Jack scrambled to his feet, and caught a capped ambulance officer by the arm. As he explained the situation, the horrible truth became apparent to everyone – painkillers aside, there was nothing that could be done for Phryne while she remained trapped, but if they tried to free her, they could kill her. Her leg was hard up against the chassis, and Jack couldn't see any way that they could cut through the thick metal in her current position… Shouting and jostling announced the arrival of Bert and Cec on the scene, clearing a path through the assembled crowd for Mr Butler and Dot.
He hissed at Hugh "Get them out of here! I don't want them seeing her like that!" His fury wasn't really justified, but his fear was starting to get the better of him. He tried to clamp down on it as he grabbed Bert by the arm. He explained briefly, then sent him over to the car. Jack heard him say "G'day Miss, in a spot of bother are we?" as he stepped over the kerb and singled out Mr Butler.
"Can you contact Mrs Stanley… We don't want anyone to panic… but I think it's for the best…" Mr Butler nodded gravely as he realised the seriousness of the situation, and moved swiftly to the police station door to access a telephone.
Just then, Mac arrived, and he started his explanations over again. She understood immediately, and wanted to go straight to her friend, but she knew that her presence might scare her at this point. And she needed time to think things through before she became emotional, so she sent Jack back to the car with instructions to send Bert to her; nothing was going to keep him from Phryne for much longer anyway.
Jack removed his jacket – he'd be able to move more freely without it – took a deep, calming breath, and plastered a smile onto his face "I see you've been entertaining other gentlemen in my absence…"
She laughed, and then coughed (there was a slight gurgle to her breath now), and guilt surged through him, but she smiled. "Oh, Jack, it's true, but you'll always be my favourite…" It was difficult for her to speak, but he didn't want her lapsing into unconsciousness again.
"Well, I'm glad to hear it… and since I'm here – while the rest of them are working on getting you out, I think that there's something I can do to make you a little more comfortable…" and he used his right hand to gently lift her head and slide his arm beneath it, and wriggled close up beside her.
He noted, with alarm, that there was blood on the fingers of both hands that had not been there when he had departed earlier. She gave him a resigned smile "I *was* a nurse Jack… I was just cataloguing my injuries…"
He forced himself to meet her eyes with a neutral expression, "And, what was the verdict?"
"Hmmm… Ignoring the grazes… I must have hit my head quite hard if I was unconscious as long as it seems from your version of events; it probably needs stitches…" her mouth quirked, "but I'm not looking forward to having my head shaved!" He chuckled, and she took a moment to catch her breath.
"There's a gash on my back, and I'm certain I've got at least one broken rib… and might have punctured my lung; at the very least it's making things difficult…" He had suspected that, but had hoped it wasn't the case; unfortunately he trusted her assessment.
"Then there's the leg… We both know what will probably happen when they try to get me out…" She looked straight at him and it was pointless trying to deny it. "But in the meantime, the bleeding is getting worse… a tourniquet would probably slow it."
"Alright." He removed his arm from under her head and made a move to slide out into the open, then stopped, "Will this do?" and indicated his tie. She nodded, and he unknotted it and pulled it over his head. Now he just had to figure out how to get it on her leg in the confined space.
He wriggled down beside her, considered the situation, and groaned inwardly – there was no way around it. "Phryne, I'm going to have to–"
She cut him off "Jack, I trust you to do… whatever you have to do…"
For one thing, he was going to need to approach from another angle. As he pulled himself up and away from the car, Mac joined him, and she nodded with agreement at his intended actions. The good news was that Bert and Cec had come up with an idea that just might give Phryne a fighting chance. The car could not simply be towed off her in the way that a vehicle involved in accident normally would be; even if it didn't injure her further, when she started to bleed they simply wouldn't have the time and access to help her – but what about a big truck, with a crane? If they could lift the car upwards, and quickly… Mac explained that the comrades had a friend who used one down on the docks, and had raced away to beg, borrow… or steal if necessary.
Jack was soon on his stomach, dragging himself towards Phryne between the rear wheels of the car. As he reached her left foot she attempted to shift that leg away so that he could get better access to the other, and he had to reach out and help her, with no small amount of trepidation. Again he reflected on her bravery, as his fingers closed on the gravelly stickiness of her calf, and she flinched, but didn't make a sound.
As he pulled himself further between her legs he made the mistake of looking forward towards her body – and was confronted with the sight of the three-buttoned closure of the silk between her thighs, only inches away from his face. He was astonished and disgusted by his own reaction – now was not the time to be thinking of her knickers and what lay beneath.
He forced himself to concentrate – this was going to be difficult enough.
The front garter ribbon on her right leg had pulled away, but what about the others? The tourniquet would not be as effective with them intact. His left hand groped the lacy top of her stocking and found the side ribbon intact, and his fingers fumbled to lift the metal loop from the button. He tried not to laugh – he was probably a little out of practise when it came to these things.
Phryne's psychic abilities kicked in as he reached for the second, slightly more difficult, under her bent leg. "I told you you've been a single pillar for far too long…"
He had to chuckle at that, and if it made her feel better to tease him…
But he wasn't laughing when he realised what he was going to have to do next. The metal's position meant getting his tie around her leg as close as possible to the top. He contemplated for a moment – was there any other way? No, there wasn't, from either direction the action would be basically the same.
His neck was hurting, and he desperately wanted to drop his head down a little – but there was no way he was going to let it rest *there*. He took the tie in his left hand, the end between his fingers, and threaded it beneath her, where the curve of her buttocks met her leg. The fingers of his right hand met his left, and as he pulled, the silk between her legs was caught in the motion, and his knuckles brushed the dark curls beneath.
He was mortified; but once again she came to his rescue as he tried to fix his attention on tying a loose knot.
"You know… this is not exactly how I imagined your fingers between my thighs…"
The sound he made was something between a laugh and a shocked cough, but the retort was out of his mouth before he could stop it "You imagined that?"
"Well… only once or twice… per day." He did laugh then, and she went on, "Don't even try to tell me you haven't…"
He cleared his throat, but remained silent. Even under these serious circumstances this was not a conversation he wanted to be having, especially when he was so close that he could feel the heat radiating from her, and smell her musky scent…
He closed his eyes briefly to regain his equilibrium. "I'm sorry, Phryne… This is going to hurt…" and he pulled hard to tighten the loop he had formed. She arched a little beneath him and he actually felt the muffled cry of anguish vibrate through her. Her left leg had drawn up involuntarily, and as he pushed himself backwards he felt it trembling; and he felt like an absolute dog.
When he moved back in and lifted her head onto his arm, he saw that her eye makeup had run with tears, and her lipstick had been mostly smudged off where she had smothered her cries with her arm. She asked "Will you do something for me, Jack?"
"Anything."
"Will you call Aunt P?"
He reassured her that Mrs Stanley was, no doubt, already on her way.
Another question. "Can I tell you something… a little spooky?"
"Mmm, go ahead…"
"I updated my will yesterday…" He didn't want to talk about this. He couldn't face the possibility…
"It's important… I need to tell you…" The lump in his throat was getting worse by the second.
"I wanted Mr B and Dot to have something… and Bert and Cec too… Mac… and there's a trust, for Arthur, in case he lives longer than Aunt P, and Guy tries to have him committed… I don't want that for him, I want him to be looked after…" He nodded.
"And Jane, a trust for Jane, so she can do whatever she wants with her life… but she won't be able to access it until she's twenty-one… I know this is a lot to ask… but you'll take care of her 'til then, won't you? She loves you… She trusts you… She needs someone other than Aunt P…"
He reached his right hand up to stroke the back of her head. He thought he might cry… He managed to say "Of course. Of course I will, Phryne…"
"I knew you would… that's why everything else is for you…"
"What?!"
"I know that money isn't important to you… but that's why… and if you decide you don't want it, you'll do something good with it… My solicitor is on Collins Street… in that funny building – remember I pointed it out to you one day?"
"Phryne, I don't… Please let's not talk about this… You're going to be fine…"
A horn blasted just up the road, and Jack heard the rumble of a truck. "I have to go… I'll be back soon…"
She smiled "Lucky escape…"
tbc
