Family Relations

Captain, Marco, Chet, and Roy were all sitting around the kitchen table eating breakfast, which consisted of donuts and coffee.
"Hey Cap, anything interesting?" Marco asked, pointing to a piece of paper in Hank's hand.
Cap sat back in his chair looking deep in thought. He rested his chin in his left hand and held the department memo in his right. Obviously, what he just read bothered him a bit. "Well, Marco, it's a memo from the department." Cap looked at everyone to see if he had their full attention and continued. "Looks like we are going to have a reporter from a rural town in Northern California who's going to be assigned to our shift exclusively for a week."
John walked in and headed for the stove "A reporter, huh?" He grabbed a mug out of the cupboard and poured himself a cup of coffee. He then turned around and leaned against the counter. "What does this ... ah ... reporter want with us?"
"It looks like she's going to report...," Cap started to explain.
Johnny interrupted, "Wait a minute there, Cap. She? This is a female reporter we're talking about? " He leaned forward when he talked as he showed more interest in this new found info.
"Oh boy. Don't get any ideas there, Romeo," Roy sighed.
Chet showed some interest. "Ignore Johnny, Cap. Keep reading the memo."
"It seems she will be here in town for a week and has been assigned strictly to us." Cap paused and looked up and everyone. "This includes night shifts to!" He quickly eyed Johnny.
"What?" John asked in an innocent tone.
"What's her name?" Roy inquired.
Cap looked at the paper. "I don't have her full name. It's only listed here as K. Kelly." He looked at Chet. "Hey Kelly, any relation to you?"
Stoker walked into the kitchen followed by a young red headed women. "Hey everyone, we have company." He pointed to the new arrival.
"Hi all!" The woman said energetically. As she panned the room of faces staring up at her, she saw Chet. She smiled and, with open arms, announced "Hey Chet! Come on over here and give your sis a great big hug!"
Everybody's mouth gapped open in surprise. Chet, who looked mortified, got up and tried to give her a short hug. She instead pulled him into a great big bear hug and picked him off the ground.
"Hey bro, how come you hardly call or write us anymore?" She finally released him out of the crushing hug and Chet stood there trying to catch his breath. "Mamma is just achin' for a visit from her favorite fireman son!"
With a confused and embarrassed look on his face, Chet asked, "What are you doing here? Why didn't you call or something to warn me?"
"Oh Chetmeister, I'm not here just for you... even though I will need a place to stay." The young vibrant woman turned her attention to the others. "Didn't you get a memo or something? I'm the reporter sent to stay with your shift this coming week in order to write an article about big city fire departments and all your new techniques including this new paramedic thing."
Cap spoke up, "Yes we did. I just announced it now." He looked at Chet. "Well, Chet, are you going to introduce us to her?"
Chet was still in shock. "S... s... sure," he stuttered. "Guys...ah...and Cap, this is my sister..."
"Younger sister!" She interrupted.
Chet rolled his eyes. "My younger sister, Katelyn Kelly."
Kate interrupted again. "Katie or Kate for short!"
Chet had forgotten how spunky and talkative Katie was. He couldn't believe the predicament he had himself in. Chet knew he was going to have a tough week. He looked at Kate and then back at the guys. "Katie, this is...," as he pointed from person to person, " Captain Stanley, Mike Stoker, Marco Lopez, Roy DeSoto and back there is Johnny Gage. "
"Hi everyone!" She waved.
"Hello," Cap smiled.
"Hi," Mike nodded.
"Hola," answered Marco.
"Good to meet ya," Roy expressed.
"Welcome to Station 51!" Johnny smiled his trademark crooked grin and scurried up to Katie in order to shake her hand and turn up the charm.
Chet got in between Johnny and Katie. "Ahhh , hold it right there, Gage."
Johnny stopped right in front of Chet. "Why Chet, I'm hurt." He put his hands on his chest in defense. "Here I am trying to show a little hospitality to our guest here... "
"Who happens to be my sister!" Chet exclaimed.
Hank decided to break this little matter up. "Kelly, why don't you show Katelyn around the station. After that, meet me in my office."
"Sure, Cap." He grabbed hold of his sister's hand and then dragged her out of the room.
After Chet and Kate left the kitchen, Cap looked at the others with raised eyebrows. "She's Chet's younger sister?" He questioned.
"I wonder if she is anything like her brother?" Marco pondered.
"Well, I definitely saw the family resemblance. I guess we'll see if the personalities match too," Roy said.
"Oh, this is going to be good!" Johnny rubbed his hands together.
Cap shot John a no nonsense look and once again got up to go to his office.
***
"...and finally, this is the dorm where we sleep," Chet showed Katie.
"Oooh...," Katie replied. "So this is where you firemen sleep, eh? I can't wait," She cooed.
"Katie!" Chet quipped. "Come on now. Let's go to Cap's office for briefing."
"BRIEFing?" Katie teased.
"Cut that out!"
They both walked into Cap's office. Katie took a seat on the couch as Chet did mini paces in one part of the room. Captain noticed Chet's uneasiness and decided to make this briefing as short and easy as possible.
Hank handed Kate some Department papers. "Take these. Read them over and sign at the bottom. You are given access to ride along in both the squad and engine. You are also allowed to stay for night shifts. While you are here for that, everyone wears shorts and a white T-shirt. Any questions so far?"
Katie glanced over the papers then looked straight into Cap's eyes. "Yes. Are you married?"
Chet cringed at his sister's question.
"W... well...," Cap stumbled as he was caught off guard by the question. "Yes... yeah I am," he smiled.
"Very?" Katie flirted.
Chet grabbed Kate's arm. "Come along, sis. I'm sure Cap is very busy and you need to read those papers." He faked a quick smile toward Cap and yanked his sister out of the office.
Hank stood speechless and red faced.
"Don't do that!" Chet begged as he walked her back into the kitchen. All the others had stuck around.
"Hiya, fellas!" Katie waved at the men by wiggling her fingers toward them.
Marco, John, Mike and Roy all sat at the table. They all replied in a unified head nod.
Chet escorted Kate to the couch. "Read those and sign them. I'll put your day bag away in an empty locker. Don't move from this spot and don't say anything!" He quickly left the room.
Katie looked over the papers, signed them, and then put them aside. She gazed over to the table and smiled. "So, who are the paramedics I hear so much about?"
Roy and John looked toward Katie. Before Johnny could respond the klaxons went off.
"You can come with us," Roy offered a hand up to Kate.
"Oh!" a large grin filled her face. She accepted his hand up and followed closely behind to the squad, notebook in hand.
"Station 51, child trapped. 12970 Harbor Street. Time out: 10:18."
"Station 51, KMG365," Cap responded into the mic. He jogged over to the engine after giving the directions slip to Roy and hopped inside.
The squad and engine pulled out of the station, turned left and roared down the street.
***
"Well, that was an easy run," Johnny expressed as they all pulled back into the bay.
"Yeah, thank goodness the boy wasn't hurt," Roy added.
"I thought it was fun!" Katie cut in.
Both John and Roy stopped in mid-exit of the squad and looked at Katie.
"Fun?" Johnny inquired.
"Yeah! I'd love to talk to you guys about it but right now I have to write this up while it's all fresh in my mind." Katie scooted out of the squad past Johnny. As she walked to the kitchen, she turned around, winked to add Gage and then disappeared behind the vehicle.
Johnny smiled and closed the door. He leaned over the hood toward Roy. "Hey! did you see that?"
"No, what?"
"She winked and me!" Johnny beemed.
"Yeah? Well you better be careful," Roy warned. "Chet won't like it. "
"Aw, now Roy, she's old enough to make up her own mind," Johnny said as he walked away.
"This is going to be a long week," Roy sighed.
***
That Night:
Johnny was laid back in his bed with the covers up to his knee caps. He wore a white T-shirt and light blue shorts. Roy sat on the side of his bed facing Johnny. His ensemble consisted of boxing shorts and a white shirt. Marco, Tim and Chet were all ready in their bunks.
"So, Katie is going to sleep here with us tonight. No funny stuff, Johnny," Roy said.
Marco whistled a cat call from his bed.
"Hey! I'm warning all of you! Leave my sister alone or you will be answering to me," Chet threatened.
Cap and Katie walked into the room. Hank wore a white shirt and his turn out pants with boots. Katie wore gray sweat pants and a black shirt. They both walked over to Roy and John's bunks.
"Is everyone ready for some hard earned sleep?" Cap asked.
Johnny was caught off guard by this presence. He quickly covered himself with his blanket up to his chin. "Ahhh,...yeah...we are Cap!" He stuttered.
Roy was also caught off guard as he grabbed for his pillow and covered his waist area with it. "Sure thing, Cap. We're ready. Um, where is Katie going to sleep?"
"Awww, don't be embarrassed by how you look...," Katie spoke. "I saw Chet in less. In fact, I saw him naked millions of times... didn't I Chet?"
A low moan came from Chet's bunk as he pulled the covers over his head.
Cap cleared his throat. "She's going to sleep in the empty bed across from me in the back by the desk. She also has a spare pair of boots and turnout pants set up for her like us. An extra turnout coat is hanging in the apparatus bay. She will go out on any call and she knows to keep her distance by staying near the engine or squad. Any questions?"
Everyone stayed quiet.
"Good! Well then, lets hit the sack." Cap guided Katie to her bed.
Once she was settled into her bed, Cap turned off the lights and then hit the sack himself.
"Good night everyone. Good night Chetmeister!" Katie announced and soon fell asleep.
Only a few hours had gone by before a low noise began to blanket the dorm. Slowly, the noise became louder until it was noticed by everyone. Everyone except Katie who was the culprit of the noise. All the guys rustled around in there bunks as they tried to cover their ears with pillows, blankets, fingers, hands and a combination there of.
"CHET!" Cap barked.
"Yeah Cap?" Kelly answered.
"Is that your sister snoring loudly, keeping all of us up?" Hank inquired.
"Ah, yes it is, Cap. Sorry...she was always a loud snorer."
"And you're just telling us this now?" Roy questioned sarcastically.
"I’m sorry! What do you want me to do about it?" Chet asked.
"Kelly… go roll your sister over or something. That’s an order!" Cap said.
"Awww… Cap, do I have to? She’s mean when she sleeps!" Chet heard no answer from Cap which was a sign to acknowledge the order. He pulled on his turnout pants and walked over to his sister’s bed side. He knelt down on both knees and whispered, "Katie? Kate! Roll over, Kate, you’re snoring."
A feeble mumble of unexplainable words came out of her mouth as she continued to snore louder than a chainsaw.
Chet attempted to roll her over when he was overcome by an arm twist. "OW!"
"What are you doing, Chet?" Katie, now awake, asked as she held her brother in an arm hold.
"OW! Let go! I was just trying to roll you over. You were snoring again. Loudly I might add, too…"
"Oh…" She let go of his arm.
Chet rubbed his right forearm.
"Why didn’t you just ask me to roll over then?" Katie rolled back over on to her side and fell back asleep.
Cap rolled his eyes and went back to sleep.
Chet muttered under his breath something about his sister and adoption and headed back to his bed.
**
The shift couldn’t end fast enough for the sleepless A shift. For the rest of the night, they all played tag trying to get Katie to stop snoring. One by one, they left the dorm to the quiet of the kitchen until the whole crew ended up falling asleep wherever they sat. Thank goodness they had two days off ahead to get some real sleep. Who knew what would be in store for them.
**
Friday:
All of A shift was at station 51. After morning roll call, Cap called for a meeting with his men excluding Katie who was given permission to make breakfast. As soon as Cap’s office door was closed, Hank began to speak.
"Men, I know this has been one tough week for all of us, but today is Katie’s last day and we all seem to be getting along nicely... finally." He turned to Chet. "Kelly, there ARE a few things you need to mention to Katie before we get going on the day’s chores."
Chet sighed. He had hoped that he wouldn’t have to confront his sister with anymore rules. Katie wasn’t a bad person, she was just a little too much at some times. She had a tendency to speak her mind, not in a bad or hurtful way, but the truth which would lead them all in heated discussions. She had beaten everyone on this shift in arm wrestling. Katie even volunteered for duty at the station. She could roll hose with the best of ‘em, suit up in record time and make the best home cooked meals.
"Sure, Cap. What are they for today?" Chet wondered.
"Well, they are not too bad this time. She seems to be finally listening and learning which is good. Katie is still, well…I mean, when she walks past anyone of us she…"
"…pinches your butt?" Chet finished.
"Yeah, and , well…it’s not right. Also, she is excused from any work around the station. She’s making us look bad!" Cap announced.
"K, Cap. I’ll tell her…," Chet agreed.
"Alright, that’s all for now. Let’s go have some coffee and breakfast." Cap slapped his hands together.
Everyone agreed and got up to go into the kitchen. Unfortunately, they were interrupted by the klaxons.
"Station 51, possible heart attack. 21364 Thornwood Street. 2-1-3-6-4 Thornwood Street. Time out: 9:33."
"Station 51, KMG365." Cap acknowledged. He grabbed the piece of paper he wrote the address on, handed it to Roy and jogged over to his seat in the Engine.
The squad and engine pulled up to a suburban house with a lush, green lawn out front. A man was laying on the ground as a woman knelt near his side. A tall wooden ladder laid across the lawn. A small group of onlookers had formed around the couple.
Johnny and Roy grabbed their equipment and hustled over to the victim. Cap and Chet moved the crowd back a few feet for the paramedics to work. Katie stood in between her brother and Hank and observed.
"What seems to be the problem here?" Roy knelt down near the man’s head. He opened up the drug box and grabbed for the stethoscope.
Johnny went by the man’s right side and opened up the biophone.
The man was conscious. "Oh, I forgot to take my insulin shot and when I went up the ladder to trim the tree behind me, I must of blanked out and fell off of it. My wife here, saw me and thought I had a heart attack."
"Okay, sir. Do you hurt anywhere?" John asked.
"Yeah…my arm hurts. I think I broke it."
"Okay, let me check it out here." Johnny examined the arm and saw the man wince in excruciating pain. "That hurts, huh? Okay, seems you have a broken right arm. Are you hurt anywhere else?"
The man shook his head no as he bit on his lower lip from the pain in his arm.
"Alright, I’m gonna get your vitals here," Roy informed.
As John and Roy were assessing the man’s injuries, Katie looked at Cap. "Hey Captain, would it be okay if I got closer so I could see what they are doing?"
Cap thought for a second. "Sure, just give them enough space to work." He smiled.
She smiled back. "Thank you!"
As she walked past him from behind, Hank jumped forward a bit as he once again became the victim of another pinch. He glared at Chet as he rubbed his behind. Kelly just lowered his head in shame. "Only one more day…," Chet said to himself in a low voice.
Katie knelt down next to John with only a few feet to spare between them. She wanted to really see the action since nothing ever made her queasy.
John had contacted Rampart on the biophone. After a brief description and vitals were given to the hospital, John was given the orders for an IV and 10 milligrams of morphine IM for the pain. As Roy was setting up the IV, John prepared the morphine.
"Okay, sir, you’re going to feel a little pinch…," John announced as he went to stick the man.
"AH!" The man yelled as he was afraid of needles and needed to be warned way in advance before any shot. He even needed fair warning with his insulin shots. The victim flailed, pushing Johnny off balance and right onto Katie.
"OW! Get off of me!" Katie yelled.
As Roy, Cap and Chet calmed the victim down, Johnny got off of Katie only to notice he didn’t have the morphine in his hands anymore. Katie looked at her leg and saw the needle stuck in her and the container empty.
"Don’t move," Johnny ordered Katie as he pulled the needle out of her leg. "How do you feel?"
"What do you mean, how do I feel? What was in that tube?" She wondered.
"Morphine. It’s for pain." John looked up at Chet. "Is she allergic to anything?"
"No, she’s okay but…," Chet paused.
"But what?" Roy urged.
"Well, she kinda has a side effect or two when she has morphine…," Chet trailed off.
John looked back at Katie and noticed a glazed look in her eyes. "Katie, are you ok? How do you feel?"
Katie was feeling the full affect of the drug. "Who me?" She slurred her words. "I feel great! How about you?"
Johnny made Katie lay down flat in order to take her vitals.
Katie went into a giggle fit as John tried to get her respiration reading. "Cut that out!" She laughed.
"Katie please…this is to help you. I need to get your vitals. I’ll try not to tickle you. Please lay still," John begged.
As John took care of Katie, Roy got back on the biophone. "Rampart, this is squad 51."
"Go ahead, 51."
"Rampart, we have a second victim. She is in her mid twenties. She is the victim of an accidental morphine stick. She’s been injected with 10 milligrams of it. Ah, she is not allergic but does have a history of side effects with the drug. Stand by for vitals."
John relayed her vitals and Rampart advised to bring her in just as a precaution.
"Weeeee…," Katie squealed. As she eyed Johnny, she grabbed him by the neck and kissed him right on the lips.
Johnny pulled her off and blushed.
Chet wanted to find the nearest rock to hide under for the rest of his life.
"Chet, why don’t you go help Gage there by trying to control your over-excited sister?" Cap ordered.
"K, Cap." Chet ran over to Katie and held her arms down.
When the ambulance finally arrived and squad 51 was ready to transport, Katie was concentrating hard on a ring on her hand. This, thankfully, kept her busy.
"Ah, Roy…you better ride in with her. I don’t know how well I can dodge anymore of her kisses." John smiled his crooked grin.
"Yeah, it’s probably better this way," Roy smirked.
Katie had to be carried in as she couldn’t feel her legs. One of the side effects of the drug on her was loss of feeling in her extremities. She was laid on a backboard and placed on the side bench. As soon as all the equipment was loaded into the back of the ambulance, Roy hopped in and they took off.
Katie became talkative during transport. "Hey Roy, why is the sky blue?"
"It just is…," Roy answered.
"Roy, I’m bored. Wanna arm wrestle?"
"Not right now, Katie."
A certain amount of silence fell and just as Roy thought he was off the hook with her questions, he started to hear singing.
"I’m a little teapot, short and stout. This is my handle, this is my spout."
Roy chuckled at her hidden talent, but as soon as she started to repeat it over and over, he got a bit annoyed. He turned around and faced Katie. "Hey, do you know any other songs?"
"I’m a little…" Katie stopped it mid sentence at Roy’s request. She frowned at him not liking her choice in songs.
Roy turned around. His nerves were becoming frayed.
The short pause in silence didn’t last long. Katie started in on another song.
"99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer. Take one down, pass it around, 98 bottles or beer on the wall…Everybody!" She boasted.
When the ambulance driver joined in, Roy lost it. "Not you too! Don’t encourage her!" He begged.
By the time the ambulance got to Rampart, everyone was singing. Roy had given in as did the other victim and second ambulance attendant. When John opened up the back of the ambulance, he was taken back by the scene he saw. "Roy, this is a side of you I’ve never seen before. And, to tell you the truth, I hope I never see it again," John joked.
The singing echoed into the hospital and met Dixie and Doctor Brackett.
"What is that?" Brackett wondered.
"I think our accidental morphine stick just arrived," Dixie answered.
Both Dix and Kel walked out to the emergency bay and saw a sing-a-long. They tried to keep a professional look on their faces but when they saw Roy in on it, they too succumbed to Katie’s song. After a while, the whole hospital emergency area was laughing as the song continued throughout her examination. When it was time for John and Roy to return to the station, Katie attacked again. They both rubbed their bottoms all the way to the squad.
***
Captain Stanley had just finished roll call when Katie showed up at the station. Surprised to see her since today was the day she headed back, he spoke up. "Ah, Katie! What a pleasant surprise! Don’t you have to catch a bus about now?" He glanced at his watch. The rest of the crew looked at there watches too.
"Yes I do, Captain Hank! I just wanted to say goodbye and to thank you for your hospitality throughout the week," Katie expressed. "You guys were the best and I have so much information to write that I hope to help in the process of our own paramedic program starting."
"Well, I’m glad that you feel that way," Roy smiled.
"So, thanks again, and I hope to do this again sometime! Bye!" Katie scurried out of the bay.
"Well, what do you think about that?" John asked.
Before anyone could answer, Katie popped back in. "Oh yeah, I just want you guys to know that…" she paused as an evil grin came across her face. "Cap, you got the best butt! Are you sure you’re happily married?"
As the crew stood stunned, she didn’t wait for an answer and left as fast as she had popped back in.
John smirked. "The best butt, eh Cap?"
"Quit that!" Cap declared.
Chet slowly walked over to the hat closet, stepped inside, and closed the doors on himself.
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