(Thank you to all of you that have stuck with me and kept reading/reviewing. As I keep saying, this story has been a learning process in writing for me. I want to thank my beta reader charli911 who corrects my punctuation and tells me when sentences read funny as well as helps me brainstorm when I'm stuck.

Now, we last left off with a big 'bang'... will Clara live to tell Matt everything? Will Matt be able to tell her he knows who she is? On with our story to find out... )

Chapter 24

"HLN 994 calling KLM405 come back…"

Jesse had awakened earlier to the sound of what he thought was a quiet voice but he wasn't sure. He had begun to drift off when it came again and this time he sat up in bed, listening intently for it to come again.

"HL99…4 calling …KLM…405….Pllleeeease…come back."

When the call came again, the call letters being for Clara, the stuttering in her voice and the pleading, he knew something was terribly wrong. He staggered up out of bed, pulling his jeans and flannel shirt off the bed post as he made his way to the radio.

Grabbing the mic off the desk, he pressed the button on the side. "This is KLM405 responding. What's wrong HLN994? Over." While he waited for her to respond, he quickly slid into his clothing, ignoring the chill of the cabin.

There was a long moment of silence before a tired, frightened voice came back over the radio. "HLN994 to KLM405…," she paused then, perhaps trying to gather herself. "The rain came early…really hard," she'd whispered the last part. "The creek's flowing out of its banks…over." It was in the code he'd drilled into her for emergencies when someone might be listening in that you didn't want to know what was really being said.

Jesse had expected any number of things but the coded message she sent nearly made his heart slam to a stop in his chest. Someone had attacked her, she was hurt and bleeding. "CODY!" he hollered before he responded.

"KLM405 to HLN994…how bad is the creek overflowing and where? Over," asked Jesse, his voice with an edge of fear to it now. He heard his youngest stumbling around upstairs at his dad's sudden yell.

"HLN994….to….KLM….405…," she panted into the mic, "…it's overflowing enough to make a bit of a mess…shot out at...back of the property. Over." She was bleeding, shot in the back and would need immediate medical attention.

"KLM405 to HLN994, message received. We'll get a team together to bring sandbags. Over and out."

Before Jesse could turn the channel over to call the Rangers, Cody stumbled down the stairs. "What's wrong dad?" he asked, looking half awake.

Without looking at Cody, he flipped the channel to the Rangers' direct frequency. "It's Clara. Someone attacked her and she's badly hurt. I'm radioing the Rangers now. I need you to saddle the horses and prepare for night riding. We need to get there ASAP. " With that, he didn't give his youngest a second thought. He knew Cody would gather himself together and get out to the stable as soon as he was finished dressing and ready for the weather.

"Papa Bear to Flying Tiger or Pocatello Kid, come back."

The radio squawked a few seconds later, "This is Flash. What can I do for you Papa Bear?"

Jesse heard Cody head to the door to pull on his boots and coat, then answered back, "Flash, we need to have a powwow up at that place where Ace took that picture you like so well? Over."

"The one with the great scenery Papa Bear? Over" came back a slightly joking voice of Jimmy.

"Papa Bear to Flash, yes. The rain came hard up there. The creek flowed out of its banks and apparently it's shot out the back of the property, overflowing enough to make a bit of a mess. Powwow should happen as soon as possible for sandbagging operation. Over." He used call signs and the coded message because he wasn't taking chances that whoever had hurt Clara might have a scanner. If she had used the code, so would he.

There was a split second of silence as the severity of the situation sank in, "Flash to Papa Bear. Powwow being organized. Will see you there with equipment. Over and out." Gone was the jovial sound to Jimmy's voice. He knew this was serious and Jesse trusted the Rangers to do their job.

Jesse tossed the mic on the table and headed to the door, finding his boots by the back door and shoving his feet into them as he worked to pull on his thick jacket. Grabbing his rifle and Cody's as well, he headed out the door.

Jimmy had been relaxed back at the radio desk, coffee steaming in a cup next to his hand as he read a romance novel he'd just picked up a few days before. It was his turn for the night shift and he was prepared to settle in for a good read. After the revelations of the evening, everyone had wandered off in a semi-state of surprised shock and the station had fallen silent earlier than usual.

Matt had come out of his office two hours ago and hadn't said more than 'Good night' to him as he passed, heading towards his bedroom. He looked like someone who'd had a long night of contemplation and possibly still had quite a bit yet to do.

Turning the page, he picked up his mug and was about to take a sip when the radio crackled to life with Jesse's voice. He glanced at the clock on the wall and realized that it was almost midnight. Setting his coffee down, he picked up the mic to respond.

The short exchange that came next left Jimmy feeling cold. As soon as the message had been received and confirmed, he was out of his chair and running up the stairs, heading for Matt's door. Not even bothering to knock, he opened the door and stuck his head in.

"Matt. You need to get up…." He didn't continue since he knew he needed to wait for Matt to sit up so that he was fully awake before telling him the rest of it.

It took Matt only a few seconds to come awake and he groaned a bit in pain as he sat up, still sore from the beating a few days ago. He swung his legs out from under the covers to put his feet on the floor before he reached over and turned on a small bedside lamp. "What the emergency?" he asked as he winced at the light, rubbing his forehead a little.

"You're dad called." Jimmy saw the immediate snap to full alertness by the way Matt's entire body tensed. "He sent a coded message but the gist of it was that Clara's been shot, apparently in the back and is in need of medical attention. He and Cody are already on their way there on horseback."

By the words 'Clara's been shot', Matt had leapt out of bed and was pulling on his clothes as he let Jimmy finish speaking. "Get Avila up and monitoring the weather. I want to know if we can get the chopper in the air and how soon." That was all he said before he pushed past Jimmy and headed downstairs at a fast walk, his whole body tense.

Within minutes, Avila was up and on the computer. "I'm sorry Matt. This storm won't clear for another hour minimum, more like two. It wouldn't be so bad if it was just the rain but the winds are going to make it nearly impossible to get off the ground until it passes."

Matt swore something colorful under his breath, pacing as his shoulders tensed and flexed due to tension and nerves. Hart came down the stairs looking a bit blurry-eyed since Jimmy had taken the liberty to wake him to make sure someone was up to monitor the radios in case they could take off at any time.

"Fine. Keep monitoring the situation but at the first chance, get that chopper airborne," Matt growled and headed towards the door, reaching for his coat. "I'm going to drive up there in case you can't get in the air."

Hart caught the look of panic in Jimmy's eyes and stepped forward, "No, you're not. Jimmy, you drive. Matt, you ride shotgun." At the look Matt shot Hart, he put up his hands defensively. "Look, you're too worked up over this already, Matt. We don't need you missing a curve on that road in this weather and at night."

Matt looked at the others and saw them nodding then pursed his lips before growling, "Then let's move…now!" There was no further room for argument as he flung the back door open and stormed out into the rain that was still coming down, the wind whipping it sideways.

Jimmy gave Hart one last look as he reached for his own jacket and headed out the door, making a grab for the keys off the peg for Matt's HMR Bronco. The look Hart returned silently told Jimmy to keep Matt safe but to be prepared for the worst.

"Clara? It's Jesse," echoed his voice in the dark cabin. Jesse and Cody had ridden as fast as they could in the dark and managed to get to her cabin in just over an hour.

There was no answer and since he wasn't greeted with a gunshot, he slipped inside. "Clara?" he called again as he flicked on a flashlight he'd pulled from his saddlebag before entering.

What he saw in the stark white light of the flashlight made his heart hammer faster. A long smear of blood came from the bedroom to the radio and it tapered off as it moved to the couch in front of the fireplace. Sitting on the floor, wrapped in a blanket and wedged between the chimney and wall to keep her sitting upright, was Clara. The whole left side of her neck and face was covered in drying blood and her hair dark with it on one side though all of it looked damp with sweat. Two dark marks marred her face, one forming under each eye and her face looked swollen. She was trembling, shaking as if chilled to the bone. Otherwise her skin was sickly pale and her eyes were closed.

"Cody! Get in here!" he called to his youngest as he made his way over to her. She had obviously wedged herself tightly into the corner in hopes of putting pressure on the wound with the blanket as a bandage to staunch the flow of bleeding since she couldn't reach the injury any other way. Carefully he stretched out his hand to touch her neck to check her pulse. Her body jerked when his warm fingers came into contact with her cold, damp skin. Her eyes opened a little. "J..j…jesss…," she tried to stammer out. He kept his fingers on her pulse point, finding it to be thready and somewhat weak. Her chest rose and fell in small rattling breaths.

"Shhhh Clara. It's all right. We're here. Need you to stay awake. Can you do that?" asked Jesse in a calm voice as he used his flashlight to check her pupil reaction and saw that it was sluggish as well.

She nodded slightly, "C…cold…fire…went out…," she complained a little.

"Don't worry Clara. Cody will get it started in a minute." He moved closer and worked to assess her a bit more. Her eyes had a slightly unfocused quality to them and she was slow to respond to the snapping of his fingers in front of her face to get her attention. "Come on, we need to put pressure on this wound to keep it from bleeding out any more," he told her in hopes of keeping her attention on him.

He heard Cody coming into the cabin and come up behind him before he heard the sound of their first-aid kit being set next him. "Cody, help me get her onto the floor, then call the Rangers and give them the code that we've arrived, that she's alive but they need to hurry. Then come over and hold the flashlight so I can get this packed and sealed up with a pressure bandage."

With Cody's help, they carefully pulled her out of the corner and lowered her to the ground. It said a lot about the state she was in when she didn't even make a token sound of pain as Jesse situated her on her right side so he could get a better look at her left shoulder. As if on autopilot, Cody went over to the radio to call the Rangers as Jesse began to ask Clara questions to get her to focus to stay awake.

"Who did this to you?" was the first question out of his mouth. He heard Matt's voice on the radio giving them their ETA and Avila giving a quick update on the weather. He tuned that quickly out since he had to focus on anything Clara might say.

"R..randalll…," she stammered. He didn't have any idea who Randall was but she obviously did. He filed that name away since it was important.

"Clara, who's Randall?" was the next question. He saw Cody come back over towards him then kneel down to take the flashlight from his hand.

"Manager," she whispered. "He is sooo...fired," she said with a slight groan as Jesse touched the wounded area. He caught a look of surprise from Cody at her answer.

"Dad, he's the one that she's going to sue with Lisa's help because of the contracts and stuff I told you about," said Cody as if trying to bring his dad back up to speed on things.

Jesse fumbled around in the first aid kit and found the items he needed to cut away the sweat soaked shirt from around the wound. The skin around the bullet hole was an angry red against the pale color her skin had become due to blood loss. What worried him was the slight bubbling that came up with the blood out of the wound which meant that the bullet had managed to do some damage to her lung. He cleaned the skin around the outside of the wound best as he could though there was little else he could do as it continued to slowly seep blood. Working quickly, he packed the wound and finished applying the pressure bandage. Carefully, he got her covered back up in the blanket she had first wrapped herself in.

"Cody, go find me another blanket and then start a fire. She's already showing signs of shock. Light a few lanterns and then go put the horses up in the barn." Once Cody had come back with the extra blanket, he gathered Clara up in it, forcing her to sit up then leaned her against him.

"Thirsty Jesse…," came a quiet voice with a slight buzz to it from the bundle of blankets as he sat there and watched Cody finish getting the fire started. He noted how pinched around the face and eyes Cody looked, his eyes flicking to Clara every few seconds as if to verify she was still with them.

"I know but I can't give you anything. They'll want to take you to surgery when they get you to the hospital. You can't have anything to eat or drink before then," explained Jesse as he held her.

"Sorry," came a statement a few moments later, in a near whisper. Cody had just left to go outside to take care of the horses and Jesse wasn't sure at first he'd heard her correctly.

"For what?" asked Jesse, trying to keep Clara talking.

"For not telling you…or Matt. For not…trusting," came her words as her body trembled a little.

Jesse was quiet as he thought things through. Finally he spoke to her, "You have nothing to be sorry for. It's your life. You have the right to keep your secrets or to tell them as you see fit."

There was silence then and Jesse was afraid she'd fallen asleep on him and shifted her just a little so he could see her face. She had her eyes open but they had an unfocused quality that made his stomach lurch a little. "Still with me Clara?" he asked, giving her leg a light pinch.

Her eyes seemed to focus a little and they shifted tiredly to look at him. "Was going to ride down and tell Matt…tomorrow morning…everything. Tell Cody he can tell Matt everything," She shifted slightly as if trying but unable to get comfortable. "Tell him I never meant to hurt him…I just didn't trust myself."

He was silent then for a time, trying to listen to her breathing. He finally heard Cody come inside and with a look he silently told Cody to come over there. Getting Clara's attention, he made her focus on him again. "Why don't you tell Cody what you just told me."

Cody hurried his steps over to where they sat and knelt down next to them, "You're just doing this to get even with me aren't you," accused Cody in a worried manner, trying to make light of the situation.

She grimaced slightly, "Yeah…just to be spite..ful," she responded, her breath coming in little pants now. "I was gonna tell Matt tomorrow…but since I might….be busy, you can tell him everything for me?" she asked, as if almost pleading with him.

"You can tell him yourself when you get through this. Just have a little faith in yourself," Cody said as if trying to give her hope that everything would be all right soon and back to normal.

"You're a tough mountain girl…you'll make it," interrupted Jesse before Cody could say anything else.

He wasn't sure if he imagined a slight ghost of a smile on her pale lips. "Mount…ain girl. Be sure…to tell Matt that you called…me that. He'll owe me…an…ap…apol…ogy and lots of grovel…ling." This brought a slight chuckle from Cody but it quickly faded as he caught the look on Clara's face and he shifted towards her with a look of mild panic.

Jesse blinked at this statement and Cody's expression as he realized her words were becoming slurred. She was beginning to falter, stuttering somewhat as she tried to speak. "Clara, you need to stay awake." His keen sense of hearing from years in the mountains picked up the sound of an engine and he gave her a little nudge. "I think I just heard the Rangers pull up."

"Ti…tired…," she whined a little, shifting as if uncomfortable. "…tired…cold," she said again in that panting breath that was rattling more with every moment. Her eyes started to close though it was obvious she was trying to fight it. "Something…need to tell…remember," her voice dropped off as she mumbled something he couldn't quite make out though it didn't sound coherent.

"Clara! Come on, stay awake…," growled Jesse as he heard heavy footfalls on the porch outside and felt the cold, damp breeze drift in as the front door was opened, heralding the Rangers arrival.

Matt had been on pins and needles from the moment Jimmy had turned off the blacktop and onto the logging road that lead up to Clara's. He knew he couldn't push Jimmy to go any faster than he felt comfortable driving but it was all he could do to keep from growling at Jimmy to step on it.

With fog lights on as well as their headlights, they managed to light up a good chunk of the road as they sped along. His heart was racing as he tried not to think of the worst case scenario. He cursed every bend and switchback in the road that caused Jimmy to have to slow down. Why did it take two freaking hours to reach her just by vehicle…why couldn't the weather clear faster so that Avila could get in the air, get up there and get her to the hospital? He'd gladly give the command for Jimmy to turn around and get them back down off this mountain if Avila got there before they did.

His stomach twisted into knots, wondering if he would get a chance to tell her that he was sorry for the things he'd said, for trying to push her to tell him something she obviously hadn't felt comfortable sharing at that time. He silently wondered if this was some form of perverse punishment that he was receiving because of his actions…to have finally found someone with whom he wanted to be closer only to have them possibly snatched out of his reach forever.

They were almost two thirds of the way there when Cody came over the radio to let them know that they had just arrived and that Clara was alive but they needed to get there as soon as possible. When Matt checked with Avila there was some hope in his voice that he'd be able to take off within the next half hour and that he had already begun preflight checks and made sure the chopper was fueled.

Jimmy had been blessedly silent through the whole trip. Normally on the way to rescues he yammered on about non-essential things but for once he had hardly uttered a peep except to curse when the Bronco slid on a patch of gravel or mud when taking a curve. Matt looked over at him to see that he was completely focused on the road ahead and he decided not to disturb the man who was obviously intent on getting both of them there safely.

Thirty-five minutes later they pulled up in front of Clara's cabin and both bailed out of the Bronco before the engine hardly had time to stop. Jimmy threw open the back doors and pulled out the backboard as Matt grabbed the trauma kit. Without stopping to shut the doors, they headed inside.

Matt's eyes quickly assessed everything in one sweep, from the blood on the floor by the radio coming out of the bedroom to his father sitting near the fireplace holding a bundle of blankets upright.

"Clara! Come on, stay awake…," he heard Jesse say as they had entered. In five quick strides Matt was at Jesse's side and Jimmy was close behind him. With careful hands, he took a hold of her shoulders and let Jesse slip out from behind her. As soon as his dad was clear of the space, Jimmy slid the backboard in under her as Matt kept her upright.

"Bullet to the back, below and to the right of the heart but it or bone fragments have done some form of damage to the lung. The bullet hole was leaking a bit of air before I packed it and secured it with a pressure bandage. Pulse is weak and thready, plus she's cold and sweaty." These were all classic signs of shock and the information was rattled off by Jesse before either Matt or Jimmy could ask for it.

Matt nodded as Jesse got up off the floor and went over to stand next to Cody, keeping out of the Rangers' way as they did their job. Jesse settled a hand on Cody's shoulder as if trying to give comfort to his youngest as they watched.

"Clara, wake up hon," said Matt in a strong voice, giving her right arm a squeeze.

There was a slight movement from Clara and she managed to get her eyes opened a little, "Matt?"

"Yeah, it's me. We're going to get you down to the hospital here in a bit. Can you stay with me?" he asked, as Jimmy got into the trauma kit and pulled out the blood pressure cuff and IV setup with a saline solution bag. He carefully reached in and pulled out her left arm, the closest to him and began the process fitting the cuff to her arm and inflating it, watching it intently as he got a reading then called out a low number. He let the cuff deflate and went about the task of finding a vein to get her hooked up to the IV.

Clara didn't seem to notice Jimmy as he worked. "Matt…," she said his voice again, her breath rattling as she sat there. "Something…need….have to…," she seemed suddenly confused as she blinked and turned her head to look around.

"It's all right Clara. Look at me and tell me what you had for supper," Matt asked as Jimmy continued to work, having a hard time finding anything he could use. With as much blood as she'd lost and as sweaty as she had been, she was already dehydrated.

"Supper? Wha…toast…tea. Matt…," she seemed like she needed to tell him something, that look of confusion again on her face as if she couldn't remember what she wanted to say.

He heard Jimmy say something that sounded like he'd been successful and he glanced to the side and saw that he had in fact finally found a vein to get her hooked up to the IV. He was taping it down when Clara seemed to jerk upright with a sudden hiss of pain.

"Matt! He shot me…your gun…! And…he...," she seemed to suddenly be having trouble breathing. "…hair and…my...bed…your gun!" Her right hand snaked out and grabbed at his jacket as she started to gasp for air.

"Shit!" Matt yelped as he watched her eyes roll back into her head. Laying her down as quickly as he could, he felt at her neck. "I can't find a pulse." He could hear the panic rising in his voice.

Jimmy dropped what he was doing and quickly moved to tilt her head back then leaned down to listen at her nose and mouth. "She's stopped breathing!" Both Rangers seemed to suddenly click into autopilot as Jimmy took up a position by her head, already prepared to breath for her.

Matt shifted to the opposite side of her chest as he placed his palms together and set them over her sternum. He sent a silent prayer as he prepared to begin chest compressions on her that those wouldn't be the last words he'd ever hear her say to him. As he focused on his task, a far back part of his mind wondered what the hell she'd been trying to tell him.

(To Be Continued! *pause for dramatic closing music*)

Please review - good, bad, meh... feed the muse. (With it being Friday, I may not get another chapter out until Monday or Tuesday. Sorry folks. Home computer software doesn't always communicate with software from work...and it depends on how busy I and my Beta are as to how much gets done in that time as well...which if it's like most weekends, not much at all.)