Copyright: November 2003 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: Taking work home

Author: Robin R. Neher

E-mail: NRobin1027@aol.com

Rating: R

Pairing:N/A

Archive: Yes

Fandom: Emergency!

Summary: When Roy punishes Chris for drug use at a party, he questions his recent training as a Paramedic.

Content Warning: Harsh language. Mild violence against Joanne.


Taking Work Home
By: Robin R. Neher

Joanne DeSoto watched as her Son, Chris, glared at his father, Roy, then stormed into his room.

"A little hard on him, Hon." Joanne said.

"I don't think so." Her husband disagreed. "Being grounded for a month was more than fair."

"Roy, he just tried weed!" Joanne argued.

"Drugs." Roy, a recently certified Paramedic corrected.

"It was harmless fun!" Jo laughed.

Roy turned around and slapped her face. She sobbed as she held her bruised cheek.

"Don't you ever say that again!" Roy yelled at his wife. "Weed is not just harmless fun! It can lead to much harder drugs that can kill! I'm not gonna lose either one of my kids to that poison!"

"Roy, what is with you?!" Joanne cried.

Roy spun around to face his wife. When he saw the bruise on her cheek, he turned and ran from the house.

Once the door slammed shut behind him, Joanne got up and went to ice her cheek. She then went and called Dixie McCall on the phone. When the nurse heard what had happened, she rushed right over.

"Are you okay, Jo?" The concerned nurse asked.

"He's changed, Dix!" Joanne wept. "When Roy found that joint in Chris's room, he started just screaming at him like a wild man! He grounded our Son for a month! I should've never let him take that training course!"

"The Paramedics?" Dix prompted.

Joanne nodded as Dix helped her to a chair.

"He's just not the same Roy I married!" Jo wept. "It's as if the Paramedic program has turned him into a monster!"

"Jo, doing what Roy does on a daily basis is bound to stir some things up in him." Dixie told her. "He, Johnny and all the other Paramedics see things in the line of duty that you'll never see in your whole lifetime. When their shift is over, they can't just put that training and all they see away like they
can their turnouts or their uniforms. It stays with them 24/7."

"Maybe I just don't know what life is like in that world." Joanne realized.

"You do have to be there to understand." Dix agreed as she held a weeping Joanne.

*********************************

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Roy DeSoto sat in the office of Dr. Kelly Brackett at Rampart hospital.

"Roy, in order for this to work, we need you!" The head of the Emergency department was telling him.

"Doc, I was screaming, screaming at my Son." Roy replied. "I slapped my wife. Doc, I've never done those things before."

"Is she alright?" Kel asked as Joe Early, another doctor, sat nearby.

"I think so. I didn't hit her that hard." Roy replied. "Anyway, Chris just glared at me. Doc, this job is affecting my family."



END PART 1