Sportacus landed nimbly on the ground, the crystal on the front of his chest glowing brightly, a beacon of hope in the enshrouding darkness. Taking in the sight of the two terrified, screaming girls pointing frantically to a spot in the water it rapidly dawned on him that someone had gone under. Saying a quick thank you to whatever had made him decide to park his airship over the brownie camp for the night, he ran out into the water.
It only took a few seconds for him to swim out to the point where they were indicating. On the first dive he found nothing, but on the second he bumped up against a limp form. With crushing dread he recognised Stephanie, her face pale and taut, her eyes closed tightly shut.
Snaking an arm around her waist he tugged her back up towards the surface. Once above the water he swept her damp hair from off her face and leant in to detect any signs of breathing, but she remained still and unmoving. 'Please don't take her from me', he pleaded soundlessly, appealing to any divine being that might be listening. 'I haven't even told her how much she means to me'. Hastily he swam back to shore.
As he climbed up the wet muddy back, Mrs Whitaker along with Trixie and a few other brownies emerged from the surrounding wood and came running over. He laid Stephanie, still unconscious down on a grassy patch and began emergency resuscitation. The others crowded around, their faces drawn with apprehension whilst Sportacus battled to save her live. Twice he pumped her chest with no luck, but he refused to give up hope. Finally, as he bent down to breathe into her mouth for the third time, she wretched violently, coughing up water. Overwhelmed with relief he rolled her onto her side as she continued to gag, gasping in deep breaths of fresh air. After taking a few minutes to make sure she was going to be ok, he returned to the water to rescue Samantha, still floating out on the lake. Upon reaching her he noted that she must have broken her leg by the way it was bent awkwardly to one side. He carefully towed her back to the shallows where he removed the buoy and hoisted her over his shoulder.
By the time the air ambulance touched down both Samantha and Stephanie were inside the scoutmaster's wooden hut, sitting in front of a hot fire, smothered with blankets yet still shivering with shock and cold.
'Over here' Mrs Higgins shouted urgently, ushering the paramedics through the doorway over to the two shaken girls. Carrying out a thorough examination of Samantha they confirmed Sportacus's prognosis of a broken leg, diagnosing Stephanie with only mild shock. Having had a quiet word with the both girls, one of the medics approached Mrs Whitaker and Sportacus for a chat.
'From what I've heard you really saved that girl's life' he said shaking Sportacus's hand and nodding towards Stephanie.
Sportacus smiled faintly, worry still clouding his blue eyes. 'Will she be alright?' he asked anxiously.
'Yeah, Stephanie will be fine all she needs is a bit of rest' the medic replied assuredly, 'It appears that she ran into trouble because of a bad cramp, most likely from going in the water straight after eating. Still if she hadn't had gone in Samantha probably wouldn't be here at this moment.' Mrs Whitaker interrupted with a low wail causing the medic to pause before continuing. 'We're going to have to take Samantha back with us to hospital so we can realign and cast her leg but there's no reason why Stephanie can't remain here. She'll need to be kept warm though, and it would be best if someone kept a close eye on her for the next twenty-four hours.'
Mrs Whitaker watched on, wringing her hands, as Samantha was stretchered out to the awaiting helicopter. Looking nerve racked she pulled Sportacus to one side. 'Thank havens you were here, what a disaster! I'll have to go and give Samatha's parents a call straight away. Trixie's back at the campsite looking after the girls but I should really get back there too. There's no point in us heading home until tomorrow morning now. I'll ring up the other parents first thing and let them know that what's happened.' She glanced over at Stephanie. 'It would be best if Stephanie stayed by the fire; I hate to ask you after all you've done already, but would you be ok to stay here and watch over her?' she enquired hopefully.
'Of course, it's no problem' Sportacus reassured her.
'Right, I'm off then, oh and try and see that Stephanie gets some rest – I think there's a mattress in the corner she can use' With that she picked up a torch and headed towards the door. 'No dear, you stayhere where it's warm' she chided kind-heartedly as Stephanie made to get up and follow. Flicking on the torch Mrs Whitaker disappeared out the door.
Shutting the door behind Mrs Whitaker, Sportacus turned off the lights, leaving the room bathed only in the dull red light of the burning fire. He found the mattress propped up vertically in a corner of the room and tipped it over onto the floor, shifting it until it lay next to Stephanie, who continued to stare quietly into the flames. It was left to Sportacus to break the awkward silence. 'The medics say you need to stay warm' he told her, picking up some spare blankets and throwing them onto the mattress 'and you should try and get some sleep'. Bending down he scooped her up into his arms.
Her pulse quickening, Stephanie furtively tried to avoid his gaze; being so close and yet not being able to reach out and touch him she felt trapped, the victim of some sublime torture, unaware that Sportacus himself had struggled under the same burden for the past few years.
'Are you thirsty?' he asked troubled by her silence. Stephanie nodded still looking away.
Setting her down on the mattress he walked into the small adjacent bathroom to fetch a glass of water from the sink. Coming back into the room he sat down beside her, waiting until she had finished drinking before gently pulling the extra covers around her shoulders. 'Stephanie, promise me you won't ever do anything like that again, for a moment I thought…' he swallowed hard, looking away. Taking a deep breath and ignoring the voice at the back of his mind screaming high treason, he reached out and took hold of her hand, clasping it in both of his. 'I couldn't say it before and I'm sorry but I want you to know how much you mean to me. I love you Stephanie, I always have'
Finally Stephanie returned his gaze, her brown eyes searching his blue ones until she could no longer doubt that he was telling the truth.
'And I love you just the way you are' he added softly, pushing back a wisp of hair that had strayed across her face.
In the firelight she looked dazzlingly beautiful and Sportacus couldn't stop himself from leaning in and giving her a kiss. She reciprocated, parting her lips so that their tongues danced together in a passionate embrace. Feeling her shiver Sportacus broke the clinch. He hesitated, wavering for a few seconds but then opened the blankets drawing them around them both. Lying down he hugged her shivering form to his, flooding her with his body heat. Stephanie shivered again but this time at the thrill of his touch. Tentatively Stephanie took hold of his hand weaving their fingers together.
'About the things I said…' she said, her voice weak with tiredness, 'I'm sorry…I guess I was just scared'
'It's ok' he reassured her, nuzzling her neck.
Sportacus felt her slowly relax against him, her shivers subsiding in their shared warmth. After a while her breathing became deeper and more even and he knew she had fallen asleep. Basking in the warmth of the fire, feeling like the luckiest guy alive, he found it increasingly difficult to keep from dozing off.