Sam had reached the studio. When he got there, he had no idea where they would be filming the boat scene where Rachael was.
"Hurry up, Sam! Rachael's had an accident," Al said as he materialized next to Sam.
"Rachael? What happened?"
"A practical joke," Al informed. "Joshua must have rigged a box with a fake rat in it to spring out at her when she opened it."
"Mouse," Sam corrected. "It must have been a fake mouse. Joshua told me he had already played that joke on her."
"Then she lost her footing and hit her head on the docks just before she fell into the water," Al said, fearing the worst.
Sam asked, "And no one else was around?"
"I really didn't take time to notice. There definitely wasn't anyone on the docks! You have to hurry, Sam!"
At the studio gate, he asked where the director was, and was told the director was at the docks. Sam asked if there was a faster route to the docks and was given a slightly suspicious look, but was then given proper directions.
"Oh, my God," both Joshua and Kerr yelled in unison as Joshua's camera hit the ground.
"Get some help," Josh shouted to Kerr as he raced down the docks. "God, I should have seen this coming."
Kerr stood frozen, not believing what he had just witnessed. "Yeah, I'll get some help!" Kerr shouted back after hesitating a second. Kerr took a moment to look around for the director, but did not see him anywhere. "Someone call 9-1-1!"
Josh jumped into the water fully clothed. He had no idea how deep or shallow the water was, so he did not take the risk of diving in and breaking his own neck in the process of trying to save Rachael.
"Let's hope watching all those episodes of 'Rescue 911' paid off," Josh had said to himself before he jumped into the water. "Wish I had my body board."
Since it was late November, the water was extremely cold. Josh could not afford to notice. Getting to Rachael was his first priority. Getting her to shore safely was his second. Rachael was floating face-down in the water, not moving. You are not supposed to move a victim with a possible neck injury, Josh remembered, but she had to be brought to shore. Taking great care, Josh flipped Rachael over face-up. Even though they were only a few yards away from shore and the water was only waist-deep, it seemed to take forever for Josh to take Rachael out of the water.
On the shore, the entire crew had finally gotten over their initial shock and waited to help.
"Careful, guys. Give us some room, eh?" As Josh carefully put Rachael down on the ground, Sam arrived. Sam quickly rushed to Rachael's side, weaving his way through the crowd surrounding Josh and Rachael.
"I can help," Sam said. "I'm a doctor."
Joshua was confused by the bad timing of such a joke. "This is not the time to be joking around, James. This is serious! I think she may have a broken neck!"
"Just follow my instructions to the decimal point," Sam said in a very serious tone. "Believe me. I've done this before."
needing medical help
rescue attempt >>
"Rachael, don't try to move," Sam said, trying to comfort her after Rachael was finished coughing up water. "You've had a bit of an accident."
Slowly reaching up her hand and putting it next to Sam's face, Rachael said very softly, "M... my hero."
"Don't try to move," Sam repeated. "You hit your head, so stay still and try to stay awake, okay?"
Rachael smiled and quietly said, "I'll try. Sorry... sorry about the beautiful poem that was with the letter. I put it in my... my back pocket. I'm sure it was... was ruined."
"Don't worry about that," Joshua interrupted. "You just stay still and we'll get you some help right away."
Briefly taking Josh aside after standing up, Sam added, "Keep her awake. If she has a concussion, you can't let her fall asleep."
"Since when did you become a doctor? That was a joke you made before, wasn't it?" Josh wanted to know.
Sam changed the subject. "I'm glad we could revive her, but it wouldn't hurt to take a few lessons in C.P.R., you know? And besides, didn't I tell you once I knew someone who had a concussion? That's what you have to do with someone who might have one. You're supposed to keep them awake."
"Of course, you told me," Josh came back, to Sam's surprise. "I had forgotten you said you received a mild concussion when you were playing football when you were younger."
Sam had no idea that James once had a mild concussion, but he did not let that surprise register on his face. He asked Josh, "So what did Rachael mean by 'the poem'?"
Josh stalled. "Oh, um..."
"Tell me please," Sam insisted.
"I'm a dead man. You are going to kill me," Josh stated.
"Dead man," Sam said plainly.
Al said, "That must be what Ziggy meant by the prediction Josh was a dead man."
"It was just a practical joke," Josh informed. "I had some of your personal stationary and wrote Rachael a poem. She thought it was from you. Sorry, man."
Sam shook his head and smiled, at least both Rachael and Josh were alive. "I'll go see when help is going to arrive. I'll be back when it does," Sam said before he turned to leave.
"Go to the studio gate and find out if Kerr called for help. I'll take care of Rachael until you get back," said Josh.
Sam agreed and headed for James' truck. Al was walking with him, pressing several buttons on the new hand-link he had.
"So tell me, Al," Sam wanted to know. "I'm pretty sure Rachael's safe now, and so is Joshua. Is Rachael going to be all right?"
"I would hope so. Ziggy says Rachael only suffered a mild concussion. The great news is she didn't break her neck," Al responded.
Sam asked, " What about James and Rachael? Will they become a couple?"