Chapter 25

25

Bess crunched her way through freshly fallen snow on her way to the gym. She'd tried calling them to cancel her membership but she was locked into a direct debit agreement and they wouldn't listen. It was so black and white to whoever had answered her call – you signed up for a year so it didn't matter whether anything else came your way, that was that. She was on the premier membership too, which made it worse, and the most galling thing was that she barely used it. She'd signed up determined she would, but then like so many others they probably had on their books, she'd just become a contributor to their profits, getting nothing back for herself. It was her own fault, but she was getting more and more desperate and this seemed an easy thing to get rid of if only they'd hear her out. And that was why she was heading there now – it got her out of the house on a day off and perhaps if she spoke to them face to face, she might have better luck pleading her case.

She was almost at the gym when her phone rang. It was Nadia. The Skylarks were desperate for a fill-in after Kate on the blue team had gone home sick .

The gym would have to wait. Bess doubled back home and got her things, picked up her car keys and carefully drove to the airbase. The roads closest to town had at least been ploughed and gritted so weren't packed with snow like the pavements, but Bess knew from news reports and social media that a lot of roads in this part of Dorset remained impassable.

Vik and Brad were in the office when she reached the airbase but it wasn't long before The Skylarks were called out on a job.

Bess took the call from the HEMS desk and while they didn't have much to go on, they did know that there had been a sledging accident at Wildacre Meadow, renowned for its steep slope that in summer, kids often slid down on steel trays, which was a bit like sledging except without the snow. Bess remembered it as a kid, the thrilling speeds you could reach.

But before Bess hung up the call, she had to ask the person on the other end to repeat the name she'd just given her. ‘Are you talking about Gio Mayhan?' Because the woman had said Gio, right?

‘I just have the name Gio. The caller wasn't very clear, I'm afraid, but we got the location, sounds like a leg injury and then the call cut out.'

As Bess went through the motions of getting her helmet while Brad gathered together the drugs and the bloods, she couldn't help her head from going there – Gio had had a doctor's appointment that didn't go as expected, his goal of getting back to work to do the job he'd been trained for was slipping further away. Had he thrown himself down the steep hill on purpose? To somehow prove that he was just like everyone else and didn't have an injury?

It was a short distance to Wildacre Meadow but as soon as they'd heard the location, Vik had gone out to the helipad to get Hilda ready. The surrounding roads would be impassable, the roads stretching beyond the same, meaning a road ambulance wouldn't be able to reach the patient or get them to the help they needed.

The Skylarks flew over Whistlestop River. Visibility wasn't great but at least it was daylight and Vik was experienced in landing in all types of conditions so fully understood the implications of flying and setting down a helicopter in ice and snow.

The good thing about Wildacre Meadow was that it had the steep incline but a nice level area as you reached the bottom of it. They'd needed that as kids, sliding down it on trays; Bess wasn't sure she would've dared to do it otherwise. And today, it worked out well for the helicopter because there was plenty of space to land and a couple of helpful adults at ground level had kept the kids back and out of the way so that The Skylarks could keep everyone safe.

Bess had her mind on the job but knowing it was Gio in trouble changed things. She was more anxious, her heart was pounding, but she was together as much as she needed to be.

There were too many people at the bottom of the slope to see their patient. But soon, they were clear to leave the aircraft. They had kit bags and the scoop, all of which weighed so much more when you had to trudge through the snow, which was deeper in some parts than others. Bess made sure she had the specially designed thermal blanket with the rest of the kit. The air ambulance played a key role in a patient's chances of survival – the job of The Skylarks would be to intervene on scene and prevent further deterioration of the patient until they could get them the further help they needed. Bess knew that in these temperatures, providing thermal management with the blanket was critical to maintain the patient's core body temperature and prevent hypothermia and any further heat loss.

As they drew nearer to the crowd, they were waved over to one side near a tree. A tree that if hit at high speed, could be catastrophic.

Bess felt as though she was seeing things as they got to the patient and realised that it wasn't Gio but a young boy, next to whom Gio was kneeling.

‘Thank God you're here.'

Bess kept a level head. Gio wasn't the patient. Gio wasn't seriously hurt, at least not any more than he had been before today.

The boy's name was Lionel, Gio told them as Brad reassured the boy that help had arrived. He was crying so much, terrified Bess suspected, but perhaps not as cold as he might be had Gio not covered him in his coat.

‘Gio, you must be freezing.' Bess picked on someone in the crowd and asked them to run over to the helicopter. ‘Vik is the pilot, ask him for an extra blanket and bring it right back here.' They'd use the thermal blanket on Lionel but even when Gio got his coat back, he'd probably need a bit of extra help to warm up.

Lionel likely had a broken ankle, a fractured wrist and some bruising. Brad had him sucking on a mouthpiece for gas and air to relieve some of the pain while he and Bess got him on the scoop ready for transfer.

‘It really hurts,' Lionel sobbed when he let the mouthpiece fall from his lips.

‘I know, mate,' said Gio, at his side.

‘Do you know him?' Bess asked.

‘No, we met today, didn't we, Lionel?'

Lionel managed a ghost of a smile. ‘He wanted to use my sledge.' He registered The Skylarks' logo on Bess's jacket. ‘Am I going in a helicopter?'

‘You sure are,' said Brad.

Before they'd got him on the scoop, Bess had radioed to find out the status of contacting the parents. Hudson had managed to reach them. They weren't nearby, both were at work and closer to the hospital where they'd airlift Lionel to, so it was agreed they'd meet them there. As a result, it was suggested that Gio come in the helicopter so he didn't have to navigate his way back up the hill on crutches. Lionel, at his age, height and build meant it could be done; they could take the extra weight.

Bess thought he was going to refuse but it was a big hill and when Gio looked back at it, he must've seen what a nightmare it was going to be.

Now that the pain relief was helping, Lionel chattered away, asking what their jobs were, who flew the aircraft, and then he asked Gio if he was a paramedic too.

‘No, not me,' he answered.

‘He's a fireman,' Bess piped up because she had a sneaky suspicion Gio wasn't going to say it.

Lionel's eyes widened. ‘A real one?'

‘Yes, a real one. But I'm injured at the moment.'

‘Did you fall off a ladder?' Lionel asked. Distraction – and in this case the gas and air – meant they didn't have a scared little boy any more; they had one with a curiosity about the world.

‘There was an explosion. I was knocked off my feet,' Gio replied as they lifted the scoop up ready to head back to Hilda.

‘You flew into the air?' Lionel's eyes were as wide as saucers.

‘Something like that,' said Gio.

Vik had run over from the helicopter, and he and Brad took charge of the scoop and upped their pace back to the aircraft.

‘How does it feel?' Bess asked as she picked up the extra kit bags to follow Vik and Brad, staying at Gio's side as they walked.

‘My knee? Bit rubbish, I knelt beside him for a while.' He wasn't bad on the crutches even in the snow, until they got to the deeper bit which slowed him down further.

‘I meant how does it feel to have helped? '

The familiar smile appeared. ‘It wasn't the same as being back at work, but man, it felt good. I felt alive again doing something useful today.'

‘I thought it was you when we got the call. I thought you were hurt.'

‘Me? You thought I was stupid enough to go sledging?' He laughed when she didn't answer. ‘I was out for a walk. I was pissed off. I walked all the way here and yes I was stupid enough to ask to borrow Lionel's sledge like he said. But he was using it. I watched him go off at a terrifying speed. The next thing I knew, he'd come off and the screaming had everyone else's attention.'

‘How did you get down the hill?'

‘I didn't have any choice but to grab the sledge next to me. I needed to get to him, to help. I kept my bad leg up and on it, used my other one to steer, brake, whatever I needed to get down there. The girl whose sledge it was came down with my crutches soon after. Anyway, I knew we needed help when I saw him lying there. I got his friend to call the emergency services and tell them we were at the bottom of Wildacre Meadow – there isn't much coverage here and it was better for him to do it than have me trying to hobble anywhere. He must have dropped my name in the conversation and I assume he was panicking, which meant he confused you all.'

Bess said nothing but she knew he was watching her while trying his best to keep up.

‘You were worried about me,' he said.

The others had reached the helicopter and were transferring Lionel onto the litter.

‘You wish.' But this time, there wasn't anywhere near as much denial behind her words before she hurried her pace to reach Hilda.

Up in the air, Bess was in the front seat, so couldn't see Gio in the back but she was acutely aware of his presence, so close, his voice every now and then reaching her as he and Brad kept Lionel's spirits up on the way to the hospital.

Bess and Brad managed the handover to the staff on the helipad at the hospital, away from the snow up here, but the view reminded them that at ground level, it was a different story. Hilda had, once again, allowed The Skylarks to get their patient medical attention which otherwise would've been next to impossible via road.

Back at the airbase, Vik and Gio made their way inside while Brad and Bess unloaded everything. Bess had wondered whether Gio might have left by the time she went inside via the hangar. But he was sitting in the kitchen with Nadia, a steaming mug of tea in front of him and one of her shortbread biscuits.

‘For the shock,' he smiled as Bess picked up her mug of tea.

‘Help yourself to more,' Nadia prompted him and pushed the tin of shortbread his way before she left the kitchen.

Vik came in for a mug of tea and took his and Brad's and after Bess said she'd join them soon and catch up on paperwork, she sat opposite Gio.

‘Lionel will be fine, thanks to you.'

He'd put his crutches in the corner, leaning up against the side of the fridge. ‘I'm glad I could help. I didn't think about my injury so much when I saw the young boy was hurt; I grabbed a sledge and knew I had to get to him. I was in a terrible mood before that but I kind of forgot all my own problems for a moment.' He met her gaze. ‘I needed that.'

‘Norm told me you went to the doctor and it didn't go so well.'

‘He's got a big mouth.' But he smiled as he said it. ‘A big, caring mouth. It's not his job but he likes to think he keeps the team going and motivates us all.'

‘They all want you back. '

‘I want to go back.'

‘You're doing everything you can, Gio.'

‘I know… except being patient. I was gutted after the doctor visit. Annoyed that nobody will ever say for sure that I'll go back to full duties. But nobody has said that I won't and after today, I don't know, maybe my head is in a better space.' He turned down the offer of more shortbread when she pushed the tin closer to him. ‘Nadia has already made me have a few of those, no more.'

‘They're good.'

‘They are.' And he locked her gaze. ‘So, you were worried about me.'

‘I was. What? Why are you smiling?'

He shrugged. ‘It's nice to have someone worry about me, that's all.'

‘Your mum worries.'

‘I know she does.'

‘Are you still worried about her living with me?'

‘It's not you I have a problem with, Bess, not really. It's trusting Mum. And I know I have to, but it's going to take time. The pub was a shock, that's all; it's not like I've been teetotal all my life so I shouldn't be judging you. How's it all going anyway?'

‘The debt?' She smiled. ‘Still there. Overtime helps.'

‘This shift is overtime?'

‘Yup. And I'd better get on and finish up my paperwork before the next job comes through. Are you going to call a taxi? I would offer to take you home but I won't finish for a while yet.'

‘No need for a taxi.' Hudson came into the kitchen and went straight for the shortbread tin, plucking a couple of pieces. ‘Nadia has a lot to answer for.' He closed his eyes as he bit into a piece. ‘I'll take you home, Gio. Assuming you're local?'

Gio reeled off the name of his street.

‘Great. I'm leaving in about ten minutes as I have to get home for the kids. And I've got my four-wheel drive so that snow doesn't stand a chance. Meet you in reception?'

‘Cheers, appreciate it.'

Bess looked out of the window, the white landscape beyond, when it was just the two of them. ‘I don't think we'll get any more but it could take a while to melt.'

Gio positioned his crutches under his arms ready to go. ‘I'll see you soon then?'

Bess smiled. ‘See you soon.'

And as she walked into the office to do her paperwork, she couldn't stop thinking about the man who wasn't just that little boy's hero today; he was beginning to feel like he could be hers too.