‘Yeah, Fred did a good job, Edie. He looked after you really well.’ Ethan turned quickly, tears blurring his eyes, and found Kate’s gaze. In the flickering firelight he thought he saw her eyes bright with tears too.
‘All right, Edie?’ Fred was looking at his wife, his eyes tender now.
‘Good enough, Fred.’ Edie smiled towards her husband and he nodded, turning his attention back to the tea that Kate was holding.
‘He always knows me.’ Edie murmured the words quietly, and Ethan nodded, his fingers suddenly clumsy with emotion as he fumbled in his backpack for the inflatable splint.
* * *
Ethan had been so tender with Edie. He’d glanced back in Kate’s direction more than once as he’d worked, a silent ‘are you okay?’ and Kate had responded with a smile. Fred was confused, reacting sometimes to reality and sometimes to what was going on in his head, but he was calm now, watching Ethan tend to Edie.
‘What’s that?’ The sound of a steady beat in the distance promised that the helicopter would be here soon.
‘They’re coming to take you to the hospital, Fred.’ Kate wondered whether she should mention the intended mode of transport just yet.
‘I want to go home. Tell them to take me home.’ Fred frowned suddenly.
‘Okay. But don’t you think they ought to make sure that Edie’s all right first?’ She nodded over to where Ethan was carefully putting Edie’s arm into an inflatable splint.
‘She’s all right.’ Fred turned to Edie. ‘You’re all right, aren’t you, girl?’
‘Yes, she’s going to be all right. But she needs to go to the hospital so that they can look at her arm.’ Ethan turned, speaking gently but firmly.
Fred turned his mouth down, as if he wasn’t quite in agreement, but wasn’t going to argue. ‘They’ll do well to get a car up here.’
‘They’re sending a helicopter for you.’ Ethan grinned.
‘Helicopter? Hear that, Edie? We’re going in a helicopter.’ Fred sounded almost excited.
* * *
The paramedics took over from Ethan and he helped Kate get Fred to his feet and out of the cave. The helicopter pilot climbed down, supervising as they guided Fred into the helicopter, and strapped him in securely. It was all quickly done but Kate saw Ethan find the time to jog up to Edie’s stretcher, taking her outstretched hand and bending to exchange a few words with her.
Another party of mountain rescue volunteers, who had been combing the area next to theirs, arrived and Mike went over to talk to them briefly, before re-joining Kate and Ethan.
‘You must be wanting to get back for Sam.’ Mike spoke to Ethan. ‘The others are going now. Why don’t you go with them? I’ll see to the fire in the cave.’
‘Sam’s with my parents. I doubt they’ll appreciate my turning up in the middle of the night just to stare at him while he sleeps. I’ll take care of the fire. I’ve got to go and pack my medical things up.’ Ethan was pulling his coat back on, Fred having been persuaded to give it up.
Mike grinned. ‘In that case, I might go home and stare at my kids. Do you know the way back? If you get lost, I’m not coming out again tonight.’
Ethan chuckled. ‘I know the way. My memory’s not that bad.’
He glanced at Kate. A silent question, the answer to which needed no thought at all. They were a team. They stayed together.
‘Sounds good. Mike, I’ll go with Ethan.’
‘All right. If you’re sure.’
She was sure. Leaving him now was unthinkable. She watched as Mike and the other volunteers disappeared into the darkness and then walked back to the cave, where Ethan was repacking his rucksack.
Kate stuffed the unused blanket back into her own rucksack. Suddenly, after feeling that there was so much that she had to say to him, she couldn’t think of a single word to say it with.
‘Hey...’ He sat down, poking the fire with a stick, and it flared suddenly. ‘Bit of a waste of a good fire.’
Kate laughed, sitting down next to him. She was not quite touching him, but somehow it felt as if she were. ‘Fred made a good job of it.’
‘Yes, he did. If he built it.’