Page 77 of In Too Deep
“I’ve never done it alone.Not without backup.Not in a cave with a scalpel that is little more than a pocketknife and?—”
“Meg.”Noah knelt closer and caught her hands.He was very aware of the knife.“Look at me.”
She finally lifted her face—blue eyes wide in the headlamp’s glow.
He saw the terror there—pure, undiluted fear threatening to break through her professional composure.The same look he’d seen in the mirror after Mary died.
“Deep breath,” he said softly.The same words he’d said to her before.“Slow.”
“I can’t?—”
“You can.”He brought his face inches from hers.
In the glow of her headlamp, this close, the cave fell away.The cold.The danger.Alex’s labored breathing.There was nothing but the two of them.
“You’re the best doctor I know.You’re smart and braver than anyone I know.And you can do this.”
“Noah, if I mess up?—”
“You won’t.”He said it with absolute certainty.Even though they both knew the risks.Even though his own hands were shaking.“You’re going to save his leg.And his life.Because that’s what you do.”
Her breathing was still too fast—shallow gasps that spoke of panic hovering at the edges.Her pupils were dilated.
Noah’s hands cradled her face and anchored her.His palms pressed against her cool cheeks, his thumbs at her temples, where he could feel her pulse racing.
“Listen to me,” he said quietly.“I found a shaft.It leads up, breaks through to the surface.I sent a flare.Someone might have seen it.Help might be coming.”
He didn’t mention that the shaft was too steep for him to climb now with his injured leg.So if no one saw the flare, there wasn’t any hope.That they were completely alone down here with no way out and a kid who might die.
“Help is coming,” he repeated, as if he could make it true through sheer force of will.“But until it gets here, we do what we can.And right now, Alex needs you.So breathe with me.In and out.That’s it.”
Meg’s breathing gradually slowed and matched his.Their exhales mingled in the small space between them.
Her eyes closed for a moment.Then they opened again.
Clearer now.
Focused.
“Okay,” she whispered.
“Okay.”
She pulled back slowly.
Noah released her hands and immediately missed the connection.
She looked down at the scalpel.Her fingers wrapped around the handle with purpose instead of fear.
When she looked up again, the doctor was back—the one who’d walked into this cave despite her fear, who’d covered Alex with her own body during the explosion, who’d stayed calm while Noah had fought his own panic.
“I’m going to need your help.”Her voice was stronger now and clinical.“I need you to hold the headlamp steady, keep the field illuminated.And if he wakes up during this?—”
“I’ll hold him.”Noah shifted position and ignored the protest from his leg.“Whatever you need.”
Meg nodded once—sharp and decisive.Then she turned her attention fully to Alex’s leg.
She palpated the swollen tissue carefully.Her fingers found the landmarks she needed and pressed gently.
