Chapter One-
Kate felt her board cut through the waves, and felt like she was home again. The surf roaring as she took the wave, watching the current and power. Vince sat on the beach with Sam, talking to him gently. After his accident a few months back, he was allowed a weekend out every now and again, a chance to get out of the care facility. He'd suffered moderate brain damage from the drowning, and was getting better, but wouldn't progress much further than where he was at now. Kate waved at them, and toppled off her board as she lost her concentration. She surfaced, and laughed at herself. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had this much fun. She hoisted herself back up on her board, and noticed the perfect break just a little ways from where she was. She paddled over to the area, and waited for the next wave. As she felt the swell rise up beneath her, she paddled forward, and stood up. She squealed with the thrill of the perfect wave, and then hit the rocks in front of her. She was smashed up against them, scraping her arms and legs. She scrambled to the surface, and dragged herself along the rocks, lugging her board along with her. She pulled herself up, and examined her injuries. The gashes were long, and they bled well. She sighed, and picked up her board, walking back along the beach to her dad and brother.
"Kate, where were you?" He asked, packing up the gear. Sam clapped excitedly as she came closer.
"I just caught a wave, Dad." He looked up, and dropped the blanket he was folding.
"Sammy, stay there." He instructed. He examined her wounds.
"Kate, what happened?"
"Nothing Dad, just leave it. I'm fine," she said, slipping her board into its cover. He nodded, and finished packing up their gear.
"Come on Sammy, let's take you back." Sam stumbled after Vince. His co-ordination wasn't great after the accident. Kate followed them, hauling her board after her, wincing as it bumped her grazes.
After dropping Sam off, Vince took them back to Rescue HQ. Michelle had called earlier, asking if he could bring Kate in. She walked inside, and met Michelle in her office.
"What's up Michelle?" Asked Kate. Michelle looked up at her.
"What happened to you?" Michelle asked.
"Just a scrape. What's the problem?" Kate asked again.
"Oh. I wanted to let you know that we have re-arranged the teams again. Lara's no longer going out on operations, and we shuffled the teams around again." Kate nodded.
"So are Chase and I are a team again?" Michelle shook her head.
"I've paired you with Lachie. He's got some valuable experience behind him, and I know that you will benefit from it." Kate nodded, and sat in the chair.
"So how is Lara going?"
"Well. She had an ultrasound a few days ago, and the baby is looking good. Healthy."
"Has she worked out where we are doing the nursery?" Michelle shrugged her shoulders.
"Probably at her apartment. She won't be doing anything with Dean until the creep writing these letters is found." Kate bobbed her head.
"So what colours are we going to paint this nursery?"
After an hour, Kate exited Michelle's office. She went downstairs to her locker, and pulled out her spare rescue uniform. She jumped under the hot shower spray, feeling the salt wash out of her hair. She flinched as she saw all the blood flowing down the drain. Kate shook herself out of it, and stepped out, towelling herself off. Heidi walked in.
"Geez, what did you do Grommet? You look like you took on a gravel road." Kate smiled at her.
"Just some surfing gone a little wrong. I'm fine."
"Well, you better hurry up and get dressed. We got a callout, and we're leaving in two minutes." Kate thanked her, and hurriedly pulled on her uniform. She dashed outside, and Lachie grabbed her arm, pushing her into the patrol. The teams sped out of headquarters, and raced down the road. Kate quickly buckled herself in.
"What's the callout out for?" She asked.
"Motorcycle rider at an event, tried to take on a jump, missed, and crashed into the audience stands. We've got to get him out, and take care of the audience members who were injured by it." Kate nodded.
"Who's the rider?"
"Mark Stefiano." Kate gasped.
"He's like, the daredevil of riding from Italy! He's incredible," Kate gushed. Lachie took a corner at a breathtaking speed.
"Well then, we better save his life so he can jump another day."
At the scene, it was absolute chaos. People running everywhere, groans coming from the collapsed stand, and Mark Stefiano's manager shouting angrily into his mobile in Italian. Dean stepped out.
"It's like a circus around here," commented Chase.
"Alright, Heidi, Jordan, take the stands with Lachie and Grommet. Chase and I will help for a while until we can get to Mark." The teams split up, taking audience members as they could. Broken bones, cuts and grazes, bruises, and mild concussions were amongst the many injuries they treated. After half an hour, the teams had finally cleared away patients, and moved some of the collapsed stand. Lachie and Kate paused with bated breath. A groan sounded from the stands, and they rushed forward, carefully pulling beams and broken chairs away, throwing the rubbish behind them. The got down to where Mark was lying, trapped under his bike, chest pinned by a beam. Dean decided to give Kate and Lachie a chance, to see if their pairing would work.
"Grommet, Lachie, get in there with oxygen and the medi-kits. I want your assessment as soon as possible."
