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It was an hour later, a shower reddened doubled scrubbed set of paramedics met Dixie at her desk in the ER each carrying a small bundle wrapped in abdominal dressings. They paused as they all considered the reason why all three were wearing surgical garb. Then Dixie said, "What are those? "she asked cautiously. "If they're fossilized skulls. I don't wanna see them." Gage laughed. "These are just our badges and name tags, Dix. It's gonna take a whole lotta turpentine to clean these up. Cap's stood the whole station down for the rest of the afternoon, while we...detar ourselves and the vehicles." Roy sighed. "Well, there's a bit of a miracle working here. Charlie's not gonna see the mess we made of them." Johnny rolled his eyes in dread. "Oh, but you better believe he'll eventually find out about it through the department grapevine. Then there will be H*ll to pay for sure.." Dixie smiled craftily from her paperwork she was filling out to add a new set of stethoscopes, BP cuffs and laryngoscopes for the squad's vitals kit to go along with the airways and IV's they had used. "Sort of like the H*ll I have to pay for trashing the quarantine treatment room on a hospital inspection day?" Johnny's face fell in instant sympathy. "Oh, tell me that wasn't today.." "It was today.." Dixie parroted in weariness as she massaged her forehead. "Ooo," Johnny sucked through his teeth. "Well, next time the bunch of us falls into the LaBrea Tar Pits, I'll be sure to ask Brackett to reroute us to Mercy General instead of Rampart." "You're all heart.." Dixie said, without looking up. She made a face of disgust when she found tar, under one of her fingernails. "I hate to think what's rotted in this stuff." she said, hastily wiping the ooze away from her nail, not caring if her finger nail polish came away with it. Roy answered. "I think there was a museum display in there above us that said the pits contained millions of animals.. all from the Ice Age.." "Terrific.. and all I want is a can of java from the Modern one.." she grumbled. Johnny and Roy began to smile when they saw Vince, come to watch the very valuable sabre tooth's skull, arrive from down the hall with a laden brown paper bag in one arm. They glanced at each other in satisfaction and didn't say anything as the husky dark skinned officer harrumphed in his throat to get Dixie's attention from her paperwork. When she looked up, she noticed the bag in front of her. "What's this?" "Kelly Brackett asked me to pick this up for the main ER desk. Said something about needing it to control a possible caffeine withdrawal outbreak among the hospital staffers here.." he said straight faced. Dixie's hands shot out and she ripped away the paper.. "Coffee?!! Ohmyg*d.. I'll be right back.." and Dixie danced away from the desk eagerly heading for the coffee lounge. "I--I.. thank you.. uh, thank Kel.. Uh.. oh, Vince? Don't go..Stay right there and I'll come back with mugs enough for all of you..!" McCall almost shouldered another staffer onto his butt when he kiddingly tried to take the rare covetted can from her grasp as he walked by. |
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Roy and Johnny walked into the station washroom where Chet was picking his wet curly hair carefully into shape while looking in the big mirror. Gage made a show of walking up to him and sniffing. "Hmm. Hey Chet, is that Ode de Swamp I'm smelling? It's very becoming.. " "Very funny, Gage.. Can't say that you and your smirking partner here smell any better..We had to scrub out the engine cab almost as much as you guys did the squad's. Cap's already tee'd that it's gonna take two hours for the three of us to get new turnout gear and helmets sent to us from headquarters." he broke off when Johnny pulled out a small slate colored object from his uniform pocket. "What's that?" "A fossilized Dire Wolf tooth. The museum project head coordinator was so grateful we rescued his best scientist from Pit 91, that he sent a box of fossils to the station just now for us to divide amongst ourselves." "Oh, then you won't mind sharing.." and Kelly snatched for the fang. Gage whipped it away before Chet's grab got there. "Ah, ah ah.. Go get your own.. This is for my tribal prayer sack. My aunt always used to say a token earned doing a heroic deed is very powerful medicine...." then he blinked. "Better hurry.. Marco was shovelling up the rest of the wolf teeth when I left the kitchen." "What?! Why didn't ya tell me sooner, pal? Thanks a lot.." and Chet Kelly ran out of the room. Roy chuckled and leaned over to shut off the water Chet had left running in the sink. "You're cruel, you know that Johnny." he grinned. "You could have told him that ALL the fossils were the more common Dire Wolf parts." "Yeah, but where's the fun for us in that? This way we got to watch him rabbit outta here." he said with a sideways grin. "It'll dry his hair a little faster." Roy rolled his eyes. "Come on, Junior. You can point out the skulls and parts you think my kids will like the best." "All right, Pally. I know good totems when I see them. Maybe now, our luck with the crazy day we've been suffering will change for the better." |
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*********************************************** From: "Fran" TaleaOne@yahoo.com and a little bird. Subject : Three Dogs and a Cat.. Date : May 16th, 2003 20:29:07 CST Cap had picked up three wolves teeth just to look at them in horrified fascination. "You guys are nuts , you know that? I wouldn't want a million years old piece of dental tissue anywhere near me." "Come on, Cap. These are rare glimpses into history, man. They aren't bones. They're mineral deposits that bone left behind..Anybody who's anybody knows that." Kelly said, eyeballing two of the longest fossil fangs he could find out of the museum box. "These will go great with my shark's teeth. The chicks'll really dig em.." Lopez just rolled his eyes. Stoker didn't even look up from the sports page of his newspaper. The two of them left Cap to squirm on Kelly's questionably deep analysis. Hank said. "I know these aren't real. They just have to look real. And for your reference, my squeamishness isn't coming from me. It's my wife rubbing off." "Blame it on the wife. Sure.. We all know your hidden phobias.. Inspection days.. Doctors...Sore hands that are unexplained.." Chet remarked. Cap didn't dignify Kelly's jab with a comment. He just tossed the wolves teeth back into the middle of the table and he got up to wash his hands thoroughly with soap. "Don't you think you're going a little bit over board with the fossil phobia..?" Kelly said, relentlessly pursuing Cap. Hank deflected masterfully. "An hour ago you were eating fossils according to Johnny and Roy. And I can't imagine all that ancient goo tasted very good." he said scrubbing his fingers with some steel wool. "You got that right." Kelly said. "I think I'll be smelling that tar stuff in my moustache for at least a week. But getting back onto the subject. These beauties you're passing up don't stink.." he said, gesturing to the fossils the gang had lined up by size on the table top. Mike Stoker sensed a change in the feel of the station. He immediately pegged it when his glance towards the couch showed that Henry wasn't snoring there. "Hey fellas..Did anyone see Henry come back from outside yet?" Johnny Gage and Roy DeSoto came into the kitchen to see the guys rubbernecking around and searching for Henry. "What's up? Somebody drop one of those things?" he asked pointing to the ancient fossil teeth. "We lost a dog part all right. Henry.." Lopez said. "Oh, yeah?" Johnny said going for the coffee pot. Roy leaned against the counter, sipping the cup his partner handed him without saying anything. Cap wandered over to the kitchen window and cracked a blind. "He's still out there. Same as he was when we got that last call. He's a statue, still waiting for something." Roy rubbed his chin. "I wonder what he's up to?" "Oh, about a foot and a half.." Kelly quipped. Johnny made a face at Chet FOR Roy. "Kelly's too rich for me with all that scientific analysis and one liners. I'm gonna go take a shower. I can still smell tar in my hair. " Roy said and he left for the locker room. "Make it quick.. It's almost dinner time. You know what happens then. " Marco groaned. "Shhh, You'll jinx us.." Stoker hissed. |
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"Gee Stoker. Haven't you noticed? We've been jinxed with the mother of all crazy days. How can things get any worse?" Kelly said. Hank just rubbed his face, knowing that Murphy's law was about to strike again. Five minutes later over sautee-ing mushrooms and steak, the tones went off. The gang gulped down their coffee, snatched a roll or two and jogged for the squad and engine while the address came over the speakers. Johnny nearly choked on his when the house and street number were announced. "Cap... I don't believe this. That's Roy's house.." "What?" Hank said. "You've got to kidding.. I thought Joanne and the kids were at her mother's." "They are.." Johnny said, scrambling and slipping on the floor in his haste to take the driver's seat of the squad. Johnny's eyes shot to the locker room doorway where he knew Roy would be dashing through, still dripping. "What should we do?" "Don't tell him.." Cap said as he slammed his engine door shut as he belted in. "But he's gonna know when he sees I'm driving.." Cap snapped. "Then I suggest you break it to him gently.. Let's move.." Hank said as he watched Roy run in front of the engine and squad heading for the driver's door. Roy skidded to a halt when he saw Johnny there already. He didn't understand the look on Gage's face as he piled into the passenger seat. He opened his mouth when Johnny said. "I'll explain it on the way. Just get in the squad.." The garage door began to open in front of them as Johnny peeled rubber out onto the street. He was silent as he headed left onto the avenue. Roy asked. "Johnny? What's going on?" trying to sound unworried and casual. Gage didn't answer and pretended to be concentrating on the road in front of them. Roy's hand snaked out and snatched the piece of paper he knew would be in Johnny's pocket with the address of the call they were responding to. Gage tried to snatch it back and the squad almost swerved out of the lane and slowed to the point of making Mike hit the brakes a bit to avoid plowing into the squad's rear bumper. Cap's voice burst over the private band, truck to truck. ##Front and center up there. Sharpen up. Minds on the job, guys.## he snapped. Gage picked up the squad mic and apologetically replied, "Sorry, Stoker." and he hung it up again. Roy's face was just radiating out of his shock when he realized that their call was to his own house. "A fire?! I don't get it? Nobody's home.." "We'll know everything once we get there, Roy. Just stay calm." Johnny said, completely not that state himself. "I think I should be asking that same question of you. " Roy said agitatedly about Johnny's driving. "I shoulda known something like this was up the second I saw your butt in the driver's seat." "Lash at me all you like.. I don't care. This isn't gonna be fun. For any of us." Johnny whined. He turned the corner that led to the side street that crossed Roy's street and soon, they all saw the problem. The gang bailed out of the engine and rescue squad and Cap began to issue hose layout instructions and Stoker took the engine down the road to peel hose off the hose bed while Marco took a length to wrap around a hydrant to secure it for the pull. "I don't believe it..That's a brand new roof." Roy agonized. "Was at any rate." Chet remarked drolly as he began to release the hydrant valve with his wrench to screw on a hose connector. Roy's mouth was still hanging open at the sight of his own house on fire when his eyes fell on the sight of a utilities van parked and open a couple of houses down the street. "Oh, no.. Don't tell me.. The water company's here for a burst pipe." A rippling curse erupted out of Chet when he finally got the hydrant cap off the hydrant and only its metal ping hit the pavement without the sound of gushing water. "Dry hydrant, Cap!" he shouted. "What?!" said Johnny, Roy and Cap in triplicate. "Impossible!" "Look at this and tell me it's impossible.." Chet said defensively. Cap sighed in long suffering and got on his HT to the engine. "Stoker. Loop her back around. We gotta use the engine tanks. No water in the hydrants. Looks like the local utilities has them shut off. I'm also calling for immediate back up. Johnny, go in there with Lopez and start ventilating the second story." "What? You're gonna start ripping out my ceilings? Cap, the fire's not that bad yet.." Roy complained. "New roofing paper and shingles huh? Best kind of tinder.." Cap said. He returned to the engine cab and told L.A. exactly what they had and to turn off the power and the gas service to Roy's side of the street. Roy turned his eyes back onto the sight of his house burning. "Oh, man.. When I find out how this got started.." |
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Vince Howard pulled up in the squad car and dragged out an errant nine year old boy that Roy recognized. DeSoto hissed. "Butch, don't tell me. A tennis ball can launcher and lighter fluid.." "What's that?" Cap asked. "A thing the kids are doing nowdays. Homemade rockets which shoot tennis balls off from their cans like a cannon ball in a cannon." Roy said aiming a glare at the defiant neighborhood boy. Vince nodded his head. "It's all over his clothes and the dispatcher said that it was this little guy who called it in. Probably because he thought it would get him off easy." Roy sighed. "But how are we gonna get off easy? Meanwhile, my roof's burning through to the rest of the house." "Take it easy, Roy. The other tanker station's only two minutes from here." Hank reassured his more than agitated paramedic. "No.." DeSoto said, thinking of something else as he panicked. "Yes.." Cap and Johnny reassured him. As yet, Marco and Johnny hadn't moved from the street. They were too worried about Roy. "Wait!" Roy said, trying to come up with a solution to their burning roof with no water problem. "What?" Cap and Johnny and Vince asked. "There's a pond next door. Can we rig a water pump to it to extend the gallons we got?" Roy asked Cap. "I don't know. Stoker knows what the engine can or can't do that way." "How about a helicopter water drop?" Johnny asked seriously. "In the city?!" Cap and Roy both exclaimed incredulously. "I'm trying to help us out here!" Johnny said in defiance, removing his helmet and running fingers through his hair. Roy said. "I know that.. I'm trying, too, but I'm freaking out so bad I can't think straight." "Why did you think Cap had me drive?" Gage said. "Hey, Gage. You insisted on driving. "Cap interjected. "Point fingers where the blame really is." he said with a half grin, the first since the crazy call went out. Just then, a part of the roof caved in, dragging all of their attentions back to the urgent matter at hand. "Cap..." Roy whined. Cap lifted his HT. "Station 51 to Station 127. What's your ETA? Our fire may be burning through to the second story." Roy quailed. "Oh, no.. The second story? That's all our bedrooms. All those toys! All those antiques we had in the attic! Gone!" Roy said, running fingers through his thinning hair. "Don't worry, Roy.." Lopez said, jogging by with another hose stretched out to run to Truck 127 when she got there. "That's what homeowner's insurance is for." "I don't wanna have to sue the fire department for negligence to cover all this.." Roy panicked again. "You can sue the fire department?" Kelly asked. "No.." Cap said. "Yes." Stoker said. "Wait!" "What?!" said all of them. "My house is still burning here.." Roy said. "We know that.." "Well, let's get cracking.." DeSoto snapped. Roy started to go towards the house to begin the ventilating it when Cap stopped him. "You're sitting this one out. You're in no shape to handle any of this.." "What do you mean I'm not in any shape to handle this?" DeSoto said, pulling free of Cap's grip on his jacket. "It's my house." "Exactly.." Cap said. "Stay here.. Tell Truck 127 what's going on when they get here. Let's go you three. Looks like no SCBA's are needed yet." and he and Johnny and Marco dashed into the house to see what they could do with fire hooks and axes to slow the progress of the growing roof fire to keep it from getting into the walls. Cap trusted Johnny to know the rooms and where the stairwell was to the upper floor. He and Marco followed Gage, taking the stairs two at a time to where the smoke was billowing through the ceiling. It had not yet broken through from the attic to the rooms below. |
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A thick curtain of smoke hung near the floor however and it brought a thought to Johnny's mind. "Oh, no. Cap. What kinda pets does Roy's kids have?" "A cat. I think." Cap said. "A cat?" "Yeah." Marco replied. "I don't know cats very well. What would they do in a fire?" Johnny asked. "They'd hide.." Cap said. "Ours hides during thunderstorms." "Smoke's real thick. Roy's kids'll be real upset if we let this roof fire kill em with smoke." Gage said with a pained expression. "What do you expect me to do?" Cap said. "The house comes first." "Cap, I can look for him.." Marco said. "You and Johnny can stay in here and see what you can pull down to slow the fire up there.." "Sounds like a plan. Keep a lifeline on ya.." Cap said. "What's his name?" Marco shouted over the noise Johnny was making as he pulled down a part of the ceiling that felt hot and ready to catch fire. "What's who's name?" Cap asked. "The cat's." "Calico.." "Calico, like the horse from the kid books?" "Yeah.." Marco set off through the knee deep smoke with his fire hook. "I'll tug if I need ya.." said Lopez, shouting behind him as he hurried down the hall. He left Johnny and Cap where they were and he set off to the first room at the end of the long passageway. It was a girl's room. Marco felt the door there carefully before he opened it. He also swept a foot through the thick smoke hanging on the floor searching for a litter box to give him a hint where the cat might favor as a hiding place. He didn't feel the door was anything other than room temp so Marco opened it. "Calico? Here boy. You in here?" Lopez rushed into the room, tipping over the kid's desk and desk chair, and the kid's bed, looking for the cat. "Calico?" He stumbled over a Barbie's Airplane Stewardess Playset. He kicked it aside. He ripped the curtains down to make more evening sunlight cast into the room. "Hey..Gato. It's time to leave.." On a thought, Marco deemed it safe enough to open wide the bedroom window where he was to provide a way out should Roy's kid's cat be still in the little girl's room he had found. Marco turned around and went for a second door. Roy's master bedroom. Lopez couldn't help but smile when his attempt to flip the bed in his search revealed that the piece of furniture he held was actually a water bed. ::Joanne's wish no doubt.:: He only blinked once when he ripped the sheets and pillows off of it looking for Calico, when a silky fire engine red teddy drifted down from off his gloves. Marco gulped in ultimate embarrassment and he stuttered. "C-Calico. Come on, kitty.. Get out here. Daddy's outside.." Lopez again cracked a window open safely and left. The last room on the right side was Chris's room. Marco again felt the door frame for heat and opened it carefully, hugging the wall. He entered and immediately heard a rustling that couldn't be explained by anything else other than a burrowing cat. "Where are you?" Lopez said moving towards the sound. The sound stopped and the smoke rose higher up Marco's legs. It wasn't yet hot enough for the smoke to rise to the ceiling. Marco got on his HT. "HT 51 to Engine 51." he hailed, knowing that Cap would answer from down the hall. ##Go ahead.## "Found him. He's in the third room on the right. The boy's room. Somewhere.." ##Johnny'll be right there. He's following your rope.## Marco saw Gage appear almost instantly since the paramedic knew the layout of Roy's house very well. "Where is he? This smoke's getting kinda thick by this carpetting." "Over here somewhere. Thought I heard some rustling.." Both Gage and Lopez dug around the murky layer of smoke hanging above the floor and they tossed aside.. a base ball bat, a jumping ball, a tinker toy tower, and a toy fire engine that blasted its airhorn in their faces when it took to the air. Johnny and Marco smirked at that one, then turned to the business at hand. "Calico?" Their gloves swept the floor beneath where the pile of kid's toys had been and hit a body. "Found him." Gage said, lifting up the limp cat. Marco and Johnny looked up at a knocking on their window. It was a man from Truck 127 on a ladder leading up to them. "And there's Calico's ticket outta this smoke." Lopez said, cradling the unconscious cat in his arms. Johnny opened the bedroom window and handed Calico out to the masked fireman on the ladder. "You two, ok in there? I saw the flying toys. Thought you might need a hand." said the man from County. |
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"We're fine. Take this cat. He belongs to one of our firefighter's kids." "He breathing?" "Don't know." Johnny handed out the limp Calico to the ladder man and briefly saw him set his airmask over Calico's face before the billowing blue curtains shut. Gage and Lopez reversed their direction and got out of the house, knowing that Cap was now coordinating what Engine 51 and Truck 127 could do with their two water supplies to combat the roof fire. Cap decided things looked good. The fire had stayed in the attic. Down on the street, Roy saw a familiar station wagon drive up. "Joanne! " he shouted and he left the curbside to soften the blow for her and the kids of seeing their house smoking and receiving two firehoses worth of water into the attic story. Joanne and Roy's kids met in a tight knot of hugs as they caught up on events and soon his daughter piped up. "Daddy, did Calico get out?" Roy honestly didn't know. And he kicked himself for not thinking of him sooner. Right then, a ladder man from Truck 127 walked up and said, "I believe he belongs to you, little miss.." he said with a grin. "Calico..." Roy's daughter sobbed and she gathered up the smoky, now awake cat into her arms and started crying. Roy's paternal and paramedic instincts both kicked in. "There. Looks like he's all right. Why don't you let daddy check him out. Looks like Uncle Johnny's already got some 02 and a plastic sheet already set out for him.." Roy said to his relieved family to calm them down even more. He helped his daughter carry Calico over to the squad for his smoke inhalation treatment. Cap nodded with satisfaction as he watched Johnny examine and give Calico some 02 to help him recover faster from his near suffocation. He tapped Roy on the shoulder. "Looks good.." "No, it still looks bad.." Roy grinned about the house. Cap grinned, too. "The fire's completely out. We're just moving in some ppv's to clear out the smoke in there. The stuff never got downstairs at all so there's very light smoke damage. And only the attic rafters and the roof burned. We were lucky this time.." "Yeah. I guess so. I had those attic timbers treated last fall with fire retardant." "Good thing.." Cap nodded. "Take your time here. I called us out with Station 127 until the cleanup's complete. And I made sure those hose guys are keeping the water damage to a minimum.." "Appreciate it, Cap." "No problem.. Do you need a place for you, Joanne and the kids to stay tonight? I've heard Johnny's place is a little too small." "Nah, I think I'll take em to a hotel. A Howard Johnson's with a swimming pool. We might as well turn this whole thing into a mini vacation." "Sounds like a plan." Cap said. "Your cat ok?" "Yeah, Johnny's just ventilating him a bit before Joanne takes him to the vet's for a checkup." "ok, pal. Sorry this crazy day had to turn out like this, but if your roof had to catch fire, this is the best outcome. I'll be right back for your scene info on what you know of this Butch kid and his fondness for incendiaries." Roy's face fell into annoyance and anger for only two seconds before the sight of his daughter and Chris hugging Calico wiped it away. --------------------------------------------------------- |
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All the guys, including Roy had just cleaned up in the bathrooms when Chet noticed something drifting in the air behind him while he teased his curly hair into shape with his pick. It was a white feather of all things. "What th-?" he exclaimed. "Hey guys, get in here. Either we got another pigeon in the roof top ventilation fan or somebody here's suddenly moulting flight feathers.." |
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