After the Honeymoon

"Stoker, Phone," Hank called from his office then smiled as his engineer ran to get the phone, "It's your wife" hank added then stepped out of the room to give his second in command some privacy.

Laura Elmer Stoker, Mrs. Michael Stoker for the last four months had been flown out, along with several emergency professionals from Rampart, to a large industrial fire eighty miles to the east of Los Angeles. There had been hundreds injured and hundreds more exposed to toxic chemicals and they needed help. The rest of the volunteers from Rampart had returned a week ago as other health workers moved in to take their place but Laura's skill and experience in mass casualties was greatly needed to get and keep everything organized so she was left behind. For the last two weeks Mike had mostly received messages from his wife relayed through the paramedics who were lucky enough to be at the station when he wasn't or through the hospital staff at Rampart so getting to actually talk to her himself was much needed.

Hank leaned against the counter in the kitchen and sipped at his fresh cup of coffee while he waited for Mike to finish his phone call. As he stood there he remembered the day he had picked the two of them up at the airport when they returned from their honeymoon. It was his final act as Mike's best man for the wedding. Waiting for them to come off the plane Hank had been surprised when an ambulance crew came running past him with a gurney between them and watched as they disappeared down the boarding tunnel. Hank hadn't been surprised when Laura was at the side of the gurney when it came back out but he was surprised when he saw Mike right behind them carrying a bundled new born baby in one arm and a two year old in the other.

The fact that Mike was carrying the newborn and not the mother confirmed the anxious motions of Medex Laura as the patient was rushed toward the ambulance. Hank took the two year old from Mike's arms allowing him to take a better hold of the baby and followed behind. Once the patient was loaded and the two children handed over to the attendant in the back Hank and Mike worked together to shut the doors and give the customary double slap to send the ambulance on their way.

As the ambulance drove down the road Hank and Mike looked at each other and all Mike could do was shrug his shoulders and shake his head. The two men then made their way to the baggage claim and collected the two suitcases before Hank drove Mike to Rampart to claim his wife from the Emergency department.

During the drive to the hospital Mike confirmed that a pregnant woman on the plane had gone into premature labor and He had assisted Laura with the delivery. As was normal with Mike there weren't a lot of details given nor was there a long drawn out narrative of the events just a simple statement of the facts.

Once they picked Laura up from the hospital, the newlyweds sat in the back seat of Hank's car laughing and giggling with each other along with a little wrestling and tickling. Hank was sure they had forgotten he was even there.

Once he drove into the driveway at Mike's house Hank got out and picked up the suitcases from the trunk while Mike and Laura were playfully fighting over who was going to undo who's seatbelt. Opening the front door with a key he had been given to watch the place while they were gone Hank sat the suitcases inside and to the side before stepping back and watching Mike sweep his wife off her feet and carry her through the door. Once the couple was inside Hank wiggled his fingers in a silent good-bye and pulled the door closed, He was sure the honeymoon wasn't over yet.

Mike's first shift back after the wedding he was a frequent recipient of Chet's water bombs. And each time he triggered one Chet could make the comment that he looked like he could use a cold shower. And of course everyone laughed repeatedly when remembering how Mike's two and a half year old niece, by marriage, locked his bride in her room on the wedding day refusing to let her father give her favorite aunt away.

When Mike came in for a drink of water after finishing his phone call Hank was still smiling at his memories.

"Did Laura give you any idea when she'd be coming home?" Hank asked.

"They're trying to stabilize two patients that need to be transferred to Rampart's burn ward. As soon as they can be moved she's coming home with them. Tonight or tomorrow, she said she'd call me from the hospital when she gets there." Mike answered with a bit of a sigh but Hank could still see the worry in his face.

Hank had noticed his friend watching every news shot that even spoke about the incident Laura had been shipped out to. They did show Laura in action several times and when they showed workers dressed in hazmat suits there wasn't anyone who could convince Mike that his wife wasn't one of them.

Mike was always the first one to admit he knew what he was getting into when he married Laura and she knew what she was getting into when she married him. Still Hank would be glad when his second in command's wife returned and he was sure Mike was a lot more eager for that to happen than he was.

The shift proceeded and although Mike was worried about his wife he was able to keep his mind on his work and did his usual exceptional job.

The night at the station was long, it was quiet with no calls but Hank could hear his Engineer tossing and turning the whole night.

When the squad received a call at 3 a.m. along with three other squads to assist the police at one of the local rumble sites Hank got up to see them on their way. When he returned to the dorm he found Mike sitting on the side of his bed slipping into his bunker pants.

"You know that call was just for the Squad don't you?" Hank questioned.

"I sure hope I never move this slow when I'm responding to a call," Mike greeted his captain with a smile.

Hank smiled back and shook his head in response.

"I'm just going to go to the kitchen and read for a while." Mike explained then climbed to his feet and headed out of the dorm.

Hank stood where he was and watched his watch tick off two minutes before heading to the kitchen to see if he could help his friend to unwind a little.

It took a pot of hot chocolate before Mike would talk to him but when he opened up, it was to admit that he was having trouble sleeping at the station, in an empty bed and Henry was not what he needed to help him get to sleep.

To Mike's surprise Hank understood completely and the two men, talked about the feelings and the limits of cold showers. The two men were still talking about everything except women when the squad backed in around 6 a.m. the two Paramedics nearly fell out of the squad but they noticed the light on in the kitchen and came to investigate.

"Hi Cap," Roy was the first to speak, "I'm glad you're awake because Dr. Brackett ordered us to bring a passenger back to the station with us."

Mike must have seen something behind the paramedic because he flew out of his chair as if the tones had sounded and nearly knocked Roy to the floor in order to get to his wife.

As Mike threw his arms around Laura and pulled her close rubbing her back, Laura rested her head on his shoulder and took a deep breath, "There's my favorite teddy pillow."

"She just came in with a couple of burn patients," John began to explain to his captain. "After she got them settled in the burn unit she came back to the ER and started helping with all the patients we hauled in from that brawl we responded to. We could all see she was dead on her feet so Bracket physically put her in our hands and ordered us to bring her back to the station to her husband and let him take care of her."

With that explanation given Mike pulled back and held his wife by the shoulders so that he could get a good look at her. "When was the last time you got more than three hours sleep at a time?"

Laura who was slightly unsteady in her husband's grip looked up and closed on eye in thought, "When did I leave here?"

"I thought so," Mike responded before pulling her back against his chest and beginning to rub her back again. "Things must have been pretty bad out there."

"It was a disaster," Laura spoke her voice muffled against Mike's shoulder; "About the same as any other I've ever worked."

Mike lifted his watch into view and realized that it would be another two hours before he was off shift and his mental gears started moving. "Cap, permission to put her in my bunk for the remainder of the shift?"

"I don't know there pal, your shift mates might have problems with that plan if you know what I mean." Hank responded clearly seeing that Laura was depending more and more on Mike to keep her upright. Still with only two hours left in the shift it would be a little difficult to get a replacement for his engineer.

"I can put up a privacy screen," Mike suggested.

Hank sighed, "Alright then but the two of you can't sleep together, not while you're on duty."

"Cap could you bring that unopened can of coffee?" Mike requested as he positioned his wife so that he could pick her up. "Roy could you get the mop bucket with the mop in it, And Johnny could you get an extra sheet out of the linen closet?"

With orders given Mike bent down and slipped his arm under Laura's knees and picking her up off the floor as the group gathered their assigned items and headed for the dorm.

Once Mike sat Laura down on his bed she sleepily reached into her pocket and pulled out a package handing it to Mike. "You better use these while I'm here," She said and Mike turned the package over to see that it was a set of soft restraints.

Smirking and shaking his head Mike was quick to realize his wife wasn't kidding and to agree the restraints would be a good idea. Holding them up to Johnny, Mike asked, "Can you show me how to work these things?"

With everything said that needed to be Laura just sort of tipped over, resting her head at the foot of Mike's bunk, her arm draped over the side and hanging near the floor. While Johnny made short work of applying one of the restraints to her wrist and tying it to the leg of the bed, Cap took one corner of the sheet and placed it on the brick wall between the bunks and weighed it down with the unopened coffee can while Roy tied the other corner to the handle of the mop. Mike made short work of straitening out his bedding and placing his pillow at Laura's side the way he knew she liked it and was just removing her shoes and socks when the tones sounded.

The tones sounded loud and long as four stations were called out to fight a gas leak with explosion and structure fire but under the calming back rubs of her husband Laura didn't even as much as flinch.

Feeling relieved that his wife was finally home and certain that she would sleep soundly as long as they were gone Mike responded to the call at hand and was in his place behind the wheel of the engine before his Captain climbed in the shotgun seat with the address where they were headed.

The fire was indeed a big one, another battalion had to be called in to get it under control and get it out. But the good news was the building was under renovation so no one was inside there were not casualties so when the fire was declared out and the hoses were drained and loaded back on the engine the Crew of 51 A shift gratefully climbed in their rigs and headed for the barn knowing they wouldn't have to clean up the equipment when they got there because the new shift had been there for an hour and would just take over.

As Mike approached the station with the squad behind him, he was surprised at what he saw. The bay doors were opened with three police cars parked in the drive, Squad 36 was parked in the bay facing forward and an ambulance was backed in behind it. The Chief's car was also on sight parked in the drive that led behind the station. Parking as close to the station as they could six very tired, very dirty and smelly firemen walked the rest of the way to the station and through the open bay door.

"What's going on here?" Hank inquired of his counterpart as he stood with hands on his hips.

"Well," Captain Hookraider began. "We all got here and I held roll call in the empty bay then challenged them all to finish their chores before you got back and one of the men found an unconscious woman in the dorm tied to one of the bunks. We called the police and another squad since ours was out on a run."