Work Text:
A Lot to Be Thankful For
A Little more Insight Into Young Johnny Gage, The Boot
By GCS
DISCLAIMER: "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions, Inc. and Universal Studios . All rights reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction. This story is only written for entertainment. No financial gain is being realized from it.
The story, itself, is the property of the author.
The wind whistled eerily through the cracks that parted the window casing from the frame that held the dirty glass panes in place sending shivers through his semi alert body. In the darkened bedroom of the small apartment, Johnny pulled the covers tighter trying to stave off the cold and find that warm place he'd dreamt of, but his efforts were in vain.
The temperature had dropped below the normal range for this time of year in California, and the sun had not yet risen. He had only been at Station 10 for a couple of months now and part of that had been spent recovering from pneumonia. With the missed shifts his paychecks had not been what he had hoped for. He had tried to pay Scotty and Captain Jones back for replacing the tire on his bike, but they wouldn't accept the money. Even with that he was still late paying his electric bill. The power had been turned off two days ago. Thankfully he had to work that day, but he had yet to get paid again, and had to spend last night in his apartment with no power. His camping lantern provided enough light to read for a while, but he gave up early and slid beneath the blankets to try to keep warm.
One more day, and he could pay that bill and get his power back on and get a few groceries. But today was a holiday and the banks were closed anyway.
Sucking in his breath Johnny reluctantly pulled the covers down and slid his feet to the cold floor. 'At least I still have a roof over my head and a good job.' He tried looking on the bright side. 'Last year I wasn't that lucky.'He stood, pulling the blanket with him and wrapping it tightly around his tall thin frame. His stomach growled. He hadn't eaten since his last shift at the station ended yesterday morning. He had let his own stupid pride prevent him from letting Jimbo know he was down on his luck again yesterday, and with the diner closed for the holiday, there wouldn't be anything today either.
Unless, he thought for a moment, but then decided against it, 'No I can't go there this year. Can I? I'm not on the streets anymore. I've gone without a meal or two before. I can eat tomorrow at the station.' That pride crept into his thoughts again.
Johnny tried thinking of other things to get his mind off his empty stomach as he slowly moved across the cold floor to the bathroom, but his mind drifted to food anyway. 'If it wasn't so cold outside I could have gone camping. I bet I would have been able to catch a few fish and find some berries.' He could hear the rain pelting the window panes. He held the blanket with one hand while he washed his face and brushed his teeth with the other. Then he tried smoothing his unruly mop of short regulation hair to one side with a little water. 'I guess the department's rules for short hair is a good thing. It's way too cold to take a shower with no hot water.' He shivered at the thought. 'Good thing I showered right before the shift ended yesterday.'
The station had been called out to a kitchen fire at one of the classy restaurants in L.A. The place was packed with patrons who had practically trampled each other trying to get out. Many of the victims were high society Hollywood agents and producers, but they hadn't shown any class when it came to saving their own hides. The men didn't offer help to their dates. The dates hadn't shown any compassion for the men who had gotten stepped on. Johnny's thoughts drifted to the scene.
Captain Jones lifted his handi talkie to his mouth and called orders to the arriving crews. The onslaught of new fire department equipment had brightened the dark night with a red hue, and the fire cast an ethereal glow that mixed with the flashing red. Tony and Joe had gone in first to make sure the kitchen staff had all made it to safety. Johnny and Bill were assigned to back them up on the hoses. Once inside they knew there was little hope of survivors. The heat emanated from everywhere causing sweat to bead up beneath the rescuer's turnout coats. Flames encroached up the door facing around the elaborate wooden doors separating the kitchen from the ornate dining area. Tracks of black snaked up the walls on either side of the doors where the hungry fire had lapped out of the thin hinge mounts seeking a new source for fuel. Smoke billowed behind the small windows that would normally have provided sight for people coming and going with trays of epicurean delights that none of the men there trying to save the expensive restaurant could afford to taste. The fire had gutted the kitchen, but fortunately there were no serious injuries. The restaurant would be a total loss with all of the water and smoke damage, but the building was salvageable. The crew took turns in the shower when they got back to the station. Luckily they hadn't been toned out again before shift change.
Thinking about the restaurant only made Johnny hungrier. Trudging back into the bedroom, he stopped at the old dresser and pulled open the top drawer. Inside the drawer he had several old t-shirts, a faded sweatshirt, and a pair of matching, just as faded, sweatpants. Since he didn't plan on seeing anyone he knew from the station or the diner today he thought he would just wear the worn, faded sweats. He didn't have many clothes, a couple of pairs of jeans and nice shirts, but mostly he wore his uniforms now. He grabbed a t-shirt and the sweats and moved over to the bed to deposit the blanket.
Dressing as quickly as humanly possible he managed to get his shivering body covered quickly. Then he grabbed his one pair of white sports sox that did not yet have a hole in them and pulled on his sneakers. 'Maybe I'll go down to the shelter and at least have some coffee. I can check on some of the older guys I met when I stayed there before I got this place.' His stomach growled again. 'Maybe it wouldn't hurt to have some toast or something while I visit with the guys.'A crooked smile spread across his face as he remembered the kindness the older men had shown him, especially after he'd been mugged and beaten. He had never told Jimbo where he had stayed after he finally let him leave the diner. Those older men at the shelter had looked out for him and kept him safe while he recuperated, but he hadn't seen them in months, since he got that part time job and found this apartment. That was before he joined the Fire Academy. That was a time he hoped his new friends never had to find out about. It was a time he was not exactly proud of.
Shaking off the thought that anyone would find out about just how down in his luck he had once been and even now struggled with, Johnny grabbed his jean jacket and a knit cap and let himself out of the cold apartment. He immediately felt the cold rain whipping against his back as he hurried to the bus stop. He pulled the knit cap over his head and down to cover at least the top of his ears. His once long hair had not allowed the cold to reach his ears, but now the cap was all the protection he had. This would be the first time he took the bus since that creepy guy had followed him to the diner, but he had to save what gas he had in his bike to get to work tomorrow morning. 'I should have volunteered for overtime today.' He thought as he squeezed himself against the back wall of the bus stop shelter, trying to keep the rain off his already damp clothes.
The bus pulled up and the door opened. Johnny felt a sudden dread, a sudden worry about boarding. He hesitated for a few seconds.
"You coming buddy?" The driver yelled out to him. "I ain't got all day here."
"Yeah, I'm comin'." Johnny called back and took two long strides from the shelter to the first step. He stepped up to the top and dropped some change into the coin deposit and then looked at the other passengers as he found a seat near the front. A sigh of relief escaped as he leaned back. He'd worried for nothing. The creepy guy wasn't on the bus today. As a matter of fact there were very few people on the bus. 'Guess everyone had family to go see today.' He glanced out the window, leaned his elbow on his knee, rested his chin in his hand and watched the water ripple down and back as the bus moved down the street. 'It must be nice to have somewhere to go on holidays, someone to be with.' He shook the thought from his head. 'Come on Gage, you have friends. As a matter of fact you're on your way to visit with some of them now. Sure they're not as lucky as most. They live in shelters and halfway houses, some on the street, but you're no better than they are. You were just lucky enough to get out, find a good job and a place to live. Quit feeling sorry for yourself.' A faint smile spread across his face as he realized that he was trying to talk himself out of being depressed. He suddenly felt a little better. In a few short minutes he would be with friends, and in their own way they would celebrate the holiday.
The bus pulled up in front of the homeless shelter where Johnny had spent many a night before he had a place of his own. He stood and moved toward the front preparing to get off. He could see people moving around inside the windows. Johnny glanced at the clock on the bank sign just up the block. The shelter opened to serve breakfast at seven. It was 7:19, according to the bank sign. It never took very long for everyone to get inside. The driver opened the doors so Johnny could get off. "The last bus runs at 5 today since it's a holiday and all."
"Thanks, I'll be back home by then." Johnny smiled to the driver. "Have a good day."
"You too kid." The door closed and the bus pulled away. 'I sure am glad that boy had money for the ride. I would have hated to have to tell him to get off.' The driver sighed. 'Who are you kidding Dave? You know you would have taken that boy anywhere and paid yourself.' He smiled to himself as he rounded the corner at the end of the block. 'He was definitely raised right. He's always so polite. I don't know if it's possible, but he looks even thinner than he did the last time he rode. I sure hope he gets something to eat in that place.'
Johnny turned to the building. He hesitated for a few minutes and took a couple of deep breaths to gain the courage to enter. It was still raining and his stomach growled as a reminder that he had come for some toast and coffee. 'Maybe they won't care if I have some eggs too.' He thought happily as he pulled the door open.
As he stepped into the large brightly lit room lined with rows of tables his heart fell into his shoes. At the front of the room serving food to the line of hungry people he saw some of his crewmates from Station 10 and some of the staff from Rampart, Scotty and Nurse Dixie McCall among them. Just as he started to turn and bolt through the doors, he heard someone calling him.
"Hey Boot!" Scotty waved him over to the meal line. Johnny's head shot up. He looked like a deer in headlights. After a few seconds the shocked look faded and he slowly walked over. "I didn't know you were coming to help out today. Me and some of the other single guys come here on holidays to help out. Some of the nurses from Rampart come too. I didn't even know you knew about it."
Johnny shrugged his shoulders and cleared his throat. Not sure he could speak without revealing the lump in his throat he chose to remain quiet.
"Well if it isn't Johnny Gage." Dixie came over smiling up at him. She had gotten to know him better while he was in the hospital recovering from pneumonia and had taken quite a fancy to him in a friendly way. She patted his arm in greeting, and then pulled her hand away from the damp jean jacket. "You're wet! We need to get you out of that jacket and warmed up." She tugged his arm. "Come over here and get that off, the hat too. The last thing we need is for you to get pneumonia again."
Scotty smiled at the care the nurse gave Johnny. He knew Johnny was quite capable of taking care of himself, but something about that kid made everyone want to mother him. Nurse McCall certainly had taken to him like a mother or a big sister. He nodded his head in amusement and turned back to the task at hand. He scooped a good helping of eggs onto the waiting plate. "Happy Thanksgiving." He smiled at the next man in the line.
Johnny blushed deeply at the way Dixie seemed to baby him, or was it that he had come here for food and not to help as they suspected, not to mention he had on his old sweats. It had to be obvious to everyone that he hadn't come to help. He stared at his feet as his hand moved to the knit cap. He obediently pulled it from his damp hair and lowered his hand to his side clutching the cap in a tight grip.
"Here sweetie, let me help you with that jacket. We'll just hang it on the back of this chair to dry." Dixie reached for the collar of the jacket. Johnny was much taller than her five foot three, but she managed to pull it down his slender arms and shake it out before draping it across the back of the chair. "Now you have a seat and drink this coffee." She pushed a cup of steaming liquid that seemed to appear from nowhere into his hands. He smiled and raised the cup to his lips. How he had lived nineteen years without drinking coffee was a mystery to him. Once he'd started at Station 10 and found out that it was all in the brewing technique and proper measuring to get the taste right, he just couldn't seem to get enough. Besides it sure could warm a guy up when he needed it. "Now, you wait right here while I get you some breakfast." Johnny's head shot up in alarm. He didn't want anyone to know he'd actually come here to eat. "Don't worry sweetie, we all ate before they opened the doors this morning. You haven't eaten already have you?" His eyes fell to the coffee cup he cradled between his hands. "I'll be right back."
Johnny sipped some more of the coffee and looked around the room for his friends. They were gathered around a table in the back corner. 'Maybe they won't see me. Maybe the guys won't find out I know any of them.' His shoulders drooped. 'That's not right. I'm not embarrassed by them. I'm embarrassed that I was one of them.' He slowly got up, squared his shoulders and walked over to the group of scantily dressed men. "Hey Gus, Bobby, good to see ya."
"Hey Johnny Boy!" Gus smiled at him and slid over on the bench he was sitting on. "Did you eat already? Grab a tray and sit with us."
Johnny stepped over the bench and slid in next to his friends. "You guys keeping warm and dry?"
"Sure, sure." Bobby nodded. "We've been staying here. Where have you been Johnny?"
Johnny blushed. He didn't want to make his friends uncomfortable about his good fortune and their bad luck. "Um…I…I got on with the fire department. I…uh…I got a place…a little place."
"That's great Johnny." Both Gus and Bobby said at the same time.
Johnny felt the sincerity in their words. "Yeah…yeah I guess it is pretty great."
"There you are sweetie. I wondered where you had gotten off to." Dixie slid the tray in front of him. "I got you some more coffee too, and milk. I know how you like milk."
Johnny blushed again and whispered, "Thank you."
"Why don't you introduce me to your friends?"
Johnny's mouth opened, then closed, then opened again. "Oh…okay…" he stuttered. "Um…th…this is Gus and th…this is Bobby. They…" He turned toward his friends and regained some of his composure. "They're my friends. This guys, is Nurse Dixie McCall from Rampart."
"Hello Boys." Dixie smiled.
"Nice to meet you, Ms. McCall," both men stood to greet the beautiful petite woman.
"Sit down and finish your meals before they get cold. I understand that the center here will be having turkey and dressing for dinner this evening. Maybe I'll see you boys then, but right now I have to get back to work. Johnny, take your time. When you're ready I'll tell you what we need help with." She winked at him before turning around and hurrying back to the meal line.
'She knows, but she's not letting on that she knows.' Johnny looked at the large plate of food, fresh cup of coffee and two glasses of milk on the tray in front of him.
"Well dig in Johnny Boy. It's good and hot today." Bobby chuckled. "Besides it isn't every day you get to be waited on by a beautiful woman." Gus laughed with Bobby as Johnny once again turned crimson.
"Hey Scotty, who is that Gage is sitting with?" Bill asked.
"How should I know Bill, he's your line partner. Don't you guys talk?" Scotty shot back.
"We talk, but I gotta tell ya Scotty, Gage doesn't ever talk about his personal life. He rambles on about goofy stuff like the runs we go on, or sports, or some random new invention, but never about himself. He asks about my dates and family, but nothing about his."
"Well maybe he knows them from somewhere, or maybe he's come here before and spent time with the homeless. A lot of people do that you know, spend time with the elderly and homeless. It makes those people feel like someone cares about them. Maybe sitting at the table with them is not a bad idea. We come here and eat before they are let in; then we dish out food and wish them a happy holiday, but don't really open ourselves to them. I think Gage has the right idea there, sitting beside them like he's one of them, like he's not better than they are, while we're over here acting like we are here out of some duty to dish out food onto their plates." Scotty put his serving spoon back into the scrambled eggs and dished out a serving to another man in the long line. "Hey Gotchalk, take over for me here." He handed the spoon to his station mate. "I'll be back in a minute."
Scotty walked over to the drink station and poured himself some coffee. He turned around and looked out into the crowd. He spotted a man sitting in the middle of the room that looked to be alone. He walked over. "Mind if I join you?" The man waved his hand toward the spot on the bench across the table. "I'm Dale Scott. My friends call me Scotty." He held out his hand to shake the stranger's hand. After a few minutes some of the other volunteers found places at the tables throughout the room and began visiting with the people who had nowhere else to go on a cold, rainy Thanksgiving.
When Johnny finished his food he gathered the empty food containers and trays from the people around him and excused himself from the table. "It was good to see you guys."
"You too Johnny, will you be back for turkey and dressing later?" Gus asked.
"I don't think so." He shrugged. "See ya 'round." He'd been so intent on visiting with Gus and Bobby he hadn't noticed that a good number of the volunteers were now sitting with people until he stood up. 'I don't remember them doing that before.' He deposited the trash in the bin and stacked the trays on the cart next to it. "Hey Ms. McCall, what's going on?" He asked Dixie, waving his hand toward the crowd.
"Well Johnny, it seems that you have set a good example for the rest of us. We came here to serve these people thinking it would be a nice gesture, but you sat right down with them and made them feel that you were no different than they are. You showed the rest of us that we need to forget who we are for a minute and realize that any one of us could find ourselves in the same situation. We really aren't any better than any of these people, just fortunate to have good paying jobs and a place to live." She smiled with pride at him. "And haven't I told you to call me Dixie?"
Johnny stared across the overcrowded room filled with all of his friends some more fortunate than others, but all good people. "You know Ms. Mc..um…Dixie, I am no better than these people. As a matter of fact a few months ago I was one of them. I didn't come here today to help like everyone thought. I came here to get something to eat. You see I couldn't pay my utility bill." He looked at his feet again. After a few seconds of silence he swallowed and started again. "I didn't have any money for groceries. It was cold and I was hungry."
"I know." She said softly. "I don't think any of the other guys know, but I've seen you here before. I didn't realize you were the same young man. Your hair was much longer and you have put on some weight and muscle since I saw you back then, but I remember you now, in this place. You really are a special person John Gage." She brushed his hair from his brow. "A very special person."
Johnny looked into her blue eyes. "Not so special." He looked away.
"How can you say that? Just look out there at what your being here has done. Your willingness to sit side by side with these people has encouraged the rest of us to do the same. Hopefully, our sharing of ourselves in that way will brighten this holiday for someone who would otherwise have been alone. That my friend makes you special; it doesn't matter what happened in your life to cause you to have the ability to sit beside them. It only matters that the rest of us are not afraid to do the same thing after seeing you do it. We put ourselves out there on a daily basis as public servants to help injured and suffering people, but we don't want to sit beside them and share our real selves. Today you have changed that."
"I didn't do that." Johnny once again blushed red.
"Yes my friend you did." Dixie smiled up at him. She cupped his face in her hand and stood on her tip toes to kiss him on the cheek. "Now, we have work to do. We need to clean up this mess and get ready to serve the turkey dinner this evening. You will be staying to help won't you?"
"Well, I…yeah…I just…the last bus…I need." Johnny stammered.
"Don't worry about the bus, Johnny; I'll see that you get home. You should be with friends today. It's a holiday. No one should be alone on a holiday." She turned and started cleaning up the empty food containers, "especially one where we have so much to be thankful for."
"Thankful?" Johnny repeated. "I have a lot to be thankful for today." He grabbed some empty food containers and followed Dixie into the kitchen area with some of the usual spring in his step. He stopped with the dirty containers in his hand and smiled broadly. "After all it is Thanksgiving right!"