Icy bits of snow danced in the air as the helicopter touched down with a bump. Flashes of bright red and blue washed over the chaotic scene. A multitude of ambulances and fire trucks had arrived, and paramedics, police, and firemen dodged scattered luggage, briefcases, bags, and shattered glass.

"What a mess." Aiden surveyed the twisted wreckage before looking at his colleague. "Ready, Em?"

Emily nodded. "Let's do this."

Aiden slung one medical bag over his shoulder, grabbing his second case of supplies before hopping to the ground. He shivered in the biting wind, drawing the collar of the heavy flight jacket up to his chin and tugging the black wool beanie over his ears.

Their boots pounded on the pavement as they bent low to avoid wash from the spinning rotors.

Emily motioned toward one of the overturned cars.

Aiden caught her hand, leaning in close, hoping she could hear him over the drone of emergency helicopters. "Take care, Em."

She raised her brows. "You too," she mouthed. After a quick squeeze to his fingers, she dashed to the closest unattended casualty.

Aiden stared after her for a moment before turning in the opposite direction. Emily was an experienced emergency physician so he shouldn't worry, but he did. Over the years he'd become close to his colleague. Or as close as he ever let himself get to a woman.

"Hey, Doc." A fireman waved before pressing gloved hands to the bloody sleeve of the man stretched out on the pavement.

Aiden rushed through the light snow, hopping over bits of debris, assessing the situation with a practiced eye. He kneeled and listened for breath sounds and a heartbeat. "Keep the pressure while I establish an airway." He stripped the wrapping from an intubation tube, taking a steadying breath before tipping the man's head and sliding it in.

A paramedic arrived and attached an Ambu bag. "Got it, Doc."

"Thanks." Aiden sliced the bloody sleeve and applied a pressure dressing before performing another check on the man's vitals and assessing his other injuries. "He's ready for transport. Let's get him on the backboard."

Once they'd secured the man, Aiden made a final assessment, and the paramedics loaded the patient into an ambulance.

"Doc." Another firefighter flagged him down and pointed to the wreckage. "We have a passenger in there with a serious leg injury."

Aiden nodded and hauled himself up, peeking through the window they'd cleared of shattered glass. He wiggled through the opening and dropped inside the car, picking his way through the debris and crouching in front of the teenager. "I've got her." He nodded to the fireman sitting with her. "We'll need a backboard."

"I'll be right back."

"Hi, I'm Dr. Hamilton. What's your name?" He noted the blood and odd angle of her leg. "Let me look."

Her fearful face lifted. "Savannah?" she whispered, her dark hair falling across her pallid cheeks as she clutched a blanket around her shoulders.

"Is that your name? Savannah?" He pulled shears from his bag and slit her pant leg.

The girl's entire body quivered as her head tilted, and she focused a blank stare on her leg.

"Don't worry, Savannah, we'll take good care of you." Aiden checked for other injuries and peered into her eyes before running his fingers over her scalp. "A small bump. Do you have any allergies, Savannah?"

The teen gave him a puzzled look before shaking her head, fresh tears dribbling down her face. "No."

"You'll feel a small pinch." Aiden injected morphine before he dressed and splinted her leg to stabilize it for transport. "They'll x-ray your leg at the hospital."

"They took her." Her voice shook as her gaze darted around the now empty train car. "Where'd she go?"

"Took who?" Aiden looked around. Judging by her odd behavior, she'd sunk into deep shock. "We'll get you out, okay?"

A paramedic slid through the window with a backboard. He helped Aiden transfer and strap their patient onto it.

"I can't leave her." The girl clutched his arm. "Where's Vanna?"

He squeezed her hand. "Everyone's evacuated. We'll find Vanna." With the help of the paramedic, he lifted her into the waiting hands of the firefighters.

Aiden accepted a helping hand from a fireman and dropped to the ground outside as paramedics placed the girl on a gurney.

A blonde teenager rushed toward them clutching a small blue backpack to her chest, the blanket wrapped around her slim body billowing in the wind. "Oh, no, Leanne."

"Are you Vanna?" Aiden wrapped an extra blanket around the girl and seated her on an empty gurney.

She nodded. "That's Leanne." The girl trembled, her gaze locking onto her friend. "They made me leave her on the train. So much blood." She huddled under the blanket, her teeth chattering.

"Leanne's okay. She'll be on her way to the hospital in a minute," he said. "Let's check you over. You're freezing."

Savannah nodded as tears streaked down her reddened cheeks. "We've been here forever."

Aiden swept off his beanie and tugged it onto her head. The poor thing needed it more than he did. "Which hospital are you taking Leanne to?" he asked the paramedic.

"Yours," the man said before he wheeled the gurney away.

"Can I go with her?" Savannah's gaze flitted around as they took her friend toward the waiting ambulance.

"I'll make you a deal. Let me dress these cuts and examine you, and we'll send you to the same hospital." He disengaged her icy grip from the backpack.

"No!" Her eyes widened. "I need that."

"Don't worry. It'll be safe." Aiden helped her lay back and tucked the small bag beside her. He noticed how she winced and clutched her arm against her chest. "Does your shoulder hurt?"

She blinked at him, a small frown creasing her forehead as he cleaned her cuts. "A little."

Aiden performed a quick exam before flagging down a paramedic he recognized. "Ben, can you take Vanna to my ER? Ask them to order an x-ray of her shoulder. Tell them I triaged her."

"You got it, Aiden."

"Thanks." He tucked another blanket around Vanna. "I'll check on you when I get to the hospital. Ben will take excellent care of you until then."

The teenager nodded and clenched her eyes shut as Ben wheeled her away.

Aiden watched as the paramedic loaded the gurney into the ambulance. Savannah possessed an eerie familiarity, though he couldn't place when or where they'd met.

_____

Two hours later, Aiden and Emily arrived at the hospital on the chopper and passed their patient to a surgical team.

Aiden slumped against the wall of the elevator as it descended, swiping a hand through his short dark hair. "I'm beat."

"My fingers are numb." Emily rubbed her hands together and blew on them. "I'm chilled to the bone."

Aiden brushed a smudge of dirt from her cheek with one thumb before pressing her icy hands between his palms. "A coffee will warm you up."

"That feels amazing." Emily smiled, leaning toward him as if trying to absorb the warmth of his body. "How are your hands not freezing?"

A shiver ran through him as their gazes met. A frisson of attraction rose as it always did when they were together, but the moment evaporated when the elevator doors slid open, revealing the bustling ER. Gurneys littered the hallway, nurses ran back and forth, machines beeped, and the buzz of conversation filled the air.

Aiden claimed Emily's medical bags and pushed her gently toward the lounge. "Warm up before Dragon Lady drags you into the fray."

Emily offered a grateful smile before hurrying down the hallway.

As he placed the bags on the counter of the front desk, Dana, Chief of the ER—AKA Dragon Lady to him and Emily—spotted him.

"Dr. Hamilton. Glad to have my chief resident back." Dana snapped up the gurney's rail before the surgical team wheeled her patient toward the elevators. "How bad was it?"

He shrugged off the grimy flight jacket and slung it over the counter by the kits. "A total nightmare."

"Fatalities?"

Aiden set his lips in a grim line. "Several. The crew was transporting the last minor injuries when we left."

Dana sighed. "We're buried and have several minors from the train accident, plus the waiting room's overflowing. I need you to stay and help."

Aiden nodded. He suspected it would be a long shift.

"Ben said you triaged this patient." The desk clerk pushed a tablet and an envelope into his hands. "Exam 2."

"Thank you." Aiden pulled out the x-ray and peered at it before he started toward the exam room.

"Dr. Hamilton? Can you check this x-ray? Broken, right?" A medical student motioned to a spot on the film mounted on the light board.

Aiden scanned it. "Call for a consult. The patient might need surgery." After making a note for the chart, he turned to run the gauntlet, fielding a barrage of questions from both residents and medical students. He smiled as he finally entered the exam room. "How are you feeling, Savannah?"

The blonde teenager rubbed her arm. "Okay."

"You're a long way from Portland. No parents or chaperones here yet, Rosa?"

"Parents are being contacted now." The nurse checked the IV. "Someone should be here soon."

"How's Leanne?" Savannah tipped up her ashen face, her eyes shiny with tears.

"Let's find out. What's her last name?"

"Billings."

Aiden nodded at Rosa, who dialed an extension and murmured into the receiver. "While Rosa checks on Leanne, let's take a look at you." Aiden began his exam. "Any more pain?"

"I have a headache and the cuts sting." She grimaced. "My shoulder aches. Things were flying all over the place."

"We'll give you something to relieve the pain." He slid her gown down to view her shoulder. "You'll have quite the bruise, but it's not dislocated." Rosa handed him a fresh ice pack, which he placed on the girl's shoulder. "You'll need a few stitches. Any allergies?"

"No." She stared wide-eyed as he prepared the needle. "Will it hurt?"

"Just a small pinch while I numb the area." He injected the local. "Done. Not so awful, right?"

"It wasn't too bad," she whispered, averting her eyes from the suture kit he'd opened.

"Dr. Hamilton's a pro at stitches." The nurse patted Savannah's arm. "Leanne's fine. Her surgery went well and she's on the way to recovery."

The girl let out a rush of air. "Leanne's all right?"

"She's being well taken care of. Take a deep breath and close your eyes. I promise I'll be quick with the stitches." Aiden sutured as the girl exhaled a long slow breath.

Emily stuck her head in the door. "I need your assistance, Aiden. Will you be long?"

Savannah tensed, sitting ramrod straight.

"Relax, Savannah." He glanced at his dark-haired colleague. "Can it wait five minutes?"

"It's not urgent. Exam 4." The door swished shut as she backed out of the room.

"I'll dress this, Rosa. You probably have patients waiting."

The nurse swept out, leaving the sterile dressings on a tray within easy reach.

"How old are you?" Savannah asked.

"Mmm, what?" Déjà vu overtook him as he studied his patient's deep brown eyes.

"A weird question, right?" Her voice quivered.

He shook off the odd feeling as he inspected his handiwork, taking extra care with the sutures. This one was on her forehead, and he wanted to prevent scarring.

"Dr. Hamilton?"

Aiden cleared his throat. "I'm thirty. How old are you?"

"Fourteen." She seemed to relax, and a touch of color returned to her face.

"What grade are you in?" He pressed a dressing onto her wound.

"Ten." She stared at him. "Could I come back and ask you some questions? You know, about being a doctor?"

Aiden pushed back his stool. "Sure. If you call the front desk, we can work out a time. Leave a number if I'm busy." He selected a card from the small stack on the counter. "This is the direct number for the ER. Rosa will be in with care instructions, and she'll arrange for you to see Leanne."

"Thank you ... Dr. Hamilton."

"You're welcome, Savannah." As he added notes to her chart, he observed the girl from the corner of his eye. His heart skipped a beat as he realized he was also under intense scrutiny. Those soulful brown eyes held a hint of curiosity, tinged with something he couldn't name. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." She continued staring at him in a most unsettling way.

"Have Rosa find me if you need anything." His breath caught in his chest and pain lanced through his heart as the faintest of smiles crossed her face. This girl reminded him of someone he used to know. "Rosa?" He waved down the nurse. "Can you keep an eye on Savannah? She'll need care instructions for those stitches."

"Social Services will be in to see her," Rosa said. "My break is coming up, so I'll take her upstairs to see Leanne."

"You're a sweetheart, Rosa." Aiden smiled at this motherly woman and his favorite nurse at work.

"Anytime, Aiden." She patted his arm before heading in to check on Savannah.

Aiden shook his head. Impossible. His imagination had veered off on a tangent at the mention of Portland. He strode toward Exam 4, pushing the thoughts of Savannah from his mind.