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Page Three Note: Music soundtrack is high quality and slow loading in some cases. Patience. :) |
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"Lean on me Kel, we'll get you over to a chair and then I'll tell you." "O-okay." he gasped, still heavily fatigued and ringing with sweat. Kel was careful at first not to put his full weight on Dixie. Dixie said, "Kel, I can handle you. Lean on me. I don't want you doing anything above the absolute minimum until I figure out what's off on you. You're as red as all get out. And hot." Dixie braced herself as Kel put his full weight on her. "I can tell you that.." he moaned. Slowly, she helped him over to the closest chair. Kel yelped when his head shot another stab of pain through his temples and eyes. He whisper-talked as he said, "Ooo, the mother of all migranes, Dix. Real bad this time." "You don't get those, Kel. This is not the first time? Now you're worrying me. You can't even sit up straight. I want you to get on the floor right now before you pass out. Something's definitely not right physically here, I agree." She was shocked even further when he didn't protest the idea. "I'll use a couch cushion to raise your head up. Come on." Dixie carefully helped Kel to the floor, onto his back. Natural reaction had Dixie loosening his tie so he could still breathe as he tried to get through his pain. Dixie spoke soothingly, "Hang on, Kel, I'm gonna get us help." In pain, Kel's voice cracked, "Don't go far. I've got something.. *ah* I've got ...s-something important I just gotta say to you.." A worried knot caught in Dixie's throat, "I'm not going anywhere, Kel, you've got my full attention now, d*mn it all. Just lie still." Thankful she had trousers on, Dixie kneeled at Kel's head as he closed his eyes. She reached up and grabbed the phone off of her desk. She had two quick phone calls to make. As she picked up the receiver to dial the first, she thought, ::I hope they're still here. I heard them on the base station scanner coming in with a mock patient, probably as an excuse to come in and see us all again for once.:: Dixie's hands shook slightly as she held the mouth piece and dialed. Thankfully, her call was answered in two rings. She almost cried when she heard, ##Treatment Five, Captain DeSoto speaking.## Dixie fought to stay professional, "Roy, it's Dixie. Listen! I need medical help in Admin Office 103. NOW!" Roy could tell something was seriously wrong. ##What exactly's going on?## "Kel just came in looking like something the cat dragged in. He says his head hurts and he almost fell over when I tried to get him to sit down. He's on the floor now for safety. Conscious and alert. I'm going to call Emergency next but I know they won't be as fast responding as--" The former full time paramedic kicked in in Roy. ##Dix, you know this as well as we do. Don't move him. Is his head up so his pressure's not aggravated?## "Yes." ##All right, we'll be there in two with our gear and trainees. Get a gurney and orderlies to your floor. We'll take care of the rest.## Roy said. "Okay." McCall sighed fast, and scared. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Roy hung up with Dixie. As Dixie called the emergency department for an M.D. stat upstairs, Roy turned to Johnny. "We have to go. All of us. We've an in-house emergency!" |
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Johnny heard the urgency in his former partner's voice and the paramedic of old in him, kicked in. "What do we need?" "Long board, collar,..." Roy began listing off. "..defib, EKG.. for non-trauma related head pain. Severe." One of their paramedic trainees added more.. "and a blanket definitely." "And the resuscitator and suction." said the other. "Good." said Roy. "You two are definitely coming with us. This is the real deal." One of the certification students asked, "Do you need even more hands?" "Nah, we're enough. A couple of orderlies are on the way." DeSoto replied. Johnny and Roy grabbed their equipment and bolted. Johnny asked, "Where?" "Dix's new office. The one we've heard about. In 103. It's Kel who's down." Johnny paled as he and Roy kicked into high gear. Years removed from the last time they had officially been partners, the duo still knew how to play an ace game. They led their stunned pair of paramedic students up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Behind them, the manikin lay abandoned on the table. ----------------------------------------------------------------- They arrived at Dixie's office even before the orderlies with the bed. Dixie looked up when she heard the stampede of feet. "He's a little worse. It's hard for him to talk now." Dixie turned back to Kel who was once again trying not to scream out in pain. "It's okay, Kel, help's here." The look in Kel's eyes asked, as he frowned, nonverbally.::Who is it?:: Johnny and Roy spoke up, solving the riddle. "Easy doc, remember us? We'll get you downstairs soon." Kel's short rapid breathing relaxed slightly when he heard the sound of old friends' voices. "Can't.. Don't know what's.. wrong fellas past working too much." he grunted. "Your pulse's bounding, doc. Do you have a history of high blood pressure?" asked Roy. The look on Kel's face told him no, with a little shock at DeSoto's first guess. Roy and Johnny opened all the equipment. Johnny barked, "Johnson, lock your hands on his head and DON'T move them." "Cerebral aneurysm?" whisper guessed the second of the students who was back turned away from Kel's view, at Gage. "No." Johnny said. "His pupils are equal. See? And dilated. Get a pressure from both arms and start him on some O2, high flow." |
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*************************************************** From: Erin James (etlhostej@voyagerliveaction.com) Subject: Old Familar Places? Sent: Wed 4/02/08 3:40 PM Kel asked through his oxygen mask, "Who?" Sharon answered, "Relax, Dr. Brackett, it's Sharon. Joe and Mike are on their way now." Roy said, "Get him undressed and covered, Johnny. Sharon, let's get another set of vitals." Carefully, Roy and Johnny prepped Kel, cutting away his shirt, underclothes and trousers, and replacing them with a loose, untied gown which they draped on backwards over him and the long board. Sharon got the requested vitals. "198/150, 120 bounding, 22 labored." Johnny turned to Dixie, "You okay, Dix?" Dixie's voice was emotionally shaky at best, "Yeah, Johnny... I'm okay." Johnny was about to call Dixie's bluff when Joe and Mike burst through the door. "What happened?" gruffed Mike, instantly moving to Kel's head. Joe and Mike were both stunned to see who the patient was. The fact that Johnny and Roy were also in the room, looking professionally dead pan and tight, added to their shock. Joe asked, "Did he black out?" Roy shook his head. "No. Pupils are equal." he said, handing over his note pad to Early. "There's some head pain though. Enough to keep him from talking to us a bit." Dixie answered with more, her voice now strictly professional. "Kel stopped by my office and was red as a cherry. He said he had a migraine, and he doesn't get them. When I went to sit him in the chair, he said it hurt his head too bad, so I lowered him to the floor. Once he was there, I called Roy and Johnny for backup because they are faster than our orderlies.They were here running a dummy code." Roy picked up, "We went up to Dixie's office with gear and some of the cadets from the academy. An NS line's TKO. O2 fifteen liters. These spinal precautions are for our initial suspicion of a potential for cerebral injury because..." Johnny anxiously finished, interrupting. "...Doc, we took his BP and we found he's in a hypertensive crisis. Might be a bad one." The seriousness of Johnny's words was not lost on anyone in the room. Joe barked, "Mike, draw blood work. I want electrolytes, BUN, and creatinine levels to evaluate for renal impairment. Also, a CBC and smear to exclude microangiopathic anemia." |
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Mike quickly set to work as he said, "You got it, Joe." Joe continued, "Sharon, get x-ray down here STAT. I want a full chest and skull series." Sharon grabbed the phone across the room as she said, "Yes, doctor." Joe looked over at Johnny, "Johnny, anchor a foley. We're gonna need a urinalysis." Kel was partially aware and groaned at Joe's order. Joe looked up sympathetically at his friend, "Sorry, Kel. Sedation's gotta wait until we know what we're dealing with." Kel mumbled, "I know. Better be ..quick..." he winced as his head throbbed. Johnny nodded, understanding. He got out a foley pack from the back cupboard and started the procedure deftly. Mike finished the blood work, "DeSoto, who's your fastest student?" Roy thought for less then a second and replied, "Firefighter Johnson." The student in question stepped up. Mike turned to him, "Take this to the lab. Our orders are rolled around the tube set with the list of what's needed on them. Tell them to get back immediately with results." Johnson quickly said, "Yes, sir." Armed with his samples, the student quietly sprinted out of the treatment room. Kel mumbled, "Dix, ..where..?" Dixie gently grasped Kel's hand. "Right here, I haven't gone anywhere. You just try to relax. I'm staying.." she growled quietly. Kel mumbled, "For the d-duration?" Dixie turned so she could look Kel straight in the eye as she squeezed his hand just a bit harder. "Now you listen here Kel Brackett, I am not going to leave your side unless Joe and Mike order me to. And even then I won't do it without a fight." Dixie's voice softened as she felt Kel relax. She leaned into his ear and whispered. "Don't you know I love you too much to go anywhere? Just lay back and rest. I'm right here, the guys are here, and you're in the best doctor hands possible." Kel settled down and whispered, "I lov--" he grimaced in pain when his head caused another spasm. Dixie smiled, "Shhh... I love you, too." The arrival of X-ray cut off of any more interaction between the ER's past chief physician and head nurse. Gage was also done inserting the foley. "Bladder's full. No blockage." he reported to Early, peeling off his gloves. "I've drained it into the bag." Joe nodded and looked at Mike to get his attention on new orders. "Mike, I need a dipstick UA to detect hematuria or proteinuria. And a microscopic to detect RBCs or RBC casts." Mike said, "You got it. I'll personally take a sterile to the lab while x-ray is here." Joe said, "Okay... Kel, how's your breathing feel?" he said, listening to Kel's lungs. Sweating, Brackett struggled to reply. "Not ...tight. It's...just reflexive. Pain's ten out of t--*ahh!*.." "All right. Easy." Early soothed. "We'll keep your head up. If you're really as clear of pulmonary edema as you sound, I'll give you some Procardia sublingually, ten milligrams to start." Kel gasped, panting in agreement, staying still. Morton turned to Sharon as she returned from using the in-house phone connecting to the lab. "Switch out that Saline for Ringer's in case this is a precursor TIA." "Right away, doctor." Walters acknowledged. Joe turned to the x-ray techs. "I want a chest x-ray and a full skull series STAT!" One of the x-ray techs quickly said, "Yes, sir." Dixie kissed Kel's hand as she said, "We have to step out for a few minutes, but as soon as this is over, we'll be back." Kel closed his eyes tightly as he gave in to pain once again. Roy left quickly in front of Dixie. Johnny was behind her as the group left the treatment room. They both knew Dixie was actually hiding her fear to keep Kel calm. |
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------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once kicked out of the treatment room, Morton split away fast for the lab. Joe turned to the others, "Let's go to the lounge and wait for X-ray." But truth be told, nobody wanted to move. However, they all knew they needed a minute to regroup emotionally. Reluctantly Dixie said, "Okay, Joe." as she glanced back nervously at the door closing behind them. One of the waiting paramedic students spoke up, "Captain Gage? I'll come get you as soon as X-ray is done, sir." said Nickels. "I'll stay out here beside the door." Johnny turned back to the student, "Thank you." He noted privately that the students were just as worried as the rest of them were. ::Maybe he can see that we're all old colleagues. We're certainly not reining in our personal feelings on the matter.:: he thought. Sharon was the last one into the lounge and she closed the door. |
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It was only then, surrounded by her closest friends, that Dixie let her emotions crack. She shook and the tears fell as Johnny and Roy held her shoulders and both hands as she sat down into a chair. Joe bit back his own fears and spoke calmly, "It's okay Dixie, he's going to turn out lucky. His EKG's stable, his CNS's still normal, and his lungs are cooperating by staying clear." Dixie trembled as she spoke, "It's not fair, I should have seen the signs. I've tried for years to get him to slow down." she sobbed. Johnny said, "Dix, we all did that. The good news is we caught this new development today and we're treating it fast. He's always been in the best hands possible. Especially for someone who has a tendency to hide symptoms." Joe added, "He'll get the top vascular specialist. I'll personally see to that." |
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Dixie slowly calmed down, "Th-thanks, guys." The group answered as one, "You're welcome." The room went quiet as everyone privately dealt with unspoken emotions silently. Just as Dixie had stopped shaking and had become fully calmed down, there was a knock at the door. Roy quickly spoke, "Come in..." The door opened and revealed Paramedic Student Nickels. "Cap, they're done. Doctor Morton and Cadet Johnson are back from the lab and are in the treatment room with Doctor Brackett." Roy spoke, "Thank you." Joe spoke up, "Let's go. I want to get Kel out of danger as soon as possible." Nickels held the door open for the group as they left the lounge. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Seconds later, the group was back in the treatment room. Morton looked up. "Films are clear. I gave him the oral. BP's dropping tactilely. Still no signs of myocardial ischemia or left ventricular hypertrophy on EKG. I've followed up with intravenous nitroprusside and labetalol because Kel's still not bradycardic. And yes, I read your orders to not let his BP drop beyond a twenty percent reduction." "Good. Last thing we need is organ perfusion problems on top of everything else." said Joe. "Sharon, turn his O2 to P.E.E.P. I want to normalize his respirations." Kel who had regained a bit of strength in his voice asked, "Who's back?" he panted, opening stress swollen eyes. Joe answered, "All of us, Kel." Johnson spoke, "Doctor Early, we have the lab blood results." Morton added, "And the urinalyses.." he said handing both computer printout slips he gathered up from the firefighter. Joe said, "Terrific. Let me see them." The requested lab reports were handed over. Joe continued, "Roy, get me another set of vitals. Make sure you take the BP in both arms." Roy took the BP cuff and stethoscope that Sharon offered him as he said, "Yep." While Roy took another set of vitals, Joe looked over Kel's test results and grimaced. The news was not unexpected, but still wasn't good. Joe's uncharacteristic quietness alerted Kel, even in the condition he was in, that something was far from right. Kel asked, "What's the damage, Joe? Don't sugar coat it." Joe replied, "You know I won't do that, Kel. Let me get your updated numbers triangulated, then I'll explain." Kel let out a frustrated sigh. He knew Joe was only doing his job, but he couldn't shake the feeling that the news was going to be ugly. "Okay." Joe looked up. Roy answered his unasked question, "BP in both arms is down, but still hypertensive at 160/120. Respirations are slightly labored at 30. Eyes are beginning to show unequal pupils now, but they're still reactive." "That's got to be post HTN." Early double checked Kel's eyes with his penlight. He found the presence of new retinal hemorrhages and some thick exudate with papilledema. "No gross bleeding though." He straightened up. "Kel, how's your pain now?" "An eight..." he groaned. Joe grimaced, the marginal vitals added to some already ugly news. He decided he couldn't put it off any longer. "Kel, do you want the good news first or the reason you're going to be staying in ICU for at least the rest of the day next?" Slightly agitated Kel replied, "Might as well start with the good, hopefully it involves getting me off this d*mn board." Everybody in the room bit back a chuckle. Joe said, "Actually, yes it does. Your head films are negative so we can get you off the board. There are no signs of an active CVA occurring. None at all. We'll double check your reflexes in a bit to confirm that once you've been freed off c-spine." Dixie spoke up, "Thank G*d." She thought ::Well, that's one point in his favor.:: Roy winked at Brackett and looked over at Johnny, "What do you say, Captain Junior? Wanna get the good doc off of the board here?" Johnny replied, "You know it." Johnson asked, "Need us?" Roy replied, "Yeah, grab the board as we roll him." Johnson nodded acquiescence. "Captain..." Once the trio was in position, Johnny undid the straps. "Ready on your count, partner." he sighed at Roy, taking Brackett's ribs and hips in a grip through the sheets. |
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Roy nodded. Without a word, they carefully rolled Kel onto his side on the head raised gurney. Once he was tipped up, Johnson removed the board and called out, "It's clear." Johnny and Roy rolled Kel back on to his back without disturbing his tubes and lines and lastly, they removed the cervical collar he had been wearing. Morton, who had quietly watched Brackett's EKG for adverse changes, commented, "Nothing stays the same, even after all these years, does it, boys?" Roy and Johnny sighed and they both answered at the same time, "No it doesn't, Doc." Kel piped up, "I'd never want it to. So I'm sick. Big hairy deal." Dixie added, "Shhh!" Kel tried to laugh as he focused on Joe. "All right, Joe, no mincemeat, d*mn it! What's the real damage?" Nobody was surprised by Kel's attitude. In fact everybody but Johnson, expected it. The young firefighter still looked startled. Joe took a deep breath and dove in head first. "Kel, bluntly put, you've had a massive hypertensive crisis of ..unknown.. etiology. We need to get this and its cause under control STAT or you're gonna be in even more serious trouble later on." "What are you thinking?" Brackett gasped, suddenly holding very still on the bed. "Could be anything, Kel. You know that as well as I. Renal parenchymal disease, tubulointerstitial nephritis, Cushing syndrome, tyramine-containing food, or even coarctation of the aorta." Early ticked off on his fingers. "...which a vascular specialist can determine, if it's there." Brackett sighed in worry. "Precisely." Early admitted. "We've a long road to go yet to find out how to manage your new condition." Morton jumped in. "But we can do the standard for now." Joe turned to Morton, "Lets get him started on further I.V. treatment. I want to get his BP down even more, but we can't do it fast." Morton nodded. "Okay, what do you want to use?" Joe replied, "Start a second IV. We'll infuse one with nitroglycerin and the other with intravenous furosemide. Mike, call upstairs to the ICU to alert them that we're coming." "Lasix's my ticket for the one day in ICU?" Kel guessed. "Yep." Early told him. "Sensible. I still might stroke out." Brackett admitted weakily. "Oh, Kel. Think positive." Dixie chided. "I can't do it for the both of us. I'm the worst basket case right now." "I was kidding, Dix." Brackett half groaned. Roy asked Early, "Doc, you want both in one arm?" Joe answered, "No, it'll be harder to monitor drips that way." Johnny had already pulled the drugs. He turned to Kel. "Doc, you have a preference where?" Kel replied, "Right hand. Not antecubital. Let the new guy start it." he said of Johnson. "I wanna see him work." Roy smiled and indulged him. Morton hung up the phone. "ICU's waiting for him." Joe said, "Good to hear." "Not good to hear." said Kel. "I know the nurses who're up there." he quipped unhappily. Dixie added, "Hush. I'll be one of them. Let's go." Brackett smiled slightly. "Yes, ma'am." |
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Johnny unfolded the IV pole on Kel's gurney and carefully hung both IVs after they had been injected and double checked for open flow rates. Brackett began to shiver and Dixie quickly covered him up in another shock sheet. "Easy. That's your lucky sign. Your hypertension's over if you're feeling all this cold air now." "Pain's almost gone." Brackett sighed as he slipped into sleep. Joe spoke quickly, "Let's go. Sharon, go catch the elevator and stop it." Sharon was already three-quarters of the way out of the door, "Yes, doctor." her voice floated back. Johnson held the door open as Kel was wheeled out between Roy and Johnny, in their grip. Joe and Mike followed closely behind with the portable crash cart and his chart. And as she promised, Dixie did not leave Kel's side. Kel slowly relaxed out of the picture. His tension was still there due to the seriousness of his condition, but it was mixed with relief that part of the problem had been found. His loss of consciousness was welcomed by his doctors and his paramedics who turned him onto his side for ease of airway care. ------------------------------------------------- Fifteen minutes later, Joe, Mike, Roy and Johnny left Dixie at Kel's bedside in the ICU. Joe turned to the former paramedic partners, "I know it's been years boys, but you still have it." Morton added, "Thanks for all the help with Kel. I'm sure he'll be thanking you, too, once he's feeling better. And soon." he promised. "Thanks, that reassurance means a lot to us." Roy and Johnny both said, "You're welcome, docs." Mike and Joe left to tend to Kel once more. |
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*************************************************** Subject:The Mortal Vein From: patti keiper (pattik1@hotmail.com) Sent: Wed 4/02/08 10:29 PM The doors closed on the critical care room where Dr. Brackett lay quietly sedated. DeSoto and Gage made their way down the busy corridor and automatically stopped at their usual drinking fountain to wet their mouths that had parched with worry for Kel. "Wow." said Johnny., leaning against the wall. "When did we get so old?" "How do you mean?" asked Roy, watching his past partner turned fire captain grooming his hair in the reflection of the fountain's splash chrome. He was subconsciously searching for gray strands there. "I...he.. The doc's changed so much." Johnny agonized, agape. Roy smiled gently. "We're all mortal, Johnny. We change a little bit every day. And as much as I know you really want it to, it never stops." Johnny studied his training ground dusted shoes and stuck his hands into his pockets. "I don't know why I hate change. I just do." he murmured, smiling crookedly. "Seeing Dr. Brackett in there, looking a whole lot like Joe Early's twin brother.." he said, circling a few fingers over his head over his wind disarrayed curls. "It almost threw me for a loop, man." Roy nodded in understanding. "...But he's a happy man, Roy." Gage sighed finally, incredulous. |
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"Oh? How can you tell?" DeSoto asked, angling his head. "He's got that secret of his going on." Johnny snorted. "I'm almost jealous...." Roy laughed outright when Johnny went on. "...I had a crush on Dixie once. Like you wouldn't believe. But I never let on." Gage continued. DeSoto grinned. "I knew." Johnny's face fell. "You did?" "Yep." said Roy. "It was your ears that gave you away. They flushed bright red as I recall for a whole month there whenever Dixie's voice came over the biophone..." he admitted, rubbing his nose in amusement. Gage made a face. "Don't worry about it." Roy said, throwing a hand out in dismissal. "That can still be your own little privately dead secret." Johnny relaxed. Roy re-hefted up the critical care gear box that he was still carrying. "Come on, Captain Junior. Let's go grab a bite to eat. I wanna see if the coconut pie's still as bad as I remember it." Together, the two headed away from Emergency for the cafeteria. "We can resupply and pick up our two scene oggling cadets when we're through." "Sounds good." said Johnny. "You're kidding me, right?" Roy said, his mouth flopping open. "I meant the plan, Captain Pally," Gage clarified. "..not the pie." he chuckled, as he picked up the oxygen apparatus that had been his to haul in. "I'm buying.. I'm finally rich enough for once." Roy cracked up and shook his head ruefully. |
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************************************************** From: patti keiper <pattik1@hotmail.com> Date: Sat Apr 12, 2008 12:32 am Subject: Here's To Hounds, Hats and Happy Times.. Roy and Johnny couldn't suppress a smile of nostalgia as they parked their borrowed red Battalion car in the side lot next to the gas pump of Station 51. Eagerly, Johnson and Nickels made for the back yard after spotting a few of their firefighter colleagues up on the tower, hanging hose. "Thanks, Captains, for taking us here for lunch. Now we can pick some brains about the upcoming paramedic exam." Johnson said for Nickles. Half heartedly, Captain Gage looked over their heads, trying to eyeball who still consisted of 51's crew where they were barely visible up over the roof as they worked, through the tall, breeze tossing torrey pine tree. "Yeah, sure. No problem. We have to meet up with Captain Stanley anyway for the latest headquarters meeting minutes. It was his turn to take notes for the month. And nice work at the hospital earlier. You guys kept perfect, cool heads. That's what's needed." "Like real pros.." Captain DeSoto added. The two beamed sheepishly. Johnny barely noticed the two young firemen as they took off down the driveway alongside the station. Roy began smiling. "Think he still remembers us?" he teased. "Hank? Yeah." Gage scoffed, amused. "How can he forget us? We were his very first paramedic team. And hopefully, not the worst one he's had so far to date." "No risk of that. We were good enough to get promoted, weren't we?" "I guess. But I still kinda wonder how we rank up, ya know?" Roy just sighed. "Okay, let's go ask him then. Just to appease that worry streak you've still got going on." "I'm not worrying. I'm just--" "...making mountains out of moleholes. As usual. Don't fret about it any. That's one of the personality traits that probably endears ya to your men the most." DeSoto said, punching the code combo that opened the outer door leading into Cap's office from the sidewalk. Hank wasn't at his desk. Gage flipped up his watch hand. "Oh. It's noon." he said, reading the time myopically. "He's probably pulling kitchen detail." "He's got us to thank for that." Roy chuckled. "Remember?" "Yeah, it was after we saved him from his quarry mine fall the week Chief McConnike died. I'll never forget the look on his face as he was repairing Melton's burned hat on the kitchen table.." Gage admitted. "I wonder what made him so thoughtful that day." "Only Hank knows for sure." Roy told him. "Come on, let's surprise the guys and set the table for everybody. If they're hanging hose, they haven't had the time to do it yet." |
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"You're right about that. But I still wonder what really happened back then that changed him so much that day. It was like Stanley had become a different man." As they walked through the firefighter empty vehicle bay, Johnny's memory expanded into another daydream of the past as he ran his hand along the sleek side of their old rescue squad, parked in its usual place... ******************************************** From : "Patti Keiper" <pattik1@hotmail.com> Subject : Recovering the Past.. Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2003 23:30:14 +0000 (From Episode Six, The Golden Horn) Hank Stanley adjusted his sling around his loose fitting nautical ivory carnigan and he sighed deeply, ...just before he rang the McConnike household doorbell. The white lacy curtain on the other side of the pane of glass shifted briefly, as the slight form of Gail McConnike checked to see who had come calling so early in the morning. She was still tired from days of crying since the funeral. But Gail instantly changed her outward demeanor when she saw who it was who'd come calling. "Hank.. you've been discharged from the hospital so soon?" Hank Stanley pulled the bundle of white roses with a gold enveloped sympathy card nestled inside of them, from behind his back. "I...sort of made a pest of myself, Gail. You see.. I... had to come here. Sort of knew I....needed to be here, now.. For you and your daughter." |
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Gail accepted the perfumey blooms, taking comfort in their heady, water coaxed aroma. "Thank you, Hank. Won't you come in?" Cap nodded self consciously and he only sat himself down on the flower patterned couch when she insisted that he do so. "So how are you holding up..?" he asked without preamble. "I...sort of feel compelled to ask you that. Stop me if I'm too personal here. I- I--I don't want to overstep my bounds." Gail's freckled face finally beamed inside a frame of silver white and black curls. "Now that's Melton rubbing off on you again. Right to the core, Hank Adams Stanley. And you know it. When you're in this house I expect you to be yourself and yourself only. Is that clear?" she smiled slightly. "Yes, maam.." Cap said, falling into a moment of remembering the Chief's last words spoken to him that day on the shoreline. He wasn't even sure that it really happened. Days later, as he lay healing in his hospital bed, he decided that how he had come to experience them didn't matter. What was important was realizing the profound effect that the Chief was still having on both their lives. Cap tentatively reached out and took Gail's hand in warm, close friendship. "Hard to break a habit engrained in my very fiber. Melton is still very much in my thoughts. There isn't a day that passes when I don't think of him." "Join the club.." Gail said gently. "Would you like a drink? Coffee? Tea?" "No, no thanks. I'm fine. I'm just about ready to stop by the stationhouse and let the guys know how I'm faring. They invited me to breakfast to celebrate my breaking out of Rampart." Gail laughed gently. "No doubt it's Marco's mom's tamales again.." she guessed. "How'd you know..?" "It's Wednesday. Melton always used to bother you men on A shift each month on surprise inspection just so he could have an excuse to eat those wonderful tamales with you." Cap's eyes smiled and he folded his good hand onto his lap. "So how are YOU doing? That broken arm hurt much?" Gail McConnike asked of Cap's sling, misguessing what it was for. "I just had some surgery to repair an artery that's all. I didn't break anything. It doesn't hurt much anymore. Brackett's a wonderful vascular surgeon. I-I...I am healing just fine. " Cap looked down and his eyes fell on the coffee table to the maroon photo album that lay there of Melton McConnike. It was opened, ironically to the days when Cap was a new firefighter under him. On the second page, there was an unexpected shot from the day Cap first became Captain of Station 51. From the first moments in fact, when he had fired off his first surprise dress inspection on his new crew at 51 just to stretch his newly appointed rank's muscle. It surprised Hank that the photo was even there. He hadn't remembered there even being a photographer present on that day. But then again, six years of similar inspections and years of runs made it difficult for recalling any great detail of his first day as "Cap". Hank remembered feeling far too nervous to remember much of anything. Seeing his own men, younger, and very sharp in their dress uniforms, gave Hank courage to return the question back at Gail. "So, how are you healing, Gail? It can't be easy for you to adjust at all. Again, stop me if I'm being too personal, please.." he insisted. Gail noticed the picture that Cap's eyes were focused on and she slowly drew it out of the album so Cap could take a better look at it. "Here.." she said, after a slight hesitation. "Then keep it. It's a gift.." "No, no, no.. I - I couldn't take this. It belonged to the Chief.. I..." "Hank. It's yours now. Melton frequently sent photographers out to the stations where his first old crew each promoted into in order to hand those images back out to them during a special occasion, or other moving moment such as.." and her voice broke off.. Hank finished her thought for her. "...such as during a fireman's funeral.." Gail smiled slightly. "Only with your station, Hank, he never ever got a chance to. You were too d*mned good at keeping all your men's rears intact.." she joked. "Melton loved that about you. One of the only captains to never lose a man." "Careful, Gail, you might jinx me.." |
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"Rubbish.. Superstition is for fools..." "And firehouse captains.." Hank quipped, waiting for Gail to gather herself to answer his question. "True.." she admitted. Then her eyes grew bright with a sadness that only hinted the depth of her grief that was still very much a part of her existence." I'm taking it one day at a time." she sighed. "Friends make my days bearable. They bring food, flowers.." she laughed, indicating the vase that Cap had brought to her. "But the nights are the worse. I can...almost.....feel him in bed beside me sometimes. " she confessed. Cap just nodded. But then he leaned forward, taking Gail's hand once more in comfort. "This is going to sound crazy, but I had a chance to ...feel ...him around me, too. I can't explain it, Gail. And I'm not even going to try. All that kept running through my mind while I lay there in deep shock on that shoreline, was how much the Chief loved you and how much he wanted you to be all right with his going..." Gail's eyes filled and she firmly placed her other hand on Hank's and squeezed. "That's a two way street, Hank. You see, a few days before the accident, Melton wanted me to call you about a gift he wanted to bring you in July for the next annual fireman's picnic.." "Oh?" "Wait right here.." And Gail swept out of the sunny Victorian parlor into the den Cap could just barely see. She returned with a box that seemed to be stuffed with shredded white tissue paper. Gail took the picture of Cap's first official inspection from his hand and replaced it with her gift. "What's this?" Gail's face grinned. "Open it and see. This is part two to go along with your debut captain's photo." Hank swallowed and opened the box. The white delicate tissue paper fell away to reveal an old fireman's dress hat. It had a charred brown edged hole crowning where its headpiece frame cloth had been burned away and the metal worked captain's rank front emblem was still holding its shape where the stretched cloth used to be. Captain Stanley gasped when he realized what it was.. "He saved this?" "Of course he did. It was the first time a junior man ever held him accountable for questionable behavior and Melton always said that it was an extremely valuable lesson he learned that day." her voice adopted a McConnike sounding timbre. "Never wound a newbie in an inspection line no matter how tempting a joke might be. Or it'll come back to bite you.." she concluded. "He saved that as a reminder of you. Your revenge taken by burning this had a profound effect on Melton. He never tired of watching your career grow or watching you develop the skills and integrity that a true captain of the line only rarely gains. He was so proud of you, Hank." Cap's eyes filled likewise and he gently touched an ashen edge of the hole in McConnike's old cap's hat. "I never knew.." "And I never knew how dedicated you were to him, until the day you had that courier come to my house with his white helmet for the funeral with a letter from both you and Ben. I was deeply touched to learn that both of you were adamantly refusing the department's move to promote one of you to the Chief's spot, in his honor.." "It's the least we could have done. The way they fill a gap's sometimes heartlessly swift." "Well, that helmet's back in service now. I called Ben Stone myself and asked him to accept the post. He's been training for it all this week while you were still in the hospital. I--I hope I made the right decision in my recommendation to the Department heads. I know how much you would miss your men if I had urged you to take it. You would have done it in a heartbeat out of loyalty to me and Melton, without regard for your own wants and desires." "Gail.. That's not true.." "In a pig's eye, Hank. Look, you're not even meeting ME in the eye so I know you're lying.." she smirked. "I've had the time I needed, Hank. It's ok for someone else to carry on the job Melton loved so much. I'm ready to see the Chief's spot pass on to the next man believe me. I wouldn't have sent the helmet back if I hadn't thought so." "You sure you didn't do that out of some quirky loyalty you might have to all of us captains that Chief McConnike has trained?" "Well, maybe just a little.." Gail admitted at last, smoothing down her paisley china blue apron. Hank smiled, gently putting away the ancient hat back into its box along with the photo Gail had given him. "Then loyalty must be an infection that knows no bounds for we are both afflicted with it most grieviously. And for that matter, so was Melton. For it is because of him that we're both now sitting here talking about the future." "A future that I thought I would never be able to face. Yet, now I am.." Gail said, her face dawning with sudden comprehension. "I'm very glad to hear that. To a degree that you couldn't even possibly imagine." Cap replied softly. He slowly caressed the hat box under his hand, marveling in the soothing feel its surface had on his skin and his soul. ---------------------------------------------------------- The sun was so far set that Mike Stoker had already taken in the station flags. Cap had not moved from his space at the kitchen table. In front of him was a bolt of white cotton cloth, fabric glue and a stretching frame. Roy, Johnny, Chet, Marco and Mike all watched with fascination as Cap completed his restoration of the famous burned McConnikee hat. No one was brave enough to ask how Cap had come by it again after so many years. But finally, Chet came out with it. |
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"So why'd ya do it?" The room fell silent, even the sounds of four pairs of lungs suddenly stopping their breathing in shock at Kelly's bold bravado. "Huh?" Hank grunted as he carefully painted gold leafing over the captain's rank crest on the newly restored hat's metal working, distracted. Then the question finally sank in. "Oh,.. uh, well. Let me set this brush down first. Let's see. The reason why.. Hmmmmm." "Cap.." Gage complained. "Oh, ok. ok. This is how it was. Well, you know how you and Kelly got into that game one year with the waterbombs in the whole Phantom fiasco?" "Yeah.." Kelly said, swallowing nervously at finally being on the verge of getting the answer every man in the department wanted to know about Hank Stanley. "Well, the Chief and I got into it in the same way.. Only we used firecrackers instead of water.." Roy started to snicker.. "Y-You planted a firecracker in his hat?" Cap grinned guiltily, blowing softly on his careful painting, so the 24 carat gold guilding would dry with a rich shine. "Yeah, won that oneupmanship AND the running bet that HQ heads had riding on us. Believe me, it was worth every hour I spent cleaning the latrine with a toothbrush." "So that's why you never give yourself that chore to do. You hate it so much because it reminds you of this burned hat.." Kelly said, putting two and two together. "Not anymore. In fact, as soon as I get my arm healed and get back on the duty rosters, I'll pull the can detail first day, like it SHOULD rotate through. There'll be no more of my pulling rank around here inside the station. Things are gonna be fair and square from now on." "Hey hey hey..." John and the guys celebrated. "Does that mean when I pull a prank on Gage in the future, that you won't be threatening me with a hose tower detail?" "That standing order penalty doesn't count, Kelly. The tower's outside the station. I said I'd be fair about what goes on in HERE." "Oh.." said the gang, severely disappointed. Upon hearing that, Chet, Roy and Johnny fell into age old grimaces of frustration, in three familiar poses of see no, hear no, speak no evil. Cap never saw their dismay. He was too busy repairing the symbol that used to be a source of pain that was now his ultimate destiny. ------------------------------------------------- The next day, a tall figure in a dress suit fireman's outfit left his car inside the rural Burbank cemetery whose address a new widow had shared with him. It was approaching sunset. Cap Stanley walked respectfully to a recently groomed grave and his understanding eyes fell on the name carved there on the rosy marble. He traced the name's lettering with a finger from his good hand and briefly rested on the still sun warmed stone, relishing the heat radiating there. "Chief.. I'm sorry I wasn't there when you were laid to rest here that day. But I sure know that you were there for me that afternoon in the quarry. I can never repay the debt I owe you for making me fight to live." He sighed and smiled and then he said. "I hope this makes up for it at least a little bit." Cap brought out the chief's old cap's hat, now appearing like new, untarnished and crisp. ::It's been restored with the love only two firefighters can share.:: Stanley wondered as he held it close. Hank hung it on the flower holder attached to the stone marker and touched it one final time. As an afterthought, Cap left behind another gift for the man still looming so large in his life; his own double bugle dress rank pin of captain. The dimming sun glinted once on the insignia and it sparkled like the purest gold into his eyes as his fingers set it on the top of McConnike's snow white and black dress hat. "Here's to that big alarm call in the sky, Chief. Hope you're there commanding the scene first at every one of them. And if you meet up with any other of the boys who didn't make it, tell them I'm thinking of them, too..... This is Station 51, KMG 365. Over and out." |
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