Rescued: Mother and Baby.

by Anne Fraser.

To my daughter Rachel, with love.

CHAPTER ONE.

GEORGIE MCARTHUR pulled herself up the almost vertical rock face, inch by painful inch. The day that had started with unseasonably warm sun was now, in true Scottish spring fashion, beginning to close in and the temperature was dropping rapidly. Despite the chill in the air, Georgie could feel perspiration beading her brow as she willed her stiff and unused muscles higher up the cliff. Taking a deep breath, she dug her fingertips into the rock and, finding the narrowest of footholds, dragged herself another couple of inches closer.

The ledge she was heading for was now only two feet above her and slightly to the right. This last bit of the climb was critical and she prayed the injured boy would stay still until she reached him. If he panicked now and the shelf crumbled, it could send him tumbling over the edge-and her along with him.

'Stay as still as you can,' she called out. 'I'll be with you soon, but I have to climb above you first. Okay?' There was no reply. The child was hidden from her view by the ledge and Georgie fervently hoped he was all right.

Steadying herself, she continued climbing until she was above him. At last she could see him clearly. He was sitting huddled against the cliff wall, his legs in front of him, the left twisted at an unnatural angle. Without doubt it was broken, but how badly? The boy was pale and clearly distressed.

'Almost there-just sit tight,' Georgie said, inserting another bolt into the cliff. By climbing higher than the boy, she could suspend herself just above him until she made an a.s.sessment of the stability of the shelf of rock. The last thing she wanted was for her added weight to send them both plummeting to the ground.

Finally she was in position. The boy had been watching her wide-eyed while she'd made her preparations. He looked about nine years old, and his anxious, pain-filled eyes tugged at her heart. He was so little to be going through this on his own. Which begged the question: where was the adult-or adults-who had been with him? As far as Georgie knew, the call had come from a climber who had just happened to be pa.s.sing when he'd spotted the brightly coloured jacket the boy was wearing. He'd immediately called the rescue services.

It had been Georgie's bad luck to be visiting her brother Kirk at the mountain rescue clubhouse when the call had come through. The timing was all off. A few more minutes and she might have been out of the clubhouse and on her way home, absolved from feeling any responsibility for the young victim. But she had been there when the emergency had been phoned through.

'There's a problem up on Ben Nevis,' Kirk had said grimly after answering his mobile phone. 'A young lad is stuck on a cliff. No one knows how he got there, but it seems he's hurt.'

Kirk had looked at her with sympathy in his eyes. 'There's no one else, Georgie,' he'd said quietly. He'd glanced at the clock on the wood-panelled wall. 'd.a.m.n it, I don't think the others are going to be back any time soon and I can't do much with this cursed wrist in a cast.'

Georgie had understood his frustration only too well. She'd known her action-mad brother had been angry with himself for not wearing protective gear when he'd gone go-karting four weeks ago. Now his arm was encased in a cast from wrist to elbow, confining him to the clubhouse, manning the phone.

He held her gaze as he dialled the number of the mountain rescue team and asked for an update. His face fell as he listened to the reply. Snapping the phone shut, he turned to Georgie.

'They're at least another hour and a half away from getting back-and the weather's closing in. d.a.m.n, d.a.m.n, d.a.m.n.'

'I can climb to him, Kirk.' The words were out before she was aware she had been even thinking them. A little boy. Hurt. Alone. How could she not do something?

Kirk's gaze swept her face. 'Do you think that's a good idea? You haven't climbed for years.'

Georgie was already heading for the locker where her equipment was still stored. Kirk was right-she hadn't climbed for years-though force of habit ensured she kept everything in tiptop condition. 'It's not something you forget, Kirk. Of course I'll go,' she said quietly. 'There's no one else and I am a nurse. And a mother. If that were Jess...'

Kirk squeezed her shoulder. 'You don't have to do this. n.o.body will think anything less of you, not after what you've been through.'

But I would, she thought. I'd think less of me-and it's me I have to live with. There was no way she could leave a child trapped, hurt and terrified on a ledge for any longer than was absolutely necessary. No matter what promises she had made to herself and to the memory of her dead husband.

She was already slipping into her harness. 'And that's why I'm going. I can't let anyone else go through what I did.'

Her brother regarded her steadily. Whatever he read in her eyes must have rea.s.sured him. 'Then I'm coming with you,' he said, gathering his gear together. Gone was his laconic teasing mood of earlier. In its place was focus and determination.

'What, with one arm?' Georgie said. 'Do you think that's a good idea?'

'Hey, me with one arm is still better than most men with two, sis. You know that.' He grinned but she could see he was already focussing on the climb ahead.

'Just as long as you don't think I'm back for good,' she said, deliberately keeping her tone light. She snapped her backpack closed. 'C'mon, slowcoach. Let's get going.'

It had taken half an hour of hard climbing to get where she was now. Luckily it was Kirk's left wrist that was broken and by a series of improvisations he was able to take the strain of her weight on the rope.

'I'm going to let myself slowly down beside you,' she called out to the frightened child. 'But first I'm going to drop a rope down. Tie it around your waist as best you can, okay?'

The boy nodded.

Georgie's arms ached with tension as she lowered herself carefully onto the ledge. Gingerly she tested her weight. Good. Although there was barely enough room for her and the child, it seemed stable enough.

Quickly she crouched beside him.

'What's your name?' she asked softly.

He didn't answer. Instead, his lip started quivering and tears rolled down his cheeks. He looked at her with abject misery. Georgie guessed panic was only moments away. She had to keep him calm until help arrived. She would have to do the talking for both of them.

'Well, I'm Georgie,' she began matter-of-factly. 'I'm a nurse and I used to work with Mountain Rescue. So I've done this kind of thing lots of time before.' Lots of times before losing Ian, that was. She hadn't been on a rescue mission since the accident and wouldn't be here now if she thought she'd any choice. Whatever nightmares she carried with her, she was doing what she had to do. Even if it meant doing the very thing she had promised herself she would never do again.

'I'm going to have a look at you then we're going to make a plan to get you off here,' she continued soothingly. 'You did the right thing by staying where you were, didn't you?' Georgie felt along his leg. Yup, broken, as she'd suspected, but at least the bone hadn't punctured the skin and she wasn't dealing with a compound fracture. That was something. Gently she removed the shoe on his injured leg and felt for the pulses in his foot.

'Can you feel me touching your toes?' she asked.

He sniffed and nodded. Good. Circulation and nerves intact. But did he have other injuries?

'Are you sore anywhere else? Any numbness or tingling-like pins and needles?'

The boy shook his head.

'Okay. I'm just going to lift your T-shirt and have a quick look at your tummy and chest.'

Superficially, at least, there was no sign of anything seriously wrong. So far, so good.

She pulled the pack off her back and removed the inflatable splint.

'I'm going to lift your leg and slip this underneath. It will hurt a bit, I'm afraid, but not for long, and once we have the splint inflated, your leg will feel a lot better.' As gently as she could she wrapped the boy's leg securely in the splint, his m.u.f.fled cries of pain cutting into her heart.

When she'd finished, she gave him a quick hug. 'You're being very, very brave,' she told him. Spasmodic shudders racked the boy's body. It could be shock, pain or possibly internal injuries. Without proper equipment, her examination had been cursory at best. One way or another they needed to get him off the mountain and to a hospital. But how?

'Kirk?' she called into her radio. Her watch told her more than fifteen minutes had pa.s.sed since she'd arrived on the ledge. It had only felt like a fraction of that time. 'Okay. I've had a quick look. GCS is fifteen, pulse about 100, breathing normal. No obvious injuries to chest, abdomen or spine. His tibia is broken-a clean break, luckily-and I've splinted the leg.'

Kirk would know that they couldn't be sure of anything until they could examine the child thoroughly and that the child needed to be taken to hospital as soon as possible. 'There's not a lot of room up here,' she continued, managing a rea.s.suring smile at the youngster, who was watching her anxiously, 'but the ledge seems stable enough for now if we don't make any unnecessary movements.' She turned away and lowered her voice so that the boy couldn't hear. 'There's no way we'll be able to belay him off this ledge, though. It's too risky.'

'I'm ahead of you, sis,' Kirk replied. 'I've been in radio contact with RAF Gannet. They'll be with you in less than ten minutes and I've told them it's likely they're going to have to airlift him off the ledge. Oh, and can you ask the boy who was with him? I find it hard to believe he was on his own.'

'Copy that,' Georgie replied, relieved that the rescue helicopter wasn't far away. She should have known that Kirk would be on top of things. If he hadn't broken his wrist he'd be doing the rescue rather than co-ordinating things from the foot of the cliff.

'How're you holding up?' Kirk continued. Georgie could hear the concern in her brother's voice even through the crackle of the walkie-talkie. He knew how difficult this was for her. Not technically, but emotionally.

Carefully, Georgie settled herself down next to her charge, putting an arm around him for warmth and comfort. 'We're both doing fine,' she said, smiling down at the young boy. 'We'll sit tight and wait for the helicopter. I'll try and find out the answer to your questions in the meantime. So far I haven't even got a name. Speak later.'

The child, who had been listening to every word, started to cry in earnest. Georgie hugged his shoulders.

'Everything's going to be okay, I promise you. But we'll need to let your mum and dad know what's happened. Are you able to tell me your home number?' To her dismay, the young boy cried even louder; big gulping sobs of pain and distress.

'Hey,' Georgie rea.s.sured him. 'You're not in any trouble-they'll just be glad you're all right.'

Waiting for the helicopter to arrive, Georgie tried again to get some information from the little boy.

'Can you tell me your name?' she coaxed softly.

His eyes were solemn blue pools, etched with pain and fear. 'J-Jack,' he whispered as his sobs subsided.

Georgie smiled. 'Jack. That's a very nice name. Where do you live, Jack? Here in Fort William?'

Once more his lips trembled and his eyes filled, tears spilling over.

'It's not your fault,' Georgie consoled him hurriedly. 'Accidents happen all the time, even when we're careful.' She swallowed memories of Ian, her words sounding hollow even to herself. How many times had she tried to tell herself the same thing? And how many times had she wondered if only? She pushed the thoughts away. Thinking like that would drive her crazy. It certainly wouldn't bring her husband back.

The sound of a helicopter penetrated the still air and Georgie scanned the sky above. She squeezed Jack's hand. 'Not long now, sweetheart, until we get you out of here. And you'll certainly have a story to tell your pals when you see them.' The blades clattered loudly and the ground beneath them swirled with dirt as the downdraught from the aircraft battered the rock.

Georgie watched as a suited figure was lowered from the helicopter. In less than a minute he dropped, as light as a cat, onto the ledge beside them. He released himself from the rope and the helicopter swung away to a safe distance.

'Dr Logan Harris.' The man introduced himself with a slight gesture of his hand.

Relief came out in an explosion of breath. She hadn't expected a doctor. Normally the winchman was someone with first-aid knowledge, not a doctor. She had a brief impression of glinting brown eyes and even white teeth.

'What do we have? The mountain rescue guy told me you were a nurse.'

'A broken leg,' Georgie answered. 'I don't know if there are other injuries.'

Logan Harris yanked off his safety gloves with his teeth before crouching down to examine the boy, feeling across his ribs and abdomen.

'There's no obvious internal damage. He'll be checked out properly once we get him to hospital. Help me get him strapped into this harness.'

Logan turned to the boy. 'We'll have you off here and in hospital in a jiffy,' he said.

Working together in the cramped s.p.a.ce, it only took a few minutes before Jack was securely fastened. Logan grinned his approval after he tested the last buckle. He spoke into his mike and the helicopter drew nearer.

'I'll take the lad up and come back for you in a second,' he shouted above the roar of the helicopter. The downdraught whipped her hair across her face and she struggled to keep it out of her eyes.

'It's okay. I can make it down myself,' she yelled back.

'Are you sure you don't want me to come back for you?' He reached out his hand for the line dropped by the helicopter and clipped it to the boy's harness.

For a moment there was nothing Georgie would have liked better. Although she had told Kirk that getting off the ledge would present no problem, that had been before the light had started to fade. It would be much trickier now. But the thought of getting into the helicopter caused her chest to tighten. She didn't want to go on an aircraft, not as long as she had a choice.

'No. It's okay. Honest. You get Jack to hospital. I'll be fine.'

As Logan finished preparing Jack for the ascent, the boy started to protest.'M-Mum,' he said, panic lacing his voice.

Georgie had to put her ear to his mouth to catch the words. 'Don't worry, we'll get hold of your mum as soon as we get you off here,' she said.

'N-no.' The boy was having difficulty getting the words through his chattering teeth. 'Mum. She fell. Down there.' He pointed to Georgie's right and down the mountainside. She followed his finger but could see nothing. 'Mum was trying to get to me and she fell,' Jack persisted.

Georgie put a hand on the boy's shoulder. 'Where, Jack? Can you tell me exactly where she is?'

His face crumpled as fresh tears coursed down his cheeks. 'I don't know. I saw her coming towards me after I fell. Then she disappeared. I tried to phone her on my mobile, but she didn't answer. She's all right, isn't she?'

'Don't worry, we'll find your mum for you.' She relayed the information to Logan, who wouldn't have been able to hear the boy's words above the noise of the helicopter. 'He says his mother fell trying to reach him-we have no information about a female casualty. Have you?'

'No,' Logan replied, looking worried. 'We'll find out more when we get him out of here and somewhere safe.

'Let's get you into the helicopter and to the ambulance,' Logan said to the boy. 'Then the helicopter will have a look for her. Okay?'

He spoke into his mike and the helicopter moved until it was above them. The rotors whipped dust from the cliff side, forcing Georgie to bend her head against the dust that peppered her face. Logan turned to Georgie. 'We'll find the mother, don't worry. We'll be back as soon as we've dropped the lad.'

Logan and Jack were lifted up, and a sudden gust from the helicopter as it swung away almost made Georgie lose her tenuous grip. And she would have, if it hadn't been for the sudden increase in tension from the rope. Thank G.o.d she had managed to drive a bolt into the rock and thank G.o.d Kirk was keeping the rope taut. She and her brother had been climbing together all their lives and there was no one she would rather have protecting her back.

Then, without warning, a chunk of the crumbling cliff under her foot broke away and rolled down the mountainside. Georgie pressed herself against the rock face and held on for dear life.

Now she was really in trouble. Panic spiralled through her body.

Before she could move, another piece of rock broke away, and she only had about a foot of ledge left to stand on. She had to get off the crumbling ledge-and she had to do it quickly. But for the first time in her life she was rooted to the spot, frozen with fear. She didn't know if she could make her limbs respond to her commands.

Sorry, Ian. I know I promised myself I wouldn't do this any more-for our daughter's sake. But I didn't really have a choice, did I?

Thinking of her little girl gave her the strength she needed. No way was her child going to lose two parents. Not while she had breath left in her body. Testing the rope still attached to her harness, Georgie forced her legs to move. She was not going to fall. Kirk still had a firm grip of the other end of the rope. There might yet be a danger that falling rocks from above could tumble down and hit her, but she wouldn't think about that. She couldn't abseil down for the same reason. Going higher wouldn't work either. Above, there was only sheer rock face and the rope she was using wasn't long enough. If she had more time, she could ask Kirk to send up another rope and join that one to the one she had. But time was a luxury she didn't have. She had to move now. Staying where she was wasn't an option.

'I'm going move sideways and down to the next ledge, Kirk,' she said into her radio. 'There's another casualty-the mother. The helicopter is going to look for her as soon as they drop the boy off.'

'Be careful, sis,' Kirk's voice crackled over the radio. He didn't need to say any more. He, more than most, would know exactly how dangerous the predicament she found herself in was.

Georgie eased herself over the side of the cliff. Don't think about what can happen, she told herself. Think about something else. Think about your daughter waiting for you at home.

Looking down, a wave of vertigo washed over her. It had taken her precious minutes to travel less than a couple of feet and the cliff she was reaching for was still some distance away. Another rock tumbled from the ledge above, missing her head by inches. Her heart sank as she realised she still couldn't risk going down or up. All she could do was to keep on inching her way to the side so she'd be away from the line of the falling rocks. Then she would have to think again. Maybe Kirk would have a bright idea.

Taking a breath to try and quell the rising panic, she continued to move sideways, concentrating on finding footholds and places for her fingers to grip in the sheer rock.

Glancing to her left, she noted with relief that she had moved far enough away from the crumbling cliff and the falling rocks. Good. At the very least, if she could hang on, Kirk would find a way to get her off the d.a.m.ned mountain.

She looked up as the roar of the returning helicopter once again whipped dust into her face. Not that it would do her much good. The wind had picked up, and where she had moved to was under an overhang. There was no way the helicopter could get close enough to the mountainside to lift her off. No, it was down to her and Kirk. Although for the life of her, she couldn't see an easy way off the mountain.