They made their way back to the Treehouse, trying to keep warm. Marguerite's limbs were numb, she had gotten so cold that she stopped shivering. After stumbling for the third time Roxton turned and took a good look at her.
Her lips were tinged an icy shade of blue, and she didn't appear to be focusing her eyes on anything, walking almost blindly behind him and Challenger. Her hands clutched the light coat she brought to the Plateau tightly around her, and were the same color as her lips.
"Challenger!" he called as he grabbed Marguerite before she fell to her knees.
"Heavens, I should have seen this before," he berated himself as knelt beside them. "Hypothermia, we need to get her warm, quickly."
"The Treehouse isn't far, we could get her in a hot bath."
Challenger shook his head, "That would be too quickly, it could send her into shock, maybe even cause a heart attack. The best way would be direct skin contact. You need to strip down."
"Excuse me?" Roxton looked at Challenger as if he was daft. "Have you lost your science loving mind?"
"I have a blanket in my bag, you'll have to get underneath it with Marguerite and hold her very close."
Challenger turned away and started digging in his knapsack as Roxton removed his vest and shirt. "When I suggest we share body heat, this isn't what I had in mind," he whispered to Marguerite as he removed her jacket a blouse, leaving her camisole for modesty. He had no idea how she was going to react when she woke up.
Challenger returned with the aforementioned blanket. Roxton leaned back against a tree, and propped the now unconscious Marguerite up against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her as Challenger spread the blanket over them. Then Challenger removed her boots and began rubbing her frozen feet and inspecting for frostbite.
"She's very lucky, she could have lost some toes. Try to wake her up, get her talking."
Roxton thought back to just a few hours ago when he was telling her about when Himalayas and the expedition leader who lost his nose. Maybe another story would get her attention. He gently patted her cheek to get her attention. "Marguerite, can you hear me?"
She gave a soft moan in response and turned her face into his hand, eliciting a smile from him. He brought his head forward and rested his chin on her shoulder. He brought his hand down to her arm and rubbed up and down gently, trying to warm the flesh and Marguerite turned her face to rest her cheek against his.
"Marguerite, wake up, I need to ask you a question," he tried again.
"What," she whispered.
"Did your nose freeze off?" he asked, trying to get her to react.
"I don't care," she answered softly. She was too tired to care, she just wanted him to be quiet so she could sleep.
"Sure you do, now why don't you reach up and check. Can you lift you arm?" he asked.
"No."
"Oh, come on, try, for me," John coaxed.
She knew he wasn't going to stop until she appeased him, so very slowly she lifted her stiff arm and clumsily felt around her face until she found her nose. "It's there, are you happy."
"Immeasurably. I would have hated for you to lose such a cute nose," he answered, causing her to giggle inaudibly. Roxton almost thought it was a shiver.
Challenger interrupted them, "Let me see her hands." Roxton folded the blanket down to give him access. "Well, her feet and hands were as lucky as her nose it would appear." Suddenly, Marguerite sneezed violently, "Well, maybe a bit more lucky that her nose," he grinned. "I think she's going to be find. We'll start back in about two hours, you can carry her, or I can go get some materials to make a stretcher."
"Hmm, I think I'll carry her."
***
Marguerite awoke in her bed tightly wrapped in blankets and pelts shivering violently. She was freezing. A thought fired through her head and her hand fought frantically through the covers until it reached her nose. She sighed with relief, then a chain of sneezes followed and a mournful moan. Her head ached and she could barely breath through the congestion.
"Well, well, well, look who's finally decided to wake up," Roxton stated from his seat a few feet away. His bare feet were propped up on the nearby dresser and he look very relaxed, aside from the worried frown across his face.
He got up and felt her forehead. "We were a bit worried for a while. You have a slight fever, but you still have all your parts, which is the important part."
"At least I didn't leave you two alone," she said quietly. A fit of coughs seized her and she was forced to sit up. Roxton sat beside her and supported her until it passed.
"We weren't going to let you leave us. Challenger is making some of Sommerlee's chicken soup for you, it should help a little bit."
On cue, Challenger stepped in the room carrying a bowl. Roxton wrinkled his nose at the smell, but Marguerite couldn't smell it, however she did react when she saw it. The usually yellow liquid was a strange mixture of brown and green.
"I'm not eating that," she stated with a disgusted look on her face.
"Oh, come on, its good for you," Roxton said as he took the bowl from Challenger.
"That is not good for m…" before she could finish the statement Roxton dished a spoonful of soup into her mouth. Her face screwed up as she swallowed. "eghch, Veronica really needs to come back. Nobody in this house can cook."