A Christmas Eve to Remember

by Connie #2

"Good morning, good morning, good morning. Merry Christmas Eve to one and all," sang Johnny as he opened his locker. Christmas was Johnny's favorite time of the year and the little boy inside of him looked for any excuse to come out and play.

Roy looked at his partner and rolled his eyes. It was going to be a very long shift if Johnny was this hyper this early in the morning. He might have to let Johnny drive the squad a bit today to occupy his little brain and calm him down.

They had barely gotten their shoes tied when the claxons rang out. "Squad 51, respond to 1627 Wilmington Avenue for an unknown type injury. 1-6-2-7 Wilmington, cross street Main. Time out 08:10."

"Come on Junior, sounds like Santa is starting early with our Christmas presents," Roy kidded.

"Let's hope he doesn't reward us too much for being the angels we are," Johnny chuckled.

The squad pulled up into the driveway of a quaint, little house in desperate need of a few gallons of paint. Despite its dilapidated appearance, the house gleamed alive with Christmas lights. Johnny and Roy raced up to the door and knocked on it. When no one answered, Roy knocked again this time calling out, "This is the L. A. County Fire Department. Is anyone in there?"

After a few minutes a very frail voice answered. "I'll be right there."

Eventually the door opened and revealed a frail man in his eighties. He let them in and led them into the bedroom where his wife lay on the bed, half dressed, stuck in what seemed a very uncomfortable position.

"What seems to be the problem, Ma'am?" Roy asked politely.

"I think my hip is dislocated. Please help me. I was laying on my bed on my back trying to put on a pair of these stockings. I have had to get dressed like this ever since my hip replacement to take the stress off the joint. I was pulling them up and felt a pop. Now I can't move."

Johnny reached over to examine her hip as Roy pulled out the biophone.
"You're right, its slightly dislocated. That's no problem though. My partner Roy is on the phone to Rampart right now and they will give us instructions on how to make you feel more comfortable. Then we will take you by ambulance to Rampart and they will fix you right up."

"Oh I hope so, young man. I don't want to spend Christmas in a old, dreary hospital. My great grandchildren are coming tomorrow," the elderly lady exclaimed.  

"Rampart, this is squad 51. How do you read?" Roy called out.

"Go ahead 51," Doctor Early responded.

"Rampart, we have a female victim, age approximately 85. She has a possible hip prosthetic dislocation. No other trauma. BP 120/80, pulse is 85 and respirations are 23."

"Squad 51, start patient on IV normal saline with five milligrams MS. Transport as soon as possible," Doctor Early ordered.

When the ambulance arrived they carefully loaded the woman onto the gurney and Roy offered to go in the ambulance with her to give Johnny the chance to drive the squad.

They had no sooner gotten to the base station and picked up a cup to pour coffee in when the handy talkie went off. "Squad 51, what is your status?"

"Squad 51, available," Roy responded.

"Squad 51, respond to a man down at the children's zoo. 1675 Western. Enter through the employees entrance. 1-6-7-5 Western, cross street Winchester. Time out 9:25," dispatch commanded.

"10-4. Well let's go Junior, looks like Santa has another gift for us," Roy responded sarcastically.

When they arrived at the Children's zoo, they saw a man flagging them down by the employees entrance gate. Roy pulled along side of the man and listened as he blurted out directions of where to find the injured man. "It's Tony," the man said frantically. "Go down the end of this road, take a left and then take your second right. Drive until you see the reindeer pen. Tony is in there. Please hurry."

Roy drove until he found the reindeer pen. He and Johnny grabbed their gear and headed in through the gate. They had to contain their laughter when they saw a man dressed in a Santa suit sitting on the ground looking slightly embarrassed. He had multiple contusions and cuts on his face and neck.

"Where do you hurt? What happened?" Johnny asked, trying to hold back a nervous giggle.

"I was getting ready for Santa's big parade through the zoo with these lovely eight not so tiny reindeer when something spooked them and they decided to do a Christmas dance across my face," Tony replied.

"Well, I think you are going to be ok, except those cuts need to be cleaned and that gash on your forehead will need stitches," Roy informed after a quick examination. "I'll get on the phone to Rampart, we will dress your wounds and then get you over to Rampart for some stitches."

"Rampart, this is Squad 51," Johnny said as he picked up the receiver.

"Go ahead 51" Doctor Brackett responded.

"Rampart, we have a male, approximately 45 years old. He has multiple cuts and bruises from a reindeer accident. No other apparent trauma," Johnny said.

"Reindeer accident? I don't think I want to ask. Dress the wounds and transport as soon as possible," Doctor Brackett ordered.

"10-4, ambulance is at scene. ETA 15 minutes."

John headed toward the nurses station while Roy helped unload the patient into the exam room. "Hiya Dix. We need some supplies," Johnny said as he handed Dixie the form.

"Long time no see. What's it been, about an hour and a half?" Dixie asked playfully.

"It's been a real winner so far," Johnny scoffed.

"Merry Christmas!" Dixie said as she handed him the box of supplies. "I hope you like it, I handpicked everything in here myself."

"Aw Dix, You really shouldn't have. IV's and morphine, how nice of you to think of me at Christmas. But I'm afraid any gift I may give you would pale in comparison to this fine gift, so I'll have to put a little more thought into your gift before I give it to you. Speaking of handpicking, you have been slacking off lately and not hiring any eligible nurses for me to date. How about one of those under my tree?" Johnny asked teasingly.

"Why is it always my fault you don't have a date? Every nurse and every nurse hire that walks through that door has heard all the John Gage horror stories. Why don't you check out other departments? There are tons of departments in here for your choosing. Take medical records for example. I bet if you looked hard enough you would find some eligible young thing working down there," Dixie suggested.

"I doubt it," Balked Johnny.

"You doubt what?" Doctor Brackett interrupted as he walked up to where they were standing. Doctor Brackett could tell that Dixie had gotten John all riled up about something and curiosity was killing the cat.

"Well Doc, Dixie seems to think that I need to move my dating search on to other departments since she has refused to hire any eligible nurses. She thinks that Medical Records would be a goldmine. I am under the impression that the Medical Record Librarian; that is what they call those people right? I believe that Medical Records is full of blue haired bitties way past the prime of their lives and have no interests in anything else other than retirement and filing little sheets of paper," Johnny said very matter-of-factly.

"You may be mistaken, Mr. Gage. Someone spry has to be able to cart around all those charts from room to room, department to department. I'm sure there are a few younger ones down there waiting for the paramedic in armor to come and take them away," Doctor Brackett said.

"Oh, I get it. The young, spry, ugly ones get all the grunt work. No thanks, they are probably brutes from hauling all those charts around. I got enough bruises from roughhousing with Mouse this past summer and she was a twig. I don't think I want to mess around with Librarian Libby who works the carnivals part time as the worlds strongest woman," Johnny snorted.

"Well, I have heard from very reliable sources that a beautiful, single young lady will be starting down there after the first of the year. She's new in town and its quite possible she hasn't heard any of the horror stories from the nurses down here," Doctor Brackett informed.

Roy walked out of the exam room and headed toward the gang at the desk. "What's going on? Did I miss something? Why such the big powwow?"

"Dr. Brackett was filling me in on some possible dates. Thanks Doc, I'll keep the suggestions in mind but just how attractive could a Medical Records Librarian be?" Johnny snickered.

"Well Junior, now that we have your love life all straightened out; let's get the supplies back to the station before any other strange calls come through," Roy said as he pushed Johnny toward the door.

"We'd appreciate it if you guys would tone down the weirdness level of the responses. It being Christmas Eve and not a full moon, we have been getting some doozies," Dixie called out.

The men were about halfway back to the station when dispatch called them out on another run. "Squad 51, respond to an unknown type of injury 1600 Harrison, 1-6-6-0 Harrison. Time out 15:32."

"Squad 51, 10-4," Johnny responded.

They pulled up to the house and saw a man sitting on the lawn with his arm jerking uncontrollably at a ninety degree angle from his body. Roy looked at Johnny with a look of confusion as they bent down to try to help the man.

"What seems to be the trouble?" Roy asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Snipped the old man who had obviously lost his sense of humor. "I was fooling around with my grandchildren and all of a sudden my arm started spasming out of control. I can't stop it from flying up in the air. Can you do something?"

"Do you have any medical conditions? Heart trouble, muscular problems?" Johnny asked as his eyes followed the man's bouncing arm.

"I had a pacemaker put in about a year ago because of atrial fibrillation but that's the only medical condition I have," The man responded.

"Rampart, this is squad 51, how do you read?" Roy had no clue what to make of the situation but was quite amused watching the man's arm spasm.

"Go ahead 51," Doctor Early responded.

"Rampart, we have a 75 year old man. He was in a normal state of health until about thirty minutes ago. His left arm is now jerking uncontrollably away from his body. The only medical history is he is status post pacemaker placement for atrial fibrillation. He is in no apparent distress other than the arm," Roy informed.

"Transport as soon as possible 51," Doctor Early ordered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Roy and Johnny were having a cup of coffee when Doctor Brackett and Doctor Early came out of the examination room. "How's he doing?" Roy asked. "Is his arm still pulsing?"

"He is going to need a little surgery. Seems his pacemaker lead became displaced when he was fooling around with his grandchildren. Instead of pacing the heart it lodged in his arm muscle and nerve fibers causing his arm to spasm uncontrollably. It was still functioning properly, just on the wrong body part," Doctor Brackett chuckled.

"You guys have certainly had some strange calls today. We patched up Stampede Santa and sent him home," Doctor Early exclaimed.

"Well Pally, let's get back to the station and hide from the world," Johnny suggested.

"Dispatch will still know where to find us. No where in radio range is safe at this point," Roy laughed.

Roy and John got out of the squad and headed toward the kitchen for a much needed cup of coffee. Chet met them at the doorway with a mournful look on his face. "Johnny, Mouse just called to say hi and wish us all a merry Christmas. You just missed her."

"No problem Chester B, I have her phone number handy in my wallet. I will just call her back," Johnny responded.

"Sorry, Johnny, but you can't do that," Chet said as he looked down at his shoes.

"Why? What's wrong? What are you trying not to tell me?" Johnny questioned.

"She called to wish us a Merry Christmas and to let you know she was on the road again. She is on her way to Colorado to help out a friend of her boss. He is short handed and the pay is good so she decided to go. She didn't have the number of the place in Colorado but promised to call with it as soon as she got there and settled. Sorry to be the bearer of such bad news Pal, especially it being Christmas eve and all," Chet said as he continued to walk out the door toward the locker room.

"I wonder why she didn't mention this when she called last week? Seems kind of strange doesn't it?" Johnny remarked.

"I'm sure she would have said something had she known about it. Sounds like it must have come up all of a sudden," Roy said.

"But Colorado.  It's so far away," Johnny responded with a bit of sadness in his voice.

"Well Junior, I'm sure she's doing what is best for her right now. Have a cup of coffee, it will make you feel better," Roy offered.

Luckily the crazy day turned into a quiet night. The men of station 51 got out of bed when the morning tones from dispatch awoke them from the Christmas slumber.  All except Johnny. He was staring blankly up at the ceiling. I wonder where Mouse is right now. I thought the holidays were supposed to be spent with loved ones, not with total strangers or alone. I would love to talk to her, even if just for a brief moment.

Roy kicked Johnny's bed and brought him out of his deep thoughts. "Hey Junior, you're not as eager for Christmas morning as you usually are. I'm sure Mouse is ok. Merry Christmas Pal."

"Merry Christmas Roy. I bet your kids can't wait for you to get home this morning,"  Johnny sighed.

"Yeah, Joanne said she would make them wait until I got home before they opened presents. Why don't you come over for breakfast? I'm sure that Santa may have left something under the tree for you. Christmas shouldn't be spent alone," Roy said.

"You're right. It sounds like a plan. Let's go get some coffee," Johnny suggested as he put on his turnout pants.

Roy and Johnny entered the kitchen and found the men circled around the kitchen table. There was a Charlie Brown type Christmas tree on the table with small presents under it. Each present had a name on it.

"Aw Cap, you shouldn't have," chided Marco.

"I didn't," Cap responded with a wink. "But I, as your Captain and fearless leader, not only get the privilege of choosing who gets their presents when, I get to open my present first.

Cap unwrapped his gift and held it up for all to see.  Then he handed a gift to Marco. Marco opened the present and showed it to everyone. Cap handed the next gift to Mike. The whole process was so long and drawn out, Johnny was pretty antsy by the time Cap gave him his present to open.

Johnny tore at the wrapping paper and opened the box. It contained a typewritten note instead of a gift. Johnny opened the note and began to read it.

John Gage, you have been extra good this year so your reward is too big to fit into this box. Look under the blanket on the couch.

Johnny scratched his head and went over to the couch. He pulled the blanket away to uncover the lump. The lump was Henry, snoring away in usual fashion.

"Very funny guys, just what I have always wanted a...a smelly, lazy bassett hound. Where's my gift?" Johnny was taking it all in stride but being on the butt end of a joke on Christmas day was not his idea of fun.

The guys looked at each other in total confusion. Roy finally spoke up. "Junior, look on Henry's collar. There seems to be something attached."

Johnny sat on the couch and pulled the piece of paper from Henry's collar. He proceeded to read it aloud. "Oops, Santa sent you to the wrong place. Your present has grown little legs and has moved. Check your vehicle. Santa."

Johnny ran outside to look in the Land Rover. Everyone else peered out the window to see if he was having any luck.

"Cap, I told Mouse to tease Johnny with his gift but this is downright cruel. The Phantom doesn't even have the capability of being this mean," Chet remarked as he tried to hold back a giggle.

Johnny came back into the station with yet another piece of paper. "What does it say Pal?" Cap asked.

"Another note from Santa. I'm really getting the run around this year. I'm going to the locker room to check out my locker because Santa says so," Johnny said with each word containing less and less Christmas cheer. He headed into the locker room with the rest of the station following a few steps behind.

Johnny slowly opened his locker, not knowing what was in it. He jumped back expecting to get hit with one of the Phantom's tricks but was pleasantly surprised when he saw that his locker contained a bigger wrapped item. He ripped off the paper and opened the box. He pulled out a picture frame. He flipped it over and saw that it was a picture of him and Mouse taken the day of the Fireman's Picnic.

"Oh wow!" Exclaimed Johnny. "What a nice picture. Thanks Santa...whoever you are."  He set the picture in his locker and stepped back to take a look at it. "This is such a nice picture, I wish Mouse was here so she could see it and I could give her a Christmas hug. It's a shame she's not with people she loves today."

"Well, if you want to give her a hug so badly, why don't you?" Cap asked.

"Wha...What do you mean? I'm not going to hug this picture in front of you guys. That would be silly," Johnny responded.

"Not the picture you twit. Why don't you turn around and address your Captain directly. Show some respect," Cap demanded.

Johnny was a bit taken aback with Cap's sudden attitude change. He seemed to have lost his patience. He slowly turned around and met with Cap's eyes.

"Now do as your Captain says and hug Mouse," Cap ordered. Cap shifted to the left as did the other men revealing a familiar face.

There, standing before Johnny, was Mouse grinning from ear to ear. "Merry Christmas Johnny."

John couldn't believe his eyes. Mouse wasn't in Colorado, she was standing directly in front of him. Christmas wishes do come true if you wish them hard enough.

Johnny ran over and picked Mouse off the floor with the John Gage patented bear hug. "Oh it's so good to see you. I can't believe you're really here. What happened to Colorado?"

"It was just a story so you wouldn't call George and find out the truth," Mouse replied.

Roy walked up to Mouse and gave her a hug. "Johnny, Mouse called us a few weeks ago wanting to come home. So we figured the best Christmas present for the man who has everything was Mouse. We chipped in and bought her a bus ticket."

"Thanks guys, I really appreciate it."  Johnny turned to Mouse and asked, "How long are you staying? Please say its at least until after the new year."

"How long would you like me to stay?" Mouse asked.

"Forever or as long as you like. Rancho De Gage has been a bit too quiet since you left. I'll take the company as long as you want to stay," Johnny replied.

"Well then, I guess I will stay until you get sick of me," Mouse giggled. "Doctor Brackett pulled some strings and got me a job in Medical Records as a file clerk, also known as a Medical Record Librarian. I start at Rampart after the first of the year."

Johnny kissed her on the forehead and then he and Mouse followed the rest of the gang into the kitchen for a piping hot cup of Christmas coffee cheer before the shift ended and everyone headed off to be with their loved ones on this fine Christmas day.

The Big Mouse - Installment One

The Mouse Returns - Installment Two

Misconceptions - Installment Three

Can Time Heal All Wounds? - Installment Five

Log Book