Title: A Halloween Night To Remember

Author: Shadows Falling

Fandom: Emergency!

Pairing: Johnny Gage/ Roy DeSoto

Rating: SLASH/ NC-17

CONTENT WARNING: This story depicts a loving HOMOEROTIC relationship between two men and GRAPHIC CONSENTUAL SEX. No violence. If you find such material offensive, please do not read further.

Status: New, complete

Archive: Yes, if you have a place for this- it’s sort of seasonal.

Series/Sequel: None

Other websites: Not sure yet.

Notes: This story is a mixture, sort of a slash/gen/humor blend. I hope you like it.

Summary: Johnny is seeing something at Station 51. His shift mates think he has lost his marbles.

Disclaimers: COPYRIGHT October, 2000 BY: Shadows Falling

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 OWN WARPED 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

By Shadows Falling

It was Halloween night at Station 51, and Johnny was miserable. It was late, about 1:30 a.m., and he was still wide-awake. He had a heavy cold. The congestion in his head made it feel as heavy as a wrecking ball as he lay on the pillow, staring at the clock on the far wall. He felt like someone was sitting on his chest, and he wheezed ever time he drew a breath. His throat was raw, his head ached and his ears were clogged. At the moment he could only breathe through one nostril, and he hated that feeling. He pulled his blankets up around his neck and shivered as he tried to burrow down into the mattress. He had been running a low-grade fever for two days now, and he just couldn’t get warm enough.

Johnny had refused to stay at home, insisting that he was well enough to work his shift. When he and Roy had brought a patient into Rampart earlier in the day, Roy and Dixie cornered him in Treatment Room 2 and made him stay until Dr. Brackett could come in and check him over. Kel found that his chest was congested, his sinuses were infected, and fluid was building up in his ears. Ignoring Johnny’s claims that he was just having a minor allergy attack, Kel prescribed a decongestant/antihistamine/expectorant that tasted like brake fluid, to be taken once every four hours. Then Kel gave him two injections, one in each butt cheek. He got one injection of B-12 and one of gamma-globulin to boost his immune system. Johnny’s rear end ached and burned where Kel had injected the thick, viscous liquids, and it hurt no matter what position he tried to lie in. He looked over longingly at the bunk next to his. Roy was sound asleep, snuggled comfortably under his blanket. Johnny was thinking how much warmer and more comfortable he would be snuggled up next to Roy. He wanted to feel Roy’s arms around him, and to bury his aching head into Roy’s soft, furry chest, letting the sound of his lover’s heartbeat lull him to sleep. He could hear the other four men snoring peacefully, and seriously considered creeping over into Roy’s bed for a cuddle, but that was too risky. He wheezed and snuffled sadly, and turned his head to cough into the pillow so as not to wake his shift mates.

Not all of A-Shift knew that he and Roy were lovers. Only Hank and Mike knew, as they had accidentally discovered them early one morning, engaged in a passionate kiss in the dormitory. The two paramedics hadn’t heard Hank and Mike come in, and for an agonizing few minutes they thought that their careers with the fire department were over. Fortunately, after the initial shock wore off, Hank and Mike accepted the situation, and agreed to keep their secret. Chet and Marco strongly suspected that something was going on, but Johnny and Roy were not quite ready yet to divulge their secret, especially to Chet. Chet was already torturing Johnny on a regular basis with his pranks, and Johnny just didn’t want to give him any more ammunition right now.

Johnny looked at the clock. It was now 2:15 a.m., and time for him to go and get another dose of brake fluid. He got up and shuffled into the latrine.

"Ugh!" he thought to himself as the syrupy medication nearly made him gag. "This stuff is AWFUL!" He quickly swallowed some water in an attempt to rinse away the taste. It didn’t help.

He blew his nose and made his way back to his bunk, passing the door that led to the engine bay. There was a bright full moon out this chilly October night, and it cast it’s light through the bay windows, dimly illuminating the interior. As he passed, Johnny thought he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He froze and listened for signs of movement, but he heard nothing. Wanting to make sure that all was secure in the station, he silently opened the door to the bay, and poked his head in for a peek.

Johnny’s eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open as he saw the figure of a man in full turnout gear walking purposefully alongside the engine towards the front, then turning left and disappearing in front of the engine. He stepped back and closed the door as silently as he had opened it.

Johnny hurried to each bunk and quietly woke its occupant. "Wake up! There’s subone in da engine bay!" he wheezed. The five bleary-eyed men joined Johnny in a huddle behind the door leading to the bay.

"Are you sure, Johnny?" Hank asked nervously. Los Angeles usually had more than its fair share of problems on this night, so everyone took Johnny’s report very seriously.

"Yeah, Cab. He’s walking aroud id full turdoud gear beside da engine! He’s probably between da engine ad da squad, or id da kitchen!" Johnny croaked, trying to snuffle as quietly as possible. His nose was running like a faucet. Roy felt sorry for his stuffy lover, but he had to smile anyway. He thought that Johnny sounded cute like that.

"Should we go out there?" Marco whispered. "He could be armed."

"Did you hear anything, Johnny?" Hank asked.

"No, nod a soud. By ears are clogged, dough." Johnny replied.

"So is your brain," Chet commented. Johnny tried to respond to Chet’s comment, but wound up sneezing on him instead. Chet just looked disgusted and wiped his arm on Johnny’s shirt.

"Jeez, Gage, would you mind keeping your snot to yourself?" he complained. He scurried away as Johnny looked like he was going to sneeze again.

The six men sat crouched at the door and listened carefully for any sign of movement. They waited a full five minutes. Then Hank spoke.

"Ok, here’s the plan. I’m going to try and sneak out to take a look around. You guys stay here," he said.

"Why don’t you just send Gage?" Chet grinned. "He’s almost dead, anyway!"

"Shud ub, Ched!" Johnny choked, scowling at him.

"Are you kidding?" Marco said. "They’d hear him wheezing in San Diego!"

"Tanks a lot!" Johnny grumbled, his feelings slightly bruised. Roy placed a warm, comforting hand on Johnny’s shoulder.

"All of you, just stay put and for Pete’s sake be quiet! That’s an order!" Hank growled.

"I’m going with you," Mike stated adamantly. He and Hank had been busy lately, starting to build a little secret of their own, and Mike was not about to let Hank go into the bay without him. This was why they had accepted Johnny and Roy’s relationship so quickly. Only Johnny and Roy knew anything about it, so far.

Hank looked at Mike and nodded. The two men set off into the engine bay, creeping around, looking for any sign of an intruder. The bay was secure, so they moved into the storage area. The coast was clear in there, too. Everyone held their breath as Hank and Mike crept into the kitchen. If there were an intruder present, he would have to be either in there or in the dayroom. A few agonizing moments passed, and suddenly the lights went on in the kitchen.

"There’s nobody here! All is secure!" Hank called out. A collective sigh of relief- and one sneeze- rose from the dormitory as the men came out to join Hank and Mike in the kitchen.

Marco came in last. He had been checking all of the closets. "All of the turnout gear is still here, Cap. It must have been a ghost that Johnny saw!" he said jokingly.

"Good one, Gage!" Chet grunted, rubbing his eyes in the bright light. "What’s in that cold medicine you’re taking, anyway?"

"Leave him alone, Chet," Roy said, starting to become annoyed. "Johnny, are you SURE you saw something?"

"Yes, I’b sure!" Johnny argued. "I saw hib wid by own two eyes!" Johnny was feeling more than a little embarrassed at the moment. Everybody was looking at him like he had lost his mind. He certain that he had seen something, but nothing had been disturbed. Where could the man have gone? Then the rest of the crew started going back to the dorm, one by one. Soon he and Roy were left alone in the kitchen.

"Maybe that cold medicine packs a harder wallop than you realize," Roy said gently.

Johnny looked at Roy and croaked, "Bud I really did see hib, Roy! He was ride id frod of be!" He was shivering, standing in the kitchen in his underwear.

Roy put his arms around his lover and pulled him in close. "You sound awful, babe," Roy said as he rubbed Johnny’s back. "Do you feel as bad as you sound?"

"I feel rodden," Johnny snuffled miserably as he buried his face in Roy’s shoulder. "I wish we were hobe now, in our own bed. I’b cold, I cand breed, ad I ache all over."

Roy hugged him and softly kissed his neck and ears. "I’m sorry, Johnny. I shouldn’t have let you come back to the station from Rampart."

"Id’s nod your fauld. I was da one who wadded to work by shift," Johnny said as he snuggled in closer, "I’b ok, bud I’d give anyding to be able to go back to your bunk ride dow."

"I’d give anything to take you there," Roy whispered, smiling at him. "Come on back to bed. You need your rest."

"I deed YOU!" Johnny replied, coughing a little. He lifted his head and Roy kissed him. The kiss would normally have lasted much longer, but Johnny needed his mouth to breath through.

Roy led Johnny back to the dorm and the two men returned to bed. It was now 2:45 a.m. Soon everyone was sound asleep again, except poor Johnny. He had managed to doze off for a few minutes, but then his ear started to hurt, and he woke up and had to roll over. He sat up to rearrange his blankets and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the figure of a man walk from the bay into the dorm, up to the bunk where Hank slept.

Johnny panicked. He yelled as shot out of the bed, and ran up to Hank’s bunk, intent on stopping the intruder before he did any harm. The lights snapped on, temporarily blinding him, and he heard the other men rushing to join him. He reached the end of Hank’s bunk to find his startled captain staring at him, wide eyed.

"What do you think you’re doing, ya twit?" Hank said in surprise.

"I saw hib again, Cab! He walked in frob da bay ad wend straight to your bunk! I dought he was going to do subting!" Johnny stammered. He looked around, and everybody was staring at him suspiciously again.

"I saw hib! I swear!" Johnny cried. "I’b nod going crazy!"

"GOING crazy?" Chet grumbled. "You’ve been crazy for as long as I’ve known you!"

"Roy! You beliebe be, dode you?" Johnny pleaded. Before Roy could answer, Hank spoke.

"Roy, go in to the latrine and check out whatever it is that Brackett gave him, will you?" Hank was getting a little concerned. If Johnny was hallucinating, he was going back to Rampart, and that was that.

Roy came back with the bottle. "It’s nothing that should cause a problem, Cap," he reported.

"I’b telling you, I’b ok!" Johnny insisted, becoming very upset now.

Hank sighed and shut off the lights. "Ok, everybody back to bed. We have to get up in a couple of hours."

"Or a couple of minutes if Gage starts seeing things again!" Chet groused as he crawled back into his bunk.

Just then the claxons went off. "Engine 51. Trash fire. Riverdale and Main. Time out, 3:10."

The engine crew groaned in unison and clamored out into the bay. Roy turned out the lights again, grabbed an extra blanket, and went over to Johnny’s bunk. Johnny was sitting at the end with his head in his hands. Roy wrapped the blanket around him and sat down beside him in the dark.

"Dey tink I’b duts," Johnny said, wheezing. He was so upset. "I’b dot, Roy. I dough what I saw!"

"What exactly did you see, babe?" Roy asked, pulling him in close, brushing his lips gently through the dark hair.

"I saw a man…" Johnny started.

"Dressed in full turnout gear…" Roy finished for him.

"Dough! Dot dis tibe. He was in his udderwear," Johnny said.

"Was it the same man?" Roy asked.

"Yeah, I tink so," Johnny replied. "I saw hib, Roy. I really did. I’b nod crazy." He felt so frustrated. "I just dode dough what else to say. I cand explain id!" He looked up at Roy with the most pitiful expression on his face.

Roy thought for a moment that Johnny was going to cry. "Come on, babe. Lie down for me and let me relax you a little bit," he coaxed.

Johnny turned around and lay down on his stomach. Roy started rubbing the back of Johnny’s neck, moving down to massage his shoulders. Johnny just sighed. He had wanted to feel Roy’s touch all night, and Roy always knew exactly how to make him feel better. He laid there with his eyes closed as Roy worked his hands down his back, gently relaxing him, soothing him, caressing him.

Roy watched his hands glide over Johnny’s white cotton undershirt. He could feel the firm muscles beneath it, and the warmth of his lover’s body. Roy loved Johnny more than anything. There was nothing in the world that he would not do for him. Roy didn’t know how to solve Johnny’s immediate problem, but he did know how to make him feel much, much better. He decided that Johnny needed more than just a backrub.

He spent a good, long time working on Johnny’s back, paying extra attention to where it felt especially tight, and then let his hands slip down over Johnny’s ass. Johnny groaned and wriggled under Roy’s touch. Roy was careful to be gentle, mindful of the painful bruises the injections had caused. He used his index fingers to draw little patterns in the thin cotton of Johnny’s shorts until Johnny was moaning softly and grinding his hips into the mattress. Then Roy let his fingers slip down the back of Johnny’s thighs to the sensitive spots behind his knees, where he let his fingertips linger to tease. He parted Johnny’s legs a little, and then let his fingers wander up the insides of Johnny’s thighs. Johnny’s breath was becoming short and raspy now, and he was squeezing his eyes shut. When Roy reached the top of his thighs, he continued upward and gently stroked Johnny’s sac, outlining the small round bulge in the fabric with his fingers, then running them over his balls, stroking and caressing.

Johnny grabbed his pillow and buried his face in it, trying to stifle the involuntary moans and groans that he could no longer hold back. Roy was slowly and methodically driving him crazy. His cock was hard as a rock and he could feel the pre-cum starting to soak through the front of his shorts.

"Get up on you knees for me, love." Roy said gently.

Johnny complied. He stood on his knees with his ass in the air, still keeping his face buried in the pillow on the bed. Then Roy slowly lowered his shorts and started to tease him in earnest.

He started kissing and nibbling at Johnny’s ass cheeks. The silken lips and warm, wet tongue gliding over the tender flesh produced sensations that were absolutely maddening. Johnny frantically tried to push his ass back against Roy’s face, and he whimpered into the pillow as Roy licked and nibbled at him incessantly. Roy let his fingertips roam up and down Johnny’s inner thighs as he did this, and then left them to stroke and tease the tightening ball sac.

Johnny’s body was already starting to quiver. Roy could tease him like no other, driving him wild with each and every touch. Roy made love to Johnny like he was performing a delicate medical procedure. He always took his time. Every touch was carefully placed and precisely executed, designed to give the maximum pleasure. Johnny loved the look of concentration Roy had on his face whenever he did this. It made him feel special. No one had ever spent the time making love to him that Roy did, no one had ever cared so much about making it feel good.

In all of Johnny’s past relationships, his lovers always brought him to climax quickly, as if they were just trying to get it over with. Johnny would pour everything he had into trying to please his partner, but it was never, ever reciprocated. It made Johnny feel empty and used, unwanted and unloved. Roy was different. Roy would literally spend hours on Johnny, just touching him, stroking him, caressing him, and teasing him. Roy would think nothing of spending a whole afternoon with him in front of the TV, holding and cuddling him, as if there was nothing else in the world he’d rather do. Roy made Johnny feel the one thing that no one else had ever made him feel- that he mattered.

Roy slipped one hand between Johnny’s thighs and played with his cock, while he licked and nibbled the tight skin between Johnny’s ball sac and his ass. Johnny was bucking his hips back and forth, trying to fuck Roy’s hand as the tension inside him was building to an almost unbearable level. Roy knew that if he stroked Johnny’s cock now, he would come in a matter of seconds, so instead he just teased it using feather-light strokes of his fingertips. He let his fingers dance along up and down the steely shaft, lubricating them frequently with the generous supply of pre-cum that was leaking from the tip.

The myriad of sensations was driving Johnny crazy. His cock was throbbing, his heart was racing, and he could hear the blood pounding in his ears. The sweat was beginning to form damp spots on his undershirt. Johnny let out a long, passionate whine every time Roy caressed the swollen, purple tip of his cock to slick his fingers. It felt like every nerve in his body was centered in that ultra-sensitive tip.

"Roooy, oh god, pleeease…" he panted, begging for more.

Roy didn’t disappoint him. He slid the entire length of his thick, warm tongue up through the crevice of Johnny’s ass, beginning at the bottom. He slid it upwards with agonizing slowness, fully filling the entire crevice as he licked. He licked his lover with one steady stroke until the tip of his tongue exited the top of the crack. The he did it all over again, and again, and again. Meanwhile, he tortured the tip of Johnny’s cock, fingering it like a marble in oil. Johnny was writhing so much that Roy could hardly hang on, so he wrapped his free arm around one of Johnny’s thighs, and used his weight to hold him still.

Johnny couldn’t keep his face in the pillow any longer as Roy was expertly teasing him into oblivion. He was throwing his head back and gasping. His entire frame was quaking, and he was clawing the sheet right off of his bunk. His body was so sensitive now that every stroke of Roy’s fingers, every brush of his tongue sent shockwaves of pleasure through every fiber of his being.

Roy loved to see Johnny completely out of control like this. It thrilled him to know that he was giving Johnny such tremendous pleasure. He puckered his lips as if he were going to whistle and blew a warm, tight jet of air through Johnny’s crevice and down over his ball sac. He watched as Johnny’s body responded violently to that slight brush of air.

Johnny thrashed wildly and cried out as he felt the warm air glide over him. His love hole constricted and his balls pulled up close to his body. Then he felt the tip of Roy’s tongue at his tight little entrance, furiously rimming him. Then he felt the tip of Roy’s tongue relentlessly teasing the tiny opening. He could hardly stand it.

Roy knew Johnny was going to explode at any moment now, so he turned around and lay down on his back between Johnny’s legs, with Johnny’s body hovering over him. He grabbed Johnny’s pillow and stuffed it under his head, raising it up a bit. Then he carefully slipped one finger into Johnny’s love tunnel, and took Johnny’s throbbing cock into his mouth. He worked his finger in and out of Johnny’s ass, thoroughly seducing his prostate while he softly sucked and licked the tip of his cock. He used his free hand to gently stroke and tease the shaft, and also to keep Johnny’s frenzied thrusts from driving his cock too far down his throat.

Johnny was going wild, desperately trying to fuck his lover’s mouth. His vision was starting to go gray, and then it exploded into a tapestry of brilliant colors as he climaxed. He gritted his teeth and gave up a strangled scream as he sent his hot, white jet coursing down Roy’s eager throat. Roy sucked every last drop of cum from Johnny’s cock, skillfully taking him to completion.

Roy scooted his body upwards, still underneath, as Johnny started to collapse from sheer exhaustion. He let Johnny’s body crumble on top of his own, and wrapped his arms around his gasping lover, kissing him softly and rubbing his back as Johnny slowly regained his senses.

"Feel a little better babe?" Roy asked, squeezing Johnny tightly.

"Oh god, dat was good!" Johnny wheezed, still thoroughly congested. "Now whad aboud you?"

Roy smiled. He knew that Johnny was completely spent from coming so hard, never mind how much his cold and lack of sleep had taken out of him.

"I’ll take a rain check," Roy said as he gently cuddled him.

"You sure?" Johnny asked sleepily, barely keeping his eyes open. "I’ll take care of you if you wand be to, you dough I will."

Roy kissed him again. "I know. I’m ok, babe. You can return the favor when you’re feeling a little better." Roy was feeling just fine. He derived tremendous pleasure from making love to Johnny like that. It was pure satisfaction in itself. He really didn’t need anything else at the moment, except to hold Johnny in his arms.

Johnny smiled as he snuggled against the warmth of Roy’s body. "Tanks, Roy. I love you."

"I love you too. Try to get some sleep now," Roy soothed.

Johnny looked over at the clock to check the time. Suddenly, he gasped and his eyes opened wide.

"Roy?" he whispered nervously.

Roy tightened his grip on Johnny and whispered back, "I see him, Johnny! I see him too!"

Walking past the foot of their bed was the figure of a man in his blue fireman’s uniform. He stopped at the foot of the bed, looked at the two startled men staring back at him, and smiled. Then he turned and continued walking. Johnny and Roy sat up in the bed, and watched the man disappear into the wall.

"Dat’s hib! Dat’s the man!" Johnny squeaked, losing his voice.

"I don’t believe it!" Roy whispered.

"Ad least I’b dot the only one who saw hib. I tode you I wasn’t duts! You’ll tell the guys, won’t you, Roy?" Johnny said, thoroughly relieved that there was now someone to corroborate his story.

"Yeah, I’ll tell them babe," Roy whispered, still thoroughly shaken.

Roy stayed in Johnny’s bunk holding and stroking his lover until he finally fell asleep. He moved back to his own bunk when he heard the engine return. He decided to wait until morning to say anything, so that Johnny could get some much-needed rest. Now Roy was the one who was wide-awake.

When morning came, all of the men except Hank were sitting around the table having breakfast. Hank was outside talking with Captain Hookrader, who was going to sit in over B-Shift today. Roy confirmed Johnny’s story to the others.

"Are you serious, Roy? You saw him too?" Marco asked.

"Yep. He was standing right there in he dormitory smiling at us. Then he just walked straight into the wall. It was the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen!" Roy said.

"Uh, you weren’t sampling Johnny’s cold medicine, were you Roy?" Chet asked.

"Dough! He was just fide!!" Johnny retorted, still feeling terribly stuffy as he warmed his hands up on his cup of coffee.

"Wow! I’m going to be sleeping pretty lightly for awhile, I can tell you that!" Mike exclaimed. "You guys really think it was a ghost?"

Hank and Captain Hookrader walked into the kitchen just as Mike was speaking.

"Hey, Cap!" Chet exclaimed. "Roy saw Johnny’s ghost, too!"

Hank just sighed and rolled his eyes, but Hookrader stood stoned faced and silent. His stance and expression quieted the kitchen until one could have heard a ghost sneeze.

"You boys saw something last night?" Hookrader asked Johnny and Roy.

"Yeah. Johnny saw him first," Roy answered.

"What exactly did you see, Gage?" Hookrader asked, completely serious.

Johnny snuffled and squeaked as he recounted the previous nights events. Hookrader asked him to describe the man he saw in detail. Johnny did his best to be as specific as possible, while the rest of the crew just sat and listened. Finally Hookrader sat down and sighed.

"That was Captain Blackshaw you saw last night," he said solemnly.

"Captain who?" Hank asked.

"Captain Blackshaw. Captain Rick Blackshaw, a damned fine fireman if there ever was one!" Hookrader said, as Marco brought him a cup of coffee. The boys just looked at each other as Captain Hookrader went on.

"Rick Blackshaw was the captain of A-Shift here at Station 51 about 17 years ago. I served under him for 6 years. He was my first captain." Hookrader’s eyes misted over as he told the story.

"The fire department was his life. He loved it more than anything. He never married, never had a family or anything, he just totally devoted himself to his job He was one hell of a captain. Everybody loved him," Hookrader said. The rest of the boys sat silently, completely spellbound.

"It was 17 years ago last night when Captain Blackshaw lost his life in the line of duty. The station answered a call to a structure fire in a large, abandoned factory. The fire was out of control, and the battalion chief had ordered everyone out of the building. Captain Blackshaw was the last man out, as always. He always made sure that all of his men were out before he went out himself. That’s the kind of man he was. Anyway, as he was crossing the first floor, the building collapsed, sending him down into the basement under all the burning debris. We saw him go down. There was no way to save him. We all just hoped that he was dead before the flames got to him." Hookrader cleared his throat and stopped for a minute as his emotions started to choke him.

"Every now and then, on Halloween night, someone on duty at Station 51 will see him. I’ve seen him myself a couple of times over the years. It’s not something we like to talk about, because everybody looks at you like you’re a nut," Hookrader said.

"Yeah! I dough da feeling!!" Johnny piped up.

"SSSHHHH!" the men at the table said, telling Johnny to be quiet. They were totally engrossed in the story.

Hookrader grinned and went on. "This was Rick Blackshaw’s favorite place to be. He spent the happiest times of his life here. We figure that he just likes to come back and look in on things. He’s been seen reading in the dayroom, drinking coffee in the kitchen…"

"Wearing turdout gear in da engine bay…" Johnny interjected, only to be shushed again by his comrades.

Hookrader chuckled. "I guess he just likes to come back and pull a shift with us every now and then. You boys should consider yourselves honored that he decided to appear to you. Most of the men here never see him. We like to think of him as a good luck charm."

"Johnny here needs all the luck he can get!" Chet said, and everybody laughed, except Johnny.

"Looks like I owe you an apology, Gage. I thought it was your usual paranoia and basic insanity working overtime again," Chet said, patting Johnny on the shoulder. Johnny just coughed and glowered at him. Chet loved to needle the daylights out of his favorite pigeon, but deep down he thought a lot of Johnny, and was glad that his faculties were still intact. All of the boys were relieved that Johnny was now certified as reasonably sane, but they were a little nervous about pulling the next night’s shift.

"I guess we’ll all be getting a little less shuteye for awhile," Hank said.

"Don’t worry," Hookrader answered, "he only appears on the anniversary of his death. You have a whole year before you have to worry about seeing him again." He finished his cup of coffee, and got up to go into the captain’s office to wait for the rest of his shift to arrive. He paused at the doorway to the bay and looked across at the engine.

"You know," Hookrader said thoughtfully, "I think I’d like to see Captain Blackshaw one more time before I retire. He was a good man. I miss him." He took a deep breath and left the kitchen. The boys were silent as they watched him go. Such sentimentality was highly unusual for the old school, by-the-book captain.

Hank broke the silence. "Well, what do you think of that? We have ghost at Station 51. I wonder what he must have thought of us last night, sneaking around, trying to catch him in the kitchen!"

"We must have made some impression!" Chet observed. "Six men creeping around the station at 2:30 in the morning, in their underwear and scared to death! He probably got quite a laugh out of it!"

"I kind of like the idea of having him around," Roy mused. "It’s kind of a nice thought, having someone watching over us like that."

"I just wish he’d cub aroud in the daydime. I’b bushed!" Johnny said sleepily. He sneezed again and blew his nose.

The boys finished their breakfast, and then got up and got ready to go home. Roy and Johnny stood alone in the kitchen for a moment.

"I hobe he can keep a secret!" Johnny grinned, referring to the fact that he and Roy were in bed together when they last saw Captain Blackshaw. "I also hobe he didn’t see EVERYTHING!"

"If he did, he didn’t seem to mind. I think he was pleased to see us, judging by the way he smiled," Roy said, looking around the kitchen. "Welcome home, Captain Blackshaw!" Then he and Johnny left for the parking lot.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
THE END