Chapter 261

Lindsey sat in the waiting room outside the OR alone. Alex and Sonia were with Kate and Sara. Bruce and Stephen hadn't arrived yet due to their flight being grounded as a result of a storm. Kate's parents hadn't arrived either, they had a long journey from where they were on safari in Africa.

Lindsey got up and paced around and sat down again. She repeated the process about twenty times. It was the early hours of the morning and the hospital was reasonably quiet. Lindsey was tired but not sleepy. Her shoulders ached and her head felt as if it was about to explode.

A kind nurse came in a few times with coffee and short updates but Lindsey's nerves just wouldn't settle.

"Come on baby… hang in there" she whispered.

Lindsey looked up and saw Cameron in the door.

"Sorry, didn't mean to disturb you" said Cam softly.

"You're not, please come in" said Lindsey.

"I thought you may need something to eat. I got you a sandwich and some hot chocolate. Cafeteria's closed so it's from the vending machine but it's something" said Cam.

"You're so kind. You didn't have to do that"

"My pleasure, how's Tegan"

"Still in surgery. But at least they warmed her up"

"My thoughts are with you guys"

"Shouldn't you be home? It's the middle of the night"

"Nah… I don't have anything to go home to. Rest of my team are still out there in a nearby little town, they grounded the flights back when the storm set in. They told me to stay put here"

"So you're a paramedic?"

"I'm a special opps advanced life support medic yes. We specialise in search and rescue"

"Wow, that must be… intense"

"Sometimes" Cam shrugged.

"I'm a photographer. I'd love to do a shoot with you guys someday"

"Ha… most of the guys aren't exactly camera friendly"

"Well you sure are" said Lindsey putting down the sandwich after only one bite.

"I should go… leave you in peace"

"You can stay if you want. It's nice having somebody here with me. God I'm so scared"

"She'll be okay. I saw out there how strong she is"

"Was she awake… when you found her?"

"No… she was unconscious throughout. But to hike up that hill in that soup to find a cell phone signal. That must have taken balls"

"Do they know what happened? I didn't even ask I was just so worried about them"

"No, they don't know what caused the accident yet"

"Was anybody else… hurt or..."

"The two pilots and a flight attendant… didn't make it"

"Oh god… that must have been… traumatic" Lindsey mumbled.

"How did… how did Tegan go… um… missing?"

"From what we got from Sara, Tegan wasn't badly injured. She did some amazing things to help stabilise Kate and Sara. When we got there she had started IVs, splinted Sara's leg, plunged a needle into Kate's chest to release the air pressure that had built up. She found drugs and oxygen and somehow… well… I think she saved them"

"Oh Tegan… I'm so proud of her" said Lindsey covering her lips with her fingers.

"Apparently Tegan saw a hill in the distance when the fog broke and she went up in search of a mobile phone signal. She obviously got it because if it wasn't for that call with their coordinates we would probably have gotten there too late. Kate was barely hanging on when we got there and Sara was fading too. We were searching in the right general area but we were still about 30 miles away when the call came through"

"And after that… she must have"

"Looks as if she slipped, it was wet and reasonably dark. She fell down a cliff of about 12 or 13 feet. It started raining and well… she was only wearing a thin t-shirt and jacket. Looks as if she was already struggling with her lungs, she had an inhaler in her hand when I found her"

"She has a history of lung problems" said Lindsey.

"She had two phones with her. One was playing some loud metal music and the other was flashing a light. If it wasn't for that… we definitely wouldn't have found her in the dark. Smart move."

"So she was conscious at some stage down there?"

"Definitely. I left the phones with the desk clerk in the ER. I can get it for you?"

"Um… yes, please" said Lindsey. Lindsey sat rubbing her neck with worry. Cam returned a few minutes later and handed Lindsey a ziplock bag with three cellphones. One was dead, one badly cracked and one was working but only had about 10% power remaining. Lindsey recognised it as Tegan's. She put her thumb on the home button and unlocked it. Tegan didn't have any problem with Lindsey's thumbprint being able to unlock her phone. They didn't have secrets.

The phone opened on a video and Lindsey pressed play.

A/N: That's a LOT of chapters for one day! Review please!