CHAPTER THIRTEEN

They had been married a month. Some might say it was too early to tell, but their marriage was a happy one. At that moment, however, neither of them was very happy at all.

Imogen heard the sound of Mark coming home and headed through into the living area. He sat down on the couch, staring ahead of him. Imogen handed him a cup of coffee and he gave a grateful nod. He apparently couldn't muster up the feeling to actually smile. "Any news?"she asked. It was a pointless question, she knew. If there was any news, he would have rung and told her.

"Nothing,"Mark confirmed, continuing to look straight ahead.

It had started three days ago. A couple, Keith and Elaine Rix, had come to the police station in a panic. They had been camping with their five-year-old son Ryan out in the bush but had woken up to find him gone. As it stood, no-one could tell whether he'd been taken or whether he'd wandered off and got lost, or whether there was some other explanation that nobody had thought of. A search of the area had so far found nothing. Mark had been taking it hard: The idea of a child that young being in danger and there not being anything that anyone could do to change it.

"I've got the rest of the week off work if you need help,"Imogen offered tentatively. Mark looked at her as if he didn't quite understand what she'd said. "You did say you were looking for volunteers for the search, right? I mean, if you don't want me to…"

Mark got up and wrapped his arms around her in a hug, which she returned. "That'd be great, thank you,"he said quietly. "I love you."

"I love you too,"she replied softly.

The instinct, as ever, was to plunge out into the bush and just start searching anywhere. But that hadn't done them much good so far. Mark was determined to bring a bit of intelligence to the search, which is why he'd invited the boy's parents to the station and laid out a map in front of them. Imogen hovered nearby, decked out for a trek through the woods, as did a park ranger.

"You were camped here,"Mark noted, indicating a point on the map. Everyone knew it was correct so no-one answered. "If someone took Ryan away, then hopefully patrol cars will spot them on the roads. But if he wandered off on his own…" He looked up at the boy's parents. "What would have made him do that?"

"Nothing!"the boy's mother Elaine protested. "He knows not to go too far."

"Yes, but what if something distracted him?"Mark persisted. "What did he show an interest in?"

"Kookaburras,"father Keith recalled. "He went chasing after one earlier, we had to call him back."

Mark looked over at the ranger, who approached the map and gestured to an area. "There are nests in this part of the bush here. We haven't really searched there but the boy might have gone chasing in that direction." He paused before adding,"There's quite a few steep drops in that area."

Mark nodded. "Okay, it's somewhere else to try. Imogen and I will have a look around there. We'll keep in touch by radio." He looked queryingly at Imogen. She nodded.

They'd driven as close to the area as they could in a land rover and then proceeded on foot, hiking through the trees and calling out Ryan's name every now and again. "What do you think the chances are of finding him?"Imogen asked during a break from their calls.

It was a valid question but it wasn't one Mark wanted to think about. "Let's just concentrate on looking for him for now." He took a step forward, but hadn't realised that there was a well-camouflaged incline in front of him. For a moment, his foot swayed alarmingly over a sheer drop as he struggled to keep his balance. Imogen grabbed hold of his arm and somehow he managed to pull the foot back and keep his footing. They look at each other and breathed a sigh of relief before the same thought occurred to both of them: What if someone else had come this way?

Cautiously, they lowered themselves to the ground and lay on their fronts, looking over the edge. Then Mark pointed. "Look, over there. Some sort of material. Clothing." He got to his feet and pulled off his backpack, removing an abseiling rope which he began securing around a nearby tree.

"What are you doing?"Imogen asked, even though the answer was obvious. She was hoping that he'd give her a different one all the same.

"I need to take a look down there,"Mark replied, checking his harness. "Wait here."

Imogen was quite happy to wait, as concerned as she was for him. Mark understood her concern but his need to find out what had happened to the boy overruled it. He swung himself down over the edge, descending in giant leaps until he reached what he'd seen.

It was Ryan all right. He lay still against the side of the ridge, his fall apparently having been broken by undergrowth. His eyes were closed, his skin looked cold and there was no sign of movement. Mark touched the boy's neck. "He's got a pulse!"he called in relief. "Get on the radio and tell them to send an ambulance! Then go back to the vehicle and get me a blanket!"

"Right!"Imogen called back as she headed back into the woods, using the radio as she did so.

Mark pulled off his jacket and draped it over the boy, hoping they'd found him in time.

When the ambulance people arrived, they said it was a miracle. Ryan had hypothermia and a number of broken bones, but incredibly there was no sign of internal bleeding and he'd apparently had enough sweets on him that he hadn't starved or dehydrated. He was winched back up the cliff on a stretcher and then rushed to where the ambulance was waiting.

Mark and Imogen had followed the ambulance officers, receiving reassurances that the boy would be fine. And then the ambulance had departed and they'd been left on their own.

"This is kind of how we first met,"Imogen commented. Mark looked at her quizzically. "Remember? Josh had an accident climbing and Mason went for help and found you."

Mark nodded in remembrance. "Yeah, of course." He gave her a knowing look. "You had a bit of a thing for Mason back then, I seem to remember. Didn't exactly look at me."

"Oh, and you were bowled over by my beauty, I suppose?"Imogen asked wryly.

"Well…I guess if we both remember it, we must have made a fairly decent first impression on each other."

Imogen nodded, allowing a moment of silence before telling him "I'm pregnant." He looked at her in surprise. "I was late, so I took a test, but I didn't want to tell you unless I was sure, so I went to the doctor and…and before I could say anything you told me about this, and I didn't want you to associate hearing we were going to have a baby with this. Especially if it ended badly."

Mark was gaping at her. "How…I mean, when?"

Imogen gave a small smile. "Best estimate is I'm about six weeks."

Mark thought for a moment, then realised. "Our wedding night?"

Imogen nodded. "We weren't exactly paying much attention to birth control that night."

"And…you're okay with this?"

"You know, I think I am. I guess I thought I'd have kids one day and, well, I can be a mum and a successful lawyer, right?"

Mark smiled at her. "If anyone can, you can."