GUYS! I am so very sorry. It has been a crazy few months for me. Life is taking some crazy turns and I will not have as much time to write. But I have not forgotten you all, and am going to try to get everything wrapped up as soon as possible. Beauty and the Beast will have an update by this weekend. Thank you to all the reviewers! You are my inspiration. You are all not forgotten!
The searchers set out trekking slowly across the vast expanse of white. The wind was dying down now that the snow had stopped falling, but the damage was pretty fairly done. It had been quite a few long hours since the victims had been swept down the collapsing hillside, and there was little hope in the team's spirits for their recovery. Marco trudged onward, never wavering in his pace, and without realizing it, his long stride took him well past the commander of the little group and inadvertently he became the team leader. The other men silently followed him, trusting his obvious experience, and knowing that now would not be a good idea to mention the fact that he was supposed to actually be following the rescue team.
Fleeting images ran through the fireman's mind. Snapshots stored there of lively chess games at the station, firemen dramatically pulling people from roaring blazes, then bravely giving Roy and Johnny a hand when they needed it flashed as a slideshow before his eyes. He came to himself, still walking on through the drifts. He ran a hand across his tanned face, ignoring the dampness that he found there. Those days would never come again, and the little firehouse would absolutely never be the same. As he thought of his captains raw strength in the face of danger, the grief that he felt was swallowed up in a strange sense of duty. He wasn't going to abandon his captain and Ashley. Even if he was bringing them home bury them, he would not allow the mountain to claim them as it's captives. His feet kept planting themselves one step in front of the other, the wind howled in his ears, blocking all other sound from his mind, leaving him alone in his thoughts, descending into the shifting valley.
The sun was rising over the jagged ridge just as the rescue team slowly reached the far side of the valley. It had been a long night of probing, scanning, listening, shouting, digging and silence. The terrible silence was something Marco did not think he was ever going to forget. His hands were numb from the cold and he had long ago stopped feeling the icy chill on his face. There was a vague defeat in his shoulders as he walked over to stand next to Dean, the sheriff, and Raymond, the Carbondale rescue team commander,who were having a quick meeting in the dusky light.
"There isn't anything here, is there, fireman?" Dean spoke softly, turning to face at the weary arrival.
Marco merely glanced at him. He didn't speak, but his eyes told volumes, as did the dark smudges beneath his eyes and the lines deepening in his forehead. Wearily, Marco ran a hand across his face again, and dramatically threw his gloves into the snow.
Dean pursed his lips and stuffed his hands into his pockets. Grimly, he turned and nodded to Raymond.
The big man stepped forward, leaned over and plucked the gloves from their snowy grave, and reaching out, he took Marco's hand in his own, and slapped the gloves into it. "Frostbite." was all he said. Clapping Marco on the shoulder, he walked away to join his men.
"Calling it, men. Prepare to move out." Raymond waved toward the haggard team.
Slow steps took them out of the valley. Marco turned to look back. In the distance, there was a hunting cabin, barely visible in the distance. His heart leaped to his throat as he turned to Raymond, one foot already pointed in that direction.
The big man turned to see where Marco had been staring. He planted one booted foot on the snowbank and rested his hands on his hips. "Too far, Marco. Too darn far to have made it over there after that tumble down the hillside. Trees are snapped into splinters in slides like that. It's been too long, man. They are either over there deep in that snow bank with a snapped neck or frozen solid."
Marco turned quickly away from him and began climbing up the snowy valley wall, his back stiff with anger at Raymond's calloused words.
Raymond sighed. He had been a rescue commander for thirty years, and in his time he had seen a lot of rescues, most of them with no happy ending. But he also knew and understood the tragedy of having a loss that hit so close to home. He hadn't known the missing folks, but his gut told him they were admired and adored by those they had left behind. His heart hurt in a way it hadn't hurt in a long time.
Roy slowly opened his eyes. The hospital room was dark now, with the blinds pulled almost shut. In the hazy light, he could see Joanne still sleeping awkwardly squashed on the bed beside him. Listening carefully, he realized that the beeping of the nursing station was faint, and he realized he had been moved to a room, and out of the ICU. Roy squinted in the darkness, and studied the calm face framed in the dark hair next to him, saddened to know that when she awoke, that same face would be lined with worry and the dark eyes would be red-rimmed and sad. He ran his hand over the soft waves and his gratitude for still having her in his life swept through him again. She felt small and fragile next to him, and he pulled her head to his chest and rested his chin next to her forehead. He was a lucky man.
Poor Susan. He had to talk to Susan.
"Jo?"
He spoke softly, caressing the sleeping face. "Jo, honey, wake up for me."
She mumbled a few incoherent words in her sleep, then jerked awake, head twisted awkwardly to look at his face, gazing at him with confused, frightened eyes.
"Hey, hey, it's okay." Roy spoke quickly, brushing a hand across her cheek.
Joanne hesitated for a second, then bit her bottom lip as she held back the sudden tears that sprang to her eyes. "I'm sorry, Roy, I forgot you were in here, and when I woke up it was a bit of a shock. It's all coming back to me now."
Roy sighed. He felt awful. Studying his wife's sad face, he spoke calmly. "Jo, Jo, it's okay, honey, it's all fine. I just need to see Susan."
Jo's eyes widened, then she wrinkled her forehead. "You sure that's a good idea?"
Roy bit his lip. He really didn't have the answer to that question. Joanne reached up and brushed a strand of hair from his forehead. When she spoke, her tone was that of her 'mom' voice she would have used for Chris. "I'm not sure where she is, Roy, but I will find her, okay?"
Roy nodded and pulled the small shoulders close to his chest. "In a few minutes, honey. Tell me about Johnny."
Johnny was walking blindly through a snowy valley. The snow hurt his eyes with it's insanely bright shine, and his footing kept slipping in the slushy surface snow. The surface just would not hold his weight and it was all he could do to keep moving in one direction.
"Going somewhere, partner?" He heard a familiar voice to his left and looked to see Roy skiing next to him, a broad smile on his tanned face. "This sure beats walking, you should try it sometime, if you can get those wobbly legs to be worth something."
Johnny laughed and tried to speak to his partner, but no words would come out of his lips.
Roy tilted his head to one side and frowned at him. "What's wrong, Johnny? Cap asked you to meet him at the hunting cabin. Are you okay? He's waiting for you. Something about an avalanche."
Johnny's eyes grew wide. Why did a hunting cabin sound familiar?
Roy was still gazing at him in concern. "Go, Johnny. Go now!" And he skied away, disappearing in a spray of white snow that Johnny couldn't feel.
The young paramedic tried to call after him, but his voice still refused to work.
"Johnny?"
Captain Stanley was standing in front of him. Johnny felt elated and he reached out to take his captain's hand. Then everything fell down. He was falling, and falling, and falling, and it was dark and he couldn't call for help.
"We almost lost them." Dr. Brackett sat slumped on his stool in the coffee room, Dr. Early and Dixie had collapsed nearby on the couch. The dark haired physician ran a hand over his face, stubble beginning to show through his haggard countenance. "I don't know how Johnny doesn't have more extensive brain trauma, but looks like both of our boys will make it. I heard from Aspen County ER that he just has a concussion and scrapes and bruises, but he and Roy should fully recover. "
Dr. Early studied the younger doctor's face. "What about Hank and Ash?"
"Presumed lost." Kelly sighed, frowning at the ceiling.
"That's not your fault." Dr Early said quietly, tapping his pen on the arm of the chair.
"I know, Joe. It's just not fair, you know? She was just starting to turn around, and man, Hank is one of the best fire captains in our area. Seems a shame that we won't be seeing them around anymore. Ashley was just starting to come out of her shell, too. I really was looking forward to having her work here."
Dixie smiled kindly at him. "You did a good job bringing her around, Kel. She really looked up to you. I think she thought of you as a father that she never had. Between you here at work and Hank at home, I think she would have become a fine woman."
Kelly Brackett leaned back against the table, crossing his arms over his chest. "I guess we will never know. Wonder if she ever got the chance to talk to him?"
There was a moment of silence, while the only sounds to be heard were sirens in the distance, nurse pages, and the footsteps of orderlies going to and fro in the hall.
Dr Early shook his head. "Like you said, I guess we will never know."
"Ash," Hank nudged his sleeping sister. "Ash, come on and wake up okay? It's getting kind of cold and you need your jacket."
Ashley sat up slowly, realizing that Hank was kneeling in front of her, her coat in his broad hands. "What's wrong, Hank?"
"Nothing, Peanut. It's just cold. I almost got the hunter radio working. I found it in the back cabinet. Looks like someone has tried to fix it before, but I am not sure what station it is going to. I am going to keep at it, maybe it will be out ticket out of here."
Ashley nodded tiredly, and settled back against the couch. She looked up to see Hank still sitting there beside her. "Hank, is there something wrong?" Worry settled over her features, and Hank forced himself to be cheerful when he replied again. He shook his head.
"Nope, not a thing. Go ahead and get some sleep okay?"
She nodded, and closed her eyes. She was drifting away in her dreams. Her concussion was starting to get , as the irritation from her injured head was beginning to sink in. Hank had noticed the glassy eyes, slightly slurred speech, and bruising beginning to finally show on her forehead. He was worried for her, but the feeling of being stuck in this place was a helplessness he never wanted to experience ever again in his entire life.
It was cold in her dream. Terribly cold. Johnny was standing nearby in the doorway. Why was he here. He wasn't moving. He looked angry.
"Johnny? Johnny, why are you here?"
"They said you were dead." His face was devoid of any emotion and his eyes were empty. Standing in the doorway, he looked older, and lost.
"We aren't Johnny. We are at the hunter's cabin. We aren't dead." She felt panic rising in her chest. "We want to leave with you, Johnny. Please take us with you.
The form of Johnny slowly turned to face her, and in that moment, she realized tears were running down the slim face, in place of the famous crooked smile.
"You were dead. It was too late. We couldn't find you." And he turned away and disappeared, leaving the door open, and the cold air rushing in.
She woke up screaming. Hank nearly dropped the radio he was working on, managing to toss it onto the table before he rushed to his sister's side, rubbing his swollen wrist that was starting to ache. He really needed to wrap that better.
"Peanut, it's me. It's Hank, it's okay, alright. Wake up, Ashley." Hank brushed back the hair from her face, wiping off the tears streaming down her face. She was sitting straight up, eyes squeezed shut, just screaming bloody murder. He couldn't get her to stop, no matter what he said. He had never felt so alone. "Peanut, you have a concussion, I don't want to slap you again, come on and snap out of it okay?"
The screams were subsiding into hysterical crying, and he could barely make out the words 'Johnny' and 'we are dead'. He winced at the near likelihood of those words, and took her shoulders in his hands.
"Stop it, Ashley. Stop it right now!"
The sudden tone of voice startled her, and she slowly opened her eyes, chest heaving with quiet sobs.
"Johnny said we were dead."
Marco walked into Roy's room, feeling as if each step was taking him further and further into the ground. The weight on his shoulders was almost unbearable. Roy turned to look at him as he entered, and Marco almost turned right around and left as he saw the fleeting disappointment on his friend's face.
"Hi, Roy."
"Hi, Marco." Roy spoke calmly, but gently.
"Couldn't find them, amigo." Marco spoke dejectedly. He rubbed his hands together. "Too late. Demasiado tarde!"
Roy reached out and laid a hand on the Mexican man's arm. "It's okay, Marco, it's not your fault."
Marco opened his mouth to protest, but the look of resignation in the eye of his coworker calmed him. He knew in that moment how Roy and Johnny felt after an unsuccessful rescue.
"How is Johnny taking it?" Marco asked quietly.
Roy smiled. "He hasn't been awake since they took him off the mountain. They said he's resting. He will recover. A bit of a concussion, which we already knew, but it got worse in the avalanche. Kind of got knocked around a bit."
Marco smiled wanly. "Bueno. I will go check on him. You get some rest yourself, man."
Roy waved him off. "Wouldn't think of doing anything else, amigo."
The smile on Marco's face at the attempt at humor was totally worth it. "Don't grade me on my pronunciation and the terrible accent, Marco!" Roy called after the disappearing figure as Marco headed toward the hallway.
"Oh, Roy, you can count on it," Marco called back cheerfully. "You barely made a C on this round! I demand an A by the end of the week!"
Roy chuckled and leaned back on the pillows, his heart heavy. How had a simple camping trip turned into such a living nightmare?
Marco walked into the quiet room, greeted only by the sound of Johnny's heart monitor. Johnny was sleeping quietly, but restlessly. Standing beside him, Marco almost felt like he was looking down at a child. Johnny's thin, child-like face made him seem a lot younger than he really was. Marco reached over and pulled the gown around Johnny's neck downward slightly, wincing at the bruising on the young man's neck and face.
"Cortes! What happened to you, boy?" Marco's mustache bristled at the thought of Johnny going over the cliff in the rental car. "Dr. Brackett will have your head for not resting like he said to! Well, it's not like you had any way of knowing how this day was going to go. I don't think he will be too hard on you, if you get back there in one piece. Who knows, maybe we will just have to take another trip to relax after all this desastre." Marco sat down in a chair nearby, watching the sleeping man. Joanne's jacket lay on a chair beside the window, and Marco was glad to see that Johnny had received a visit too. Slumping into the chair, Marco put his head in his hands. What was he going to say to Susan? There was no way he could walk up to her and tell her that he had failed to bring back her husband and sister-in law. His heart hurt to think about it.
"Cap?"
Marco started violently at the clearly spoken name coming from the still-sleeping man's pale, dry lips. Marco made a mental note to ask the nurse for ice chips when he left. For a moment, he thought he was hearing things.
"Johnny?" Marco held his breath as he awaited an answer.
"The cabin."
"What did you say, Johnny?" A chill ran through the Mexican man's spine. No. There was no way Johnny could possibly be talking about the hunter's cabin.
"The cabin, Cap, the cabin. I see it."
Without thinking or speaking to anyone, Marco knew what he had to do. He didn't call for backup. He threw on his coat and ran from the room, nearly knocking over the nurse in the hallway. He had one mission. He had to get back to the valley. And fast.
