Copyright: February 2004 by Robin R. Neher
THIS STORY IS WRITTEN FOR PLEASURE AND IS NOT INTENDED TO INFRINGE ON ANY PREEXISTING COPYRIGHTS THAT MAY BE VIOLATED. FEEL FREE TO SHARE WITH FRIENDS, BUT NOT FOR PROFIT. THIS STORY IS FICTIONAL, A WORK OF THE WRITER'S IMAGINATION. THE CHARACTERS AND INCIDENTS USED IN THIS STORY ARE PURELY FICTIONAL AND ARE NOT BASED ON ANY PERSON AND/OR PERSON'S ACTUAL EXPERIENCES.
Title: Joanne strikes out
Author: Robin R. Neher
E-mail: NRobin1027@aol.com
Rating: PG
Pairing: N/A
Archive: Yes
Fandom: Emergency!
Summary: After a fight with Roy, Joanne storms out of their home and disappears, leaving a worried Roy to wait.
Content Warning: Some harsh Language.
Joanne strikes out
by Robin R. Neher
"It all started innocently enough. It started out as a late night spat between husband and wife. Then, before I knew it, I was here, in the pouring rain. I could not believe that I had actually walked out on him."
"Sounds like you were pretty mad at him." Remarked a lady on the next stool.
"I was, and I still am mad." Joanne DeSoto admitted. "I spent alot of money on this dress and alot of time setting the mood. I got a sitter for our two kids, all for nothing! Nothing!"
"Joanne, what happened?" Asked Kelly McHugh. "Why don't you tell me about it?"
"I kicked Roy!" Jo sobbed.
"Kicked him?" Brown haired and gray eyed Kelly asked.
"Kicked him, right in the nuts!" Joanne wept. "He just pissed me off so much, I just put one of these damn high heels where it'd do the most damage! Kelly, certainly you know what that feels like!"
"Jo, what happened to make you feel that way?" Kelly, the wife of a friend of Roy's asked.
"Roy was supposed to meet me at this restaurant. It's a new place, not far from our house. I love French Food and wanted to try it out. Anyway, the guys that he works with at station fifty-one called and invited him to watch a ball game. He knew that we had dinner reservations at seven, but he went anyway, but not before he promised to meet me at the restaurant."
"I take it he never showed." Kelly guessed as Jo downed shot after shot of whisky.
"I waited at that restaurant until they closed, but no Roy!" Jo sobbed. "Here I am, soaked to the bone, catching a cold, for what?!"
"Jo!" Roy called as he rushed into the bar where she was drinking with Kelly. "Honey-"
"You stay away from me, you bastard!" Jo sobbed.
"Jo, I'm sorry, Okay?" Roy, An LA County Firefighter/Paramedic pleaded. "Let's just go home-"
"No!" Joanne sobbed, then sneezed. "You went and forgot all about me! How could you put a football game above me?! What the hell were you thinking?!"
Roy paled when he saw how wet and cold his wife was.
"I waited, but you never came!" Jo wept, then sneezed again.
"Honey, let me take you home." Roy tried again. "You're cold, angry and more then a little tipsy. Honey, I'll draw you a warm bath, Then, we'll get you a good night's rest."
"I'd rather live on the streets!" Jo slurred, then threw a shot glass at Roy.
"Uh, Roy, I think it might be best if you just went on home," Kelly interceded.
"Kay," Roy sighed, then left the bar.
***********************************
"I hate that Son of a Bitch!" Jo said once Roy was out of sight. "I'd like to see him humiliated as I am now!"
"I have an idea." Kelly smiled, evilly.
"Do tell," Jo encouraged.
"How would you like to disappear for awhile?" Kelly asked her.
"Disappear how?" Jo wondered.
"I can arrange it so you'd just disappear without a trace." 5'3 Kelly replied. "Roy could wake up tomorrow and find he has nothing to hold but your empty pillow."
"And I'd be where?" Jo asked.
"Somewhere far away, living a life of luxury." Kelly smiled. "By this time tomorrow, you could be on a sandy beach, soaking in the sun and drinking margaritas."
"It sounds tempting." Joanne admitted. "I can't leave our kids with Roy though."
"Why the hell not?" Kelly asked. "I think it's high time that man of yours got a taste of what we girls go through everyday."
"That's not a bad idea at that." Joanne mused. "I'm tired of him not being there for me, then expecting me to be there for him when he wants me to be! It'd
be fun to see that big lug panic when he thinks I've left him and believe me, he will panic! He goes crazy if he doesn't know where I am! Besides, I've been wanting to take a tropical vacation for awhile."
"There ya go." Kelly smiled.
"I was hoping Roy and I could do that someday, but it'd be more fun without him." Jo giggled.
"Honey, I could hire men to serve your every need. They'd be attentive, in shape and not the hairy guerilla that your husband is." Kelly smirked.
"Roy would absolutely see red!" Jo laughed. "And it'd serve him right!"
"So, is it a deal?" Her friend asked.
"Kelly, you have yourself a deal!" Joanne grinned as the women shook hands.
***********************************
The next day, Joanne DeSoto was excited as she waited for her plane out of LA to board at LAX. After her night at the bar, she'd returned home just long enough grab some clothes and toiletries. She then left the house without disturbing a sleeping Roy or her kids. Now, as she waited for boarding to begin, the thought of sandy beaches and sunshine made Jo smile.
"Where ya headed?" A lady next to her in the airport lounge asked.
"Hawaii." Joanne grinned.
"Same here," The other woman grinned. "I'm Audrey James."
"Joanne DeSoto." Jo introduced herself. "You going there for business or pleasure?"
"Oh, pleasure." Audrey smiled as she kept a close eye on her carry on bag.
"I need to get outta here for awhile, simple as that." Joanne told the well dressed lady who appeared to be in her middle thirties. "I need to get away from the hubby and kids."
"I just need to get away!" 5'1 Audrey laughed. "Living here in LA is no picnic."
"Try living with my hubby." Jo teased. "Being married is no bed of roses either."
"Let me guess. Sports addict, right?" Audrey asked Jo.
"You said it!" Jo snorted. "We were supposed to go out last night. I made the mistake of letting him watch football with his friends and he never came to meet me at the restaurant. Every football season, it happens again and again."
"Yeah, my man, Jay is the same way with Baseball." Audrey told her new acquaintance. "Once the season starts, it's as if I don't exist, so this year, I
decided that I was gonna treat myself to a Hawaiian vacation."
"A friend of mine is a travel agent and arranged all this for me." Jo said, excitedly. "I just left my Roy at home. He doesn't even know I'm going. I just went home long enough to get some things, then left for here. He was asleep and never even noticed!"
"You sneaky little Devil!" Audrey smiled.
"I'm tired of always having to be there for him, but him never being there for me." Joanne stated.
"I can sympathize with that," Audrey smiled. "Jay is a policeman, so I never really get to see him."
"My Roy is a Firefighter." Jo smiled as their flight was called.
As both women made their way to board the plane, Roy's voice cut through the crowd.
"Joanne!" He called. "Jo!"
Joanne just kept walking as her husband struggled with the throng of people.
"Jo!" She heard him call again. "Honey, wait! JOOOAAANNEEE!!!"
"Just keep going." Audrey instructed Jo.
Jo kept walking as Roy got closer.
"Hon!" Roy called. "Hon, wait!"
"Roy, I have a plane to catch!" Jo snapped.
"Honey, please, just listen to me!" Roy pleaded. "I'm sorry about last night!"
"Roy? Come here." Joanne requested.
Roy did so.
"Closer," His wife instructed.
The minute he was face to face with her, Jo spoke.
"Kiss-my-ass!" She hissed, then boarded the plane with Audrey as Roy watched, his jaw slack with shock at his wife's words.
As Roy turned to leave the terminal, he bumped right into Kelly McHugh.
"You!" Roy accused. "You did this!"
"Roy, I just helped your wife get a needed and long overdue vacation." Kelly told him. "You know what she told me last night? She told me that she was tired."
"Tired?" Roy repeated.
"Yes, tired. She's tired of you not being there for her." Kelly told him.
"So, you just put her on a plane to God knows where?!" Roy demanded
"She asked me to!!" Kelly defended herself.
Roy backed off as what Kelly said hit him.
"Roy, you really hurt her last night." Kelly said, her tone calmer. "She was all dressed up and looking forward to a night out with the man she loved and thought loved her."
"Kelly, I-" The Firefighter/Paramedic stammered.
"Look, Joanne has needs and wants, just like you." His friend told him. "Walk with me."
Roy nodded and followed her as they walked away from the empty terminal.
"I saw pure pain in your wife's eyes last night." Kelly told Roy as they walked through the big airport. "I just wanted to offer her the chance to for once, not live for you."
"Go on," Roy nodded.
"I just think that your wife deserves to be treated like a queen now and then. She deserves not to have to lift a finger or go out and lay on a sunny beach if she wants. I want her to have time for her, without you or the kids." Kelly finished. "As a travel agent, I provided that."
"Okay, but where does that leave me and our kids?" Roy asked. "They're gonna wanna know where Mommy is."
"That's not my problem," The woman shrugged.
"Can you at least tell me where the plane's going?" Roy asked her.
"Roy, maybe you need to think about how you can be a better husband to your wife rather than where she is." Kelly told him as they arrived at the airline terminal where she worked. "I'll see you later."
With that, Kelly went to work and Roy left the airport for home.
*******************************************
Two days later, Roy DeSoto arrived for work at 51's and was immediately in trouble. It was time for inspection again and Roy's uniform was far from pristine, so he ended up being sent home to change by Captain Stanley.
"Roy, you need to pull yourself together." Advised Mark McHugh, Kelly's husband and Roy's temporary partner on the squad. "Joanne went on vacation, big deal!"
Married like Roy, Mark was a short 5'3 inches tall with flaming red hair and blue eyes. Like Roy, he was one of the first class to be trained and certified as a Paramedic. Unlike the senior medic though, this man was opinionated and apt to say whatever he felt, not unlike Roy's regular partner, Johnny Gage who was at that moment vacationing in the mountains above LA.
"You're right, Mark," Roy decided as they arrived at Roy's house. "Jo's off having fun somewhere. I hope she's enjoying herself."
"Roy, she really needs that as much as Johnny did." Mark smiled.
"Johnny was really beginning to crack up there!" Roy laughed. "I knew he needed time off when he started swinging from the hose on the hose tower and using the tower itself as if it were a jungle gym!"
"He'd been on duty for almost two solid weeks with no rest." Mark replied.
"A brushfire will do that." Roy smirked as the men left the squad and made their way into the house. "Did I thank you for agreeing to fill in for him?"
"Only a thousand times." Mark replied as Roy went upstairs to change.
When Roy came back a few minutes later, he had on a much neater uniform and was carrying others in a dry cleaner's bag over his shoulder. When they arrived back at 51s minutes later, they saw the Chief's car in the parking lot as they walked in. Hank nodded his approval to Roy as both he and Mark scrambled into line in the apparatus room. Before the inspection could even get going though, the tones came through the speakers.
Squad 51, women down. 101 Sykes St. 101 Sykes St. Crosstreet: 77th. Timeout: 08:20.
"Squad 51, KMG-365." Hank responded as his paramedics rolled out in the squad.
***********************************
As the medics were doing their duty in LA, Joanne DeSoto was getting a much needed respite on a sunny beach in Hawaii. She smiled as she closed her eyes and took in the fresh air. After checking into her hotel last night and getting a good night's sleep, Joanne awakened to a beautiful day.
"I see you made it." Audrey James smiled.
"Yep," Jo smiled, opening her eyes. "Pull up a towel."
"Thanks," Audrey smiled.
Joanne gasped as she took in the beauty spreading out a beach towel next to her. Even though she was only 5'1, Audrey was slim and had long, flowing brown curls that framed her face, beautifully and brought out her brown eyes.
"Okay, how do you do it?" Jo joked. "How do you stay so beautiful?"
"Just luck I guess." Her new friend grinned as she stretched out on her towel.
"No kids, right?" Jo asked her.
"Not yet," Audrey replied. "I can't even get Jay to pop the question yet! I think he's afraid of commitment."
"I think that all men are to one extent or another." Joanne told her. "It took me a full two years to even get Roy to agree to buy me a ring. It took me fifteen years to get me to say that he loved me."
"Wow!" Audrey laughed.
"We were kids when we met!" Joanne laughed with her. "We were only in the fourth grade!"
"Jo, what is it?" Audrey asked, seeing a hint of sadness in Jo's eyes.
"I don't know." She sighed. "I can't help but wonder if Roy loves me. It just feels as if he and I are just friends now. When we make love, it seems that my husband just wants to get away from me as fast as he can. He just does what he has to and rolls over."
"Jay's the same way with me." Audrey admitted. "We start to make love and he gets it up, but only long enough to cum. After that, he's out like a light."
"Sometimes, Roy can't even get hard." Joanne revealed. "I see the hurt in his eyes when it happens and I back off."
Audrey nodded.
"I don't want Roy to feel that he's less of a man." Jo continued.
"But?" The brown haired beauty prompted.
"The truth is that even when Roy does manage an erection and we have sex, he doesn't satisfy me. He goes to sleep and I'm left wanting more." Joanne admitted.
"Have you suggested that he see a doctor?" Audrey asked.
"I could never ask him to do that." Jo shook her head. "That'd be like blaming him for my inadequacies. Maybe I don't satisfy him either."
"Jo, please, don't think like that." Audrey pleaded.
"I can't help it. I can't help but wonder about all those extra shifts he claims to work. I wonder if there's another woman? It wouldn't be the first time
a man has had something on the side." Joanne told her friend.
"Your Roy doesn't seem the type." Audrey said. "He seems to love you very much by that scene at LAX yesterday. He seems very devoted to you."
"Devoted." Jo mumbled. "If he was so devoted, where the hell was he the other night? What was so damn important that he forgot about me at the restaurant?"
"Did you ask him?" Audrey asked her.
"More like yelled at him." Jo corrected. "I was mad beyond belief. I mean, there I was, soaked, sneezing my head off and my mascara was running and Roy, he just comes bouncing into that bar as if he were just a few minutes late. Audrey, I wanted to yank his pants down and smack that hairy ass of his til it was beet red."
"Have you hit him?" Her new friend asked.
"Yeah," Joanne nodded. "I've also withheld sex. Once, I did that for a full year."
"Jo, withholding sex solves nothing. I did that to Jay once and almost lost him over it." Audrey revealed.
"Audrey, men have to learn that sex is not a right." Joanne argued. "They also have to learn to respect us."
"Agreed, but not by treating them like little boys. " Audrey countered. "Our men work in lockeroom environments. Jay's fellow officers kidded and teased him about my withholding sex. They made him feel as if he were a fag and one called him just that. He was so humiliated that he wanted to break it off with me."
"I never thought of that." Jo admitted.
***********************************
Back in LA, at the same time, Roy was revealing his own sadness aboard squad 51 as he and Mark were returning from their latest response.
"Squad 51, available." Roy sighed as Mark drove.
Squad 51. Returned Sam Lanier.
"She's hitting you?" Mark asked.
Roy nodded.
"We haven't had sex in over a year." He then told his fill in partner. "I'm desperate, Mark!"
"For what?" The red head asked.
"I don't know." Roy sighed. "I just wanna be in love with Jo again. I want us to be the way we were when we were first married."
"Are you saying you don't love your wife?" Mark asked him.
"I'm saying that I don't like what she's become." Roy admitted. "I don't know her anymore. Joanne has smacked me in the face, spanked my butt or strung me from the ceiling of our room and whipped me like a circus animal who was bad. If I set her off, I may not be able to sit for a week."
"Sounds like Jo may have some anger issues." Mark mused.
"When we do have sex or try to, my erection never lasts long enough for me to get inside her, much less cum. That makes her even madder. I mean, everytime we kiss or start to get romantic, the anxiety just turns me off. I can tell that Jo's not satisfied, but I just don't know how to please her, in the bedroom or anywhere else anymore."
"So, you don't even try." Mark guessed.
"I don't." Roy acknowledged. "That's the reason I didn't meet her the other night. I mean, what was the use in going if she was only gonna critique me all night? Besides, I despise French food, especially if it's overpriced."
"Yeah, me too," Mark agreed as they arrived back at 51's. "Looks like the engine's on a run."
"Yeah," Roy agreed as Mark backed the squad into the apparatus bay, then turned off the motor. "Anyway, I'm to the point of telling Jo that she can find another man if she wants. I've had it with her. I really have."
"Roy, you can't mean that." Mark countered.
"I do mean it." Roy insisted. "I don't think that Jo has any respect for me as a person or a man. Maybe she's justified in her feelings. Maybe I deserve all she's done to me and more."
"Why do you think you deserve to be hit?" Mark asked him.
"I failed her as a husband." Roy shrugged as both men exited the squad.
"What makes you think that?" Mark probed. "C'mon, Roy, you and I have been friends too long to start lying to each other."
"I was taking care of Chris and Nicole last night." Roy sighed. "Nicole, you can tell her to do something and she'll do it. Chris, you can yell and scream at him, spank him, ground him, nothing works though. After I got them to sleep, it hit me. I saw just what Jo must go through on a daily basis."
"So?" The fill in medic prompted as he and Roy entered the kitchen.
"I felt the frustration with Chris. He has a learning disability and can't pay attention to anything for long. Just getting him to clean his room was world war three." Roy sighed. "Mark, I was that close to tanning him within an inch of his life. If that's how I felt with him, I can just imagine the frustration his mother feels with me."
"So that gives Joanne the right to hit you?" Mark asked.
"I remember something Early said once. He said that we all channel our frustrations in different ways. Some drink, some use drugs and others hit." Roy told Mark.
"How bout you, Roy? How do you deal with your frustrations?" Mark asked. "How do you deal with John Gage and his girl troubles? How do you deal with him when he ropes you into this or that?"
"I'll admit that I get angry at him sometimes, Chet Kelly too." Roy said.
"Have you ever wanted to hurt either of them?" Mark wondered.
Roy nodded.
"Johnny, he can drive me to the funny farm at times. Chet too." Roy admitted.
"What about Jo?" Mark asked.
"I admit that I've wanted to hit her too sometimes. I never have though." Roy replied. "John or Chet either. I love Joanne, don't get me wrong. I just feel as if she wants more from me than I can give sometimes."
"Have you told her that?" His partner asked.
"No," Roy sighed. "If I do, she'll get mad again."
Before anymore could be said, the tones went off, sending Mark and Roy back to the squad.
Engine 86, engine 110, engine 10, squad 51, Battalion 14, respond second alarm on engine 51's incident, structure fire. 8817 Chicago St. 8817 Chicago St.
Crosstreet: 18th. Timeout: 10:07.
"Squad 51, KMG-365." Mark acknowledged as he and Roy rolled out, the latter driving.
***********************************
Meanwhile, a world away from LA, Jo left the beach and returned to her room to change clothes. After she did that, Jo spent the day, shopping in a nearby city. As she was leaving a store later that afternoon, she saw a sign in front of a building next door. Making her way over, bags and boxes in hand. Jo smiled when she saw the name of a counselor of the door.
"Here, let me help you." An attractive woman in her forties smiled as she opened the door. "You look like you need to talk."
"I do." Jo admitted.
"Well, you've come to the right place. Jennifer Wellsley, Ph.D., at your service." The whitish blond woman identified herself.
"Joanne DeSoto." Jo introduced herself. "Call me Jo."
"Okay, Jo." The 6'2 doctor nodded. "I'm Jenny. Come on in and I'll fix you a nice cup of tea."
"Thanks," Joanne smiled.
"This way," The psychologist smiled. "My receptionist will watch your things."
Joanne sat her newly bought items in the reception area, then allowed herself to be led into the doctor's office. Once they were behind closed doors, Jenny indicated a couch across the office from the door.
"Relax." The Doc invited. "Sit down and tell me what's bothering you."
Joanne took a seat, then told the doctor about her problems with Roy as the doctor herself fixed Jo and herself cups of hot tea.
"You actually kicked your husband in his privates?" Jenny asked when the dark haired woman was done.
"I did," Jo admitted as the shrink handed her the tea. "Thanks. Anyway, I wanted to hurt him."
"Why?" Jenny prompted.
"I guess I wanted him to hurt like he hurt me." Jo answered. "I know, it was just one night, but he promised."
"Why was it so important that Roy, that is his name, right?" Jenny asked as she took notes.
Jo nodded.
"Why was it so important for you to be with Roy that night?" Jenny wanted to know.
"I thought that if we went out and had a nice dinner, the romance would return. I was so hurt when he didn't show. I felt that I wasn't number one with him. I feel that way most of the time now. Oh, I know I could've just gone and eaten alone or invited someone else to join me, but it wouldnt've been the same.
Nice restaurants are for couples." Jo said.
"Says who?" Jenny asked her. "What rule says that you can't have fun alone?"
"Did I say that?" Jo asked the shrink.
"What do you think?" The doctor asked.
"Jenny, I can do things without Roy. I do it all the time." Jo replied. "I take the kids places without him. I raise them without him most of the time. I do alot of things without my husband. I go buy groceries-"
"Would you go to a party without him?" Jenny asked. "Would you go to a play without him?"
"No," Jo admitted.
"Why not?" The Doc probed.
"I don't know." Jo answered.
"Yeah you do." Jenny countered. "You say you do most things without him. Why not a party or play?"
END PART 9