The Alaskan Rescue (6 page)

“How can I assist?” CJ was in the cave ready to help. Joe was
with him.

Relief flooded Cole. CJ Powell had just relocated to Alaska to
be a fire ranger and was a newly retired captain from the San Francisco Fire
Department. He still kept up on his paramedic skills to aid in search-and-rescue
operations. It was just the kind of help Cole needed to get Sashi out of here
alive and in good form.

“Sashi, this is one of my best friends, CJ. He’s a great
paramedic, and you can trust him completely.”

“Hello” was all she said.

“CJ, why don’t you get over here and help me out with this
prima ballerina.”

Sashi looked at him seriously. “What if I can never dance
again?”

“Sashi, look at me.” She did so. “Never stop believing in
miracles. You are alive, miracle number one.”

“How many miracles are we allowed in this life?”

CJ jumped in. “A lot.”

“Isn’t that greedy?

“No,” Cole said. “I’m a doctor. I see miracles every day.”

“Miracles surround us,” Joe chimed in. “Just look around.
You’ll see miracles everywhere. I never stop believing and never should
you.”

“I’m going to ask you again where you hurt.” Cole was more
assertive this time.

“My right lower leg,” she whispered. “I think it’s broken.” She
was agitated as she looked into Cole’s eyes. He saw a flash of determination. He
liked that. Despite her condition, she still had spunk.

In one movement they lifted her petite form onto the stretcher.
“You didn’t survive out here by giving up, Sashi. Don’t give up on me now.”

While they put blankets on her, Cole told CJ to bandage the
injured arm tightly and prepare it for the trip.

“CJ is going to get an IV going. We’ll get meds to help with
the pain, but I can’t do anything until I’ve seen all your wounds.” Cole had
never had a rescue mission where he’d already fallen for his patient. He needed
to keep his head clear.

“I’ve got to look at your leg now. Breathe slowly.
One...two...three... All right, let’s get a look at that leg. I’m starting at
your thigh. Any pain?”

Sashi held on to the sides of the carrier she was on, eyes
closed and breathing. “No.”

“I now have a hand at your foot and at your knee. I’m going to
move your lower leg a little.”

“It’s tender down there.” She whispered through the
breaths.

“Let me just check a little bit more. I think you broke your
tibia—shin bone. I’m just going to turn it to the...”

Sashi screamed in pain. Then passed out.

* * *

I
T
WAS
THE
FIRST
TIME
Cole had sat in the office of the hospital’s head psychiatrist. Dr. Daniel
Samuelson had been a great help to Cole, especially with patients who suffered
from alcoholism or other addictions. He was also a friend.

“Good to see you, Cole,” Daniel said. Cole eyed his
distinguished-looking friend. Even though he’d left New York twenty years ago,
Daniel still dressed in a suit, or at least a crisp sport jacket and slacks,
when he was in the office, something unusual in Ketchikan. His dark hair had
been recently cut, showing off his handsome tanned face. He and his wife,
Melissa, both in their mid-fifties, traveled whenever they could.

“Thanks for agreeing to meet me,” Cole said.

“What’s going on?”

“Frankly, I need your help.”

His friend gave him a wry smile and took a sip of his coffee.
“Is this something I need to be charging for by the hour?”

Cole sat forward. “Possibly.”

Daniel got comfy in his chair. “Tell me more.”

“I’ve got a patient. Well, for a variety of reasons she’s more
than a patient to me.” He heaved a troubled sigh. “I need you to help
me
sort out some old issues. But I also need you to
help
her.
”

Daniel didn’t respond right away. At last, looking at Cole
intently, he said, “Just so you know, your hour started five minutes ago.” He
began to write on a pad.

Suddenly Cole felt uncomfortable. This was not the fun guy he
usually joked with. This was a different man altogether. “My patient’s name is
Sashi Hansen. I met her at Marshall’s three days before she was going to leave
and fly back east. I was up at the resort seeing some sick patients when I met
her.” Cole looked into the distance.

“Can you explain a little more?”

“I fell for her. I know it sounds crazy, and I realize looks
have a lot to do with it, but I swear my feelings are about more than that. I’ve
heard of love at first sight and never believed in it until that redheaded
beauty walked into my life. Now everything’s complicated.”

“
How
is it complicated?”

“I’ve told you about the time I went helicopter skiing with my
brother and an avalanche hit. It killed him instantly and left me alone on the
mountain with him for a very cold, lonely night.”

Daniel studied him. “How long ago was this?”

“Twenty years.”

“What does your brother’s death have to do with Sashi?”

Cole put his head in his hands. “Eight days ago I went out on a
search-and-rescue mission for two women. They’d been best friends since
childhood. One of the women was Sashi Hansen. She survived with serious injuries
from a bear attack. Her friend who was ten weeks pregnant was mauled to death.
Sashi had put herself in front of the bear to stop it, but her courageous
attempt was futile.”

Daniel continued to write more information down on his pad.
“You weren’t kidding about a situation. I heard about it the second I arrived
home from Europe. Is Sashi conscious?”

“No, but we’re hoping she will be soon. Her body had a bad
infection that went systemic. It scared the hell out of me. Only Jake knows my
feelings for the patient. I plan on remaining professional until she’s
healed.”

One of Daniel’s eyebrows shot up. “That isn’t just your
decision to make. Sashi may feel differently. You may risk losing her
affection.”

“Right now I need to get her better. But I need you to be the
one who tells her that Kendra is dead.”

“Why can’t
you?
” Daniel asked.

Cole shook his head. “I just can’t. It brings back too much
pain. That’s why I’ve come to you for help.”

“I’ll help you, but I need to know a few things first. Does she
have money to stay here in the hospital? And what about a place to stay
afterward?”

Cole shifted restlessly in his chair. “Kendra’s parents, the
Knights, are very wealthy and are paying all of Sashi’s health care costs. And
yes, she’ll have a place to stay. Sashi’s parents are terribly worried about
her.”

Daniel wrote furiously, then came to a stop. “I’ll agree to
help as long as you come to group counseling with Sashi.”

Cole almost jumped out of his chair. “What?”

Daniel nodded solemnly. “You heard me. I’ll help you as long as
you help her to know she’s not the only person suffering. Group counseling is a
wonderful form of therapy that can help you both.
You
need to forgive yourself, too. Survivors guilt is a terrible
weight to walk around with.”

Cole digested this. “So you’ll tell her about Kendra’s death
and help her?”

“As long as you come to therapy sessions,” Daniel stated
firmly.

“Deal.”

Cole’s pager went off. He looked at Daniel. “It’s the ICU,” he
said. “I’ll have to use my cell to find out if she’s awake now.” He dialed the
number. “This is Dr. Stevens. I just got a page from your department.”

“Dr. Stevens? Dr. Jenkins wanted you to know your patient Ms.
Hansen has just awakened and is off the ventilator.”

“I’ll be right up.” Cole clicked off and looked at his
colleague. “Do you have time to come with me? I’ll pay.”

* * *

S
ASHI
OPENED
HER
EYES
, but it was hard
to focus. She looked around the room and could see she was safe. Where was Cole?
He’d promised he wouldn’t leave her. And Kendra—where was she? Sashi tried to
talk. How long had she been out?

“Help.” Her voice came out in a squeak.

“Help.” It was worse this time. No sound at all. Her vocal
cords didn’t seem to want to work. She knew there were buttons to push. She’d
seen them on all the shows on TV. There was a red one that should bring
somebody. If you needed answers, then who cared if you scared people? At least
she was out of that cave.

That’s when she found the hospital remote. She pushed the
button to call for the nurse, but her bandaged arm hurt like hell. “Can someone
help me?” At least she’d found her voice. Sort of.

In just moments it seemed she had a team of doctors and nurses
surrounding her. But where was Cole? Where was her family? How come nobody was
here? Sure there were flowers. There was even her bedspread from home. Sashi
picked it up, wondering how it had got here. Where was her mom?

“Is my family here? Where is Dr. Stevens?”

No one listened. They checked her vitals and told her she was
fine. How was she fine? She didn’t know them. Oh, that’s right. A miracle had
happened. She was alive, she hoped she’d be able to dance again...

At that moment Cole strode swiftly through the door in green
scrubs. He hadn’t forgotten her! He’d saved her and he was still here. He would
tell her what was going on.

“Cole!” she said weakly. The nurses had propped her bed up. She
could see the man who’d saved her. He had the build of a god. Wow, he was
handsome! Even in a delusional state she could tell that. She was so happy to
see him, to see somebody she knew. He hurried to her bed.

* * *

C
OLE
CAUGHT
HIMSELF
. All he wanted to do was
kiss the woman senseless and tell her how happy he was that she was alive. But
the best thing for her right now was the care of a doctor. Also a friend. That’s
what he was going to be.

He gave her a warm smile. “New York, you’re truly our miracle
patient.”

“I am?”

He nodded. “You gave us all a scare. You were rushed into
surgery for the tibial fracture on your leg and reconstructive surgery on your
arm. Those surgeries went well—until you had a pneumothorax emergency.”

“I don’t understand,” she said, obviously confused. He could
tell she wanted more from him, but he refused to show any emotion.

“It means your lungs were going to collapse.”

“Oh, dear.”

“Don’t worry. You’re doing much better.”

“Can you tell me about my leg? Will I dance again?” Sashi
looked at him with hope.

He turned to glance at Daniel for support, gripping his hands
together to keep them from touching her. “Yes. You had one of the more fortunate
kinds of leg break. You’ll need to be on crutches for the next eight weeks, but
with two to four months of rehab, you should be dancing again.”

* * *

S
ASHI
AWOKE
AGAIN
TO
A
hospital room
filled with flowers. An older man wearing a white doctor’s jacket over a suit
stood up and walked over to her. Cole stayed in the background. “Hello, Ms.
Hansen. I’m Dr. Samuelson.” He extended his hand and she shook it. He had a very
firm handshake.

“Dr. Stevens and I have worked very hard on your case and we’d
been waiting for you to wake up. In fact he had a pager that alerted him the
moment you did. That’s how he was able to get here so fast.”

She smiled at Cole. “Thank you,” she said before turning her
attention back to the older doctor. Sashi liked the soothing quality of his
voice. It had a familiar ring, too. “I guess you’re from Brooklyn.”

“No, from Queens, but close,” he said with a laugh. “Not many
people in this part of the country can guess my hometown. Where did you
live?”

“In Manhattan at the Joffrey Ballet School, then moved to the
Village with six other girls all trying to make it big.”

“Did you make it big?”

“Would I be here if I had?”

“That depends on your conception of making it big. Many girls
would give anything just to be accepted to that school. You have to tell me what
you consider ‘making it big.’”

Sashi’s head started to reel. “Can...can you tell me what day
it is?”

“Ah...now you want to start talking about reality.”

She looked at Cole. “Could you tell me if my mother is around?
The blanket from my bedroom is here, but I don’t see her or my friend Kendra.
Where is she? Joe said everything would be all right.”

The two doctors exchanged glances. The silence allowed her to
give voice to her fears, the premonition she’d had all along. Tears began to
course down her cheeks. “No...no, she can’t be!” Her body became racked with
sobs. “How can my best friend be gone?”

The older man handed her the tissue box that was next to her
bed. She grabbed several tissues and hid her face behind them. “I tried to stop
the bear, but Kendra took off then climbed a tree. I couldn’t stop the
bear.”

Cole came over and sat down on the bed. He took her hand,
clearly trying to comfort her.

The other doctor sat down in the nearest chair. “Sashi,” he
began, “I want to tell you a story.”

“Why? What story?” Sashi struggled to stop crying.

“This is a good story. I think it will help you. Early on in my
practice a young man brought in a picture of his family—his wife and three
beautiful children. He showed me the picture and I agreed he had a lovely
family. Then he asked me a question. It was one of the hardest questions I’d
ever been asked in all the years I’d practiced psychiatry.”

Sashi’s heart was pounding. She was terrified of what this
doctor had to tell her. “What was the question?”

“He asked me how come he was still alive when they’re all
dead?”

Sashi reached for Cole’s hand and squeezed it. “How did the
family die?”