Title: Dare to Dream 

Authors: Nubiangeek and Amanda 

Summary: Johnny meets the girl of his dreams but there is trouble along the way to happiness. 

Rating: PG at its worse 

Disclaimer: I do not own The Emergency! guys, I just write about them. Please don't sue me! 

Warning: This story contains mushy, gushy love stuff. IF you do not care for that sort of thing then this story is not for you :) If you do read, please give positive feedback! Thank

you! Enjoy :) 

Dare to Dream 

Rachel Compton was flying to Los Angeles. Alright, she was running away to Los Angeles. She fully admits it. From the time she was a small child she had been controlled. Everyone telling her exactly what she was to do or not to do. When she entered college, they told her what to study so that she could come into the family's import/export business. "Imports and exports - that's our business and it will be yours, too." She had rebelled and studied Anthropology and Studies of Ancient Civilizations. "Oh, so what do you plan to do with that?" they jeered. She was headed to Los Angeles to set up and run an antique store. She had gone on several trips around the world in the guise of learning the imports/exports business. What she was really doing was collecting various pieces for her future antique store. She had deliberately not told her family back in Boston where she was going for fear that they would come after her and drag her back. She had booked her flight on coach (Compton's don't fly coach) and here she was. Johnny's eyes fell on the woman sitting diagonally from him. She had long, curly, brown hair and a slim figure from what he could tell. Johnny noticed that the seat next to her was empty and he decided to pay her a little visit. "Hi, may I sit here?" Johnny flashed her his bright smile. "Sure, have a seat." Johnny was always surprised when a girl was agreeable. "My name is John Gage and you are. . . " Rachel chuckled as the young man tried out one of his pick up lines. "My name is Rachel - Compton." Johnny hadn't noticed the slight hesitation as she said her last name. She was afraid that Johnny would recognize it, but she was relieved when he didn't. "Uh, do you live in L.A.?" She smiled at his further efforts. "I'm moving there from Boston. I'm setting up an antique store there. How about you? What do you do?" "I'm a fireman/paramedic with Los Angeles county. We - my partner and I -" Johnny pointed to the sleeping Roy DeSoto next to Johnny's previously vacated seat. "We just returned from a Paramedic Convention in Boston." She envied him. He had probably wanted to be a fireman ever since he was a child. Imagine being able to do what you wanted. They engaged in other small talk as the flight to Los Angeles continued. Johnny found that Rachel was both intelligent and funny. She actually seemed interested in what he was saying. As they approached LAX, Johnny asked her if he could have her phone number. "Well, not if you're not going to call me." She said jokingly. She had already set up where she was going to live as well as establishing her phone service. "Oh, I plan on calling. So, if I asked you out, would you go?" Rachel smiled. How could she turn down this charming man. Her stepmother would hate him. That was reason enough to go out with him. "yes, I believe I would."

*************************************************************************************************** Rachel, ever the organizer, had everything planned. Johnny really didn't want to be a part of the planning committee. "Just tell me when and where and I'll be there." He had said. Rachel rounded up her new found friends, Dixie and Joanne, and they headed for the bridal shop. Throughout the entire planning of the wedding, Rachel had been a tower of strength. Calm as a cucumber. Until, they stepped into the bridal shop. "I can't stop shaking." With Joanne on one side and Dixie on the other, they braved the bridal shop. She knew exactly what she wanted and went straight to it. "Now ladies, I need you to pick out your bride maids - and matron dresses. Choose your colors, please." Rachel had chosen to do a pastel rainbow wedding. She would wear the traditional white dress with peach accents. Joanne chose a sky blue and Dixie chose lavender. Two other friends of Rachel's had chosen seafoam green and lemon yellow. Chris and Jen would be the flower girl and ring bearer. Jen would wear a pink dress and Chris would match with pink tie and cummerbund. "Pink is a girl's color." Chris complained. "Uncle Johnny doesn't have it any better. He has to wear peach. Yuck!" They all had a good laugh at this. After the girls went shopping, they stopped by the station on the way home. "Captain Stanley, can I talk to you?" Rachel asked quietly while the others were occupied. "Yes, Rachel. What is it?" "Well, I don't know if you knew this or not, but I don't have any family here and I was wondering if you would give me away?" Captain Stanley had only known this young lady for a short time and he could tell that she was really good for Johnny. It was about time that he settled down. "I'd be honored, but won't your family be there?" She avoided his eyes. "I don't really have any family left." Captain Stanley thought that something looked wrong with this situation, but it wasn't his place to interfere. "Here you are, honey. I was wondering where you took off to." Rachel moved over to Johnny and put her arm around him. "I just asked Captain Stanley to give me away." She was a little nervous because she hadn't discussed this with Johnny. "Oh, that's great, honey." Rachel had always avoided talking about her family, he thought. All he knew was that she was from Boston. Just then, the alarm went off and Johnny and Cap had to leave. Johnny gave Rachel a quick kiss on the cheek and rushed to the squad. With all of the planning for the wedding, and the antique shop, Rachel was being swamped. That's when she decided to hire an assistant to help run the shop. His name was Patrick Owens and he had been recommended by one of her wealthier customers. And, lucky for Rachel, he could start right away. "I'll especially need someone while I'm on my honeymoon." Honeymoon. She still couldn't believe it. She was getting married. Cool. "You can count on me. How long will you be gone on your honeymoon?" "One week. We're going to Bear Lake." Bear Lake would be perfect. Johnny liked the outdoors and there would be plenty to occupy his time. Rachel, on the other hand, was not so fond of the outdoors. They had gone camping a couple of times and she had been a trooper. She went even though it wasn't her favorite thing to do. However, Bear Lake had a resort. Rachel saw herself spending a lot of time there. Johnny's parents were flying in for the wedding and would be staying with him. This brought up a very touchy subject. "Honey, I know we haven't talked about this much, but are your parents going to be here for the wedding?" She had dreaded the question. Now she looked into his beautiful, dark eyes. She saw the love there and the concern. She wanted to cry because she loved him so much. "Johnny, my parents - my stepmother - won't be coming to the wedding because she doesn't know about us. My stepmother is not a very nice person." He touched his face lovingly. "What, do you think that she would have a problem with my being Indian??" He said this only half-jokingly. She hadn't actually thought about this, but decided that she probably wouldn't like him - not because he was Indian, but because she doesn't like me. "It's not that, it's just that my stepmother is not very nice. I think that she wouldn't like you because I chose you." He now saw the sadness in her eyes. She probably wished that her birth parents could be there. It's alright, my love, we'll get through this." He kissed her with all the love that he promised for a lifetime. Johnny's parents met Rachel for the first time at the rehearsal dinner. Come on, Roddy. You need to eat. You're so skinny. Is your Rachel a good cook?" Mrs. Gage said all of this in one breath. "Yes mom, Rachel is a very good cook." Rachel had been checking on dinner and came back to join them. "Mom, Dad, this is Rachel." To say that Rachel was nervous meeting Johnny's parents for the first time would be an understatement. "Hello." Johnny was the spitting image of his father. William Gage was the strong silent type. You could tell that he was really proud of his son, although he probably didn't show it very often. Johnny was more like his mother. She was buzzing around Rachel like a bee to a flower. Finally after a little bit, Rachel took Johnny aside and whispered, "It's getting late, honey, I'm going to go turn in. We've got a big day tomorrow. the next time you see me I'll be Mrs. John Gage." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. Out of desperation it seemed, Johnny pulled her back and kissed her deeply. Emily Gage smiled as she witnessed this. "Reminds me of us, William." William gave a non-commital grunt which Emily knew was his way of saying, "Yes, I remember, my love." The day of the wedding dawned beautiful and bright. Rachel was extremely nervous. she was running around dealing with last minute errands and arrangements. "I wish you would let me do that." said Dixie. "But it helps me to keep my mind off of things." was Rachel's reply. Johnny was not faring much better. He was snapping at people and Chet, especially was getting on his nerves. they were going to be wearing their dress uniforms, and Chet was complaining that his hat was too big. Roy, who was always very calm, came to help calm the situation. "Are you ready, Gage? Its time for me to go and pick up your girl." Cap said as he popped his head in the room. Johnny was barely coherent. "You think you're going to be okay to repeat the wedding vows?" Johnny looked like he was going to be sick. He finally said, "I'm okay." Cap left to take his position. "Well, this is it, Junior. You scared?" Johnny jumped because he had forgotten that Roy was there. "I just want to get this over with." Roy chuckled. "You think being married is going to be less scary than the wedding?" They had been through a lot together and it was true that Roy had never really thought that this day would come. But, in the last few months since Johnny had been seeing Rachel, he had seemed more settled. I guess it was time, Roy thought. In more ways than one. They heard the beginning strains of Pachelbel's Canon in D Major which Rachel had chosen for the processional music. Standing up with Johnny was, of course, Roy with Chet , Marco and Mike as groomsmen. On Rachel's side, were Joanne and Dixie and two other friends of Rachel's. As Johnny and Roy stood at the front of the church and waited for the familiar strains of The Wedding March, Johnny thought about how he never thought he would ever be in this situation. Then the music started, and all eyes automatically turned to the back of the church. She was beautiful. She had chosen a beautiful dress with lovely lace at the top and beadwork on the back. She had a veil with peach roses and a matching bouquet. Johnny swallowed hard again as he looked at his mom crying. Also crying were Dixie and Joanne. Was that a tear in Roy's eye. ***************************************************************************************************** No one noticed as the heavily shrouded figure wased into the sanctuary and sat at the back. No, they aren't paying attention to me; all eyes are on Rachel. the old woman was seething. She had always been jealous of that slip of a girl and here she was on the girl's happiest day of her life. She had made a lot of friends while she had been here which was something else to be jealous of. She declined to go to the reception. "I'll deal with her later." she thought. ***************************************************************************************************** At the reception, Rachel had arranged a sort of practical joke with Dixie's and Joanne's help. Right before Roy's best man toast, they had gathered several ladies to come and drop keys in front of Johnny at the table. Johnny had apologized over and over for his rougish past. This was Rachel' s way of forgiving him and it provided a good laugh. Roy's toast was perfect. He looked like a proud papa as he spoke from the heart about Johnny. He wished them all the happiness in the world. Next came the first dance. Johnny seemed a little nervous about this, but Rachel had whispered, "Just keep your eyes on me, my love, and we'll be fine." Can't Live A Day I could live life alone And never fill the longings of my heart The healing touch of someone's arms And I could live without dreams And never know the thrill of what could be With every star so far and out of reach I could live without many things and I could carry on, but I couldn't face my life tomorrow Without your hope in my heart I know I can't live a day without you Lord, there's no night and there's no morning Without your loving arms to hold me You're the heartbeat of all I do I can't live a day without you (Connie Harrington, Joe Beck and Ty Lacy Sung by Avalon) Johnny thought about how he couldn't live without Rachel. It sounded like an old cliche', but it was true. He pulled her close as the song played. "I love you, Mrs. Gage." "I love you Mr. Gage." They exchanged endearments as everyone looked on. Life was good. On their wedding night, both Johnny and Rachel were very nervous. They had decided to wait to have sex. Actually, it was more Rachel's decision than Johnny's. Johnny went along because he didn't want to lose this awesome woman. As soon as they arrived in their cabin-like room, Johnny had barely put down the suitcases before Rachel grabbed him. She began kissing him hungrily. Johnny, who wasn't going to complain, started kissing her back and started moving toward the king-sized bed. Rachel started unbuttoning his shirt and pulling it from his pants. There was a moment when there eyes locked and Johnny seemed to say, "Are you alright?" They were so attuned to each other that they could communicate without words. Rachel flashed a brilliant smile in answer to his query. After his shirt was off, Rachel quickly finished undressing him. Now it was her turn to be undressed. Johnny took his time reveling in her beauty and kissing each part that was gently uncovered. ***************************************************************************************************** The honeymoon at Bear Lake was really fun. Never having the opportunity to go camping as a child, Rachel didn't know what to expect. She liked it well enough. She especially liked sharing it with Johnny. Johnny taught her how to fish. Her first attempt ended with them struggling to bring in a huge bass and falling into the lake. They had gone back tot he cabin and made mad, passionate love to each other and fell asleep in each others arms. Life was good. ***************************************************************************************************** Patrick signed for the shipment and then went to call the pre-arranged buyers. He needed to get this shipment in and out before Rachel returned for her honeymoon. Mrs. Compton was paying him big bucks to get this done. And, even if Rachel were to discover the shipment, Patrick had arranged things so that they would look legit. She'd never know what hit her. Patrick laughed as he thought about their little operation. They were ripping off wealthy homes in Europe and selling the items through Rachel's antique store. If they were caught, Rachel's name would appear on all of the paperwork. Sometimes he thought that crazy Mrs. Compton wanted them to get caught. ************************************************************************************************** Johnny hadn't asked where the money for the ranch had come from. When Rachel presented it to him as a wedding present, his first reaction was to turn it down. When he saw the love in her eyes and how much she wanted him to have it, he gave in. It was beautiful and even had a couple of horses. She knew how much Johnny missed this kind of life. They were working on moving in. She had also bought the beautiful ranch for selfish reasons. She had always wanted a farm house and now she had it. She was planning on using some antiques from the store to decorate it. "Hey Johnny, we just got this wardrobe in. It would look great in here. What do you think?" Johnny appreciated her asking him, but anything was fine with him. "That sounds fine." They were planning on having a cookout this Saturday when the house was complete. things were coming along. Just then, the doorbell rang. Johnny, who was in the huge kitchen fixing a Dagwood sandwich, went to answer the door. "Hi, you must be John." "Uh, yes. Who are you?" "I'm Doris Compton. I'm Rachel's stepmother." To say that this was absolutely the last person on earth that Johnny expected to see would have been an understatement. "Uh - hello. Come in, please." He led the woman into the living room and then turned to call Rachel. Rachel had heard the doorbell and was expecting another moving van. Imagine her surprise when she saw her stepmother sitting in her living room. "Hello Doris." She was cold, but she couldn't help it. "I'll leave you two to talk." Rachel could tell that he was upset. She couldn't blame him, she hadn't exactly been honest. "What are you doing here?" She was having just the kind of effect she wanted. She was sure that Rachel hadn't told her husband anything about her and he didn't seem to be too happy. "Darling, your new hubby didn't look too happy. Did you lie to him?" She hadn't lied, but she wasn't completely forthcoming. "I just came to bring in some lemonade." Johnny said. And to see if I'm okay, thought Rachel. I truly do not deserve this man. Doris moved in for the kill. "Imagine my surprise when my very own stepdaughter didn't invite me to her wedding. I had to hear about your marriage from a friend." Oh, that made her look really good, she thought. She looked at Johnny. He was taking it all in. "Get out. You get out and leave me alone." Johnny had never seen Rachel act this way before. Rachel could tell what Doris was doing and she wouldn't have it not in her own home. "Honey, don't you think we should. . ." They had never fought, but they were coming dangerously close. "No, Johnny. Don't you see what she's doing?" Rachel was hysterical. Doris was the calm one. "She never has accepted me. All of these years. I took the poor thing in after her father died and she's always resented me. Ah well, I've stayed too long." Doris calmly rose and went toward the door. She turned and saw that Johnny and Rachel were yelling at one another. She smiled and left. "Why didn't you invite her to the wedding? What has she done to you?" Rachel couldn't believe her ears. "How can you take her side?" "I'm not taking sides. I'm just trying to understand."

"You don't understand anything." This last statement Rachel regretted. Johnny had always felt weird about the fact that she had studied anthropology. He had felt dumb. This little stab had not gone unnoticed. "I'm going out to the barn." He was so mad and he didn't know why. Part of it was the fact that she had lied to him. It was partially his fault. He could have pressed her harder to tell him about her family. He wondered why Rachel hated her stepmother so much. He could have asked more questions before they got married. So, why didn't he? Because, he didn't want anything to spoil his image of her. After she had practically pushed Doris out the door, Rachel burst into tears. It was just like her stepmother to come and try to ruin her marriage. Johnny came in a few minutes later and found her crying. He hated to see her cry. "I'm sorry honey." Rachel turned upon hearing his voice. She immediately ran into his arms. Johnny and Rachel talked everything out and they both felt better. "She was horrible. It was like something out of Cinderella. In fact, I pretended that I was Cinderella. My mother died when I was born - complications due to childbirth. My father remarried soon after that. My father died when I was ten. I loved my father. I was his little princess. My stepmother was always jealous of our relationship. She used to try to get between us. This afternoon in the living room was like a scene from my childhood. When it looked like you were taking her side, it reminded me of those times. I had lost my father long before he actually died." She was crying now. Tears that had been pent up for so long. She had never really had anyone to tell all of this to until now. She didn't think that Johnny would understand. She had been so wrong. "After my father died, well, she didn't have to hide what she was doing anymore. She tried to control everything that I did. I couldn't make any decisions on my own. When I went to college, it really ticked her off that I didn't go into the shipping business like she wanted. I studied Anthropology, at first, just to annoy her. Then I realized that I loved it." Johnny grinned. "Kind of like you did with me." Rachel looked horrified. It was true, but she didn't want him to know. "It's true that when I first met you, while I liked you very much, I dated you to tick off my stepmother. But then I fell madly in love with you." The way she looked at him always made his heart skip a beat. He picked her up and carried her upstairs to the new brass bed in their bedroom. "No better time to try this out than now." She was giggling. "Johnny, I'm expecting more movers." He was already unbuckling his belt. "Then they'll get quite a surprise when they get here." In the meantime, Doris was continuing to try to ruin Rachel. One day, Johnny came into the store to help out on his day off. He was keeping a close eye on Patrick Owens. "Something isn't right about that kid, but I don't know what it is." Johnny knew nothing about the antique business, so he couldn't tell if anything was wrong. He looked at the books, but everything seemed to be in order. "Hi, what are you doing?" Rachel kissed him on the cheek and looked at the ledger. "Something's not right about that Patrick, kid. I was just checking the books, but I couldn't make head or tails out of it." Rachel looked at the ledger and noticed something wrong. "Hey, I didn't make these acquisitions." Johnny looked at the ledger as Rachel explained. "These acquisitions occurred while we were on the honeymoon. They were sold the same week. I guess he thought that I wouldn't notice." Johnny was furious. "Don't worry. I'll talk to him" She knew that what Johnny had planned probably had little to do with talking. "We'll talk to him." ***************************************************************************************************** "You heard me. I want him out of the picture. I don't care, just do it." ***************************************************************************************************** The cookout had been a success. There was lots of good food. Johnny barbequed ribs, burgers and hot dogs while Rachel fixed the side dishes. they had a pool, so the kids were entertained. Rachel was a very good hostess. "Well Junior. How's married life?" except for the brief mother-in-law scene Johnny had been all smiles. He was very happy. "Couldn't be better, Pally!" ***************************************************************************************************** They were headed to a fire on Indiana Avenue. By the sound of the alarms, it didn't seem to be a big one. The squad was called out in case there were injuries. It seemed to be a routine call. They had one victim that seemed to be suffering from smoke inhalation. Johnny and Roy grabbed the equipment and ran out toward the victim. They barely heard the shot as it rang out. Johnny went down. There was confusion everywhere. No one seemed to know what happened - least of all Johnny. Roy saw Johnny go down in front of him. "Johnny, Johnny!" He had been shot in the chest extremely close to the heart. Roy worked fast to control the bleeding. They got him to Rampart as soon as possible. "Rachel, it's Johnny. He's been shot." It wasn't enough that she had to worry about him dying in a fire, now he had been shot! Rachel was a nervous wreck. Dixie was ready for her when she came in. "Okay, Rachel come on over here and sit down." She said when she saw Rachel come tearing into the ER. "Where is he Dixie?" She was hysterical. "He's in surgery. Come on let's go and get some coffee." Roy had also called Joanne to come help out. Rachel was going to need her friends now to get through this. "I forgot to tell him that I loved him this morning." She was worried about this too. "Rachel, he knows you love him. You don't have to worry about that." She was starting to calm down as Joe Early came out of the operating room. "We're taking him to recovery. We got the bullet out." "Can I see him?" "We'll let you know as soon as he's in Recovery." Just then they saw Vince coming around the corner. He had been talking to Roy who was with him. "Johnny was shot by someone who was on the roof of one of the surrounding buildings." Rachel couldn't believe it. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would anybody want to shoot a fireman." No one had any answers. "Mrs. Gage, your husband is in Recovery now if you would follow me." The nurse took Rachel in to see Johnny. He was still asleep, so she just sat with him. After a while, she started talking to him. "You'd better hurry and get better, John Gage. That house is too big for me by myself. Daisy will miss you. Horses have feelings too, you know." She was crying. She couldn't lose him. "Don't cry." Johnny said groggily. She flew to him and hugged him. "Ow!" "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm just so glad you're okay." ***************************************************************************************************** "You didn't kill him, you fool!" He's alive. Okay, we need to turn her in. You said that her name was on all of the paperwork? Turn her in and then, disappear." ***************************************************************************************************** Johnny came home from the hospital a week later. Rachel made him comfortable and fussed over him. They were returned to wedded bliss. Until, there was a knock on the door. "Rachel Gage? We need for you to come to the station for questioning." They had received an anonymous tip that she had stolen goods in her store. They had obtained a search warrant and searched her store. Sure enough, all of the paperwork acquiring the merchandise was in Rachel's name. The old woman knew that there was probably not enough evidence to convict her, but it would make life miserable for Rachel. To make her life a living Hell. The officers had taken Rachel down to the police station. Johnny had come with her, and Vince was there trying to help. With the excitement of the cookout and then Johnny getting shot, they had forgotten about talking to Patrick about the acquisitions. Now it was too late. Patrick disappeared soon after that and because the acquisitions had started the week that they were in Bear Lake, the police had assumed that Patrick did it. "This will probably ruin the business." "I don't care. I'm just glad to be home with you." She kissed Johnny happily. "Besides, our kid can't have a mom that's a jailbird." She waited for Johnny's reaction. "You're..." She nodded and they kissed again. When they went to the store on Saturday, business was very slow. "Well, I bet my celebrity clients don't want to be connected to this. Imagine the scandal. I might even have to sell." Just then, a massive amount of people came pouring into the shop. Johnny and Rachel were shocked. Then they saw the source of the crowd of people. "Where did you find all of these people?" Dixie McCall just smiled. "Oh, I made a few calls. I told some people about your situation. They came to help. Johnny and Rachel recognized friends from the fire department, the hospital, even the celebrity clients were there. Johnny and Rachel smiled and hugged each other. They truly did have lots of friends.

Epilogue The police found Patrick Owens and he gave evidence implicating Doris Compton. Rachel's store became more successful than before. Rachel and Johnny had a 9 pound 5 ounce baby boy that they named Roderick Kenneth after Johnny and Rachel's dad.