cruel summer. [ rini au ]

chapter twenty-one.

Sofia hadn't moved in hours. Nini began to see the sky lighten, finding a small reserve of energy to pull Sofia into her lap again and rub her arms with numb, cold hands. The younger girl's breath was warm and steady against the skin exposed by Nini's swimsuit and tank top.

Gripping the fabric of her sweater, Nini tried to focus on her watch, seeing it was 4:39am. Her eyelids were heavy as she struggled to open them, but she couldn't see anything in front of her as fog blanketed everything.

Coughing, she tried to look around, but it was impossible to recognize anything. Struggling to hold back tears of frustration and exhaustion, she felt the raw feeling in her throat of constantly coughing up junk in her lungs. Another coughing fit stirred Sofia long enough to say something that Nini barely managed to answer. Looking in the direction that Sofia pointed, Nini struggled to her knees and reached to pull Sofia back as two blurry shadows emerged from the fog.

Nini thought of mountain lions and grizzly bears before realizing they were calling her name. In her mind, she matched the strangers in uniform to the concept of help before she was hauled gently to her feet and swung up into the arms of one of them, Sofia in the other's.

"Sofia?" Nini managed to get out, not realizing the ranger wrapped his coat around her.

"She's fine. You're both going to be fine." The ranger told her as they began moving.

"I need Ricky," Nini mumbled. "He needs to know."

"He will," the ranger replied. "He's waiting for you."

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Ricky was jerked awake from where he had fallen asleep against the railing on the cabin stairs by the sound of static filling the air. A second burst of it caused him to jerk to his feet as adrenaline pumped through him. Standing on the stairs, he watched as a group of rangers and Dave gathered around the radio.

"Go ahead," Dave called in and static returned just for a moment before the ranger on the other end answered.

"Please note the following position," the voice answered, naming their positions on the map. "We found them. I repeat, we found them."

Dave looked stunned and relieved as he looked over to Ricky leaning against the railing in an effort not to collapse. His thoughts were whirling. They had found her. Both of them, but Ricky only had enough willpower to focus on her. She was safe. That was all that mattered to him.

He paced for what seemed like hours until he felt the air change and heard conversation between the others present, halt. Turning, he saw flares of light cut through the trees behind the cabins and suddenly the noise level went several levels higher as people began shouting orders. Hearing someone call for the doctor who had been around since Ady was found, Ricky's heart skipped several beats before his feet reacted. Flying into the open area, he pushed people out of his way and squeezed through gaps in the crowd.

He reached the front as the first ranger left the woods behind and handed Sofia to her parents before someone could pry her away to check for any injuries. All that escaped Ricky though, because he was running to the second park ranger whose burden was wrapped in an olive green jacket with brown hair tumbling over the ranger's arm. Ricky's breath caught for a moment as his hands kept the ranger from going any further.

"Son, she needs to be seen," he told Ricky.

"I'm taking her," Ricky said in a hard voice that many would flinch at.

"I need you to step away and-" Ricky's arms weaved under her back and his hands gripped her knees before the ranger could finish his sentence.

"I'm taking her," Ricky repeated and he felt the ranger's grip relax as he lifted Nini from him. Brushing a kiss against her forehead, he brought her towards the first aid cabin. "I've got you, Neens. Everything is going to be okay."

Inside the cabin, a doctor was giving orders as a nurse made room for Nini and Sofia. Directing Ricky to the back, one of the nurses held the door to a private exam room as Ricky clutched her closer.

"Please, don't make me leave," he pleaded while the nurse gave him an understanding smile.

"Honey, I know you just got her back, but we need to assess her and clean her up. Help me get her on the bed and then you can wait outside the door." Ricky hesitated but the nurse looked stern. "Ricky, she's sick. She's dehydrated and hypothermic and the rangers think she has pneumonia. We need to help her."

Ricky nodded and set Nini down on the blankets, brushing his hand against her cheekbone. Behind him, the doctor entered the room as the nurse began to work around Ricky, pulling off her socks and shoes. Ricky gripped her hand in between both of his, hating how cold it was.

"Ricky, honey, you promised to leave," the nurse reminded him and he kissed Nini's hand before letting it go.

"I want to sit with her when you're done," he insisted and she nodded as he took a seat against the wall outside.

He listened to the murmurings behind the door as he stared at his hands. He bit the inside of his cheek as he fought to not be angry with his need to be out in the hallway while Nini was inside. She was alone as far as he was concerned and he hated it. Leaning his head against the wall, he watched the pattern on the ceiling until the hours without proper sleep caught up and his eyes slid shut.