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A Time To Every Purpose Under Heaven

Part 2

An Emergency Story by

Mypiot
 

Links to Part 1. 2. 3.

Chapter Ten

 

It was three o’clock in the afternoon, when Roy finally pulled up in front of Johnny’s house.

 

It had been a real fight to talk Johnny into agreeing to get in to Roy’s vehicle. The younger man had been bound and determined to drive himself home in his Rover. But Roy knew that if he had let that happen, then he was running the very real risk of Johnny deciding to stay out at his ranch and not return to the DeSoto home to rest.

 

Both men knew that that had been the unspoken power struggle that they had fought out between the two of them; and yet neither had voiced it out loud. The argument over whether or not Johnny would ride with Roy, or drive himself, had only been a thinly disguised front for the real issue at hand. This time Roy had won out and Johnny had, albeit reluctantly, acquiesced. Roy knew it was largely down to the fact that he and Joanne had double-teamed the young man.

 

Even though Johnny had been released from Rampart, he had been cautioned to rest for the next week, which was not something he was good at, unless you had him hogtied. It just wasn’t in his nature to be still. But Roy was not about to let Johnny get away with anything. Even now, Johnny’s complexion was still a bit ashen. It was more than obvious that his body was still playing catch up, after his brush with death a couple of days earlier.

 

The power struggle over whether or not Johnny would drive himself out to his ranch was made worse because of what had happened earlier at the DeSoto home. Johnny had gone out back to sit on the lounge chair on Roy’s deck after lunch while he waited for Roy and Jo to get the kids ready for the trip out to his ranch. But by the time they had gotten everyone organized and ready to go, Johnny had fallen asleep outside on the chair.

 

 

Wanting to make sure his body got all the rest it needed to properly recover, Roy had left him to his nap, and had waited until he woke up before heading out to the ranch. Johnny had been embarrassed over falling asleep on them and making the kids wait; and that was largely the impetus for his wanting to drive himself out to his ranch, and both Johnny and Roy knew it.

 

Roy knew he was going to have tread carefully for the rest of the afternoon, making sure he gave Johnny his freedom, and yet reining him in by not allowing him to do too much and over exerting himself just yet.

 

It was a delicate balance, to assuage Johnny’s pride, but make sure he didn’t over extend himself. He certainly didn’t want to ruffle any more feathers than would be necessary to insure Johnny followed Brackett’s edict. And although Johnny had chatted happily with Chris and Jenny on the drive out to the ranch, every time Johnny glanced over in Roy’s direction, his face still bore the last vestiges of a mutinous pout.

 

But all traces of Johnny’s displeasure disappeared as he soon as he stepped out of the car and he caught sight of Koda, running across the pasture towards his master. Before Roy could even warn Johnny not to overdo it, his over eager charge had the station wagon door open, had jumped out, and taken off in a dead tear over to the corral fence to greet his horse.

 

Yep, Roy thought to himself…it was a good thing Johnny was coming back home with him, otherwise he wouldn’t last an hour before he would be out riding around on that horse of his.

 

Sighing heavily Roy looked over at his two children and gave a frustrated shake of his head, “Come on guys, let’s go over there before he decides to take off on that horse across the pasture. If he gets on Koda we won’t see him until after nightfall.”

 

By the time they caught up to Johnny, he was perched on the top rail of the fence with his face buried in Koda’s mane whispering something in his native Lakota into the paint’s ear.

 

 If Roy hadn’t known better, he would have sworn that he’d seen Koda nod his head in agreement with whatever it was Johnny had just whispered into the gelding’s ear.

 

Roy gave Johnny a few more moments to visit with Koda before he spoke. “Hey Junior, why don’t you go see if Bob is close by, after all we did promise Chris and Jen a ride.”

 

Johnny nodded without looking back. “He’s here Roy, that’s his Jeep parked over there by the barn. But we don’t need to bother him, I’ll just get the tack and get Koda saddled up and then the kids can each have a small ride. Then we can go check on Raven.”

 

“Johnny, you promised total rest remember? I’ll get the saddle and lift the kids, and you can lead Koda around the corral a few times. Then we can check out the other horses alright?”

 

Johnny sighed and shook his head… “Going a bit over board with this rest thing don’t ya think? But fine, I’m not gonna fight you over it… you get the gear. Besides I wanna run up to the house and get Koda and Pandora a couple of apples anyway.”

 

Johnny had just finished his statement when he heard voice from behind call out.

 

 “Hey there John, how are ya doing? Feeling better?”

 

“Hey, Bob. Yeah I’m fine now. I just wanted to come out and check on my kids,” he said as he looked down at Chris and Jenny and winked.

 

Roy quickly stepped up and looked pointedly at Johnny with a scowl. “What Johnny meant to say, is that he is doing better, but he’s been given strict orders by the doctor to rest and not to be working around the ranch or tearing around all over creation on his “kids.” 

 

Johnny looked over at Bob and rolled his eyes. Then he turned back to face Roy. “I thought you were supposed to be getting the tack. Chris…Jen…why don’t you go show your dad where everything is….”

 

As soon as Roy left for the barn, Johnny turned back to Bob.

 

“Thanks again for keeping an eye on things for me out here, I had hoped to be back at the beginning of the week, but I was wondering if maybe you wouldn’t mind keeping and eye on things for another week…I’ll pay you for it. It’s just I’m going to be flying up to Vermont for 5 days on Monday.” Bob held up his hands… “Not a chance John, I ‘m not taking any money from you. We’ll take care of things. Ever since Dan came back from the war, I have a lot more free time on my hands and he and his wife Karen like coming over here. I think they find living with Jean and I a bit stifling. Coming here and looking after your place while you’re on shift or sick is actually a nice chance for them to spend some time away from the house.”

 

“They’ve actually started looking for a small ranch of their own, but I have to say Jean and I are sure going to miss having them around if they do.”

 

“So what’s up in Vermont, if you don’t mind my asking?”

 

 

Johnny shifted slightly on his feet… “Well, maybe my new home.”

 

While Roy and the kids were up getting the riding gear out of the barn, Johnny explained to Bob everything that had been happening over the past few days.

 

“I’m sorry John, I know how much you loved being a fire fighter…and I sure would miss you if you left Los Angeles. What would you do with the horses and the ranch…would you sell it, lock stock and barrel?”

 

Johnny shook his head… “Well if it comes to that, I will definitely look to buy another ranch up in Vermont and take the livestock with me. But the ranch here will have to be sold first. But that is all conjecture for the moment. I don’t even know for sure what’s going to happen. If I end up staying in L.A. then I will be expanding this ranch and getting it really up and running. But I have to tell you, if this deal up in Vermont is as good as it sounds, I think there’s a better than average chance we’ll be leaving L.A.”

 

Bob just nodded his head thoughtfully and seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. He didn’t notice Roy come back over to stand behind Johnny, and so he jumped slightly when Roy began to speak.

 

“Okay Junior, I think we got brought everything down and set it by the corral fence…since you’re resting junior, maybe Bob would be kind enough to saddle up Koda for the kids.”

 

“Yeah, sure Roy,” Bob said shaking himself out of his reverie. “I’d be glad to. In fact I’ll take them around the pasture for a while, so you and John can go and check out the rest of the livestock and then visit for a while.”

 

And with those parting words Bob sauntered over to collect the kids and get them ready for an hour or so of riding on Koda.

 

By the time Johnny had assured himself his horses and his ranch were fine, and the kids had had their ride, it was almost five thirty. Before he left, Johnny and the kids had to say goodbye to Bob and each of the 4 adult horses. After he had given each horse another apple treat, he walked over to his little yearling filly’s stall.

 

He bent over and quietly stroked her ebony mane. “akewancinyankin kte Kangee,” he said softly, as he ran his hand over her smooth sleek neck.

 

Jenny leaned over from where she stood between Roy and Johnny.

 

“What did you just say to her Uncle Johnny?” the little girl asked.

 

“Oh, I was just kind of saying goodbye” he smiled down at the child beside him.

 

“What do you mean kind of?” asked Chris.

 

“Well, guys, in my native language we don’t have a word for goodbye.” He paused and looked up at Roy and noticed that he was listening as intently to the answer as his two children were.

 

Johnny smiled again. “What I said, literally translated means … until I see you, Kangee.”

 

But Uncle Johnny, her name is Raven,” Jenny exclaimed.

 

Johnny looked up at Roy and the two children. “Yes, well her official name on her registration certificate is Kangee. You see sweetie, in my language, Kangee is how you say Raven.”

 

Johnny straightened up, and he and the small group slowly made their way out of the barn.

 

It was just after six when Roy and company finally pulled out of Johnny’s laneway and headed back into the city.

 

As much as he hated to acknowledge it, by the time Johnny got out of the car at the DeSoto home he was exhausted.

 

Roy looked over and he could clearly see the fatigue on Johnny’s face and he could tell that he was scraping the bottom of the barrel as far as his energy level was concerned.

“As soon as supper is over Junior, I think you should probably spend the rest of the evening laying in bed…Jo brought the books you have been reading, so it might not be a bad idea if you just laid around and read for the rest of the day.”

 

Johnny looked over and smiled tiredly at Roy. “I’m fine Roy, stop worrying. I’m just a little tired.”

 

“You’re not fine Johnny, you’re done in. If you want to be in any condition to go to Vermont on Monday, you are going to have to be rested up. In fact I think you should just plan on lying around and resting all day tomorrow too.”

 

johnnybedAs much as he hated to admit it, he knew Roy was right. He didn’t want to head up to Vermont if he wasn’t looking his best. He just sighed in resignation and nodded his head. “Yeah, I guess you’re probably right Roy. I don’t want to go up there looking like death warmed over.” He said.

 

True to his word, Johnny spent the rest of the weekend, lying around either reading or napping. By the time Monday morning rolled around he was feeling back to normal again.

 

Joanne had them all up and moving by six in the morning.

 

“Come on guys let’s get moving,” Joanne called out. “Roy, can you and Johnny handle breakfast while I get the kids ready? Elaine is going to be here to get their things at seven and I want to double check and make sure they aren’t forgetting anything…then I have to recheck our bags.”

 

Roy grabbed a still half asleep Johnny by his shirtsleeve and dragged him off in the direction of the kitchen to start cooking the bacon and eggs.

 

By the time they had the breakfast ready, Elaine had arrived and was upstairs helping Joanne double check everyone’s luggage. Johnny was already finished his second cup of coffee and was now wide awake and full of nervous energy. He could barely sit still, and was more than ready to get going on their trip to Vermont.

 

“Would you sit down and relax Junior, you’re making me tired just watching you fidget. I’m seriously considering cutting you off of caffeine until we get to Vermont.”

 

Johnny was about to answer back, when Elaine walked into the kitchen.

 

“Hey Roy…Johnny.” She said and she walked over and hugged each man in turn. “Something sure smells good in here this morning. Jo’s upstairs making sure the kids brush their teeth, and then she’ll be down.” She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table in the seat recently vacated by Johnny.

 

She giggled when she saw Roy reach over and snatch Johnny’s cup from his hands, as he was about to grab the coffee pot to refill his own cup. “No more for you Junior or we’ll be peeling you off of the ceiling. You’re already bouncing all over the kitchen as it is.”

 

Johnny gave Roy and exasperated sigh and reached over and grabbed a glass out of the cupboard and filled it with milk. He carried it over to the table. “It’s nice of you to watch the kids while we’re in Vermont Elaine.” Johnny said, as he pulled out the chair next to Elaine and sat down.

 

 You know I’m really going to miss you guys if you all move up to Vermont. I’m not sure if I want to wish you well or hope that you stay in L.A.” she replied.

 

“Yes, that’s one of the down sides to all of this. All the friends and family we’ll be leaving behind.” Roy stated sadly.

 

Elaine looked over and winked at Johnny. “Yeah, Roy, I’ll bet you’ll be heartbroken to be all the way over, on the other side of the continent, away from our mother.”

 

 

Johnny started to choke on his mouthful of milk when he couldn’t stop himself from laughing at Elaine’s comment.

 

Roy came over to make sure Johnny was all right. “Do you mind not making my partner choke to death before we even get out the door Elaine?” Roy said, trying to change the topic.

 

Johnny quickly recovered, and looked up at Roy. “I’m fine Roy, but you have to admit, Elaine got you on that one.”  He looked over conspiratorially at Elaine and winked back. “Of course if you feel that bad, you could always buy a house with a granny flat so she could come and move in with you.” He sniggered.

 

 Roy grabbed Johnny’s empty glass and glared at the two of them. “Oh you two think you’re really funny this morning don’t you? And you,” Roy said pointing at Elaine. “Don’t encourage him or give him any ideas.”

 

He then turned to face Johnny. “And,” he said pointing his finger warningly in Johnny’s chest. “If you want to live with me in anything approaching peace, you won’t even suggest it while Joanne is around.”

 

Johnny held his hands up in surrender, but the smirk on his face belied the gesture. “Okay, okay Roy, I’m only kidding. After all I don’t like her any more than you do.”

 

 

Chapter Eleven

 

Joe and Dixie were waiting in the office of the small terminal at the private airfield when Roy, Jo and Johnny arrived shortly before nine.

 

 

As promised George Danforth’s private jet arrived right on schedule. The group of five stood on the edge of the tarmac with their luggage, while they waited for the plane to come to a stop.

 

Suddenly Roy felt a small shiver run down his spine as he briefly experienced a moment of déjà vu. It was almost exactly one year ago he had waited at this same private airfield for the FBI jet that had brought Johnny and the two Mills children back to Los Angeles from their horrific nightmare. He quickly shook off the feeling and brought himself back to the present moment. The jet had now come to a complete stop and their small group sat waiting expectantly for someone to exit.

 

After a few moments had passed, the door of the private jet opened and two men descended down the stairs towards them.

 

Joe Early immediately stepped forward with his hand extended. “Byron, I didn’t expect to see you here. What a wonderful surprise.” He exclaimed happily.

 

“Well, Joe. We’re really hoping you guys go for this, and so I decided come myself and talk the whole idea up and hopefully get you on board with us. It will also give me a chance to answer any of your questions on the trip up. I’m on duty for the rest of the week and won’t be able to devote as much time as I would like to your visit. George couldn’t make it down here today, but he wanted to make sure that someone was on board to meet you, so I offered to come.”

 

Byron was quickly introduced to everyone in the group, and then he turned and pointed to the man next to him. ‘This is Simon Noakes…he’s our pilot on today’s journey.”

 

Once again greetings were exchanged. Simon reached down and picked up some of their luggage.

 

“How about we get your gear stowed on board and then we can go get some lunch.”

 

Everyone looked around in confusion. Finally Roy spoke up.

 

“Um fellas, it’s only nine in the morning. Don’t you mean breakfast?”

 

Byron laughed and shrugged his shoulders. “Well it’s past noon in Vermont and my body says it’s time for lunch.”

 

The small group headed back to the terminal and got into their respective vehicles. Byron and Simon crawled into the back seat of Joe’s car, while Dixie moved over to sit into the back seat of the DeSoto car with Joanne. They drove down the freeway for about five minutes until they came to a small mom and pop’s restaurant called The Dragonfly café.

 

Knowing that lunch would be long over with by the time they landed in Vermont, the L.A. contingent of travellers opted to have some apple pie and a cup of coffee to hold them over on their flight to Vermont.

 

Johnny, who lived by the credo “always be prepared”, grabbed a bottle of juice, a can of coke, a cinnamon danish and a blueberry bagel to go. After he had gathered up the bag that contained his purchases he turned to face the others. “Just a little nosh for the journey,” he grinned.

 

At first the others began to tease him, but it wasn’t long before they decided that since it was going to be a six hour flight, that maybe Johnny had the right idea after all, and soon everyone of the group was leaving the café with a bag of goodies in hand for their trip.

 

They were all back on board by ten o’clock and had settled themselves in for the trip home. 

Johnny privately marveled at the interior of the private jet…so this is how the other half lives.  This is way better than the jet the FBI had…and it hadn’t been too shabby either, thought Johnny. He was just happy to enjoy the luxury of the deep leather seats and lots of leg room that enabled him to stretch his long legs out fully, without being cramped or having his knees jammed up against the back of someone else’s seat.  Hell, it even had a full length sofa.

 

They had just sat down when Simon came over to them. “Why don’t you let me set your food back in the galley and I’ll put your drinks in the bar fridge for you.” He collected their food and drinks and disappeared from sight.

 

Yes sir, Johnny, you could learn to get used to traveling like this in a big hurry. He mused with a huge grin on his face.

In very short order they were in the air and the discussion quickly turned toward the business at hand. For the first half hour they looked at pictures of the partially constructed clinic and its blue prints and design images.

 

“How do their Emergency services work up there, what exactly would be our role?” Johnny asked.

Byron sat forward in his seat and looked Roy and Johnny in the eye. “Okay here’s the deal boys; we have spent the entire weekend hard at it, hammering out our proposition. First off right now there only exists a fire department, which is a very good one and a police department. At present there is no Emergency paramedic service outside of Burlington. So what you would be is the front line definitive medical care working out of this new clinic. If you accept the job, you would be working under me when you are involved with the Burlington hospital. But for most of the time, Joe here would be your boss and you will be running out of the clinic. You would have your own separate building on the same lot as the clinic. It will have a scaled down version of what you have in Los Angeles. There will be a four bed dorm, kitchen, office and bay for your vehicle. The vehicle you will have will be a combination ambulance and squad all rolled into one, so you would no longer have to wait for an ambulance…you would be able to not only treat but immediately transport as well.

 

“There will be four men on duty at all times. There will be you two, a life flight helicopter pilot and an ambulance attendant who will act as a third set of hands or as an extra driver so you can both devote your time to the patient or patients while you transport. Your vehicle can hold up to three patients at one time as well as both of you. You will be involved in many various kinds of rescues which will free up the fire department so they can strictly deal with fires or assist you will water rescues. Both you and fire department will have a zodiac water craft, as part of your duties will entail cold water rescues. You will also be required to handle emergency patient transfers both to Burlington and parts of upstate New York. You will also be in charge of all search and rescue and vehicle extraction. Again when necessary you will be working in conjunction with the fire department if it is needed. This includes MVA’s and any medical emergencies that may crop up. You’ll be providing an elite 24 hour emergency rescue and ambulance service. You will not be called out to fire scenes unless there is a victim involved. Even then it is up to the firefighters to bring the patient out to you. You will not enter any burning building at any time.

 

“Your jurisdiction will include those already mentioned to you as well as the towns of Swanton, Highgate and any other towns and villages in the area when it is requested by the proper authorities. There of course will also be the duties of public education in the areas of emergency first aid, CPR and accident prevention to local organizations and schools.

 

“Now, here is what you will get. First and foremost both of you will be promoted to the rank of Captain along with the appropriate raise in pay. Your salary will be in line with what a current Captain’s salary in Los Angeles is. Not to mention one hell of a great retirement and benefit package. Up here you can be promoted and still be a paramedic. However as Captains, the paper work would be your responsibility and you will also be in charge of hiring two other paramedic teams to work under you.

 

“You will be set up in the same manner as you have now. There would be the two of you, who would be running the A shift. Then there would be a B and C shift as well all working in rotation.  Since you will hold the rank of Captain and will be the ones interacting with the other teams on an almost daily basis, we will let you choose the other two paramedic teams from our list of qualified applicants. That way you can pick people who you think will gel together into a tight unit.

“Again Joe Early would be the senior medical advisor and the one you will answer to, but you will also be working under another doctor here at the clinic, a wonderful young doctor by the name of Nicholas Sutherland. He’s very dedicated and gets along with everyone. He will be working 3 days a week out of the clinic, as will Joe, with both Joe and Nick trading off the Sunday shift week and week about. We have three volunteer dispatchers who will work out of the clinic working in rotation. We also have two life flight pilots available who will also work in rotation.

 

“George hopes to have it up and fully running by the middle of August. But would like it if you could possibly come up here in early July in order to get the other paramedic teams set up before we are ready to open, and help set up your headquarters. Should you decide to accept the job offer that is, you would also act as consultants on the equipment lists and radio systems that will be installed.

 

“If you do decide to come up, that time frame gives you time to wrap up loose ends in Los Angeles plus allow Roy and Joanne here time to get the kids settled in before they have to start school. And we have some really great schools in the area as well. In fact the elementary system is well known for some of its outstanding programs. But you’ll have lots of time to look around and explore things like schools, and real estate while you’re here.”

 

Johnny sat up straight when Byron mentioned real estate. “What about farmland or ranches. Is there much in the way of that up here?”

 

Byron laughed. “Johnny, Burlington is the largest city in the entire state of Vermont and it has less than forty thousand people living there. Swanton is located in Franklin County and it is quite a bit smaller…even if you add both the town and the village of Swanton together you are only looking at about five to six thousand people.”

 

It is very rural, green and laid back and exceptionally clean. It is just on the other side of the Canadian border. There are lots of areas for you to have your horse ranch if that’s what you want. I know for a fact there are a couple of properties on the market right now. One is fifty acres and the other is seventy-five, the bigger one is on the shore of Lake Champlain and the other is on the edge of the Missisquoi River. Not to mention the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge and the Maquam Waterfowl area are right there at Swanton as well. In fact there is a lot of farming in Franklin County.

Johnny eyes lit up the more he heard and he was almost bouncing in his seat. Joanne leaned over to Roy and gently poked him in the ribs.

 

“Johnny’s in love with it already and he hasn’t even seen it yet.” She giggled.

 

The rest of the flight up was spent between Dixie, Joe and Byron going over the specs for the clinic and what their jobs would involve and what their salaries would be.

 

Before they knew it, the plane was touching down at the Burlington airport.

 

It was past seven o’clock in the evening when they landed, and Byron immediately drove them along I-89 toward Swanton.

 

It was a forty-minute drive through beautiful countryside. The more the group seen of it, the more they fell in love with the scenery.

 

 

Before too long they drove through a set of massive wrought iron gates that were electronically controlled. They traveled up a picturesque lane and parked outside the sprawling estate of George Wellington Danforth III. The first thing Johnny noticed as he stepped out of their car, was how fresh and clean the air smelt…he took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. “Well I’ll tell you one thing already. My lungs definitely approve of the air quality here,” he said grinning over at Roy.

 

They were totally awestruck by the sheer opulence that surrounded them, as they slowly made their way to the front door where they were met by the butler who ushered them inside to the drawing room.

 

A short time later, a tall thin man in his mid fifties with salt and pepper hair greeted them. He had a pleasant face with a natural smile.

 

“Well, you finally made it I see. Good, good. I trust you had a comfortable journey? I hope Byron has been able to bring you up to speed on everything?” He walked over and warmly shook their hands.

 

“You must be starving; I’ve had my man Oliver set up a dining table out on the terrace. I thought since you’ve been inside all day and it is such a wonderfully warm evening, that it would be nice to dine outdoors. You have your choice of Roast Beef or Pheasant, or both if you feel so inclined…please just make yourselves at home.”

 

The small group immediately felt at ease and were soon chatting away over dinner about what George and Byron’s’ plans for the community of Swanton were.

 

“You know John, Roy. I’ve done my homework and I must admit your records impress the hell out of me…you both are exactly what we’re looking for. And what a bonus to have someone with Joe Early’s reputation on board, and I also did some checking up on you Ms. McCall…you have a stellar reputation yourself. I would consider it an honor to have you all running my clinic for me. I promise I will make anything at my disposal available to you in the way of equipment and financial aid. Whatever it takes to see this project through to fruition, I’m willing to do.”

 

“I also promise you now, that should you accept, I will personally cover the cost of moving you here. And even provide temporary housing if you have not found anything to your liking by the time you come up here. Your pay and benefit package will kick in the moment you arrive here in Swanton, regardless of whether or not the clinic is up and running yet.”

 

George looked over at Johnny, “I understand John that you are into horse ranching…you’ll have to make sure you spend some time out in my stables…there are a couple of really promising properties around here you might be interested in.”

 

By the time they fell into bed, the atmosphere in the group was one of optimism and high spirits…if the rest of their visit went as well as today had gone; there was little doubt as to whether or not they would be moving to Vermont.

 

The week they spent in Vermont flew by and before they even realized it, it was Thursday night and they were preparing to leave for Los Angeles the following afternoon.

 

Johnny sat on the bottom of Roy and Joanne’s bed in one of the Danforth guest rooms, talking excitedly. Both Joanne and Johnny had spent one entire day pouring over real estate and both had been amazed at how much cheaper the prices were in Vermont.

 

“You know for the difference in prices Roy, if we get the fair market value for our house in LA and put it towards a home here, we could get something much larger with little or maybe even no mortgage, once you take into consideration the difference in prices,” said Joanne.

Johnny was grinning like a Cheshire cat. “I know Joanne. In fact, I talked to George last night and told him I had my eye on that seventy five acre spread down by the lake. It has a three-bedroom ranch house plus a small 2 bedroom guesthouse down by the lake … not to mention a state of the art stable set up. George says he knows the seller personally and will guarantee I’ll get it for a good price. He’ll even have my horses brought up here.”

 

Roy was more than happy himself. He had been more than pleased with everything he had seen so far. He sat down beside Johnny and looked up at Joanne. “So does this mean we’re going to do this? It’s time to decide.”

 

Johnny and Joanne looked at each other and then back at Roy. “YES” they said in unison.

 

Roy’s face broke out into a huge grin. “Good because I vote yes too.”

 

Later that night the five of them all met up in Joe’s room. It didn’t take any more than five minutes to discover that both Dixie and Joe had decided that this was exactly the change they were looking for as well.”

 

The next morning they all gathered in the Danforth library to thank their host one final time. They also told him that they had decided to accept the job.

 

George Danforth was delighted and there was congratulatory backslaps and hand shakes all round. It was decided that they would officially move up to Swanton Vermont permanently on the fifth of July.

 

Roy, Johnny, Dixie and Joe all wanted to have one last Fourth of July picnic with their friends in Los Angeles before they left California for good.

 

They shook hands with George and Byron one final time, with promises to keep in touch, and then boarded the plane back home to Los Angeles.

 

Now they were going to have to break the news to their friends and in Joanne’s case…to her family. But that notwithstanding…the mood on the way back to California was upbeat and everyone on board was extremely excited and happy with the turn of events.

 

 

Chapter Twelve

 

 

By the time they touched down in Los Angeles it was ten o’clock on the Friday night. Joe and Dixie had traveled to the terminal together in Joe’s car, and it was Joe that took Dixie home again. The two of them wanted to get together and decide when to go to the hospital administration and give their notice. They would also need to tell Kel as well. He would be leaving the end of August, but instead of Kelly Brackett leaving Joe and Dixie behind, Joe and Dix would now be leaving two months before Kel. They needed to decide when to officially leave Rampart.

 

They were going to need some time to sell their condos and take care of loose ends in Los Angeles. They wanted time to be able to pack and arrange to find new homes in Vermont. All these tasks would be easier if they didn’t have to worry about fitting the trips back up to Vermont to hunt for homes around their shifts at Rampart.

 

Johnny, who had been staying with Roy and Joanne, before they had gone to Vermont, went back to their home with them. It was decided he would stay the night and finally head back to his ranch for good after breakfast the next morning. They had made arrangements to meet up again Monday morning so they could start to plan out the next three and half months.

 

Joanne would drive over to her sister Elaine’s house in the morning to pick up the children, and break the news to her family that it was now official, the DeSoto’s were moving to Vermont the first week of July.

 

Roy still had a week of his vacation time left and he and Johnny had planned to go first thing Monday morning and list their homes with a realtor. Then Roy would have to sit down and decide how much longer he would stay with the department. He knew he would leave by the end of May at least. He and Joanne had decided that they wanted at least a month to pack and get things organized for the move, and they would need to make at least one more trip up to Vermont as soon as their home sold, so they could find themselves a place to live before they were scheduled to move up permanently.

 

Johnny was officially “retired” now and so he had more time. Thankfully Roy knew he could count on Johnny to step in and help out if it was needed.

 

Roy’s biggest issue now, was how long would he stay on with the department? He really had no desire to work for three months with a temporary partner, but he couldn’t afford to go that long without a paycheck either.

 

But for the next twenty four hours they would just sit back and rest up after their whirlwind week of activities in Vermont.

  

Monday morning dawned sunny and hotter than usual for late March. Joanne and Roy were sitting at the breakfast table finishing up their second cup of coffee.

 

“What time is Johnny coming over?” asked Joanne

 

Roy stood up and took his empty cup over and set it in the sink. “I phoned him last night and we decided he would be here at nine. He said he had some big news that he couldn’t wait to tell us.”

 

“Big news eh? I wonder what that could be.” Joanne queried.

 

“When it comes to Johnny, that could mean almost anything, from finding a twenty dollar bill in the pocket of an old jacket, to winning the lottery,” Roy joked.

 

Roy had no sooner got the statement out of his mouth, than Johnny’s Land Rover pulled into their drive.

 

The driver’s side door flew open and Johnny literally leaped out onto the driveway.

 

Joanne and Roy looked at each other and grinned.

“I’m guessing Johnny’s big news is closer to him winning the lottery than finding an errant twenty, judging by how excited he seems to be,” Roy said wryly.

 

By the time Johnny reached the top step of the porch, Roy and Joanne had opened the door and stepped out to greet him.

 

“Calm down there Junior or you’re going to burst a blood vessel.” Roy joked.  “I take it the news you have to tell us, is big stuff.”

 

Johnny stopped on the top step and stared at them with one of his huge Gage grins plastered on his face.

 

 

“Oh, I guess if you consider the fact that I have already sold my ranch and bought a new one in Vermont big news…then yeah…it’s big stuff.” Johnny said smugly as he pushed past them and continued on into the house, leaving them standing outside with their mouths gaping open in shock over his revelation.

 

“WHAT!” they exclaimed in unison.

 

They hurried in after Johnny, who was now in their kitchen helping himself to a cup of coffee.

 

“Yep…it’s pretty well a done deal,” Johnny said as he lifted up his mug and took a drink.

 

“How in hell did you manage that one Junior?” Roy asked in disbelief.

 

Johnny walked over and sat down at the kitchen table and settled in to tell his story.

 

“Last weekend when we took Chris and Jenny out to ride and I was checking on the horses, I told Bob why we were heading up to Vermont. I also told him if things worked out that I would be selling the ranch.” Johnny paused and took another sip of coffee before he continued.

 

“You remember me telling you that Bob’s son Dan and his wife Karen had moved in with them last year?”

 

Roy nodded yes, but Joanne seemed confused. Johnny looked over at her and explained.

 

“When Bob’s son Dan came home from the war two years ago, he found it hard to adjust back into life in New York City. That’s where he had been living before he was shipped over to Nam. To make a long story short, he and his wife Karen sold their home in Manhattan and moved out here to help Bob on the ranch and give Dan a chance to ease back into the swing of things… Anyway, for the last few months, Dan has been making noises about taking the money he has in savings from the sale of his home and buying himself his own ranch somewhere close by. I guess when I told Bob I may be selling up he went back and told Dan.

 

“It seems while I was up in Vermont, Bob and Dan had a real estate broker come out and value my place and give them an idea of what they would have to pay to buy a ranch of my size. Then they went to the bank to see how hard it was going to be for Dan and Karen to get a mortgage. Dan wants to ranch full time and Karen is a schoolteacher. Since they have the cash in savings from the sale of the home in New York, they had no problem with arranging finances.

 

“When I returned home on Saturday and told them it was definite that I’d be moving to Vermont, and that I’d be listing the house today… they stepped up with the information they had gathered and gave me a quote on what I would probably get for my place and they made me an offer right there on the spot…and get this Roy, because real estate goes for a lot more here than it does in Vermont, their offer not only covers what the buyer in Vermont was asking for his spread, but I’d actually have a couple thousand extra.

 

“Bob had the broker come out to my place Saturday afternoon and we drew up the papers. I phoned George Danforth and asked him to get me the number of the broker in charge of the property I was interested in up there so I could make an offer.

 

“I got a call last night and George out did himself. He not only got a hold of the broker for the seller up there. He actually acted as my representative. In the end, I not only got the property, but I got it for three thousand less than what they were asking for. George is having his lawyer take care of the paper work on that end for me and he’ll arrange to get it all finalized by the end of the week. He has some business in San Diego this weekend and so he and the lawyer are going to meet with me and Bob and our broker here, and we’ll get everything all signed and official.” Johnny’s eyes were dancing with excitement over his news.

 

Roy and Joanne just sat there stunned. It was Roy who finally found his voice first and spoke.  “Wow, Junior, that’s fantastic news…I always said you were the luckiest guy I knew…once again the Gage luck has prevailed.”

 

Johnny was beaming… “Not to mention the fact that it takes some of the pressure off of you. Even if you haven’t found someplace you like by the time July rolls around, my new place is more than big enough for all of us, until you find something you’re really happy with.”

 

Even though Johnny had by and large escaped having to deal with the process of having to list and sell his house, he still made sure he was there for Roy and Joanne. He made good on his promise to help out, in any way he could.

 

Roy and Joanne’s real estate broker had just left the DeSoto home, leaving the two of them with a list of ideas on how to ensure they got the best price for their home. It was mostly little things like painting the eaves and the front porch with a fresh coat of paint and a few other minor household and cosmetic repairs. Roy and Joanne looked over the list and frowned slightly…there was a fair amount of work to be done, and the For Sale sign was going to be put up on the front lawn in three days time.

 

Johnny reached over and took the list out of Joanne’s hands. Glancing over it, he shrugged his shoulders and took charge.

 

“Lucky for you I’m good at fixing things.” Johnny stated.

 

“ Joanne why don’t you and Roy go get the paint and some brushes and rollers right now, and I’ll get to work sanding the rough spots down on those eaves, so we can get right to painting tomorrow… Oh and pick up a new showerhead while you’re at it okay? When you get back, we can start in on this other stuff...I’ll start by fixing the porch light and Roy you can get to work on replacing the showerhead in the guest bathroom. And Joanne, maybe you could start by getting the carpets steam cleaned. If we keep at it, we will be more than ready for them in three days.”

 

Roy and Jo had to concede, Johnny was a very skilled handyman, and just hearing him take control of the to-do list, made the string of tasks not only seem less daunting, but attainable as well. Looking over the list one more time and nodding in agreement, they set off for the paint store while Johnny headed out to the garage for the extension ladder and the sanding supplies.

When the real estate broker showed up three days later with the For Sale sign, he was thrilled with the changes that had been made to the DeSoto home. With the For Sale sign now firmly in place in front of the DeSoto home, there was nothing for them to do but wait and hope that their home would sell quickly.

 

Out on the DeSoto back deck Roy and Joanne sat and down and relaxed for some much needed alone time. After three hectic days of home repairs, they were more than happy to have a few moments of respite. It was now the last week of March and neither one of them could believe how quickly the month had flown by…even more astounding was just how much had happened in that three weeks.

 

“You know, I’m soon going to develop a complex about the month of March,” Roy joked.

 

 “I mean last year in March, we won the trip to San Francisco, Johnny was kidnapped and he nearly died, and was out on sick leave until the end of October…and now this March, Johnny had another close call, that ended his career with the fire department, we’ve changed our lives completely and are about to move to a whole new life.”

 

Joanne snuggled in closer to her husband, “yeah, but this year we’re moving forward… a promotion, a raise, we are moving to a safer community that’s definitely more family friendly, and we get to take Johnny, Dixie and Joe Early with us. And even Kelly Brackett isn’t that far away that we can’t visit often. And the best part is I no longer have to worry about you or Johnny being killed in a fire.”

 

Roy looked down and pulled his wife into a tender kiss, then he buried his face into her hair and whispered, “Yeah, honey you’re right…this time we are moving forward…onward and upward as they say.”

 

Roy paused for a moment and then pulled back from Joanne and his voice got serious… “I really wish there was some way I didn’t have to work with substitutes for the next two months though. I know we decided that I couldn’t afford to leave until the end of May, but it still seems like such a long time. You remember how hard it was last year when Johnny was off on sick leave. I never felt comfortable with the steady stream of changing partners and I was so stressed out all the time. I just wish there was another way.”

 

Joanne gave her husband a tight hug. “I wished there was another way too honey. We’ll just have to focus on the light at the end of the tunnel…and who knows maybe our house will sell quickly, and if It does and we get enough, maybe we can move that date up a bit.”

 

After another ten minutes passed by, Roy stood up.

 

“Well, I know you promised to spend some time this afternoon with Elaine before the kids get home from school, and Johnny and I promised to go to Rampart and meet up with Joe and Dixie for lunch and discuss the clinic plans and make up a basic equipment list for our new squad/ambulance to send up to George. He wants to give it to Byron and Dr. Sutherland, so they can give their input and add to the list, if they think it’s needed. After all they have a better idea of the terrain we’ll be dealing with on most of our rescues.

 

 

It was about an hour later and Johnny and Roy were sitting in the cafeteria at Rampart waiting for their friends to join them. The two men had put their heads together and were involved in a deep discussion about what they thought should be on their basic equipment list. They were so absorbed in their task that they failed to notice Joe, Dixie and Kelly Brackett arrive at their table.

 

“You guys look like you’re hard at it.” Joe said, as the three of them sat down at the table.

 

Johnny looked up and grinned. “Well we promised to have this list ready for Byron and George by the weekend. George is flying down to San Diego on some business. He’s going to come down a day early, and stop off at my ranch on Friday so I can sign the papers regarding my new place up in Vermont, and we promised to have this all ready for him to take back up to Byron. We’ve just about got everything on here we can think of that we would need.”

 

Johnny slid their list across for the newcomers to look at, “We wanted you to take a look at it too Doc,” he said to Brackett. “The more input we have, the better prepared we will be. Make sure you add anything you can think of that we might have forgotten. George insists money is no object.”  Johnny shook his head in disbelief at how much George was willing to put up financially to make his dream become a reality. But then again, he knew the devastating loss of a child was a life-changing event in anyone’s life. He looked over at Joe and Dixie and continued to speak, “It’s awfully good of him to put up the funding for this entire project. This really is going to benefit not only Swanton, but the surrounding counties up there as well.”

 

Kelly Brackett looked the list over and made one or two minor additions and handed it over to Joe and Dixie.

 

After going over the list one more time, the group decided that they had covered all of the bases, and they now had a complete list ready to send back with George, so Byron and Doctor Sutherland could have the final say.

 

After they had finished with their list, the small group of friends sat back and chatted for a while.

 

Doctor Brackett looked towards Roy and began to speak. “So, Roy, have you told the department you’re leaving yet?” he asked.

 

brackettinsistentcloseRoy paused for a moment and then cleared his throat. “No, not yet. Cap knows it’s coming soon, but no one else does, although many of them probably suspect. I think most are just assuming I’ll go for Engineer or Captain here in L.A… I’m still trying to decide what date I’ll give as my final shift, but it looks like it’s going to be May 31st.  I’m not looking forward to having rookie partners for the next couple of months, but I can’t afford to live without a paycheck for that length of time either.”

 

Brackett leaned in closer to Roy.  “What if I offered you a way to still work but and not have to be partnered with any rookies?”

 

Both Roy and Johnny sat up straight, their interest piqued, “How?” Roy asked.

 

“Well, this next paramedic class that starts next week, will be my last class before I head up to Baltimore, and I have a lot of loose ends of my own to wrap up before I leave, and I could really use an assistant, with this next class so I can get everything done that needs to be done before I leave. My schedule is so tight right now than any extra time I can get is a blessing. The hospital is willing to hire you to assist with the next class, which ends in the middle of June. I know it’s longer than you wanted to work, but on the plus side it’s only five days a week, nine to five. You’d have to be there on Monday morning.”

 

 Kel never got a chance to say anything else before Roy spoke up… “I’ll do it.” He said enthusiastically.

 

Kelly Brackett smiled at Roy, obviously pleased with the answer. “I was hoping you would say yes Roy. In fact I was counting on it. I spoke to the Chief down at departmental headquarters; they have been waiting for you to decide on your next move. Everyone is expecting that you’ll be moving on up now that Johnny is gone.”

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Kelly Brackett immediately regretted his choice of words when he saw Johnny’s face fall, and a sad frown replace the excited grin that had been there a moment before. He could have kicked himself, but he quickly decided that rather than calling attention to his faux pas, it might be better if he just forged on ahead.

 

“The last bunch of new paramedics have almost all been placed in permanent positions now. The two that have been covering for you and Johnny, Alan Livingstone and Jeff Baker, are the last two left wanting a permanent home, and since this next group we will start training on Monday are in line to replace those paramedics that will be moving up to Engineer or Captain in September, we figured that it would work out well if we just made Jeff and Alan permanent on 51’s A shift. They’ve been there for a couple of weeks now, and have settled in as far as schedules go anyway. In fact the only thing left that would need to be done, is to inform Captain Stanley, the rest of the guys, and of course Alan and Jeff.”

 

By the time Kel had finished speaking, Johnny’s face had lost its frown and he was now looking over at Roy to gauge his reaction. Roy looked up and his eyes locked with Johnny’s.

 

 Everyone sitting at their table grinned as they watched the two men have one of their famous ‘silent’ conversations, and after a couple of minutes they broke eye contact with each other. It was obvious that whatever had been decided, they were in complete agreement.

 

 Roy looked over at the group sitting across the table and nodded his head in agreement. He cleared his throat and spoke to Dr. Brackett, “Well, it looks like it’s all settled. I’ll just let the department inform our replacements of the plan, but Johnny and I want to tell Cap ourselves…we’ll do it today, since it’s A shift’s day off.”

 

Brackett drained the last of his coffee and stood up…”Well then, I’ll phone the Chief and tell him what the plan is. I think he figures that once this class is over with, that you’ll be trying for Captain, Roy. I’ll let you tell him what your long term plans for the future are yourself.”

 

The three medical staff had returned to duty after their lunch meeting. Johnny and Roy sat back and were enjoying another mug of coffee, while they continued to talk.

 

“So Roy,” Johnny said. “I guess we had better go visit Cap as soon as we’re finished here then.”

 

“Yeah, I guess so, although I know he was kind of hoping I’d stick around for a few more weeks at least, but I know he’ll understand. Do you want to go around and tell the guys as well?”

 

Johnny adamantly shook his head. “No way Roy. After what happened with Chet at Rampart when I told him I was leaving?  I don’t think I could handle it if he freaked again… I’ll do well to hold it together enough to be there when you tell Cap, and that’s only because I know he knows it’s coming sooner or later anyway. Honestly Roy, this whole Vermont deal is amazing and I’m so excited about it all…but there is still a big part of me that is upset about my having to stop being a hose jockey, and leaving my family at 51’s. It’s just not how I pictured my life unfolding…I always thought it would happen when I was ready for it…and even then I thought I would end up as a Captain, with the LACFD.”

 

Johnny stopped and looked up questioningly at Roy. “I’m not sure I’m explaining this right Roy, but I’m excited and yet profoundly sad at the same time. Every time I think about the fact that I had absolutely no say about my having to give up being a hose jockey, my life at Station 51, or about whether or not I would be able to continue to work with all the other guys, it still causes a lump in my throat…and if I’m being totally honest, I’m even a bit angry about it.”

 

Johnny set his empty cup on the table. “Don’t get me wrong. I am so grateful to at least be able to salvage my paramedic career, which has always been number one with me, even more so than being a firefighter. Not too mention, I’ll be getting a raise, in both rank and salary without having to give up being a paramedic. I still get to work with Joe Early and Dixie. And let’s face it, Brackett was leaving even if this hadn’t happened. But still… it makes me sad, and I just don’t think I can handle anyone else’s sadness on top of my own yet. It’s just still too fresh and raw for me.”

 

Roy set down his empty cup beside Johnny’s and stood up. “It makes perfect sense, Junior and I understand totally. If talking to Cap is going to be too hard for you, then I can go it alone,” he offered.

 

Johnny pushed himself away from the table and stood up, “No Roy, I’ll come with you to see Cap, but I do have one favour to ask of you.”

 

Roy patted Johnny on the shoulder. “Anything Junior, whatever you need.”

 

“Can we please go today and clean out our lockers while the others are off shift. That job is going to be hard enough, without having to do it in front of the other guys…I can’t handle that much emotion right now…can we please just go alone today just the two of us and quietly do it?” he pleaded.

 

Roy nodded… “Sure thing Junior…how about we go right now, before we go to Cap’s…that way you can always change your mind about coming with me to talk to Cap if you find it’s all too much for you to handle right now.”

 

The two men walked out of the cafeteria and made their way to Roy’s Porsche in the parking lot. Getting in they headed out of the hospital parking lot and drove the short distance to Station 51.

 

When they arrived at the station, both the engine and the squad were gone. Walking slowly through the kitchen the two men glanced around the room. The echoes of a million shared conversations bombarded their senses. There were memories of mirth and joy and camaraderie. There were the times of soaring highs of celebration and pats on the back after amazing saves and rescues, when the adrenaline had been almost palpable.

There were also times of heart wrenching sorrow and despair over the loss of lives, and the tragedies that could overwhelm them; when the only other people who could truly understand their depth of sadness were their ‘brothers in arms’.

 

Slowly they made their way around the entire station, each room taking them on a six and half year walk down memory lane. Finally after all was said and done, they found themselves standing in front of their own lockers.

 

 

Roy could clearly see the entire exercise was taking its toll on Johnny, but he also knew it was providing a sense of closure for both of them…a chance to say good-bye to this chapter in their lives.

 

Roy set the empty cardboard box he had in his hand, down on the bench between he and Johnny. As he reached into his locker, he began to remove his spare uniform and fold it.

 

Trying to find a way to be upbeat for Johnny’s sake, he spoke.

 

“Hey Johnny, maybe they’ll let us use these uniforms in Vermont. After all we paid for these ourselves, and how different can the uniforms be? At least as far as the jackets, pants and shoes are concerned…the shirts will be different because the patches will be different.”

 

Johnny looked over and gave Roy a weak smile. He knew what Roy was trying to do and he appreciated the gesture.

“Yeah, that would be nice wouldn’t it,” he said as he tossed his uniforms into the box, not worrying about folding them.  He did his best to be cheerful too.

 

“Even if they’re not, it’s okay. I mean it’s a band new start right? New uniforms might be the best thing… If we’re going to do this, we might as well go whole hog. Really make Vermont our own.”

 

Both men turned around as they heard the squad return into the bay with the B shift paramedics.

Johnny immediately stiffened. This was exactly what he didn’t want to happen. He knew he was still too emotional to handle a heavy goodbye scene…not even from the B shift. He just wasn’t ready for that yet.

 

Roy immediately noticed the change in Johnny’s posture and could tell he was beginning to get upset, by the impending encounter with the returning paramedics.

 

Charlie Dwyer slipped out of the driver side and began to come over to talk to them, but noticed Roy surreptitiously shake his head in warning. Thankfully he caught on quickly and silently acknowledged Roy and quickly steered his partner into the kitchen after calling out a brief hello.

 

Gradually Johnny and Roy gathered all of their things and began removing the family pictures they had stuck up in various places around their lockers. The entire task took less than fifteen minutes. Finally Johnny reached up and gently took down his Smokey the Bear poster and carefully rolled it up. “You, my friend will be coming with me to my new locker,” he said with a small smile as he slid it inside the box with the rest of their possessions.

 

Turning around Johnny walked over and lovingly ran his hand along the side of the squad. When he got to the passenger side door, he opened it up and slid into the vehicle. Roy hesitated for a moment and then slowly made his way over and joined his partner inside the squad.

 

The two men sat in silence for a long time. Johnny absent mindedly began to fiddle around with the microphone and open up the glove compartment. After another few minutes went by he let out a sad sigh and patted the dash. “Well old girl,” he said shakily. “It’s been a great six and half years. We’ve been through a lot together…I’m really gonna miss you.”

 

Johnny turned to Roy and looked over at his friend and big brother. His dark brown eyes, filled with unshed tears met Roy’s blue ones. Johnny’s voice was almost a whisper and held a quiver to it as he spoke.

 

“Well, Pally. We started here at 51’s on the same day… and now we’re ending it on the same day, six and a half years later.” He paused for a moment and gave another long sad sigh. “We’re ending exactly how we started … together.

 

Roy leaned over and pulled his little brother into a brief hug. “That’s exactly as it should be Junior,” he whispered back. “It’s how we always said we’d do it.”

 

 

 

 

Roy and Johnny slowly opened up the squad doors and slid out, making their way back over to their recently emptied lockers. Roy reached down and picked up the now full box that sat on the bench. He glanced up at Johnny with a look of determination on his face. “Onward and Upward Junior.” He said echoing his earlier conversation with Joanne.

 

We’re moving forward to bigger and brighter days…Captain Gage,” he said with a grin.

 

For the first time since they left Rampart, Johnny flashed a genuine grin. “You said it… Captain DeSoto.

 

Roy had made up his mind…he would suggest he and Johnny just skip going to Captain Stanley’s. He’d do that later this evening. Johnny had clearly had enough emotional upset for one day. It was better to end the day on a positive note.

 

“Come on Junior, I’m not ready to go see Cap just yet. Let’s just head on out to your ranch and grab a cold beer. That way you can show me how much Raven has grown.”

 

Johnny knew what Roy was doing, but he also knew he wasn’t up to seeing Cap right now either and so he just nodded in agreement.

 

 Roy reached over and threw his arm around Johnny’s shoulder for both comfort and support.

 

He steered his little brother out towards the back parking lot through the bay doors, so as to avoid having to go back into the kitchen where the other two paramedics were keeping an obviously low profile.

 

And so it was that after six and half years of service as firefighter/paramedics in Los Angeles County out of Station 51, which had become in many ways, their home away from home; John Roderick Gage and Roy William DeSoto quietly, and without a backward glance, walked out of station 51 for the very last time.

 

 

Chapter Thirteen

 

By the time they had arrived at Johnny’s ranch the two men had decided to call Cap at his home and ask him to come out to the ranch to talk with them.

 

Roy had initially tried to talk Johnny out of being there when he told Cap the news, but Johnny was adamant.

 

“No, Roy. You were there when I broke the news to Cap about my having to leave the department, and I’m going to be there when you tell him you’re leaving. We’re partners… in everything.” Johnny went inside his house and made the call to the Stanley residence.

 

That had been just over an hour ago, and Roy had spent a good part of that last hour thinking about it and trying to decide how he was going to word his conversation with Cap. He had, after all, promised him a few weeks notice before he left, but since he had to start at Rampart on Monday morning, he couldn’t make good on that promise; and he felt bad about having to go back on his word.

 

He stood there musing some more, lost deep in thought, while Johnny went out to spend some time with his horses. Johnny seemed a lot calmer now that he knew Cap was coming here so they could talk. Roy decided that maybe this was a better way to do it. Johnny always felt more relaxed when he was on his ‘home turf’.

 

Roy walked down the front porch stairs and made his way over to the corral as soon as he seen his partner appear with Koda. He stood leaning against the fence as he watched Johnny and the young paint together.

 

 It did not take anyone who witnessed Johnny interacting with his horses very long to realize that Johnny seemed to find some kind of serenity and inner peace when he was with them. He understood them, and they seemed to understand Johnny. Roy marveled, as Johnny quietly talked to the horse in his native tongue. He grinned when he saw Johnny lean over and whisper something quietly into the horse’s ears. Roy could have sworn he’d seen Koda nod his head in agreement to whatever his young partner had said to the gelding.

 

Those horses were the ‘animal’ equivalent to Roy in Johnny’s world… the only other living creatures other than Roy himself, who seemed to be in tune with the young paramedic. Like Roy, they needed no actual words to communicate with each other. Johnny drew strength and a rejuvenation of spirit and soul when he was with them.

 

Roy was so deep in thought that he hadn’t heard Cap drive up, nor had he heard him approach from behind until he heard Hank’s voice speak quietly behind his shoulder.

 

“He certainly has a way with those horses, doesn’t he?”

 

Roy jumped slightly, but quickly recovered and turned to smile at Cap.

 

“Yeah, he needs them as much as they need him.”

 

Hank grinned. “Yeah, kinda like the two of you need each other isn’t it?”

 

Roy returned the grinned. “It’s exactly like the way we need each other,” he agreed.

 

Hank’s countenance sobered, as he looked into Roy’s eyes. “So I am guessing this is the day that you have decided to tell me you’re leaving 51’s,” he stated matter of factly.

 

Roy was taken aback, but then sighed when he realized that he shouldn’t be surprised that Cap had figured out the reason for their request for him to come out to Johnny’s ranch.

 

“Yeah,” he said. “It is Cap. I would have gone to your place, but Johnny insisted he be with me to support me, and to be honest Cap, I’m still concerned about how he’s doing with all of this upheaval in his life.”

 

Roy hesitated before he continued on. “I know he’s doing fine on the surface and so far he’s been handling things well enough, but to be honest, I’m not sure any of this has really sunk in yet.

 

“Johnny’s just been on such a roller coaster ride of highs and lows these past few weeks. First with the smoke inhalation scare…and you know Cap, he nearly died that day…he certainly would have if I had already left with my victim. Next he had to come to terms with the fact that he has to leave 51’s.

 

“Then Dr. Early came over and gave us his news… which was a huge announcement. And now that has sent us spinning in a totally new direction.

 

“Granted this time it’s all good news, but it’s still a lot to digest emotionally and mentally… Ever since Chet’s reaction to Johnny telling all of you that was going to have to leave 51’s, he’s been a bit gun shy about discussing things with any of the other guys. He’s not ready to deal with another emotional outburst from Chet. He’s too busy dealing with his own emotions right now.”

 

Roy paused and kicked at a lump of dirt at his feet. He looked up into Hanks understanding eyes and finally blurted out, “Cap, these past twelve months have been really hard on him. What with the kidnapping and the stress of trying to keep himself and those two kids alive, not to mention seeing a bus load of passengers killed in front of his eyes. Then there was his struggle to deal with his empyema and his fight to regain his health and the whole issue of not knowing if it was a career ending thing.”

 

Roy laughed bitterly… “I guess that’s exactly what it ended up being… career ending… at least as far as the LACFD is concerned.” He turned to look Hank. “All of those little stresses add up and I’ve been holding my breath… afraid that one of these days he’ll wake up and just be overwhelmed by it all.”

 

Roy looked over at Johnny and watched, as he and Koda seemed to be involved in a game of, find the hidden sugar cube. He smiled and shook his head in disbelief.

 

“But he hasn’t Cap.  Johnny’s been incredibly strong throughout it all, and even though he has had a few bad moments, he’s been a hell of a lot stronger than I think any of the rest of us would be… but I still worry about him.”

 

“Yeah, Pal,” Cap nodded. “I have to agree with you on that one. I can’t even imagine what he went through last year on that bus… I think I would have ended up dead. I probably would have died wandering around lost in the wilderness, even if I had managed to get away.”

“I’m still curious about what it was John said to that Martin character that caused him to let them escape from that cabin.”

 

Hank and Roy stood at the fence in silence as each man considered the mental battle Johnny had waged with his captor the year before. Each man impressed at Johnny’s inner strength and resolve.

 

Cap looked over at Johnny wistfully and said, “I’m really going to miss not having him around every shift… Hell, Roy, I’m going to miss not having either one of you around the station anymore.” Hank paused for a moment, “I guess I should call a meeting before the beginning of next week, so Chet and Marco won’t be totally blindsided when you’re not there on Monday morning.”

 

Roy looked over at Cap; he was clearly surprised by Cap’s last statement.

 

Cap looked over at Roy and just rolled his eyes. “Come on Roy, you don’t think I haven’t put two and two together by now? It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why you two suddenly, out of the blue, called me out to the ranch and asked to talk to me.” Hank paused and turned to look over at his former senior paramedic with a sad smile. “You’re not coming back to 51’s on Monday, are ya pal?” he said matter of factly. “That’s why you summoned me out here today… I knew what it was probably about as soon as Johnny told me it couldn’t wait until Monday. You couldn’t tell me at work on Monday, because you won’t be there, will you?”

 

Roy let out a relieved sigh. “No, I won’t. I’m sorry about this Cap, but Brackett and the department have been talking and I’ve been offered the job of assisting Brackett, teaching the next paramedic class. They knew I wouldn’t be happy working with substitute partners… Of course the department has assumed that I’m going to be taking the Captain’s exam in September, and I’m not…I’m going to tell them next week about my long-term plans.” Roy stopped and watched Johnny for a few more seconds before he turned around and faced Cap full on. “The department will be informing Alan and Jeff they are now permanently assigned to 51’s today. They’ll probably call you later tonight or tomorrow to tell you as well. Johnny and I just wanted to be the ones to tell you, but Johnny was more comfortable doing it here, on his home turf. He still has a lot of mixed emotions right now. And like I said before, he just can’t take another scene like the one with Chet in the hospital.”

 

Roy’s eyes were full of gratitude as he looked over at Cap. “I’m glad you figured it out, before Johnny had to face telling you with me…this really has been harder on him than he’s let on. I think I should tell you that we went by the station earlier today and cleaned out our lockers. Johnny didn’t want to have to face any heavy emotional scenes or goodbyes just yet, and to be perfectly honest, I didn’t want to either.”

 

Cap sighed as he and Roy turned once again to watch Johnny, who had just noticed Cap standing with Roy. Johnny’s face broke out into a grin and he waved over at Hank, who waved back in return.

 

“Well, I’m going to have to have Chet and Marco and Mike come over to my place Saturday after our shift ends if I can.” Hank voiced. “They need to know about all of our plans, including my decision to take the Chief’s position and the fact that Mike will be their new Captain come September. We’re on shift tomorrow and then we’re off again for the weekend. I don’t want to tell them while we’re on shift, besides I’d like a chance to talk to Mike alone first.

 

“It’s going to be a lot of changes in a very short period of time, and I don’t want them hit with it right before they have to start their shift next Monday either. It will be better if they have a day or so to get used to the idea before they have to come to work. I don’t want them to find themselves facing a fire, if their minds are too overwhelmed from the shock of all these changes, instead of concentrating on their jobs.”

 

There was a long stretch of silence while Cap and Roy watched Johnny lead Koda back out to the pasture to graze with the other horses, and then turn to make his way over towards the two of them.

 

Finally Cap spoke again. “So, just what exactly is in the cards now, as far as your future is concerned? It sounds like you’ve both made some heavy long term plans…does it have anything to do with this mysterious trip you guys took last week?”

 

By this time Johnny had arrived at the fence and had heard Cap’s last question. He seemed surprised that Cap seemed to already know that Roy wasn’t going back to station 51.

 

“You told him already Roy? I thought we were going to do this together?” he questioned, his voice sounded slightly hurt.

 

“No John,” Cap quickly interjected. “I figured it out myself on the way over here, and I confronted Roy with it just now while you were busy with Koda…he couldn’t very well deny it now could he?”

 

 

Johnny’s face relaxed and he grinned over sheepishly at Hank. “Naw, I guess he couldn’t… I guess we should have known you would figure it out when I suddenly phoned you at home and said we needed to see you before Monday.”

 

Johnny looked over at Cap and winked slyly. “I guess that’s why you’re the Captain…Man, I hope I’m half as good a Captain as you are” He looked over at Hank and winked again. “I guess I’m going to find out very soon now.” Johnny looked over at Roy and got an impish look on his face. “In fact we both will…won’t we Captain DeSoto,” he said with a giggle.

 

Hank looked over in surprise. “What! Are you trying to tell me you’re both going for Captain? But I thought…” Cap’s voice trailed off.

 

Johnny grinned, “We both made Captain…well, we will have to undergo some kind of training course or some kind of seminar or something along those lines, I’d think… but yes, we’ve both been promoted to Paramedic Captains.” Johnny grinned and put his arm around his stunned Captain’s shoulder.  “Come on inside and Roy and I will tell you everything that’s been happening in the last ten days or so.”

 

And with that statement, the three men walked across the yard and went inside Johnny’s house where John and Roy spent the next hour explaining everything to Hank

 

By the time he left an hour later, Hank had been brought up to speed and realized he himself was reeling from the shock of what John and Roy had just told him. He knew that Chet and Marco would be even worse off, as he and Mike Stoker at least knew about their own imminent promotions.  He realized he was going to have a lot of explaining to do to his two linesmen. 

 

Johnny and Roy had offered to come over Saturday afternoon when Cap told the others about the latest developments, but Hank had declined. The rest of the A shift were going have to get used to not having Roy and Johnny around anymore, and now was as good a time as any to begin that transition. Hank figured the others could make their own way over to John and Roy’s to talk with them about everything that was happening on their own time, when they were all a bit more mentally prepared and ready to deal with it.

 

 

It was just approaching noon hour when the DeSoto station wagon pulled into the driveway of their home, and it was only a minute or so later that Johnny’s Rover pulled in directly behind them. It was the first Sunday of April and the entire family had been at church.

 

Roy wasn’t always able to attend due to his work schedule, but he did try to make a habit of attending when his work permitted it. Johnny wasn’t actually a member of their congregation, but he did attend with the DeSoto clan a few times each year. Usually it would be for Easter, Christmas or Christmas Eve, and the Sunday closest to Thanksgiving…Although Johnny was a believer, he tended to keep his spiritual habits more personal.

 

Personally, Johnny felt more connected to God when he was out alone in nature than he did in a hot, stuffy, building, sitting on a hard church pew. He considered his relationship with the almighty deeply personal and just between himself and God. But he did enjoy the music of the holiday services. He would also occasionally find himself attending the DeSoto’s church, if he had been at their home for Sunday breakfast, which had been the case this morning. It usually meant Johnny would come back to Roy and Jo’s for lunch and an afternoon of family time.

 

The reason Johnny had been with the DeSoto’s this Sunday however, was to discuss what had happened over the last three days. It had thus far been a fairly frenetic weekend…especially for Johnny.

 

George Danforth had arrived in Los Angeles late Friday afternoon after a lunch meeting in San Francisco. He had dinner that Friday evening with Johnny, Roy, Dixie and Joe Early, in order to go over their equipment list and requests for the new clinic and their squad-ambulance. They had invited Kelly Brackett along as well, because both Kel and George had heard a lot about each other over the last two weeks, and they were anxious to meet. They had all brain stormed and had come up with some great ideas and additions to their lists.

 

George Danforth had stayed over Friday night at Johnny’s place, so that they could finalize all the paperwork for the ranch Johnny was buying in Vermont with the real estate brokers and their lawyers first thing in the morning. George had to be in San Diego by two o’clock on the Saturday afternoon for another meeting, before he flew back to Vermont the next day.

 

Johnny had been busy with his lawyer for the rest of the day on Saturday working out the fine details and getting all the papers ready to file for the sale of his ranch here in L.A. to Dan and his wife Karen.

 

Roy had decided since it was the last Saturday of his holidays, he would take Jo, Chris and Jen on an all day picnic to the beach. 

 

Johnny and Roy had purposely avoided talking about the meeting they knew had happened Saturday between Cap and the rest of the A shift. It had been a perfect weekend so far and neither man wanted to dampen the mood.

 

 They had already begun to make plans for one big final Fourth of July BBQ with the crew the day before they left L.A. for good… there would be plenty of time for tearful goodbyes then.

 

Not to mention, there would be many chances for them to get together one on one before then as well. But this weekend was all about looking ahead to their futures.

 

 

The three adults now sat out on Roy and Joanne’s back deck enjoying their after lunch coffee, while they watched Chris and Jen swim in the pool.

 

Between the big meeting with George on Friday, Johnny’s business regarding the real estate deals, and the DeSoto’s day at the beach on Saturday; this was the first alone time they’d had since Hank’s visit out to Johnny’s ranch on Thursday.

 

“So, Junior,” said Roy. “I assume everything went as planned regarding your homes?”

 

Johnny grinned triumphantly, and he could barely contain his excitement as he spoke.

 “Yep, everything went off without a hitch. I am now the proud owner of a seventy-five acre ranch on the edge of Lake Champlain up in Franklin County Vermont. It’s right outside the town of Swanton…the drive to the new clinic’s location is less than ten minutes. And get this Roy…the northwest section of my ranch is right up against the boundary of the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge, how sweet is that?” he said excitedly. “I take possession of it at eight a.m. on Friday May 27th… that’s the Friday of the Memorial Day weekend. The closing date for my place is Monday May 23rd at noon.”

 

Roy looked up in shock. “What are you going to do about the week in between? What about your horses?” he asked worriedly. Then another thought ran through his mind. “Are you trying to tell us that you’re leaving L.A. for good in May? I thought we were all going to go up to Vermont together…and what about the big BBQ on the fourth of July?”

Roy’s voice held a note of panic. He had been counting on all of them making the move to Vermont at the same time.

 

“Relax Roy, will ya… I’ll be back to L.A. for the big BBQ and of course I’ll be here to help you move. It’s all been worked out.”

 

“I’ve already made arrangements with one of those moving companies that comes and packs up your belongings and moves them for you. The moving company will pack up my belongings on May 22, and I’ll just camp out in my sleeping bag the night before. They’ll take a couple of days, driving my possessions up to Vermont and then they will be storing them in the moving van for a day or so until I take possession of my new place on the 27th…After that they’ll unload it all for me at my new place, so that’s not going to be a huge problem.”

 

Johnny paused and took a deep breath and then continued on. “I’m not taking everything with me either. Just my personal items and the furniture I’m attached to…all the appliances come with my new ranch, so I’m leaving all of mine behind for Dan and Karen. That way they don’t have to find the money to buy new ones when they set up house in my ranch.

 

“As far as my livestock and equipment go, George has been gracious enough to offer to send down one of his men from his stables with one of his big horse trailers in time for the move. His man will take Odyssey and Obsidian and Pandora up in his trailer, and I’ll take Koda and Raven up in mine. Then George has also offered to let me keep my horses at his stables for the month, under the care of his grooms, so I can settle in and then come back to L.A.  I plan on staying up there until the fourth of June to set up my new place, and then I’ll drive back down to L.A….I’ll just stay at a boarding house or something like that for the month before we all leave together.”

 

Roy and Jo were amazed at how on top of everything Johnny was. But they balked at the idea of him staying at a boarding house.

 

clip_image006_028“That’s wonderful Johnny said Joanne, but you most certainly will not be staying at any boarding house for a month. Not when you have a perfectly good room here in this house…besides,” she said when she seen Johnny start to protest. “Since you’ll be a man of leisure for the entire month, you can jolly well stick around here and help me pack up this place. Another pair of strong arms will be just what I need to get everything ready in time.”

 

Johnny glanced over at Roy in amusement. “Sheesh Roy, is she always this bossy?” he teased.

 

“Hey, you’re lucky Junior,” Roy answered with more than a hint of merriment in his voice.

 “You’re the beloved little brother…I’m the one married to her. Let me tell you something partner, she’s a brutal taskmaster. It was only after we both agreed to say obey during our wedding vows, that she informed me that my pledge to obey her held more weight than her pledge to obey me, and so now I’m obligated by law to do as she says.” He teased back.

 

Joanne walked over to where the two men sat sniggering on the deck chairs. “Watch it, you two, or it’s nothing but bread and water and the dungeon for you both,”   she laughed as she playfully cuffed them both on the back of their heads, which made them start to laugh hysterically.

 

After the laughter died down, Johnny stood up and walked over to where Joanne was standing. He leaned over and gave her a big hug as he smiled gratefully.

 

“Thanks sis’ you’re the best, …you both are. And I’ll gladly accept the offer to stay here. “He looked over at them and he suddenly looked like a lost little boy. “You have no idea what it means to me to have you guys in my life. I hit the jackpot the day I met you. And I promise I’ll try not to get in the way too much while I’m here.”

 

Joanne swallowed the lump in her throat, and returned Johnny hug. “No sweetheart, we were the lucky ones.”

 

There was a moment of awkward silence, until all of a sudden a huge squeal from Jenny wafted across the back yard, which caused their attention to turn towards the two children splashing in the pool.

 

“Daaad Chris pushed my head under water again…tell him to stop it.”

 

Joanne quickly gathered up the empty coffee cups and headed back inside to the kitchen, while Roy strode over to the poolside to play referee, leaving Johnny to sit back in the lounge chair, smiling as he thought about how lucky he was to belong to such an amazing family.

 

 

Chapter Fourteen

 

The month of April had come and gone in a complete haze of activity, or so it had seemed to Joanne DeSoto, and it was now the sixth of May.

 

Their house had been on the market for six weeks and they finally had a potential buyer. There had been the usual offers and counter-offers going back and forth during the last forty-eight hours, and she was now just waiting to hear from the real estate broker, to see if the buyers had agreed to their final offer.

 

Even with the counter offers, Roy and Joanne would be getting a good price for their home. On the advice of their broker, they had listed it for higher than they expected to get for it. Joanne just hoped the deal had gone through, as she was getting tired of all of those last minute calls announcing that someone was coming over to see the house. It usually meant frenzied last minute rushes to make sure Chris and Jenny picked up their toys and that they hadn’t messed up their rooms while they’d been playing. It also meant she had to gather up the children and get out of the house while it was being shown.

 

With Roy working nine to five, during the week, the brunt of that chore fell onto Joanne’s shoulders, although in a pinch, Johnny was there to help out. But Johnny had been quite busy himself throughout the month.

 

Roy’s new work hours also meant he had not had much time to talk to any of the guys from the station. This was largely due to the fact that Roy was working five days a week, so he wasn’t home on their days off, and while Roy had the weekends off now, it had just worked out that none of the A shifts off days had fallen on a Saturday or Sunday that month.

 

Their real estate broker had been holding open house every Saturday and Sunday afternoon, which meant that most weekends found the DeSoto clan out at Johnny’s ranch.

 

Johnny, Roy, Joanne and the kids, had been invited over a couple of times to dinner at Hank and Emily Stanley’s house during the month, and there had also been one evening the previous week when the DeSoto’s and Johnny had been over to the Stoker’s for a BBQ. But as far as she knew neither Johnny nor Roy had visited, or been visited by, either Marco or Chet yet.

 

Joanne was just about to start a load of laundry when the phone rang. She anxiously picked it up and crossed her fingers, hoping for good news. When she hung up the phone she had a huge grin on her face, and she immediately phoned Roy at Rampart. She couldn’t wait to break the news to him…their house was sold. The closing date was July fifth.

 

Now their next big problem would be finding a home in Swanton before the fifth of July.

 

Johnny for his part had been extremely busy as well. Even though Dan and Karen did not get possession of his home until May 23rd, Johnny had been allowing them full access to the ranch. He said it was the least he could do, considering all the times Bob and Dan had watched his horses for him while he had been laid up.

 

 

Dan and Karen wanted to really live off of the spoils of the ranch, and so the last month had seen Johnny, Bob and Dan build a chicken coop, which now housed two dozen laying hens. He had also helped to construct an enclosure that was home to a dozen sheep, because Karen had decided she wanted to try using her own wool to make sweaters. In addition to that there had been two stalls added to the stable of the barn that were now occupied by one Holstein and one Jersey heifer.

 

Karen along with Bob’s wife Jean had spent most of the month working the large piece of ground the men had tilled beside the house, and were busy planting a vegetable garden. The ranch itself already had a couple of apple trees behind the house. By putting in the garden in early April, it would ensure the young couple would be able to harvest a large crop of fresh produce throughout the summer and autumn.

 

 

Johnny was more than happy to see the ranch being put to such good use. Not to mention the fact that he had been the recipient of farm fresh eggs and milk this last month … and a lot of home baked goods, courtesy of Karen and Jean. His schedule had always been such, that planting a large garden had not been something he had never managed to get done…all of his off days had been spent tending to the household chores and his horses.

 

All of that work, combined with the days Roy, Joanne and the kids came out to the ranch while their home was being shown by the real estate, had left Johnny very little time to visit and socialize with the guys from the Station. Johnny had tried to phone Chet a couple of times, but Chet hadn’t been home any of the times Johnny had called.

 

One of the benefits of Roy and Joanne spending every Saturday and Sunday afternoon at Johnny’s place was that nowadays it wasn’t that unusual to find Dixie and Joe Early visiting Johnny’s ranch on the weekends when they weren’t working… talk of Vermont and their big move was foremost in all of their minds. Those talks had included the many phone calls that had been exchanged between L.A. and Vermont during that time. They’d all been keen to keep in touch so they could stay abreast on the progress of the clinic that was being built.

 

With all of the different activities that were going on in everyone’s lives, it was no wonder that April seemed to just fly by.

 

Johnny was standing at his breakfast bar talking on the phone, when he looked up and seen the entire DeSoto clan coming up his front porch steps. He waved them all inside while he said goodbye to the caller on the other end.

 

“Sorry, Junior. I hope you didn’t hang up just because of us.” Roy said apologetically.

Johnny shook his head, “Nope, I was already saying goodbye before I even noticed you. I was finally able to touch bases with Marco. I wanted to invite him and Chet out on their next day off.”

seriousjohnny

Johnny frowned as he looked over at Roy. “Marco says he’ll be here but he’s not too sure about Chet. He says Chet’s still avoiding dealing with all of this, and doesn’t want to talk about us leaving. I admit I’m not one to talk either, but come on already. We’ve been gone from the Station for nearly two months now.”

Johnny’s brow was furrowed as he considered his options, and then he finally squared his shoulders with a look of determination.

“Well, if Mohammad won’t come to the mountain, the mountain will have to go to Mohammad.”

 

Now that he seemed to have made up his mind about what to do about Chet, Johnny turned to look at his guests. When his eyes met Jenny’s he winked and grinned, “And to what do I owe the pleasure of your company young miss?” he asked as he swooped down and picked up the giggling child.  He reached over and gave Joanne a quick kiss on the cheek, as he shifted Jenny’s weight over onto his right hip.

 

Johnny then turned his questioning gaze back in Roy’s direction.

 

Roy couldn’t hide the huge grin on his face as he spoke, “Well, we just came out to give you the good news…we sold our house today.”

 

The smile that lit up Johnny’s face matched the one on Roy’s. “Well alright! That’s fantastic news you guys…this calls for a celebration. Tell you what; let’s all go out to dinner to that new Italian place down by the beach…my treat. Then we need to get going on getting you guys a suitable place up in Swanton.” Johnny exclaimed.

 

The proclamation had barely left his mouth before Johnny quickly added, “Not that you have to panic or anything, because my new place is big enough for all of us, and you guys are more than welcome to stay with me as long as you like. That way you can take your time and make sure you get a place you really like without having to settle on something you’re not really in love with. You can make sure you choose a home you’re really happy with.” He said.

 

Roy came over and took Jenny from Johnny and set her back down on the floor. He reached over and gave his young partner’s head a scruff. “WOW, you’re paying for dinner? In that case we accept Junior. As for staying with you; hopefully it won’t be necessary, but it’s nice to know our backs won’t be up against the wall, if finding our new home takes longer than we planned on.”

 

By the time, they had left the restaurant later that evening, the group had a plan of action in mind.  It was decided that the entire DeSoto family would fly up to Vermont on the Memorial Day weekend since Roy would be off for the holiday. Since Johnny would have possession of his new place on the Friday before that weekend, they would have a place to stay.

 

Roy and Joanne would spend the weekend looking at real estate and getting some ideas. If by the end of the weekend, they hadn’t come to a decision, Roy would fly back alone and Joanne and the kids would stay on for the extra week and continue to house hunt. They would come back to Los Angeles with Johnny on the fourth of June.

 

Since it would only be a couple weeks until the end of the school year anyway, they weren’t too concerned about the kids missing anything important, and it would in fact, be the perfect chance for Chris and Jenny to visit their new school and meet the teachers they would have in September.

 

It was very early the next morning, when Johnny got up and stopped off at the bakery. He picked up some coffee and doughnuts and headed over to Chet’s place. It wasn’t even eight yet, when he began to pound on the door to Chet’s apartment.

 

It was a very grumpy albeit shocked Chester B Kelly that opened up the door.

“Good morning, good morning, good morning Chester B.” said Johnny as he pushed past the startled man and walked inside his apartment. “I figured since you weren’t going to come out and see me, I had better haul my ass in here to see you… Come on grab a quick shower before this coffee gets cold, I figured we could spend the day at the beach talking and trolling for chicks…now hop to it.”

 

Chet just dumbly shook his head and headed wordlessly into the bathroom. He reappeared about ten minutes later. By that time Johnny had all but finished his coffee and was on his third doughnut. “Better hurry up Chet, there’s only two jelly filled ones left.” Johnny said baiting him.

Chet was uncharacteristically subdued and remained that way despite Johnny’s best efforts to pull him into a conversation.

 

By the time they arrived at the beach Johnny had had enough and just came out with what was on his mind.

 

“Listen Chet, what’s up with you? Are you mad at me because I’m leaving Los Angeles or something?”

 

Chet looked over in shock at Johnny. “Shit, Johnny. Is that what you think is going on with me? That I’m mad? Because it’s not…it’s not that at all.”

 

“Well, then what is it?  Look man, I know there are a lot of changes happening right now, and that it’s hard to take. Hell, Chet I know that better than anyone. Don’t you think I’m absolutely gutted about all of this? Man, I found out in the space of twenty four hours, that I have a permanent disability as far as smoke exposure goes, and that it was going to cost me my career as a hose jockey and a paramedic. It was only by the grace of God and Joe Early, that I was miraculously able to save my paramedic career. But even that came at a cost. I’m going to have to move halfway across the country and leave a good portion of my friends behind. I have to leave everything I’ve worked to achieve and abandon the life I’ve made for myself here in L.A.

 

“You know, Chet. If Roy and Joanne couldn’t have made the move with me, I would have turned down that job in Vermont…even if it meant I was giving up my paramedic career. It really was a miracle the way everything fell into place, Chet …a real Godsend, and I had to take it. I believe everything happens for a reason, and I think this is really what I am supposed to be doing with the next part of my life. But I will tell you this Chester B…there is a part of me that is still really torn up about having to leave you guys and the Station behind, not to mention having to leave Los Angeles entirely.”

 

Chet looked up, and Johnny could tell was fighting back tears. “You know John,” said Chet using Johnny’s given name. “I really don’t have many close friends…in fact you and Marco are my closest friends. I know it doesn’t always seem like it, but truthfully, you and Marco are really the first close friends I’ve ever had, and I don’t know what I’m going to do once you’re gone.

 I can’t handle the fact that in a very short while, you’re going to leave and I’m never going to see you again.”

 

By now there were actually tears beginning to run down Chet’s face. Johnny wasn’t prepared for this reaction, but seeing Chet’s tears, somehow made him draw strength from within himself so he could be there for his friend.

 

“Come on Chet, We’ll still see each other sometimes. I mean don’t you usually spend a few days around Christmas with your mom in Boston, and again for two weeks when you have your vacation?” Chet nodded silently. “Well Chet, Vermont and Massachusetts are neighbors you know. In fact Boston is only about a 3 or 4 hour drive from Swanton. So there is no reason you can’t visit me when you come up to Boston. I got a big place up there with plenty of room for you to crash. You’ll always be welcome…providing you leave the phantom back in L.A.” Johnny said with just a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

 

Chet momentarily brightened. “Yeah, I never thought of that. I could visit a couple times every year couldn’t I?” But it was only a moment until he sobered once more. “But it still won’t be the same. The station just isn’t the same now, and soon Cap’s gonna be gone to. The only good thing is that Stoker will be our new Captain, so I don’t have to worry about getting someone like Captain Hook as a replacement for Cap.” Chet sank down heavily onto the sand and sighed.

 “Everything’s just changing so fast Johnny, nothing’s going to ever be the same anymore.”

 

“You’re right; it is a really big change Chet.” Johnny said as he patted his shoulder. “For all of us, …but no matter where I live, we’ll always be friends.” 

 

For the rest of the afternoon the two friends continued to talk and reminisce about the past six and half years and life at Station 51, until it was finally time for Johnny to return back home to his ranch.

 

The next three weeks were busy ones for Johnny. He had to leave the new projects around the ranch to Bob, Dan and their wives, as his time was now spent packing up his belongings. Joanne came out to help; claiming men were just no good at organizing things when it came to packing.

 

 

They left only the bare minimum of what Johnny would need in the next couple of weeks unpacked…everything else was boxed up and made ready to move as far as his more personal items were concerned.

 

Johnny then went through his house deciding on what furniture he wanted to keep. He decided he wanted to keep his kitchen suite…he loved the big harvest table he had found shortly after he bought the ranch and he wasn’t ready to part with it. He also would be taking his bedroom furniture…again he had bought it new when he purchased the ranch. As far as his living room went, the only thing he really intended to take with him was his leather lazy boy recliner.

The couch, end tables and coffee table were still the same old ones he had had at his first apartment. Of course his new color television and stereo set up would be coming to Vermont as well.

 

By the time the 22cd of May rolled around, he was more than ready to move. The movers would be there shortly to collect and pack up all the furniture he was taking with him. Good Will had come the day before and taken away the furniture he no longer wanted.

 

He was also relieved when the driver George Danforth had sent down arrived that morning with the large horse trailer. Johnny remembered the man as one of the grooms he had met at the Danforth stables back in March. It took him a couple of moments to recall the man’s name…but finally his memory provided the answer. Sean that was it, the man’s name was Sean although he had no idea what his last name was. The one thing Johnny could remember vividly was that he was a natural with horses, and that set his mind at ease. He wouldn’t trust just anyone with his horses.

 

Sean wanted to load up the horses and get on the road right away, which wasn’t really what Johnny had in mind. He had wanted them to make the drive up to Vermont together. Sean however was anxious to get going, and was hoping to get a good head start out of the city so he could avoid the Monday morning traffic.

 

In the end Johnny relented, when Sean assured him, that he would only be arriving a day before Johnny and that Mr. Danforth had given him strict instruction to treat the horses as if they belonged to Mr. Danforth himself.

 

So as much as he hated to let them out of his sight, Johnny loaded up Odyssey, Obsidian and Pandora, making sure they had everything they would need for the trip, and watched as Sean pulled out of the lane and drove out of sight.

 

By four o’clock that afternoon, Johnny stood alone in his empty house. His horse trailer was already hitched behind the rover, and loaded with everything Koda and Raven would need for the long drive up to Vermont. All he would need to do the next morning was load them up and drive next door and drop off the keys to the ranch to Dan and Karen’s broker.

 

He decided he wanted to be on the road by eight the next morning. He figured on packing a cooler with some sandwiches and drinks and that way he could pretty well drive right through the day and hopefully get as many miles covered as he possibly could by the time night fall came. He would have to pull off for the night in a campground and sleep in his sleeping bag in the back of the rover, but that suited him just fine anyway.

 

He was still going over his route in his mind, when he heard a car drive up to the front of his house. He walked over and smiled when he seen the DeSoto family coming up his stairs with their arms full of Chinese take out food.

 

“Hey Junior, we figured you didn’t have much left in your fridge by now, so we decided we’d come over and spend one last evening here at the ranch with you.”

 

Joanne opened up a large canvas tote and pulled out the traditional DeSoto picnic blanket, and spread it out on the floor. Then she reached in and produced some paper plates, cups and plastic utensils. Johnny grinned and joined the family on the floor as they sat around talking, eating and just generally enjoying each other’s company.

 

It was past eight o’clock and the sun was beginning to get low on the western horizon when Roy and Joanne began to gather up the remnants of their repast.

 

“So,” Ray said. “You’re all ready to get on the road in the morning then Junior?”

 

“Yeah, I am…I just need to load up the horses and drop off the keys to Dan and Karen’s real estate guy, and then I’ll be gone. I hope to be on the road shortly after eight. I’ve got a bunch of soda’s and juice in the fridge and a couple of blocks of ice in the freezer. I’ve got a loaf of bread and some sandwich fixings in there too. I’m just going to make up some sandwiches in the morning and that way I’ll just be able to eat when I pull off for restroom breaks….I figure I can pull off at rest stops along the way.”

 

Johnny’s face took on a haunted look for a moment, and Roy and Jo could tell his mind was clearly back in time someplace.

 

 It wasn’t until Johnny quietly spoke that they understood.

 

“Only this time I won’t stop at any rest area that isn’t packed full of people. I sure as hell don’t want a repeat of what happened the last time I stopped at a rest area.” He said, and he shuddered involuntarily as he remembered that horrific moment the year before, when Duncan. Angus and Martin had hijacked the bus from the rest area on the 101.

 

Roy’s hand squeezing his shoulder brought him back to the present. He was embarrassed when he seen the deep lines of concern etched on Roy and Joanne’s faces.

 

“Look Junior, why don’t I phone Brackett tonight and tell him I’m leaving early and that way I can drive up with you.” He said his voice clearly betraying his concern.

 

Johnny shook his head vehemently…”No way Roy… your paramedic class is over in two more weeks. Brackett will need your help when it comes to testing time. I’m fine …forget I said anything. I was just being maudlin. And like I said, I’m only going to stop at crowded rest areas in broad daylight. It won’t be anything like last time. I have no intention of stopping at any deserted rest areas in the middle of the night…I intend to be sound asleep in some safe family campground. Now look you have work in the morning and the kids have school, so you had better get going and quit worrying about me…I’ll be fine.”

 

Finally after much cajoling by Johnny, Roy, Joanne and the kids each gave him a final hug and wished him well, making him promise to phone each night when he got settled, to let them know he was okay. Johnny promised that he would. He also reassured them that he would be waiting to pick them up at the Burlington airport on Friday afternoon.

 

As soon as they had left, Johnny went out to the barn and spent the rest of the evening with Koda and Raven, and taking care of Dan and Karen’s livestock, before he grabbed his sleeping bag and rolled it out on the living room floor and fell fast asleep.

 

He was awake by five the next morning. He rolled up his sleeping bag and went out to feed and water the horses and then he turned them out into the corral for their last bit of freedom for the next two or three days. He came in and had one last quick shower. He packed up his shaving supplies and tossed the one bath towel he had saved out, over his shoulder, and headed to the kitchen. He set about to put on the kettle so he could prepare to make himself a cup of instant coffee…it wasn’t his favourite but, he had sent his coffee pot on ahead with the moving van the day before. He had barely gotten started when he heard a car out front and looked up to see Bob and Jean walking up the front steps.

They came up and knocked on the front door…Johnny walked over and grinned.

 

“Hey no need to knock. It’s Dan’s place in a couple of hours anyway …I had a shower this morning, but I tried not to mess up the bathroom while I did it. I’m just getting ready for the day. I want to pack up my cooler and make some sandwiches, and then I was going to load up the horses and come on over with the keys. The utility company is coming to read the meter this morning. I’ll settle up with them when I get back to L.A. in early June. They’ll switch everything over into Dan and Karen’s name later today. You’ll have to phone and get the telephone hooked up yourself. I had them come out and disconnect mine on Friday afternoon, so I could square up with the phone company.”

 

“No problem John,” said Bob. “We just came over milk the cows and to help you load up the horses and then invite you over to our place for a proper breakfast. Karen’s got hot coffee, eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast waiting for us. Dan’s got the U-haul all loaded up and ready to drive it over.”

 

“And,” said Jean, “you can just put all of that food back in your cooler for tomorrow. I’ve already packed you enough food for the day.”

 

Johnny grinned and leaned over and gave Jean a peck on the cheek. “I have no idea who my new neighbours will be, but they won’t be able to hold a candle to you guys….I’m really, really going to miss you… Look I should be back at Roy’s by the seventh of June, so if you have any questions, you have his number. I’ll be there until the fifth of July.”

 

He emptied out the water he had just put in the kettle and packed it in the single box full of basic kitchen supplies he had sitting on the counter, along with the left over paper

plates, cups and plastic utensils from the night before. With one final look around his ranch he walked out onto the porch and pulled the door closed behind him.

 

He carried the box and the still damp bath towel that he had left hanging over his shoulder out to his Land Rover. He draped his towel over the passenger seat of the Rover to dry and he put the cooler in the backseat of the vehicle.

 

Then he and Bob walked out to the stables; and while Bob milked the cows, Johnny went over to the corral and collected Koda and Raven and loaded them up into the trailer.

 

True to their word, a big country breakfast was waiting for Johnny over at Bob and Jeans. By the time seven thirty rolled around, Johnny was not only fully fed, but he had a hamper full of sandwiches, fresh baked cookies, muffins, cinnamon buns, and fresh fruit as well as a thermos full of fresh brewed coffee.

 

The real estate broker arrived right at seven thirty. Johnny thought it was dumb that he had to officially hand the keys over to the broker and the broker had to hand the keys to Dan…but it all had to be done by the book, so that is what they did. Of course what the broker didn’t know was that Johnny had already handed off his extra set of house keys that Roy had returned the day before, to the young couple an hour earlier.

 

Johnny asked Bob if he could use his phone, and he phoned Roy at home, knowing he didn’t leave for Rampart until eight thirty. He told him he was about to hit the road and that everything had gone off fine. With one final promise to call him this evening from whatever campground he settled in , he hung up the phone and turned to face his friends and soon to be ex-neighbors one last time.

 

With a final hug for Jean and Karen and a long handshake for both Dan and Bob, Johnny picked up the sack of food and his thermos, with promises to bring back the thermos, when he returned in a week or so.

 

He walked out to this Rover and with one final check to make sure the horses were settled in and secured properly. He got in his Rover and headed out of Los Angeles County.

As he reached the interstate he switched on the radio and began to head northeast. He began to reflect over all that had happened to him in his life in the last eleven years since he had run away to Los Angeles as a sixteen-year-old orphan. He knew he was going to miss Los Angeles. It certainly had been good to him.

 

It had given him his adopted Aunt Marian, his career, some great friends and best of all…his family.

 

He was still lost back in his reflections of the past decade when the sounds of the rock group the Yardbirds playing over the radio came wafting into his senses…

 

To everything, turn, turn turn.

There is a season, turn, turn, turn.

And a time to every purpose under heaven…

 

Yes, thought Johnny as he listened to the song…that just about summed it all up.

 

There really was a time to every purpose under heaven, and right now, it was time to start the next chapter in his life.

 

Only this time he thought, with a satisfied smile, he wasn’t an orphan, and he wasn’t going alone.

 

Even though he was sad to leave some of his friends behind, he knew this time he had a great support system with him…he knew he would never be alone again as long as Roy, Joanne, Chris, Jenny and Dixie were alive. And that was a damn good feeling. He had his new family, including Dixie and his friend Joe Early with him, and he was moving on up to bigger and better things.

 

He leaned over and turned up the volume on the radio and smiled as he began to sing along.

 

Yes, there was no doubt about it … life was good.

 

 

Chapter Fifteen

 

 

Johnny sat in his Rover in the parking area of the Burlington Airport waiting for the DeSoto family’s flight to arrive. It was twenty to four in the afternoon, and Johnny was enjoying a cup of coffee and the BLT he had picked up at a small café located in the small airport terminal.

 

His week had been a busy one, but very fulfilling. Everything had fallen into place amazingly well. In fact he couldn’t have hoped for things to work out any better.

 

He had made great time on his trip up to Vermont. Not once had he been caught in a traffic jam, and the weather had been perfect all the way up. Sunny, warm and quiet, plus, he had only had to sleep on the bed he had made up in the back of his Rover for two nights.

 

The first night had been in a pleasant family friendly campground that had been extremely accommodating to the young paramedic, allowing his horses a chance to get out of the trailer and graze on an open patch of unused field next to the campsite he had been given.

 

The second night he had pulled off into a private riding stable and for a small fee, the owner had allowed him to stable his horses with fresh food and water for the night, while he once again slept in the Rover.

 

By driving straight through from sunup till sundown and only stopping for one or two fifteen minute rest stops per day; he had made it to Vermont in less than seventy two hours. He arrived officially in Swanton just before eight pm on May 25th.

 

He was pleased to discover when he pulled into the Danforth stables that Sean had been true to his word. He had indeed taken great care of his other horses. Not that Johnny had actually doubted the man’s word when he had promised he would take great care of the animals. He never would have allowed his horses out of his sight, if he hadn’t been convinced they were going to get the best care possible. Still he was pleased and very relieved to discover that Odyssey, Obsidian, and Pandora had tolerated the long journey with no signs of stress, and appeared to have settled in well. He unloaded Raven and Koda and unhitched his horse trailer from behind the Rover.

 

Upon arriving in Swanton, the second thing he did, after making sure Koda and Raven were settled in with the other horses, was to locate the moving truck that held his furniture. It was then he discovered that the truck with his furniture was already waiting for him at his new home.

 

It wouldn’t officially be his home for another day and a half and the arrangement had been that the moving van was supposed to be sitting on the Danforth estate, where he’d be staying until the morning of the 27th when he would take possession of his ranch. But once again, it seemed that divine providence was on his side, for it turned out that the owner of the ranch he had bought, had been more than amenable about letting Johnny store the moving van on site. Not only that…he had arranged it so that Johnny could stay in the guesthouse on his new ranch while he waited for the current owners to move their furniture out of the main house.

 

 

 

The two bedroom guesthouse on the ranch had been the home to the present owners hired man for the past six years. He was a widower and had lived there with his two teenage sons.

 

The two sons had grown and were now both in University in New Hampshire, and the hired man had moved out three weeks previous when he had found work on a new ranch in South Dakota.

 

The guesthouse had been furnished when the hired man had moved in, and the current owner was retiring and moving to Florida so he was just planning on leaving the furnishings in the guesthouse behind.

 

It couldn’t have been better for Johnny. It was just past ten o’clock at night by the time he had taken care of the horses and checked out the moving van, making sure his possessions had arrived unscathed. After Johnny was sure that everything checked out fine, he made the obligatory and promised phone call to Roy and Jo, reassuring them that he had arrived safe and sound and without any incident.

 

Just being able to just pull his Rover up to the guesthouse and retire for the night was a relief.

 

He opened the door and switched on the main light, pleased to see that the electricity was still on in the small abode. He looked around the place and smiled. It was better than he had remembered it. It was very simple and sparsely furnished….not to the point of being minimalist, but it was damn close.

 

The walls were all painted in a light tan color, and the floors were hardwood. There were several windows in the place, which Johnny was sure made the place bright and cheery during the daylight hours.

 

Inside there was a good sized galley kitchen that had been well taken care of. There was a small, square oak table with two plain oak chairs located in the eating area. It was an open concept layout that opened up into the rest of the living area. It had a sunken living room with small fireplace along the north wall. The only pieces of furniture it held were a futon, a tub chair and an end table at one end of the futon. There was some coiled up wiring against one wall that looked like there may have been at one time, some kind of entertainment unit located there that housed a television set or stereo, but it had probably belonged to the man, or the sons of the man who had recently left. Either way, the futon, chair and the end table were all that remained in the living area at present.

 

The master bedroom was mid-sized and contained a double bed, a four drawer bureau, and a nightstand. Also located in bedroom, were two doors along the interior wall. One led to a four piece ensuite bathroom. Johnny smiled when he saw that the bathtub was one of those old fashioned claw foot tubs. The other door revealed a walk in closet.

 

There were only two other rooms in the guesthouse. One held another bathroom that consisted of a sink, toilet and shower stall, but no bathtub. It also was home to a stackable washer and dryer. It was all clean and compact, very neat and practical. The last room was a smaller bedroom that held a set of bunk beds along one wall with a double dresser and a small writing desk along the opposite wall below the window. There was also a small closet on the interior wall.

 

All in all it was a small but comfortable house. It was what could best be described as, being very quaint and cozy.  Johnny brought in his cooler, sleeping bag, bath towel and the small box of kitchen supplies and toiletries that he had used during his last couple of days on his ranch back in L.A.

 

He unpacked what supplies he had in the galley kitchen. He was pleased to find that the refrigerator had been turned on in anticipation of his arrival and so what food he had left in his cooler was quickly transferred to the fridge. After completing that chore, he made his way into the master bedroom and unrolled his sleeping bag on top of the mattress, and hung his bath towel over the towel bar in the ensuite.

 

He had picked up a sub sandwich, a can of Coke, and a six pack of beer on his way over to his new ranch. He deposited the beer in the fridge so they would be cold for tomorrow and he sat down at the small table and ate his sub and drank down his Coke. After that he walked into the master bedroom and continued through to the bathroom. He grabbed his towel and took a quick, hot shower before crawling into his sleeping bag. It was only a couple of minutes before Johnny drifted off into a pleasant sleep.

 

That had been on Wednesday night, and the week had been a good one.

 

On Thursday morning, after he had visited his horses, Johnny had gotten a chance to really take in the sights of Swanton and was shocked to discover that all of locals seemed to already know his name and why he had moved to Swanton.

 

Apparently it had been a bone of contention with the town of Swanton for quite some time now, that there were no medical clinics or paramedic and ambulance service in their immediate area.

Burlington was the closest hospital and emergency service available to them, apart from the fire department, and they only had some basic first aid training. So Johnny’s arrival was big news, and a long awaited answer to many of their prayers.

 

Johnny received a warm welcome by everyone he met on the streets of Swanton. In fact everyone was bending over backwards to accommodate him. It was almost as if the town was hailing some conquering hero, who had just returned home after victory on some battlefield.

 

He spent his first full day as an official resident of Swanton, getting to know the locals and the lay of the land. He had had lunch with George Danforth at the building site, and was happy to see that the construction of the clinic was running right on schedule. He was also pleasantly surprised later on Thursday evening, when Dr. Byron Fellowes knocked on the door to the guesthouse with a large deluxe pizza and some cold beer.

 

And so here it was Friday afternoon, and the ranch was now officially his. He had picked up the keys to his new home that morning from the lawyer’s office located in the town square. His furniture however, sat covered up on the threshing floor of the barn. Johnny had decided to put off moving his furniture into the main house, because as much as he loved the large fieldstone fireplace and the natural wood beams and hardwood floors that graced the ranch house’s interior, he had been put off by the overly bright, bold paint colors on the walls.

 

Johnny preferred earth tones over the synthetic bold colors that were there now, so he had decided it would be much easier to paint the walls before he moved in his furniture; so instead of unpacking, he spent the time driving into town to pick out paint for the walls of his new home, from the local paint store.

 

Next he stopped off at the local grocers and bought some real groceries for the larder in the guesthouse. He then went up to the threshing floor where he had stored everything from the moving van.

 

He searched through all the boxes until he found the ones Joanne had marked kitchen and bathroom. Those few boxes, along with the ones that held most of his clothes, he moved into the guesthouse, for immediate unpacking and use. All of that had been accomplished by noon hour.

 

He then spent the next couple of hours, just walking along the perimeters of his property, double-checking the fences. Lastly he went back out to the barn to inspect the stable. Again he had lucked out. Because the previous owner had sold off his livestock and was retiring to Fort Lauderdale, he had left behind all of the farm tools and whatever hay and straw had been left, when he had sold off his animals. It just meant that much less Johnny had to worry about now.

 

By the time he had scouted around his place, inspecting every nook and cranny, it was past two thirty. He quickly went back to the guesthouse grabbed a bowl of cold cereal and a glass of milk and took a quick shower before making the thirty to forty minute drive from Swanton to the Burlington airport to pick up the DeSoto family.

 

The second Johnny looked into Roy and Joanne’s faces; it was more than obvious that their flight to Vermont had been a long and arduous one. They pair of them looked completely worn out and at the end of their rope.

 

Roy wearily plodded across the tarmac towards Johnny, while he struggled with their luggage. Joanne looked equally frazzled and out of patience, as she held on to the hands of their two children.

 

For their part, both Chris and Jen were making it clear, ...in no uncertain terms, that they were both tired and cranky. Clearly the six hour flight in combination with the three hour time difference had been just as taxing on the seven and ten year old children, as it had been on their parents.

 

Johnny quickly strode across the parking lot and took the luggage from Roy.

“Hey, there Pally, it looks like you’re just about done in…I’ll take this stuff and you go help Jo get the kids settled in to the back of the Rover.”

 

Roy smiled tiredly and eagerly handed the two large suitcases over to his partner, who carried them back over to the Rover, where he loaded it all up onto the roof racks, and secured the load safely.

 

By the time he had finished that task, Joanne had arrived with the children. Johnny knew the trip had been less than happy, as soon as he said hello to Chris and Jen. Both children quietly greeted him a hug and said, “Hi Uncle Johnny,” and meekly crawled into the back seat, and buckled themselves in; Jenny in the middle and Chris behind the drivers seat.

 

Johnny shut the back door to the Rover and looked over at Roy and Joanne.

 “Uh-oh,” he said. “Which is it… tired or contrite?”

 

“Oh, after the dressing down we had to give them about half an hour ago, I’d say odds are that it’s fifty-fifty.” Roy replied tiredly.

 

Johnny smiled and looked over at the weary travellers. “Look, how about this… It’s only quarter after four, and the real estate office is open until five. It shouldn’t take much more than half an hour to get from here to Swanton. How about if I take the kids and get some take out, while you and Jo go to the real estate office before they close for the night, and make an appointment to meet with someone tomorrow, who can show you what’s available. Then we can all drive out to my place and eat so you guys can just relax and unwind for the rest of the evening. Then the two of you can go house hunting alone tomorrow and Chris and Jen can hang out with me.”

 

Joanne looked like she was about to break into grateful tears as she reached over and hugged Johnny. “John Gage, if I wasn’t already married to a wonderful man, I’d snatch you up in a heartbeat. That sounds like a perfect plan”

 

Roy leaned over and gave John a pat on the back… “I agree Junior, …in fact if I wasn’t happily married to this beautiful woman beside me, I might even propose to you myself,” he teased.

 

Johnny snorted and rolled his eyes as he playfully punched Roy in the shoulder…”Sorry there Pally, but I prefer my dates to be a lot softer in all the right places and smell a whole lot prettier than you.”

 

By the time Joanne had crawled into the back seat beside Jenny, and Roy and Johnny had situated themselves in the front of the Rover, the tension had been defused and the mood was considerably lighter than it had been only a few minutes earlier.

 

By the time five thirty had rolled around, everyone in the Land Rover was in a much happier mood. Roy and Joanne had arrived at the real estate office in plenty of time before it closed. They were more than pleased to discover the broker eager to be of service. He had even given them a binder that contained all the current listings for available homes within a ten mile radius of Swanton, so they could peruse it this evening.

 

Chris and Jenny were much more content because Johnny had taken them to the local park and let them run around and play for a bit after having been cooped up inside a plane all day. Then he stopped off at the local Chinese restaurant and ordered enough take out to feed an army.

 

They were all happily chatting about the local housing market as they drove along, when Johnny signaled and turned off the highway onto a long lane that was lined up either side with rows of mature hard maple trees.

 

“Oh, Johnny.” Joanne gasped. “It’s gorgeous!” she exclaimed, as he continued on up the lane. Johnny stopped the vehicle in front of a large white clapboard Colonial farm house. It had a large wrap around porch and black shutters on every window.

 

“Well, there it is guys, home sweet home.” Johnny said proudly.

 

There was a large well kept barn off to the North of the house, but the lane itself, narrowed slightly and continued off to the west and down to the edge of an inlet on the edge of a large lake, where it ended in front of what appeared to be a very quaint stone cottage.

 

“That,” said Johnny pointing to the smaller stone cottage, “is where we will be staying this weekend. I haven’t moved into the big house yet, because I want to spend this week painting some of the walls before I move my stuff in…but the guesthouse has enough room for us to crash in for the weekend. There’s a smaller room with a set of bunk beds that will do for the kids, and there’s a double bed in the master bedroom that you two can use.”

 

“Where will you sleep Junior? There’s no way I’m letting you sleep in your Rover, while I take your bed,” declared Roy.

 

“Relax Roy. There’s a nice sized futon that pulls out into a bed in the living area. I’m going to crash there.”

 

By the time the conversation had ended they had pulled up in front of the little house.

 

 

“Here, Jo,” Johnny said as he handed her the bag of take out food…I unpacked all of the basic necessities for the kitchen and bathroom already. You should find everything you need inside in the cupboards to make some coffee. I’m afraid I haven’t made up the bunk beds yet. I had to run out today to the local Woolworth’s store and pick up some twin sized bedding for the bunks. I washed them but I’m afraid they’re still in the dryer. Roy and I will grab the sheets and make up the bunks while you dish up the grub.”

 

Johnny turned to Chris and Jenny. “You guys can grab the new pillows I bought for the beds and put the cases on them for me OK? …Sorry guys,” he grinned and shrugged his shoulders, “but I’m afraid there’s no such thing as ironed sheets at ‘Chez Gage’…but everything’s clean.”

 

It wasn’t long before all the beds were made and the happy group was sitting around inside the guesthouse enjoying their meal, and looking through the real estate book. Roy and Joanne were busy circling likely candidates for their new home. By the end of the meal Roy and Joanne had four possible contenders that they were eager to view the next day.

 

By nine o’clock, Chris and Jenny had been bathed and put to bed. For the rest of the evening the three adults sat around and talked about Johnny’s new place.

 

Joanne had instantly fallen in love with the ‘cottage,’ as she called it immediately and much to Johnny’s amusement, she was already redecorating it in her mind.

 

Johnny explained to them that the main house had been built in the 1770’s and the ‘cottage’ had originally been the icehouse. It had been dismantled and moved down to the inlet on the lake and converted into a guesthouse in the 1930’s. According the previous owner, the electricity and plumbing hadn’t been added until the late 1950’s.

 

By ten o’clock the next morning, Roy and Joanne had taken Johnny’s Rover and left to meet up with the real estate agent, while Johnny took Chris and Jen up to the main house to show them around. After a brief tour of the house, he took them down to the water where they waded by the shore, and tried to catch minnows with their hands. After they grew tired of that, they stood on the dock that was there and skipped stones across the surface of the lake.

 

It was well past two o’clock in the afternoon when the couple returned back to Johnny’s ranch with two sheets of paper in their hands.

 

“So, how’d you make out? See anything you like?” Asked Johnny.

 

“Actually Junior, we saw two houses that we really liked that are also within our budget. We looked through all four of our choices, but one of the houses had absolutely no yard at all, and the kitchen and bedrooms in one of the others were just way too small for all of us. So we’ve narrowed it down to either, a really nice three bedroom bungalow with a beautiful big back yard, that’s right across the street from the kids new school, or a ranch style house, that’s a couple blocks further away from the school and has a slightly smaller yard, but it has a fourth bedroom, a den and an ensuite bathroom off the big master bedroom.” Roy said.

 

“That means,” Joanne interjected. “We have to decide, do we like the one that’s close to the school with the really large yard for the kids, or do we want the extra rooms, but with a smaller yard and a longer walk for the kids to get to school? We told the agent we wanted to go off and talk about it for a couple of hours, and that we’d phone him back before the end of the day.”

 

Roy looked over at his two children. “We thought we’d come back here and get you guys, and see what you thought, before we make our final decision. We want this to be a decision that was agreed upon by our entire family.”

 

“Great!” yelled Chris, as he and Jenny jumped up and ran for the door.

 

Roy and Joanne laughed and followed their two children out the door and had almost reached the Rover when they realized that Johnny wasn’t behind them. They looked back to see him leaning up against the open door frame at the front of the guesthouse.

 

“What are you waiting for Johnny?  We promised the realtor we’d have a decision for him by tonight.” Roy said.

 

“Roy, it’s your home, it’s up to you and your family to decide which one is right for you.”

 

Roy and Joanne both turned to face the young man standing in the door.

 

“Excuse me?” said Roy.

 

“What?” asked a very confused Johnny.

 

“Last, time I checked Junior, you were a big part of this family, and I believe we I wanted the entire family to have some input on this decision.”

 

Johnny hesitated for a brief second and then grinned. He turned and closed and locked the door to the guesthouse and joined the rest his family inside the Rover.

By four o’clock that afternoon it had been unanimously decided by everyone that the ranch style home was the better fit for the DeSoto family.

 

The entire group drove back to the real estate office, while Roy and Joanne made out and signed an offer for what they hoped would end up being their new home in Vermont. Since it was now late Saturday and the office would be closed for Sunday and Memorial Day, there was nothing left to do now but wait and pray.

 

After that there really wasn’t much else to do with the rest of the day. It was now past six, and Roy decided it was his turn to treat everyone, so they ended up at a small locally owned Greek restaurant where they enjoyed an enjoyable evening together, then the entire family took a leisurely stroll around the streets of Swanton. They figured there was no time like the present to familiarize Chris and Jenny with their new hometown.

 

Johnny stopped off at the Danforth Stables to check on his horses before they all finally made it back to the guesthouse. Once the children were tucked away in their beds, Joanne excused herself to go and enjoy a nice hot bath while Roy and Johnny each grabbed a cold beer and went outside into the clear fresh evening air.

 

They made their way down to the dock at the edge of the water and sat down with their feet hanging over the edge.

 

“Just smell that fresh pure air Roy, you sure don’t get that in Los Angeles.”

 

“No, you sure don’t,” Roy, agreed. “The fresh clean air is going to be better for all of our lungs Junior… but yours in particular.”

 

Johnny looked over at Roy with a serious expression on his face.

 

“You’re not having second thoughts about all of this are you Roy? I mean you do want to do this as much as I do, don’t you? You’re not just doing this for my sake, are you?”

 

Roy looked over and grabbed Johnny by the shoulder and turned him around to face him directly.

 

“I swear to God Johnny, this is what I really want…for a lot of reasons. Yes, you are one of the reasons. I don’t want to give up being your partner and I don’t want to give up being a paramedic. As far as not being a firefighter anymore … I’m not that upset about that. I was always more into the paramedic program than I was the fire fighting aspect of our job. And Joanne is thrilled that we have put that part of our lives behind us. It’s always been the part of our job that scared her the most. Then there’s the raise in both rank and pay, which will come in very handy.

 

Jennychris“And last but not least, there’s Chris and Jenny. The gangs, guns and drugs are just getting worse and worse in L.A. all the time. I can’t imagine how bad it’s going to be by the time my kids are high school age. Oh I know that there are drugs everywhere, but they are certainly less prevalent in the small towns than they are in the big cities. Joanne and I are more than happy to get them out of that kind of environment.

 

“So you see Junior ...we ‘re more than happy with how things have turned out…it has been a blessing in disguise, for all of us, Dixie and Joe Early included. Besides…these people really need us Junior…we’re going to be all they got, and I don’t know about you, but I think that it sure feels good to be needed.”

 

Johnny looked over and his face showed both his joy and relief.

 

“I couldn’t agree with you more Pally. I just needed to make sure that making this move was something you wanted as much as I do… yeah I’m gonna miss the guys and L.A…. but man oh man Roy, this place is amazing, and my new ranch is everything I’ve ever wanted. And the best part of all of this is the fact that I got my family with me… that I’m not doing this all alone this time around.”

 

Roy leaned over and pulled Johnny into a brief hug. “That’s right Johnny, you’re not alone, your family’s right here with you. And we always will be…you never have to worry about being alone again. I promise you.”

 

Johnny pulled away and wiped the moisture out of his eyes and looked across the lake.

The two men sat in companionable silence and watched the sun set in the west, before finally rising and making their way back into the little stone cottage.

The next morning Johnny rose up early and drove over to help feed his horses and even took the time to take Koda out for a quick ride before breakfast.

 

It was nearly eight in the morning when he returned home and found Joanne busy in the kitchen cooking up French toast and sausages for breakfast. The smell of fresh brewed coffee caused his stomach to growl in hunger, and he quickly excused himself so he could grab a quick shower before the meal was served.

 

The rest of the day was spent walking around Johnny’s new ranch. He and Joanne began talking about which rooms in Johnny’s home were going to be painted which colours. Most of the colors he had chosen were what could best be described as, autumnal shades. Joanne read off the labels, Sage, Burnt Cinnamon, Terra Cotta and Sienna Clay. Since the plan was for Joanne and the kids to remain behind in Vermont for a week and return to L.A. with Johnny, she immediately began to help him organize the transformation of his new home.

 

Johnny and the kids spent the Sunday evening playing cards in the living room of the guesthouse, so that Roy and Joanne could spend some time alone together down on the dock. Roy would be leaving for Los Angeles at noon hour the next day, and he and Joanne would be apart for the next week.

 

After seeing Roy’s plane off the next day, Joanne took over and got the kids busy playing games in one of the empty rooms in the main house, while she and Johnny got to work. Each adult picked a room and began to prime the walls. Once the walls had been primed, they grabbed their rollers and brushes and set to work. By late Thursday afternoon, all the rooms that Johnny had earmarked to be painted were finished.

 

The only thing left to do was move in. That in itself would not be a huge task, as the only real furniture Johnny had brought with him, was his bedroom set, his big oak harvest table and chair set for the kitchen, and his leather recliner. All of the other furniture he had sent to Goodwill with the intentions of buying new living room furniture after he had moved in. The appliances were new and had been left with the house.

 

This house was much larger than the ranch In L.A. had been and Johnny found himself with several rooms that would need to be furnished, but that would have to come later on, for now he just planned on opening all the windows in the house for the entire day on Friday to let any lingering paint fumes dissipate, and then he would move his stuff in on Saturday.

 

It had been early on the Tuesday evening, when they finally heard the news they had been waiting for. Joanne, Johnny and the two kids were sitting on the futon, enjoying their evening meal after a full day of painting, when there was a knock on the door of the guesthouse.

 

When Johnny opened the door he found the real estate broker who had handled the sale of his new ranch. He was also the broker that Roy and Joanne were dealing with.

Johnny opened the door wide and invited the man in.

 

“So, Mr. Gage, I trust you are enjoying your new home?” he said.

 

“Well, I haven’t actually moved into it yet. As you can see I’m staying here while I paint the walls a color that is more suited to my tastes, but yes, so far everything is great thanks. I take it you’re here to talk to Joanne about the offer she and Roy put on the house?”

 

Joanne had now joined Johnny by the futon and looked expectantly at the man.

 

“Congratulations Mrs. DeSoto,” he said with a smile.

 

“The offer you made on the ranch house was accepted; you got yourself a new home. You take possession of it on July 24th. And let me be the first to welcome you and your family to Swanton.” He said as he shook her hand warmly.

 

It was late Sunday evening when Johnny, Joanne and the kids arrived back in Los Angeles. Thankfully the return trip had gone a bit more smoothly as far as the kids were concerned. That was largely due to the fact that Johnny had kept them entertained by playing card games with them when they grew bored with their comic books. He had even managed to draw Joanne into a few games of crazy eights with the kids.

 

And so the month of June slowly passed by. Chris and Jenny finished their last week of school, and even had an end of the year party at their house so they could say goodbye to their friends from Los Angeles.

 

Roy and Doctor Brackett finished up with the paramedic training class by mid-June as well.

 

It was a busy but pleasant time for the group. Johnny and Joanne had been slowly going through the DeSoto home and packing the things that were deemed to be non-essential. The basement, storage closets and garage had each been gone through, and there had been a huge garage sale to get rid of items that would not be making the move with the family.

 

By the time Roy was finished with the paramedic training class, most of the packing had been finished, with the boxes Johnny and Joanne had packed clearly labeled and stacked in the garage.

 

Roy and Joanne had contacted the same company Johnny had used to handle their move. George Danforth, true to his agreement with the group, had taken care of the financial side of the expense of moving, which took a lot of the stress out of the entire process. That, and the fact that they would have almost an entire month to move in and get settled before they had to jump into the thick of things, helped to keep the entire atmosphere very relaxed.

 

There were many visits back and forth between the DeSoto home and what was left of the members of the A shift. They got together at least once a week while they planned their last Fourth of July BBQ in Los Angeles.

 

Because July fourth was the day before moving day for Johnny and Roy, it had been decided that this year, the event would be held at the Stanley residence.

 

Mike and Hank spent a good deal of their time these days studying for their upcoming exams on the first of July.

 

Joe Early and Dixie had no trouble selling their condos in L.A., and Joe had already made a trip up to Vermont in mid June and had purchased a new condo that suited him in Burlington. Swanton being a small historic community didn’t have any condos period. Since Joe would only be working at the clinic three days a week... maybe four in a pinch, the thirty to forty minute commute to Swanton didn’t bother him in the least.

 

The big surprise was Dixie. She had always lived in big cities her entire life, and it had been a shock when she announced that what she wanted to do was find herself a small little place in either Swanton or just outside the little town. She felt that she was at a point in her life where she wanted to try the quiet life.

 

Joe Early had left Rampart the first of June, deciding he wanted to be able to take his time with the move, and not rush, but Dixie had agreed to stay on at Rampart until the end of the month to help the new head nurse adjust to the frenetic pace of the E.R. So consequently she had not been able to arrange anyplace to live.

 

Johnny quickly informed her, that it wouldn’t be a problem and that she could live in the guesthouse for as long as she wanted to. That way she could take her time finding a new home to live in. Dixie readily agreed to accept his offer of both the place to stay and help with moving. In the end it had been decided that the moving van carrying the Desoto’s furniture would carry Dixie’s as well, since she really didn’t have a lot to move, and it would all be headed to Johnny’s ranch anyway.

 

Joe had taken a more pragmatic approach…he had sold his condo completely furnished and would only be taking along his personal items. He would buy new furniture in Burlington …a totally fresh start for his semi-retirement he had decided.

 

Roy and Joanne would be staying with Johnny at his new ranch for most of July, until they got possession of their new home. That way they too could do any redecorating they wanted to do, without having to walk around the furniture.

 

All in all it was safe to say that everything had gone off like clockwork… and so the month of June ended on the same positive note that it had begun on.

 

 

 

Links to Part 1. 2. 3.

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