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Part
80
Jack Gage stalked down the hospital corridor to barge past Alex Master’s bodyguard into Johnny’s hospital room.
"Outta my way," he yelled at the startled man.
"You can’t go in there, sir," the guard protested. Jack shoved him away from the door.
"The hell I can’t!" he growled as he pushed the door open. Johnny jolted upright in his bed.
"Dad?" he asked, uncertain.
Jack strode purposefully to the closet and starting shoving Johnny’s personal belongings into the duffle bag he found on the floor of the closet.
"I’m taking you out of here," he informed Johnny brusquely.
"What? What happened? Is it Roy?" Panic began to edge Johnny’s voice as he tried to follow Jack’s movements with his ears.
"No! But I’m not letting you stay in the place one more minute!" He grabbed Johnny’s robe and handed it to him. "Here. Put this on."
"Can’t I get dressed?" Johnny complained.
"There isn’t time," Jack pressed. Johnny fumbled with the sleeves of the robe, not comprehending what was happening. The urgency of Jack’s voice was scaring him. Suddenly he felt his father’s hands, gently helping him into his robe.
"I’m sorry son," his voice, softening. Johnny almost winced at the word "son." Jack saw the pained look on Johnny’s face. He drew in a deep breath and placed his hand tenderly on John’s shoulder.
"John. Johnny. I’m positive that there’s been an error in the blood test. We’re going to a private lab and have it redone. I think someone in this hospital is out to get you. I think they must have tampered with the results."
"But...," Johnny started to protest but Jack stopped him.
"No buts. Except I want you to understand one thing," Jack searched Johnny’s face intently, wishing his sight would be restored. He longed to see into his son’s eyes. "No matter what the tests prove, I want you to know that you will always be my son. I was there when you were born. I raised you. I loved you then and I still love you. No matter what. Do you understand?"
Tears began to well in Johnny’s sightless eyes and a lump formed in his throat as he nodded, too emotional to speak. Jack pulled his son into his arms, embracing him as he fought his own tears. A moment later, he pulled himself away.
"Come on. We’ve got to hurry!"
Johnny felt for his slippers with his feet as he wrapped the robe around his slender frame. Jack put his free arm around Johnny’s shoulders and guided him out the door. The guard began to protest again as Jack led Johnny to the elevator.
"Tell Alex I’ll call him once we’re settled!" Jack snarled at the man over his shoulder. He stared defiantly at the man as the elevator door opened and they stepped inside.
*****
Marco shifted nervously on his feet as Mike waited for an answer. He stared at his feet trying to find the courage to tell Mike what he had done.
"What is it, Marco?" the soft-spoken engineer asked with concern for his friend. He was obviously upset about something.
"Mike...I...uh...Well, you see. I was at this bar, the Glass Onion, the other night and...uh...Sharon was there, you see? And I guess some drunk was hassling her. So I went to her defense..."
"Of course you would!" Mike conceded, wondering where Marco was going with this story.
"Mike!" Marco couldn’t stand Mike’s kind understanding. It was killing him. "Mike I slept with your wife!" he blurted out. Marco was amazed at the sense of relief he felt in getting it out in the open.
"What?" Stoker exclaimed in disbelief.
"I’m sorry! I don’t remember what happened. All I know is that I woke up the next morning with Sharon in my bed," the Latino confessed. "I must have had too much to drink ‘cause I don’t remember anything!"
Mike’s hands clenched into fists, anger seething beneath the surface. That scheming little witch! The color drained from Marco’s face when he saw Mike form his fists. He closed his eyes and began praying silently as he steeled himself for the punch he was certain was forthcoming. He was startled instead when he felt Mike place his hand on his friend’s shoulder. He looked into the engineer’s face, anxiously.
"Don’t worry about it Marco," he said kindly. "Sharon and I are through. I threw her out. I found out she was just using me. I don’t love her. The only thing we have between us is Mikey. Him, I care about."
"But...I..."
"It’s okay, Marco. I know you’d never do anything to hurt me. I just hope she isn’t using you like she used me," he stated sadly. Marco’s body sagged with relief as the heavy weight of this problem was lifted.
"Thank you amigo," he said, gratefully. Mike smiled and clapped his coworker on the back.
"You can thank me by helping me put a fresh coat of wax on Big Red," he chuckled softly, steering the firefighter into the truck bay.
"Sure thing Mike!" Marco agreed.
*****
Captain Stanley hung up the phone on his desk and headed for the day room. He could hear Marco and Mike talking companionably as they worked on the engine. He found Chet on the sofa, reading the paper with Henry’s head in his lap.
"Latrines finished pal?" he asked as he crossed to the stove and poured himself a cup of coffee.
"Sure thing cap!" the stocky Irishman responded.
"Well, look. Charlie’s gonna be here soon with a backup squad. If you see Dwyer or Anderson before I do, let them know, will ya?" Hank sipped on his coffee and sighed. He hesitated a moment, dreading the stack of paperwork on his desk. He pushed away from the counter and headed back to his office.
The moment his superior left the room, Chet jumped up from the sofa, disturbing the Basset Hound. He made a beeline for the telephone and quickly dialed Carol’s apartment, hoping that she’d answer. The phone rang and rang.
"Hello? Carol. It’s Chet...No! Don’t hang up! Look. I need to talk to you. Can we meet for coffee or something?...How about tomorrow morning? Right after I get off my shift?...Great. I’ll see you there. Thanks...Okay...Bye." Chet slowly replaced the receiver into its cradle, feeling a mixture of relief and worry. Relieved that she agreed to meet with him and worried that she wouldn’t listen to him.
*****
JoAnne was fussing with Roy’s blanket, trying to keep busy. During the past couple of hours his headache had worsened and x-rays indicated an area of his brain was swelling. Dr. Morton had given him a sedative so that he would sleep. Rest was the most important thing for Roy now. JoAnne looked lovingly down at her husband and held his hand. Her mother had readily come to watch the children so that she could stay with Roy at the hospital. The door opened and Harriet entered the room, motherly concern written all over her face.
"Roy!" she cried as she rushed to his bedside. She looked accusingly at JoAnne. "What happened? Why aren’t you at home with his children?"
JoAnne drew in a breath and silently counted to ten. "The squad was hit by an unmarked police car. Evidently both vehicles were running with sirens and they collided in an intersection," she explained keeping her voice calm. "Our children are at home with my mother."
"Humph! She can’t properly attend to my grandchildren. What were you thinking?!"
"I was thinking I needed to be at the hospital with my husband!" JoAnne snapped as she began to lose her temper.
"Well, I’m here now. You can go home!" Harriet’s tone implied more of an order than a suggestion. JoAnne’s hand curled into a fist.
"I don’t think so, Harriet," she responded evenly. "It’s late. Roy is going to be asleep for some time. I don’t think you should be here when he wakes up."
Harriet stared at her daughter-in-law in surprise. Had little JoAnne found a backbone? Harriet straightened her back and squared her shoulders and walked around the end of the bed to JoAnne until they were almost nose to nose.
"I’ll go, JoAnne dear, but don’t think for a minute that Roy won’t know how you’ve treated me," she hissed menacingly. JoAnne instinctively stepped back. Before she could retort, Harriet spun on her heels and made a dramatic exit. JoAnne found herself trembling. Damn! How that woman could get under her skin! She gazed again at her sleeping husband. How in the world had Roy survived growing up with that woman? Even as children, JoAnne could never connect with Roy’s mother. She always felt that Harriet never thought she was good enough for Roy. But for Roy’s sake, she had put up with Harriet’s veiled threats and rudeness. Now she was beginning to reconsider that. The woman was sick. She was evil and JoAnne didn’t want her around Roy or the children.
*****
Hutch waited in the ICU waiting room, hoping that the doctor’s would let him see Starsky, even if it was only for a few moments. He looked up as he heard footsteps approach the room.
"Captain Dobey," he acknowledged.
"Hutch. How’s Starsky?" his superior asked.
"They brought him down from recovery a while ago but they haven’t let me in to see him," Hutch responded. His voice was strained and tired.
"Can you tell me what happened?" Dobey inquired.
"I was driving. Lights and sirens. We didn’t hear the squad at all. We entered the intersection at the same time. I pulled to the left but couldn’t avoid the accident. The impact was on the passenger’s side. There was nothing I could do." Hutch held his face in his hands and rubbed his eyes.
"Sometimes you can’t, Hutch," the captain consoled.
"Yeah. The nurse said Starsky was upset about his car. I guess he forgot I was driving," the blonde officer mused. Dobey chuckled.
"Well, we both know how Dave feels about that Torino."
Hutch smiled for the first time in hours. "You’re right about that Captain."
"This place got any coffee?" Dobey asked, checking around the room.
"I think there’s a vending machine down the hall."
"I think I’ll go get some. You want anything?"
"No. Thanks. I’m fine," Hutch replied. He watched as Dobey headed down the hall. He slumped back into the sofa. His muscles ached and he was beginning to feel the effects of the impact on himself.
"Come on, partner. Don’t fade out on me," he whispered to the heavens. He hoped the nurse would come and get him soon. He wouldn’t go home until he saw his partner with his own eyes. Until then he wouldn’t let himself believe that he’d be okay.
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