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The Rescue

Damn, I was beginning to wonder why I did this.  Search and Rescue is a long job with a low success rate for the individual teams.  You always hope you will be the one that makes the find and that you bring them out.  The worst is when you are too late. 

The ringing of the phone had brought me out of a deep sleep.  From what the commander said this was going to be a high profile search.  A plane went down in the mountains west of here.  They had an approximate area, and the search planes should have an exact location shortly after sunrise.  We would be sent in to check for survivors.  This was the routine that we played out a couple times a year.  What made this one special was that some bigwig and his party had been on this plane.  That meant the media would be at the command post almost as fast as we could get there.

Another thing that could become a problem was the weather.  A cold front was due to pass through within 72 hours bringing high winds and snow.  If we couldn’t get there quickly, any survivors of the crash would probably die of exposure.

Before I could get dried off from my shower, my partner was sitting in the bedroom waiting for me.  Thor sat watching me dress in my warmest clothes, anticipating my next move before I could make it. He led the way down the stairs to the closet where I kept my pack and his harness.  Thor then knew that we were indeed going to work.  His excitement started to affect me and I became more anxious to get started.

The van pulled up and I piled our gear into the back.  Simon Walters, the base commander lived close enough that we would often ride together.  With him driving the hundred or so miles to the command site, I could relax a bit and think about what we would soon be up against.  However for some reason, staring into the darkness that enveloped us, my mind wandered back.  Back to a time I would give anything to not think about again.

I had joined Search and Rescue as an extension of my job as an EMT.  I was partnered with a Sable German Shepherd named Heidi that had already been trained.  Our first efforts were comical because I had no idea what I doing.  The instructor finally explained that I had to learn to watch and listen to the dog.  We did much better after that, but it wasn’t until I learned to trust her completely that we really meshed as a team.  I had to earn her trust as well.  

Things changed the day I sat on the ground in frustration at another missed decoy.  I was squatted down holding my head in my hands, ready to throw the towel in.  Suddenly there was this big black muzzle resting in the bend of my elbow.  I looked over and stared into those dark brown eyes.  She was giving me a look that I learned was her complete trust and love of me.  I gave her a scratch behind the ears and told myself that we could do this.  And we did.

  I was living in California at the time and most of the work was finding lost children in the parks and hills.    We were a great team, winning awards from competitions and racking up a good record of rescues. 

But mostly we bonded as a team and as best friends.  This was a good thing since my wife had decided that she needed to find herself with a banker that made about five times as much as I did.  I came home one evening to find most of the house cleaned out and a note that explained that I would be getting the papers from her lawyer in the mail.   All the emotions that I had welled up within me and I went into every room alternating between rage and complete desperation.  Heidi followed me, not understanding except that I was very upset.  I spent the first night in a stupor, staring at the little TV my ex  had left and drinking whiskey until I passed out.

I spent the first few weeks in a deep depression, just going through the motions of surviving.  Heidi got into the habit of sitting beside me and laying her huge head in my lap.  Her big brown eyes would look into mine trying to tell me it would be alright.  That was the look of absolute love and devotion.

I was so down on relationships that I spent most of my time with Heidi in practice and advanced training.  She passed the explosives test with flying colors, and won several awards.

We came into our own when an earthquake in the northern part of the state.  It was a strong one and caused extensive damage.  Heidi and I were assigned to check for survivors in the rubble.  We went into the search area and went to work.  I could see her orange vest as she went around piles of rubble, her nose sniffing for any signs that humans were buried.  

We were about to move on to another area when Heidi barked and then sat in front of a pile that just hours before had been a four-plex. This was her signal that she had made a find.  We moved to the side and signaled for a crew with the proper equipment take over.  They started moving the rubble and within a short time the man in the hole shouted out that they had found a young man trapped but still alive.  

I pulled Heidi’s favorite toy out and gave it to her for her reward.  He had been our third find that day and I was proud of her.  Heidi even made the national evening news.  The crews caught footage of her as she moved around a pile of rubble, her nose sniffing the cracks and under the concrete for any scent that would mean a person was alive in the pile of bricks and wood that once had been a house.  Of course, she could have cared less about the cameras and lights.  She knew her job and she would do it without any distractions.

It was late in the day when were moving through piles of debris near what had been a strip mall.  There was an aftershock that caused the ground to move a bit.  I was told later that the movement caused a propane tank that was hidden under the rubble to explode.  All that I heard was a deafening explosion and I felt myself thrown about 20 feet into what once was the parking lot.  My ribs hurt like hell and there was blood running down the side of my face.  I knew Heidi had been in front of me and I frantically searched for her. 

When I spotted her body lying on the ground about 10 feet from me, I could see the piece of twisted metal that seemed to have magically grown out of her rib cage.  I staggered over to her calling her name.  When I knelt down next to her, she raised her head up and gave me a look that was filled with pain.  I knew that there was no hope, she had already lost a lot of blood and what was still trailing out was the bright red of oxygenated blood.  The piece of steel had gone through her lungs.  I picked up her head and cradled it in my lap.  She gave a couple of feeble wags of her tail and gave my hand a lick.  That had always been her signal that she was there for me and that she loved me.  I stroked her muzzle and the side of her face as I watched the once brilliant brown eyes lost their luster, and her body gave a final gasp of life.  There had been nothing I could do to save my best friend, but at least she felt me there as she passed.

How long I sat there completely despondent trying to shield her lifeless body from the light rain that had started I still don’t know.  We were found by fire rescue when the dusk of the day had started to envelop us.  They tried to get me to move, but I simply could not just leave Heidi lying there.  The search supervisor finally assured me that she would be taken care of, and they placed me on a gurney for the ride to the crowded emergency room.

Heidi’s ashes were put to rest with honor.  She was a hero of the fire department in our small town ever since she had found one of their own after he had broken his leg in a fall.  They gave her full honors in a memorial that did her service proud.  I decided that I could no longer handle the emotional hurt and decided to retire from Search and Rescue.  Never again would I have another dog.

Three years passed and I had started a new life.  I had moved to the mountain town of Telluride, joined the fire department as one of 3 EMTs, and even started a social life.  I definitely did not want to settle down, but the snow bunnies were always ready for a good time, even if it was just dinner or drinks.  Something more happened often enough to keep me satisfied.  

Then came the day that the local group found out that I had been in Search and Rescue.  I was talking to another of the EMTs about a couple of rescues that had turned out really well.  We continued to talk about how the mountain passes would be different to search from what I was familiar with where I had come from.  Something must have clicked when he stared at my nameplate and grinned.

“Tim Rivers.  You had a dog that won the western regional championships two years in a row.  That was you, wasn’t it?”

I reluctantly admitted that I was.  And before I could say I didn’t want to talk about that, Jimmy was waving over a small group of people that had been standing near the pool tables.

As the 5 men and 3 women approached, Jimmy too loudly stated, “Simon, you remember when you got your ass royally kicked in the regionals 4 years ago?”

“Of course I remember, you won’t ever let me forget it will ya?” said a man about my height with black hair and a face that I vaguely remembered.  “Ham and I were just outclassed.”

Jimmy, being shorter, had to reach up to clasp the man on the shoulder.  “I want you to meet the man who showed you how it was done.”  With that he indicated me with a slightly drunken sweep of his arm.

I was very embarrassed as I extended my hand.  Simon had a huge grin as he grabbed my hand and shook it with vigor.  “I have to admit that you did deserve that trophy.  I never have seen a team work as well together.  I was looking forward to the rematch the next year.  I was surprised when you weren’t there.”

It was like a shot in the gut.  I looked down into my half empty glass.  “Heidi was killed in a rescue 8 months later.”  I said it quietly, but Simon caught it.  His hand went to my shoulder as a sign of support.  The others gathered around and offered their sympathies as well. We ended talking of rescues and the funny things that could happen while on them.

They finally convinced me to help with some training.  The memories bothered me at first, but I forced them behind me and we were soon practicing one weekend a month and I was really starting to enjoy it.

Janice, one of the 3 women that were in the group, came to me one day with a problem.  Her black lab, Ditz, was getting well past the age where he could still go out.  She was looking for another dog that was still trainable so Ditz could retire and live out the rest of his days in comfort. I suggested a kennel that I knew of on the Colorado Utah border that trained working dogs of all breeds.  After much batting of baby blue eyes and pleading looks, I promised to take a couple of days off and go with her.

We arrived at the kennels and looked at over 60 dogs.  The owner of the kennel was up on the traits of each of his animals and was helpful in steering Janice toward the animals best suited to her.  As she was choosing from 3 finalists, I wondered back around to a set of kennels that we had missed.  

Inside the third one from the end was a German Shepherd put that looked to be about 3 months old.  His ears were much too big for his head, but were standing straight up.  His eyes were watching every move I made with interest.  I thought there was no harm in giving him some attention.  He watched closely until I knelt next to the chain link, then came bounding up almost tripping on his huge paws.  He pawed on the gate and then licked and nibbled on my fingers as I put them through the wire.  

The owner of the kennels came up and opened the gate so I could look at him closer.  His body was sound, the shoulders felt right.  The owner assured me that both Sire and Bitch were clear on their hips and that this fellow showed no sign of dysphasia.  He also gave me the linage and I recognized some names that were previous show and obedience champions.  I was holding the pup in my arms trying to tell the owner that I really didn’t want another dog, when Janice, walked up leading the yellow lab she had chosen.   “Looks like love at first sight, at least on his part.”  she stated as he gave me a swipe of his tongue up my cheek.

I kept trying to come up with excuses why I didn’t want or need another dog.  Excuses that Janice would immediately would shoot down.  When we finally left, there were two dogs in the back of the SUV.  I had firmly decided that this fellow would be a pet, not a working dog.  I was NOT going to get into that situation again.

I should have known that the fates were against me.  Thor, who was named after I heard him bark the first time, had a thing for my socks.  He would drag them out of the hamper and come in carrying them in his mouth.  I tried to hide them, and he would find them.  I threw out some of his chewed up toys, and he would trace them to the trashcans.  It finally got to be a game for me to hide his favorite toys and he would keep looking until he would find them.

At the insistence of Janice and the rest of the group, I started working him in the basics.  Just obedience and a little “hide and seek”.  He took to it like it was second nature.   I finally gave up and started working him in earnest.  We went to classes and started working on the advance techniques.  The day Thor turned a year old we were standing on the grounds for certification.  He performed perfectly that day and we went home with the certificate and the orange vest that told the world he was part of an elite group that could and did often save lives.  That was also the day that I finally decided to let Heidi have her rest.  I owed Thor that much since he had come so far.

Since that day, two years ago, we had worked in the mountains around our home.  Mostly hikers that had lost their way, and fools skiing out of bounds on the slopes.  It kept me in shape and Thor was always eager to go.

I was jolted out of my memories as Simon pulled the big SUV into the lot of a campground.  Simon parked near a tent that had been hastily erected.  He headed into the tent and I started pulling the equipment out of the back of the Suburban.   My backpack, Thor’s vest and lead, extra water and rations.  Everything was in order.  We then headed into the tent to get our search area.

The light of the two lanterns cast a glow in the interior illuminating the radio station, the chairs, maps and other items that were needed.  I headed over to the most important piece of equipment in the pre-dawn chill.  Filling a cup with the strong, black coffee, I moved over to see what Simon was looking at.

There were several topographical maps scattered on the fold up table.  Simon was studying one that showed a mountainside that had everything that would cause problems for a search.  Steep grades, large areas of forests interspersed with boulders, these obstacles made the chance of surviving a crash very low, and finding that crash quickly even lower.

He pointed to a rough section with his chubby finger.  “Tim, you and Thor are going to be dropped at the only landing site and you are to get to this area.  These four grid areas are yours.”

I was still studying the map when the other 3 teams came in.  We were discussing just what we were up against, when Simon called for our attention.  “I have been told that we will have reinforcements here by late this afternoon, but for now it is just us.  Radios will not reach back to the camp, so you will have to relay to Richard who will be on the top of the ridge.  You have your assignments, so head out and be careful.”

We all took a last sip of coffee and picked up our equipment.  The chopper was warming up in the parking lot and we headed towards it.  We settled into the old army helicopter and prepared for the ride.  On my left was Janice.  Her lab, Boomer, had become a favorite among us all due to his friendly personality.  To my right was Jose’, the newest member of our group.  He and his Golden retriever had been certified only a few months ago.  But his enthusiasm and love of a challenge quickly made him a favorite.  Sitting there, Jose’s head came just to my shoulder and he was constantly teasing about my being too tall to fit in most places.  I in turn, would tell him he had to climb a ladder just to see over the back of Chester, his dog.

However there was no joking during this ride.  We were all deadly serious.  We knew that if anyone had survived the crash, their continued survival depended on us doing our jobs.

Thor was not too happy flying in the rocking, rolling motion of the chopper and he was more than ready to jump out when we touched down.  As soon as the chopper was out of the way, I checked the GPS I was carrying and headed to the search site.

Thor was setting a quick pace and I was soon peeling off my parka.  The air was crisp and clear this high up but the physical exertion of moving through the underbrush and over rocks made up for the cool air.  We kept moving in a zigzag pattern covering the area that the plane was thought to have gone down in.  It was a slow process, but it made sure we didn’t miss anything.

I had just sat down on a rock for a rest and a snack as well as a drink for Thor.  Scanning the area as I ate, I saw a glint of metal reflecting the pale sunlight that was coming through the gathering clouds.  I radioed to the relay man on top of the mountain my position and that I had a possible find.  Then Thor and I headed to toward the metal.

About halfway there, Thor lifted his head and smelled the air for a moment.  Getting his bearings, he stopped the random movements and headed straight along an invisible trail only he could decipher.

I saw that it was indeed the plane that we were searching for.  Or at least what was left.  The right wing had been torn off and the fuselage had been ripped open.  There was someone moving around as I approached so I knew there was at least one survivor.  We moved quickly into the rocky clearing calling out who we were.  A young woman looked up from wiping the blood from a man leaning against the wreckage.  She was rather small but with a pretty face even with the cut that was across her cheek.  What was the most surprising was the calm that she greeted us with.  She rose from her crouch and calmly stood waiting for me to get there.

I dropped Thor’s lead and knelt to check on the injured man.  He had a couple broken ribs and a good-sized gash on his head.  His left arm was broken as well.  An older gentleman, well dressed, seemed to be handling himself well in this situation.  I left him alone for a moment and turned to the woman.  

“Are there any other survivors?”  I asked quickly.

“One of the Senator’s friends is still alive, but I didn’t move him.  I think he may have injured his back.  The pilot is dead and the co-pilot doesn’t look like he will make it without help soon.”

I quickly did a check on the men she had indicated and found that she was right on the mark.  I came out and radioed that the plane had been located along with the passenger information to the relay on the mountain.  There would be no landing so the chopper would have to take them out with a winch and basket.  The radio crackled and I was assured that we would have what was needed within an hour.  The Senator was first to be readied for transport.  I made him comfortable as I could with what was in my pack then turned to the co-pilot and the friend.  Finally I got to the woman.

I got her to sit down on a boulder and did a quick assessment.  Giving her my best ‘you’re gonna be fine’ smile, I introduced myself and the big furry goofball that was watching her with as much intensity as I was.  “My name is Tim and I promise not to hurt you any more than I absolutely have to.    The guy with the big ears is my partner, Thor.  You will have to forgive his manners, he hasn’t learned not to drool over a pretty woman.”

She gave a pleasing little chuckle then groaned.  I gently checked her over for signs of trauma.  She had a laceration just above her hairline and a badly swollen wrist, but I could not find a break.  She also said she had a terrible headache so a concussion was a possibility.  The cut on her face had bled quite a bit but when I cleaned it out, it wasn’t very deep.  She was the least injured of the survivors.  She said that she was not allergic to anything, so I gave her some Ibuprofen and splinted her injured wrist.

She then introduced herself as Kelly McMakin and she was the senator’s stepdaughter.  Even though they were not close, he had asked her to join him for this vacation.  He needed her for publicity since he was running for re-election as a family first candidate.   
With four survivors and only room for three in the chopper, it would have to make a second trip. The co-pilot had internal injuries that I was sure of.  The senator’s friend would need a backboard and special handling.  The good thing was that another EMT or flight nurse would lower down to help with the evacuation.  The bad news was that someone would have to stay with me until they could return.  I explained the situation to the woman and she volunteered to stay with me until they could make another trip.  In addition to just being good sense, I wanted to spend a little more time with her.

About then Thor came trotting back up.  I gave him a rub on the neck, getting a lap of his tongue on my arm for my effort.  She asked to pet him and he eagerly soaked up the attention she gave him.  While she was occupied with Thor, I took a closer look at her.  About 5’ 4 and petite, she had the bearing of a woman past her 25 or so years.  Her dark brown hair framed a pretty face and beautiful brown eyes. Her figure wasn’t runway material, but what I would describe as ‘compact’.  She had very noticeable curves on her tiny frame but no fat that I could see.  All in all, she was very easy to look at.

Usually aloof, Thor seemed to be as infatuated with her as I was.  He was eating up the attention that she was giving him.  His big tail was moving lazily back and forth as she scratched his neck and behind his ears, his eyes half closed in contentment.  I found myself wishing it were me she was giving the attention to.

The radio crackled just as the sound of the chopper’s blades came over the ridge.  The pilot found us and dropped down another EMT along with the basket to start the evacuation.  The co-pilot was the first out, followed by the senator’s friend.  Finally the senator himself.  The EMT offered to stay and let Kelly go in his place, but she told him to go ahead and take care of the others.

Just before he went up, the EMT told me that the storm  everyone was worried about was coming in fast and there was a possibility that we would be forced to stay until it passed.  Looking up to the west, I could see the dark gray clouds showing themselves, blocking out the top of the mountain.

The chopper took off toward the hospital, leaving us alone with the silence of the forest.  The weather report worried me.  They knew our position so pickup was not a problem - once the storm passed.  The biggest problem was keeping Kelly and myself from starving or freezing before anyone could get back to us.

“Kelly, we may be stuck for at least overnight if not for a couple of days.  I have enough food, but if that storm hits us and we are not ready we could freeze to death.”

Then Kelly surprised me by accepting this bit of news with no more fear than if I had said we were going to the local Bistro for dinner.  “Okay, what do we need to do first?”

“First we need a shelter.  The back part of the plane will work for that if we can seal up the rip in the side.  Then we need fuel for a fire.  The rest we can fake.”

The plane had brought down several dead trees in its path so Kelly went to gather as much firewood as she could.  To my surprise Thor went with her.  “Damn traitor” I thought as I saw him go with her.

The plane had torn apart about half way along its length and the halves were lying so  there was a gap of about six feet.  I had to close this off and still have a vent for the fire that we were going to need.  By wedging part of the wing in the gap and using other pieces of the plane I had almost a cave built up by the time the snowflakes started to cover the ground.  Kelly brought the last bundle of wood in allowing me to close off the opening with the emergency raft from the plane’s survival kit and we snuggled in to wait out the storm.

As the wind picked up and the snow started to fall harder, we had a fire going and by using the blankets and coats we were quite cozy.  I opened the package of dried vegetables that I had and put in some beef bouillon with water from my canteen.  Soon there was a nice stew simmering.  Kelly rummaged in the rear galley and found a bottle of wine that wasn’t broken in the crash and we shared a decent meal.  After the remainder cooled a bit I added it to Thor’s kibble, which he promptly inhaled then turned to me asking for more.

“Sorry fella, you are on short rations for the night.”

He decided that since nothing else flavorful or even edible was forthcoming, he curled up and lay down near the raft covering the entrance.  It was starting to get colder so Kelly and I sat closer sharing the thermal blanket.  She talked of growing up in a broken home and finally her mother’s marriage to the Senator.  How he had tried to use her as part of the family values ticket he ran on.  He had been livid when she had gone to his hated enemy, Planned Parenthood for the Norplant when she had turned 16.  “I promised to go in to my regular doctor after that so the press wouldn’t find out.”  She lifted her arm to show me where the implant was.  “They haven’t asked, and I promised not to tell” she said grinning.

 She had graduated college with a degree in geology, and had secured a job with the Simpson Institute for the study of geologic and seismic disturbances.  She had been engaged until her boyfriend had dumped her when he found out she would not get him in with the senator.  That was why she had agreed to come along on this vacation.  It had only been 3 months since the breakup.

She then asked me about Thor and if we did this for a living.  I told her that it was strictly volunteer work.  We did it out of a sense of community and probably a bit of the feeling of accomplishment we all enjoyed when a search was successful.

She steered the conversation around to my personal life. I stared into the fire as I told her about my divorce and my eventual move from California.  By now it was getting late so I laid out my sleeping bag and told Kelly to get in it and then remove her clothing, explaining that she would actually stay warmer if she didn’t sweat in her clothing.

She asked where I was planning to sleep.  “I’ll gather up the blankets and stretch out.”

She looked directly at me with a twinkle in her eye.  “If we lay close together there’s enough room in this sleeping bag.  That way we could keep each other warm.  Shared bodily warmth and all that stuff.”

“I don’t think that is a very good idea.”

“Why?  Don’t you trust me to not to ravish you?”

“Well... Actually it is me that I don’t trust.   I can control myself while I am awake, but I don’t know about after I go to sleep.”

She then got a serious look on her face.  “Tim, we are both adults.  I know it has been a while for me, and you admitted the same for yourself.  I think that I am enjoying your company and just not because you rescued us.  We will both be warmer in here and if anything happens, it will be just between us.”

My mind was still saying that it would not be a good idea.  Not because of any moral roadblocks.  More like I was finding that she was somehow, through no fault of her own, overwhelming me.  If I were capable of falling in love again, she would be the type I would likely fall for.  “Oh hell!”  I thought.  “I guess I will just have to see what happens.”  With that, I pulled off the outer layers of my clothing and then crawled into the bag.  I pulled the rest off except for my shorts.

Kelly snuggled up facing me, pushing herself against me and making sure to keep her injured wrist out of harm’s way.  She was watching me intently so I moved my head down and kissed her.  The instant our lips touched it was like a shock to both of us.  She pulled her head back and looked at me for a second, then attacked me with her lips.  This kiss was more intense, more passionate than anything that I had ever felt before.

I moved my free arm over her back and down to her butt.  I was squeezing her bare cheek and pulling her tighter against me.  I felt her moan into my mouth as she pushed up against the bulge that was in my shorts.  Her uninjured hand trailed down my chest to push my underwear off my body and then grab my cock, stroking it up and down.

We finally broke the kiss to catch our breath and she shimmied up far enough to align the head of my cock up with the entrance to her womb.  I could feel her lubrication as she moved the head between her pussy lips and against her clit.  She made a few circuits then settled the head just inside her entrance.

At her urging, I started to thrust into her, a little at a time until our pubic hair was touching.  She sighed at the feeling, and then started to snap her pelvis, sliding my cock in and out of her.  As her passion started to rise she loosened up enough that we could move faster.  Soon we were slamming our pelvic bones against each other as I kissed and bit her neck.  I had one hand between our bodies massaging her breasts while the other pulled her ass against me keeping our rhythm.

I wasn’t long before she went stiff and let out a muffled scream as her orgasm hit her.  The pulsations in her pussy combined with the look of rapture on her face triggered my own as I shot into her, causing her own orgasm to heighten.

As we came down, breathing hard in the thin cool air, we moved our upper bodies slightly apart.  When she opened her eyes, they were sparkling and she was wearing the biggest grin I had ever seen.  “Damn, that was fantastic.”

“I agree.  I haven’t ever felt anything that fast and intense.”  I reached out from the bag and pulled the wine bottle over to us.  We each took a sip then lay back exhausted.  My cock had deflated enough to slip out of her, leaving a trail of our mutual secretions on her thigh.  Using her toes, she pulled my under shorts up and tucked it against her pussy to catch the flow.

She gave me one more kiss, not really passionate, but loving and laid her head on my chest.  She was soon breathing in the slow rhythm of sleep, the air she exhaled tickling the hair on my chest.

I woke up before dawn to find that Kelly had moved her back against me.  My semi-hard cock was nestled between the cheeks of her beautiful butt.  The fire had burned down to just embers and the air was cold.  I moved away from her and pulled my clothes from the end of the sleeping bag and slid them on.  Kelly woke up but I told her to stay in the bag to keep warm.  I moved quickly to grab my coat and boots then went to the fire to try and to coax it back to life.

By the time Kelly started to get dressed, I had a decent fire going and the chill was off of the air.  Thor came back in from doing who knows what, but looking quite pleased with himself.  I looked outside the wreckage and saw that the snow was still coming down, adding to the ten inches that had fallen overnight.  There would be no sun to break the gray skies.  That also meant that the chopper could not make it in for us.

We dug further into the back of the plane and found enough additional food for a couple of days even if it wasn’t more than snacks.  We did find tea bags so combined with melted snow, we could have something hot to drink.  We spent the day exploring each other’s lives, our want and needs.  We found out that there were many facets of our lives that we agreed on, while some others we didn’t.  

And of course we made love.  We took our time now learning each other’s bodies.  I received a blowjob that almost had my balls coming out my cock.  I in turn, ate her to numerous orgasms until she push me away saying she could not take any more.  That night, we spent most of the evening making love before falling asleep wrapped in each other’s arms.

Once again I woke just before dawn and got the fire going again.  The clouds were gone leaving the first rays of the sun to cause the blanket of snow to explode into a sparkling blanket of white.  About 2 feet of snow had fallen and covered all but the tail of the plane, drifting around the fuselage to form a gently rising mound only disturbed by where we had tracked out.  

I roused Kelly and together we packed up and got ready.  It was not long before the radio crackled announcing the arrival of the same chopper that had taken the injured away.  They lowered the basket for our gear, and then took Kelly up.  Finally I was winched up holding all 100 pounds of a very indignant German Shepherd.

We were taken straight to a hospital in Grand Junction where we were checked out for any injuries.  They checked us for frostbite and bandaged Kelly’s sprained wrist. We also learned that the Senator and the others were recovering in Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Denver.

There were two people from the Senator’s staff on hand to convey his heartfelt thanks to the Search and Rescue unit.  There was a letter expressing his thanks and something even more important, a generous contribution to the group.  It was enough to keep the group going for most of next year.  Simon took charge of both of these and then went out to inform the waiting press that the Senator’s daughter was indeed safe and in good health.

My heart sank though when the staff members told Kelly they were to escort her to her stepfather’s bedside.  I had been afraid that when we got back to civilization, we would go our separate ways.  Now that it was happening, I felt helpless to stop it.  She said that she would come back, but I knew that it would never happen.  However I would treasure the time that we had spent together and would always wonder what would have been if things had been different.

As the staff was waiting to take her to the airport, she came over and gave me a tearful kiss and clung to me for a moment.  My own eyes were damp as I returned her embrace.  Finally, she bent down and gave Thor a scratch and a hug as well.  He replied with a very wet tongue up the side of her cheek.  Laughing through her tears, she waved and said she would see us both soon.

Simon gave us a ride back to Telluride.  I was tired but couldn’t sleep.  I continued to think about Kelly and the time we spent together.  I think I dropped off just after we turned onto CO Highway 145. 

Thor and I returned to our normal lives.  I had half hoped to hear from Kelly, but there was no call, and I had tried to call the number she had given me, but there was no answer.  

Thor and I had just come back from a weekend training exercise.  It had been 6 weeks since the rescue of the Senator and this was the first time that I had taken Thor out.  I had not had the heart to go out much.  I had actually taken vacation time for the next two weeks since the skiing season was over and the tourist season had yet to start.  Thor and I would travel south into the Four Corners area to see what was there.

I was just about to open a frozen pizza when there was a knock on the door.  Thor jumped up and watched, his tail wagging with excitement.  “Must be Simon,” I thought as I went to the door, hoping that he wasn’t there to tell me there was some poor fool that had gotten lost.

I opened the back door to see Kelly standing there looking mischievous and very beautiful.  “Got your sleeping bag around?”

I just laughed and picked her up kissing her soundly.  I had rescued her from a plane crash, but she had rescued me from something even worse: a life devoid of the love of a wonderful woman.

===== FINIS =====