By: Denise and Monica
Okay, this is something Monica and I were goofing with one night in IM's....Yes, we are silly. She sent it to me, and I cleaned it up and made it....um....sort of presentable. (grin) Please, no flaming....This was written out of fun, we really love the boys...but you have to wonder what goes on behind the scenes.
“Rampart, we have a code I, victim is approximately 28 years old, suffering from a bad case of cramps after eating Marco's chili.” Stated Roy Desoto over the field phone. It didn’t take long for him to get a response. He recognized the voice of Doctor Kelly Brackett immediately.
”51 give him a bottle of beano and don't light any matches.”
”Sorry Rampart...you're breaking up....I ....” Roy tapped on the phone ”oops..Johnny's gas is so bad the line is trying to melt.
Concerned, Brackett tried to make contact with no success. ”You’re coming thru in short bursts.”
Seeing the damage being done, Roy knew that they would have to take emergency measures. “Cap! Tell everyone to put on their gear!”
Also noticing the damage, Cap turned to another of his men. “Kelly! Pull the engine and the squad out of the bay! The tires are starting to bubble and they may blow!”
Kelly rubbed his mustache thoughtfully. “Cap, I'm afraid the spark from the ignition will set of a chain reaction.”
Suddenly a sound filled the room. The men dressed in their turn out gear and sbca's then turned angry glances to John.
Johnny looked hurt, “Hey! it wasn't me!" He moaned, clutching his stomach.
Marco grinned sheepishly, “Sorry..."
"Oh man! I can smell it!" Mike Stoker complained. "My mask has been compromised. Oh crap that'll curl your nose hairs.”
Johnny kept low to the ground, as he tried to pull himself from the room. His eyes were watering from the obnoxious fumes that now filled the bay. "Can I have a mask pleaase?" He was sweating profusely, and his skin was clammy. "I think I'm going into shock guys. Oh man, Roy, I can't breathe...” Johnny snorted trying to contain his laughter.
“Cap bring the O2!” Roy called, his voice slightly muffled through the mask.
All of a sudden, the doors to the day room slammed. The schnick of the lock being set filled the bay. "Henry just locked us in here!” Someone yelled.
”NO!!!!! “ Others called as they scrambled around the bay frantically.
Johnny clawed at the door while the carbon monoxide alarms sounded. All they could hear were the nails of little paws clicking on the tile floor back toward the couch.
With the strength of a warrior, Johnny stood and approached Roy. With the speed only he has, he yanked at Roy’s mask. “Gimmee that mask man!” The muffled “oh man ..., air” could be heard as Johnny took a breath.
Roy collapsed to the floor instantly turning green as Marco let another long toot of his own horn. Stoker pulled the ax from the wall and began chopping at the door.
”What was in that stuff!" Captain Stanley yelled over the sounds of the ax hitting the metal rolling doors. "Use the remote button you twit. “ From the corner of his eye, he saw Chet backing away toward the dorm rooms. "Kelly! Did you have anything to do with this?"
Suddenly the bay doors slid open when Stoker made his way through the now heavy fog and found the button. By this time everyone was contributing to the cloud that was escaping through the large roll up doors.
All eyes turned to Chet..... Johnny stormed the man, backing him into the supply closet.. Johnny ripped off Chet's mask, and they all let him have it. Chet quickly passed out from the silent but deadly fumes. but not before saying..."It was a privilege serving with you.." Mike grabbed Marco, pulling him along behind and then pushing him into the closet with Kelly. Together the rest of the men locked them in the small room.
“How long do you think they can survive in there? “ Stoker asked.
Johnny shrugged, then looked at the supply closet, grinned and walked away.
Feeling guilty, they decided to let Chet and Marco out of the closet. Chet was still out, but Marco had found an extra tank and was making good use of the mask.
Stoker went to the squad and removed a stokes...within moments Chet was loaded up, as was Roy. Both were given O2 as Johnny slipped into his role as paramedic. The ambulance was called and dispatched to the station. In what seemed like mere minutes, the men of 51 were on their way to Rampart.
Dr. Kelly Brackett met the men at the emergency room doors as the stretchers were rushed in from the ambulance. "What have we got here." He asked, quickly checking pupil reaction and the pulse of each man.
"Uh...Gas leak at the station doc." Johnny said.
Brackett noticed the sudden blush that came over Gage, but was too engrossed in his patients to make anything of it. "Do you know the source." He asked, his lip twitching.
"Um..yeah...it was natural gas....they rec'd short bursts of it over a long duration."
"Was anyone else exposed?"
"Yes, we all were, but we donned our turn out gear before it got too bad."
"Well, I hope that you have the situation well contained now."
Johnny’s stomach bubbled, "I do too doc, but there are never any guarantees." Johnny said worriedly as the rumbling grew.
Stoker noticed John’s discomfort, and added,” That’s right doc, I'm not sure how long it will hold.”
They could hear the sound of someone screaming coming from the room Chet had been taken to. Another sound suddenly filled the air and Johnny looked around wondering if anyone heard it... or smelled it.
”Dang wheels are squeaking again.” Brackett stated....Johnny sighed in relief.
Doctor Early entered the room cautiously, Johnny could tell that his eyes were watering.
They suddenly heard someone in another room yell, “Where's the spray chief!”
Worriedly, Dr. Early looked at his partner, ”Kel, I think we need to contain the situation quickly. I've already called upstairs and they have an ISO unit ready. I suggest we use O2 in the meantime.”
Brackett looked at Early questioningly. “Roy’s already on O2.”
Early grabbed a mask. “Not for them… for us.”
Meanwhile in another room…..
Blair Sandburg peeped around the curtain frowning. "Jim, we are at the hospital...not in the loft man. What's your problem?”
The Sentinel looked at his partner. "I smell something."
Blair lifts his arms in defense. "Hey man! It wasn't me!"
"Something stinks in this hospital. I told you we should have never come to LA for that convention...no...You had to have it your way. You stay here...I'm going to check it out." Ellison made a strained face and a strangled noise as he left exam room three.
”Jim don’t... I know that smell…. It’s Uncle Marcos chili... run Jim, run!”
It was too late. The older man was laid out in the doorway, eyes watering and nose running. He was zoned on the sound of someone screaming down the hall. People were dropping like flies in the hall.
Outside, the police roped off the building. In ER2 Early looked at Brackett in confusion "What is that smell?"
"What smell?" Brackett asked, continuing to try to calm Chet. He turns to his favorite nurse, "Dix, Let's sedate him. It's the only way we are going to calm him down enough to check him over."
Dixie nodded and began preparing a syringe.
Meanwhile, Early was walking around the room, sniffing like a blood hound. "It smells like....like...." Then he came to Marco who looked away innocently. "Oh my G......."
Brackett interrupted the impending tirade. Pulling his mask down, revealing nose plugs he said. "It's Wednesday night Joe, Marco's night to cook. I mean really, you should be used too this by now. This happens at least once every month."
"I'm usually off on Wednesday's. I'm only here because Morton called in sick.....Hey, you don't think he called in because he knew....." Joe’s ears started turning red with anger.
Bracketts mouth twitched. "I wouldn't put it past him Joe." Then he nodded to Dixie to sedate the still struggling Chet. "Why don't you take the boys into four and give them all a dose of bi-carb."
"Sounds like a good idea." Joe replied thoughtfully. "But...if everyone was affected, why isn't Kelly here showing any symptoms?"
Captain Stanley, who had been silently standing in the corner, finally spoke. "He didn't eat anything, which in of itself should have aroused suspicion.”
Suddenly Johnny shoved Stoker out of the way and left the room. Marco and Stanley both shot glares at Stoker. "Dixie. I think Mike is going to need a change of clothes."
Marco shook his head, "I know my chili usually generates a subtle response...but nothing like this has ever happened cap. What do you think Kelly did to the chili to cause this?"
"I think the question should be, what didn't he do to the chili. Marco, you take Stoker back to the station and check the garbage cans out. See if you can come up with anything that might have caused this.”
Marco stopped as he was about to leave, "Cap?"
"Yeah Marco?"
"We only had a bowl a peace....Johnny had two..."
"Three." Roy cut in, removing his mask. "While everyone was getting ready for bed, he was in the kitchen getting another bowl. He said it wasn't very filling."
Worry filled Hanks eyes. "Roy, go find your partner. Doc? Do you think you can pump Johnny's stomach?"
"I think it would be the best thing to do," Kelly nodded, finally satisfied with Chet’s condition. "With that much pressure building inside of him, I'm worried about the possibility of internal injuries.
Roy hopped off of the stretcher and left the room. He walked the halls looking for his missing partner. Stopping several nurses in the halls, knowing that Johnny was probably on first name basis with most of them at the hospital, Roy asked if they had seen his partner. One nodded and pointed down the hall to the public restroom. "He went in there just a few min ago." She said.
Roy found the younger man in the bathroom a look of steely determination on his face. One hand clutched his stomach, while the other held “IT”.......Roy gasped and dread filled his body. “Johnny, no!” He yelled.
”It’s the only way Roy. I don't think you should be in here. I'm not feeling so well. I know what Brackett will wanna do. At least this way I control my own fate.
"But Johnny..."
"It's not so bad. I used to do it all of the time......." he stopped, fearing that he had said too much, but it was to late, he had already stirred suspicion in his partner.
Before Roy could take a step toward his partner, Johnny brought the pink bottle to his lips and downed the contents.. the chalky minty taste in his mouth only lasted a few minutes before he hunched over the bowl. "ugggghhhhhh" Johnny moaned, as wave after wave of nausea washed over him and his stomach cramped and rebelled against him.
Roy looked at the bottle in disgust...”Fast relief my ass.” The smell of the stuff was enough to make Roy gag. He knew that Johnny had to be in pain... no one willingly put them self through Pepto unless they were hurting bad.
When the first round of gagging ended, Johnny slid to the floor with his back against the wall. “At least this way its over quicker.” Johnny mumbled.
Knowing that Johnny hadn't even come close to emptying the contents of his stomach, Roy knew he had to get the younger man in to see Doc Brackett. "Did it help?" Roy asked, handing his partner a cool towel.
Johnny quickly washed his face before throwing the towel into the toilet and flushing. "A little...I guess." The young man stood on shaky legs, batting away Roy's hands as he tried to assist him to the sink. "I'm not a child Roy...I can walk." Turning on the water he cupped his hands beneath the stream and brought his hands to his mouth, sipping cautiously, after first rinsing his mouth out.
They made there way back to treatment room 4. By the time they arrived, what little energy Johnny had left was gone. Gratefully, he sunk onto the exam table.
Roy explained what happened in the restroom. Brackett's mouth twitched as Roy told him how Johnny had downed the bottle
Dixie gasped.. before reaching out to brush the hair off Johnny’s forehead. "You poor thing."
Quickly an IV was started and Dixie returned with a small cup of Paragart to lessen the stomach cramps Johnny was having. The liquid stank and burned his throat, but he was hurting to much to argue. Even though he knew that it would hurt worse when it came back up... which he knew it would. “No…. no.” Johnny moaned, pushing it away. He guessed it had been about twenty minutes since his last attack and knowing his body, he had 10 more before the next. "Please...I don't want to go through that again. Can't you just let me sleep?” Yet he knew he would be sick every thirty minutes for the first couple of hours then every hour….it had been that way since he was a kid.
"I'm sorry Johnny. You can't go to sleep right now. I know you're tired, but you just have to hang in there for now.”
Roy looked around the room. "Where did Captain Stanely go?"
"He had to call in and request replacements for your shift.”
Roy nodded. Johnny rolled over onto his side and began to curl up. He moaned just as Dixie brought a bedpan to his side. Johnny quickly made use of it. Dixie turned her head trying to stay away from the smell. Her stomach twisted in sympathy for the young man she had come to think of as a friend.
The station had aired out slightly when the cap returned. There were still troubling pockets of "gas" when he opened the kitchen door, but the mask helped. Retrieving a small plastic bowl from the cabinet, he secured a sample of chili for testing, before rummaging through the trash. There he found two empty boxes of Ex-lax. The can in the kitchen turned up the expected cans of beans... and spices…then he saw it, the 5 alarm chili mix pack.
Captain called Marco and Stoker into the kitchen, “I found these.” He said, holding up the packages.
Marco crossed himself, and Stoker ran to the bathroom suddenly feeling the effects of the laxative.,,,again. "I need to call rampart and let them know what we found. They will need this information to treat John.”
Dr early entered the treatment room. “Kel, 51 just called in. They found 2 empty boxes of Ex-lax.”
Brackett turned to Dixie. “Dix...he's gonna dehydrate quickly. I wanna start another IV and get a room ready.” Leaving Dixie to her work he looked at Joe. "What won't that Chet Kelly do?"
Later that evening, Roy sat in the uncomfortable plastic chair and waited for Johnny to return from the bathroom.
Opening the door slowly, Johnny shuffled back to bed dragging the IV beside him. Roy winced at the dark circles under Johnny’s eyes. His partner had had a grueling afternoon. First with the cramps and then Dr. Brackett forcing Johnny to have his stomach pumped after he found out what Chet had done to the chili. Now Johnny was in the bathroom as much as he was out of it. Johnny had just made his way to the bed when he stopped and turned around to make his way back into the small toilet area.
"I hate Chet....I hate Chet..." Was the mantra of the paramedic, as he entered the small room and closed the door.
It was late in the second day before Johnny was able to sleep for over an hour and to keep water down, and another two before he was allowed to go home. Roy helped his still weak partner get settled on the couch. Once he was sure Johnny was comfy, he headed into the younger man's kitchen to get each of them something to drink. "Hey Johnny, you hungry?"
Roy opened Johnny’s fridge and was surprised to find it nearly empty. Before he could comment on the lack of food in Johnny’s kitchen, he heard a knock on the door. It was Mrs. Turner, the elderly woman next door.
She smiled up at Roy. "Mr. Desoto, how's little Johnny?" she asked, as she handed Roy the pot she had been carrying.
"I'm fine Mrs. Turner." Johnny answered from the couch. He really liked the older woman, she reminded him of his grandmother and it was clear the feeling was mutual because she treated him like he was one of her great-grandchildren instead of the 28 year old he was.
Well I'm glad to hear that sweetheart. I won't stay long I just wanted to drop this off. Patting the lid she looked at Roy. “You make sure he eats this… We need to get some meat on his bones.” Once the woman was gone Roy took the pot into the kitchen and lifted the lid. To his horror, he was greeted by the sight of Mrs. Turners homemade chili.
”I'll tell you what Johnny, why don't I go down the street to the Burger Barn and get you something to eat.“ Roy said, sticking the pot in the fridge.
Johnny frowned, "Why....Mrs. Turner is a great cook. What's in the pot?"
Roy grimaced. "You really don't want to know. Trust me on this Johnny."
The young man stood up and made his way around the couch to stand in front of Roy. "No really...what's in there. It smells like......." Johnny paled and then turned green. "Oh no....no nonononono."
Roy watched helplessly as his partner ran to the bathroom.
THE END