Taylors's POV - Saturday 2 July 2011
"Joey, you know these channels like the back of your hand, do you know which way is the most likely direction that the water would have dragged them?" I know we're missing something and we don't have time for this, "I'm figuring that the Boss has released the passenger seat as it's missing and nowhere around the glider, I'm sure that somehow he's kept Ana in it to hold her body stable and that would have made it even harder to try to get to shore. If he wasn't injured I'd say he'd be just over there but they've searched and found nothing so he must have been dragged by the current." I say looking at Joey who takes a moment and then points across to the other side.
"I reckon we leave the cops to look over here and get going around the point, the water tends to move into the deep in the middle, it swirls and is a bugger to get out of and then it moves around the point to the right" he says quietly, "The infra-reds will help us see signs of life and also the seat had some reflective strips on it, hopefully we'll be able to find them." He shakes his head, "There's something about that seat, Mr Grey has been messing with those seats lately, he's had four different lots shipped and installed over the last couple of months but I don't know what was changed other than the last ones were a lot lighter. Lighter is good in a glider so I was happy to change it again and hopefully it would float too because it was a hollow design. I hope it didn't just break off and float away."
As we head the launch in the direction Joey mentioned, I say, knowing that the survival rates in this temperature water are low, "We have to find them, hypothermia will be setting in, that water is so damn cold, I would expect them to be unconscious in one to two hours and even though the Boss is fit, Ana's body is still wrecked from her car accident, she won't survive in the water for long. If they've made it to shore then there's really only a couple more hours for their survival." Joey nods, he spends a lot of time fishing in these waters and has rescued enough people to know what the consequences are if they are not.
Having scoured the edge of the water with a couple of false alarms from animals, suddenly I see it, a faint indication of body heat that is the shape of a human and am calling to Joey to train his glasses in the same direction and am rewarded by an excited, "Holy fuck, I think you've found them, or someone anyway, it had better not be a fisherman sleeping off too many beers."
We can't get the launch in fast enough and I am over the edge, calling out "Mr Grey! Miss Steele!" and am rewarded with a faint response.
"Taylor, is that you?" and it's Ana's voice, weak but alive and I send a quick thank you to whichever deity has been helping us, that one of them is alive at least and able to talk. I hope against hope that the Boss is with her and alive as there is no way he'd not be speaking if he was able.
"Yes Ana," I completely forget protocol, "We're almost to you." I say dragging the emergency kit with me as Joey anchors the launch and sets up the lights and calls the authorities. I draw back when the lights shine on the scene for a second before launching forward.
"I'm ok Taylor, it's Christian, he …." And her voice breaks, "Is he ok? Can you check him please? He stopped talking soon after we made it to the beach and I'm scared, I can't get him to respond." She stops to draw a laboured breath as I reach her, she's not ok but she must be in a better condition than the Boss, "He's still breathing but he's gone from being completely exhausted, to shaking and then his muscles started jumping weirdly and now that's all stopped. I tried to keep him talking but he went to sleep and he's getting so cold, I have been monitoring his pulse and it is so low, so low and I can't warm him up anymore." And she starts to sob as the relief of the rescue hits her and the stress of the situation catches up with her.
I wrap my jacket around her shoulders as she is shivering, "Ana, please calm down, I need to see if you can just move away from Mr Grey so that I can see if you can move by yourself" not trusting her "I'm ok" and she thankfully shuffles herself away but I notice that the Boss, despite his desperate condition has not let go of her hand and I feel a measure of confidence that we haven't lost him yet, hopefully the severity of his hypothermia can be reversed.
I am amazed that despite Ana also being in the water I would assume for the same amount of time, she isn't exhibiting anywhere near the same amount of hypothermia. As I work on him Ana says quietly, "While I was unconscious he kept me out of the water until right near the end" and realise that the Boss has obviously done absolutely everything to save her from the effects of it, knowing that he is stronger and more able to withstand the effects, I hope he didn't push himself too far.
The professionals arrive quickly and get to work warming the Boss, gently moving him so that his internal organs aren't any further damaged, making sure to transfer him carefully so that there isn't too much movement, gently warming him so that his cold heart isn't damaged further and I almost smirk, I've heard him describe himself as having no heart or a cold heart often enough but this is one time he is correct.
If they heat him too quickly, his heart could go into shock, ventricular fibrillation being one of the possible outcomes and subsequent heart damage. If they heat him too quickly, the cold blood from his extremely cold extremities returning to his body core would have the impact of cooling down his core more with a potentially disastrous outcome.
It's quite a balancing act to bring someone back from the brink of death from hypothermia without causing further damage and I've seen it go both ways, I hope against hope that he isn't too far gone.
Ana has been wrapped in a thermal blanket without letting go of the Boss's hand and while debate might rage as to whether it is wise to have body to body contact between hypothermic patients, I know subconsciously that Ana's presence will help him so ask if she can be transported in the same bed in the ambulance. Something about the way he's holding her hand, the way Ana whimpers her plea as well and the way I request it makes the paramedic stop mid complaint and nod her head saying "In this case, it won't hurt, she's tiny and will fit and we'll monitor both."
I have never been happier to make a call than the one to tell Welch the news, he puts me on speaker phone so that I can announce to both Ray and Carrick that their children have been found alive although the Boss is in a critical state and ask for Grace to be called into the room. I hear the cheer as Carrick goes out to deliver the news and know that somewhere in one of those rooms, my darling Gail will be shedding some happy tears, having watched the Boss with his almost dead hand still not letting go of Ana, I wish I was holding Gail now, wrapping my body around hers and comforting her.
Grace comes into the room and I can hear her quiet sobs as she tries to control herself and I let her know that the Boss is on the way to the hospital and that one of the boys will drive her to the hospital if she wishes. Carrick speaks up to say, that he is fine to drive and will bring Ray so that they are all there when the ambulance arrives, I then inform them that the Boss and Ana will be coming in via helicopter rescue so may well be there before they can make it back. The promise to hurry is genuine as I can hear Grace retreating as she heads for the door before her footsteps are heard running back in to say "Thank you so much Taylor for finding them, I'm sorry I didn't say it earlier," and I shake my head.
"Ma'am, I just wish we'd found them earlier, I'll see you all at the hospital when I can get there, in the meantime, please bring Sawyer with you."
Christian's POV – Sunday 3 July 2011
"Oh thank God, you're awake. It's ok Christian, its ok. I'm right here." I hear as if in a dream, as I thrash against the images flashing past my eyes, the memories as they assail me and my abject terror when the glider hit the water comes back, engulfing me and I struggle to breathe as I relive it all.
How I was caught for a second, unable to free myself and then when I did, realised that we were sinking and I had just minutes to get Ana out and was so hoping that the experimental seats that I'd sent to Joey had been installed and would work as designed. The seat was a newly designed flotation device, made to be easily detached and float in the case of an accident and I couldn't believe that the first time this prototype was actually tested was in saving the love of my life, my reason for living.
My heart stopped for a second when Ana didn't respond and then I realised she had been knocked unconscious by the impact but she was alive. I didn't know what injuries she'd sustained given all her prior injuries so it was safer to leave her in the seat and float her out. I'd purposely brought the glider down as close as I could to a beach so that it wouldn't be too deep and the water pressure wouldn't be too high but as soon as I managed to wrench Ana and the seat through the shattered cockpit and outside, the current had grabbed me like a ragdoll and we were swept away from the beach and safety.
The freezing water was such a shock to my system but all those years of being Elena's submissive and then even as a Dominant, where I often incorporated freezing showers as I punished myself for my own infractions, meant that I was able to handle the cold better than most. It meant though that I knew I had to get Ana out of it as fast as I could because she would sink very quickly into hypothermia if she was subjected to the freezing water.
So when the current took us, I held her above my head, holding her out of the water until I no longer could, unfortunately it meant that I couldn't really control where we were headed and we certainly didn't head towards the nearest beach. At my weakest point, the current swirled me around and I nearly lost my grip on Ana. As I desperately tried to hold onto her, the current pulled us both under and soaked her, wetting her thoroughly and filling me with despair but thankfully, the current then rounded the point and practically deposited us on the beach.
I was able to carry Ana up the beach and that dip had actually woken her so I was able to release her from the seat as she said she wasn't sore, it certainly didn't seem like anything had been broken again and I was able to hold her close to me for a bit until my own body started closing down. My panic rises again as I remember holding her to me, trying to warm her body and then I don't remember anything else, other than an overwhelming fear wrapping itself around me and dragging me down. My only tether to the here and now being Ana's hand that I felt holding me, I wasn't letting her go and while I could hear her talking to me and trying to keep me awake, I couldn't do it. The terror was there, I knew I was succumbing to the hypothermia but I couldn't make my body do anything until finally I had fallen asleep and I guess it was some time after then that we were rescued.
The panic washes over me again, is it just a nightmare? Have I lost Ana after all? Did I not save her? I will not be able to live without her and I struggle to breathe as my heart pounds in my chest.
"Christian, breathe, it's ok, I'm right here, please open your eyes and look at me," Ana's tortured voice finally cuts through and I slowly open my eyes, willing it to not be a nightmare and there she is, worried eyes looking at me, her hand in mine again and I smile wearily at her.
"Where are we? Are you really ok?" I try and lift my hands to hug the angel hovering over me but I am connected to all sorts of machines and I can't seem to feel my body, my feet feel funny and my fingers are sore and then I realise that Ana is holding my hand and I simply squeeze it as she lifts it to her lips and bursts into tears and leans against me.
I'm so frustrated that I can't hold her to comfort her so I reach to tug out one of the lines but before I have a chance my mother is in the room and bursting into tears as well, behind her I can see Dad and he looks like he has tears in his eyes too.
I see Ana step back but she continues holding my hand, rather, I'm never letting her go and Mom's arms are around me almost lifting me off the bed as she sobs, "Oh Christian, I've never been so worried in my life. "
"Mom tell me, is Ana really ok because she's not answering me?"
Mom sniffles and wipes her eyes as she pulls away just a little and smiles at Ana, "Yes darling, she's fine, you saved her but you nearly ended up dead yourself, do you realise how close you were? You are being monitored still to see if there is any permanent damage but Ana has no hypothermia effects, we can't understand how you ended up so bad but Ana is pretty much unscathed, what did you do to save her? We know that by some miracle you managed to bring that glider down in a way that she wasn't injured again other than a bit of jarring but how did you do the rest?."
My voice is raspy and I'd love a drink but I need to explain so that I can get it out of my own head and reduce the terror a little for myself, "I was able to get the glider back under control, so the landing wasn't too bad, I've done something to my leg but nothing too bad I don't think and when I could finally get Ana out of the cockpit, I held her out of the water," I say shrugging, my words come out as a rush.
"She was unconscious and wouldn't have survived half an hour in that water and I thought I could get us onto the beach but once the current took us, I knew we were in danger and I wasn't risking her so I held her up and the current swirled us around and Ana ended up wet which woke her up and I was so scared that the cold would get to her…" the panicky feeling starts coming back and it's Ana's gasp that has everyone turning towards her.
"Christian, you held me up that whole time? You must have held me over your head because my legs were dangling down and they only got wet when I was dunked, I had just come to and was wondering what was going on. I remembered the glider going down and seeing my watch weirdly before we hit the water and then I looked at my watch when I came to and was trying to figure out what the noise was and where we were and then I ended up in the water."
Ana is looking at me incredulously, "Oh Christian, no wonder you were so affected, you were swimming with an injury and holding me and the seat above your head and in the water for all that time, no wonder you collapsed," and as her face crumples, Mom moves out of the way, allowing Ana to come back into me and even though she's hesitant and my arm feels like jelly, I guess, I must have stressed the muscles from holding her up for so long, I pull her in and she lays her head on my shoulder, against my neck, sobbing, I know it's relief because I feel the same way.
The what-ifs are too huge for me to contemplate and my tears freely meld with Ana's until finally feeling Ana's heart beat against mine, mine calms and it's only later that I realise that everyone else has left the room, leaving us to our emotions.
"You've saved me so many times Christian," Ana finally sniffles and I hug her tighter.
"Baby, you save me every day and without you, there's no point in living, what would I be without you?" I breathe into her ear and she snuggles back into me.
"You would be the truly wonderful person that you already are, when will you understand that?"
I shake my head, we are not going to argue about this, I know that I am rotten to the core and the only light that shines is because of her but I don't want to talk about me right now, I just want to revel in the fact that we are both alive but she gasps again, and I tilt my face back towards her "I haven't said thank you. So, 'Thank You' for saving me but we need to thank Taylor because it was him that found us."
"Oh baby, my thank you is that you aren't injured again and that you are lying here with me, against all protocol I'm sure and the feeling in all my extremities is coming back," I say suggestively and finally I hear the giggle that is my lifeblood and squeeze her tighter.
Something else strikes me as I stroke Ana's hand, "Where is your ring and does anyone else know that we're engaged?"
However before Ana can respond, a friendly looking nurse enters the room, "I'm so glad to see you looking so much better Mr Grey and Miss Steele." She stops with a smile on her face and waves for Ana to stay where she is as she starts to try to move off the bed, "My name is Nurse Hughes and don't worry, you don't have to move, Miss Steele. You know what happened last night," she says looking at Ana who smiles. The nurse elucidates for me "We five ER nurses have never had an unconscious patient hold onto someone so tight that we couldn't release them and since we were able to do everything around Miss Steele then and her presence stabilised your heart rate," and she looks encouragingly back towards Ana, "I am happy for you to stay right where you are, you are good for him."
"Mind you, we need to check you both and then if the feeling has come back to all your extremities and your leg isn't badly damaged, you should be able to leave within an hour or so and return to the comfort of your own home and we will be free of the journalists and all the rest appearing around the hospital in disguises," she shakes her head in disgust and continues quietly, "I believe your security and Dr Grace have been liaising a release and exit strategy that should have you out of here soon."
I thank her, both for her pleasant manner, her efficiency and flexibility and for providing the information that I was desperate to hear, I just want to get Ana home and alone but will make sure that management knows that Nurse Hughes and the other ER nurses have been excellent, so I ask for their names and ask for the drink that I desperately need and then she leaves us alone with a last genuine smile.
Having Ana alone and to myself for the rest of the day isn't going to be an option I realise when Taylor comes in, relief plainly visible on his face and I wonder what he went through trying to find us, "Sir, it is excellent to see you are …" and he stops, I've never seen that much emotion cross his eyes, "on the mend."
"Thank you Taylor, I understand you found us." I start to say as he shakes my hand and he shrugs, lifting his other hand to stop me.
"Actually Sir, the thanks need to go to Joey, he was the one that knows that area like the back of his hand and he was the only one that suggested where the current had most likely taken you, so when I followed his route, using the infra-reds, we found you. So there are quite a few people that were involved, all I did was spot you."
"Thankfully he'd also followed instructions and installed the new prototype seats in the glider otherwise it would have been a whole different story." I say and shudder, so glad that they were available and that Joey had installed them.
Taylor continues, "Dr Grace has negotiated your release which is almost harder than having a prisoner released from jail and the rest of the family have headed back to Escala, separately to draw the media and we are to exit via the delivery area and hopefully we'll miss most of the media pack doing that."
It is obvious it has been a long day for Taylor and I wonder if he's had any sleep because he then actually chuckles, "Your father said to tell you, and I quote "That was a good attempt to miss Family Dinner but it has now been relocated to Escala and will be a quick one, just so that everyone including Ray can see that you are both alive and then they will all head home." So Gail has set up dinner and we should have you home within an hour."
I have to smile at my father's words but I want to announce to the world that Ana and I are engaged and say as much and Taylor responds with "Sir, if you are wondering, Ana gave me the ring before the police arrived as I assumed the press would have a field day if something was leaked, so I have had it in safe keeping and at this point, still no-one but Ray knows and he said he'd not say anything, that it was up to you to tell your family, not him," and he hands Ana her ring which she smiling broadly places back where it belongs.
Then to both Taylor and my surprise, Ana springs up from the bed and hugs Taylor giving him a kiss on the cheek and saying quietly, "Thank you Taylor, I had almost given up hope and I was so scared, thank you also for insisting that we both be allowed in the ambulance together."
Taylor blushes as I raise my eyebrows at him and Ana releases him, "I'm very glad we found you when we did," is all that he manages to say before turning and taking his leave.
Opening my arms, my angel returns to me and with her snuggled in against my chest, all is good in my world again, she's mine and soon everyone will know.