Chapter 2

Heidi's mobile rang around 10:30 that night. She groaned, rolling over in bed. She opened it and muttered, "this better be good."

"Heidi?"

"Who is this?" Heidi sat up right in bed and ran a hand through her hair.

"It's… Jordan."

"Jordan? What are you doing calling me at this hour?" Heidi's temper began to rise.

"I just wanted to talk."

"Oh, so now you want to talk. Leaving me with a letter and your keys wasn't enough? It has been over a year Jordan. Why are you calling now?"

"I miss you, Heidi. I made a mistake. I never should have left you." Jordan sounded almost like he was begging.

"Well Jordan, you should have thought of that when you left without a word." Heidi spat. Apparently, she was even more upset about their breakup than she thought. "Look, is there any other reason why you called?"

"Listen, Heidi. I really think that we should try again." Jordan repeated, his words slurring slightly.

"Jordan, you're drunk!" Heidi figured out. "Leave me alone!" She closed her phone and snuggled down into the covers. She couldn't believe that he had actually had the nerve to call her while drunk. She shook her head. "Some things don't change."

Her phone rang again, and knowing that she needed to keep it open for work, she buried her head in the pillows and tried to block it out. Her phone finally stopped ringing about an hour later. Rolling over, Heidi tried her best to salvage what was left of the night.

The next morning, Heidi sighed as she sat down. She wasn't as tired as the day before, but still pretty exhausted none the less. She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat at her desk. She wanted to talk to someone about last night's phone call, but wasn't sure who would be the best person to do that with. The options were endless.

As everyone settled into their desks, Vince came out. "Listen, we've got a call out. Two teens lost during a camping trip in Royal National Park. Let's roll out." Everyone filed down to the patrols. Heidi, Lachie, and Chase went in one, Dean, Lara and Vince went in another.

"I reckon that those kids wanted to have a little time alone." Chase said.

Heidi looked at the report and sighed. "You big goof. Keep your mind above the belt!" Heidi pushed his shoulder and laughed. For a few moments there, she actually forgot about the weird call from Jordan.

When they arrived at the entrance of the park, Vince was already coordinating with the school. He handed each of them a map and a description of each student missing. "Okay guys, let's roll out. We are going to be paired off. Dean and Chase, Lachie and Heidi and Lara and me."

Heidi looked at Vince. "This would have been easier with the helo."

Vince patted her shoulder. "We are going to be doing this old school today, Heidi."

Heidi nodded and slung her pack on her back. "Which path are we taking?"

"You and Lachie are taking this portion here. Make sure you have your tents and everything you need." Vince looked at the weather print out that he had. "The weather service is calling for rain tonight, let us hope that we get out of the park by dark."

He handed out the rest of the maps and everyone had their information and gear.

Lachie walked up to Heidi. "Ready to go Ace?"

Heidi looked up at him and smiled. "Sure, why not. Who wouldn't want to go hiking."

They walked off through the brush, thankful for the cloud cover.

Dean & Chase

Dean and Chase walked along quietly, happy to have been paired with each other. "Lara is probably chatting Vince's ear off about her date last night," Dean grumbled. "Glad that it is you with me."

Chase laughed and nodded. "Same here. You sound a little jealous there Dean."

"Nah… Lara and I will never happen."

"Doesn't mean that it isn't worth trying." Chase quipped.

"Besides, you saw the breakup between Heidi and Jordan. Dating work colleagues never works out well."

"Never say never!" Chase said and pushed ahead, laughing the entire way. He knew how his brother felt about Lara, and was pretty sure that Lara felt the same. "Richard! Kevin!" Chase hollered, hoping to hear a reply. Nothing but silence greeted them.

Vince & Lara

Lara was chatting Vince's ear off. "Charles was so nice and so sweet!" Lara rambled on.

"What does he do?" Vince asked, hoping that this time Lara found someone decent.

"He's a lawyer." Lara said.

"Again? You need to widen your dating circles, Lara. You and lawyers don't mix."

Lara laughed. "Thanks a lot Vince! I can't help it if lawyers are hot."

Vince rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"Kevin! Richard!" Lara shouted. "We're here to help!"

"Nothing." Vince sighed.

Heidi & Lachie

Lachie moved forward, moving at a rapid pace. "Kevin! Richard!"

Heidi trailed behind him, walking as fast as she could. "Kevin! Richard!" She swore when they didn't answer. "I hope we find them before nightfall."

"Yeah, being out here in the middle of the night isn't a picnic." Lachie agreed with her, knowing full well that those boys had already survived one night out there, the idea of surviving another one had to be pretty scary. "Wouldn't want to be in their shoes."

"Yeah, well, we might be if we don't find them." Heidi added.

"Good point." Lachie looked at her as she came to walk beside him. "You doing okay Ace? It looks like you had another rough night."

"Yeah, I got a phone call last night."

Lachie turned to face her. "Oh?"
"Yeah, Jordan decided to try and butter me up. He was drunk and trying to get back together with me. I eventually hung up on him, but he kept calling and calling."

Lachie whistled. "It has been over a year, no?"

"Yeah, a year ago he left me with a letter and his keys, as you know. According to the letter, he met someone else and was leaving. I never knew who it was, but I guess it was someone that he figured was a better match for him."

"Well, he is an idiot." Lachie spat. "He didn't know what he had."

Heidi smiled at him. "Thanks, and I told him that." She shrugged. "I am not looking to get back together with him anyway. Not going to be fooled twice. I just wish he hadn't called me last night. Kind of brought everything back."

"I understand what you are going through. Been there a few times." Lachie gave her a look and when she smiled back, he didn't notice anything else but her.

Heidi pushed forward, not really paying attention to where she was going. Her mind was lost in thought. Thoughts of Lachie and wondering if he felt the same way about her. But quite frankly, Heidi didn't want to jeopardize another friendship and date someone at work. She wasn't going to be the one to make the move. At the moment, she was enjoying the friendship.

Heidi took another step forward and felt the ground go out beneath her. She fell, half sliding, half tumbling before landing hard, her foot wedging between two rocks.

"Heidi!" Lachie cried. "Ace! Are you okay?" She felt the flashlight sting her eyes and she held her arm up to block the light.

"Yeah, I'm all right. I think. My foot is wedged though."

"Are you sure that you aren't hurt anywhere?"

"Depends on your definition of hurt. I'll live." Heidi said.

"You must be fine, you have your sarcasm up." Lachie chuckled to himself. "If I lower a rope, do you think you will be able to hang on and help me lift you out of there?"

"Yeah." Heidi said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pair of leather biking gloves. She didn't want to burn her hands and have something else that she needed to treat.

"Lowering the ropes, Heidi." Lachie said.

"Got them!" Heidi said. "I'm wrapping them around me now." Heidi hooked the looped end of the rope around her and hooked it under her arms. She placed both hands around the knot in the rope. "Ready when you are. Pull gently. Not sure how wedged my foot is."

Lachie began pulling and before she knew it, Heidi's foot was free. Using her feet, gritting her teeth despite the pain, she walked up the wall of the sink hole and made her way up. Next thing she knew, Lachie had his arms around her, pulling her to safety away from the hole. The stumbled and Heidi landed on Lachie's chest as they fell.

Lachie framed her face with his hands, his eyes looking for any injury. "Are you okay, Ace? For real?"

Heidi opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She nodded. Slowly she pushed herself off him and sat up. She tested her foot and winced. "That is going to smart for a while."

Lachie looked at her, concerned. "Do you think that you will be okay to walk?"

"Yeah, I should be good; my boot will act like a splint." Heidi said.

Lachie held himself back. He wanted to help her, but knew that her fierce independent streak wouldn't allow for her to let him help. Besides, he knew that she could handle it.

Heidi stood slowly, testing the weight on her foot. It hurt, but she was too stubborn to admit it. "If we go slowly, I should be okay."

Lachie removed a protein bar and water bottle from his pack. "Here, eat this and have a drink. Then we'll get going."

Heidi readily accepted the snack and drink. The last 24 hours had been pretty bad, and she had a feeling that it wasn't going to get much better.

Lachie's radio crackled to life. "Rescue Portable 1 to portable 3. What's your situation?" Vince's voice reverberated through the air.

Lachie looked at Heidi and decided to sugar coat what happened, but tell him none-the-less. "Rescue Portable 3, we had a minor incident, but are about to move on from where we are."

"What happened?"

"There was a sink hole, and Heidi took a small tumble."

"Is she okay?" Vince's voice relayed his worry.

"She's fine, barely a scratch. We are going to walk a little slower to ensure that she really is okay."

"Sounds good. Let me know if anything changes. Portable 1 out."

Heidi smiled at Lachie. "Thanks for not telling him the truth. He would be going out of his mind with worry if you had told him about my foot getting wedged."

Lachie wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "I've got your back Ace."

Heidi couldn't think of anything to say, so she finished her snack and handed the water back to him. "Thanks. Let's get walking." She pushed off and picked her way gingerly down the path. "Kevin! Richard!" She shouted.

Lachie jogged to catch up to her.