Chapter Text
On the outside looking in.
by Robin R. Neher
"Pally?" Johnny asked quietly as he and Roy left the church where Joanne was getting married to someone else.
"Johnny, get me out of here!" Roy requested as they walked out to Johnny's Land Rover parked in the church parking lot.
"Okay, Pally." Johnny replied, understandingly. "We'll go."
Roy's tears started flowing as Johnny unlocked the truck. As soon as the doors were open, both men got in and starting the engine, Johnny pulled away from the church.
"I guess it's really over!" Roy sobbed. "I'll never love again!"
"Roy, don't say that." Johnny soothed. "I know that right now it hurts, but given time, you'll be able to love again. There are lots of other fish in the sea, ya know. One day, you'll find a person who understands you and your job."
"Johnny, that's easy for you to say! You aren't going through what I am now! I loved that woman! I loved her!" Roy cried on the verge of hysteria. "I loved her!"
Johnny drove Roy to his ranch on the outskirts of LA. Once inside the house, Johnny took Roy to his bedroom and laid him on his bed.
"If I can't have Joanne, what's the use in living?!" Roy sobbed.
Johnny froze at those words.
"Roy, you aren't thinking of killing yourself, are you?" A concerned Johnny asked.
"I might as well! I can't live without her!" Roy sobbed.
Roy's threat sent Johnny into panic mode. Johnny, unsure of what else to do, called Dix who came over immediately.
"Dix, I'm sorry, but I didn't know what else to do!" Johnny told the nurse.
"You did the right thing." Dixie McCall reassured Johnny. "Let's go check on Roy."
Going upstairs, Johnny led Dix to his bedroom. Going in the saw a crying Roy, sitting on the bed.
"Roy, Talk to me." Dix ordered.
"Dix, my life is over!" Roy sobbed. "I can't live without Jo!"
"Roy, what makes you think that?" Dix asked, sitting down on the bed beside the distraught man as Johnny silently left the room.
"Jo's the only love I've ever had." Roy cried. "I can't stand the thought of her with another man!"
"Roy, look at me!" Dix commanded. "You knew this was gonna happen sooner or later. It's been a year since the divorce. Jo's moving on without you, the kids too! The sooner you accept that, the better!"
"Dix, How can let my kids be raised by another man?" Roy sniffed.
"Roy, how can you raise or be involved with kids that are going to be living in England?" Dix asked. "Doesn't it seem strange to you that you're trying to hold on to a family that you hardly spent time with when you and Jo were married? Did it take
losing them to wake you up?"
Roy stopped crying as he realized his friend was right.
"I guess I made alot of mistakes." Roy realized.
"It's not too late to learn from them." Dix soothed. "You can marry again and have more kids."
"I don't know that I'll ever find the kind of love that Joanne gave me again." Roy sighed.
"You're wrong, Pally." Johnny whispered. "Love is right in front of you."
"Johnny, you mean you're in love with Roy?" A shocked Dix asked.
TBC............