Unit Brief, SRU Brief, Sam's Surgery, Worry and Waiting & Help is Coming

Special Forces Base – Ottawa

Sergeant Grey looked at his arctic weather trained unit as they geared up and then called out "This HALO jump is not without risk men. The wind factor is likely to blow us off course and potentially separate us. Ensure your GPS tag is working on both you and your gear bags. Vinson welcome aboard for your first mission with the unit. However, there will be no need for your sniper rifle this trip. Visibility is next to nothing where we are headed." Grey continued to brief his unit as they prepared.

When the Sergeant asked if anyone had any questions Mark Vinson asked "Why are we being dropped in? Isn't this a domestic issue?"

Grey looked at Vinson and stated "We are involved because the local law enforcement is not trained as we are and do not have the equipment necessary to get there. It is a hostage situation involving the Barton brothers. I'm sure you have heard of their murdering ways."

Vinson nodded "Yes Sarge I have. So is this a kill mission?"

Grey shook his head "Not unless it is the last option. Our goal is to neutralize the threat with as little force as possible. One of the brothers is injured. The other brother is holding multiple civilians, two Toronto SRU Officers and one Naval Chief Petty Officer hostage. The reason Hinder and Thorson are with us is that there is a potential serious medical emergency with one of the SRU Officers and the Naval Officer. The General specifically ordered that their well-being be priority two once we have neutralized the threat."

Shrugging his parachute pack on his back and picking up his gear bag Vinson acknowledged "Roger."

In his head he wondered who those officers might be and why the General would care. For that matter he wondered how the General became aware of the situation. Mark supposed that the local RCMPs had called for help from the military. That's the only thing that made sense to him.

The unit headed out of the hangar and boarded the plane. Vinson was excited to do a HALO jump. They were always the coolest part. But he was a little uneasy about jumping into a blizzard even though he had trained for that very thing. He said a silent prayer that his girls would be okay should he not return. It was his private ritual before every mission.

SRU HQ – Briefing Room

Ed entered the room to find he was the last to arrive after getting the page from Peter to come to the barn. Lou, Jules, Wordy and Greg were sitting at the table while Commander Holleran paced at the front of the room.

Norm looked up when Ed walked into the room "Good. Good you are all here now. Sorry to pull you in on your day off. But this is urgent. I got a call from General Braddock."

Greg looked Holleran and asked "Does this have to do with Sam? Perhaps someone with a grudge from the Army is after him like Plouffe and Murphy."

Shaking his head Norm replied "No, nothing like that. You all need to gear up. An Army helicopter will be here in thirty minutes to transport you all to the RCMP substation near Markdale about 45 km away from Blue Mountain Village. You will be joined by an emergency medical team from Ottawa. That is as close as they can get you to the hospital given the weather conditions."

Norm saw all the confused looks and continued "The Barton brothers are holding hostages at Craig hospital which is near Blue Mountain Village."

Greg blew out a breath and muttered "Son of a bitch" at the same time Ed stood and said "Christ that is where Sam, Spike and Scott are."

Lou looked at Ed and his voice was edged with concern "What do you mean Spike is at a hospital. They were skiing?"

Jules asked "Are they hostages? I assume either Sam or Scott contacted the General."

Norm put his hands out front of him palms down and pushed them down several times as he said "Down, calm down a moment and I'll tell you all I know."

Wordy had a sinking feeling that he was not going to like what Commander Holleran had to say.

Holleran began again "The exact situation is not known. Spike was heard speaking to Noah Barton, the older brother. Jonas Barton was apparently shot at some point. By whom, how and when are unknown. Noah Barton has at least one hostage by the name of Jasmin. There was a doctor in the room with them by the name of Vanessa. It is unknown if Scott or Sam are armed but Spike is or was armed as Noah requested Spike slide his gun over to him in order to assist Scott to a bed. It appears Scott is injured in his leg and unable to walk."

Greg offered "Laura said he got hit with a ski pole or something like that. This sounds more serious than Laura is aware of. What about Sam? Laura said they were at the hospital because some woman ran Sam into a tree and they were worried he might have a concussion."

Norm grimaced "About Sam. What the General overheard does not sound good. Spike told Noah that the only surgeon was with Sam and that was because he might lose his leg due to infection. From what the General overheard there are at least nine patients and a handful of hospital staff. The exact count is unknown."

Ed was pacing. Dammit he should have demanded Sam not go on that ski trip. The infection got bad enough he might lose his leg. Shit!

He looked at the Commander "Once we get to Markdale how are we getting to the hospital?"

"Sno-cats. They will transport you and the medical team. A Special Forces arctic trained unit is being HALO dropped closer to the hospital. They will assist Spike in resolving the hostage threat. If the hostage situation is still ongoing when you arrive then you will take over. But if it is resolved, then your main purpose will be to transport the Barton brothers back to Toronto once they are secured."

The team didn't like not being the ones to help Spike initially. But they all realized that the Special Forces unit would be able to get there sooner than they could, especially if they were able to HALO jump in the storm of the century. Hopefully it would be resolved peacefully by the time they got there, but knowing the Barton's each seriously doubted it would end peacefully.

Greg stated his assumptions wanting clarity for the team "With regard to the Barton's, I assume we will transport them via the sno-cats back to Markdale and then further transportation will be arranged."

"That is correct and Spike will be returning with you" Holleran stated. Then he added "Assuming Jonas Barton can be moved. If he is unable to be moved right away you will break into two teams. One to stay on to guard Jonas until such time as he can be transported and one to transport Noah Barton to Toronto immediately."

"What about Sam and Scott?" Jules asked in a hard tone trying to cover the concern that was churning in her gut thinking about Sam losing a leg.

If Sam lost his leg, that would devastate him. The team meant everything to Sam. If he could not do this job how would he cope?

Norm sighed "That will depend on their medical state and the hospital's ability to treat them. Go gear up now. The helicopter will be here shortly."

Hospital – Surgery

"Minna get me two culture vials so I can get samples of the clean tissue" Landry requested.

Minna went to get the vials and chanced a look at Ron who had turned his head away from the table but remained near in case Sam woke again. He was green. Poor guy looked like he might vomit. She could see he was doing his best to quell the urge.

As he waited for the vials, Landry mused to himself, prior to the surgery he had obtained a sample of the purulent drainage being careful not to touch the edges of the wound. He remembered the numerous times the lab tech told him 'trash in results in trash out'. Now that the surgery was completed and the wound packed with antibiotic-treated gauze to promote healing, he needed to obtain a second culture of the now 'cleaned site' to insure the site was free of the harmful bacteria.

He worked carefully and efficiently to obtain the samples. Then he handed off the vials for Minna to label.

As Minna labeled them and then turned to set the samples aside for later delivery to lab. She glanced at Ron again and saw he had his eyes closed and was still a shade of green. It looked like he was losing the war against the need to vomit.

Trying to lighten things up a bit Minna teased softly "If you hurl just point away from Sam's leg. Or else you'll ruin all of Doc Landry's work."

Ron looked at Minna and swallowed hard as he tried not to hurl. He ignored the tease. He just wasn't feeling lighthearted at the moment.

He had had to hold Sam down at one point until they got more nitrous on board. It was a trifecta that set off Sam. His fever spiked and the nitrous had worn off just as the doctor had to cut deeply. The wild eyed look and feral scream from Sam sent shivers down his spine thinking about it now.

After that god awful scream, Sam tried to grab Doc Landry by the neck. Sam was yelling that he was going to kill the sadistic bastard if he laid hands on him and that he would not be fooled by pity again. That had taken them all by surprise. It was totally unsettling.

Luckily Maisie had pulled the doc back out of Sam's reach. Ron had leapt on top of Sam's torso and pushed him down onto the table. As he struggled to hold Sam down Minna had quickly got the nitrous going again.

Ron was astounded by the strength with which Sam had fought him. Sam was fit and fever or not he was strong. Very strong. So strong that Sam broke the strapping that was holding his arm in place due to his dislocated shoulder. Luckily, Sam did not dislocate the shoulder again. Minna said they would re-strap Sam's arm once she got a new one from the ER. Until then she had gently laid it at his side.

It had taken all Ron's might to keep Sam on the table until the nitrous took him to lala land again. He was glad that Doc Landry decided to keep Sam at a low dose of it until the surgery was completed. He wasn't sure if Sam would have the same strength again but he certainly did not want to put that to the test.

Once they got Sam calmed, Maisie had looked really sad and said that Sam was clearly hallucinating. She would not even contemplate that Sam was calling Landry a sadistic bastard. Ron had been skeptical until after Minna pulled down Sam's gown to attach a heart monitor the Doc wanted on Sam since he would be staying on nitrous.

The extensive scaring on his chest was shocking. Sam had been through something incredibly horrific to get scars like that. Maisie had teared up and said 'oh Landry what happened to this dear boy'. Landry had shaken his head and said sadly 'maybe that is where his fear of needles came from'.

All that was unnerving. However, it was the surgery that made Ron queasy. He had seen ghastly looking injuries before, hazard of the job being on ski patrol. But watching Doc Landry slice deeply to cut out infected tissue, well that turned his stomach.

Ron finally lost his battle and raced to grab a bio-hazard bag and promptly threw up into it. He felt embarrassed. He sealed the bag and tossed it into the bio-waste can then went to the sink to rinse his mouth, wash up and put on new gloves and mask.

Maisie appeared next to him and she said "Ron, my boy, you have done so well. Surgery turns my stomach too but I've had many years to get used to it. Without you in here today Sam could have really hurt himself or Landry. Thank you for staying and for your help."

Her kind words made him feel a little better. He returned to the table. He was happy to see that Minna and the Doc were now in the process of wrapping the wound. They were all done with scalpels and such.

Minna said quietly "Sorry for teasing you before. You feel better now?"

Ron nodded "Yeah, no worries."

Maisie helped Landry to sit down in the wheelchair and then she said "I think you will need a little rest before tackling the gunshot wound."

Landry nodded "Yes I believe you are right my dear. These old bones will not stand much longer. They need a rest."

Minna suggested "Perhaps Vanessa can assist you in that surgery. She can be your hands and you can talk her through it."

Maisie smiled "That sounds like a grand plan my girl."

Landry said "Yes it does. With little Ethan in the other room let's use this one as a recovery room and ease Sam out of the nitrous sleep. If he is still feverish and hallucinating it would be better to keep him in here away from Ethan and his parents. Minna please draw blood for the blood cultures before Sam begins to wake. I'm right here if you have any questions on the procedure so we avoid formation of thrombi."

Minna grinned "You taught me well Doc. I can handle that for you. You just rest a moment." She began to prep Sam for an aseptic phlebotomy.

Ron suggested "Maisie you look beat. There are chairs in the recovery room if you would like to wait in there."

She nodded "Yes I believe I will go sit down for a spell just as soon as we get cleaned up."

Landry nodded and Maisie gave him a little peck on the cheek then pushed Landry's chair to the sink so they both could wash up. When Maisie was done she headed for the adjoining door to the recovery room and said "Landry if you need me you just holler."

"Okay my dear" Landry said and closed his eyes to rest a bit.

After drawing the blood for the cultures Minna washed up and then wetted a cloth. She went to Sam and wiped the cool cloth across Sam's face. That was a tough surgery for everyone. The scream from Sam when Doc Landry cut deeply had nearly undone her. At first she thought it was from pain but then Sam went after the Doc and she was shaken at the ferocity of Sam's words.

But both she and the doc were glad that the infection was only in the dermal layers and had not progressed into his muscle. It was surely a virulent strain for the infection to have progressed so quickly. But they were glad it had not gotten into the muscle or the bone. That would be very bad for Sam. The doc had been able to excise all the infected tissue.

Sam would have a fairly large scar but he would not lose his leg if they could keep the infection at bay and prevent full blown sepsis. Now they needed to do cultures on the blood and the tissues the doc had taken to identify the organism causing the infection to ensure they were treating Sam with the appropriate antibiotic. She hoped they had the proper antibiotics on hand.

Ron came up behind Minna and placed his hands on her shoulders and lightly massaged as he said "You look beat."

Minna turned her head a bit and sighed "That feels good. Don't stop."

Ron grinned as he continued to massage her tense shoulders. Minna intrigued him. They had been friends for such a long time.

Perhaps there might be something else more than just friendship with her. Ron knew she was extremely picky about the men she dated. Her father being an RCMP Captain had a lot to do with that. Ron wondered if he would measure up.

Hospital – Recovery Room

Jeremy quickly brought a chair for Maisie and handed her a water bottle. She looked tired. Jeremy then asked in a worried tone "Did Vanessa and Jasmin join you in the surgery?"

Maisie shook her head no "No they did not. Why I thought Vanessa was in here."

"Vanessa went to find Jasmin. She came down for meds but Vera says she never came back upstairs either. I was hoping she was in surgery with you" Jeremy explained.

Tiredly Maisie said "Pop your head in and tell Ron. See what he suggests."

Ethan's parents looked at Maisie with concern. Nellie asked "Are you okay Maisie?"

Giving them a small smile Maisie said "Yes, only a wee bit tired. It has been a long day."

Hospital – Surgery

Jeremy did as Maisie asked and popped his head in "Hey Ron."

Ron stopped massaging Minna's shoulders and turned to Jeremy "Hey what?"

"Maisie said to ask you what we should do. Vanessa never returned when she went to find Jasmin just after you guys came in here."

Minna's face fell "Oh no. What if …" she trailed off.

Ron made a split second decision "We all stay here. We have to trust Spike to handle whatever may have happened. We cannot throw a wrench in things by roaming around the hospital. We have no idea where Barton is at."

Minna protested "But what if Barton has Vanessa?"

Ron turned to look at Minna "Then Spike will deal with it. Minna your dad may be a cop but you are not. None of us are. However, Spike is and he knows what he is doing. We don't. It's like if I tried to do surgery. I could do more harm than good."

Minna looked to Doc Landry. He would be in her corner for sure. It was Vanessa after all.

Landry's face was soft and concerned "Minna, my girl, Ron is right. Leave this to Scott and Spike. We need to take care of Sam."

As if on cue Sam shifted on the table. Minna and Ron rushed over.

Sam's feverish eyes blinked open. His eyes landed on Jules and he slurred out "Jules when did you get here?"

Minna sighed, oh boy he was thinking she was this Jules again. To keep him calm she neither confirmed or denied she was Jules "Sam do you know where you are?"

Sam looked around slowly "A hospital."

"That's right. Doc Landry just finished working on your leg. You have a high fever and you need to remain still and calm. Can you do that?" Minna explained and asked.

"Yeah" Sam said as he tried to lift his hand to wipe his forehead. He winced and hissed and dropped his hand.

Minna said "You dislocated your shoulder on that side. It was put back into place but it will be sore for a while. So don't try to use it right now. Here let me wipe your face."

The cool cloth moved over his face and Sam closed his eyes because it felt good. Jules was here and she was taking care of him. It felt so right but something did not quite fit and niggled at the back of his mind.

Ron turned back to Jeremy "Just stay put."

Jeremy nodded and closed the door. Part of him wanted to go find Vanessa and Jasmin but Ron made sense. So he would stay in recovery with Ethan and his parents.

Special Forces Arctic Unit – Over Blue Mountain

The jump light flashed indicating they were almost to the drop zone. Sergeant Grey, Vinson and the rest of the unit stood. Each checked the other's packs to ensure they were secured. Individually they checked their gear packs were secure. Then all put on their oxygen masks.

The buzzer sounded and the jump door opened. The Jump Master used hand signals to count down. Then he tapped one man after another as they jumped from the plane.

Seven men sped downward buffeted by strong winds. Their gear packs were initially strapped tight to their chests as they positioned their bodies to be head first on the way down. Each kept watch on their altimeter and at the right height repositioned to head up and undid the strap so their gear now dangled well below them. Then each pulled their chutes.

As each man landed in a practice, well trained landing they radioed in their GPS location. As predicted they were blown in all directions. Each man plotted a course to the rendezvous point after securing their oxygen tank, mask and chute and marking the location for later retrieval. They opened their gear packs and withdrew collapsible ski poles and skis that locked onto their special boots. Then they hefted their gear packs on their back and set off for the rendezvous point.

Vinson looked at his watch. His position was the furthest away from the unit. He would be setting the time table. Vinson gritted his teeth and started off at a fast pace, time of the essence. Every minute they were delayed due to weather could mean a life lost. Vinson put everything he had into making it to the rendezvous point as fast as humanly possible. He was glad he had such a strong pair of legs.

Scott's and Laura's Home

Laura paced with Jerrell in her arms. He was fussy again. It was probably because she was on edge. Ever since Scott's father Erik called and told her that he and Ann were coming over she had this terrible sense of dread.

There was a knock at the door and she went immediately to answer it. Laura was stunned to find not only Erik and Ann there but also Yvonne, Kimberly and Connie. She opened the door wide and backed up as she asked "What's going on with Scott?"

Erik smiled briefly and reached for Jerrell "Let me see the little guy a moment."

Laura relinquished Jerrell to Erik and low and behold Jerrell quieted down. Maybe Jerrell sensed that he was in safe and calm hands Laura thought as she closed the door. She followed the others into the living room.

She saw Connie and Kimberly head to her kitchen and Yvonne and Ann take a seat in the living room. Her breath caught as she headed for the chair by the bassinets. Anna was sound asleep still. That was good.

Laura slowly lowered herself into the chair as she looked at Yvonne and Ann. They looked nervous too. All three looked to Erik as one.

Erik gently rocked Jerrell in his arms a moment more. Laura looked on in amazement as Jerrell's lids closed, Grandpa Erik sure had a knack with the babies. Erik put a sleeping Jerrell into his bassinet then took a seat facing all three women.

"I know you are worried just by your looks. Let me first say I will tell you all I know but I don't know the full story" Erik started.

Ann reached out for Laura's hand and Yvonne's hand. She knew this involved both boys. Otherwise Connie and Kimberly would not be here. Ann said "Erik please just tell us straight out."

Erik looked at Ann and answered "This is about Scott and Sam. About an hour and a half ago William received a call on his direct line from an unknown number. He was about to hang up when he heard Sam's teammate Spike speaking. He immediately got his techs to trace the call but it was dropped before they could establish a location."

Laura's face fell, "That's why he called me. My stomach has been churning ever since."

Nodding Erik continued "As you all know they were snowed in at the Craig hospital. Well it appears that Sam and Scott were more injured than Scott let on when he called Laura."

Reaching out for Laura's hand Erik said "The extent of Scott's injury is unknown but it appears he cannot bear weight on his leg."

"He said he hit himself with a ski pole and that it was minor. Well he never actually said minor but I inferred that from what he did say" Laura said quietly wondering what really happened.

Taking Yvonne's hand Erik then said "William heard something distressing about Sam. But again we have no details."

Yvonne steeled herself as she squeezed Ann's hand "What did he hear?"

"Spike was speaking to another man; I'll get into that in a moment. But he told the man that the surgeon was with Sam because he could lose his leg due to infection" Erik conveyed.

Yvonne bit her lip and closed her eyes as she prayed a moment for Sam to be protected and not to lose his leg. She opened her eyes and said calmly "What else do you need to tell us?"

Erik spit it out quickly "The man Spike was speaking to is Noah Barton and Jonas Barton, his brother, was there too. Jonas is apparently shot, no details on how or why. But there is a hostage situation going on."

Ann breathed out "Not the Barton brothers that are responsible for that string of deadly bank robberies."

Nodding Erik responded "Yes those Bartons. William has dispatched a unit trained in severe weather to the hospital. They should be HALO jumping soon if not already. They will help resolve the hostage situation. William also dispatched an emergency medical team as close as he can get them due to the weather. The rest of Sam's SRU team is also being flown into the same location as the medical team. They will all take sno-cats to Craig hospital. The medical team will evacuate Sam and Scott if the hospital is not equipped to handle their needs."

Yvonne shared "The Craig hospital is very small. It was established by a local surgeon, Landry Craig, eons ago. Doctor Craig treated Sam numerous times when he was a teen. It was the closest one to where Wilson and Sam would go skiing. I trust that doctor. I wonder if he is still practicing, he would be in his seventies now."

"He saved Sam's life after the avalanche. Mrs. Craig, Maisie I think her first name was, took a shine to Sam. She plied him with homemade foods. Sam would only eat her chicken soup for nearly a week. That was when he got bronchitis after saving a little girl named Jasmin from the lake after she fell through thin ice."

Connie and Kimberly came in with coffee and tea for everyone. Erik had given them the low down before they arrived. Connie said "You four let Kim and I take care of everything."

Laura sat back in the chair. A single tear slipped out. She looked at the babies and prayed they would see their father again. She looked at Erik and asked "When will we know what happened? I mean how long is it expected before the unit arrives?"

Sitting back in the chair feeling a huge weight in his heart Erik answered "Like I said, the unit should be HALO jumping about now. It will all depend on how far off course they are blown by the gale force winds. I hope to hear something within the next hour or so. The unit has orders to contact William directly once they know the situation."

He turned to Yvonne and added "William is in the air as we speak on the way home."

Yvonne nodded and responded "That is good to know. I feel so badly for Will. He is always so far away and alone when these things happen. At least we have each other for support while we wait."

Erik's heart lurched. He was so worried about Scott and Sam. He had never had a life and death scenario with Scott before. The pain and worry he was feeling was his first glimpse into the life his brother led for years with Sam in Special Forces. His esteem for his brother's staying power and strength increased considerably. It was hard waiting and not able to do anything to protect your son.

Ann asked "Should we call Kyle?"

Erik took a deep breath then said "I've already put in a call into Kyle's ship. It may be a few hours before we can connect with him because they are on training maneuvers. I've also called Mark and Ryan so they can let their boys know what is happening and they can arrange emergency leaves if necessary."

Yvonne wrapped her arms around her sister as she saw the tears pool in eyes that were the same as hers. Waiting was sadly old hat to her. But for Ann this was new. She had never had to wait to find out Scott's fate before. It was a painfully new experience for her sister.

Anna began to fuss and Laura popped up out of the chair and raced to the bedroom. She returned with one of Scott's shirts. She swaddled Anna in the shirt and then stood holding Anna close as she gently swayed. The tears finally spilled out as her worry increased.

Erik went to Laura and pulled her towards him as his arms securely wrapped around her. He felt her slight tremors as she cried quietly into his shoulder.

Helicopter Enroute to Marksdale

Jules held on tightly to the seat. The helicopter was loud. Even though they were all given helmets with communication devices to talk to each other conversation was stilted and infrequent. Each of them were in there own thoughts. Spike and Sam were in danger. So was Sam's cousin Scott whom they all got to know and like when Sam was in the coma.

She knew that they were all wondering how Sam's leg had gotten so seriously infected in only four days' time. Jules also knew Sam resisted taking pain meds but he never shirked antibiotics. How could it get to a point that it required a surgeon and that he could possibly lose his leg?

The wind was throwing them around and the ride was exceedingly bumpy. They hit another air pocket or something and Jules' head whacked into the side of the helicopter.

Wordy saw it happen and called out "Jules you okay?"

"I'm fine" Jules responded.

"Fine?" Ed called back loudly.

Jules looked at Ed "We're all FINE. But my head is in the game."

The guys all nodded. Jules was right. How could they not be FINE given this situation?

Lou braced himself as they hit another rough patch. His thoughts were on Spike. From what they were told Spike was uninjured and he was trying to negotiate with cold-blooded killers. He hoped Spike was being successful, but Spike was in a bad position.

Spike had no backup, well maybe Scott but from the sounds of it he was incapacitated. Lou closed his eyes and tried to send Spike positive energy. It was hard though because he knew the Barton MO. Spike was the threat to the Barton's because he was the strongest. The Barton's mowed down the strongest first.

Lou was afraid for Spike. Would he put himself in front of someone else to save them? Sadly the answer was yes. Lou knew Spike would do whatever was necessary to protect Sam, Scott and the others in that hospital. No matter the cost to himself.

The team all stared at one another when they heard a familiar voice come over the headset. They had no clue until now that he was the pilot.

Zach called out "Almost there guys. Hang on. The landing is going to be rough with these crosswinds."

The landing was very rough. They were buffeted so much that several times each of them had cringed wondering if they would make it down alive. Once landed they all sighed and piled out of the helicopter. The team quickly headed into the building to meet with the medical team and the RCMPs.

Zach turned to his co-pilot and said "Damn that was close. I'll be back in a moment to help you secure the helicopter. I need to speak with Sergeant Parker before they head out." He unstrapped his harness and hopped out of the helicopter.

RCMP Substation Near Marksdale

Zach raced into the building and pulled the door closed behind him. He had trained to fly in these conditions but didn't think he would have a real world experience so soon after training. He stomped his boots to remove the built up snow and looked around as he removed his face protection. He located Team One and headed for them.

Wordy was the first to see Zach and smiled at him "It was a surprise to hear your voice Zach."

Zach grinned "Yeah, sorry I didn't identify myself sooner by I was concentrated on getting us here in one piece."

His expression was one of disbelief as Wordy said "I was none too sure we would make it a few times. You are a damned good pilot."

"Thanks. I was wondering if you could tell me what is up. All I got was orders to fly to Toronto, pick you up and bring you here" Zach stated.

Wordy grimaced. He hated to be the one to tell Zach about his cousins. But he quickly briefed Zach on the situation.

Zach raked his hands through his hair "Jesus Christ, both Sam and Scott. And Spike. God I wish I could go with you. I do have have orders to wait here in case of an evac. God if I had known it was Scott and Sam …"

Lou and Jules overheard the conversation between Wordy and Zach as they waited while Greg and Ed engaged with the RCMP officer in charge and the medical team lead.

Jules went to Zach and gave him a hug because he looked so distraught. He clung to her a moment then pulled back. He gave her a smile. It reminded Jules of Sam's smile.

Zach whispered "Thanks Jules. I needed that. You be careful out there. I wish I could fly you all directly there but that would be suicide in this weather."

Lou patted Zach's shoulder and said "Stay positive. You got us here. We'll get to your cousins and Spike and get them back here if they need to be evac'd."

Zach nodded then said "I gotta go help my co-pilot. Gods speed to you all."

Then Zach turned and pulled his face protection down and headed out the door. His gut was churning and he wished there was more he could do right now. But he would ensure the helicopter was prepped and ready for a return flight if necessary. That's was he could do and that's what he would do.

Team One followed Zach outside less than five minutes later. Jules, Greg, Ed, Wordy and Lou got into one sno-cat with an RCMP driver. The medical team climbed into a second fifteen passenger sno-cat. As the two sno-cats headed out, a third sno-cat ambulance followed them as they began the trek to Craig hospital.

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AN: A note of thanks to Samtastic reader Elise Deschat for providing me real world knowledge on infections, how they work and breed, how to test and treat them. I still took some fiction license in writing this section but she helped to make it more realistic by educating me.