Dance With Me
By
While it is not necessary to read “The Star Gazer”
or “And the Rain Came Down”, it will help
to understand what is going on. This story is based on the Steven Curtis
Chapman’s song, Cinderella. The song belongs to him, but the story belongs to
me.
This is part of the Star Garzer story line. Enjoy.
March 1975
Four year old Jennifer DeSoto was sitting at her little table in the backyard
playing quietly under the supervision of her father and Uncle Johnny. Music had
been drifting in and out of the home all morning and Jennifer had found herself
getting up and swaying in time to the music with a different doll each time.
John Gage sat on the deck and watched her each time while he kept an eye on his
partner and her father, Roy DeSoto. The runs the night before had been bad –
especially the one right before shift’s end. That last run involved a young
child. The father had been running late for work and no one noticed the four
year old run out of the house to say one more goodbye to her father until it was
too late.
Roy had insisted on riding in with the young girl. Minutes before the ambulance
pulled up to the hospital, she had slipped away and nothing that Roy, or the
emergency room personnel could do, could bring her back.
Johnny had called Joanne before leaving the station to give her the heads up as
to what was going on with her husband. Upon hearing about the run, Jo insisted
Johnny join them for a home cooked breakfast. She knew her husband; when he was
ready to talk he would need someone there who could walk him through his
thoughts regarding what he could have done differently.
Pulling his camera out of its bag he placed the different lenses on the table
and continued to watch Jenny in her play acting. A few minutes later, she was
beside her daddy begging him to help her dance.
“Please, daddy. I have to practice my dancing. I have a ball to go to tonight
with my prince and he would be very sad to see I hadn’t practiced.” Jenny
pouted.
Roy started to protest once more that he just wasn’t in the mood when Johnny
spoke up. “Hey, princess, you have a ball to go to tonight?”
Her dark blond hair bobbed up and down. “Uh huh. Just like in ‘Cinderella’. But
I need to practice before I can go.”
“Well, we just can’t let you be the laughing stock of the ball, now can we.”
Johnny nudged his partner. “Hey, you don’t happen to know who can help out our
princess in distress?”
Roy sighed and looked down at his young daughter as if seeing her for the first
time that morning. “I might be able to help.” He pushed out of his chair and
followed her out into the backyard. Taking her into his arms, they began to
dance to music that only they could hear.
Johnny picked up his camera, made a few adjustments, and took several snapshots.
“I hope to get at least one of those.”
Johnny turned to see Jo standing in the doorway. “Always, Jo.” The two remained
where they were watching the princess and her father dance under the morning
sun.
April 1987
Squeals drifted down the stairs as Johnny tried to listen to the evening news.
His adopted daughter, Jennifer, and her best friend Margie Johnson had
sequestered themselves in Jennifer’s room since they got home from school. Every
once in awhile, those squeals would drift down. Johnny had made numerous
attempts to head up to see what was going on, but his wife of five years finally
put a stop to it.
“They’re teenagers, young girl teenagers to boot. Let them be,” Emily wisely
imparted on him. It didn’t stop him from curiously wonder as to what his
normally shy teenager daughter was going on about.
A short time later after dinner was cleared from the dinner table, Jennifer sat
down in the living room with Emily and Johnny. Their four year son, Joey,
quietly playing in the corner. “Emily, Johnny, I’m sure you’ve been wondering
what was going on this afternoon.”
“Who? Us?” Johnny asked. Emily absently swatted her husband’s arm. Jenny gave
him a long suffering look. Johnny was once again reminded of her mother, Joanne,
and how she used to give him that same look. “Ok, yes, I’ve, I mean we’ve, been
wondering. “
Jenny took a deep breath. “Ok, you know the junior-senior prom is coming up in
few weeks. Well, I was asked today to go with Jimmy Anderson,” she finished
excitedly and in a rush.
“Oh, honey, that’s fantastic!” Emily reached over and gave the young girl a hug.
“Now, do you know what kind of dress you want to wear?”
“I kind of have some ideas, but I wanted to get your and Johnny’s approval
before we got it,” Jenny replied looking toward Johnny.
Johnny sat still for a few moments before he found his voice. “Uhm, yeah, sure,
just let me know.”
With that, Emily and Jenny left the room to go look at some catalogs that Emily
had stashed, knowing that the possibility of being invited to the prom had
always been there.
Johnny continued to sit for a few minutes and then picked up Joey to go get him
ready for bed.
A short time later, Johnny found himself sitting on the steps of his deck
looking once more up to the stars. After all these years, he still came out
there to clear his head and to talk to his friends once more.
He quickly added up the years in his head. He and Emily married in June of 1982
and Joey came along nearly a year later. Chris graduated from high school two
years ago and had left to go to school at UCLA. Even though he could still live
at home, he choose to live at the dorm. He was studying pre-med, just like he
had always planned. It also didn’t hurt to already have a doctor in the family
to talk his plans over with.
The spring before he and Emily married, Jenny and Chris approached him with a
request. They had been present when their father’s, and then their mother’s,
will had been read. In both, they had made the stipulation that if Johnny was
willing and if the kids wanted to, Johnny could adopt them without any
recrimination. Apparently, that had often been a topic of discussion between
them. They informed Johnny that if he wanted to adopt them, they felt it would
honor Roy and Joanne more so than not. So, just two weeks before the wedding,
they met with the judge and completed the process to be officially adopted by
Johnny. They choose to keep their name as DeSoto, but would proudly introduce
Johnny and Emily as their parents.
Johnny sighed and wondered at how quickly the years had gone. Hearing the door
open behind him he waited for the other person to make their presence known. He
looked up and saw Jenny move to sit beside him on the steps.
Jenny looked up at the stars with him. “I still come out here a lot, too. It
helps me feel closer to them.”
He didn’t even have to ask who ‘them’ was. He did it for the same reason. Johnny
nodded and glanced back up at the stars. “Yeah, me, too.”
She wrapped her hand around his arm and leaned into his shoulder. “Johnny, I
think you’ll like Jimmy. He’s a great guy, very sweet and considerate. If you
want, I could invite him over for dinner Saturday so you and Emily can meet him.
What do you think?”
“I think we need to double check with Emily.”
“It was her suggestion,” she retorted.
Johnny turned his head to meet eye to eye with her. “Ok, if you both are in
agreement, we’ll do that.”
Jenny reached up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Johnny, would you do me one
more favor?”
His forehead furrowed in question. “Sure, angel. What?”
She stood up and reached back to him. “I need to practice my dancing. Would you
help a princess prepare to dance at the ball with her prince?”
With a chuckle, he stood up and took her hand. “I can’t believe you still
remember that story of you and your father.”
“I don’t ever want to forget. Just like I don’t ever want to forget this moment
with you. So, please, daddy, would you dance with me?” her serious eyes looking
back at his.
“For my princess, anytime.”
Johnny took her into his arms and began to dance with Jenny under the stars to
only music they could hear. Unknown to them, Emily had picked up a camera and
began to take pictures of the two of them. It was another moment in time to add
to the collection on the mantle.
February 1992
Jennifer DeSoto held out her left hand to allow her mother to look at the ring
on her hand as she continued to relate the proposal.
“Jimmy took me for a walk in the park and it was such a beautiful evening. The
next thing I knew, we were on the foot bridge, Jimmy is kneeling down with that
ring in his hand asking me to marry him.”
John Gage sat back and listened to Jenny as she related her story. She was so
excited … and Johnny tried his best to be happy for her. It looked like his
little girl would soon be leaving him for good.
The rest of the day was centered around Jenny’s plans for her wedding. They were
setting the date for a mid-July wedding. She wanted school to be completely over
and diploma in hand before jumping feet first into marriage, not to mention
getting set up to work with old Doc Peterson, the local vet, before the grand
event. Emily and Johnny both applauded her sound decisions.
Later that evening, Johnny headed out to the back deck. He was soon joined by
Jenny as they sat on the deck chairs and watched the stars in silence.
“Johnny?”
“Yeah, angel?”
Jenny sat up and looked over at her adopted father.
“Johnny, you’ve done so much for us over the years, me and Chris that is. You
stepped into Daddy’s shoes and raised us in a way I believe both Mom and Daddy
would be proud.” Jenny paused and looked up to the stars, smiled and then looked
back at Johnny. “Would you do me the honor of walking me down the aisle?” Jenny
asked, her serious blue eyes implored him. “You may not have been my biological
father, but you’ve been my father in every other way for over ten years.”
Johnny turned to look again at the stars. He sat quietly for a few moments, then
turned back to his daughter. “I would be the one honored.”
Jenny fairly leaped from her chair and sat on Johnny’s lap, hugging him
fiercely. “Oh, thank you! Thank you!” She leaned back, stood up, and extended
her hand. “Of course, this means you will also have to dance with me at my
wedding,” she grinned.
“I think I can manage that. Do you think we need to practice before then?” he
also grinned. He remembered all too well the young princess who needed to
practice before her ball.
Jenny, too, remembered that princess. She held out her arms. “The wedding is
still six months away, but I think we should practice.”
Laughing, Johnny and Jenny spun away on the deck as the stars twinkled in the
background.
July 1992
The wedding was perfect and Jenny made a lovely bride. As the wedding party
shifted over to the reception hall and the wedding band, an area began to clear
on the floor. Johnny escorted Jenny to the middle and began to dance with his
little girl for the last time. As they started to pass Jimmy, Johnny stopped and
handed her off to her husband, kissed her check then shook Jimmy’s hand. He
stepped back and let the newlyweds continue to dance to the song.
Johnny slowly made his way around the dance floor, watching her radiant face
glowing with the love she had for her husband. He recognized that look. It was
the same one his own wife had for him.
He stopped at the edge of the floor and continued to watch them as other couples
began to join them. Emily slipped in beside her husband, clasping his hand
tightly as he reciprocated. She leaned into his shoulder. “They make a wonderful
couple. I knew it the day she brought him over that weekend before the prom.”
Johnny sighed. “You were always the wise one of this partnership,” he replied,
leaning over to capture her lips in a kiss. He turned back to watch Jenny again,
this time laughing with some of her friends with Jimmy looking on. “She’s really
gone and grown up on us, hasn’t she?”
“Yeah, she has. Good news is, we’ll still see them often, especially since
they’ll be living down the road from us and Jenny will soon be taking over the
practice from Dr. Peterson.” Emily reached up with her other hand and squeezed
his arm. “You ok?”
“No, but I will be.”
Emily smiled as she too turned to watch the couple. “Johnny, I don’t know if I
ever told you this, but thank you for letting me help raise her. Joey will
probably be our only one, and Chris was practically grown by the time we married
and got settled, so I want to thank you for allowing me this opportunity to have
a daughter.”
“I couldn’t have done it without you,” he whispered.
September 1998
A group of family and friends were gathered at the Gage home to celebrate
Johnny’s 30 years with the department. It was full blown cookout with all the
trimmings including a band. Emily had definitely outdone herself this time.
Dr. Christopher DeSoto leaned against the railing of the deck and watched the
activities going on around the home and back yard. His sister, Dr. Jennifer
Anderson, was busy talking to other ranchers from the area regarding something,
bouncing her one year old son on her hip, while her four year old daughter
danced to whatever the band was playing at that moment.
Chris watched Annie run across the yard to where her daddy was busy talking to
Johnny and some of the other firefighters from the department. She reached up
and began to tug on Jimmy’s leg. He turned to her, “Hey, sweetie. What’s up?”
“Daddy, this is my most favorite song. Could you dance with me?” she pleaded.
Jimmy nodded, but then said, “In a moment, let Daddy finish talking to Grandpa.”
Johnny shook his head and pointedly tilted his head back toward his
granddaughter. “Jimmy, we can finish in a minute. There’s a princess who needs
to practice her dancing and she picked you to do so. I wouldn’t pass this up if
I were you because all too soon the moment will be gone and so will she.”
Jimmy looked at his father in law, nodded, then turned back to his little girl.
“Ok, princess, your wish is my desire. Lead me on!”
Annie giggled and lead her father on out to the dance area. Jimmy took her in
his arms and danced to the music of the band. Johnny reached behind him to the
camera sitting on the deck table. Making a few adjustments, he took a few
snapshots of father and daughter dancing under the afternoon sun.
“A few more moments in time for the mantle?”
Johnny glanced at Jennifer, who had at some point wandered over to him, then
turned back out to where father and daughter were dancing. “Of course, have to
keep the tradition going. After all, just like in Cinderella, all too soon the
clock will strike midnight and then she’ll be gone.” He glanced back at this
daughter. “I hope Jimmy learns the same lessons your father and I both learned –
to seize the moment and hold on before that moment is gone.”
“With you as an example, he will.” Jenny shifted her baby on her hip, then
leaned into her adopted father. “I was lucky enough to have not one, but two
fathers, who were always willing to spend time with me.” She leaned up and
placed a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you, daddy,” she whispered.
“Same back at you, angel.”
The End
AN: This story was forming in my head long before I heard of the tragic
death of Steven Curtis Chapman’s daughter, Maria, who had just turned five just
days before. This story was for her and all fathers out there.
Again, a huge thanks to Candee for beta reading this story.
This story is a creation from my own imagination. While the characters of
Emergency! belong to Universal, this story belongs to me. Any errors regarding
the characters, medical terminology, or the fire department, are of course mine
as I am not an expert in either field. SBF.
Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman
She spins and she sways to whatever song plays,
Without a care in the world
And I’m sitting here wearing
The weight of the world on my shoulders.
It’s been a long day and there’s still work to do
She’s pulling at me saying, “Dad I need you
There’s a ball at the castle and I’ve been invited
And I need to practice my dancing, oh please, daddy, please.”
So I will dance with Cinderella while she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh, I will dance with Cinderella, I don’t want to miss even one song
‘Cause all too soon, the clock will strike midnight and she’ll be gone.
She says he’s a nice guy and I’d be impressed
She wants to know if I’d approve of the dress
She says, “Dad, the prom is still one week away
And I need to practice my dancing, so please, daddy, please.”
So I will dance with Cinderella while she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh, I will dance with Cinderella, I don’t want to miss even one song
‘Cause all too soon, the clock will strike midnight and she’ll be gone.
But she came home today with a ring on her hand
Just glowing and telling us all they had planned
She says, “Dad, the wedding still six months away
But I need to practice my dancing, so please, daddy, please.”
So I will dance with Cinderella while she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh, I will dance with Cinderella, I don’t want to miss even one song
‘Cause all too soon, the clock will strike midnight and she’ll be gone