Thank you to all my reviewers! You are awesome!
S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_
Johnny and Ash looked at each other, surprise written on both of their faces.
"Hank?" Ash whispered, gazing up at the rim of the hill above them, her face scrunched in an incredulous expression. Johnny's characteristic crooked smile crossed his features and he cupped his hands to his face and shouted in return, "Ho there, Cap!" An expression of concern crossed his face when he realized that his voice did not have its normal strength and volume. He was more tired than he had thought.
High above them, Roy and Hank slapped each other on the back, welcome relief releasing the tension they had felt for such a long time. "Hang on there, Johnny, we are right above you!" Hank shouted back down to the trapped travelers.
Hank quickly waved to the police officer and sheriff who were standing by the Crown Vic and then shouted back down the mountain, "Is everyone alright? Any injuries?"
Johnny nodded, although they couldn't see him. "Some minor injuries, Cap, but we are both alive."
Cap breathed a breath of relief and bent over, hands resting on his knees, head hanging tiredly and his eyes closed.
"You okay, Cap?" Roy laid a gentle hand on his Captain's right shoulder, his eyebrows narrowed in concern above his blue eyes.
Cap nodded, turning his head sideways to glance at Roy. "Yeah, just give me a minute, pal."
Roy nodded, and walked away to speak to the officers. "Okay, how soon can we get a rescue team in here?"
The police officer and sheriff tried contacting the rescue team that had been dispatched from Carbondale, but discovered that they were still an hour away, coming from another rescue nearby, but had been delayed because of the sudden heavy snow. Roy explained to the policemen that he was a trained paramedic from LA and his friend was a Fire Captain. He also explained in no uncertain terms that his Captain's sister and his own partner were the ones below in the valley and they were not waiting an hour to get down to them. Carbondale Fire and Rescue was also on the way, with an ETA of twenty five minutes. The men would let the on-duty team commence with the actual rescue once they arrived with the necessary gear, unless the conditions became too severe for the situation, or unless the weather suddenly became worse. Roy wanted to make sure of his friend's status in case it wasn't as minor as Johnny had assured them. His dark haired partner tended to underestimate his own injuries so as not to worry Roy.
In a trained tandem approach, Hank and Roy prepared to climb down the mountain side. It wasn't as easy as they had hoped; the snow made the descent extremely slippery, and the jagged rocks embedded in the snow threatened to shred the ropes to fibers. The ropes (that they had found in the Bronco) had to be tied to nearby trees. The valley was fairly shallow although the lost travelers could not be seen from the top, and Roy knew that the tumble down to below could not have been painless for the passengers of the hijacked rental car. He and his captain did not have the gear that they needed to safely rappel down the cliff face, but any delays in reaching the stranded victims could have serious consequences. The ropes and their skill alone would have to see them through.
After nearly fifteen tense minutes, the two men finally dropped to the snow beside their companions. Roy, in immediate paramedic mode, studied his two friends. Johnny's head was bandaged, and he had a makeshift neck brace made up of a jacket tied around his neck. Ash's arm was in a makeshift bandage sling, and her knee was wrapped up. He moved to Johnny first, concerned by the neck brace.
"Hey, pally." Roy laid a gentle hand on his partners shoulder.
Johnny chuckled, and flashed him a wan half-Gage smile. "Hey partner, wondering when you would show up."
Roy laughed, trying to lighten the angst of the situation. "You know me, Johnny. Just can't live without ya."
To a listener not acquainted with Station 51 that would seem an awkward statement to make. But Johnny smiled and nodded. He and Roy were practically blood brothers. They thought the same, felt the same, and cared for each other more deeply than most partners. Roy, the ever level headed and sensible senior paramedic, always looked out for his sometimes fiery, wired, younger partner. And in this moment, feelings were shared more in gentle examination of injuries, and warm glances from the blue eyes, rather than scolding's and speeches.
"Should I be worried about that?" Roy motioned to the neck brace. Johnny reached up and touched it, as if just noticing it was there.
"What? This? Oh, that. Nah. Just a precaution-"
Hank knelt beside his sister, concern lining his normally passive face. "Hey, kiddo." He pulled her into a gentle hug.
"I was scared you wouldn't find us." She spoke quietly into his shoulder, hugging him tightly.
Hank looked down into her face and smiled kindly. "I will always find you, Peanut. I'm your brother. You sure can't hide from me."
Ash laughed, a catch in her voice. "How lucky I must be then."
Hank pulled her into another hug. "Very funny. Arm?"
Ash frowned. "Johnny said he thinks it's fractured. Hurts like everything. Johnny wrapped it up real nice for me. Got glass in my knee and he wrapped that up too. He-"
At that moment, she overheard Roy's question about the neck brace.
"What? This? Oh, that. Nah. Just a precaution-" came out of Johnny's mouth.
Ash snorted. "Don't listen to him. He cracked his already cracked head on the side of the car, and I wrapped his neck up so if there were any spinal injuries then it didn't get worse. He proceeded to pass out for about twenty minutes after we got him out of the car. He hit his left shoulder too, when he landed on the door in the initial crash. He also told me his ribs hurt, but nothing seemed damaged. He also has some minor scrapes. Also bumped his nose, but there was no bleeding. He was out for quite a bit right after we landed down here too before we got him out. I took the chance of moving him and got him out of the car, because I didn't want the car to explode or something. Roy would have killed me if something had happened to his partner."
Ash smiled shyly at Roy and was rewarded with his gentle smile in return.
"Thank you, Ash. I appreciate that. Much better report than what Johnny was giving us. However, it is very dangerous to move anyone that is injured, especially is there is suspicion of a neck injury." Here Roy cast his partner a disapproving glance.
"Aw, Roy," Johnny mumbled, rubbing his face with his free hand. "Don't worry. Nothing a little sleep can't fix. Going to take it easy and sleep tonight and we can ski tomorrow."
Roy shook his head. Typical Johnny. "Right now, Johnny, you guys are both going on a trip to the ER, once the rescue department gets here with the Stokes. Definitely won't be skiing tomorrow."
"Hank? Can't we just stay up here like we planned to? I'm sure the police will have questions, and we don't have to ski for a few days so we can let Johnny's head rest. But can't we still stay up here for the two weeks?" Ash asked sadly, Johnny's expression mirroring hers as well.
Roy and Hank glanced at each other. "Okay, fine." Hank tossed his hands up in the air. "Can't resist either of you guys and your puppy faces. I guess a trip up to the cabin and some hunting for me and Roy, and relaxing and sleeping for you two can't be a bad idea. Depending on what the doctor says."
S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_
Marco gazed around him at the happy faces of the passengers. A movie was playing in the front of the plane and the cabin lights had been dimmed. He thought about his captain and his friends Roy and Johnny, lost in the snow covered mountains of deep Colorado. Images of avalanches, plummeting temperatures, and scavenging wild animals ran helter-skelter through his mind. And in his heart he began to pray.
The little group's descent into Colorado was rough. The icy wind was creating issues with landing on the small runway. The passenger plane bounced mercilessly against the violent storm front that was dumping buckets of snow upon the ski country. In the time it had taken for the aircraft and its passengers to safely park on the ground in their terminal, poor Marco had gone through every prayer he knew and then some, and a few of them more than once. It was some time before the little group had retrieved their luggage, rented their temporary car (a maroon AMC Eagle) and had successfully packed in the bags and the children, and by that time Marco was feeling very ill. Susan sat up front with him, a leader just like her husband, and was scanning the road map that would take them toward Aspen. Joanne, in the backseat with a sleeping Olivia and a bouncy Chris, could feel her nerves fraying. Her husband's captain would take it so hard if his sister was gone. And she didn't want to think of how Roy would react if his partner was truly lost to them. She hugged her children close and bowed her head, a whispered prayer floating through the silence.
Marco brushed a hand across his eyes, and strained to see through the snowy curtain. "Hang on Cap," he mumbled through gritted teeth. "I am on my way, Roy, old pal." The slippery road threatened to slide the long car sideways and his knuckles were white through the tanned skin of his strong hands. "¡Dios mío!" He grasped the steering wheel tighter and glanced in the rear-view mirror. "Chin up, Jo. Roy is a fighter. He will move heaven and earth to find them. And Johnny, you know how he is. The little hard-headed devil. He always makes it. And Ash, well, Johnny won't let anything happen to her."
Joanne smiled at him. "Thanks Marco. Thank you for putting this together so quickly and helping. I appreciate it and I know Roy and Hank would too."
Marco nodded politely, his dark mustache twitching as he gritted his teeth again against a harsh gust of wind that sent the tail of the car sliding into the opposite lane. "No problem, Jo. Anything for my team."
S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_
High up in the mountains, a large avalanche had been tumbling into the valley. It had come to a halt in the flat field below the mountain ridge where the monster had been born. Beyond the ridge that held its massive power, was the valley where our firemen are now convened. All it took was a little rabbit, skipping across a crack in the fragile snow sheet, and away it went again, an unleashed monster gobbling trees, rocks, and snow pack. It was towering above the valley, visibly in sight of the men below. Gobbling, gobbling. Hungry, ferocious and unsatisfied.
S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_ S51_
This chapter has taken a week to write lol! Some serious writer's block going on. I promise some serious action coming in the next chapter! As well as a serious Hank/Ash conversation!
