Chapter One—The One

Melinda. Johnny Gage smiled as he shaved. He hurried, running slightly late. The weekend had been incredible, and he didn't want to ruin it now by ending up on latrine duty. Ahhh, speaking of Melinda…he grinned as the beautiful blonde placed her well-tanned arms around his middle and began tickling him gently. Her long, hot-pink nails made targets of his somewhat scratched up shoulders and ribs. It had been a wild weekend, after all…! "Careful!" he growled playfully. "Don't wanna have to bandage my own throat, y'know!"

"Johnny-cakes," the blonde pouted prettily, "do you really have to go? Please stay with me! I just hate being alone. We could—"

"Melinda, you know I gotta go to work. I can't just take off. People depend on me. My partner depends on me, too. Besides, I love my job!"

By this point, John was toweling off his face and missed the fleeting look of irritation on Melinda's lovely face. His job—again!

By the time he turned around, she was smiling seductively at him, and tugging at the waistband of his jeans. "Are you sure I can't talk you into something more interesting this morning than your job?"

This time, Johnny caught the slight sarcasm, and frowned. "No, Melinda. I gotta go." Johnny silently reached for his shirt, and Melinda realized she had pushed him too far.

"Oh, baby, I'm sorry! It's just that I'm still not used to all this—you know—the danger and everything! I just want to keep you here safe; with me! I don't ever want anything to hurt you…ever!" The whine in her voice was impish, but calculated.

Johnny immediately softened, as Melinda had known he would… the way he always did whenever they argued, whenever things didn't go the way she planned. Oh, yes, she could read her firefighter like a book. The last six months with him had proven that beyond a shadow of a doubt. And Melinda knew, too, that he was The One. As Johnny leaned in to kiss her deeply, Melinda nearly wept in triumph. Johnny was hers! Her man. Forever.

And then Johnny was late for work. Again. For the second time in less than a month. And he was so busted. And he had nobody to blame but himself. And what was worse—he knew it.

He was furious with himself, and trying desperately to come up with a plausible excuse. The truth certainly wouldn't work. "Sorry, Cap, I'm shacked up with a chick I just can't say no to?!" That sounded just too sordid, even to him. Besides, it wasn't really true. Melinda was different than any other girl—er—woman he had ever known. She was beautiful; sophisticated; cultured; mysterious; totally comfortable in her own skin. She had some odd tastes, true, but that was okay. He was getting used to them. He just wasn't used to a woman being so—well, demanding, in bed. And was she ever! But she was great; she was, well, maybe, she was finally The One! She—

Here Johnny's thoughts were interrupted when he made the turn into the station parking lot. The squad was gone, and he was totally unnerved at the sight of his stormy-eyed Captain standing in front of Big Red, jerking a thumb towards his office. Surely, he wasn't that late! He shot a horrified glance at his watch as he hustled towards Cap's office…"0915?!" He squeaked out loud. "Oh, shit!" He was over an hour late!

Captain Hank Stanley was not happy with his junior paramedic. "You want to explain why you show up an hour late with no phone call?! Good thing Dwyer just happened to be here from filling in on last shift. He went out on your first call…with your partner…who managed to make it on time for his shift! Now I gotta justify OT for Dwyer, because you couldn't drag your butt outta bed on time! Again! Am I missing anything?!"

Hank, not normally one to shout, found his voice rising steadily as he reached the end of his tirade. The miserable young man in front of him refused to meet his eyes. Barely whispering, he replied, "No, Sir." In a calmer voice, Stanley relented some. He was genuinely concerned about Gage. This behavior was not like him at all. "Look, Johnny, what's going on? Are you okay?"

Still refusing to meet Cap's eyes, Johnny simply replied, "I just screwed up. It won't happen again, Cap. I swear." Hank knew there was more to it, but knew that making Johnny talk, when he didn't want to, was also a lost cause. He sighed heavily and regarded the younger man for a moment. "Okay. My door is always open. You know that." Johnny nodded silently. Knowing Cap couldn't simply let this go, John quietly asked, "Now what happens?"

Stanley admired this young man, precisely because his sense of honor and duty had made him ask the question most men wouldn't ask. He sighed again, and answered John honestly. "One more this quarter and it goes to HQ. As it is, I'm putting it down as personal time and docking you three hours, to cover Dwyer's OT. More if they stay out much longer. And, you draw latrine duty for the next three shifts."

Johnny's eyes brightened as he looked at his Captain for the first time. "You're not putting a reprimand in my record?"

"Not this time, but I do have a question, and I want an honest answer, John." His tone was serious.

"Yessir."

"What's her name?"

John simply grinned and shook his head, unaware of the blush stealing up his neck, which provided his captain all the answer he needed. Stanley smiled and sent him to get ready for his shift.

Johnny thought about Cap's question as he changed into his uniform. He wasn't really sure why he had kept his relationship with Melinda such a complete secret. He had never even told Roy about her, and they had been dating exclusively for almost six months now. The time had just never seemed right, and she was so different, so much more mature, than all the other girls that he'd gone out with. The problem was, he wasn't sure Roy would like her. That sounded dumb, maybe, but there it was. Johnny was head over heels about this woman, but he was just not sure she would fit in with his friends. He would have to ease her into their lives very slowly. For one thing, she hated what he did for a living. She was terrified he was going to get hurt one day and leave her alone. She didn't understand how the wives and girlfriends could be a support system for each other and for their men. He was sure that would change, as she learned more about his friends and their families, though.

For the other, she was kind of; well, possessive, of his time with her. She preferred spending their time alone together. She just wasn't into group activities was all. That was okay with him, because she could think up some really wild things for them to do together! If time with his other friends was slipping away, well, they would just have to realize that was what happened when you finally found The One.

For her part, Melinda was ecstatic things were moving along so well. John was the most wonderful man she had ever known, even if he was somewhat unruly and…disobedient at times. But she was confident she could train that out of him. And she would. Just as soon as he agreed to allowing her to move out to his ranch with him on a permanent basis. Things were much more—peaceful—there. Oh, yes, after much trial and error, she had finally found The One!