A Close Call (M/F)

[Mischa]

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and a group of friends had decided to go hiking and climbing. Brian had brought some of his climbing gear and Luke, Anna, Caley, and Matt had come along to try it out.

“HACHOO!!” Luke sneezed.

“Luke I can’t believe you came even though you’re sick!” Matt commented.

“I just wanted to have fun! I’m not THAT sick, you just need to settle down.” Luke responded jokingly.

“Alright, whatever you say mate.” Matt snickered as Luke sniffled wetly and jumped over a rock.

Brian, who was heading the group, stopped at the crossing they had come to. It was a set of rapids with random boulders jutting out, creating a clear but dangerous-looking path through the crashing rapids.

“Let’s make our way over the rocks!” he exclaimed, always looking for adventure.

“Yeah right, I’m staying here! It looks too dangerous,” Caley commented, kicking a rock into the rapids.

“Haha, you’re a sissy,” taunted Brian. “Who’s with me?”

“Hachoo!! AAASHOOO!!” sneezed Luke. “That means yes. Let me at it.”

“Luke! You’re sick, you can’t just...” Caley stated, before being interrupted by a loud sneeze.

HAAAHHHCHUUHH!! “I’ll be fine, stop being such a downer,” he said before jumping out onto the first rock.

Luke started making his way across, followed by Anna and Matt. They cleared the first bit easily, where the rocks were close together. Luke paused as he reached a particularly large gap between rocks. Turning to the side, he sneezed a wet double into his hands. Bouncing on his toes, he took a few steps back and took a running start to jump the gap. His feet scraped the rock face, and the next moment he was plunging into the water. He heard Caley scream from the shore just before he blacked out. Anna was the first to respond, and the moment she realized Luke was out, she was in the water. Wrapping her arm around his waist, she kicked hard towards the surface. Caley was still screaming, for whatever purpose, and Brian was standing in shock, staring at the spot where Anna and Luke had disappeared. After what seemed like an eternity, Anna resurfaced, trying to keep herself and Luke above the crashing rapids. Luke was unconscious. Caley started running downstream, screaming at Matt to get back and help Brian throw them a rope. Matt swiftly made his way to the bank and sprinted to meet them.

“Here is the rope, catch them as they come by!! I’m going to get help!!”

Matt and Brian scrambled to get a rope untied. Anna was struggling hard to keep herself and Luke up, and they could tell that she had broken something in the mix. Matt finally got the rope out and tossed it right on top of Anna’s head as they passed by, not a moment too soon.

“Anna, grab the rope and hold on with your life,” he yelled, knowing he didn’t have to tell her twice.

She struggled to hold onto Luke and the rope with one arm. Knowing he didn’t have another chance, Matt tugged on the rope, and along with Brian, began to tow them in. Anna looked like she was barely holding on to consciousness, blinking and spluttering in the rapids.

“You’re going to be okay Anna, just hold on a few more seconds...stay with us” he yelled as they pulled.

When they we near the shoreline, Brian rushed into the water and dragged Luke out, allowing Anna to stagger up herself. As Brian was laying the unconscious Luke on a large boulder, Caley came running back, followed by her older brother.

“Someone help me with Anna!!” said Matt in a panicked voice. Anna had collapsed in the water, barely conscious, arm hanging at a funny angle. Caley’s brother scooped her up in his arms and set her down on the rock next to Luke, while Caley rushed over with blankets she had brought from camp.

“Guys...GUYS” Matt said in a panicked voice. “Luke isn’t breathing!!”

“L-let me,” Anna said weakly. She struggled to move to a position and began to give Luke mouth-to-mouth. After a few minutes, Luke started coughing. He turned his head to the side and spit up a ton of water. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and Anna collapsed back onto the rock, tears streaming down her cheeks. She shut her eyes, willing herself to push through the pain.

“Stay with us Anna, there’s a helicopter coming. You need to stay awake to stay warm!!” she urged Anna, wrapping blankets around her to keep her from freezing. After what seemed like an hour, the chopper arrived, and Anna slipped out of consciousness as she was wrapped in more thermal blankets and lifted into the helicopter with Luke.

****

Anna didn’t know how long she had been out. She blinked, studying the surroundings and noting the piercing pain in her arm.

EHHHshoo!! HATCHOO!!!

She turned her head around to find Luke sitting up on the bed next to her, tissues held up to his nose. They were in a hospital room, both wrapped up in mounds of blankets.

“Good morning! You look like death dried over,” Luke complimented in a hoarse voice.

“Thanks, you don’t look so hot either,” Anna retorted jokingly. There was a moment of silence as the span of the past day’s events came rushing back. “How’s your cold?”

“Well...I’m pretty sure our recreational swim didn’t help it much.” Luke gave a weak grin before turning his head to sneeze a very wet triplet. HESHHHOO!!! hehh..ehhhSHOO!!! HAHHHSHUUHH!!!

“Yeah sorry about that...”

Luke blinked. “Why are you apologizing? You saved my life out there. I...I...” He trailed off, his face forming a pre-sneeze expression. Haaahhshoo!! Luke sniffled and sighed loudly as a nurse walked in.

“Good morning dears, glad to see you’re both conscious. I’ve just been down to imaging, and both of your Xrays look fine. Anna, you’ll need to rest your arm and keep that cast for 6 weeks, but otherwise you are both in order. You are both lucky that no further harm came.” The nurse made a few notes on her clipboard and looked up. “I will send in your fan club - you are free to go home now, but do get some rest! You’ve got quite a cold.” She glanced at Luke’s growing pile of tissues and bright red nose before walking out.

Luke and Anna smiled as Matt, Caley, and Brian crowded into the small room.

“Oh my goodness you two, don’t ever scare us like that again!” Caley said, giving each one a hug. Both laughed, Luke managing a few chuckles that turned into a dry cough.

“Man, you don’t sound so good,” Brian commented. “How are you feeling?”

“Sick.” Luke said, too tired to think of any wittier response.

“Let’s get you two home!” Caley suggested, gathering the various flowers and articles in the room.

HAAASHHOOO!!! ehhh...hehhh..SHOO!! Luke responded.

****

A few days later, Luke was lying on his couch with a box of tissues watching a movie when the doorbell rang. It seemed Anna had been right, his cold had taken a turn for the worse after the incident and he was just starting to feel better. He sniffled, and was reaching for a tissue when the phone rang. It was Brian.

“Hey man, how’s it coming?” Brian asked.

“A bit better. I dare say I’ve used my weight in tissues though!” Luke replied in a stuffy voice.

“I am glad to hear you’re feeling better. Say, have you heard from Anna?”

“No. Is she alright?”

“Well that’s actually why I called. I am worried she might be upset or in a lot of pain right now.”

“I will go check on her! Don’t worry yourself.” Luke interrupted quickly.

“That sounds good. Catch you later, yeah?”

“See you!”

Brian hung up the phone and smiled. About time, he thought to himself.

[Tassielli]

O. I really liked this. Do continue

[Mischa]

****

Anna was asleep under a bunch of blankets when her doorbell rang. She sat up and squinted at the clock. It told her it was about three hours in the afternoon. She groaned, laying her head back on the pillow hoping the caller would disappear. After a minute the doorbell rang again. Anna tossed the blankets aside, and ignoring the throbbing pain in her head and her broken arm, peeked out her keyhole. Her heart did a small flop in her throat, and she quickly ran her fingers through her hair before opening the door.

“Luke, hello.” She offered a small grin.

“Anna!! You’re still alive! We haven’t heard from you in days. I just...” his voice trailed off as he gave Anna a more full look. Her hair was a bit disheveled, her eyes were a little too bright, and her nose had a pink tinge to it. Luke was surprised he hadn’t seen it right away. She was sick.

“Luke?”

He snapped back to attention. “Yes, sorry what?”

“I was just asking if you needed anything. I am in the middle of something.”

“Anna, can I...I mean...well...you just...are you ok?” Luke had a feeling that Anna was not the type to admit readily that she was under the weather but he wasn’t about to leave her to her own devices when she clearly was not feeling well.

“I am fine. I’m more worried about you - it looks like you’re still down with a cold.”

Luke grimaced, not liking being shown his own weakness. “Uhh...thank you.” He sneaked a glance around Anna’s apartment. It was tidy enough, and there were no tissues left anywhere. Maybe she was still tired from the incident. At that moment, Anna’s breath began to hitch, and she brought a hand to her mouth. Ishhhh!! Hashhh!! An image flashed into Luke’s head: He was shivering, drenched, laying on a rock, and Anna was leaning in. Her lips were on his, and suddenly he was breathing...

Luke blinked, and looked back up at Anna, who was rubbing her nose. It all made sense. She must have come down with his horrible cold. Of course she had gotten his germs when she was doing mouth to mouth, and he felt terrible. Not only had she saved him, but she had caught his cold. What a great thank you, he thought.

“So...” Anna began, once again interrupting his thoughts.

TBC

[ichixshiro14]

Awwwww yay contagion this is adorable!

[curliecatlover]

Love this. So cute. Please continue!

[coffeepot]

Oh, I like this. Yummy contagion, and your descriptions are brilliant. Please do continue!

[linde]

Thanks for sharing! i really like your story.

[obsessed]

I really like the character interaction!

[sillystarsmoons]

This is great, thanks for sharing.

[LizzyLovesYou]

Awh this is a cute story!

[4ever_Jeanne]

Ik im kinda late but this is really cute! wish you had continued it!