Beginnings

 Meanwhile, Dr. Kelly Brackett pulled his car into the parking lot of Dixie’s apartment building. He was exhausted from a rough day at the hospital, but the thought of a quiet evening with Dix brought a smile to his face. As he got on the elevator, the Director of Emergency Services at Rampart was having a difficult time keeping his rotten day off of his mind. He visualized his beautiful Dixie and her wonderful cooking and perked up considerably. He shrugged off his sport coat as he made his way to Dixie’s apartment.

When Dixie answered the door, she knew immediately that Kel had had a rough day. She noted the slumped shoulders and the bloodshot eyes of the handsome doctor. She greeted him with a kiss and said, "Hi there, come on in. Dinner’s all ready."

 Kelly held her at arms length and appreciated the view. "Wow!" he smiled. "You, my dear, are just what the doctor ordered!"

"Thanks!" she said with pleasure, " Come on, let’s eat." She took his hand and led him to the table.

As they ate, she mentioned how tired he looked and asked about work. "It was an awful day," he frowned and rubbed his eyes. "There was a traffic accident, and we lost two victims before they even got to us. A mother in her early 30’s and her two year old daughter."

 Dixie breathed, "Oh no, Kel," and reached for his hands to comfort and support the handsome man sitting there. It was always hard to lose a patient but when a young child was involved, it was always a devastating blow to the staff.

Kel squeezed her hands and stood up and began clearing the table. They were silent as they cleaned up the kitchen, each lost in their own thoughts about these tragedies that were happening far to often. As Dixie started some coffee, Kelly headed into the bedroom.

 Kelly was as comfortable in Dixie’s apartment as he was in his own, due to his long-standing relationship with Dix. He picked up his sport coat, took off his tie and put them in the closet in the bedroom where he kept some clothes, both casual and professional. He smiled as he saw the fresh dress shirts still in the plastic from the dry cleaners. Dixie never failed to send his shirts out. Kel, you have yourself a wonderful woman, someone who loves you despite your rotten temper and goofy schedule. Be sure to give her all the love she deserves, Kelly thought to himself as he headed back to the living room.

Dixie was putting some soft music on the stereo. Kel wrapped his arms around her from behind and began nuzzling her neck.

"I love you," he said.

Dixie turned and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you," she responded. "What brought this on?" she asked, looking into those deep blue eyes she knew so well.

"Nothing. I just want you to know how special you are. I don’t tell you enough sometimes." He bent to kiss her and then stifled a yawn.

Dixie saw it and said, "Kel, did you sleep in your office again last night?"

He sighed. "Guilty as charged. How did you know?" He asked, wondering how he got caught.

"I know the signs by now. You are way too exhausted to be coming off a normal shift."

"I know," he sighed. He sat on the sofa and said, "Just as I was leaving things got crazy, and Joe and Mike both had bad cases they were working on, so I stayed to cover the base station. By the time they were done, it was easier just to sack out on the couch in my office."

Dixie stood with her hands on her hips, fire in her eyes and annoyance and concern in her voice. "Kel, you have got to stop pushing yourself to the point of exhaustion! You aren’t going to be any good in the ER if you are too tired to think! I know the speech about how it is your responsibility to make sure there is adequate staffing, but you don’t have to do it all yourself! When is that board of trustees going to authorize hiring another doctor?"

Kelly rubbed his eyes and answered, "I don’t know, babe, I just don’t know." He knew that Dixie was right and didn’t want to push an argument tonight.

Dixie felt bad about her outburst. She came over too him and gently rubbed his temples while she stood in front of him. "I’m sorry Kel. I didn’t mean to start anything. I just get so frustrated by the whole situation. I worry that you are either going to have trouble in the ER and wind up with a lawsuit, or that you are going to fall asleep behind the wheel and Roy and Johnny will end up bringing you in the squad."

She was referring to Roy DeSoto and John Gage, two Los Angeles firefighter/rescue workers whom they saw frequently in the emergency room when they brought victims in to be treated. They had passed paramedic training with flying colors but were prevented from using their skills until the California Legislature passed a measure allowing paramedics to use their medical skills in the field.

Kel pulled Dixie onto his lap and gave her a lingering kiss. "It’s nice to have someone care about me so much. Most of the time I’m ok. Hopefully my luck will hold out until there is a replacement for Hunter hired. Now can we talk about something else?"

Dixie knew better than to push, but she had gotten her point across. She stood up and said, "How about some coffee?"

"Sure," he nodded.

Dixie went into the kitchen and while she was pouring coffee, she started talking about the get away they had planned for the upcoming weekend. She reminded him of a meeting she had that week also. She got no response and said, "Kel?" as she came back into the living room. Kelly Bracket was sound asleep. She smiled and said to herself, "Well, better here than on the road."

She gently woke him up and said, "Come on Doc, time for bed"

Kelly stood up and yawned, saying, " I’m sorry sweetheart." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and said, "Go lie down. I’ll be in soon."

Kelly was functioning on autopilot, a carryover from his days as an intern and resident. Not quite awake, he undressed and threw his clothes on a chair. He crawled into the bed he had shared with Dixie on so many nights. He stretched his long body, and not for the first time, was grateful that he had talked Dixie into the longer queen size bed. He was asleep in less than a minute, his body finally getting the rest it craved.

Dixie stood in the doorway of her bedroom and marveled at how fast Kel had fallen asleep. She picked up his shirt and trousers, putting them in the closet and making a mental note to send the shirt to the cleaners. She set her alarm to allow them a leisurely wake up. It was still early, so she went back to the living room and sat with her coffee and a book. When she finally decided to go to bed, she took off the lounging set and put on a royal blue silk chemise, another gift from Kel. She quietly slipped into bed. Kelly instinctively turned toward her and pulled her close.

"Goodnight my love" she said softly as she gently kissed his cheek. It must have registered with Kel, because he mumbled, "G’night".

The next morning, Kelly awoke first, before the alarm went off. He lay still, looking at Dixie sleeping. Oh Dix, he thought, I love you so much. You are the best part of my life, I don’t know what I’d do without you. Wait till we get to the bed and breakfast, and I ask you the big question. I should have done it a long time ago, but now I’m finally sure, I want you to be my wife. Do you want me too?

He leaned over and gently kissed her awake. "Good morning," he whispered.

"Good morning yourself! You look like you feel a lot better." She smiled up at him.

He proceeded to show her how much better he felt. Afterward, they got up, showered and dressed. While Dixie finished her makeup, Kelly was in the kitchen making them breakfast.

Dixie came into the kitchen and Kel looked up. "Hi gorgeous!" he said with a smile and gave her a wolf whistle.

"I take it you approve?" she teased.

"Oh yeah," he grinned.

She poured some coffee while he served her an omelet. "What’s on your schedule today?" she asked.

"I have a 9:00 meeting with the county commissioners to talk about the paramedic issue."

Dixie knew better, but she asked anyway, "What are you going to tell them?" Here it comes, she thought.

"That I can’t in good conscience give my approval for a bunch of hose-jockey firefighters to start medical treatment in the field. There are just too many things that can go wrong," he exclaimed, angrily stabbing his omelet.

Dixie was sorry that she brought up the subject, a definite thorn in Kel’s side, but she had to get her two cents worth in. "Oh come on Kel, they have to be trained and certified. It’s not like a five hour CPR course."

Kel sighed and rubbed his eyes. He knew this was just the first round of this fight he would go through today. He and Dixie had been going through this for a while, ever since he was first ordered to train the paramedic class, despite his objections.

"I know Dix, it’s just that I can’t shake this feeling that if we go with this, we are setting ourselves up for a date with disaster. I’m not even sure of the legal consequences if they would make a mistake. Who gets sued, the doctor who ordered the treatment or the paramedic trying to treat someone in a really stressful situation?" His eyes pleaded with her to understand his point of view.

She took a long drink of her coffee and quietly said, "All I can say is this. Kel, if you were in an emergency situation, and the paramedics were the only hope of keeping you alive until you got to the hospital, I would certainly want them to treat you instead of taking the chance of losing you!"

"Ok, ok," Kel held up his hands in surrender. "You win. I’ll give serious consideration to what the commissioners say today, but I am still leery of it, deal?"

Dixie’s kiss sealed the deal. Little did they know how quickly this conversation would come back to haunt them.

 ******

Kelly endured the meeting about the paramedics. He kept his word to Dix and tried to keep his mind open and his mouth shut. He still had some lingering doubts as he prepared to sign the agreement between the county and the hospital, naming Rampart General a primary paramedic base. The agreement meant that the emergency staff of Rampart would provide instructions to the paramedics in the field, trying to stabilize the victims enough to get them to he emergency room so that the staff could treat them. Kelly couldn’t help but wonder if he was the only one in the room with reservations about the program. He was well aware that the paramedic program was a pet project of the hospital administrators and the county commissioners. The fall out from refusing to go along with it would be damaging not only to himself but the hospital as well. He knew he really didn’t have a choice but to go along with it. He breathed a silent prayer that he was doing the right thing as he signed his name to the documents. Everything was in place, however nothing could go forward until the bill before the legislature was signed into law.

After the meeting, Kelly headed back to the hospital. He stopped off at the jewelers and picked up the engagement ring he planned to give Dixie on their weekend. The elderly jeweler said, "It’s a fine piece, Doctor Brackett. She must be a very special lady."

"She is, Sam, she is," smiled Kelly as he put the small box in his pocket.

 On the drive to the hospital, Kelly planned how he was going to pop the question.

******

The next day, Kelly was on duty in the emergency room, and Dixie had driven to a meeting. She was driving back to Rampart when out of nowhere a car came careening down the winding road, out of control. There was no time to react as the car crashed into Dixie’s and flipped her car over. The other car rolled down the cliff. Dixie’s car was balanced against the guardrail, it was the only thing preventing her from going over the edge. A California Highway Patrol car was passing through the area and saw the accident. The officer called in the accident right away. As it happened, Fire Station 51, where Roy DeSoto and John Gage were stationed got the call. John and Roy were there first ones on the scene.

The firefighters surveyed the accident and looked at each other grimly. They already knew the driver of the other car hadn’t made it. As they approached Dixie’s car with caution, John saw who their victim was. "Oh God, Roy, it’s Dixie."

"What happened?" Roy wondered out loud.

The rescue team gingerly cut open the car and got Dixie out. They got her in a neck brace and on a backboard. She was unconscious and barely breathing with an unsteady heartbeat. John radioed the Rampart base station. It was standard procedure to radio the hospital and describe the situation, even if they couldn’t treat them. "Rampart, this is Squad 51. Rampart this is Squad 51".

Kelly was at the base station and responded, "Go ahead 51"

"Rampart, we have a female victim of a traffic accident, approximate age 35..."

He went on to describe her injuries and give her vital signs. "She’s in real bad shape. Can’t we do anything?"

Kel responded, "Negative 51, transport as soon as possible."

He knew what John wanted and didn’t have the authority to authorize the men to start treatment. He also knew that by the way the symptoms were described that there was a good chance the victim wouldn’t make it to the hospital. John looked to his senior partner for support. "Should I tell him?" he asked.

Roy nodded.

Johnny took a deep breath and said, "Doc, it’s Dixie."

Meanwhile Dr. Joe Early had stopped by the base station and was listening in. Joe was older than Kelly, a kindly widower who was Kel’s second in command.

Kelly felt like a knife had plunged into his stomach. He grabbed the counter for support and, swallowing hard, he said, "Repeat, 51."

John said it again. "The victim is Dixie McCall. Can’t we..."

"Stand by 51," Kel said. He looked at Joe for support.

Joe nodded and said, "Kel, we’ll lose her if you don’t..."

"I know," whispered Kelly.

Legally he couldn’t give the orders to John and Roy but without treatment, odds were that Dixie wouldn’t make it long enough to get to Rampart. Suddenly Dixie’s words came back to him. If the paramedics were the only hope of keeping you alive until you got to the hospital, I would certainly want them to treat you instead of taking the chance and losing you. Kelly took a deep breath and began to issue the orders for John and Roy to start the treatment.

When they knew the squad was on the way with Dixie, the two doctors began to prepare the treatment room. Kelly started pacing with worry. Joe walked over and put his hand on the younger man’s shoulder. "Kel, you’re in no shape for this. I’ll take it."

Kelly nodded and said, "Thanks, Joe. I’m in so many knots I can’t think."

"It’s OK. I’ll take good care of her," Joe promised.

The squad brought Dixie in and Joe began examining her. John and Roy stopped next to Kel.

"How’re her vital signs?" Kel asked, trying to keep the worry out of his voice and not succeeding too well.

Roy responded, "Well, we got her stabilized but only after you gave the orders to go ahead with the IV."

Kel let out a sigh of relief. The men noticed how agitated Kelly was, more like a worried family member than a doctor. They looked at each other, trying to figure out what was going on. Johnny put on his best smile and said, "Come on Doc, we’ll buy you a cup of coffee."

Kelly nodded, grateful for any distraction. Besides, this would give him a chance to go over everything that happened with the firefighters.

As they sat in the hospital coffee shop, Kel listened with amazement as John and Roy described the rescue. Kelly’s regard for the two men went up considerably. He knew if Dixie hadn’t have been treated by them, she wouldn’t have had a chance.

"I want to compliment you on a fine job, gentlemen, and to thank you. I know you risked your lives to save Dixie."

He leaned forward and rubbed his eyes, trying to rid himself of the headache that the tension had caused. The firefighters had never seen him so upset. The same Dr. Brackett that was a brilliant doctor with a sharp temper, that was known to strike fear in the hearts of nurses and firefighters, was slumped in his chair and close to the breaking point. John looked at Roy with raised eyebrows. Roy shrugged back.

Johnny said quietly, "Hey Doc, Dixie is more to you that just the efficient head nurse in the ER, isn’t she?"

The paramedics hid their surprise well when he nodded and said, "Yeah, a lot more."

They knew he was really upset to admit that to a couple of "hose jockeys", as he liked to refer to them.

"Do you want to talk?" asked Roy. "We can stay until we get another run. We have a special interest in this one too."

Kelly Brackett smiled at the two men who were still offering their friendship despite the disagreements they had had during the paramedic training class.

"Thanks guys. I appreciate it." Kelly ran his hand through his thick dark hair. "It’s all I can do to stay out of Joe’s way. I’m all tied up in knots on several fronts. First of all, I’m worried about Dix. Sometimes when you are a doctor, knowing all the facts just makes it worse when it is someone you love. Then, I just can’t get it out of my mind how the three of us broke the law to save her. Dixie is the only person on the earth I would have given that order for. You two did everything right, but until that bill is passed, we just can’t do it."

"I just hope we did enough," Roy said quietly.

Kel pressed his lips together and nodded.

Roy added, "If it’s any help, her vitals were getting stronger the whole way in."

 Kel nodded knowing the guys were trying to help ease his pain.

 John motioned with his head toward the door. "Hey, here’s Doctor Early."

 The older man made his way to their table and put his hand on Kel’s shoulder.

 "Joe?" The younger doctor with the anguished eyes looked up.

"Well, she has a nasty concussion, two broken ribs and a broken arm and a lot of bruises. She’s in intensive care for observation, but she’ll be ok. She keeps coming in and out of consciousness. Oh by the way Kel, the last time she woke up she was asking for you."

Kel stood up and embraced Joe. "Thanks, Joe".

"Go on," Joe said, "Get out of here." Kelly was already on his way out the door.

Joe Early was the only person on earth who knew the torment Kelly had been going through. He was the only staff member who had any idea of how serious their relationship was, and he continually marveled at how well they were able to work side by side, staying so professional yet keeping their personal feelings private and away from the job.

As Kelly left, Joe turned to the two firefighters at the table. "You guys did a great job. I think she’ll be fine."

The two men smiled. It was good to know that their training helped save their friend.

"Oh yeah, thanks," Joe continued.

John looked puzzled. "For what?" he asked.

Joe grinned "For keeping Kelly Brackett out of my hair, and I suspect for listening to someone half crazy with worry."

"No problem, Doc, we were all pretty worried, and he looked like he the last place he needed to be was the ER."

"You have no idea," laughed Joe. "Hey do me a favor, guys." Joe turned serious for a minute.

"Sure, what do you need?" asked Roy

"Whatever he said to you, keep it to yourselves. OK?"

John and Roy both nodded. "No problem, we understand. He has to be incredibly stressed, and I’m sure he never would have confided in us under normal circumstances. We didn’t hear a thing, did we, ‘Junior?’" said Roy.

"Not a thing," said John, looking more serious than Joe could ever remember seeing him.

"Thanks guys," said Joe as he headed out the door with a cup of coffee in his hand.

******

Kelly entered the ICU ward and checked Dixie’s chart before he entered her room. A nurse was checking her vital signs. He asked her what her vitals were and when she came to last. The nurse answered his questions and then left the room, closing the door. He pulled up a chair and sat beside her bed. He gently stroked her cheek and held the hand that wasn’t in a cast.

"Oh Dix," he said in barely more than a whisper. "Come back to me sweetheart. I love you so much." He ignored the tear slipping down his cheek. "Hey," he continued. "I have to tell you what a fine job John and Roy did to get you here. They did everything right. I was wrong, Dix. The program can work. You were right, you were so right."

He felt a small squeeze of his hand. "Dix... come on babe, come back."

Dixie moaned as she tried to regain consciousness. Kelly stroked her face, willing her to open her eyes.

"Kel," she whispered.

"I’m here, sweetheart, I’m here," he said gently.

Her eyelids fluttered open. "What happened?" she asked.

He explained the accident and her injuries, and how John and Roy had saved her.

"No wonder I hurt all over."

"I know you do. Now that you are awake and talking, we can go ahead and give you something to ease it."

"OK," she said and winced when she instinctively tried to nod her head. "Ow," she moaned.

"Take it easy," Kel said as he smoothed her hair back. He then stood up and said, "I’ll be right back"

He went to the nurses’ station and called Joe to update him and to let him know that he was ordering some pain medication for Dixie. He asked a nurse to come with him and give the medication, knowing it wasn’t really ethical for him to do it. The nurse injected the medication into Dixie’s IV and then quietly left.

Kel sat down beside the bed again. "You should be feeling it soon. It will probably put you back to sleep for a while."

"Stay with me, OK?"

He took her hand and smiled. "You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried."

"Wait a minute, what time is it? Aren’t you still on duty?" Dix asked.

"Not now," Kel replied with a grin. "The director of Emergency Services gave me some time off."

Dixie returned the smile. "Good thing you have connections."

"Yeah, he’s an OK guy once you get to know him," Kelly joked.

"Much more than OK, Doc, much more," Dixie said as she squeezed his hand. Her eyes glowed with her love for Kelly.

Kelly’s heart felt like it was going to explode with happiness. He saw she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open. He bent over and tenderly kissed her.

"I love you," he said softly.

It was the last thing she heard as the pain medication put her back to sleep.

Kelly left the ICU ward and headed back down to his office.

Joe Early wanted to talk to Kel. He knocked and heard Kelly say "come in".

He asked, "So how’s our star patient?"

"She was talking for a while but in a lot of pain. The medication kicked in, and she’s sleeping now."

"Good" nodded Joe. "She’ll probably be out the rest of the night."

Maybe now I can point out the benefits of the paramedic program and get him to give his full support to the program, Joe thought. If he would agree to testify for Senator Wolski, the bill would have a better chance. Shame on you Joe! You know he’s worried about the woman he loves and you are going to try to push the paramedics now? How low are you going to go? Joe had had this silent conversation with himself several times since Kel had gone to see Dix. He decided to go for it.

"John and Roy really came through, didn’t they?" Joe asked

"Yeah," said Kel.

"She was really lucky that they were the ones responding to the call. What were the odds that someone would be there who had the equipment and the knowledge to help her?" Joe casually wondered out loud. He kept his eyes on Kel to gauge his reaction, to see if he should brace for an explosion, or if he could keep going with the conversation.

Kelly leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Pretty high I guess." He paused, then continued, "We got real lucky that those hose jockeys knew what to do."

So far, so good, thought Joe. "Yeah" said Joe. "But it proves one thing. We know the program works. They performed perfectly in the field. If they hadn’t have had that training, I’m pretty sure that Dix would be on a slab in the morgue by now." Joe paused, letting his last sentence sink in to the younger man’s brain.

"I know, Joe. I came damn close to losing her today, didn’t I?"

"Yes," responded Joe. "Now what are you going to do about it?"

Kelly Brackett opened his desk drawer and pulled out a piece of paper. It was the letter from Senator Michael Wolski, the man sponsoring the paramedic bill. "Do you think it would make a difference if I changed my mind and agreed to testify for the bill?"

"If you are sure you can live with it, absolutely it will help" Joe told him.

"I can live with this a whole lot easier than I could live without Dix," Kelly said, showing a side of himself that Joe didn’t see very often.

"Good," said Joe, "now what else are you going to do?"

Kelly smiled and said, "I’m going to ask her to marry me. In fact, I just picked up the ring yesterday."

Joe grinned and said, "It’s about time. Now you need to get out of here and get a good nights sleep, NOT on this couch!"

Kelly opened his mouth to protest and Joe said, "Doctor’s orders Kel. Dixie won’t know if you are here or not, and she doesn’t need to worry about you. There is enough coverage tonight. Go home."

Kel nodded

"Besides," said Joe, "just think how mad she would be if she found out you slept on the couch again!"

That brought a chuckle from Kelly. "Yeah, I really caught it the other night. OK, Joe, you win. I’m out of here."

He stood up, took off his lab coat, and put on his sport coat. He walked to the door with Joe and shook his hand "Joe," he paused, unsure of what he wanted to say, "Thanks. For everything."

Joe nodded and said, "That’s OK."

Kel went to Dixie’s apartment. He used his key to enter. He had an urge to be near her and this was the best he could do. He called her parents in Texas and let them know about the accident. He assured them that she was OK, that she wouldn’t be in the hospital long, and that they didn’t need to come out to Los Angeles. He promised that they would come for a visit and that he would take good care of her. He had always been fond of her parents and got along well with them. When he was done on the phone, he crawled into her bed and was quickly asleep.

The next day, Kelly headed to see Dixie before he started his shift in the ER. She was sitting up and looked much better. He came into her room and was happy to see how much better she was doing. She had a few bruises pop up over night, but the IV was gone and she had a bright smile when she saw him.

"Hi there!" he kissed her. "How are you doing?"

"Seeing you is wonderful medicine," she said as she caressed his cheek. "I feel kind of sore, but my headache is going away. Joe said he would release me at the end of your shift. Said he was doing it only because I would be in very capable hands."

"He better say that about his boss!" Kelly grinned. He sat down on the bed and told her he had stayed at her place and called her parents. "Don’t worry, I told them they didn’t have to come out. I know the ranch is busy, and it would be hard to get away. I promised them we would come visit soon."

"Thanks sweetheart." she said. "Oh no!" she exclaimed. "What about our weekend?"

"We’ll talk about that when I come back, " he said. He kissed her and said, "Got to go to work."

"OK," she said.

Kelly put in his shift and made a very important phone call to Sacramento. He arranged to testify for the paramedic bill.

"That’s great Doctor Brackett. Can I ask what changed your mind?" Senator Wolski asked.

"Lets just say that between Dixie, John Gage and Roy DeSoto, they made a convincing argument," Kelly answered, not wanting anyone to know the details of the rescue, because even if everything had worked out, they had still broken the law.

"I’m glad they were finally able to convince you, no matter how they did it. See you Monday."

Kelly hung up the phone and for the first time had a good feeling about the paramedic program. He knew he had made the right decision.

He went to pick up Dixie and take her home. When he got her to the apartment, he told her of his decision to support the program, and how if she felt up to it they could still go away for the weekend and stop off in the state capital to testify.

"Oh Kel," her eyes filled with tears. "Thank you"

"For what?"

"For finally believing it can work"

"Johnny and Roy showed me it can work. I just wish you weren’t the guinea pig."

******

The weekend went well. Dixie was well enough to go as long as they weren’t doing any thing too strenuous. They were staying in a pleasant bed and breakfast on the coast. They spent a lot of time walking the beach, something they didn’t get to do enough in Los Angeles. They were on the beach when Kelly decided the time was right. "Dix," he started.

"Hmmm?" she responded.

"I was really scared I was going to lose you." Kel stopped and looked into her beautiful eyes. "It made me realize I don’t want to live without you."

"I don’t want to lose you either, Kel. You are my life," Dixie responded and wondered what had put Kel in such a serious mood.

"Then will you marry me?"

The handsome doctor was overjoyed when the woman he loved gave a simple answer-"Yes."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring he had been saving.

"Oh Kel," she breathed as he gently slipped it on her finger, taking great care not to bump the cast on her wrist. "I love you."

Kelly kissed the beautiful nurse and replied, "I love you."

The next day they headed to Sacramento. Kelly testified before the committee, ending his brilliant speech with the words, "This bill may save dozens or hundred of lives, or it may save just one."

He looked around the audience and found Dixie. His eyes met hers, and he finished with, "And who knows who that one could be."

He finished and sat down with Dixie and the senator. There was a round of applause and a call for the vote. The measure was passed and sent on to the full legislature, with the committee recommending immediate passage. Senator Wolski thanked them for coming and gave his congratulations on their engagement. By the time they arrived home, the bill had been signed into law and John Gage and Roy DeSoto became two of the first Los Angeles County paramedics.

The hospital administration recognized the need for more emergency room doctors due to the paramedic program now in effect. An additional three highly qualified doctors were hired. The program was up and running very successfully. On a sunny Saturday afternoon in Texas, Kelly Brackett married Dixie McCall. The only people from Los Angeles there were Joe Early acting as the best man and Roy DeSoto and John Gage. The paramedics felt funny about going, especially with Kelly and Dixie paying their way. Joe put them at ease, telling them this was the couple’s way of saying thank you for saving Dixie’s life and for proving the paramedic program could work.

Rampart General Hospital was the sight of a celebration. It had been a year since the paramedic program had been signed into law. There were dozens of people on hand who had been saved by the paramedics. A lot of the paramedics were on hand, still on duty, but having special permission to go as long as they stayed available. Kelly and Joe stood back and were amazed at the number of people had been saved by the paramedics in the past year.

Joe smiled at the director of Emergency Services. "Well Kel, this is all because of you. If you hadn’t agreed to testify in support of the bill, we might never have gotten the law signed."

"I don’t think I can take all the credit, Joe," Kelly started to say. Suddenly he caught sight of his wife, bringing a very important guest. He smiled and made his way over to them. "What took so long? I was worried you were going to miss all the fun." he asked Dix.

Dixie handed him a bundle and said, "The guest of honor was a little extra sleepy."

Kelly took his daughter in his arms. Four-month-old Amanda Brackett had no idea that she was the other person saved that day. No one knew her parent’s secret, that she had been conceived the same week as Dixie’s accident, one early morning when her father was showing her mother how much better he felt after a good night’s sleep. She squealed in delight when she saw her father. Kelly Brackett grinned back at his little girl and his wife and knew what it felt like to be the luckiest man in the world.