Copyright: August 2003 by Robin R. Neher

THIS STORY IS WRITTEN FOR PLEASURE AND IS NOT INTENDED TO INFRINGE ON ANY PREEXISTING COPYRIGHTS THAT MAY BE VIOLATED. FEEL FREE TO SHARE WITH FRIENDS, BUT NOT FOR PROFIT. THIS STORY IS FICTIONAL, A WORK OF THE WRITER'S IMAGINATION. THE CHARACTERS AND INCIDENTS USED IN THIS STORY ARE PURELY FICTIONAL AND ARE NOT BASED ON ANY PERSON AND/OR PERSON'S ACTUAL EXPERIENCES.

Title: Paramedics need love too.

Author: Robin R. Neher

E-mail: NRobin1027@aol.com

Rating: PG

Pairing: N/A

Archive: Yes

Fandom: Emergency!

Summary: Roy is driven from his bedroom after Joanne refuses him sex.

Content Warning: Harsh Language.

Paramedics Need Love Too.
By Robin R. Neher

Roy DeSoto was mad as he carried a pillow downstairs to his living room.

"Roy, I'm tired, can't you understand that?" Joanne asked him.

"I understand. I understand that my wife won't love me." Roy answered.

"Just because I don't wanna make love right now doesn't mean that I don't love you." Joanne DeSoto offered.

"You haven't wanted to make love since Roy, Jr. was born." Roy shot back. "I'm feeling a little put off."

"Roy, look, between you and our baby boy up there, I'm tired. Taking care of a newborn is draining." Joanne countered.

"Honey, I realize that." Roy replied. "But you have a husband that needs some attention too."

Joanne sighed as she followed her husband downstairs.

"Well, maybe if you'd lift a finger to help with the baby, I might just be more in the mood!" Joanne hissed.

"It's not just the new baby, Jo! I feel as if you no longer want me!" Roy hissed back.

"Well, Mister, you might just be right!" Joanne whispered. "How can I want a man who behaves like a little boy?! Maybe I would be more receptive if you would stop demanding sex so much!"

"And just what does that mean?!" Roy demanded.

"Will you keep it down?!" Joanne whispered, hotly. "Roy, I don't wanna make love right now and I may not for awhile to come! Either get used to the idea or you can sleep down here!"

"Fine!" Roy hissed. "The couch would be warmer then you are anyway!"

With that, Roy put his pillow and a blanket on the sofa as Joanne went back upstairs. He then settled in for the night and was soon asleep.

*****

The next morning, Roy walked into the kitchen as Joanne was preparing Roy, Jr's bottle.

"Honey, what do you say we call your Sister to watch the kids and we go out for a night on the town?" Roy suggested. "I can make some reservations for us at the Starlight Inn."

"Roy, no." Joanne answered as she took the bottle of formula from the microwave and tested it on her wrist. "Mommy's comin, Little Roy!"

A crushed Roy, Sr. could only watch as Joanne took the bottle and went upstairs to see to their Son. Roy sighed as he went to the telephone one the wall and dialed.

"Cap?" Roy said into the phone. "Roy DeSoto here. Do you still need someone to fill in for Burt Dwyer?..... Good, I'm on my way there."

"On your way where?" Joanne asked as she came down with two week old Roy DeSoto, Jr. in her arms.

"I'm gonna fill in for Dwyer on B-Shift." Roy answered.

"Fine," Joanne shrugged.

Roy just stared at her a minute, then left his house for station fifty-one.

*****

Hours later, as Roy, Jr was taking his nap, Dixie McCall dropped by for a visit.

"Where's big Roy at?" Dix asked as she entered the house.

"At the station. I think I hurt his feelings." Joanne answered. "Roy was wanting S-E-X last night and I was tired."

"He didn't take it very well." Dix guessed.

"He spent the night on the couch. Look, with a two week old Son to care for, you don't have much energy for anything else." Joanne explained.

Dix nodded.

"I don't mean for my husband to feel neglected." Joanne sat as she and the head nurse of Rampart's ER took seats on her couch.

"Jo, a baby needs alot of attention at this stage." Dixie reminded her. "At the same time, the baby's father needs some love too."

"I know, but when you're caring for the baby all day, there's nothing left for you, much less anyone else. Roy just can't understand that though. He thinks

that child care is a picnic." Joanne sighed. "Why did I let him talk me into a third child? I should've just told him no when he started talking about it."

"Maybe he wanted to have a namesake while he still had the chance." Dix offered. "It's hard to see your kids grow up."

"With Chris soon on his way to college and Jen in her Senior year of high school, It's hard to see your kids not babies anymore. You begin to miss all that." Jo realized. "And in a job like my husband's, you miss alot of that."

"He nearly died in that house fire a few months back." Dixie recalled.

"That's when all the talk of having another baby started." Joanne recalled. "We started talking about it at the burn center as Roy was recovering. It never occurred to me then how much he missed with Chris and Jen."

"Now that the baby's here and you're busy with him, I'll just bet that his Daddy feels a little left out."

"It is true that Mom does a majority of the care early on. I'm breast feeding this one, so the care is mostly my job." Jo admitted.

"And leaves Big Roy out in the cold." Dix finished.

Joanne got up and began pacing.

"I told him last night that he could sleep on the couch if he couldn't be understanding about the new baby." Jo told Dixie. "This morning, I come down and hear him offering to fill in at 51's. I never thought that he felt unwanted, unloved."

"Maybe not unloved, but neglected." Dix said. "Jo, it's okay to put the baby first, but it's not okay to put your husband last."

Taking her friend's advice, Joanne dropped off Roy, Jr. at her Sister's a couple hours later, then went to station fifty-one to talk with Roy. She was relieved to find the squad there and the engine gone. She entered through the apparatus room.

"Joanne, what are you doing here? Where's the baby?" Roy asked. "Is he okay?"

"He's at Irene's." Jo replied. "I left him with her so we could talk."

"Sure." Roy replied. "Let's go in the office."

Joanne followed as Roy led her into the Captain's office. She shut the door as she entered.

"Honey, I can't begin to tell you how foolish I was last night." Roy said. "I acted like an ass and I'm sorry."

"We both did." Jo replied. "Roy, I know that having the baby around is just as hard for you as it is me. Having a new baby around is an adjustment for everyone in the family. It's no suprise that you feel neglected right now."

"Jo, I do feel neglected, but I'll work through it." Roy assured his wife. "You have enough to deal with now without me making it worse."

"Honey, in a few weeks, we'll get the baby's routine down and he'll sleep through the night. Until then, you're just gonna have to be patient and understanding." Jo purred.

"Jo, I'll try, but it won't be easy." Roy told her. "I feel as if I'm on the back burner here. I hate to admit this, but I'm jealous of my own Son!"

"You don't have any reason to be." Joanne countered.

"Jo, please don't tell me I'm acting like a child." Roy asked of her.

"Even though you are." Joanne countered.

"Dammit, Joanne!" Roy yelled. "I just wanna make love to my wife!"

"And I don't want to be made love to right now!" Joanne yelled. "No means no, Roy!"

"Fine!" Roy hissed. "It's clear you don't wanna be a wife-"

"Just a minute, Buster!" Joanne exploded. "First, being a wife does not mean that my legs should be your personal seven eleven! I have a right to refuse sex if I want to! Second, if you're so damn horny, use your hand or go to a damn

strip joint! I have kids to take care of and I don't have the time or the energy for you to hump me like a damn dog! The baby comes first, Mister, and if you ain't smart enough to understand that, then maybe you just aren't man enough for me!"

Roy slumped on to the squad as Joanne then left the station. As he sat there, hurt filled his heart.

"Roy? What's all the shouting about?" Asked B-Shift Paramedic Wayne Lyons. "Roy?"

"My wife just told me I wasn't man enough for her." Roy answered.

"Roy, I've become a father twice and I know what you're going through." 6'1 Wayne told him. I do think you acted a bit childishly just now."

"I did." Roy admitted. "I need love too."

******

After a restless night at the station, Roy came to a decision. When he got home the next morning, he moved his stuff into the guest bedroom.

"Roy, you don't have to do this." Joanne reached out to him.

"Yes, I do." Roy countered as he moved the last of his clothes and belongings from the bedroom he and his wife shared.

"Honey, if it's what was said at the station." Jo began.

"It's not." Roy was quick to assure her. "I just need some time to think."

"About?" His wife prompted.

"It's hard to explain." Roy told her.

"Try." Joanne encouraged.

Roy paced the floor for a minute, collecting his thoughts. He then faced Joanne.

"Jo, when you said that I wasn't man enough for you-" Roy began.

"That wasn't-" Joanne protested.

"Just listen to me, Please?" Roy requested.

Joanne shut up as her husband continued.

"When you said those words to me, they hurt." Roy told her. "They hurt cause it was you that said them. You're supposed to love and understand me. What you said at that station made me wonder if you knew me at all."

"Honey, I-" Jo stammered.

"I'm a man, Joanne. Like all men, I have a penis and testicles and like all men, I put on a tough act sometimes, but this time, I just can't. It's been two weeks since we brought our boy home from Rampart. I know that he was a preemie and had to stay in the NICU for awhile. I watched too as he struggled to live in those first days. I know too that watching that was painful for you." Roy whispered.

Joanne turned away from Roy.

"It was painful for me too, Hon." Roy told his wife. "With you though, it seems the pain of those first hours and days with Roy Junior has not lessened."

Joanne spun around, her blue eyes flashing.

"What the hell do you know?!" Joanne demanded. "You didn't have to lay there in that OR, blood coming out of you while a baby was coming so fast the doctor had no time to scrub! You didn't lay on that table, hoping and praying for that baby to cry! Don't you dare stand there and tell me you know what it's like to hear the doctor talking about a hysterectomy because they can't stop the bleeding!"

Roy stumbled back and sank on to the king size bed.

"And you had the nerve to ask me to make love after all that?!" Jo screamed at Roy. "Well, Buster, here's what you can do with your stupid penis!"

Roy was helpless as she unzipped his pants, then rezipped them, catching some of his cock as she did so.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!" Roy screamed in pain.

"I'll neuter you myself if you ask me to make love again!" Joanne warned as Roy got up and limped his way from the bedroom.

***

"Almost got it, now, Roy." Dr. Joe Early said a few minutes later at Rampart hospital.

"Ouch!" Roy yelled in pain for what seemed like the umpteenth time as Early cut away the last of the stuck zipper.

"There," The silver haired surgeon smiled. "You've got a few lacerations here that need to be sewn up. Dix, get me a suture tray."

"Right, Joe." Dix nodded, then left the treatment room.

"Now, I'd like to know how a grown man got himself caught in a zipper." Joe said to the Paramedic on the gurney.

"You can thank Joanne." Roy hissed. "I tried to get her to make love, but she zipped me in response. It's been two weeks since the baby was born, yet I can't even broach the subject of sex to her without her going off on me."

"I see." Early nodded.

"Doc, she threatened to neuter me if I asked again." Roy told the doctor.

"Neuter you?" Joe laughed.

"That's what she said, Honest." Roy replied. "Doc, man to man, is there something wrong with me?"

"No." The kind doctor reassured Roy. "Joanne just has her hands full with your namesake and your two older kids. Between the three of them, she has to be pretty exhausted by the end of the day."

"I forgot how tiring caring for a newborn is." Roy admitted.

"This one needs alot of extra care too." Joe reminded the Paramedic.

"That's true," Roy nodded.

"I'll just bet that you feel as if Jo's put you on the back burner." Early guessed.

"Not anymore." Roy told the doctor as Dixie McCall returned with the suture tray.

"Okay, Roy, you know the drill. Drape, numb, stitch." Early said.

Roy nodded as Dixie handed Joe a syringe with numbing medicine in it

"You're gonna feel a pinch and a burn." Dr. Early said............

****

"There." Early told Roy a few minutes later. "Fifteen beautiful stitches."

"Thanks." Roy grinned as he put on some surgical scrub pants to wear home.

***

When Roy returned home an hour later, he encountered his wife as she was feeding his Son.

"Hi," She greeted. "Where've you been?"

"The hospital." Roy answered. "I now have fifteen stitches in me."

"Roy, we'll talk later." Jo replied.

"Now." Her husband insisted. "What the hell were you thinking?! You never pinch a man's anatomy in his zipper!"

"I had to! You just wouldn't drop the subject! Dammit, Roy, I don't wanna make love right now, Okay?! I'm sorry if that hurts your macho pride, but I'm just not in the mood!" Jo hissed so as not to disturb the child at her breast. "I don't know why, but I'm not in the mood!"

"Okay, but where does that leave me?" Roy asked.

"Roy-" Joanne sighed.

"Where does that leave your husband?" Roy asked again.

"Dad, not in front of the baby, Huh?" Eighteen year old Jenny DeSoto interceded as she came downstairs. "Hey, Little Roy."

"Jenny, can I see you a minute? In the kitchen?" Roy requested of his daughter.

"Sure, Dad." Jenny smiled.

Roy led the way from the front room and into the DeSoto's kitchen through a swinging door.

***

"Dad, how could you?!" Jenny tore into her father once the door swung shut behind them. "That lady out there just had a baby! Your baby! Yet, you have the nerve to demand sex?!"

"Jenny-" Roy stammered.

"I know, I haven't been fucked in eight months!" The young woman sneered. "Dammit, she just underwent a very traumatic birth two weeks ago! Roy Jr. just came home two days ago! That's a hell of an adjustment to make! The last thing she needs is you wanting to make another baby!"

"Okay, you're right." Roy gave in. "It's just that I miss her!"

"Who?" Jenny asked.

"Your mother." Roy replied.

"What are you taking about?" Jenny demanded.

"What I mean is I miss here and I making love. I miss our evening walks. I miss cuddling as we watch TV. I miss our romantic dinners and our weekend getaways. Ever since Roy Jr. was born, all her attention is on him." Roy told his daughter.

"In other words, you're lonely." Jenny understood.

"Sounds dumb, Huh?" Roy grinned.

"Not really." Jenny replied. "Little Roy was an accident. He was unplanned, so were all the complications Mom had while she was pregnant with him. Because of those complications, Mom was confined to bed through most of the pregnancy. Then, when he was born, he had medical problems of his own and still does need more care than other babies. As a result, most of Mom's love and attention has to be his."

"Jenny. what's wrong with me?" Roy wondered. "I should be happy. I'm a father again."

"Dad, I'm gonna give you the straight dope on your problem." Jenny decided. "It's not that mysterious, you know. The simple fact of it is that you feel put off."

"Put off?" Roy repeated.

"That's right." The high school Senior stated. "How many times have you missed anniversaries and dinners with Mama cause of your job? How many times have you had to take a raincheck cause you were called into work?"

"That's not the same!" Roy argued.

"Isn't it?" Jenny countered. "You can dish it out, but you can't take it. You're the waiting one now, Dad and that just eats you up. How do you like being the waiter, Dad?"

With that, the eighteen year old went to see her baby brother while Roy sank into a kitchen chair and buried his head in his hands.

"I'm such an ass." Roy said to himself. "I'm such an ass."

****

Later that night, Roy knocked on his bedroom door. He then opened the door and peeked inside.

"Can I come in?" Roy whispered so as not to disturb his Son, who slept in a crib nearby,

"Quietly." Joanne answered.

Roy smiled as he tiptoed into the room and sat down a tray on the nightstand. On it was dinner for two and two glasses of red wine.

"Roy, you did all this for me?" Joanne smiled as Jenny came in and removed the baby to her room for the night, shutting the door behind her as she left.

"Jenny agreed to watch Roy, Jr. tonight so we could have some us time." Roy explained. "Honey, I've been acting like a jerk and I'm sorry. Forgive me?"

Roy held out a white rose from behind his back.

"Honey, you have nothing to apologize for. I do." Joanne replied. "I should not have hurt you earlier. You're a man and have every right to have the needs that all men have. I've been pushing you away and I'm sorry."

With that, she took the rose from Roy and placed it on the nightstand.

"Thank you." She grinned, then reached for the covers on the plates.

Lifting them, she saw each contained slices of roast beef and boiled potatoes, along with steamed carrots. She then handed her husband a glass of wine, then picked up her own glass, lifting it high in a toast.

"To my husband. I'm a lucky woman to have him." Joanne smiled.

"To my wife. My love, my life, my all." Roy smiled, returning the favor. "You look beautiful tonight."

"Roy, I'm in my nightgown!" Jo snorted. "My hair's a mess!"

"So? You're always beautiful to me." Roy smiled, then leaned over to kiss her.

"Roy, hold it." Joanne turned away. "Why do I get the feeling that you're just doing this for sex?"

"Honey, I-" Roy stammered.

"Roy, thank you for the rose and the nice dinner, but I just don't have the energy to make love. It's not you love, it's me." Jo told him. "Having a new baby is tiring. Taking care of one just drains you."

"Honey, I understand how you feel, but I'm your husband. I don't mean to sound demanding, but I have needs too. I'm feeling like you're not in love with me
anymore."

Jo gasped as Roy got up to leave.

"Look, enjoy the dinner and the rose." Roy told her. "I'll stay away if that's what you want and need for now."

With that, Roy left the bedroom. Joanne was relieved once the door was closed behind him

Outside, Roy went into the guest room and packed a few days worth of clothes into a suitcase. As he left the bedroom, he bumped into Jenny as she was coming out to get herself a glass of water.

"Dad?" She asked.

"Honey, your Mom is tired right now and doesn't wanna be with me, so I'm going to a motel for a few days." Roy told his daughter. "I'll see you in a few days, Sweetie."

With that, Roy left the house and Jenny went to the phone in the kitchen and dialed Johnny Gage's home number.

"Johnny?......Jenny DeSoto......Can you have talk with Dad?....Yeah, I know it's getting late, but he seems so miserable since the baby came home. He just left for the motel....Yeah, the usual one.........."

END PART 11