‘Let’s keep our fingers crossed for some good news. The first rock-breaking crew must be due out for a break soon. They sent the second team in when we came out with Bruce.’ Alex pushed back a mud-encrusted overall sleeve to look at his watch. ‘They’ll be bringing in the next SERT watch in an hour or so. We might well escape having to go back in.’
‘It’ll be Angus and Tom on the next shift.’
‘Yeah. Gus will enjoy having something different to do.’
‘He’s going a bit hard out these days, isn’t he?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Since Fliss left. I think he’s more miserable than he’s letting on. He’s covering up by giving a hundred and ten per cent of himself at work.’
‘Look who’s talking!’ White teeth gleamed in the firelight as Alex grinned but then his face softened. ‘Giving a hundred and ten per cent is what this job is all about. You know that probably better than any of us, Sam.’
‘Yeah.’ The subtle praise was as warming as the fire but Sam’s response came out as almost a sigh. It fell into a silence that felt as dark as the night pressing in on the edges of the brightly lit rescue base set-up.
Alex cleared his throat. ‘When you asked, down in that tunnel, if it had occurred to me that we were nuts…you were serious, weren’t you?’
He sounded wary, Sam decided, and no wonder. If your job was the most important thing in your life—which it had to be if you were going to cut the mustard as a SERT member—and the partner you depended on started having doubts, the repercussions could be huge.
They did work with other partners sometimes, when illness or injury or holidays interfered with roster placements, but it was never quite the same. Communication could seem awkward. The level of trust just a shade not deep enough. And the combination added a tension it was much better not to have given the type of work they could be required to do.
A curious restraint hung between them now. Sam had always been more than happy to talk to Alex about anything. She had no secrets from someone who was closer to her than any of her brothers even. A ‘best friend with attitude’ was how she’d once described their relationship. How would it affect that relationship if she kept her current emotional state bottled up? Could that, in fact, be more destructive than a confession? Maybe she should test the waters.
‘There are moments,’ Sam admitted cautiously, ‘when I do wonder whether there should be more to life than what we do.’
She could actually feel Alex blink in astonishment. ‘Like what?’
‘Like…relationships.’
Alex sounded smug now. ‘I get my share.’
Sam snorted. ‘True.’ The amusement faded from her tone. ‘They don’t last long, though, do they?’
‘They would if I wanted them to.’
‘Would they?’ Sam tipped her head sideways trying to ease a crick in her neck. ‘Angus was all set to settle down with Fliss, wasn’t he? Do the whole marriage and kids bit. She was the one who decided she couldn’t take the stress of living with what he did for a career, and I can’t blame her.’
Sam looked past the fire to the Red Cross tent where Courtney could be seen, still sitting in a hunched position, her shoulders shaking again as she sobbed. ‘Imagine what it’s like, having someone you love go off to do dangerous things. Being left to wait and worry and wonder if they’re ever coming back.’
‘We’ve got the most amazing job on earth,’ Alex responded firmly. ‘That’s got to be worth a sacrifice or two.’
‘But what about when it stops?’ Sam could hear the warning but ignored it. ‘If we got injured or totally burned out or something? What would we have then?’
But Alex didn’t appear to be listening. He got to his feet in a fluid movement that belied the physical exhaustion he had to be suffering.
‘What you need,’ he declared ‘is another coffee. A good, strong one. You’re going weird because you’re too tired.’ He bent to collect their empty plates. ‘You stay here. I’ll be right back.’
So she was going ‘weird’, was she? She’d been right about that warning tone. Or was Alex simply running from a conversation about something he was not prepared to give any head space to? He was the epitome of confidence. Invincibility, even. Maybe he couldn’t afford to pick at the edges of a persona like that by having doubts.
She was on her own on this one.
Wearily, she pushed herself to her feet and moved. Sitting alone in her current mood was not a good idea. She’d had her break and it was time to see if she could help someone.
Like Courtney, maybe.
The heavily pregnant woman was still hunched over and sobbing. The sound became more of a concern as Sam got closer. Courtney seemed to be gasping for air rather than crying and she sounded like she was in more than emotional pain.
‘What’s happening, love?’ Sam crouched, her fingers registering a rapid heartbeat as she took hold of Courtney’s wrist.
‘It…It hurts!’
An older woman from the Red Cross was rubbing Courtney’s back. ‘I know,’ she said soothingly. ‘They’re doing their best to help. We just have to wait.’
Sam wasn’t convinced that reassurance was all Courtney needed right now. She gripped the hand beneath hers.
‘What hurts, Courtney?’ she asked urgently. ‘Talk to me. Is it the baby?’
Courtney raised her head finally and Sam could see the panic in her face. The hesitant nod was not needed to confirm the unexpected development in this rescue scenario.
‘Close the tent flap,’ Sam ordered the Red Cross worker. ‘And then hold this blanket up to screen Courtney. I need to check to see if she’s in labour.’
Sam wasn’t prepared for what she found, having persuaded Courtney to lie back and allow her to remove the clothing from her lower body. Maybe the labour had started long ago and had been unnoticed or ignored due to the stress of the situation. Or maybe the birth would have been precipitous anyway.
It didn’t matter now. When Sam found herself shining a torch on the crowning head of a baby about to enter the world, she could do nothing but don a pair of gloves and wait to assist. At least any birth that happened this quickly was highly unlikely to be complicated.
And it was over in seconds. Another gasping groan from Courtney and the baby slithered into Sam’s hands. She lifted it, keeping its head down to help clear the airway and hoping desperately that suction wouldn’t be necessary. Tiny limbs moved, making it harder to keep a secure grip and then the baby took its first breath and expelled it in a cry of bewilderment.
‘You’ve got a little boy, Courtney!’
‘Oh…Oh!’ Courtney held out her arms. ‘Give him to me…please?’
‘Lift
