"Picking Up The Pieces" © February 2001 Nancy F. Thysell. "Emergency!" and its characters © Mark VII Productions. All rights reserved. No infringement on any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction, and any similarity to actual persons or events is purely coincidental.

TITLE: Picking Up The Pieces-Part 6

AUTHOR: Nancy, the Nifty Lady (Niftylady51@aol.com)

Picking Up The Pieces-Part 6

At the opening of court the next morning, Mr. Standish recalled John Gage to the stand. The doors to the hallway opened and Dr. Shields escorted Johnny into the courtroom who was wearing dark sunglasses. With Dr. Shields assistance, Johnny made his way back to the witness stand.

"Your honor," Mr. Standish began to object with a sweep of his hand at what he obviously felt was a theatrical ploy on the part of the prosecution.

The judge peered over his glasses at the defense attorney.

"Yes, Mr. Standish?"

"I must object to Mr. Gage wearing sunglasses in the courtroom."

The judge looked at Johnny.

"Is there a reason for you to keep the sunglasses on Mr. Gage?"

"I can answer that, your honor."

"And you are?"

"I'm Dr. Randall Shields. Mr. Gage is presently under my care."

"And for what purpose must Mr. Gage wear these glasses?"

"Because of Mr. Gage's collapse here in the courtroom, I have had to give his eyes special treatment. Right now they are extremely sensitive to light and he has to wear the dark glasses to protect his pupils."

The judge considered this for a moment. He turned to Johnny.

"Mr. Gage, would you remove the glasses for a moment and look at me?"

Johnny gingerly removed his glasses and turned and looked toward the judge. The dilation of his pupils was readily apparent to the judge, even in the diffused lighting of the courtroom.

"You may replace your glasses, Mr. Gage. Thank you."

"Your honor," Mr. Standish protested again as Johnny replaced the glasses.

"Mr. Standish, get over it. You may proceed with your cross-examination," the judge ordered. Dr. Shields took a seat at the prosecution table and conferred a moment with Mr. Ralston.

Mr. Standish slowly approached the witness box.

"Well, Mr. Gage. Are you feeling better?"

Johnny found the man's tone irritating but he forced himself to stay civil. "Yes."

"That's good." He perused the notes on his pad. "Why do you suppose that a man of Dr. Taroboli's reputation and position would want someone like you as a research subject?"

Johnny stared at the attorney. "I was told I was chosen because of my heritage and because I had survived a serious virus."

"I see. And didn't you think that this would be a particular honor to help with this research?"

"I wasn't given a choice!" Johnny snapped, angrily.

"Come now, Mr. Gage. You honestly want this court to believe that you were taken against your will and held just for medical research?"

"Yes!" Johnny slammed his fist angrily on the frame of the witness box. "I was kidnaped. I was threatened with a gun. Everything I knew was taken away from me. I was forced to do things against my will!"

"You honor would you direct the witness to just answer the question."

"Perhaps if you asked questions that weren't so broad, Mr. Standish."

"Yes, your honor." Mr. Standish returned to his table and perused another legal pad of notes. He returned to the stand and began barraging Johnny with dates and times of various events. Ralston was curious as to how this particular line of questioning was helpful to Taroboli's defense. For more than two hours, Standish grilled John's memory. He kept crisscrossing the information until it seemed Johnny was a willing participant. Johnny's frustration with Standish's line of question grew more apparent and Ralston worried about John's temper getting the best of him.

"Mr. Gage, what would you say you have gained from your experience with Dr. Taroboli?"

"What?"

"I wonder what your gains or benefits have been from this 'terrible' experience."

"I don't know what you mean," Johnny answered honestly

Mr. Standish looked at his notes again.

"Haven't you as Miss Lightwing's husband gained financially?"

"I..."

"At her death, didn't you become her legal heir?"

"Yes. But..."

"So you inherited quite a handsome sum, did you not?"

"Yes."

"And according to public records, did you or did you not recently purchase a ranch, all new furnishings, a new truck and aren't you currently planning to purchase a couple of horses?"

Johnny shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Yes."

"So would it be fair to say that if you hadn't married Miss Lightwing, you would have been unable to afford these things on a fireman's salary?"

"No."

"No? Come now Mr. Gage, I can produce for the court your salary history. Surely you're not suggesting to this court on that sum you could have afforded to make these kinds of purchases?"

"Mr. Standish, my salary as a fireman/paramedic may not be huge but it's a workable salary. I had been planning to make these purchases for a long time. My inheritance only speeded up the process. Eventually, I would have bought them."

"But it is true that your inheritance has permitted you to do all of this sooner."

"Yes it has."

"So it would be fair to say that you benefitted quite handsomely for your time."

"Not really."

"Really, Mr. Gage? That doesn't seem possible."

"I don't think any amount of money can compensate for what I went through or I lost."

Mr. Standish hesitated momentarily as Johnny's answers seemed to be gaining him sympathy.

"I have no further questions of this witness," Standish finally announced and took his seat.

"Any readdress?" the judge asked Ralston.

"Yes your honor but considering the late hour, I would like to request that we begin after lunch."

"Very well, Mr. Ralston. The court is recessed until two p.m." The judge brought down the gavel and court was adjourned.

# # # # # # #

Most of the group had already left to the nearby restaurant for lunch. Johnny, Roy, Rand and Ralston stayed in the ready room.

"What do you plan to do in the redirect?" Roy wanted to know.

"Dr. Shields, will the dilation of Johnny's eyes need to repeated?" Ralston asked, ignoring Roy's question.

"If you don't think Standish will challenge, I think we can proceed with just the glasses."

"I don't think he'll challenge that again. How are you feeling John?"

"Okay. The drops have blurred my vision so I can't really see the defense table. I really don't want a clear view of Doc."

"I want to set up a signal with you. If your vision improves to the point, you become worried about seeing clearly, I want you to drop your head into your hands and when asked, say you have a headache. Then I'll request a recess from the judge. He only gives us a few minutes, I want you to retreat Johnny's eyes. If we're recessed for the day, then I'll want Johnny treated in the morning before he retakes the stand. Everyone understand? Good."

Roy thought he'd try once more, "So what will you do with the redirect?"

"I'm going to have to deal with this inheritance issue. John do you have anything that would help convince the jury that the money wasn't an issue?" Ralston asked the younger man. Johnny sat thoughtfully for a moment.

"Well, I have three photos. The one I took of Shannon while she was pregnant. Raven's birth photo and the one the nurse took of Raven and me in NICU," Johnny told the attorney.

"NICU?" he asked as he made a note on his pad.

"Neonatal intensive care unit," Johnny informed him.

"May I see them?"

Johnny nodded and removed the pictures from his wallet. The edges were already showing wear from handling. He handed the photos to Ralston who looked at each one intently.

"So you mind if I have these enlarged?"

"Why?"

"I may want to how them to the jury," he explained simply.

"You mean before we go back at two?" Roy asked incredulously.

Ralston laughed. "We have a photo lab in our building," he explained. "They can do blowup of these in no time with a Stat Camera."

"Really? That's incredible!" Roy was duly impressed.

"Sure. If you think it will help?" Johnny said with a wave of his hand.

"Good. Go get a good lunch and I'll see you back in the courtroom at two," Ralston pronounced to the others, put the photos in his briefcase and snapped it shut. He looked at Johnny once more. "I'll take very good care of these," he promised.

"Please do, they're the only ones I have," he said softly.

Ralston nodded and exited the room in his forceful manner, leaving Roy, Johnny and Rand in his wake.

"He's something, isn't he?" Rand commented. The paramedics had to agree with the doctor on that. The threesome left and made their to the restaurant to join the others.

# # # # # # #

Court was reconvened at two-thirty. Johnny had grown impatient waiting for the proceedings to continue. But finally the bailiff call the court to order and the judge resumed his seat on the bench. Johnny was recalled to the witness box. Slowly he rose from his seat and moved down to the aisle. He had to steady himself when he reached the end of the row. Roy watched with concern as his friend took a deep breath before starting toward the stand. Rand began to rise when he saw Johnny's unsteady movement but Johnny waved him off and slowly moved to the witness stand. Standish rolled his eyes at what he perceived to be the prosecution's theatrics. Once Johnny was seated and again reminded by the court that he was still under oath, Ralston approached the box.

"Good afternoon Mr. Gage," he said congenially.

"Good afternoon."

"I would like to cover some of the points of your earlier testimony with the defense."

"Okay."

"Mr. Standish mentioned that you inherited money from your wife's estate. Would you tell the court how much that inheritance was?"

Johnny swallowed uncomfortably. Talking about money always made him feel ill at ease. Now he was feeling guilty for spending the money he had inherited especially since really hadn't been a "real" husband. He softly answered Ralston's question.

"It was roughly two-hundred and fifty thousand."

"That's quite a sizeable amount of money, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"And what have you done with that money, Mr. Gage?"

Johnny was becoming irritated with Ralston's questions, not understanding why he was asking him these questions.

"I bought a home..."

"And why did you do that?"

"What?"

"Why did you buy a home? Where were you living before you were kidnaped?"

"I lived in a one-bedroom apartment. When I was rescued, I no longer had any place to live."

"Your lease was broken, isn't that correct?"

"Yes."

"And after your rescue, where did you go to live?"

"I moved in with my best friend and partner at work, Roy DeSoto?"

"Well, why didn't you just stay there?"

Johnny chuckled. "Because Roy is married and has two kids. While I was welcome to stay as long as I wanted, it was crowded for the five of us. And as much as I'm fond of my partner and his family, I really needed my own space. Then I was told about my inheritance, I decided that I should take the plunge and buy the ranch I'd always wanted. Roy and JoAnne helped me find it."

"You say you decided to buy a place when you were told about your inheritance?"

"Yes."

"So up until that point, you didn't even know you were entitled to an inheritance?"

"No sir. It was a complete surprise."

"What else did you do with the money?"

"The first thing I did was pay off all my debts. I did that before I bought the house. Then I purchased grave markers for my wife and daughter." Johnny's voice grew melancholy at the mention of Shannon and Raven. He shook himself slightly. "Then I bought a pickup truck to use on the ranch. After that, again with Roy and JoAnne's help, I bought brand new furnishings for my new house."

"I see. Why did you buy new furnishing for the house? Didn't you have an apartment full of furniture before your abduction?"

"I did but all of that was moved to the cabin where I was held captive. I just wasn't comfortable with the memories that came with them after that. And since I could afford it, I bought all new stuff," he replied candidly.

"Well, surely, you haven't spent all of your inheritance, have you? What about the horses?"

"I still plan to do that. I hope to buy a couple of horses before the summer."

"Isn't having horses expensive, Mr. Gage?"

"Yes. But because of the money I inherited, I'm out of debt and have money in the bank. With my salary from the department, I can afford to do things now that would probably taken me another good ten years to accomplish."

"So, you're saying, that these were goals you had long before your abduction?"

"My friends can tell you that for years I've talked about buying a small ranch where I could raise horses as a second income."

"Mr. Gage, the defense has suggested that your marriage to Shannon Lightwing was a sham. How would you describe your marriage?"

"Arranged? A shot-gun wedding?" Johnny responded sarcastically. "I don't even remember the wedding, I was so drugged. They wanted to make sure I won't try to escape."

"How did it make you feel?"

"I felt used. And I don't think Shannon felt any better about it either except that our baby would be legitimate. And that's what Doc wanted."

"By Doc you're referring to Dr. Taroboli?"

"Yes," Johnny responded, his loathing evident in his voice.

"Did you love Shannon, Mr. Gage?"

Johnny looked up at Ralston and glanced nervously over at the jury that was listening intently to what he had to say.

"I didn't at the time. I grew to care deeply about her. During our captivity, I was too angry at what Doc...uh...Dr. Taroboli and his men did to me, to us, that I didn't allow myself to feel married."

"Meaning..."

"Meaning I treated Shannon more like a sister than a wife. Or even as I was her father. I took care of her as best I could. I just couldn't allow myself to feel like a husband."

"Why do you think you did that?"

"I think I was afraid to admit my true feelings for her," the young man said softly.

"How do you feel now?"

Johnny twirled his wedding band. "I love her. And I regret that I never had the chance to show her."

"Why do you think you love her now? Was it the inheritance?

Johnny bristled at the question.

"No! Absolutely not!" he snapped angrily. "I love her because she was the mother of my baby. My little girl Raven."

Ralston returned to the table and picked up the three enlargements of the photos Johnny had given him before lunch.

"Your honor, I would like to show Mr. Gage these photographs and have them marked prosecution exhibits A1, A2 and A3."

"So noted."

"Mr. Gage would you tell the court what these photos are?" Ralston asked once the pictures were marked by the court.

Johnny took the 8x10 enlargements from Ralston and fingered the pictures. He felt himself choking emotionally as he could see the details more clearly in the larger sized prints. He identified each picture as his voice betrayed his emotions. Each picture was then passed to the jurors to look at more closely. Even with his blurred vision, Johnny could see that the pictures were having an impact on the jurors. As he and the rest of the courtroom watched as the pictures passed from juror to juror, Johnny somehow felt violated. These strangers were touching his family! He wanted to scream at Ralston to make him stop but deep down, he knew this had to be done.

When the jury finished with the pictures, Ralston turned again to Johnny.

"How long did your daughter Raven live, Mr. Gage?"

"Less than twelve hours."

"Were you ever told the cause of death?"

Johnny could only manage to nod his head.

"I'm afraid we need a verbal answer, Mr. Gage."

"Yes," he spoke out.

"What were you told?"

Johnny swallowed hard, trying to force the emotions back into his gut. "The medical examiner said that she suffered enumerable problems. Primarily due underdeveloped vital organs. Many of which were contributed to the illnesses Shannon had endured during the pregnancy."

"So within a twenty-four hour period, you became a father and lost both your wife and your daughter?" Mr. Ralston continued gently.

"Yes," Johnny answered, unable to hide the hurt.

"Thank you Mr. Gage for your candor," the attorney told him. He turned to the judge. "Your honor, I have no other questions for this witness."

"Thank you Mr. Ralston. Mr. Gage you are excused, that is if Mr. Standish doesn't wish to redirect."

Mr. Standish rose to his feet. "No your honor. I have no further question for Mr. Gage."

The judge turned to Johnny. "Then you may stand down, Mr. Gage."

"Thank you," Johnny responded and rose from his seat. He could feel every feel in the room on him as he made his way back to his seat. Ralston gave him a confident nod as he passed by the prosecution table. It wasn't much but it made him feel that what he had just endured was justifiable.

# # # # # # #

Court was adjourned for the day after Johnny's testimony. Ralston informed the firemen, Rand, Kel and Dixie that it wasn't necessary for them to hang around for the rest of the trial. He planned on putting the Jones on the stand the next morning. Before they left the room, Johnny hung back a moment to talk to Ralston. He caught up with Roy at the elevator.

"What was that about?" Roy asked as the doors opened.

"I asked him for my pictures back," Johnny said as he replaced his wallet. He looked over at his friend through the sunglasses he still wore.

"That's good. Who knows when you'd ever get them back?"

"I asked him for the enlargements," Johnny said casually.

"You did? What did he say?"

"He said he'd mail them to me after the verdict comes in."

"That's pretty decent of him."

"I thought so. I think I'll get them framed to put in my den."

"That sounds like a great idea. They'd look great in there!" Roy commented. The elevator reached the ground floor and the two paramedics stepped off into the courthouse lobby.

"You plan on staying or going home?" Roy wondered.

"Well, I know everyone else needs to get home. You included. I might stay through tomorrow's proceedings," Johnny told his friend.

"I can stay at least another day," Roy mused. "I just need to let JoAnne know. Cap won't be expecting me until the shift on Saturday. Court won't be in session then anyway. We could drive back after court tomorrow. Work our shift Saturday and return Sunday night if you want to be here for the session on Monday."

"Sounds good to me Pally. Let's go tell Cap our plans."

"You got it Junior."

The two friends left the courthouse together, finding their steps a whole lot lighter.

# # # # # # #

The weekend passed quickly. The Saturday shift was a perpetual motion of calls leaving almost no time for any discussion about trial. After shift on Sunday, Roy and Johnny drove to the DeSoto home and enjoyed a sumptuous brunch that JoAnne had prepared for the two paramedics. Christopher and Jennifer were thrilled to have their father and their "Uncle Johnny" home for the afternoon. JoAnne was happy to have them there as well. It had been hard for her to stay in Los Angeles when she had wanted to be in Palm Springs. But now that the trial was almost over, she knew that their lives would soon be returning to normal. She knew Johnny was becoming increasingly eager to pick up the pieces of his life and put his ordeal behind him.

Late in the afternoon, Johnny excused himself to run to the ranch to check on the house and pick up a change of clothing. JoAnne sent the kids to the neighbor's house so she could have some private time with Roy. By the time Johnny returned, he seemed to sense that his partner was in a very good mood. Together they hit the freeway and headed down the highway to Palm Springs.

"Well, Junior, there's a good chance this could be over with tomorrow," Roy observed.

Johnny gripped the wheel to the Rover a bit tighter. "I hope so. But who knows how long the jury will take to come to a verdict. Can you believe how smug Doc is? I mean, I couldn't see him all that well from the stand but just his body language."

"No, I can't. It's like he's above the law because he's a doctor."

"Well, from what Ralston has said, I think the doctor is about to be cut down to size. I just hope all that business about my inheritance doesn't affect the outcome," Johnny said, his concern obvious.

"I hear ya, Junior. But don't worry. I'm confident that it's all going to work out."

Johnny chuckled. "Well, I'll try not to worry. I'll just be glad when it's all over."

"Yeah. Let's just hope that they put those guys away for a very long time."

"Amen to that!" Johnny agreed heartily.

The sun had set by the time they pulled into the registration parking at the motel. After a quiet dinner, Johnny called the DA to let him know that he was back in town. Then the two friends settled into watch a movie on the T.V. When they finally turned in for the night, Johnny found it hard to fall asleep. Could it really be happening that this whole ordeal was finally going to be behind him? Or would it ever really be behind him?

# # # # # # #

To be continued in Part 7