Waking up

"Hey? Are you okay?" a voice asked.

You groaned.

"John!" a young girl cried. That must have been Dawn.

"I'm fine" you said, trying to stand up. You failed and you saw why when you looked at your leg. It was at a weird angle and when you tried moving it, you actually saw bone.

"Oh my God" another voice said. You looked up and saw Danielle, the ski instructor. "I'm so sorry!" She was panicking. Later you figured you were already in shock by the time people got to you, which was why you weren't, even though you saw your shinbone.

"Calm down, Danielle" another young woman said. This was Ashley, another instructor

"Panicking isn't going to help." She looked at you. "How do you feel?" she asked.

"Not too bad but it's a little weird" you told her. "I can see my shin." Behind you somebody was being sick loudly. Dawn kneeled next to you and took your hand.

"Don't look at your leg" she said. "Ashley, how are we going to get my brother out of here?"

"I'll call the rescue service" she said. "John, don't move" she told you, walking off.

"Not going anywhere" you said, gesturing at your leg. You tried moving it, making you laugh when the bone moved.

"Urgh, please stop that" Dawn told you. "You'll end up permanently injuring yourself."

"It's kind of funny" you told her.

"It's really not. Stop it" your baby sister told you.

"Yes, ma'am" you said, saluting her. Before Dawn could reply Ashley returned to you.

"It looks like a shinbone fracture" she said into the phone. She knelt in front of you and looked you in the eyes.

"Hi" you said. She put a finger to your lips and kept on talking.

"Yeah, they're dilated. He's also giddy" Ashley told the person on the other side of the call.

"Who is she talking to?" you asked your sister.

"Sh" Dawn said.

"Alright, we'll be waiting, thanks" Ashley said, ending the call. "Rescue's on their way. Just hang in there, okay?"

"Are you single?" you asked.

"John, this is hardly the time or the place" Dawn told you. "You're hurt and you need a doctor."

"You heard her. They're coming. We just need to waste some time" you replied.

"Seriously, you are being incredibly loopy" Dawn said. "

Lucky for her, the rescue service snowmobile arrived before long and she didn't have to put up with you any more.

"I'll call mom" Dawn said. "Where are you taking him?" Dawn asked the rescue driver.

"There's an infirmary near the hotel" the man said. "We'll take your boyfriend there."

"He's my brother" Dawn said, blushing.

"Sorry" the man said. "We'll take your brother to that infirmary. You can find it by following route 15."

"Can I ride along?" Dawn asked.

"No, sorry. We've got room for your brother and the paramedic. That's it" he told your sister. As he spoke, he and the paramedic picked you up very gingerly and put you down on the stretcher that would be carried by the snowmobile.

"I'll see you there, okay?" Dawn said. She squeezed your had and you smiled at her.

"Okay" you said. "See you back at the hotel."

The pain kicked in by the time you were at the infirmary, so you were given painkillers almost as soon as you were brought inside. Waiting for you there was your big sister, who'd been forewarned by Dawn.

"Oh, God" Rebecca said, "are you okay?"

"Woozy" you told her. "Painkillers."

"We just gave him some heavy duty painkillers" the doctor explained. "We'll have to put it in a splint until we can get him on the broken limb flight."

"Is that what you call it?" Rebecca asked, smirking. "You hear that, baby brother? You're going on the broken limb flight."

"Great" you said. "I wanted to ski, though."

"You did go skiing, though. For all of two hours" Rebecca answered. You were about to tell her something when your mom was led into your room.

"Oh, honey" she said, rushing over to you. "Are you okay?"

"Broken shinbone" you replied. "I'll be fine."

"When are you flying home?" your mom asked. Once again you were pre-empted from replying by someone walking into your room. It was the doctor, whatever his name was.

"How are you feeling, John?" he asked.

"Woozy" you told him, like you told your sister.

"That's the painkillers and the shock" the doctor said.

"So what can we do?" your mom asked the doctor.

"Well, we're going to put your son's leg in a cast for now" he told her. "Once he's back home, he can get X-rayed in your own hospital and further care will be decided on from there."

"That makes sense" your mom said. "So when is he going the cast?"

"Just as soon as we have time, which will be anywhere between fifteen and forty minutes" he said. Now informed, you closed your eyes and settled down to wait.

After you got the cast put on your leg, your mom left with Rebecca staying with you until Dawn came to visit. In tow she had Ashley, the ski instructor. Rebecca explained what was going to happen.

"So" Ashley said. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Professionally or personally?" Rebecca asked.

"Both, to be honest" the blonde told you. "On a personal level I'm happy to see you're fine. It could have been a lot worse."

"And?" Rebecca asked.

"Professionally, I am happy for your brother not dying because Danielle...Well..." Ashley said, trailing off.

"What is it?" Dawn wanted to know.

"Look, Danielle kinda messed up, okay? She didn't tell you guys about the crevasse" Ashley said, sighing. "Please don't let anybody else know, okay?"

"You're lucky we're not very litigious" Rebecca said. "But it was an honest mistake. Right baby brother?" she asked.

"Yeah" you said. You'd been very quiet, taking everything in, not the least of which was the ski instructor who stood in your room.

"It could have happened to anybody" Dawn agreed. "Don't worry, Ashley. We won't sue. Besides, didn't we sign a waiver?"

"Yeah, you did. But you never know" Ashley said. "There's been people who got hurt who were able to sue thanks to creative lawyers."

"I won't sue if you go on a date with me" you told her. This made your sisters laugh.

"You dog" Rebecca said.

"You heard him" Dawn said, still giggling.

"That must be the painkillers talking" Ashley said, blushing.

"Possibly" your big sister said. "But it's a small price to pay, right? I'm sure your boss would tell you to do it."

"But how would that work? I love dancing and he can't even walk" Ashley told you and your sisters.

"We'll figure something out" Rebecca said. "So are we agreed?"

"Yeah, I guess" Ashley said, smiling with that blush still on her cheeks.