red and blotchy. "Forget it, Johnny. We don't have time. We're going to have to jump."

"What?"

"We're going to crash, guys. I've lost all power." The plane bucked sharply. Roy fought to control the steering but it was no good. "Good thing we're over forest right now."

"Oh, damn." Chili stood up and fighting the bucking plane's gravity, raced back for the parachutes.

"Roy, you're not going to be able to jump," Johnny pointed out. Their years on the job was obvious in their hurried but calm manner. "You haven't done it before and you can't see very well right now, can you?"

"No, everything's kind of blurry," admitted Roy as, with Johnny's help, he managed to get to his feet. Together they began moving towards the back.

"He'll have to tandem jump with me, Johnny," Chili decided, handing Johnny a chute and strapping his own on.

"Now, wait a minute…"

"Forget it, Johnny. I've got more experience here and I've done some tandem jumps. You haven't."

"Yeah. Sorry. You're right. So we going out the back or the side?"

"Going to have to be the side," Chili finished strapping himself in and reached over to help Roy. "The hydraulics are probably out for the back. We can open the side door by hand."

"Right." Fighting to keep his footing, Johnny staggered over to the plane's side door and popped the seal, opening it. The rush of air and the smell of smoke almost overwhelmed him. He stepped back over to his friends.

"Ready?"

Chili patted Roy's shoulder. "Roy?"

"Let's do it. This thing isn't going to stay up much longer."

"All right. You just relax and let me do all the work, okay?" Chili guided his jumping partner over to the door. He glanced back at Johnny. "See you on the ground."

With a last worried look at Roy's face, Johnny stepped back and watched as the two men stepped out into the turbulent air. They seemed to hang there, suspended for a long moment, before disappearing from sight.

As Johnny moved to the door, he noticed the first aid kit in the corner. They definitely would need that. He hurried over to get it, tucking it in his shirt. Then, taking a deep breath, he was starting back when the plane suddenly shook, and began listing, throwing him off balance. He fell to the floor, sliding backwards, away from the door.

Chili deployed his chute quickly, wanting to control the jump as soon as possible. He watched as the plane veered off, then suddenly began spiraling at it plunged to earth. The wind pulled at him, changing his direction and he lost sight of the plane as it disappeared into the trees. Sickened, he realized that he didn't see Johnny anywhere. No, no, no. He swiveled his head, trying to scan the sky around him, but at the same time not wanting to alarm Roy.

In the distance, he heard the muffled explosion as the plane made contact with the ground. Forcing himself to focus on the situation at hand, he tried to thread his way through the trees that were rushing up to greet them.

A quick tug this way, then that way, their descent slowed by branches catching at the material of the chute. A quick word of warning to Roy and they landed. Not a great landing, but at least a landing.

Quickly unbuckling their gear, the two men fell back against the ground, breathing hard.

Chili rubbed a hand through his thick hair as he looked over at Roy. "Not bad for a first timer."

"A first timer and a last timer," Roy informed him without hesitation. He groaned as he gingerly touched the burns around his eyes, squinting against the harsh glare of the afternoon sun.

"How bad is it?" Chili asked, sitting up and checking the paramedic over. Other than his eyes, he seemed to have suffered just a few cuts and scrapes from their journey through the trees.

"Not too bad. Things are just kind of blurry. How 'bout you?"

"I'm okay. Just some scrapes. No big deal." He hissed as he examined the long scratch along his left forearm. It didn't seem very deep but it was bleeding and stung like a son of a bitch.

"Sounds like a painful 'no big deal'," Roy observed dryly. He started to reach out to have a look, but realized that at the moment looking wasn't on the agenda. Besides, Chili was a big boy. If he said it was no big deal, he had to take his word for it. "Did you see where Johnny landed?"

"Um, no." Chili stood up and patted his shirt pockets. He pulled out a pair of sunglasses. "Here. These glasses should help against the glare."

Roy reached out a hand to the young man, and forced his eyes open wide, trying to look at his face. "Chili? What aren't you telling me?"

Chili hesitated, then let out a long sigh. "I…I didn't see Johnny leave the plane."

Roy, stunned, rocked back on his heels. Neither man noticed in the distance, a plume of smoke drifting on the air.

###

Multiple tones rang through the station house.

"BATTALION 5, STATION 14, ENGINE 51, STATION 10, ENGINE… "

"Whoa, sounds like a bad one," Marco offered as he and the others headed for the Engine Bay.

"SINGLE ENGINE PLANE CRASH. ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST. COMMAND POST SET AT BECK CANYON ROAD…"

Stanley, standing at the mic booth, stopped writing the address and turned to look at his men. They stared back, his own disbelief reflected on their faces.

It couldn't be.

Without another word, they scrambled to the Engine.

###

Roy lifted the sunglasses away from his eyes, blinking. Things were still blurry but not quite as bad as earlier.

"Hey, keep those on." Chili admonished. He quickly shimmied down the tree he had been using to check out the area around them.

"I'm okay," Roy assured him, though he did drop the glasses back in place. It helped to protect his eyes from the light and did make them feel a little better. "Anything?"

Chili dropped to the ground. He dusted off his jeans with his hands. "I'm not sure. The trees are pretty thick around here, but I think I saw a stream a ways away. I know there's one that runs through this area."

"Great." Roy continued cutting up their parachute, creating multiple strips. "I could really use a nice, long drink of the water."

"Me too." Chili sighed, looking around. "And we need to get some water on those burns of yours."

"It's not so bad now," Roy reassured him. He gestured for Chili to sit beside so that he could wrap a piece of the cloth around the gash on his arm.

Making a face, Chili dutifully held out his arm. "We should get moving now. We don't know whether anyone received Joh…er, our mayday or saw the crash so we're probably going to have to hike out of here on our own."

Roy finished tying off the make shift bandage. ""You know, Chili, Johnny's going to be okay."

"I know," Chili said, but didn't sound terribly convinced.

"It's like Chet's always saying about Johnny…."

"Um, Roy," Chili grinned briefly. "You're gonna have to be a bit more specific. Chet says a lot of things about Johnny."

"Oh yeah," Roy smiled back. "I'm referring to how he keeps saying Johnny's like a bad penny. He keeps turning up."

"I buy that," Chili moved quickly to help Roy to his feet. "Besides, he's got that feline karma thing going too."

Roy started to chuckle. "Man, we're really losing it if we're starting to quote Chet."

Taken by surprise, Chili laughed out loud. It felt good to laugh, if only for a moment.

Then, with Chili keeping a guiding hand on Roy's shoulder, the two men began heading through the trees.

###

Having arrived at the command post, Stanley headed over to the Battalion Chief, Sid Donaldson, to check his crew in. The man was reviewing a large-scale map of the region as he decided on deployment of the men under his command.

"51 checking in, sir," Stanley said.

"Hank," Donaldson turned, acknowledging him. "Good. We're going to need every man we can get. It's going to be a messy one. The land's so dry in there," gesturing to the map of the forest area, "the fire's going to be moving fast."

"What's the word on the plane?"

Donaldson picked up a clipboard, flipping through the papers attached to it. "The tower north of here got a partial Mayday. According to the flight manifest, it looks like there were 3 men on board…"

Stanley closed his eyes for a moment. "Is the pilot listed as a Roy DeSoto?"

"Damn," Donaldson glanced down at the pages on his clipboard. "I thought I recognized the name. He's one of yours, isn't he?"

"Yeah and so are the other two men on board."

"I'm sorry, Hank," Donaldson gestured helplessly. "I've got Search and Rescue flying over the site and the fire bombers keeping an eye out for survivors, but, it doesn't look good."

Stanley was silent for a moment, digesting the information. Then, his training took over. There was a job to do. "Okay, sir. Were do you want me and my crew?"

###

"I don't believe this. Isn't there like a law of averages or something? No way this stuff should keep happening. I mean, come on. Is there a sign on my back that says "Hey, good victim to abuse available here" or something?".

Johnny continued his rambling monologue as he struggled to release the clasp on his parachute. At the moment, he was dangling about 12 feet in the air, his chute trapped by the branches of a large tree. He had been trying to work himself free from the restrains for the past 20 minutes without much luck. Talking helped to keep him distracted from worrying about Roy and Chili, let alone himself.

"So, okay. It could have been worse. I could have been stuck in the plane. I could have suffered more than just some scratches and bruises landing in these damn trees. Hell, I could have ended up stuck a hell of a lot higher than this. But damn it, I don't care! I just want to get off the merry-go-round now. And…. WHOA!!!!!!!"

The harness's clasp gave suddenly and without warning, Johnny plummeted the 12 feet to the ground, only barely managing to tuck himself into a ball as he hit, rolling down the slight incline.

He finally stopped moving, and lay there for a moment, breathing heavily. Oh yeah, this was definitely not fun anymore.

Sighing, he stood up gingerly, moving his limbs, reassured that nothing was permanently damaged. He hesitated as he looked at the dense forest around him. Which way? He had a vague sense of where Roy and Chili might have landed, having caught a brief glimpse of them when he had finally made it out of the plane. Finally, he turned and began tramping through the underbrush.

"That's it. No more sailing. No more skydiving. Just going to sit in a rocking chair from now on. Hell, if we all get out of this I'm even gonna nail down the damn chair so it can't tip over…"

###

"I think I hear running water," Roy announced, moving to a stop as he tried to get a direction on the sound. Chili waited impatiently beside him. Barely restrained tension poured off of him. "Yeah, let's keep going that way."

The two men resumed walking, Roy needing to rely less and less on the young man for guidance through the thick brush.

Chili reached up to move a branch out of the way. "So, any idea what the hell happened with the plane?

"No. Your guess is as good as mine. The pre flight check was fine, the paper showed the plane's been serviced regularly. Could have been a faulty part that finally came loose,"

"And it just happened to fall apart when we were using it!"

Roy had to walk faster to keep up with Chili, whose anger was reflected in the brisk pace he was setting. He wasn't sure exactly what was bothering the fire fighter. They were both worried about Johnny, he knew, but there seemed to be something else eating away at the young man since they started hiking out.

"I'm sorry," Roy said quietly. "If I've said something…"

"It's not you, DeSoto." Chili continued marching ahead.

"Ow!" Roy couldn't help the gasp of pain as he stumbled, falling to one knee.

Instantly, Chili was at his side, reaching out a hand to help "You okay?"

The paramedic nodded as he leaned back against a tree trunk. "Yeah, just time for a break, I think."

"Oh man, I'm sorry." Chili crouched down beside him. "You probably shouldn't be walking like this. God, I'm just screwing everything up here."

"No, you're not." Roy waved him away. Reluctantly, Chili sat down across from him. "Want to tell me what's really bugging you here?"

Chili looked around helplessly. "I… It's just…it's been a pretty crappy week. I don't think I've ever had one like this before and I was really looking forward to getting away from it, you know?"

"Yeah."

"And…" Chili looked down at his hands, avoiding Roy's eyes. "I'm trying here but I know you wish Johnny was the one here with you now."

"Well, sure I do."

Chili tensed at the words.

"I wish all THREE of us were here…well," he amended with a slight quirk of his lips. "Not here exactly. More like I wish we were all at that bar with the drinks you promised to buy me."

Chili laughed, the relief in his posture obvious. "Now wait a minute. I think that deal is null and void. After all, you crashed the plane."

"Low blow, Chili!"

Chili just smiled as he stood up, stretching, trying to relieve some of the aches in his muscles. He checked the bandage over his left arm. No bleeding showed through. He was reaching down to help Roy to his feet, when the older man suddenly frowned, tilting his head.

"What?"

"Do you smell that?"

Puzzled, Chili sniffed the air.

"Smoke. Um, maybe someone's got a campfire going?"

"No," Roy shook his head. "There's a ban on campfires because of the heat wave. And this smells a whole lot worse than just a camp fire."

Realization hit. "Damn, we better get to that stream and fast."

###

51's crew had been deployed to work on containment, building one of several back burn areas, in hope of controlling where the fire spread. It was hot, back breaking work but no one complained.

Stanley leaned against his shovel for a moment, warily checking the perimeter around his men, squinting against the dark, acrid smoke. He could hear the roar of the fire but couldn't see anything yet. It was getting close, though. Too close. He pulled out his H.T.

"Command Post, this is 51."

"Go ahead, 51."

"What's the latest on the fire's direction in our sector?"

"One moment, 51."

As he waited, Hank watched his men, noting the fatigue, the soot covered faces drenched in sweat. Suddenly, a couple of branches overhead exploded, sending red, hot sparks showering to the ground. Across from him, Marco swore, frantically brushing at the burning embers that had worked their way under the collar of his turnout coat.

Stanley frowned, looking up at the trees around them. The very air seemed to crackle, take on a life of its own. Flash over! Stanley was moving. "Get down, guys. Now!!!!"

Without hesitation, not questioning commands being the first thing drummed into their heads as cadets, every fire fighter fell to the ground, face down, arms holding helmets tight, jacket collars pulled close.

Brief silence, eerie. They knew what was coming.

Sound resumed with a roar, and the air exploded into flame as the fire jumped the small clearing they had succeeded in creating and caught in the trees behind the men. They were now surrounded by flames on all sides.

"Stay down," Stanley ordered, yelling to be heard over the sounds around them. He pulled the H.T. from his pocket. "Command Post. This is 51. We need a water drop, NOW!! Repeat, we need a water drop!"

"10-4, 51."

Stanley tucked the H.T. in his pocket and laid his head back against the scorching earth, waiting.

###

Johnny, head down as he tried to avoid the giant roots that snaked across his path so didn't see anything until he was almost on top of it. It wasn't until he heard the loud bellow that he looked up.

And there in front of him, standing upright on its hind legs, was a large, brown bear. It arched his head, beady eyes focused on Johnny.

Johnny froze, frantically trying to remember if you were supposed to run from a brown bear or play dead. But in the end, the decision was made for him. The bear charged.

Instinctively turning to run, the paramedic tripped over a protruding root. Landing face down with a breath-stealing thud, he quickly wrapped arms around his head, trying to protect himself, no matter how futile.

He struggled to keep still, to slow his breathing, not to move, as the bear stood over him. Its hot, sour breath huffed against his neck, as the bear checked him over. It pulled back. The lack of action was unnerving for the young man on the ground but he didn't dare move.

Then a hot lancing pain flashed across his back as nails raked against his skin, ripping his shirt. The pain stunned him. Still he fought to quell the moan that wanted to escape. His mind refused to process anything other than the thought 'Play dead'.

The bear raised its massive paw, ready to strike again when abruptly, it stopped. Rearing up on its hind legs, it started sniffing the air in earnest, wet nose quivering, head swinging back and forth, trying to identify this new scent.

Then it dropped to all fours and moving quickly, despite its size, began running.

It took Johnny a few moments to realize he was alone now. Cautiously he raised his head, watching, puzzled, as the bear disappeared into the trees. He sat up gingerly, trying to reach a hand around to check his back, the pain now so bad that it almost made the area numb. He couldn't reach far enough to really see how bad it was, except to feel the blood on his shirt. A lot of good the first aid kit was going to do him in this situation.

He stood up a little shakily, testing his legs, wondering again what had spooked the bear. That is until a scent tickled his nostrils. He might not have as keen a nose as a bear, but it was a scent he was unfortunately quite familiar with.

Fire.

But where?

He looked back to where the bear had disappeared. As fearless as the hulking beast might be, he knew it would be running away from the fire. And knowing the bear would be heading away from a fire, without hesitation, the young fire fighter headed after it.

###

Black, dense smoke hugged the trees, billowing swirling along the ground. Despite the distance base camp was from ground zero, the air was still clogging with the effects of the fire.

Station 51's crew, having been evacuated from their previous outing, were taking a well deserved break. Idly, Chet Kelly watched the Search and Rescue helicopter land just outside the camp area as he finished scarfing down sandwich and coffee. Recognizing Kamikazie Kaliciak, he waved the man over to join him and Marco. The man nodded, stopping first to get himself a coffee.

"That Kamikazie over there?" asked Marco.

Chet rolled his eyes at his co-worker. "Who else do you know who's that big?"

"Forget I asked," Marco retorted, scratching at the red marks on his neck. The burns weren't serious, just annoying, kind of like Chet, if he thought about it. He grinned to himself.

Kamikazie made his way over, dropping down and stretching out, propping himself up on one arm as he drank his coffee. "Any news on Johnny?"

Chet shook his head. "No," he croaked, his voice made scratchier by all the smoke he was being exposed to.

"Whoa! Guess you've eaten your share of smoke today, huh?"

Chet started to deny it but then shrugged, nodding. Better the S & R guy thought that than the actual truth. "Yeah."

Marco snickered beside him but didn't say anything.

"You going back up again?"

"Nah," Kamikazie shook his head, frustration clear in his voice. "The smoke's too bad. We can't see a thing from the air. We managed to pull out a couple of campers on some of the trails." He crumpled the styrofoam cup in his hands before tossing it away. "What is it with those guys? They just trying to keep me in business or what?"

"It's karma, I'm telling you." Chet said earnestly. "But they'll get out of this. You'll see." He turned to look at the activity around him. "You'll see."

###

Johnny had finally reached the stream and quickly dropped down into it, soaking himself. The cool water helped to settle the pain from the scratches on his back into a dull, steady throb. After drinking his fill, he began walking again, keeping close to the stream. Knowing the area a bit from some hikes he and Chili had gone on, he knew he had a decent chance of running into civilization if he followed the water. He could only hope that Chili and Roy were doing the same thing.

No sooner had he thought of them than suddenly they were in front of him. He blinked, rubbing his eyes. He opened them again. They were still there, backs to him as they drank from the stream.

He grinned and cleared his throat loudly. "Dr. DeSoto and Mr. Chilibeck, I presume?"

"Huh?" Chili whirled around so fast, he lost his balance and went sliding into the water. He came up for air, sputtering.

Roy was already heading for Johnny. "Oh man, are you a sight for sore eyes!!"

Johnny started laughing, the relief at finding his friends, so great. "No pun intended, of course," he said, peering at Roy's face, wincing at the painful looking redness around his eyes.

Roy just grabbed his arms, smiling. "Man, it's good to see you."

"Ditto that," Chili shook himself, water flying off him, looking a bit like a shaggy dog. "Where the hell have you been?"

"ME?!" Johnny snorted. "I knew where I was. It was you guys that were lost."

All three smiled at the familiar banter.

Roy could only shake his head. "We thought…well, you know."

Johnny's smile faded slightly. "Yeah," he said softly. "I know."

Chili joined them. "So, seems we have the same idea huh? Follow the stream out?"

"Yeah. You know about the fire, huh?"

"Hell, yeah. We've been smelling the smoke for a while now."

"Me too. Look, I've got the first aid kit from the plane. Let me check you guys."

"Okay," Roy agreed, lowering himself to sit on the ground. "But we better hurry. That fire has to be moving fast."

"The smoke is definitely getting thicker," Chili observed, checking out the surrounding area.

Roy watched Johnny as he opened the first aid kit. "How about you? Are you okay?"

"Oh yeah. You know me." Johnny grinned as he uncapped the burn ointment and began applying it to Roy's face. "How's your vision?"

"It was blurry, but much better now."

"Good. There doesn't seem to be any permanent damage that I can see." Johnny ran a practiced eye over his partner. "No cuts or bruises I should know about?"

"Nothing serious," Roy assured him. "Chili's got a pretty bad gash on his arm though. I bandaged it but you better check it."

"Sure."

Johnny moved over to sit beside Chili, wincing slightly as the movement jarred his back. He worked at unwrapping the now soaking wet bandage from around his friend's arm. "Ouch! That looks painful."

Chili shrugged, watching as Johnny dug through his supplies for antibiotic cream and fresh bandages. "Really glad you're here man," he said quietly.

Johnny began wrapping his arm. "Me too."

Finished doctoring his two friends, he moved to stand up and couldn't contain the groan the movement caused.

"What's wrong?"

Johnny waved a hand over the area of his back. "I kind of ran into my ole pal Smokey."

Roy frowned, moving over to kneel behind Johnny who was now sitting again. "Smokey?"

"Yeah. Ouch!" Johnny bit out as Roy is pulled up his shirt.

"What the hell…?" Roy sat back stunned, staring at the mass of scratches criss-crossing his friend's back. "Chili, I need you to wet some of those strips of cloth for me, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Chili stood staring at the marks on Johnny's back for a moment before hurrying over to the stream.

Johnny sucked in a deep breath, trying to control the pain that was making itself known big time now. He continued talking, "You know, Smokey the Bear. 'Course he wasn't as friendly as the one on my locker door would have you think he might be."

Roy shook his head as he reached for the first aid kit. "Only you would think an encounter with a bear was funny, Johnny."

Chili handed Roy the wet bandages, which he immediately used to begin cleaning out the deep scratches on Johnny's back. The young paramedic bit his lip, trying not to groan out loud.

Trying to distract him, Chili laid a hand on his arm, "Geeze, what is it with you? First it's dogs, then crocs, worms and now bears. What animal God did you piss off, Gage?"

Roy chuckled as he grabbed some dry clothes and began dabbing the area dry. "That's what I keep wondering."

"You're a fine one to speak," Johnny muttered, hissing in a breath as the ointment was smeared on his back. "At least, when I get in trouble, it's only me that gets it, but you, you set a whole forest on fire!"

Chili snickered as he handed Roy bandage and tape from the kit. "He's got a point there, DeSoto."

"Don't encourage him, Chili," Roy admonished. He began to gently place gauze on the scratches. 'This is still all your fault, Johnny. I never had trouble like this before you became my partner."

Johnny rolled his eyes. "Oh no, here we go again."

"Uh huh," Roy agreed. "I have documented proof, my friend. Just need to look at the before Gage and after Gage on my service record."

"Yeah, yeah." Johnny grinned. "You know, this whole thing could be worse."

"Huh…?" began Roy, but Chili held up a hand to interrupt him.

"No, no. Let me get this one." He turned to Johnny, eyes twinkling. "So, the plane we were on crashed, we had to jump from said crashing plane; we're lost in the forest, a forest I might add that's on freakin' fire here. So tell us, please, how could it be worse?"

The dark haired paramedic stood up, dusting off his pants and said simply, "Chet could be here."

"Huh?"

"Think about it. At least we don't have to listen to him singing some song that he thinks fits the occasion."

The two men started to laugh.

"Oh yeah," Chili waved a hand in the air. "Like, a…hmmm. I know. Light My Fire by The Doors."

"Or, Great Balls of Fire by Jerry Lee Lewis," Johnny added as the three of them started walking again.

"Hey, there's that Johnny Cash classic," Roy joined in. "Ring of Fire."

With renewed energy, the trio continued making their way through the brush and trees, calling out names of songs. They were only too aware of the growing smell of smoke filling the air.

###

Stanley was intently studying the large-scale map of the area as Donaldson walked over to join in.

"See anything interesting?" the older man wanted to know.

Stanley hesitated for a moment, knowing that what he was going to suggest something that it wasn't exactly his place to do. Taking a deep breath, he nodded. "I think so." He pointed to an area on the map. "We know the plane went down around here and that the men had parachutes on board. I have to assume they got out before it went down."

"Uh huh," Donaldson encouraged cautiously.

"Well, I figure they probably landed in around here."

Donaldson frowned. "That's still quite a large area."

"Yeah, well with winds and stuff, we can't really be sure where they'd end up." Stanley pointed to a thin line that ran through the area. "Johnny and Chili know this area a bit. They've done some hiking up there. If they're able to, they'd make it to the stream and follow it down."

"Hmm," the Battalion Chief traced the stream, following its winding path. "It covers quite a bit of that area. So what are you thinking?"

Stanley answered quickly as he tapped the map. "Let's deploy some men at the midway point here. The fire hasn't reached there yet. It's a good place to try and build a firewall."

"And a chance to keep an eye out for the missing men, hmm?" Donaldson asked dryly.

Stanley shrugged, then nodded.

Donaldson looked up at the sky. "Looks like it should start raining any time now," he said, pursing his lips.

Stanley had to fight to stop himself from screaming at the man, his impatience an almost physical ache. He forced himself to remain calm as he waited.

Donaldson turned to study the map for a long moment, calculating risks, odds. He nodded. "All right, Hank. You've got it. Take the guys from 14 with you. That's a good place to build a firewall. Maybe with that and some rain, we'll finally get a chance to turn this son of a bitch around."

Stanley let out a pent out breath. "Yes, sir!"

As he started to leave, the Battalion Chief reached out to lay a hand on his arm. "And I really hope you find them."

"Thank you, sir. We'll do our best." Stanley hurried to the break area to gather the men for their newest assignment.

###

Johnny, Chili and Roy had been hiking at a good pace but were tiring. They finally stopped for a break, though by necessity a short one. It was clear that the fire was gaining on them.

Johnny frowned as he checked his watch. "Only 6:15! Man, the smoke is making it look later than that."

"That's not it," Roy said, pointing upward. "It's looking dark because the clouds are getting pretty thick up there."

"Finally. Maybe we'll get lucky and it'll rain now."

"Let's see," Chili rubbed his jaw thoughtfully as he pondered something. "I know. Raindrops keep falling on my head…"

"No, no, no!" Roy shook his head. "My kids drive me crazy with that song. Anything but that."

Chili shrugged good-naturedly. "Okay. How about Fire and Rain by James Taylor."

"That's doable."

"And appropriate," Johnny added, as they felt the first drops fall.

All three men stifled groans as they got wearily to their feet.

"Okay, three part harmony," Roy instructed.

Johnny walked a little stiffly, trying not to jar his back. "My turn to lead off this time."

And with that, the three men fell into formation as they began plodding through the brush. Johnny started singing, Chili joined in after a beat, then Roy. The act seemed to help them keep their thoughts focused as they pushed themselves onward.

Around them, the air crackled with electrical energy.

###

Night had fallen but no noticed since it didn't really penetrate the fire area. Bright, hot orange rings of fire glowed around them, lighting up the sky, despite the rain falling steadily. It was too little, too late, at least for the moment.

Captain Stanley let his helmet fall back to rest on his shoulder, allowing the rain to soak him from head to toe. It felt good. He noticed the rest of the men with him were doing the same thing.

Looking away from the group for a moment, his eyes swept the trees around him. He frowned as he cocked his head, listening.

"Do you hear that?"

Chet wiped a soot-covered hand across his face. "I don't hear nothing, Cap."

"That's a double negative, Kelly," Bianci smirked. "That means you did hear something."

"Was anybody talking to you?" demanded Chet, miffed at being corrected in front of the guys like that. Just who did Bianci think he was, anyway? Sheesh, just what they needed. A know it all. There was only room for one of those around, and he had squatter's rights on that!

Bianci just gave him an irritatingly innocent smile. "Just being trying to be helpful, buddy."

Stanley, well aware of what was going through Chester B. Kelly's head, could only shake his head as he held up a hand, waving them to silence. He pulled out his H.T. "Listen up, everyone. This is Stanley. I want complete silence for one minute."

Everyone stopped working, waiting curiously, straining to listen for…whatever. All they could hear was the sound of the fire crackling through the air mixed with the what could almost pass for gunshots but was in reality the knots in trees bursting as flames consumed them. Then in the distance, they heard voices…singing?

Volden straightened up from where he had been leaning against his shovel. "What the hell is that?"

Chet started grinning. "That, my friend, is a really bad rendition of Fire and Rain. Gage can't carry a tune in a bucket."

Realization hit everyone at once. A huge cheer went up. They had found their comrades!

The three men stumbled out of the woods all looking a little worse for wear but each one of them was wearing a great big smile.

Though their battle against the inferno wasn't over by a long shot, every single fire fighter standing there at that moment figured they had just won the war.

###

The air was crisp, the day sunny, cool. A typical California Fall day.

142 Calvert Street's yard was swarming with people - off duty police officers, fire fighters, friends and family.

Mama Chili bustled happily from group to group, offering food and drinks while behind her the frame for her family home was slowly taking shape. The Chilibeck's had been surprised that morning when so many had shown up to take part is what was now being dubbed "Project Chilibeck". With so many willing hands helping out, the house would be finished in no time. They would definitely be home for Christmas.

She headed back to the grill that had been set up in the corner of the yard and with her daughters' help, began making up another batch of food. Life was good.

Johnny stopped sawing for a moment, smiling fondly as he watched the energetic woman bustle around. He grinned at Chili, working beside him. "Now there goes one happy woman."

"You know my mom. The more people to cook for, the happier she is." Chili grew serious for a moment as he watched all the people who were currently helping out his family. He shook his head. "Man, I can't believe everyone showed up to help out like this."

"Why not?" asked Peter Volden walking by and deftly plucking the saw from Johnny's hand. "Your family's always helping everyone else… you know what they say - what goes around, comes around."

Chili was suddenly at a loss for words. Johnny though wasn't.

"Give me that!" he demanded, trying to grab the saw back from Volden. "I don't know what's going on with everyone but I wished you'd all just quit it."

Volden gave him a look that was far too innocent. "What's your problem, Gage? I just need the saw for a bit."

"Right." Johnny snorted, waving a hand around as he sat down at a picnic table. "Just like Chet there needs the hammer every time I'm using it and Marco or Cap needs the ladder if I so much as glance at it. Oh and let's not forget Kamikazie here who comes running if I so much as lift a toothpick. And you're all doing the same thing with Chili. I want to know what's going on!"

At his tirade, the men in question cast chagrin looks at each other.

"Give it up, guys," Chili demanded, crossing his arms as he waited.

Finally, Kamikazie let out a theatrical sigh. "Guess we have to own up here." He turned to Johnny and Chili. "We kind of had a meeting before we got here…"

"About what?"

"You two," Marco said, pointing to Johnny and Chili.

Johnny's jaw dropped. "About us?"

Chili eyes narrowed. He didn't like where this was heading. "Why?"

"Well," Kamikazie grinned wickedly, "We kind of just wanted a nice relaxing day here, you know. No trips to the hospital, no rescuing one of you from under a half built house…"

Johnny covered his face. "Don't tell me…"

"What can we say?" Stanley grinned, clapping him on the shoulder. "You guys are disaster magnets."

"That's just great." Chili pointed an accusing finger at Roy. "What about him? He gets in just as much trouble."

"Ah, ah," Roy waved the young man off. "That only happens when I'm with you guys. Why do you think I've been working on the OTHER side of where ever you two are?"

Johnny and Chili groaned in unison. They were never going to live this reputation down.

Johnny heaved a long sigh. "I need a beer."

Sam Chilibeck clapped his hands together "That sounds like a great idea. We can all use a break."

Chet reached down to open the cooler sitting next to the picnic table. He pulled out a handful of suds, tossing one to Johnny and Chili before taking one for himself. The others helped themselves, dropping down to sit on whatever available space was available, chatting amiably.

As Johnny began to open his bottle, the cap suddenly popped, the beer shooting out, spraying him.

"Oh, mannnn!" Johnny gripped. He was totally drenched.

Everyone stared in equal disbelieve.

Chet cleared his throat. "Um, Johnny. I think that dog karma thing is still happening again."

"What are you talking about?" Johnny muttered, wiping ineffectively at his clothes with the rag Roy handed him. "That's all over with. A dog had nothing to do with this."

Chet only smirked, his mustache twitching. "Check out the label on that beer."

Hesitantly, Johnny did and freaked.

RED DOG BEER.

He looked up, apprehension etched on his face. He quickly swiveled in his seat, scanning the yard for Buster, the large sheep dog. At the moment he was dozing under one of the trees.

Chili and Roy snickered.

That was all it took.

Every single person sitting there broke out laughing, the sound rolling like a wave across the backyard.

Johnny managed to keep a straight face for about a minute before he too dissolved into laughter. It took a long time for the laughter to die down.

Chili was distracted suddenly by a glider plane flying overhead. He pointed it out to Johnny.

"Now that looks cool."

"Yeah," Johnny agreed enthusiastically. "I'd give that a shot."

The two men had to duck as every man sitting there tossed buns, chips, popcorn, whatever they could find, at them.

Johnny and Chili looked at each other and grinned.

THE END

Author's note: A very big thanks (and apologies for being such a slave driver <G>) to WendyB for her great graphic and for including my version of Chili in it. I'm eternally grateful that cyber space led us to being friends in RL, along with Christine B. and of course, my GDT, Jane!

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