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“I’m telling you, Dixie,” John Gage was saying to the nurse over coffee. “Friday the 13th AND a full moon? That guy was almost normal!”
“Ordinarily, I’d argue with you,” Dixie said, smiling at the handsome paramedic. “I mean, it’s not everyday you find a guy who shoved a gerbil up his…”
“Hey, Dix,” Roy came out of the treatment room and headed over to pour himself a cup of coffee.
“How’s he doin’?” Johnny asked his partner.
Roy shrugged. “He’ll be okay. The doc says he’s never seen burns INSIDE before. And the guy’s boyfriend’s eyebrows should grow back eventually.”
Johnny shook his head. “All that fuss over a gerbil. It’s Friday the 13th! You get the weirdoes out tonight!”
Dixie laughed and started to say something when she heard someone call her name.
“Miss McCall?”
Dixie turned and looked…down. Standing in front of her was the smallest nurse she had ever seen. This woman had to be less than five feet tall and probably weighed around ten pounds (soaking wet with a brick in each hand).
“Yes?” Dixie answered. “I don’t think we’ve met officially. You’re Jamie, right?”
The little woman nodded. “That’s right. I was wondering if you could help me. I’m trying to get some more 10 cc syringes from the supply room, but they’re on the top shelf and I can’t reach them.”
“Did you try the stepladder?”
“Yes. I’m still too short.”
Dixie chuckled and said, “All right, I’ll go get the boxes. Can you get these guys their supplies?”
“Sure, I’ll take care of it,” Jamie said. “Dr. Thomas wanted four boxes of the syringes.”
Dixie stared. “Dr. Thomas? When did he start working in the ER?”
Jamie got a sheepish look on her face. “He doesn’t. We were having a slow night and I ran into him in the cafeteria and he asked for a favor.”
Dixie rolled her eyes. “I don’t know why he can’t go into the supply room himself. It’s not that hard!”
“Sorry, Miss McCall.”
Dixie gave a resigned sigh. “It’s all right Jamie. I’ll have a word with Dr. Thomas when I take him his things.”
“Thanks a lot,” Jamie said with a smile. “And I am sorry about this.”
“Sure,” Dixie said as she waved casually at Johnny and Roy and then headed to the supply room.
***************************
Dixie sighed as she carried the stepladder over to the appropriate rack of shelves. She unfolded the small ladder and climbed up to the top rung.
‘Why can’t they just get a ladder or something?’ she thought to herself. ‘Or at the very least, a taller stepladder!’
Dixie reached up and leaned forward to get the syringes from the back of the shelf where they had been shoved. Unfortunately, the boxes were stacked in such a way that as soon as they were pulled forward, they tumbled down onto Dixie’s head. She put her arms up to protect herself and was thrown off balance. She fell backwards off the ladder, cracking her head on another shelf on the way down. She landed hard on her back and lay very still.
*************************
“Have you guys seen Dixie?” Kelly Brackett asked as he approached Roy and Johnny, who were still waiting for their supplies.
Johnny looked around and then back to the dark-haired doctor. “I think she went to the supply room for something.”
Just then, Jamie came back with an armload of supplies.
“Jamie, have you just been to the supply room?” Brackett asked the tiny nurse. “Did you see Dixie?”
Jamie shook her head. “No, I got these things from the closet in treatment room three. Dixie was getting something in the supply room for me. I was too short to reach it.”
“What about the stepladder?”
“Dr. Brackett, I’m 4’9”. Even the stepladder doesn’t help all that much.”
Brackett chuckled. “Okay, Jamie. I’ll go find her myself. Thanks.”
After saying a brief good-bye to Johnny and Roy, Brackett headed over to the supply room.
**************************
Brackett pushed on the supply room door. There seemed to be something blocking it. He gave the door a shove and it opened enough for him to poke his head in. He looked down to see what was blocking the door. His eyes widened as he realized it wasn’t what, but who was blocking the door.
“DIXIE!” He pulled his head back out of the room and yelled for orderlies and a gurney. He gingerly squeezed through the gap in the door and knelt down beside the unconscious woman.
******************************
Johnny and Roy looked up when they heard Brackett shout. They looked at each other and then ran over to see if they could help.
When they got there, Brackett was shouting for someone to help him immobilize her spine before they moved her. Roy and Johnny shoved their way forward through the crowd of curious staff members to help Brackett take care of Dixie and get her onto the gurney.
******************************
Joe Early was coming out of a treatment room when he saw Brackett, Roy and Johnny running alongside of a gurney. Brackett saw the white haired doctor and motioned him to follow. Joe followed the entourage with growing curiosity.
When he got into the treatment room and saw who was on the gurney, he gasped. “What happened?”
“Near as we can figure,” Johnny said, “she was trying to get something from a top shelf in the supply room and fell off the ladder. I think she cracked her head on another shelf on the way down.”
Early immediately started barking orders to the nurses in the room, ordering blood work, X-rays, and CAT scans. He shined a light in Dixie’s eyes and wasn’t entirely happy with the result.
Early looked at Brackett, who was staring down at Dixie’s face with an expression somewhere between panic and affection. Joe could tell how close to losing it Kel was and knew that Dixie couldn’t afford that.
“Kel, you’re too close to this one. Why don’t you go get a cup of coffee and trust me to take care of her?”
“Joe, I can’t leave her like this! There has to be something I can do to help.”
Early looked pleadingly at Roy and Johnny who understood immediately.
Roy stepped forward and placed a hand on Brackett’s shoulder. “Come on, Doc. Dr. Early’ll take good care of her.”
Brackett turned to argue with the paramedic when he saw the look in the blue eyes. Roy was just as worried, but he knew that he couldn’t do anything but get in the way. Brackett’s shoulders slumped as he realized that he would only be in Joe’s way. He took one last look at Dixie, reached out a hand to stroke her hair briefly and then allowed himself to be led out of the room by the two paramedics.
****************************
It was several hours later that Joe entered the doctor’s lounge to find a very worried Kelly Brackett pacing up and down. As soon as he saw the door open, Brackett all but attacked his friend.
“How is she?”
Joe sighed. “Well, the good news is, there was no spinal damage. The bad news is that there was a skull fracture.”
Brackett paled. “Fracture?” he whispered fearfully.
Early nodded. “It appears to be only a hairline fracture. I don’t think it will cause too many problems, but...she's in a coma.”
“Oh, God,” Brackett whispered as he fell into a chair.
*********************************
Two hours later, Kelly Brackett pushed open the door to Dixie’s room. Dixie lay on the bed, silent and still.
“Hi, Dix,” he said softly, picking up her hand. “Next time, get somebody tall to get stuff off the top shelf, huh?”
Dixie didn’t disagree with the suggestion.
“You know, you scared the hell out of me. I mean, that’s not the sort of thing one expects to find in the supply room, you know?”
Brackett sighed. “You’ve gotta wake up. I don’t know what I’d do without my head nurse. This place’ll fall apart faster than you can say Rampart. Please wake up, Dixie. The hell with Rampart. I need you!”
Brackett gently kissed the hand that he held and watched the blonde woman sleep.
******************************
Roy and Johnny got off duty and drove over to Rampart in the afternoon. They entered Dixie’s room and stood for a few minutes in awkward silence.
Finally, Roy spoke. “Hiya, Dix. Johnny ‘n me just stopped by to see how you were doing.”
Johnny chuckled. “Ya know, Roy, that’s prob’bly the last thing people wanna hear when they’re in the hospital. ‘How you doing?’ If the answer was fine, they wouldn’t be in the hospital in the first place--right, Dix?”
Dixie had no obvious opinion on the subject.
“You know, it’s only polite to answer someone who asks you a question,” Johnny said to the silent woman on the bed. “So you gotta wake up and answer me.”
Dixie didn’t wake up, nor did she answer Johnny.
“DAMMIT, DIXIE!” Johnny exclaimed angrily. “You are so stubborn! You just have to lie there while the rest of the world falls apart without you! Would you just wake up?!?”
“Easy, Junior,” Roy said gently as he put a comforting hand on Johnny’s shoulder. “She’ll wake up when she’s ready.”
“I know, Roy, but…”
“But you miss her,” Roy finished for his partner. “I know that. I miss her too. You hear that, Dix? We miss you.”
The partners watched the sleeping woman for a while longer before heading home.
********************************
Six days later, there was still no change. Dixie was as silent as ever. Brackett was either on duty or at her side. He almost never went home and would only eat or sleep if he was reminded. And any sleep he was getting was in the chair at her bedside.
He was nodding off in the chair one afternoon when he heard a very familiar voice.
“I told you I would get up, now leave me alone!”
His eyes snapped open and he looked at the bed. Dixie’s eyes were open and she had a mildly annoyed expression on her face.
“Dixie?” Kel leaned forward and picked up her hand.
“Kel?” Her eyes focused on the handsome doctor sitting next to her. “You look like hell.”
Brackett chuckled. “Yeah, well, worrying about Rampart falling apart without you really takes a lot outta me.”
“Hi, Kel.” She smiled softly at him.
“Hi yourself. Do me a favor, will you?”
“What?”
“Don’t scare me like that again, all right?”
“I won’t,” she said with a sigh. “How long was I out?”
“Bout a week.”
Dixie’s eyes widened. “A week? Wow! I was having the strangest dreams while I was out.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, there was this girl...” Dixie said in a faraway tone. “For awhile there, I thought I was dead and she was an angel.”
“What convinced you that it was a dream?”
Dixie chuckled. “An angel wouldn’t use language like that!”
Brackett laughed and tightened his hold on her hand.
“Seriously, Kel,” she said as she looked at him again. “You really don’t look well. Why don’t you go home and get some real rest? Maybe get a bite to eat too.”
“I don’t want to leave you…”
“Kel,” Dixie said in the best no-nonsense-nurse voice she could muster. “You need to take care of yourself too. I’ll be fine. Go home!”
“Are you sure?”
“Kel, I’m just going to get a bit more sleep. I’ll be fine,” Dixie insisted. “Now go home!”
Brackett sighed and stood up. “Okay, I’ll be back to see you tomorrow, okay?”
She nodded and closed her eyes again.
“I’m going to send Joe in to look you over in a bit, so don’t get too comfortable yet.”
She opened one eye to glare at him and said, “Go home, Kel!”
He chuckled and left the room.
Dixie opened her eyes again. She looked around and spoke to the empty air. “You’re not real! I’m still dreaming and I’m going to ignore you now.”
That said, she heaved a great sigh and closed her eyes to go to sleep.
********************************
The next time Dixie opened her eyes, Joe Early was standing there with a smile on his face.
“Joe?”
“Hi, Dix,” he said softly. “How’re you feeling?”
“I’m okay, I guess,” Dixie said as she shifted to sit up in bed. “When can I get out of here?”
“Well, let’s see how you’re doing today and get you on some solid food again. I’d say another couple of days or so.”
Dixie sighed and let Joe examine her.
“Would you be quiet!” Dixie snapped.
“I didn’t say anything,” Early said, surprised.
“I wasn’t talking to you, Joe,” Dixie said with an exasperated sigh.
“Who WERE you talking to, then?”
Dixie opened her mouth to reply when she realized that Joe hadn’t heard anything. That worried her. Was she hearing voices now?
“Nobody,” Dixie said with a smile, hoping that he would drop the subject. “I’ve still got a bit of a headache and those birds out on the ledge…”
Joe chuckled. “Say no more. They drive me crazy sometimes too.”
Dixie sighed with relief. She didn’t want to have to stay in the hospital any longer than necessary and if Joe thought she was hearing voices, well…
She smiled at Joe and let him finish the exam.
****************************
‘I keep telling you I’m real. Why don’t you believe me?’
“You’re not real! You can’t be real!” Dixie was getting tired of arguing with herself…at least, that’s who she assumed that she was arguing with.
‘Why can’t I be real? You’ve never heard of the concept of spirit guides?’
“Psychics have ‘spirit guides’,” Dixie answered. “I am not now, nor have I ever been psychic!”
‘That’s what the knock on the head was for.’
“You’re not going to tell me that you knocked me off the stepladder, are you?”
‘Well, I was hoping for the little girl, but you’ll do.’
“So I was an accident?”
‘Yeah, but don’t sweat it. I’m sure we’ll do fine together.’
“Do I at least get to know your name?”
‘Oh, right…sorry. I’m Audrey. Nice to meet you.’
“Likewise, I’m sure,” Dixie said and then stopped herself. “Wait a minute! I’m sitting here talking to myself.”
‘No you’re not,’ Audrey answered. ‘I’ll prove it to you.’
“How?”
‘That cute, skinny guy is about to come visit you.’
“What cute, skinny guy?”
‘I don’t know his name. The other guy calls him Junior.’
“Oh, you mean Johnny? When is he about to come visit me?”
‘Three…two…one.’
“Hiya, Dixie!” Johnny came bounding into the room.
Dixie’s mouth dropped open and she gaped at the handsome paramedic as though he had just landed from Mars and demanded to see her leader.
“Uh, Dix?” Johnny saw the amazement in her face and couldn’t understand where it was coming from. “You okay?”
Dixie blinked as she slowly realized that Johnny was there as predicted and was now addressing her.
“Yeah, Johnny. I’m okay,” she said with a smile. “What’s in the bag?”
‘A teddy bear,’ Audrey answered for him. ‘It’s really a cute one, too.’
“A teddy bear!” Johnny said, pulling the animal in question out of the bag with a flourish. “It’s really cute, ain’t it?”
Once again, Dixie was in shock. She stared at the adorable stuffed animal as though it were a dead weasel on a stick.
“Dixie? Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Huh?” Dixie blinked again, as if suddenly aware that there was another person in the room with her. “Oh, yeah Johnny, I’m fine. That’s a cute bear; thank you.”
‘Told you so!’
Dixie glared over the shoulder that the voice seemed to come from. Then she turned back to Johnny with a smile.
“So, tell me what I missed while I was out?” Dixie said, determined to have a normal conversation with her friend.
****************************
A week later, Dixie was back on duty. Audrey was still hanging around, but Dixie was determined to ignore her. It wasn’t easy.
‘TAKE THE LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE AND I’LL MEET YOU AT THE STATION…’ If she still had lungs, Audrey would have been singing at the top of them.
Finally, Dixie could take no more. “The MONKEES? Haven’t you got anything better to do than sing Monkees songs at me? What kind of spirit guide sings Monkees songs anyway?”
‘A guide who has spent the last century or so following music trends. I happen to like the Monkees.’
“Well, I don’t!”
‘That’s kinda the point.’
“Dixie? Who are you talking to?”
Dixie started and then turned to see Kel standing there watching her.
“Uh, no one, Kel…myself.”
“Dixie? Are you okay? I’ve noticed you talking to yourself a lot lately.”
‘Hey, he’s cute! I happen to know he has a thing for you too. He spent nearly all his time at your bedside while you were in a coma.’
“Quiet!” Dixie muttered through clenched teeth.
“Dixie?” Brackett moved forward. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
‘You like him too, don’t you?’ Audrey’s voice reached her again. ‘You should show him how much. Why don’t you kiss him?’
“I’m fine, Kel,” Dixie growled, trying to ignore the voice in her head.
‘Come on! You know you want to! So kiss him!’
“Are you sure, Dixie? I’ve been hearing from various people that they’ve seen you talking to yourself a lot.”
“I’m sorry Kel, what were you saying?” Dixie asked, determined to resist Audrey’s influence.
‘Kiss him, kiss him, kiss him!’ Audrey repeated over and over.
Dixie had just about tuned her out when the spirit changed tactics.
‘TAKE THE LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE AND I’LL MEET YOU AT THE STATION…’
“Oh, for God’s sake! If I do it, will you shut up?” Dixie finally snapped.
“Dix?” Kel asked, concerned.
Dixie turned to the handsome doctor, took his face in her hands and brought his mouth down to hers. The kiss was hard, passionate and fast. Then, just as abruptly as she grabbed him, she let him go and bolted for the nurses lounge, leaving Brackett standing there like a deer caught in the headlights.
*******************************
Joe Early found Brackett standing by the base station in a daze.
“Kel? You okay?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah Joe, I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine. Is there anything you want to talk about?”
Brackett sighed. “Yeah, Joe. It’s Dixie. Come on, let’s go to my office and I’ll explain.”
******************************
“Oh, God! What did I do?” Dixie said to herself as she got to the nurses lounge. He must be convinced that I’m completely nuts!”
‘Yeah, completely nuts about him!’
“You be quiet!” she snapped. “And what IS with the Monkees anyway? I mean, do you HAVE to sing that song?”
‘No, I don’t have to.”
“Good.”
‘I can sing this one: ‘YOU KEEP SAYIN’ YOU GOT SOMETHIN’ FOR ME. SOMETHIN’ YOU CALL LOVE, BUT CONFESS. YOU BEEN MESSIN’ WHERE YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN A-MESSIN’ AND NOW SOMEONE ELSE IS GETTIN’ ALL YOUR BEST. THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKIN’…”
“I MEANT,” Dixie cut off the Nancy Sinatra impression, “do you have to sing at me like that?”
‘You don’t like good music? I thought Sinatra was a classic.’
“FRANK Sinatra is a classic. Nancy Sinatra isn’t!”
‘What’s your problem? You don’t like good music?’
“I love good music,” Dixie snapped. “I just don’t happen to think the Monkees or Nancy Sinatra constitutes good music.”
‘Then you’ve got no taste,’ Audrey said with an audibly disdainful sniff.
“Look, I’m gonna go apologize for making a scene. Could you please stay quiet while I’m talking to him? I think he’s about ready to have me committed.”
‘Fine,’ Audrey said. ‘I’ll be quiet. You’re no good to me if they dope you up so much that you can’t hear me any more.’
“What good am I to you now? Why are you even here?”
‘I needed someone to talk to. Being dead and in limbo gets lonely.’ Dixie could almost hear the shrug in Audrey’s tone of voice.
“Oh,” Dixie said quietly, not really knowing what to say. She sighed and headed towards Kel’s office.
******************************
“And then she just ran away,” Brackett was saying to Early at that precise moment. “I would swear she’s hearing voices and that they told her to kiss me.”
“And you’ve been getting other reports that she’s been talking to herself?” Early asked.
“I’ve heard from at least four other people who have heard Dixie arguing with herself.”
“It’s probably the symptom of a complication from her recent injury. We should admit her and run some more tests.”
“I hope it’s nothing serious,” Brackett said worriedly.
Just then there was a knock on the door.
“Come in,” he called.
Dixie opened the door and said, “Kel, can I talk to you for a few minutes?”
“Sure, Dix,” he said with a sympathetic smile. “Come on in.”
As she walked in, she saw Joe Early sitting in one of the chairs and realized that they were probably discussing her recent behavior. She steeled herself for the confrontation that she knew was coming.
“Kel, I just wanted to apologize for my behavior a little while ago. It was unprofessional and I’m sorry.”
“Dixie,” Joe broke in before Brackett could say anything. “Are you hearing voices?”
“I hear you talking to me,” Dixie said, pretending not to understand the question.
“That’s not what I mean and I think you know it.”
“What’s the problem? Am I not doing my job?”
“That’s not the point, Dixie,” Kel said. “The point is you seem to be hearing voices and we’re worried that it might be related to your accident.”
“I’d like to admit you for some more tests,” Joe said with a gentle smile. “We shouldn’t take any chances, especially with a head injury.”
“I’m fine! I don’t need to be admitted!” Dixie snapped. “So I talk to myself occasionally. Is that a crime?”
“It’s not a crime,” Brackett said, a little surprised by her suddenly defensive attitude. “But it could be a symptom of something serious.”
Dixie opened her mouth to say something else, when Audrey decided to break in.
‘Hey, you’d better get to the radio and warn Roy.’
“Dixie? Are you hearing the voices again?” Early asked as he noticed a change in the nurse’s expression.
“Uh…could we pick this discussion up later?” Dixie said as she bolted from the room. Early and Brackett looked at each other for a moment and then followed her.
******************************
“Squad 51, could you repeat that?” Mike Morton was manning the radio when Dixie came running up.
“Uh, Rampart, we have a male patient, he is unconscious and having trouble breathing. He is diaphoretic. Stand by for vitals.” Johnny’s voice came over the radio.
Dixie pushed Morton out of the way and he stood there watching with a shocked expression as Dixie took over the call. He saw Brackett and Early come running up and he gave them a look that said, ‘what the hell is going on?’ The two doctors just shrugged at him.
“51, tell Roy to look down by his left shoe and not to move suddenly,” Dixie spoke into the microphone.
“What the hell? Dixie!” an outraged Morton addressed the nurse.
Just then, Johnny’s shaky voice came back over the speakers. “Uh…Rampart? How did you know? Stand by, I’ve gotta deal with a scorpion.”
In the ensuing radio silence, Dixie turned to look at the three men gaping at her.
“What? That voice in my head does have her uses.”
“You mean, she told you there was something about to bite Roy?” Brackett said incredulously.
Dixie nodded. “Yeah. Would you believe I think that knock on the head made me psychic?”
“That had to be a coincidence,” Morton said.
“Mike, move two feet to your left,” Dixie responded.
Morton looked at her oddly, but did as he was told. Just then, a rock came flying past his head, smashing against the wall.
“I’m sorry!” the orderly came running up. “I didn’t see that guy still had the rock. You guys okay?”
“Or maybe you ARE psychic,” a now-convinced Morton said after assuring the orderly that no harm was done.
******************************
Ten minutes later, the ambulance pulled up to the ER doors with Squad 51 close behind. Dr. Morton followed the stretcher into the treatment room and Drs. Brackett and Early remained where they were, staring at Dixie.
“Uh…Dixie?” Kel began, but then couldn’t think of where to go from there.
“Yes, Kel?” she answered expectantly. Then, “Would you mind? I’m trying to have a conversation here!”
Early and Brackett looked at each other and then back to Dixie.
“Sorry, she was singing Nancy Sinatra again.”
“Uh…Nancy…” Joe began.
Kel finished, “Sinatra?”
Dixie sighed. “Yep. I’m gonna have to expose that girl to some decent music! I don’t want to have this argument again, okay? I said I didn’t like Nancy Sinatra and you’re just going to have to deal with that!”
Roy walked over at that moment. He was still looking a little pale after his near miss with the scorpion.
“Uh, Dixie?” he said. “How’d you know there was something at my foot?”
“Yeah, Dix,” said Johnny as he came out of the treatment room in time to hear his partner ask the question. “How DID you know?”
“Would you believe I’m psychic?”
“Come on, Dixie!” Johnny said with a chuckle. “That’s a good one, but seriously, how’d you know?”
‘Ask Roy if he’s picked any good horses lately,’ Audrey said.
“Uh, Roy? Have you picked any good horses lately?” Dixie asked, feeling slightly foolish.
Roy and Johnny looked at each other and then back to Dixie.
“How’d you know about that?” Johnny asked.
“What?”
“Roy can pick the winners pretty good.”
“Roy?” Dixie turned to the sandy-haired paramedic.
“Johnny’s right. I seem to have a pretty good average.”
“Would you believe that knock I took on the head recently made me psychic?”
“Ordinarily, no,” Roy said. “But you DID know about the scorpion--and the horse thing.”
Johnny grinned. “Hey, Dix, how’d you like to entertain at our annual picnic? We could set up a fortuneteller’s tent and probably get you a gypsy costume. You could charge maybe a couple bucks a reading and donate the proceeds to charity or something. Whaddaya say?”
‘Sounds like fun!’ Audrey said with an audible grin. ‘Let’s do it!’
Dixie rolled her eyes. “Absolutely NOT!”
**********************************
Three weeks later, Dixie was dressed in gypsy garb, sitting in a tent with a crystal ball in front of her.
“How did I let you talk me into this?” Dixie growled.
‘Two words: MacArthur's Park’
“I am REALLY gonna have to introduce you to some decent music!” Dixie rolled her eyes.
Just then, someone lifted the flap of the tent. Dixie squinted at the unexpected burst of sunlight.
“Hey, Dix!” Johnny poked his head in. “You ‘bout ready to go?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Dixie said with a grim smile. Then her expression brightened a bit. “Hey, you wanna go first?”
“Sure!” Johnny scrambled into the chair across from Dixie.
Just then, Roy poked his head into the tent. “There you are, Johnny! They’re looking for you over at the dunking tank.”
Johnny rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that’s just how I want to spend the day…getting dunked in a vat of freezing cold water.”
“Come on, Junior. It’s for a good cause.”
“Okay, Roy. I’ll be there in a minute. Dixie’s gonna tell my fortune first.”
Roy came the rest of the way into the tent. “This oughta be good. Mind if I listen?”
“Go ahead,” Dixie said with a smile. Then, she said, “Okay, what’ve you got for my friend Johnny here?”
‘He’s cute,’ Audrey said.
“I meant besides that,” Dixie said a little impatiently.
“What?” Johnny asked.
Rolling her eyes, Dixie said, “She thinks you’re cute.”
Roy chuckled and Johnny sat up a little straighter.
“I meant, what do you see in the future for him?”
Just then, Dixie saw a picture in her mind. The squad being called out to an unknown rescue in the middle of the night. A woman spaced out in a bar. Reviving the woman. Walking back out to the street…the speeding sports car…Johnny being tossed like a rag doll.
Dixie jumped, her eyes widening in horror. “You’ve gotta be kidding!”
‘I calls ‘em like I sees ‘em,' Audrey said.
“What? What?” Johnny was really anxious now.
“Uh…let’s just say you need to remember to look both ways before crossing streets.” Dixie said, unwilling to say she had just seen one of her best friends very probably killed by a speeding car.
“Dixie?” Johnny said. “What did you see?”
“Trust me, Johnny. You DON’T want to know.”
“Come on, Dix!” Johnny pleaded. “What did you see?”
“Are you sure?”
Roy shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Uh, Johnny, maybe there’re some things you shouldn’t know.”
“No! I wanna hear!”
Dixie sighed. “Okay, Johnny. I saw an image of you…uh…you were…uh…”
“I was what?”
“You were being hit by a car.” Dixie spoke quickly.
“I was WHAT?” Johnny’s eyes widened.
“Being hit by a car,” she said again. “A sports car, fast moving. Tossed you like a leaf.”
“Uh…when?” Johnny’s voice was a whisper.
‘Not for a few months, probably. Can’t be sure of the exact date,’ Audrey replied.
Dixie repeated this information to Johnny, who seemed to relax slightly. After a few moments of stunned silence, Johnny stood up and stepped outside the tent.
*********************************
After another couple of minutes, a very puzzled-looking Roy stepped out into the sunlight. Johnny looked at him.
“What’d she say to you?” he asked his partner.
Roy looked back at the tent as he thought about the advice he had just been given. “She just said to stay away from farms. Can’t imagine where she got that.”
Johnny brightened up a bit. “Yeah, I can’t see you going anywhere near a farm. So she’s probably wrong about that one. And if she’s wrong about the one…”
“Then she’s probably wrong about you being hit by a car,” Roy said, following Johnny’s logic.
“Yeah!” Johnny said with a grin, which faded after a moment. “I hope.”
*********************************
Later that night, an exhausted Dixie got back to her apartment where she promptly collapsed on the couch.
‘I thought that went pretty well, don’t you?’ Audrey’s voice reached her ears just as she was drifting off to sleep.
“It was okay, I guess,” Dixie answered tiredly.
‘You guess? Didn’t you hear that Captain Stanley guy? He said your tent made the most money of all the attractions at this shindig. I think we can be proud of that, don’t you?’
“Yeah, I’m just tired, okay?”
‘Sure,’ Audrey answered. ‘You want me to sing to you?’
Dixie immediately leapt to her feet. “Uh…no thanks! I’ll just put on a record, okay?”
‘Sounds good to me. You got any Monkees?’
“I told you I was going to introduce you to some good music. Now seems as good a time as any,” Dixie said as she crossed the room to look through her record collection. “Ah…here’s a good one!”
Dixie pulled the album out and put it on the turntable.
‘I didn’t know you were a singer,’ Audrey said. ‘Are you any good?’
“What are you talking about?” Dixie answered. “I’m not a singer.”
‘That’s you on the cover, isn’t it?’
Dixie looked at the record cover. “That’s Julie London! That’s not me!”
‘She looks just like you.’
“We look nothing alike!”
‘Have you looked in the mirror lately?’
“Just listen to the music, would you?” Dixie said impatiently as she put the needle on the record.
*********************************
‘YOU CAN JUST CRY ME A RIVER, CRY ME A RIVER. I CRIED A RIVER OVER YOU!’ Audrey was singing at the top of her lungs.
Dixie sighed. Audrey didn’t have the best voice in the world, but it was better than MacArthur's Park.
“Dix? You in there?” Kel’s voice beside her made her jump.
“Kel! I didn’t see you standing there!”
“Obviously,” Kel said dryly. “She talking to you again?”
Dixie sighed. “Nope, singing.”
“Nancy Sinatra again?”
“Nope,” Dixie said with a smile. “I played her some of my Julie London albums. Now she’s singing ‘Cry Me a River’.”
“Is she a good singer at least?”
Dixie made a so-so gesture with her hand. “At least she’s not tone-deaf.”
‘I’ll have you know, I was known for my singing voice when I was alive!’ Audrey’s indignant voice responded.
“Did I say you were a bad singer?” Dixie asked in an exasperated tone. Then she turned back to the handsome doctor. “Did you want something Kel?”
“I just wanted to know if you wanted to join me for lunch. There’s a new restaurant a few blocks from here I’ve been wanting to try. I just needed the right company.”
Dixie smiled. “Sounds good to me. I’ll just go get my purse.”
‘I told you he likes you!’ Audrey’s voice said smugly.
“You stay out of this!” Dixie muttered as she retrieved her purse from her locker.
************************************
Dixie and Kel made small talk as they headed out to his car. As Brackett opened the car door for her, suddenly a flood of images filled her mind: Brackett driving, Brackett being broad-sided in his car, Brackett unconscious in his car with blood running down his face.
Dixie gasped and backed away from the car.
“Dix?” Kel looked at her, worried. “You okay?”
‘Thought you’d like to know that one,’ Audrey said quietly.
Just then, there was a screeching of tires and the sound of a horn blaring. Dixie started and turned to see the Cadillac bearing down on her.
“DIXIE! LOOK OUT!” Brackett shouted as he pulled her out of the path of the car.
“WATCH WHERE YOU’RE GOIN’, LADY!” the driver of the car yelled out of his window as he drove past.
Brackett had pulled Dixie out of the path of the car and into a relieved embrace.
“Are you okay? What happened?” he murmured the questions into her hair.
“I’m okay, Kel,” Dixie said. “Audrey just showed me something I didn’t really want to see.”
He pulled back to look at her. “What did you see?”
Dixie took a deep breath. “It’s not important, Kel. But do you mind if I drive to lunch?”
Kel looked at her, confused. “I guess so. Dixie, please tell me what you saw to upset you so much.”
“Please don’t push it, Kel,” Dixie said. “I don’t even want to THINK about the possibility.”
“Possibility of what?”
Dixie just shook her head and led the way to her car.
‘You really do like him, don’t you?’ Audrey said softly.
“Mind your own business,” Dixie said quietly enough that Kel couldn’t hear.
‘So what’s wrong with telling him?’
“What’s wrong with minding your own business?”
‘I’m your spirit guide. I’m not allowed to mind my own business. It’s one of the rules.’
“Sure it is,” Dixie muttered as she unlocked the passenger door for Brackett to get into the car.
***********************************
Lunch proved to be a perfect distraction and Dixie soon forgot the disturbing prediction. As they got back to Rampart, Dixie was all but grabbed by Mike Morton.
“Dixie, they’re bringing Roy in for smoke inhalation. Can you help me?”
“Yeah, lemme put my coat away and wash my hands. What’s their ETA?”
“You’ve got five minutes,” Morton answered. “I’ll meet you in treatment 3.”
‘Something’s not right,’ Audrey said. ‘But I can’t put my finger on it.’
“Of course something’s not right!” Dixie snapped. “One of my best friends is being brought in by ambulance. What could be more wrong than that?”
‘No, something else…’
“Well, if you figure it out, let me know.”
‘Sure.’
***********************************
“How’s he doing?” Dixie asked as she came running into the room.
“Not so good,” Johnny answered.
Dixie noted with sympathy that Johnny seemed very lost as his partner struggled to breathe.
“He got an awful lot of smoke. We were in that building too long. He ran out of air long before he could get back to an exit.”
“We need some more oxygen,” Morton said. “Johnny, could you grab it?”
Johnny, pleased to have something to do, nodded and moved to the corner of the room where the tanks were standing, ready for use.
‘THAT’S IT!’ Audrey shouted. ‘Don’t let Johnny get the oxygen!’
“What are you talking about?”
‘Johnny’s not gonna grab the oxygen. He’s gonna grab something else!’
“Johnny can read the word ‘oxygen’, Audrey. He wouldn’t grab the wrong thing…not for anyone…especially not Roy.”
Meanwhile, Johnny had retrieved the oxygen tank and one of the other nurses was hooking it up to Roy’s mask before replacing it on his face.
‘Dixie, I don’t care if you never listen to me again, just listen to me now! That tank is mislabeled!’
“Why didn’t you say so in the first place?” Dixie shouted and ran forward, grabbing the mask just as it was about to cover Roy’s face.
“Dixie! What the hell are you doing?” Morton shouted. “Roy needs the oxygen now!”
Dixie sniffed the air being pumped out of the mask. She coughed. “That’s nitrous oxide! Johnny, grab another tank!”
Johnny’s eyes widened in horror at what nearly happened to his partner. He seemed frozen to the spot. Dixie sighed impatiently, dropped the mask and went for another tank herself.
***********************************
Finally, Roy was stabilized and Dixie had time to see Johnny standing in the corner of the room looking like he had just killed his best friend.
“Come on, Johnny,” Dixie said with a sympathetic tone in her voice. “Let’s go get a cup of coffee and talk for a bit. Roy’s going to be fine.”
“No thanks to me,” Johnny muttered as he allowed Dixie to lead him out of the room.
“Stop that!” Dixie said. “It wasn’t your fault!”
“I grabbed a tank of nitrous oxide instead of oxygen. How could it not be my fault?”
“That tank was mislabeled. It wasn’t like you grabbed a tank that was actually labeled nitrous oxide. It was labeled oxygen and it could just as easily have been me or Dr. Morton who grabbed it. It was not your fault!”
“All right,” Johnny said finally. “But when you find out who filled those tanks, hit ‘em once for me, will you?”
“Better believe it,” Dixie said with a smile.
As Johnny headed out to check on his partner, Dixie said, “Thanks, Pal.”
‘Anytime!’
**********************************
Later that evening, Dixie was sitting at home nursing a martini. Normally she didn’t drink alone, but she figured after the day she had had, she deserved it. Besides, with Audrey, she wasn’t alone.
‘Hey, the gorgeous doctor is about to knock on the door,’ Audrey interrupted Dixie mid-swig.
Dixie practically choked, but recovered. “He’s what?”
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
‘Told you!’
Dixie glared at no one in particular and headed over to answer the door. True to prediction, Kelly Brackett stood there with a smile on his face.
“Hi, Dix,” he said warmly.
Dixie returned the smile. “Kel, what a nice surprise! To what do I owe the honor?”
“Just wanted to see how you were doing,” he answered.
‘Ask him what he’s got behind his back!’ Audrey said excitedly.
“So, Kel,” Dixie said, with a glance over her shoulder at no one in particular. “What’s behind your back?”
Brackett chuckled sheepishly and brought his hand forward. He was holding a brightly-colored bouquet of flowers.
“Kel! They’re beautiful! Why don’t you come in and I’ll go put these in some water,” she started off towards the kitchen. “Pour yourself a drink if you’d like.”
“Thanks,” Kel said as he put his coat on a chair.
*****************************************
As Dixie searched the kitchen for a suitable vase, Audrey was babbling like a schoolgirl. ‘I told you he likes you! Are you gonna kiss him today? I mean for real this time, not just to shut me up?’
Dixie sighed and pointedly ignored her invisible friend.
‘The vase is in the cupboard next to the oven.’
Dixie opened the cupboard and pulled out the vase. As she filled it with water, she said, “Thanks, I was wondering where I had put that.”
‘So, are you gonna kiss him?’
“I don’t know,” Dixie said a little impatiently. Then she smiled a little. “I suppose, if the opportunity presents itself…”
‘That’s my girl!’
********************************
Kel was sitting on the sofa when Dixie returned carrying the vase with the flowers in it.
“How are you doing, Dixie?” he asked when she sat down next to him. “You and your new friend getting along okay?”
“More or less,” Dixie said with a sigh.
‘Oh come on! We get along better than that!’ was Audrey’s indignant reply.
Dixie rolled her eyes and amended herself. “Yeah, I guess we do get along pretty well now. Not that she can’t sometimes be a pain!” she finished through slightly clenched teeth.
‘Hey! I resemble that remark!’ Brackett chuckled. Then he seemed to remember something. “She still trying to get you to kiss me?” he asked, a little hopefully.
“At least she’s not singing the Monkees until I do like last time,” Dixie said with a chuckle.
“Well, we wouldn’t want to disappoint her now, would we?” he said, moving closer to Dixie on the couch.
Dixie smiled and moved towards him as well. “No, I don’t suppose we would.”
‘About time too!’
“Shut up, Audrey,” Dixie said as she leaned in for the kiss.
“Yeah,” Brackett said. “Shut up, Audrey.”
They were still smiling as their lips met in a tentative kiss that quickly deepened. As they sat on the couch, locked in one another’s arms, Dixie heard a soft voice in her head.
‘I told you he liked you!’
Dixie smiled to herself and continued kissing the handsome doctor.
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