‘Pulse is weak and rapid.’ Logan said. ‘Can you check her level of consciousness?’
Georgie pressed the woman’s fingernail firmly. She groaned softly and pulled her hand away slightly. Good. At least she was responding to pain.
A spreading red stain under the woman’s head made it obvious that, whatever other injuries she had, she had taken a nasty blow to her skull and possible brain injury would be the main concern. Georgie slipped on gloves and felt around the back of the unconscious woman’s head to feel the extent of the blow. Her fingertips came away sticky with blood, but it was hard to tell how badly she had cracked her skull.
Logan was feeling along the woman’s chest and abdomen, checking for other injuries. ‘Nothing obvious,’ he said. Georgie knew that didn’t mean that there wasn’t something going on internally, though. Only a full examination at a hospital could verify that.
The unconscious woman groaned softly. Logan whipped out the small torch from the medical bag he carried with him and shone the light in her eyes. Although the pupils responded, the left pupil was bigger than the right.
The woman needed to get to hospital—and fast. Her initial head injury was bad enough but if there was more swelling inside the skull, the pressure would build up, causing permanent brain damage, possibly even death.
‘Has she been conscious at all?’ Georgie asked the climbers.
They shook their heads. ‘Not since we got here.’
Georgie put her mouth to the mother’s ear. ‘You’re going to be all right,’ she said, unsure whether the woman could hear her. ‘Jack’s okay. He’s off the cliff and being checked over in hospital. But he’s going to be fine.’
Without knowing more, Georgie knew they had to suspect a spinal injury. The sooner the woman was in a specialist unit the better. An A and E nurse she might be, but working in a well-equipped unit was entirely different from being outdoors in dying light in the wilds of Scotland with a woman who shouldn’t be moved unnecessarily until a proper asessment had been made of her condition. Thank God there was a doctor with her who obviously knew what he was doing. It was a good thing too that the RAF helicopter was standing by. If it wasn’t here, they’d be in much greater difficulty than they already were. She looked up to see Toby returning with a stretcher.
‘We need to get this lady straight to the Glasgow City General’s neurosurgery unit as quickly as possible. If we take her to the Fort William General she’ll only have to be transferred to Glasgow later. It’ll be risky lifting her onto a stretcher from here, but I don’t think we have a choice.’
While Logan spoke he was fitting a neck brace. ‘I can’t tell at this stage whether there’s a spinal injury. We’ll have to immobilise her as best we can for the trip.’
By this time, Kirk had joined them. He gave his sister a quick hug then stood back to let them get on with seeing to the fallen woman. He must have realised that, with his broken wrist, he would only get in the way if he tried to help.
Quickly Georgie, Toby and Logan, with the help of the two passing climbers, slid the stretcher under the injured woman, taking care not to cause any unnecessary movement, and strapped her in place. Moments later, they were loading her into the helicopter.
‘Do you want a lift?’ Logan asked. Once again he grinned and a dimple appeared in his cheek. ‘The weather’s closing in and you must be exhausted.’
She summoned the biggest smile she could manage. Apart from having Jess waiting for her at home, the last thing she wanted was to go up in the helicopter again.
‘The trip back down is a piece of cake,’ she told Logan firmly. ‘You just get Jack’s mum to Glasgow and don’t worry about me.’
Kirk stepped forward and placed his uninjured arm around Georgie’s shoulders. ‘She’s right. Georgie is the last person you have to worry about on these mountains. She’s like a cat,’ he said. ‘I’ll make sure she gets down in one piece.’
Logan seemed doubtful. ‘It’s getting dark.’ He jumped into the helicopter where Toby was securing the stretcher.
‘Hey, Georgie and I could go down this mountain blindfolded. Couldn’t we, sis?’ Kirk said.
Logan glanced up at Kirk, obviously noting the family resemblance for the first time. While Kirk’s hair wasn’t nearly as red as hers, it had the merest hint of russet in its dark depths. Apart from that, Georgie knew she and her brother had almost identical eyes.
‘I don’t like it, but who am I to argue? You two obviously know what you’re doing.’ Then he grinned at Georgie and unbelievably her heart did a crazy little dance in her chest. It was still beating rapidly as the helicopter lifted into the air, taking with it Dr Logan Harris.
‘Good work, sis,’ Kirk said once the helicopter had disappeared from view. ‘Are you okay? It looked a little hairy back there.’ He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. ‘It was a brave thing you did.’
Brave? Was it brave to do something when you had no choice? She had been terrified, but she had coped. She felt the old familiar surge of satisfaction. And, God, she had missed being out on the mountains, had missed being part of the mountain rescue team.
‘Let’s get out of here. I don’t know about you, but I could do with a pint.’ Kirk gave her a final squeeze before releasing her.
It wasn’t a pint Georgie could do with. Quite frankly a magic wand to miracle her to the bottom of the mountain was what she needed. Now it was over, her legs had turned to jelly and she wondered if she could keep them working long enough to make the descent. She also knew that if she couldn’t, Kirk was perfectly capable of carrying her down—plastered forearm or not—on his back if necessary. But she couldn’t do that to him. One way or another she would have to force her mind away from the climb and the feelings it had brought flooding back and focus on something else. Like Logan Harris, for example, a little voice from nowhere chirped in her head. Think of him. Think of eyes the colour of the moor in winter and a fleeting grin that could stop a heart.
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