Holy crap, another update already? :) I felt inspired today and thought I'd reward you guys after bombarding you with all the cliffhangers recently. Aren't they fun?
I would like to state for the record that Aiden will NOT be appearing shirtless in this story. Ever. The one time in the L.A. chapter was just a joke and shall not be repeated.
-ahem- Anyway, this is a montage of short scenes, much like the first chapter after the prologue was. Read, enjoy, review.
Chapter Thirty-six
"Holy shit."
Ashley flinched at the voice that wasn't her own. She was too shocked to move. Not five paces away stood a man in a camouflaged hunter's jacket. He looked to be in his early thirties, and a bit of dark hair peeked out from under his baseball cap.
"You're one of the girls, aren't you?" he asked. "From the plane crash."
"Uh…" Still thunderstruck, Ashley called over her shoulder. "Spencer?"
The man stood patiently as the brunette waited for her lover to emerge from the grotto. It wasn't long before the blonde appeared.
"You know, for someone who just restricted me to bed rest, you're sure quick to—" The rest of Spencer's words died unspoken as her eyes landed on the unfamiliar person.
The man's eyes lit up even more seeing the second girl. "You're both alive! Hot damn, people are going to be happy to hear that. My name's Jordan, by the way."
"Where did…when did…how did…?"
Jordan smiled at the blonde's sputtering. "I was in the area deer hunting. I heard the rifle shots and saw the smoke from your fire. The search is still going on, so I thought I'd check it out, and good thing I did, eh?" Ashley and Spencer were both stunned silent. "So…you girls want to go home?"
The shock was slow to wear off. The girls were in a daze as they packed up all their gear, Jordan helping here and there. The sleeping bags were separated and rolled. The rifle was disassembled and returned to its case. Their backpacks were filled with their personal belongings (including the fishhooks, bow, and arrows). The survival kit was dislodged from the lake ice and emptied. The meat was replaced by the rifle case, first aid kit, flare gun, compass, pan, utensils, cooking rack, hunting knife, any trash, and the axe, which Jordan (stupidly) retrieved from the lake. The tent bundle was added to the pile of their gear. The fires were doused with heaps of snow.
A final sweep of the area was run to ensure that all manmade items were being removed. Neither would admit it, but both girls were taking in the sight of the lake, the waterfall and the grotto one last time, feeling an odd attachment to their three-week home.
Jordan offered Spencer his jacket for the upcoming trek, while Ashley wore the bear. The brunette and the hunter slung the sleeping bags and backpacks over their shoulders, the girl taking the tent and the man picking up the survival kit. Neither allowed Spencer to carry anything, despite her insistence.
Even as they started the journey to Jordan's truck, the idea that they were going home hadn't yet sunk in with the girls. They walked in silence, listening as the hunter spoke.
The plane had been found ten days prior. With only the pilot's body in the vicinity and the gear missing, search efforts had reenergized, and all hunters, campers, pilots, rangers, and game wardens were encouraged to keep an eye out for the girls.
It was just over two hours before they made it to the large green Chevy. Their gear was loaded into the truck bed, and the girls climbed wearily into the back seat. Jordan got onto the radio with the nearest ranger station, informing them of the situation. He was met with long string of joyous expletives, causing Ashley to laugh briefly.
Though tired, neither Spencer nor Ashley could sleep on the three hour drive to the station. The realization was finally catching up to them: they were safe. They would soon be free of Canada's wilderness. They would see their family again. They were going home.
The few workers at the ranger outpost bustled with excitement. They greeted Jordan with eager handshakes and Spencer and Ashley with warm smiles. The girls were offered hot chocolate and whatever food items they wanted from the vending machine. Questions were asked, and the two took turns answering while they waited for their transport, Ashley holding Spencer's hand in her own.
Within an hour, a helicopter landed in the nearby clearing, ready to airlift the girls to the Victoria General Hospital in Winnipeg, the nearest major city. The time came for them to part with Jordan, each hugging him fiercely.
"Take care, you two," he said simply.
Spencer returned his jacket, and both she and Ashley were soon wrapped in those of the chopper's medical team. The brunette was all too eager to leave the bearskin coat behind, insisting it was cramping her style. If anything, it made Spencer laugh through her nervousness at being in an aircraft again.
When the helicopter rose into the air, the two medical workers kept the girls distracted with a flurry of health inquiries, coupled with the recording of their vitals and the injection of several precautionary vaccinations. It was during Ashley's turn for the shots that Spencer learned of the brunette's fear of needles, with a bruised hand to show for it. Apparently, nothing short of the blonde's tongue in her mouth, fully naked body, and/or orgasmic bliss could divert the older girl's attention from the sharp metal being imbedded into her flesh (although on the third vaccine, Ashley was indignant enough at being called a wimp to momentarily look away from the syringe in the aide's hand to glare at Spencer).
The helicopter flight passed by quickly, and another team of medical technicians awaited their landing on the hospital roof. For the first time in over a month, Ashley was separated from Spencer as each was ushered into different exam rooms. To say the girls bore expressions resembling mild panic as their hands disentwined would not be a stretch.
A full physical exam was performed, and blood tests were run. Any deficiencies found in the results were boosted by another set of injections. On Spencer's end, radiographs were taken, and her shoulder's healing was evaluated.
Ashley was only too eager to take advantage of the staff shower facilities. In fact, she perhaps spent a little too much time under the hot stream of water, but it was a luxury that she had sorely missed. After drying her hair, she was led to one of the private staff lounges where a hot (hospital quality) meal and television awaited her.
It was certainly a bit of a culture shock to be around so many people again, with technology and sanitary amenities at her fingertips. Even then, though, Ashley could only think about Spencer. The blonde had yet to join her, and it was starting to worry her.
Soon, Doctor Thorsgaard, who had been alternating between both girls earlier, came into the lounge. "How are you doing, Miss Davies? Can I get you anything else while you wait?"
"No thanks, I'm fine. Where's Spencer?"
The older woman smiled knowingly. "She's just getting cleaned up."
"How is she?"
"I'm sorry, Miss Davies, but hospital policy prevents the discussion of Miss Carlin's medical information with nonfamily persons."
"That girl is my family. Besides. I was there when all that crap happened to her! Don't you think I deserve to know how bad it is? Please, I just want to know that she's okay."
After a moment of deliberation, the doctor sat down next to Ashley on the sofa. "The radiographs we took of Miss Carlin's ribs showed that several were bruised, but luckily none were fractured. The injury in her shoulder is healing quite well considering the circumstances. However, there is a very minor infection that we're treating with antibiotics, and the strain the muscles were put under has caused some lingering trauma. If Miss Carlin ever hopes to have her full strength back, she will likely have to undergo a period of physical therapy. We closed the cut on her forehead with a few stitches, and we bandaged the laceration above her pelvis. Other than that, Miss Carlin—both of you—are in relatively good health. Minor weight loss, but easily remedied."
Ashley sighed in relief. "Thank god."
"She should be out shortly. I've been informed that your families have been contacted, and a flight has been arranged to fly the two of you back to California later tonight."
"Really?"
"Sounds like it."
"…it's not a private jet is it?"
The older woman chuckled. "No. I believe you'll be flown out by Canada's National Search and Rescue Program." She leaned closer with a conspiratorial whisper. "I think they feel bad for not finding the two of you sooner."
This time, it was Ashley who chuckled. "They better."
At that moment, Spencer was shown into the lounge by one of the technicians, her left shoulder encased in a blue sling. Ashley stood and met her with a long embrace, and the blonde smiled into her neck. The brunette pulled back enough to gaze into sapphire eyes, cupping her lover's face in one hand.
"Are you all right?" she murmured.
At Spencer's small nod, Ashley leaned closer to nuzzle against her face. Doctor Thorsgaard watched the exchange with a poorly hidden smile, eventually clearing her throat quietly. "If neither of you need anything else, I'll leave you to your meal. I believe it will be within the hour that you'll be choppered to the airfield, so we'll be in to check on you before then."
The doctor was thanked before she left the room, and the girls went back to relishing each other's company.
It was late that night by the time they left the hospital. The second helicopter was more military-esque, as was the plane waiting for them at the airfield.
"Ash, I really don't want to fly again," Spencer whined softly.
"I know, but we don't really have a choice. Besides, it'll go fast because you'll sleep for most of it."
The blonde wasn't so sure. "I'm not going to be able to sleep."
"We're going to be fine."
Ashley's assurances didn't stop the blonde from fidgeting anxiously in her seat as they waited for their gear to be loaded. When the plane finally took off, the brunette could see her lover's knuckles turn white as she gripped the seat's armrests. She pried the hand closest to her away and held it in her own.
"Spence...Spencer." When she had the younger girl's attention, Ashley squeezed her hand. "We're going home."
A smile, though small, slowly spread over the blonde's features.
It was well past midnight when they crossed over the Canadian border and into the United States. The hours ticked by, but Ashley couldn't close her eyes to sleep. Instead, she gazed out the small window at the darkened sky. Not out of nerves but rather anticipation of their arrival in Los Angeles.
It was odd for her to think that just twenty-four hours before they had been back at the grotto, an angry moose dead on their doorstep; wolves at the gate; ice underfoot; their survival hanging on by a thread. Now, the Rockies were passing by beneath them as they inched ever closer to their families, friends, and warm beds.
She watched as the horizon leisurely grew lighter in hues of pink and orange. Spencer shifted against her shoulder, burrowing closer as she slept (it hadn't taken her long to get there). Tearing her eyes away from the window, Ashley looked over at the peacefully sleeping blonde. Lips curling up lovingly, she brushed a kiss over her lover's forehead before turning her gaze back to the glowing sky.
She had been through so much with Spencer in the time they had known each other. There had been pain, and there had been heartache, but they were still together, still ensnared by love's web and entangled in each other's lives. She was no longer naïve enough to think that they wouldn't have their share of problems, but they had grown stronger for it, and they'd be together in the end. She knew that without a doubt; felt it in her heart, mind, and soul.
As the first rays of sunlight peeked over the horizon and lit upon her face, a new feeling of contentment, of completion, and of hope, filled her. With one last look at the rising sun, Ashley turned away to lean her head on Spencer's, a cryptic little smile settling on her lips as she closed her eyes to sleep.
Author's note: Jeez, that actually kinda sounds like an ending…but it's not! Four more chapters!