Work Text:
“More wine, Miss?”
“Yes please.” Nurse Dixie McCall sat back in the plushy seat and sighed. Where was her date?
Kelly Brackett was late, something he was seriously trying to not let happen when he had an appointment (date) with Dixie. They had a sort of on-again-off-again relationship, and with the previous year’s events, he had come to a realization that he should broaden his horizons and step out of his safe zone. Academia and medicine had been his steady focus for many years and he had almost died without telling Dixie how much she really meant to him. Her tears threatened when she remembered how sick he was before they discovered the treatment.
For that matter, she had also almost lost John Gage, her favorite paramedic. The new and strange virus that had come into the states with an exotic pet monkey had killed one firefighter before they got a handle on the plague and found a treatment for it.
Dixie smiled to herself. They were both alive and well, and she would just be patient and wait for Kel to get here.
Dixie looked around the small cozy restaurant. Amore e Aglio... What kind of name was that?
It was decorated in a slightly garish red and green theme, with grapevines and knotted garlic streamers, twinkling lights and wine bottles scattered around. Each table had a fiasco bottle made into a candle holder and a bright red and green checked tablecloth. Only two other diners were seated in the room, holding a quiet murmured conversation punctuated by an occasional hearty laugh. The fragrance of Italian spices wafted throughout and Dixie’s stomach rumbled a little. She looked at her watch.
“Well fancy meeting YOU here!” a voice sang out from behind her. She looked up to see Johnny Gage walking to her table, a huge grin on his face. “Where’s your date?” he asked.
“Kel’s probably running late.” she said, “Although he has been doing better about making sure that he keeps our appointments!” She gave Johnny a sideways look. “Why are YOU here?”
Johnny smiled. “Well, there’s this waitress…”
Dixie held up a hand. “Say no more. I know what the rest of that statement will be, and I will not be the one causing you to be late for your own date!”
“I haven’t been able to ask her yet, Dix. We were called out for a small kitchen fire here a few weeks ago and I treated her for a burn on her arm and hand.” He waved at the kitchen door. “I have popped in here a few times to see if she is on duty so I can ask her out, but I always seem to miss her.”
“Oh.” Dixie said. “Why don’t you sit and eat with us then? Or at least when the other half of “us” shows up.” She scooted into the middle and patted the booth seat next to her. “That way if she is on duty, you can ask her, and if not at least find out when she will be working next from the server.”
“That is an incredible idea, Ms McCall! Thank you for the invitation.” He looked around at the place, taking in the same scenery that Dixie had just scrutinized. “When did you discover this place?”
“Kel has come here a few times, says the food is really great. The place has a reputation for being the place for an occasional mob meeting, although I couldn’t say I believe it.”
Johnny nodded his head in agreement.
“I’m sorry I’m late!” Kel slid into the other side of the booth, looking surprised that Johnny was sitting there next to Dixie. “Are you stealing my girl?” he asked, jokingly.
“You left her here all alone in this romantic setting, so I was just keeping her company while she waited for you!” Johnny said a little indignantly, but still knowing Brackett was kidding him.
“I am just teasing you Johnny, you are welcome to join us. I would suggest their lasagna, actually. It would rival Stoker’s spaghetti if it were put up to the challenge.”
Johnny only took a few seconds to contemplate, then acquiesced and settled in for a tasty dinner.
“Johnny is fishing for a waitress to ask out.” Dixie provided. “He knows she works here but hasn’t been able to ask her out yet.” She smiled sweetly at the flush on Johnny’s face as she spoke. “I figured that if she’s working, he has the opportunity, and if she’s not, he can find out when she will be in again.”
Brackett smiled at Dixie. “You do know that you are a very smart woman, right?” He looked at Johnny, “YOU know she’s a very smart woman, right Johnny?”
Clearing his throat, Johnny agreed with Dr Brackett. “Yes, she is very smart. That is why I confide in her so much. She keeps me level-headed!”
“Are you ready to order?” The waitress appeared seemingly out of nowhere and was at their table. Johnny looked at the girl who was poised to write on her notepad.
“Hey Angela, how’s the hand?” Johnny asked, not sure if she would recognize him outside of his uniform. She wasn’t still bandaged up so he assumed it was doing fine.
“Oh! You’re the…John Gage, right?” She smiled brightly at him. “It’s just fine, thank you.”
Kel ordered for Dixie and himself, and then suggested again that Johnny have the lasagna. He agreed and then continued to talk to the lovely young girl.
Dixie and Kel smiled at each other, almost as though they were proud of their little boy and his luck in finding the right waitress this time. “They grow up so fast!” Kel quipped, making Dixie snort a little.
Johnny ignored them, continuing to work his charms on the waitress. Just about the time Kel’s stomach rumbled, she quickly wrote something down on her order pad and tore off the sheet.
“I’d better get your food order in!” she giggled, “Or I won’t get much of a tip!” And with that she went back to the kitchen.
“Well I guess you found your girl!” Dixie said with a laugh.
“Did I ever!” Johnny exclaimed. “Isn’t she just…incredible?”
A short while later their food arrived. Everyone tried a bite of the others’ food, just to share, and they all agreed the dishes were fantastic. They were happily enjoying the meal when the door opened abruptly and two goons walked in. You absolutely had to describe them as goons, because the usual clientele at this place was young couples on a date or older Italian couples, also on dates. These no-neck guys wore expensive suits, slicked hair, too much jewelry and sour expressions on their faces.
They were followed by a smallish young man who, while wearing the same type of suit and jewelry, had the most pleasant smile and a royal purple fedora on his head. He tipped his hat at Dixie as they paraded past their booth.
Kel and Johnny looked at each other in suspicion of the entourage.
“What is HE doing here?” Johnny asked.
“Who’s HE?” Dixie queried.
“He’s the son of Antonio Vericelli, the guy who went to prison last year? He had a string of buildings just miraculously all burn down in the same week. Insurance fraud they figured out. His son has been carrying on the business so to speak. I think his name is Vittorio”
“He acts like he owns the place.” Kel said, a smirk of derision on his face. They all watched as the man went to the kitchen door, pushed it open and walked through.
There was a lot of yelling and then a scream. Johnny immediately leapt to his feet and ran to the kitchen, followed closely by Kel. Angela flew out of the kitchen before they could get there, “Please help him! Please help my dad!”
The goons suddenly appeared, and without thinking, Johnny tried to push past them. One of them deftly clocked him in the forehead with a meaty fist and Johnny dropped like a rock. Kel ducked and missed the first blow from his goon, and slammed a punch into the man’s beefy middle. He oofed slightly, grinned and retaliated with the same. Kel doubled over, and the man shoved him into a nearby booth.
Dixie had screamed at the first attack, got mad at the second and grabbed the fiasco bottle from the table and was waiting for the first goon to turn her way. She shattered the bottle over his head and stepped back as he fell like a downed tree. It was almost comical the slow motion manner in which he went down, and she would have laughed if she hadn’t had another one to handle.
She could hear Angela on the phone calling the police, so she confidently swung for a line-drive hit with a second bottle from the booth next to the kitchen. She heard the loud crack as it made contact with the man's temple, almost imagining the cheers from fans in the stadium. The man staggered back into the kitchen door and fell as it gave way. She followed him through and gave him a swift kick in the groin. He bellowed in pain but stayed down.
She turned back to Kel, who was struggling to stand upright. Helping him to his feet, she asked shakily, “Are you okay?”
“I think so, I don’t think there’s any ribs broken at least.” He surveyed the clutter of bodies on the floor. Quickly making his way over to Johnny who was coming around, groaning a little, he asked Dixie, “How about you?" He stood and gently put his hands on her shoulders, "What exactly did you do?”
She answered him as best she could, starting to cry just a little, “I was protecting my family!” She held it together enough to assist in getting Johnny up and over to a chair. He was groggy but talking. Kel sat Dixie in a chair next o him and directed her to help hold him up and keep talking to him. He then went to the bar and got some ice in a towel and handed it to her. “Put this on his head and keep it there. And don't let him tell you no!” She gave him a watery smile and did as directed, admonishing Johnny softly to keep it there.
Kel could hear the sirens at the door. As he stepped into the kitchen he could see the cook, an older man with grey hair, on the floor leaning against the front of the refrigerator, holding a rag to his side. Kel could see the blood seeping out and knew the man was seriously injured. He glanced around the small kitchen but could see no one else. He eyed the back door as he approached the man.
“I’m a doctor, let me see how badly you’re hurt!”
The man visibly relaxed and moved the rag out of the way. Kel could see that it probably involved a lung since it was bubbling slightly. “Put that back on there and hold it as tightly as you can.” he told the man, “Help is on the way!”
The two police officers came through the door with guns drawn. Kel held his hands up. “I’m a doctor! I’m with the other folks out there!” He glanced at the back door pointedly. “They went that way!” he said.
He turned back to the man on the floor. “This man is seriously hurt and I need an ambulance and paramedics!”
The first officer yelled back that the ambulance was on its way and the two men rushed out the back door.
Kelly Brackett was overwhelmed. He’d seen his friend clobbered by a strange man, been punched in the gut, had watched his…girlfriend? Yes! His girlfriend had smashed two thugs over the head with bottles and saved the day. He was torn between comforting her and his doctor-duty of helping this man. On top of all of this, he had no equipment with him.
Quickly scanning the kitchen, he gathered what he could find and knelt down next to the man.
“I’m Dr Kelly Bracket from Rampart General. What’s your name?” He asked as he laid out his meager supplies.
“Angelo. Angelo Sartori.” the man feebly said. “Am I goin’ to die? I can’t leave my daughter this mess.”
“Ah.” Kel said with a smile. “That lovely young lady out there is your daughter!” He rolled a towel into a small pillow and helped the man lay down into a more comfortable position.
“This should help you breathe a little better.” he said.
“You are not going to die. You have a pretty deep stab wound to your left side, and while I think you have a lung injury also, I do not believe there are any other organs involved. You’ll have a bit of recovery time, but I think you’ll be back in here creating some wonderful meals soon enough.”
At that moment, two paramedics Kel didn’t recognize came through the door. Kel sighed in relief and gave them the rundown of the injury as he saw it and let them take over. He was confident that the men would be thorough and left them to their work. He stood and went back out to see his friends.
When he stepped through the door, he was surprised at the scene. Dixie was seated in the chair he had left her in, a glass of wine in her hand as she was giving her statement to an officer. Angela was seated in a booth close to where Dixie sat, her arm around Johnny, holding the ice to his forehead as he lounged carefully on her shoulder, an expression of both great pain and pleasure on his face. The two goons were both seated on the floor, handcuffed, next to another officer who was looking bored at his babysitting assignment. Kel rushed to Dixie’s side.
“Are you okay?” they asked each other simultaneously.
Laughing, they hugged each other tightly. “I was worried about you.” Dixie said with a frown. "I thought that Vittorio had gotten to you too.”
“No, he’s a little weasel. He ran and left his thugs to clean up.” Johnny volunteered from his semi-reclined position.
The ambulance showed up then and the attendants went into the kitchen. They had Angelo bundled and ready to go in a moment’s time. As they headed out to the vehicle, Angela slipped out from under Johnny.
“I’m sorry Johnny, but I have to go with my dad.”
“No, totally go with him. I understand.”
She bent down and gave Johnny a quick peck on the cheek. She hesitated just a moment, and then gave him a very passionate kiss. His eyes went wide as she broke away and smiled at him.
“You were ready to take on those guys for me and my dad. You must be something special!” She turned to go and as she went out the door she motioned Call Me!
Johnny shook his head, grimaced and then smiled. “Incredible!”
A few weeks later the trio went to Amore e Aglio, this time as a reunion to celebrate Angelo’s return to his role as chef.
Johnny held the door as Dixie and Kel entered. There was a small cheer from the back as Angela and Angelo, the other wait staff and a very tall young man with an eager expression all were clapping. Several other patrons eating lunch joined in enthusiastically.
Angela came over and gave Johnny a quick peck on the cheek. Then she put her arm around him and led the group to a large table near the kitchen. Angelo pulled their chairs out, seating Dixie first. He then introduced each of the staff to them including the new fellow.
“This is my nephew, Giussepe Sartori. He is my younger brother’s son and he wants to join the culinary world. He will learn from me at the same time helping me out. I am still not 100% but between the two of us we will be!”
“Just call me Gus.” the young man said as he shook hands with everyone.
“I want to thank you all for what you did for me that day.” Angelo said. ‘You were willing to take on my problem and saved my life, my daughter and my ristorante. I am forever grateful.”
He clapped his hands and all kinds of things started to happen. Opera music started playing softly, water and bread sticks appeared on the table and the other diner’s conversations picked back up. Angela brought a huge bowl of salad and served a plate to each of the friends. Gus came out with a tray of steaming dishes, and placed them in the center of the table.
“Angelo and I came up with some new menu items and we want you to be the first to try them!” He placed a large plate at each setting and said, “Bon Appetit!”
“Wow! This all looks great!” Johnny said, as he grabbed a spoon from the first dish nearest him.. “I wonder what this is?”
As they ate, Angela sat next to Johnny and filled them in on the police report.
“They caught Vittorio that night and next week he will go on trial for attempted murder. The police managed to find his office and also all the records that he and his father had. He will not get out any time soon, and his father is done. Whatever mob ties he did have are severed now, since this was a colossal failure. The mob won’t keep him, he’s too much of a liability!”
She paused, looking pensive for a moment. “Dad had been forced to borrow money from Antonio when they were shaking down the area for protection. So he was in debt for a while. He managed to pay Antonio off, but then he went to jail and his little figlio stronzo thought he could be in charge, he came back and threatened dad. Dad refused and so Vittorio stabbed him.”
“But here we are now, and they are finally gone.” She leaned over and gave Johnny another peck on the cheek. “Are we still on for dinner and a movie next friday?”
“Yes! Of course we are!” he turned to see Dixie and Kel smiling at him. “What are you guys doing next friday? Wanna’ go to a movie?”
Dixie looked at Johnny with a gleam in her eye. “No thank you young man, I plan to stay inside and not encounter anyone other than Kel, here.” She looked at him with love in her eyes.
Kel leaned over and kissed her tenderly. “That sounds like a wonderful plan!”