Work Text:
Counting Among One Another
by Lynneste
Chet Kelly was sitting in a chair on the back patio. He was remembering two rescues in one day. One of them was pulling a passed out victim from a hot tub, but the victim died on the way to Rampart General Hospital. Chet knew it was neither his nor the rest of A-shift's fault. He pondered talking about it with someone.
Roy DeSoto came out onto the patio and sat next to Chet.
Roy said, "Hi, Chet."
Chet said, "Hi, Roy."
"Is something bugging you?"
"In a way, yeah."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really."
"Why not?"
"It's not really that serious."
"You never know unless you really try."
"It's kind of hard."
"Chet, apparently you're remembering when you pulled that unconscious man out of his hot tub."
"Roy, it was apparently already too late. He died on the way to Rampart."
"No one is at fault. Sometimes when Johnny and I try to save a life, but the victim dies at Rampart, we feel a little bad. But we know we've done all we could."
"Alright. But how about when you didn't sing with me and the rest of the guys at the Firemen's Picnic barbershop quartet competition?"
"That type of singing requires hard work. But I helped you and the rest."
"Right. You can sing with me and the rest of the guys one of these days."
"I might look into that."
A few moments later, Roy was sitting in a hot tub with Johnny Gage, Marco Lopez, Mike Stoker and Hank Stanley. The guys knew they wanted to persuade Chet to forget about that unfortunate event.
Johnny said, "What happened on that day wasn't Chet's fault."
Hank said, "That's true. It's not anyone's fault. The man probably must've had some type of medical problem which made him pass out without warning."
Roy said, "That's a possibility."
Marco asked, "Should we call Chet out here?"
Mike replied, "I think that's a good idea."
In unison, the guys yelled, "Hey, Chet!"
Chet looked out the kitchen window and asked, "Yeah, what is it?"
Hank said, "Why don't you come out and join us? The water is fine."
Chet said, "I'm not so sure."
Marco said, "Oh, Chet. It'll help you relax, like it is, us."
Chet said, "I don't see how."
Johnny said, "What are you worried about? They're just bubbles. They feel really good."
Roy said, "You and I had talked about what was bugging us. So it would be better if we talk about it with the rest of the guys."
Hank said, "We'll be happy to listen."
Chet said, "Very well."
A few minutes later, Chet was in the hot tub with the rest of the guys.
Roy said, "Chet, what happened that day was nobody's fault."
Chet said, "But I was hoping he'd be alright."
Johnny said, "We had one rescue before that one. Roy and I were tending to the victim when the call came in."
Marco said, "I helped you pull that man from his hot tub."
Hank said, "We can't decide who lives and who dies."
Johnny said, "Cap is right. We can't dwell on anything unfortunate."
Chet asked, "Can Roy and I sing with all of you what was sung while rehearsing for the Firemen's Picnic barbershop quartet competition?"
Johnny replied, "I don't see why not."
The men put their arms around one another. They then began to sing, "Goodbye, My Coney Island Baby." When the song was done, the men felt better.
Later that night, Chet, Roy, Johnny, Marco, Mike and Hank were sitting in their living room.
Hank said, "We're a family. So none of you should be ashamed of talking about what's on your minds. We all should listen to and help one another. Do I make myself clear?"
In unison, Roy, Johnny, Chet, Marco and Mike said, "Yes, Cap."
Hank said, "Alright."
The men had a better understanding.
DONE