A Place to Belong

By

Deanna

{Author’s note: This story is a follow along to my previous story, Just to Belong.  While this story can stand alone, reading the previous story may set the stage.}


The woman parked her rented car in the parking spaces in front of the red brick fire station and got out slowly.  Reading the logo on the wall, she knew she was in the right place, LA County Fire Station 51.  The weather was hotter here than she had been expecting and she used a small square of white linen to dab at her cheeks and forehead.  Closing the door to the small car, she stood silently and looked at the building. She could see the one firetruck in the bay and an empty spot next to it that she assumed was for another vehicle.  From her position on the side of the building, she could see the glass door that led into the office.  Squaring her shoulders, she entered and stood for a moment at the long counter.  She waited for a nearly a minute before standing on tiptoe and peering at the door on the left behind the counter and calling out a cheerful “Hello?”.

A tall, lanky man with a short lock of unruly hair came into the office and smiled.  “Good morning, ma’am.  Welcome to Station 51.  I’m Hank Stanley, captain of this nuthouse.  What can I do for you?”

Hank’s smile was infectious.  He studied the woman as he waited for her answer.  The woman was older than he was with a full head of white hair and a prim and proper manner.  Her dress was very conservative but her face was open and full of humor.  She paused for a moment before answering.  “I am looking for a young man named John Gage.  I was told that he worked out of this station.  Is he here?”

Hank felt his guard go up.  Johnny Gage was the youngest man on his crew as well as an excellent fireman/paramedic.  It was a known fact that Johnny didn’t have any family in the area, but he fancied himself as quite the ladies man.  Hank didn’t want to see his crew member in any sort of trouble.  He thought carefully before answering.  “He works here.  He’s out on a run right now.  Can I help you with anything?”

The visitor gave the captain another one of her warm smiles, her brown eyes twinkling merrily.  “Not really, Captain.  I need to see Mr. Gage on a legal matter.”  She lightly stressed the word legal.  She laid the manila envelope on the counter.  “I just have a few things I need to talk over with him.”

Hank was saved from answering by the sound of the squad backing into the bay.  “Looks like you have your chance now.  Sounds like he just returned.”  He directed his gaze into the equipment bay where a red truck with high sides in the back was parking.  Two men climbed out and headed for another door out of sight.  The lady could hear voices filter in through the open door.  Hank beckoned his visitor to come around the end of the counter into the office.  “Come on back and I’ll take you to him.”

Nodding her head in thanks, the woman retrieved her letter and followed around the end of the counter and out the open door into the bay.  A few short steps brought them to another room where several men were gathered around a table.   The five men looked up as the captain and his shadow entered the room.  Hank made short work of introducing his men.  Each man stood as he was introduced.  Chet Kelly was the one with the laughing eyes and curly dark hair, Marco Lopez was a dark man of Hispanic descent, while Mike Stoker was the blond engineer and gave the impression of quiet strength.  “And our two paramedics, Roy Desoto,” the man with the strawberry blond hair rose to his feet and nodded, “ and his partner, Johnny Gage.” 

“Johnny, you have a visitor.”  Hank pulled out an extra chair for the woman as Johnny stood up and came around the table to meet his guest. 

She gave the young man an appraising look as he stood in front of her.  He was tall and slim with short, dark hair and expressive brown eyes.  Her breath caught in her throat as she rose to meet him.  “You’re John?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am.  And you are?” he asked. 

She held out a finely manicured hand for him to take.  “My name is Elise.  Mrs. Elise Crouthers Gage.”

The silence in the room was deafening.  Johnny turned white and was only vaguely aware of his friends surrounding him.  He opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out.   “Please sit down.” he finally managed to stutter.


“Thank you.” Mrs. Gage said serenely as she took her seat. 

Johnny sat limply into the chair that his partner had hastily shoved behind him.  The entire crew was silent.  They all knew that Johnny had no family to speak of and considered the department his closest relatives.  In fact, Roy and his wife had convinced Johnny to list them as his next of kin on his last hospital stay.   

“Please let me explain Mr. Gage.  Many years ago, I made a mistake.  Because of that, I ended up marrying my beau, Robert Gage, at the young age of sixteen.  Seven months later, we had a baby, Jonathan.  When Jon was only three, my husband died in an accident.  I was so upset and distraught, that I gave Jon up to an orphanage and moved away.  Years later I went back home and put my life back together.  I tried to find my son but was told that he had been given to a family and all the records where sealed.  I never married again.  A few years ago, my niece and I were going through some old pictures and came across the ones I had of my son.  She was so intrigued by my story, that she started trying to find her cousin.”  Mrs. Gage stopped and raised her handkerchief to her eyes.  She took the glass of water that Mike offered her and took a sip before starting again.  The men around her were silent, taken in by her tale.

Elise leaned forward and placed one hand on Johnny’s knee.  “Wanda looked for three years before she was able to find my Jon.  He had been adopted but then had a few brushes with the law for kid stuff before he ran away.    She managed to trace him to an Indian reservation in Montana.”

“I’m from Montana.”  Johnny answered. 

“I know.  Wanda found where Jon had married but lost his wife in childbirth.  He died two years later, leaving his son with his sister-in-law, Rose.  After that, Wanda wasn’t able to find anything more.”  She looked tenderly at Johnny.

“That would make you Johnny’s grandmother!” Chet burst out in glee. 

“Yes, I believe I am.   I came here to find out for myself if Wanda was right, if Johnny really is my grandson.”

“And?”  Johnny’s question held a note of hope.

“And you are the very image of my husband.  Let me show you something.”  Opening the manila envelope, Mrs. Gage withdrew a sheaf of photos and handed Johnny the top one.  “This is our wedding photo.  Robert was twenty years old in this picture.”  Her voice held a note of fond sadness as she passed the picture to John.  His friends gathered around to look at it. 

“That could be you, Johnny.” Roy commented.  The black and white photo showed a young man with a beautiful young version of Elise.  Robert Gage had the same thin build, a shock of unruly black hair, and an open caring smile.  His love for his young bride was evident in his eyes as he tenderly held the blond woman at his side.  Only a very close look at the photo showed the slight bulge of her waistline.

Johnny looked hard and long at the photo.  When he spoke, his voice was only slightly above a whisper.  “I don’t remember my parents.  I only know their names, Jonathan and Margaret.  Mom’s family lived on the reservation.  Aunt Rose said her family didn’t like my dad and we never saw much of them.   I don’t even have any pictures of my folks.  My Aunt Rose and I moved out here when I was fifteen.  Her brother, my Uncle Roddy, died in a car crash three months ago.” 

“What about your Aunt Rose?”

“She died last year.  She was the only family I had.”  John tore his gaze away from the photo.  “How did you find me here?”

Elise smiled.  “Wanda is a photographer here in L.A. now.  She moved here two years ago.  Six months back she was covering a fire for her paper and happened to catch you on film.  She was struck by your resemblance to my Robert.  She asked a few questions and found out what she could about you.  From that, she started looking into your background.   All she could find out was your name and that you were from Montana.  That was enough for her to invite me here.”

“Where do you live?” asked Roy, trying to give his partner time to pull himself together.

“I live in Ohio, just outside of Lima.  I moved back into my parent’s old house.  All of my sisters and brothers have families so it was decided that I should have the house.”

“How many brothers and sisters do you have?” Marco asked.  He also sensed that Johnny needed a little time to digest the news.

Elise turned to face him.  “I have six sisters and four brothers.  I am third from the oldest.”  Elise spoke to Johnny again.  “You should see our family get togethers.  Counting you, there are thirty grandchildren and several of them have children of their own as well.  It really is quite a sight.” 

Johnny found his voice again.  “I’ve never been to a family reunion.  It must be nice.”

“You’ll have to come to our next one.  Now I will have my own family there.  My grandson.”  Elise leaned forward and, after just a brief hesitation, embraced Johnny in a tight hug.  “My grandson.  I finally found you, I’m not alone anymore.”  The words hung in the air as the entire crew absorbed the news.

Johnny finally spoke after he swallowed the knot in his throat. “It will be an honor to be there…” His voice broke. “Grandma.”

Without a word, Elise leaned forward and hugged her grandson again. Johnny returned the grasp until he had his emotions under control. “It’ll be nice to know I have a a real family now.  These guys have been my only family for a long time now.  They’ve been there for me when things got really tough.  It’s a great feeling to know that I have real relatives to call family as well.”

Roy laid a hand on his partner’s shoulder.  “See, I told you that you’d never be alone again.”  Johnny gave him a grateful look as he grasped his friend’s hand.

Hank stood proudly. “Elise Gage, before we get called out again. I would like to take this chance to welcome you into the Station 51 family.”  Everybody cheered, welcoming the newest Gage with open arms.

Elise dabbed at her eyes again with the handkerchief.  “I think I just found more than one grandson.  I have lived alone so long, now I never have to be alone again.”

“Me either, Grandma, me either.” Johnny murmured as he buried his face in his grandmother’s shoulder again.