The Mouse Returns

by Connie #2

Roy finished backing the squad into the station. It was change of shift and after a night of multiple runs the A shift was glad to see the sun rise. Johnny and Roy were changing by their lockers when Dwyer came in.

"Hey guys, long night huh? I hope that means a quiet day for us. It has to balance out somewhere," Dwyer said.

"Yeah, it was a very long night," Grumbled Roy.

"Well, I have something that will put a smile on your face. There is someone in the kitchen waiting for you. Man, she's fine. I don't know where you rescued her from but I would have loved to have been on that run instead of you," Dwyer said cracking a smile.

"Really? I wonder who that could be. I'm not trying to be mean, but we haven't had any good-looking victims in a while. Mostly kids and old people. My date calendar has been dry lately, and I probably would have taken full advantage of a nice damsel in distress," Johnny answered scratching his head.

"Well, she's in the kitchen.  Finish cleaning up and then come check her out. I'll let her know you'll be in in a bit," Dwyer said as he was leaving.

Johnny and Roy walked into the kitchen and noticed a beautiful young lady sitting at the table talking to Cap and the others. She stopped talking and looked at them as they came through the door. On the table was a plate full of donuts. Johnny and Roy looked at each other with total confusion.

"Hi, Johnny. Hi, Roy," The young woman greeted. "It's good to see you again." She got up from the table and started towards them.

"Um, Hi, Miss.. Um. Should we know you?" Johnny asked, fumbling for words. The girl that stood before him was absolutely stunning. He definitely would have remembered this one had he been involved in her rescue.

"Well, maybe one of these chocolate glazed donuts will jog your memory." The young woman pushed the plate of donuts towards them smiling.

"Chocolate glazed..." Johnny's voice trailed off as he realized the girl who was standing in front of them was Sarah.  "Mouse? Is that you? How are you? Where have you been? What have you been doing?" He gave her a big hug.

"You've grown into quite the young woman since we last saw you!" Exclaimed Roy as he pushed Johnny aside to give her a hug.  "We often wondered if we would ever see you again."

"Where are you staying? You're not back under your father's roof are you?" Johnny asked as the smile on his face changed to a frown of concern.

"So many questions. Hey, come on, don't look at me like that. I am a big girl and can handle myself.  I've been doing it quite well for three years," Reassured Sarah.

"We're off shift, why don't we go get some breakfast and you can fill us in on all these questions and more?" Johnny suggested. "I hope you have improved your answering skills since the last time we saw you. It was like pulling teeth to get a straight answer from you."

"That sounds great, I'm starved," Sarah said as she grabbed her bag.

The rest of the A-shift bid their farewell to Sarah and she promised it would not be the last they would see of their "Mouse".

Sarah thought back to the first time she visited the station and slept in Johnny's Land Rover.  "Gee, this vehicle looks familiar. You still have this thing?" Giggled Sarah as she climbed into the front seat.

"Yeah, I do. She still runs fine, and I can't afford both a new car and a house on paramedic wages, so I'll keep her around for as long as I can. Besides you'd be surprised at the amount of dates I get from women I find living in my backseat," Johnny snickered raising an eyebrow in Sarah's general direction.

Roy met them at the restaurant. After they ordered, Sarah began filling in the blank spots of the last three years. "After I left Rampart, I hopped on a bus and only had enough bus fare to get as far as Del Mar. I ended up at the racetrack and got a job working for one of the stables. It was long hours but decent pay with room and board as long as there was a spare stall available. It was nice to get paid to "play" with the horses all day. They were great companions when the company of people wasn't that inviting," Recounted Sarah.

"So what made you come back up here?" Roy asked.

"I decided it was time to face my past and get on with my life. Plus I have been wondering what you guys have been up to and if you would even remember me," Sarah answered.

"We thought of you every once in a while. We would have tracked you down but you left us with no leads whatsoever," Johnny said.

"Well I hope you understand. I needed to make a clean break of my previous life," Sarah said.

"Where are you staying while you are here?" Johnny asked.

"Um...Well, I hadn't actually figured that one out yet. I guess that is why I ended up at the station. I figured you were willing to help me out before, maybe you would be willing to help me out again. I don't want to be a bother to anyone and it would just be temporary," Sarah said as she glanced out the window.

Roy piped up, "I'd love to have you stay with me, but we're kind of filled up at the Desoto Inn. My mother-in-law is staying with us for a while."

"Well, that's ok, I understand. It's really not a problem." Sarah responded, sounding a little disappointed.

Johnny chimed in. "You can stay at my place Sarah, for as long as you need to. It's plenty big for the two of us and I could use a hand around the place, you know, especially working the weird shifts I work. There are lots of things to keep you busy out there."

"Really, Johnny? I mean I don't want to impose, especially on Mr. Eligible Bachelor, but if you're willing to let me stay, I will do any of the cooking and cleaning you need done," Sarah said.

"No problem," Johnny said.  "I'd be happy to have an extra body around the place. We'll head out there and get you settled after breakfast. Just promise me one thing; if you feel the need to leave, please just let me know. I don't want to spend my days worrying about what you are up to. You call me, I'll call you. Sound fair?"

"You got yourself a deal," Sarah said as she reached for one of the milk glasses. She felt the protective "that's my milk glass!" gaze of John Gage upon her.  She smiled, let go of the glass and grabbed for her juice.

They talked and laughed and caught Sarah up on how they had spent the last three years. Johnny had bought a house but he wouldn't tell her anymore about it, as he wanted her to experience his pride and joy first hand. Roy insisted on paying Sarah's part of the bill and Sarah thanked him and gave him a big hug goodbye when they got near his truck.

Sarah's mouth dropped in disbelief as they drove down the dirt road. It seemed to go on for miles and the land around it was absolutely breathtaking. "Are you sure you are not just trying to drop me off and leave me stranded where no one will ever find me?" Sarah asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope, we have arrived. Welcome to the Gage Bed and Breakfast," Johnny said as he pulled the Land Rover up by the house.

"You own this place?" Sarah asked in disbelief. "It's absolutely amazing. Is that a barn I see down the pasture? Horses? You have horses?" Sarah began getting as giddy as a schoolgirl.

"Now you see why I was willing to take you in. I am the one who is definitely getting the better end of the bargain. Can't imagine a better caretaker for my critter crew," quipped Johnny. "Let me show you the inside of the house, then you can explore to your heart's content."

As they walked into the house a couple of cats came out of hiding to investigate the stranger in the house. Sarah knelt down on the floor. "Come here kitties, I won't hurt you. These guys are cute, where did you get them?"

"They were strays who were just dumped here. Living at the end of a dirt road tends to be a popular place to abandon the unwanted. I find homes for the ones that I can. These two chose me so I decided to keep them." Johnny replied as he scratched the big old tomcat on the head. "This is Rufus and the one by you is Peepers."

"So, a lot of the unwanted get dumped here. It is kind of appropriate that I ended up here then isn't it?" Sarah said despondently.

"Hey, now," chided Johnny. "Don't get a pity party going. You are not only wanted here but you are needed. I have been pulling some overtime over at Station 8 and the neighbor who usually tends to my horses is moving away this weekend. It will help me out a lot having you around for a while."

Sarah's eyes brightened with every one of Johnny's reassuring words and began to feel comfortable in her new surroundings. "Why don't you go down and meet the horses while I clean up a bit of this mess? I wasn't expecting company on cleaning day so I hope you excuse the mess," Johnny said sheepishly.

"Just point me to where I can change and I will get out of your hair," Sarah smiled. Johnny showed her where she could change and commenced cleaning up the clutter.

Sarah headed down to the barn and saw two of the most beautiful horses she had ever seen. She approached the pasture cautiously and watched as the horses looked at her curiously from afar and then came in close for a better sniff and view of the new human. She petted each of them and rubbed their noses before heading off into the barn.

She grabbed the wheelbarrow and shovel and began to muck the stalls. She figured it was a good time to start earning her keep, plus the smell of the barn brought back a sense of normalcy in her life.

She was putting the last shovel full of shavings in the stall when she heard Johnny entering the barn. He looked at her in amazement and exclaimed. "Wow, you have the stalls done already? Geesh, Mouse you didn't have to do that. It was next on my list to do."

"I figured I would start earning my keep. I hope you don't mind," Sarah looked sheepishly at the ground hoping she hadn't crossed a line she had no business crossing.

"Mind? Of course I don't mind. I think it's great. Thanks a whole lot. I just wasn't planning on putting you to work quite so soon." Johnny reached up and brushed away some shavings from Sarah's hair. "In gratitude of you jumping right into the swing of things, what do you say we go for a ride? I'll show you the rest of Rancho De Gage."

"Aw, I have died and gone to heaven. Are you serious?" Sarah asked.

"You are more than welcome to ride anytime you want, anywhere you want to after I show you the lay of the land. Let's go down to the tack room and get some gear. Follow me." Johnny headed down to the other end of the barn with Sarah tagging along close behind.

Johnny and Sarah spent the better part of that afternoon riding the horses. They stopped to rest and water the horses in the creek that ran through Johnny's property. Sarah took off her shoes and stuck her bare feet in the cold, clear water. She watched as Johnny tended to the horses. She bust out laughing as one of the horses suddenly jerked its head back, throwing Johnny off balance enough to send him face first into the creek.

"Oh yeah, you think that's funny do you Mouse..." Johnny growled as he looked up at Sarah as she laughed hysterically. He let go of the reins, walked over to Sarah and grabbed her by her feet. Sarah shrieked and giggled as he pulled her into the creek getting her just as soaked as he was. She splashed him with water until he gave up the battle and let her up. "All right, all right, you win," Johnny laughed as he took her hand to help her up. "Remind me never to have you as an enemy."

***

Roy was standing at his locker changing shirts when John came through the door, whistling to himself. "My, my Junior, you're in a good mood for so early in the morning. I take it you had a nice couple of days off. How's Mouse doing?" Roy asked.

"Oh, it's a beautiful day. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, all is right with the world," Johnny said with a grin.

"And Mouse?" Roy asked again.

"Good, she's good. She is absolutely amazing." John had a new sparkle in his eyes, which Roy had never seen before.

Chet came in through the door and was stunned to see Johnny in such a good mood. "Hey, Gage, why are you in such a good mood this morning? Where's your Land Rover? I didn't see it parked out back."

"Mouse has it. She dropped me off this morning. I wanted her to have it in case she needed to run to the store for stuff," John answered.

"Oh my goodness, manly man John Gage is letting a woman borrow the only thing in life he loves more than himself? Are you feeling ok? Did you have a drop in testosterone over the weekend? Have you lost your man card?" Chet chuckled.

"Say whatever you want to Chet, you are not going to get to me today," John sneered.

Roy watched as his partner took the grief from Chet without even blinking an eye. Something was truly different with Johnny and Roy wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to venture into the possible closet full of skeletons for fear of a skeleton reaching out and biting him on the butt.

They were all in the kitchen after line up enjoying the first coffee of the day when Cap asked John what was on the menu for dinner it being John's night to cook.

"Um, Actually Cap, Mouse volunteered to come out and cook tonight after she turns the horses out. She can cook up a meal that rivals Marco's." Johnny said rubbing his stomach.

"That's so nice that the little woman wants to cook dinner for her sweetie pie Johnny and friends," Chet said sarcastically. "What else has she done for you?"

Johnny turned bright red and growled protectively. "Don't even think that way about Mouse. She is a spirited person and a pure joy to be around."

The claxons went off just in time to keep the conversation from becoming heated. "Squad 51, respond to a man down 1856 West Lincoln. 1-8-5-6 West Lincoln, cross street Lexington. Time out 08:25."

When Johnny and Roy got to the scene, they saw a man sitting in a lawn chair looking slightly dazed and confused. A woman came rushing over to them and said, "I don't know what's wrong with him. We were sitting around chatting and laughing when all of a sudden Dave's eyes rolled up and he started to shake. It was only for a minute or so and then he came out of it. He's still a little dazed."

Roy got on the phone to Rampart while Johnny began assessing the man.

"Rampart base, this is Squad 51," paged Roy.

"Go ahead 51," Doctor Early answered.

"Rampart, we have a male approximately 30 years old, no medical history of any significance. He was sitting with a group of people when witnesses say he began having seizure type activity. Patient is in a slightly post-ictal state. BP is 110/70, pulse 75, respirations are 20."

"51, observe patient and transport as soon as ambulance arrives," Doctor Early ordered.

"10-4 Rampart. ETA 8 minutes," Roy said hanging up the biophone. "Ok, Dave as soon as the ambulance arrives we're going to take you to Rampart Emergency to have you checked out. Is that ok?"

Dave nodded, still in a slight daze.

***

Dixie watched John as he came out of the examination room and walked towards her and Roy. "Well, Johnny there certainly seems to be an extra spring in your step this morning. Roy tells me you have a houseguest."

"Aw Dix, not you too. What is up with everyone? Can't a guy enjoy life without getting any grief? Mouse is a good kid; there's nothing more to it." Johnny said defensively.

"Calm down Junior. Just do me a favor and keep reminding yourself she's just a kid," Roy said placing a hand on Johnny's shoulder. "How's the guy we brought in?"

"He's back to baseline. Doctor Early needs to do more testing but he thinks the guy has gelastic epilepsy. Can you imagine that, laughter is supposed to be the best medicine but for this guy, laughter can trigger a seizure."

"Well, give me a hand with these supplies and we'll get out of here, I'm sure Cap has some hose for us to hang or something equally exciting. We'll see ya later Dix." Roy tossed a box of supplies at Johnny and the two men headed out the door to the squad.

The rest of the morning and most of the afternoon passed pretty uneventfully. Roy watched as Johnny began alternating between checking his watch and getting up from the table to look out the door. Finally Roy could not take it anymore and asked, "What's up with you? Your door watching is beginning to drive me insane."

"Mouse should have been here a half-hour ago. I wonder what's keeping her." Johnny's voice began to deepen with concern.

"'I'm sure she's fine. She probably just got stuck in traffic. You know how the 405 can be this time of day," Roy reassured.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Johnny looked out the window and let out a sigh of relief as the Land Rover pulled around the back of the station.

"Hey, you made it; I was beginning to get worried,"John admonished as he walked up to the car.

"Sorry, I'm late. Chief kicked down part of the fence so I had to catch him and then repair it. It took a little longer than I expected. I should have called but I figured you guys would be out on a run and no one would answer anyway," Sarah said apologetically.

"Well you're here now and that's the important thing, let's get inside." Johnny opened the door and held it for Sarah.

Sarah noticed the looks she and Johnny were getting from everyone as they walked through the door. Everyone tried to look busy when she came through the door but she had caught some of the glances. She tried her best to ignore them, keeping in mind guys would be guys.

Marco approached Sarah and asked, "Hey there Mouse, is there anything I can help you with?"

"No thanks, Marco, I appreciate the offer but the meal I am preparing is really quick and simple, I just need to throw the ingredients together and bake it, Sarah said as she started digging through the cupboards looking for baking pans.

The claxons rang out. "Station 51, respond to a rubbish fire. 5669 78th Street, 5-6-6-9 78th street cross street Main. Time out 17:05."

Johnny winked at Sarah as he got up from the table, "Keep it warm for us, we'll be back soon."

Sarah watched as the engine and squad pulled away from the station and headed towards the fire. She turned around and headed back into the kitchen to finish putting dinner together. After she set the table and put the spaghetti pizza in the oven she plopped onto the couch next to Henry. "Well Henry, it's just you and me again pup. Feels just like old times except for now I am trusted to be here by myself."

Sarah was just pulling the food out of the oven when she heard the engine and squad backing in to the station. Soon a group of hungry men came into the kitchen having smelled the wonderful inviting aroma of Sarah's cooking. She watched in amazement as each man one by one filled his plate and grabbed some garlic bread. Johnny called out with his mouth full of bread "Come on over and sit by me Mouse, there's room."

Chet raised his eyebrow at Marco, Marco raised his eyebrow towards Mike and Mike looked in Cap's general direction with a crooked smile on his face.

"Oh no Mouse, come sit by me," each one of the men called out using some of the worst falsetto voices Sarah had ever heard. Johnny shot each of them a look of death but relaxed when Sarah pushed in between he and Roy.

Sarah knew dinner had been a success when there were no leftovers to be put away. There was nothing left except for a bunch of dirty pans and plates. Sarah got up and started clearing the table as Johnny filled the sink full of soapy water.

"Gage, are you feeling all right? You are volunteering for dish duty. What's wrong with this picture?" Questioned Cap.

"Hey, I figure that since Sarah did such a wonderful job cooking on the night I was supposed to cook, the dishes were the least I could do," Responded Johnny with a glimmer in his eye.

"Aw, Come on Cap;,Let's leave the little Suzy homemakers alone so they have a quiet moment together. You know how romantic doing dishes can be," Giggled Chet. Johnny shot another evil look in Chet's general direction.

Sarah and Johnny finished the dishes and then joined the rest of the gang around the television. Sarah sat on the floor between Johnny and Roy's feet. Chet offered up his seat on the couch but Sarah insisted the floor was more comfortable.

Time passed and before Sarah knew it, it was time for her to head on home. The guys thanked her for the wonderful meal and said their goodbyes. Johnny offered to walk Sarah out to the Land Rover, which Sarah graciously accepted, knowing how creepy the back of the station was after dark.

"So, um...thanks again for dinner, it was fantastic," Johnny said as he shuffled his feet in the dirt. "I'll give you a call in a while to make sure you made it home ok."

Sarah looked nervously at the ground and then up into Johnny's eyes. "You don't have to do that. I'm sure I will be fine."

"I want to," replied Johnny. "It's not you I care about anyway. I just want to make sure my Land Rover makes it home in one piece."

"You are such a pain in my butt. Ack, why I ever came back here is beyond me. I guess I am just into self-abuse," Sarah said pinching his arm.

"Why you little.... I oughta.. I oughta..." Stammered Johnny

"You oughta.... you oughta what? Come on, spit it out or swallow it. The choice is yours," challenged Sarah.

"I oughta... I oughta hug you. Come here you," Johnny said as he put his arms around Sarah. "Drive careful and I will see you in the morning."

Sarah got in the Land Rover and drove off. Johnny headed back into the station, knowing full well that the gang had been peering through the window watching the whole exchange. He was greeted at the door by four backs pretending to make out with themselves. The only one not amused was Roy. He was standing at the other end of the room with his arms folded, looking like a stern father who had just caught Johnny making out with his daughter.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Enough of the little fantasies running through your heads. It is not what you think." Johnny grabbed his book and headed towards the dorm.

Johnny read for a while and then picked up the phone and dialed. "Hi, there. It's me... Glad you made it home ok. How is the critter crew? Good, good. Well sleep tight and I will see you in the morning. Yeah, Me too. Bye."

Roy walked in as Johnny was hanging up the phone. "I guess this means Mouse made it home ok?" His arms were still folded defensively as he sat down on his bed and looked Johnny in the eye. "There's nothing between you two is there? I mean, it's none of my business if there was because you are both consenting adults, but I just don't want this thing to turn ugly. I mean, all the guys still see her as the scared fifteen-year-old we met a few years ago. It's a little strange thinking that you have a girl living in your house and it's purely innocent."

"Roy, believe me when I say, there is nothing going on. I feel more like a big brother than a lover. Hanging out these last couple of days has been a blast. It's almost like reacquainting yourself with an old friend, only to realize time hasn't changed anything in the relationship and the friendship is just as strong as ever. Pal, if I didn't know her and didn't care for her so much I probably would try to date her. I just can't see ruining a perfectly good friendship by getting involved in other ways," Johnny responded softly.

The Big Mouse - Installment One

Misconceptions - Installment Three

A Christmas Eve To Remember - Installment Four

Can Time Heal All Wounds? - Installment Five

Log Book