Chapter Four

A/N: No reviewers.

Nick fell to his knees in the snow, the force of the movement sending flakes of white flying up into the air around him, joining the intricate dance above his head. It seemed so ironic, to find such beauty in the aftermath of something so terrible.

The sight of Isabelle was far worse at close range, her skin so pale that she might have blended into the frozen ground beneath her, had it not been for her dark brown hair and the flimsy suit jacket that was her only protection from the elements.

"Is she breathing?" Ben asked abruptly, kneeling at Isabelle's other side and taking her wrist to feel for a pulse. Nick was almost grateful for his bluntness. At least Ben was able to deal with this like a cop.

Nick leaned over the woman, listening close above her face. "Barely. What do we do now? How- how can we help her?"

"It's okay." It was a brief reassurance, but enough to calm the haze of terror overtaking Nick's mind. "Country cop, remember? Trust me, I've seen hypothermia a lot more out in the sticks than you've seen it in Montreal."

"Hypothermia." Even the word sent a shiver down Nick's spine. He might not have dealt with many cases of it, but he knew the consequences well enough.

Ben nodded gravely. "It's bad. Nick, we need to get her back to your car quick. Her clothes are soaked; they're going to kill her in this weather."

Nick was quick to move, wrapping his arms around Isabelle's back and lifting her, only slowing when Ben warned him against jostling her too much. The walk to the car seemed impossibly long, as Nick watched his ex-wife's face intently for any sign of change, though it could only have taken a minute at most. The dial tone from Ben's cell seemed impossibly loud as Nick placed Isabelle across the back seat, the only sound in the silent street.

"My name's Ben Chartier, I'm an off-duty officer at 19. We've got another off-duty officer down, severe hypothermia. We need an ambulance to Maisonneuve Park." Ben's voice was shaking as he tried to relay the details of the situation. Whether it was from the cold or the shock, Nick could not tell.

"Thank you, Officer Chartier, the ambulance will be on its way." The voice of the dispatcher was somewhat comforting, though the exact tone was unfamiliar. "Can you ID the officer?"

"Isabelle Latendresse, Detective Sergeant." Ben answered quickly. "She works for…"

"44." Nick filled in quickly, seeing his partner's confusion. Ben nodded his thanks.

"That's great, thank you." the dispatcher responded. "Ambulance should be with you in five minutes."

"Thank you." Ben sighed, clicking off his radio and returning his attention to the limp woman on the back seat of Nick's truck. "We need to get her clothes off, wrap her in some blankets to try and bring her temperature up. Might be better if you handled this."

"Better for who?" Nick muttered, looking at Ben as if he had sprouted a second head. "She's my ex-wife, I'm probably the last person she wants 'handling this'."

"I can do it if you want." Ben suggested. In any other situation, he might have smirked. Nick sighed deeply.

"No, I got it." And the look was gone as he set about his task, stripping the water-drenched clothes from Isabelle's body. It was far more difficult than he had first thought, the water causing the garments to cling to the woman's skin as if they were grafted onto her. By the time he had her safely wrapped in blankets, adding his own jacket for good measure, the sirens of the ambulance were fast approaching.

It was as if everything was moving in slow motion, and all Nick could do was let Ben pull him to the side, let the paramedics do their jobs. Nick had never understood the white shirts, their ability to just watch while things fell apart around them. He would rather be the one unconscious on a stretcher. At least then he would not have to watch it.

"They'll look after her, man, they know what they're doing." Ben's hand was still resting on his partner's shoulder, but the weight was barely noticeable alongside the guilt that weighed down on him.

"I should never have let her take the Metro in the first place." Nick sighed, watching as Isabelle's limp body was lifted into the ambulance. He had never seen her so still. "It was too dangerous."

"She's a grown woman, Nick, you don't let her do anything." Ben argued, with the confidence he seemed to hold in every argument. "And knowing Isabelle, it would have been worse if you'd tried."

Nick barely managed a chuckle, his eyes fixed on the ambulance. "I have to go with her. I can't leave her alone."

"Of course you can't." Ben nodded. He gestured back towards the road, where the car doors were still flung wide open. "You go with her. I'll drive your car up to the hospital."

Nick quickly patted Ben on the shoulder in thanks, then ran towards the ambulance, clambering into the seat beside his ex-wife. Stray locks of her hair were falling across her face and Nick had to restrain himself from brushing it away. It was the sort of thing he would have done years ago, before it all went wrong, a simple gesture of affection. 'She wouldn't want my affection now.' Nick reminded himself. It was still painful to think that way, but it was the truth.

Still, he could not stop himself from leaning over her, whispering reassurances just loud enough that he could be sure she had heard. If she could hear anything at all.

"Don't worry, Issy, you're going to be okay." Nick professed, wishing those words alone could make it true. "You're strong enough to get through this, and when you do, I'm not going to let anything happen to you again, I swear."

Isabelle had showed promise as a detective long before she had undertaken the role, and he had never once been able to lie to her without being caught. The fact that she did not instantly tell him the futility of his words offered him hope, for the woman had never missed an opportunity to do that. 'I just have to wait until she wakes up.' Nick told himself, repeating the words over and over. 'Then she'll be sure to tell me I made a load of stupid decisions. And I can't wait for that, as soon as she's okay.'

But no matter how many times he tried to think positive, he could not help the awful word from coming to the front of his mind once more.

If.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed guys! Please review!