Copyright: December 2000 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: The Price Of A Prank.

Author: Robin R. Neher

Rating: PG

Pairing: N/A

Summary: In this missing scene from "The Indirect Method", Chet is punished for his prank on Karen Overstreet.

Archive: Yes .

Content Warning: Some harsh language.

THE PRICE OF A PRANK

by Robin R Neher

The crew of station 51 looked at Chet Kelly as he lay on the kitchen floor as Karen glared at him, then stormed toward Cap's office, where she banged on the door.

"Come in!" Captain Hank Stanley called.

"Captain Stanley, what kind of station are you running here!?" Karen demanded. "Do you know what Fireman Kelly just did out there?! He collapsed on the floor and pretended to be unconscious!"

"Miss Overstreet, if you'll just calm down,-" Hank stammered.

"No! I will not calm down!" Karen yelled. "Is this the way you train your men?! Is this the way you lead them?!"

"I-I." Hank stammered.

"I think I'll just report you and your entire crew to the Chief!" Karen ranted. "I'd like to hear what the Chief has to say about this!"

"Karen, Chet will be dealt with." Hank assured her. "This station does not normally play these types of pranks."

"Captain, you'll just side with Kelly, I know it!" Karen yelled. "I know what a boy's club this is!"

"Now you hold on a minute, Lady!" Roy DeSoto yelled.

"Stay out of this, Fatso!" Karen yelled, then slammed the door in Roy's face.

"Karen, that was uncalled for!" Hank yelled. "I'm the Captain of this station and I'll deal with the guys as I see fit! If you don't like it, then there's the door! In this station, it's my way or the highway, got it?"

"Perfectly." Karen replied. "I'm the woman, so my complaint doesn't matter!"

Karen turned and stormed out of the office and past Roy and the rest.

"Karen, Chet didn't mean any harm!" Johnny argued as she stormed out back. "He was just having a little fun!"

"You boys are gonna find out that your fourth grade lockeroom humor is not acceptable in a fire station! You won't be laughing when Chief McConnikee learns of this!" Karen hissed. "You guys deserve each other!"

All the guys flinched as the back door slammed behind Karen.

"I'd better go apologize to her." Chet sighed.

"Chet, you've done enough damage for one shift!" Johnny growled. "Thanks to you, she thinks we're all just a bunch of practical jokers!"

"Chet, I think you'd better lay low for awhile." Roy agreed. "Make yourself as scarce as possible."

Chet sighed as he walked into the dorm.

"Roy, what are we gonna do?" Mike Stoker asked. "She's threatening to go to McConnikee!"

"We're going strictly by the book for the remainder of her time here!" Roy told the others. "Maybe if we act appropriately from here on out, Karen won't go to the Chief."
___________________________________________________

Cap left his office and went to find Chet. Chet shook at the sight of his Captain coming toward him. Chet knew he'd gone too far this time as Cap glared at him.

"You son of a bitch!" Hank hissed as he shut dormitory door. "Thanks alot for getting us all in trouble! Overstreet has threatened to go to McConnikee!"

"Cap, it was just a prank!" Chet defended himself.

"Chet, you're gonna pay this time and I don't mean latrine duty!" Hank yelled. "This time, I'm bringing you before a trial board. Behavior unbecoming a firefighter! Chet, I asked you all
to welcome this trainee and this is how you treat her? What am I running, a kindergarten?! What do you think this trainee must think of me as a commander now?!"

Chet hung his head in shame.

"Chet, if and when McConnikee shows up, I don't wanna see any trace of you here! You are hereby suspended indefinitely without pay!" Hank roared.

Chet handed Hank his badge and walked toward the lockeroom. Hank grabbed the Irishman and shoved him outside.

"Just get out! I'll have Gage or DeSoto bring you your stuff later!" Hank yelled. "Just get outta my sight!"

A crying Chet got into his car and drove away from the station, not sure if he'd ever return.

______________________________________

Going back inside, Hank decided to do some damage control.

"Everybody fall in!" Cap commanded. "I want you all at attention! You too, Overstreet!"

All lined up in the kitchen and sprang to.

"Men, women are coming into our department whether we like it or not! We owe it to women like Miss Overstreet here to treat her with equality and respect!" Cap told them. "Miss Overstreet, on behalf of station fifty-one, I'd like to issue an apology for Firefighter Kelly's earlier conduct. It was both unprofessional and inappropriate for someone in such a
position."

"Captain, with all due respect, I cannot accept that apology. You see, I knew it would be tough doing a male dominated job, but I at least expected for you men to have at least a little respect for me." Karen said. "You men seem to think that women shouldn't do this job! I completed paramedic training, just like Gage and DeSoto, yet all I get is a childish prank in return for my trouble!"

"Karen, please don't think we're all like Chet." Johnny pleaded.

"Firefighter Gage, SHUT UP!" Karen yelled. "In my shoes, what would you all believe? You were trainees too once. Captain Stanley, I hear you're studying for your Chief's test. Let me ask you this, after what happened here today, do you honestly think you should be promoted? From my standpoint, you can't even command the men you have. How in the world are you gonna handle a Battalion?"

___________________________________________________

"Roy DeSoto, senior medic!" Karen hissed. "Why don't you muzzle Johnny? He is the most obnoxious, idiotic big mouth I've ever met!"

"Karen, enough!" Roy yelled. "Ever since you walked through that door, you've had nothing but complaints! Karen, Chet was wrong and yes, he should be sanctioned, but he really didn't hurt
you! I think the reason you're mad is that nobody respects you! Karen, respect is a two way street, you have to respect us too! Cap was kind enough to let you join us and this is how you
repay him?"

"Karen, Captain Stanley is one of the best Captains you could ever work for!" Johnny added. "Who are you to doubt his command abilities? One little joke and you assume he's a bad Captain! Why don't you lose the attitude and try listening and learning for a change?"

"Karen, if you don't like it here, you can leave." Cap added. "Nobody's forcing you to stay here!"

"Alright." Karen replied. "You've made your views clear. You boys can have your little club. I won't be a part of it! Who was I to think I could be a medic?"

Karen got up, grabbed her purse and walked out of the station. The next thing the crew heard was her car engine starting, then Karen driving away.
________________________

The next day found Karen back on the job at Rampart as a nurse. Dixie noticed and approached her.

"How come you're not at 51's?" Dix asked.

"Dixie, I give up trying to be a medic! How can I be one in the boy's club?" Karen replied. "Dixie, there is no way to be a medic if you're a woman! I'll just settle for nursing!"
___________________________________________________

"Karen, the whole purpose of this was to see if it was possible for a woman to be a Paramedic. Nobody said it would be easy." Dix said. "Karen, if you give up now, those boys in the fire
department will say I told you so to me. Karen, work with Roy and Johnny, not against them."

"Dix, Chet Kelly is the worst offender!" Karen told her boss.

"I heard about what he did and while it was unprofessional, there's no need to make a federal case out of it either. Karen, Cap apologized, let it go!" Dix told her.

"If I let it slide, then the others will think it's okay to do what Chet did!" Karen argued. "As for Cap, he shouldn't be allowed to command a garbage truck much less a fire station!"

"Karen, that's not fair!" Dix yelled.

"Dix, the guy hasn't an authoritarian bone in his body!" Karen raged. "If he'd come out of his office, he'd see what a shambles that station is!"

Before Dix could say anymore, a call light came on in a patient's room.

"I'll take care of it." Karen said, then headed off down the hall. Dix sighed in frustration as she contemplated her next move.
__________________________________

Back at the station, Chief McConnikee and Cap were talking in Cap's office. The Chief was not happy.

"Hank, In view of what happened here today, I'd like you to hold off on your Chief's test til next year." The Chief said. "Your men will all get reprimands in their records."

"Yes, Sir." Hank replied. "Chief, Chet was the one who played that joke. The others had nothing to do with it."

"Hank, if one person does something, in the victim's mind, they all did it." The Chief replied. "Kelly, with his prank, made his whole station look bad. He will face a trial board."

"Sir, I apologized to her." Hank said.

"Hank, Overstreet was embarrassed and humiliated by Kelly. Why should she accept an apology from you? She wants one from Chet." McConnikee said.

"Chief, Chet won't give in that easily." Hank replied. "He'd rather lose his job first."

"He just may anyway." The Chief reminded Hank. "I've been getting heat from women's groups to fire Chet. Overstreeet's been whining to them all."

"Oh great!" Hank griped. "Don't tell me the department's bowing to political pressure!"

"Hank, we may have to. You have to understand that these groups have alot of clout. They could ruin us all!" McConnikee replied. "Hank, Chet is still young. He can always do something
else."
______________________________

Chet, meanwhile, sat alone at the Smoke Eater bar, drinking. Chet had never been so fearful for his job and his childhood dream.

Me and my stupid prank! Chet thought to himself. All I ever wanted to be was a fireman and now that dream may be destroyed because of a stupid, childish prank!

"Hey, Chet, getting bombed isn't gonna help." Joe the bartender said.

"People just don't have a sense of humor anymore." Chet sobbed.

"Hello, Chet." Karen Overstreet said from behind. "No, I don't have any sense of humor when it comes to stunts like the one you pulled. Chet, Imagine you get toned out to an unconscious
person. When you get there, that person sits up and says, Sorry, it was all a joke! How would you feel? Chet, when a person does that, it takes medics and firefighters away from people
who really need them! When a fireman does that, it makes me wonder if that fireman belongs on that job. Chet, if you lose your job, maybe you'll think before playing that type of prank again."

"Here's your sandwich, Karen." Joe said.

"What's the damage, Joe?" Chet asked.

"A buck seventy-five." Joe replied.

Chet reached into his pocket and paid for the food.

"Thank you, Kelly." Karen said, then left the bar with her food.

___________________________________________________

The next day, Karen Overstreet returned to station fifty-one, much to the guy's suprise.

"Miss Overstreet," A startled cap stammered.

"May I have your attention, Please?" Karen requested. "I've decided to give you boys another chance, but there are gonna be some rules. Captain Stanley, you will make these rules
mandatory. First, all lockeroom humor will cease. You guys can find other ways to entertain yourselves. Captain, you and your men will not make any degrading remarks about women."

"Karen," Johnny tried to intervene.

Karen glared Johnny into silence.

"Guys, Karen's right. We are representatives of LA County. It's time we started acting with dignity. Johnny, will you give Miss Overstreet a tour of the station?" Cap asked.

"Yes, Sir!" Johnny barked, coming to attention and saluting.

After the tour was done, Karen approached Cap.

"Captain Stanley, I apologize to you and your crew. It was Chet that played that joke, yet, I blamed all of you." Karen said. "I'll admit that my demeanor hasn't helped any. I should've known to expect some pranks."

"Karen, I'm the one who should be apologizing. I realize that maybe I'm not ready to be a Chief yet. McConnikee and I agreed that I'll wait til next year to take the exam. I should've known Chet would pull something."

"How could you have. You're not a mind reader, Cap." Karen smiled.

"But I know Chet's history." Hank told her.

"Cap, stop blaming yourself. Chet's to blame, not you. Let's put this all behind us and go about the business of saving lives." Karen grinned, patting Cap's shoulder.

_________________________________

For Chet Kelly, forgiveness was not to be that easy. In a few days, he was to face a trial board of his peers. Chet knew that if he lost, he would face the shame of being drummed out the
department. At the same time, Chet knew that Cap had a right to be mad. He had made his commander as well as his fellow firemen look bad.

Chet wished there was a way for him to negotiate to keep his job. Chet knew he had to meet with McConnikee.

___________________________________________________

The next day found a sober Chet at headquarters, waiting to meet with Chief McConnikee.

"Mr. Kelly, you can go in now." Said Agnes, the Chief's secretary said after twenty minutes.

Chet got up and nervously made his way into the Chief's office. Chief McConnikee glared at Chet from behind his desk.

"What do you want, Kelly?!" The Chief demanded.

"Well, Sir," Chet stammered. "I-I was hoping there was a way to work this out without a trial board."

"No way!" The Chief growled. "This time, you went too far and you will pay! What you did was both asinine and downright childish! You made the department look like a nursery school! Chester, you've done this time and time again! You just never learn, do you?!"

"Chief, what can I do?" Chet asked. "I know what I did was wrong!"

"Just like when you caused John Gage to break both legs when you put wax all over the bay floor?! Do you think at all, Kelly?! You got a screw loose somewhere!?" The Chief yelled. "Do you think of the consequences at all when you play a joke?"

The Chief didn't wait for Chet to answer before continuing.

"You know something? You're right. Why waste time with a trial board? I can deal with you right now!" McConnikee said. "The way I see it, you have two choices. You can either turn in your resignation or face a trial board."

"Sir, I've wanted to be a fireman all my life!" Chet sobbed. "I don't want to lose my dream!"

"You should've thought of that before you played that prank on Miss Overstreet!" The Chief said. "Chet, the fire service is a public agency. How we behave in and out of uniform has a ripple effect through the whole department. Chet, you are one person and you can always do something else."

"Sir, I'll do anything if you just let me keep my job!" Chet pleaded. "Anything you ask!"

"Well," McConnikee softened. "I think you can do something for Miss Overtreet to make up for your actions."
___________________________________________

TWO DAYS LATER.........

"More tea, Cap?" Karen asked Hank.

"Yes, Please." Cap smiled.

"Oh, Chester!" Karen called.

"Yes, Ma'm?" Chet asked, coming out of fifty-one's kitchen with a silver tray and dressed in a tux.

"More tea please, Pal." Cap requested.

Chet poured tea into Hank's cup from a kettle on the stove.

"One lump or two?" Chet asked.

"Hey, Chet, where's my badge? I asked you to shine it two days ago!" Johnny told him.

"Where's my socks that I asked you to darn?" Roy added.

A whole year of being these guy's servant! I guess it's just the price of a prank! Chet thought as he wrote down the guy's demands.

THE END