Hank sighed as he leaned against the brick wall and stared up at the night sky. He was glad to get away from all the horsing around in the day room for a little while. He had a lot on his mind and was grateful for the peace and quiet. The day had been hectic and it was hard for him to concentrate on the job and not worry about Emily.
She had been so evasive and touchy lately, snapping at him if he pressed her for an explanation for her strange behavior. It was not like her. She was such a sweet natured and gentle woman, heck that's what attracted him to her in the first place. Hank had tried to ask her in so many different ways what was wrong, but no dice. They had a rule that if one or the other had a problem, they would share it with each other, no matter what it was.
"Everything okay, Cap?" Hank swung around to see Roy standing at the bay door. He gave Roy a tight smile.
"Just doing a little thinking, Roy. Chet and Johnny still at it in there?" Roy chuckled and nodded.
"Need you ask? It's like breathing to those two. Life wouldn't be worth living for Chet if he couldn't needle Johnny on something or other."
"Hmmm...." the Cap responded distractedly. Roy was beginning to get a little worried about his boss. Captain Stanley only behaved strangely when he knew that Chief McConikee was due for a visit. And even then he was a basket case, not like now, subdued and vague. As Roy was debating whether or not to ask what was wrong, Hank beat him to it.
"Roy? I need your opinion on something. Since you and I are the only married guys here, you are the logical one to speak to."
"Sure Cap. What's up?" Roy replied slowly. He shifted from one foot to the other uncomfortably. He wasn't so keen to know what was wrong all of a sudden.
"When something is bugging Joanne, she lets you know about it right? I mean, you are both pretty much up on the communication bit of your relationship," Hank began.
Roy smiled slightly as he remembered how many times he and Joanne had not exactly communicated as well as he would have liked. "Most of the time, Cap. I mean, I sorta got it down to a fine art with Joanne. When she's upset about something I usually have a good idea before she tells me about it."
"Well, I thought it was the same with me and Emily," Hank said glumly. Roy hesitated for a second before he said anything. Marital problems with Hank and Emily? They were the epitome of a happy marriage. Even Joanne had commented on how well suited they were to each other or when she was moody with Roy, why couldn't Roy be as attentive as Hank was with Emily?
"Umm..you guys having a few problems, Cap?" Roy asked carefully. He didn't want to push the issue or sound like he was prying.
"I dunno...I get the feeling that something isn't right with her. She's been so out of character lately, I'm really beginning to worry." Hank let out his breath slowly. He glanced down at his hands and studied his wedding band. "You know what crossed my mind today?" He looked up at Roy. Roy shook his head slightly.
"I thought maybe the reason Em has been acting so weird lately was because there might be a possibility that she might be seeing someone on the side." Hank gave Roy a weak grin. "Crazy, huh?"
"Cap, I don't think that would be the reason why," Roy replied firmly. "You and Emily have a strong marriage with two beautiful girls. I don't think she would risk all of that on an affair." They fell silent for a few minutes.
"You know this profession isn't just a widow maker, it's also a marriage breaker as well. I've seen too many guys lose their families because they aren't around to help raise their kids like other men. Different shifts, sleeping away from home most nights of the week, the worry for our wives that something might happen to us just about every day. I guess I wouldn't blame her if she decided that enough was enough," Hank said wearily.
"Why are you thinking this way? I don't understand."
"The other day she was on the phone to someone. As soon as I came into the room she said a quick goodbye and hung up real quick. Then she said she had to go out for some groceries. Two hours later she came home. Without any groceries, I might add. When I asked her where she had gone, she was vague with her answers. When I pushed she almost tore my head off. Now can you understand why I feel like I'm losing my wife?"
Roy didn't know what to say. It never really crossed his mind that Emily would be that way. He and Joanne understood the sacrifices that had to be made with this job and their marriage. They were comfortable with that and worked hard at maintaining some equilibrium in their relationship. But the Cap had been in this business much longer than he had. It blew his mind to think that such a stable marriage could hit the wall so quickly. Roy gave Hank a pat on the shoulder.
"I'm sorry for dumping all of this on you Roy," Hank said quietly.
"Hey, we've been working together long enough to know that we can talk about anything, Cap. We're family after all, right?" Roy said brightly. Hank smiled and looked at his watch.
"Time to turn in for the night."
******
"Hey Roy? You awake?" Johnny whispered in the darkness of the bunkroom. He waited impatiently for his partner to reply.
"Roy!" he said a little louder. Roy groaned and rolled over, opening his eyes slowly.
"What, Johnny?"
Johnny sat up in his bed and glanced around at the other sleeping firemen to see if anyone else was awake.
"I need to ask you something," he replied in a low voice.
"It had better be good, Johnny," Roy mumbled as he squinted at his watch. "For crying out loud, it's 2AM!"
"What's wrong with the, Cap? He's been acting real wacky lately. I mean, you and he were outside for quite a while tonight."
"You woke me up to gossip? Couldn't you wait until a decent hour to ask me?" Roy complained. Johnny offered his partner a small grin.
"C'mon! What's the problem?" He was dying of curiosity and it was driving him crazy. He wouldn't be able to sleep until he got the whole story. Roy sat up in bed and turned to face Johnny. He shot him a dirty look.
"There's two problems actually. One is you are a busybody and two is you are keeping me awake. Now will you please let me get some sleep? If you are so interested, ask the Cap yourself in the morning. Good night," Roy said with finality. He scooted back down under the blankets pulling them up over his head and turned away from Johnny.
"What! Are you crazy? Me ask the Cap in the mood he's in?" He waited for a response from Roy. He got a response but it wasn't the one he wanted. Roy began to breath deeply as he ignored his partner and drifted off to sleep again.
"Grump," Johnny muttered, feeling miffed.
******
By the time everyone assembled for the next shift they were all hanging out for news about the Captain. Johnny had gone over to Roy's the day before and tried to wheedle it out of him with no luck. He gave up after dropping the hint for a few hours and went home as clueless as ever. He rang up the other guys to see if they had an inkling for Cap's strangeness. The only thing he managed to do was drive his buddies crazy with curiosity also. They cornered Roy in the locker room as he was getting dressed, waiting until the Captain had finished getting ready and was out of earshot.
"Coast is clear," Mike said as he peeked out the door to the vehicle bay. They gathered around Roy and fired question after question at him.
"'Fess up Roy, what's happening with the Cap?" Chet asked, almost jumping up and down with curiosity. Roy tucked in his shirt and buckled his pants. He turned to face them.
"Johnny, you got a big mouth, pal. It has nothing to do with any of us and I can't just go around blabbing about something that was said in confidence. Like I told my esteemed collegue here, go ask the Captain what's the matter." He made his way through the group, muttering under his breath about them being a bunch of gossipy old women.
"Okay, so who's gonna go ask the Cap?" Marco asked, looking at the others.
"How about we flip to see who's gonna ask?" Chet asked grinning, fishing a quarter out of his pocket. Johnny gave him a foul look.
"Chet, shut up."
******
They made their way into the day room and grabbed a cup of coffee each. Captain Stanley was sitting at the table, looking grim as he ran a finger around the rim of his cup. The guys sat there quietly. Nobody had the moxy to ask him what the problem was all of a sudden. He looked like he was ready to bite someone's head off. Just as Chet decided he had had enough of tiptoeing around, the bay doorbell rang. Mike jumped to his feet before anyone else.
"I'll get it!" he said hurriedly as he dashed out of the room. He was glad to get away from the tension in the kitchen. A minute later he walked back in. The visitor was behind him, standing in the doorway glancing about her nervously. The other guys looked at each other then at the Captain who hadn't looked up once.
"Hello, Hank." The Captain looked up and turned to face his wife. She gave the others a small smile as they said hello to her.
"Em! What are you doing here?" Hank asked, getting to his feet. Marco got up and grabbed a spare cup.
"Would you like a cup of coffee, Mrs Stanley?" he asked as he walked over to the stove. She shook her head.
"No thank you, Marco, I'm not staying long." She looked at her husband. "Can I speak to you for a moment, Hank?" The Captain cleared his throat and nodded.
"Let's go into my office, Emily." He followed his wife out. Chet and Johnny stood up at the same time.
"Don't even think about it, you two," Roy warned giving them a stern look. "Let them be."
******
Hank pulled out a chair for his wife to sit down in. He sat in his chair and waited for Emily to begin. She took a deep breath and looked her husband straight in the eyes.
"I had to come down here today, Hank, because what I have to say can't wait until tomorrow morning. When you left this morning you were in no mood for the news."
"So you are going to give it to me here at work? Your timing is impeccable, Em. This isn't exactly the most convenient time or place for bad news," Hank said shortly. His stomach was flipping, making him feel sick.
"What makes you think what I have to say to you is bad news?" Emily asked incredulously.
Hank ground his teeth together. He could feel his ire rising. "Oh gee, Em, maybe your attitude and the way you've been jumping down my throat lately gave me an idea that something wasn't right," he replied sarcastically.
Emily shook her head. She refused to take the bait and start arguing. She got to her feet and paced the length of the office, playing with her hands. "You can be as sassy as you want, Hank Stanley. Okay, there is no easy way of telling you this. So here goes."
Hank cut her off. "No, wait, let me guess. You are here to tell me that you have had enough of this marriage, and that there is someone else, and you are here to tell me that you are leaving me, right?" Hank's voice had risen with each word.
Emily swung around and looked at her husband with an expression of shock on her face. "What?!? Is that what you think it is? How could you think of such a thing?" Emily exclaimed.
"Em, you have been hard to get through in the past couple of weeks. You disappear the other day for hours and don't tell me where you went. You hang up the damned phone when I walked in the room. What else am I supposed to think?" he shot back, eyeing his wife angrily.
"Hank, you are so paranoid, do you know that?" She shook her head and let out a short bitter laugh. "You really think I'm leaving you? Thanks a lot for your trust and support, Henry."
Hank sat in his chair, gripping the arm rests so tightly his knuckles were white with the strain. He scowled as she called him Henry. Emily straightened her shoulders and turned to face her husband. She stood in front of him and leaned forward, her face in his. She placed her hands on his and squeezed hard.
"I'm pregnant, Hank. That's the 'bad' news as you put it. You are going to be a father again."
Hank sagged in his chair, his mouth falling open in surprise.
"Wha....wha..." he stuttered stupidly. This was the last thing he had expected. He and Emily had thought that they would never be able to have any more kids. The doctors had told them that after Emily had suffered a miscarriage four years ago due to an ectopic pregnancy. They were told to forget about any contraception as she was more or less sterile.
"Are you sure?" he got out finally. He kept shaking his head slightly from side to side. It was unbelievable.
"Yes, I'm sure, hon. I didn't want to say anything to you until I was one hundred percent sure. I didn't want to get your hopes up and then have you disappointed if I wasn't or something went wrong," Emily replied softly as she raised a hand and touched the side of Hank's face gently. She gave her husband a wide smile. "I'm sorry, honey, for being such a pain. I just had to be sure that's all."
Hank got to his feet and wrapped his arms around Emily and hugged her tightly to him. She raised her face to his and gave him a deep tender kiss. Hank kept blinking, he felt like bursting into tears all of a sudden.
"Oh, Em," he said emotionally, "God, I am so sorry for doubting you. I love you so much, honey. I really do. My God, you don't know how happy you have made me."
He grabbed her hand and took her into the day room. The guys looked up at their Captain warily. He broke into a huge grin.
"I'm gonna be a father!" he blurted out. "We're pregnant! I'm gonna be a dad again!"
Chet let out a whoop and jumped to his feet. He strode over to the Captain and gave him a slap on the back. He shook Emily's hand, grinning at them both.
"Congratulations! That's fantastic news!"
The others gathered around and gave their congratulations and best wishes. They were aware of the problems in the past and were genuinely thrilled for them both. Hank reserved his best handshake for Roy, who gave him a wink. Roy leaned forward and said quietly in his ear,
"See? Everything turns out for the best eventually, Cap. Good things come to those who wait."