Nine year old Joy DeSoto rode her bike down the driveway and into the backyard. She was about to rush into the house to report the latest neighborhood gossip to her mother when she noticed her six year old brother up in a large tree.
"Chris, what are you doing up there?" she demanded.
"Building a tree house," he explained.
"Well you'd better come down right now!" she commanded.
"I don't have to."
"You do so. I said so."
"Do not. You're not the boss of me!"
"Do too or I'll tell Mom," she threatened.
"Joy, if you do ----" he countered, turning slightly so he could see her better. Suddenly he lost his balance and fell. He landed in some branches about ten feet below his original position.
"Chris! Chris!" Joy was frantic.
He didn't answer. He just screamed and started to cry.
"Don't move! I'll get Mom," Joy cautioned then raced into the house. Her mother was sewing and she had to yell over the noise of the trusty old machine. "Chris just fell," she panted.
"Oh dear, where is he?"
"In the tree."
"The tree!!!!" Joanne fought the urge to panic as she ran outside. "Oh dear Lord!" she gasped when she saw him. He was at least twenty feet above the ground. Because of the thick foliage of the tree she couldn't see him clearly but she could hear him. His sobs cut her to the quick. Her baby was hurt and frightened still she forced her voice to be calm. "Chris? Honey, can you hear me?"
"Mommy!" he called.
"Listen to me, Honey. I need you to do something for me, okay?"
"Okay," he sniffled.
"I need you to sit real still. Do you understand?"
"Yes." He was putting on a brave front.
"Good. Does anything hurt?"
"My arm," he sobbed.
"Well you have to be very careful not to move it at all. Can you do that for Mommy?"
"I think so. Mommy, I wanna come down now."
"Soon, Baby. Real soon," she promised and then turned to her daughter. "Joy, run in and call Daddy. The station number is on the pad by the phone in the kitchen. Chris, you just relax. We'll get you down real soon. Okay?" She used her best Mommy voice to soothe him. She refused to let the panic she felt show in any way. She knew she had to be strong for him.
Joy came pelting out of the house. "Mommy, there's no answer!"
"Oh no! They must be on a run. Okay, go back in and dial 911. Be sure and give them the address. That's very important."
"I'm scared, Mommy," Joy admitted.
"Don't be scared. Just go do it, Honey," Joanne instructed.
"Okay, Mommy."
After she'd done as she was told she rejoined her mother.
"How did he ever get up there?" Joanne fumed. She had found a ladder in the grass and brought it over to the base of the tree. She couldn't even reach the lowest branches of the tree herself. How in the world could he? Why did these things always happen when Roy wasn't home? She looked at Joy. "Did you give them the address?"
"Yes, Mommy."
"Good girl. Now go out front and wait for the firemen, okay, Sweetie? Chris, are you still all right, Honey?"
"I wanna come down now."
"You just stay still. Some firemen are on their way. They will get you down."
"Will it be Daddy?"
"No, I don't think so."
"I want Daddy!" He was becoming agitated.
"Chris -- you stay still. I mean it!" she hollered firmly. She was very relieved when she heard a siren in the distance.
***
Squad 18 pulled up to the curb. Pidge and Cassie got out and grabbed some of their equipment from the bays in the squad.
Joy was a little unnerved by the fact that they were women. "Are you real paramedics?" she asked skeptically.
"Don't we look real?" Cassie smiled.
"Yes but I thought paramedics were men. My daddy is a paramedic."
"Oh yeah? What's your daddy's name?" Cassie asked conversationally as Joy led them out into the back yard.
"Roy DeSoto."
"Oh, I know your daddy. My name is Cassie and this is Pidge."
"This is my mommy," Joy concluded the introductions as they joined Joanne.
"Hi," Cassie greeted. "What's the problem?"
"My son --" Joanne pointed to the spot in the tree where Chris was. She fought hard to control the urge to get frantic but it was a battle she was starting to lose. "I don't know how he even got up there. I thought he was playing with his trucks over there." She pointed to a sand box in the back yard which was currently doubling as a construction site for a large number of Tonka trucks.
"Take it easy, ma'am," Pidge said sympathetically.
"Joanne. Joanne DeSoto."
"It's okay, Joanne. We'll get him down," Pidge assured her.
"What's his name?" Cassie asked strapping on her safety harness.
"Chris," Joanne told her as she nervously chewed her thumbnail.
"Chris?" Cassie called up to him. "How are you doing? Are you all right?"
"My arm sorta hurts," Chris was trying to put on a brave face in front of strangers.
"It does? Well I guess we'd better get you down here then, huh? Be right there," Cassie assured him as she pulled a coil of rope over her shoulder. They all walked to the base of the tree.
"We had a report of a child falling," Pidge said to Joanne. "Where exactly did he fall from?"
"Up there in those high branches," Joy supplied.
"Oh my god!" Joanne was on the verge of losing it."What it the world was he doing up there?!"
Cassie sized up the situation. She took the ladder and leaned it up against the shed. Quickly she was on the shed roof. She pulled the ladder up behind her and used it to get onto the roof of the house. From there it was a fairly simple matter to lean the ladder against the trunk of the tree and climb over to the lowest branches.
"I would have never thought of that," Joanne declared.
"Well, it helps to think like a kid. Be careful, Cassie," Pidge warned.
Once she was in the tree it didn't take Cassie long to reach the branch Chris was on. She wasn't sure it would hold her additional weight so she looked at the branch that was directly above him. "Hi, Chris," she greeted him casually. "My name is Cassie."
"Hello," Chris was calming now that he was no longer alone.
Cassie tossed her rope over a thick branch that was overhead and let the other end drop all the way down to Pidge to be tied off.
Pidge looked around. Her eyes fell on the swing set. "How sturdy is this?"
"Very sturdy, " Joanne tried not to sniffle. "My husband set the legs in concrete."
"Good enough," she said and tied the rope off. "Okay, Cassie, but you be careful. You do have your safety harness on, don't you?"
"Yes, Mom," Cassie called down to her partner.
Their banter reminded Joanne of Roy and Johnny and somehow she started to relax a little.
Once she was tied off, Cassie reached up and grabbed the upper branch. She looped her legs around the branch also and worked her way out to him. Once she reached him she carefully lowered herself to the branch he was on. It shook a little and he lunged toward her. He then seemed a little embarrassed by his actions. "Thanks for catching me like that, Buddy," Cassie said seriously. "If I'd have fallen, my partner would have yelled at me for sure. Where does it hurt?"
"My arm."
"Let me see. Oh yeah, I bet that does hurt." She slid off the backpack she wore then made a cursory examination. She had brought up a child sized splint and a second safety belt. The belt looked like it was going to be way too big but she did splint up his arm "This is to keep your arm from moving around too much while we get down from the tree," she explained. "Does anything else hurt? Your head? Your stomach? Your legs?"
"No." He was now more curious about her plans than anything.
"Okay. Good. You have a few scratches here but I think those can wait till we get down. So, Chris, how old are you?"
"Almost seven," he said proudly.
"Almost seven," she digested that. "Okay, well if you're that old, this is what we'll do. I've got you so I need you to let go of that branch you're holding onto and put your good arm around my neck. Good. Then wrap your legs around me. Hey, good. Now let's see if I can hold on tighter to you or if you can hold on tighter to me. Since you can only use one arm I will too. Just to be fair. Okay? You ready?" She had a good hold on him with one arm and he clung tightly to her with his legs. It wasn't an ideal situation but it would do.
"I'm ready." He sounded a little hesitant.
"This is going to be fun but don't let on or everybody will want to try it. It'll be our secret, okay?"
"Okay," he said enthusiastically. He loved knowing things his older sister didn't know.
Once she securely held him she hollered to Pidge that they were on their way down. She used her free hand to hold onto the rope and they were lowered to the ground. When they were down Joanne ran over to them. She was nearly in tears.
"Oh, Chris, are you all right?"
"That was fun," he said gleefully, "Can we do it again?"
"Christopher DeSoto!!!" Joanne flared angrily. Chris wished he had remembered to keep it a secret.
Cassie suppressed a smile and set about taking vitals. Pidge had the biophone all set up.
"Rampart, this is squad 18. How do you read?"
"Read you fine, 18. Go ahead," Dixie replied.
"Rampart, we have a male patient approximately five years of age ---"
"Almost seven," Cassie and Chris corrected her in unison.
"Correction, patient is almost seven. He has suffered a fall of about ten feet from a tree. He landed in some lower branches and was trapped for a time. He has since been extricated. He has some minor lacerations on his face and neck and what appears to be a fractured left ulna. Patient is alert and cool to the touch. Pupils are equal and reactive. Hold for vitals."
Once the vitals were reported, Dr Early told them to immobilize the fracture, apply ice packs and transport immediately. The ambulance was just arriving.
"My daddy is going to be awful mad at me," Chris suddenly realized.
"He's not going to be too thrilled with me either," Cassie told him, "I left his ladder up on the roof."
"Don't worry about that," Joanne assured her. "Are you taking him to Rampart?"
"Yes."
"All right. I'll follow in the station wagon. I have to get my keys and turn off the oven. Joy, go lock the front door." Joanne forced herself to think straight. She refused to let herself fall apart now.
***
Cassie rode in with him. They became fast friends during the ride. Cassie kept him entertained by making a puppet out of some linens, a plastic glove and some rubber bands. When they arrived at the hospital Chris was a little scared. They rushed him into treatment room 5 where Dr Early was waiting.
"Chris, this is Dr Joe. Doc, may I present Chris DeSoto. This is his daddy's hospital."
"I see. Well we'd better give him top notch service then, hadn't we?" Dr Early smiled. "So, Chris, can I take a look at your arm?"
"See my puppet? He's a ghost."
"Oh, I hope he's a nice ghost."
"He is. My new friend made him," Chris told him but then added in a loud whisper, "She's a fireman."
"I know she is. Now tell me, how did you hurt your arm?"
"I was building a tree house and I sorta fell," he admitted.
"You sorta fell," Joe was amused.
***
Pidge was at the nurses' station talking to Dixie when Joanne and Joy arrived.
"Joanne?" Dixie was surprised to see her.
"Hello, Dixie. How's Chris?"
"They are taking x-rays right now," Pidge tried to put her mind at ease.
"That was your son they just brought in?" Dixie was putting two and two together.
"Yes." Joanne took a deep breath to try and calm herself.
"Why don't you sit down over here and I'll go see what I can find out for you," Dixie offered kindly.
"See if you can find Cassie too," Pidge called after her. Pidge wondered how much more she could get done in a day if she didn't have to spend half her time trying to track down her partner.
Dix came back and reported, "Chris is doing fine. They are putting a cast on his arm right now. After that you can take him home. And your partner and Dr Early have both agreed to sign the cast. Since it'll be a short wait and since this mom looks like she could use a cup of coffee, why doesn't Liz take you down to the lounge and you all can take a break?"
"How could anyone argue with that logic?" Pidge smiled and escorted Joanne and Joy down to the lounge.
***
Squad 51 brought in a heart attack victim. Johnny rode in with the victim and Dixie accompanied them into treatment room 3.
Roy followed in the squad. He went up to the nurses' station as they were now in need of supplies. All thoughts of supplies flew out of his head when he saw Joanne and Joy come out of the lounge. "Joanne!!" he hollered down the length of the corridor. He ran to join her. "What's the matter? What are you doing here? Is something wrong?" He was pale and shaky by the time her reached them.
"Chris fell out of the tree in the backyard," she told him. She was much calmer by this time.
Roy was as far from calm as he could be. "Oh dear Lord!!!"
"He's okay," she tried to assure him. He almost looked like he was ready to faint.
"It's just a fractured ulna," Pidge also tried to calm him.
"Just?!! Where is he?"
"In 5," Pidge told him.
"Wait right here, Honey. I'll go check on him. Don't worry, now. Everything will be fine."
Joanne had never seen him so rattled. He tore off to treatment room 5.
Johnny was just coming out of 3. He stepped right in front of him. "Hey, you wanna hear something funny?"
"Look out," Roy barked.
"What?" Johnny was startled by his rough manner and didn't move.
"I said look out!!" Roy exploded and roughly pushed him aside.
Johnny crashed into the wall very hard with his shoulder leaving him slightly stunned.
Roy didn't even turn around he just exploded into treatment room 5 just as Dr. Early finished autographing the cast. "Is he all right?!" he demanded. His voice shook with fright.
"Yes, Roy, he's fine," Dr Early said in a firm voice. He was used to dealing with Roy DeSoto, cool-headed paramedic but he knew he was now dealing with Roy DeSoto, dad. A horse of a different color entirely.
"Chris," Roy's voice cracked with emotion."What happened? What in the world were you doing in that tree, anyway?"
"I was building a treehouse," Chris admitted meekly.
"A treehouse?! What on earth for ?"
"Because I wanted a place where girls couldn't come. Not Joy and especially not that pesty little Angela from across the street! But I've changed my mind. I won't built no treehouses no more. I promise, Daddy. Are you mad at me?"
"No," Roy breathed, hugging him gently. "I'm not mad at you."
"Well as long as you're so forgiving, Dad, I might as well fess up too. I - ah - sorta left your ladder up on the roof of your house," Cassie smiled hopefully.
"Don't worry about it. I'll get it down," Roy assured her.
"How bout that, Chris, we're both off the hook," Cassie winked at him.
Just then Johnny came in rubbing his sore shoulder. Dixie had told him about Chris.
"Did you learn your lesson?" Roy asked his son attempting to be stern. "No more going up in trees. It's dangerous, right?"
"Right and besides, I don't need no more treehouses anyway," Chris explained.
"You don't?"
"No. It was to keep girls away but I've decided some girls aren't so bad after all," Chris said winking at Cassie.
He wasn't sure why all the adults in the room suddenly laughed.
"My son the Romeo," Roy laughed. He really needed to laugh.
"Do you have a sore arm too, Uncle Johnny?"
All eyes fell on Johnny.
"What happened, Johnny?" Dr Early became more business like.
"It seems I got stampeded by a crazed buffalo," Johnny teased Roy.
"Look, I'm really sorry about that," Roy was sincere.
"That's okay. I'll find a way for you to make it up to me -- like say doing the dishes for me tonight. I don't see how I can possible do that with this painful injury." Johnny laid in on thick.
"Maybe I'd better have a look at it," Joe said more assertively.
"No, Doc, that's not necessary," Johnny assured him.
"Don't be scared, Uncle Johnny. Ya get a lollipop," Chris told him seriously.
"Why don't we go find Mommy while the doctor examines Uncle Johnny," Roy suggested picking Chris up from the exam table and heading for the door.
"Okay. Come on, Cassie," Chris called holding his good hand out to her.
"Coming." Cassie suppressed a smile and followed Roy out of the room.
"Hey, now wait a minute. I was only joking," Johnny pleaded as they left him to his fate.
***
Joanne and Pidge were waiting outside the room. "Is he okay?" Joanne demanded.
"He is. I hope Johnny is," Roy smiled but he really did regret shoving him so hard.
Dixie and Joy joined them. Dix had been giving Joy the cook's tour. "So that's the Emergency Room," Dix concluded. "You think you'd like to be a nurse someday, Joy?"
"No," said Joy thoughtfully, "I think I'd like to be a paramedic."
"Well you can't be," Chris argued. "Because I'm gonna be a fireman."
"Hey, wait a minute. I'm a paramedic and my brother is a fireman. It can be done," Cassie hopped into the argument.
"Is that for truth?" Chris was skeptical.
"For truth," Cassie raised her right hand. "My brother works at your daddy's station."
"Which one is he?" Chris pressed for details.
"Well, I don't usually admit it but -- Chet Kelly."
Even Joanne looked doubtful but interrupted any further discussion. "Come on, Chris, since it's so late, how about if we have dinner at the hospital cafeteria?"
Both kids cheered and the other adults looked shocked.
"After McDonalds, it's their favorite place," Roy said.
"Can Daddy eat with us?" Joy asked.
""Fraid not, Honey," Roy said. "I'm still on duty. I have to get back to the station as soon as Uncle Johnny is finished in there. See you in the morning."
After everyone had been kissed and thanked Joanne and the kids headed for the cafeteria and Cassie and Pidge headed for their squad.
"I do need some supplies," Roy suddenly remembered. "Go ahead and say it."
"Say what?" Dixie said taking his list and filling his requests.
"That I acted like a complete jerk."
"Roy you acted like a concerned father. I can't say I'm a bit surprised. I've seen how concerned you get about your partner. It's the same thing."
"Not at all, Dix," Roy corrected her. "At least with my kids I have some hope that they'll grow up someday."
"I heard that," Johnny emerged from the treatment room with Joe.
"Good! What's with this crazed buffalo bit?" Roy teased packing up the drug box with the new supplies.
"Well it was the first thing that came to mind. I mean I had just seen my entire life flash before my eyes," Johnny defended himself.
"Is he all right, Doc?"
"He'll live," Joe chuckled.
"He drives me more nuts than my other kids," Roy declared.
"Hey, Roy , you don't have to worry about this kid climbing up a tree to get away from girls," Johnny laughed.
"Yeah, now I have two Romeos to look out after. Come on, Junior, let's go back to the barn. Bye, Dix, bye, Doc," Roy called as the headed down the hallway.
"About those dishes, Roy ...."Johnny's voice trailed off as they left the area.
Dix and Joe exchanged glances and laughed.
