Chapter 1

John Gage and Roy DeSoto and the rest of the crew of Station 51 were just about to sit down to have lunch when the alarm went off. "Squad 51, traffic accident with injuries. 6th and Kenmore, 6th and Kenmore. Time out 12:00"

"Squad 51 KMG-365." 51's Captain Hank Stanley said, as he watched his two paramedics get into the squad and drive away. When they got to the scene they saw only 2 girls arguing with each other. "You should watch where you are going!" One of the girls said. When John and Roy got closer they recognized Roy's daughter Jenny.

"Jenny, are you ok?" Roy asked as he reached his daughter. Jenny looked at her father before answering "I'm fine, Dad. You need to calm down." As Roy was looking at Jenny, John went over to the other girl who looked like she was about to go into shock. "Hi. I'm John Gage, what's your name." The girl looked at John and said "Laura Gage." When Johnny heard her name, he couldn't believe his ears. Why does this person have my last name? he thought as he was getting her vitals.

Meanwhile Roy was having a long talk with his daughter. "What happened, Jenny? Why weren't you paying attention to the road?" Jenny knew that she couldn't hide it from her father because if she did and told John instead she would be in a whole lot more trouble than she already was. "I was changing the radio station." Roy shook his head and decided to walk over to check on John's victim to calm himself down. When Roy got over to him, Johnny knew that there was something bothering him. "Are you ok, partner?" he asked Roy as he started to go towards that biophone. "Not really. I'll take care of your patient now. What are her vitals?" Before he walked away to talk to Jenny, he turned back towards Roy and Rose. BP is 100/60 respiration 12 and shallow, pulse 140, eyes are equal and reactive."

Roy nodded and then said into the biophone "Rampart Emergency, this is Rescue 51. How do you read?" Dixie McCall the head nurse at Rampart went over to the radio and said. "Go ahead 51." "Rampart, we have a female, age 19. She was involved in a traffic accident, vitals are BP 100/60 respiration 12 and shallow pulse is 140, eyes are equal and reactive." Dr. Brackett was at the radio by this time and said "10-4 51. Start IV with lactated Ringers and transport." "10-4 IV with ringers and transport ETA 15 Minutes.

"

As Roy started the IV, Johnny walked over to Jenny who was cowering away from him. "Jenny, you know that you should've been looking at the road instead of the radio right?" Jenny nodded with tears in her eyes "Uncle Johnny, please. I never meant to not look at the road. I just needed to look at the radio for just a second." Johnny didn't know what to say. She could've got hurt or worse. And then what would Roy and Joanne do? As if she could hear his mind, Jenny looked at her father and then back at her uncle. I'm not sure what my parents would've done. But I know that I'll never do it again." Johnny looked at her and said. "You better. I'll get your father if you want me to."

Jenny nodded her head so he went over to his partner and their patient. "jenny wants you." Johnny told Roy. Roy nodded his head and headed over to his daughter. "Are you Ok, Jen?" Roy asked as he reached her. Jenny ran to her father and hugged him. "I'm very sorry, Dad. Am I going to be punished?" Roy looked into his daughter's eyes and saw a little bit of fear in them so he said. No. but if it happens again, I'll have to." Just then the ambulance arrived. Roy was still talking to Jenny, so Johnny decided to ride with Laura. Laura on the way to the hospital, couldn't take her eyes off of Johnny. She knew who he was to her, but she still couldn't believe it. This man is supposed to be my father. But I really don't see how we are related. When they got in the hospital, Dixie McCall the head emergency nurse was waiting for them. When she saw Laura, she saw some resemblance between Laura and her favorite paramedic. Johnny went in the examination and held Laura's hand. He knew that she must have been scared. Laura looked up at Johnny from the examination table and squeezed tightly to Johnny's hand. "Thank you, Mr. Gage.' She said, not sure if she should call him Dad or not. Johnny looked down at his new friend and said "No problem."

Dr. Brackett then came in and saw the same thing that Dixie saw. After he was done examing his patient, he looked at Johnny and motioned to him to follow him out to the hall. Johnny wasn't sure what the Doctor wanted, so he followed him, wanting to know what the Doctor had to tell him. "Johnny, did you notice the reslembance that you and the girl that is laying in there?" Johnny looked at the Doctor for a few minutes before saying "She has the same last name as me. But I don't how she could have."

Roy then came with the supplies and said. "You ready to go, Junior." Johnny nodded his head, but before he left he looked once more at the examination door where Laura lay. Johnny looked at his partner and wondered why he was looking at a closed door. When they got back to the station Chet Kelley was waiting for them.

"It took you guys long enough." Johnny who was quiet the whole way from the hospital, opened his mouth, but closed out of anger. He then walked off to the locker room. Chet watched John walk away and then looked at Roy "What is his problem." Roy shrugged his shoulders and said. "I have no idea." As Roy and Chet went into the day room, Johnny went in the Captain's office and called the Hospital.

Dixie answered the phone. "Rampart General." "Hey, Dix. Is there any word of that girl that Roy and I brought in earlier." Dixie know why Johnny was calling. "Yeah. She told me something, but she made me promise not to tell you." Johnny wondered what secret that Dixie was keeping, but decided not to push the issue and then asked "Do you think that it's ok if I stop by the hospital and see her." Dixie smiled at her favorite paramedic's request. "Of course you can. Whenever you feel like it." Just then the alarms went off. "See you in a little while." Johnny said as he hung up the phone and got in the squad with Roy. "Where are we going?" Roy handed him the paper and said. "You should've paid attention to what Dispatch said." When they got to the building, which was already engulfed with flames at this time, Captain Stanley went over to the person who placed in the call. "What happened here?" the guy looked at the Captain and said. "The whole place just blew! One of my guys are still trapped in there."

Johnny and Roy were close enough to hear that, so they threw on their coats and ran into the house. Johnny saw the man first and pointed towards him. Roy grabbed the man and carried him out. When they got out they started the oxygen and put the call to Rampart.

"Rampart this is Rescue 51. How do you read?" Dr. Brackett was standing at the nurses station when Johnny called them. "Go ahead 51, Read you loud and clear."

"Rampart, we have a male approximately 20 years old. Was trapped in a burning building and suffering from, smoke inhalation. We have him on 20 liters of oxygen, no other known injuries. Do you want us to transport?" "10-4 51." Dr, Brackett said. "Keep us posted on any changes on patient's condition." "10-4, Rampart. ETA is 10 minutes." Roy volunteered to ride with the patient and Johnny drove the squad to Rampart.

When he got there, Johnny went and checked on Laura. Laura was sitting up in the bed when Johnny walked in the room. "How are you doing, Mr. Gage?" Laura asked as Johnny was sitting in the chair beside the bed. Johnny didn't know whether or not he should even be there, but Laura didn't tell him to leave so as he watched her, he knew that he had to be there for her. Laura knew that Johnny wasn't sure, so she said. "Please stay. I don't want to be alone."

Johnny looked at her and then grabbed her hand. "Where are your parents?" Laura looked sat the ceiling as she answered. "I never knew my father. My Mom would sometimes tell me things about him. She died a few months ago." Johnny looked at the girl and decided that it was time for him to go. "I'm going to have to go back to work. I'll come see you when I can ok? By the way, what was your dater's name?"

Laura looked at him and said "John, but all of his friends call him Johnny. She then looked at Johnny more closely. "Are you my father?" she asked. Just then, Roy came in the room. "Here you are, Junior. I was looking everywhere for you." he said. When he saw Laura and Johnny just looking at each other, so he went over to his partner and put an arm around his shoulder. "Are you ok?" Johnny looked at Roy and nodded without saying a word. He gave Laura a pat on the shoulder and turned and walked out of the door. Roy looked at Laura, shrugged and followed his partner out.

Johnny was in the squad when Roy came out. "What's the matter, Johnny?" Johnny looked at Roy. I just met my daughter." Roy couldn't believe his ears. "Your what?" Johnny looked at Roy and said again. "My daughter." Roy looked at Johnny and then back at the hospital. "You mean that girl whose room I found you in, is your daughter?" Johnny nodded. Roy got in the driver's seat and drove them back to the station.

When they got there, Johnny went straight to the locker room and sat down in front of his locker. Captain Stanley heard what was bothering his junior paramedic so he decided to see what he could do to help. "Roy told me what you found out at the hospital. Are you going to be ok?" Johnny looked up at his captain and smiled "Yeah. But I don't know what I'm going to do with her after she gets out of the hospital. I haven't even told Brackett or Dixie that she is my daughter." Captain Stanley knew that Johnny had some mixed emotions, but he also knew that he wouldn't let anyone who needed his help down, so he said "She's going to need you now, more than ever." Just then the phone rang, Chet came and told Johnny that it was Dixie was on the phone. "What's going on, Dix?" Johnny asked when he picked up the phone. "I just wanted to give you an update on the girl that you brought in earlier." When Johnny heard that it was about Laura, he felt his heart drop. "Is she Ok?" he asked. "Yeah. She had a seizure and when she woke up, she was asking for you." Johnny looked up at his captain, who was standing over his shoulder. Hank nodded "Take the rest of the day off. I'll get a replacement for you." Johnny nodded his thanks, told Dixie that he'd be there in a few minutes and left.

When Johnny got there, Dr. Brackett met him in front of Laura's room. "What happened, Doc?" Johnny asked after the doctor greeted him. "She just had a seizure and was scared to death after she woke up. What I don't understand is, why she would be asking for you." Johnny looked down at his hands and then finally looked up at his friend and said. "That's because she's my daughter." Kel looked at his dark haired friend with shock. "You're daughter?" Johnny looked at his friend and said. "Yes. She is my daughter, why is that hard to believe?"

Kel looked at Johnny and smiled. "No, it just caught us off guard is all." Johnny looked at his friend and said. "It caught me off guard as well. But now that I know that I'm the only family that she has, I can't leave her now." Dr. Brackett noticed something in his friend's eyes, something that he'd seen in so many fathers before him, scared and afraid for their child. "You can take her home tomorrow, but she'll have to stay in bed for a few days." After hearing that last instruction from Dr. Brackett, Johnny went into Laura's room and sat down next to higher. "Hey, Sweetie." He said. Laura opened her eyes and smiled up at him and said. "Hi Daddy. You heard what happened to me, huh?" Johnny looked at her and smiled at her. "That's why I'm here right now. Dr. Brackett said that I can take you home tomorrow. How would you like that?" Laura looked at her father and said. "I can't wait." Just then Roy came in the room and put his hand on Johnny's shoulder and then looked at Laura. "Hi there. How are you feeling?" Laura looked at Roy and remembered Jenny and the accident. "Is the other girl ok? The one that I was arguing with when you guys showed up?" Roy and Johnny started to laugh before Roy said. "She's fine. She didn't get hurt at all." Just then Dixie came in and told her favorite team of paramedics that they had to go home and let Laura get some sleep.

Johnny kissed Laura's cheek and told her that he'd see her tomorrow. When Roy got home he was greeted by Jenny. "Hi Dad. How's Johnny?" Roy hugged his daughter and said. "He's fine. The girl that you had the wreck with, gets to go home tomorrow." Jenny turned away from her father. "Why are you telling me? She could've killed me in that wreck! I don't like her." Roy started to get angry at the way that Jenny was talking about Laura, so he said. "You don't really know her that well, but you will. She's coming to dinner tomorrow night." Jenny stopped on the stairs and turned around and looked at her father. "What? I have to eat with her?" Just then Joanna, Roy's wife and mother of Jenny heard her daughter's last comment and asked "What is this argument about?" Jenny rushed over to her Mom, hoping that she'll side with her "Dad's going to make me eat with the girl who almost killed me in the accident that I had the other day." JoAnne looked at her husband who nodded and then she looked at her daughter. "Your father is right, you are going to eat with her." Jenny ran and went up to her room.

After Jenny left, Roy and Joanna sat down on the couch and talked. "Do you think that I should've told her who she is going to come to diner with?" Roy asked. Joanne shook her head. "She'll find out tomorrow. Hopefully she won't turn on Johnny." Roy gave his wife a reassuring hug. "Don't worry. She won't, I'll make sure of it."

The next day, after Johnny picked up Laura, he drove over to the DeSoto residence. When Johnny rang the bell, Jenny answered the door, but then when she saw Laura with her uncle she slammed the door. Johnny looked at Laura who shrugged her shoulders. Roy opened the door and asked Johnny and Laura to come in. Laura kind of knew why Jenny shut, so she decided to walk away from the house. Roy noticed that she wasn't there after he got Johnny a beer and Laura a Coke. "Where's Laura?" he asked as he set the two drinks down on the coffee table. Johnny looked at Roy who went outside to check just in case she decided to stay outside, but she wasn't there. When Roy went back inside he put his arm around Johnny's shoulder. "We'll find her. Don't worry about it." Johnny looked up at his partner with tears in his eyes. "This was a bad idea. I didn't know that Jenny was still mad at Laura about the car accident."

Roy squeezed his partner's shoulder. "She'll get over it." Just then Jenny came down from her room and looked at her father and uncle. "What's wrong?" Roy looked at his daughter and said. "Are you happy now, Jenny? You made Laura run away from your uncle." Jenny looked at Johnny who only nodded. Jenny went over to him and gave him a hug. "I had no idea that she was going to do that." Captain Stanley then came in and noticed that his younger paramedic was not happy, like he thought that he would be. He went over to him and knew exactly what was wrong with him. Immediately he went to his car and drove off in search of Laura, but he couldn't find her so he went back to Roy's house and help keep Johnny down.

Laura was walking and came to a crosswalk. She didn't look for a car so she stepped on to the road. A car was coming fast down the street and slammed on its brakes, but it didn't stop fast enough. Laura was flung into the air and landed hard on her back and passed out. When she woke up, she was laying on a examination table with two Ivs sticking out of her arm. "Where am I?" Dr. Brackett came into her view. "Take it easy, Laura. You're in Rampart. You got hit by a car." Laura looked around and then back at Brackett. "Where's my Dad? Is he here?" Kel shook his head. "He's over at Roy's. I couldn't face Jenny. Not after the accident that we had." Kel knew exactly what was going on in Laura's head, do he decided to sit and talk to her. "What exactly happened? Before your Dad and Roy got there?" "Nothing. She started to yell at me for no reason. I was scared to death." While Kel was talking to Laura, Dixie called Roy's house and let Johnny know what was going on with Laura. As soon as he got off the phone he got in his Jeep and went to Rampart. When he got there, Dixie rushed him to Laura's side.

Laura was sleeping until Johnny walked in and grabbed her hand. "Daddy, you're here." Johnny sighed when he heard her voice. "Yeah, I am. What were you thinking walking away like that? Do you have any idea how worried I've been?" Laura looked up at the ceiling, hopefully hiding the tears from Johnny. "I'm sorry. I know that Jenny is still mad at me, so I decided to get out of there. I know how much they mean to you and I don't want to come between you." Johnny knew why she ran away, but he also knew that he had to reason with her so he gave her hand a squeeze and said. "Don't worry about it. Roy knows what you mean to me. If you want I'll talk to him and see if we can try again soon." Just then Roy came in the room and noticed Laura looking at the ceiling instead of Johnny. "How are you feeling, Laura?" he asked as he came closer to the bed. Both Laura and Johnny jumped at the sound of Roy's voice. "I'm better than I was not too long ago. I'm sorry for leaving your house. Jenny doesn't like me, and I didn't want anything to come in between you and your family. I hope that you and Dad aren't mad at me." Johnny looked up at Roy who nodded his head toward the door. Johnny looked at Laura and said. We'll be right back."

When they got out to the hallway, Johnny turned around and looked at his partner. "What is it? Is something wrong?" Roy looked at Johnny and then at the door to Laura's room. "Nothing's wrong. At least not yet." Johnny looked at Roy and said. "What the hell does that mean?" Roy sighed before saying "I've got Jenny waiting downstairs. I wanted the girls to reconcile and become friends. I thought that I should tell you first. Do you think that Laura will be ok with that?" JOhnny looked at his partner and said. "I'm ok with it, but we should tell Laura. Just in case she doesn't want to see Jenny." So Roy and Johnny went back into Laura's room and Johnny decided to let Roy tell Laura who was there to visit her. "Laura, I brought Jenny with me. And I was wondering if you wouldn't mind if she came and got to know you better." Laura thought about it and then said. "Ok, I'll see her, but what if she doesn't want to see me?" Roy smiled at her and said. "She does want to see you. I wouldn't of brought her if she didn't." So Johnny went and got Jenny while Roy stayed with Laura.

When Johnny and Jenny got back to Laura's room, Jenny started to turn around but before she could, Laura called to her. "Come over here, jenny. I'm not going to hurt you." Jenny ran over to the bed and started to cry . "I'm sorry for the way I acted. If I wasn't like that, you probably wouldn't be in this bed." Laura reached out her arm that didn't have the IV's in them and patted her arm. "We were both at fault. We both lost our tempers that day. I'd like us to be friends if you want to." Jenny hugged Laura trying not to mess up all of the cords that was attached to her. Roy and Johnny decided to leave the two girls alone for a few minutes letting them talk. "I never expected Laura to accept Jenny like that so quickly. I guess things can happen like that." Roy said as he waited for his daughter to get done talking to Laura. Kel than came up to them and said. "How is she, Johnny?" "She's good. She's getting to know Jenny." Johnny said. Jenny then came out of the room and then hugged her father, then Johny. "She's awesome! I was so wrong to hate her. Johnny looked at Kel and asked "When can I take her home?" Kel looked at Johnny and said "I'll discharge her first thing in the morning, Johnny." Jenny looked at her Dad and asked "Can we try getting together for dinner, again?" Johnny looked at Roy and said. "What do you think, Roy?" "It's up to you and Laura, Johnny." He replied. "But we'd love to have you both."