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............Part
21.......,
The room was dark. Brice lay with his eyes closed, as he slowly recovering
from the effects of the anesthesia. He was falling deeper and deeper into
despair. He knew Roy was in the room, sitting next to Johnny, but he didn't
bother to open his eyes as a lone tear rolled down the side of his
face. "What's the use," he thought, "what use is there for a deaf and paralyzed
paramedic." He was too tired and in too much pain to be bothered with trying
to pretend everything was going to be fine when it was obvious to him that
it would never be again.
Roy sat beside Johnny's bed, watching the steady beat of the monitors, holding his brother's hand. "Johnny, I can't believe this. You are my brother, my 'real' brother. I'm so sorry for thinking that you and JoAnne were having an affair," he thought as he blushed with embarrassment unable to believe that he had even thought such a thing.
Johnny moaned softly. "It's not safe here.I have to get away," he thought as he struggled to pull away from Roy's grip.
"Easy, Junior, you're okay now," Roy comforted as he grabbed Johnny to prevent him from dislodging the IV lines and setting off the vent alarm.
Johnny struggled to open his eyes, "What happened?" He tried to remember but the pain was too great and he let the blackness overtake him.
Roy let go of his partner's shoulders as he watched Johnny relax and sink back into unconsciousness.
Dixie rushed into the bathroom, barely making it in time before losing what little food she had been able to keep down. "Man, I feel awful. So much for the glow of pregnancy," she thought wryly as she looked in the mirror and splashed water on her face, noting the dark circles under her eyes and the pallor of her skin. "It must have been a man that named this 'morning sickness'," she thought with disgust, "it's more like all-day sickness if you ask me."
She turned and rushed out of the bathroom and straight into the arms of Dr. Brackett, almost knocking him over in her haste to get back to the base station.
"Whoa, hold on there. Where's the fire?" Kel teased her as he grabbed her and steadied her.
Dixie looked up at him with a look a panic on her face and tried to turn to run back into the bathroom, but she didn't make it.
Dr. Early was covering for Dr. Lambert who, so far, had not shown up for his shift. He stopped in to check on Johnny and noticed Roy slumped in the chair, beside the bed sleeping. He shook his head as he realized how exhausted Roy must be as he spent his time going from room to room visiting Johnny, JoAnne and Chris.not to mention trying to make frequent phone calls to reassure his little girl who was staying with a friend while everyone was at the hospital. He put his hand on Roy's shoulder and gently shook him awake.
Roy jumped to his feet, disoriented, "Is Johnny okay? Is it Joanne, Chris?" he yelled as he grabbed Dr. Early's arm.
"Roy, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. Why don't you go home and get some rest? Johnny, JoAnne and Chris are all stable for now and I know a little girl who would love to be tucked in by her Daddy tonite."
Roy rubbed a hand over his face and grinned sheepishly at Dr. Early, "I know. I just want to make sure everyone is going to be okay." his voice trailed off as he looked over at his partner hooked up to an array of tubes and wires.
"Go on. I'll call you if anything changes. Doctor's orders," Dr. Early added, pushing Roy gently toward the door.
Roy made his way down the hallway after having stopped to check on Chris, who was sleeping quietly. In his arms, he carried a vase with a huge bouquet of flowers. Softly, he entered his wife's room.
She scooted up in bed, looking at him with a gentle smile. "Hi, honey. What are you doing here?" she gently scolded. "Dr. Early told me he was going to find you and send you home," although her face lit up at the flowers her held out towards her.
He leaned over and kissed her gently. She reached around and pulled him closer. He groaned softly, "Oh, I've missed holding you so much." Suddenly, he let out a yell as cold water and flowers cascaded down over his head.
JoAnne laughed and pulled him close again. "You just remember this 'cold shower' the next time you so much as even think about me having an affair with anybody, Mr. DeSoto."
Roy looked at her in disbelief and then started laughing, "Don't worry, Mrs. DeSoto, I've learned my lesson," as he scooted her over gently and climbed up beside her.
Dr. Mike Morton grabbed the phone by the base station, muttering to himself, "Where the hell is everybody tonite? Am I the only one working around here," he grumbled as he answered the phone, "Dr. Morton, speaking."
Carol was humming as she rushed toward the door, looking forward to her date. Just as she passed the desk, she noticed Dr. Morton jump forward, "Yes, Officer Howard. What do you mean? How in the hell did that happen? Yes, of course, I understand. I'll alert security here, just in case. Thank you."
Carol stopped, waiting for him to finish his call. Dr. Morton slammed the phone down. "What happened?" she questioned, with concern.
He looked over at her, "Alica escaped custody and they think she's probably heading here." He rubbed a tired hand across his eyes and sighed, "It looks like we are going to have some more trouble," as he reached for the phone to alert security.
