by T. S. Simons
Fighting to keep my face neutral, I went out to help them and assisted Jorja into the clinic, briskly shooing Scarlett and Ruby off to find the others, asking them to pass on the message to Xanthe that Lambie would be fine. While not a medical clinic, I could at least get her off her good leg and potentially minimise her pain. Bridget had already cut down her pants, which were flapping around as she hopped. Once laid on the table, I could see the problem immediately.
'That's nasty.'
Jorja grimaced and spoke, her voice shaking. 'I know. The tibia is broken and protruding. I think the fibula might be broken too. It isn't possible to operate on myself, and we have no equipment, anyway.'
'Well, you looked after me once. Perhaps it is my turn.'
Bridget looked stunned, despite my assurances. 'Where is Sorcha?'
'Sorcha was called out to a childbirth a few hours ago,' I advised. 'Out here in the wilderness, they don't tend to be quick. Because you wanted the day off today, Di finished up school early to help Cam and Fraser. They are all up at Garynahine, tending the greenhouses up there. They were rather neglected in our absence.'
Bridget flushed at the reference to our absence.
'Illy is out catching up on her rounds, Luca at the whisky still, Jamie and Jacinda took some of the children out for a picnic and picking wild herbs, and Isla is supposed to be on a day off as she didn't get one while I was away. So, we have a couple of choices. All the carts have been taken for the day, but Isla and I can assist you to the clinic at Garynahine. One of the doctors may be there, but it is a very long way to walk. The alternative is Isla and I assist you here until Sorcha or one of the other doctors arrives. But I warn you, it will probably be at least two hours. Possibly longer.'
Bridget looked horrified. Jorja just nodded.
'A broken bone is a broken bone, whether it is in a person or an animal,' she assured Bridget. 'The treatment is the same.'
Bridget didn't look convinced, but gave her consent.
'Louis! Can you get Sam? I need him to find his mother.'
Louis disappeared and returned a few moments later with Sam's dark head appearing over him.
'What do you need?'
'Can you radio your mum? She went up to the Adams' farm. Petra is in labour.'
Sam's face fell.
'What is it?' I snapped, harsher than I intended. 'We need her or one of the other doctors.'
'Mum took the only working radio. She is expecting another call, so she took it with her. She is the only one on duty today.'
'Well, we have two, don't we? It might be at our place or Illy's?'
'We used to. Remember how the other one won't hold a charge or something? Uncle Luca said it was useless.'
My stomach lurched. He was right. I was alone, with a woman desperately needing surgery. Jorja was looking worse by the second. My brain snapped to action. 'Right. Well then, you need to take a bike. It is a long way. Do you know which way to go?'
Sam nodded and slipped off to the charging shed.
'Louis, I need you to take another and ride to the clinic at Garynahine. See which doctor is second on the list, find them and get them here as quickly as you can. Can you do that?'
Louis nodded. 'But first, get Isla, will you? I am going to need her help.'
Exhaling, I knew I could rely on the boys. Trustworthy and mature, they would both get the job done. Damn. Why had Jamie and Jacinda chosen today of all days to take their kids and Isla's on a bloody walk to collect herbs for her naturopathic practice? I could have used their help in wrangling the remaining kids. Naturally, Jacinda had taken the more compliant children, leaving me with mine and Illy's.
'Those with spirit,' as Di had said when she learned which children Jacinda had left behind to attend school.
'Those that don't do as they are told!' Illy had promptly rebuked her.
'Kat! Kendra!' I called, and the two girls appeared in the doorway.
'You are in charge of the younger ones. Ruby and Scarlett are here too. Keep them happy and fed. There is bread in the kitchen. Honey, too. Thorsten might need a nap if he is looking tired or starts getting cranky. This could take some time.' I looked over at Bridget. 'Are you sure you are okay with this?'
Bridget looked like she wanted to object, but Jorja piped up feebly, pain etched in her face. 'It is fine, Freyja. I want you to do this. Sooner is always best. Please, do what you can.'
I recognised this as trust, both in my skill as a surgeon, albeit a veterinary one, but also in me. She had deliberately withheld information from me, and although I had been home for several weeks, I hadn't entirely forgiven her.
Isla appeared at the door, wearing a flour-covered apron and drying her hands.
'What's u…' she trailed off and recoiled as she saw Jorja on the table, Bridget standing opposite. Despite Bridget and Jorja living only a few kilometres away, at the head of our valley in a refurbished croft with their girls, Isla was still uncomfortable around them both. Still, I noticed she had thawed somewhat.
'I need your help, Isles. 'Jorja has a broken tibia, likely a tib-fib.'
Isla's crisp Scots accent echoed through the shed. 'Branched out, have we? Wee lambs and coos not exciting enough for you anymore?'
I smiled at her characteristic dry humour. 'No. But Sorcha has been called out to a birth, and I have no way to get Jorja to the main clinic without causing her significantly more pain.'
Good flickered for a nanosecond across Isla's tanned face, and I struggled to maintain my calm countenance.
Bridget looked up at Isla, pleading in her eyes. 'She is in pain. Please, can you help her?'
Ever the professional, Isla crossed the room in a few strides and stood beside me.
'What do you need?'
Within an hour, Isla and I had Jorja prepped, sedated and were slowly working on opening the jagged leg wound. Bridget had refused to leave her, making me revise my opinion somewhat. She held Jorja's hand, speaking softly to her, even though her partner couldn't hear her. Isla glanced at me. I needed to realign the bone and insert a rod. Was I ready?
I returned the look. This wasn't an operation we routinely performed here, and I was aware of the risks. Mostly, we hatched and patched. Few animals were worth the rehabilitation required for an internal splint. But I knew how, having performed one on Mike's prized stallion a year ago, and we had the equipment thanks to the many explorations and raids on medical and veterinary clinics over the years. Sorcha also kept extensive supplies here, just in case there was an emergency, and she didn't have time to get to the main clinic in town.
'Right then,' Isla instructed Bridget firmly. 'Hold her hand. You will need to watch her eyes and warn us if she moves. She must remain perfectly still. You need to alert me quickly if you see any movement now, so pay close attention.'
Jorja was out cold, and Isla was highly capable of managing the anaesthesia. This was more for Bridget's sake, and I appreciated Isla directing Bridget to look away from the action. I had put up a sheet for a little privacy. Watching orthopaedic surgery was brutal, especially if it was someone you loved. Bridget turned her chair to face Jorja, and Isla grinned at me from behind her face mask. With a few sharp manoeuvres, I realigned both bones. I was sweating terribly. Now for the problematic part, inserting the rods and pins. I tried to hammer quietly while Isla clattered things around on the steel trolley in an attempt to muffle the noise.
An hour later, we finished cleaning the ragged wound and inserted the last stitches. Feeling fatigued, I wished I could sit down. It had been a long time since I had needed to focus for so long on something so complex. I looked up at Isla. She smiled.
'Bridget,' she said softly. 'She will be fine. She will need lots of help for a few weeks. But she will be okay. Freyja here is an excellent surgeon. Wasted on animals she is.'
Bridget's eyes filled with tears of relief. 'Thank you. Thank you so much.'
Recognising that it was peaceful outside, I looked
over at Isla as I turned to clean up, 'Can you check on the kids? They are awfully quiet.'
The silence registered, making her eyes pop in fear. Isla bolted outside, not even removing her gloves and mask. The memory of Louis' head wound haunting her, no doubt. They would be fine. Kat and Kendra were sensible girls. They wouldn't allow anything to happen. Besides, there were eight of them. What could they possibly get up to?
As I sterilised the instruments and monitored Jorja, I strained my ears. I could hear Isla calling, sounding ever more frantic. Fear rising in my chest, I checked on Jorja's blood pressure as I stripped off my surgical apron.
'Can you watch her?' Bridget looked up at me, confused.
Dashing out the door, I could hear Isla up at Sorcha's house, calling. No point going that way. Heading down the main path, I looked in our home. Silent. Checking under every bed and in every cupboard, it was soon apparent that they weren't here. Checking all the sheds and outbuildings, I marched briskly down to Luca and Illy's.
'I should be with Jorja,' I simmered. 'She isn't even conscious yet. When I find those bloody kids….' But Illy's house was empty too. Frustration was turning to worry. Where the bloody hell had eight kids gone?
As I turned to leave, I heard a faint thumping. Standing silently, I tuned my ears. Yes, in the pantry. Something was there. Swinging open the pantry door with a jerk, I braced myself to find eight kids jump out and scream "surprise". Instead, I was speechless when I looked down to see Kat and Kendra on the floor, trussed up like chickens, back-to-back and gagged. 'What the…!' I dropped to my knees and removed Kat's gag.
'Who did this?' I thundered as I helped them both.
'Summer and Ally,' Kat whispered sheepishly.
'You let two six-year-old girls tie you up?'
'They tricked us.' Kat was mortified, her face flushed. 'We were playing hide and seek. Then they suggested we play a game called Houdini. He was a magician. He could escape from being tied up, and underwater too.'
'I know who he was,' I growled. 'Get on with it.'
'They tied us up, and we were supposed to escape. Then it was someone else's turn. Except they tied us up tight, laughed as they shoved us in there and ran away.'
I tried not to smile. I could picture Illy's girls doing this. Conniving little minxes.
'Where are they now?' I asked, a little more kindly.
'We don't know. They shoved us in there and ran away laughing with the others,' Kendra sobbed. Kendra was a softly spoken, quiet girl. Being locked up likely would have distressed her. I put my arm around her.
'It is okay. It was only a game. How long ago did they do this?'
'We don't know. It was dark in there, and we couldn't talk,' Kendra cried. Kat, who was older, and a lot tougher, just shrugged.
'An hour, maybe. I don't know, mum.'
Remembering that time I was tied and left in the dark near Inverness, I was pleased she didn't appear too badly affected. At least she knew someone would find her in Illy's pantry.
'Come on. Let's find them, and…'
'What's going on?' Luca spoke cheekily from behind me as he entered the kitchen, Illy close behind. 'Stealing my coffee, are you?'
'Your daughters,' I snapped back acerbically. 'Tied up Kat and Kendra and ran off with the little ones.'
'How on earth did they know how to do that?' Illy asked, amazed.
'I taught them.' Luca looked shamefaced. 'They asked me how to get untied if they were ever tied up, so we practised tying each other up and escaping.'
'Well, they neglected to tell these two how to escape. Gagged them and left them in your pantry. I will be having words when I find them. Now, where are they? They have Xanthe and Thorsten. Scarlett and Ruby too. How far can six kids have gone?'
Isla burst through the door, visibly distressed. 'I can't find…' she started, then stopped as she saw Kat and Kendra, her shoulders slumping. 'Ah, you've found them!'
'No, just these two.' Illy told her without explanation. 'We need to find the others. Where have you looked?'
Splitting up, we searched. Illy and Luca went one way, Isla and I, the other. I had no time to think about Jorja now. I was frantic. Out of my mind with worry. Where were they?
Despite being nearly seven, Summer and Ally had the attitude of children who were much older. Both of them were highly intelligent troublemakers. Combined, they were like a pair of teen web-hackers.
'When I got my hands on them!' I seethed.
Isla glanced at me and saw my face, recognising that this was fear speaking.
'It will be alright,' she soothed. 'They are just playing. Lost track of time. You'll see.'
I appreciated her calm demeanour, but it did nothing to appease my frayed temper.
The sun was setting rapidly, the orange orb just hanging on before it dropped below the horizon. We still had no idea where they were. The sheds, houses, school were all empty. We had searched the valley floor, nearly to the crossroads at Leurbost. Glancing up at the beautiful colours of dusk, Isla and I hurried back up the road past Loch Acha Mor. I stopped dead, blinked, and looked again.
They had built a makeshift raft out of pieces of wood, branches, and reeds. Even from the roadside I could see it was rickety and unlikely to bear their weight for much longer. All six of them were floating in the middle of the loch, scrunched up in the middle of the raft as the edges dipped below the water's surface. They had taken nothing to act as oars, and had drifted out, and now had no way to get back. None of them could swim well. We had always intended to teach them but never found the time. Isla and I began the descent down the grassy bank to the loch.
'Xanthe!' I called. 'Thorsten! Don't move! We are coming!'
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Illy and Luca approach the other end of the loch, the sandy bank where they had likely launched from.
Thorsten, hearing my voice, stood up and waved frantically, calling, 'Mumma!' Precariously balanced on the rickety raft, the corner tilted, and he pitched forward, falling headfirst into the loch as the others held onto each other screeching as one side of the raft dropped below the water.
'He can't swim!' Running down the bank, I kicked off my shoes and waded waist-deep in the freezing loch, ready to dive, but my focus was redirected when I heard an almighty splash to my right. Luca, fully clothed, was already three strokes across the loch and heading for the raft at high speed. Xanthe was wailing, the others crying, their hands protecting their ears from the shrill cries. Even from here, I could see that Summer and Ally were clutching each other, terrified.
Luca reached the raft and looked around. There was no sign of Thorsten. Isla grabbed at my upper arm as I backed out of the reeds and watched, trembling, unable to breathe. Luca duck dived, and I saw his booted feet in the air as he submerged. The loch was bitterly cold and deep in the centre, with very little visible in the murky water.
Luca surfaced, gasping for breath as the children screamed.
'Stay there. Sit down!' I could hear Illy instructing them, but they were too hysterical to listen to her.
Luca surfaced a second time, gasping and spluttering, angrily pushing wet hair from his eyes and taking a deep breath before going under again. I dropped to my knees in the muddy shallow water, unable to lift my eyes from the scene unfolding before me.
When Luca's dark head broke the water's surface, he had a small, limp body cradled in his arms. I could hear the girls screaming from where I knelt in the mud but had no attention for the noise. I couldn't breathe as I watched Luca treading water in the middle of the lake, Thorsten balanced on one of his enormous forearms as he blew in his lungs. Nothing. He lay there like a limp rag doll, his favourite red fire engine t-shirt billowing across the surrounding water. Floppy and lifeless. The sob escaped my lips. Isla's elegant, tanned hands rested on my shoulders, but I barely registered her touch. I couldn't take my eyes from the still form of my son.
Luca lifted Thorsten onto the raft and swam, towing it to
the shore where Illy stood. Isla and I ran to meet them, still bootless. I didn't feel the sharp rocks as I ran. All I could see through the blur was my child's blue, lifeless body.
Illy was helping the other children off the raft, and Luca was kneeling in the mud, performing CPR as we arrived. I dropped beside Thorsten's head and wanted to sob, hold my son. But I knew CPR. Focus Freyja, I berated myself, and positioned myself to enter the two half breaths as Luca finished compressions. Luca paused, and I exhaled. Watched the tiny stomach rise and fall, then breathed again. Luca resumed chest compressions, and I heard Thorsten's ribs crack. It sounded like a zipper, I thought abstractedly as the popping sound filled my ears. Luca didn't flinch. Neither did I. He could survive broken ribs. He couldn't survive if we didn't resuscitate. Luca compressed, I breathed. I could vaguely hear Illy, Isla, and the children somewhere behind me but had no capacity to think about them right now. His skin was taking on a bluish-grey tinge, and I steeled myself to focus on the timing. Breathe—compressions, breath, compressions. Then under my hands, he jerked, coughed, spluttered, and projectile vomited a sizeable volume of water onto his chest.
Luca, acting quickly, rolled Thorsten to his side. Careful not to let him sense my distress, I spoke to him, calm and soothing. Enveloped in a cotton wool cloud, I scarcely registered anything as Luca carried him home, leaving wet boot prints along the path, the others in his wake. I walked at his left elbow, speaking calmly to a crying Thorsten. Isla was carrying my sopping muddy boots, I noted. The cool air penetrated my soaked jeans like needles, but I didn't care. The girls were still crying, Xanthe, Ruby and Scarlett in fear of what they had seen. Summer and Ally likely terrified of the consequences. But I was in no fit state to comfort them. I could hear Isla soothing Xanthe, Ruby and Scarlett behind me, although I couldn't quite pick up the words. Alive. He was alive. But what damage had been done? What was it, three minutes without air? It had felt like an eternity he had been underwater. Then unconscious.
Night had fallen as we walked back to Roseglen, a sliver of stars twinkling in a cloudless night sky through the transparent dome. Lights were on in several houses as well as the vet clinic, indicating Sam had returned with Sorcha. Hearing the commotion generated by crying children, she came rushing out of the shed where she had been tending to Jorja. I heard Illy briefing her on what happened, and Sorcha assumed command in her natural manner, ordering Luca to take Thorsten to our home and Sam to take all the girls to Di and clean them up.