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Roy was... much more popular than he was aware of.
Johnny could see that. The guys at the station respected him and genuinely liked being around him. The nurses at the hospital were wild about him, probably because Roy made people feel safe without even trying. And Roy, somehow, managed to be oblivious about both.
Johnny was watching it happen right in front of his very eyes.
Nurse Debbie, who had spent the last few days "accidentally" bumping into Roy whenever they dropped off a patient, was currently doing her very best to flirt him into asking her out on a date. She was batting her eyelashes and touching Roy's arm so softly, like she should create an attachment through touch. She sighed dramatically about how she hasn't had a date in a forever and how she wished she could find a nice guy with a respectable profession... someone like a paramedic.
And Roy listened attentively as if she was giving him a patient history. Serious and earnest.
"Well," Roy said, giving one of his warm and gentle smiles that made people go soft around him. "I'm sure it's only a matter of time. You probably meet a lot of paramedics working at the hospital."
Johnny was perched behind the nurse's station as if he'd claimed a front row seat at the theater. He chewed on his pen, grin stretching wider by the second, trying to decide whether or not he should just tell Roy right there that the nurse was trying to get him to ask her out or if he should just rescue the man and tell him later.
"What's tickled your funny bone?" Dixie asked as she approached the work station with a chart. Johnny pointed discreetly... as discreetly as Johnny could be, at the one-sided flirtation.
Dixie's eyes followed where he was pointing and her brows went up as she nodded. "Ahhh yes," she nodded, well aware of Debbie's infatuation. "She has been mooning over him for a while."
"She doesn't stand a chance if her plan is to just... hint around," Johnny said. He started to lean back smugly, then remembered he was on a stool and not a chair and had to catch himself last moment before he toppled
As if on cue, Debbie gathered herself for what was clearly her big move.
"Maybe we could get some coffee?" Debbie asked Roy with wide eyes full of hope. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she looked at him.
Roy frowned a moment in confusion before looking at the coffee station that was right behind Johnny and Dixie.
"The coffee is right over there," he pointed out, helpfully.
Johnny bit down on his pen to keep from laughing out loud.
Dixie watched Debbie's expression shift from hopeful to determined to slightly horrified and embarrassed. "Maybe he's just not interested in her," Dixie pointed out as the younger nurse bit her lip in frustration.
Johnny didn't take his eyes off Roy, who was still standing there politely, waiting for Debbie to clarify since his answer was clearly not what she was looking for.
"I meant... maybe somewhere quieter." Debbie tried again.
"The employee break room?" Roy asked.
"Or," Johnny said with the calm certainty of someone who knew Roy better than anyone else, "maybe he has no idea she's even trying to flirt with him."
Dixie tilted her head as she watched the pathetic exchange. The longer she watched, the more her expression softened into reluctant agreement.
"Should someone clue him in?" She asked.
Johnny waved a hand dismissively. "I'll tell him later."
Dixie looked at him and blinked. "Later?"
"Yeah," Johnny insisted, his grin fading into something a bit more gentle and almost protective. "Let him decide what he wants to do with that information without the pressure of an audience."
Across the hall, Debbie opened her mouth again, one last attempt, and Roy waited patiently, his eyes wide and sincere. Because if she could just explain clearly what she wanted, he'd be glad to help her out.
Johnny watched for one second longer, fondness overwhelming him. Roy didn't do hints.
It was time for a rescue.
"Okay, partner. I got everything I need," Johnny called across, picking up a small box of supplies he'd already gathered before the show. "Let's go make the squad available and get out of dodge."
Roy nodded, smiling back down at Debbie and wishing her a good day. "I... hope you find the coffee you want? Uh, let me know how that goes next time I see you."
Johnny rolled his eyes and nudged Roy to walk alongside him on the way out, "C'mon, I got some news for you, Romeo."