Work Text:
Simple Answers
By GCS
Emergency! Belongs to Universal and Mark VII
"Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple." - Dr. Seuss
He could hear the clip clop of the heels of her sandals echoing in the empty corridor. He knew her worry by the steady beat of her walk. Clip clop. Clip clop. Steady…fast…precise. What would he say to her? How would he ever be able to explain?
Joanne hurried from her car in the Emergency parking area. She practically ran over to the ambulance and Squad. She didn't know why…Roy wasn't there. She knew he was inside somewhere…Dixie had called. Dixie had said she needed to hurry. That's what had her worried the most. If she had to hurry then he could be… No! no…she couldn't think that way. Johnny was with him. Johnny would take care of Roy. He'd promised to always have Roy's back…to always make sure, if he could, that Roy always came home to her, Chris and Jennifer. He'd promised.
She stopped and placed her hand on the open window of Roy's Squad. His window…he always drove. She'd have to ask him about that when he got better. It seemed a bit odd that he always drove. Wouldn't Johnny want to drive some? Shaking off the momentary detour of her thoughts, Joanne steeled herself for whatever she would have to face just beyond the automatic doors. She gripped the door one last time, drawing strength from its purpose…Roy's purpose…and she continued on.
Clip clop. Clip clop. Swish…
She walked quickly through the now open doors and up to the receiving desk. "Hello, I'm Joanne Desoto. Dixie…um Nurse McCall said I should…"
"Yes Mrs. Desoto, Nurse McCall said I should send you up to the surgery waiting area. Do you know where it is?" the admitting nurse asked.
Joanne looked into the kind green eyes and nodded. "Surgery?" Her hand moved to her mouth.
"Yes ma'am. Will you be alright to find the waiting area?"
Joanne dropped her hand and squeezed the handles of her purse a little tighter. "Yes…I know where it is." She turned to find the elevator. She knew where it was…she had been at Rampart more times than she would like to think about, and up to surgery a few as well.
Clip clop. Clip clop. Steady…fast…precise. He'd have to think of something pretty fast; she would be here in a few seconds…here in the room waiting for answers…answers he really didn't have. He stood slowly and turned to the doorway of the waiting room just as the steady pace of her feet stopped. There in the doorway Joanne stood staring at him with fear in her eyes. He walked over beside her and she fell into his arms. "Shhh…it's going to be okay."
"Oh Hank…is he?"
"No…" Captain Hank Stanley pulled away from Joanne and placed his hands on her shoulders and looked directly into her watery eyes. "No…he's got some broken ribs one of which they think punctured his left lung. They took him up to surgery to fix that."
Joanne sniffled, "Is that all." She squared her shoulders and tried to stop crying.
Hank chuckled. "Well no, but that's the worst of it. His left arm is fractured. He's probably pretty bruised up…a few cuts."
"He's going to be all right?" She wiped her nose with the back of her hand. Hank reached over and grabbed a Kleenex out of the box on a nearby table. She took it gladly and blew her nose. "Thank you." She stepped back from Hank and glanced around the room. The rest of the A-shift of Station 51 sat in various chairs around the small room watching them. All but one, "Wh…where's Johnny?"
Hank looked down at his feet. He knew how close the Desotos had become with his junior paramedic. He'd found that out after his second shift as their captain. How do you tell someone's best friend's wife that he'd been seriously injured saving her husband? He hesitated in answering as a memory flicked through his mind.
On his last day as engineer before taking over Station 51 Captain McKonnike had called him into the office to give him a few pointers. He had advised him of the responsibilities of a captain to his crew and his crew's families. One of the things he'd said was a quote by of all people, Dr. Suess, "Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple." At the time Hank thought it was kind of a silly thing for McKonnike to bring up, but right now in this situation it spoke volumes.
"Well Joanne, Johnny was hurt too." There the answer was simple and to the point.
"He was hurt too? Is he in a room? Is that why he isn't here?" She looked at the faces of the other men and could tell there was more to the story…much more. "Hank?"
So maybe the answer wasn't as simple as he thought. Why would McKonnike use that quote if it wouldn't help? That man had been an aggravation for a long time now. First, with that whole hat fiasco and now with his "words of wisdom" which didn't really help at all in this situation. So the question wasn't really complicated, well yeah it was because the situation was complicated. It was complicated in that Johnny was an integral part of the Desoto family and his crew. It was complicated in that he'd figured out in a short amount of time that there were many layers to the young man. Layers that he knew he would never figure out, but that drew him in like everyone else to an elite club…a take care of Johnny cause he doesn't take care of himself club. It was complicated, because if Johnny didn't make it so many people would be hurt. But really the answer was simple, "He's also in surgery. He's…um."
"He's what, Hank? Please you have to tell me." Joanne stepped up closer again and placed a hand on his arm. "Please."
"Joanne, I wish the answer was as simple as telling you he was okay, but it isn't. Johnny got hurt worse than Roy. He…uh…he pushed Roy out of the way. He's in surgery as well." Hank took her by the arm and led her to a chair and helped her to sit. When she looked back into his eyes he continued. "He was in respiratory arrest when they got him here. He has burns to both legs and his back." Joanne's hand went to her mouth, but she didn't make a sound. "They're not serious, but they'll hurt quite a bit. His shoulder is dislocated. They suspect some internal bleeding." He stopped and waited for her to respond.
Joanne lowered her hand to her lap and looked at it for a moment. Johnny had kept his promise…she knew he would. Then she reached for another Kleenex…blew her nose again and looked back at Hank. "Well, we'll just have to wait for more information then." She scooted to the edge of the chair and looked at the men in the room. They all looked tired and sooty. "Why don't you boys go clean up a bit?" She smiled. "You look like you could use some coffee." She rose from the chair and walked toward the door to the room. "I'll be right back with some for everyone."
As soon as her shoes went from the carpeted waiting room to the tiled corridor the Clip clop of her feet could be heard again, only this time with a new resolve.
Hank sat back in his chair and sighed. "Well you heard the lady!" He smiled. Joanne Desoto was the epitome of a fireman's wife. She drew strength and courage from a place normal wives never knew of. She had to face on a daily basis…every time he left for work…that her husband might not return in one piece…or at all. The only other wives he could think of that knew how that felt were the wives of police officers or military men. Hank thought these women were the strongest women he knew, and Joanne Desoto had just proved to him that she just might be one of the strongest. He chuckled again…with Johnny as Roy's best friend she might need to be.
Mike, Chet and Marco got up from their seats and headed for the door. Mike turned to Hank. "Well, are you coming?"
Hank looked to his engineer, "I'll wait here until you guys get back in case they need us." He waved his hand in the air to indicate the hospital staff.
"Okay Cap, we'll be right back." Mike followed Chet and Marco into the hall.
Hank smiled to himself at the distinct difference between the shuffling boots of his weary crew and the Clip clop purposeful stride of a woman with strength and determination. McKonnike and Dr. Suess were right after all. "Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple." The answers are simple as long as you tell the truth.