As Johnny was pulling into the station he was thinking how everything was right with the world. The last couple of days off were great. His first date with Mary had gone off without a hitch and she had even agreed to another date later in the week.

"Hi, Mike. Hi, Marco," he said as he came into the bay area. The two M's looked up saw who it was and left without saying anything.

Wonder what's wrong with those two? he thought as he went to change. Seeing Roy, he could hardly wait to tell him about his date. "Hi, Roy. Great day isn't it?"

"Was until a few second ago." Roy replied before slamming his locker shut and walking away.

Johnny was beginning to wonder what was going on when he heard, "GAGE! My office NOW!"

By the sound of the captains voice something was wrong, very wrong.

"Hi, Cap. What's up?" Johnny tried to keep his voice light as he went into Hanks office.

"Close the door."

"Anything wrong?"

"You tell me."

"I don't know what to say. The guys seem to be acting funny this morning, but I haven't talked to them since last shift so I don't know."

"You're just going to stand there and pretend ignorance."

"Cap, I honestly don't know what's going on."

"Is this yours?" Hank asked as he showed Johnny his favorite pen.

"Gee, thanks Cap. I really thought I lost it this time."

"So you still sticking to not knowing anything?"

"Yes," Johnny said, a little unsure.

"Get ready for roll call in five minutes."

Johnny walked out of the office more confused than before he went in. After changing, he went into the bay area for the traditional roll call. What was going on? The rest of the fellows did not even want to be near him, hell they wouldn't even look at him.

"Mike, you have the dorm. Marco and Roy…kitchen. Chet?"

"I know latrine duty."

"No I was going to say you can mop the floors."

"Gage, you have latrine duty and afterwards the hoses out back need to be hung." With that done, he went back into his office, closing the door none to quietly.

Johnny started to say something to the guys but froze when he saw the icy glare they all gave him.

As he set about cleaning the latrine, he started running the morning's events over in his mind. What did he do to set them off? No, they were this way when he came in. Last shift? No, all fine then. Oh, well. He'll find out soon enough. Someone would break down and fill him in.

The first run of the day way a minor one. Roy only talked to him when necessary. When they arrived at Rampart, Johnny was beginning to wonder what kind of reception he would receive.

"Hi, Dix," he asked, tentatively.

"Hi, Johnny. Roy. How's it going?" Dixie replied, flashing one of her smiles.

Johnny relaxed a little. Things seemed to be normal. Roy just shrugged his shoulders and started getting the supplies they needed.

"Buy you a cup of coffee, Dix?"

"You're on, Johnny," she replied, noticing the distance between the two.

As they started to go into the doctor's lounge, Johnny heard, "Time to go, Gage. We don't have all day for you to goof off."

Johnny stopped and turned around with a stunned look on his face. "Anything you say" he replied curtly.

The ride back to the station was done in silence; Roy, keeping his eyes on the road, and Johnny, staring out the side window. When they arrived back at the station, Johnny noticed that the engine was out on a run. Maybe if he played his cards right, he could get Roy to tell him what was going on.

"Roy can we talk?"

"We have nothing to talk about."

"But…"

"But nothing! Don't you have hoses to hang?"

Johnny went out back to where to hoses were. He was now more hurt than anything. This perfect day had rapidly turned into one of the worst days he could ever remember, and it looked like it would only get worse. Hanging hoses was usually a two man job, but Captain Stanley only told him to hang them. He would do it no matter if it took all day and all night. Besides, being out here, he didn't have to be inside where he obviously wasn't wanted.

He finally finished hanging the hoses around dinner time but did not go inside until he was sure they had all finished. When he walked into the kitchen, all talking stopped. The anger could be cut with a knife. Well, he could give as good as he got. He fixed himself something to eat and took it outside without saying one word to anyone.

He finally went inside long after lights were out. Taking a pillow and a blanket, he laid down on the couch to get some much needed sleep. But sleep would not come. No matter how many times he ran everything over in his mind, the outcome remained the same. The fellows were angry with him and he had no clue as to why.

The end of the shift came none too soon for Johnny. He just wanted to go home and forget this last shift. Maybe by next shift things would be back to normal. Yeah right!

Roy was standing right next to him, changing , but it was as if he was in the next room.

"Hey, Roy. Marco, Mike, the Cap and me are going out for breakfast. Want to go along?"

"Sure, Chet, give me a minute to call Joanne and let her know I'll be a little late."

Well I wasn't hungry anyway, Johnny said to himself as he drove out of the station.

For the next two days, all Johnny did was try to figure out the problem. He thought about calling Joanne. Maybe she had a clue. As he started to dial he hung up. What if she had no idea? Knowing her, she would try to talk to Roy about it. That could make the situation much worse and it could cause problems between she and Roy. Better keep her out of it for now.

He almost dreaded going to work. He did not know if he could handle another shift like the last one.

"Well, I see he's late AGAIN! I have had it with him. When he does show up, he is going to find out just how fed up I am," Hank said to no one, and everyone.

Half an hour late, Johnny pulled into the station parking lot. "Great, but it couldn't be helped."

The captain was waiting for him. "My office now!"

The slamming of the door vibrated through out the station.

"I have called Dwyer in as your replacement. As of now, you are suspended for the rest of the shift, without pay."

"But, Captain, I can explain."

"I don't want to hear any of you excuses. Just be here, on time, next shift or more drastic measures may be taken. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"

"Yes Sir..."

As Johnny started to leave, he was confronted by Roy. "You just had to go and screw up again didn't you?"

"Look, Roy, I had a perfectly good reason why I was late, if anyone is interested."

"I, for one, am not. What I would like to have, is a partner who is not only on time, but also one who is not an over-grown child whom I feel like I have to baby-sit, each shift."

Johnny felt like he had just been sucker punched. "Well, maybe that can be arranged. I know when and where I'm not wanted. Maybe some changes are needed before next shift begins!"

By the time Johnny had arrived back home, he knew what he had to do. If they didn't want him at the station anymore, he would make it easy. As he started to write his letter of resignation the tears started to run down his face. Maybe I'll do this later, he thought as he went to lie down.

Around two that afternoon, the bell to the fire station rang. Mike brought into the kitchen, a man, woman and small child of about four. "Captain this is Mr. and Mrs. Wong, and their daughter Sue Ling."

"What can we do for you?" Hank said as he started to stand.

"We wanted to come and personally thank the young fireman who helped our little Sue Ling this morning." Sue Ling pulled her mother's skirt and whispered something in Chinese. "Sorry, she is a little shy. She says he isn't here."

"Are you sure he was from this station?"

"Oh, yes. The policeman told us he was from Station 51. He said he was new on the force so he didn't know the young man's name, but he knew he worked out of this station."

A sinking feeling was starting in the Captains stomach. "What did he look like?"

"He was tall, skinny, dark hair and, according to Sue Ling, very good looking. Does that help?"

"Yes that sounds like...like John Gage. Unfortunately, he had to leave, so he's not here right now. What exactly did he do?"

"We, ourselves, have only been in the area a couple of months. This morning, our Sue Ling wandered off. Your fireman saw her walking the street, and stopped to help. It took awhile for him to locate us since she doesn't speak any English yet, and no one recognized her."

After the Wong's left, the Captain went into his office and closed the door. What had he done? Sure, he was still mad at Gage for pulling that prank. They all were, but that was no excuse. He was the Captain. He should have listened to Johnny, first. He should have...

"Station 51, man injured corner of Elm and South Main, time out 14:56"

"Station 51, KMG356."

When they arrived at the scene, they were informed that the man had been hit by a hit and run driver. There were a lot of people surrounding the victim. After they made their way through the crowd, they saw who the victim was. No, not Johnny, they thought, as they helped get the equipment out of the squad.

"Rampart, we have a man 24 years of age. A victim of a hit and run. Victim is unconscious, BP is 90/65, pulse 80, respirations 14. Pupils are equal and reactive."

"Ten-four, 51. Start ringers lactate, immobilize the neck, and transport as soon as possible."

"Ten-four, Rampart."

After they placed Johnny in the ambulance Hank told Roy to call and let them know his condition.

"Treatment room three," Dixie told Dwyer and Roy.

Dr. Brackett and Dr. Early both were surprised to see that it was Johnny that was being brought in.

Meanwhile the engine had returned to the station only to find Brooks and Flinn, both from C-Shift, waiting in the kitchen.

"Captain Stanley, can we see you in your office?'

After the three of them went into the office, Flinn closed the door. "We have a confession to make, Captain Stanley. You see, we only wanted to help Johnny. The Phantom has been getting the best of him for a long time now, and we wanted to even things up a bit."

"It was us and not Johnny who pulled that prank. We found Johnny's pen and left it where it would be found. I thought..." Brooks added.

"No we were both in on it. We just felt that if his pen was found, then everyone would assume that he was the one to pull it off, and maybe Chet would leave him alone for awhile."

"We just didn't think anything could go wrong. Especially as wrong as it did. We know what we did was wrong, so after we leave here we are going to be seeing our own Captain. If anyone should be suspended, it should be us and not Johnny."

After the two of them left, Hank closed the door and put his head in his hands. How were they…no how was he ever going to make it up to him. They knew him, they should of known he was not capable of pulling a prank that well orchestrated.

"Cap, Roy and Dwyer are back."

As the Captain came back into the kitchen he heard Roy telling everyone that Johnny was out of danger but he was still unconscious.

"Dwyer, would you mind if I talked to the rest of the fellows alone?" Cap inquired.

"No I'll go in your office and call and talk to my wife, if you don't mind?"

"Cap, the hospital didn't call and say Johnny was worse did they?" Roy asked as he saw the look on Hank's face.

"No, but I think you all had better sit down. Brooks and Flinn were just here and they just confessed that it was them, and not Johnny, that pulled the prank."

Roy, Chet, Marco and Mike, at first did not say anything. When the realization of what the Captain had just said, sunk in, they became mad.

"They did what?"

"Why?"

"Apparently they wanted to help Johnny strike back at the Phantom."

Suddenly Roy let out a groan. "What have we done?"

The rest of the shift seemed to go on forever. Finally it was over and the five of them went over to the hospital. "Any change" they asked as they saw Dixie.

"No. He is in room 265 if you want to see him"

Eight hours later they were still in his room, not wanting to leave. No one said much. They were all thinking about what they had either said or did the last couple of days. Each one was also thinking about how they were going to remedy the situation.

Around five that evening Johnny started to come too. After Dr. Brackett came in, they were ushered out into the hall.

"Welcome back, Johnny. How do you feel?"

"What happened?"

"Do you remember being hit by a car?"

"Yeah" he said as he grimaced in pain.

After being checked out, Dr. Brackett said he would send the guys back in.

"No."

"Don't you want any visitors?"

"No. I don't care if I ever see them again! Tell them to go away and leave me alone."

"But, Johnny, they are worried about you."

"I said no and I mean no. Is that clear enough?!"

"Okay, I tell them but they won't like it."

"I don't care if they like it or not. I'm the one who's the patient here AND I SAID NO VISITORS!"

While Dr. Brackett was telling the men what Johnny had said, he remembered the envelope that was on Johnny when he was brought in. "Johnny had this on him when he came in," he said, handing the envelope to Hank, since his name was on the outside.

"Doc, will you tell Johnny we are not leaving until he see us."

After they were alone he ripped open the envelope and read Johnny's letter of resignation.

"Cap, we can't let him do this. To leave station 51 is one thing, but to quit the department altogether is something else."

Two days later they were still there in the lounge, waiting. They would not leave until they had to go back on duty if necessary. Suddenly, Dixie came out and said Johnny would see them if, afterwards, they would leave and never come back. They would agree to anything as long as they had a chance to change his mind.

Johnny would not look at them as they came into the room. At first no one said a word until finally Cap cleared his throat and said, "Johnny, we can't begin to tell you how sorry we are."

"Well, you said it. Now why don't you go and just leave me alone!"

"Come on, Junior, you said you would hear us out."

"I SAID I would see you... thats ALL."

"No, you are going to listen to us even if we have to lock this door somehow, is that understood?"

"Whatever you say."

We have done something that none of us will ever forget. We not only judged you, we found you guilty and passed sentence without giving you a chance to defend yourself."

For a while, Johnny remained silent. Finally he asked, "What was it that I was supposed to have done?"

After listing to what he was accused of, Johnny could see why they could be so angry. But it still hurt to think they could have turned on him that way.

"So you want me to just forget that this ever happened? Just go on as before?"

"If only you could. But, no, we know it will take a long time for you to forget."

"We just hope it won't take you that long to forgive."

Johnny was quiet for a few minutes before saying, "Can I talked to Roy alone, please?"

"Sure." Roy saw the looks of hope on their faces as they left the room.

"Do you really feel that way about me?"

Roy did not say anything for a few minutes. He had to choose his words carefully. Everything depended upon what he said.

"No I think of you as my little brother, not my baby brother. When I saw what had been done, and you were supposed to be the one responsible, I was furious. Your whole career was in jeopardy. I couldn't believe you could be so stupid. That is why I was mad and said the things I did. Johnny, I don't know what I would do if you were not my partner."

A small smile started to cross Johnny face. "So you were only worried about me?"

"Yeah."

"So, who was responsible?"

After filling Johnny in on the who's and the whys, Johnny said he wanted to see the rest of the gang.

"Well, Johnny, can I tear this up?"

"On two conditions."

"What are they?" Cap asked, knowing that they would agree to almost anything at this point.

"One…the way I figured it, the Phantom needs to pay Brooks and Flinn a visit, right?"

"Yes," they all said at once.

"And the second condition?" Roy asked

"Well, I know that the Phantom likes to work alone, but I figured I deserved to work with him on this one, okay?"

"The Phantom would be honored to have your assistance on this," Chet said.

"Can I have my letter back?" Johnny asked.

The guys waited with baited breath until Johnny very s l o w l y tore the letter into small pieces.

"Fellows, can I be alone with John?"

"Sure, Cap."

After they were alone Captain Stanley pulled the chair up to the bed and sat down to have a long talk. After about two hours he finally left. He and Johnny had a long heart to heart talk. At first it had been difficult, but Johnny, being Johnny, made it easy for him. When he did leave, he felt confident that it would not take as long as they all feared before the six of them would, again, be the tight family they once were.

The following week Roy came to pick Johnny up and take him home. "Are you sure you don't want to stay at our house for a few days?"

"No. I just want to be alone for a while before going back to work."

Roy started to feel a little uneasy. Maybe things weren't as settled as everyone believed. "You aren't trying to avoid us, are you?"

"No way. I need the rest, that's all. You would have thought my room had a revolving door, the way people kept coming in to see me."

"Um, Johnny, I hate to tell you this, but that rest you want is going to have to wait for a few hours. Just act surprised, pal. Just act surprised."

*****

Author's Note: I want to think Gina for all the help she has given me. I also want to say to anyone out there who is thinking about trying their hand at writing a story, do it. I know I didn't think I could, but with the help I have received, I am glad I tried.