Saving the Doctor Pt. 08

"Oh FUCK! Let's go get her!"

"No she's over a steep ledge, I don't know how we're going to get her out, even with 2 of us, we need more help. I got no cell service, do you?"

"Oh shit I got none. It's like a dead zone right here. Fuck what do we do?!"

"Head down to the resort and get help okay? She's down past the far loop of this trail here. Where it almost meets the snow fence."

"Yeah okay! Fuck I hope she's alright. Okay I'm off!"

He jumped and slid off down the run, crouching and gaining speed. Jon sighed and started trudging down the trail again.

"Carly?!" He yelled out from the snowfence.

"Hey! Did you find someone!?" she yelled back faintly.

"Yeah! He's going to get help. You're gonna be okay!"

Jon climbed over the snow drift and leaned over the ledge but he couldn't see her.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm really scared and my leg really fucking hurts!"

He could hear the tears in her voice.

"Every time I move or even shift a bit it hurts like hell!"

Jon felt like she needed him. He felt like he needed to be there with her.

"I'm gonna come back down there then!" he shouted back.

"I... Okay are you sure? You don't need to flag them down or anything?"

Jon thought. He saw his other ski still sitting in the snow and set it upright into the drift against the snow fence for them to see.

"I marked the spot and told him exactly where to find us. If you need me I'm coming."

"Okay be careful!" She sobbed.

He tried to climb his way down slowly, but it turned into sliding his way down not so slowly and finally jumping desperately away from the rocks as he lost control and fell.

"Jon!" He heard Carly scream as he plummeted head-first into the snow.

He flailed and climbed his way back upright and out of the soft snow, just glad he didn't smash his head on a rock and found himself laughing as he wiped the snow off his face.

Carly gave a nervous laugh with him as he trudged back over to her.

"I thought you were really hurt, or that I might have to crawl over there and dig you out too!"

He kept laughing as he collapsed onto his knees next to her. "You've got a broken fucking leg and you're worried about me?"

"Yes! You're all I got right now," she pouted cutely and looked up at him.

His heart melted and he reached down and gave her a hug. It just felt like the right thing to do. She squeezed him back tightly and he felt her crying again.

"Thank you so much for saving me. I couldn't breathe and I thought I was gonna die. I was so scared," she sobbed.

He held her preciously and felt his eyes moistening. "You might have. You had me scared out of my mind I can't believe I almost couldn't find you. I almost lost you. It was the worst 60 seconds of my life."

He pulled away from her shoulder and looked at her through his own tears. They stared at each other with shuddering breaths. He sunk into those perfect tender blue eyes... He couldn't help it. He started to bend down, wanting to kiss her more than anything, and he almost thought she moved to do the same, but then she suddenly winced and swore looking down at her leg again.

He looked down as well with a sobering frown.

"I should take a look at how bad that is," he said, tearing himself away from the moment.

"It hurts mostly just below the knee," she said, as he ran his hands up her leg.

He felt that it was swollen and she was extremely tender over the bone, but he didn't feel the skin tenting up anywhere and it didn't seem way out of place.

"We should try to splint it," he said.

"W- With what?"

He looked around and saw his other ski still lying where he'd dug her away from the tree. He trudged over and picked it up, shrugged and started banging it against the tree.

"Jon what the fuck?!"

He finally succeeded in breaking it in half and took the pieces back to her.

"It'll be better than nothing. We'll tie them on either side with our scarves," he said.

She frowned but helped him to position them on her leg and took off her scarf.

"K this might hurt as I tie this."

"Might?!" she said looking scared.

"Sorry. It's gonna hurt, but then it'll feel a lot more stable."

"Okay... I trust you," she said with a brave smile.

He hated that he had to do this. But he pulled the knot tight.

"FUCKER!" she blurted out as he pulled, and he apologized as he tied it off.

He wrapped his own scarf around her lower leg and prepared to pull it tight.

"So the bad news is this one'll probably hurt more."

"Goddammit," she said, closing her eyes and letting her head fall back.

"Do you still trust me?" he asked with a smirk.

She gave him an annoyed look. "Yes... but don't push it."

"K. It might help if you rub your hands together."

She made a confused look but did it anyway. "Okay why w- AAHH you FUCKER!"

He pulled the scarf tight and tied it off. "Tried to distract you."

"Rrrrh it did NOT fucking work. Jesus Christ..." she winced and breathed hard.

He tested out the makeshift splint. "You can still bend your knee a bit though, I think it needs one more.

"Are you sure? It actually already feels better than it was, now that the sting's wearing off."

He played with it some more. "No, if we need to actually move you it'll bend. Don't suppose you're wearing a belt?"

"No."

He paused for a second and then started to take off his jacket.

"What are you doing?"

"My undershirt should work," he said.

He stripped off his sweater and finally took off the long-sleeved base-layer. He noticed her eyes wandering over his torso and couldn't help feeling good about it.

"Hey my eyes are up here," he joked.

She rolled her eyes and smiled through a blush. "You don't actually need a third wrap you just wanted to show off."

He smirked and put his sweater and jacket back on as they eyed each other wordlessly.

"You're not supposed to be able to bend your knee that's the whole point."

"Fine," she said. "Do your worst."

He wrapped it around and got ready to tie again. "I don't like having to do this any more than you."

"Yeah right, this is your sweet revenge for me ruining your weekend probabl-AH! you FUCKING FUCK! GOD! DAMMIT!"

He couldn't help but chuckle as he finished tying it off. "It's over, just relax."

"Surprising me didn't work the first time!" she said in annoyance.

He finally collapsed in the snow next to her. "Feel better?"

"It DOES feel more stable," she said begrudgingly. "Thanks, again."

He smiled as they caught their breaths again, sitting next to her in the snow. The silence drew on as the breeze picked up and snow danced around them.

"I'm cold," Carly said with a shudder.

He couldn't help feeling happy for the excuse to put his arm around her and she slowly rested her head on his shoulder and snuggled into him.

A long while passed as they sat, warming each other in the snow.

She spoke softly, "I'm sorry for laying all that on you on the ski lift"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry I reacted like that. I meant to say I don't know what to do. Not that I don't..."

"It's okay. I shouldn't expect you to just blurt it back and run away with me. You're a good man, you're better than that. At least you try to be. It's part of why I... you know."

He closed his eyes and fought off more tears, and his hand tightened on her shoulder. It had felt SO good to hear those words. He sighed and forced himself back into reality.

"I'm not THAT loyal. We both know that," he said.

A few awkward seconds passed.

"You were right though. I'm sorry, I think I just wanted some type of catharsis. I couldn't help feeling jealous. Maybe I just needed the closure of saying it. But, I get it, things are different now. We can't go back to how things were, just cause I want to... as if I can pretend all that shit never happened. So, thanks. ...for keeping things real."

He closed his eyes and couldn't think of a response, feeling like he wanted to disagree with her now, but he simply kept holding her, absorbing her soft warmth against the cold wind.

After what felt like forever they finally heard the rumble of a snowmobile and then calling voices. He stood up and called back and they agreed they couldn't lift her up the cliff, surprised that he had been able to make it up and down at all. They said they had already called for a helicopter. Blake and a few of his friends were there, calling down words of encouragement. They eventually left though, agreeing to tell Beth and the others what was happening.

After another long while of waiting and trying to keep warm in each other's arms as the sun moved further west and the mountain's shadow darkened over them, they finally heard the chopper blades in the distance.

"I've never ridden in a helicopter before," she said nervously as it approached.

"Me neither. I think it might be fun," he said encouragingly.

"I don't like heights! I might freak out."

"You'll probably be on a stretcher, you might not even see much."

"You'll come with me right?"

"If they'll let me yeah."

"I want you to stay with me " She squeezed him tighter and nuzzled into his neck.

He pulled her in closer and smiled at the feeling.

The rescue crew came down out of the helicopter with a stretcher and complimented them on the splint, but replaced it with one of their own before transferring her to the stretcher. They pulled Jon up as well without any question and shut the door of the chopper as they started floating up and away. He waved back at the people at the snow-fence, and looked out the window in awe of the view over the mountains, with the sky starting to change colours at the hint of a sunset. He looked over at Carly, holding her hand in support and smiling at her exhausted face, finally safe and sound, thinking the view inside was even more amazing.

**********

"Do you take any meds?" the nurse asked Carly.

"No," Carly said.

The excitement of the rescue and the chopper ride had finally faded and they sat, comfortable and warm, in an quiet ER room.

"Any allergies?"

"Sulfa," Carly said. "Hives and lip swelling."

"Got it. And last time you ate anything?"

"Around 1:30 or 2 o'clock-ish, I think."

"K. Are you pregnant?"

"No."

"Last period?"

"Um, last week of January."

"... kinda late then," the nurse said looking up from her clipboard.

"Yeah but... that one was kinda late too, I've been going through a lot of stress... I'm not really sexually active either so..."

"K. I'll get you to give a urine sample anyway. I know it's annoying but I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't," the nurse explained.

Carly sighed and rolled her eyes as the nurse left behind the curtain again.

"Standard procedure Carly," Jon reassured her, holding her hand again.

He had barely let it go since the helicopter. She had held it like a lifeline, one he was happy to give. It was a longer ride than he'd expected. They'd landed in a small city about about an hour drive away from the resort. He had just texted Jeff and Beth. Carly had spoken with Grace on the phone, who had insisted on getting ready to drive down there.

The nurse eventually came back and Jon finally pulled his hand away from hers and stood up to leave, to let her give the sample.

"Jon..." she spoke up before he got to the curtain.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. Again," she said with a gentle smile. "You're a good friend. And I... I'm sorry about all the drama. I just got emotional and wanted..." she sighed, and shook her head. "I don't know what I wanted honestly, but I know that I'm sorry, and that I'm lucky to have you as a friend, and I hope that it can stay that way."

Jon stared at her, wanting to be happy to hear it, but not being able to stop disappointment from flooding through him. He suddenly hated the word friend and wanted to hear her say she loved him again.

"Are... we okay?" Carly said furrowing her brow at his silent stare, trying to read him.

"Y- Yeah..." he stuttered and nodded. "Yeah it's fine. S- sounds good."

She gave an amused smirk. "K... well get out of here I gotta figure out how to pee with this splint on. Maybe go eat something, you're looking kinda spacey."

He gave a nervous smile and nodded, awkwardly finding his way out past the curtain.

He dialed Beth's number in the waiting room.

"Hey! Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Carly's almost certainly got a broken leg, but we're waiting on the x-ray to see how bad. She got caught in a tree well when she went off course, and I had to dig her out. It was a close call."

"Oh my God... and they said you like, jumped off a cliff to save her?!"

He chuckled, "Kind of. It wasn't crazy far. The bigger drop off was just past. She could've easily fell off that. She's lucky to be alive."

"Blake and all his friends wouldn't stop talking about you, you're like the star of the weekend here."

He shook his head. "Well I'm glad it was entertaining for them."

"No it's not like that... c'mon Jon they're not that bad."

"I know... Taylor was the one that got help. I just felt bad for Carly. At least it wasn't that big a spectacle and whoever was up there couldn't really see her."

"Yeah I... guess. Why did you guys take off together anyway? We didn't know where you went," Beth said cautiously.

"Oh... She was having trouble with the first run and I stayed back to help her. We lost you guys after that when you weren't waiting around at the bottom," he explained.

"Right... K, so when do you think you'll be back?"

"Hard to say at this point. She might have to stay the night."

"Are... you gonna stay there too then?"

"I dunno, we'll have to see."

"K. Well, you're being a good friend, she's lucky you're there."

"Thanks. Hey, you just have fun tonight okay? Go to the party, and don't worry about me."

"Yeah I was gonna ask if you'd be okay with that, um, okay. Yeah that's good, I will."

"Say hi to the rest of them, tell them Carly's gonna be okay."

"I will. ...I love you, Jon," she said.

"...thanks, I... miss you," he said, cringing at the horrible sounding pause, and at her silence that followed.

"Bye," she finally replied.

He made his way back to Carly's room and smiled as he saw her brave washed-out face back under the covers on the stretcher. She asked him a few things about what might happen. He explained it could be anything from a simple cast to surgery and the x-ray would tell them. He changed the subject to try to distract her and they talked about music and movies and work, starting to laugh and joke again.

Finally the orderly walked in.

"Okay we're ready to take you over to the x-ray. Is your partner coming too?"

They both blushed but she gave an amused smile and never corrected him. "Yeah."

Suddenly the nurse walked in. "Actually, Drew can you wait a second?"

She pulled him back behind the curtain and he could hear whispering.

Carly looked up at Jon, "Sorry, I figured it was simpler than correcting him."

"S'all good, we can pretend for a bit if you want," Jon said with a dismissive chuckle, but felt himself blushing harder and his chest exploding in excitement at the thought.

"It's okay I won't push it," Carly said reassuringly with a smirk.

Finally the nurse came back in and paused with a serious look.

"So, Carly I have some news for you that's going to complicate things. I know you weren't expecting this but... Your urine test shows that you're pregnant."

Carly stared at her in silent shock.

Jon looked back and forth between the nurse's apologetic face and Carly's disbelieving frown.

"That's impossible. I had my period in January and I haven't had sex since," Carly said in bewildered anger.

"I mean... it's really rare that it's wrong. It's a very strong positive line on the test, I can show it to you."

"Please."

The nurse went back to the desk and quickly returned and showed them an unmistakable positive pregnancy test.

"How?!!" Carly asked desperately.

"When was the last time you had sex?" the nurse asked.

Carly paused and gave a quick glance at Jon, "New years."

"Was the period in January a normal one?"

"Well... actually no it was really light. ...Like just a tiny bit of spotting for a couple days, but like I said it was a crazy-stressful time. I know that can make your periods lighter or even stop altogether right?"

"Well yes, but I mean, obviously it wasn't that..." the nurse gave her a pained smirk.

Jon finally spoke quietly, almost to himself, "It was probably an implantation bleed."

"Oh, do you work in healthcare too?" The nurse asked.

"Yeah he's a family doc. Jon what's an implantation bleed?" Carly asked impatiently.

"There can be a bit of spotting when the embryo implants. Can mimic a light period or an early miscarriage but it's not a dangerous thing it just...yeah." His head was spinning.

"So when was your last NORMAL period?" The nurse asked.

Carly let out a sigh through tears that were starting to form. "I guess... it would have been around Christmas."

"Well then yeah, I'd say New Years would've been the ticket," the nurse replied. "Sorry I know this is heavy news. I'll give you a few minutes, and then we'll still do the x-ray, but we have to be more careful about shielding you with the lead drapes okay?" she left with a sympathetic smile.

Tears streamed down Carly's face as she stared off into the curtain and finally, slowly turned towards him. He started welling up too, as the revelation sunk into both of them and they stared into each other's eyes.

"Jon, it's yours," she whispered hoarsely.

"You're sure?" he whispered back.

She nodded. "It's not his. We hadn't... not like..." she sighed, "Yeah I'm sure."

Jon closed his eyes and nodded. His whole body felt like it was pulsing. He grasped her hand tightly and moved his other hand to caress her arm.

She squeezed him back tightly and furrowed her brow, looking into him almost in wonder, but then her face suddenly seemed to snap out of it and she looked away with a frown and a sob and ripped her hand away from his almost in fear.

"Carly I-"

"Jon," she interrupted him. "Can I just be alone for a bit?"

"Y-yeah... sure."

"I just... I just need to be alone for a few minutes."

"Okay... okay," he said, hugging himself and watching her avoid his gaze as he backed away and left the room.

Jon walked back into the waiting room in a daze, then sat down and collapsed with his head in his arms.