Saved by the Single Dad

by Annie Claydon

  They seemed to be talking. The firefighter called for quiet and a hush fell on the people below.

  ‘Good girl. We saw you. Get down from the window now, sweetie, and stand over there.’ The firefighter pointed into the classroom and Ellie obeyed him.

  ‘Good girl. That’s my good girl.’ Jack sent the whispered words up into the air, wondering if Ellie knew he was here for her. Praying that she did.

  ‘Why don’t they just break the windows?’ Hannah had her eyes fixed on the huge picture windows, which looked out on to the rolling countryside beyond.

  ‘Windows that size...if they break them they might hurt the kids.’ Jack shivered as he thought of shards of glass raining down on Ellie’s head.

  ‘Where’s the teacher...?’

  Good question. The thought of fifteen four-and five-year-olds alone up there made his blood run cold.

  He wrapped his arm around Hannah, hurrying to the cordon of police and teachers which surrounded the scene. ‘Let me through. Paramedic.’ At the sight of his uniform he was waved through and, taking Hannah with him, he made for the two ambulances, parked next to a fire engine.

  ‘Josie—’ he recognised the paramedic who was waiting by one of the ambulances ‘—what’s happening?’

  ‘There’s a class of fifteen kids and a teacher, trapped in there. No sign of the teacher, but there’s a little girl who keeps coming to the window. There’s a fire crew gone in.’ Josie pointed towards a pile of rubble which almost filled a gaping hole in the wall. Above it, clean plasterwork with a line of pictures still pinned to it in a parody of normality amongst the destruction.

  As he watched, one of the pictures fluttered from the wall on to the ground. A groaning sound, and a chunk of plasterwork flattened it as it detached itself from the wall and crashed down. Hannah let out a little scream of terror.

  ‘Okay, Hannah. It’s just a piece of paper...’ He tightened his arm around Hannah’s shaking shoulders. The image of frailty, crushed and broken, had torn at his heart too.

  Josie was shaking her head, her eyes fixed on the classroom windows. ‘She didn’t hesitate. That woman deserves a medal...’

  ‘What?’

  ‘The firefighter. She saw the little girl and she was the first in, even though there have been great chunks of stuff coming down. Three of the men followed her.’

  ‘Red hair?’ A trickle of hope found its way into Jack’s heart.

  ‘Dunno, she had a helmet on. I didn’t know it was a woman but I heard her call out to someone.’

  Cass. It must be Cass. ‘I’m going in...’ Jack let go of Hannah and started to walk, and Josie pulled him back.

  ‘Don’t be an idiot.’

  ‘Ellie’s in there.’

  Josie paled suddenly. ‘All the same, Jack. If you get hit on the head by a lump of concrete then that’s just another thing they’ll have to deal with.’

  He didn’t care. ‘Stay here, Hannah. I’ll find them.’

  ‘Jack...’ Both Hannah and Josie were pulling at him now, and Jack shook them off. Then he looked up. Two figures had appeared in the window, with dark jackets and yellow helmets. Firefighters.

  Cass. She and the other firefighter were making short work of the safety bars across one of the windows, and they opened it wide. Jack wondered where the other two men who had gone in were, and hoped that their absence didn’t mean that there were casualties to attend to.

  ‘Jamie...’ The children were being lifted out one by one, into the arms of the men on the two ladders which had been raised to the window, and passed down to the ground. Hannah sprinted forward, pushing a policeman who tried to block her path out of the way in a surprising show of strength. She reached her son and fell to her knees, hugging him close.

  Ellie. Where was she? Why wasn’t she the first? Jack looked up at the window and saw Cass, with Ellie in her arms. She was talking to her, waiting for the firefighter on the ladder to be ready to take her, and Ellie was nodding.

  Then a kiss. Jack almost choked with emotion as he saw Ellie handed safely from the window and into the arms of the man on the ladder.

  Cass’s attention was now on the next child, lifting him up and talking to him. But all Jack could see was Ellie. He ran forward and heard her voice as she was carried down the ladder.

  ‘I shouted for help...’

  ‘That’s right, sweetie. Well done.’ The firefighter was smiling as he climbed down.

  ‘Daddeee! Cassandra rescued me.’ Ellie held out her arms to Jack and then he felt her small body against him. He stammered his thanks to the firefighter, who nodded, climbing back up the ladder to fetch the next child.

  ‘Are you all right, honey?’ His first instinct was just to hold her, but he forced himself to check Ellie’s small body for any signs of blood or injury.

  ‘Cassandra came to find me. I got rescued...’ There was clearly nothing wrong with Ellie’s lungs.

  ‘That’s right, darling.’ He looked up and saw Cass pass the next child out of the window. When she’d done so, her gaze scanned the people below her and found Ellie, who waved at her excitedly. Cass’s grin told Jack that she’d seen what she had been looking for, and that she knew Ellie was safe.

  The children were being marshalled into a group around the ambulances by parents and teachers so that each could be checked over. Jack walked across, holding Ellie tightly against his heart.

  He saw Sarah running towards them and Ellie waved to her.

  ‘I was rescued!’ Clearly Ellie wanted everyone to know. Sarah flung her arms around them both and Ellie struggled to get out from between their bodies so that she could see what was going on.

  The last child was being brought down the ladder and Jack did a swift headcount. Fourteen. He made only fourteen. And where was their teacher? He heard Cass’s shout behind him.

  ‘Paramedic...’

  Josie looked up and grabbed her bag, making for one of the ladders. Jack reluctantly passed Ellie into Sarah’s arms.

  ‘Will you take her?’ The words tore at his heart but he knew what he had to do.

  ‘Of course. As soon as she’s been checked over, I’ll take her back home. I left Ethan with my neighbour so I don’t want to be any longer than I can help.’ Sarah turned to Ellie. ‘Daddy’s got to go and help Cassandra. We’ll wait for him at home, eh?’

  Ellie nodded. ‘Are you going to rescue Miss Elliott?’

  ‘Yes, sweetie. I’ll be back as soon as I can.’ Jack turned and made for the ladders.

  * * *

  It was no surprise that after the first paramedic was helped through the window, Jack appeared right behind her. Both of them had been provided with helmets and jackets.

  ‘Just couldn’t stay away, could you?’ Cass grimaced at him.

  ‘Nope.’ Jack looked around the empty classroom.

  Cass nodded. ‘Good. Keep the helmet on.’

  She led the way across the empty classroom, holding her arm out in front of him to keep him back from the door as she opened it. She heard Jack let out a quiet curse as he looked along the corridor, at the gaping hole in the floor that separated the classroom door from the far end of the corridor. ‘How did you get through here?’

  ‘We made it.’ It hadn’t been easy, and they’d been showered with lumps of loose plaster falling from the ceiling. But when she’d seen Ellie up at the window, Cass had remembered the promise she’d made to the little girl. ‘If you go to the window and call for help, the firefighters will rescue you.’ That wasn’t the kind of promise you made lightly.

  ‘What’s the situation?’

  ‘The teacher’s at the bottom of the hole, with the boy. He’s lying underneath her and we don’t know how badly either of them are hurt yet. There’s a team trying to get to her from the back, on ground floor level, but the doorwa
ys are blocked with rubble and at the moment the only way is through here. So a second team has been working to get a ladder down to her.’

  ‘Can you get me down there?’

  ‘It’s not safe.’ The roof was still intact but cables and lumps of ceiling plaster dangled precariously over the hole. The other paramedic had already backed away into the safety of the classroom, and if he was going to stick to protocol then Jack should as well.

  ‘Tell me something I don’t know. Get me down there, Cass.’

  She nodded. ‘Okay. It’ll be a minute before we’re ready to go down.’

  ‘Is she conscious?’

  ‘We think so. When we came along the corridor we heard her groaning, and when we called down she replied. There was stuff coming down from the ceiling and she was covering the child with her body.’

  ‘What happened?’ Jack’s face had formed into a mask of determination.

  ‘I think the boy must have run out of the classroom and the teacher followed him. We found the door locked, and she must have thought to lock it behind her to keep the rest of the kids inside. Somehow, she and the boy both fell.’

  He nodded. ‘Can we get her up to this level?’

  ‘We could, but it would be better to wait for the team coming in via the ground floor. We’ll have to make a decision on that when you’ve assessed her injuries.’ Cass looked up as someone called her name. ‘They’re ready.’

  Jack followed her over to the mouth of the hole and Cass climbed carefully down, flattening herself against the ladder as a shower of dust and debris fell from the ceiling. Picking her way across the rubble, and what looked like the remains of a photocopier, she headed towards the woman.

  ‘Annabel... Annabel, I’m Cass.’

  Annabel’s eyelids flickered and she moaned. ‘Cass...’

  ‘Lie still. Not too long now before we get you out of here.’

  ‘Take him...’ Annabel cried out in pain as she shifted slightly and a boy’s dirty, frightened face peered out at Cass.

  ‘Okay. Okay, we’re going to take you both. Just hang in there.’

  The boy started to crawl out from the crevice below Annabel’s body. Somehow, even though she was clearly badly injured, she’d managed to get him into the safest place she could, protecting him in the only way that was available to her. Dust and plaster was floating down from above them and Cass crouched over Annabel, sheltering her and the child as best she could.

  Jack was making his way towards her with the medical bag, which had been lowered down after them. As soon as he reached them, Cass let go of the boy, who wriggled free of his hidey-hole and straight into Jack’s arms.

  The boy was handed back to the firefighter who had followed Jack down, ready to be carried back up to the classroom where the other paramedic was waiting. Cass held her position, sheltering Annabel, while Jack started to check her over, talking quietly to reassure her.

  A piece of something hit the back of her helmet and Jack glanced upwards. ‘Okay?’

  ‘Yep. Keep going.’ Annabel was injured and defenceless. And she’d already shown such bravery. Cass would keep shielding her with her own body for as long as it took.

  Jack gave her the briefest of smiles and then turned his attention back to his patient.

  ‘Sweetheart. Annabel... I’m giving you pain relief. It’ll kick in pretty quickly.’ He murmured the words and Cass saw Annabel nod.

  ‘The children...’ She opened her eyes, trying to focus on Jack. ‘You’re Ellie’s dad...’

  ‘Yes, that’s right. The children are all safe, thanks to you. And Shaun is okay as well—the firefighters are taking him out of the building.’

  ‘I picked him up and the ground just... My leg...’

  ‘You did just great, Annabel. You protected them all.’ Jack’s sideways glance at Cass told her that he’d come to the same conclusion she had. Annabel and Shaun must have fallen together and she must have landed awkwardly, trying to protect him.

  ‘So cold. Don’t want to...die.’ A tear dribbled from the corner of Annabel’s eye and Cass shifted her position so that she could take her hand.

  ‘You’re not going to die.’ Jack brushed the side of her face with his fingers to keep her attention. ‘Hey... Annabel.’

  ‘Yeah... Too much paperwork...’ Annabel grimaced.

  ‘Far too much. I know you’re hurting, but you’re going to mend. Just hold on to Cass and we’ll be getting you out of here as soon as we can. Got it?’ Cass knew exactly what the warmth in Jack’s eyes could do. He could make her believe anything, and she hoped that Annabel would believe him now.

  ‘Yes...’

  News was passed through that the firefighters, working to get through at ground floor level, were almost there. Jack worked on Annabel quickly and carefully, preparing her to be moved. A neck brace and temporary splints for her legs. A thermal blanket, to try and warm her a little, and an oxygen mask.

  Annabel’s eyes followed him. Somehow, Jack had managed to become not just someone who could give her medical help but her lifeline. It was almost as if he was keeping her going, just by the sheer force of his personality, that warmth in his eyes. Staving off the shock which made Annabel’s hand ice-cold in hers.

  The noise of boots clambering over the rubble heralded the arrival of the stretcher. Jack slid a lifting board under her body and Cass helped him transfer her to the stretcher, quickly securing the straps and tucking the thermal blanket around her.

  ‘Okay, sweetheart.’ Jack smiled down at Annabel. ‘We’re on our way.’

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  JACK WAITED UNTIL the ambulance had drawn away, carrying Annabel to the hospital. Cass came to stand beside him, watching the vehicle negotiate its way past the fire engines and down the lane.

  ‘Brave woman,’ she murmured.

  ‘Yeah. Josie’s going to find out how she is when she goes off shift, and call me.’

  ‘Do you think...?’ She shrugged. ‘How did she seem, to you?’

  ‘Shock. One leg broken, and the other is probably fractured. Cuts, bruises, and she’s got a cracked rib and what looks like a broken wrist. I couldn’t find anything else, but they’ll be checking her over further at the hospital to make sure.’

  Cass nodded. ‘I hope she’s all right. Are you going off shift now?’

  ‘Yes, I want to take Ellie straight home.’

  ‘Okay.’ Cass turned towards the fire engine. ‘See you later.’

  He caught her arm. ‘Cass. Thank you.’ There was nothing more he could say. When he’d seen Ellie in Cass’s arms his heart had almost burst with relief.

  ‘Yeah. Any time.’ She grinned up at him and he knew that she understood.

  By the time Jack got Ellie home she was starting to ask questions, and to realise that her experience hadn’t been just another game. Was her teacher hurt? Why did her school fall down—was their house going to fall down too? He tried to answer everything as honestly as he could without feeding his daughter’s fears.

  She wanted to hold on to him, and he settled down in front of the TV to watch her favourite film with her. Even that didn’t seem to get her singing and dancing around the room, as it usually did.

  Cass was a little later than usual and, when he heard the front door close, Ellie didn’t get up and run to greet her. When she walked into the sitting room, she was smiling.

  ‘Hey, Ellie.’ She squatted down in front of her. ‘How are you doing?’

  ‘All right.’ Ellie turned her solemn eyes on to Cass without letting go of Jack’s shirt.

  ‘I’ve got something for you.’ Cass was holding one hand behind her back.

  Ellie craned around, trying to see what it was. ‘Sometimes we meet kids who are really, really brave. And we give them a special certificate.’

&n
bsp; ‘Really?’ Ellie’s eyes widened, and Jack grinned. So that was what she’d been up to.

  ‘Yes.’ Cass produced a roll of paper from behind her back, tied with a red ribbon. ‘So this is for you.’

  Ellie took the paper and Jack pulled open the bow with his free hand and unrolled it on Ellie’s lap. Her name was on it in large letters framed with curlicues. He ran his finger under the words.

  ‘Junior Firefighter...’ he read out loud. ‘That’s you, Ellie. And, look, everyone from the fire station has signed it.’ He pointed to the group of signatures, strewn with kisses and hearts. Cass’s name was there too, the writing careful and rounded.

  He stopped to wonder for a moment how handwriting could possibly be sexy, and then turned his mind to the image at the bottom.

  ‘And there’s the fire engine.’ The artwork was clearly downloaded from the Internet, but that wasn’t the point. Cass had taken the time to print it off on thick paper, and to get it signed by everyone. And Ellie was proud of herself now, not fretful and worrying.

  ‘Say thank you to Cass.’ He turned his face up to her, mouthing the words for himself, wondering if she knew just how heartfelt they were. She smiled at him.

  ‘What’s for supper?’

  Everything was clearly okay in Cass’s world if she was hungry. Jack had come to recognise the signs. ‘Pasta. Fifteen minutes. Why don’t you take Ellie upstairs and you can find a place on her bedroom wall for the certificate. I’ll get a frame for it, eh, Ellie?’

  The bumps and bangs from upstairs, along with the sound of Ellie’s chatter, indicated that there was rather more going on than just the choosing of a place on the wall. Jack laid the table in the kitchen and took the pasta bake from the oven, leaving it to cool. Curious to see what they were doing, he walked upstairs to fetch them instead of calling them down.

  The curtains were drawn in Ellie’s bedroom, and Jack’s hand hovered over the light switch as he popped his head around the door. Then he saw the makeshift arrangement of sheets, held up with a couple of chairs and some twine, forming a tent at the end of Ellie’s bed. The glow of torchlight and the mutter of voices came from inside.