The call had said there was a downed hot air balloon. The men from Station 51 stood at the side of the road and scanned the rugged looking area below.
"Anybody see anything?" Captain Stanley asked.
"There." Johnny Gage pointed to a patch of bright color on a ledge far below.
"Just sit tight," the Captain instructed the occupants with his bull horn. "Some firemen will be right down to help you."
As a precaution, the paramedics took their equipment with them as they began their descent to the balloon. The other firemen stood by ready to assist.
Roy and Johnny each worked their way down to the victims. Roy went down a scant game trail while Johnny blazed his own way through the underbrush. Johnny's way was more direct but Roy's good sense told him to stick to the tried and true path.
Suddenly Johnny stepped in an animal trap that was hidden by the tall grass. The iron trap snapped shut around his ankle like an angry jaw. He screamed with a mixture of shock and agony.
"Gage, what's wrong?" Chet hollered. He was the closest to him. He heard him scream and saw him go down in the tall grass. Johnny didn't answer so he galloped down the hill to him. He knew something was wrong. As he approached he heard him groaning painfully.
"What happened?" Chet asked as he reached him. He thought Johnny might have fallen and hurt an ankle or knee. Then he saw the trap. Johnny was bleeding profusely.
"Ahhhh. Get it off, Chet. Get it off," he gasped. He was obviously in a lot of pain. He was trying to open the trap himself. His hands were covered with blood and kept slipping off the trap.
"Look out. Let me try," Chet said. Though the trap was rusty, it was still very strong. Chet could not budge it either. Soon his hands were covered with Gage's blood also and he could not keep his grip on the trap. "I can't do it. I gotta get some help."
Gage was very pale and sweaty. His eyes were closed tight and his teeth were clenched in pain.
"Hang on. I'll be right back," Chet promised. He was scared. He ran back up the hill to the place where the vehicles were parked. The others all had their eyes on either the victims or Roy slowly making his way to them.
"Cap," he hollered frantically, "Gage stepped in a bear trap. We need the jaws to get him out!"
Marco ran to get the Jaws Of Life while the Captain followed Chet back to the spot where he'd left Johnny. Gage was in excruciating pain.
"We'll have ya loose in a minute," Chet promised nervously.
Gage was still sweaty but now he was also shivering. Chet knew Johnny should try to remain as calm as possible but he was very upset and still clutching at the trap trying to get free.
"Take it easy," Chet tried to sound authoritative but he wasn't sure Johnny could even hear him.
When the others arrived the Captain took one look at Johnny and knew he was seriously injured. "Lay back down, John," he commanded easing him to the ground. He took off his turnout coat and put it over Johnny.
"Hurts...Cap," Johnny gasped. "Really hurts."
"We'll have it right off you," the Captain assured him calmly.
The powerful jaws snapped opened the trap and soon they had it off him. The relief was so great that he lapsed into unconsciousness.
Chet had opened up the box Johnny had been carrying. He took out some large gauze pads and was applying pressure to the wound. "He's really hemorrhaging, Cap." Chet did not hide the worry he felt. He liked nothing better than making Johnny's life miserable with an applied measure of slow torture but he didn't want to see him really hurt.
The sight of the broken, bloody trap with its rusty teeth sickened Captain Stanley but not as much as Gage's leg and ashen complexion. "I think he's going into shock. Lopez, you and Stoker see if you can help DeSoto. If those people aren't injured you two extricate them and send him up here."
"Right, Cap," Marco said.
"And take the path Roy used. No telling how many more of those damned things are around here."
***
Lopez and Stoker made their way down the path to Roy.
"I was beginning to think you all deserted me," Roy quipped with a smile.
"Are they hurt?" Mike asked seriously.
"Not a scratch," Roy smiled pleasantly but then noted their somber tone. "What's wrong? Hey, where's Johnny?"
"He got hurt, Roy," Marco said. "We'll get them up. You'd better hurry. He's bleeding. bad."
"What happened?"
"He stepped in a bear trap," Mike explained.
"A WHAT?!!" Roy paled, "Where is he?"
"He's up there by those trees. But take the path up just to be safe," Marco told him.
***
Roy raced to the scene. He dropped to his knees next to his partner.
Chet was laboring over him and looked up desperately. "We can't stop the bleeding," he panted wearily.
"Go get the equipment." Roy sized up the situation while Chet ran back up to the squad. "How long has he been unconscious?"
"He just passed out about two minutes ago," the Cap said.
Chet returned with the equipment. Roy went to work on him and they finally got the bleeding under control. "Put him on O2, " Roy said without looking up as he began taking vitals.
Johnny coughed twice and regained consciousness after the cap slipped the oxygen mask on him. He groaned.
"Easy, Partner, you're okay," Roy said confidently.
"Agggghhhh, Roy," he gasped. "It's killing me. Please, you gotta give me somethin'."
"Hold on just a few minutes more, " Roy leaned close to be sure Johnny could hear him.
Johnny just groaned again.
"Easy, Pal." The cap tried to comfort him, pulling the coat tighter around him.
Roy grabbed the bio-phone. He forced his voice to be calm. "Rampart, this is Squad 51. How do you read?"
There was no response.
"Rampart, this is squad 51. Do you read me?" A little trace of desperation crept into Roy's voice but he tried again. Still nothing. "We must be in a dead zone," he spat angrily.
"Roy," Johnny gasped painfully. He was sweating profusely "Please... help me..."
"What are you going to do?" Chet whispered.
"He needs morphine but I can't give him anything without a doctor." Roy was frustrated.
"He's a little shocky," The captain confided.
"He's got to get treatment," Roy stated firmly. "We can't waste any more time. His foot's nearly severed. We'd better try and transport him on the engine. I'll keep trying to raise them on the radio." Roy's head was spinning.
"Roy," Johnny begged, "I can't stand it. Please."
"We're going to take you in to the hospital," Roy told him in his best calmly confident paramedic voice.
"Roy, MS," Johnny gasped, "Please, I can't ahhhhhhh."
Roy immobilized the bad leg just as Mike, Marco and the two victims joined them.
"You'd better wait here," Mike advised, pulling the little girl back.
"What happened?" The 11 year old girl yanked herself away from the fireman and went to Johnny. She saw the animal trap and the blood soaked bandages. "Grandpa!" she called to the other victim who had not been able to scale the hillside as quickly as she had. "One of Rotten Willie's line traps."
"What have we here?" the old man asked as he knelt by Johnny.
"We gotta get him to the hospital," Roy tried to hurry them.
"You'd better not move him," the little girl said seriously.
The old man put his hand on Johnny's forehead. Johnny was groaning deliriously. "Roy, help me." His lips were cracked and he was sweating.
"He needs ----" the old man began.
"I know what he needs but my hands are tied. I can't give him so much as an aspirin without a doctor's supervision," Roy spat angrily.
"Grandpa's a doctor," the little girl said.
Roy brightened.
"A DVM," the old man puffed. He was still a bit winded.
"Oh damn! We still gotta move him." Roy was bitterly disappointed.
"You move him before he's stable and you'll lose him,” the old man stated matter-of-factly.
"Well, what am I going to do?!" Roy exploded.
"You know what to do --"
"I CAN'T without a doctor." Roy's voice cracked with frustration.
"I am a doctor."
"With all due respect, sir--" Roy tried to be patient.
“What do you usually do?” the doctor persisted.
“I radio the hospital so we are in communication with a doctor -- almost like having a doctor in the field.”
“Well your radio won’t work here,” the old man continued. “How much experience do the doctors at the hospital have with animal traps?”
“What?” Roy was taken aback.
“Grandpa has been treating animals that have been injured by animal traps for fifty years,” the little girl bragged.
Roy looked helplessly at the Captain.
“Roy,” the Captain cautioned hesitantly.
“Cap, I can’t just let him die. Let’s do it!”
“How do you assess his condition?” the doctor asked seriously.
“He’s lost a lot of blood. He’s diaphoretic, his extremities are clammy...” Once the decision had been made, Roy got down to business. He gave the doctor Johnny’s vitals hoping that the information made sense to a doctor not used to treating humans.
“Definitely shocky,” the doctor concurred. “I suggest we stabilize him and administer morphine.”
Roy set up the IV. Johnny was only semiconscious but seemed to calm as the medication took affect.
“We have to clean this wound thoroughly. Look at the rust on that trap. We’ve been fighting that man for twenty years. He’s been slaughtering animals like this for at least that long,” the doctor told them.
Roy and the doctor worked on Johnny another forty minutes. The doctor and his granddaughter made a mud poultice that stopped the bleeding. They happily removed the tourniquet.
“I can’t even call for an ambulance,” Captain Stanley shook the useless handy talkie with frustration.
Officer Vince Howard cautiously made his way down the hill. “What’s wrong?” he panted.
“He stepped in an animal trap,” Chet explained with disgust.
“Traps like that are illegal,” Vince stated.
“Well nobody cared when it was just ‘dumb animals’ being murdered,” the little girl said with vehemence.
“Vince,” Roy looked up, “We need an ambulance and we’re in a dead radio zone.”
“You got it,” Vince told him. He ran back up the hill and got into his cruiser. He’d drive out of the dead zone and call one on his police radio.
***
It was almost twenty minutes later that the ambulance arrived. Johnny was moaning quietly and seemed stuperous.
“He’s real rough, isn’t he?” Chet whispered to Roy.
“Yeah,” was all Roy could muster in the way of a comment.
“You think you saved him?” Marco wanted to know.
“His life, maybe -- his foot.....” the doctor shrugged.
“He’s not out of the woods yet?” the Cap asked.
“He’s stable but he’s still critical,” Roy sighed. He stood back to let the ambulance attendants through.
“You know you could lose your license for this,” the Cap cautioned Roy quietly.
“I’d have lost a lot more than that if I’d done nothing,” Roy commented sincerely. He knew his job was on the line but Johnny’s life was more important.
***
They finally arrived at Rampart. Roy raced in beside the gurney carrying the IV bag.
Dixie’s eyes widened when she saw the victim. “What happened?!”
“Bear trap,” Roy said through trembling lips.
They rushed him to a treatment room.
Doctor Brackett rushed in also. He looked at the IV. “You didn’t call in,” he was shocked.
“I couldn’t. We were in a dead radio zone,” Roy said weakly. He never took his eyes off his partner.
“Morphine!!!” Brackett was stunned to see what had been administered. “No paramedic has the authority to give that on his own!!”
“He was in agony and about to go into shock ---”
“Roy! You know better than ----”
“What are you going to do -- chew me out or treat him?” Roy flared back angrily.
Dr. Morton came running into the treatment room. “What have we got?” he asked routinely, then noticed the patient was Johnny. “What happened?”
“Looks like he stepped into an animal trap.” Dixie jumped in, hoping to avert a fight and get everyone’s attention back where it belonged.
“What’s this?” Morton demanded. He was examining the wound.
“It’s a mud poultice. The doctor said---”
“You had a doctor at the scene?” Brackett brightened, his faith in the system coming back. His whole objection to this program to begin with was based on unqualified people practicing medicine.
“A veterinarian,” Roy admitted.
“Roy!” Dr. Morton was now floored, “Do you realize that if he dies....”
“Hold on, Mike,” Brackett said. He was washing off the poultice. His full attention was now on the patient. “Wait outside, Roy” he barked. It was the first of many orders he barked. The rest were directed at Morton and the nurses in the room.
Roy reluctantly stepped into the corridor. His cheeks burned with anger and frustration. He got a drink of water in hopes of calming himself. He failed.
Chet had brought the squad. He walked up to Roy. “How is he?”
“Beats me,” Roy snapped. “They were more interested in yelling at me about the finer points of the law than in helping him!”
“They gonna yank your license?” Chet asked in a shocked whisper.
“They can have it!” Roy spat. “I’m done playing doctor!!”
“Hey, Roy,” Chet tried to soothe him. “You did the best you could for him. No doctor could have done any more.”
Just then everyone came blasting out of the treatment room. They took Johnny down the hall to the elevator. Dixie walked up and joined them. “They’re taking him to surgery,” she explained.
“He’s going to lose the foot,” Roy surmised.
“On the contrary, there seems to be little nerve damage at all.”
Roy looked at her as if he wasn’t sure he believed her.
“How are his chances of makin’ it?” Chet asked.
“Excellent,” she stated.
“How about for a complete recovery?” Roy pressed her.
“Don’t worry, Roy,” she said pleasantly. “It doesn’t look like you’ll need to break in a new partner.”
“No matter what happens I won’t have to do that,” he said evenly; almost coldly.
“What do you mean, Roy?” she became more serious sensing something was very wrong.
Roy just walked away.
Dixie looked at Chet for some explanation.
“He says he’s quitting,” Chet told her sheepishly.
“NO!” She was shocked. “Roy!” she called, running down the hall after him. She caught up with him. “Roy, you can’t be serious!”
“I am,’ he stated firmly.
“Roy, what about all that training and the years you’ve put into this. You’re one of the best. You can’t let all that go down the drain! Roy, you can’t!”
“Just watch me,” he snarled. “What the hell good is it when due to a mechanical failure you’re compelled to just sit there and watch someone die -- to hear someone scream and beg you for help, to have all the equipment and the know how to help them and not be able to lift a finger to help them? No thanks. You can keep it. I’m not going through that ever again.”
“Look, Roy. I know it must have been rough for you, but you did the right thing --”
“Not according to the book. I acted without a doctor’s supervision --”
“Roy,” she tried to calm him.
It was no use. He took off his paramedic ID badge and threw it in the trash can. “I quit!” he stormed out of the hospital.
Dixie looked at Chet. They were both stunned for a moment.
Finally Chet was able to speak. “I’d -- ah -- I’d better get back. Gage is going to be okay?”
“Yes,” she insisted.
“Good. Hey Roy, wait up! Let me drive you back to the station.” Chet ran after him. He’d never seen Roy like this.
Neither had Dixie. Brackett and Morton had been pretty hard on him. She sadly picked up the badge from the trash and headed for the O.R.
***
The repair job on Johnny took a little over an hour. Brackett and Morton felt pretty good when they came out of surgery. They expected a full recovery without the slightest impairment once the tissue healed.
“Well, Dix,” Brackett smiled proudly. “It took 112 sutures but I think we got Humpty Dumpty put back together again.”
“That mud treatment was really something!” Morton agreed enthusiastically. “I never saw anything like it. It may have been a good thing DeSoto couldn’t reach us. That veterinarian really knew his stuff!”
“Hey, well don’t sell Roy short,” Brackett cautioned. “He gave him exactly what I would have prescribed. Prevented shock. Probably saved Johnny’s life. He did a damn good job.”
“Too bad you didn’t say that a little sooner,” Dixie said to him somewhat snidely.
Brackett read Dixie well. He immediately became serious. “What’s up, Dix?”
“Roy DeSoto just quit the program.” She handed him the badge.
“He can’t do that!”
“He can and he did.”
“But why? Johnny’s going to be all right.” Mike Morton was bewildered.
“Partly because of the frustration of having the facilities to help someone in need and not having the authority to do it -- especially when that someone in need was a close friend. And partly because when he finally did get him to two doctors who could help him they seemed more concerned with the fine points of the law than the patient!”
“That’s not true!” Brackett flared.
“Well that’s the way it appeared.”
“Dix, now you know better than --”
“Leave me alone before I quit too!” she sobbed and ran into the ladies’ room.
“Were we that bad?” Brackett’s anger had quelled and he began feeling guilty.
Morton remembered his own words and felt equally remorseful.
***
Chet had tried to talk Roy out of it but he refused listen. He backed the squad into the station. “Look,” Roy said. “Tell the Captain I’ll come back later and talk to him. I gotta think.”
“You’re not thinking of quitting the department entirely?!” Chet was shocked. “You got enough time in to take the Captains’ exam.”
“I don’t know. I’m thinking about making a clean break --”
“Roy, you’re just upset...”
Roy ignored him and walked out to the back lot. He got into his car and drove away.
Chet felt helpless. He went into the kitchen and grabbed a cup of coffee. He sat down at the table sadly. “This is a hell of a mess, Henry,” he told the dog.
Just then he heard the engine pull in. The guys sounded excited as they piled into the kitchen.
“How’s Gage?” the Cap hardly dared ask, noting Chet’s dismal expression.
“Oh -- it looks like he’ll be okay,” Chet said half-heartedly.
“He’ll be okay?! Then why so glum?” Marco asked in bewilderment.
“He’ll be okay, but Roy.....” Chet hesitated.
“What about Roy? Where is he, anyway?”
“Ah, Cap -- I don’t know how to say this --” Chet was miserable.
“Say what? What’s wrong?” the Cap became concerned.
“He’s real upset, Cap. He -- ah -- he quit the paramedic program. He’s thinking of quitting the whole department.”
“He can’t do that!” The Cap was shocked. “Where is he?”
“He went home. He really was in no condition to work.”
“What happened?”
“I’m not completely sure but I take it that Brackett jumped all over him about the legality of his treating Gage without a doctor --”
“He had a doctor,” the Cap interrupted.
“I mean a real doctor.”
“Dr. Shaw is a real doctor,” Marco objected.
“I mean an MD,” Chet snapped.
“Chet,” the Cap stated. “The law doesn’t specifically state MD. It says physician. Dr. Shaw is a duly licensed physician. One who has been treating that type of wound for years. They haven’t got anything on him legally. I checked.”
“I don’t think that will make him feel any better. He’s in rough shape, Cap. Brackett may be a “people” doctor, but sometimes he doesn’t know much about people.”
Just then the phone rang. Chet answered it. “Station 51, Kelly.”
“This is Doctor Brackett. I’d like to speak with Roy DeSoto, please.”
“What are you going to do? Have him arrested?” Chet accused.
“What?!” Brackett was shocked.
“Who is it, Chet?” the Cap took the phone from him and shooed him away. “This is Captain Stanley.”
“It’s Dr. Brackett. I’d like to talk to Roy.” He was still taken aback by Chet’s strange accusation.
“So would I, Doctor, but he’s not here.” The Captain could not help acting a little cool toward the doctor.
“Not there?! Then it’s true. He quit?”
“Apparently so.”
“Well do you know where he is? I’ve got to talk to him.”
“Is he in some kind of trouble?”
“Trouble? No. The farthest thing from it. I wanted to congratulate him on the excellent job he did on Johnny. With less competent care Johnny would have surely faced amputation or worse. I’ve lost patients will less serious injuries. I - ah - I also wanted to apologize for the way I acted. I’d really like to try and change his mind. Now, do you know where I might find him?”
“He’s probably at home,” the Cap offered.
“Thank you, Captain.”
“Good luck in changing his mind. The Department can’t afford to lose a man like that.”
When the Captain returned to the table Chet demanded, “What did he want?”
“Same thing as the rest of us, Pal. To talk Roy out of it.”
***
Joanne was surprised to see Roy at home at 12:30 PM. She was hanging a load of wash on the clothesline in the back yard and she saw him through a window as he walked into the house. Since he was in his uniform she figured he had forgotten something and wanted to pick it up. Maybe he and Johnny were here for a quick lunch. She picked up the basket and went into the house.
“Hi, Honey. Where’s Johnny? Didn’t you ask him in?”
“Johnny’s.. not here. Ah maybe you’d better sit down.”
Joanne could tell he was very upset. “Roy, what’s wrong? You look terrible.”
“Come on. Sit down,” he repeated.
He’d gotten himself a beer out of the refrigerator -- something he’d seldom do at this hour and never while he was on duty. He looked very dark. “What happened,” she hardly dared ask. She knew it must have been something terrible. She remembered his voice had cracked when he said Johnny’s name. She knew how Roy felt about Johnny. Johnny was like the kid brother he’d always wanted and never had. “Did something happen to Johnny?” she gasped.
Roy looked down and nodded.
“Oh no, Roy? What was it? He’s not ----”
“No,” Roy managed to say.
“What happened, Honey? Tell me about it.” She knew he had to talk about it although it would be very hard for him.
Roy took a deep breath. “We were on a rescue -- way out in the boonies -- a hot air balloon had gone down.”
“Oh no. Was anyone hurt in the crash?”
“No. Luckily they were both okay. An eleven year old girl and her grandfather.”
“But...” she prodded him to get to the part he obviously did not want to tell her about.
“But somehow Johnny managed to step into a bear trap.”
“A bear trap?! You mean those iron things with all those metal teeth?”
“Yeah.”
“Dear Lord! Is he all right?”
“They say he is but I don’t know. Last time I saw him he was heading up to surgery...”
“Surgery?”
“Yeah. The trap damn near severed his right foot.”
“Oh no! But they do say he’ll be all right?” she asked hopefully.
“That’s what they say.”
“You don’t believe them?”
“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” he admitted miserably.
“What’s the matter?” she knew there was more to this.
“Something happened to me out there today,” he admitted.
“You’re not hurt anywhere?” She was very worried.
“Not where it shows,” he said sadly.
“Tell me about it,” she coaxed him on.
“Well, we were in a dead radio zone, as it turned out. Since the radio wouldn’t work, there was no way to contact Rampart -- and here’s poor Johnny -- he’s hemorrhaging badly and about ready to go into shock -- he’s in excruciating pain and he’s begging me to help him. Begging me! But without the hospital there wasn’t a damn thing I could do for him -- for his pain.”
“That must have been horrible. What did you do?” Tears of sympathy played at her eyes. Roy could never stand to see anyone suffer.
“Well, it turns out the old guy from the balloon crash was a veterinarian so we went ahead and treated him anyway - illegally.“
“That’s just what Johnny would have done for you,” she pointed out.
“Oh, he wouldn’t have hesitated even as long as I did. He would have fought Brackett tooth and nail too because he would have been sure he was right!”
“Did you have some trouble with Dr. Brackett?”
“He jumped all over me an I just let him --”
“Well, Roy --”
“Let me finish. Please. I just let him because I knew I was all through.”
“What do you mean?”
“I knew when I gave Johnny the morphine that even though I was doing the right thing that I was dead wrong, that I could even end up on criminal charges if -- if he died --”
“Roy, stop it!”
“Well that’s when I knew I couldn’t hack it any more. There was too much pressure. Too much frustration. I knew I really shouldn’t do anything but you should have seen him. Heard him. He was in so much pain. He was begging me to help him. I knew what to do. I had the equipment and the medication just not the authority. So I said to hell with the law and went ahead and did it.”
“What else could you do?”
“There was nothing else he could do.”
They both looked up with a start. Dr. Brackett stood outside the screen door. Roy hadn’t closed the inside door.
“Dr. Brackett?” Joanne was surprised.
“Can I come in?” the doctor asked meekly.
“Of course.” Joanne went and opened the door. “Sit down. Could I get you something? A beer, soft drink, some coffee maybe?”
“Coffee sounds great,” he smiled.
“Excuse me, I’ll get it.” Joanne headed for the kitchen.
Roy looked a little sour when she left.
“I don’t blame you for being mad at me,” Brackett began somewhat humbly.
“Oh, I’m not mad at you --” Roy stated.
“Well, I would be in your place. I was way out of line before. I apologize. You did the right thing.”
“I did not -- not according to the law.”
“Yes you did. You acted under a doctor’s supervision.”
“He was a veterinarian.”
“And as such, he knew a lot more about that type of wound than I do. Left to my own devices I might not have done so well by Johnny. I can’t swear that I could have saved that foot but the way it was packed -- well I must admit, I’m in awe of the man’s work. There was absolutely no permanent damage. The bone was chipped but there seems little reason to doubt that the patient will have a full recovery. And besides, Roy, the law does not state that the doctor must be an MD.”
“I would have gone ahead and treated him without a doctor. I was going to just get him to Rampart fast but I knew deep down that I couldn’t move him the way he was.”
“It would almost surely have been fatal.” Brackett concurred. “Roy, If you had treated him without a doctor, I would have backed you all the way. You did everything right. I should have thought before I jumped all over you but I didn’t. Maybe my nose was out of joint that you had done so well on your own. There is a nasty rumor going around regarding doctor’s egos.”
“Well legally..” Roy was hesitant.
“Legality be damned. You saved his life.”
“But officially,” Roy argued.
“Officially your partner is claiming he treated himself.”
“What?! He was in no condition --”
“I know that and you know that but I guess Johnny figures he wouldn’t be in any trouble for administering morphine to himself considering he was delirious at the time.”
“He’s trying to keep me out of trouble.”
“He claims you were with the victims and he was on his way to help you when he stepping into the trap. He said he was in a lot of pain and he was afraid he’d go into shock before anyone found him. He had the drug box so he administered the drug to himself and all you did without a doctor’s supervision was emergency first aid by stopping the bleeding.”
“No one is going to believe that!”
“Especially since when he first came out of the anesthesia he told Dixie the truth as he knew it. He said he put you on the spot. Now that he’s had time to think about it he’s trying to take the blame himself. So he’s come up with this cock and bull story.”
“He’s worried about getting me into trouble.” Roy repeated.
“Yes. That’s why none of us had the heart to tell him you quit. He’d be sure to blame himself.”
“I don’t want him to do that.” Roy sighed.
“You know he would.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Roy, it’s frustrating not being able to help someone. It’s the most frustrating thing in the world. It’s doubly hard when it’s a friend. You just have to remember all the ones you do help.”
“Yeah,” Roy mused. He was beginning to feel very tired and drained. Maybe it was the beer.
“Besides,” Brackett played his trump card.” We think we might have this dead zone problem licked.”
“How?”
“By the use of microwave.” He went on to explain how the new equipment worked. Roy listened eagerly. This was one of their biggest communications problems. The doctor concluded with, “So, I’m asking you to reconsider. We need you, Roy. You’re too good to lose. Besides, think of Johnny. I know that was a low blow but I’m desperately fighting to keep one of my best paramedics.” He stood up. “Promise me you’ll think about it.”
“Okay. I’ll think about it.” Roy ceded.
“Good. Let me know what you decide. My office is always open. At the risk of sounding like a doctor, I suggest you take a nap. You look exhausted. Again. I apologize for my behavior.”
Roy walked him to the door. “Yeah well --” he was uncomfortable, “Thanks for stopping by -- and thank Dixie too,” he smiled. “I know she had a hand in it.”
“She really pinned my ears back,” Brackett admitted with a laugh. “She claims it’s the only way to shut my mouth and open my eyes.”
“Well, I’ll probably be up later to see Johnny.”
“I’ll let you be the one to tell him he was treated by a veterinarian. I don’t intend to incur both his anger, yours and Dixie’s all in the same day.”
***
Roy took Brackett’s advice and laid down for a while. His mind was in a whirl. The beer had made him sleepy and he drifted off. Unfortunately he had a nightmare about what had happened. He kept hearing Johnny begging for his help over and over. He woke up screaming.
Joanne rushed in. “What’s the matter?” She shook him into full wakefulness.
He trembled slightly. “Johnny, Johnny,” he gasped sleepily.
“Roy,” she turned on the light in the bedroom. It was nearly dark by now. “You’re all right. You’re home. Johnny’s all right too.”
“Oh. I was dreaming,” he shuddered. “I dreamt about what happened this afternoon. I keep seeing Johnny in pain. Hearing him over and over begging for help. Joanne, I can’t quit. Most guys would have gone by the book and he would have ended up ---” he shuddered again at that thought. “I don’t mind sticking my neck out for him. He’d do it for me.”
“Of course, he would,” she agreed. She was delighted he’d come to that decision. She knew he’d never be happy doing anything else.
“What time is it?”
“Almost 5:30.”
“Where are the kids?”
“At my mother’s. Remember?”
“Oh yeah. Hey, I got a great idea. Let’s go out to dinner, then go see Johnny then just come home -- seeing as we have the house to ourselves..”
“And what will we do to occupy our time?” she teased.
“We’ll think of something,” he laughed. “Go get ready to go out. I’d better go call the Cap.”
“Okay,” she smiled.
***
“Station 51. Captain Stanley speaking.”
“Cap, it’s Roy.”
“Roy. How are you feeling?” he asked with concern. “I just talked to John. He says he’s okay.”
“That’s great. We’re going to stop by and see him.”
“Look, Roy. I wanted to talk to you about --”
“I changed my mind,” Roy said simply “That is, if I can have my job back after walking out...”
“According to my records you went home with a sick headache,” the cap told him.
“Cap, I --”
“You don’t have to explain. I understand. We can talk about it later. You just take it easy for the rest of the night and I’ll see you Tuesday.”
“Thanks, Cap,” Roy breathed a sigh of relief.
“Don’t mention it, Pal.”
***
The Cap was whistling when he went into the kitchen where Chet was preparing a culinary masterpiece.
“Who was on the phone, Cap?” Chet asked.
“Roy.”
“How’s he doing?”
“A lot better I guess. He’s changed his mind about quitting.”
“Hey alright!! I guess maybe Brackett must know something about people after all!”
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